DURHAM, N.C. -- Using exotic man-made materials, scientists from Duke University and Boston College believe they can greatly enhance the forces of electromagnetism (EM), one of the four fundamental forces of nature, without harming living beings or damaging electrical equipment. This theoretical finding could have broad implications for such applications as magnetic levitation trains, which ride inches above the tracks without touching and are propelled by electro-magnets. As the term indicates, EM is made up of two types of fields – electric and magnetic. Alternating ...

Researchers at Drexel University have found that a majority of women with bulimia nervosa reach their highest-ever body weight after developing their eating disorder, despite the fact that the development of the illness is characterized by significant weight loss. Their new study, published online last month in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, adds to a body of recent work that casts new light on the importance of weight history in understanding and treating bulimia. "Most patients lose a lot of weight as part of developing this disorder, and all dedicate ...

Experts say at least $20 million to $30 million in government research is needed over the next decade to adequately identify and address the possible ecological risks of synthetic biology, an emerging area of research focused on the design and construction of new biological parts and systems, or modification of existing ones, to create new applications in areas ranging from energy to chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Without key research into these risks and appropriate federal oversight, certain synthetic organisms might survive and flourish in natural environments, wreaking ...

If you want big muscles without working out, there's hope. In the March 2012 print issue of the FASEB Journal, scientists from the University of Florida report that a family of protein transcription factors, called "Forkhead (Fox0)" plays a significant role in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass. Specifically, they found that interfering with the activity of these transcription factors prevents muscle wasting associated with cancer and sepsis, and even promotes muscle growth. This discovery is likely to be relevant to any disease, condition or lifestyle that leads to ...

WASHINGTON — Federal laws that motivate or require drug and biologic developers to conduct pediatric studies have yielded beneficial information to guide the use of medications in children, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine. Still, studies involving children continue to be limited, especially in certain areas such as medications' use in newborns and long-term safety and effectiveness in children. The report identifies ways that Congress and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could further improve the utility of clinical information obtained from pediatric ...

Though tax fraud schemes are common, the indictment of 55 people in a single case is not. In early October 2011, a federal grand jury indicted 55 business owners and customers of two southern California businesses, as well as the attorneys, tax preparers and other professionals working with them, in one of the largest tax fraud cases ever seen. Through two companies, Old Quest Foundation and De la Fuente and Ramirez and Associates, the defendants are accused of fraud against the government, seeking around $270 million in fraudulent tax returns. De la Fuente and Ramirez ...

NEW YORK, February 29, 2012 – A new method for creating nanofibers made of proteins, developed by researchers at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), promises to greatly improve drug delivery methods for the treatment of cancers, heart disorders and Alzheimer's disease, as well as aid in the regeneration of human tissue, bone and cartilage. In addition, applied differently, this same development could point the way to even tinier and more powerful microprocessors for future generations of computers and consumer electronics devices. The details are ...

NEW YORK (Feb. 29, 2012)—Exposure to lead wreaks havoc in the brain, with consequences that include lower IQ and reduced potential for learning. But the precise mechanism by which lead alters nerve cells in the brain has largely remained unknown. New research led by Tomás R. Guilarte, PhD, Leon Hess Professor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and post-doctoral research scientist Kirstie H. Stansfield, PhD, used high-powered fluorescent microscopy and other advanced techniques to painstakingly chart the varied ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In this world, there are winners and losers – and, for your own safety, it is best to fear the winners. A new study found that winners – those who outperformed others on a competitive task – acted more aggressively against the people they beat than the losers did against the victors. "It seems that people have a tendency to stomp down on those they have defeated, to really rub it in," said Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University. "Losers, on the other hand, don't really act any more ...

According to Medicare's first public evaluation of hospitals' records on patient safety, patients are at a heightened risk for preventable conditions when going to teaching hospitals in America. The Medicare program found that Washington Hospital Center, Georgetown University Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic were some of the institutions having more complications than average, according to an article from The Washington Post. The Medicare reimbursement to the hospitals are based on a number of things, some including readmission rates, how patients rate their stays, ...

While some scientists report engineering a super virulent strain of the H5N1 influenza virus, which could potentially wipe out a significant percentage of the human population, another group of researchers from the United Kingdom now reports a discovery that may one day help mitigate the deadly effects of all flu strains. This report, appearing in the March 2012 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, describes findings that may help prevent deaths from severe flu outbreaks, especially from seemingly healthy young people. Specifically, the researchers found that ...

An international team, including a Cardiff University researcher, who previously found evidence of the Earth's earliest tree, has gone one step further. The research team has now unearthed and investigated an entire fossil forest dating back 385 million years. The Gilboa fossil forest, in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, is generally referred to as 'the oldest fossil forest'. Yet by scientific standards it has remained mythical. Fossils of hundreds of large tree stumps (the 'Gilboa tree') preserved in the rocks were discovered in the 1920's during excavation ...

As the old adage goes, nothing in this world is certain but death and taxes. Unfortunately, in recent times this saying is more pertinent than ever, as there is now a direct and immediate link between taxes and the end of life. Known derisively by some as the death tax, the federal estate tax (along with its cousins, the generation-skipping tax and the gift tax) can take a substantial bite out of intergenerational wealth. However, a tax relief package in effect until the end of 2012 can help you and your estate planning attorney develop an effective strategy to limit ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — High corn prices are leading many growers to plant corn every year and to overuse pesticides and other bug-killing technology to maximize yields, researchers report. In many instances, pesticides are applied without scouting fields to see if they are needed, violating a bedrock principle of integrated pest management. The result is a biological diversity desert in many corn and soybean fields in the agricultural Midwest, and signs that the surviving insects are becoming resistant to several key bug-fighting tools now available to farmers. University ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Voting behavior cannot be predicted by one or two genes as previous researchers have claimed, according to Evan Charney, a Duke University professor of public policy and political science. In "Candidate Genes and Political Behavior," a paper published in the February 2012 American Political Science Review, Charney and co-author William English of Harvard University call into question the validity of all studies that claim that a common gene variant can predict complex behaviors such as voting. They use as an example a 2008 study by James H. Fowler and ...

Scientists have combined two new "designer" forms of aspirin into a hybrid substance that appears more effective than either of its forebears in controlling the growth of several forms of cancer in laboratory tests. Their report on the new NOSH-aspirin, so named because it releases nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. Khosrow Kashfi, Ravinder Kodela and Mitali Chattopadhyay point out that NO and H2S are signaling substances produced in the body that relax blood vessels, reduce inflammation and have a variety ...

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Utah, you probably have many things on your mind. You could be worried about: - Paying your medical bills - Covering your wages if you are forced to be out of work - Getting your car repaired - Having to pay for a rental car Utah laws mandating specific types of car insurance coverage should allow you to rest easier. Utah is what is known as a "no-fault" automobile insurance state. This means that essentially the law is designed to keep insurance premiums lower by discouraging lawsuits between drivers. ...

New Orleans, LA – Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that a synthetic molecule protected the brain in a model of experimental stroke. Dr. Bazan was issued a patent on the molecule called LAU-0901, a low molecular weight drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier. The findings are published in the March 2012 issue of Translational Stroke Research. During an ischemic stroke, the most common kind, the body releases signals that cause neuroinflammation ...

Diversity has become a goal for all sorts of institutions—but what it means may depend on who you ask. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that people's ideologies help determine what they count as "diverse." Miguel Unzueta, the study's lead author, notes that "diversity" historically meant inclusiveness toward historically disadvantaged groups. Now, however, the term is commonly used to refer to people who are different in any way (even personality traits and food preferences)—and that, Dr. Unzueta ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The discovery of two new extinct camel species by University of Florida scientists sheds new light on the history of the tropics, a region containing more than half the world's biodiversity and some of its most important ecosystems. Appearing online this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the study is the first published description of a fossil mammal discovered as part of an international project in Panama. Funded with a grant from the National Science Foundation, UF paleontologists and geologists are working with the Panama Canal Authority ...

An inexpensive device used by millions of people with diabetes could be adapted into a home DNA detector that enables individuals to perform home tests for viruses and bacteria in human body fluids, in food and in other substances, scientists are reporting in a new study. The report on this adaptation of the ubiquitous personal glucose monitor, typically used to test blood sugar levels, appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry. Yi Lu and Yu Xiang point out that developing low-cost tests for the public to use for early diagnosis of diseases, checking the safety of ...

Almost 80 percent of current farmland in the U.S. would have to be devoted to raising corn for ethanol production in order to meet current biofuel production targets with existing technology, a new study has found. An alternative, according to a study in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology, would be to convert 60 percent of existing rangeland to biofuels. W. Kolby Smith and colleagues explain that the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) set a goal of increasing U.S. biofuel production from 40 to 136 billion gallons of ethanol per year by 2022. ...

Atlanta window tinting company The Tint Guy reminds homeowners that summer is not the only time to consider protection from the sun. Window tinting for your home, office and vehicle can dramatically reduce harmful exposure to UV rays at any time of the year. Tinted window films also protect the interior of these spaces from wearing out prematurely. The specialists at The Tint Guy report that most people do not think to have window tinting installed in the winter since the interior of their automobile or home is not as hot. People tend to associate these tinted films ...

In a modern iteration of the great age of Antarctic exploration of the 19th and 20th centuries, three teams of scientists are rushing to reach not the South Pole like Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, but lakes deep below the surface of the Frozen Continent believed to hold scientific treasures. That quest by Russian, British and American scientific teams for water samples is the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific ...

A novel system for processing embryos during IVF treatment has been shown to significantly improve the chances of pregnancy – by more than a quarter. Pioneered by a Newcastle team of fertility experts at the University and within the NHS, the innovative design of interlinked incubators provides a totally enclosed and controlled environment within which every step of the IVF process can be performed. Research published today in the journal PLoS ONE reveals that the introduction of the new system into the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, part of the Newcastle Hospitals ...