Human beings are ecosystems on two legs, each of us carrying enough microbes to outnumber our human cells by 10 to 1 and our genes by even more. Identifying the dizzying numbers of bacteria and other microbes that live in and on our bodies is like exploring a new planet. You need much more than telescopes and charts to map the unknown territory called our microbiomes – and explorers to take a census of the inhabitants. The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) Consortium, a five-year collaboration of large sequencing centers including the Broad Institute and dozens of other ...

When researchers at NIH and Celera published the first complete draft sequences of the human genome in 2001, many people assumed that the genetic foundation for a new and complete understanding of the human body and its functions had been achieved. As it turned out this was far from the complete story, since it turns out that our bodies are, well… not completely human. In the culmination of a multi-year effort directed by NIH, the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) has announced first genomic compilation of the generalized biome of microbes in the human body that complement ...

Simulating weather and water conditions before a race could give sailors the advantage they need to win, new research reveals. The study, carried out by the Yacht and Superyacht Research Group (YSRG) at Newcastle University, UK, with the Yacht Research Unit of the University of Auckland and the Italian super-computer centre CILEA, looked at how accurately we can predict the way a yacht will behave during a particular race using parameters such as sea conditions and currents. Modelling the way each factor impacts on the yacht at every stage of the race, the team - led ...

In a project led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, an international team of scientists has completed the sequencing and analysis of the genome of the last great ape, the bonobo. Bonobos, which together with chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of humans, are known for their peaceful, playful and sexual behaviour that contrasts with the more aggressive behaviour of chimpanzees. The genome sequence provides insights into the evolutionary relationships between the great apes and may help us to understand the genetic basis of these ...

The ability to cross a road in time is one that most of us take for granted. A new study published in the journal Age and Ageing, entitled 'Most Older Pedestrians are unable to cross the road in time: a cross-sectional study', has compared the walking speed of the older population in the UK (aged 65 and over) with the speed required to use a pedestrian crossing. Currently, to use a pedestrian crossing a person must cross at a speed above 1.2 meters per second. The research led by Dr Laura Asher of the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at UCL (University College ...

Reports of low energy levels or feelings of fatigue could be used to predict risk of hospitalisation for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study published online ahead of print in the European Respiratory Journal. The findings of the study could be used by doctors to help reduce the number of admissions to hospital for people with COPD, which could lead to improvements in quality of life and a reduction in the economic impact of the disease. Fatigue has been reported as the second most prevalent symptom of COPD, after breathlessness. ...

In the heart of Tel Aviv sits the stylish and comfortable Rothschild Hotel. The beauty of staying there is that it sits about midway between a destination ride to Mount Hermon in the North East and to Eilat Bay at the Southern tip of Israel on the Red Sea. If you go to Israel you will have boasting rights if you can say you've been to four places; Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Mount Hermon and Eilat Bay. Of course Jerusalem is the heart of the holy land, and Tel Aviv is the international cosmopolitan city "That Never Sleeps". After you complete your day trips, and return ...

Chevy Chase, MD— Abdominal liposuction triggers a compensatory increase in visceral fat, which is correlated with cardiovascular disease, but this effect can be counteracted by physical activity, according to a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, a publication of The Endocrine Society. Liposuction is one of the most popular aesthetic surgery procedures performed worldwide, but its long-term impact on health remains unclear. Previous studies have shown that the immediate decrease in body fat following liposuction may affect body composition ...

Dr. Jerry Cooper, Sheboygan dentist, is excited to be able to offer a comprehensive dental website to his patients. The website offers services to inform patients and make interacting with the dentist in Sheboygan, WI easier. "I am happy to establish an online presence for my practice with our website. It is essential today to be able to offer online services to patients and I think that our site succeeds in offering an easy to use design with plenty of helpful information. I hope all of my patients take some time to explore on our website and learn what they can ...

Women are more likely than men to be responsible for the majority of domestic work in a household, which can lead to higher psychological distress, and new research shows that this correlation is further increased by perceived socioeconomic and gender inequality in the relationship, according to a study published June 13 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The researchers, led by Lisa Harryson of Umea University in Sweden, used data from the Northern Swedish Cohort, which monitored individuals from a small Swedish town from 1981 until 2007. The results confirmed previous ...

Dr. Todd Armstrong, Kenosha dentist, is excited to make it easy for new patients to join his practice by offering new patient services as a part of his practice's comprehensive dental website. "I am always excited to welcome new patient to our practice. I believe we offer a tremendous level of service here and I'm confident that any new patients will be more than satisfied with their experience here. I hope any potential new patients will check out our website and utilize the information we have provided there," said Dr. Armstrong, dentist in Kenosha, WI. ...

A robot analogous to a child between 6 and 14 months old can develop rudimentary linguistic skills through interaction with a human participant, as reported June 13 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. By engaging in a few minutes of "conversation" with humans, in which the participants were instructed to speak to the robot as if it were a small child, the robot moved from random syllabic babble to producing some salient wordforms, the names of simple shapes and colors. The participants were not researchers involved in the project, and were asked to use their own words, ...

Carnivorous plants have developed a variety of unique mechanisms to trap their prey, and researchers have another to add to the list: a pitcher plant that uses the impact of rain drops to flick insects into the trap. The full report is published June 13 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The Nepenthes gracilis pitcher plant, found in southeast Asia, has a unique, semi-slippery wax crystal surface on the underside of the pitcher lid. The researchers, led by Ulrike Bauer of the University of Cambridge, found that ants could cling to this surface under normal conditions, ...

Drs. Richard Lesser and Affan Akhtar, Howell podiatrists, are happy to announce that their practice is now offering cryosurgery to help treat their patients. Cryosurgery, the use of extreme cold to treat painful conditions, can be a very effective treatment for plantar fasciitis and Morton's Neuroma. "I am very excited to be able to offer this service to our patients. Cryosurgery has tremendous benefits and will be a great addition to our practice. I look forward to treating our patients with this new service," said Dr. Lesser, podiatrist in the Jackson, NJ ...

Daniel Roche, DPM, Woodbridge and Edison podiatrist, is happy to announce the addition of a new practice location in Old Bridge, New Jersey. The new location joins the doctor's previous locations in Edison and Woodbridge. "I am very excited to announce the opening of our new location. It will be a great pleasure to serve the Old Bridge community. I hope that many new patients from the Old Bridge area will come to us for their podiatry needs," said Dr. Roche, podiatrist in Old Bridge, Woodbridge and Edison. Dr. Roche and his staff provide a variety of services ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers have identified the set of tools an infectious microbe uses to persuade a plant to open the windows and let the bug and all of its friends inside. The microbe is Pseudomonas syringae, a successful bacterial pathogen that produces characteristic brown spots in more than 50 different species of plant. The signal it uses is a molecule called coronatine, which to the plant looks just like its own jasmonic acid, a signal that is part of the plant's immune system. The pathogen "hijacks" a system that balances the plant's two different defense strategies, ...

Dr. Michael England, Shakopee dentist, is happy to have completed continuing education courses for Botox and dermal fillers. He hopes these new services will add another level of service and convenience to his practice. "I am very excited to be gaining expertise in in the use of Botox and dermal fillers. Both of these techniques offer tremendous benefits for my patients and I am happy to be able to offer them at my practice," said Dr. England, dentist in Shakopee, MN. In addition to cosmetic uses, dentists can use Botox to help relieve pain due to TMJ, ...

Researchers have identified the primary player of the biochemical bugle call that musters the body's defenders against viral infection. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a key molecule, MDA5, is essential for producing enough interferon (the bugle call) to rally virus-fighting cells during certain viral infections. In mice, the lack of MDA5 forces the immune system to rely on less effective defenders, which may give the virus opportunities to establish or expand a chronic infection. Like the cavalry charge in classic ...

LA JOLLA, CA – June 13, 2012 -- Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shown a single protein can make the difference between an infection clearing out of the body or persisting for life. The results also show where the defects occur in the immune system without the protein and offer the possibility that targeting this signaling pathway could be beneficial for treatment of persistent viral infections in humans. Currently hundreds of millions of people around the world are afflicted with persistent viral infections such as HIV, HCV, and HBV. The new study ...

Dr. Steve Hahn, Acworth dentist, is happy to be able to provide LANAP periodontal laser treatment to his patients. The new surgical technique will provide optimal results for patients with gum disease. The LANAP laser allows the Kennesaw family dentist to perform periodontal surgery with much less discomfort than with standard surgery. No general anesthetic is needed and the recovery time is less than 24 hours. "I am very excited to be able to offer the LANAP periodontal procedure at our practice. I believe this surgery will be a great asset to our practice ...

Dr. Charles Hooper, Jr., dentist in Chattanooga, and the other dentists at East Brainerd Dentistry are using Facebook to reach out to their patients and enhance the dentist-patient relationship for patients of the family dentist in Chattanooga. "I am very happy to be able to connect with our patients through the use of Facebook. Today, Facebook is one of the most popular tools for communication and I am excited that our practice is an active member. I hope all of our patients will take the time to "like" our Facebook page and interact with our page," ...

In the June 13 issue of Science Translational Medicine, an international team led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that the new technology of exome sequencing is not only a promising method for identifying disease-causing genes, but may also improve diagnoses and guide individual patient care. In exome sequencing, researchers selectively and simultaneously target and map all of the portions of the genome where exons reside. Exons are short, critical sequences of DNA in genes that are translated into proteins – the ...

Dr. Paul Brooks Noland, Beaverton dentist, is happy to announce that he was awarded the Award for Clinical Excellence in Restorative Dentistry from the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. The award was given out by the Tufts University Dental Alumni Association. "I am very excited to have been honored with this award. The Tufts University School of Dental Medicine is a very prestigious dental school and I'm happy that I was able to excel during my time there," said Dr. Noland, dentist in Beaverton. Dr. Noland uses a combination of his Tufts education ...

Currently accepting new patients, Dr. Sasi Mannem, Austin dentist, encourages new patients to schedule appointments at Mannem Dentistry through the convenient online appointment requesting feature. Patients can now conveniently make an appointment at all hours of the day via Mannem Dentistry's friendly website. With the introduction of online appointment requesting, patients now have the ability to request an appointment at any point during the day. No longer are patients limited to the hours of the office because the Internet is always open. Patients can still continue ...

Productivity gains that can be achieved by widely adopting health information technology are likely to come from the reengineering of health care and may require new measurement tools to accurately gauge their impact, according to a new analysis from RAND Corporation researchers. While debate remains about whether electronic health records and other health IT investments will deliver promised improvements, RAND researchers suggest that existing administrative data used to measure productivity gains may be unable to detect the effects of health IT. Their analysis is outlined ...