SAN FRANCISCO, CA—October 8, 2012—Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have mapped the precise frequency by which genes get turned on across the human genome, providing new insight into the most fundamental of cellular processes—and revealing new clues as to what happens when this process goes awry. In a study being published this week online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Gladstone Investigator Leor Weinberger, PhD, and his research team describe how a gene's on-and-off switching—called "bursting"—is the predominant method by which genes make ...

McGill researchers have identified a small region in the genome that conclusively plays a role in the development of psychiatric disease and obesity. The key lies in the genomic deletion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, a nervous system growth factor that plays a critical role in brain development. To determine the role of BDNF in humans, Prof. Carl Ernst, from McGill's Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, screened over 35,000 people referred for genetic screening at clinics and over 30,000 control subjects in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Overall, ...

TORONTO, October 4, 2012 – Drugs streamed into Health Canada's accelerated review process are more likely to be withdrawn from the market or earn a serious safety warning than those that undergo the standard review, according to a recent paper out of York University. The study, published online by the Archives of Internal Medicine on Oct. 8, is the first of its kind undertaken in Canada. It tracked a total of 434 new active substances (NASs) approved by Health Canada between 1995 and 2010, examining how many subsequently acquired either serious safety warnings or had ...

A new model of influenza transmission, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine, using more detailed information about patterns and severity of infection than previous models, finds that cases and transmission rates of H1N1 during the 2009-2010 flu pandemic have been underestimated. This model can provide a more robust and accurate real-time estimate of infection during a pandemic, which will help health services prepare and respond to future outbreaks. During an epidemic one of the most important pieces of information health services need in order ...

Mathematicians have developed a powerful tool to quantify the spread and infectiousness of viruses like the pandemic H1N1 flu strain, which can be used together with modern laboratory techniques to help the healthcare system plan its response to disease outbreaks. By putting statistical data under the microscope, University of Warwick researchers have created a model to predict the impact of future pandemics in real-time as they strike. During the 2009 outbreak, the true extent of H1N1 was difficult to detect as in some people it caused severe symptoms, even death, whereas ...

Scientists have designed a blood test that reads genetic changes like a barcode – and can pick out aggressive prostate cancers by their particular pattern of gene activity. A team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust found reading the pattern of genes switched on and off in blood cells could accurately detect which advanced prostate cancers had the worst survival. And the researchers believe the blood test could eventually be used alongside the existing PSA test at diagnosis to select patients who need immediate treatment. The ...

CHICAGO – A study of children in the New Bedford, Mass., area suggests that low-level prenatal mercury exposure may be associated with a greater risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related behaviors and that fish consumption during pregnancy may be associated with a lower risk of these behaviors, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood and affects 8 percent to 12 percent of children worldwide, although ...

CHICAGO – Overall death rates due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection declined over time between 1993 and 2007 for most men and women by race/ethnicity and educational levels, with the largest absolute decreases for nonwhites, but rates remain high among blacks, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has resulted in steep declines in HIV-related mortality, but not all groups have benefited equally from its availability. Many factors ...

CHICAGO – Although some girls benefited from a program that moved families from high-poverty areas to low-poverty areas, boys and adolescents from families with preexisting health-related vulnerabilities did not appear to experience mental health benefits, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication. "Extensive observational evidence indicates that youth in high-poverty neighborhoods exhibit poor mental health, although not all children may be affected similarly," according to background information in the ...

Boston, MA – Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects approximately ten percent of children worldwide, yet its causes are not well understood. Now, a study led by Susan Korrick, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and Sharon Sagiv, PhD, MPH, of Boston University School of Public Health, and published in the online version of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine on October 8, 2012, links low-level prenatal mercury exposure with a greater risk of ADHD-related behaviors. The study also finds that maternal fish consumption during pregnancy ...

The button mushroom occupies a prominent place in our diet and in the grocery store where it boasts a tasty multibillion-dollar niche, while in nature, Agaricus bisporus is known to decay leaf matter on the forest floor. Now, owing to an international collaboration of two dozen institutions led by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), the full repertoire of A. bisporus genes has been determined. In particular, new work shows how its genes are actually deployed not only in leaf decay ...

Britain's most comprehensive study of hate crime is being launched this month in Leicester by a specialist research team at the University of Leicester. Criminologists from the University are starting a major two-year project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, examining the experiences of those who are victimised because of their identity, vulnerability or perceived 'difference' in the eyes of the perpetrator. Dr Neil Chakraborti and Jon Garland from the Department of Criminology at the University of Leicester said the research will broaden the scope ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – With the results of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers say they are closer to finding an imaging technique that can identify thickening of the coronary artery wall, an early stage of coronary heart disease (CAD). The study is published online in the journal Radiology. "Imaging the coronary arteries that supply the heart with blood is extremely difficult because they are very small and constantly in motion," said lead researcher Khaled Z. Abd-Elmoniem, Ph.D., staff scientist in the Biomedical ...

NEW YORK, NY-October 9, 2012 – A new National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study conducted at Baruch College and published in Obesity found that overweight and obese adults who participated in three different weight loss treatments, all involving intensive, multi-component counseling delivered in groups, lost significant weight after 48 weeks whether the treatment was led by a health professional or by someone who had previous weight loss success. This randomized clinical trial led by Angela Marinilli Pinto, PhD Assistant Professor of Psychology at Baruch College, ...

What does it take to raise successful, self-sufficient offspring? A healthy mom with lots of in-house help, says Utah State University researcher Dan MacNulty. While this advice may benefit humans, a recent study by MacNulty and colleagues actually focuses on another group of large, social mammals – namely, wolves. "Using 14 years of data from the long-term study of wolves in Yellowstone National Park, we examined a number of key traits that allow wolves to overcome environmental stress," says MacNulty, assistant professor in USU's Quinney College of Natural Resources. ...

How can scientists safely conduct avian flu research if the results could potentially threaten, as well as save, millions of lives? In a series of commentaries appearing on Tuesday, October 9 in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, prominent microbiologists and physicians argue the cases both for and against lifting a voluntary moratorium on experiments to enhance the ability of the H5N1 virus to move from mammal to mammal, so-called "gain-of-function" research, and discuss the level of biosecurity that would be appropriate for ...

San Diego, CA, October 9, 2012 – Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention messages delivered by Facebook can be effective in promoting condom use among young adults in the short term, a new study has found. Few students and young adults receive comprehensive sexuality education or guidance on HIV and other STI risks. Social media may provide a viable alternative to promote safe sex using online networks of friends, the study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports. "The use of social media to influence sexual risk ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ – Some people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods may be at increased risk of problem drinking—though much may depend on race and gender, according to a new study in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Researchers found that of nearly 14,000 U.S. adults surveyed, those living in low-income neighborhoods were generally more likely to be non-drinkers than were people in affluent neighborhoods. That was not true, however, of black and Hispanic men. And among people who did drink, African Americans in disadvantaged neighborhoods ...

Dawna Lee Heising, actress and hostess of nationally broadcast television series "Eye on Entertainment", has today announced the opening of a new public relations agency, Eye on Excellence PR. Heising, whose numerous acting roles and producer credits are detailed on IMDB (http://www.imdb.me/dawnaleeheising), notes that in addition to pursuing acting, she would now also like to apply her extensive show biz experience to do publicity for entertainment production companies, Indie filmmakers and acting professionals. In her new agency Heising will partner with Stanley ...

PixelSoft Interactive Marketing Corporation has been selected by AtHomeNet, Inc. as the exclusive Internet Marketing partner for AtHomeNet Inc., the premier provider of online solutions for the community association industry. AtHomeNet selected PixelSoft Interactive to offer their community and association management company clients the highest level of search engine optimization services. Pixelsoft Interactive is a leading Atlanta-based firm which delivers growth to local and national brands with their strategic search engine optimization (SEO) and social media campaigns. PixelSoft ...

DMWorks Systems is happy to announce that DMReports, an award-winning Reporting and Business Intelligence platform for business users becomes free. Now companies of all sizes can take advantage of powerful reporting and advanced Business Intelligence capabilities to improve their everyday business management and save money. DMReports provides a set of modules allowing managing corporate data effectively: build various reports depending on a business task, automatically distribute reports by email, and share documents online in a ready-to-use web portal according to ...

Vesper, Inc. has finished its first phase of work on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope sunshield. Awarded a contract in 2010, Vesper is performing shape and dimensional validation of the large sunshield membrane templates fabricated by ManTech International Corporation in Huntsville, Ala. for Webb design and engineering contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. The five Webb sunshield layers, each the size of a tennis court, are made of specialized Kapton material, a very thin high-performance plastic with a reflective metallic coating. Once they are tensioned, the membranes ...

North Texas Glass is pleased to announce they have entered into a partnership with iWebContent to better spread the word about their business. IWebContent is a Dallas-based content writing firm that specializes in helping businesses better reach their target audience to increase their business and grow even more. With this partnership, North Texas Glass hopes to improve their web presence to bring in more clients. North Texas Glass specializes in installing glass in both homes and businesses, though they also provide a variety of other services, including fencing, demolition ...

World-class musician, producer and session drummer Brian Doherty released his first solo effort with a new band, Treat + Release. The band and its music pick up the mantle of classic rock long forgotten by the music and entertainment industry, bringing back guitar solos, an LP sound and the right dose of power pop. "This record could easily fit in on any number of classic rock stations heard nationwide," says Doherty. Doherty feels that the time is right for Treat + Release. He continues, "I can't help but feel that there are classic rock lovers out there ...

The Ear, Nose & Throat Institute is now offering Saturday morning hours at its Atlanta office in Buckhead. The ENT Institute's Buckhead office, located on 2140 Peachtree Road, NW, will open every other Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. "We understand that people lead very busy lives, and sometimes they can't find time in their weekly schedule to visit their doctor," said Dr. Jeffrey M. Gallups, CEO of The Ear, Nose & Throat Institute. "Adding Saturday hours at one of our busiest locations just makes it more convenient for our patients to schedule and ...