WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 2011 — Just in time for those New Year's Eve toasts, which might include a farewell to the International Year of Chemistry, the world's largest scientific society today posted online a video on the chemistry of champagne. The latest addition to the award-winning Bytesize Science series from the American Chemical Society (ACS) is available at www.BytesizeScience.com. It explains that champagne, unlike other wines, undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle to trap carbon dioxide gas, which dissolves into the wine and forms the fabled bubbles in ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Both children and the elderly have slower response times when they have to make quick decisions in some settings. But recent research suggests that much of that slower response is a conscious choice to emphasize accuracy over speed. In fact, healthy older people can be trained to respond faster in some decision-making tasks without hurting their accuracy – meaning their cognitive skills in this area aren't so different from younger adults. "Many people think that it is just natural for older people's brains to slow down as they age, but we're finding ...

According to a recent study in the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization reported more "households would benefit financially from bankruptcy than actually file." Although no one anticipates filing for bankruptcy, for some it is a viable option for future financial success. The Wisconsin State Bar outlines the following benefits associated with bankruptcy: - Keeping all or most property - Easing credit card debts - Avoiding certain liens and involuntary transfers The Bar also cautions consideration of the disadvantages prior to filing. Including that ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research challenges the conventional thinking that young children use language just as adults do to help classify and understand objects in the world around them. In a new study involving 4- to 5-year-old children, researchers found that the labels adults use to classify items – words like "dog" or "pencil" – don't have the same ability to influence the thinking of children. "As adults, we know that words are very predictive. If you use words to guide you, they won't often let you down," said Vladimir Sloutsky, co-author of the new study and professor ...

(SALT LAKE CITY)— Arrhythmia is a potentially life-threatening problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat, causing it to go too fast, too slow or to beat irregularly. Arrhythmia affects millions of people worldwide. The cardiac conduction system (CCS) regulates the rate and rhythm of the heart. It is a group of specialized cells in the walls of the heart. These cells control the heart rate by sending electrical signals from the sinoatrial node in the heart's right atrium (upper chamber) to the ventricles (lower chambers), causing them to contract and pump blood. The ...

In childhood, rituals like regular schedules for meal, bath, and bed times are a healthy part of behavioral development. But combined with oral and tactile sensitivities, such as discomfort at the dentist or irritation caused by specific fabrics, these rituals could be an early warning sign of adult Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). According to Prof. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychology, hypersensitivity and excessive adherence to childhood rituals may foreshadow the onset of OCD as the child ages. He first suspected the link while working ...

Generally, under Missouri law, workers' compensation provides an "exclusive remedy" to employees who suffer work-related injuries. Thus, most workers must rely on workers' compensation benefits when they are injured on the job and generally are not able to bring a civil negligence lawsuit against their employers. However, a recent state Court of Appeals decision has changed this rule as it relates to Missouri asbestos exposure victims and workers suffering from other occupational diseases. These injured workers are no longer limited by the workers' compensation ...

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered a way to make time stand still -- at least when it comes to the yearly calendar. Using computer programs and mathematical formulas, Richard Conn Henry, an astrophysicist in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and Steve H. Hanke, an applied economist in the Whiting School of Engineering, have created a new calendar in which each new 12-month period is identical to the one which came before, and remains that way from one year to the next in perpetuity. Under the Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar, for instance, ...

Nevada, the "Silver State," is well-known for mining precious metals. But scientists Dennis Bazylinski and colleagues at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) do a different type of mining. They sluice through every water body they can find, looking for new forms of microbial magnetism. In a basin named Badwater on the edge of Death Valley National Park, Bazylinski and researcher Christopher Lefèvre hit pay dirt. Lefèvre is with the French National Center of Scientific Research and University of Aix-Marseille II. In this week's issue of the journal Science, ...

WASHINGTON—December 27, 2011—Research!America's new national voter education initiative, Your Candidates-Your Health, features responses from President Obama and Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on important health research and prevention issues. Among the highlights: both Obama and Gingrich agree that research to improve health and prevent disease is part of the solution to rising health care costs, and boosting investment in medical research creates jobs that benefit a wide variety of industries. Their positions on embryonic stem cell research differ. ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- A small fish crawling on stumpy limbs from a shrinking desert pond is an icon of can-do spirit, emblematic of a leading theory for the evolutionary transition between fish and amphibians. This theorized image of such a drastic adaptation to changing environmental conditions, however, may, itself, be evolving into a new picture. University of Oregon scientist Gregory J. Retallack, professor of geological sciences, says that his discoveries at numerous sites in Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania suggests that "such a plucky hypothetical ancestor of ours ...

Columbia, MO – When it comes to love songs, female tree frogs are pretty picky. According to a new study from the University of Missouri, certain female tree frogs may be remarkably attuned to the songs of mates who share the same number of chromosomes as they do. The discovery offers insight into how new frog species may have evolved. Carl Gerhardt, Curators Professor of Biological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science and doctoral student Mitch Tucker studied two closely related species of grey tree frogs that live in Missouri, the eastern grey tree frog (Hyla ...

The law requires parents to support their children financially, whether the parents live together or not. Whether the parents divorce or were never married, one of the ways that the law can ensure that children are provided for is through child support orders. Georgia parents looking to obtain child support orders should be aware of the steps they need to take to get and enforce child support orders. Beginning a Child Support Case Either parent can open a child support case with the Department of Human Services (DHS) by filling out an application for assistance and ...

Two vital parts of mentally organizing the world are classification, or the understanding that similar things belong in the same category; and induction, an educated guess about a thing's properties if it's in a certain category. There are reasons to believe that language greatly assists adults in both kinds of tasks. But how do young children use language to make sense of the things around them? It's a longstanding debate among psychologists. A new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, challenges the predominant answer. ...

Small monkey groups may win territorial disputes against larger groups because some members of the larger, invading groups avoid aggressive encounters. In a new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Margaret Crofoot, post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology, and Ian Gilby, professor at Duke University, show that individual monkeys that don't participate in conflicts prevent large groups from achieving their competitive potential. The authors used recorded vocalizations ...

RICHLAND, Wash. -- New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature. Rain just at the beginning and wind during the Olympics likely contributed about half of the effort needed to clean up the skies, scientists found. The results also suggest emission controls need to be more widely implemented than in 2008 if pollution levels are to be reduced permanently. Reporting their findings December 12 in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, co-author atmospheric ...

An important part of saving a species is often understanding its DNA. Through a collaborative effort including 14 scientists representing organizations across Europe and the United States, researchers have been able to analyze the genome of the great ape species of the world. "A robust appreciation of the means and methods of the evolution of genomes which underlies the diversification of the great apes requires a more detailed knowledge of genome variation that is poorly revealed by current genome sequencing methods. " said Oliver Ryder Ph.D., Director of Genetics ...

LA JOLLA, CA – December 27, 2011 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly. The research, now available online in the new Nature journal, Translational Psychiatry, shows the deficit is especially pronounced in younger people, meaning treatment might be most effective early on at minimizing or ...

A record-keeper for a major corporation sits in her cubicle, reviewing the company's latest statements. To the untrained eye, the records seem to be in order, but the employee's specialized knowledge and years of experience have allowed her to know better. The records point to a clear pattern of fraud perpetrated against the federal government. What is the employee to do? The Latin phrase "qui tam" roughly translates to "who sues on behalf of the King as well as for himself." The qui tam provision of the False Claims Act accordingly allows private ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – People with diets high in several vitamins or in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer's disease than people whose diets are not high in those nutrients, according to a new study published in the December 28, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Those with diets high in omega 3 fatty acids and in vitamins C, D, E and the B vitamins also had higher scores on mental thinking tests than people with diets low in those nutrients. These omega 3 fatty ...

(TORONTO, Canada – Dec. 29, 2011) – Treating ovarian cancer with the drug bevacizumab ("Avastin") delays the disease and may also improve survival, show the results of an international clinical trial co-led by Drs. Amit Oza of the Princess Margaret Cancer Program, University Health Network and Timothy Perren, St James's Institute of Oncology, Leeds, UK. The findings, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, report that the drug halted the cancer's return for two months overall. However, for women with the highest risk disease, the delay was five to six ...

PHILADELPHIA, PA (December 28, 2011)—Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new phase 3 clinical trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) showed that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment. The ...

Boston, MA - In March 2011, a surgical team at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) performed the first full face transplantation (FFT) in the United States and went on to complete a total of three FFTs this year. Now, in the first research publication to evaluate FFT in the US, and largest series worldwide, the researchers describe details of patient preparation, novel design and execution of the operation as well as unique immunosuppression protocol allowing for lowest long-term maintenance drug regimen. They also share details of the early functional outcomes and demonstrate ...

With high unemployment and declining household incomes, meeting student loan obligations can be difficult, if not impossible. However, defaulting on federal student loans can have disastrous consequences. The government can garnish wages, withhold tax returns, and place liens on personal property. A default can also affect a person's professional license status. It's important for student loan borrowers to note that a default should be avoided at all costs. Missing one student loan payment makes a borrower delinquent. Nine months of delinquency puts a borrower in default. ...

In a study of 3.8 million attendees to 249 raves over 12 years, researchers found that almost 27,897 people visited a first aid station, and more than a third (10,100) reported a substance-related problem. Of these, 515 required professional medical care, and 16 cases were life-threatening. Most (66.7%) substance-related problems were associated with ecstasy, alcohol, or both. People using GHB most often required professional medical care, although the authors found no evidence for life-threatening, acute effects of the drug. The study was conducted based on data from ...