Scientists have discovered proof that the evolution of intelligence and larger brain sizes can be driven by cooperation and teamwork, shedding new light on the origins of what it means to be human. The study appears online in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B and was led by scientists at Trinity College Dublin: PhD student, Luke McNally and Assistant Professor Dr Andrew Jackson at the School of Natural Sciences in collaboration with Dr Sam Brown of the University of Edinburgh. The researchers constructed computer models of artificial organisms, endowed ...

CINCINNATI—Cardiac researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that a certain cellular pathway is linked to obesity-related disorders, like diabetes, heart disease and fatty liver disease. These findings, being presented at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) 2012 Scientific Sessions in Chicago, April 19, 2012, could lead to a potential molecular target for metabolic diseases in humans. Building on previous research, Tapan Chatterjee, PhD, and researchers in the division of cardiovascular diseases ...

(CHICAGO) – In the 19th century, Jean-Martin Charcot, the celebrated neurologist, developed a "vibration chair," to relieve symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Charcot reported improvements in his patients, but he died shortly thereafter and a more complete evaluation of the therapy was never conducted. Now, a group of neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center have replicated his work in a study to see if Charcot's observation holds true against modern scientific testing. Results from the study indicate that while vibration therapy does significantly improve ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In a study appearing this month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, MIT researchers report that emissions from cars, trucks, planes and powerplants cause 13,000 premature deaths in the United Kingdom each year. The researchers analyzed data from 2005, the most recent year for which information is available. They found that among the various sources of emissions in the country, car and truck exhaust was the single greatest contributor to premature death, affecting some 3,300 people per year. By comparison, the researchers note, fewer ...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year, $9 million grant to the University of Houston's Texas Center for Learning Disabilities to conduct research on the causes and treatment of learning disabilities in children and adolescents. UH is one of four universities nationally to receive funding from the NIH for a learning disability research center. The substantial number of today's adolescents struggling with weak literacy skills presents an urgent national concern, yet little is known about reading disabilities beyond the early elementary grades. ...

MyBinding.com, one of the country's leading retailers of document finishing machines and supplies, is partnering with Boom Fitness to provide their employees with a fitness program. "The health of our employees is very important to us," said Jeff McRitchie, Vice President of Marketing for MyBinding.com. "Many of our employees sit for most of the day and we wanted a way to help our staff stay active." McRitchie joined Boom Fitness for personal reasons and brought several employees along with him. As more employees joined, the two companies decided ...

Stressed out lizard moms tend to give their developing embryos short shrift, but the hardship may ultimately be a good thing for the babies once they're born, according to a study published in the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. Stress changes the way animals allocate energy. During predator attacks or food shortages, hormones are released that help the body to access stored energy. But for pregnant females there's a potential trade-off. Stress hormones could rob precious energy from developing embryos, leading to offspring that aren't as healthy. A research ...

The need to swab the noses of pregnant women and newborns for the presence of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) may be unfounded, according to a Vanderbilt study now available online and published in the May issue of Pediatrics. The study's senior author, Buddy Creech, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of Pediatrics, said it is often feared that mothers carrying MRSA may risk transmitting an infection to their newborn babies, but Vanderbilt Pediatric Infectious Diseases researchers found that babies rarely became ill from MRSA infections, despite frequently ...

WasThatGood recently announced the launch of a new website meant to offer the public an arena to voice their opinions of the London theatre. The site is designed to fill a gap in a niche where misreporting and sycophancy abound and, as such, offers theatre-goers not only a fair assessment of various productions by their peers but also a venue to air their own opinions without censure. In the age of information, it is surprising that people who enjoy the London stage and all it has to offer have little choice when it comes to finding honest and transparent reviews on ...

Philadelphia– While most teens do buckle up when driving, new research shows that novice teen drivers who live in states with so-called "secondary enforcement" seat belt laws are less likely to use the life-saving devices than those in "primary enforcement" states. The research, conducted by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm®, is published in the American Journal of Public Health. The research found seat belt use rates differed as teens moved through the probationary licensing process known as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL). A primary seat ...

Imagine owning a television with the thickness and weight of a sheet of paper. It will be possible, someday, thanks to the growing industry of printed electronics. The process, which allows manufacturers to literally print or roll materials onto surfaces to produce an electronically functional device, is already used in organic solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that form the displays of cellphones. Although this emerging technology is expected to grow by tens of billions of dollars over the next 10 years, one challenge is in manufacturing at low cost ...

Boulder, Colo., USA – Five new Geosphere articles posted online today include additions to themed issues: "Exploring the Deep Sea and Beyond"; "Seeing the True Shape of Earth's Surface: Applications of Airborne and Terrestrial LiDAR in the Geosciences"; and "Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California." Locations studied: the Sierra Nevada, California; the San Juan volcanic field, Colorado; the western Alaska continental margin: Kodiak to Unimak; Pyramid Lake, Nevada; and the Appalachian fold-thrust belt, Pennsylvania. Geophysical ...

ATLANTA — Researchers at Georgia State University have discovered that in one species of freshwater crustaceans, social status can affect the configuration of neural circuitry. They found that dominant and subordinate crayfish differ in their behavioral responses when touched unexpectedly, and that those differences correlate with differences in neural circuits that mediate those responses. The article was published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience. The research team included Edwards, Fadi A. Issa and Joanne Drummond of Georgia State, and Daniel Cattaert of ...

Los Angeles, CA (April 19, 2012) As presidential candidates from both parties gear up for the big day in November, more and more people are turning to political blogs to provide them with the latest news on the election-front. A new study released in the American Behavioral Scientist (published by SAGE) examined the differences among top political blogs from the right and the left and found that left-wing blogs encourage more user participation, present more opinion-related content, and were more likely to rally their readers to action. The authors wrote, "The left is ...

You owe someone money, and they want it now. Enter the endless stream of phone calls, foreboding letters and other disruption communications. You just want the harassment to stop, but don't have the resources to pay up or don't agree with the charges. Where can you turn? Unbeknownst to many consumers, there are strict laws protecting them from creditor harassment. Armed with a little information, these laws can help get debt collectors off your back. In addition, if you wish to address the debt issues underlying your collection problems, Ohio bankruptcy law could ...

A Simon Fraser University researcher is among four scientists who argue that cholesterol may slow or stop cancer cell growth. They describe how cholesterol-binding proteins called ORPs may control cell growth in A Detour for Yeast Oxysterol Binding Proteins, a paper published in the latest issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The scientists came to their conclusion while trying to understand how cholesterol moves around inside cells in the fat's journey to cell surfaces where it reinforces their outer membrane. "The assumption was that ORPs bind and transport ...

A University of Colorado Boulder-led team has developed a new monitoring system to analyze and compare emissions from man-made fossil fuels and trace gases in the atmosphere, a technique that likely could be used to monitor the effectiveness of measures regulating greenhouse gases. The research team looked at atmospheric gas measurements taken every two weeks from aircraft over a six-year period over the northeast United States to collect samples of CO2 and other environmentally important gases. Their method allowed them to separate CO2 derived from fossil fuels from ...

You've seen the headlines about gay marriage...but gay divorce? Like any other long-term, committed relationship, gay marriages can sometimes come on hard times. And, although gay marriage is not recognized in the state, one Ohio judge recently made a ruling that indicates gay divorce very well may be. Same-Sex Columbus Couple Married In New York, Divorced At Home Two Columbus men, Jonathan Baize and Stephen Wissman, both 31, were granted a divorce in mid March by a private judge appointed by the Franklin County Domestic Relations Court. While it is certainly unorthodox ...

Azinphos-methyl (AZM) has been the most used insecticide in apple production in the United States since the late 1960s, primarily as a control for the codling moth, but a decision by the EPA to phase out AZM by 2012 signals the end of this product's use by tree fruit growers. In recent years, many new insecticides have been registered to replace AZM. These new insecticides have unique modes of action, but growers will need to change their traditional management practices to achieve the level of control they were accustomed to with AZM, according to a new open-access ...

WASHINGTON -- April 19, 2012 – Research!America Chair John Edward Porter says federal budget negotiations heighten urgency to protect research funding in tight fiscal environment. "The rancorous budget debates between the White House and Congress obscure the fact that our nation's leadership in science and innovation is tenuous at best if spending for research is cut drastically. The latest proposals in the House and Senate would put funding for medical research at risk, even though such research drives new businesses, new jobs and new treatments and cures for patients ...

People with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD) who consume alcohol in modest amounts – no more than one or two servings per day – are half as likely to develop hepatitis as non-drinkers with the same condition, reports a national team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The findings are published in the April 19, 2012 online issue of The Journal of Hepatology. NALFD is the most common liver disease in the United States, affecting up to one third of American adults. It's characterized by abnormal fat accumulation ...

You have been responsible, you've worked hard for years to build up your retirement accounts. Yet, you may not be aware that if your marriage falls apart, your ex could be running off with a significant portion of your retirement savings. Retirement Accounts Subject To Equitable Distribution Ohio is an equitable distribution state, meaning that in divorce, assets will be divided based on what a court sees as fair -- not necessarily what is equal. A number of factors may come into play in the court's decision, including the length of the marriage, attributes of given ...

A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has passed an important research milestone by successfully measuring human brain activity. Experiments reported this week* verify the sensor's potential for biomedical applications such as studying mental processes and advancing the understanding of neurological diseases. NIST and German scientists used the NIST sensor to measure alpha waves in the brain associated with a person opening and closing their eyes as well as signals resulting from stimulation of the ...

Imagine yourself in orbit, your spacecraft flying backward with its small window facing down toward the surface of the moon. You peer out, scouring the ash-colored contours of the cratered landscape for traces of ancient volcanic activity. Around you, the silent, velvety blackness of space stretches out in every direction. The spacecraft rolls over, and you glimpse a sliver of intense light starting to climb over the rough horizon. It might be dawn, except that the bright sliver quickly morphs into an arc of dazzling white swirled with vivid blue and then rises far enough ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Forced body cooling known as therapeutic hypothermia has reduced in-hospital deaths among sudden cardiac arrest patients nearly 12 percent between 2001 and 2009, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology 2012 Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The research is among several Mayo abstracts that will be discussed at the conference. The goal of therapeutic cooling is slowing the body's metabolism and preventing brain damage or death. It is believed that mild therapeutic hypothermia suppresses harmful chemical ...