CHICAGO --- Following a major Northwestern Medicine breakthrough that identified a common converging point for all forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease), a new finding from the same scientists further broadens the understanding of why cells in the brain and spinal cord degenerate in the fatal disease. Less than three months ago, Northwestern research found that the crucial recycling system for cells in the brain and spinal cord was broken in people with ALS. And one mutated gene had a key role. Like a loafing worker, it wasn't doing its ...

Grand Rapids, Mich. (November 21, 2011) A Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) study published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals that a natural fatty acid can serve as a regulator of blood sugar levels, which may have important applications in designing better and safer drugs for diabetes treatment. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, and current drugs commonly used to treat the disease sometimes have unwanted side effects. The study found that decanoic acid, a saturated ...

Global food demand could double by 2050, according to a new projection by David Tilman, Regents Professor of Ecology in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences, and colleagues, including Jason Hill, assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. Producing that amount of food could significantly increase levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the environment and cause the extinction of numerous species. But this can be avoided, the paper shows, if the high-yielding technologies of rich nations are adapted ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers are making progress in developing a system that measures the mechanical properties of living cells, a technology that could be used to diagnose human disease and better understand biological processes. The team used an instrument called an atomic force microscope to study three distinctly different types of cells to demonstrate the method's potentially broad applications, said Arvind Raman, a Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering. For example, the technique could be used to study how cells adhere to tissues, which is ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have designed a first draft of a mathematical model that someday could guide treatment decisions for advanced prostate cancer, in part by helping doctors predict how individual patients will respond to therapy based on the biology of their tumors. These decisions would apply to treatment of cancer that has already spread beyond the prostate gland or that has recurred after initial treatments, such as surgery or radiation. Patients with this more advanced prostate cancer receive a therapy called androgen ablation, which inhibits production of ...

Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology have found that use of a technology-rich learning environment in several undergraduate engineering-technology courses has improved learning and decreased withdrawals from, or failing grades in, the courses. They found that more than 90 percent of students involved stated that using the technology-rich environment—which includes a combination of tablet PCs, collaborative software, and multiple projection screens capable of capturing and retaining graphics and notations—helped them learn and retain the information better ...

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Many premature infants suffer a life-threatening destruction of intestinal tissue called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Now a Loyola University Medical Center study has identified a major risk factor for NEC: Preemies with the AB blood type who develop NEC are nearly three times as likely to die from it as preemies with other blood types. The finding suggests that a simple change in blood transfusion practices in neonatal ICUs could significantly reduce the incidence of NEC. The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Perinatology. ...

The American College of Radiology today denounced new breast cancer screening guidelines by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health (CTFOPH), which recommend against annual screening of women ages 40-49 and would extend time between screens for older women. An ACR news release said "the CTFOPH guidelines ignore results of recent landmark randomized control trials which show that regular screening reduces breast cancer deaths in these women by approximately a third" and that "While implementation of the CTFOPH guidelines may save money on screening costs, the result ...

Healthcare research firm KLAS announces a new pharmacy report designed to help providers attending the 2011 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) conference make informed pharmacy technology buying decisions. With thinning wallets, providers are becoming more strategic in their technology purchasing decisions--and pharmacy is no exception. The "KLAS Pharmacy Buyers Guide" offers product ratings for more than 100 software and equipment offerings, all based on the feedback of thousands of healthcare providers. Each rated product has been given ...

The hurricane season in the eastern Pacific isn't over and Hurricane Kenneth serves as a reminder that the season ends November 30. NASA satellite imagery shows Kenneth more organized than it appeared on Sunday, Nov. 20 and became a late season hurricane earlier today. Kenneth began as the thirteenth tropical depression and that formed on Saturday, November 19, about 480 miles south of Acapulco, Mexico. On Sunday, November 29 at 0300 UTC (11 p.m. EST, Nov. 19) the National Hurricane Center noted that the center of Tropical Depression 13E was further north than previously ...

The most recent evaluations of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) project confirmed all systems go for a third generation upgrade of the orbiting communications network. TDRS-K is scheduled for launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida in the fall of 2012. Approval to move forward came during a recent Agency Project Management Council (APMC) meeting at NASA Headquarters. "I am very proud of the entire TDRS civil servant and contractor team for successfully completing this milestone and demonstrating that the TDRS project is ready to proceed ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A team of University of Missouri researchers have found that targeting a synthetic molecule to a specific gene could help the severity of the disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – the leading genetic cause of infantile death in the world. "When we introduced synthetic RNA into mice that carry the genes responsible for SMA, the disease's severity was significantly lowered," said Chris Lorson, researcher at the Bond Life Sciences Center and professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology and the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sustainability has not only become a science in the past 25 years, but it is one that continues to be fast-growing with widespread international collaboration, broad disciplinary composition and wide geographic distribution, according to new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory and Indiana University. The findings, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were assembled from a review of 20,000 academic papers written by 37,000 distinct authors representing 174 countries and over 2,200 cities. Authors of the ...

Bullritos, a regional burrito chain, is breaking new ground with the launch of a new online ordering application designed by OLO Online Ordering. Starting today, fans of Texas-based Bullritos can order, pay and confirm their spot as first in line -- all without leaving the regional chain's Facebook page. Bullritos is the first restaurant brand in the country to launch an online ordering application on Facebook that allows its 5,000 fans the ability to view and order from the restaurant's full menu, repeat previous orders, pay securely using a credit card, and confirm ...

BOSTON – Functional electrical stimulation (FES) was developed to help return lost function to patients with upper and lower extremity injuries and spinal cord injuries, among other applications. However, the devices, which work by stimulating neuronal activity in nerve-damaged patients, have a potential shortcoming in that the electrical currents needed for the treatment to work can also send errant signals to surrounding nerves, resulting in painful side effects. Earlier this fall, a plastic surgery research team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and ...

A recent trial shows cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) reduces functional disability and depressive symptoms in adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia. The psychological intervention was found to be safe and effective, and proved to be superior to disease management education. Full findings from this multi-site clinical trial are published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). Medical evidence reports that juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome affects 2% to 7% of school age children. Similar to adult cases, the juvenile ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Girls may be sugar and spice, but "everything nice" takes a back seat when friends let them down. In a Duke University study out Tuesday, researchers found that pre-teen girls may not be any better at friendships than boys, despite previous research suggesting otherwise. The findings suggest that when more serious violations of a friendship occur, girls struggle just as much and, in some ways, even more than boys. The girls in this study were just as likely as boys to report that they would seek revenge against an offending friend, verbally attack the ...

This press release is available in French. Although police officers are at a high risk of experiencing traumatic events (TE) in their work, they are no more likely than the general population to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These are the findings from the second phase of an original and groundbreaking study published by the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) on the risk and protective factors of post-traumatic stress reactions in Quebec police officers. This study also confirms that symptoms associated ...

This press release is available in French. Researchers led by Prof. Sébastien Sauvé of the University of Montreal's Department of Chemistry have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers. "E coli bacteria is commonly used to evaluate and regulate the levels of fecal pollution of our water from storm water discharge, but because storm sewers systems collect surface runoff, non-human sources can contribute significantly to the levels that are observed," Sauvé explained. "Our study has determined that there is a ...

Sky Vegas, the renowned casino experts and host to an emporium of online casino games, are delighted to announce the launch of their brand-new slot machine game: Wonder Woman. Themed upon the warrior princess's famous comic book series, this slot game is an amazing visual feast, packed with exciting new bonus features and fabulous cash prizes. Wonder Woman is a 50 line slot game with five spinning reels. Players can bet from 1p to GBP10 on each win line, and see possible payouts at anytime by clicking on the 'Paytable' button. Players who are new to the game can play ...

If your inspiration has run dry on what loved ones would like for Christmas, then maybe Thomas Cook can help. From stocking fillers to presents of a lifetime - Thomas Cook, supplier of all inclusive holidays, has some suggestions that are sure to make family and friends smile. Something to look forward to in 2012... Splash out with a Thomas Cook Holiday The weeks that follow Christmas are considered to be the most depressing time of the year, beat the post Christmas blues with a surprise sunshine break from Thomas Cook last minute holidays for that special someone. ...

Award-winning online casino, 32Red, has announced the imminent launch of a brand-new and exciting Blockbuster casino game, Immortal Romance. This 243 Ways video slot, developed by Microgaming, is an amazing visual feast, packed with exciting new features which offer loads of winning opportunities - and it's due to hit 32Red on 5th December. The Immortal Romance Slot introduces players to a curious cast of paranormal characters who are woven together into a dark tale of forbidden love and intrigue. The beautifully painted graphics along with the haunting original soundtrack ...

With a founding membership proudly boasting a tiny refund rate of less than 4.8% (all before live training even began) the Internet Business CodeX coaching and mentoring course is obviously doing things right. Sadly, the going refund rate for Internet marketing is well over 25% and can be as high as 75%! In what has often been called a "vampirous" marketplace, where so many false promises are made and under-delivery is the norm, CodeX shines. Drawn together from opposite sides of the world for an Internet marketing summit in Las Vegas, co-creators, Gary ...

Minco Manufacturing, LLC, an industry-leading manufacturer of copier and printer rollers and other coated metal products, has successfully completed the requirements necessary to satisfy the ISO 9001:2008 standard for quality certification. Minco's ISO recognition applies its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as well as to its Mexico manufacturing facility in Empalme, Sonora. The Sonora facility is located in The Offshore Group's Bella Vista Industrial Park. According to Ron Eisele, Vice President of Operations at Minco, "The receipt of ISO certification ...

Publishing is evolving and crossing borders like never before, as is children's literature. Amazon.com's recent entry into Spain and the explosion of Spanish-language ebook platforms are indicators of the next big publishing market. Sales of Spanish language books in the United States demonstrate significant demand--including for children's literature in Spanish. Bilingual author Karl Beckstrand has seen an increase in demand for his Spanish-language and bilingual picture books and e-books. This year Beckstrand has had three titles on Amazon's "Hot New Releases" ...