URBANA – A high-fat diet during pregnancy may program a woman's baby for future diabetes, even if she herself is not obese or diabetic, says a new University of Illinois study published in the Journal of Physiology. "We found that exposure to a high-fat diet before birth modifies gene expression in the livers of offspring so they are more likely to overproduce glucose, which can cause early insulin resistance and diabetes," said Yuan-Xiang Pan, a U of I professor of nutrition. The high-fat diet that caused these changes was a typical Western diet that contained 45 percent ...

It is common knowledge that bats and dolphins echolocate, emitting bursts of sounds and then listening to the echoes that bounce back to detect objects. What is less well-known is that people can echolocate too. In fact, there are blind people who have learned to make clicks with their mouths and to use the returning echoes from those clicks to sense their surroundings. Some of these individuals are so adept at echolocation that they can use this skill to navigate unknown environments, and participate in activities such as mountain biking and basketball. Researchers at ...

Mars developed in as little as two to four million years after the birth of the solar system, far more quickly than Earth, according to results of a new study published in this week's issue of the journal Nature. The red planet's rapid formation helps explain why it is so small, say the study's co-authors, Nicolas Dauphas at the University of Chicago and Ali Pourmand at the University of Miami. Their research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Mars probably is not a terrestrial planet like Earth, which grew to its full size over 50 to 100 million ...

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are often thought to be solitary behemoths that live and feed in the open ocean. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and colleagues, however, have found that this is not necessarily the case, finding that whale sharks can be gregarious and amass in the hundreds to feed in coastal waters. Aggregations, or schools, of whale sharks have been witnessed in the past, ranging from several individual sharks to a few dozen. However this new research, which involved both surface and aerial surveys, has revealed an enormous aggregation of whale ...

Coral Gables, Fla. – May 25, 2011 – Economic recessions are weaker, expansions are stronger, and economic recovery is faster in U.S. states where people are more optimistic says a new study from the University of Miami School of Business Administration. Further, the effects are stronger in states where people are older, less educated and less socially connected. "Previous studies have shown that economic conditions affect mood – people would expect this, it's more obvious," said Alok Kumar, the Gabelli Asset Management Professor of Finance at the University of Miami ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Developing countries often lack the official government structure needed to collect taxes efficiently. This lack of systematic tax collection limits the ability of those countries to provide public services that aid growth, such as roads, sanitation and access to water. But a new study co-authored by MIT economist Benjamin Olken reveals that developing countries actually have extensive informal systems in which citizens contribute money and labor to public-works projects. In effect, local governments in the developing world collect more taxes and produce ...

Back in high school, on the soccer field, poised to take a crucial penalty kick, "I always had a lot of thoughts going on in my head; I think most people do" says sports psychologist Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis. "I was setting the ball and planning my shot; I was the captain and never missed those types of shots; then I had that thought striking me that it was not going to be good. I knew I was going to miss," he recalls, "and I did miss." Even then, he could see that his mind had a big effect on his body. From these unhappy experiences evolved Hatzigeorgiadis' interest ...

Five billion years from now, our Milky Way galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy. This will mark a moment of both destruction and creation. The galaxies will lose their separate identities as they merge into one. At the same time, cosmic clouds of gas and dust will smash together, triggering the birth of new stars. To understand our past and imagine our future, we must understand what happens when galaxies collide. But since galaxy collisions take place over millions to billions of years, we can't watch a single collision from start to finish. Instead, we must ...

After 17 years of researching traumatic stress with war-afflicted populations (veterans and civilians) and job stress in the medical profession, Teresa McIntyre, a research professor in the department of psychology and the Texas Institute for Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics (TIMES), at the University of Houston (UH), decided to study another high risk occupation, middle school teachers in seventh and eighth grade. "Teaching is a highly stressful occupation," McIntyre said. "Teacher stress affects various aspects of teacher health and may influence how effective ...

Typhoon Songda was east of the Philippines when the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite had an early evening view on May 25, 2011 at 0903 UTC (05:03 EDT) and saw good organization within the storm and heavy rainfall. Songda has intensified into a major typhoon as it tracks parallel to the east coast of the northern Philippines, spawning warnings. Both TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments were used to provide the rainfall analysis. TRMM's TMI had the best coverage of rainfall with Songda and showed well organized bands ...

Dr. William Mason, Medical Director, and Dr. Kenneth Bozeman, Newton hearing doctors, invite patients to visit Enhanced Auditory Resources' (E.A.R.) educational website to view and listen to informative videos on hearing loss and hearing aids. The helpful videos included on the practice's state-of-the-art website include an educational video on hearing and an interview with Dr. Mason. The first video provides information on various topics regarding, hearing loss and hearing aids. Topics include how you hear, hearing loss, diagnosis, treatment and technology, and additional ...

DSKA Tools, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is proud to be celebrating over 25 years in the heavy equipment and diesel engine field. DSKA Tools, run by the Quinn family, is a prominent tool and equipment reseller. DSKA Tools provides quality tools for professional mechanics, both diesel and automotive. Furthermore, it is an authorized reseller of Genius Hand Tools, SK Tools, and Grey Pneumatic; which are some of the best tools in the business. "We don't just peddle tools and equipment. We actually use the products we sell," says Darren Quinn, principal ...

VIDEO: A totally blind subject makes her way up a corridor. The system uses Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) software to build maps of the environment and identify a safe path... Click here for more information. For the visually impaired, navigating city streets or neighborhoods has constant challenges. And most such people still must rely on a very rudimentary technology—a simple cane—to help them make their way through a complex world. A group of University ...

Roughly 19 percent of young adults may have high blood pressure, according to an analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which is supported by the National Institutes of Health. The researchers took blood pressure readings of more than 14,000 men and women between 24 and 32 years of age who were enrolled in the long-running study. The analysis was conducted by Kathleen Mullan Harris, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study's first author was Quynh ...

If you have suffered a personal injury in the Atlanta area, you will probably need to find a qualified Georgia personal injury attorney. You may be entitled to receive compensation for your injuries, but it can be difficult to collect the compensation you deserve. If the other party denied fault or the insurance only offered you a portion of the money to which you are entitled, an experienced lawyer can help you protect your rights. Beginning Your Search As you are searching for an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, carefully investigate and speak with several personal ...

MONTREAL, March 26, 2011 – Recalling painful memories while under the influence of the drug metyrapone reduces the brain's ability to re-record the negative emotions associated with them, according to University of Montreal researchers at the Centre for Studies on Human Stress of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital. The team's study challenges the theory that memories cannot be modified once they are stored in the brain. "Metyrapone is a drug that significantly decreases the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that is involved in memory recall," explained lead author Marie-France ...

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has found a rare class of oddball stars called blue stragglers in the hub of our Milky Way, the first detected within our galaxy's bulge. Blue stragglers are so named because they seemingly lag behind in the aging process, appearing younger than the population from which they formed. While they have been detected in many distant star clusters, and among nearby stars, they never have been seen inside the core of our galaxy. It is not clear how blue stragglers form. A common theory is that they emerge from binary pairs. As the more massive ...

Allergan seems to have a history of happy accidents. The specialty pharmaceutical company came across the wrinkle-smoothing benefits of BOTOX while testing the compound as a treatment for eyelid spasms. Then it stumbled onto the eyelash-stimulating abilities of bimatoprost, a topical glaucoma medication that became the active ingredient in Latisse. Latisse is currently the only FDA-approved treatment for eyelash hypotrichosis, abnormal or inadequate eyelash growth. Latisse is thought to work by increasing the number of eyelashes your eyelid can sprout and extending ...

Richmond, Va. (May 25, 2011) – The cost of cancer care is threatening to bankrupt our healthcare system. New drugs are prolonging life, but at staggering costs. This coupled with aging baby boomers and an increasing population mean the U.S. will spend $173 billion annually on cancer care by the year 2020. This trend is not sustainable; however, there are evidence-based ways to maintain or improve the quality of care while saving money for the new therapies being discovered every day. So argue VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers Thomas Smith, M.D., and Bruce E. Hillner, ...

New Jersey's State Board of Medical Examiners proclaims its mission as the protection of the public's health, safety and welfare. Functionally, that means providing licenses to medical professionals, adopting practice standards, looking into allegations of misconduct and, most important of all, meting out discipline to physicians who fail to provide competent, qualified and ethical service to patients. But a report from the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen finds that the board failed to discipline 57 percent of licensed health professionals whose practice privileges ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — "One person, one vote" is often the rallying cry for democratic reform, suggesting everyone should get an equal say in their government. Yet in some of the oldest and largest democracies, some votes are worth far more than others by design. A Wyoming voter, for instance, is significantly over-represented compared with a California voter. Each state has two U.S. senators, but California has 66 times more people. How much does it matter? According to a recent study of decades of data, from the U.S. and eight other countries, it matters a lot when it ...

Young children cope with divorce differently than older children. Toddlers are just beginning to become facile with language and parents may not always know what they need. So, what are some basic rules that parents can follow to help toddlers transition from one home to two homes as painlessly as possible. 1. Do not trash talk your ex in front of your child. Toddlers and preschoolers pick up on even the subtlest conflict between parents. When parents are living in the same home, it can be hard on a child. But when parents move into separate home, the child may internalize ...

AURORA, Colo. (May 25, 2011) - A drug recently approved by the Food & Drug Administration for the treatment of prostate cancer is proving to give some patients the gift of time. A new study shows abiraterone acetate extends the lives of men with the most advanced form of the disease by about four months. The study in the May 26, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine was co-authored by Thomas W. Flaig, MD, medical oncologist at the University of Colorado Hospital's Tony Grampsas Urologic Oncology Clinic and assistant professor at the University of Colorado School ...

Los Angeles, CA (May 26, 2011) – Precision tinted lenses have been used widely to reduce visual perceptual distortions in poor readers, and are increasingly used for migraine sufferers, but until now the science behind these effects has been unclear. Now research published in the journal Cephalalgia, published by SAGE, uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for the first time to suggest a neurological basis for these visual remedies. The new research shows how coloured glasses tuned to each migraine sufferer work by normalizing activity in the brain. The researchers ...

A few months ago I received a message from an attorney in Louisiana asking if I knew the whereabouts of a man I had never heard of. My interest peaked when I realized the person calling me was attempting to collect a debt. Since I have years of experience of working as a creditor attorney I knew right away that there was a problem when the creditor verified my social security number had been used for an account that I did not open or authorize. In the end I was able to rectify the situation by showing that the creditor had inadvertently entered the wrong social security ...