CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The news a cancer patient most fears is that the disease has spread and become much more difficult to treat. A new method to isolate and grow the most dangerous cancer cells could enable new research into how cancer spreads and, ultimately, how to fight it. University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with scientists at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, published their results in the journal Nature Materials. "This may open the door for understanding and blocking metastatic colonization, the most devastating step in ...

MADISON –- Though worries about "nuclear winter" have faded since the end of the Cold War, existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons still hold the potential for devastating global impacts. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Rutgers University have found that the climate effects of a hypothetical nuclear war between India and Pakistan would greatly reduce yields of staple crops, even in distant countries. The work, by Mutlu Ozdogan and Chris Kucharik of the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment in the Nelson Institute for Environmental ...

As each day passes, the pace of life seems to accelerate – demands on productivity continue ever upward and there is hardly ever a moment when we aren't, in some way, in touch with our family, friends, or coworkers. While moments for reflection may be hard to come by, a new article suggests that the long-lost art of introspection —even daydreaming — may be an increasingly valuable part of life. In the article, published in the July issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientist Mary Helen ...

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center working with colleagues at three other institutions have validated a link between a rare genetic variant and the risk of glioma, the most common and lethal type of brain tumor. The validation study also uncovered an association between the same rare genetic variant and improved rates of survival for patients with glioma. The study, the first to confirm a rare susceptibility variant in glioma, appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Medical Genetics, a journal published by the British Medical Association. "Glioma is a poorly ...

Troy, N.Y. – New research led by chemists in the Baruch '60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is seeking to detail the individual steps of highly efficient reactions that convert sunlight into chemical energy within plants and bacteria. In a paper published in the recent edition [DOI:10.1039/C2EE21210B] of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Energy & Environmental Science, the scientists – led by K. V. Lakshmi, Rensselaer assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology and scientific lead at the Baruch '60 Center ...

CINCINNATI—Using a mouse model of autism, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have successfully treated an autism spectrum disorder characterized by severe cognitive impairment. The research team, led by Joe Clark, PhD, a professor of neurology at UC, reports its findings online July 2, 2012, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a publication of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. The disorder, creatine transporter deficiency (CTD) is caused by a mutation in the creatine transporter protein ...

The identification of key proteins in a group of heat-loving bacteria by researchers at the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center could help light a fire under next-generation biofuel production. Scientists have long been on the hunt for cost-effective ways to break down complex plant material such as switchgrass in order to access sugars that are fermented to make biofuels. Conventional processes involve the addition of commercially produced enzymes to break down the cellulose. BESC scientists are exploring alternative options, including the use of certain ...

A team of researchers have found that schizophrenia or bipolar disorder seen in parents or siblings was associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study was published online by Archives of General Psychiatry on Monday, July 2. Avi Reichenberg, PhD, previously a Visiting Professor and now a new faculty member at the Seaver Autism Center and the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and colleagues, used population registers from Sweden and Israel to examine whether a family history of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or both, ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. --Black men, especially those living in low-income, urban areas, face many societal stressors, including racial discrimination, incarceration and poverty. In addition, these men have poorer health outcomes. Now, a University of Missouri faculty member has studied these men's efforts to negotiate social environments that are not designed to help them attain good health and success. "Too often, researchers focus on Black men's weaknesses rather than their strengths," said Michelle Teti, assistant professor of health sciences in the MU School of Health Professions. ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– The world has gotten smaller and more accessible since applications like Google Earth became mainstream, says UC Santa Barbara Professor of Geography Michael Goodchild. However, there is still a long way to go, and there are important steps to take to get there. His perspective, shared with many co-authors around the world, has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a paper titled, "Next-generation Digital Earth." Based on former vice-president Al Gore's 1992 vision of a digital replica of Earth, the paper examines ...

A new species of feathered dinosaur discovered in southern Germany is further changing the perception of how predatory dinosaurs looked. The fossil of Sciurumimus albersdoerferi, which lived about 150 million years ago, provides the first evidence of feathered theropod dinosaurs that are not closely related to birds. The fossil is described in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today. "This is a surprising find from the cradle of feathered dinosaur work, the very formation where the first feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx was collected ...

Students receiving special-education services for behavioral disorders and those with more obvious disabilities are more likely to be bullied than their general-education counterparts – and are also more likely to bully other students, a new study shows. The findings, published in the Journal of School Psychology, highlight the complexity of bullying's nature and the challenges in addressing the problem, said lead author Susan Swearer, professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "These results paint a fairly bleak picture for students with ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Scientists say they have assembled more completely the string of genetic letters that could control how well parrots learn to imitate their owners and other sounds. The research team unraveled the specific regions of the parrots' genome using a new technology, single molecule sequencing, and fixing its flaws with data from older DNA-decoding devices. The team also decoded hard-to-sequence genetic material from corn and bacteria as proof of their new sequencing approach. The results of the study appeared online July 1 in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Single ...

On July 5, NASA will launch a mission called the Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation or SUMI, to study the intricate, constantly changing magnetic fields on the sun in a hard-to-observe area of the sun's low atmosphere called the chromosphere. Magnetic fields, and the intense magnetic energy they help marshal, lie at the heart of how the sun can create huge explosions of light such as solar flares and eruptions of particles such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While there are already instruments – both on the ground and flying in space – that can measure these ...

For people with heart conditions and other ailments that require monitoring, life can be complicated by constant hospital visits and time-consuming tests. But what if much of the testing done at hospitals could be conducted in the patient's home, office, or car? Scientists foresee a time when medical monitoring devices are integrated seamlessly into the human body, able to track a patient's vital signs and transmit them to his doctors. But one major obstacle continues to hinder technologies like these: electronics are too rigid. Researchers at the McCormick School of ...

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY'S HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS – How people make choices depends on many factors, but a new study finds people consistently prefer the options that come first: first in line, first college to offer acceptance, first salad on the menu – first is considered best. The paper, "First is Best," recently published in PLoS ONE by Dana R. Carney, assistant professor of management, University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and co-author Mahzarin R. Banaji, professor of psychology, Harvard University. In three experiments, when ...

Deleting a single gene in the cerebellum of mice can cause key autistic-like symptoms, researchers have found. They also discovered that rapamycin, a commonly used immunosuppressant drug, prevented these symptoms. The deleted gene is associated with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), a rare genetic condition. Since nearly 50 percent of all people with TSC develop autism, the researchers believe their findings will help us better understand the condition's development. "We are trying to find out if there are specific circuits in the brain that lead to autism-spectrum ...

The South Pacific hurricane Tropical Depression season normally ends in April but Tropical Depression 21P has developed in the South Pacific Ocean between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands from "System 91P," a low pressure area. NASA's TRMM Satellite passed over Tropical Depression 21P and captured rainfall dates and cloud heights. TRMM is the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite that is managed by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA. The center of Tropical Depression 21P was directly beneath the TRMM satellite when it passed over on June 28, 2012 ...

Scientists from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service report a significant decline of endangered white abalone off the coast of Southern California in the journal Biological Conservation. "Since 2002, we have been surveying white abalone off San Diego using an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV)," said Kevin Stierhoff, research fisheries biologist at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, and lead author of the journal article. "In the absence of fishing, we hoped to see the population stabilize or increase. However, our latest assessment ...

Langkawi, Malaysia - Star chef Anton Mosimann returns to Malaysia this September as Guest Chef at the award-winning resort, The Datai Langkawi, from 24 to 27 September 2012. Guests will soon have the privilege of indulging in the tantalising temptations of fine culinary arts, as presented by Mr. Anton Mosimann. The chef will also grace another top-rated resort, The Club Saujana in Selangor from 17 to 22 September. The Swiss-born chef rose to fame in the UK while cooking at The Dorchester where he witnessed the restaurant being awarded Two Michelin Stars. He is widely ...

The first running of the Hermosa 24 Ultramarathon established a Guinness World Record milestone when Southern California native Christian Burke ran 83.04 miles in the soft sand for 24-hours in this event, which he created to raise money for local schools. Friend and fellow athlete Patrick Sweeney took the world record from Christian in 2011 by running 87.36 miles during the event. Today, Patrick Sweeney broke his own record by two laps, running 94.08 during the Hermosa 24, held June 30-July 1, 2012. Known as "The Hermosa 24," this remarkable endurance event ...

Dr. Ian Wahl has created a practice known as Wahls of Wellness (http://www.wahlsofwellness.com/), which provides noninvasive allergy relief in the Arlington Heights area of Illinois. He offers patients safe and effective relief of symptoms for seasonal, food and environmentally based allergies. Dr. Wahl uses acupressure as the centerpiece for his allergy related services. In this manner, Dr. Wahl is able to help longtime allergy sufferers discover real relief. Arlington Heights, Illinois, May 16, 2012—Dr. Ian Wahl, who is the founder of Wahls of Wellness (http://www.wahlsofwellness.com/), ...

With the previous three released news, users have known more about some features of GstarCAD Architecture 2012 and showed great interest. In this release, user-friendly operation, another highlight of this upcoming version will be unveiled. People with conventional views think that since CAD software belongs to professional software, its interface should be simple and boring. However, users have high requirements for the interface of the software nowadays. To meet users' requirements, GstarCAD Architecture 2012 adds easy handling DPTL (Design, Project, Tools and Libraries) ...

Morris Kaye & Sons Furs is pleased to announce it will hold its annual unclaimed furs sale from Monday, July 9, 2012, through Saturday, July 14, 2012. This sale will feature a vast array of fur coats that were put into storage and then unclaimed by their owners. While this may seem like a big loss for the previous owners, it can be a great gain for those who attend the sale. With a variety of fur coats, fur jackets and more at the lowest prices imaginable, buyers can find the right coat at a price that seems too good to be true. The Morris Kaye & Sons Furs Unclaimed ...

U.S. Track and Field sports psychologist Dr. Steve Portenga is releasing the world's most advanced sport and performance psychology mobile app for the iPhone this month, with his Olympic athletes among the first to use it. Also the CEO and Founder of iPerformance Psychology, Dr. Portenga has developed the iPerformance Sport & Performance Psychology Mental Skills Trainer app behind eight years of direct professional experience and proven industry data on how to maximize sports performance beyond physical skills. The app will be a standalone utility for training athletes--both ...