KATHMANDU, NEPAL (24 April 2012)—Today, recognizing the knowledge gap between the existing evidence of climate change and adaptation on the ground, researchers in Asia launched a novel learning platform to improve agricultural resilience to changing weather patterns, and to reduce emissions footprint. The Climate Smart Agriculture Learning Platform for South Asia, established by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), will improve communication between scientists, government officials, civil society and farmers on best "climate ...

A dirty bomb attack centered on downtown Los Angeles' financial district could severely impact the region's economy to the tune of nearly $16 billion, fueled primarily by psychological effects that could persist for a decade. The study, published by a team of internationally recognized economists and decision scientists in the current issue of Risk Analysis, monetized the effects of fear and risk perception and incorporated them into a state-of-the-art macroeconomic model. "We decided to study a terrorist attack on Los Angeles not to scare people, but to alert policymakers ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- In the limited time of an office visit, how can a primary care physician make the case to parents that their child should be vaccinated? During National Infant Immunization Week, a Mayo Clinic vaccine expert and a pediatrician offer suggestions for refuting three of the most common myths about child vaccine safety. Their article, The Clinician's Guide to the Anti-Vaccinationists' Galaxy, is published online this month in the journal Human Immunology. "Thousands of children are at increased risk because of under-vaccination, and outbreaks of highly ...

Montreal, April 23, 2012 — Most people go through life setting goals for themselves. But what happens when a life-altering experience makes those goals become unachievable or even unhealthy? A new collaborative study published in Psycho-Oncology by Carsten Wrosch of Concordia University's Department of Psychology and Centre for Research in Human Development and Catherine Sabiston of McGill's Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education and the Health Behaviour and Emotion Lab found that breast cancer survivors who were able to let go of old goals and set new ones ...

Alexandria, Va., USA – The International and American Associations for Dental Research have published two studies about dental caries in children. These articles, titled "Hypoplasia-Associated Severe Early Childhood Caries – A Proposed Definition" (lead author Page Caufield, New York University College of Dentistry) and "Deciduous Molar Hypomineralization and Molar Incisor Hypomineralization" (lead author M.E.C. Elfrink, Academic Centre for Dentistry, Amsterdam) discuss the definitions of dental caries susceptibility to the hypomineralization and hypoplasia. The study ...

INDONESIA (23 April 2012) — The importance of collaboration among all research partners in agroforestry was recently emphasised at a historic workshop to develop a national strategy on agroforestry research in Indonesia. During the meeting, five key challenges facing agroforestry in Indonesia were also identified. The first challenge mentioned was the Government's partial approach to research, which translates into low adoption of research recommendations. Second, land tenure insecurity, particularly in State forest areas, leads to social conflict and degradation of ...

Identifying diseases at an early, presymptomatic stage may offer the best chance for establishing proper treatment and improving patient outcomes. A new technique known as immunosignaturing harnesses the human immune system as an early warning sentry—one acutely sensitive to changes in the body that may be harbingers of illness. Now, Brian Andrew Chase and Barten Legutki, under the guidance of Stephen Albert Johnston, director of the Center for Innovations in Medicine at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have shown that these immunosignatures are not only ...

John Martin, founder and CEO of BeyondRecognition, LLC, announced today that BeyondRecognition ("BR") has developed software to cluster like documents based on an analysis of document images and to then quickly build cluster-specific, location-based data extraction rules. Those rules combined with BR's innovative glyph-clustering text recognition process permit the extraction of fields of data about a document's attributes or contents. Martin predicted, "Image-based document clustering and the graphical interface for the rapid development of cluster-specific ...

Today at Experimental Biology 2012, Dr. Blake Rasmussen and colleagues presented a new and first-of-its-kind clinical study: "Effect of Protein Blend vs. Whey Protein Ingestion on Muscle Protein Synthesis Following Resistance Exercise." The results of this study suggest that a protein blend (combination of soy, whey and casein) may be best to consume post-workout for building muscle. Specifically, the blend of proteins in this study showed an increase in a person's "anabolic window" (the amount of time it takes for building muscle to occur post exercise). "This study ...

Miami - A research team, led by John Guy, M.D., professor of ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has pioneered a novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited genetic defect that causes rapid, permanent, and bilateral loss of vision in people of all ages, but primarily males ages 20-40. Genetic mutations in the mitochondria (part of the cell that produces energy) cause the disorder. Currently, there is no cure for LHON. However, Guy and his team have successfully ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- In a world of changing weather and rainfall patterns, engineers face challenges when designing stormwater management systems. A Kansas State University team is researching how climate change is affecting rainfall and weather patterns throughout Kansas to help with future adaptation and mitigation strategies. The research team, led by Stacy Hutchinson, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering, is updating rainfall distribution data to ensure current stormwater management systems can handle future weather changes. "We are looking ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A study from Purdue and Stanford university researchers predicts that future climate scenarios may cause significantly greater volatility in corn prices, which would be intensified by the federal biofuels mandate. The findings, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, show that severely hot conditions in corn-growing regions and extreme climate events that are expected to impact supply would cause swings in corn prices. When coupled with federal mandates for biofuel production, the price volatility could increase by about 50 percent ...

Researchers from Norway and the United Kingdom have developed a new instrument to measure work addiction: The Bergen Work Addiction Scale. The new instrument is based on core elements of addiction that are recognised as diagnostic criteria for several addictions. Some people seem to be driven to work excessively and compulsively. These are denoted as work addicts – or workaholics. In the wake of globalisation, new technology and blurred boundaries between work and private life, we are witnessing an increase in work addiction, Doctor Cecilie Schou Andreassen from the ...

Chicago – (April 23, 2012) – For years, fiber intake among the global population has been extremely low, setting the stage for potentially serious, long-term public health implications.(1) New research commissioned by Tate & Lyle and presented at the 2012 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego adds to the body of emerging research on fibers, including additional support for the role of soluble corn fiber in bone health. "Years of research point to the health benefits of fiber for cardiovascular health, blood glucose control, digestion and gut health, yet average ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—A Washington State University astrobiologist is leading a group of 20 scientists in calling for a mission to Mars with "a strong and comprehensive life detection component." At the heart of their proposal is a small fleet of sensor packages that can punch into the Martian soil and run a range of tests for signs of ancient or existing life. They call the mission BOLD. It's both an acronym for Biological Oxidant and Life Detection and a nod to the proposal's chutzpah. The proposal, which comes as NASA is reevaluating its Mars exploration program, appears ...

New Rochelle, NY, April 23, 2012-- Videogame technology is proving to be a valuable tool for helping people of all ages improve lifestyle and health habits and manage disease. New research is showing that exergames have significant benefits for older adults by providing cognitive stimulation and a source of social interaction, exercise, and fun. Thus, the games help them to lead fuller, more independent lives for a longer time, according to two articles in Games for Health Journal, a new bimonthly peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The articles are ...

Physicists have discovered a possible solution to a mystery that has long baffled researchers working to harness fusion. If confirmed by experiment, the finding could help scientists eliminate a major impediment to the development of fusion as a clean and abundant source of energy for producing electric power. An in-depth analysis by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) zeroed in on tiny, bubble-like islands that appear in the hot, charged gases—or plasmas—during experiments. These minute islands collect impurities ...

Another day, another four turns of the screw. That's just a part of life for people, primarily children, undergoing the long and difficult process of distraction osteogenesis, a method to correct bone deformities that leave one limb shorter than the other. A team of Rice University undergraduates has invented a device they hope will make the process safer and easier. In collaboration with Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston, the students came up with "LinDi," a self-adjusting, automated linear distractor. It eliminates manual manipulation of the screw with a motorized ...

Figures show that for the period Apr 2011 - Sep 2011, the average buying price of a used car was GBP8,730.45. For the period Oct 2011 - Mar 2012, this figure decreased to GBP7,697.25. This could suggest that motorists are being more cost-conscious in a still uneasy economy, says Director of carfinance247.co.uk, Louis Rix. He says: "During the last 6 months, overall, it appears that our customers have been downsizing. This could be due to the fact they do not want the extra worry of having more debt hanging over them, or that they are being more budget-conscious. ...

Give me the child at 3 and I will give you the adult compulsive gambler. That is the striking finding of a new study in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science. Based on tests of over 900 individuals beginning in toddlerhood, the study found that "people who were rated at age three as being more restless, inattentive, oppositional, and moody than other three-year old children were twice as likely to grow up to have problems with gambling as adults three decades later," says psychologist Wendy S. Slutske of University of ...

Los Angeles, CA (April 23, 2012) The benefits of breast milk are well known, but why breastfeeding protects against various forms of cancer remains a mystery. A new study in the Journal of Human Lactation (published by SAGE) found high levels of cancer-fighting TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) in human milk, which might be one source of breast milk's anticancer activity. Researchers took samples of colostrum, the first milk available to newborns, and of mature breast milk from new mothers. Researchers then obtained samples of blood from healthy women, and ...

PHILADELPHIA (April 23, 2012)--- Briana and Damon could be the kids up the block. Briana does well in school and wants to follow in her sister's footsteps to college. Damon works hard at an after-school job in a local barbershop. They hang out with friends and try to stay out of trouble. But Briana and Damon have a mission. Voiced by Philadelphia teens, they are a pair of digitally animated street-smart characters with a Facebook page aimed at reducing urban youth violence. Working with West Philadelphian residents who are members of the Philadelphia Area Research Community ...

Simlock Remote Server is going BIG with this latest super-hot release adding more than 70 new models. Most of the new models are Samsung phones, some of the hottest new models are: Samsung I9020, I9220, I717 (all versions no rooting needed), I927 (save unlocking no damaged IMEI!), I997 (world first), Galaxy Tab (almost all versions 7.0 to 10.1 inch versions), Galaxy Mini 2 (S6500 - world first), T859, T989 and many more. Also added 631 new PRD's for Blackberry unlocking, 6 new Huawei models and 11 new ZTE models. The Samsung Remote Client software is the biggest Samsung ...

When a plant goes into defense mode in order to protect itself against harsh weather or disease, that's good for the plant, but bad for the farmer growing the plant. Bad because when a plant acts to defend itself, it turns off its growth mechanism. But now researchers at Michigan State University, as part of an international collaboration, have figured out how plants can make the "decision" between growth and defense, a finding that could help them strike a balance – keep safe from harm while continuing to grow. Writing in the current issue of the Proceedings of the ...

The annual cost of running your car is higher in Queensland than both NSW and Victoria, according to the new Bingle Cost of Motoring Index launched today. Bingle spokesperson Melanie Vine said the reason for this is petrol, as the average cost is higher and Queenslanders cover more ground. "On average, Queenslanders pay $411 more for petrol each year compared to New South Wales drivers," she said. "Before you add petrol, Queenslanders pay less for fines, parking and tolls compared to Victorians, or NSW drivers' generally higher rego, maintenance ...