WASHINGTON -- A first-of-its kind series of brain studies shows how an adult learning a foreign language can come to use the same brain mechanisms as a native speaker. The research also demonstrates that the kind of exposure you have to the language can determine whether you achieve native-language brain processing, and that learning under immersion conditions may be more effective in reaching this goal than typical classroom training. The research also suggests that the brain consolidates knowledge of the foreign language as time goes on, much like it does when a person ...

This press release is available in French, Portuguese and Spanish. LONDON (28 March 2012) — Nearly one billion people in the world are undernourished, while millions suffer from chronic disease due to excess food consumption. Global demand is growing for agricultural products and food prices are rising, yet roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. Climate change threatens more frequent drought, flooding and pest outbreaks, and the world loses 12 million hectares of agricultural land each year to land degradation. Land clearing and inefficient ...

For over three years, Shari has been a temp at Hendry Dental, providing support for Dr. Robert Hendry, Littleton dentist, and quality care for patients of all ages. Dr. Hendry is now happy to announce that Shari is no longer a temp for Hendry Dental, but is now a full time hygienist with his office. "It is an honor to welcome Shari as a full-time member to my dental team. She truly has been a breath of fresh air for my patients because she spends quality time with each patient to make sure they fully understand their treatment and the health of their teeth. I look ...

Treating invasive brain tumors with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation has improved clinical outcomes, but few patients survive longer than two years after diagnosis. The effectiveness of the treatment is limited by the tumor's aggressive invasion of healthy brain tissue, which restricts chemotherapy access to the cancer cells and complicates surgical removal of the tumor. To address this challenge, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have designed a new treatment approach that appears to halt the spread of cancer cells into ...

Nowspeed, a top Internet marketing agency, has released a new mobile marketing white paper entitled, 25 Reasons You Need a Mobile Marketing Strategy Today, co-written by Account Director of Nowspeed, Olivier Sartor and Creative Director of Nowspeed, Justin Barton. The white paper explains how and why it is important for companies to incorporate a mobile business strategy in today's marketing space. Businesses will learn the efficiencies of mobile marketing through 25 tips and best practices that will jumpstart your efforts to create a mobile marketing strategy that works. ...

In ancient Earth history, the sun burned as much as 30 percent dimmer than it does now. Theoretically that should have encased the planet in ice, but there is geologic evidence for rivers and ocean sediments between 2 billion and 4 billion years ago. Scientists have speculated that temperatures warm enough to maintain liquid water were the result of a much thicker atmosphere, high concentrations of greenhouse gases or a combination of the two. Now University of Washington researchers, using evidence from fossilized raindrop impressions from 2.7 billion years ago ...

There are several reasons a person might consider rhinoplasty. Perhaps your nose is misshapen, or not the right size for your face. Perhaps your nose distracts from your natural beauty, or makes your face look asymmetrical or unappealing. In any case, the decision to have rhinoplasty is a big one. Unfortunately, many people experience uneven, displeasing results after rhinoplasty. Revision Rhinoplasty When your nose job fails to provide you with an appealing end result, you may want to consider revision rhinoplasty. With revision rhinoplasty, your plastic surgeon ...

This first direct estimate of the number of light planets around red dwarf stars has just been announced by an international team using observations with the HARPS spectrograph on the 3.6-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile [1]. A recent announcement (eso1204 - http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1204/), showing that planets are ubiquitous in our galaxy used a different method that was not sensitive to this important class of exoplanets. The HARPS team has been searching for exoplanets orbiting the most common kind of star in the Milky Way — red dwarf ...

If you have been seriously hurt in an auto accident, you may be trying to decide whether you need a lawyer. And once you have decided that you do need a lawyer, how do you find the right one for you? Here are some pieces of advice that can help you find the right lawyer. Look for Personal Recommendations Do you know friends or family members who have gone through an auto accident lawsuit? If so, then ask them about their experience and whether they would recommend their lawyer. If they recommend their lawyer, add him or her to your list. If you see your doctor ...

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who discontinue use of statin therapy are at increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes. According to the findings of a population-based study now available in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), RA patients should be advised of the importance of compliance to their statin therapy to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk. A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that RA affects up to one ...

CINCINNATI - Researchers have taken a critical step in understanding how allergic reactions occur after identifying a genetic signature for regulation of a key immune hormone, interleukin (IL-13). Scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center say the finding opens the potential for new molecular targets to treat allergic disease. They report on March 28 in Mucosal Immunology that a particular microRNA, miR-375, is regulated by IL-13, and in turns regulates how IL-13 induces pro-allergic changes, particularly in epithelial cells in the lung and esophagus. The ...

Collaboration with the Broad Institute yields comprehensive encyclopedia of genetic and molecular information for nearly 1,000 cancer cell lines Encyclopedia, publicly available, may improve the design of cancer trials and advance cancer research Data from encyclopedia may help researchers identify patients who could most benefit from any given drug Basel, March 28, 2012 – Novartis and the Broad Institute have developed a cancer cell line encyclopedia that catalogues the genetic and molecular profiles of almost 1,000 human cancer cell lines used in drug research ...

Many people have some aspect of their smile they would like to improve. With cosmetic dentistry, you can achieve a beautiful, healthy smile you can share confidently. If you have a tendency to hide your smile from other people, you should consult a cosmetic dentist about possible smile improvements. Your smile should let you express your innermost feelings and emotions, and cosmetic dentistry may be a good way for you to create a smile that truly feels like your own. Common Cosmetic Dental Problems Some of the most common cosmetic dentistry issues include: - Crooked ...

When learning a new language, it doesn't hurt to take a break, according to surprising new research published Mar. 28 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. Adult subjects who had been taught to speak and comprehend an artificial language to high proficiency and then went several months without any further exposure did not show any change in their language abilities after the time off, report the authors, led by Michael Ullman of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and Kara Morgan-Short of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The time away from the language ...

Sleep disturbance negatively impacts the memory consolidation and enhancement that usually occurs with a good night's sleep, according to a study published Mar. 28 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. It is becoming widely accepted that sleep is crucial for cementing long-term memory, so in this new study, the researchers went a step further to investigate whether these beneficial effects only arise after some minimum amount of continuous sleep. The authors, led by Ina Djonlagic at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found that patients with sleep apnea, which leads ...

Distracted drivers are our country's number one road hazard. About a decade ago, all you ever heard about was drunk drivers and how many lives were lost each year due to drinking and driving. Now cell phones and driving has become arch enemy number one, and many states have enacted laws to punish those who commit the selfish act of texting or talking while driving. Talking on the phone has become a way of life for millions of Americans. More than 85% of the 100 million plus cell-phone subscribers regularly talk on the phone while driving, according to a survey by Prevention ...

A sudden increase in narcolepsy in Finnish children at the beginning of 2010 was likely related to the Pandemrix vaccine used in response to the H1N1 2009 flu pandemic, according to two reports published Mar. 28 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. The authors of the studies, led by Markku Partinen of the Helsinki Sleep Clinic and Hanna Nohynek of the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland, found that the average annual incidence of narcolepsy between 2002 and 2009 among children younger than 17 was 0.31 per 100,000, and in 2010, this incidence was about ...

A class of compounds found in hops, the crop generally known for its role in beer production, reduces weight gain in obese and diabetic mice, according to a study published Mar. 28 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. Eight weeks of treatment with the compounds, called tetrahydro iso-alpha acids, also reduced gut permeability and normalized insulin sensitivity markers in the mice, among other beneficial metabolic effects. Hops have been known to contain anti-inflammatory compounds with potential medicinal uses for metabolic disorders, like insulin resistance and type ...

From toy cars to car seats to seat belts to cars themselves, defective products can come in widely varying forms. When consumers are harmed by defective products that are used as intended and according to instructions, they may be able to pursue financial compensation for their injuries through a product liability claim. While the range of products historically associated with product liability lawsuits is broad, product liability cases themselves typically stem from at least one of three factors: - Design defect - Manufacturing defect - Inadequate warnings or instructions In ...

The goal of cancer treatment is to match the right drug to the right target in the right patient. But before such "personalized" drugs can be developed, more knowledge is needed about specific genomic alterations in cancers and their sensitivity to potential therapeutic agents. Now an academic-industry collaboration is releasing the first results from a new and freely available resource that marries deeply detailed cancer genome data with predictors of drug response, information that could lead to refinements in cancer clinical trials and future treatments. The Cancer ...

Boston, MA – Paying hospitals to improve their quality of care, known as pay-for-performance, has gained wide acceptance in the U.S. and Medicare has spent tens of millions of dollars on bonuses and rewards for hospitals to improve. However, little is known about whether pay-for-performance actually improves patient outcomes over the long term. A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds no evidence that the largest hospital-based P4P program in the U.S. improved 30-day mortality rates, a measure of whether patients survive their hospitalization. Given ...

Weight loss and increased physical fitness nearly halved the risk of losing mobility in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes, according to four-year results from the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) trial funded by the National Institutes of Health. The results are published in the March 29, 2012, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Being able to perform routine activities is an important contributor to quality of life," said Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., director of the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases ...

Liposuction is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures performed in the United States today. Liposuction is an effective way to remove up to ten pounds of fat from almost any area of your body, helping provide you with a slimmer, more attractive frame. Typically, liposuction is used to treat areas where deposits of stubborn fat will not respond to diet and exercise. These areas include: - Legs - Hips - Abdomen - Back - Arms - Chest/breasts - Neck and face The liposuction technology that will best suit your needs should be determined by an experienced, ...

More than half of all cancer is preventable, and society has the knowledge to act on this information today, according to Washington University public health researchers at the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. In a review article published in Science Translational Medicine March 28, the investigators outline obstacles they say stand in the way of making a huge dent in the cancer burden in the United States and around the world. "We actually have an enormous amount of data about the causes and preventability of cancer," says epidemiologist Graham A. Colditz, MD, DrPH, ...

American researchers have shown that prospective magnetic fusion power systems would pose a much lower risk of being used for the production of weapon-usable materials than nuclear fission reactors and their associated fuel cycle. The researchers, from Princeton University, found that if nuclear fusion power plants are designed to accommodate appropriate safeguards, there is little risk of fissile materials being produced for weapons, either secretly or overtly. Their results have been published today, 29 March, by IOP Publishing in the journal Nuclear Fusion. In ...