CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Using a high-resolution single-molecule study technique, University of Illinois researchers have seen the very subtle differences between two branches of an important family of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. Professor Claudio Grosman and research scientist Gisela Cymes published their work in the journal Nature. Nicotinic-type receptors are proteins embedded in the membranes of nerve and muscle cells that regulate activity. A neurotransmitter, such as acetylcholine, triggers a small conformation change in the protein that opens a channel and ...

A University of California, San Diego faculty-student team is about to demonstrate a first-of-its kind, phase-change memory solid state storage device that provides performance thousands of times faster than a conventional hard drive and up to seven times faster than current state-of-the-art solid-state drives (SSDs). The device was developed in the Computer Science and Engineering department at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and will be on exhibit June 7-8 at DAC 2011, the world's leading technical conference and trade show on electronic design automation, ...

Northern Rock has announced the launch of the latest issue of its easy access savings account for customers wishing to manage their funds exclusively online. E-Saver (Issue 6) is available now and pays 2.75% gross* pa/AER**. The new Northern Rock savings account can be opened with an initial investment of GBP1 and E-Saver (Issue 6) allows subsequent deposits from as little as GBP1. The account allows a balance of up to GBP100,000 and account holders can choose to have their interest paid either annually on 11 March or monthly (on 10th of the month. Monthly gross* is ...

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Newberry SC Hotel offers convenient lodging to guests attending Taste of Newberry at Memorial Square in downtown Newberry. The event will take place from 5:00 - 7:30pm on Friday, June 17, 2011. It will include Newberry's finest cuisine from local restaurants, wine tastings and live music. Selections will features tastes of barbecue, shrimp, beef Wellington, prime rib and sides of fried pickles and pasta salad, and more from many participating restaurants including Steven W's Bistro, Delamaters, The Grille on Main, Ronnie's Restaurant, ...

Most of us never considered eating the mud pies we made as kids, but for many people all over the world, dining on dirt is nothing out of the ordinary. Now an extensive meta-analysis forthcoming in the June issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology helps explain why. According to the research, the most probable explanation for human geophagy—the eating of earth—is that it protects the stomach against toxins, parasites, and pathogens. The first written account of human geophagy comes from Hippocrates more than 2,000 years ago, says Sera Young, a researcher at Cornell ...

Physicians will have a better guide for more effectively managing treatment of children experiencing seizures related to autism with the results of a study by researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Texas-Houston. From 25 to 35 percent of people with autism will eventually experience full-scale seizures. Many others will have seizure-like brain activity, in which there is no obvious effect on muscles but potential effects on brain functioning, such as temporary loss of attention. Little has been known about which traditional treatments for epileptic ...

Metastatic prostate cancer patients who received an investigational vaccine made from their own frozen immune cells lived 10 months longer than those not treated with it, according to data being presented by researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson at the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago on Saturday, June 4. (ABSTRACT #4534) In an exploratory, multi-institutional analysis, researchers administered the vaccine APC8015F to a group of patients from the control arm of three randomized, Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating sipuleucel-T, ...

Survival rates of wealthier patients and those younger than 70 with glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor, have improved since 2000, whereas rates for those living in poorer areas and older than 70 have remained stagnant, according to an abstract being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital researchers on Saturday, June 4. (ABSTRACT #6089). The addition of concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide, a chemotherapy drug also referred to as TMZ, to post-operative radiation ...

We all have our ups and downs—a fight with a friend, a divorce, the loss of a parent. But most of us get over it. Only some go on to develop major depression. Now, a new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests part of the reason may be that people with depression get stuck on bad thoughts because they're unable to turn their attention away. People who don't recover from negative events seem to keep going over their troubles. "They basically get stuck in a mindset where ...

Patterns of radiation usage in breast conserving therapy for women 70 years and older with stage I breast cancer are changing: more women are opting for radioactive implants and those with estrogen positive tumors are opting out of radiation therapy, according to an abstract being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago by Thomas Jefferson University Hospital researchers on Saturday, June 4. The abstract (#6094) received an ASCO Merit Award. In another abstract (#1037), the researchers report that women with estrogen negative tumors ...

New Rochelle, NY, June 2, 2011—Biotech scientists are working on novel protein kinase inhibitors that are targeting a host of conditions ranging from atherosclerosis to neurodegenerative diseases, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). Recent developments in the protein kinase inhibitor field include innovative paradigms for drug development, improved inhibitor profiling and selectivity strategies, and the expansion of disease targets (e.g., Alzheimer disease and traumatic brain injury), according to the June 1 issue of GEN (http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/kinase-inhibitor-obstacles-falling/3674/). "Protein ...

Tesco Real Food has announced that Britain's spring heat wave has led to the biggest and best quality English strawberry crop for 20 years growers have reported. The glut of English strawberries - considered by experts to be the best in the world - will result in an estimated 50 per cent reduction in UK retailers bringing in imports. Experts say that Britain's warmer than usual March and April heat wave produced perfect growing conditions resulting in the crop being at least two weeks earlier than usual and the extra sunshine has also increased sugar levels making ...

The Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel Scottsboro is now offering the perfect summer package. The Great Getaway package includes offering guest an additional 15% off Hampton's Best Available Rates for guests who book their stay now through August 22, 2011. Visits must take place by September 5, 2011. Among other Scottsboro Alabama Hotels, The Hampton Inn & Suites is the premier place to stay in the area. The property's features and amenities include: - Complimentary high speed Internet access - Free hot breakfast - Fitness center and outdoor pool - Boat slip parking - ...

Richmond, Va. (June 2, 2011) – Clinical researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center have successfully completed a Phase I clinical trial evaluating a combination of the drugs Bortezomib and Alvocidib in patients with relapsed or refractory blood cancers, paving the way for a Phase II clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of the new therapy. Reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the study determined the maximum tolerated dose with acceptable side effects for this novel drug combination. The trial represented the first time a proteasome inhibitor such ...

CINCINNATI—In a review of nationwide hospital databases, University of Cincinnati (UC) emergency medicine and neurology researchers have found that the rate of treatment with the standard therapy for acute ischemic stroke patients has doubled since 2005. Their paper, "Recombinant Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator Use for Ischemic Stroke in the United States," is published online ahead of print in the journal Stroke. The study estimates between 23,800 and 36,000 U.S. patients received rtPA treatment in 2009—up from between 10,800 to 12,600 in 2004. Since its approval ...

(Cincinnati, OH) – An IRSF funded study published today in the journal Science has shown that the childhood disorder Rett syndrome, can be reestablished in adult animals by "switching off" a critical disease causing gene in healthy adult animals. The gene was "switched off" in adult mice by use of a sophisticated genetic trick, resulting in the appearance of behaviors typically seen in Rett syndrome. The leading author Christopher McGraw, MD/PhD student, carried out the study in the laboratory of Dr. Huda Zoghbi, a renowned neuroscientist based at Baylor College of Medicine, ...

Business Monitor International has announced the launch of its special report on the dry-bulk shipping sector called 'Dry-Bulk Shipping in Troubled Waters as Glut of Vessels Soaks up Demand'. The shipping industry analysis report provides an in-depth overview of the challenges that the global dry-bulk shipping sector faces in 2011, with a particular focus on the sector's ability to tackle its current overcapacity crisis. The dry-bulk shipping sector's woes are expected to continue for some time to come, as dropping rate have already lead to Korea Line Corp filing ...

Wang's research team discovered the sandwich microstructure of dragonfly wing veins [Wang et al. Compos Sci & Technol, 2008; 68: 186-192] and recently revealed the organic junction between these longitudinal veins and membranes of the dragonfly wing [Chen and Wang et al. Chinese Sci Bull, 2011; 56: 1658-1660]. Based on observed microstructural model and previously reported model about the main longitudinal veins and membrane, in which the former is based on the tubular model with sandwich structure in thickness of tubular, and the latter is based on the sample tubular model ...

British Airways is cutting its fares by up to 29 per cent in business class and up to 60 per cent in its First Class cabin in its Luxury Sale for bookings made between May 26 and June 21, 2011. Over 80 destinations are included in the sale based on various travel dates from June 9 to December 31, 2011. Customers can enjoy savings of up to 29 per cent on business class flights to Grenada and up to 24 per cent on business class flights to Kingston in Jamaica. Great value holiday packages are also available including holidays to Jamaica at the 4.5* Hilton Rose Hall Resort ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Latinos looking to quit smoking are more successful when they have a significant other and partner support, say researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. According to the study, published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, this support can also buffer the demonstrated negative effect that depression can have on smoking cessation. Latinos are the largest, fastest growing minority population in the country, based on U.S. Census data. Smoking prevalence among Latinos is 15.8 percent ...

Radisson Blu Paris Boulogne is welcoming one of the more exciting sport event in France, the Grand Slam tournament Rolland Garros, for the fifth year running. Roland Garros is a part of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments and will be taking place until June 5th. The Radisson Blu Hotel Paris Boulogne is proud to be the official partner hotel of the event since its opening in 2006. Being a partner hotel means that Radisson Blu Hotel Paris Boulogne will lodge several well-known players and sponsors such as Babolat, Nike, BNP Paribas or Head Sport. "We are ...

Littlewoods Europe has announced the launch of a new range of children's outdoor toys for summer 2011. The new range of children's outdoor toys includes items such as play tents, play houses, outdoor games, bouncy castles, trampolines, slides, swing sets, children's picnic tables, football sets, space hoppers and play balls. It also includes a range of play pools and water games. Items in the new range also include items from well-known brands and characters such as Little Tikes, Ladybird, Disney, Dora the Explorer, Fisher-Price, In the Night Garden, Thomas the ...

The Dedicated Server Handbook will be joining hundreds of other websites and Internet Service Providers in World IPv6 Day, a global event being organized by the World Internet Society (ISOC) on June 8, 2011. This event is intended to give the world audience a first real example of how the future Internet will work with the new IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) protocol. The Internet is moving to this new protocol to replace the antique IPv4 protocol, which has been used since the Internet's infancy in the 1980's, due to the depletion of addresses in the IPv4 addressing ...

Over a quarter were worried they wouldn't be able to cope with the backlog of work waiting for them on their return, whilst 13% stated that a lack of job security and the fear of layoffs meant they were reluctant to spend time away from work. Whilst the average UK worker is entitled to at least five weeks of paid holiday every year, only 57% of the 1,600 people surveyed used all of their allowance last year. Martin Warnes, Managing Director of reed.co.uk, comments: "In today's fragile economy, UK workers are more concerned than ever about the stability of their ...

New Look has picked up the winning award for Best Shoes at the Lorraine High Street Fashion Award, 2011. With references to early days of BIBA, the awards are a celebration of the best of the British High Street, with a competition that included Office, Kurt Geiger, Miss Selfridge and Aldo. The scoop for New Look is testament to the intelligent way they interpret cat walk trends and transfer them to the high street market; a distinguishable trademark of the British High Street and a mark of New Look's innovative design team. The judging panel, in addition to Lorraine ...