WASHINGTON, May 9, 2011 — Flakes of skin that people shed at the rate of 500 million cells every day are not just a nuisance — the source of dandruff, for instance, and a major contributor to house dust. They actually can be beneficial. A new study, published in the American Chemical Society's journal, Environmental Science & Technology, concludes that oil in those skin cells makes a small contribution to reducing indoor air pollution. Charles Weschler and colleagues explain that humans shed their entire outer layer of skin every 2-4 weeks at the rate of 0.001 – 0.003 ...

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered how two closely related proteins guide projections from nerve cells with exquisite accuracy, alternately attracting and repelling these axons as they navigate the most miniscule and frenetic niches of the nervous system to make remarkably precise connections. The discovery, reported April 28 in the journal Neuron, reveals that proteins belonging to the "semaphorin" family of guidance cues are crucial for getting neuronal projections exactly where they need to be not only across long distances, but also in the short-range wiring ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Physical Society has released a new assessment — Direct Air Capture of CO2 with Chemicals — to better inform the scientific community on the technical aspects of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In systems achieving direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide (CO2), ambient air flows over a chemical sorbent, either liquid or solid, that selectively removes the CO2. The CO2 is then released as a concentrated stream for disposal or reuse, while the sorbent is regenerated and the CO2-depleted air is returned to the atmosphere. ...

WASHINGTON — A new report from the National Research Council lays out a framework for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to systematically evaluate and compare the public health consequences of its decisions concerning a wide variety of products. Moreover, the risk-assessment framework provides a common internal language to discuss potential options and draws extensively on well-vetted risk literature to define the relevant health dimensions for FDA decision making. FDA must make decisions daily, from determining whether a certain drug should be approved to deciding ...

NEW YORK (May 6, 2011) -- Among those presenting at this year's Digestive Disease Week meeting are physician-scientists from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. The meeting takes place May 7-10, at McCormick Place, Chicago. The following are two notable research studies: Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl A gastroenterologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and instructor in clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The prevalence of colorectal neoplasia (CRN) among racial and ethnic ...

Surgeon and Professor Michael Olausson was able to create a new connection with the aid of this blood vessel between the liver and the intestines, necessary to cure the girl. The girl is now in good health, and her prognosis is very good. The girl developed during her first year of life a blood clot in the blood vessel that leads blood from the intestines to the liver. This introduced the risk that she would experience life-threatening internal bleeding. The condition can be cured if it is possible to direct the blood along the correct path, back into the liver. In optimal ...

Obesity appears to impair normal muscle function in rats, an observation that could have significant implications for humans, according to Penn State researchers. "Our findings demonstrate that obesity involves more than accumulating excess fat and carrying excess weight," said Rudolf J. Schilder, American Physiological Society postdoctoral fellow in physiological genomics, Penn State College of Medicine. "We show that, during the development of obesity, skeletal muscles fail to adjust their molecular composition appropriately to the increasing body weight. Consequently, ...

AURORA, Colo. (May 8, 2011) Liposuction has become one of the most popular plastic surgeries in the country. It has been around since 1974 and there are now more than 450,000 operations a year. But does the fat come back? A recent study by Teri L. Hernandez, PhD, RN and Robert H. Eckel, MD, at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that the fat eventually returns within one year, and is redistributed to other areas of the body, especially the upper abdomen. There was further redistribution around the shoulders and triceps of the arms. "The fact ...

Parsley is usually used as a decorative accent to a scrumptious meal, but don't set it aside just yet. In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher has found that a compound in parsley and other plant products, including fruits and nuts, can stop certain breast cancer tumor cells from multiplying and growing. The study was published recently in Cancer Prevention Research. In his study, Salman Hyder, the Zalk Endowed Professor in Tumor Angiogenesis and professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, ...

The personal injury attorneys at Denver law firm Coppola & Marlin, P.C. have been prestigiously recognized for their outstanding accomplishments as lawyers. Colorado Super Lawyers named the law firm's partners Frank W. Coppola and William C. Marlin to their exclusive Super Lawyers list using a "rigorous, multiphase rating process" that includes peer evaluation. Only five percent of Colorado attorneys make the list. Although the Denver personal injury attorneys graciously accept their place amongst the highest-ranking attorneys in Colorado for 2011, they ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 9, 2011) -- High in the sky, water in clouds can act as a temptress to lure airborne pollutants such as sulfur dioxide into reactive aqueous particulates. Although this behavior is not incorporated into today's climate-modeling scenarios, emerging research from the University of Oregon provides evidence that it should be. The role of sulfur dioxide -- a pollutant of volcanic gasses and many combustion processes -- in acid rain is well known, but how sulfur dioxide reacts at the surface of aqueous particulates in the atmosphere to form acid rain is ...

Premises liability is one of those legal phrases that can be intimidating, but simply put, it is the duty that New York law places upon property owners to keep their property reasonably safe. This duty can vary according to a variety of factors, often centering on the nature of the property and whether the visitor was invited onto it. In New York City apartment complex accidents, there are a variety of situations where premises liability comes into play. There are many different ways to categorize premises liability accidents; in this article we will break them down ...

ALR Marketing Solutions, a premier Atlanta marketing agency, is pleased to announce launch of their new web presence at www.ALRMarketingSolutions.com. The new site includes a more comprehensive overview of their services, including Atlanta PR, traditional and Internet Marketing solutions. In addition, the site features web design samples, Atlanta marketing articles, blog and sign-up for Free Marketing Solutions Consultations. Their online visitors can learn more about brand building, market research, PR campaign planning, search engine optimization (SEO), and Pay Per Click ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Most strategies to assist the hungry, including food banks and providing food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, are short-term, emergency solutions. Those who rely on these programs face daily shortages of fresh and healthy foods, which lead to poor diet choices, nutritional deficiencies and health problems. An expert at the University of Missouri says the production of sustainable, locally grown foods is key to providing long-term food security for communities. "We have to recognize that access to food is a human right," says ...

A key step in the processing of HIV within cells appears to affect how effectively the immune system's killer T cells can recognize and destroy infected cells. Researchers at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard have found that – as HIV proteins are broken down within cells, a process that should lead to labeling infected cell for destruction by CD8 T cells – there is a great variability in the stability of resulting protein segments, variations that could significantly change how well cells are recognized by the immune system. Their report appears in the June ...

This release is available in Spanish. Ann Arbor, Mich. — Wealth, population size, race and age associate with the supply of hospice care available in a county, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management this month. Local availability is an important predictor of use of hospice programs, which are end-of-life services that have been shown to improve pain control, maintain patients' independence and even extend life, says lead author Maria Silveira, M.D., M.P.H., of the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System and assistant professor ...

Digestive Disease Week (DDW) is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. Jointly sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, DDW takes place May 7-10, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. The meeting showcases approximately 5,000 abstracts and hundreds of lectures ...

This press release is available in Spanish. An international team of researchers co-led by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist has sequenced the genomes of two fungal pathogens-one that threatens global wheat supplies and another that limits production of a tree crop valued as a future source for biofuel. The sequencing of the genetic codes of wheat stem rust pathogen (Puccinia graminis) and poplar leaf rust pathogen (Melampsora larici-populina) is expected to help researchers develop control strategies to address worldwide threats to wheat fields and ...

New York — May 9,2011 — Abnormalities in cardiac conduction, the rate at which the heart conducts electrical impulses to contract and relax, are a major cause of death and disability around the world. Researchers at Columbia Engineering School have been developing a new method, Electromechanical Wave Imaging (EWI), that is the first non-invasive technique to map the electrical activation of the heart. Based on ultrasound imaging, EWI will enable doctors to treat arrhythmias more efficiently and more precisely. The study was published online in the May 9th Proceedings of ...

BOSTON – There is no doubt that undergoing infertility treatment is stressful, with high rates of anxiety and depression reported by many patients. Mind/body therapies designed to help women reduce stress earlier in the treatment process result in higher pregnancy rates, but little is known specifically about the impact of these therapies on women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). A new study published June 1 in Fertility and Sterility, a publication of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, shows that women who participate in a mind/body program for stress ...

Chestnut Hill, MA (5/9/2011) – Wait times quoted by restaurants typically increase depending on the size of the party. Though large parties are often given longer wait times, the actual time spent waiting to be seated turns out to be shorter than the time estimate from the host or hostess, according to a report in the most recent edition of the Journal of Service Research. One of the main reasons behind this discrepancy is the practice of "cherry picking" or "serving the high value customers and denying service to low value customers." For restaurants, cherry picking ...

Boston, MA—A study by scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute shows that a bioptic telescope on one lens of a pair of glasses used to magnify traffic signs and lights may not prevent the wider view of the road with the second eye. The study results, which will be published in the May 2011 Archives of Ophthalmology, are the first evidence that--under more realistic viewing conditions than in earlier studies--the second eye can detect objects in the area obscured by the magnification effect of the telescope (called the ring scotoma). "These study results are significant ...

(Garrison, NY) Medical involvement with torture is prohibited by international law and professional associations, and yet sometimes it is the right thing for doctors to do, argue two bioethicists. Their timely paper in the Hastings Center Report comes as news of the trail leading to the death of Osama Bin Laden points to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay who were subject to "enhanced interrogation techniques," which many believe amounted to torture. Despite its prohibition, torture remains widespread in more than a third of countries, according to data from Amnesty International ...

New Rochelle, NY, May 9, 2011—Disorders of the eye are excellent targets for gene therapy because the ocular environment is readily accessible, relatively easy to monitor, and sequestered from the rest of the body. A series of articles available online ahead of print in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com), highlight several exciting developments in ocular gene therapy. The articles are available free online at www.liebertpub.com/hum Two review articles describe the unique opportunities for ocular gene therapy. ...

Similar to humans, the bacteria and tiny plants living in the ocean need iron for energy and growth. But their situation is quite different from ours--for one, they can't turn to natural iron sources like leafy greens or red meat for a pick-me-up. So, from where does their iron come? New research results published in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience point to a source on the seafloor: minute particles of pyrite, or fool's gold, from hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean. Scientists already knew the vents' cloudy plumes, which spew forth from ...