Durham, N.C., and Singapore – Mast cells, which can help the body respond to bacteria and pathogens, also apparently sound the alarm around viruses delivered by a mosquito bite, according to researchers at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore. "It appears the mast cells are activated and call immune system cells to the skin where they clear infection, which limits the spread of infection in the host," said lead researcher Ashley St. John, a Research Fellow with Duke-NUS in the Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the Duke Department of Pathology in Durham, ...

With an increasingly warmer climate, there is a trend for springs to arrive earlier and summers to be hotter. Since spring and summer are the prime growing seasons for plants—when flowers bloom and trees increase in girth and height—do these climate changes mean greater seasonal growth for plants? This is a critical question for forest management, especially in the boreal region—an area particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change. Dr. Jian-Guo Huang, currently a post-doc at the University of Alberta, and colleagues from the University of Quebec at Montreal ...

Scientists working with Professor Dr. Joachim L. Schultze have identified over 480 molecules whose concentration in the blood changes when a person develops lung cancer. These molecules are present in the blood cells either in increased or decreased quantities. "In lung cancer patients, typical patterns which can be detected with a measuring program thus emerge", explains Prof. Schultze. The molecules are nucleic acids which form in the body when certain genes are transcribed. The changes in the blood also occur if the tumor is still in a very early stage. In lung cancer, ...

Patients with heart disease risks are more likely to be prescribed cardiovascular (CV) drugs if they see a younger doctor and recommended to change their lifestyle if they see an older doctor, according to research in the June issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. Italian researchers studied the attitudes and prescribing trends of 1,078 family doctors, cardiologists and diabetologists, together with clinical data on 9,904 of their outpatients, after inviting the doctors to take part in an educational training programme on managing CV risk. "While ...

Aggressive male mating behavior might well be a successful reproductive strategy for the individual but it can drive the species to extinction, an international research team headed by evolutionary biologist Daniel Rankin from the University of Zurich has demonstrated in a mathematical model. Evolutionary biologists have long debated whether the behavior of the individual is able to influence processes on a population or species level. The possibility of selection at species level is still contro-versial. Using a mathematical model, an international team of researchers ...

These scientists have developed a mathematical model that recreates the behavior of an ecosystem in order to observe its dynamics and its reactions in different situations. And what they have discovered is that the ecosystem reaches a state in which it remains more or less unchanged, in spite of the fact that the species that make it up are continuously substituted by others, even to the point that a complete change takes place, similar to the change that occurs inside a human organism. "In short: the species change, but the structure does not", comments Professor José ...

Most solid materials are composed of millions of small crystals, packed together to form a fully dense solid. The orientations, shapes, sizes and relative arrangement of these crystals are important in determining many material properties. Traditionally, it has only been possible to see the crystal structure of a material by looking at a cut surface, giving just 2D information. In recent years, x-ray methods have been developed that can be used to look inside a material and obtain a 3D map of the crystal structure. However, these methods have a resolution limit of around ...

Sophia Antipolis, France, Sunday 15 May 2011: The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is calling for a single, co-ordinated European system to oversee the evaluation and approval of medical devices. The call is being made in a paper published online in the European Heart Journal reporting on a conference held by the ESC in January 2011 looking to increase the input of medical experts in developing medical device policy. "The ESC believes that the approval of devices used in medicine shares similarities in terms of ethical responsibilities as the approval of new ...

The research aircraft Polar 5 of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association returned to Bremerhaven from a six-week expedition in the high Arctic on May 6. Joint flights with aircraft of the European and American space agencies (ESA and NASA) were a novelty in sea ice research: Simultaneous measurements with a large number of sensors on three planes underneath the CryoSat-2 satellite led to unique data records. Furthermore, the international team composed of 25 scientists and engineers collected data on trace gases, aerosols ...

A new study offers hope for species such as the Siberian Tiger that might be considered 'too rare to save', so long as conservation efforts can target key threats. The findings have important implications for conserving some of the world's most charismatic endangered species, which often exist in populations far smaller than the many thousands of individuals that earlier studies had argued were necessary for viability. Charismatic examples include the mountain gorilla, which likely now number 1,000 or less, the approximately 450 remaining Amur or Siberian tigers, ...

Eileen Schuh's THE TRAZ is a novel that addresses head-on the issues behind juvenile delinquency and exposes the adults who exploit these troubled teens. "The girl was 12," the headline says, "when she killed her parents and younger brother in their Medicine Hat, Alta. home..." Perhaps even more troubling is this headline: "Imani Nakpangi was sentenced to five years in jail for forcing the girls, 14 and 15 years of age, into prostitution..." "A 14-year-old boy was charged," reads another, "when a would-be pot buyer ...

As plant scientists unravel the genomes of plant pathogens, comparisons can be made of the different and not-so-different invasion strategies for the organisms that threaten crops. John McDowell, associate professor of plant pathology at Virginia Tech, points out similarities in the strategies of several devastating rusts and mildew. Based on his own research and the published findings of other scientists, McDowell observes shared traits that different microbes have evolved to survive as absolutely dependent on their hostile hosts – and that can be targeted to turn on ...

Decades after the pit closures, coalfield communities still face significant health problems and economic difficulties, according to new research. A Durham University-led study shows that health problems including long term limiting illnesses such as chronic arthritis, asthma and back problems, are significantly more likely in some of these areas. However, the results, published in the Journal, Health and Place, also reveal that some less deprived coalfield areas are faring relatively well in terms of health. Some of these areas seem to have weathered the economic ...

The majority of seaports around the world are unprepared for the potentially damaging impacts of climate change in the coming century, according to a new Stanford University study. In a survey posed to port authorities around the world, the Stanford team found that most officials are unsure how best to protect their facilities from rising sea levels and more frequent Katrina-magnitude storms, which scientists say could be a consequence of global warming. Results from the survey are published in the journal Climatic Change. "Part of the problem is that science says that ...

A variation in a gene involved in regulating cholesterol in the bloodstream also appears to affect progesterone production in women, making it a likely culprit in a substantial number of cases of their infertility, a new study from Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. The Hopkins group has also developed a simple blood test for this variation of the scavenger receptor class B type 1 gene (SCARB1) but emphasized there is no approved therapy yet to address the problem in infertile women. Following up studies in female mice that first linked a deficiency in these receptors ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study using sophisticated brain scans shows how simple line drawings can capture the essence of a beach or a mountain for viewers just as well as a photograph would. Researchers found that viewing a "beach" scene depicted in a line drawing activated nearly the same patterns of brain activity in study participants as did viewing an actual color photograph of a beach. The same was true when people viewed line drawings and photographs of other natural scenes including city streets, forests, highways, mountains and offices. Even when researchers removed ...

WASHINGTON — Even healthy adults with a safe driving record tend to make more driving errors as they age, including potentially dangerous mistakes, such as failing to check blind spots, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. Most studies of older drivers have focused on people with dementia or other conditions that might impair their performance behind the wheel. This study, conducted in Australia, comprised 266 volunteers age 70 to 88 who showed no signs of dementia, lived independently and drove at least once a week. The results ...

For those soldiers worried about the stigma associated with seeing a therapist, virtual reality applications for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be the alternative to the traditional "talk therapy." A new paper¹, by Albert Rizzo from the University of Southern California, Institute for Creative Technologies, Los Angeles, and his team, reviews how virtual reality applications are being designed and implemented across various points in the military deployment cycle, to prevent, identify and treat combat-related PTSD. Their findings are published ...

Global Banking and Finance Review, has awarded PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk "The Best Investor Service Provider" in Indonesia 2011. BTN was chosen after a series of assessments by industry analysts on several important parameters. The parameters include strength of the management, innovation, transparency, and ability to serve the complaint. The Director of BTN, Iqbal Latanro said this award is an appreciation for the excellent quality of BTN service to stakeholders, especially investors. About PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk PT Bank ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib, known by the brand name Celebrex, triggers liver cancer cell death by reacting with a protein in a way that makes those cells commit suicide, according to a new study. Researchers also found that the combination of celecoxib with each of two chemotherapy drugs killed more liver cancer cells in culture, making those combinations more effective than either drug on its own. "Each chemotherapy drug alone will reduce the growth of cancer cells, but when each single drug is combined with Celebrex, a greater growth suppression ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A pattern of earthen berms, spread across a northern peninsula of the big island of Hawaii, is providing archeologists with clues to exactly how residents farmed in paradise long before Europeans arrived at the islands. The findings suggest that simple, practical decisions made by individual households were eventually adopted by the ruling class as a means to improve agricultural productivity. The research was reported in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Archeologically, this kind of research is really ...

Obese, asthmatic, anxious or depressed children are more likely to experience excessive daytime sleepiness, or EDS, according to Penn State College of Medicine sleep researchers. "Although EDS in children is commonly assumed by physicians and the public to be the result of sleep-disordered breathing or inadequate sleep, our data suggest that EDS in young children is more strongly associated with obesity and mood issues as it is in adults," said Edward Bixler, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and vice chair of research, Sleep Research and Treatment Center. EDS is the inability ...

What does it take to regenerate a limb? Biologists have long thought that organ regeneration in animals like zebrafish and salamanders involved stem cells that can generate any tissue in the body. But new research suggests that multiple cell types are needed to regrow the complete organ, at least in zebrafish. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that cells capable of regenerating a zebrafish fin do not revert to stem cells that can form any tissue. Instead, the individual cells retain their original identities and only give ...

(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), along with clinicians from Boston Medical Center (BMC), have found gastroenterologist knowledge of the appropriate immunizations to recommend to the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patient is limited. These findings, which currently appear on-line in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, may be the primary reason why the majority of gastroenterologists believe that the primary care provider (PCP) should be responsible for vaccinations. Current therapy for IBD patients often involves agents that suppress ...

Island Eye Surgicenter is only the fourth surgical facility to acquire this advanced technology in the US. Island Eye Surgicenter located in Carle Place is unique in that it focuses on the surgical care and treatment of eye disorders and specializes in the most advanced laser cataract surgery on Long Island. Cataract surgery is one of the most common and safest surgeries performed in the US today. The Alcon LenSx Femtosecond Laser gives the surgeon precision and reliability vastly improving patient outcomes.This new procedure is extraordinary, and with this new technology, ...