Scientists are reporting an in-depth analysis of how the caffeine in coffee, tea, and other foods seems to protect against conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and heart disease on the most fundamental levels. The report, which describes the chemistry behind caffeine's antioxidant effects, appears in ACS' The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Annia Galano and Jorge Rafael León-Carmona describe evidence suggesting that coffee is one of the richest sources of healthful antioxidants in the average person's diet. Some of the newest research points to caffeine (also present ...

At a time when cosmetics, shampoos, skin creams, and other personal care products already are going green — with manufacturers switching to plant-derived extracts and other natural ingredients — government regulators in Canada are adding to the woes of the silicone-based ingredients long used in these products. That's the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine. C&EN Senior Correspondent Marc S. Reisch points out that manufacturers have used silicones for decades in an array of personal care products. ...

If small business owners want to avoid costly mistakes, it pays to consult with others. That's the finding of new research from the University of Cincinnati that will be presented both nationally and internationally – first on May 6-8 at the Family Enterprise Research Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich., and again on June 15-18 at the International Council of Small Business Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. The research was conducted by one-time entrepreneur Jeremy Woods, currently a doctoral student in UC's College of Business. With this research, Woods has set out to ...

The National Trust has launched a campaign to raise GBP600,000 to save the "time capsule" home of the man who made motoring affordable for the British masses. The Morris Motor Company was started in 1910 when bicycle manufacturer William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, turned his attention to cars. Three years later the two-seat Morris Oxford 'Bullnose' was introduced, helping change the lives of thousands of ordinary people with the dawn of mass-produced vehicles. As his fortune grew, Lord Nuffield became increasingly aware of the contribution he could ...

Mapping the fat distribution of the healthy human brain is a key step in understanding neurological diseases, in general, and the neurodegeneration that accompanies Alzheimer's disease in particular. Antonio Veloso and colleagues, from the University of the Basque Country in Leioa, Spain, find a new technique to reveal the fat distribution of three different areas of the healthy human brain. Their work is published online in Springer's journal, Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry. The human central nervous system has an abundance of lipid molecules - some are structural ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As the presence of social media continues to increase as a form of communication, health organizations are searching for the most effective ways to use the online tools to pass important information to the public. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that nonprofit organizations and community groups appear to be more actively engaged in posting health information and interacting with the public on Twitter than other types of health-related organizations, such as health business corporations, educational institutions and government agencies. "Twitter ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A team of researchers at MIT has found a way to manipulate both the thermal conductivity and the electrical conductivity of materials simply by changing the external conditions, such as the surrounding temperature. And the technique they found can change electrical conductivity by factors of well over 100, and heat conductivity by more than threefold. "It's a new way of changing and controlling the properties" of materials — in this case a class called percolated composite materials — by controlling their temperature, says Gang Chen, MIT's Carl Richard ...

etyres has launched a puncture repair gauge that helps mototrists whose tyres have been damaged by potholes dodge the cost of expensive replacements. The gauge is available to download and print from the etyres website today. With Britain's roads blighted by a pothole plague following two consecutive harsh winters, motorists are increasingly suffering from punctured tyres.  However, many minor punctures can be repaired for a fraction of the cost of a replacement tyre and motorists can find out if their tyre can be repaired by downloading a puncture repair gauge from ...

Exercise both reduces the risk of a heart attack and protects the heart from injury if a heart attack does occur. For years, doctors have been trying to dissect how this second benefit of exercise works, with the aim of finding ways to protect the heart after a heart attack. Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have identified the ability of the heart to produce and store nitric oxide as an important way exercise protects the heart from injury. Nitric oxide, a short-lived gas generated within the body, turns on chemical pathways that relax blood vessels ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Women with congestive heart failure who repress their emotions, especially anger, are more likely than emotionally expressive women to experience symptoms of depression associated with knowledge about their disease, according to new research. Coping styles of women in the study influenced how depressed or anxious they felt. The less they talked about or expressed their emotions, the more likely they were to have symptoms of depression and anxiety. When Ohio State University researchers examined the influence of knowledge about their illness on the patients' ...

Boots Treat Street has announced it has been short listed for the Retail Week Technology Awards Internet Technology of the Year award. Boot Treat Street is a relative newcomer to the industry, so this nomination is good recognition for it early on, especially within such a respected community. Winning the award could see Boots Treat Street gaining a lot of new interest, but just being nominated is still good recognition for the company. The Retail Week Technology Awards includes 60 finalists, with some of the biggest names in retail being included. A panel of expert ...

CHICAGO --- Staying up late every night and sleeping in is a habit that could put you at risk for gaining weight. People who go to bed late and sleep late eat more calories in the evening, more fast food, fewer fruits and vegetables and weigh more than people who go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. Late sleepers consumed 248 more calories a day, twice as much fast food and half as many fruits and vegetables as those with earlier sleep times, according to the study. They also drank more full-calorie sodas. The late ...

How much exercise are overweight and obese people getting? More than many might think, according to research findings by nurses from Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. They reported their findings in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners article, "Exercise and exercise intentions among obese and overweight individuals." Deborah Walton Smith, who is now a senior lecturer at Gonzaga University, undertook the exercise study while a graduate student at Case Western Reserve. Also collaborating on the study were ...

Northern Rock has launched two new improved issues of its online fixed rate e-bond account, providing competitive interest rates for those savers who wish to operate their accounts online. E-bond (Issues 7 and 8) will be available from April 2011. With a minimum deposit of just GBP1, customers can benefit from a competitive fixed rate of interest until 20 May 2012 on e-bond issue 7, which pays 3.10% gross*/AER** annually, or choose e-bond issue 8, which pays 4.10% gross*/AER** pa, fixed until 20 May 2014. Monthly interest rate options are also available for both products. ...

KINGSTON, ONTARIO – The world's first interactive paper computer is set to revolutionize the world of interactive computing. "This is the future. Everything is going to look and feel like this within five years," says creator Roel Vertegaal, the director of Queen's University Human Media Lab,. "This computer looks, feels and operates like a small sheet of interactive paper. You interact with it by bending it into a cell phone, flipping the corner to turn pages, or writing on it with a pen." The smartphone prototype, called PaperPhone is best described as a flexible iPhone ...

Researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Valencia (UV) have looked into the dominant career patterns of regional politicians in Spain, France and the United Kingdom. The results show that the evolution of decentralisation in each of the countries has led to differences between them. In Spain, for example, only one out of every 10 autonomous region presidents cut their teeth in central government. "Our research is novel, because this is the first empirical study focusing on the political careers of regional government leaders. ...

Littlewoods Europe has announced the launch of its new summer collection which includes the addition of 3000 new lines to make the most of 2011. The new collection includes fashion lines for the whole family with summer clothing ranges for men, women and kids. In addition to the new clothing lines, the summer collection also includes 100's of summer shop items and brings the product total for the British on-line retailer up to 17,000. In addition to the always popular women's swimwear collections and shapewear swimwear ranges, the summer shop items also include, kaftans, ...

The phenomenon known as holistic processing is best known in faces. Most people see faces as a whole, not as two eyes a nose, and a mouth. But holistic processing happens in other cases, too, and can even be taught. One possible explanation is that holistic processing emerges from expertise, but the truth is much more nuanced, according to the authors of a new review published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "Holistic processing has been measured for years and years in different ways," says Isabel ...

CLARiiON Support Program for all customers of Dell EMC OEM storage systems. The program will provide Dell EMC storage customers with service and support for their existing storage systems as manufacture support declines. The Dell/EMC relationship was declared "On the Rocks" by Forbes Magazine last December, and the companies have managed to negotiate only a tentative deal to extend their partnership into 2012. Reliant Technology is establishing the Dell CLARiiON Support Program in order to respond to the needs of customers who require reliable support and better ...

WASHINGTON – The Chesapeake Bay Program is a cooperative partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and jurisdictions in the bay watershed to oversee the restoration of the bay, with a major focus on controlling the extent of pollutants -- such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment -- entering it. A new report from the National Research Council assesses the framework used by these partners for tracking pollution control practices and their two-year milestone strategy, which complements longer-term efforts to comply with the total maximum daily load of ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Top researchers throughout the country have developed mental health programs to address many of the most profound issues facing schools, including students' disruptive and aggressive behavior, anger outbursts, anxiety, and suicide. However, according to University of Missouri researchers, many schools lack the capacity to access and fully adopt these programs. This lack of capacity hurts schools, students and families. In a recent publication, Melissa Maras, assistant professor of school psychology in the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling ...

Atlanta landscape lighting company NightVision Outdoor Lighting is emphasizing moon lighting and its aesthetic impact on homes. Although Atlanta moon lighting represents just one aspect of its services, NightVision recommends moon lighting as an effective way to highlight the nuances of a home's unique landscaping. NightVision Outdoor Lighting specializes in Atlanta outdoor lighting for residential and commercial needs, using the highest quality bulbs combined with dependable, experienced service. Moon lighting mimics the light of the full moon, offering the appearance ...

Two studies to be presented this week address the often-overlooked costs associated with atrial fibrillation (AFib), the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia. Each study evaluates these costs and updates a growing body of evidence suggesting that the true costs of AFib are complex and may not yet be fully understood. The patient populations studied mimic those in the landmark ATHENA trial, a placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel arm trial to assess the safety and efficacy of dronedarone 400 mg bid for the prevention of cardiovascular hospitalization or death from ...

SoloHealth (www.solohealth.com), the leading healthcare technology kiosk company, has been awarded Digital Screenmedia Association's inaugural DSA Industry Excellence Award as "Best Healthcare Deployment - Self-Service Kiosk" for its SoloHealth Station, a next-generation, comprehensive health screening kiosk. Currently in development, the SoloHealth Station offers free vision, blood pressure, weight, and body mass index screening, as well as an overall health assessment and access to a database of healthcare providers. The DSA Industry Excellence Awards honor ...

Contrary to what we've been told, eliminating or severely limiting fats from the diet may not be beneficial to cardiac function in patients suffering from heart failure, a study at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reports. Results from biological model studies conducted by assistant professor of physiology and biophysics Margaret Chandler, PhD, and other researchers, demonstrate that a high-fat diet improved overall mechanical function, in other words, the heart's ability to pump, and was accompanied by cardiac insulin resistance. "Does that mean I ...