EAST LANSING, Mich. — Just as monarch butterflies depend on circadian cues to begin their annual migration, so do plants to survive freezing temperatures. All living things – humans, animals, plants, microbes – are influenced by circadian rhythms, which are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Michael Thomashow, University Distinguished Professor of molecular genetics, along with MSU colleagues Malia Dong and Eva Farré, has identified that the circadian clock provides ...

iFreedom Direct, a national VA specialty lender, has added a veterans news page to its website, www.directvaloans.com. Military members can read top stories related to VA benefits, housing and finance in one reliable, convenient location. The veterans news section offers readers original stories relevant to those military members who are interested in staying up to date on their benefits and the VA home loan program. The articles are published daily and can help veterans stay informed with the latest trends and policies pertaining to their benefits. Many military ...

CHICAGO- Northwestern Medicine physicians are currently utilizing a new treatment option for breast cancer that allows women to receive a full dose of radiation therapy during breast conserving surgery. Traditionally, women who opt to have a lumpectomy must first have surgery then undergo approximately six weeks of radiation. This schedule can be challenging for women who have busy schedules or do not have access to a center offering radiation therapy. In some cases, the demanding schedule causes women to not comply with the recommended course of treatment, increasing their ...

NEW YORK (April 12, 2011) -- Medical educators need to be aware of the cultural context in which they teach because these outside forces can affect what is taught and how information is received by students. Drawing upon their experiences teaching medical students the same formal curriculum, researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and in Doha, Qatar, urge other educators to pay attention to cultural patterns outside their medical schools to be sure that their lesson plans don't go astray because of missed cross-cultural signals. In the March issue ...

TVTopTen.com announced today that the top ten best pet supply products for April 2011 have just been released, and are as follows: 1. Snuggie for Dogs 2. Emery Cat Scratcher 3. Pet Zoom Park 4. Pedi Paws 5. Sticky Sheets 6. Shed Ender 7. Crazy Critters 8. What Odor? 9. Doggy Steps 10. Mouse Chaser Cat Toy The #1 product, Snuggie for Dogs, was chosen not only because of the popularity of the Snuggie (for humans), but also for the high customer ratings, reviews, and popularity among all of the top best selling pet products. Its current rating on TVTopTen.com ...

Buying a new car, camera or computer? New research from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia shows that seeking advice from expert acquaintances to choose between models of merchandise might not always be good idea. Sauder marketing researcher JoAndrea Hoegg discovered that experts with specific product knowledge can make mistakes when relying on their memories to compare complex goods – especially when they feel compelled to explain how they arrive at their decisions. "Ours results suggest that when experts use their memories to compare ...

Hamilton, Ont. April 12, 2011 – You can't see them, or smell them or taste them. They can be in our water and in our food, multiplying so rapidly that conventional testing methods for detecting pathogens such as E.coli, Salmonella and Listeria come too late for the tens of thousands of Canadians who suffer the ill effects of these deadly bacteria. Biochemist Yingfu Li and his research team have developed a simple test that can swiftly and accurately identify specific pathogens using a system that will 'hunt' for bacteria, identifying their harmful presence before ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In the past several years, newspaper readership has shrunk in the tough economic climate, particularly among females. Many have criticized common news writing style used by newspapers as a possible cause for the decline. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that women are engaged by all news stories the same, regardless of the style. "We found that women are equally engaged in both 'inverted pyramid' and 'chronological narrative' news stories, so there must be another cause for the decline in female readership," said Miglena Sternadori, ...

PHILADELPHIA - Squamous cell cancers of the oral cavity and esophagus are common throughout the world, with over 650,000 cases of oral cancer each year and esophageal cancer representing the sixth most common cause of cancer death in men. Research by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine investigators has shown that a protein that helps cells stick together is frequently absent or out of place in these cancers, but it's unclear if its loss causes the tumors. The investigators report that mice engineered to lack this protein, called p120-catenin (p120ctn), in ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - People, especially men, who feel any kind of discrimination, are likely to see their waistlines expand, according to research from Purdue University. "This study found that males who persistently experienced high levels of discrimination during a nine-year period were more likely to see their waist circumference increase by an inch compared to those who did not report discrimination," said Haslyn E.R. Hunte, an assistant professor of health and kinesiology. "Females who reported similar experiences also saw their waistlines grow by more than half ...

Three words come to mind when Jurdy enters a school: "Super. Green. Hero." Cartoonist Jenifer Jurden with her award-winning green character Jurdy launches the first of many "get grinning. get greening" environmental education programs to drive home the planet's plea for "Earth Day every day". Featuring Jurdy in the fur--that is the Jurdy mascot--this program is full of fun green lessons including laughs and lessons from this bigger-than- life mascot. Jurdy speaks to a wide audience for the Green effort by engaging us all to live a more eco-friendly life. With no identifiable ...

MANHASSET, NY -- Scientists tried creating a laboratory model of idiopathic torsion dystonia, a neurological condition marked by uncontrolled movements, particularly twisting and abnormal postures. But the genetic defect that causes dystonia in humans didn't seem to work in the laboratory models that showed no symptoms whatsoever. Now, a team of scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have figured out why and the finding could lead to ways to test novel treatments. Aziz M. Ulug, PhD, and his colleagues at the Feinstein's Center for Neurosciences wanted ...

Buffalo, N.Y. – An electrical engineer at the University at Buffalo, who previously demonstrated experimentally the "rainbow trapping effect" -- a phenomenon that could boost optical data storage and communications -- is now working to capture all the colors of the rainbow. In a paper published March 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Qiaoqiang Gan (pronounced "Chow-Chung" and "Gone"), PhD, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University at Buffalo's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and his colleagues at Lehigh University, ...

Payday loans ranging from $100 to $1,500 can now be borrowed online thanks to a cash advance system designed by online lending company, Purpose Cash Advance. The news provides relief to citizens looking for emergency financial assistance in Mississippi, Utah, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Interested borrowers can apply for payday loans online via the company's website. Purpose Cash Advance implemented the online cash advance process to provide citizens in the aforementioned states a quick, confidential and secure way to resolve difficult financial situations ...

John Gunstad, an associate professor in Kent State University's Department of Psychology, and a team of researchers have discovered a link between weight loss and improved memory and concentration. The study shows that bariatric surgery patients exhibited improved memory function 12 weeks after their operations. The findings will be published in an upcoming issue of Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, the Official Journal of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. The research report is also available online at www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(10)00688-X/abstract. "The ...

Purpose Cash Advance is pleased to announce that its online payday loans service is available to residents in the state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin joins Mississippi, Utah, South Dakota, and Missouri in the list of states where the company is committed to providing confidential, safe, and fast transactions. The company provides payday loans online that can be applied for via a simple application form requiring basic information. Once this information is verified, approval for the loan is granted in only a few seconds. The money is then deposited into the borrower's checking ...

While the number of fires is on the decline, firefighter deaths are not —and a new University of Georgia study helps explain why. Researchers in the UGA College of Public Health found that cultural factors in the work environment that promote getting the job done as quickly as possible with whatever resources available lead to an increase in line-of-duty firefighter fatalities. "Firefighting is always going to be a hazardous activity, but there's a general consensus among firefighting organizations and among scientific organizations that it can be safer than it is," ...

A survey by Lloyds TSB International has found that retired Britons stationed abroad are increasingly concerned about the falling value of the Sterling. - Concerns about reduced pensions income, new research finds - More than two thirds of expat pensioners now worried about currency fluctuations - Pensioners shifting bank accounts offshore as Sterling weakness continues Lloyds TSB International Banking has conducted a survey that shows a growing concern among expat pensioners about their money in the wake of the financial crisis. Over two thirds of respondents to ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. ¬— During the past 60 years, humans have built rockets, walked on the moon and explored the outer reaches of space with probes and telescopes. During these trips in space, research has been conducted to learn more about life and space. Recently, a group of prominent researchers from across the country published a report through the National Academy of Sciences that is intended as a guide as NASA plans the next 10 years of research in space. Rob Duncan, the University of Missouri Vice Chancellor for Research, led the team that developed a blueprint for fundamental ...

This year, Bruegger's, a national bagel leader with more than 300 locations across the U.S., is offering IRS-weary guests its popular Big Bagel Bundles for just $10.40. Because of this year's tax day extension, Bruegger's will offer the deal from April 15 through April 18, 2011. Tax day may have lightened guests' wallets, but Bruegger's wants to help them enjoy America's Best Bagels at a special price. With 13 bagels and two tubs of Bruegger's cream cheese included, a Big Bagel Bundle for $10.40 is a big savings on a gift to share with friends and colleagues or a treat ...

WASHINGTON, D.C… April 11, 2011 … Researchers from Canada and the United States today told attendees of the Experimental Biology 2011 Scientific Meeting that they have uncovered a possible means of enabling women to favorably influence whether the estrogens in their bodies take a "beneficial path" or a "disease-potential" path. The researchers tested a nutritional combination of indole-3 carbinol, milk thistle extract, calcium-D-glucarate, Schizandra chinensis fruit extract, stinging nettle, lignans extracted from the Norway spruce, and vitamin D (a combination available ...

Noise pollution in the oceans has been shown to cause physical and behavioral changes in marine life, especially in dolphins and whales, which rely on sound for daily activities. However, low frequency sound produced by large scale, offshore activities is also suspected to have the capacity to cause harm to other marine life as well. Giant squid, for example, were found along the shores of Asturias, Spain in 2001 and 2003 following the use of airguns by offshore vessels and examinations eliminated all known causes of lesions in these species, suggesting that the squid deaths ...

The use of corticosteroids during pregnancy does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of orofacial clefts in infants, according to an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj101063.pdf. Many previous studies have shown associated risks with use of oral corticosteroids, although they were small studies. Corticosteroids are used for asthma, allergies, eczema and psoriasis, autoimmune diseases and cancer. Use of corticosteroids during pregnancy has been associated with orofacial clefts ...

WASHINGTON, DC – Obese individuals typically suffer more medical problems than their leaner counterparts. They are more likely to be diagnosed with insulin resistance, diabetes, increased stress hormones, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea. Researchers at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta have also found the potential for something else, using an animal model. They have found that a master clock gene – which regulates the cardiovascular system – does not fluctuate regularly as it does in non-obese animals. This means that a key gene clock of the cardiovascular ...

Solving part of a medical mystery, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have established a link between molecules found in an inflamed pancreas and the early formation of pancreatic cancer – a discovery that may help scientists identify new ways to detect, monitor and treat this deadly disease. Scientists have known for many years that pancreatitis, a painfully inflamed pancreas, is a common risk factor for pancreatic cancer – along with things like smoking and diet. But nobody knew exactly why. Now the UCSF team, led by Matthias Hebrok, Ph.D., ...