Hidden in the mud, the cone snail Conus purpurascens lies in wait for its victims. It attracts its prey, fish, with its proboscis, which can move like a worm, protruding from the mud. Once a fish approaches out of curiosity, the snail will rapidly shoot a harpoon at it, which consists of an evolutionarily modified tooth. The paralyzed victim then becomes an easy meal. It takes the venomous cone snail about two weeks to digest a fish. During this time, its venomous harpoon is also replaced. Prof. Dr. Diana Imhof from the Pharmaceutical Institute of the University of Bonn, ...

RingCentral, Inc., a leading provider of cloud business phone systems, today launched RingCentral CloudFax(SM), the first ever cloud-based, fully integrated fax service offering the ability to send documents directly from Box, Dropbox and Google Docs. With just a few clicks, RingCentral CloudFax(SM) enables users to seamlessly fax any document stored in the cloud from a single web page - improving workflow and boosting productivity. "RingCentral allows us to send and receive faxes from anywhere, which enables us to respond to our clients quickly from wherever we're ...

Usain Bolt can achieve faster running times with no extra effort on his part or improvement to his fitness, according to a study published today in Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association. Cambridge Professor of Mathematical Sciences John D. Barrow illustrates how, based on concrete mathematical evidence, Bolt can cut his world record from 9.58 seconds to 9.45. Usain Bolt holds the current 100m world record, at 9.58s, and has been described as the best sprinter there has ever been, dramatically reducing his ...

New research into the impact of climate change on Chinese cereal crops has found rainfall has a greater impact than rising temperature. The research, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that while maize is sensitive to warming increases in temperature from 1980 onwards correlated with both higher and lower yields of rice and wheat. The study was carried by Dr. Tianyi Zhang, from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, and Dr. Yao Huang, from the Institute of Botany, both at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The paper is part of a special ...

Children with moderate or severe asthma attacks who are treated with systemic corticosteroids during the first 75 minutes of triage in the Emergency Department (ED) were 16% less likely to be admitted to hospital. This highlights the importance of adopting a strategy to rapidly identify and begin treating children with moderate or severe asthma attacks directly after triage, according to a team of investigators working at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center (UHC), the University of Montreal, McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University ...

AMHERST, Mass. – The U.S. National Research Council this week released a synthesis of reports from thousands of scientists in 60 countries who took part in the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08, the first in over 50 years to offer a benchmark for environmental conditions and new discoveries in the polar regions. University of Massachusetts Amherst geosciences researcher and expert in the paleoclimate of the Arctic, Julie Brigham-Grette, co-chaired the NRC report, "Lessons and Legacies of the IPY 2007-08" with leading Antarctic climate scientist Robert Bindschadler ...

In a report in Energy Digital, SOCWA sets the standard for its methods of handling wastewater in a way that respects its customers as much as the environment. Ever wonder what happens to the water that goes down the drain after you brush your teeth in the morning, take a shower, flush the toilet or run the washing machine or dishwasher? For most of us, the answer is no—what's out of sight is out of mind. But as water becomes an increasingly valuable resource, especially to Californians, it's about time we start taking a look at just how important the process of treating ...

Nashville, TN -- Mutations in hundreds of genes involved in wiring the brain may contribute to the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). That is one of the rather daunting conclusions of a paper published in the current issue of the journal Nature by a multi-institutional team that included researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. But while there is no simple explanation for ASD, the researchers identified a few genes as "genuine risk factors," raising hopes that they will be able to discover the underlying biological cause of these disorders. ...

BOSTON (April 4, 2012) – Improving or maintaining physical fitness appears to help obese and overweight children reach a healthy weight, reports a new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Researchers analyzed four years of data from in-school fitness tests and body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in grades 1-7 in the city of Cambridge, Mass. In the study published online March 15 by the journal Obesity, Sacheck and colleagues examined the association between weight status and fitness levels by assessing student ...

In a report in Energy Digital, MWM takes a holistic approach to providing decentralised, eco-friendly energy supply. With a portfolio that boasts systems and power plants ranging from 400 kWe to 100 Mwe and more, the use of co-generation and tri-generation have enabled efficiencies as great as 95 per cent. This has allowed for much better use of scarce energy resources compared to conventional power generation technologies on the market. MWM's eco-friendly plants allow for decentralised, combined energy generation with extremely high efficiencies. Different types ...

Chicago, IL (April 4, 2012) -- Patients whose symptoms of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) start outside of the hospital setting have a higher risk of colectomy due to severe infection, according to a large multicenter study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Infection from C. difficile is associated with antibiotic use and results in colitis and diarrhea. Severe cases can be life-threatening. Colectomy, or ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- A Kansas State University veterinary medicine student is investigating ways to improve horse vaccinations and defend them against pathogen challenges at an early age. Research from Allison Jordan Bryan, a graduate student in biomedical sciences and a second-year veterinary medicine student, Huntington Beach, Calif., may help protect foals as young as 3 months of age from pathogens such as West Nile virus, tetanus, equine influenza virus, Equine Herpes Virus-1, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis and Western equine encephalomyelitis. "It is important, ...

In a report in Energy Digital, Manroc's ground-breaking Alimak and narrow vein mining techniques prove to lead the industry in terms of safety and cost-effectiveness. As the main Alimak mining company in the world, Manroc's innovative mining technologies hold a competitive advantage in the industry, resulting in a more efficient and cost-effect recovery of ore. Previously considered uneconomic and inaccessible, ore reserves have been made possible through safer, more effective means that not only reduce production costs, but increase production rates of Manroc's customers. ...

Chicago (April 4, 2012) -- Drug dispensing robots designed to quickly prepare intravenous medications in a sterile environment can harbor dangerous bacteria, according to a report in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. During a routine screening in 2010, personnel at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina discovered Bacillus cereus bacteria in samples dispensed by their machine, the Intellifill IV. "To our knowledge, this is the first published report of a pharmacy robot being contaminated ...

In a report in Energy Digital, ABB's global leadership in power and automation builds a more productive and energy efficient future. As one of the world's chief engineering companies, ABB has over 100,000 employees and operates in approximately 100 countries enabling utility and industry customers to improve their use of power--the ultimate goal being to boost overall productivity while decreasing environmental impact. "A lot of the technology that we've developed has been mainly driven by the need to always be a leader in the businesses that we're in," ...

With a history dating back to 1975, Nikken International Inc. has taken the health and wellness industry by storm. Founded in Japan, Nikken was one of the premier companies to open within the $200 billion global industry, and nearly four decades later, their empire is still continuing to expand across international borders. Nikken has a presence in 35 countries. Its origin has impacted the lives of several million people by selling not just health-based products and services, but by helping people achieve total balance in their lives through the Five Pillars of Health: ...

A new hypothesis posed by a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, associate professor and colleagues could be a game changer in the evolution arena. The hypothesis suggests some species are surviving by discarding genes and depending on other species to play their hand. The groundbreaking "Black Queen Hypothesis" got its name from the game of Hearts. In Hearts, the goal is to avoid "winning" the Queen of Spades (the Black Queen), which is worth a lot of points. Subsequently, players allow others to take the high-point card while they enjoy low-score tallies. This same ...

The Dorchester Arts Centre is set to welcome blues band Midnight Train on Saturday April 21st.   Fronted by vocalist Debbie Giles, the five-piece group play a dynamic selection of classic blues, funk and soul numbers.   Their diverse and tightly-honed live set typically contains songs by the likes of Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, T-Bone Walker and BB King.   Music fans heading to the Dorset venue for their performance are in for treat, as Midnight Train have played to packed crowds around the UK and drawn praise from a number of blues publications.   Guitarist Pete ...

(CHICAGO) – Two new studies published in the April 4 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggest that a person's memory declines at a faster rate in the last two-and-a-half years of life than at any other time after memory problems first begin. The second study shows that keeping mentally fit through board games or reading may be the best way to preserve memory during late life. Both studies were conducted by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. "In our first study, we used the end of life as a reference point ...

Defying thousands of years of conventional wisdom, scientists are reporting that it is possible for water to float on oil, a discovery they say has important potential applications in cleaning up oil spills that threaten seashores and fisheries. Their report appears in ACS' journal Langmuir. Chi M. Phan and colleagues point out that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle made an early attempt to explain flotation around 350 B.C. Today, most people know that less dense liquids float on more dense liquids. So crude oil with a density of about 58 pounds per cubic foot floats ...

The Great Saunter, an annual walk around the rim of Manhattan, offers people a unique way to explore the famous New York borough.   Due to take place for the 27th time on Saturday May 5th this year, the event traditionally attracts walkers from across the Big Apple and around the world.   The 32-mile route begins and ends at the South Street Seaport, passing through 20 parks and providing some spectacular waterside views along the way.   Walkers set off at 07:30 local time, with a break for lunch in Inwood Hill Park at 13:00. The Great Saunter finishes with a celebration ...

CORAL GABLES, FL (March 20, 2012)—Delayed gratification: People who are good at overcoming their immediate impulses to take small rewards now — in favor of larger rewards down the road — do better in many areas of life, including academic achievement, income, job performance and health. What life experiences develop this ability? A new study published online, ahead of print, by the journal of Evolution and Human Behavior, finds that religious people are better able to forgo immediate satisfaction in order to gain larger rewards in the future. The study is the first to demonstrate ...

The first real-world, head-to-head comparison of "improved cookstoves" (ICs) and traditional mud stoves has found that some ICs may at times emit more of the worrisome "black carbon," or soot, particles that are linked to serious health and environmental concerns than traditional mud stoves or open-cook fires. The report, which raises concerns about the leading hope as a clean cooking technology in the developing world, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science &Technology. Abhishek Kar, Hafeez Rehman, Jennifer Burney and colleagues explain that hundreds of millions ...

The worldwide concert phenomenon Video Games Live will be returning to Malaysia this May for a pair of shows at Kuala Lumpur's Istana Budaya venue.   Following the success of the show's original Malaysian run in 2010, the world's largest videogame concert spectacular will be seen once again on May 26th and 27th at 20:30 local time.   Created by veteran games composer Tommy Tallarico, the event sees the National Symphony Orchestra performing new arrangements of some of gaming's most iconic tunes.   Themes will be taken from famous videogames from across the ages, from ...

A dose of carbon nanotubes more than doubles the growth rate of plant cell cultures — workhorses in the production of everything from lifesaving medications to sweeteners to dyes and perfumes — researchers are reporting. Their study, the first to show that carbon nanotubes boost plant cell division and growth, appears in the journal ACS Nano. Mariya V. Khodakovskaya and colleagues explain that their previous research demonstrated that so-called multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) can penetrate through the thick coatings on seeds, stimulate germination of the seeds and ...