LA JOLLA, Calif., March 18, 2012 – Autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, are caused by an immune system gone haywire, where the body's defense system assaults and destroys healthy tissues. A mutant form of a protein called LYP has been implicated in multiple autoimmune diseases, but the precise molecular pathway involved has been unknown. Now, in a paper published March 18 in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) show how the errant form of LYP can disrupt the immune system. ...

AMHERST, Mass. – Combining known factors in a new way, theoretical physicists Boris Svistunov and Nikolai Prokof'ev at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with three alumni of their group, have solved an intractable 50-year-old problem: How to simulate strongly interacting quantum systems to allow accurate predictions of their properties. It could open the door to practical superconductor applications, as well as to solving difficult "many-body" problems in high-energy physics, condensed matter and ultra-cold atoms. The theoretical breakthrough by Prokof'ev and ...

When people don't feel well, they see a doctor. They probably assume that the doctor will not spread anything to them to make them sicker. Ohio residents may be disturbed to find out that hygiene in hospitals is not as high of a priority as one would expect. Hospital-acquired infections are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. A 2004 study done by the American College of Physicians found that only 57 percent of doctors washed their hands when they were supposed to. The study also showed that the busier the doctor was and the more patients needing ...

New York, NY—March 18, 2012—As nanotechnology becomes ever more ubiquitous, researchers are using it to make medical diagnostics smaller, faster, and cheaper, in order to better diagnose diseases, learn more about inherited traits, and more. But as sensors get smaller, measuring them becomes more difficult—there is always a tradeoff between how long any measurement takes to make and how precise it is. And when a signal is very weak, the tradeoff is especially big. A team of researchers at Columbia Engineering, led by Electrical Engineering Professor Ken Shepard, together ...

When a proton – the bare nucleus of a hydrogen atom – transfers from one molecule to another, or moves within a molecule, the result is a hydrogen bond, in which the proton and another atom like nitrogen or oxygen share electrons. Conventional wisdom has it that proton transfers can only happen using hydrogen bonds as conduits, "proton wires" of hydrogen-bonded networks that can connect and reconnect to alter molecular properties. Hydrogen bonds are found everywhere in chemistry and biology and are critical in DNA and RNA, where they bond the base pairs that encode genes ...

DURHAM, N.C., AND SINGAPORE – A multi-national research team led by scientists at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School has identified the reason why some patients fail to respond to some of the most successful cancer drugs. Tyrosine kinase inhibitor drugs (TKIs) work effectively in most patients to fight certain blood cell cancers, such as chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) with mutations in the EGFR gene. These precisely targeted drugs shut down molecular pathways that keep these cancers flourishing and include TKIs for treating ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers believe that continued advances in creating ever-more exotic and sophisticated man-made materials will greatly improve their ability to control light at will. The burgeoning use of metamaterials in the field of optics does not rely on the limited set of materials found in nature, but rather man-made constructs that can be designed to control light's many properties. This control is gained by use of metamaterials, which are not so much single substances but entire man-made structures that can be engineered to exhibit properties ...

As we most of us already know, aging usually means we'll experience more problems with our hearing, vision and motor skills. In order to grow older safely, we must first recognize our vulnerabilities. Once we do this, we can adapt our behavior in order to create a safer environment for ourselves and everyone else. The following statistics shed light on the special safety issues facing seniors both behind the wheel and when walking around as pedestrians. Safety Issues for Senior Drivers/Pedestrians (Note: In 2009, approximately 40 million Americans were age 65 and ...

A paper published online today in Nature describes the results of using bone marrow transplant (BMT) to replace faulty immune system cells in models of Rett Syndrome. The procedure arrested many severe symptoms of the childhood disorder, including abnormal breathing and movement, and significantly extended the lifespan of Rett mouse models. Exploring the function of microglia deficient in methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (Mecp2), the protein encoded by the "Rett gene," principal investigator Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D. and his team at the University of Virginia School of Medicine ...

House mice (Mus musculus) happily live wherever there are humans. When populations of humans migrate the mice often travel with them. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology has used evolutionary techniques on modern day and ancestral mouse mitochondrial DNA to show that the timeline of mouse colonization matches that of Viking invasion. During the Viking age (late 8th to mid 10th century) Vikings from Norway established colonies across Scotland, the Scottish islands, Ireland, and Isle of Man. They also explored the north ...

Microglia are the first line defence of the brain and are constantly looking for infections to fight off. Overactive microglia can cause uncontrolled inflammation within the brain, which can in turn lead to neuronal damage. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Journal of Neuroinflammation shows that, honokiol (HNK) is able to down-regulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory enzymes in activated microglia via Klf4, a protein known to regulate DNA. Scientists from the National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, India, used ...

A 'see-sawing' atmosphere over 2.5 billion years ago preceded the oxygenation of our planet and the development of complex life on Earth, a new study has shown. Research, led by experts at Newcastle University, UK, and published today in the journal Nature Geoscience, reveals that the Earth's early atmosphere periodically flipped from a hydrocarbon-free state into a hydrocarbon-rich state similar to that of Saturn's moon, Titan. This switch between "organic haze" and a "haze-free" environment was the result of intense microbial activity and would have had a profound effect ...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are providing sea turtles with an ideal habitat for foraging and may be keeping them safe from the threats of fishing. A study by an international team of scientists led by the University of Exeter, published today (Thursday 15 March), shows that 35 per cent of the world's green turtles are found within MPAs. This is much higher that would be expected as only a small proportion of shallow oceans are designated as MPAs. MPAs are areas of ocean in which marine activities such as fishing are restricted. Regulated by governments and NGOs, in ...

A study recently released by the University of Maryland found that pedestrian fatalities are on the rise due to distractions from headphone use. The majority of incidents were found among men younger than 30 who lived in urban areas. The issue is that headphones playing music directly in pedestrians' ears may hinder their ability to hear oncoming car horns, revving engines, beeping crosswalk lights and even blaring train whistles. The study was conceived after a train killed a teenager wearing headphones while crossing railroad tracks. The teenager's music had drowned ...

Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum physics are expected to merge at the Planck-scale of extremely high energies and on very short distances. At this scale, new phenomena could arise. However, the Planck-scale is so remote from current experimental capabilities that tests of quantum gravity are widely believed to be nearly impossible. Now an international collaboration between the groups of Caslav Brukner and Markus Aspelmeyer at the University of Vienna and Myungshik Kim at Imperial College London has proposed a new quantum experiment using Planck-mass mirrors. Such ...

While millions of accounting professionals are working the midnight oil to get Americans' tax returns complete for Uncle Sam, a few hundred accountants with brand new skills are helping small business owners improve their profits, while creating the businesses and lives of their dreams. These accountants are members of a brand new group called Accountant's Accelerator that's led by accounting industry veteran Sandi Smith Leyva. Coaching and especially group coaching programs such as Accountant's Accelerator is relatively new to the accounting profession; especially for ...

STANFORD, Calif. -- The utility of a naturally occurring protein given, sometimes to great effect, as a drug to treat advanced cancers is limited by the severe side effects it sometimes causes. But a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has generated a mutant version of the protein whose modified shape renders it substantially more potent than the natural protein while reducing its toxicity. The findings will appear online March 18 in Nature. The protein, known as interleukin-2 or IL-2, is a master regulator of the immune system. It acts as a growth factor ...

Jimmie Lee, The Jersey Outlaw, country rock artist, has hit gold with his new hit music video single, KID VEGAS!! This hot song is the title track of Jimmies latest CD, Kid Vegas, and has garnered major radio airplay and attention over the last few months. The song is a top heatseeker and is playing now in major cities on radio and television. KID VEGAS combines the elements of Las Vegas with a Kid Rock feel, to give a unique high energy sound, that makes this new single a sure winner! So, settle in with the top down and crack this tune loud, while you roll down the ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – New research shows that the addition of two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences to a common MR angiography technique significantly improves detection of pulmonary embolism, a potentially life-threatening condition traditionally diagnosed through computed tomography (CT). Results of the study are published online in the journal Radiology. Pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood clot—usually from the leg—travels to the lung and blocks the pulmonary artery or one of its main branches. CT angiography is the gold standard for diagnosis, but it exposes ...

AURORA, Colo. -- In a new study, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health have shown that air pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing or fracking may contribute to acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural gas drilling sites. "Our data show that it is important to include air pollution in the national dialogue on natural gas development that has focused largely on water exposures to hydraulic fracturing," said Lisa McKenzie, Ph.D., MPH, lead author of the study and research associate at the Colorado School of Public Health. The study ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Findings from a first-of-its-kind study by Indiana University researchers confirm anecdotal evidence that exercise -- absent sex or fantasies -- can lead to female orgasm. While the findings are new, reports of this phenomenon, sometimes called "coregasm" because of its association with exercises for core abdominal muscles, have circulated in the media for years, said Debby Herbenick, co-director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. In addition to being a researcher, Herbenick is a ...

This April, the capital plays host to 'Dancing on Ice Live', the touring show of the popular television series of the same name. The extravaganza is to be led by former British skating world champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. To coincide with the shows LondonTown.com is providing discounts on London hotels close to the Wembley Arena. Sticking to the format of the television version, the show will feature a roster of professional skaters, each partnering a different celebrity. Names rumoured to be taking part in the tour include designer Sadie Frost and ...

A genotype of the FMR1 (fragile X mental retardation) gene preserves a woman's ability to produce eggs (oocytes) well into the 40s, according to an ovarian aging study just published in the medical journal PLoS One1. Conducted at the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), a fertility center in New York City specializing in fertility treatments for older women, the study compared egg yields during in vitro fertilization (IVF) in women above age 40 with varying FMR1 genotypes and sub-genotypes. In women with very poor ovarian reserve (i.e., women with the poorest ovarian ...

The Be Beautiful Project group exhibit opening March 17, 2012 spotlights ten incredible women artists from around the world including painters, photographers, and a filmmaker. Papillion Institute of Art (P.I.A.) presents the collaborative initiative with Shawanna Davis of Beauty Los Angeles. The opening reception, Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 7 p.m. will feature the soulful sounds of Jimetta Rose. Beauty treatments will also be available at the beauty bar. About Papillion Institute of Art (P.I.A.): It is a non-profit art, culture, lifestyle art space, and gallery and ...

Pink Light models Beisy Pizarro, Jessica Greeves and Juelles Chester will all appear in the popular international publication's "Beautify America: Washington, DC" pictorial, with actress Jennifer Love Hewitt boasting the cover. MAXIM Magazine is an industry leader amongst mainstream magazines marketed primarily to men. With a circulation of over 2.5 million readers, The Pink Light Agency is honored to have been involved in the casting process and is thrilled to have three of its models gracing the pages. "MAXIM has featured some of the world's most beautiful ...