Initiatives by successive governments to provide better access to higher education for young people from less-privileged backgrounds have failed according to Understanding Society, the world's largest longitudinal study. Findings show just a five per cent increase in degrees among children of routine and manual workers. An analysis of the social backgrounds of almost 34,000 adults between the ages of 22-49, compiled by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, reveal that it is the children of the middle classes, and not the working ...

Referring people with schizophrenia to group art therapy does not improve their mental health or social functioning, finds a study published on bmj.com today. The findings challenge national treatment guidelines which recommend that doctors consider referring all people with schizophrenia for arts therapies. Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder which affects as many as one in 100 people at some point in their lives. While antipsychotic medication can reduce symptoms, many people continue to experience poor mental health and social functioning. Art therapy has ...

One in ten students now claim to know someone who is using prostitution to pay for university fees, a medical student writing for the Student BMJ claims. Although the numbers are still small, this figure as a percentage, is two and a half times larger than 10 years ago when just 4% of students claimed to know a peer placing themselves in the sex trade. This figure rose to 6% in 2006 and now stands at just under 10%. The author, a final year medical student at the University of Birmingham, writes about the obvious correlation between rising tuition fees and the prevalence ...

A study led by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in collaboration with the University of East London UK, and Swansea University UK, is the first to show the effects of the drug ecstasy on fetal and infant development. Ecstasy is a stimulant and hallucinogen, and is one of the most widely used illegal drugs among young people, with a range of damaging effects. It is known scientifically as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA. This international prospective study, published in the Feb. 28 issue of Neurotoxicology and Teratology, shows that use of ...

The inaugural international guidelines for the diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease (RHD), a disease that affects tens of millions of people worldwide, have today been published by the World Heart Federation in Nature Reviews Cardiology. The guidelines define the minimum requirements needed to diagnose RHD in individuals without a clear history of acute rheumatic fever (ARF), and will have important global and national implications. Diagnosis is conducted with an ultrasound of the heart's valves and chambers, known as an echocardiogram, but currently no guidelines ...

Yale University researchers have discovered a key cellular mechanism that may help the brain control how much we eat, what we weigh, and how much energy we have. The findings, published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, describe the regulation of a family of cells that project throughout the nervous system and originate in an area of the brain call the hypothalamus, which has been long known to control energy balances. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies are closely investigating the role of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons in controlling ...

The archaeological examination by robotic camera of an intact first century tomb in Jerusalem has revealed a set of limestone Jewish ossuaries or "bone boxes" that are engraved with a rare Greek inscription and a unique iconographic image that the scholars involved identify as distinctly Christian. The four-line Greek inscription on one ossuary refers to God "raising up" someone and a carved image found on an adjacent ossuary shows what appears to be a large fish with a human stick figure in its mouth, interpreted by the excavation team to be an image evoking the biblical ...

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School have developed a method for inducing magnetic sensitivity in an organism that is not naturally magnetic—yeast. Their technology could potentially be used to magnetize a variety of different cell types in medical, industrial and research applications. The research findings appear in today's issue of PLoS Biology. Magnetic fields are everywhere, but few organisms can sense them. Those that do, such as birds and butterflies, use magnetic sensitivity as ...

No stranger to making smart picks, the Shula Restaurant group identified Napa Technology as their exclusive wine preservation and dispensing equipment partner in their latest concept; Shula Burger. This fast casual concept is shaking up the burger business by focusing on gourmet burgers designed to be paired with a broad collection of wines. The selection of Napa Technology, makers of the WineStation intelligent dispensing systems, signifies the degree of importance the brand will be placing on its wine program. "This is an exciting concept that will cater to ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- U.S. industry and environmental groups agree that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 needs to be modernized to better protect public health and the environment. However, there is no consensus on what the reform should look like. A new report from Indiana University supplies a close examination of the European Union's reformed chemicals law REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), which went into effect in 2006. After reviewing data and interviewing key stakeholders, including manufacturers, importers ...

Mobile phones currently on the market are capable of showing high quality images and video, but the phones' small size sets insurmountable limits on screen size, and thus the viewing experience. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, EpiCrystals Oy and the Aalto University are developing a better laser light source for projectors that will be integrated into mobile phones, which will enable accurate and efficient projection of, for example, photographs and movies on any surface. Mobile phones equipped with the laser light source can be within the ordinary consumer's ...

Controlling nerve cells with the aid of light: this is made possible by optogenetics. It enables, for example, the investigation of neurobiological processes with unprecedented spatial and temporal precision. The key tool of optogenetics is the light-activated protein channelrhodopsin. Biophysicists from Bochum and Berlin have now succeeded in explaining the switching mechanism through an interdisciplinary approach. The researchers report on their findings in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Redistribution of water molecules Until now, little has been known about ...

During depression, the brain becomes less plastic and adaptable, and thus less able to perform certain tasks, like storing memories. Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now traced the brain's lower plasticity to reduced functionality in its support cells, and believe that learning more about these cells can pave the way for radical new therapies for depression. "We were able to cure memory dysfunction in 'depressed' rats by giving them doses of D-serine," says Mia Lindskog, biologist and Assistant Professor at Karolinska Institutet's ...

Providing clean delivery kits and improving birthing practices could halve the number of neonatal deaths following home births in South Asia, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust. Around half a million babies die in the first month of life from sepsis and around a third of these infections are transmitted at the time of birth. In South Asia, more than half of deliveries occur at home, most without skilled birth attendance. Maintaining clean delivery practices at home can be challenging for mothers and their birthing companions. One way to potentially ...

Amsterdam, February 28, 2012 - Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of an important clinical guide from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the February issue of Maturitas. This clinical guide details the role of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) against postmenopausal osteoporosis as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the use of bazedoxifene and lasofoxifene. Postmenopausal osteoporosis and resulting fractures have a major ...

They achieved this by utilising the phenomena of objects moving slower and shortening in length from Einstein's theory of relativity, along with two pieces of gold foil and a micrometre screw. In Niels Bohr's model of the atom, electrons orbit the nucleus in 'shells' – the so-called stationary states. Light is emitted by a quantum leap between a high-lying shell and one nearer the nucleus. However, it is impossible to find the electron between the two shells, so it could be thought that the light emission process itself was instantaneous: the electron is in the outer shell ...

When the Icelandic banking system was privatised in 2003, it inaugurated a period of furious expansion of both loans and risky investments. The bubble burst in 2008. At that time, the nominal assets of the three largest banks was 14 times bigger than Iceland's entire GDP. The crash shook Icelandic society to its foundations with mass bankruptcy, drastic increases in unemployment, loss of savings, increased indebtedness and raised taxes. Deteriorating health care and emigration of highly educated people are other consequences that will affect Iceland for a long time to ...

Blue Tax Inc. announced that they have reached an agreement with Professional Bull Rider Ryan Dirteater to be his Official Helmet Sponsor. Blue Tax Inc. will activate the partnership through a camera-visible rider's helmet during the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series events in Glendale, Ariz.; Indianapolis; Uncasville, Conn.; Boise, Idaho; and Pueblo, Colo. Blue Tax will provide three custom-painted helmets for Dirteater to wear during his quest to win the PBR World Championship. "Blue Tax Inc. approached me and said that I was a rider that they wanted to put ...

Several specific regions of our brains are activated in a two-part process when we are exposed to deceptive advertising, according to new research conducted by a North Carolina State University professor. The work opens the door to further research that could help us understand how brain injury and aging may affect our susceptibility to fraud or misleading marketing. The study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to capture images of the brain while study participants were shown a series of print advertisements. The fMRI images allowed researchers to ...

We make our eye movements earlier or later in order to coordinate with movements of our arms, New York University neuroscientists have found. Their study, which appears in the journal Neuron, points to a mechanism in the brain that allows for this coordination and may have implications for rehabilitation and prosthetics. Researchers have sought to understand the neurological processes behind eye and arm movements. For example, when you reach for an object, what goes on in our brains so that our eyes and arms are in sync? Such coordination is central to the way different ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nearly one in three women who have breast cancer surgery will need to return to the operating room for additional surgery after the tumor is evaluated by a pathologist. A new service at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center cuts that number drastically by having pathologists on-site in the operating suite to assess tumors and lymph nodes immediately after they are removed. Meanwhile, the surgeon and patient remain in the operating room until the results are back, and any additional operating can be done immediately. This cut the number ...

According to a 2003 study by German and American scientists, a component of the Lily of the Valley scent known as Bourgeonal alters the calcium balance of human sperm and attracts the sperm. The "Lily of the Valley phenomenon" – also the title of a book about smelling – was born as a result of this discovery that sperm act as swimming olfactory cells which follow a "scent trail" laid by the egg. However, a detailed explanation for the Lily of the Valley phenomenon remained illusive as neither Bourgeonal nor other scents could be identified in the female sex organ. Scientists ...

Fanz Media Group Inc. announced today the launch of fanz.com a social network specifically focused on sports enthusiasts. Web and social media experts, and the gurus of sports media have come together to create the ultimate network of sports fans. Fanz.com is an open forum specifically for any and every sport. Any sport you can think of, fanz.com instantly connects you with the multimedia and social streams and allows instant interaction with other sports fans from around the globe. Fanz.com is a sports network that provides one click content feeds and real time interaction ...

Parents may be misinformed during prenatal scans on whether their twins are identical or non-identical, say UCL researchers in a new commentary piece published today (29 February) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Determining if same-sex twins are identical or non-identical (from one egg or two; monozygotic or dizygotic) is not always straight forward, say the researchers. They looked at data from the Gemini study, a birth cohort of 2402 families with twins born in England and Wales in 2007. Parents of same sex twins (1586) were asked ...

The bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes atypical pneumonia, is helping scientists uncover how cells make the most of limited resources. By measuring all the proteins this bacterium produces, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and collaborators, have found that the secret is fine-tuning. Like a mechanic can fine-tune a car after it has left the factory, cells have ways to tweak proteins, changing their chemical properties after production – so-called post-translational modifications. Anne-Claude Gavin, Peer ...