Neurofibrillary tangles – odd, twisted clumps of protein found within nerve cells – are a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The tangles, which were first identified in the early 1900s by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Aloysius Alzheimer, are formed when changes in a protein called tau cause it to aggregate in an insoluble mass in the cytoplasm of cells. Normally, the tau protein is involved in the formation of microtubules, hollow filaments that provide cells with support and structure; abnormal tau tangles, however, cause that structure to break down, ...

Graphene, which is composed of a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms in a honeycomb-like lattice (like atomic-scale chicken wire), is the world's thinnest material – and one of the hardest and strongest. Indeed, the past few years have seen an explosion of research into the properties and potential applications of graphene, which has been touted as a superior alternative to silicon. Because graphene is a two-dimensional material, "all of it is an exposed surface," says physical chemist Phaedon Avouris, manager of the Nanometer Scale Science and Technology division at ...

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- A University of Michigan Health System laboratory study reveals a key trigger for producing normal red blood cells that could lead to a new treatment for those with sickle cell disease. The study, conducted in mice, appears in this week's early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and holds promise for preventing the painful episodes and organ damage that are common complications of sickle cell disease. According to the U-M study, increasing the expression of the proteins, TR2 and TR4, more than doubled the level of fetal ...

Much of the body's chemistry is controlled by the brain – from blood pressure to appetite to food metabolism. In a study published recently in Developmental Cell, a team of scientists led by Dr. Gil Levkowitz of the Weizmann Institute has revealed the exact structure of one crucial brain area in which biochemical commands are passed from the brain cells to the bloodstream and from there to the body. In the process, they discovered a surprising new role for the 'hormone of love,' showing that it helps to direct the development of this brain structure. The area in question, ...

Waste management is a big issue anywhere, but at the cellular level it can be a matter of life and death. A Weizmann Institute study, published in the Journal of Cell Biology, has revealed what causes a molecular waste container in the cell to overflow in Batten disease, a rare but fatal neurodegenerative disorder that begins in childhood. The findings may form the basis for a therapy for this disorder. In Batten disease, an insoluble yellow pigment accumulates in the brain's neurons, causing these cells to degenerate and ultimately die. Patients gradually become disabled, ...

Europe's leading scientists have pledged to embrace and expand the role of technology in the Humanities. In a Science Policy Briefing released today by the European Science Foundation (ESF), they argue that without Research Infrastructures (RIs) such as archives, libraries, academies, museums and galleries, significant strands of Humanities research would not be possible. By drawing on a number of case studies, the report demonstrates that digital RIs offer Humanities scholars new and productive ways to explore old questions and develop new ones. According to Professor ...

Eating a Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity can help to improve some of the symptoms of sleep apnoea, according to new research. The study, which is published online in the European Respiratory Journal, looked at the impact a Mediterranean diet can have on obese people with sleep apnoea, compared to those on a prudent diet. Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) causes frequent pauses of breathing to occur during sleep, which disrupts a person's normal sleeping pattern. It is one of the most prevalent sleep-related breathing disorders with approximately ...

According to a new study by researchers from the MPI for Psycholinguistics and the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, you don't need to have words for emotions to understand them. The results of the study were published online on October 17 in Emotion, a journal of the American Psychological Association. The study provides new evidence that the perception of emotional signals is not driven by language, supporting the view that emotions constitute a set of biologically evolved mechanisms. The study compared German speakers to speakers of Yucatec Maya, a Mayan language ...

GateKeeper is proving to be the "difference-maker" for communities who are serious about moving their social media strategy forward. Social media is gaining traction as a PR tool for communities who wish to attract new businesses. As a content medium, social media is efficient, instantaneous, and popular. Social media is also time-consuming and daunting for communities strapped for time and resources. GateKeeper, from Golden Shovel Agency, will make social media implementation manageable. According to company president Ron Kresha: "The key to our ...

Investigators estimate that there are currently more than 15 million photographs of child abuse victims circulating on the Internet. By the time this material has been tracked down and deleted, pedophiles have long since downloaded it to their computers. Many are avid data collectors: when suspects' data media are confiscated, detectives must often click their way through hundreds of thousands of files to find the illegal images they seek. An extremely time-consuming process – until now. Because researchers working with Dr. Bertram Nickolay of the Fraunhofer Institute for ...

As soon as DNA is mentioned, we automatically think of biology and living beings. It is the DNA molecule found inside each and every cell that holds the encoded blueprints for humans, animals or plants. But factories too have a master plan of this kind. All modern manufacturing facilities resemble living organisms in their complex structure. And, just as in biology, all their constituent parts are linked to one another and have to be painstakingly coordinated. Now, the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB in Karlsruhe has taken ...

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With flu season just around the corner, scientists are reporting development of a new material for the fiber in face masks, air conditioning filters and air cleaning filters that captures influenza viruses before they can get into people's eyes, noses and mouths and cause infection. The report on the fiber appears in ACS' journal Biomacromolecules. Xuebing Li, Peixing Wu and colleagues explain that in an average year, influenza kills almost 300,000 people and sickens millions more worldwide. The constant emergence of new strains of virus that shrug off vaccines and anti-influenza ...

For the first time, scientists report a link between eating nuts and higher levels of serotonin in the bodies of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS), who are at high risk for heart disease. Serotonin is a substance that helps transmit nerve signals and decreases feelings of hunger, makes people feel happier and improves heart health. It took only one ounce of mixed nuts (raw unpeeled walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts) a day to produce the good effects. The report appears in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. Cristina Andrés-Lacueva and colleagues from the Biomarkers ...

Concerns that global warming may have a domino effect —unleashing 600 billion tons of carbon in vast expanses of peat in the Northern hemisphere and accelerating warming to disastrous proportions — may be less justified than previously thought. That's the conclusion of a new study on the topic in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. Christian Blodau and colleagues explain that peat bogs — wet deposits of partially decayed plants that are the source of gardeners' peat moss and fuel — hold about one-third of the world's carbon. Scientists have been concerned ...

The Delaware Insurance Department's recent announcement that it has recovered nearly $2 million this year for auto, homeowner and other policyholders in that state exemplifies the work regulators carry out on behalf of consumers nationwide, according to Online Auto Insurance (OAI). For the average person, filing a claim on a low cost car insurance policy and then trying to work out a settlement with a large insurer can be a daunting task. But regulatory agencies in every state can help residents settle claims that might otherwise never be paid. A vehicle policy is ...

When fat, sugar and gluten come out of salad dressings, sauces, cookies, beverages, and other foods with the new genre of package labels shouting what's not there, what goes into "light" or "-free" versions of products to make them taste like the original version? The answers appear in the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. In the article Melody Bombgardner, C&EN Senior Business Editor, explains that food processors usually face the problem of reproducing the texture or "mouth feel" of products that have cut back ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Both boys and girls who play video games tend to be more creative, regardless of whether the games are violent or nonviolent, according to new research by Michigan State University scholars. A study of nearly 500 12-year-olds found that the more kids played video games, the more creative they were in tasks such as drawing pictures and writing stories. In contrast, use of cell phones, the Internet and computers (other than for video games) was unrelated to creativity, the study found. Linda Jackson, professor of psychology and lead researcher on ...

Cardiology departments have hosted a variety of software solutions in the past to meet varying demands. A new report from KLAS reveals that the cardiology IT market is moving toward consolidation. The report, "Cardiology 2012: Will the Complete CVIS Please Stand Up?," explains that as a result of the trend toward consolidation providers are looking for a technology leader to step up and meet their needs. This report examines which vendors, providers feel are poised to lead the cardiology market, provide necessary functionality, and offer integration. "Many ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a viral vector designed to deliver a gene into the eyes of people born with an inherited, progressive form of blindness that affects mainly males. The vector is part of a clinical trial investigating the use of gene therapy to cure choroideremia, a disease that affects an estimated 100,000 people worldwide. The trial is being conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford in England. The vector was designed by Dr. Matthew During, professor of ...

Although initially linked with tropical climes as a way to shield against heat and strong sunshine (the chance would be a fine thing in this country!), shutters are also a perfect window treatment to help keep us warm and cosy during cold, wintry weather (that'll be a fair proportion of the year then!). As they fit snugly and tightly into the window recess, effectively 'closing' off the window, they provide better insulation than curtains or blinds. Making the most of natural daylight is even more important during the shorter winter days and shutters allow you to let ...

New York, November 2, 2011 -- A woman goes into labor, and gives birth. The newborn is swaddled and placed to sleep in a nearby bassinet, or taken to the hospital nursery so that the mother can rest. Despite this common practice, new research published in Biological Psychiatry provides new evidence that separating infants from their mothers is stressful to the baby. It is standard practice in a hospital setting, particularly among Western cultures, to separate mothers and their newborns. Separation is also common for babies under medical distress or premature babies, who ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A newly published paper from Rhode Island Hospital reports that Web-based assessments for outcome measurements of patients in treatment for depression are valid and reliable. The findings indicate that the Internet version of the depression scale was equivalent to the paper version, and that patients preferred the Internet version. The paper is published in this month's edition of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Lead author Mark Zimmerman, M.D., director of outpatient psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital, and his colleagues studied 53 psychiatric ...

WASHINGTON — A new data network that integrates emerging research on the molecular makeup of diseases with clinical data on individual patients could drive the development of a more accurate classification of disease and ultimately enhance diagnosis and treatment, says a new report from the National Research Council. The "new taxonomy" that emerges would define diseases by their underlying molecular causes and other factors in addition to their traditional physical signs and symptoms. The report adds that the new data network could also improve biomedical research by ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Examining the chin and upper and lower abdomen is a reliable, minimally invasive way to screen for excessive hair growth in women, a key indicator of too much male hormone, researchers report. "We wanted to find a way to identify this problem in women that was as non-intrusive and accurate as possible," said Dr. Ricardo Azziz, reproductive endocrinologist and President of Georgia Health Sciences University. "We believe this approach is approximately 80 percent accurate and will be less traumatic for women in many situations than the full body assessments ...