One cup or two faces? What we believe we see in one of the most famous optical illusions changes in a split second; and so does the path that the information takes in the brain. In a new theoretical study, scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, the Bernstein Center Göttingen and the German Primate Center now show how this is possible without changing the cellular links of the network. The direction of information flow changes, depending on the time pattern of communication between brain areas. This reorganisation can be triggered even ...

When this weekend's (March 24 to 25, 2012) Legacy Training weekend was announced a few months ago, it got the attention of Success Coach Peter Hobler. Reading through the details, Hobler found out that the event included training by nine of the internet marketing industry's top leaders sharing their know how, expertise and even some of their marketing and leadership secrets. Hobler started getting excited and shared, "When I read you needed to bring your computer for both actual hands on and over the shoulder training, I knew I had to do whatever I could to attend ...

Vienna, Austria: Results from a phase III clinical trial evaluating a new treatment for breast cancer in post-menopausal women show that the combination of two cancer drugs, everolimus and exemestane, significantly improves bone strength and reduces the chances of cancer spreading (metastasising) in the bone. Professor Michael Gnant told the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) today (Friday) that the latest results from the BOLERO-2 trial would change clinical practice. "These results indicate a new standard of care for women with advanced oestrogen receptor ...

Even in places as seemly well-studied as the national parks of North America, new species are still being discovered. Using ultraviolet light that cause scorpions to fluoresce a ghostly glow, researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) have discovered an intriguing new scorpion in Death Valley National Park. They named the species Wernerius inyoensis, after the Inyo Mountains where it was found. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. This new species is small, only 16 mm in length. "We almost overlooked this one during the survey" ...

A new and unusual wasp species has been discovered during an expedition to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It was independently also found in the insect collections of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, where it was awaiting discovery since the 1930s, when it had been collected on Sulawesi. The new species is pitch-black, has an enormous body size, and its males have long, sickle-shaped jaws. The findings have now been described in the open access journal ZooKeys. The species belongs into the digger wasp family, which is a diverse group of wasps with several thousands ...

Realcomm Conference Group will be hosting a webinar on March 29 from 12:30pm to 2:00 pm (ET) to define high performance buildings and discuss the ways in which operation, design and organization of the systems play a key role in this new paradigm. Ryan Allbaugh, CIO of Childress Klein will lead the discussion along with Scott Boehm, Director Vykon Channel, Tridium; Paul Oswald, President, Environmental Systems Inc. (ESI); John Petze, Principal, SkyFoundry; and David Weinerth, EVP Marketing, SCIenergy Inc. "We're hearing a lot about this topic as smart connected ...

The important changes to the way scientists name new plants that took effect on 1 January 2012 included the fall of the so-called Latin requirement - a stipulation that descriptions or diagnoses of new species had to be in Latin. The new rules make it possible to take full advantage of an ongoing revolution in how botanists and mycologists verify that a particular species is indeed new to science: Many studies now routinely include the sequencing of short DNA regions that will amplify easily, even when the DNA comes from old specimens. Such "barcoding" sequences can ...

There is a seemingly endless selection of affordable sedans on the market these days, but none are more appealing to Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com than the 2012 Volkswagen Passat. Kbb.com recently unveiled its 10 Best Sedans Under $25,000 list, placing the all-new Passat at the top. Volkswagen's newest midsize offering is available at any VW dealership and was singled out for its pitch-perfect mix of space, refinement and affordability. Kbb.com evaluated sedans on typical factors like comfortable ride, handling, fuel efficiency, features and value, but it was sportiness, ...

A study by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) into the development of speech about the Civil War on Television Española (Spain's national state owned public television broadcaster) states that from the 70's, public television stopped portraying republicans as national enemies and acknowledged their bravery as combatants. "In the final years of the dictatorship, in Television Española (TVE) documentaries and news programmes, they began to recognise the merits of the defeated republicans, claiming that they simply had a different stance, and they even had 'love ...

An international team of scientists, including some from Majorca and the Canary Islands, have described a new type of fossil scops owl, the first extinct bird on the archipelago of Madeira (Portugal). Otus mauli, which was also the first nocturnal bird of prey described in the area, lived on land and became extinct as a result of humans arriving on the island. Twenty years ago, the German researcher Harald Pieper discovered fossil remains of a small nocturnal bird of prey in Madeira, which, until now, had not been studied in depth. The international team of palaeontologists ...

ImageFLEX is an agreement unique to Balreed which allows organisations to produce the images they need on the devices they choose. Within an all-inclusive MPS agreement, clients are not restricted to defined volumes of mono or colour images, or volumes per device. Balreed's Group Marketing Director Gary Downey said: "The clue is in the title with ImageFLEX. This is a new approach to MPS that overcomes the restrictions and compromises of other managed service offerings in the market. With ImageFLEX our clients will benefit from the UK's most pro-active Managed Print ...

Researchers at the European Congress of Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis in Bordeaux have presented new data * which shows that the economic burden of fragility fractures in the 27 member states of the European Union far exceeds previous estimates, with hip fractures accounting for around 55% of costs. The investigators used a population based model to estimate the economic burden of fractures in 2010, using data on facture incidence, costs for pharmaceutical prevention and post-fracture health care, mortality, and population size to estimate total costs. Data for hip, ...

Many buyers generate cash from trading and, rather than it earning only bank interest of, say, 3% use that cash to expand by buying other businesses. On average my team is successfully completing 9 or 10 sales every month. Start with tax advice and do the numbers Sellers can, with the right professional advice, pay no more than 10% tax on sale proceeds; a rate that compares favourably to income tax at 50%. So far so good, but work out what you are left with after paying tax. What return will you get on that capital? How does that compare to the income you now get ...

Researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have discovered that deficiency of a single protein, Mitofusin 2, in muscle and hepatic cells of mice is sufficient to cause tissues to become insensitive to insulin, thus producing an increase in blood glucose concentrations. These are the two most common conditions prior to development of diabetes type 2. Published in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study validates Mitofusin 2 as a possible target for the treatment of diabetes type 2. "Resistance ...

Tom and Jerry Games, a free game website featuring entertainment inspired by some of the world's most beloved cartoons, has launched two new games, Tom and Jerry Iceball and Jerry Dressup. The two new games add even more depth to the stunning selection of games already present on the Tom and Jerry Games website, which allows parents and children to bond over activities based on animated characters that helped define the childhood of many of today's parents. The games featured on the website, including the new Tom and Jerry Iceball and Jerry Dressup, authentically channel ...

An important step towards developing a rapid, inexpensive diagnostic method for autism has been take by Uppsala University, among other universities. Through advanced mass spectrometry the researchers managed to capture promising biomarkers from a tiny blood sample. The study has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Translational Psychiatry. There are no acknowledged biomarkers for autism today. Researchers at Berzelii Centre and the Science for Life Laboratory in Uppsala who, in collaboration with colleagues at Linnaeus University in Sweden and the Faculty ...

New research found the genetic variant Patatin-like phospholipase domain containing protein-3 (PNPLA3) acting in conjunction with the glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) is associated with increased susceptibility to fatty liver disease in obese children. The study, published in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, determined the PNPLA3 and GCKR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were responsible for up to 39% of the hepatic fat content in this pediatric population. Obesity is a global health concern ...

Mario Dash Games, a free gaming website offering interactive Flash games based on beloved Nintendo characters such as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario, has introduced three new games to its roster: World of Mario, Mario Zombie Explode, and Mario Bubaboom. The three games are consistent with the mission of Mario Dash Games, which is to provide engaging, amusing online games without the cost of an expensive console or the need to buy separate games. Whether you have a few minutes to kill or an entire weekend washed out by rain, Mario Dash Games is an ideal way to beat boredom, ...

Danish consumers are attracting attention in a new international study on healthy heating. More than 3,000 consumers from five European countries were asked whether they are willing to accept national economic interventions to promote healthy eating habits. The results are unequivocal: Danes have the most positive attitude towards economic interventions within the nutritional area, and are also willing to pay more to eat more healthily, says PhD student Jessica Aschemann-Witzel from Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences, who is one of the architects of the ...

Salt beef, sea biscuits and the occasional weevil; the food endured by sailors during the Napoleonic wars is seldom imagined to be appealing. Now a new chemical analysis technique has allowed archaeologists to find out just how dour the diet of Georgian sailors really was. The team's findings, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology also reveal how little had changed for sailors in the 200 years between the Elizabethan and Georgian eras. The research, led by Professor Mark Pollard from the University of Oxford, focused on bones from 80 sailors who served ...

As a leading supplier of membrane technology to the dairy and ecoat industries worldwide, Synder Filtration will be exhibiting at both the International Cheese Technology Expo and ECOAT 2012 next month. Visit booth #344 at the Cheese Expo and the exhibit hall at ECOAT 2012 to meet with Synder's friendly and experienced sales, engineering, and business development staff. Synder's representatives are excited to not only reconnect with current customers, but also forge new partnerships in quality and service. Both flagship products, such as membrane elements and anolyte technology ...

Astronomers have put forward a new theory about why black holes become so hugely massive – claiming some of them have no 'table manners', and tip their 'food' directly into their mouths, eating more than one course simultaneously. Researchers from the UK and Australia investigated how some black holes grow so fast that they are billions of times heavier than the sun. The team from the University of Leicester (UK) and Monash University in Australia sought to establish how black holes got so big so fast. Their research is due to published in the Monthly Notices of ...

The orange-colored vehicle begins moving with a quiet whirr. Soon afterwards the next shuttles begin to move, and before long there are dozens of mini-transporters rolling around in the hall. As if by magic, they head for the high-rack storage shelves or spin around their own axis. But the Multishuttle Moves® – is the name given to these driverless transport vehicles – are not performing some robots' ballet. They are moving around in the service of science. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund, Germany, researchers are working to harness ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Research on kidney stones in fruit flies may hold the key to developing a treatment that could someday stop the formation of kidney stones in humans, a team from Mayo Clinic and the University of Glasgow found. They recently presented their findings at the Genetics Society of America annual meeting. "The kidney tubule of a fruit fly is easy to study because it is transparent and accessible," says physiologist Michael F. Romero, Ph.D., of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He said researchers are now able to see new stones at the moment of formation. "More ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Fatigue and unrealistic expectations of parenthood may help contribute to post-adoption depression in women, according to a Purdue University study. "Feeling tired was by far the largest predictor of depression in mothers who adopted," said Karen J. Foli, an assistant professor of nursing who studied factors that could predict depression in adoptive mothers. "We didn't expect to see this, and we aren't sure if the fatigue is a symptom of the depression or if it is the parenting experience that is the source of the fatigue. It also may be reflective ...