About 80% of the active population suffers from low back pain at some point in their lives. In a paper published on August 4th 2011 in PLoS Computational Biology, researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) show that overloading on already degenerated discs is less damaging than on discs which are still healthy – and that changes in cell density in discs are fundamental to the process of disc degeneration. Back pain is closely related to ageing of the discs in the spine, a process characterized by a series of changes in their structure and function, ...

When developing babies are growth restricted in the womb, they are typically born with heads that are large relative to their bodies. The growing brain is protected at the expense of other, less critical organs. Now, researchers reporting in the August 5th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, unearth new molecular evidence that explains just how the brain is spared. In studies of rapidly growing fruit fly larvae, they've traced this developmental phenomenon to the activity of a gene called Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK). "ALK breaks the link between dietary nutrients ...

Researchers have come up with a recipe for making functional neurons directly from human skin cells, including those taken from patients with Alzheimer's disease. The new method may offer a critical short cut for generating neurons for replacement therapies of the future, according to research published in the August 5th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. Already, the converted neurons are beginning to yield insights into what goes wrong in the Alzheimer's brain and how diseased neurons might respond to treatment. In earlier approaches to generate neurons ...

Researchers have found a way to turn mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm. This finding, reported in the journal Cell in a special online release on August 4th, opens up new avenues for infertility research and treatment. A Kyoto University team has coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm precursors, called primordial germ cells (PGCs), and shown that these cells can give rise to healthy sperm. The researchers say that such in vitro reconstitution of germ cell development represents one of the most fundamental challenges in biology. When transplanted into mice ...

A new alternative to traditional liposuction in the Boston area is now available at Longwood Plastic Surgery (www.cosmeticsurgeonboston.com). Body-Jet uses a spray of fluid to help loosen fat for easier removal. In addition to reducing trauma to surrounding tissue and discomfort, Body-Jet achieves attractive body contouring results. "The benefits of Body-Jet liposuction for Boston area residents are two-fold: first, it helps remove unwanted fat gently and thoroughly with less force than standard tumescent liposuction," says Dr. Michael Tantillo, board-certified ...

### JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA. The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory operates the HiRISE camera, built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory provided and operates CRISM. For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro . END ...

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology and the University of California, San Diego have discovered a way to prevent light signals on a silicon chip from reflecting backwards and interfering with its operation. Otherwise, the light beams would interfere with lasers and other photonic components on the chip and make the chip unstable. The breakthrough marks a significant achievement in the development of integrated photonic chips that could replace electronic chips as the backbone of information technology. Their findings are published Aug. 5 in the journal ...

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme announces the launch of its Million Dollar Raffle fundraiser. Ticket holders can win the grand prize of $1 million cash. Other prizes include a 2012 BMW Mini Cooper, 2012 Chevrolet Corvette, trip to Paris, Harley-Davidson motorcycle and cash. The 2011 Boys & Girls Club Million Dollar Raffle grand prize drawing is scheduled for Dec. 30. Early bird drawings will be Sept. 24, Oct. 28, and Nov. 30; early bird drawing winners are still eligible to win the grand prize. The multi-ticket drawing will be Dec. 30 ...

New Orleans, LA – A research team that included Hamilton E. Farris, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Otorhinolaryngology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reveals that two entirely different species show similar perception of auditory cues that drive basic biological functions; that these perceptions may be universally shared among animals; and that such perception may also limit the evolution of communication signals. The work is published in the August 5, 2011 issue of Science. Using the labs at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute ...

New York University neuroscientists have identified the parts of the brain we use to remember the timing of events within an episode. The study, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Science, enhances our understanding of how memories are processed and provides a potential roadmap for addressing memory-related afflictions. Previous research has shown the brain's medial temporal lobe (MTL) has a significant role in declarative memory—that is, memory of facts and events or episodes. Past studies have shown that damage to the MTL causes impairment in memory for ...

Interest rate changes will affect you less with a bond ladder. Here's why: - If interest rates go down over the next few years, you will already have locked in higher rates--and the current market value of your fixed income portfolio will be rising. - If interest rates stay the same, you will be earning longer term yields, so your return should exceed what you would be earning if you left your investment short term. - If interest rates go up, the current market value of your fixed income portfolio will be falling. However, as each rung on the ladder matures, ...

New research finds that growing blood stem cells in the laboratory for about a week may help to overcome one of the most difficult roadblocks to successful transplantation, immune rejection. The study, published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, may lead to more promising therapeutic strategies for transplanting blood stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are cells that can give rise to all of the different types of blood cells. Transplantation of HSCs has been used to treat leukemia, lymphoma, and other types of cancer, as well as ...

Recent studies have shown that the heart contains cardiac stem cells that can contribute to regeneration and healing during disease and aging. However, little is known about the molecules and pathways that regulate these cells. Now, a new study utilizing a heart failure model is providing insight into one way to coax the cardiac stem cells into repairing the damaged heart. The research, published by Cell Press in the August 2011 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, finds that low doses of erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone best known for controlling the production of red blood ...

Scientists have identified a mutation that might underlie an extremely rare condition, called "adermatoglyphia," which causes people to be born without any fingerprints. The research, published by Cell Press online August 4th in The American Journal of Human Genetics, not only provides valuable insight into the genetic basis of adermatoglyphia and of typical fingerprint formation but also underscores the usefulness of rare genetic mutations as a tool for investigating unknown aspects of our biology. Human skin has ridges called dermatoglyphs that are present on the fingers, ...

Until very recently, it was unclear why infection with malaria causes fever and, under severe circumstances, an infectious death. Although the parasite has an abundance of potentially toxic molecules, no one knew which ones were responsible for the inflammatory syndrome associated with disease. Now, a new study identifies a novel DNA-sensing mechanism that plays a role in the innate immune response to the parasite that causes malaria. The findings, published online August 4th by Cell Press in the journal Immunity, provide new insight into how the immune system detects ...

Floods and droughts in East Africa are often unleashed by far-away events in the tropical Pacific—the warm (El Niño) or cool (La Niña) phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). A catastrophic drought is currently wreaking havoc in wide regions of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, affecting food security and putting millions of people in urgent need of assistance. Scientists have attributed the severe drying to La Niña conditions that prevailed from June 2010 to May 2011 in the Pacific. The waxing and waning of rainfall in eastern tropical Africa in unison ...

Why Use a Ladder? It's a Strategy for All Interest Rate Environments. Since a bond ladder enables you to reinvest your assets periodically over time, your portfolio will be less affected by interest rate volatility. This concept is similar to dollar cost averaging in stocks. As bonds come due, you are able to reinvest your principal into bonds of intermediate or longer term maturities, where the yields are higher.We started QuadCap Wealth Management, LLC to focus on a highly personalized comprehensive counseling program that is driven by dedicated personal service. ...

Italian researchers may have identified a genetic "signature" for dangerous plaque that leads to stroke. Reporting from their study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers said a pattern of five microscopic bits of genetic material called microRNAs (miRNAs) — a genetic "signature" — were present only in the plaque from patients who had experienced a stroke. This is the first report to suggest that miRNAs may provide an important clue about which plaque in artery walls is the most dangerous. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, ...

For the last 10,000 years, summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has been far from constant. For several thousand years, there was much less sea ice in The Arctic Ocean – probably less than half of current amounts. This is indicated by new findings by the Danish National Research Foundation for Geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen. The results of the study will be published in the journal Science. Sea ice comes and goes without leaving a record. For this reason, our knowledge about its variations and extent was limited before we had satellite surveillance or observations ...

Researchers at the NIH Chemical Genomics Center, administered by NHGRI, used robotic, ultra-high-throughput screening technology to test more than 2,800 chemical compounds for activity against 61 genetically diverse strains of lab-grown malaria parasites. They found 32 compounds that were highly effective at killing at least 45 of the 61 strains. Ten of these compounds had not previously been reported to have anti-malarial action, and seven were more active at lower concentrations than artemisinin, a widely used malaria drug. All the screened compounds are already registered ...

Another advantage of using the ladder strategy is that you can customize your ladder to suit your individual investment objectives, such as meeting future funding needs or fulfilling specific income requirements. Investment selection will also take into account such things as your tax liabilities, quality considerations and anticipated future changes in your financial situation. Ladders are typically built using a variety of the following types of fixed income securities: U.S. Treasury and government agency securities, tax-exempt municipal bonds, corporate bonds, zero-coupon ...

Researchers have demonstrated that cells of the innate immune system are capable of "memory", and of mounting rapid protection to an otherwise lethal dose of live vaccinia virus. The study, published in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens on August 4th, challenges previous thought that only B cells and T cells can store memory to ward off future infection. The finding, by researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and Hebrew University and Duke University, has potentially significant consequences for the design of future vaccines, ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- A discovery by scientists at Duke University Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University could increase the chances for an effective combination of drug therapy to treat the second most common type of brain tumor. For years scientists have been looking for the primary cancer genes involved in the development of oligodendrogliomas. Scientists knew the two chromosomes that held the probable mutations, but not the particular gene information. Now scientists at Duke and Johns Hopkins have discovered the most likely genetic mutations that researchers have ...

The percentage of graduating neurology residents comfortable treating stroke with a clot-busting drug has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. In a survey, the number of residents reporting feeling comfortable using tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) increased from 73 percent in 2000 to 94 percent in 2010. Furthermore, 95 percent in 2010 had used tPA compared to 80 percent in the earlier survey. Of the 95 percent who had used tPA, 59 percent reported delivering it at least ...

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have completed a comprehensive map of genetic mutations occurring in the second-most common form of brain cancer, oligodendroglioma. The findings, reported in the Aug. 4 issue of Science, also appear to reveal the biological cause of the tumors, they say. To create the map, the scientists sequenced protein-coding genes in seven oligodendroglioma tissue samples, and focused attention on recurring mutations in two genes not previously associated with these tumors – CIC and FUBP1. The investigators say that CIC and FUBP1 are ...