Using a combination of Facebook-like tools and personally controlled health records, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have engaged members of an online diabetes social network as participants in public health surveillance. In an article published April 27 in PLoS ONE, Elissa Weitzman, ScD, MSc, and Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH, of the Children's Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP) show that health-focused social networks can be viable resources for chronic disease surveillance. "There is growing recognition that online communities not only provide a place for members ...

Thousands of members of the public across Europe have taken part in one of the largest evolutionary studies ever, by observing banded snails in their gardens and open public spaces. More than 6,000 people in 15 European countries took part in the Open University's citizen science project between April and October 2009. The project, Evolution MegaLab, is an online mass public experiment aimed at bringing Darwinian theory to life. It was launched in April 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. People were invited to report their sightings of banded ...

In a recent study to be published on April 27, 2011, in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PLoS ONE, Dr. Elliott Hazen and colleagues found that oceanographic and prey measurements can be used to identify beaked whale foraging habitat. The research team from Duke University, Woods Hole, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center listened for foraging beaked whales and measured ocean features and distributions of prey off the east coast of Andross Island in the Bahamas. Their manuscript provides evidence that these difficult to study deep-diving creatures use specific ocean ...

Chevy Chase, MD— A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that higher metabolic rates predict early natural mortality, indicating that higher energy turnover may accelerate aging in humans. Higher energy turnover is associated with shorter lifespan in animals, but evidence for this association in humans is limited. To investigate whether higher metabolic rate is associated with aging in humans, this study examined whether energy expenditure, measured in a metabolic chamber over 24 hours ...

Chevy Chase, MD— A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that while black and white children with vitamin D deficiency both had higher fat levels, black children were more likely to have higher levels of fat just under their skin and white children were more likely to have higher levels of fat between their internal organs. Studies in adults and children have shown a link between obesity and vitamin D deficiency. However, data characterizing the racial differences in the relationship ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Like people with a big choice to make, stem cells have a process to "decide" whether to transform into a specific cell type or to stay flexible, a state that biologists call "pluripotency." Using a technology he invented, Brown researcher William Fairbrother and colleagues have discovered new molecular interactions in the process that will help regenerative medicine researchers better understand pluripotency. In a paper published in advance online in the journal Genome Research, Fairbrother's team showed that different proteins called ...

A land of outstanding natural beauty, breathtaking views and unrivalled service levels, it's little wonder that Switzerland is such a popular choice for Headwater customers wanting to combine activity by day with luxury in the evenings. For 2011, we have both walking and cycling holidays available. We've listed our 6 most popular choices below - and, if you book any of these within the next 14 days, we'll send you a luxury Lindt chocolate hamper just to say "thank you"! Favourite for Foodies: Walking in Davos The elegant **** Hotel Meirhof is your base ...

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Colonoscopy is regarded as the most thorough way to screen for colon cancer but the potentially life-saving procedure can also be painful. Scientists and engineers are continually researching new methods of screening to reduce patient discomfort while also ensuring the accuracy of the exam. Researchers at Tufts University's School of Engineering led by Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Caroline G.L. Cao, Ph.D., have developed a device that could potentially do both. Tufts endoscopic fiber optic shape tracker (EFOST) technology ...

STONY BROOK, NY, April 27, 2011–An international team of scientists, led by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, has used DNA to determine that groups of dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) and copper sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) living in different coastal regions across the globe are separate populations of each species. Both are large apex predators that are heavily exploited for the shark fin trade, which claims tens of millions of animals every year to produce the Asian delicacy, shark fin soup. Many of these species are declining ...

Fruit flies that moved from sub-Saharan Africa found themselves confronted by conditions very different from those to which they were accustomed. Most obviously, the average temperatures were considerably lower and so it is no surprise that the flies had to adapt to cope with life in the north. As a result of thousands of years of evolution, populations in sub-Saharan African and in Europe now differ dramatically in a number of characteristics known to relate to temperature (such as pigmentation, size and resistance to cold). Schlötterer's previous work had suggested ...

When you are plagued by unsightly facial lines and wrinkles, nothing can be more satisfying than immediate correction with dermal fillers. Dermal fillers consist of biocompatible materials, such as concentrated hyaluronic acid, that are injected beneath the skin to enhance subtle contours and soften facial creases and wrinkles brought on by old age. If you would like to regain your youthful appearance without the downtime required for facelift surgery, dermal fillers may be right for you. How to Select a Dermal Filler For Your Needs There are dozens of dermal fillers ...

A study by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) shows a lack of standardisation in the peer review systems whereby independent experts assess the content of scientific publications published in Spain. This results in a low level of international competitiveness among these publications. "We studied the entire peer review process, beyond the fact of such a review simply being stated in the publication. Our research showed a low level of standardisation in these processes. This reflects a need to work to professionalise some of the Spanish scientific ...

Government Shutdowns, Budget Deficits and Social Security Benefits With a government shutdown recently narrowly averted, many people wondered what happens to Social Security benefits during a government shutdown. While the Social Security Administration is able to operate on its own during a shutdown, shortcomings in the SSA's funding as well as issues with the federal deficit and debt ceiling may signal trouble for the SSA and people receiving Social Security benefits in the future. Government Shutdown During a government shutdown, only "essential" ...

In urban communities, less than 1 in 100 inhabitants died from Spanish flu in 1918, but in isolated communities up to 9 out of 10 died. An important explanation for the differences is due to different exposure to influenza in the decades before the Spanish flu came. Those living in urban communities probably had a higher degree of pre-existing immunity that protected against illness and death in 1918 than those living in very isolated rural areas. This is shown in a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Previous studies have suggested that an important ...

The analysis assesses the 12-month prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in individuals according to their category of alcohol use. The 2001 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions study (the NESARC study, n = 43,093) identified 16,147 abstinent individuals, 15,884 moderate consumers, 9,578 hazardous drinkers — defined as exceeding sex-specific weekly limits established by the World Health Organization, and 1,484 alcohol-dependent subjects. Diagnoses were generated using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV ...

Car Accident Reports Impacted by Latest Ohio Transportation Budget One important bit of wisdom that most people understand about the aftermath of an Ohio auto accident is to wait for police to arrive so you can provide your take on events for the police report. The information that law enforcement includes regarding a car crash or trucking accident is important for both criminal charges and civil liability. But the latest transportation and public safety budget passed by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by Governor Kasich limits the circumstances under which police ...

A new test shows promise for detecting the early stages of a major cause of failure in joint replacement implants, so that patients can be treated and perhaps avoid additional surgery. More than 1.5 million total joint replacement operations are performed worldwide each year. While the success rate is 90 per cent, almost 10 per cent of implants fail and require additional surgery, report appears in the ACS journal Molecular Pharmaceutics. Dong Wang and colleagues at University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Hospital for Special Surgery of New York explain that wear ...

The first analysis of the healthful antioxidant content of blueberries that grow wild in Mexico, Central and South America concludes that some of these fruits have even more healthful antioxidants than the blueberries — already renowned as "super fruits" — sold throughout the United States. These extreme super fruits could provide even more protection against heart disease, cancer and other conditions, the report suggests. It appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Edward Kennelly and colleagues note that although there are over 600 species of blueberries ...

Preventable Medical Errors Happen Too Frequently in U.S. Hospitals Study Finds Hospital Safety Not Improving Fast Enough A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found patient safety in US hospitals is not improving -- despite the renewed focus in many health care centers on improving the delivery of patient care and reducing the incidence of medical errors. The study examined more than 2300 patient records from 2002 to 2007 at 10 different hospitals in North Carolina. The lead author of the study, Dr. Christopher P. Landrigan, M.D., M.P.H., ...

Scientists are reporting development of a process for producing large quantities of a much-needed new imaging agent for computed tomography (CT) scans in heart disease, breast cancer and other diseases, and the first evidence that the material is safe for clinical use. The imaging agent is a tantalum oxide nanoparticle, which is inexpensive, and stays in the body long enough to image many different organs. The report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Taeghwan Hyeon, Seung Hong Choi, and colleagues explain that CT is one of the most widely used medical ...

Pull into the auto repair shop with a smashed bumper, and there's no wait while they order a replacement. Instead, the technician downloads specifications from the manufacturer's database. You both watch as a laser beam probing a container of liquid plastic material almost magically builds a new bumper inch by inch. The scenario may sound like science fiction, but advances in polymer materials are moving the technology for 3-D printing" of prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, designer furniture, surgical tools and other products out of the designer's studio and into the ...

Alabama Workers' Compensation Safety on the job is of the utmost importance. But, even among the safest workers, accidents can happen. In an instant, a normal workday can transform into a traumatizing and potentially life changing experience. Following the correct procedures in order to have a successful workers' compensation claim is often far from the first thing on the mind of a worker immediately following an on the job injury. But, by knowing what your employer's responsibilities are, whether or not you are eligible, and what to do if you do suffer an injury ...

Magnetics researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) colored lots of eggs recently. Bunnies and children might find the eggs a bit small—in fact, too small to see without a microscope. But these "eggcentric" nanomagnets have another practical use, suggesting strategies for making future low-power computer memories. For a study described in a new paper,* NIST researchers used electron-beam lithography to make thousands of nickel-iron magnets, each about 200 nanometers (billionths of a meter) in diameter. Each magnet is ordinarily shaped like ...

Facing Foreclosure? Bankruptcy Might Be a Better Option Foreclosure rates in the U.S. have skyrocketed since the housing market crash. Last year, more than 2.5 million homeowners received foreclosure notices, a 2.5 percent increase over the previous year and more than 23 percent increase over foreclosures in 2008. Arizona has remained one of the states hardest hit, with Phoenix ranking second only to Las Vegas as the city with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. If you're one of these homeowners, you may be asking yourself what you can do with mortgage loans ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A new study from Hasbro Children's Hospital has found that most obese adolescents are lacking in vitamin D. The researchers call for increased surveillance of vitamin D levels in this population and for further studies to determine if normalizing vitamin D levels will help to lower the health risks associated with obesity. The study is published in the May edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health and is now available online in advance of print. Obesity in children and adolescents has reached epidemic proportions, with a prevalence of 16.4 percent ...