A new study uses creative engineering to unravel brain mechanisms associated with one of the most fundamental subjective human feelings: self-consciousness. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 28 issue of the journal Neuron, identifies a brain region called the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) as being critical for the feeling of being an entity localized at a particular position in space and for perceiving the world from this position and perspective. Recent theories of self-consciousness highlight the importance of integrating many different sensory and ...

A new study reveals a novel gene associated with major depression. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 28 issue of the journal Neuron, suggests a previously unrecognized mechanism for major depression and may guide future therapeutic strategies for this debilitating mood disorder. Major depression is a psychiatric disorder that is responsible for a substantial loss in work productivity and can even lead to suicide in some individuals. "Current treatments for major depression are indispensible but their clinical efficacy is still unsatisfactory, as reflected ...

The number of cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has continued to rise significantly in the first decade of the 21st century and could lead to more deaths than ovarian cancer, lymphoma, leukaemia, or kidney cancer, reveals research published ahead of print in the Thorax journal. IPF is the most common of the pneumonias that happen without an apparent cause and previous studies have shown that incidence and deaths from the disease are rising in the UK and the USA. However, there is currently no mandatory registration of IPF diagnoses in the UK or anywhere ...

They were able to show for the first time that physiologically measurable changes can be observed in the brains of healthy carriers of this risk allele. These changes affect a transporter protein involved in the production of an important neuronal transmitter. Given that traditional drugs interact with similar transporter molecules, the researchers are pinning great hopes on this factor as the target structure of future antidepressant medication.Scientists throughout the world have been trying to identify the genetic causes of depression for many years. The fact that a ...

WALTHAM, Mass., April 27, 2011 – Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) today announced that results from the phase 3 clinical study of VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) in opioid dependence have been published by The Lancet. The six-month, phase 3 trial met its primary endpoint and showed significantly greater opioid-free weeks among patients treated with VIVITROL, compared to placebo. VIVITROL is the first and only non-addictive, non-narcotic, once-monthly medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of ...

The next time you are in Pisa, try looking at its tower from a different perspective. Newton's laws of motion predict that an object will fall when its centre-of-mass lies beyond its base of support. But how does your brain know whether the tower will fall or not? Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany recently reported in the journal PLoS ONE that although the physical laws governing object stability are reasonably well represented by the brain, you are a better judge of how objects fall when you are upright than when ...

Vacationers who are looking for an easy way to plan a trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. can find a wealth of information at a new Website aptly called World of Walt. The comprehensive Website offers accurate, timely, and entertaining information about The Walt Disney Company, as well as the Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Resort Hotels. It provides unbiased information about each of the Disney Resort theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom. It also has useful information on Disney tickets, Disney ...

Using a combination of Facebook-like tools and personally controlled health records, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have engaged members of an online diabetes social network as participants in public health surveillance. In an article published April 27 in PLoS ONE, Elissa Weitzman, ScD, MSc, and Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH, of the Children's Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP) show that health-focused social networks can be viable resources for chronic disease surveillance. "There is growing recognition that online communities not only provide a place for members ...

Thousands of members of the public across Europe have taken part in one of the largest evolutionary studies ever, by observing banded snails in their gardens and open public spaces. More than 6,000 people in 15 European countries took part in the Open University's citizen science project between April and October 2009. The project, Evolution MegaLab, is an online mass public experiment aimed at bringing Darwinian theory to life. It was launched in April 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. People were invited to report their sightings of banded ...

In a recent study to be published on April 27, 2011, in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PLoS ONE, Dr. Elliott Hazen and colleagues found that oceanographic and prey measurements can be used to identify beaked whale foraging habitat. The research team from Duke University, Woods Hole, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center listened for foraging beaked whales and measured ocean features and distributions of prey off the east coast of Andross Island in the Bahamas. Their manuscript provides evidence that these difficult to study deep-diving creatures use specific ocean ...

Chevy Chase, MD— A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that higher metabolic rates predict early natural mortality, indicating that higher energy turnover may accelerate aging in humans. Higher energy turnover is associated with shorter lifespan in animals, but evidence for this association in humans is limited. To investigate whether higher metabolic rate is associated with aging in humans, this study examined whether energy expenditure, measured in a metabolic chamber over 24 hours ...

Chevy Chase, MD— A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that while black and white children with vitamin D deficiency both had higher fat levels, black children were more likely to have higher levels of fat just under their skin and white children were more likely to have higher levels of fat between their internal organs. Studies in adults and children have shown a link between obesity and vitamin D deficiency. However, data characterizing the racial differences in the relationship ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Like people with a big choice to make, stem cells have a process to "decide" whether to transform into a specific cell type or to stay flexible, a state that biologists call "pluripotency." Using a technology he invented, Brown researcher William Fairbrother and colleagues have discovered new molecular interactions in the process that will help regenerative medicine researchers better understand pluripotency. In a paper published in advance online in the journal Genome Research, Fairbrother's team showed that different proteins called ...

A land of outstanding natural beauty, breathtaking views and unrivalled service levels, it's little wonder that Switzerland is such a popular choice for Headwater customers wanting to combine activity by day with luxury in the evenings. For 2011, we have both walking and cycling holidays available. We've listed our 6 most popular choices below - and, if you book any of these within the next 14 days, we'll send you a luxury Lindt chocolate hamper just to say "thank you"! Favourite for Foodies: Walking in Davos The elegant **** Hotel Meirhof is your base ...

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Colonoscopy is regarded as the most thorough way to screen for colon cancer but the potentially life-saving procedure can also be painful. Scientists and engineers are continually researching new methods of screening to reduce patient discomfort while also ensuring the accuracy of the exam. Researchers at Tufts University's School of Engineering led by Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Caroline G.L. Cao, Ph.D., have developed a device that could potentially do both. Tufts endoscopic fiber optic shape tracker (EFOST) technology ...

STONY BROOK, NY, April 27, 2011–An international team of scientists, led by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, has used DNA to determine that groups of dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) and copper sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) living in different coastal regions across the globe are separate populations of each species. Both are large apex predators that are heavily exploited for the shark fin trade, which claims tens of millions of animals every year to produce the Asian delicacy, shark fin soup. Many of these species are declining ...

Fruit flies that moved from sub-Saharan Africa found themselves confronted by conditions very different from those to which they were accustomed. Most obviously, the average temperatures were considerably lower and so it is no surprise that the flies had to adapt to cope with life in the north. As a result of thousands of years of evolution, populations in sub-Saharan African and in Europe now differ dramatically in a number of characteristics known to relate to temperature (such as pigmentation, size and resistance to cold). Schlötterer's previous work had suggested ...

When you are plagued by unsightly facial lines and wrinkles, nothing can be more satisfying than immediate correction with dermal fillers. Dermal fillers consist of biocompatible materials, such as concentrated hyaluronic acid, that are injected beneath the skin to enhance subtle contours and soften facial creases and wrinkles brought on by old age. If you would like to regain your youthful appearance without the downtime required for facelift surgery, dermal fillers may be right for you. How to Select a Dermal Filler For Your Needs There are dozens of dermal fillers ...

A study by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) shows a lack of standardisation in the peer review systems whereby independent experts assess the content of scientific publications published in Spain. This results in a low level of international competitiveness among these publications. "We studied the entire peer review process, beyond the fact of such a review simply being stated in the publication. Our research showed a low level of standardisation in these processes. This reflects a need to work to professionalise some of the Spanish scientific ...

Government Shutdowns, Budget Deficits and Social Security Benefits With a government shutdown recently narrowly averted, many people wondered what happens to Social Security benefits during a government shutdown. While the Social Security Administration is able to operate on its own during a shutdown, shortcomings in the SSA's funding as well as issues with the federal deficit and debt ceiling may signal trouble for the SSA and people receiving Social Security benefits in the future. Government Shutdown During a government shutdown, only "essential" ...

In urban communities, less than 1 in 100 inhabitants died from Spanish flu in 1918, but in isolated communities up to 9 out of 10 died. An important explanation for the differences is due to different exposure to influenza in the decades before the Spanish flu came. Those living in urban communities probably had a higher degree of pre-existing immunity that protected against illness and death in 1918 than those living in very isolated rural areas. This is shown in a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Previous studies have suggested that an important ...

The analysis assesses the 12-month prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in individuals according to their category of alcohol use. The 2001 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions study (the NESARC study, n = 43,093) identified 16,147 abstinent individuals, 15,884 moderate consumers, 9,578 hazardous drinkers — defined as exceeding sex-specific weekly limits established by the World Health Organization, and 1,484 alcohol-dependent subjects. Diagnoses were generated using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV ...

Car Accident Reports Impacted by Latest Ohio Transportation Budget One important bit of wisdom that most people understand about the aftermath of an Ohio auto accident is to wait for police to arrive so you can provide your take on events for the police report. The information that law enforcement includes regarding a car crash or trucking accident is important for both criminal charges and civil liability. But the latest transportation and public safety budget passed by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by Governor Kasich limits the circumstances under which police ...

A new test shows promise for detecting the early stages of a major cause of failure in joint replacement implants, so that patients can be treated and perhaps avoid additional surgery. More than 1.5 million total joint replacement operations are performed worldwide each year. While the success rate is 90 per cent, almost 10 per cent of implants fail and require additional surgery, report appears in the ACS journal Molecular Pharmaceutics. Dong Wang and colleagues at University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Hospital for Special Surgery of New York explain that wear ...

The first analysis of the healthful antioxidant content of blueberries that grow wild in Mexico, Central and South America concludes that some of these fruits have even more healthful antioxidants than the blueberries — already renowned as "super fruits" — sold throughout the United States. These extreme super fruits could provide even more protection against heart disease, cancer and other conditions, the report suggests. It appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Edward Kennelly and colleagues note that although there are over 600 species of blueberries ...