Scientists at the University of Southampton are pioneering a technique to predict when an ecosystem is likely to collapse, which may also have potential for foretelling crises in agriculture, fisheries or even social systems. The researchers have applied a mathematical model to a real world situation, the environmental collapse of a lake in China, to help prove a theory which suggests an ecosystem 'flickers', or fluctuates dramatically between healthy and unhealthy states, shortly before its eventual collapse. Head of Geography at Southampton, Professor John Dearing ...

A large-scale international study involving French researchers from the Inserm-Institut Pasteur Lille-Université Lille Nord de France "Public health and molecular epidemiology of ageing-related diseases" joint research unit led by Philippe Amouyel, has just discovered a gene for susceptibility to a rare disease that causes susceptibility to a common one, Alzheimer's disease, providing evidence of the heterogeneous aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. This whole-exome sequencing approach is explained in detail in The New England Journal of Medicine dated 14 November 2012. ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Could the emergency room be a good place to spot undiagnosed eating disorders among teens, and help steer them to treatment? A new study from the University of Michigan suggests that could be the case. Researchers screened more than 940 teens and young adults aged 14 years to 20 years for eating disorders, as part of their visit to the U-M Emergency Department for any non-psychiatric reason. They found that 16 percent – more than one in every 6 – had indications of an eating disorder. Those that did were also much more likely to also show signs ...

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are helping deployed American troops protect themselves against sand flies, which are major pests in Afghanistan, Africa and the Middle East. Sand flies are vectors of Leishmania parasites that cause leishmaniasis, a devastating disease for which there is no vaccine or medication. People who are bitten by infected sand flies do not know whether they have the disease until it becomes apparent three or four months later. Symptoms include permanent skin disfigurement and sometimes severe organ damage. At the Agricultural ...

A new tool for neuroscientists delivers a thousand pinpricks of light to a chunk of gray matter smaller than a sugar cube. The new fiber-optic device, created by biologists and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, is the first tool that can deliver precise points of light to a 3-D section of living brain tissue. The work is a step forward for a relatively new but promising technique that uses gene therapy to turn individual brain cells on and off with light. Scientists can use the new 3-D "light switch" to better understand how the ...

​For Immediate Release – November 19, 2012 (Toronto) Youth with mental illness are among the most vulnerable, but new research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found that less than half of Ontario youth aged 15 to 19 hospitalized with a psychiatric diagnosis received follow-up care with a primary care doctor or psychiatrist within a month after being discharged. "Timely aftercare is crucial in maintaining the health of youth with mental illness, and avoids future hospitalization, which is the most intensive, intrusive and expensive psychiatric ...

VIDEO: A video explaining the fragility of the welfare state. Click here for more information. The social contract that supports the welfare state, where income is redistributed, is fragile. That is one of the main conclusions of an experimental study done at Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M), which analyzes how the redistribution of income to people through government action originates. The study, carried out by Professor Antonio Cabrales, of UC3M, in collaboration with ...

This release is available in French. Quebec City, November 19, 2012—Contrary to popular belief, there is no connection between lunar phases and the incidence of psychological problems. This is the conclusion reached by a team of researchers directed by Professor Geneviève Belleville of Université Laval's School of Psychology after having examined the relationship between the moon's phases and the number of patients who show up at hospital emergency rooms experiencing psychological problems. Details on the study can be found on the website of the scientific journal General ...

Science on the benefits of gratitude and new in our journals... For Thanksgiving and Holidays: Benefits of gratitude A growing body of research highlights the importance of gratitude for both social and personal well-being. Ahead of Thanksgiving and the holidays, talk to an expert on gratitude research: Sara Algoe of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who has investigated how gratitude benefits close relationships, including how expressing gratitude leads to long-term social outcomes for women with metastatic breast cancer and the evolutionary role for ...

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a genetic factor that prevents blockages from forming in blood vessels, a discovery that could lead to new therapies for cardiovascular diseases. The findings are described in the Nov. 19 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Researchers led by Mukesh K. Jain, MD, FAHA, professor of medicine, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair and director of Case Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, found that a shortage of the genetic factor KLF4, which regulates ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three organizations representing America's research universities today launched a website that aims to inform policymakers and the public of the impact that the upcoming budget sequester would have on federal funding for university research. The organizations – the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and The Science Coalition (TSC) – urge Congressional leaders and the President to act quickly to develop a comprehensive, balanced solution to America's fiscal crisis that avoids steep cuts ...

Injured patients were less likely to die in the hospital if they had alcohol in their blood, according to a study from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health -- and the more alcohol, the more likely they were to survive. "This study is not encouraging people to drink," cautions UIC injury epidemiologist Lee Friedman, author of the study, which will be published in the December issue of the journal Alcohol and is now online. That's because alcohol intoxication -- even minor inebriation -- is associated with an increased risk of being injured, he ...

KANSAS CITY, MO—Changes in how DNA interacts with histones—the proteins that package DNA—regulate many fundamental cell activities from stem cells maturing into a specific body cell type or blood cells becoming leukemic. These interactions are governed by a biochemical tug of war between repressors and activators, which chemically modify histones signaling them to clamp down tighter on DNA or move aside and allow a gene to be expressed. In the November 19, 2012, online edition of the journal Genes & Development, researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research ...

It has been 25 years since the identification of two proteins that facilitate communication between nerve cells – a significant achievement that revealed a group of related proteins. In recognition of this advancement, the Journal of Biological Chemistry has published a series of articles that assess what we know about each family member in this group and where that research is headed. This superfamily was recognized in 1987 with the discoveries of the genes that encode two of its members, the GABAA and glycine receptors, and of the similarity of these proteins to the ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Most people are faced with embarrassment or humiliation at some point in their lives. Maybe they get nervous before a big presentation to the bosses at work. Maybe they get a bit anxious thinking about approaching an attractive stranger at a party. But where is the line between normal shyness and social anxiety disorder? Rhode Island Hospital researcher Kristy L. Dalrymple, Ph.D., of the department of psychiatry, explores the variances between the two, and discusses the differing beliefs of over, and under-, diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (SAD) ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A novel test that measures proteins from nerve damage that are deposited in blood and spinal fluid reveals the rate of progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in patients, according to researchers from Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida, Emory University and the University of Florida. Their study, which appears online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, suggests this test, if perfected, could help physicians and researchers identify those patients at most risk for rapid progression. These patients could then be offered ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Support for gay marriage is growing in Michigan, mirroring changing attitudes in many parts of the United States, according to Michigan State University's State of the State Survey. A recent survey found that 56 percent of the state's residents support gay marriage while 39 percent oppose it. Two years ago, 48 percent supported gay marriage and 51 percent were opposed. "Support for gay marriage has increased in recent years, in Michigan and across the country," said Charles Ballard, MSU economics professor and director of the State of the State ...

Akron, Ohio, Nov. 19, 2012 —Working in the lab for the last few years, three generations of University of Akron polymer scientists say their mutual and passionate curiosity about science has led to their discovery of a first-of-its-kind, easily adaptable biocompatible polymer structure able to fight infection, filter water and perform a host of other functions. Darrell Reneker, 82, distinguished professor of polymer science; Matthew Becker, 37, associate professor of polymer science; and 25-year-old graduate student Jukuan Zheng developed what they call a one-size-fits-all ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (November 19, 2012) – Limits on duty hours for residents in training haven't increased the safety of one common brain operation, concludes a study in the November issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Hospitals that train neurosurgery residents have had an uptick in complication rates since the work-hour limits were introduced, according to the study led by Drs. Anand I. Rughani, of the University of Toronto, and Travis ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (November 19, 2012) – Portable bed rails marketed to "make any bed safer" actually increase the risk of injury and death, according to an article in the November 15 issue of Biomedical Safety & Standards (BS&S). A newsletter for medical device safety professionals, BS&S is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Two consumer watchdog groups have requested the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to order one manufacturer to stop making false advertising claims regarding the safety of its portable bed rail. A front-page ...

Hydrogen, the lightest element, can easily dissolve and migrate within metals to make these otherwise ductile materials brittle and substantially more prone to failures. Since the phenomenon was discovered in 1875, hydrogen embrittlement has been a persistent problem for the design of structural materials in various industries, from battleships to aircraft and nuclear reactors. Despite decades of research, experts have yet to fully understand the physics underlying the problem or to develop a rigorous model for predicting when, where and how hydrogen embrittlement will ...

"Our analysis shows that the Norse in Greenland ate lots of food from the sea, especially seals," says Jan Heinemeier, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University. "Even though the Norse are traditionally thought of as farmers, they adapted quickly to the Arctic environment and the unique hunting opportunities. During the period they were in Greenland, the Norse ate gradually more seals. By the 14th century, seals made up between 50 and 80 per cent of their diet." The Danish and Canadian researchers are studying the 80 Norse skeletons kept at the University ...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A new cancer drug combination demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival of late-stage pancreatic cancer patients compared to those receiving standard treatment, according to results of a Phase III clinical trial led by physicians from Scottsdale Healthcare's Virginia G. Cancer Center Clinical Trials, a partnership with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). Physicians at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare were first to design a clinical trial to determine the safety, tolerability and effectiveness ...

Countless studies demonstrate the virtues of complete smoking cessation, including a lowered risk of disease, increased life expectancy, and an improved quality of life. But health professionals acknowledge that quitting altogether can be a long and difficult road, and only a small percentage succeed. Every day, doctors are confronted with patients who either cannot or will not quit, says Vicki Myers, a researcher at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine. To address this reality, Myers and her fellow researchers, Dr. Yariv Gerber and Prof. Uri Goldbourt of ...

TORONTO, ON – Astrophysicists at the University of Toronto and other institutions across the United States, Europe and Asia have discovered a 'super-Jupiter' around the massive star Kappa Andromedae. The object, which could represent the first new observed exoplanet system in almost four years, has a mass at least 13 times that of Jupiter and an orbit somewhat larger than Neptune's. The host star around which the planet orbits has a mass 2.5 times that of the Sun, making it the highest mass star to ever host a directly observed planet. The star can be seen with the naked ...