GREENBELT, Md. -- Researchers analyzing meteorite fragments that fell on a frozen lake in Canada have developed an explanation for the origin of life's handedness – why living things only use molecules with specific orientations. The work also gave the strongest evidence to date that liquid water inside an asteroid leads to a strong preference of left-handed over right-handed forms of some common protein amino acids in meteorites. The result makes the search for extraterrestrial life more challenging. "Our analysis of the amino acids in meteorite fragments from Tagish ...

Women with diabetes are just as likely to be interested in, and engage in, sexual activity as non-diabetic women, but they are much more likely to report low overall sexual satisfaction, according to a UCSF study. The researchers also found that diabetic women receiving insulin treatment were at higher risk for the specific complications of lubrication and orgasm. "Diabetes is a recognized risk factor for erectile dysfunction in men, but there have been almost no data to indicate whether it also affects sexual function in women," said senior author Alison J. Huang, ...

July 25, 2012 There are many factors that affect tumor invasion, the process where a tumor grows beyond the tissue where it first developed. While factors like genetics, tissue type and environmental exposure affect tumor metastasis and invasion, physical forces like fluid flow remain a poorly understood component of tumor invasion. A new video article in JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, describes a novel procedure that allows researchers to study and test the microenvironment of a growing tumor. The technique is valuable because it allows scientists to assay ...

URBANA -- Events that take place early in life almost certainly have consequences for later cognitive development. Establishing the connections is difficult, however, because human infants cannot be used as laboratory subjects. Rodney Johnson and his collaborators have developed an alternative model for studying infant brain development. "Assistant professor Ryan Dilger and I became interested in establishing the neonatal piglet as a model of human brain and cognitive development 3 or 4 years ago," he said. The idea came to Johnson when a former student, who was working ...

New research conducted by biologists at Texas A&M University suggests that ZOLOFT®, one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants in the world, also packs a potential preventative bonus — potent mechanisms capable of inhibiting deadly fungal infections. The findings are the result of a two-year investigation by Xiaorong Lin, assistant professor of biology, and Matthew S. Sachs, professor of biology, involving sertraline hydrocholoride (ZOLOFT) and its effects on Cryptococcus neoformans, the major causative agent of fungal meningitis — specifically, cryptococcal meningitis, ...

Raising levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the frontal cortex of the brain significantly decreased impulsivity in healthy adults, in a study conducted by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. "Impulsivity is a risk factor for addiction to many substances, and it has been suggested that people with lower dopamine levels in the frontal cortex tend to be more impulsive," said lead author Andrew Kayser, PhD, an investigator at Gallo and an assistant professor of neurology at UCSF. "We wanted to ...

Almost half of the tropical forest reserves in a new study are ineffective, according to results published in the journal Nature by William Laurance, research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute now at James Cook University in Australia and more than 200 co-authors. "Biodiversity is declining rapidly at reserves including Kahuzi Biega in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Xishuangbanna in southern China, and Northern Sierra Madre in the Philippines, among others," said Laurance. "Reserves that are doing relatively well include Bwindi Impenetrable N.P. ...

Ann Arbor, Mich. — University of Michigan researchers have discovered a new cause of congenital myopathy: a mutation in a previously uncharacterized gene, according to research published this month in the American Journal of Human Genetics. About 50% of congenital myopathy cases currently do not have a known genetic basis, presenting a clear barrier to understanding disease and developing therapy, says James Dowling, M.D., Ph.D., the paper's co-senior author and assistant professor of Pediatric Neurology at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Finding ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — In the powerful sunlight of July, newly published results from a large study of people at high risk for basal cell carcinoma support the emerging view of the nation's most common cancer as a chronic ailment that often repeatedly afflicts older people but for which the seeds may be planted in youth. The research also found a new association with eczema. "Basal cell carcinoma is a chronic disease once people have had multiple instances of it, because they are always at risk of getting more," said Dr. Martin Weinstock, professor of dermatology ...

Two recent studies in the July issues of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) looked at surgical site infections and hyperglycemia, the technical term for high blood glucose, or high blood sugar. According to the first study "Relationship of Hyperglycemia and Surgical-Site Infection in Orthopaedic Surgery," high blood sugar is a concern during the post-traumatic and post-operative period and it may help to preoperatively identify a population of patients with musculoskeletal injuries who are at significant risk for infectious complications. Nearly, one-third ...

When casting our eyes upon an object, our brains either perceive it in its entirety or as a collection of its parts. Consider, for instance, photo mosaics consisting of hundreds of tiny pictures that when arranged a certain way form a larger overall image: In fact, it takes two separate mental functions to see the mosaic from both perspectives. A new study suggests that these two distinct cognitive processes also are in play with our basic physical perceptions of men and women -- and, importantly, provides clues as to why women are often the targets of sexual objectification. The ...

RENO, Nev. – A new study published in the prestigious journal Science, co-authored by University of Nevada, Reno's Glenn Biasi and colleagues at GNS Science in New Zealand, finds that very large earthquakes have been occurring relatively regularly on the Alpine Fault along the southwest coastline of New Zealand for at least 8,000 years. The Alpine Fault is the most hazardous fault on the South Island of New Zealand, and about 80 miles northwest of the South Island's main city of Christchurch. The team developed evidence for 22 earthquakes at the Hokuri Creek site, ...

In response to a study published in the August issue of Health Affairs regarding declining medical imaging use in recent years, the American College of Radiology (ACR) released a statement explaining that physician education efforts and quality assurance steps have resulted in more efficient use of imaging, but that arbitrary Medicare cuts are damaging patient access to care. The ACR also cited a December 2011 Health Affairs article that shows Medicare imaging cuts may have resulted in physical harm to patients. "This Health Affairs study further supports the fact that ...

(Edmonton) Women who suffered spinal injuries in the 2005 Pakistan earthquake continued to endure hardships years later, including abandonment by spouses and families, according to new research from the University of Alberta. Zubia Mumtaz, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health who studies how gender and class inequalities affect maternal health, worked with a team of graduate students to document the experiences of paraplegic women three years after the 7.6-magnitude quake that devastated Kashmir. They found that women—far more than men with similar spinal ...

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have identified several factors in people infected with the hepatitis C virus that may predict whether the unusually rapid progression of disease from initial infection to severe liver conditions, such as cirrhosis, will occur. Knowing whether a patient's condition is likely to deteriorate quickly could help physicians decide on the best course of treatment. The study was conducted by an international team of researchers led by Patrizia Farci, M.D., chief of the Hepatic Pathogenesis Section in the Laboratory of Infectious ...

WHAT: The rate of new HIV infections among black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States, particularly younger men, is high and suggests the need for prevention programs specifically tailored to this population, according to initial findings from the HPTN 061 study. The preliminary results were presented at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C., by study co-chair Kenneth Mayer, M.D., medical research director for the Fenway Community Health Center in Boston. The HPTN 061 study, which involved 1,553 black MSM ages 18 and older ...

Researchers reporting online on July 26 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have for the first time shown that they can control the behavior of monkeys by using pulses of blue light to very specifically activate particular brain cells. The findings represent a key advance for optogenetics, a state-of-the-art method for making causal connections between brain activity and behavior. Based on the discovery, the researchers say that similar light-based mind control could likely also be made to work in humans for therapeutic ends. "We are the first to show that optogenetics ...

VIDEO: A new technology described in the paper published online on July 26 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, might allow people who have almost completely lost the ability to... Click here for more information. A new technology described in the paper published online on July 26 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, might allow people who have almost completely lost the ability to move their arms or legs to communicate freely, by using their eyes to ...

Genome sequences of African hunter-gatherers from three different populations reveal insights into how humans have adapted to distinct environments over evolutionary history. By sequencing whole genomes of individuals within these groups, a team of scientists has substantially expanded knowledge about the scope of genetic diversity in humans, publishing their findings on July 26th in the journal Cell. Africa is the ancestral homeland of all modern humans and contains the highest level of genetic diversity among all of the continents. "Even though African populations ...

A new drug could aid in losing weight and keeping it off. The drug, described in the journal Cell Metabolism on July 26, increases sensitivity to the hormone leptin, a natural appetite suppressant found in the body. Although so far the new drug has only been tested on mice, the findings have implications for the development of new treatments for obesity in humans. "By sensitizing the body to naturally occurring leptin, the new drug could not only promote weight loss, but also help maintain it," says senior study author George Kunos of the National Institute on Alcohol ...

Cincinnati, OH. July 26, 2012 – Congenital hypothyroidism is thyroid hormone deficiency at birth that, if left untreated, can lead to neurocognitive impairments in infants and children. Although the World Health Organization recommends 200-300 µg of iodine daily during pregnancy for normal fetal thyroid hormone production and neurocognitive development, the US Institute of Medicine considers 1,100 µg to be the safe upper limit for daily ingestion. A case series scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics describes three infants who developed congenital hypothyroidism ...

PHILADELPHIA — Human diversity in Africa is greater than any place else on Earth. Differing food sources, geographies, diseases and climates offered many targets for natural selection to exert powerful forces on Africans to change and adapt to their local environments. The individuals who adapted best were the most likely to reproduce and pass on their genomes to the generations who followed. That history of inheritance is written in the DNA of modern Africans, but it takes some investigative work to interpret. In a report to be featured on the cover of the Aug. 3 issue ...

Washington, DC – An international expert task force is calling on health care providers to aggressively identify and provide care for the millions of people who have suffered their first osteoporosis-related fracture, in order to prevent subsequent fractures. In an extensive review of possible solutions to prevent these so-called "secondary fractures," the task force identified the most effective solution – a system of patient care coordination called "fracture liaison services" that research has shown to significantly improve follow-up assessment and treatment after ...

A Simon Fraser University graduate student's collaboration with her thesis supervisor on how a particular type of protein controls the growth of another protein could advance cancer research. Their findings have just been published in the online July 26 issue of Current Biology, a CellPress journal. Esther Verheyen, an SFU professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, has helped her Master's of Science student Joanna Chen uncover how Hipk can be manipulated to stop Yorkie from causing tissue overgrowth in flies. Hipk is a protein kinase — a type of enzyme that ...

West Orange, NJ. July 26, 2012. For the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Kessler Foundation and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development released a new research brief on disability employment. "Strategies to Support Employer-Driven Initiatives to Recruit and Retain Employees with Disabilities" explores a growing trend among employers to establish initiatives to increase the participation of workers with disabilities in their workplaces. Authors are Elaine Katz, MS, CCC-SLP of Kessler Foundation, Meg O'Connell of the National Organization on ...