Pinpointing the exact genetic cause of inherited deafness has always involved sequencing one gene at a time, a process that can take up to a year and cost roughly $1,000 per gene. It would cost around $75,000 to test all known deafness causing genes using this approach. Now University of Iowa researchers working with colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a test that can screen all of the genes known to cause deafness in a single run, in one to three months and for about $2,000. It means quicker answers for families anxious to determine treatment options ...

Human childhood is considerably longer than chimpanzees, our closest-living ape relatives. A multinational team of specialists, led by researchers from Harvard University, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) and the ESRF, applied cutting-edge synchrotron X-ray imaging to resolve microscopic growth in 10 young Neanderthal and Homo sapiens fossils. They found that despite some overlap, which is common in closely-related species, significant developmental differences exist. Modern humans are the slowest to the finish line, stretching out their maturation, ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new supercomputer rating system will be released by an international team led by Sandia National Laboratories at the Supercomputing Conference 2010 in New Orleans on Nov. 17. The rating system, Graph500, tests supercomputers for their skill in analyzing large, graph-based structures that link the huge numbers of data points present in biological, social and security problems, among other areas. "By creating this test, we hope to influence computer makers to build computers with the architecture to deal with these increasingly complex problems," ...

WASHINGTON — A new National Research Council report requested by Congress finds "several major shortcomings" in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security assessment of risks associated with operating the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kan. The laboratory would study dangerous foreign animal diseases -- including the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which affects cattle, pigs, deer, and other cloven-hoofed animals -- and diseases deadly to humans that can be transmitted between animals and people. Based on the DHS risk ...

WASHINGTON – Though the massive glaciers of the greater Himalayan region are retreating slowly, development agencies can take steps now to help the region's communities prepare for the many ways glacier melt is expected to impact their lives, according to a new report. Programs that integrate health, education, the environment and social organizations are needed to adequately address these impacts, the report states. "The extremely high altitudes and sheer mass of High Asian glaciers mean they couldn't possibly melt in the next few decades," said Elizabeth Malone, a Battelle ...

Tyrannosaurus rex was far from a plodding Cretaceous era scavenger whose long tail only served to counterbalance the up-front weight of its freakishly big head. T. rex's athleticism (and its rear end) has been given a makeover by University of Alberta graduate student Scott Persons. His extensive research shows that powerful tail muscles made the giant carnivore one of the fastest moving hunters of its time. As Persons says, "contrary to earlier theories, T. rex had more than just junk in its trunk." The U of A paleontology student began his research by comparing ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois researchers are using a new kind of microsensor to answer one of the weightiest questions in biology – the relationship between cell mass and growth rate. The team, led by electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering professor Rashid Bashir, published its results in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "It's merging micro-scale engineering and cell biology," said Bashir, who also directs the Micro and Nanotechnology Engineering Laboratory at Illinois. "We can help advance ...

Many plants, including crops, release volatiles in response to insect attack. The chemical compounds can be a defense or can be an aromatic call for help to attract enemies of the attacking insect. Researchers from Virginia Tech, Michigan State University, and Georg-August-University Göttingen have discovered how plants produce the defensive compounds. The research is reported this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The article, "Herbivore-induced and floral homoterpene volatiles are biosynthesized by a single P450 ...

Frostburg, Md. (November 15, 2010) – A new analysis of fossilized grass-pollen grains deposited on ancient European lake and sea bottoms 16-35 million years ago reveals that C4 grasses evolved earlier than previously thought. This new evidence casts doubt on the widely-held belief that the rise of this incredibly productive group of plants was driven by a large drop in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during the Oligocene epoch. The research team, led by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory researcher Dr. David Nelson ...

Adding pharmacists to the primary care team right in doctors' offices may help patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes better manage associated risks, a new University of Alberta study had found. The blood pressure of patients with Type 2 diabetes dropped significantly when pharmacists were included in the on-site clinical examination and consulting process, the U of A study showed. Among 153 patients whose hypertension was inadequately controlled at the beginning of the study, the 82 who had advice from a pharmacist were more likely to reach blood pressure treatment ...

People are easily fooled when it comes to food labels, and will eat more of something if they believe it's a "small" portion, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Authors Nilufer Z. Ayinoglu (Koç University, Istanbul) and Aradhna Krishna (University of Michigan) found that inconsistent portion sizes contribute to people's uncertainty about the appropriate amount to eat. "In this context of large portion sizes and consumer uncertainty about appropriate food intake, we show that size labels chosen by food and drink vendors (such as 'small-medium-large') ...

Why would someone choose a credit card with a one percent interest rate over another with a zero percent rate? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that consumers are often flummoxed when it comes to zero. "A reasonable assumption is that a product will be more attractive when it offers more of a good thing, such as free pictures (with a digital camera purchase), or less of a bad thing, like interest rates on a credit card," writes author Mauricio Palmeira (Monash University, Australia). But Palmeira's research found that consumer comparison methods tend ...

LA JOLLA, CA-Fisetin, a naturally occurring compound found in strawberries and other fruits and vegetables, slows the onset of motor problems and delays death in three models of Huntington's disease, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The study, published in the online edition of Human Molecular Genetics, sets the stage for further investigations into fisetin's neuroprotective properties in Huntington's and other neurodegenerative conditions. Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited disorder that destroys neurons in certain parts of ...

DALLAS – Nov. 15, 2010 – Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study. "With these findings, we understand better the system that controls labor, so with future research we might have the potential to manipulate it and prevent preterm birth," said Dr. Carole Mendelson, professor of biochemistry and obstetrics and gynecology at UT Southwestern and senior author ...

Marketers hope to connect between the consumer and the products they represent by creating a strong brand identity. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is giving marketers a heavenly new angle to consider ― religious faith ― on which to build their advertising strategies. Prof. Ron Shachar of Tel Aviv University's Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration says that a consumer's religiosity has a large impact on his likelihood for choosing particular brands. Comsumers who are deeply religious are less likely to display an explicit preference ...

Point spreads—the number of points by which a strong team can be expected to defeat a weaker team—are supposed to reflect the "wisdom of crowds." But a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that crowds don't have a clue. "Point spread betting markets seem to offer an important example of crowd wisdom, because point spreads are very accurate and are widely believed to reflect the 'crowd's' prediction of upcoming sporting events," write authors Joseph P. Simmons (Yale University), Leif D. Nelson (University of California at Berkeley), Jeff Galak (Carnegie ...

It's just like a bad breakup: People get emotional when they end a relationship with a brand. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines what happens when people turn their backs on the brands they once loved. "Customers who were once enthusiastic about a brand may represent a headache for the associated firm beyond the lost revenue of foregone sales because they sometimes become committed to harming the firm," write authors Allison R. Johnson (University of Western Ontario), Maggie Matear (Queens University, Kingston, Ontario), and Matthew Thomson (University ...

You aced that test; now it's time for a treat. Sometimes pride in an achievement can lead people to indulge in unhealthy choices, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Across four studies in the food consumptions and spending domains, we show that pride is associated with two opposing forces; it promotes a sense of achievement, which increases indulgence, and it promotes self-awareness, which facilitates self control," write authors Keith Wilcox (Babson College), Thomas Kramer (University of South Carolina), and Sankar Sen (Baruch College). The ...

Consumers value goals they've chosen on their own more than those that are imposed on them, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "When people believe they have autonomously chosen to pursue a goal themselves, they feel the goal is increasingly valuable as they put in more effort, because they experience their own effort as signaling how much they care about it," write authors Ying Zhang (University of Texas at Austin), Jing Xu, Zixi Jiang (both Peking University), and Szu-chi Huang (University of Texas at Austin). It seems that when people ...

CHICAGO --- Is cardiovascular health in middle age and beyond a gift from your genes or is it earned by a healthy lifestyle and within your control? Two large studies from Northwestern Medicine confirm a healthy lifestyle has the biggest impact on cardiovascular health. One study shows the majority of people who adopted healthy lifestyle behaviors in young adulthood maintained a low cardiovascular risk profile in middle age. The five most important healthy behaviors are not smoking, low or no alcohol intake, weight control, physical activity and a healthy diet. The other ...

Irvine, Calif., Nov. 15, 2010 — UC Irvine researchers have discovered that circadian rhythms – the internal body clock – regulate fat metabolism. This helps explain why people burn fat more efficiently at certain times of day and could lead to new pharmaceuticals for obesity, diabetes and energy-related illnesses. The study was headed by Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Donald Bren Professor and chair of pharmacology. A leading expert on circadian rhythms, he discovered many of the key molecular switches governing these biological processes. He and his colleagues found that one of ...

An autism study by Yale School of Medicine researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified a pattern of brain activity that may characterize the genetic vulnerability to developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Published today in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study could eventually lead to earlier and more accurate autism diagnosis. ASD is defined by impaired social interaction and communication, and can disrupt the brain's ability to interpret the movements of other people, known as "biological ...

CHICAGO - Plaque in a heart artery looks threatening, but cardiologists know that many of these buildups will not erupt, dislodge and block a vessel, causing a heart attack that can be fatal. Some will, however, and the challenge is to figure out atherosclerotic plaque that is dangerous and treat or remove it. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic have shown that iron, derived from blood, is much more prevalent in the kind of plaque that is unstable and is thus more likely to promote a myocardial infarction (MI) - heart attack - and possibly sudden death. The team of researchers ...

Cutting back on salt in teenagers' diets by as little as one-half teaspoon, or three grams, a day, could reduce the number of young adults with high blood pressure by 44 to 63 percent, according to new research presented Sunday, Nov. 14 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010 meeting in Chicago. The findings indicate that the food industry and those who regulate it could substantially improve the nation's health through even small reductions in the amount of salt in processed foods, which account for the majority of salt consumed in this country. "The ...

HOUSTON - Red-blood-cell-boosting drugs used to treat anemia may undermine breast cancer treatment with Herceptin, a targeted therapy that blocks the cancer-promoting HER2 protein, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the Nov. 16 edition of Cancer Cell. "Our research indicates when the two drugs were used at the same time, Herceptin was less effective," said study senior author Zhen Fan, M.D., associate professor in MD Anderson's Department of Experimental Therapeutics. Natural erythropoietin (EPO) controls the body's red blood ...