(Garrison, NY) As the presidential candidates clash over the fate of the Affordable Care Act, a set of seven essays by leading legal experts, economists, and scholars examines the implications of the Supreme Court's decision on the ACA and makes it clear that there is no consensus about what is economically or morally just when it comes to health care coverage in this country. The essays appear in the Hastings Center Report. While the essays provide a range of perspectives, a few common themes emerge. Foremost among them is that the individual mandate may not work as ...

A gene known to be involved in cancer and cardiovascular development may be the cause of inflammation in the most common form of aortic aneurysm and may be a key to treatment, according to research from Nationwide Children's Hospital. The study, appearing online in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology on October 18, 2012, is the first to show that Notch 1 signaling is activated in abdominal aortic aneurysmal tissue in mice and humans. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) occurs when the weakened aortic wall dilates ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24 , 2012 – A study found that a nitinol stent performed better than balloon angioplasty alone in treating blockages of the popliteal artery, which runs through the leg behind the knee. Results of the ETAP trial were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. Due to its location behind the mobile knee joint, it is controversial ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists report that they can predict who will improve most on an unfamiliar video game by looking at their brain waves. They describe their findings in a paper in the journal Psychophysiology. The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to peek at electrical activity in the brains of 39 study subjects before they trained on Space Fortress, a video game developed for cognitive research. The subjects whose brain waves oscillated most powerfully in the alpha spectrum (about 10 times per second, or 10 hertz) when measured at the front of the head ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24, 2012 – A study has found that the anti-clotting medication prasugrel reduced cardiovascular events among patients who present with an acute coronary syndrome and are managed medically after an angiogram is performed to determine coronary anatomy. Results of the TRILOGY ACS trial, Angiographic Cohort were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular ...

WASHINGTON — Scaling up the production of biofuels made from algae to meet at least 5 percent -- approximately 39 billion liters -- of U.S. transportation fuel needs would place unsustainable demands on energy, water, and nutrients, says a new report from the National Research Council. However, these concerns are not a definitive barrier for future production, and innovations that would require research and development could help realize algal biofuels' full potential. Biofuels derived from algae and cyanobacteria are possible alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — We humans have a fairly erratic sense of time. We tend to misjudge the duration of events, particularly when they are emotional in nature. Disturbingly negative experiences, for example, seem to last much longer than they actually do. And highly positive experiences seem to pass more quickly than negative ones. Researchers say they have found a way to lessen these emotion-driven time distortions. Having a sense of control over events reduces the influence of emotions on time perception, the researchers report. This is true even for highly reactive emotional ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24, 2012 –A strategy of up-front percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for lesions confirmed to be obstructive by fractional flow reserve (FFR) was shown to be cost-effective in terms of quality-adjusted life years when compared to medical therapy alone. Results of the Cost-Effectiveness sub study of the FAME 2 trial were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24, 2012 – A study found that transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) yielded lower mortality rates after three years compared with medical therapy in patients deemed to be ineligible for conventional aortic valve surgery. Results of the PARTNER Cohort B trial were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. TAVR is the recommended ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24, 2012 – A study found that second-generation drug-eluting stents are safe and effective in the treatment of left main coronary artery lesions. Results of the ISAR-LEFT MAIN 2 trial were presented at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. Patients undergoing invasive treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery (uLMCA) lesions are often ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae – which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis – likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment. Now researchers report that they can interrupt the cascade of cellular events that allows S. pneumoniae to swap or suck up DNA. The new findings, reported in the journal PLoS ONE, advance the effort to develop ...

TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2012--It turns out the muscle cells on the outside of blood vessels have been wrongly accused for instigating lung disease. New research shows that while these muscle cells are responsible for constricting or dilating the blood vessels, they are not responsible for sensing the amount of oxygen that gets to the lungs. That message comes from the endothelial cells – special cells that line the blood vessels – along a "signalling pathway." When a person is low on oxygen, blood vessels throughout the body expand to improve the delivery of this vital molecule ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Joint research between the University of Michigan and the Argentina-based National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) has shed light on one of the most frustrating mysteries of weight loss – why the weight inevitably comes back. A novel animal model showed that the longer mice remained overweight, the more "irreversible" obesity became, according to the new study that appeared online ahead of print Oct.24 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Over time, the static, obese state of the mice reset the "normal," body weight set point to ...

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24, 2012 – A clinical trial found that the use of a next generation, micronet, mesh-covered stent demonstrated improved restoration of blood flow to heart tissue, compared to the use of either bare-metal or drug-eluting stents in heart attack patients undergoing angioplasty. Results of the MASTER trial were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium and will appear in the November 6th issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, ...

ROSEMONT, IL–Obese patients have a greater risk of complications following total knee replacement surgery, including post-surgical infections, according to a new literature review recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). Because of complications, obese patients are more likely to require follow-up surgery (revision). Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions, particularly in the United States, and is a well-documented risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis. Arthritis is initially treated nonsurgically, but total joint replacement often ...

The fourth installment of the Paranormal Activity films topped the box office last week. Television channel SyFy's hit show Ghost Hunters scares up big ratings, and has spawned copycat series on networks ranging from Biography to Animal Planet. The omnipresence of paranormal entertainment piqued the interest of Paul Brewer, professor of communication, who wondered what makes viewers believe—or disbelieve— what they see on the screen. His resulting study, recently published in the journal Science Communication, examines the influence of media messages about paranormal ...

Part Two: Slicing through the electron beam Wim Leemans of Berkeley Lab's Accelerator and Fusion Research Division heads LOASIS, the Laser and Optical Accelerator Systems Integrated Studies, an oasis indeed for students pursuing graduate studies in laser plasma acceleration (LPA). Among the most promising applications of future table-top accelerators are new kinds of light sources, in which their electron beams power free electron lasers. "If our LPA electron bunches had good enough quality for free electron lasers – and were really only femtoseconds long – we should ...

NASA satellites are closely monitoring Tropical Storm Sandy in visible and infrared light as it approaches Jamaica. Sandy is now responsible for hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches from Jamaica to Cuba, the Bahamas and southern Florida. Sandy is expected to become a hurricane before it reaches Jamaica and Cuba. On Oct. 23, 2012 at 1545 UTC (11:45 a.m. EDT), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Sandy when its center was a couple of hundred miles south of Jamaica. Sandy's clouds filled ...

Scientists may have discovered why the standard treatment for Parkinson's disease is often effective for only a limited period of time. Their research could lead to a better understanding of many brain disorders, from drug addiction to depression, that share certain signaling molecules involved in modulating brain activity. A team led by Bernardo Sabatini, Takeda Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, used mouse models to study dopamine neurons in the striatum, a region of the brain involved in both movement and learning. In people, these neurons release ...

Life is about failure as much as it is about success. From the mistakes we make at work or school to our blunders in romantic relationships, we are constantly reminded of how we could be better. By focusing on the important qualities that make us who we are – a process called self-affirmation – we preserve our self-worth in the face of our shortcomings. Self-affirmation has been shown to have powerful effects – research suggests that it can minimize the anxiety, stress, and defensiveness associated with threats to our sense of self while keeping us open to the idea that ...

Satellite imagery indicated that Tropical Storm Tony is a small, compact storm, traveling through the central Atlantic Ocean. On Oct 23, Tropical Depression 19 strengthened into Tropical Storm Tony in the central Atlantic Ocean. NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured an image of Tony on Oct. 24 at 7:45 a.m. EDT that revealed that Tony is relatively small as it moves through the central Atlantic. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center. Tony is just over 140 miles in diameter as seen on the GOES-13 image. The GOES-13 satellite image ...

A multinational research team has discovered filamentous bacteria that function as living power cables in order to transmit electrons thousands of cell lengths away. The Desulfobulbus bacterial cells, which are only a few thousandths of a millimeter long each, are so tiny that they are invisible to the naked eye. And yet, under the right circumstances, they form a multicellular filament that can transmit electrons across a distance as large as 1 centimeter as part of the filament's respiration and ingestion processes. The discovery by scientists at Aarhus University ...

Americans used less energy in 2011 than in the previous year due mainly to a shift to higher-efficiency energy technologies in the transportation and residential sectors. Meanwhile, less coal was used but more natural gas was consumed according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Wind power saw the biggest jump from .92 quadrillion BTU, or quads, in 2010 up to 1.17 quads in 2011. (BTU or British Thermal Unit is a unit of measurement for energy and is equivalent to about 1.055 kilojoules). "Wind energy jumped significantly ...

Older patients who visited local ERs for chest pain or breathing problems and had chest x-rays reveal unknown spinal fractures, were more apt to receive osteoporosis treatment afterward if a simple intervention was used, recently published medical research from the University of Alberta has found. Treatment rates for the bone-thinning condition substantially improved when patients and their family doctors received follow-up information about the warning signs and risk factors. It is the first and only trial in the world that looked at spinal osteoporosis. Of those ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – More than 80 percent of pigs that tested positive for influenza A virus at Ohio county fairs between 2009 and 2011 showed no signs of illness, according to a new study. Ohio State University researchers tested 20 pigs each at 53 fair events over those three summers and found at least one flu-positive pig at 12 fairs – almost a quarter of fairs tested. The influenza strains identified in pigs in this study include H1N2 and H3N2 viruses – strains that have been circulating in pigs since 1998. In 2011, all of the H3N2 and H1N2 isolates found in pigs ...