In a new study, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing university present a rather striking finding that plant miRNAs could make into the host blood and tissues via the route of food-intake. Moreover, once inside the host, they can elicit functions by regulating host "target" genes and thus regulate host physiology. MicroRNAs are a class of 19-24 nucleotide non-coding RNAs that do not code for proteins. MicroRNAs bind to target messenger RNAs to inhibit protein translation. In previous studies, the same group has demonstrated that stable microRNAs (miRNAs) in mammalian serum ...

Researchers from Taiwan have confirmed a bidirectional relation between schizophrenia and epilepsy. The study published today in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), reports that patients with epilepsy were nearly 8 times more likely to develop schizophrenia and those with schizophrenia were close to 6 times more likely to develop epilepsy. Prior clinical studies have shown a prevalence of psychosis among epilepsy patients and studies of psychiatric illness have found a strong relationship between schizophrenia and epilepsy, suggesting ...

Gulf War Illness (GWI)—the chronic health condition that affects about one in four military veterans of the 1991 Gulf War—appears to be the result of several factors, which differed in importance depending upon the locations where veterans served during the war, according to a Baylor University study. Published online today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the study investigated links between GWI and veterans' locations during the war. GWI was most prevalent in veterans who served in forward areas of Iraq and Kuwait, where it was most strongly associated ...

Call a bird "birdbrained" and they may call "fowl." Cornell University researchers have proven that the capacity for learning in birds is not linked to overall brain size, but to the relative size and proportion of their specific brain regions. Songbirds with upper brain regions that are larger in relation to lower regions have a greater capacity for learning songs. Higher brain areas control the majority of cognitive and learning functions, while lower brain areas control more motor functions, according to the new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...

Like DNA, fingerprints are unique to each person or set of identical twins. That makes them a valuable identification tool for everything from crime detection to international travel. But what happens when the tips of our fingers are missing those distinctive patterns of ridges? It's not the premise for a science fiction movie, but a real-life condition known as adermatoglyphia. It's also known as "Immigration Delay Disease," because affected individuals experience difficulty in passing through security or checkpoints where fingerprint identification is required. Now ...

This has been a good year for Kepler, NASA's planet-hunting satellite telescope. Last week, a team of astronomers announced they had discovered a planet that orbits two stars – a discovery that already has the field rethinking how planets are formed. And earlier this year, it was announced there are hundreds of possible planets in a small region of the Milky Way Galaxy, including 20 that have already been confirmed. Planets are also being found in a diversity of solar systems. All of this possible because of Kepler. Three prominent researchers – Jack J. Lissauer, NASA's ...

In advance of a United Nations conference today on the global challenges of treating cancer and other diseases, the UBC Graduate School of Journalism has launched an ambitious multimedia site, The Pain Project, which documents one of the greatest challenges to treating chronic illnesses: severely constrained access to morphine. The Pain Project, www.internationalreporting.org/pain, results from a year-long investigation by UBC's International Reporting Program (IRP). Teams traveled to India, Ukraine and Uganda to determine how these countries manage the pain of patients ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Sept. 19, 2011) -- The thought of toys being given out as part of children's meal deals might be easier to swallow, and better for you, if the toys are part of a collectible set and tied to healthy, nutrition-rich food choices. Who says? Kids and their parents do. The findings of a new study come during a time of debate over obesity in the United States -- about one-third of adults are now obese, as are 17 percent of children ages 2-19, notes the Centers for Disease Control -- and the growing belief that toys with fast-food meals only serve to put fatty, ...

SalesFUSION, the maker of SalesFUSION 360, an integrated sales and marketing demand generation platform, debuted a new native version of its marketing automation application for Dynamics CRM 2011 this summer. Known as inDynamics because of its native email and web analytics features, SalesFUSION's unique approach on integrating marketing and sales for Microsoft CRM brings the power and feature set of an enterprise app inside the Dynamics CRM framework. SalesFUSION recently announced that over 110 companies are actively using its marketing automation platform with Dynamics ...

Daejeon, the Republic of Korea, August 8, 2011—Can a flexible LED conformably placed on the human heart, situated on the corrugated surface of the human brain, or rolled upon the blood vessels, diagnose or even treat various diseases? These things might be a reality in the near future. The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST) has developed a new concept: a biocompatible, flexible Gallium Nitride (GaN) LED that can detect prostate cancer. GaN LED, a highly efficient light emitting device, has been commercialized in LED ...

In more than 70 per cent of legal disputes over informed consent, patients allege the doctor failed to properly explain the risks of complications, a University of Melbourne study published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia has found. Professor David Studdert from the Melbourne School of Population Health and Melbourne Law School and co-authors reviewed nearly 2000 negligence claims against doctors insured by Avant Mutual Group Limited and complaints lodged with the Health Services Commissioner of Victoria between January 2002 and December 2008. The authors ...

A new paper published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, explains weaknesses in our understanding of climate change and how we can fix them. These issues mean predictions vary wildly about how quickly temperatures will rise. This has serious implications for long term political and economic planning. The papers lead author is Dr Nigel Fox of The National Physical Laboratory, The UK's National Measurement Institution. The Earth's climate is undoubtedly changing, but how fast and what the implications will be are unclear. Our most reliable models rely ...

Scientists at Queen's University have pioneered a new combination treatment for prostate cancer. The treatment, which has been successful in phase one of trials, will now be tested for efficacy in a second phase. The treatment, aimed at men with an advanced and aggressive form of prostate cancer which has spread to the bone, is the first of its kind to be developed. It combines traditional chemotherapy treatments with two doses of a radioactive chemical which can target areas of the bone affected by prostate cancer. Aggressive and advanced prostate cancer is responsible ...

Current policy pressures on universities to focus on improving their research excellence and to widen participation make it hard for them to engage meaningfully with excluded communities, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). University-community engagement remains marginal to the organisation, funding, management and strategic control of universities. This reduces their benefits for excluded communities. "Traditionally, universities have regarded excluded communities with an air of detached benevolence," says Dr Paul Benneworth ...

To cost‑effectively protect the climate, not only an emissions trading scheme but also financial support for new technologies is needed. Economising on targeted funding, for example for renewable energies, makes climate protection more expensive ‑ as scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) now calculated for the first time, using a complex computer simulation that spans the entire 21st century. Without funding, energy technologies with high cost reduction potentials will hardly stand a chance, ...

Using this garment-based patient biomonitoring platform allows us to register a number of the patient's physiological parameters in a non-intrusive manner. "The information gathered by an intelligent t-shirt using e-textile technology is sent, without using wires, to an information management system, which then shows the patient's location and vital signs in real time", explain the UC3M researchers. The system is designed to be used in hospitals and can be divided into two parts: the fixed infrastructure, which would be pre-installed in the hospital, and the mobile units, ...

For the first time, a major cultural institution is leveraging four Guide by Cell mobile technologies to provide a wide range of interactive choices for the visitor experience. This summer, San Francisco's Fort Mason Center launched the year-long "SEAT" exhibition featuring over 30 Bay Area artists, each creating their own interpretation of a "seat." SEAT is the first exhibition in the country to integrate the full Guide by Cell suite of mobile services. The SEAT works, built by local architects, concrete designers, blacksmiths, woodworkers, ...

In biologically active enzyme substrate compounds, as can be found in medicines, water plays a more decisive role than has been imagined up to now. The surrounding water acts like an "adhesive", in order to keep the substrate at the right place on an enzyme. For this, the dynamism of the water is retarded. Scientists at the RUB under Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith (Physical Chemistry) in close cooperation with the group of Prof. Irit Sagi from the Israeli Weizmann Institute have been able to observe and prove the retardation of the water's dynamism "live" for the first time ...

Premium knee implants, such as high-flexion knees were created to address specific patient needs and to promote additional function. But whether these higher cost devices provide greater longevity than their standard lower-cost counterparts remains to be seen in the medical literature. Studies that have evaluated the functional results of premium vs. standard implants have demonstrated similar results between the prostheses. Since the Zimmer NexGen knee replacement system has been on the market, almost half a million people in the US alone have had Zimmer knee implants. ...

Ovarian cancer is one of the most frequent forms of cancer that affect women. As tumors can initially grow unchecked in the abdomen without causing any major symptoms, patients are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and have to undergo surgery plus chemotherapy. During the operation, surgeons attempt to remove all tumor deposits as this leads to improved patient prognosis. To do this, however, they primarily have to rely on visual inspection and palpation - an enormous challenge especially in the case of small tumor nests or remaining tumor borders after the primary ...

Research by the University of Liverpool has found that intervention policies that promote healthy eating could cut the death rate for cardiovascular disease (CVD) by up to 50%. Professor Simon Capewell from the Institute of Psychology, Health and Well-being found that intervention policies which reduce unhealthy eating habits can have a significant effect on levels of CVD at both an individual and population level. Poor diet is one of the major causes of CVD and small improvements can make a positive and rapid impact on both the individual and the wider population. ...

The lawsuit against Lawrence Livermore National Lab, as referenced in a 9/11/11 New York Times article, is a reflection of very serious issues confronting the laboratory. 130 former plaintiffs allege they were illegally laid off by LLNS in a flagrant demonstration of age discrimination. Tuesday, September 13, 2011 the lawsuit, which was filed May 2009, was set for trial on February 6, 2012 in the Alameda County Superior Court. The law firm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer, Oakland, California represents the 130 plaintiffs in this consolidated action. The ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University are proposing a health-based approach to identifying groups at high risk of genocide, in a first-of-its-kind attempt to target international efforts to stop these mass killings before they start. Genocide, or the willful attempt to exterminate a specific population, is a violation of international law. In recent years, international discussion of genocide has focused in part on finding ways to identify populations at risk in order to prevent a problem before it starts. Some risk factors have already been identified, such ...

Today's economic climate is having a dramatic effect on the health and well-being of injured workers. Skyrocketing unemployment rates and a 15% poverty level is a very scary realization. The impact it is having on injured workers is twofold. First, an employee that gets injured is typically living on a budget. If he/she gets injured, that employee will have to readjust that budget to compensate for the reduction in income. Workers' Compensation benefits in Pennsylvania pay between Ninety Percent (90%) and Sixty-Six and Two-Thirds (66 2/3%) of the gross wage. This benefit ...

Common genetic variants contribute to the risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, an international research consortium has discovered. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are common and often devastating brain disorders, affecting around one per cent of the world's population. A team including Cardiff University scientists has found new molecular evidence that 11 genetic regions have strong links with these diseases, including six regions not previously observed. The researchers also found that many of these DNA variations contribute to both diseases. The findings, ...