Across many groups of animals, species with bigger brains often have better cognitive abilities. But it's been unclear whether overall brain size or the size of specific brain areas is the key. New findings by neurobiologists at the University of Washington suggest that both patterns are important. The researchers found that bigger-bodied social wasps had larger brains and devoted up to three times more of their brain tissue to regions that coordinate social interactions, learning, memory and other complex behaviors. Within a species, queens had larger central processing ...

SEATTLE – Had a large stockpile of oral cholera vaccine been available and deployed to inoculate the majority of Haitians most at risk after the outbreak following last year's earthquake, the illness and death from the cholera epidemic could have been reduced by about half, according to new research. The findings, by Ira Longini, Ph.D., and colleagues in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, are published in the April 11, 2011 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using computer models ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass (April 11, 2011)—In a research collaboration blind to affairs of politics, ethnicity, and religion, an international team led by Israeli scientists has identified the genetic cause of a neurological disorder afflicting members of a Palestinian family. By combining the latest genome sequencing technology with a sophisticated "guilt-by-association" technique known as disease-network analysis, the team from Whitehead Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem has found a heretofore unknown genetic mutation responsible ...

Nasal vaccines that effectively protect against flu, pneumonia and even bioterrorism agents such as Yersinia pestis that causes the plague, could soon be a possibility, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate. Professor Dennis Metzger describes how including a natural immune chemical with standard vaccines can boost their protective effect when delivered through the nose. The respiratory tract is a major entry site for various viral and bacterial pathogens. However there are few approved vaccines that can ...

Measuring the wrist bone may be a new way to identify which overweight children and adolescents face an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. "This is the first evidence that wrist circumference is highly correlated to evidence of insulin resistance," said Raffaella Buzzetti, M.D., senior study author and professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy. "Wrist circumference is easily measured and if our work is confirmed by future studies, ...

A commercially available particle trap can filter microscopic pollutants in diesel-engine exhaust and prevent about 98 percent of them from reaching the air, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Inhaling exhaust particles increases the risk of dying from heart and lung diseases. Air pollution, including diesel exhaust as a major contributor, causes 800,000 premature deaths annually in the world, according to the World Health Organization. "This study focused on cardiovascular effects in men exposed in the laboratory ...

Bacteria that grow in the antennae of wasps help ward off fungal threats by secreting a 'cocktail' of antibiotics explains a scientist at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate. Dr Martin Kaltenpoth describes how this is the first known example of non-human animals using a combination prophylaxis strategy similar to the one used in human medicine. This discovery could help us find novel antimicrobials for human use and lead to more effective strategies for using them. Female beewolf digger wasps cultivate symbiotic Streptomyces bacteria ...

Climate change is likely to make plants more vulnerable to infectious disease, which will threaten crop yield and impact on the price and availability of food. Dr Adrian Newton, presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate, explains how exploiting diversity in crops is the best option to improve food security in a changing climate. Pest and disease management has helped double food production in the last 40 years, but 10-16% of the global harvest is still lost to plant diseases each year costing an estimated US$220 billion. ...

WASHINGTON – In recent years supplementation with Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people who are deficient in the vitamin. Now new research from the Georgia Prevention Institute at Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta indicates that supplementation with the "sunshine vitamin" may be particularly beneficial for overweight African-American adults, a population at increased risk for both CVD and Vitamin D deficiency. According to Ryan A. Harris, PhD, assistant professor, the Georgia team's research suggests that Vitamin ...

WASHINGTON – In recent years several studies have suggested that women's voices change at different times over the menstrual cycle, with the tone rising as ovulation approaches. Now a study conducted by researchers at the West Texas A&M University in which women's voices were subjected to computerized acoustical analysis contradicts those findings. After assessing 175 samples provided by 35 study participants at various points throughout the menstrual cycles, the researchers say that changes in hormonal status have no significant impact on eight distinct voice parameters. Neal ...

WASHINGTON – More than one-third of the world's population suffers from hypertension (commonly known as high blood pressure) and cardiovascular disease (disorders that affect the heart and/or blood vessels). The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research has reported that Americans spent $29 billion for non-prescription cardiovascular drugs alone in 2008. With the number of individuals afflicted on the rise, and the costs for treatment on the increase, scientists and policymakers are looking for new approaches to combat these disorders. A team of Wisconsin and Texas ...

Forty-five percent of the 32,000 Americans who take their own lives each year visit their primary care provider within one month of their death. Ninety percent have a mental health or substance abuse disorder, or both. Yet only in the last decade has suicide been considered a preventable public health problem. "In our society, we have separated mental health and physical health for quite some time," said Dr. Judith Salzer, Associate Dean for Strategic Management at the Georgia Health Sciences University College of Nursing. Salzer, a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner ...

On average, a drug on the market works effectively for only 50% of the people who take it. Would you want to prevent a potential adverse drug effect or even toxicity through a simple test? It's not science fiction, but a reality. Pharmacogenetics (PGx) is the study of an individual's variation in DNA sequence related to drug response. The goal is to select the right drug at the right dose, and to avoid adverse drug reactions or ineffective treatment. Dr. Tara Sander, Associate Professor of Pathology, Pediatric Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Scientific Director ...

Empire Medical Training - a recognized source for CME Education and Procedural Training for the past 10 years - knows how difficult it can be to schedule trainings for a larger practice. That's why they've created their Office Membership Program. A great new way to train staff, large practices can send up to three staff members to all of Empire's training programs - including their incredibly popular Advanced Aesthetic Workshop - over the course of two years - all for one incredibly low price. About Empire Medical Training's Office Membership Program: Instead of ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Tissue engineering makes biologists builders, but compared to their civil engineering counterparts, they don't know much about the properties of the materials and structures they use, namely living cells. To improve that knowledge, Brown University researchers have developed a simple and reliable system for measuring the power that cells employ to assemble into three-dimensional tissue. The research appears online the week of April 11 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to helping engineers evaluate how ...

As treatments for HIV/AIDS improve and patients are living longer, the distribution of cancers in this population has undergone a dramatic shift in the United States. While cases of the types of cancer that have been associated with AIDS progression have decreased, cases of other types of cancer are on the rise. These results, reported by scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were published online April 11, 2011, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The ...

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco have pinpointed a reason older adults have a harder time multitasking than younger adults: they have more difficulty switching between tasks at the level of brain networks. Juggling multiple tasks requires short-term, or "working," memory – the capacity to hold and manipulate information in the mind for a period of time. Working memory is the basis of all mental operations, from learning a friend's telephone number, and then entering it into a smart phone, to following the train of a conversation, to conducting ...

By spending an hour in the dark on March 26th, Sheraton Sharm El Sheikh joined millions around the world to send a powerful message about a brighter future for the planet. Sheraton Sharm El Sheikh turned off its lights in observance of Earth Hour, the global environmental awareness event created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Last year, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched ...

Combining the chronic kidney disease markers of creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio with the biomarker cystatin C was associated with improved prediction of end-stage kidney disease and all-cause death, according to a study that will appear in the April 20 issue of JAMA. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at the World Congress of Nephrology. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is currently defined as certain levels of creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) or ...

A prediction model that included data on measures of several routinely obtained laboratory tests including blood levels of calcium, phosphate and albumin accurately predicted the short-term risk of kidney failure for patients with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, according to a study that will appear in the April 20 issue of JAMA. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at the World Congress of Nephrology. "An estimated 23 million people in the United States (11.5 percent of the adult population) have chronic kidney disease ...

An analysis of studies involving the drug memantine finds a lack of evidence for benefit when the drug is used to treat patients with mild Alzheimer disease, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the August print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Memantine, indicated for moderate to severe Alzheimer disease (AD), is frequently prescribed off-label [for uses other than those approved by the FDA] either alone or with a cholinesterase inhibitor for mild AD and mild cognitive impairment," the authors write as background ...

Novosoft, an international software development and IT consultancy company, announced the release of a new version of Handy Backup. The program presents features (automatic registration and remote installation over Active Directory among others) to help system administrators configure backup plans for windows networks. "Want me to tell you a secret of success in software development? I personally doubt there are "magic" formulas, but here is a thing that proved to be solely efficient: explore various applications of your concepts. Take Handy Backup. One of the major ...

The prolonged use of tetracycline antibiotics commonly used to treat acne was associated with a reduced prevalence of StaphylococcuS. aureus bacteria and was not associated with increased resistance to the tetracycline antibiotics, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the August print issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. StaphylococcuS. aureus is found in both hospital and community settings. "While S. aureus colonizes the skin, it can also be responsible for localized cutaneous infections and life-threatening systemic ...

Le Meridien Amman and Starwood Hotels & Resorts achieved distinguished results from its latest Charity and Environmental campaign that was launched in Middle East region as of November 1st, 2010 and lasted on 31st of January 2011. The aim of the campaign was to protect the environment and raise money to provide wheel chairs to children with disabilities. Le Meridien Amman has donated the wheelchair which was bought from this initiative to Al Hussein Society for the Habilitation and Rehabilitation of the Physically Challenged. Le Meridien Amman and more than 14 Starwood ...

In a famous experiment first performed more than 220 years ago, Italian physician Luigi Galvani discovered that the muscles of a frog's leg twitch when an electric voltage is applied. An international group of scientists from Italy, the UK and France has now brought this textbook classic into the era of nanoscience. They used a powerful new synchrotron X-ray technique to observe for the first time at the molecular scale how muscle proteins change form and structure inside an intact and contracting muscle cell. The results are published in the 11 April 2011 issue of the ...