Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have identified an enzyme that appears to be a significant regulator of breast cancer development. Called PTPN23, the enzyme is a member of a family called protein tyrosine phosphatases, or PTPs, that plays a fundamental role in switching cell signaling on and off. When the scientists suppressed the expression of PTPN23 in human mammary cells, they noted a cascade of effects that included the cells breaking away from their anchors; their scattering; and their invasion through extracellular ...

WHAT: A trio of large-scale genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, have identified more than 15 gene variants responsible for the diversity of white blood cell counts among whites, African-Americans, and Japanese. Supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, each study examined the genomes of tens of thousands of people. Combined, the studies offer the first comprehensive analysis into why some people, and some populations, have more or fewer white blood cells than others. All three articles will be published online June 30 in PLoS Genetics. White ...

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that there is a significant risk of serious skin cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, in heart transplant patients. When people receive heart transplants, they need immune medications to keep their body from rejecting the transplant. The changes to the immune system they experience as a result of the medications can also make them more susceptible to developing cancers. Led by Murad Alam, MD, MSCI, of Northwestern University, researchers studied 10 years of patient information ...

11-year-old Abiah Jones recently visited Morey's Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey on a school trip. She and other students were being rewarded for having top grades in their class. However, tragedy struck when Jones fell from a ferris wheel gondola and was killed. A preliminary report indicates that she was alone on the gondola seat near the top of the wheel when she fell nearly 160 feet. According to local police, the ride was in working order with all safety procedures in place, and that it would be impossible for a properly seated patron to fall from the ride unless ...

Restrictions on eligibility for health care reform programs will result in the potential exclusion of up to 220,000 children from affordable health care coverage in California, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The number represents approximately 20 percent of all uninsured children in California. Of those children, up to 40,000 may be eligible for coverage but may not apply, due to confusion about new rules governing access to both the California Health Benefit Exchange and the state's expanded Medi-Cal program. The ...

Boston, MA - For patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), choosing the appropriate treatment depends heavily on the prognosis. Those patients at the highest risk of dying from their disease are typically offered the most aggressive therapies, while patients at lower risk could live several years with MDS, needing only supportive care or other relatively side-effect free treatments. While some clinical variables are useful, current methods for predicting prognosis for individual patients are not ideal. Patients with the same clinical features can have very different ...

A work injury can disrupt a person's entire life and cause physical pain as well as emotional aggravation from dealing with medical bills and insurance bureaucracy. Filing and getting a workers' compensation claim recognized can help alleviate these issues. However, unless an employee acts within the specified time lines, he or she may lose the opportunity to receive benefits at all. Time Limits for Initial Filing an Initial Workers' Compensation Claim In Pennsylvania, an injured worker should report a work injury within 21 days after its occurrence to his or her ...

(Boston) – A recent study completed by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) demonstrates that BMC conducts a high rate of thyroid function testing in pregnant women. The retrospective study, which is currently published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, showed that if BMC had not done routine thyroid testing on pregnant women, approximately 80 percent of cases of mild hypothyroidism (a condition whereby the thyroid does not produce enough thyroid hormone) would not have been detected. It ...

VIDEO: This movie of GOES-13 satellite imagery of Tropical Storm Arlene in 15 minute intervals from June 28 at 1415 (10:15 a.m. EDT) to the same time on June 30, shows... Click here for more information. Tropical Storm Arlene made landfall early today and is making its way through northeastern Mexico today as the GOES-13 satellite continues to track its movement. A movie from today's GOES satellite data shows Arlene making that landfall and moving inland. Tropical Storm ...

Virginia is well known for its strict implied-consent law, which requires drivers to submit to chemical tests of their breath or blood when stopped on suspicion of drunk driving. When drivers refuse to give breath or blood samples, they automatically lose their driving privileges for at least one year, on top of any further penalties for DUI convictions. A recent case from the Supreme Court of Virginia and a newly-amended statute both show the seriousness with which Virginia treats its implied consent laws. Consequently, anyone accused of chemical-test refusal or arrested ...

By swapping one superconducting material for another, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found a practical way to boost the efficiency of the world's fastest single-photon detector, while also extending light sensitivity to longer wavelengths. The new tungsten-silicon alloy could make the ultrafast detectors more practical for use in quantum communications and computing systems, experiments testing the nature of reality, and emerging applications such as remote sensing. The detector, made of superconducting nanowires, is one ...

Some drivers question whether they should call police after being involved in a car accident in Florida, especially for relatively minor crashes. But, drivers should always call 911 after car accidents and wait for officers to arrive and fill out crash reports, regardless of the extent of injuries or property damage. Calling police after a Florida car accident is important for several reasons, and if law enforcement is not summoned to the scene, it may affect an injured person's ability to hold the at-fault party accountable in a personal-injury lawsuit. Florida Car ...

The first scientific results from an ambitious voyage led by a group of graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego offer a stark view of human pollution and its infiltration of an area of the ocean that has been labeled as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Two graduate students with the Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition, or SEAPLEX, found evidence of plastic waste in more than nine percent of the stomachs of fish collected during their voyage to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Based on their evidence, authors ...

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Newberry South Carolina Hotel offers convenient lodging to guests attending Newberry's July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza. The festivities will take place at Newberry High School, located at 3113 Main Street. This is a fun family event with music provided by the group Still Cruisin', games for the kids, and food vendors. The activities and entertainment begin at 6pm, and fireworks will light up the sky at dusk. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites is the top place to stay among other Newberry South Carolina hotels. The 4 story interior ...

MADISON, WI, JUNE 30, 2011 -- Mentoring is a recognized tool in career development and advancement. It brings a personal element to what might otherwise be a confusing process. Mentors can provide insight into the unwritten rules and culture of the professional workplace. With the click of a mouse, a student can have access to an ementor, a career professional who can expand the student's career horizon and help navigate their collegiate experience. An ementoring program was designed in 2002 for first-time freshmen in animal science, conducted within a required freshmen ...

Scientists know what the universe looked like when it was a baby. They know what it looks like today. What they don't know is how it looked in its youth. Thanks to technological advances, however, scientists hope to complete the photo album and provide a picture of how the cosmos developed into the kind of place that could support life like that found on Earth. They plan to gather these never-before-obtained insights with a potentially "game-changing" instrument that is expected to be 10,000 times more sensitive than the current state-of-the-art. The instrument is being ...

Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer, the TV property gurus, have launched new research revealing UK home hunters overspent their combined budgets by a staggering GBP3.7 billion last year, despite falling house prices and what should be a buyers' market. The survey of 2,000 home buyers, announced to coincide with the launch of the new iPhone app 'Kirstie & Phil's House Hunter', has revealed that almost half (49 per cent) blow their budget on average to the tune of over GBP10,000. For one in ten home buyers (10 per cent) the situation is even more extreme, with finances ...

On June 10, 2011, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft pointed the LRO Camera NACs to capture a dramatic sunrise view of Tycho crater. A very popular target with amateur astronomers, Tycho is located at 43.37°S, 348.68°E, and is about 51 miles (82 km) in diameter. The summit of the central peak is 1.24 miles (2 km) above the crater floor. The distance from Tycho's floor to its rim is about 2.92 miles (4.7 km). Many rock fragments ("clasts") ranging in size from some 33 feet (10 m) to hundreds of yards are exposed in the central peak slopes. Were these distinctive ...

Confused.com has designed a new road sign, specifically to alert road users to the UK's two million potholes*. The road sign is the first of its kind and the car insurance expert is petitioning to urge the Department for Transport to introduce it to roads across the UK. A constant source of frustration for drivers, the sign has been developed in response to recent findings that even with sufficient budgets; it would take councils at least 11 years to repair the UK's damaged roads**. With this in mind, 82% of drivers would like to see a road sign dedicated to potholes. ...

LOS ANGELES – June 30, 2011 – A study by a global consortium of physician-scientists has identified a genetic variation that may predispose people to double the risk of having a sudden cardiac arrest, a disorder that gives little warning and is fatal in about 95 percent of cases. Although previous, smaller studies have identified some genes with a potential association with sudden cardiac arrest, this is the first study large enough to enable scientists to apply results to the general population. Findings are published today by the Public Library of Science (PloS Genetics). "We ...

Washington, DC – African-Americans are less likely than whites to receive critical stroke treatment primarily because they do not get to a hospital soon enough for time-sensitive treatment and because of preexisting medical conditions. For patients who are eligible for treatment, no racial disparity was found. Those are the findings of a new Georgetown University Medical Center study involving the review of almost 1,000 patient records from all seven acute care hospitals in Washington, DC. The new study will be published in the June 30th issue of American Stroke Association's ...

Whilst pay, perks and a pleasant working environment all score highly, being kept in the loop with high levels of communication is the single most important factor in keeping UK workers content within their jobs. The survey conducted by reed.co.uk, which polled more than 2,500 UK workers, revealed that strong communication (87% of respondents), opportunities for career advancement (86%) and job security (85%) are amongst the most important factors contributing to staff happiness, whilst training (81%) and recognition of a job well done (77%) also influence job satisfaction. ...

In the first study to consider the impact of gender on patient outcomes in major gastrointestinal surgeries, researchers at UC San Diego Health System have found that women are more likely to survive after the procedure than men. The pattern is even more pronounced when comparing women before menopause with men of the same age. Results, now published online in the Journal of Surgical Research in a paper titled "The Battle of the Sexes: Women Win Out in Gastrointestinal Surgery," shed light on major differences between patients which impact treatment success, and open ...

MADISON, WI, JUNE 30, 2011 -- Agroforestry, the deliberate placement of trees into crop and livestock operations, can help capture substantial amounts of carbon on agricultural lands while providing production and conservation benefits. However, we currently lack tools for accurately estimating current and projected carbon values in these systems. In North America, windbreaks are an effective carbon-capturing option. Only occupying about 2 to 5% of the land, windbreaks also help protect crops and livestock, as well as reduce wind erosion. They provide a means to increase ...

IDMS Account Ability has launched a Wage and Information Reporting Data Module ("AADM") that is free to all software developers. AADM merges data extracts from any authored application with Account Ability's library of government approved information returns and annual wage reports. AADM supports the entire family of Information Returns (1097-BTC, 1098, 1098-C, 1098-E, 1098-T, 1099-A, 1099-B, 1099-C, 1099-CAP, 1099-DIV, 1099-G, 1099-H, 1099-INT, 1099-K, 1099-LTC, 1099-MISC, 1099-OID, 1099-PATR, 1099-Q, 1099-R, 1099-S, 1099-SA, 3921, 3922, 5498, 5498-ESA, 5498-SA, ...