Grave consequences can result from bad decisions made by people in leadership positions. Case in point: the 2009 Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster. British Petroleum (BP) executives had downplayed potential risks associated with their oil well, claiming that it was virtually impossible that a major accident would ever occur. That same oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and causing a massive oil spill that's costing BP an estimated $100 billion. For USC Marshall professor Nathanael Fast and his co-authors, the BP case represents only one example that illustrates a fundamental ...

Miami, FL – March 1, 2012 -- Scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute have developed a revolutionary technique to provide critical oxygen for maintaining the survival of insulin-producing cells. This is the first time that scientists have been able to successfully deliver oxygen locally to beta cells using a biomaterial. The results of the study, which represents a major step toward the goal of developing an alternative site to house insulin-producing cells, were just published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). One ...

MIAMI -- A University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led study shows a link between large dust storms on Iceland and glacial melting. The dust is both accelerating glacial melting and contributing important nutrients to the surrounding North Atlantic Ocean. The results provide new insights on the role of dust in climate change and high-latitude ocean ecosystems. UM Rosenstiel School Professor Joseph M. Prospero and colleagues Joanna E. Bullard and Richard Hodgkins (Loughborough University, U.K.) analyzed six years of dust concentrations ...

The St Louis, MO based musical group Barley Station is proud to announce the release of their first album, "After All," under their new label: Barleyfields Records. The album will be available via major digital outlets such as iTunes, Amazon, Verizon, Napster, etc. Physical copies will be made available via CDBaby.com and through CD Baby's physical distribution partners. The album contains the critcally favored single "I Found You," which the Music Dish Journal described as "Rootsy alternative country at its best: catchy guitar riffs, driving rhythms, ...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- After years of increases in the rates of childhood obesity, a new UC Davis study shows that the increase slowed from 2003 to 2008 among California school children. While encouraged by the results, the authors expressed concern about a group of youngsters currently driving the increase in obesity: children under age 10. "Children who were obese entering the fifth grade remained obese in subsequent years as well, despite improvements in school nutrition and fitness standards," said William Bommer, professor of cardiovascular medicine at UC Davis ...

In 2010, the Center for Gene Therapy at Nationwide Children's Hospital launched a monthly podcast entitled, "This Month in Muscular Dystrophy," featuring internationally known scientists discussing the latest research in muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular disorders. Now, these podcasts will be available for users on iTunes and at www.NationwideChildrens.org/muscular-dystrophy-podcast. The podcasts are geared toward patients, their families and primary care physicians who take care of patients with neuromuscular diseases. Hosted by Kevin Flanigan, MD, an attending ...

The Grauer School is offering a diverse, accredited Summer School curriculum for college and high school-bound students seeking to accelerate and deepen their studies. In addition, a wide variety of Summer Camp options have been added for students in middle school. This year's summer sessions are scheduled to run from June 25 through July 13 and July 16 through August 3. Standard enrollment begins April 16 and closes June 15; priority enrollment opens March 12 and includes a 5% reduction in tuition. Curriculum details, fees, transfer credits, prerequisites and enrollment ...

Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening saves lives, but a loophole in current Medicare law may cause patients to think twice before undergoing this vital test. Legislation introduced today seeks to ensure that colorectal cancer screening for all Medicare beneficiaries is free, as intended. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act waives the coinsurance and deductible for many cancer screening testsi, including colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy and fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), which screen for colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy is a unique screening test because ...

Philadelphia, PA -- Pass the peas please! How often do we hear our children say this? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey of adolescents, only 21% of our children eat the recommended 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day. So not very many children are asking their parents to "pass the peas," and parents are resorting to other methods to get their children to eat their vegetables. One popular method is hiding vegetables. There are even cookbooks devoted to doing this and new food products ...

Rising pop talent Cara Quici has been snagging well-deserved attention within the industry lately. This incredibly talented singer's recent photographic tribute to stars Madonna and Debbie Harry has been highlighted in hundreds of press outlets, getting Cara Quici some notable national recognition (http://www.cnbc.com/id/46412030/Pop_Star_Cara_Quici_Pays_Homage_to_Madonna_Debbie_Harry). Cara Quici is a strong vocal talent, making her a rare find in today's pop music market. Armed with her solid singing skills, stunning beauty and charismatic personality, Cara is primed ...

London, Ontario - There is good news for the 27,000 plus people around the world who donate a kidney each year. A study which followed living kidney donors for 10 years found that they were at no greater risk for heart disease than the healthy general population. Led by Dr. Amit Garg, a researcher at Lawson Health Research Institute and nephrologist at London Health Sciences Centre, the results provide important safety reassurances to donors, their recipients and health care professionals. In the general population, there is a strong link between reduced kidney function ...

FINDINGS: Devising a novel method to identify potential genetic regulators in planarian stem cells, Whitehead Institute scientists have determined which of those genes affect the two main functions of stem cells. Three of the genes are particularly intriguing because they code for proteins similar to those known to regulate mammalian embryonic stem cells. Such genetic similarity makes planarians an even more attractive model for studying stem cell biology in vivo. RELEVANCE: Stem cells may hold the promise to regrow damaged, diseased, or missing tissues in humans, such ...

Living in a poor neighborhood was linked with worse chronic pain for young adults, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System, but young black patients faced difficulties with pain management no matter where they lived. With the study, the University of Michigan researchers have opened a new frontier in addressing chronic pain in America. The results were published in a recent issue of The Journal of Pain and showed where a patient lives, its structural barriers, affluence, and access to resources such as pain medicines, play an important role ...

Website: http://www.myspace.com/cheyannewelch Rising pop country singer Cheyanne has the industry buzzing with excitement for her newest single, "Perfectly Imperfect." This charming, charismatic singer is gaining the support of fans and impressing critics from all over and has now released the official video for "Perfectly Imperfect!" Currently working on her full album, Cheyanne has responded to the demand of fans for more with the release of her newest video. "Perfectly Imperfect" is a catchy, candid tune that carries a unique, fresh ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reduced damage from a heart attack by 50 percent by enhancing a protective protein found in mice and humans. The study, in which mice were bred to make a supercharged version of the protein focal adhesion kinase, or FAK, appeared March 1 in the online edition of the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. "This study shows that we can enhance existing cell survival pathways to protect heart cells during a heart attack," said Joan Taylor, PhD, associate professor in ...

Rochester Institute of Technology's fall 2011 Advanced Digital Media Class was hired by the BioCommunications Association (BCA) to develop and produce video tutorials for amateur medical and biological photographers. The 14 students in Biomedical Photographic Communication Assistant Professor Tom Zigon's class worked in four teams to produce video tutorials on photographing reflective subjects, exposure control, and a topic of their choice including: • Digital file formats and compression • Techniques for maintaining consistency in medical imaging • Sample preparation ...

WASHINGTON -- Centuries of overexploitation of fish and other marine resources — as well as invasion of fish from the Red Sea — have turned some formerly healthy ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea into barren places, an unprecedented study of the Mediterranean concludes. Research by an international team of scientists designed to measure the impact of marine reserves found that the healthiest places were in well-enforced marine reserves; fish biomass there had recovered from overfishing to levels five to 10 times greater than that of fished areas. However, marine "protected" ...

DALLAS -- UT Southwestern Medical Center cardiologists have uncovered how a specific protein's previously unsuspected role contributes to the deterioration of heart muscle in patients with diabetes. Investigators in the mouse study also have found a way to reverse the damage caused by this protein. The new research, available online and published in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, was carried out in the laboratory of Dr. Joseph Hill, director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center at UT Southwestern. "If we can protect the heart of diabetic patients, ...

The Improv Comedy Club's "Up Yours" Comedy Contest picks Don Barnhart for a spot in the finals in search for America's Next Great Comedian. Barnhart took second place in the Improv Comedy Club's "Up Yours" online contest battling it out with the front-runner in fan votes earing him a spot in the live finals. The contest was open to everyone and votes came from fans around the world using social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. The top three vote leaders have secured spots in finals with the judges picking 3 wild-card entries for the ...

VIDEO: This movie was created using GOES-13 visible and infrared satellite imagery from Feb. 28 at 1245 UTC (7:45 am. EST) through March 1, and shows the progression of the cold... Click here for more information. A satellite animation of NOAA's GOES-13 satellite imagery showed the movement of the front that triggered severe storms and tornadoes in several states on February 29, 2012. Today, NASA released a GOES satellite animation of that weather system that triggered at ...

Join the excitement as the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central Texas host their sixth annual Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central Texas Golf Tournament on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at Lantana Golf Club in Lantana, Texas. The event will help provide continued support for North central Texas youth being served by the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Central Texas. The four-person scramble tournament will kick-off at 1:30pm with a chance to play 18-holes of golf with local celebrities. It will feature a post-tournament awards dinner, live auction, raffles, and numerous ...

http://www.everydayslipcovers.com Furniture Slipcovers For All Types of Furniture. To celebrate the opening of the web site EverydaySlipcovers is offering a 10% discount on all its inventory for orders over $100 for the month of March and in addition free shipping on all orders over $300. EverydaySlipcovers has two goals for the company and both are centered around the customers. The first goal of EverydaySlipcovers.com is to meet the needs of people looking for quality slipcovers at reasonable prices. The site carries slipcovers for the everyday needs as well as the ...

If someone has trouble remembering where the car keys or the cheese grater are, new research shows that a memory training strategy can help. Memory training can even re-engage the hippocampus, part of the brain critical for memory formation, the results suggest. Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center have been investigating memory-building strategies for people with MCI (mild cognitive impairment). The techniques used in the study were known to be effective for healthy people, but it has been uncertain how they could ...

Satellite imagery from NASA's Terra satellite today, March 1, shows Tropical Storm Irina is slow to leave the coastline of Madagascar. When NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Storm Irina on March 1 at 0715 UTC (2:15 a.m. EST), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard captured a visible image of the cyclone. At that time the center of the storm was still over the waters of the Mozambique Channel, but just off the central west coast of Madagascar. The storm's center was near 19.7 South and 43.7 East. Clouds from the outer reaches of the storm ...

Spring is a time of year for change, and DefySupply.com has showcased this fact with its excellent new line of modern patio furniture sets. Releasing nearly 100 outdoor sofa sets and patio dining sets, defysupply.com has continued its strategy of vast product selection. Unveiling nearly 100 new patio sofa sets and patio dining sets, Defy Supply has continued their mission of giving customers as many options as possible. Defy Supply is one of the web's leading discount furniture e-retailers, and has long been a destination for home furniture and outdoor furniture ...