Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often undergo multiple courses of antidepressant treatment during their lives. This is because the disorder can recur despite treatment and because finding the right medication for a specific individual can take time. While the relationship between prior treatment and the brain's response to subsequent treatment is unknown, a new study by UCLA researchers suggests that how the brain responds to antidepressant medication may be influenced by its remembering of past antidepressant exposure. Interestingly, the researchers ...

Concluding a four-year global consultation, international experts have agreed on key efforts needed to reduce the on-going loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. On Day 2 of the Planet under Pressure conference in London (planetunderpressure2012.net) March 27, leaders of the global biodiversity research programme DIVERSITAS described the urgent need to better understand the "5 Ws" -- who, what, where, when and why -- of biodiversity loss, and how humanity might mitigate it. Human well-being depends on ecosystems like forests and coral reefs continuing ...

April marks the 29th anniversary of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time dedicated to child abuse education, awareness and prevention activities. To observe National Child Abuse Prevention month, Love Our Children USA, (a national organization headquartered in New York whose mission is to break the cycle of violence against children) begins its ninth annual GET BLUE campaign - a national effort to educate and raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention. The "Blue Ribbon" is the symbol for child abuse prevention. Love Our Children USA urges every person ...

Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease, a leading cause of chronic liver disease in children and adolescents in industrialized countries, according to new findings by Yale School of Medicine researchers. The study, which focused on three ethnic groups, is published in the March issue of the journal Hepatology. Led by Nicola Santoro, M.D., associate research scientist in the Department of Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, the authors measured the hepatic, or liver, fat content of children using magnetic resonance imaging. ...

Intensive research around the world has focused on improving the performance of solar photovoltaic cells and bringing down their cost. But very little attention has been paid to the best ways of arranging those cells, which are typically placed flat on a rooftop or other surface, or sometimes attached to motorized structures that keep the cells pointed toward the sun as it crosses the sky. Now, a team of MIT researchers has come up with a very different approach: building cubes or towers that extend the solar cells upward in three-dimensional configurations. Amazingly, ...

PROSSER, Wash. -- While Washington winemakers grow most of their grapes on their natural rootstock, the coveted quality of their crop--and wines--is unlikely to change if they join the rest of the world and start grafting their varieties to more disease- and pest-resistant roots. That day will probably come, say WSU experts, but growers have little to fear. The spectre of a vine-destroying invasion has been lurking in the shadows of Washington vineyards for years. What if, wine industry professionals have fretted, growers had to start grafting in order to beat the insects ...

The Lint Center, a non-profit charity, focused on supporting the educational pursuits of the next generation of America's Counterintelligence and National Security Workers, today formally announced Miguel Ibarra was awarded the Special Agent/SSG Richard S. Eaton Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship award aims to support undergraduate and post-graduate educational pursuits of scholars interested in National Security. Lint Center scholarship winners are chosen on various grounds but are all well-rounded individuals whom the scholarship namesake would be or would have ...

Amsterdam, NL -- Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Today, 5.4 million Americans are living with the disease, and another American develops it every 69 seconds. Unfortunately, many Alzheimer's disease drugs targeting the misfolding of the amyloid beta protein have failed clinical trials, leading some to question the validity of the amyloid hypothesis. In upcoming issues ...

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a key foundational species in an ecosystem that is threatened by invasion of cheatgrass and the subsequent increase in fire frequency. Critical to the conservation, reestablishment, and restoration of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem (which comprises 63 million hectares of the Great Basin of North America) is understanding the dynamics of A. tridentata seeds—how long do they remain viable and are they able to persist in the seed bank for any length of time? Previously it was thought that A. tridentata seeds did not persist in the ...

Continuing to ride the wave of success, the Panic Room Company has just returned from Madrid's eminent security show SICUR 2012 (Salón Internacional de la Seguridad) where its innovative product gained centre of attention and screen time on several of Spain's most-viewed TV channels. Ignacio Sanchez-Teran, Director of SIMEC, the Panic Room Company's Spanish dealer and stand-holder in Madrid, said, "This Spanish debut for the Panic Room has been nothing short of a triumph. We attracted significant media interest and featured in nationwide news reports on the likes ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A team of scientists from the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station and the University of Córdoba in Spain recently developed a new methodology that measures the economic impact of forest fires on timber resources. When evaluating and planning fire management program activities, it is important to know the value of the forest ecosystems protected. However, determining the true volume or economic value of the resources lost during a fire can be difficult. For example, when a fire burns through a timber stand, the market value lost ...

Caring Transitions of North Central Ohio, a company specializing in estate sales, downsizing and senior moves today announced the sale of a vast Barbie collection on the company's exclusive online auction Web site, http://www.ctonlineauctions.com/ncentraloh. The auction, starting at 9 a.m. EST today, Sunday, March 25th, features more than 400 lots of Barbie dolls, clothing ensembles, accessories, furniture, vehicles, novelties, convention items and other Barbie collectibles. This extensive collection has been fueled by a local collector's passion for Barbie and it has ...

This press release is available in French and German. A study led by Dr Janet Shipley from The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London in collaboration with Dr Mauro Delorenzi from the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Lausanne has shown that a simple genetic test could help predict the aggressiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma tumours in children. The test, which should be introduced into clinical practice, would lead to changes in treatment for many patients, allowing some children to escape potentially long-term side-effects whilst giving others the intense ...

SAN DIEGO, March 27, 2012 — Scientists today reported striking new evidence that green, or unroasted, coffee beans can produce a substantial decrease in body weight in a relatively short period of time. In a study presented at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, Joe Vinson, Ph.D., and colleagues described how a group of overweight or obese people who consumed a fraction of an ounce of ground green coffee beans each day lost about 10 percent of their body weight. "Based on our results, ...

SAN DIEGO, March 27, 2012 — Some of the flame retardants added to carpets, furniture upholstery, plastics, crib mattresses, car and airline seats and other products to suppress the visible flames in fires are actually increasing the danger of invisible toxic gases that are the No. 1 cause of death in fires. That was the finding of a new study presented here today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. Anna A. Stec, Ph.D., led the research, which focused on the most widely-used category ...

Lanner, a provider of simulation software proven to maximize performance and optimize resources, today announced the expansion of its partner network in China, with two new reseller agreements focused on increasing the market share of WITNESS, Lanner's flagship simulation software. Beijing Tianyan Rongzhi, a specialist in the provision of software and training to education organizations will work with Lanner to increase adoption of WITNESS within the 65 universities already using the software, as well as new universities and teaching establishments. As part of the agreement, ...

SAN DIEGO, March 27, 2012 — Thirty-five years after a landmark report documented minority women as the most underrepresented individuals in science, engineering, medicine and dentistry, dramatic improvements have occurred for women of color, but serious obstacles remain. That was the message from a report here at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The presentation was part of an ACS symposium titled, "The Double Bind: Minority Women in Science and Update Thirty Five Years Later." It ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Growth rates of lung cancers found by annual rounds of computed tomography (CT) screening are important for determining the usefulness and frequency of screening, as well as for determining the treatment. According to the latest report from the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) published online in the journal Radiology, lung cancers diagnosed in annual repeat rounds of CT screening are similar—both in volume doubling time and cell-type distribution— to those found in clinical practice. "There was concern that cancers diagnosed ...

Perspective Magazine announces that Emirates Vacation Club will renew its commitment as a Contributing Sponsor for GNEX 2013 - The Global Meeting of Minds, scheduled for February 4-6, 2013 at the world famous Beverly Wilshire - A Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. "GNEX conferences are a wonderful way to network with business associates. At the last event in Cancun, having the opportunity to meet all these people in two days, that's phenomenal. You see, I do that all the time but that would have taken me a year's work which was done in two days. That's ...

Microorganisms can sometimes lose the ability to perform a function that appears to be necessary for their survival, and yet they still somehow manage to endure and multiply. How can this be? The authors of an opinion piece appearing in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on March 27 explain their ideas about the matter. They say microbes that shed necessary functions are getting others to do the hard work for them, an adaptation that can encourage microorganisms to live in cooperative communities. The Black Queen Hypothesis, ...

Unless development patterns change, by 2030 humanity's urban footprint will occupy an additional 1.5 million square kilometres - comparable to the combined territories of France, Germany and Spain, say experts at a major international science meeting underway in London. UN estimates show human population growing from 7 billion today to 9 billion by 2050, translating into some 1 million more people expected on average each week for the next 38 years, with most of that increase anticipated in urban centres. And ongoing migration from rural to urban living could see world ...

A new comparative effectiveness study found older adults with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) who underwent bypass surgery had better long-term survival rates than those who underwent a non-surgical procedure to improve blood flow to the heart muscle, also called revascularization. The National Institutes of Health-supported study compared a type of surgery known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) with a non-surgical procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). While there were no survival differences between the two groups after one year, after ...

It's time to dust off the garden tools! The Harris Seeds staff is offering helpful gardening tips on the Paul Parent Garden Club Radio Show on Sundays in March and April 2012. Harris Seeds kicked off the gardening segments in March with lessons about starting vegetable seeds and flower seeds indoors and organic gardening with Worm Power organic fertilizer. Product experts will wrap up the month with direct-seeding vegetables and flowers into the garden. In April, listeners will hear about growing fresh fruit and unusual vegetables at home, building raised beds and space-saving ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — You see it listed on the side of your cereal box and your multivitamin bottle. It's vitamin B12, part of a nutritious diet like all those other vitamins and minerals. But when it gets inside your body, new research suggests, B12 turns into a gymnast. In a paper published recently in the journal Nature, scientists from the University of Michigan Health System and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report they have created the first full 3-D images of B12 and its partner molecules twisting and contorting as part of a crucial reaction called ...

In a new study, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have identified epigenetic changes – known as DNA methylation – in the blood of patients with schizophrenia. The researchers were also able to detect differences depending on how old the patients were when they developed the disease and whether they had been treated with various drugs. In the future this new knowledge may be used to develop a simple test to diagnose patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is one of our most common chronic psychiatric diseases and affects 1% of the population. ...