MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A new study may help scientists produce better climate-resistant corn and other food production plants by putting a spin on the notion that we are what we eat. Kansas State University geneticists and colleagues found that by applying a genetic-analysis method used to study and prioritize the genes in humans, it improved the likelihood of finding critical genes in food production plants. These genes control quantitate traits in plants, such as how the plants grow and when they flower. Additionally, this method can be used to study how food production ...

Boston – Jonathan Welch, MD, a physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, never thought his family would be part of a medical error. But when his mother's battle with cancer took a sudden turn and she was rushed to a community hospital in Wisconsin, Welch watched in helpless horror as a series of mistakes lead to her death. After the funeral, he encouraged the Wisconsin hospital's administrators to make changes to avoid future errors and deaths, but his experience proved frustrating and fruitless. Now, in an essay that appears ...

New research from North Carolina State University, Brigham Young University and the Pennsylvania State University finds that parental involvement is more important than the school environment when it comes to preventing or limiting alcohol and marijuana use by children. "Parents play an important role in shaping the decisions their children make when it comes to alcohol and marijuana," says Dr. Toby Parcel, a professor of sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. "To be clear, school programs that address alcohol and marijuana use are definitely valuable, ...

Raising the retirement age to increase financial stability does not make men worse off psychologically in the long-run, according to a new study by Dr. Elizabeth Mokyr Horner, from the University of California, Berkeley in the US. Her work shows that individuals go through the same psychological stages as they adjust to retirement, with life satisfaction stabilizing after 70, irrespective of how old they are when they retire. The study is published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies. As we live longer, the size of the retired population relative to that ...

ANN ARBOR—In a discovery that helps clear a new path toward quantum computers, University of Michigan physicists have found elusive Dirac electrons in a superconducting material. Quantum computers use atoms themselves to perform processing and memory tasks. They promise dramatic increases in computing power because of their ability to carry out scores of calculations at once. They could factor numbers dramatically faster than conventional computers, and would be game-changers for computer security. The combination of properties the researchers identified in a shiny, ...

This press release is available in French. This study provided important data about the fertility window of women who had suffered from childhood cancer and information concerning the associated risk factors, but did not confirm the greater risk of premature menopause (before the age of 40) that was reported by the American studies. The results were published in the review Human Reproduction of November 15. Women who have suffered from childhood cancer are known to run a greater risk of premature menopause. However, data about the associated risk factors is limited. ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Using multiple forms of media at the same time – such as playing a computer game while watching TV – is linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression, scientists have found for the first time. Michigan State University's Mark Becker, lead investigator on the study, said he was surprised to find such a clear association between media multitasking and mental health problems. What's not yet clear is the cause. "We don't know whether the media multitasking is causing symptoms of depression and social anxiety, or if it's that people who are depressed ...

Boston -- For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the response of natural killer (NK) cells is detrimental to glioblastoma virotherapy, a novel way of treating malignant brain cancer by injecting a virus into the tumor. A number of clinical trials are currently underway to test whether glioblastoma virotherapy will facilitate antitumor efficacy, but research led by E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and published in Nature Medicine, shows that in pre-clinical models, NK cells are killing ...

This press release is available in French.The researchers are focusing on analysing brain networks of brain-damaged comatose (non-traumatised) patients, a state where the individual is considered to be unconscious. The authors of the study used an original graph theory-based methodology, where images were constructed using functional MRI data at rest and using robust statistical signal-processing methods. Local and overall effectiveness indices of functional brain networks were obtained for 17 brain-damaged patients and 20 healthy volunteers. Correlations in 417 brain ...

Troy, N.Y. – A team of interdisciplinary researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed a new method for significantly increasing the heat transfer rate across two different materials. Results of the team's study, published in the journal Nature Materials, could enable new advances in cooling computer chips and lighting-emitting diode (LED) devices, collecting solar power, harvesting waste heat, and other applications. By sandwiching a layer of ultrathin "nanoglue" between copper and silica, the research team demonstrated a four-fold increase in thermal ...

Chock-full of Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, fish oil can help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation in the skin and joints, and promote healthy fetal development. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has found that it has a positive effect on bedsores, too. A common problem in critically ill patients, bedsores result from constant pressure on the skin and underlying tissue due to prolonged sitting or lying down. Painful and prone to infection, the pressure ulcers need to be healed, says Prof. Pierre Singer of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. With Ph.D. candidate ...

Montreal, December 4, 2012 – Anger is a powerful emotion with serious health consequences. A new study from Concordia University shows that for millions of individuals around the world who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), anger is more than an emotion; it's an agent that exacerbates their illness. Concordia graduate student Sonya Deschênes investigated the subject after conducting a literature review for her PhD research, supervised by psychology professor Michel Dugas. While some of the studies she came across showed that anger and anxiety were linked, ...

SAN FRANCISCO - Scientists from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will present a variety of alternative energy-related research at the 2012 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, which runs Monday, Dec. 3 through Friday, Dec. 7 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Topics to be discussed include improving solar power forecasting, measuring the resources needed to grow algae for biofuel and predicting the environmental impacts of ocean energy. Summaries of some of PNNL's noteworthy presentations are below. Forecasting clouds ...

By combining the observing powers of ESA's Herschel space observatory and the ground-based Keck telescopes, astronomers have characterised hundreds of previously unseen starburst galaxies, revealing extraordinary high star-formation rates across the history of the Universe. Starburst galaxies give birth to hundreds of solar masses' worth of stars each year in short-lived but intense events. By comparison, our own Milky Way Galaxy on average produces the equivalent of only one Sun-like star per year. Starburst galaxies generate so much starlight that they should outshine ...

A Viewpoint article published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the clinical practice of prescribing amphetamines, opioids, and benzodiazepines to treat chronic pain may be contributing to the increase in fatal drug overdoses and the likelihood that those drugs will be diverted to the illegal market. "Rethinking Opioid Prescribing to Protect Patient Safety and Public Health" was authored by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers G. Caleb Alexander, MD, MS, and Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH, and Stefan P. Kruszewski, ...

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Selective targeting of the neurotransmitter that differentially affects brain cells that control the two distinct functions of the pancreas may allow for new medication therapies for conditions like diabetes, dyspepsia and gastro-esophageal reflux, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. "This study differs from what's been reported previously about brain neurons that control the gastrointestinal tract," said R. Alberto Travagli, professor, Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, and lead investigator. "It provides further support ...

AUSTIN, Texas — With fluctuating gas prices and the increasing call for work-life balance, telecommuting has become an attractive option for busy professionals. Yet according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin, for most employees who work remotely, telecommuting equates to working more hours. The study, co-authored by Jennifer Glass, professor in the Department of Sociology and the Population Research Center, shows that most of the 30 percent of respondents who work from home add five to seven hours to their workweek compared with those who work exclusively ...

Researchers at the University of Iowa have documented an activity by infants that begins nearly from birth: They learn by taking inventory of the things they see. In a new paper, the psychologists contend that infants create knowledge by looking at and learning about their surroundings. The activities should be viewed as intertwined, rather than considered separately, to fully appreciate how infants gain knowledge and how that knowledge is seared into memory. "The link between looking and learning is much more intricate than what people have assumed," says John Spencer, ...

This press release is available in French. These results reveal how the immune system can then limit the effectiveness of some cancer chemotherapies. The researchers now intend to block the molecules responsible for negative immune system activation to increase the efficiency of chemotherapy. A clinical trial to test this hypothesis should begin very soon. Chemotherapy is one of the most frequently used treatments to eliminate cancerous cells. These drugs kill all cells that are multiplying, or block their proliferation (for example, cells responsible for hair growth, ...

MIAMI — December 4, 2012 - The 2010 blowout of the Macondo well in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the region's largest oil spill in U.S. history. As the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) incident unfolded, in an effort to prevent the oil from coming to the surface and reaching coastal and marsh ecosystems, chemical dispersants were injected at the wellhead. These powerful dispersants, typically used to break up oil slicks at the sea surface had never been used in such large quantities and over such a prolonged period of time in the deep ocean. A new study published ...

A new study released this week confirms that lions are rapidly and literally losing ground across Africa's once-thriving savannahs due to burgeoning human population growth and subsequent, massive land-use conversion. Representing the most comprehensive assessment of the state and vitality of African savannah habitat to date, the report maintains that the lion has lost 75% of its original natural habitat in Africa – a reduction that has devastated lion populations across the continent. Co-authored by Panthera's Lion Program Survey Coordinator, Dr. Philipp Henschel, and ...

1. American College of Physicians Says Upper Endoscopy Overused in Patients with Reflux Routine use of upper endoscopy for most patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) does not improve patient health, is associated with preventable harms, and may lead to unnecessary interventions and costs, says the American College of Physicians (ACP) Clinical Guidelines Committee in a new evidence-based clinical policy paper. Heartburn, a symptom of GERD, is a common reason for people to see a doctor. Long term complications of GERD can include scarring of the esophagus ...

PHILADELPHIA, December 4, 2012 -- Heartburn is one of the most common reasons for people to see a doctor, and some physicians often use upper endoscopy to diagnose and manage gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But most patients do not require the procedure unless other serious symptoms are present, according to the American College of Physicians (ACP) Clinical Guidelines Committee in a new evidence-based clinical policy paper published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. "The evidence indicates that upper endoscopy is indicated in patients with heartburn only when ...

Hamilton, ON (Dec. 3, 2012) - A heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish significantly reduces the chance of a second heart attack and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease, McMaster University researchers have found. A five-year study of almost 32,000 patients (average age 66.5 years) in 40 countries discovered those who ate a heart-healthy diet had a: 35 per cent reduction in risk for cardiovascular death 14 per cent reduction in risk for new heart attacks 28 per cent reduction in risk for congestive heart failure 19 per cent reduction ...

If you have cardiovascular disease, a heart-healthy diet may help protect you from recurrent heart attacks and strokes, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. "At times, patients don't think they need to follow a healthy diet since their medications have already lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol — that is wrong," said Mahshid Dehghan, Ph.D., study author and a nutritionist at the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. "Dietary modification has benefits in addition to those ...