A new study by University of Notre Dame biologist Michael Pfrender and a team of researchers from the University of Nevada-Reno, Utah State University and the University of Virginia suggests that snakes from different regions of the world have evolved a similar, remarkable resistance to a deadly neurotoxin. The finding, which appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, greatly increases scientists' understanding of the genetic basis of adaptation and is a model for understanding the limits to adaptation and the degree to which evolutionary responses ...

"Anyone who has been admitted into a hospital or undergone a procedure, even if cared for in the most appropriate way, can feel as though they were treated like an animal or object," says Harvard University psychologist and physician Omar Sultan Haque. Health care workers enter their professions to help people; research shows that empathic, humane care improves outcomes. Yet dehumanization is endemic. The results can be disastrous: neglect of necessary treatments or prescription of excessive, painful procedures or dangerous drugs. What are the causes and effects of dehumanization ...

University of Alberta led research may have discovered how memories are encoded in our brains. Scientists understand memory to exist as strengthened synaptic connections among neurons. However components of synaptic membranes are relatively short-lived and frequently re-cycled while memories can last a lifetime. Based on this information, U of A physicist and lead researcher Jack Tuszynski, his graduate student Travis Craddock and University of Arizona professor Stuart Hameroff investigated the molecular mechanism of memory encoding in neurons. The team looked into structures ...

Montreal, March 19, 2012 – Parents should think twice before brushing off their child's calls to "look at me!" A Concordia study published in the journal Child Development is the first to show that toddlers' expectations of how their parent will respond to their needs and bids for attention relate to how eager they are to collaborate and learn. Collaboration in toddlers has been linked to the acquisition of social rules and norms later in childhood. Understanding what contributes to more collaboration can help improve conscience development in children. Marie-Pierre ...

Investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital, working with the DNA Sequencing Core Facility at the University of Utah, have developed an approach to newborn screening (NBS) for the life-threatening genetic disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and potentially other muscular dystrophies. As a model for NBS, the approach published online in January in the Annals of Neurology provides evidence that this approach could be implemented if approved by regulatory bodies at a state level or alternatively through the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In a challenge to current astrophysical models of the universe, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories Z machine and the University of Rostock in Germany have found that current estimates of ice-giant planetary interiors overstate water's compressibility by as much as 30 percent. The work was reported in the paper "Probing the Interior of the Ice Giants" in the Feb. 27 Physical Review Letters. "Our results question science's understanding of the internal structure of these planets," said Sandia lead author Marcus Knudson, "and should require ...

Irvine, Calif., March 19, 2012 — By analyzing the hundreds of metabolic products present in the liver, researchers with the UC Irvine Center for Epigenetics & Metabolism have discovered that circadian rhythms – our own body clock – greatly control the production of such key building blocks as amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids. They identified more than 600 liver-originated metabolites, which are the chemical substances created by metabolism that sustain and promote cell health and growth. Approximately 60 percent of these metabolites were found to be dependent on ...

(Philadelphia) – Intervention by peer mentors has a statistically significant effect on improving glucose control in African American veterans with diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP). Full results of the study were published in the March 20th issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. In the study 118 African American veterans aged 50-70 years old with persistently poor diabetes control were randomly assigned to ...

Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have produced the first high resolution structure of a molecule that when attached to the genetic material of the hepatitis C virus prevents it from reproducing. Hepatitis C is a chronic infectious disease that affects some 170 million people worldwide and causes chronic liver disease and liver cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hepatitis C now kills more Americans each year than HIV. The structure of the molecule, which was published in a paper in this week's early online edition ...

A study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the ARC Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and other groups on more than 40 coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans indicates that "co-management"—a collaborative arrangement between local communities, conservation groups, and governments—provides one solution to a vexing global problem: overfishing. The finding is the outcome of the largest field investigation of co-managed tropical coral reef fisheries ever conducted, an effort in which researchers studied 42 managed reef systems in five countries. The team ...

A new study by researchers at MIT shows that there is enough capacity in deep saline aquifers in the United States to store at least a century's worth of carbon dioxide emissions from the nation's coal-fired powerplants. Though questions remain about the economics of systems to capture and store such gases, this study addresses a major issue that has overshadowed such proposals. The MIT team's analysis — led by Ruben Juanes, the ARCO Associate Professor in Energy Studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and part of the doctoral thesis work of ...

For 27 years, the Concorde provided its passengers with a rare luxury: time saved. For a pricey fare, the sleek supersonic jet ferried its ticketholders from New York to Paris in a mere three-and-a-half hours — just enough time for a nap and an aperitif. Over the years, expensive tickets, high fuel costs, limited seating and noise disruption from the jet's sonic boom slowed interest and ticket sales. On Nov. 26, 2003, the Concorde — and commercial supersonic travel — retired from service. Since then, a number of groups have been working on designs for the next generation ...

NASA's TRMM satellite added up the rainfall generated from Cyclone Lua as it made landfall in northern Australia on March 17, and tracked southward through March 19. The largest rainfall amounts appeared just off the coast before Lua made landfall, and continued generating heavy rainfall as it moved inland. On Saturday, March 17, 2012, Lua's center crossed the Australia coastline at Pardoo about 3 p.m. (local time/Australia) bringing winds gusting up to 155 mph (250 kph) and heavy rainfall. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Port Hedland residents experienced maximum ...

Ladies don't worry! We all know how hard it is to choose the perfect cosmetic foundation! The markets flooded with products, ranging from mousses to tinted moisturisers, which often overwhelm the customer with choice! But don't fear we have help on hand with our simple foundation guide because we understand that when you are choosing a foundation it's important to go back to basics. Firstly the most important thing to ask when you are looking for a new foundation is not (like everyone thinks it is) whether it will look great and give you a flawless finish but actually ...

SALT LAKE CITY, March 19, 2012—Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah report they have discovered a method to identify cancer-causing rearrangements of genetic material called chromosomal translocations quickly, accurately, and inexpensively. A description of the method and the research results appear online in this month's issue of the EMBO Molecular Medicine journal. Many cancers result from chromosomal translocations in tumor cells. Hundreds of cancer-causing translocations have been discovered, but current methods for detecting ...

CHICAGO --- A genetic pathway previously known for its role in embryonic development and cancer has been identified as a target for systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma, therapy. The finding, discovered by a cross-disciplinary team led by John Varga, MD, John and Nancy Hughes Distinguished Professor of Rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, was recently published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. "We showed, for the first time, that the Wnt signaling pathway is abnormally activated in scleroderma patients," said Varga, who is also a physician ...

HOUSTON - Identification of a non-traditional pathway for spiriting a cancer-promoting protein into the cell nucleus points to a possible combination therapy for esophageal cancer and indicates a mechanism of resistance for new drugs that attack the Hedgehog pathway. A team of researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the March 20 Cancer Cell that the mTOR molecular pathway promotes the activity of the Gli1 protein in esophageal cancer development and progression. "The Hedgehog pathway is the established, or canonical, pathway for activating ...

VIDEO: A movie was created using infrared and visible data from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite from March 17 to March 19 at 1740 UTC (1:40 p.m. EST).The GOES satellite animation shows convection... Click here for more information. Infrared and microwave satellite imagery from NASA have been providing forecasters at the National Weather Service valuable data on weather system that has potential to bring severe weather to the south central U.S. over the next several days. A large ...

Retro College Cuts, the only manufacturer in the world of throwback college basketball game shorts, announced the debut of their line of 1979 Final Four Michigan State Spartans and Indiana State Sycamores vintage bottoms. These one of a kind throwback game shorts are cut in modern lengths with quality fabric that delivers a true game weight feel for the most discerning of passionate college basketball fans. "Smart concept, solid product -- a company to keep an eye on." said Paul Lukas, apparel industry expert and owner of Uni-Watch.com. "How come nobody ...

With the Easter holidays around the corner and many families planning long car trips, car hire price comparator Carrentals.co.uk can help Mums and Dads out with a range of useful hints to make journeys easier. Gareth Robinson, Managing Director of Carrentals.co.uk, says: "It's well known that kids can get very bored on long car rides, so we're happy to help people out. By sticking to the tips we recommend parents can make sure that they enjoy rather more manageable drives!" Top Tips from Carrentals.co.uk Plan Ahead - Planning is essential - make lists ...

Philadelphia, PA, March 20, 2012 – The Canadian Journal of Cardiology has published a focused update to the Canadian Cardiovascular Society's atrial fibrillation guidelines. Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is a significant cause of stroke, illness in general, and death. It is, for example, the leading cause of stroke in the elderly. The past year has seen important changes in the drugs available to treat atrial fibrillation and in our understanding of their indications and complications. These changes will strongly affect how doctors treat ...

Two judo fighters face off, one in a white judogi (the traditional judo uniform) and one in blue. They reach for each other's shoulders and lock arms, in what looks like an awkward dance, before the fighter in blue throws his opponent head-over-feet onto the mat. Judo and mixed martial arts have become increasingly popular over the past few years and scientists have taken note. The two fighters were actually filmed as part of a science experiment that demonstrates how researchers can quantify exactly how the athletes are spending their energy. The video will be published ...

Driving is a privilege that should not be taken lightly. If someone loses a driver's license for a period of time due to some offense, it is important to know that continuing to drive can lead to severe consequences. It is illegal in New York to drive when your driver's license has been suspended, revoked or withdrawn by the Department of Motor Vehicles. A driver who does so can be cited for an offense called Aggravated Unlicensed Operation (AUO). The least serious level of AUO is the third degree, which applies when there are no other AUO offenses on the driver's record ...

Cameleon Software (Paris: CAM), the leader in product configurator, quotes, proposals and eCommerce software, today announced that a leading global provider of information management and electronic commerce systems for the financial services industry has chosen to implement Cameleon CPQ, beginning in the U.S. market. With Cameleon CPQ, this market leader aims to improve productivity, win rates and overall customer satisfaction. The customer offers a broad range of products and services that can be configured in myriad ways. The resulting sales proposals can span thousands ...

WASHINGTON – A supportive supervisor can keep employees in certain hazardous jobs from being absent even when co-workers think it's all right to miss work, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. Researchers explored factors that can influence employee absenteeism and found that a job's level of risk and peer pressure were both negligible compared to the influence of the employee's supervisor. Having peers who think it's OK to miss a lot of work days influenced employees to miss more work only when the employees felt their supervisors ...