CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A team led by a former postdoctoral researcher in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics, recently measured the first-ever planetary atmosphere that is substantially enriched in carbon. The researchers found that the carbon-to-oxygen ratio of WASP-12b, an exoplanet about 1.4 times the mass of Jupiter and located about 1,200 light years away, is greater than one. As they report in a paper to be published on Dec. 8 in Nature, this carbon-rich atmosphere supports the possibility that rocky ...

Thirteen billion years ago our universe was dark. There were neither stars nor galaxies; there was only hydrogen gas left over after the Big Bang. Eventually that mysterious time came to an end as the first stars ignited and their radiation transformed the nearby gas atoms into ions. This phase of the universe's history is called the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), and it is intimately linked to many fundamental questions in cosmology. But looking back so far in time presents numerous observational challenges. Arizona State University's Judd Bowman and Alan Rogers of Massachusetts ...

Euthymics Bioscience, Inc. today will present Phase II clinical data demonstrating that its lead product candidate EB-1010, a next-generation antidepressant, is effective for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) based on multiple standard measures of outcome for depression. EB-1010 also improved measures of anhedonia, a hallmark symptom of MDD, which is characterized by the inability to experience pleasure. The data further demonstrate that EB-1010 is well tolerated, without the weight gain or sexual dysfunction associated with the most common pharmacological treatments ...

Computer scientists have analysed over a million news articles in 22 languages to pinpoint what factors, such as the Eurovision song contest, influence and shape the news agenda in 27 EU countries. This is the first large-scale content-analysis of cross-linguistic text using artificial intelligence techniques. Every day hundreds of news outlets across Europe choose which story to cover from a wide and diverse selection. While each outlet may be making these choices based on individual criteria, clear patterns emerge when all these choices are studied over a large set ...

A study of chimpanzees has revealed that dominant animals with higher testosterone levels tend to suffer from an increased burden of parasites. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal BioPsychoSocial Medicine observed the primates' behavior and studied their droppings to draw the link between dominance and infection status. Michael Muehlenbein from Indiana University and David Watts from Yale University, USA, carried out the study in 22 male animals at Kibale National Park, Uganda. According to Muehlenbein, "Acquisition and maintenance of high dominance ...

Brussels, 9 December 2010 - Europe needs new particle accelerators and major upgrades to existing facilities over the next ten years to stay at the forefront of nuclear physics, according to the European Science Foundation (ESF), which launches its 'Long Range Plan 2010' for nuclear physics today. Nuclear physicists are working to understand the origin, evolution and nature of matter that constitutes nearly 100 per cent of visible matter in the universe. As the home of GANIL, GSI, CERN and a wide network of closely collaborating facilities, Europe is world-leader in ...

A new study identifies a previously unrecognized mutation that causes an inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The research, published by Cell Press in the December 9th issue of the journal Neuron, implicates defects in a cellular pathway linked with degradation of unwanted proteins in the underlying pathology of ALS and provides new insight into this incurable and fatal neurodegenerative disease. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating disease that causes destruction of the neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary ...

A new study uncovers a mechanism linking a specific type of cellular stress with brain damage similar to that associated with neurodegenerative disease. The research, published by Cell Press in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, is the first to highlight the significance of the reduction of a specific calcium signal that is directly tied to cell fate. Body cells are constantly exposed to various environmental stresses. Although cells possess some natural defenses, excessive stress can lead to a type of cell death called apoptosis. "It is thought that excessive ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Comparing the locations of photos posted on the Internet with social network contacts, Cornell University computer scientists have found that as few as three "co-locations" for images at different times and places could predict with high probability that two people posting photos were socially connected. The results have implications for online privacy, the researchers said, but also suggest a quantitative answer to a very old psychological question: What can we conclude from observing coincidences? "This is a kind of question that goes way back," said ...

Yale University researchers have found that a single molecule not only connects brain cells but also changes how we learn. The findings, reported in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, may help researchers discover ways to improve memory and could lead to new therapies to correct neurological disorders. The junctions between brain cells over which nerve pulses pass — called synapses — are crucial for regulating learning and memory and how we think. Aberrations in the structure and function of synapses have been linked to mental retardation and autism, while synapses ...

A group of researchers at MIT, Cornell University and University College London have used one of the world's largest databases of telecommunications records to redraw the map of Great Britain. The research, which will be published in the journal PLoS ONE on Dec. 8, is based on the analysis of 12 billion anonymized records representing more than 95% of Great Britain's residential and business landlines. "Since the pioneering work of Christaller and Lösch in the early 20th century, a long-standing question in economic geography has been how to define regions in space," ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—Beverages supplemented by whey-based protein can significantly reduce elevated blood pressure, reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease, a Washington State University study has found. Research led by nutritional biochemist Susan Fluegel and published in International Dairy Journal found that daily doses of commonly available whey brought a more than six-point reduction in the average blood pressure of men and women with elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressures. While the study was confined to 71 student subjects between the ages of 18 and 26, ...

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, but its diagnosis has up to now been inaccurate and unpleasant. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), in cooperation with AMC Amsterdam, have developed an imaging technology that can accurately identify tumors. The technology is based on ultrasound, and also has the potential to assess how aggressive tumors are. This can lead to better and more appropriate treatment, and to cost savings in health care. About 11% of men who die of cancer in the western world do so as a result of prostate cancer. ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Researchers have shed new light on dopamine's role in the brain's reward system, which could provide insight into impulse control problems associated with addiction and a number of psychiatric disorders. A joint study by the University of Michigan and University of Washington found that, contrary to the prevailing conception, differences in individuals' styles of response to environmental cues can fundamentally influence chemical reward patterns in the brain. Deeper understanding of these differences between individuals may lead to new preventive tools ...

Philadelphia, PA, 8 December, 2010 - A study of long-term, active duty military personnel who used Department of Veterans Affairs' health services showed that childhood maltreatment and other high magnitude stressors, such as being in a serious accident or a natural disaster, were more strongly associated with participants' current psychiatric symptoms than were their military sexual experiences, such as sexual harassment. The research, described in issue 44 -16 of the Journal of Psychiatric Research, was completed by Dr. Maureen Murdoch and colleagues of the Minneapolis ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Patients who have complications after colorectal cancer surgery are less likely to get chemotherapy, even when it is clearly recommended for their diagnosis, a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds. In addition, patients with complications were more than twice as likely to have their chemotherapy delayed for more than 120 days after diagnosis or two months after surgery, which is considered the appropriate timeframe for receiving chemotherapy. "Surgical complications are typically thought to be short-term problems, ...

Haifa / Leipzig. The fire disaster in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa is a typical example of climate change effect and a taste of the future, says Dr. Guy Pe'er, one of the authors of Israel's first report to the UN on climate change. Ten years ago, Dr. Pe'er and other Israeli scientists collated knowledge about the effects of climate change for Israel. They warned already in the year 2000 of expected climatic fluctuations, heat events, decreased rainfall and delayed late winter rainfall, all of which would lead to increased risk of intense forest fires. According to ...

BEIJING -- Responding to the challenges posed by a rapidly aging population will be one of the most difficult tasks for Asian governments in the first half of this century, says a report released today by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indonesian Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Science Council of Japan. The report, which discusses these challenges and identifies needed research to help policymakers better respond to them, was released at the opening of an international conference on aging in ...

Targeting the core social deficits of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-pervasive-developmental-disorders/index.shtml) in early intervention programs yielded sustained improvements in social and communication skills even in very young children who have ASD, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study was published online December 8, 2010, in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Although some research suggests ...

If skin is the body's fortress against germ invaders, shouldn't minimally invasive surgeries – operations guided by camera probes, conducted entirely within the abdomen – carry less risk for serious infection than procedures that slice the same cavity wide open? New research published in the December Annals of Surgery is challenging that assumption – at least for a subset of patients. Researchers from theUniversity of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) analyzed thousands of appendectomies (appendix removals) and found that, for a small group, the danger of deep abdominal ...

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts have found a remarkable effect while studying how marine particles sink, which could affect the way scientists assess global carbon fluxes. Their question - How fast does organic material and debris clumped together forming porous particles settle to the sea floor? Microbes colonizing these particles degrade the organic matter and release carbon dioxide back to the water. The downward velocity of the particles ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – One of the world's foremost experts on climate change is warning that if humans don't moderate their use of fossil fuels, there is a real possibility that we will face the environmental, societal and economic consequences of climate change faster than we can adapt to them. Lonnie Thompson, distinguished university professor in the School of Earth Sciences at Ohio State University, posed that possibility in a just-released special climate-change edition of the journal The Behavior Analyst. He also discussed how the rapid and accelerating retreat of the ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.org/) researchers found that the part of the brain generating seizures in individuals with epilepsy is functionally isolated from surrounding brain regions. The researchers hope this finding could be a clinical biomarker to help identify individuals with abnormal brain function. This study was presented at the American Epilepsy Society's (http://www.aesnet.org/) annual meeting in San Antonio on Dec. 4. Epilepsy (http://www.mayoclinic.org/epilepsy/) is a disorder characterized by the occurrence of two or more seizures. ...

Milan, Italy, 8 December 2010 – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and developmental reading disability (RD) are complex childhood disorders that frequently occur together; if a child is experiencing trouble with reading, symptoms of ADHD are often also present. However, the reason for this correlation remains unknown. A new study reported in the latest special issue of Cortex (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00109452), dedicated to "Developmental Dyslexia and Dysgraphia", has suggested that the disorders have common genetic influences, which may ...

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds that youth generally perceive community street outreach workers positively, regardless of whether they have personally worked with one. Street outreach workers are typically members of the community who intervene to prevent conflict and retaliation, and in some programs, also connect individuals with needed services, such as housing, health care and job training. While communities across the United States are increasingly using street workers as a strategy to connect at-risk youth ...