What spreads the sea floors and moves the continents? What melts iron in the outer core and enables the Earth's magnetic field? Heat. Geologists have used temperature measurements from more than 20,000 boreholes around the world to estimate that some 44 terawatts (44 trillion watts) of heat continually flow from Earth's interior into space. Where does it come from? Radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium in Earth's crust and mantle is a principal source, and in 2005 scientists in the KamLAND collaboration, based in Japan, first showed that there was a way ...

Almost a quarter of men and women in England and over a third of adults in America are obese. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease and can significantly shorten a person's life expectancy. New research published by BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity shows that improving body image can enhance the effectiveness of weight loss programs based on diet and exercise. Researchers from the Technical University of Lisbon and Bangor University enrolled overweight and obese women on a year-long ...

Some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals and is found exclusively in people outside Africa, according to an international team of researchers led by Damian Labuda of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center. The research was published in the July issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution. "This confirms recent findings suggesting that the two populations interbred," says Dr. Labuda. His team places the timing of such intimate contacts and/or family ties early on, probably at the crossroads ...

July 17, 2011 – (BRONX, NY) – Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed the first fluorescent protein that enables scientists to clearly "see" the internal organs of living animals without the need for a scalpel or imaging techniques that can have side effects or increase radiation exposure. The new probe could prove to be a breakthrough in whole-body imaging – allowing doctors, for example, to noninvasively monitor the growth of tumors in order to assess the effectiveness of anti-cancer therapies. In contrast to other body-scanning ...

Using a technique known as thermochemical nanolithography (TCNL), researchers have developed a new way to fabricate nanometer-scale ferroelectric structures directly on flexible plastic substrates that would be unable to withstand the processing temperatures normally required to create such nanostructures. The technique, which uses a heated atomic force microscope (AFM) tip to produce patterns, could facilitate high-density, low-cost production of complex ferroelectric structures for energy harvesting arrays, sensors and actuators in nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) ...

Japan's March 11 Tohoku Earthquake is among the strongest ever recorded, and because it struck one of the world's most heavily instrumented seismic zones, this natural disaster is providing scientists with a treasure trove of data on rare magnitude 9 earthquakes. Among the new information is what is believed to be the first study of how a shock this powerful affects the rock and soil beneath the surface. Analyzing data from multiple measurement stations, scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that the quake weakened subsurface materials by as much as ...

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Retired NFL football players are at higher risk for mild cognitive impairment, which can be a precursor to Alzheimer's disease, a Loyola University Health System study has found. A screening survey of 513 retired players and their wives found that 35 percent of the players had scores suggesting possible mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Their average age was 61. "It appears there may be a very high rate of cognitive impairment in these retired football players, compared to the general population in that age range," said neuropsychologist Christopher Randolph, ...

PHILADELPHIA — The use of trastuzumab, chemotherapy and surgery among women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer significantly improved survival from the time central nervous system metastases were diagnosed. Based on these study results, lead researcher Adam Brufsky, M.D., Ph.D., said, "We clearly now know that these women should get trastuzumab and potentially chemotherapy, even if cancer spreads to the brain." "Women with HER2-positive breast cancer have a reasonable chance of living a long time with their disease, and they should be given aggressive therapy ...

1. Testing for the Lynch Syndrome in All Colorectal Cancer Patients Cost-effective Relatives of Those Who Test Positive Are at Increased Risk and Should Also be Tested The Lynch syndrome is the most common genetic cause of colorectal cancer and is also associated with endometrial and other types of cancer. While only three percent of colorectal cancer patients carry the gene, it has been suggested that testing for the Lynch syndrome in all patients newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer could help identify families at risk. Researchers used a computer model to estimate ...

A landmark study by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) shows that patients in Africa receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for HIV can expect to live a near normal lifespan. The study, published today in the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine, is the first large-scale analysis of life expectancy outcomes in Africa for HIV patients on cART and shows significant variance between patient subgroups. Females have a significantly higher life expectancy than men, and in all participants, early initiation ...

For the first time, scientists gathered oil and gas directly as it escaped from a deep ocean wellhead — that of the damaged Deepwater Horizon oil rig. What they found allows a better understanding of how pollution is partitioned and transported in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico and permits superior estimation of the environmental impact of escaping oil, allowing for a more precise evaluation of previously estimated repercussions on seafloor life in the future. The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010 was both a human and an environmental catastrophe. ...

A medicine designed to improve levels of "good" cholesterol may also help control blood sugar in people with diabetes who are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to a new analysis in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers made the finding while analyzing data from a clinical trial on the drug torcetrapib that was halted five years ago. Torcetrapib is a cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, a type of drug that increases levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs, or "good" cholesterol). The study found that 6,661 people ...

Milk and soy protein supplements were associated with lower systolic blood pressure compared to refined carbohydrate dietary supplements, in a study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study's results suggest that partly replacing refined carbohydrates with foods or drinks high in soy or milk protein may help prevent and treat high blood pressure, said Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., lead researcher of the study. The randomized, controlled clinical trial is the first to document that milk protein lowers blood pressure for people with pre-hypertension ...

STANFORD, Calif. — Screening every new colon cancer patient for a particular familial disorder extends lives at a reasonable cost, say Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. The team hopes the results will encourage more medical centers to adopt widespread screening policies. Approximately 3 to 5 percent of colorectal tumors are caused by a heritable condition called Lynch syndrome, which greatly increases the odds of colon and other cancers in a person's lifetime. Siblings and children of someone with Lynch syndrome each have a 50 percent chance of carrying ...

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 18, 2011 — A new study by researchers at Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology, and Society sheds light on the current investment methods and profit expectations of 45 "impact investors," who invest in social-entrepreneur ventures around the world. The study aims to be a first step toward creating a more coordinated, venture-capital-style system for such social-venture startups. The study, Coordinating Impact Capital, A New Approach to Investing in Small and Growing Businesses, will be unveiled at an event July 26 from 4 to ...

High levels of 'bad' cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) are a risk factor for developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) — a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. Although the use of statins and the adoption of lifestyle changes to reduce LDL cholesterol levels have decreased the incidence of and mortality from ASCVD, many individuals fail to reach target levels of LDL cholesterol. Researchers are therefore seeking new targets for LDL cholesterol–lowering therapeutics. Human genetic and mechanistic ...

EDITOR'S PICK: IDOLizing low cholesterol High levels of 'bad' cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) are a risk factor for developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) — a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. Although the use of statins and the adoption of lifestyle changes to reduce LDL cholesterol levels have decreased the incidence of and mortality from ASCVD, many individuals fail to reach target levels of LDL cholesterol. Researchers are therefore seeking new targets for LDL cholesterol–lowering ...

Melbourne based, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is Australia's only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer. A world leader in cancer treatment, research and education, charitable donations to the Foundation support promising new cancer initiatives and help attract world-leading clinicians and scientists. Discussing the new partnership and why PeterMacCallum was chosen, Kris Satish, CEO at Vectron said: "We're extremely pleased to be an official partner of such a fantastic and worthy organization. By contributing to medical research, we can play our part ...

Men who are married or in common-law relationships seek medical care sooner for heart attacks compared with single, divorced or widowed men, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj110170.pdf. The benefits of marriage on health, particularly for men, have long been known. Fast, effective treatment for heart attacks is available and emergency department delays have been significantly reduced over the last few decades. However, patient delays in seeking treatment for chest pain have not ...

After scoring high in the outbound category, Callbox keeps the momentum by winning one more award in the inbound level, marking its first entry in the roster as a Top 10 Inbound Service Partner in the recent Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine's Top 50 Teleservices Agencies Ranking. Callbox was ranked 7th in the US domestic category among other top inbound performers. Rankings were determined by editors of CIS Magazine based on autonomously verified documents issued by each agency's telecom service carrier, indicating the number of billable teleservices minutes it ...

Although personalized medicine is a term used in science and medicine that holds significant promise of improved treatment, it may set up unrealistic expectations in patients, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj110607.pdf. The mapping of the human genome was a major scientific milestone that has opened the door to new approaches to understand and treat disease. Cancer and cardiovascular disease are two areas in which genomics are showing promise for treatment advances, although ...

PHILADELPHIA – Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a gene for endurance, or more precisely, a negative regulator of it. Not having the gene relates to greater endurance in the knockout mice that were studied. The investigators also showed that the gene is linked to Olympic-level athletes in endurance sports such as swimming compared to athletes in sprint sports such as the 100-meter dash. The study appears online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The work has implications for improving muscle ...

Every Tuesday evening at 7:03 PM eastern time, you can listen to Wellness, Wholeness & Wisdom radio with host Psychologist Parthenia Izzard, CNHP. The program is archived within minutes of the live broadcast on the internet and rebroadcast Saturday mornings at 9:03 AM eastern time. On your computer go to http://www.amtherapies.com and click on the Radio link to listen to the show live online or on your phone! Program topics range from authors like Bishop Jordan, James Redfield, Immaculee Ilibagiza, and William Tiller to owners of products like Rishi Teas, and Dr. Kracker. ...

There is a widespread return to film, in photography; photographers are rediscovering in 'analog' the control and expression that drew them to photography in the first place. Indeed, film photography is part of a broader movement rebelling against the constant updates and impersonal perfection of current technology—compare, for instance, the rebirth of the typewriter and persistent interest in vinyl records. To celebrate the renaissance of film photography and the move 'back to the future,' PhotoMFA.com and OldSchoolPhotoLab.com are co-sponsoring a photography contest, ...

LOS ANGELES – July 18, 2011 - A surgeon's behavior in the operating room affects patient outcomes, healthcare costs, medical errors and patient- and staff-satisfaction, says a commentary in the July issue of Archives of Surgery. In an increasingly rude society where it is rare for a stranger to give up a bus seat to a senior citizen and expletives have become all-too common in daily conversation, the lack of civility has degraded all aspects of life, even the surgical suite, says the article's primary author, Andrew S. Klein, MD, MBA, a prominent liver surgeon and ...