In a major advance for schizophrenia research, an international team of scientists led by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and involving Trinity College Dublin researchers has identified a gene mutation strongly linked to schizophrenia that may be an important new target for the development of drug therapies. The findings are just published in the online issue of the journal Nature. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, with symptoms that include hallucinations, delusions and thought disorder. Schizophrenia is believed ...

Much of the Mississippi River's sediment load doesn't come from field runoff, according to work by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Instead, the scientists with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have confirmed that stream bank collapse and failure can be chief contributors to high sediment levels in the silty streams and rivers that flow into the Mississippi. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists sediment as the most common pollutant of rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs ...

### The team's findings were recently published in the Journal of Environmental Science & Technology. For an abstract of the article, please visit: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es103302t?prevSearch=%2528dankovich%2529%2BNOT%2B%255Batype%253A%2Bad%255D%2BNOT%2B%255Batype%253A%2Bacs-toc%255D&searchHistoryKey= For more information about Derek Gray's lab: http://www.mcgill.ca/pprc/members/gray/ Complete article available on request. END ...

Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- A team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and UC San Diego (UCSD) has collected evidence suggesting that a previously overlooked portion of the brain could be a prime locus of human depression. In two rat models of human depression, the scientists have demonstrated that neurons in a tiny area in the central brain called the lateral habenula (LHb) are hyperactive. Specifically, as the team reports today online ahead of print in the journal Nature, excitatory synaptic inputs onto ...

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has discovered the first direct evidence for a superfluid, a bizarre, friction-free state of matter, at the core of a neutron star. Superfluids created in laboratories on Earth exhibit remarkable properties, such as the ability to climb upward and escape airtight containers. The finding has important implications for understanding nuclear interactions in matter at the highest known densities. Neutron stars contain the densest known matter that is directly observable. One teaspoon of neutron star material weighs six billion tons. The pressure ...

When people are feeling badly about themselves, they're more likely to show bias against people who are different. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, examines how that works. "This is one of the oldest accounts of why people stereotype and have prejudice: It makes us feel better about ourselves," says Jeffrey Sherman of the University of California, Davis, who wrote the study with Thomas Allen. "When we feel bad about ourselves, we can denigrate other people, and that makes us feel better about ourselves." Sherman ...

HOUSTON -- (Feb. 23, 2011) -- A lab at Rice University has stepped forward with an efficient method to disperse nanotubes in a way that preserves their unique properties -- and adds more. The new technique allows inorganic metal complexes with different functionalities to remain in close contact with single-walled carbon nanotubes while keeping them separated in a solution. That separation is critical to manufacturers who want to spin fiber from nanotubes, or mix them into composite materials for strength or to take advantage of their electrical properties. For starters, ...

An article by Stevens Institute of Technology researchers featured as the cover page of Applied Physics Letters Volume 98, Issue 7 represents a step forward in techniques for the arrangement of nanowires. Professors Dr. Chang-Hwan Choi and Dr. Eui-Hyeok (EH) Yang, and graduate students Wei Xu, Rajesh Leeladhar, and Yao-Tsan Tsai, focuses on nanowires, structures that are mere nanometers in diameter but have enormous potential in nanotechnology to create tiny circuits that would make possible nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, and nanobiotechnology. Such devices could forever ...

WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- An assessment of coastal change over the past 150 years has found 68 percent of beaches in the New England and Mid-Atlantic region are eroding, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report released today. Scientists studied more than 650 miles of the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts and found the average rate of coastal change – taking into account beaches that are both eroding and prograding -- was negative 1.6 feet per year. Of those beaches eroding, the most extreme case exceeded 60 feet per year. The past 25 to 30 years saw a small reduction ...

In an effort to develop therapeutic remedies for multiple sclerosis, scientists debate two possible interventional approaches - but they're on opposite sides of the spectrum. Researchers at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, however, have reached a definitive conclusion as to which approach is correct, putting an end to a long-disputed issue. Harley Tse, Ph.D., associate professor of immunology and microbiology at WSU's School of Medicine and resident of West Bloomfield, Mich., whose study was published in the January 2011 edition of the Journal of Neuroimmunology, ...

In a recent issue of the scientific journal Zootaxa, researchers from Madagascar and the United States described a new species of forest-dwelling rail. The new bird was named Mentocrex beankaensis, with the genus Mentocrex being endemic to Madagascar and the new species beankaensis being coined after the type locality, the Beanka Forest in western central Madagascar. This species was distinguished from another in the same genus, known from the eastern portion of the island, based on aspects of size, plumage, and DNA. The project resulting in this description was the ...

A team involving University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researchers has conducted the first-ever genetic sequencing of a harmful algal bloom (HAB) species, cracking the genome of the micro-organism responsible for the Eastern Seaboard's notorious brown tides. Brown tides decimated the scallop industries of New York and New Jersey in the 1980s and 1990s and continue to plague the waters off North America and South Africa. The tides are not poisonous to humans, but the chronic blooms are toxic to marine life and block sunlight from reaching undersea vegetation, reducing the ...

A group of researchers have studied the history of drought in the Pacific Northwest during the last 6,000 years, a time that spans the mid-Holocene geological epoch to the present. The goal of the research was to improve the understanding of drought history because the instrumental record of drought only goes back a few hundred years and at relatively few locations. Their work extended the drought history of the Pacific Northwest back much longer than the tree ring record, which provides information in the region over the past 1,500 years. The team's research also indicates ...

Clinicians have often referred to ultrasound technology as the "stethoscope of the future," predicting that as the equipment shrinks in size, it will one day be as common at the bedside as that trusty tool around every physician's neck. According to a new report in The New England Journal of Medicine, that day has arrived. The "Current Concepts" article by Yale School of Medicine clinicians Christopher L. Moore, M.D., and Joshua A. Copel, M.D., outlines how ultrasound use has moved beyond traditional specialties like radiology and is now being routinely employed by ...

Children experiencing an asthma attack who are treated with a short burst of oral steroids may have a transient depression of immune response according to a new study led by Université de Montréal. These findings, published in this month's issue of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Pulmonology, have implications for asthmatic children who have flare-ups and who may be exposed to new contagious diseases. "There is no question that the administration of corticosteroids reduces the risk and duration of hospital admission in children with acute asthma remain the most effective ...

Scientists investigating natural ways to enhance athletic performance have found that bovine colostrum can massively reduce gut permeability – otherwise known as 'leaky gut syndrome.' Their findings, published in the March issue of the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, could have positive implications not just for athletes but also for sufferers of heatstroke. A research group led by Ray Playford, Professor of Medicine at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry looked at athletes who were asked to run for 20 minutes at ...

WASHINGTON -- People found incompetent to stand trial are more likely to be unemployed, have been previously diagnosed with a psychotic disorder or have had psychiatric hospitalization, according to an analysis of 50 years of research, published by the American Psychological Association. "Competency to stand trial evaluations have been regarded as the most significant mental health inquiry pursued in the system of criminal law," said the paper's lead author, Gianni Pirelli, PhD, who conducted the research at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New ...

WASHINGTON -- The launch of NASA's Glory spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has been postponed at least 24 hours. During the final 15 minutes before Wednesday's scheduled launch of 5:09 a.m. EST, the vehicle interface control console, a ground interface with Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket, gave an unexpected reading. The cause and potential effect of the reading was not fully understood. With a 48-second available launch window, there was insufficient time to analyze the issue causing the launch to be postponed. Members of the Taurus team are ...

"It's an honour to be recognized for the work we do," says First Foundation owner and broker Gord McCallum. "Our achievements and success come from helping our clients and focusing on their needs, and these nominations are a reflection of that." The Edmonton-based independent mortgage brokerage has been nominated in the Best Internet Presence and Mortgage Brokerage of the Year (Under 25 Employees) categories. "One of our long-term goals has been to enhance our online presence and services," adds McCallum. "We were a finalist in the Best Internet Presence category in ...

We would like to announce an update of the Navy BMR Advancement Study Guide Web App available now at the ProMilitaris.com. Offering the finest in Online study guide services with updates that include: - An all new 'Chapter Review' study option, - New BMR question & answer content, - Broad improvements interface elements. No matter what paygrade you are testing for, the Navy Basic Military Requirements (BMR NAVEDTRA 14325) course is a key source of information for success in the Professional Military Knowledge (PMK) portion of your Navy-wide Advancement Exam (NWAE). When ...

An online course for writers looking to break into the popular genre of science-fiction and fantasy is being offered at KSURF's Virtual University. The course, Fantasy Writing Workshop, is mentored by author Andrea Stanet, who began writing fantasy stories at the age of nine. Fantasy is currently one of the most popular genres with the blockbuster successes of "Avatar," "Twilight" and the "Harry Potter" series. The course is taught online and begins with a breakdown of the various sub-categories making up the sci-fi and fantasy genre. It goes on to provide tutorials, ...

International Business Intelligence (BI) software vendor, Yellowfin, has confirmed its place as a leader in Mobile BI, blitzing Howard Dresner's latest Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study. The study, officially released Wednesday February 17 in a live webcast, ranked BI vendor's mobile capabilities according to the number of mobile platforms supported, the level of platform integration and the number of BI features supported. Yellowfin's Mobile BI platform scored a total of 14 points out of a possible 16, awarding the Melbourne-based vendor the equal second ...

The countries of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran are woven together like the burnished threads of a fine Persian carpet. From earliest recorded history, these lands have exchanged rulers, architecture, art and religion. Explore the dazzling bazaars and extravagant desert architecture along the byways of the old Silk Road between Tashkent and Tehran. This Central Asia tour is part of MIR Corporation's Premier Series tours. With a maximum of 16 travelers, Premier Series tours feature some of MIR's most distinctive tour concepts and including uncommon and educational ...

Philadelphia-based Mise Design Group, LLC announced today that it has acquired contracts for supply and installation support for food & beverage design, laundry equipment, walk-in refrigeration and exhaust systems for the new $100 million dollar Hilton Hotel to be located in Kampala, Uganda. The Hilton Kampala will be located on Nakasero Hill in Kampala on a 14-acre parcel of land owned by the African-owned Aya Group subsidiary Aya Investments with construction being headed up by James Lawson, Architect and co-owner of Regroup development, LLC based out of Ft. Lauderdale, ...

DCI appears to be the only Indian SEO company to receive this Readers' Choice Annual Award for the year 2010. PromotionWorld is a U.S. based company excelling in online marketing. Every year, it gives away Awards for the best companies in the SEO business. Recently, PromotionWorld released a list of companies that have received the Readers' Choice Awards for the year 2010. DCI is ranked in the ninth place in this list of ten. It is important to note that this list of companies has been selected by readers of PromotionWorld and not by the editorial team. According ...