A team led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health is the first to systematically survey the landscape of the melanoma genome, the DNA code of the deadliest form of skin cancer. The researchers have made surprising new discoveries using whole-exome sequencing, an approach that decodes the 1-2 percent of the genome that contains protein-coding genes. The study appears in the April 15, 2011, early online issue of Nature Genetics. Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer and its incidence is increasing faster than any other cancer. A major cause is thought ...

New York, N.Y. (April 15, 2011) – A comprehensive investigation of brain tissue donated to the Autism Speaks Autism Tissue Program (ATP), a postmortem brain tissue donation program, determined that one-third of the brain donors with autism also had epilepsy, and co-morbidity data from the California State Department of Developmental Services revealed a higher than expected rate of mortality in individuals with both autism and epilepsy than for individuals with autism alone. "Mortality in Individuals With Autism, With and Without Epilepsy," published today in the Journal ...

To date, 30 states have enacted laws that ban text messaging behind the wheel for all drivers. In 2010 alone, 12 states joined the ranks of their more safety-conscious counterparts. Yet, Florida is among a dwindling number of jurisdictions where pulling out your phone to tap out a few characters on the go remains perfectly legal, so long as it does not affect your driving to the point of a careless driving charge. In fact, Florida has no restrictions on texting even for novice drivers or for bus drivers carrying passengers. The facts are clear that texting behind the wheel ...

A new law affecting health care is currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare Act of 2011 -- HEALTH Act for short -- is aimed at limiting legal liability nationwide for medical malpractice and the production of defective medical equipment. Despite the acronym used to name the HEALTH Act, many are raising serious questions as to whether the law's measures would actually lead to significant improvements in the health care system, or if they would only make a marginal impact at the expense ...

Children who have eczema, particularly when occurring with hay fever, are nine times more likely to develop allergic asthma in their 40s, a new study reveals. The study was conducted by the University of Melbourne, the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Menzies Research Institute and Monash University. Published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the study reported on evidence from a clinical study of around 1400 grown up participants in the fifth decade follow-up of the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS) which is the largest of ...

WASHINGTON -- Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory Materials Science and Technology Division are providing solid evidence that there is a new route towards developing novel, lightweight energy storage devices. By moving away from centuries of caustic, hazardous aqueous-based battery cells and instead using non-volatile, thermally-stable ionic liquids, scientists predict multiple new types of batteries. Rather than depend on highly acidic electrolytes, ionic liquids are used to create a solid polymer electrolyte composed of an ionic liquid and polyvinyl alcohol, developing ...

Distracted driving, especially from text messaging and cell phone use, is a menace on streets and highways throughout Nevada and across the country. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 20 percent of traffic injury crashes in 2009 involved distracted driving. Over 5,000 Americans lost their lives and an estimated 448,000 were injured by distracted driving, and nearly 18 percent of the fatalities in these car accidents were linked to cell phone use. Mobile Devices and Legislative Bans Millions of Americans rely on mobile devices ...

VIDEO: Virtual journey through the female antennal lobus exhibiting the different glomeruli, based on confocal tissue sections. Click here for more information. Insects have a highly sensitive sense of smell. Extremely low concentrations of odor molecules in the air are sufficient to be detected by receptor neurons on their antennae. Specific proteins, so-called receptor proteins, expressed in these neurons recognize the odors. The odor molecules bind to the receptors ...

Since 2005, pedestrian deaths nationwide have decreased by more than 16 percent, averaging about 200 fewer deaths per year. But preliminary data collected from the first six months of 2010 shows the decrease has apparently slowed or stopped--seven more pedestrians died in the first six months of 2010 than for the same period in 2009. The survey was published by the Governors Highway Safety Association using data collected from individual states. The study's authors are not sure what caused the numbers of pedestrian deaths to increase. They suggest that two possible causes ...

Proposed Change to Joint and Several Liability Law in Pennsylvania Many Pennsylvanians thought they were done with the Fair Share Act, but the state legislature is doing its best to bring it back. State Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) and State Senator Jake Corman (R-Centre) each introduced a new version of the Fair Share Act into their respective chambers of the state legislature during the current session. The proposed change in the law would abolish Pennsylvania's joint and several liability rules in all tort cases unless one defendant was found at least ...

The power that the Israeli media once used to create a sense of community is increasingly separating groups, according to a Penn State Altoona political scientist. A study of Israeli newspapers indicates that both religious and secular newspapers are using their ability to select and present information to divide groups of Israeli citizens, said Matt Evans, assistant professor, political science. "The media has immense power to influence people by the way they frame information," said Evans. "Instead of working to heal differences, they are actually exacerbating the ...

For millions of Americans, these economic hard times have meant a growing debt load. In New Jersey and across the country, people are struggling to get a firm footing again. If you are beginning to feel overwhelmed, there are several things to keep in mind. Move Fast Many individuals try to avoid bankruptcy or otherwise dealing with their financial problems for as long as possible. Unfortunately, this is usually not the best option. Racking up huge credit card bills and missing payments can cause a much bigger impact on your credit score than simply facing hard ...

This release is available in French. MONTREAL April 15, 2011 - First there was McSleepyTM. Now it's time to introduce the first intubation robot operated by remote control. This robotic system named The Kepler Intubation System (KIS), and developed by Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling, McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) specialist and McGill University Professor of Anesthesia and his team, may facilitate the intubation procedure and reduce some complications associated with airway management. The world's first robotic intubation in a patient was performed at the Montreal General ...

While the general economy has underperformed in the past several years, the crop farming sector has been not just stable, but profitable. A recent University of Illinois report comparing the returns from publicly traded companies from 2007 until the end of the first quarter of 2011 showed an 8.6 percent market value increase from agriculture-related companies and companies in the S&P 500 experienced a decline of 2.7 percent. "We looked at 21 agriculture-related midwestern companies in five sectors: fertilizer, equipment, seed and genetic companies, crop production companies, ...

If it was easy to learn, it will be easy to remember. Psychological scientists have maintained that nearly everyone uses this simple rule to assess their own learning. Now a study published in an upcoming issue Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests otherwise: "Individuals with different theories about the nature of intelligence tend to evaluate their learning in different ways," says David B. Miele of Columbia University, who conducted the study with Bridgid Finn of Washington University in St. Louis and Daniel C. Molden ...

Hampton Inn Atlanta-Southlake Morrow Hotel offers convenient lodging to guests attending the Wild Azalea Festival at Reynolds Nature Preserve in Morrow, GA. The 2nd annual event will take place April 16, 2011 from 10am - 3pm. Visitors can enjoy miles of hiking trails through the 146-acre park featuring hundreds of natural azaleas. Reynolds Nature Preserve is part of Clayton County Parks and Recreation. It is home to many varieties of azaleas including Florida Natives Azaleas and Pinxterbloom Native Azaleas. The park's Wild Azalea Festival includes exhibit displays, live ...

This release is available in German. Many transportation companies in Germany have a serious problem: their trucks are only carrying part loads or returning to base empty. In the German road freight sector, the number of kilometers driven without a load has stagnated at around 20 percent since 2006. But experts expect the volume of road freight to increase dramatically in the near future, and innovative concepts will be needed to prevent a parallel increase in the number of empty trips. Such journeys are uneconomical for the freight carriers, who can only operate ...

PruHealth has announced it is now offering intermediaries the ability to quote on the new products whilst on the road, with the launch of its new iPad quote app. The new PruHealth iPad quote app was made available to download through iTunes and is open to all intermediaries with access to the PruHealth Adviser Zone. The new app is the first of its kind in the industry, giving advisers the opportunity to quote and apply on individual policies and quote for SME groups of 3-9 members. PruHealth worked directly with intermediaries during the development of the app ...

ST. LOUIS – On the cover of a recent edition of the journal Neurosurgery, the highest circulation medical journal in the field, readers saw an artist's intricate depiction of the high-flow brain bypass technique developed by SLU professor of neurosurgery, Saleem Abdulrauf, M.D. Also in the March issue (Volume 63.3) of the journal, Abdulauf shared details of a surgery he performed to treat a patient's brain aneurysm, a weak area in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the brain. A leader in neurosurgery innovation, Abdulrauf's high-flow procedure means improved ...

LV= has teamed up with former England rugby star Matt Perry and cricket legend Mike Gatting OBE to unveil its groundbreaking new kit recycling initiative at The Stewart Hedlam School in Bethnal Green, East London. For the first time, families, schools and clubs will be able to give their unwanted rugby and cricket kit which will be donated to disadvantaged young people in the UK and overseas. With lack of access to equipment cited as one of the greatest barriers to children participating in sport, LV= SOS Kit Aid has set an ambitious goal of providing young people of ...

If you've ever stood in front of a hot stove, watching a pot of water and waiting impatiently for it to boil, you know what it feels like to be a solar physicist. Back in 2008, the solar cycle plunged into the deepest minimum in nearly a century. Sunspots all but vanished, solar flares subsided, and the sun was eerily quiet. "Ever since, we've been waiting for solar activity to pick up," says Richard Fisher, head of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. "It's been three long years." Quiet spells on the sun are nothing new. They come along ...

This is the second of a six-part series on improving your writing style. Whether you write for business or academic purposes, there are a few golden rules that will help you sharpen up your prose. Part 2: Vary your sentence lengths Back in the day, when I was teaching high school English, the phrase 'varied sentence length' was one of a few key criteria for earning top grades in writing assignments. University students and business writers can likewise attain the same 'top grades' for their writing by remembering this simple ploy. Put simply, sentences that are all ...

The low pressure area formerly known as System 92S has strengthened overnight and developed into Tropical Storm Errol today, April 15. Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite showed strong thunderstorms near Errol's center, but they remained off-shore from Western Australia's northern coast. An infrared image on April 14 at 0517 UTC (2:47 p.m. Australia/Darwin local time) from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument (that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite) shows that Tropical Storm Errol's strongest thunderstorms with the coldest, highest cloud tops ...

Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast today announced that Sherry Norman Sybesma of Arlington, Texas has been selected as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the council effective immediately after a national search. Ms. Sybesma has been serving as interim CEO since January 1, of this year and will provide the continued vision and leadership for the council three years post realignment - a core business strategy which joined two legacy councils encompassing six counties along the central coast. Commenting on her appointment, Ms. Sybesma said, "Girl Scouts of California's ...

Here is a truth that most women never want to hear and most men will never know about: in nearly every major city in the world, there exists an underground community of men who specialize in one thing, how to seduce beautiful women. In less than 5 years an "almost science" of seduction has developed and these underground communities of men practice day and night these devastatingly effective techniques that seduce and make women happily fall for their charm. This is not fiction. This subject exists, these men exist, and they are pushing the boundaries of this coveted science ...