Scientists have discovered how tendons – the fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone – become damaged through injury or the ageing process in what could lead to new treatments for people with tendon problems. The University of Manchester team, working with colleagues at Glasgow University, have been investigating 'adhesions', which are a build up of unwanted fibrous tissue on internal organs that have been damaged as a result of surgery or injury. Adhesions cause organs to stick together and are extremely painful and distressing for patients, who often have to undergo ...

Only in very few life phases do individuals face as many life transitions in such a short time as young adults at the age of 19-30. The transition from adolescence to adulthood is characterised by frequent changes in status or social roles, such as leaving the parental home, starting a career, entering into working life, forming a partnership and becoming a parent. Assuming civic and social responsibility is also an integral part of the lives of young adults at this particular life phase. Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro's research team has investigated the transition ...

Scientists have unravelled the shape of the protein that gives human tissues their elastic properties in what could lead to the development of new synthetic elastic polymers. University of Manchester researchers, working with colleagues in Australia and the United States, used state-of-the-art techniques to reveal the structure of tropoelastin, the main component of elastin. Elastin allows tissues in humans and other mammals to stretch, for example when the lungs expand and contract for respiration or when arteries widen and narrow over the course of a billion heart ...

A spongy substance that could be mistaken for packing material has the nanotechnology world buzzing. University of Central Florida Associate Professor Lei Zhai and postdoctoral associate Jianhua Zou have engineered the world's lightest carbon material in such a way that it could be used to detect pollutants and toxic substances, improve robotic surgery techniques and store energy more efficiently. The new material belongs to the family of the lightest solid, also known by its technical name of aerogel or its common nickname of "frozen smoke." Zhai's team worked with ...

AMES, Iowa – Invasive plant species have long had a reputation as being bad for a new ecosystem when they are introduced. Stan Harpole, assistant professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State University, is founding organizer of a team of more than 70 researchers working at 65 sites worldwide that tested that assumption. They wanted to know if it is true that problematic invasive species often spread widely in their new habitats because they don't encounter predators or diseases that help keep them in check in their home ranges. "There is this ...

Robotic surgery offers the same or better results than minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures for treating kidney disease, and can potentially help more patients because it is not as difficult for surgeons to learn, according to a new study led by Henry Ford Hospital specialists. The findings come at a time both when chronic kidney disease is becoming more common, and while occult – or hidden – damage to kidney function has been overlooked in more than a fourth of patients with small kidney tumors, according to earlier studies. This chronic renal insufficiency – ...

This release is available in French. Montreal, March 1, 2011 – Although Edith Piaf defiantly sang, "Non, je ne regrette rien," most people will have their share of regrets over their lifetime. Indeed, anyone who seeks to overcome disappointments should compare themselves to others who are worse off – rather than looking up to folks in more enviable positions – according to a new study from Concordia University. Published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, these findings have implications for both young and old. "Our study examined how younger ...

ATLANTA –March 1, 2011 – A new report from the American Cancer Society says a large proportion of the 141,000 cases and 49,000 deaths from colorectal cancer expected in the United States this year could be prevented by increasing the use of established screening tests and by applying existing knowledge about colorectal cancer prevention. The report, Colorectal Cancer Facts & Figures 2011-2013, released during National Colon Cancer Awareness Month, notes there has been substantial progress in the last decade reducing colorectal cancer incidence and death rates in most population ...

Minneapolis/St. Paul (Mar. 1, 2011) – A five-year clinical trial led by University of Minnesota Medical School researchers has led to a new method of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that improves long-term survival rates with good brain function by 50 percent. The new technique goes beyond the standard hands-only compression-decompression method to include to two devices that increase blood circulation. Researchers found that the new device combination caused the heart and brain to receive nearly three times more blood flow during each compression-decompression ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Recent research suggests vitamin D may be able to stop or prevent cancer. Now, a new study finds an enzyme that plays a role in metabolizing vitamin D can predict lung cancer survival. The study, from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, suggests that this enzyme stops the anti-cancer effects of vitamin D. Levels of the enzyme, called CYP24A1, were elevated as much as 50 times in lung adenocarcinoma compared with normal lung tissue. The higher the level of CYP24A1, the more likely tumors were to be aggressive. About ...

University Park, Pa. -- Free time is not always a fun time for people with autism. Giving them the power to choose their own leisure activities during free time, however, can boost their enjoyment, as well as improve communication and social skills, according to an international team of researchers. "For many of us, we look at recreation as a time to spend on activities that are fun and that are designed for our enjoyment," said John Dattilo, professor, recreation, park and tourism management, Penn State. "But for some people with disabilities, particularly those who ...

A new review published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology explores how nanotechnology may provide powerful new tools that could have a marked impact on the therapeutic and diagnostic measures available to surgeons. Nanotechnology uses very small objects—billionths of a meter—to achieve tasks that would be difficult at larger scales. Nanodevices travel relatively freely throughout the body and can enter cells, making them useful for drug delivery, or mimic the features of the environment outside cells, making them useful for tissue engineering. Their very properties ...

Researchers have over time been able to show that medicine designed at nanoscale offers unprecedented opportunities for targeted treatment of serious diseases such as cancer. However, now research also shows that the body's immune system plays a significant part in the drug delivery process. "Researchers today are able encapsulate medicine in nanoparticles the size of viruses. The nanoparticles are effective for drug delivery – the delivery of the medicine to the body – because they can very precisely find diseased cells and carry the medicine to them. This means that ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Small businesses are seen as an important part of the American economy. These businesses often rely heavily on loans to stay afloat. The recent economic recession has created a reduction in available credit for many small businesses, making it difficult for many businesses to operate. Tansel Yilmazer, assistant professor in the personal financial planning department in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri, says that lack of available credit has forced many small business owners to use their household savings or other ...

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2011 — The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions," focuses on the discovery that household sewage has far more potential as an alternative energy source than previously thought. Scientists say the discovery, which increases the estimated potential energy in wastewater by almost 20 percent, could spur efforts to extract methane, hydrogen and other fuels from this vast and, as yet, untapped resource. Their report appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. ...

Despite substantial gains in knowledge and understanding of autism over the last three years, we are still no closer to either prevention or cure, according to Sir Michael Rutter, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. In a new study, Rutter reviews the latest scientific developments in the study of autism, published between 2007-2010. His paper is available online in Springer's Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Professor Rutter is the first consultant of child psychiatry in the United Kingdom. He has ...

Those who enjoy the caffeinated lift that comes from drinking traditional coffees and teas may tend to overlook the benefits of drinking herbal infusions. Now, as explained in this month's issue of Agricultural Research magazine, the idea that herbal teas may provide a variety of health benefits is no longer just folklore. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded scientists in Boston, Mass., have looked into the science-based evidence of health benefits from drinking three of the most popular herbals in America. Diane McKay and Jeffrey Blumberg are at the Jean Mayer ...

The more honesty and humility an employee may have, the higher their job performance, as rated by the employees' supervisor. That's the new finding from a Baylor University study that found the honesty-humility personality trait was a unique predictor of job performance. "Researchers already know that integrity can predict job performance and what we are saying here is that humility and honesty are also major components in that," said Dr. Wade Rowatt, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor, who helped lead the study. "This study shows that those ...

Fossilized bones discovered in Texas from a flying reptile that died 89 million years ago may be the earliest occurrence in the world of the prehistoric creature known as Pteranodon. Previously, Pteranodon bones have been found in Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming in the Niobrara and Pierre geological formations. This likely Pteranodon specimen is the first of its kind found in Texas, according to paleontologist Timothy S. Myers at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, who identified the reptile. The specimen was discovered north of Dallas by an amateur fossil hunter ...

VIDEO: Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, explains that, over the past decade, drug-related poisonings have been on the rise in... Click here for more information. Over the past decade, drug-related poisonings have been on the rise in the United States. In fact, in many states drug-related poisoning deaths have now surpassed motor vehicle crash fatalities to become the leading cause of injury death. While ...

DALLAS – March 1, 2011 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a signaling pathway in the brain that's sufficient to induce cellular leptin resistance, a problem that decreases the body's ability to "hear" that it is full and should stop eating. "Leptin resistance is a significant factor, yet the mechanisms that underlie the problem remain unclear," said Dr. Joel Elmquist, professor of internal medicine and pharmacology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study appearing in the March issue of Cell Metabolism. "The fact that this cellular ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Recent Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) limits aimed to enhance patient safety may compromise the quality of doctors' training, according to a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings (http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com). Patient safety has long been a critical concern for hospitals, in particular for those training new doctors. Since 1984, when the death of 24-year-old Libby Zion at a New York hospital was attributed to an overtired medical resident, training programs have ...

GREENSBURG, PA—March 1, 2011— Imagine that you witness a crime. The police investigator brings you to the police station to obtain an official statement, but between the crime and your official witness statement, you are exposed to other (potentially inaccurate) information about the crime. Before administering the criminal interview, the investigator asks you a litany of mundane demographic questions in a dry and uninterested manner, then moves directly into the interview about the crime. Would you feel comfortable? Most importantly, would your report be accurate and detailed, ...

MADISON, WI, MARCH 1, 2011 – Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. Wetlands, gas hydrates, permafrost, termites, oceans, freshwater bodies, non-wetland soils, are all natural sources of atmospheric methane; however, the majority of methane presence ca n be accredited to human-related activities. These activities include: such as fossil fuel production, biomass burning, waste management and animal husbandry. The release of methane into the atmosphere by cattle and other large grazing mammals is estimated to account for 12 to 17% of the total global methane release. Recently, ...

Scientists now have a better understanding of why spider silk fibers are so incredibly strong. Recent research, published by Cell Press on February 15th in Biophysical Journal, describes the architecture of silk fibers from the atomic level up and reveals new information about the molecular structure that underlies the amazing mechanical characteristics of this fascinating natural material. Spiders spin silk, which is remarkably strong and stretchy, to use in webs and to suspend themselves. "Silk fibers exhibit astonishing mechanical properties. They have an ultimate ...