COLUMBIA, Mo. – After being deprived of sex, male fruit flies, known as Drosophila melanogaster, may turn to alcohol to fulfill a physiological demand for a reward, according to a study recently published in the journal Science. Troy Zars, an associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri and neurobiology expert, said that understanding why rejected male flies find solace in ethanol could help treat human addictions. "Identifying the molecular and genetic mechanisms controlling the demand for reward in fruit flies could potentially influence our ...

A recent FAQ from the writers at OnlineAutoInsurance.com points out the fact that consumers can get some savings by reducing coverage or by going with the minimum liability limits required by state law, but previous premium analyses from the company show that California policyholders can actually get significant increases in coverage without having to pay proportional increases in premium.  According to state law, all drivers in the state must carry California auto insurance coverage that provides for a total of at least $30,000 for bodily injuries caused by the policyholder ...

Bilingual immigrants are healthier than immigrants who speak only one language, according to new research from sociologists at Rice University. The study, which appears in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, found that people with strong English and native language proficiencies report better physical and mental health than unilingual immigrants. "Our research suggests that English proficiency gained at the expense of native-language fluency may not be beneficial for overall health status," said Rice alumna and Stanford University graduate ...

Special conservation zones known as marine protected areas provide many direct benefits to fisheries and coral reefs. However, such zones appear to offer limited help to corals in their battle against global warming, according to a new study. To protect coral reefs from climate change, marine protected areas need to be complemented with policies that can meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions, researchers said. The new study, published online recently in the journal Global Change Biology, was conducted by scientists from Conservation International, the University ...

Research into the leadership structure of the UK's largest companies, carried out by the University of Southampton in collaboration with executive search consultants Thorburn McAlister, suggests turnover rates or 'churn' in the position of chief executive are much lower than commonly perceived. A report funded by Thorburn McAlister and the Southampton Management School examined data from companies in the FTSE-350 index to explore changes in senior executive and board positions over a five year period. Results show: just 51 chief executives moved to their job from another ...

Retinoic acid (vitamin A) and steroids are hormones found in our body that protect against oxidative stress, reduce inflammation and are involved in cellular differentiation processes. One of the characteristics of tumours is that their cells have lost the ability to differentiate; therefore these hormones have useful properties to prevent cancer. Currently, retinoic acid and steroids are being used to treat some types of leukaemia. A study led by the research group on Genes and Cancer of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has shown that the loss of ...

DENVER – A panel of serum biomarkers could help predict the level of lung cancer risk in high-risk patients, offering doctors an option before proceeding with a biopsy. Research presented in the April 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows that a panel of 10 serum protein biomarkers could help in the lung cancer diagnosis. The biomarkers include: prolactin, transthyretin, thrombospondin-1, E-selectin, C-C motif chemokine 5, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, ...

DENVER – Patients with early stage malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs, may be eligible for aggressive multi-modality therapy involving surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. There are two main approaches, and controversy has existed about which approach is superior. One is called extrapleural pnemonectomy (EPP), a very extensive surgery where surgeons remove the entire diseased lung, lung lining (pleura), part of the membrane covering the heart (pericardium) and part of the diaphragm. Another approach involves a less ...

DENVER – Researchers found that CYFRA and change in levels of CYFRA were found to be reliable markers for response to chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a study of 88 patients. Research presented in the April 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows that this marker can be used to determine whether or not a patient should continue a particular chemotherapy regimen. As part of a study performed by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B in advanced lung cancer, serum CYFRA levels ...

Providence, RI--- Winifred Edgerton Merrill (1862-1951) was the first woman to receive a PhD in mathematics in the United States. Throughout her life, she worked to advance women in a male-dominated society. She helped to found Barnard College, the renowned women's college affiliated with Columbia University, and she founded a college preparatory school for girls. As March is National Women's History Month, it is a fitting moment to look back on the life of this outstanding pioneer. Merrill's compelling story is told in an article appearing in the April 2012 issue ...

Women 65 or older who have even mild retinopathy, a disease of blood vessels in the retina, are more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes in the brain, according to a multi-institutional study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The findings suggest that a relatively simple eye screening could serve as a marker for cognitive changes related to vascular disease, allowing for early diagnosis and treatment, potentially reducing the progression of cognitive impairment to dementia. As retinopathy usually is caused ...

In the spring of 1835, Charles Darwin was bitten in Argentina by a "great wingless black bug," he wrote in his diary. "It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's body," Darwin wrote, "before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards round & bloated with blood." In all likelihood, Darwin's nighttime visitor was a member of Reduviid family of insects — the so-called kissing bugs because of their habit of biting people around the mouth while they sleep. From this attack, some infectious disease experts have speculated, ...

Mothers who financially struggle to provide food for their families tend to put themselves at risk for obesity while trying to feed their children, according to Penn State sociologists. Mothers who do not have enough money to provide adequate food for their families -- food-insecure -- are more likely to be obese or overweight than fathers who face food shortages, as well as food-insecure, childless women and men, said Molly Martin, assistant professor of sociology and demography. Over time, these food-insecure mothers also gain more weight compared to all food-insecure ...

Researchers at Winship Cancer Institute are developing a technique to remove cancer cells' defenses against radiation. Radiation primarily kills cells by inducing DNA damage, so the aim of the technique is to sensitize cells to radiation by disabling their ability to repair DNA. The technique sneaks RNA molecules into cells that shut down genes needed for DNA repair. The still-experimental method could potentially allow oncologists to enhance the tumor-killing effects of radiation, while using lower doses and reducing damage to healthy tissues. In the laboratory, ...

LOS ANGELES (March 15, 2012) - In the past decade, results from large prospective cohort studies and the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) randomized placebo-controlled hormone therapy trials have substantially changed thoughts about how estrogen alone and estrogen plus progestin influence the risk of breast cancer, according to a review published TK in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute. Although hormone therapy is currently used by millions of women for menopausal symptoms, there is still concern about hormone therapy–induced breast cancer risk. In addition, ...

Fraser Yachts has a fantastic portfolio of luxury yachts for sale, four of which can be viewed at this year's Antibes Yacht Show (April 12-15th). Fraser Yachts brokers will, of course, be in attendance with M/Y LIVIA, M/Y BEYOND, M/Y VOYAGER and S/Y ALIA 82. Built in 2009 by the respected Moonen shipyard, the motor yacht LIVIA is a 30m yacht for sale exclusively through Fraser Yachts. Exquisitely appointed throughout she can accommodate up to eight guests and four crew in modern, spacious living quarters. Sail round the Mediterranean this summer at a comfortable 12 ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Wild orangutans that have come into contact with eco-tourists over a period of years show an immediate stress response but no signs of chronic stress, unlike other species in which permanent alterations in stress responses have been documented, new research from an Indiana University anthropologist has found. IU anthropologist Michael P. Muehlenbein can't say yet what makes the wild orangutans of Borneo deal with stress differently than other species in other locations, but an analysis of orangutan stress hormone levels recorded before, during and ...

Electrochemical capacitors (ECs), also known as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors, differ from regular capacitors that you would find in your TV or computer in that they store substantially higher amounts of charges. They have garnered attention as energy storage devices as they charge and discharge faster than batteries, yet they are still limited by low energy densities, only a fraction of the energy density of batteries. An EC that combines the power performance of capacitors with the high energy density of batteries would represent a significant advance in energy storage ...

MADISON – Odds are, you're not going to make it all the way through this article without thinking about something else. In fact, studies have found that our minds are wandering half the time, drifting off to thoughts unrelated to what we're doing – did I remember to turn off the light? What should I have for dinner? A new study investigating the mental processes underlying a wandering mind reports a role for working memory, a sort of a mental workspace that allows you to juggle multiple thoughts simultaneously. Imagine you see your neighbor upon arriving home one ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Just as a chameleon changes its color to blend in with its environment, Duke University engineers have demonstrated for the first time that they can alter the texture of plastics on demand, for example, switching back and forth between a rough surface and a smooth one. By applying specific voltages, the team has also shown that it can achieve this control over large and curved surface areas. "By changing the voltage applied to the polymer, we can alter the surface from bumpy to smooth and back again," said Xuanhe Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical ...

Infants with Batten disease, a rare but fatal neurological disorder, appear healthy at birth. But within a few short years, the illness takes a heavy toll, leaving children blind, speechless and paralyzed. Most die by age 5. There are no effective treatments for the disease, which can also strike older children. And several therapeutic approaches, evaluated in mouse models and in young children, have produced disappointing results. But now, working in mice with the infantile form of Batten disease, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...

Motor yacht IONIAN PRINCESS is a luxury yacht for charter based in Athens and can be chartered in Greece or anywhere on the Mediterranean this summer. Able to accommodate 12 guests in elegant yet comfortable quarters the motor yacht IONIAN PRINCESS is an exceptional vessel to sail upon. Charter guests can choose to dine in one of three designated areas. One option is the sundeck, complete with barbeque; alternatively the aft deck of the sky lounge offers fantastic views or, for more formal dining there is the main salon. Appointed with only the finest of materials throughout ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Brain-tumor cells that are infected with a cancer-killing virus release a protein "alarm bell" that warns other tumor cells of the impending infection and enables them to mount a defense against the virus, according to a study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). The infected tumor cells release a protein called CCN1 into the narrow space between cells where it initiates an antiviral response. The response limits the spread ...

Philadelphia, PA, March 15, 2012 – Over the last few decades there has been an explosion in the discovery of biomarkers for diagnosis, disease monitoring, and prognostic evaluation. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "Biomarkers: New Tools of Modern Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores the promise and challenges of biomarker discovery and highlights the latest advances in the use of biomarkers in various diseases. In a commentary introducing this single-topic issue, Nikolaos G. Frangogiannis, MD, The Wilf Family Cardiovascular ...

Smoking, the leading preventable cause of mortality in the United States, continues to disproportionately impact lower income members of racial and ethnic minority groups. In a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health, Jason Q. Purnell, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, looked at how perceived discrimination influences smoking rates among these groups. "We found that regardless of race or ethnicity, the odds of current smoking were higher among individuals who perceived that they were treated differently ...