The "colour" of our environment is becoming "bluer", a change that could have important implications for animals' risk of becoming extinct, ecologists have found. In a major study involving thousands of data points and published this week in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology, researchers examined how quickly or slowly animal populations and their environment change over time, something ecologists describe using "spectral colour". Ecologists have investigated the link between fluctuations in the environment and those of animal populations for the ...

Exercise is important for preventing cardiovascular disease, especially in children and adolescents, but is all exercise equally beneficial? New research published today in the American Journal of Human Biology reveals that high intensity exercise is more beneficial than traditional endurance training. "Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality throughout the world and its risk factors have their origins in childhood," said lead author Duncan Buchan from the University of the West of Scotland. "Our research examines the effects of brief, intense exercise ...

The long awaited collection of fiction, From Damaged to Broken, includes both short fiction and flash fiction. This collection of short stories is best described by the author herself as "...sometimes melancholy, sometimes dark, but humorous and often detailed vividly... Different looks at life from the characters that showed up to tell their story." These voyeuristic glimpses into the lives of different characters offer a wide variety of fictional storytelling but the main consistency is the ability to grab the reader and keep them hooked to the very end. The author, ...

Researchers have identified a molecular switch that appears to be a common feature in the development of fatty liver disease. The discovery made in mice is consistent with data from human patients, suggesting that it may provide an underlying explanation for the development of fatty liver in people with obesity and metabolic syndrome. The culprit is the reduced concentration of a little-known transcriptional co-factor known as transducin beta-like (TBL) 1, according to the report in the April issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. "We haven't entirely ...

ORLANDO -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine may have found a way to turn an adaptive cellular response into a liability for cancer cells. When normal cells are starved for food, they chew up existing proteins and membranes to stay alive. Cancer cells have corrupted that process, called autophagy, using it to survive when they run out of nutrients and to evade death after damage from chemotherapy and other sources. When the Penn investigators treated a group of patients with several different types of advanced cancers with temsirolimus, a ...

Rapid City, SD is making a major league effort to bring new visitors to the Black Hills this summer. Starting April 3rd, the Convention & Visitors Bureau is partnering with the Colorado Rockies to promote Rapid City during 13 games this baseball season. "Every time the Rockies host a Sunday game at Coors Field in Denver, more than 40,000 people will hear an invitation to visit Mount Rushmore and Rapid City," says Michelle Lintz, executive director of the Rapid City Convention & Visitors Bureau. "During those games, the 'Rockpile', a value-priced section of outfield seats, ...

Women who are obese during early pregnancy have a significantly increased risk of their baby dying before, during or up to one year after birth, according to research published in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today [1]. A second paper [2] also published in the journal today shows that obesity increases the risk of complications, such as bleeding and infections, during and after a hysterectomy operation. In the first paper, researchers from Newcastle University, UK, studied 40,932 pregnancies involving deliveries of single babies during ...

In Huntington's disease, the mutant protein known as huntingtin leads to the degeneration of a part of the brain known as the basal ganglia, causing the motor disturbances that represent one of the most defining features of the fatal disease. But a new study reported in the April issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, shows that the mutant protein also is responsible for metabolic imbalances in the hypothalamus, a brain region that plays an important role in appetite control. "This helps to explain metabolic changes and increases in appetite that have been ...

According to Cambridge Consultants, every day America's hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, laboratories, funeral homes, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, tattoo parlors and other sources of infectious biomedical materials and "sharps" (i.e. used needles, lancets and other devices capable of penetrating skin) produce at least 66,000 tons of medical waste. In Florida alone, United Medical Industries ("UMI") Vice President Marlene Yero estimates there are more than 40,000 such medical waste generators, all of whom are required by law to adhere to stringent biomedical waste ...

Washington, D.C. (April 5, 2011) -- Using minute graphite particles 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, mechanical engineers at Arizona State University hope to boost the efficiency—and profitability—of solar power plants. Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are popping up more and more on rooftops, but they're not necessarily the best solar power solution. "The big limitation of PV panels is that they can use only a fraction of the sunlight that hits them, and the rest just turns into heat, which actually hurts the performance of the panels," explains Robert ...

ORLANDO, Fla., April 5, 2011 – Not all cholesterol is bad. Every cell requires it for growth – they either have to get cholesterol somewhere or they die. In a new study published April 6 in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and their collaborators found that a protein sensor known to balance cholesterol sources can also access a previously underappreciated cellular fat storage depot. The sensor, called sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), monitors cellular cholesterol levels and ...

Women in Need, Inc., and Nourishing NYC are pleased to announce Community Healthy Eating and Nutrition Classes for those in-need in April 2011. In response to the scarcity of nutrition education within parts of New York City, Nourishing NYC and Women in Need, Inc., will be offering a nutrition class free to those in-need on April 6th to help families and individuals that suffer disproportionately from poverty, obesity, and diabetes. On April 6th, Nourishing NYC will be sending nutrition volunteers to Women in Need, Inc., The goal of the day is to teach women and families ...

WATER PIPE SMOKING AS HARMFUL AS CIGARETTE SMOKING Two new studies confirm the serious health effects caused by water pipe smoking (WPS), including reduced lung function and other cardiorespiratory conditions. In one study, researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo found that, compared with people who do not smoke, WPS was associated with a significant reduction in lung function, equivalent to cigarette smoking. In a second study, Israeli researchers found that during a single 30-minute smoking session, WPS was associated with an increase in blood pressure, ...

New Haven, Conn. – Male monkeys looking for a good time might benefit from spending a bit longer getting to know a potential mate, according to a new study published online in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The time males spend around a prospective mate might be the key to detecting subtle sexual signals that show which females are fertile and which are not, according to the study, co-authored by an international team of biologists and psychologists. "The results of this study shed new light on the role that experience can play in reading ...

240 song collaborations, a Viking Radio Artist of the Year Award, and a second, new CD titled 'Deuce' - these are some of the musical duo, Ratcliff Bailey, have under their belt. And they're just starting. Ratcliff Bailey is an unassuming duo, but they're a dynamo when it comes to producing music. Their tracks have been featured on many Internet sites and on over 70 stations in the US, the UK, France, Spain, Norway, Australia, Canada, and Argentina! They're prolific, hard working, and talented to boot. They call Ashland, Kentucky and Ironton, Ohio as home, and Ratcliff ...

In a fitting tribute to "The King Of Pop", virtuoso Peruvian Percussionist/Arranger/Producer TONY SUCCAR and his group Mixtura announce the launch of "THRILLER", the first single off of their upcoming album." Without a doubt, Michael Jackson, "The King of Pop", has influenced artists of all generations. Selling over 50 million copies, "THRILLER", is considered by ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE, and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RECORD MERCHANDISERS as one of the greatest albums of all time. The impact that Michael's voice, charisma, and creative energy has had on Pop music and ...

In a large collaborative analysis publishing tomorrow in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, 55 scientists from 49 nations document that the capability of reef fish systems to produce biomass and deliver goods and services to humanity, is functionally linked to the number of species; functioning increases as biodiversity increases. However, mounting pressures from growing human populations is tampering with this functioning of the reef fish communities, especially in the most diverse reefs. The extent of this distress was shown to be widespread and likely to worsen ...

By modifying a protein from a plant that is much favored by science, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and colleagues have created a new type of genetic tag visible under an electron microscope, illuminating life in never-before-seen detail. Led by Nobel laureate Roger Tsien, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and UCSD professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry, a team of scientists radically re-engineered a light-absorbing protein from the flowering cress plant Arabidopsis thaliana. When exposed to blue ...

Teenagers who undergo spine fusion for scoliosis using the newest surgical techniques can expect to be doing well 10 years after surgery, according to a Hospital for Special Surgery study published online ahead of print in the [TK issue] of the journal Spine. Researchers had thought that the surgery would cause damage to the spine just below the fused discs, but the study showed that this was not the case. "Fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis using the newer generation spine implants appears to spare junctional disc degeneration and allows patients ten years out ...

Women who suffer from asthma or poor lung function as adults generally started their periods at the age of 10 or before. This is the conclusion of a European research study with Spanish participation, which shows that this trend is more common in southern Europe, and particularly affects women from large families. "Adult women who had their first menstruation at the age of 10 or earlier have significantly lower lung capacity than women who had their first period at 13", Ferenc Macsali, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Haukeland Hospital in Bergen (Norway), ...

General Medical Council (GMC) decisions about doctors who qualified outside the UK are more likely to have far reaching consequences (high impact decisions), finds research published on bmj.com today. The authors, led by Professor Charlotte Humphrey from King's College London, say there is no clear reason why overseas doctors do worse in GMC fitness to practise processes than their UK-trained peers. Humphrey argues that perhaps "real differences exist in fitness to practise between groups of doctors who are referred to the GMC" or "that the GMC processes tend to ...

Medical and military leaders have come together today to warn that climate change not only spells a global health catastrophe, but also threatens global stability and security. "Climate change poses an immediate and grave threat, driving ill-health and increasing the risk of conflict, such that each feeds upon the other," they write in an editorial published on bmj.com today. Their views come ahead of an open meeting on these issues to be held at the British Medical Association on 20 June 2011. The authors point to several reports, highlighting the threat that climate ...

Research led by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that Metformin, a drug treatment used to treat diabetes and also in women with Polycystic vary syndrome (PCOS), may potentially provide protection against endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract and the fourth most common cancer in women in the UK and the US. Up to a third of PCOS women also have endometrial hyperplasia which, in turn predisposes these women to endometrial cancer. PCOS affects 5%-10% of women of reproductive age, where ...

Bremerhaven/Vienna, 05.04.2011. Over the past few days ozone-depleted air masses extended from the north pole to southern Scandinavia leading to higher than normal levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation during sunny days in southern Finland. These air masses will move east over the next few days, covering parts of Russia and perhaps extend as far south as the Chinese/Russian border. Such excursions of ozone-depleted air may also occur over Central Europe and could reach as far south as the Mediterranean. On an international press conference by the World Meteorological Organisation ...

Berlin's Theatertreffen is one of the most important events of the year for fans of German-language theatre. Taking place at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele between Friday May 6th and Monday May 23rd, this 'theatre meeting' is based around a showcase of the ten best productions from the previous season. The plays are selected by an independent jury of experts from a list of approximately 400 productions staged in the German capital. In addition, Theatertreffen includes a varied programme of discussions, premieres, prize ceremonies, concerts and exhibitions. The ...