This Spring Break, students from Douglass Residential College (http://douglass.rutgers.edu) have left campus--not for vacation, but to "try a career on for size." More than 200 sophomores and juniors are participating in this, the 36th annual externship program, a mandatory, one- to two-week-long experience of in-depth mentoring that matches a student with a Douglass alumna whose work most closely mirrors her career aspirations. Students have a choice of three externship segments. For 2011, two segments began in early January; the final 2011 segment kicked off on Monday. ...

Biochemist Leor Weinberger and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego and UCLA have proposed a fundamentally new intervention for the HIV/AIDS epidemic based on engineered, virus-like particles that could subdue HIV infection within individual patients and spread to high-risk populations that are difficult for public health workers to reach. With a model that considers the effects of the proposed treatment on several scales, from interference with HIV in infected cells to viral loads in individual patients to the prevalence of HIV in large populations, ...

South San Francisco, CA, March 18, 2011 – Cytokinetics, Incorporated (Nasdaq: CYTK) announced today the publication of preclinical research in the March 18, 2011 issue of the journal Science regarding the activation of cardiac myosin by an investigational drug candidate, omecamtiv mecarbil, and the potential therapeutic role that this novel mechanism may play for patients with systolic heart failure. This publication reveals, for the first time in a peer reviewed journal, the mechanism of action for omecamtiv mecarbil and the scientific rationale for directly modulating ...

A robust new phylogenetic tree resolves many long-standing issues in primate taxonomy. The genomes of living primates harbor remarkable differences in diversity and provide an intriguing context for interpreting human evolution. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted by international researchers to determine the origin, evolution, patterns of speciation, and unique features in genome divergence among primate lineages. This evolutionary history will be published on March 17 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. The authors sequenced 54 gene regions from 186 species ...

A new study published on bmj.com today adds to mounting evidence that rosiglitazone - a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes - is associated with an increased risk of major heart problems. It finds that rosiglitazone is associated with significantly higher odds of congestive heart failure, heart attack and death compared with a similar drug (pioglitazone). Rosiglitazone and pioglitazone belong to a class of drugs called thiazolidinediones that help to control blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Both drugs are known to increase the risk of heart failure, ...

BYGAMER has a formidable reputation as an outstanding MMORPG products and services provider. Now it gets ready to advance to the Asian market with its main seller: WoW Gold. BYGAMER has the unique ability of fully comprehending the needs of gamers, and based on these needs they provide ideal solutions. It is no wonder then that most customers tend to remain loyal to them. BYGAMER have thrilled serious gamers in all continents including Asia by this commitment to excellence. Players' demand for WoW Gold is increasing rapidly in Asian areas. Take the case of Blizzard ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- A new University of Florida study shows when two flowering plants are crossed to produce a new hybrid, the new species' genes are reset, allowing for greater genetic variation. Researchers say the study, to be published March 17 in Current Biology, could lead to a better understanding of how to best grow more stable and higher yielding agricultural crops. "We caught evolution in the act," said Doug Soltis, a distinguished professor in UF's biology department and study co-author. "New and diverse patterns of gene expression may allow the new species ...

New research suggests that promoting active play in children's leisure time could increase the physical activity of today's children, but that such strategies might need to be tailored according to gender. The paper, 'What is the meaning and nature of active play for today's children in the UK?' by Rowan Brockman and colleagues in the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences within the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, is published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The researchers found children's ...

Along with the excitement and anticipation that come with heading off to college, freshmen often find questions of belonging lurking in the background: Am I going to make friends? Are people going to respect me? Will I fit in? Those concerns are trickier for black students and others who are often stereotyped or outnumbered on college campuses. They have good reason to wonder whether they will belong – worries that can result in lower grades and a sense of alienation. But when black freshmen participated in an hour-long exercise designed by Stanford psychologists to ...

Plants are continually exposed to herbivore attack. To defend themselves, they have developed sophisticated chemical defense mechanisms. Plants of the mustard family, such as thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), produce glucosinolates (mustard oil glucosides) to protect themselves against herbivory. Scientists know many different kinds of these molecules; they have a similar structure, but different side chains. If insect larvae feed on mustard plants, glucosinolates are hydrolyzed to form toxic isothiocyanates. Chemists call this the "mustard oil bomb". Special enzymes ...

The Financial Express published an article on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks that continue between the European Union (EU) and India. One of the most discussed and disagreed upon parts of the proposed FTA involves the need for protecting the intellectual property of pharmaceutical companies in order to promote medical innovation and investment in the development of new medicines and research. This disagreement about whether data exclusivity in the pharmaceutical sector should be included has resulted in the delay of finalizing the FTA. Pharmaceutical companies ...

In 2006, Maria Otilia Carvalho, a researcher from the Tropical Research Institute of Portugal had an ambitious goal: to cut the huge losses of rice – a staple food crop for half of humanity – due to pests, without using toxic pesticides that are increasingly shunned by consumers worldwide. She realised she could not do it alone and turned to EUREKA to support an international collaboration to address a looming threat to world's rice supplies. Harvested rice is constantly under menace from pest insects and fungi - to avoid the pests, farmers and producers treat the rice ...

The psychological impact of natural disasters such as the Japan earthquake can be revealed in the way people inherently respond to unpredictable situations, according to a psychology expert at Queen Mary, University of London. Dr Magda Osman, Psychology Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and author of Controlling Uncertainty: Decision-making and Learning in Complex Worlds, said the disaster had a devastating immediate effect on tens of thousands of people in Japan but the true psychological impact will be felt "for some time to come". "A disaster like the ...

A new plant species is providing an insight into how evolution works and could help improve crop plants, scientists have revealed. The new plant species, Tragopogon miscellus, appeared in the United States 80 years ago. It came about when two species in the daisy family, introduced from Europe, mated to produce a hybrid offspring. The species had mated before in Europe, but the hybrids were never successful. However in America something new happened. The number of chromosomes in the hybrid spontaneously doubled, and at once it became larger than its parents and quickly ...

eMaint Enterprises, headquartered in Marlton, New Jersey has provided maintenance management software solutions since 1986. Dedicated to successful CMMS implementation, eMaint is pleased to be a contributing sponsor of the CMMS-2011 Computerized Maintenance Management Summit, a learning and networking event designed for those seeking to implement a new CMMS/EAM or reimplement an existing CMMS/EAM for more effective maintenance management and decision support. The Summit will take place at the Reliability Performance Institute in Fort Myers, Florida on April 11 - 13, 2011. eMaint's ...

A study by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), analysing the impact of the labour reforms introduced over the past 30 years and the living conditions of new generations, asserts that these reforms have been the origin and cause of the current development model based on the exploitation of young people. "The study indicates that the Spanish economic development model over the past three decades – with high rates of economic growth and job creation – is based on the 'over-exploitation of the youngest generations of workers'", Pablo López Calle, author of the paper, ...

The tendency to perceive others as "us versus them" isn't exclusively human but appears to be shared by our primate cousins, a new study led by Yale researchers has found. In a series of ingenious experiments, Yale researchers led by psychologist Laurie Santos showed that monkeys treat individuals from outside their groups with the same suspicion and dislike as their human cousins tend to treat outsiders, suggesting that the roots of human intergroup conflict may be evolutionarily quite ancient. The findings are reported in the March issue of the Journal of Personality ...

Carbon nanofibers hold promise for technologies ranging from medical imaging devices to precise scientific measurement tools, but the time and expense associated with uniformly creating nanofibers of the correct size has been an obstacle – until now. A new study from North Carolina State University demonstrates an improved method for creating carbon nanofibers of specific sizes, as well as explaining the science behind the method. "Carbon nanofibers have a host of potential applications, but their utility is affected by their diameter – and controlling the diameter of ...

Badbeat.com, the original and leading online poker staking business, will be donating 10% of ALL affiliate revenue generated by the Badbeat players on Friday 18th March to Comic Relief in support of Red Nose Day. The Badbeat management has urged their players to help change lives both in the UK and across Africa, challenging them to raise as much money as possible playing poker day and night! "Red Nose Day is a day like no other; when the whole country gets together to help change countless lives," said Badbeat Managing Director, John Conroy. "We're incredibly happy ...

MIAMI – March 17, 2010 -- University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science scientist Chris Langdon and colleagues developed a new tool to monitor coral reef vital signs. By accurately measuring their biological pulse, scientists can better assess how climate change and other ecological threats impact coral reef health worldwide. During a March 2009 experiment at Cayo Enrique Reef in Puerto Rico, the team tested two new methods to monitor biological productivity. They compared a technique that measures changes in dissolved oxygen within ...

Using skin cells from adult siblings with schizophrenia and a genetic mutation linked to major mental illnesses, Johns Hopkins researchers have created induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) using a new and improved "clean" technique. Reporting online February 22 in Molecular Psychiatry, the team confirms the establishment of two new lines of iPS cells with mutations in the gene named Disrupted In Schizophrenia 1, or DISC1. They made the cells using a nonviral "epiosomal vector" that jumpstarts the reprogramming machinery of cells without modifying their original ...

Researchers at the University of Granada have proved that neuropsychological rehabilitation helps in significantly reducing cognitive, emotional and behavioural after-effects in patients with acquired brain injury, generaly due to traumatic brain injury and ictus. These patients should not wait to be treated later by the social services, since early intervention (within six months after the traumatism) reduces further after-effects. Despite the prevention campaigns launched for reducing traffic accidents and improving heart-friendly habits, traumatic brain injury and ...

A pilot study in healthy children and adolescents shows that it is feasible to screen for undiagnosed heart conditions that increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Adding a 10-minute electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) to a history and physical examination identified unsuspected cases of potentially serious heart conditions. Although more research is needed, the preliminary results suggest that a relatively low-cost screening might help identify children who are at risk for sudden cardiac arrest, possibly preventing childhood death. "In the United States, the ...

Halifax Savings research has shown that children in Wales have the highest ownership levels of games consoles and mobile phones across the nation and also spend the most amount of money on computer games and equipment. They also do extremely well when it comes to owning an iPod or MP3 player and only fall down slightly on music downloads and mobile phone expenditure. A full house for Welsh gamers 100% of the children surveyed in Wales owned a games console, well above the national average of 91%. Children in Wales also spent the highest amount of money on computer ...

Washington, D.C. (March 17, 2011) -- A team of researchers has integrated tiny detectors capable of counting individual photons on computer chips. These detectors, called "single-photon avalanche diodes (SPAD)," act like mini Geiger counters, producing a "tick" each time a photon is detected. The researchers present their findings in Applied Physics Letters, a journal published by the American Institute of Physics. "In the past, making these detectors required specialized processes, but recently there has been tremendous progress in making these devices in 'standard' ...