Porphyrins are organic molecules that appear in the central region of macromolecules such as chlorophyll and hemoglobin, and have a metal atom at their center that determines their specific function. The importance of these molecules in the field of molecular electronics lies in their "ease of transfer electrons from one region to another" explains the responsible of the work at the Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (a joint research center of the CSIC, the University of Oviedo and the Government of the Principality of Asturias) Víctor Manuel García. ...

Commercial tractor-trailers are involved in an increasing number of serious, and often fatal, accidents. To learn why, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS). This study provided vital information, including the reasons behind serious crashes involving large trucks. Researchers reviewed 120,000 crashes that occurred between April 2001 and December 2003 and selected a nationally representative sample of 963 accidents. These accidents, ...

A study by the University of Liverpool has found that a decrease in smoking rapidly reduces mortality rates in individuals and entire populations within six months. Research by Professor Simon Capewell and Dr Martin O'Flaherty at the Institute of Psychology, Health and Well-being, examined evidence from clinical trials and natural experiments. They found that a reduction in smoking has a positive impact on mortality rates in both individuals and populations within six months. Likewise, dietary improvements get very positive results within one to three years. Professor ...

In a rare eye disease, the retina degenerates because light-receiving cells fail to regenerate, research led by a student at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine shows. The researchers include Dr. Samuel G. Jacobson's group at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Andreas Engel's group at University of Basel, Switzerland. They found that when the natural renewal process fails, metabolites are locked in, build up and turn toxic, killing cells over time in Enhanced S-Cone Syndrome. A description of their work is online and will be published in print in ...

When it comes to big-budget action movies, Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan prefers Hubble to Hollywood. Using Hubble Space Telescope images collected over 14 years, Hartigan has created time-lapse movies that offer astronomers their first glimpse of the dynamic behavior of stellar jets, huge torrents of gas and particles that spew from the poles of newborn stars. An analysis of the movies that was published in The Astrophysical Journal is forcing astronomers to rethink some of the processes that occur during the latter stages of star birth. And in an effort ...

With more than 22 million drivers on its roads, California became the largest state to enact formal distracted driving laws in 2008. Sections 23123 and 23124 of the California Vehicle Code prohibited use of cell phones without a hands-free device, which enables drivers to dial phone numbers or complete calls without taking their hands from the steering wheel. The law also prohibited all drivers under age 18 from using cell phones behind the wheel. Proponents of the new law suggested that hands-free devices provided the safety and convenience drivers needed to make calls ...

"We have worked with young people, in this case, in the family environment, to see what happens during the 'full nest syndrome', i.e., when children reach 18 years of age and they continue living at home," explained Beatriz Rodríguez, researcher from the University of La Laguna and co-author of the study. Researchers classified adolescents into three stages: early teens (12 and 13 years), mid-teens (14 and 15), and late teens (16-18). Those 18-25 were called 'emerging adults'. In Spain, given the country's social, economic and cultural characteristics, children leave ...

This press release is available in Spanish. Research conducted in part at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that in some production systems, planting potatoes in flat beds can increase irrigation water use efficiency. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agricultural engineer Bradley King, who works at the ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho, was one of the scientists who led these studies. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA commitment to enhancing ...

Philadelphia, PA, September 1, 2011 – For patients undergoing rehabilitation following cardiac events, aerobic exercise training (AT) is widely recommended. Resistance training (RT) has also been shown to be beneficial because it enhances muscular strength and endurance, functional capacity and independence, and quality of life, while reducing disability. In a study scheduled for publication in the October issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers compared two RT regimens of different intensity in combination with AT. They determined that ...

A truck-mounted boom tipped and hit a Brooklyn brownstone, but as New York construction accident lawyer David Perecman is happy to note, the construction workers all escaped injury. According to the New York Daily News, the non-injury construction accident in New York occurred while a construction crew was adding a third-story extension on the Cobble Hill building. The weight of the sheetrock and plywood was apparently too much and the boom collapsed, leaving the truck on a 45-degree angle. No one was injured in the New York construction accident. The construction ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Two Kansas State University researchers have been collaborating on an international project involving genomes of a model plant species that can offer insights into other plants. Christopher Toomajian, assistant professor of plant pathology, and Katie Hildebrand, doctoral student in plant pathology, Stafford, are researching genetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant that has a short life cycle, making it one of the best model species for scientific study. For some of their latest research, they have worked with researchers ...

Hospital executives should consider the value-added services of hospital-based radiology groups before allowing radiology departments to be taken over by teleradiologists or other specialists, according to an article in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. Although imaging has become an increasingly important cornerstone in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury, hospital-based imaging is now often read by other specialists or via teleradiology rather than hospital-based radiologists. "These problematic situations ...

HAMILTON Sept. 1, 2011 – McMaster researchers have found one more reason to exercise: working out triggers influential stem cells to become bone instead of fat, improving overall health by boosting the body's capacity to make blood. The body's mesenchymal stem cells are most likely to become fat or bone, depending on which path they follow. Using treadmill-conditioned mice, a team led by the Department of Kinesiology's Gianni Parise has shown that aerobic exercise triggers those cells to become bone more often than fat. The exercising mice ran less than an hour, three ...

GALVESTON — Researchers have found that a protein variation linked by some genetic studies to Alzheimer's disease is consistently present in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. In further biochemical and cell culture investigations, they have shown that this protein, known as ubiquilin-1, performs a critical Alzheimer's-related function: it "chaperones" the formation of amyloid precursor protein, a molecule whose malformation has been directly tied to Alzheimer's pathology. "What we saw here is that in all 20 of the Alzheimer's brains we examined the ubiquilin-1 protein ...

Birds of a feather flock together in cyberspace. At least that's what Dr. Cuihua (Cindy) Shen, assistant professor of Emerging Media and Communication at University of Texas Dallas, has shown in a research article published in the journal First Monday. Examining an online community using social network analysis, Shen tested the social drivers that shaped the collaboration dynamics among a group of users from SourceForge, the largest open source community on the Web. Who Connects with Whom? A Social Network Analysis of an Online Open Source Software Community co-written ...

It is widely acknowledged that human beings are largely responsible for the widespread alteration of ecosystems on the planet. A recent study by Dara Seidl and Peter Klepeis of Colgate University in New York traces the ways in which humans are the principal agents of dispersal of exotic earthworms in the forests of Northern America. Their findings, published online in Springer's journal Human Ecology, suggest that humans spread earthworms both inadvertently via horticulture and land disturbance, in the tires and underbodies of vehicles, but also knowingly through composting ...

Richmond, Va. (September 1, 2011) –It is widely known that mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility 1 (BRCA1) gene significantly increase the chance of developing breast and ovarian cancers, but the mechanisms at play are not fully understood. Now, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have shown that certain BRCA1 mutations result in excessive, uncontrolled DNA repair, which challenges the prior assumption that mutations in BRCA1 only contribute to breast cancer through a reduction in function. Recently published in the journal Aging, ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Most people have witnessed otherwise intelligent people doing embarrassing or stupid things when they are intoxicated, but what specifically happens in the brain to cause such drunken actions? A new study testing alcohol's effects on brain activity from the University of Missouri says that alcohol dulls the brain "signal" that warns people when they are making a mistake, ultimately reducing self control. "When people make mistakes, activity in a part of the brain responsible for monitoring behavior increases, essentially sending an alarm signal to other ...

In response to Hurricane Irene, a shutdown was ordered on all work at construction sites in the city from 2 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Monday. Ahead of Hurricane Irene's arrival, buildings inspectors checked construction sites throughout New York City to make sure equipment was secure and any loose materials were removed or tied down. This inspection included cranes, scaffolding, hoists and anything else that could come loose in heavy wind and rain. New York construction accident lawyers understand the inspectors continued their work throughout the weekend to make sure ...

(WASHINGTON, September 1, 2011) – For the first time, researchers have successfully injected cultured red blood cells (cRBCs) created from human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into a human donor, according to study results published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). As the global need for blood continues to increase while the number of blood donors is decreasing, these study results provide hope that one day patients in need of a blood transfusion might become their own donors. Using HSCs (stem cells that form all blood cell types) ...

Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich and LMU Munich, in cooperation with Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and King's College London (KCL), have identified several associations between genetic variants and specific metabolic changes. The study, published today in Nature, provides new functional insights regarding associations between risk factors and the development of complex common diseases. In the study appearing today in the journal Nature, the researchers identified 37 previously unknown genetic risk loci, elucidated their effect on human metabolism and found clear ...

A 73-year-old law professor is suing the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Tax professor William J. Brown is claiming that he was passed over for a tenured position because of his age. In New York, civil rights violation lawyers understand age discrimination in the workplace is illegal under state and federal law. When employers make decisions regarding applicants or employees over 40 years of age using their age as a basis, it is considered age discrimination. "This civil rights violation lawsuit is a reminder that everyone is entitled to be treated fairly," ...

A group of scientists led by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) has quantified dust and iron fluxes deposited in the Antarctic Ocean during the past 4 million years. The research study published in Nature evidences the close relation between the maximum contributions of dust to this ocean and climate changes occurring in the most intense glaciation periods of the Pleistocene period, some 1.25 million years ago. Data confirms the role of iron in the increase in phytoplankton levels during ...

New Rochelle, NY, September 1, 2011—Scientists involved in DNA vaccine research are currently focused on two major issues: the creation of effective delivery systems and the development of more efficient biomanufacturing strategies, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). Top investigators in the field recently discussed these and other topics at a conference in San Diego entitled "DNA Vaccines: Building on Clinical Progress and Exploring New Targets," which was sponsored by the International Society of DNA Vaccines and organized by BioConferences International, ...

I&K International Limited, one of UK's leading hair extensions suppliers, has announced the launch of a new luxury hair extensions product brand - VL (Volume & Length). All VL human hair products are made of selected natural human hair. The VL hair extension range covers all kind of hair extensions including luxury clip-in hair extensions, salon glue-in hair extensions and tape-in hair extensions. All these products can be found at its online store, www.hairtrade.com.   VL tape-in hair extensions come with 10 pieces of 8cm wide strips of hair with special ...