An innovative approach to genome screening has provided clues about rare mutations that may make people susceptible to brain aneurysms, predisposing them to brain bleeds, according to preliminary late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. For the first time, scientists applied a process called whole exome sequencing to seek gene mutations in families in which multiple relatives have intracranial aneurysms, a condition in which weakened, ballooned-out areas in arteries of the brain can rupture and cause a ...

In the largest and longest head-to-head comparison of two anti-clotting medications, warfarin and aspirin were similar in preventing deaths and strokes in heart failure patients with normal heart rhythm, according to late-breaking research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. "Although there was a warfarin benefit for patients treated for four or more years, overall, warfarin and aspirin were similar," said Shunichi Homma, M.D., lead author of the study and the Margaret Milliken Hatch Professor of Medicine at Columbia University ...

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are part of an international team that has pooled their radio observations into a database, producing the highest precision map to date of the magnetic field within our own Milky Way galaxy. The team, led by the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), used the database they created and were able to apply information theory techniques to produce the map, explains NRL's Dr. Tracy Clarke, a member of the research team. "The key to applying these new techniques is that this project brings together over 30 researchers ...

Placebos reduce pain by creating an expectation of relief. Distraction—say, doing a puzzle—relieves it by keeping the brain busy. But do they use the same brain processes? Neuromaging suggests they do. When applying a placebo, scientists see activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. That's the part of the brain that controls high-level cognitive functions like working memory and attention—which is what you use to do that distracting puzzle. Now a new study challenges the theory that the placebo effect is a high-level cognitive function. The authors—Jason T. Buhle, ...

Refugee children have scant access to medical care and are particularly vulnerable to disease. Fresh research results from the University of Copenhagen show that just a few hours of schooling a week may have a pronounced positive impact on their health not only in childhood but later in life when they achieve adulthood. "There is an unambiguous link between health and schooling among refugee groups as they flee," says external Associate Professor Tania Dræbel, PhD from the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, where she works as an expert in health among ...

People who suffer a traumatic experience often don't talk about it, and many forget it over time. But not talking about something doesn't always mean you'll forget it; if you try to force yourself not to think about white bears, soon you'll be imagining polar bears doing the polka. A group of psychological scientists explore the relationship between silence and memories in a new paper published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "There's this idea, with silence, that if we don't talk about something, it starts ...

Jim Black is fighting the meanest, most aggressive, most common kind of brain tumor in the United States: recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In the United States, each year, approximately 10,000 patients are affected by GBM. Now, a novel investigational device – available only at clinical trial sites – is offering new hope to these patients. The non-invasive procedure – called Tumor Treating Fields (TTF) – is delivered using a portable device – called the NovoTTF-100A System made by Novocure. The TTF procedure uses alternating electrical fields to disrupt the ...

BinDataSet, an BIN database service provider, has released the largest BIN database on the Internet. The database contains over 350,000 records. What is BIN? BIN stands for Bank Identification Numbers. It is a database that contains credit and debit card numbers. On top of that, the database also provides additional information such as Country, Brand, and Bank. Most BIN databases provide only card type and brand. BinDataSet ensures that more fields are available for higher accuracy. Why is there a need for BIN databases? The Internet is growing at an amazing ...

An experimental device for removing blood clots in stroke patients dramatically outperformed the standard mechanical treatment, according to research presented by UCLA Stroke Center director Dr. Jeffrey L. Saver at the American Stroke Association's 2012 international conference in New Orleans on Feb. 3. The SOLITAIRE Flow Restoration Device is among an entirely new generation of devices designed to remove blood clots from blocked brain arteries in patients experiencing stroke. It has a self-expanding, stent-like design and, once inserted into a clot using a thin catheter ...

New Rochelle, NY -- If the proven long-term benefits of smoking cessation are not enough to motivate young adults to stop smoking, a new study shows that 18- to 24-year olds who stop smoking for at least two weeks report substantially fewer respiratory symptoms, especially coughing. The study findings are detailed in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available online. Karen Calabro, DrPH and Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, ...

As you are planning to create a corporate sales incentive program, look no further than The Motorsport Lab's supercar media. According to President and Founder Ray Chang, the purpose of The Motorsport Lab is to create a fun, exciting and once in a lifetime, interactive corporate experience using high-end supercars like Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lamborghini as a media platform. "Our difference is that we utilize supercars as a fun, versatile media platform for businesses to communicate value. Supercars offer aesthetic beauty inside and out will command instant ...

Ottawa, Ontario –Could the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and protect against carcinogens? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP) found that rats given regular multivitamin and mineral supplements showed a significantly lower risk of developing colon cancer when they were exposed to carcinogens. "It has been unclear whether multivitamin supplementation to cancer patients is helpful, has no effect, or is even detrimental during therapy," commented Dr. Grant Pierce, ...

SAN DIEGO -- Tocagen Inc. today announced the publication of data showing the company's investigational treatment for high grade glioma eradicates brain tumors and provides a dramatic survival benefit in mouse models of glioblastoma. Almost all mice receiving the top dose of Toca 511 followed by 5-FC were still alive at 180 days, which was the termination date for the experiment, whereas all control mice died by day 43. The article was published today in the February issue of the Neuro-Oncology journal. "After administration of Toca 511, the efficiency and specificity ...

Los Angeles, CA (February 3, 2012) As a brand new year gets underway, people all over America are resolving to better manage their weight and have a more healthy 2012. According to a new study, those starting new weight loss programs may be surprised to find out that both location and level of experience may influence their success. A recent article published in The Journal of Black Psychology (a journal from the Association of Black Psychologists, published by SAGE) finds that African American women beginning a new group weight loss program are more successful if they ...

Prairie lands in Fort Bend County continue to be the natural choice for new-home communities. Beazer Homes and Taylor Morrison have joined forces to develop Churchill Farms, a 209-acre community in Fulshear, a small town in the greater Katy area west of Houston. Model home construction and presales will begin in February. Churchill Farms will have three model parks to showcase Beazer Homes and Taylor Morrison product lines available in 50-, 60- and 70-ft. sections. Both builders are introducing new floor plans at Churchill Farms. Some of the models will open in mid-April ...

La Jolla, CA---- One of the big mysteries in biology is why cells age. Now scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that they have discovered a weakness in a component of brain cells that may explain how the aging process occurs in the brain. The scientists discovered that certain proteins, called extremely long-lived proteins (ELLPs), which are found on the surface of the nucleus of neurons, have a remarkably long lifespan. While the lifespan of most proteins totals two days or less, the Salk Institute researchers identified ELLPs in the rat ...

The world of SEO may be highly lucrative for those that are ahead, but the competition behind the scenes can become a nightmare. Not only does every company have to deal with problems that arise from the clients, they must also manage their SEO team to keep up with all of the latest trends and relentless advancements in search engine optimization. The answer to these problems may be SEO reseller services from the top SEO company in Los Angeles, Avital Web. Building that base of clients may seem like the easy part once an SEO company is up to speed. Companies are required ...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A new way of opening blocked arteries in the brain using a removable stent system in people suffering strokes brought remarkably positive results in how those patients recovered from the strokes, according to a study presented this morning at the American Stroke Association's annual conference in New Orleans. The interventional procedure was performed on more than 140 stroke patients at 18 medical centers throughout the United States. Stroke specialists at Oregon Health & Science University treated the most patients of any medical center in the country, ...

Sequencing a patient's entire genome to discover the source of his or her disease is not routine – yet. But geneticists are getting close. A case report, published this week in the American Journal of Human Genetics, shows how researchers can combine a simple blood test with an "executive summary" scan of the genome to diagnose a type of severe metabolic disease. Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute used "whole-exome sequencing" to find the mutations causing a glycosylation disorder in a boy born in 2004. ...

With major gaming events, national holidays, and sunny weather just around the corner, the California Office of Traffic Safety is now paying out huge sums to curb drinking and driving ("California Traffic Deaths Drop For Fifth Consecutive Year"). When all it takes is a single drink to be over the legal limit, this means that countless drivers in Southern California are going to be facing a driving under the influence charges this upcoming year. Amir Soleimanian, Beverly Hills DUI attorney, offers legal assistance for those drivers charged with DUI who want to ...

Clarksburg, MD—Two different research groups have independently made the same important discoveries on how Alzheimer's disease spreads in the brain, according to a February 2 New York Times story. The groups' findings have the potential to give us a much more sophisticated understanding of what goes wrong in Alzheimer's disease and, more importantly, what can be done to prevent or repair damage in the brain. The Times reported on the research teams of Bradley T. Hyman, MD, Ph.D., at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and Karen E. Duff, Ph.D., of Columbia University ...

When a friend tells you she had a rough day, do you feel sandpaper under your fingers? The brain may be replaying sensory experiences to help understand common metaphors, new research suggests. Linguists and psychologists have debated how much the parts of the brain that mediate direct sensory experience are involved in understanding metaphors. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, in their landmark work 'Metaphors we live by', pointed out that our daily language is full of metaphors, some of which are so familiar (like "rough day") that they may not seem especially novel or ...

DETROIT – Henry Ford Hospital researchers have identified for the first time two molecules that hold promise as a biomarker for measuring cartilage damage associated with osteoarthritis. Researchers say the concentration of two molecules called non-coding RNAs in blood were associated with mild cartilage damage in 30 patients who were one year removed from reconstruction surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, injury. The findings are described as significant in the ongoing and tedious search of biomarkers for osteoarthritis, the most common form of ...

For the first time, a group of chemists, physicists, and engineers has developed crystalline materials that allow an optical fiber to have integrated, high-speed electronic functions. The potential applications of such optical fibers include improved telecommunications and other hybrid optical and electronic technologies, improved laser technology, and more-accurate remote-sensing devices. The research was initiated by Rongrui He, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry at Penn State University. The international team, led by John Badding, a professor of ...

Today, ZyLAB, a leading eDiscovery and information management technology company, officially opened registration for "De-Construction eDiscovery: Special Challenges in Construction Litigation," featuring Steven C. Bennett, a partner with Jones Day in New York City, and Mary Mack, Esq., enterprise technology counsel for ZyLAB. The live, online event takes place on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 1:00 EST. To register, please visit https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/843596078. This program qualifies for one New York Areas of Professional Practice CLE credit. "In ...