PITTSBURGH—University of Pittsburgh researchers have reproduced the brain's complex electrical impulses onto models made of living brain cells that provide an unprecedented view of the neuron activity behind memory formation. The team fashioned ring-shaped networks of brain cells that were not only capable of transmitting an electrical impulse, but also remained in a state of persistent activity associated with memory formation, said lead researcher Henry Zeringue [zuh-rang], a bioengineering professor in Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering. Magnetic resonance images ...

VIDEO: Scientists have known for years that playing violent video games causes players to become more aggressive. The findings of a new University of Missouri study provide one explanation for... Click here for more information. COLUMBIA, Mo. – Scientists have known for years that playing violent video games causes players to become more aggressive. The findings of a new University of Missouri (MU) study provide one explanation for why this occurs: the brains of violent ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — As the use of oral chemotherapy continues to rise, researchers from Michigan State University have discovered many patients fail to properly take the cancer-fighting medication, a significant clinical problem that can result in complications and premature death. That lack of adherence needs to be addressed by the health care community, said College of Nursing researcher Barbara Given, who led the study that is published in the May edition of Seminars in Oncology Nursing. "Given the increasing use of oral chemotherapy in treating cancer, patient ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Spending top dollar for megastar players like Miguel Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez helps Major League Baseball teams attract fans and earn higher profits, but clubs that spend the bulk of their player payroll on a couple of superstars ultimately win fewer games, a University of Michigan study shows. "Superstars who are paid more could bring more to the team in terms of profits," said Jason Winfree, an associate professor of sport management at the U-M School of Kinesiology. "The flip side of that is that a more equitable pay scale among all players results ...

Bethesda, MD—A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) shows that what someone drinks after exercise plays a critical role in maximizing the effects of exercise. Specifically, the report shows that protein drinks after aerobic activity increases the training effect after six weeks, when compared to carbohydrate drinks. Additionally, this study suggests that this effect can be seen using as little as 20 grams of protein. "It is not a mystery that exercise and nutrition help slow the aging process," said Benjamin F. Miller, Ph.D., ...

Medications are the mainstay of treatment for epilepsy, but for a considerable number of patients — estimated to be as many as 1 million in the U.S. — drugs don't work. These patients suffer from a type of epilepsy known as refractory or drug-resistant epilepsy, in which drugs can't control their seizures. But at an epilepsy conference last month, Dr. Christopher DeGiorgio, a UCLA professor of neurology, presented the results of a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical treatment that shows promise in controlling seizures. In his talk at the Antiepileptic Drug Trials XI ...

SEATTLE – Overweight or obese women with less-than-optimal levels of vitamin D who lose more than 15 percent of their body weight experience significant increases in circulating levels of this fat-soluble nutrient, according to a new study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. "Since vitamin D is generally lower in persons with obesity, it is possible that low vitamin D could account, in part, for the link between obesity and diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes," said Caitlin Mason, Ph.D., lead author of the paper, published online May ...

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 ...