CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- New research from MIT suggests that there are parts of our brain dedicated to language and only language, a finding that marks a major advance in the search for brain regions specialized for sophisticated mental functions. Functional specificity, as it's known to cognitive scientists, refers to the idea that discrete parts of the brain handle distinct tasks. Scientists have long known that functional specificity exists in certain domains: In the motor system, for example, there is one patch of neurons that controls the fingers of your left hand, and ...

Soy has recently been reviewed and supported for introduction into general medical practice as a treatment for distressing vasomotor symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, but its use in other medical areas, such as heart health, requires further research, according to a new report reviewing the risks and benefits of soy protein, isoflavones and metabolites in menopausal health from The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)/Wulf H. Utian Translational Science Symposium, published in the July Menopause, the peer-reviewed NAMS journal. "Although a significant amount ...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30—To serve remote areas of the world, doctors, nurses and field workers need equipment that is portable, versatile, and relatively inexpensive. Now researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a compact, light-weight, dual-mode microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses. The team describes the new device in a paper published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express. Their prototype weighs about as much as a medium-sized banana and fits in the palm of a hand. And, since it ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Analysis by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers of ten years of scientific studies has resulted in changes in American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for how initial urinary tract infection in infants and toddlers is diagnosed and treated. This change will affect thousands of children every year. The findings of the IU School of Medicine investigators argue against exposing all young children who are diagnosed with an initial urinary tract infection (UTI) to a painful radiologic test and against prescribing prophylactic antibiotic treatment ...

The Great Recession could have lingering impacts on the children of the unemployed, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. "There is growing evidence that parental job loss has adverse consequences on children's behavior, academic achievement and later employment outcomes, particularly in economically disadvantaged families," said Heather Hill, assistant professor in the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. The material hardship and stress associated with unemployment appears to reduce the quality of the home environment and ...

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have found that climate change may lead to more asthma-related health problems in children, and more emergency room (ER) visits in the next decade. The data, published in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that changing levels of ozone could lead to a 7.3 percent increase in asthma-related emergency room visits by children, ages 0-17. The research team, led by Perry Sheffield, MD, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, used regional and atmospheric ...

More and more, patients show up to appointments with hypertension expert John Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D. carrying bags full of "natural" products that they hope will help lower their blood pressure. And like most physicians, Bisognano doesn't always know if these products will do any good, or if they will cause any harm. "Right now we're seeing a cultural shift where an increasing number of people want to avoid standard pharmaceuticals," said Bisognano, professor of Medicine and director of Outpatient Cardiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "We're also ...

New Rochelle, NY, August 30, 2011—Despite recent concerns that changes in atmospheric pressure during airplane travel may affect the amount of insulin delivered via pump devices, the current evidence is limited and it would be unwise to overreact until more data are available, according to an insightful editorial in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The editorial is available free online. Irl B. Hirsch, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine (Seattle), and Senior Editor of Diabetes ...

This press release is available in German. It may not be much use to hitchhikers through the galaxy, but it is extremely valuable to astronomers: the new radio atlas of the Milky Way. After almost ten years of work, researchers at the Max Planck Society and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have completed their investigation into the polarised radio emission in the galactic plane. The atlas is based on observations undertaken with the 25-metre radio telescope in the Chinese city of Urumqi and shows an area of 2,200 square degrees of the sky. The radio survey covers ...

Facebook marketing is an essential component of any complex social media marketing promotion campaign. An increasing number of business owners realize this, but they do not have the relevant knowledge or skills to set up an attractive business page or group that will attract customers. There is a huge amount of money to be made on the site, and that is why many of them are asking for help from a professional Facebook advertising consultant. If you have heard success stories about Facebook already, you will know that it is worth the try. Still, you will need to face ...

A star that changes into a diamond planet? What sounds like science fiction is apparently reality. The discovery was made by an international team of scientists from Australia, Italy, Great Britain, the USA and Germany, including Michael Kramer from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn. The researchers found the diamond planet with the help of the 64-metre Parkes radio telescope in Australia. The planet apparently orbits around an unusual, very dense star, a pulsar. Pulsars represent the very last stages of star formation. They are rapidly rotating neutron ...

Red Wing Software, Inc. announces the addition of free accounting software resources to their Web site for customers and prospects alike. Customers can now learn about their software in a wide variety of methods, and prospects can use available tools to find the accounting program that suits their needs more easily, whether it's a Red Wing Software program or not. Customers can now find a variety of accounting software training tools available at the Red Wing Software University page: www.redwingsoftware.com/rwsu. Customers can join online 'Getting Started' Web learning ...

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ROCHESTER, Minn. -- More than 150 cases of measles have been reported in the United States already this year and there have been similar outbreaks in Europe, a sign the disease is making an alarming comeback. The reappearance of the potentially deadly virus is the result of unfounded fears about a link between the measles shot and autism that have turned some parents against childhood vaccination, says Gregory Poland, M.D. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/10966366.html), of Mayo Clinic. In the September issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings (http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com), ...

An Indiana University study that compared strategies used by extroverted college students and their less socially inclined peers found that happy people who are less outgoing relied less on partying and drinking to be happy and more on connections with family and friends or cognitive strategies, such as positive thinking. "You don't have to go out and party to be happy. That's the thing students feel they need to do, particularly when they're new to campus," said Bernardo J. Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. "But, it's ...

RakeTheRake, the world's largest rakeback provider, is frequently asked to explain what rakeback is. In response to this it has produced a series of new videos to help online poker players answer the 'What is Rakeback' question and how to get the most cash back from their poker play. The simplest definition of rakeback is that it is a loyalty bonus in the form of poker cashback. The more you play online poker, the more cash, or rakeback, you receive. It works because online poker rooms want to attract new players. To do this they use affiliates like RakeTheRake to ...

Energy researchers and environmental advocates are excited about the prospect of gaining more efficient large-scale biofuel production by using large grasses like miscanthus or switchgrass rather than corn. They have investigated yields, land use, economics and more, but one key factor of agriculture has been overlooked: water. "While we are looking for solutions for energy through bioenergy crops, dependence on water gets ignored, and water can be a significant limiting factor," said Praveen Kumar, an environmental engineer and atmospheric scientist at the University ...

Medical malpractice in its simplest terms is substandard care given by a medical professional; the substandard care must result in some type of harm or death for medical malpractice to have occurred. Though the definition of medical malpractice may seem quite simple, these types of legal cases are often very complex, and only very experienced, knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys can "win" these cases in a court of law. A talented medical malpractice attorney will have the resources available to hire the best medical experts to testify on your behalf should ...

Commercial freight companies often conduct business through complex relationships with contracted carriers. Traditionally, while companies are legally responsible for the negligent actions of their direct agents (i.e., their employees acting within the scope of their employment), they are generally not liable for the negligent conduct of independent contractors. Respondeat superior, the legal theory that allows employer liability, is grounded in part on the concept that companies have control over the conduct of their workers or the right to control their employees' ...

Victims who suffer violence at the hands of a spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, or other intimate partner aren't only brutalized physically; they also suffer disproportionately higher rates of mental health distress, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Using data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), researchers found that of the 3.5 million Californians who reported ever having been the victim of intimate partner violence (IPV), more than half a million — 594,000 — said they experienced recent symptoms ...

This press release is available in Spanish. Studies by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists indicate that organic farmers who need to periodically amend their soils with compost after planting can still control weeds--and hold down costs--by using fabric ground covers. This will be welcome news to organic farmers who till composted manure into their crop fields after planting. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Larry Zibilske, who works at the agency's Integrated Farming and Natural Resources Research Unit in Weslaco, Texas, set out to see ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – As wolf populations grow in parts of the West, most of the focus has been on their value in aiding broader ecosystem recovery – but a new study from Oregon State University also points out that they could play an important role in helping to save other threatened species. In research published today in Wildlife Society Bulletin, scientists suggest that a key factor in the Canada lynx being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act is the major decline of snowshoe hares. The loss of hares, the primary food of the lynx, in turn may be caused ...

Transvaginal mesh devices are usually implanted to strengthen a woman's vaginal tissue and support the weight of the surrounding organs after a woman experiences pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Recent reports from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that these transvaginal mesh devices can cause injury in women who have had the potentially defective device implanted. What Is Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP)? It is not uncommon following a pregnancy or other medical condition for a woman's vaginal tissue to weaken. When this happens, a woman may experience POP, ...

After studying current school inspection and review reports as well as an independent impact study report commissioned by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), author Michael Lightfoot stated that many technology-related policies overlook the real needs of students. Lightfoot wrote that while ICT infrastructure aims to incorporate electronic classes and teaching systems that enhance students' and teachers' technological abilities, in reality it has become little more than a way to mechanically optimize the operation of equipment and to perpetuate cultural ...

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Child & Family Research Institute have shown that parental stress during their children's early years can leave an imprint on their sons' or daughters' genes – an imprint that lasts into adolescence and may affect how these genes are expressed later in life. The study, published online today in the journal Child Development, focused on epigenetics – the expression of genes as opposed to the underlying sequence of DNA. A central component of epigenetics is methylation, in which a chemical group attaches to parts ...