CHAMPAIGN, lll. — Blood clotting is a complicated business, particularly for those trying to understand how the body responds to injury. In a new study, researchers report that they are the first to describe in atomic detail a chemical interaction that is vital to blood clotting. This interaction – between a clotting factor and a cell membrane – has baffled scientists for decades. The study appears online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "For decades, people have known that blood-clotting proteins have to bind to a cell membrane in order for the clotting reaction ...

A team of Scripps Research Institute scientists has found a key biological mechanism underpinning the transition to alcohol dependence. This finding opens the door to the development of drugs to manage excessive alcohol consumption. "Our focus in this study, like much of our lab's research, was to examine the role of the brain's stress system in compulsive alcohol drinking driven by the aversive aspects of alcohol withdrawal," said Scripps Research Associate Professor Marisa Roberto, Ph.D., senior author of the study. "A major goal for this study," added Research Associate ...

In the treeless, flat Prairie, you'd think a city would provide a good home for bats who like to snuggle up and roost in trees and buildings. But researchers at the University of Calgary made the surprising discovery that the urban landscape is far from ideal for these animals. "I was really surprised," says Dr. Joanna Coleman, a sessional lecturer and recent PhD graduate in biological sciences at the University of Calgary and lead author of the study. "I fully expected bats to benefit from the expected increase in availability of roosts and food – insects -- in the city. ...

PHILADELPHIA — Engineering structures on the smallest possible scales — using molecules and individual atoms as building blocks — is both physically and conceptually challenging. An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has now developed a method of computationally selecting the best of these blocks, drawing inspiration from the similar behavior of proteins in making biological structures. The team was led by postdoctoral fellow Gevorg Grigoryan and professor William DeGrado of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in Penn's Perelman ...

The #1 ranked WordPress Training company announces they are providing private 1-ON-1 WordPress Training to individuals wanting t tailor their wordpress training needs to their own pace and also focus the training on THEIR OWN WEBSITES. That's right, if you're looking for wordpress training from WP professionals now you can have the training or help you require tailored to YOUR needs or have the wordpress training professional assist you in teaching you how to customize or set-up YOUR specific website. Aperio has found through it's over 1,500 students whom have taken ...

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the Medical University of South Carolina and American Life Science Pharmaceuticals of San Diego have demonstrated that oral administration of a cysteine protease inhibitor, E64d, not only reduces the build-up of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brains of animal models for Alzheimer's disease, but also results in a substantial improvement in memory deficit. A paper detailing the findings has been published as an early online version and is scheduled for publication in the September 6 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's ...

Product designers harness time-consuming procedures in prototype construction. Only then are they able to assess the results of their work in a comprehensive manner. In a three-dimensional model world, they are able to do so instantly and can experience how the product fits into its natural surroundings. Design alterations can be visualized immediately, saving time and cutting the costs associated with the development process. Up to now, the so-called CAVE has been used. This consists of between three and six projection surfaces that create a walk-in space. Video projectors ...

The America Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Jack Miller, President and CEO; Ely Miller, EVP and COO; Lorin Morar, VP Software Development were elected to the Executive Board which offers all local, regional, national and international companies to create a free user account at AmericaChamber.com. About America Chamber America Chamber was created to drive unique traffic between entrepreneurs throughout America so that they can do business with each other on a local, regional, national and international basis. We are neither a buyers club nor just a website ...

(Garrison, NY) In a feature article in The New Republic, Daniel Callahan and Sherwin Nuland propose a radical reinvention of the American medical system requiring new ways of thinking about living, aging, and dying. They argue that a sustainable—and more humane— medical system in the U.S. will have to reprioritize to emphasize public health and prevention for the young, and care not cure for the elderly. An interesting twist on their argument, which would aim to bring everyone's life expectancy up to an average age of 80 years but give highest priority for medical treatment ...

Cutting back on sleep drastically reduces a healthy young man's testosterone levels, according to a study published in the June 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Eve Van Cauter, PhD, professor in medicine and director of the study, found that men who slept less than five hours a night for one week in a laboratory had significantly lower levels of testosterone than when they had a full night's sleep. Low testosterone has a host of negative consequences for young men, and not just in sexual behavior and reproduction. It is critical in building ...

This release is available in Spanish. Laboratory hamsters that were fed rations spiked with blueberry peels and other blueberry-juice-processing leftovers had better cholesterol health than hamsters whose rations weren't enhanced with blueberries. That's according to a study led by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) chemist Wallace H. Yokoyama. Yokoyama pointed out that further research is needed to confirm whether the effects observed in hamsters hold true for humans. He works at the Western Regional Research Center operated in Albany Calif., by the Agricultural ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A facelift incision and robotics can help surgeons safely remove a portion of a diseased thyroid from some patients without the characteristic neck scar. Georgia Health Sciences University surgeons developed the technique utilizing the remote access capabilities of robots, experience gained from another no-neck-scar approach through the armpit and earlier success removing the largest salivary gland from the lower jaw region. "It is outpatient, it doesn't require a surgical drain and it has the advantage of no neck scar," said Dr. David Terris, Chairman ...

The company's expert staff is well-versed in various cleaning methods, including spot cleaning, brush cleaning, dry cleaning, bonnet cleaning, extraction and hot water extraction. The Omega Janitorial Service representative will conduct an inspection and present the client with a detailed plan of the work to be done, after which there will be a preliminary spot cleaning and deodorizing followed by the main cleaning. It's all part of Omega's system of complete commercial carpet cleaning and floor tile maintenance. Most commercial carpet cleaning services do just that ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research proves that a change in a particular gene can identify which patients with a specific kind of brain cancer will respond better to treatment. Testing for the gene can distinguish patients with a more- or less-aggressive form of glioblastoma, the most common and an often-fatal type of primary brain cancer, and help guide therapy, the researchers say. The prospective study looked at a gene called MGMT in tumors removed from 833 glioblastoma patients. It showed that when the gene promoter is altered by a chemical change called methylation, patients ...

HOUSTON — A lymphoma vaccine uniquely tailored for each patient extends disease-free survival by 14 months, with signs of an even better response for patients with a specific biological marker, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported today in the online version of Journal of Clinical Oncology. "The study continues to show that the vaccine increases the usual time until relapse for follicular lymphoma by about 14 months. That's significant because most cancer drugs are approved on the basis of extending survival only a few ...

An appeals court has recently sided with the Republican-dominated Florida legislature. The court upheld the cap on damages that injured patients can be awarded in medical malpractice cases. Specifically, the cap limits noneconomic damages - pain and suffering - to $500,000 per doctor, as reported by the Miami Herald. Looking at the issue broadly, the existence of a cap on damages arising out of harm from negligence and medical mistakes effectively discredits pain and suffering. Caps send a clear message: that there is no such thing as pain and suffering in medical malpractice ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Yellow starthistle already causes millions of dollars in damage to pastures in western states each year, and as climate changes, land managers can expect the problem with that weed and others to escalate. When exposed to increased carbon dioxide, precipitation, nitrogen and temperature ╨ all expected results of climate change ╨ yellow starthistle in some cases grew to six times its normal size while the other grassland species remained relatively unchanged, according to a Purdue University study published in the early online edition ...

It is the scenario no patient ever wants to endure: having an illness or injury, going to the hospital only to have the condition worsen because of a doctor's mistake. Unfortunately, thousands of patients across the country unwittingly become part of this vicious cycle. Take the case of Ryan and Leah Jeffers, whose two-year-old daughter nearly died while waiting five hours for care in a Sacramento hospital's emergency room; or the case of Ana Jimenez Salgado, a Los Angeles woman who had both of her breasts removed after she was mistakenly diagnosed with breast cancer. While ...

Soaring energy consumption by ever more powerful computers, data centers and mobile devices has many experts looking to reduce the energy use of these devices. Most projects so far focus on more efficient cooling systems or energy-saving power modes. A University of Washington project sees a role for programmers to reduce the energy appetite of the ones and zeroes in the code itself. Researchers have created a system, called EnergJ, that reduces energy consumption in simulations by up to 50 percent, and has the potential to cut energy by as much as 90 percent. They will ...

Hampton Inn Spartanburg - North I-85, a premier Spartanburg SC hotel, offers nearby accommodations to Navy veterans attending the 34th Mighty Moo Festival in Cowpens, South Carolina. The event will be held June 15-18, 2011. The people of Cowpens celebrate their history and honor the veterans and crewmen of the Navy's USS Cowpens CVL25 and the USS Cowpens CG63. The CVL 25 was a WWII era ship nicknamed "Mighty Moo", and the CG63 is a modern naval vessel. Many veterans and their families return each year to attend the four day festival which includes a golf tournament, ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---University of Michigan astronomers examined old galaxies and were surprised to discover that they are still making new stars. The results provide insights into how galaxies evolve with time. U-M research fellow Alyson Ford and astronomy professor Joel Bregman presented their findings May 31 at a meeting of the Canadian Astronomical Society in London, Ontario. Using the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope, they saw individual young stars and star clusters in four galaxies that are about 40 million light years away. One light year is about ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel Scottsboro offers nearby lodging to travelers attending First Monday Trade Weekend in Scottsboro. Upcoming summer trade days will take place on June 4-6, July 2-4 and July 30 - August 1, 2011 at the Jackson County Courthouse Square. This special trading weekend is a fun activity for visitors to Scottsboro. First Monday in Scottsboro goes back more than 100 years. It began in 1902 as Horse Swapper's Day. After a rather slow beginning, the event was eventually changed to Market Day to give area farmers a place to sell and trade their goods. ...

A simple technique for stamping patterns invisible to the human eye onto a special class of nanomaterials provides a new, cost-effective way to produce novel devices in areas ranging from drug delivery to solar cells. The technique was developed by Vanderbilt University engineers and described in the cover article of the May issue of the journal Nano Letters. The new method works with materials that are riddled with tiny voids that give them unique optical, electrical, chemical and mechanical properties. Imagine a stiff, sponge-like material filled with holes that are ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Galleria hotel, a premier Smyrna Georgia Hotel near Vinings, is an ideal place for travelers to stay who are planning to attend the Blade Show & International Cutlery Fair. The event will be held June 10-12, 2011 at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria Centre. It is the world's largest combined show of handmade, factory and antique knives. The Blade Show and International Cutlery Fair will showcase over 700 tables and nearly 175 factory booths and products. In addition, the event will feature the Blade Magazine Knife of the Year awards, Blade ...

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Atlanta Perimeter Hotel North offers convenient lodging to guests attending The Monkees at Chastain Park Amphitheater on Friday June 3, 2011 at 7:00pm. Part of Delta Classic Chastain Concerts presented by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Monkees 45th Anniversary Tour features original group members Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. This is a table set-up concert; coolers and carry-ins are allowed. The Monkees hit singles and television show debuted 45 years ago. Now in concert again for the first time in a decade, The Monkees ...