The death throes of dying stars are the focus of a sweeping new survey using NASA's Chandra X-ray satellite observatory. More than two dozen astronomers have aligned their research goals to use Chandra to image a set of dying stars in the neighborhood of the Sun. The resulting X-ray images of these dying stars—called planetary nebulae—are shedding light on the violent "end game" of a Sun-like star's life. The research team, led by Joel Kastner from Rochester Institute of Technology, won seven days of observing time with Chandra in 2011 to survey and image nearly two ...

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a six-gene signature that can be used in a test to predict survival in men with aggressive prostate cancer, according to new research published in the October issue of The Lancet Oncology. This is the first study to demonstrate how prognostic markers may be useful in a clinical setting. Using blood from 202 men with treatment-resistant prostate cancer, researchers found six genes characteristic of treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Men with the six-gene signature were high-risk, with a survival time of ...

JUPITER, FL, October 10, 2012 – Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified small variations in a number of genes that are closely linked to an increased risk of bipolar disorder, a mental illness that affects nearly six million Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. "Using samples from some 3,400 individuals, we identified several new variants in genes closely associated with bipolar disorder," said Scripps Florida Professor Ron Davis, who led the new study, which was published recently by the ...

A new study by the Simon Fraser University-based Human Security Report Project (HSRP), released today at the United Nations headquarters in New York, finds that there is no compelling evidence to support a host of widely held beliefs regarding wartime sexual violence. The study, presented by HSRP director Andrew Mack, disputes the common assumption that conflict-related sexual violence is on the rise, and argues that the experience of a small number of countries afflicted by extreme levels of sexual violence is not the norm for all war-affected countries. Key findings ...

New Haven, Conn. -- Expanding production of palm oil, a common ingredient in processed foods, soaps and personal care products, is driving rainforest destruction and massive carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study by Yale and Stanford researchers. The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that deforestation for the development of oil palm plantations in Indonesian Borneo is becoming a globally significant source of carbon dioxide emissions. Plantation expansion is projected to pump more than 558 million metric tons of carbon dioxide ...

Amsterdam, NL, October 10, 2012 – A new paper by Thomas J. Albin, PE, CPE, of High Plains Engineering Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, confirms that observational assessment tools, often called checklists, used to assess risk factors such as wrist extension and motion repetition, can be valid tools in identifying work-related risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries. Published in Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation, Albin presents a comprehensive, multi-step yet simple approach for improving the use and effectiveness of checklists. Previous ...

Typhoon Prapiroon is making a U-turn in the Philippine Sea, changing direction from northwest to northeast. NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of the typhoon as it began turning. Visible satellite imagery revealed its most powerful thunderstorms south and east of the center. NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Prapiroon on Oct. 10 at 0435 UTC (12:35 a.m. EDT) and captured a visible image of the storm. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument was able to get a visible image of the typhoon, because it was 1:35 p.m. local Asia/Tokyo ...

Overnight on October 4-5, 2012, a mass of energetic particles from the atmosphere of the Sun were flung out into space, a phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection. Three days later, the storm from the Sun stirred up the magnetic field around Earth and produced gorgeous displays of northern lights. NASA satellites track such storms from their origin to their crossing of interplanetary space to their arrival in the atmosphere of Earth. Using the "day-night band" (DNB) of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership ...

An international team of scientists led by Indiana University chemist Michael S. VanNieuwenhze and biologist Yves Brun has discovered a revolutionary new method for coloring the cell wall of bacterial cells to determine how they grow, in turn providing a new, much-needed tool for the development of new antibiotics. Discovery of the new method is expected to broadly impact both basic and applied research tied to understanding, controlling or preventing bacterial cell growth in specific environments, said the two scientists in IU Bloomington's College of Arts and Sciences. ...

Returning briefly to the surface for great lungfuls of air, the underwater lifestyles of whales had been a complete mystery until a small group of pioneers from various global institutions – including Malene Simon, Mark Johnson and Peter Madsen – began attaching data-logging tags to these enigmatic creatures. Knowing that Jeremy Goldbogen and colleagues had successful tagged blue, fin and humpback whales to reveal how they lunge through giant shoals of krill, Simon and her colleagues headed off to Greenland where they tagged five humpback whales to discover how the animals ...

Chinese soft-shelled turtles are exquisitely adapted to their aquatic lifestyle, sitting contentedly on the bottom of brackish muddy swamps or snorkelling at the surface to breath. According to Y. K. Ip from the National University of Singapore, they even immerse their heads in puddles when their swampy homes dry up: which intrigued Ip and his colleagues. Why do these air-breathing turtles submerge their heads when they mainly depend on their lungs to breathe and are unlikely to breathe in water? Given that some fish excrete waste nitrogen as urea – in addition to ammonia ...

A key assumption that biologists have relied on widely over the past quarter-century in studying the evolution of protein molecules is "highly questionable," according to an article published in the November issue of BioScience. The article, by Shozo Yokoyama, a vision researcher at Emory University, summarizes experimental work that involved creating and measuring the properties of dozens of reconstructed ancestral versions of visual pigments found in the eyes of vertebrates, including humans, as well as deliberately altered variants. Yokoyama concludes that the studies ...

Food marketers are masters at getting people to crave and consume the foods that they promote. In this study authors Dr. Brian Wansink, co-director of the Cornell University Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition and Professor of Marketing and Dr. Pierre Chandon, professor of Marketing at the leading French graduate school of business, INSEAD challenge popular assumptions that link food marketing and obesity. Their findings presented last weekend at the Association for Consumer Research Conference in Vancouver, Canada point to ways in which smart food marketers ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University researchers have developed a new drug candidate that dramatically improves the cognitive function of rats with Alzheimer's-like mental impairment. Their compound, which is intended to repair brain damage that has already occurred, is a significant departure from current Alzheimer's treatments, which either slow the process of cell death or inhibit cholinesterase, an enzyme believed to break down a key neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory development. Such drugs, says Joe Harding, a professor in WSU's College of Veterinary ...

For the past four decades, the "marshmallow test" has served as a classic experimental measure of children's self-control: will a preschooler eat one of the fluffy white confections now or hold out for two later? Now a new study demonstrates that being able to delay gratification is influenced as much by the environment as by innate ability. Children who experienced reliable interactions immediately before the marshmallow task waited on average four times longer—12 versus three minutes—than youngsters in similar but unreliable situations. "Our results definitely ...

Michelle Salater will host an extension of her business blog, Copy Doodle, in a new radio show that will focus on helping businesses grow and become more profitable. Business Confessional Talk Radio: Where Entrepreneurs Gather and Experts Tell All is featured on the Entrepreneur Podcast Network, a platform that condenses advice, information, and inspiration into one space. Geared toward an audience of entrepreneurs in different stages of their businesses, this show will invite innovative and successful business owners to answer questions and discuss the recipe for ...

This new singer is continuing to make impressive music that showcases her keen sense of sound and style and natural talent. Following the successes of her previous single, Courtney has now released her highly anticipated single "Thanks, But No Thanks" on iTunes. An energetic tune with an empowering tone, Courtney's latest release, "Thanks, But No Thanks," charges the listener, leaving them wanting more. It has a melody that makes it an easy one to play again and again, enlivening and uplifting with its catchy beat and great sense of energy. Now available ...

The Lighthouse for the Blind-St. Louis, a not-for-profit manufacturing and packaging organization with a dedicated social service mission, has been awarded a contract to provide supplies for use by U.S. Navy Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) disaster response groups. Under the contract awarded by the federal AbilityOne program, the Lighthouse will utilize employees who are blind in fulfillment operations to pack orders for many types of personal protective equipment and ship these essential supplies to more than 65 U.S. Navy sites around ...

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Go Skate Skateboard School is based in San Diego and has taught skateboard lessons at over 1300 locations in United States for the past three years. In October 2012, Go Skate has expanded to cover all of the country's over 2500 skate parks. Go Skate's owner, Rob Dunfey says, "We used to get calls all the time from people who would love to learn to skate, but we didn't have a location in their area. Now, they can learn how to skate." It is now possible to get a skateboard lesson at any public U.S. skate park year-round. Dunfey also adds, "It didn't ...

Eliot Wayne puts on a guitar clinic in his new powerful southern rock track 'Everyside'. The smooth country vocals blend perfectly with the chugging of Wayne's heavy rock telecaster. The video is great within it's simplicity, as it has Wayne playing the entire song from his patio. Not being distracted by anything else on the screen, the viewer is able to truly focus on the raw emotion displayed by Eliot Wayne. The song's about falling in love, and his lyrics are so moving and so powerful. But let's not forget the awesome guitar lines! When Eliot Wayne goes into a guitar ...

Design and marketing agency McDill Associates has added another award to its list of noteworthy honors. The agency, now in its 34th year, recently won a 2012 American Graphic Design Award for its Laptop Lunches Bento-Ware packaging for Obentec, Inc. The packaging recognized by AGDA was designed for an innovative product line of waste-free packing for any meal or snack. The packaging design incorporated original illustrations and key messages developed to broaden the appeal of the nationally distributed line. A messaging and positioning exercise defined the direction. ...

Alternative and renewable energy consulting group, Lee Enterprises of Little Rock, Ark., is pleased to announce the addition of Scott Greenfield to its team of biofuels consultants. Greenfield received a B.A. in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley. A former Naval Officer, Greenfield has over 22 years of experience working with the Navy as well as in the government and private sectors, most recently working in Special Projects for the Naval Special Warfare Command in the study ...

In 2011 the state of Washington began changing over the machines its law enforcement officers use to determine the blood alcohol content of people suspected of driving drunk. Commonly referred to as Breathalyzers, these machines use a breath test to measure how much alcohol is in a person's system. If a person is arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, the Breathalyzer results may be used by prosecutors in a DUI case. How Breathalyzers Work After a person ingests alcohol, the alcohol enters the bloodstream from the stomach without undergoing ...

When a driver in Washington is pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving, in addition to a breath test, the law enforcement officer may administer a series of driver field sobriety tests. These tests are used to attempt to determine whether a driver is impaired by alcohol, but the officer must ask and the driver must consent to the field tests before they can be performed. The following is a brief overview of the three standardized tests used in field sobriety testing. Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus An officer administers a horizontal gaze nystagmus test, commonly called ...