Pooling funds and putting their heads together, more than 70 scientists from 9 institutions including the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, sequenced the entire genome of the butterfly genus Heliconius, a brightly colored favorite of collectors and scientists since the Victorian era. Their results are published in the prestigious journal, Nature. The genome of the Postman butterfly, Panama's Heliconius melpomene, helps scientists understand how the stunning diversity of wing color patterns in tropical butterflies evolved. Heliconius species are highly distasteful. ...

A pill designed to zero in on abnormal genes that drive specific cancers has produced encouraging early results in children with an uncommon but aggressive type of lymphoma, as well as in children with a rare form of neuroblastoma. A phase 1 clinical trial of the drug crizotinib achieved remissions, with minimal side effects, for 10 of the children participating in a clinical study carried out by the multicenter Children's Oncology Group (COG). The results were "an exciting proof-of-principle" for the targeted treatment, said the study leader, Yaël P. Mossé, M.D., a pediatric ...

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston have determined that pediatric epilepsy significantly impacts sleep patterns for the child and parents. According to the study available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), sharing a room or co-sleeping with their child with epilepsy decreases the sleep quality and prevents restful sleep for parents. Over 1% of children in the U.S. are diagnosed with epilepsy—a chronic, neurological disease characterized by recurring seizures. ...

The introduction of Springbok casino to the online gambling industry is another way for players to feel proudly South African. The site gleams with opulent South African exclusivity, and with all the incredible promotions available, you're sure to always be a winner. There is a wealth of promotions on offer: you get R100 free when simply registering an account. Just call the customer service line and receive your free R100 to start playing. South Africans don't want to be bothered with fussy set-up or overly complicated gaming instructions - we at Springbok online casino ...

Philadelphia, PA, May 17, 2012 – Stories of athletes bravely "playing through the pain" are relatively common and support the widespread belief that they experience pain differently than non-athletes. Yet, the scientific data on pain perception in athletes has been inconsistent, and sometimes contradictory. Investigators from the University of Heidelberg have conducted a meta-analysis of available research and find that in fact, athletes can indeed tolerate a higher level of pain than normally active people. However, pain threshold, the minimum intensity at which a stimulus ...

PITTSBURGH, May 17, 2012 – A change in the formulation of tenofovir gel, an anti-HIV gel developed for vaginal use, may make it safer to use in the rectum, suggests a study published online this week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. In laboratory tests of rectal tissue, researchers from the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) found that the reformulated gel was less harmful to the lining of the rectum than the original vaginal formulation, and just as effective in protecting cells against HIV. "The lining of the rectum is much more fragile than the vaginal ...

After relocating to Texas 6 years ago, Stacey received her first frightening phone call from pre-school that her 3 year old child was diagnosed with head lice. This was the beginning of what has been a roller coaster ride of emotions and frustration. And with every infestation, her daughter never itched so it was even more difficult to diagnose. Being new to Texas, she tried all of the remedies known to the area, both off the shelf and homeopathic. Advice and criticism came from everywhere. With every infestation, Stacey tried another remedy. This proved to be messy, time ...

There's nothing more daunting or intimidating than having to deal with the IRS; especially when you owe them thousands of dollars. This is the situation Andrew (Roanoke, IA) found himself in when he decided to do himself a favor and call the Blue Tax offices for help. Andrew hired Blue Tax in August of 2011 with outstanding IRS balances for four consecutive years, starting with 2005. He had been married since 2000 but continued to file single, while his wife filed as head of household. Andrew expected something better than a payment plan from Blue Tax. His outstanding ...

The Fleming's Advanced Analysis For The CA Bar Essay Exam is an online, multi-media approach to learning, designed to distill each bar exam subject into individual, one-hour video presentations that enhance memory retention and information recall under the stress of the bar examination. The Advanced Analysis bar review course is designed to join legal knowledge with exam execution. Those who are already enrolled in a traditional bar review can use it to condense and refine what they have learned elsewhere. It can also be used as a consolidated bar review by those wanting ...

Creative tweens can celebrate their individual style and design one-of-a-kind fashion accessories with Fabulitz by LittleMissMatched, an innovative new line available now exclusively at Michaels stores. The line is the first from LittleMissMatched that is truly customizable. Fabulitz includes a cool collection of socks, arm warmers, headbands and cross-body bags that girls can style up or down with hundreds of button-on accessories to mix and match. "Fabulitz encourages girls to 'think outside the socks' and get creative, which is perfect for young Michaels ...

A new day has dawned on the world of automotive accessories as mAuto Store celebrates the success of its Eyes Car Sun Shade project. The startup has recorded thousands of car sun shades sold in less than a month since the project was launched April 17, 2012. CEO and Founder Lester Mapp expressed his pleasure at the company's recent record-breaking performance and the overall response to its Eyes Car Sun Shade. He said, "We think our sun shades rock but the response proves our customers think so too." He did not disclose the exact figures for the number of car ...

VIDEO: Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Iowa State University discovered a family of plant proteins that play a role in the production of seed oils, substances important... Click here for more information. LA JOLLA, CA ---- Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Iowa State University discovered a family of plant proteins that play a role in the production of seed oils, substances important for animal and human nutrition, biorenewable ...

Jerusalem, May 13, 2012 – That overweight during pregnancy can lead to overweight children and adolescents has been known for some time, but new research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in the US indicates that excess weight before and during pregnancy can have long-lasting health consequences for the offspring of such mothers even later in life. Investigators at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine and the Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Washington, Seattle, have found a direct correlation ...

There's nothing worse than a shonky pool table with an unseen groove or bump that sends your shot off course: a new study has found that the same goes at the nano-scale, where the "billiard balls" are tiny electrons moving across a "table" made of the semiconductor gallium arsenide. These tiny billiard tables are of interest towards the development of future computing technologies. In a research paper titled "The Impact of Small-Angle Scattering on Ballistic Transport in Quantum Dots", an international team of physicists has shown that in this game of "semiconductor billiards", ...

New Rochelle, NY, May 7, 2012—Vaccine testing and development is an extremely lengthy and complex process that costs billions of dollars every year. In an effort to dramatically improve the speed and success of vaccine research and development, researchers have created an innovative biomimetic model of the human immune system known as the MIMIC® system. An article in the inaugural issue of Disruptive Science and Technology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., describes this artificial human immune system which can facilitate faster, more effective ...

New Rochelle, NY, May 7, 2012—The body's natural inflammatory response is an essential reaction to injury and infection. When acute inflammation escalates out of control, such as in sepsis, it causes nearly 10% of deaths in the U.S. and more than $17 billion in healthcare costs each year. A group of researchers have developed a groundbreaking biohybrid device that can control acute inflammation to prevent sepsis and other related life-threatening complications, as described in an article in the inaugural issue of Disruptive Science and Technology, a new peer-reviewed journal ...

Reinvigorating the 1967 Folsom Report's 'Communities of Solution' to Address Today's Fragmented U.S. Health Care System In the wake of federal efforts to reform the U.S. health care system, a group of rising family medicine leaders call for a reinvigoration of community-centered health systems, as originally outlined in the landmark 1967 Folsom Report. They contend the vision of the original Folsom commission could not be more pertinent to America's current pressing needs. The group revitalizes and modernizes the Folsom Report's blueprint, offering an updated series of ...

1. Self-management May Not be Safe or Suitable for COPD Trial of Comprehensive Care Management Program for COPD Cut Short Due to Excess Mortality Self-monitoring and management of some chronic diseases can improve patient outcomes. Hospitalizations for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with decreases in quality of life, lung function, and life expectancy, so researchers hypothesized that a self-management program could benefit patients. The authors enrolled 960 COPD patients in 20 Veterans Affairs hospital-based outpatient ...

A CT-scan-based form of virtual colonoscopy that does not require laxative preparation appears to be as effective as standard colonoscopy in identifying the intestinal polyps most likely to become cancerous. In the May 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research team reports finding that the new technique, which uses computer-aided systems both to virtually cleanse and to analyze the images acquired, was able to identify more than 90 percent of the common polyps called adenomas that were 10 mm or larger. "While we know ...

People with multiple sclerosis may find that smoked cannabis provides relief from muscle tightness — spasticity — and pain, although the benefits come with adverse cognitive effects, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Many patients with multiple sclerosis suffer from spasticity, an uncomfortable and disabling condition in which the muscles become tight and difficult to control. While there are drugs to relieve spasticity, they can have adverse effects and do not always sufficiently improve the condition in some patients. Researchers ...

For people receiving health care for acute and persistent low-back pain, symptoms will improve significantly in the first six weeks, but pain and disability may linger even after one year, states a large study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Low-back pain is a common condition that results in significant health care costs, disability and absenteeism in workplaces. However, there are differing views on how quickly and completely people recover from this condition. Researchers from Australia and Brazil examined data from 33 studies (11 166 participants) ...

Managing adult obesity is challenging for primary care physicians, but a new review published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) aims to provide an evidence-based approach to counselling patients to help them lose weight and maintain weight loss. "Even though evidence suggests that patients are considerably more likely to lose weight when they are advised to do so by their primary care physicians, most patients who are clinically obese do not receive weight-loss counselling in primary care," writes Dr. Gilles Plourde, Cliniques Médicales de Nutrition et d'Amaigrissement ...

A clinical study of 30 adult patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has shown that smoked cannabis may be an effective treatment for spasticity – a common and disabling symptom of this neurological disease. The placebo-controlled trial also resulted in reduced perception of pain, although participants also reported short-term, adverse cognitive effects and increased fatigue. The study will be published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on May 14. Principal investigator Jody Corey-Bloom, MD, PhD, ...

If your parents have a history of high blood pressure, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing the disease with moderate exercise and increased cardiovascular fitness, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. In a study of more than 6,000 people, those who had a parent with high blood pressure but were highly fit had a 34 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure themselves, compared to those with a low-fitness level who had the same parental history. "Understanding the roles that family history and ...

STANFORD, Calif. — What goes bump in the night? In many U.S. households: people. That's according to new Stanford University School of Medicine research, which found that about 3.6 percent of U.S. adults - or upward of 8.4 million - are prone to sleepwalking. The work also showed an association between nocturnal wanderings and certain psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. The study, the researchers noted, "underscores the fact that sleepwalking is much more prevalent in adults than previously appreciated." Maurice Ohayon, MD, DSc, PhD, professor of ...