Both human infants and baboons have a stronger preference for using their right hand to gesture than for a simple grasping task, supporting the hypothesis that language development, which is lateralized in the left part of the human brain, is based on a common gestural communication system. The results are reported in the Mar. 21 issue of the open access journal PLoS ONE. The researchers, led by Helene Meunier of the University of Strasbourg in France, found that hand preference of both infants and baboons for grasping tasks depended on the location of the object, but ...

People born without a sense of smell experience higher social insecurity and increased risk for depression, according to a study published Mar. 21 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The authors of the study, led by Ilona Croy of the University of Dresden Medical School in Germany, investigated 32 individuals born without a sense of smell, known as isolated congenital anosmia. They found that the non-smellers did not have significant deviations from the norm in terms of many daily smell-related functions, such as food preferences and eating behaviors, but they did ...

Fifteen percent of the American active physician workforce was trained in lower income countries, which is beneficial for the United States both clinically and economically but may have negative impacts on the countries of origin that are losing their educational investment, according to a report published in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The researchers, led by Fuller Torrey of the Stanley Medical Research Institute in Maryland, identified 265,851 physicians currently practicing in the United States who completed their medical education in other countries, and determined ...

Sex offender registration has been a prominent, national issue since the 1990's. Amid public pressure after the brutal rape and murder of a young boy in Florida, Congress passed the Jacob Wetterling Act. This act, named after the boy, was designed to provide states with guidelines for creating their own sex-offender registration laws. States based many of their provisions on the federal law, which was designed to target those who were likely to reoffend. In 2006, Congress passed The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWCPSA), which strengthened many of the requirements ...

Amateurs have a new tool for conducting simple neuroscience experiments in their own garage: the SpikerBox. As reported in the Mar. 21 issue of the open access journal PLoS ONE, the SpikerBox lets users amplify and listen to neurons' electrical activity – like those in a cockroach leg or cricket torso – and is appropriate for use in middle or high school educational programs, or by amateurs. The work was a project from Backyard Brains, a start-up company focused on developing neuroscience educational resources. In the paper, the authors, Timothy Marzullo and Gregory Gage, ...

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii has some favorable effects on the pathogenesis and progression of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, reports a Mar. 21 study in the open access journal PLoS ONE. Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite commonly hosted in cats and generally known for the potential complications it can cause for human pregnancies, suppressed the immune system. The researchers behind today's study, led by Eun-Hee Shin of the Seoul National University College of Medicine, found that this immune system suppression had positive effects on Alzheimer's disease mouse models, ...

Experienced ballet spectators with no physical expertise in ballet showed enhanced muscle-specific motor responses when watching live ballet, according to a Mar. 21 report in the open access journal PLoS ONE. This result when watching such a formal dance as ballet is striking in comparison to the similar enhanced response the authors found in empathic observers when watching an Indian dance rich in hand gestures. This is important because it shows that motor expertise in the movements observed is not required to have enhanced neural motor responses when just watching ...

In only a few weeks, taxes are due. Which begs the question: if you are going through Chapter 7 bankruptcy or are considering filing for bankruptcy, what tax rules apply to you? Can you spend your tax refund if you are in the midst of bankruptcy? If you haven't filed for bankruptcy yet, should you use your tax refund to pay back some of your debts? The first thing to note is that a tax refund is included as an asset for bankruptcy estate purposes. In other words, if your tax refund is not exempt, the bankruptcy trustee will collect your refund as part of your bankruptcy ...

The third most deadly disease in the U.S., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs. UC Davis scientists have discovered that this key process begins in the blood vessels around the large airways in the center of the lung. The discovery helps clarify how smoking can bring about this severe respiratory condition. The research also identifies a potential new target for directed drug therapy to counter the disease, which kills about three million ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – At the molecular level, drugs like salvinorin A (the active ingredient of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum) work by activating specific proteins, known as receptors, in the brain and body. Salvinorin A, the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen, is unusual in that it interacts with only one receptor in the human brain — the kappa opioid receptor (KOR). Scientists know of four distinct types of opioid receptors, but until now the structure of the 'salvia receptor', and the details about how salvinorin A and other drugs interact with ...

Last year, the Texas legislature made changes to the law governing protective orders obtained to protect women from domestic violence. One significant change was the creation of a civil protective order with potentially unlimited duration. New Durations Previously, a two-year limit was imposed on any protective order (unless the offender was in prison), which could be extended by requesting a new protective order after the previous one had expired. However, this would mean the women would have to return to court and relive the violent experience. The new law permits ...

The law offices of Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP are pleased to announce a recent ruling that will allow them to pursue a medical claim against Toledo Hospital. The facts of the case are clear. The firm's client, Gary Tisdale, was admitted to the hospital for abdominal surgery in 2002. His physicians ordered staff to apply external pressure leg cuffs post-surgery to prevent deep vein thrombosis, a condition where blood clots form in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs. Unfortunately, hospital staff failed to apply the external pressure cuffs and, as a result, ...

EMBARGOED FOR MARCH 21, 2012, ARLINGTON, Va.] – The vast majority of sinus infections are caused by viruses and should not be treated with antibiotics, suggest new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Nearly one in seven people are diagnosed with a sinus infection each year. Although sinus infections are the fifth leading reason for antibiotic prescriptions, 90 to 98 percent of cases are caused by viruses, which are not affected by antibiotics. Used inappropriately, antibiotics foster the development of drug-resistant superbugs. "There ...

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Atlanta N- Perimeter Mall Hotel, at Atlanta Perimeter Center, announces the Economic Stimulus Package. Available for a limited time, guests who book this package will be rewarded with a $25 gift card, per paid night, to one of America's favorite retailers like Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Amazon.com. Available while supplies last; some restrictions may apply. Rates start at $124.00 USD per night. A top choice among other hotels in Atlanta Perimeter, travelers are sure to enjoy their stay at the Holiday Inn Express ...

LA JOLLA, CA -- March 21, 2012 -- Scientists have for the first time determined the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human opioid receptor, a molecule on the surface of brain cells that binds to opioids and is centrally involved in pleasure, pain, addiction, depression, psychosis, and related conditions. Dozens of legal and illegal drugs, from heroin to hospital anesthetics, work by targeting these receptors. The detailed atomic structure information paves the way for the design of safer and more effective opioid drugs. "This finding is going to have a major impact ...

The Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Airport Hotel (North) offers convenient lodging to travelers attending the 2012 NCAA South Regional Men's Basketball Tournament. The Road to the Final Four , the NCAA South Regional (Division I) tournament will be held from March 23 - 25, 2012 at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta, GA. Featuring the NCAA "Sweet 16 " and "Elite Eight " Rounds of the NCAA Tournament, this year's winner of the two-day event will be awarded a spot in the 2012 NCAA Final FOUR that will be held in New Orleans. "Conveniently located only ...

Vienna, Austria: Detecting the presence of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in the blood of women with early breast cancer after surgery but before the start of chemotherapy can provide useful information about their chances of surviving the disease. CTCs are cancer cells which are detectable in patients with a solid tumour and their value in the prognosis of metastatic breast cancer has been known for a few years. Until now, however, there has been little information about their role in early disease. Results to be presented today (Thursday) from the first large-scale ...

Door2Tour.com has revealed that the 'staycation' could be making a comeback. The latest figures from the tour operator have shown that sales of UK breaks have increased by approximately 9% compared to the same period last year. This has been put down to the UK being under the spotlight during 2012. There are a variety of factors causing this resurgence in UK breaks with the main one being the UK playing host to some top events during 2012 such as the Queens Diamond Jubilee, The Olympics, the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of RMS Titanic and the 200th anniversary ...

Vienna, Austria: Women aged 50 and over with breasts that have a high percentage of dense tissue are at greater risk of their breast cancer recurring, according to Swedish research presented at the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) in Vienna today (Wednesday). Dr Louise Eriksson and her colleagues from the Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) found that women with denser breasts had nearly double the risk of their cancer recurring, either in the same breast or in the surrounding lymph nodes, than women with less dense breasts. They warn that doctors ...

Vienna, Austria: Results from one of the longest-running national breast cancer screening programmes have shown that it has contributed to a drop in deaths from the disease, that any harm caused by the screening, such as false positives and over-diagnosis, has been limited, and that the costs have been reasonable. The Dutch population-based mammography breast cancer screening programme began in 1989, and today (Wednesday) Mr Jacques Fracheboud, a senior researcher at the Erasmus University Medical Center (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), reported on the first 20 years to ...

Vienna, Austria: Adding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to standard breast cancer screening approaches is expensive, though it could be cost effective for a group of women who may not have inherited the breast cancer susceptibility genes, but who have a familial risk of developing the disease. This is the conclusion of research presented at the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) today (Wednesday). Women who carry the BRCA1/2 gene mutations are known to be at much higher risk of developing breast cancer, and at an early age; for this reason most breast ...

Hairtrade, the UK's leading retailer of hair extensions, hair care and beauty products has added an exciting new line to its hair styling range. No Inhibition is a sophisticated hair styling line which consists of a number of products, from smoothing creams, styling gels and shaping pomades to moulding muds, modelling wax and texturizing foams. The elegance of this line is evident in the unique and stylish shaped bottles and colourful chic packaging. Keven Kou, managing director of I&K International Limited said: "We've been looking for some new and exciting ...

Vienna, Austria: A Dutch study of the effectiveness of breast cancer screening shows that, even with improved treatments for the disease, population-based mammography programmes still save a significant number of lives. The finding, presented today (Wednesday) at the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) in Vienna, will add further fuel to the debate about whether or not breast cancer screening does more harm than good. Those who argue against national screening programmes say that treatment for the disease is so effective nowadays that the chances of surviving ...

When observing a fly buzzing around the room, we should have the impression that it is not the fly, but rather the space that lies behind it that is moving. After all, the fly is always fixed in our central point of view. But how does the brain convey the impression of a fly in motion in a motionless field? With the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scientists from the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen have identified two areas of the brain that compare the movements ...

Confused.com has revealed shocking research showing the extent of driver habits on UK roads, with a range of behaviours admitted. Apparently some drivers across the UK are getting in the driving seat wearing nothing more than pyjamas and with their feet clad in just their slippers or even barefoot. Applying make-up is another part of the morning routine which some women leave until they are actually driving the car: 1 in 10 women put make-up on and drive at the same time and 15% of men have had a shave while driving. Car insurance experts at Confused.com are warning ...