Sunshine may help to prevent allergies and eczema Increased exposure to sunlight may reduce the risk of both food allergies and eczema in children, according to a new scientific study published this week. Researchers from the European Centre for Environment & Human Health, along with several Australian institutions, have found that children living in areas with lower levels of sunlight are at greater risk of developing food allergies and the skin condition eczema, compared to those in areas with higher UV. The research team used data from a study of Australian children ...

A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene. The results help explain why some people struggle when placed on a low-fat diet and may one day assist people in selecting diets that are easier for them to follow. The results also may help food developers create new low-fat foods that taste better. "Fat is universally palatable to humans," said Kathleen Keller, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, ...

The U.S. may have its first black president and the Fortune 500 its first black female chief executive, but African American CEOs account for a mere one percent of the chiefs of those 500 largest companies. Andrew Carton, assistant professor of management and organization at Penn State Smeal College of Business, and Ashleigh Shelby Rosette of Duke University, suggest in the current issue of the Academy of Management Journal that what steers people's perceptions of African Americans are stereotypes about blacks' leadership failings, biases that may not even be conscious. The ...

Biologists who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas have uncovered a seldom-observed interaction between evolutionary processes. Jason Kolbe, a biologist at the University of Rhode Island (URI)--along with colleagues at Duke University, Harvard University and the University of California, Davis--found that the lizards' genetic and morphological (form and structural) traits were determined by both natural selection and a phenomenon called the founder effect. Their research results are published online today in the journal Science. The founder ...

An experimental blood clot-removing device outperformed the FDA-approved MERCI; retriever device, according to late-breaking science presented at the American Stroke Association's 2012 International Stroke Conference. The SOLITAIRE; Flow Restoration Device is a self-expanding stent-based design that mechanically removes blood clots from blocked vessels after a stroke. After insertion into the clot using a thin tube, or catheter, the device traps the clot then both device and clot are removed, restoring blood flow. The MERCI retriever uses a tiny corkscrew, guided by a ...

The anti-blood clot regimen that adds the drug clopidogrel (Plavix) to aspirin treatment is unlikely to prevent recurrent strokes and may increase the risk of bleeding and death in patients with subcortical stroke according to late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. Because of these preliminary results, researchers ended the anti-clotting part of the Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes Trial (SPS3) in August 2011. The part of the study that examines the effect of high blood pressure treatments ...

A new drug that showed promise in animal studies and an early clinical trial didn't improve disability among stroke patients, according to late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. After a stroke and other types of brain damage, the brain naturally produces more granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). The protein can prevent further cell injury by protecting nerve cells and boosting blood vessel growth. The new drug, AX200, is a manufactured form of G-CSF. Ninety days after treatment, patients ...

The great majority of geriatric patients in a German rehabilitation hospital were found to have vitamin D deficiency. Stefan Schilling presents his study results in this week's issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109[3]: 33-8). In order to establish the vitamin D status in geriatric patients in Germany, the researchers measured 25-OH vitamin D in 1578 patients in the geriatric rehabilitation hospital in Trier after they had been examined on admission. Insufficiently high concentrations were found in 89% of patients, and 67% had severe ...

An innovative approach to genome screening has provided clues about rare mutations that may make people susceptible to brain aneurysms, predisposing them to brain bleeds, according to preliminary late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. For the first time, scientists applied a process called whole exome sequencing to seek gene mutations in families in which multiple relatives have intracranial aneurysms, a condition in which weakened, ballooned-out areas in arteries of the brain can rupture and cause a ...

In the largest and longest head-to-head comparison of two anti-clotting medications, warfarin and aspirin were similar in preventing deaths and strokes in heart failure patients with normal heart rhythm, according to late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. "Although there was a warfarin benefit for patients treated for four or more years, overall, warfarin and aspirin were similar," said Shunichi Homma, M.D., lead author of the study and the Margaret Milliken Hatch Professor of Medicine at Columbia University ...

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are part of an international team that has pooled their radio observations into a database, producing the highest precision map to date of the magnetic field within our own Milky Way galaxy. The team, led by the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), used the database they created and were able to apply information theory techniques to produce the map, explains NRL's Dr. Tracy Clarke, a member of the research team. "The key to applying these new techniques is that this project brings together over 30 researchers ...

Placebos reduce pain by creating an expectation of relief. Distraction—say, doing a puzzle—relieves it by keeping the brain busy. But do they use the same brain processes? Neuromaging suggests they do. When applying a placebo, scientists see activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. That's the part of the brain that controls high-level cognitive functions like working memory and attention—which is what you use to do that distracting puzzle. Now a new study challenges the theory that the placebo effect is a high-level cognitive function. The authors—Jason T. Buhle, ...

Refugee children have scant access to medical care and are particularly vulnerable to disease. Fresh research results from the University of Copenhagen show that just a few hours of schooling a week may have a pronounced positive impact on their health not only in childhood but later in life when they achieve adulthood. "There is an unambiguous link between health and schooling among refugee groups as they flee," says external Associate Professor Tania Dræbel, PhD from the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, where she works as an expert in health among ...

People who suffer a traumatic experience often don't talk about it, and many forget it over time. But not talking about something doesn't always mean you'll forget it; if you try to force yourself not to think about white bears, soon you'll be imagining polar bears doing the polka. A group of psychological scientists explore the relationship between silence and memories in a new paper published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "There's this idea, with silence, that if we don't talk about something, it starts ...

Jim Black is fighting the meanest, most aggressive, most common kind of brain tumor in the United States: recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In the United States, each year, approximately 10,000 patients are affected by GBM. Now, a novel investigational device – available only at clinical trial sites – is offering new hope to these patients. The non-invasive procedure – called Tumor Treating Fields (TTF) – is delivered using a portable device – called the NovoTTF-100A System made by Novocure. The TTF procedure uses alternating electrical fields to disrupt the ...

BinDataSet, an BIN database service provider, has released the largest BIN database on the Internet. The database contains over 350,000 records. What is BIN? BIN stands for Bank Identification Numbers. It is a database that contains credit and debit card numbers. On top of that, the database also provides additional information such as Country, Brand, and Bank. Most BIN databases provide only card type and brand. BinDataSet ensures that more fields are available for higher accuracy. Why is there a need for BIN databases? The Internet is growing at an amazing ...

An experimental device for removing blood clots in stroke patients dramatically outperformed the standard mechanical treatment, according to research presented by UCLA Stroke Center director Dr. Jeffrey L. Saver at the American Stroke Association's 2012 international conference in New Orleans on Feb. 3. The SOLITAIRE Flow Restoration Device is among an entirely new generation of devices designed to remove blood clots from blocked brain arteries in patients experiencing stroke. It has a self-expanding, stent-like design and, once inserted into a clot using a thin catheter ...

New Rochelle, NY -- If the proven long-term benefits of smoking cessation are not enough to motivate young adults to stop smoking, a new study shows that 18- to 24-year olds who stop smoking for at least two weeks report substantially fewer respiratory symptoms, especially coughing. The study findings are detailed in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available online. Karen Calabro, DrPH and Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, ...

As you are planning to create a corporate sales incentive program, look no further than The Motorsport Lab's supercar media. According to President and Founder Ray Chang, the purpose of The Motorsport Lab is to create a fun, exciting and once in a lifetime, interactive corporate experience using high-end supercars like Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lamborghini as a media platform. "Our difference is that we utilize supercars as a fun, versatile media platform for businesses to communicate value. Supercars offer aesthetic beauty inside and out will command instant ...

Ottawa, Ontario –Could the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and protect against carcinogens? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP) found that rats given regular multivitamin and mineral supplements showed a significantly lower risk of developing colon cancer when they were exposed to carcinogens. "It has been unclear whether multivitamin supplementation to cancer patients is helpful, has no effect, or is even detrimental during therapy," commented Dr. Grant Pierce, ...

SAN DIEGO -- Tocagen Inc. today announced the publication of data showing the company's investigational treatment for high grade glioma eradicates brain tumors and provides a dramatic survival benefit in mouse models of glioblastoma. Almost all mice receiving the top dose of Toca 511 followed by 5-FC were still alive at 180 days, which was the termination date for the experiment, whereas all control mice died by day 43. The article was published today in the February issue of the Neuro-Oncology journal. "After administration of Toca 511, the efficiency and specificity ...

Los Angeles, CA (February 3, 2012) As a brand new year gets underway, people all over America are resolving to better manage their weight and have a more healthy 2012. According to a new study, those starting new weight loss programs may be surprised to find out that both location and level of experience may influence their success. A recent article published in The Journal of Black Psychology (a journal from the Association of Black Psychologists, published by SAGE) finds that African American women beginning a new group weight loss program are more successful if they ...

Prairie lands in Fort Bend County continue to be the natural choice for new-home communities. Beazer Homes and Taylor Morrison have joined forces to develop Churchill Farms, a 209-acre community in Fulshear, a small town in the greater Katy area west of Houston. Model home construction and presales will begin in February. Churchill Farms will have three model parks to showcase Beazer Homes and Taylor Morrison product lines available in 50-, 60- and 70-ft. sections. Both builders are introducing new floor plans at Churchill Farms. Some of the models will open in mid-April ...

La Jolla, CA---- One of the big mysteries in biology is why cells age. Now scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that they have discovered a weakness in a component of brain cells that may explain how the aging process occurs in the brain. The scientists discovered that certain proteins, called extremely long-lived proteins (ELLPs), which are found on the surface of the nucleus of neurons, have a remarkably long lifespan. While the lifespan of most proteins totals two days or less, the Salk Institute researchers identified ELLPs in the rat ...

The world of SEO may be highly lucrative for those that are ahead, but the competition behind the scenes can become a nightmare. Not only does every company have to deal with problems that arise from the clients, they must also manage their SEO team to keep up with all of the latest trends and relentless advancements in search engine optimization. The answer to these problems may be SEO reseller services from the top SEO company in Los Angeles, Avital Web. Building that base of clients may seem like the easy part once an SEO company is up to speed. Companies are required ...