A team led by developmental biologist Professor Christophe Marcelle has nailed the mechanism that causes stem cells in the embryo to differentiate into specialised cells that form the skeletal muscles of animals' bodies. The scientists published their results in the British journal Nature on Monday (May 16). Scientists world wide are racing to pin down the complex molecular processes that cause stem cells in the early embryo to differentiate into specialist cells such as muscle or nerve cells. The field has the potential to revolutionise medicine by delivering therapies ...

A team of researchers from the University of the Free State in South Africa (René Fourie and Charles Haddad) and the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium (Rudy Jocqué) discovered very poorly known purse-web spiders of the genus Calommata in Africa. Four of the species described are new to science. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. What is really unique about purse-web spiders is that, in contrast to trapdoor spiders, they do not construct a structure to close the burrow. Instead, they build a purse-shaped web of dense silk that covers ...

VaNovo, of MyValera.com, announced today their patent-pending product, Valera, received a USDA Organic Certification, making it the only female lubricant and moisturizer in the World to have a USDA Certified Organic seal of approval. According to USDA.org, The USDA Organic seal assures consumers of the quality and integrity of organic products. Organic-certified operations must have an organic system plan and records that verify compliance with that plan. Operators are inspected annually in addition there are random checks to assure standards are being met. Organic-certified ...

Spanish researchers from the University of Leon (Nicolás Pérez Hidalgo and M. Pilar Mier Durante) have discovered the plant lice Schizaphis piricola (Matsumura) in Madrid, Spain from a photography displayed on a social network platform: "Biodiversidad Virtual" (http://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/) (Ángel Umaran). The results have been published recently in the open access journal ZooKeys and are available for free download. "This discovery is yet another example of how social networks play an important role in our knowledge of biodiversity and the detection and/or monitoring ...

Researchers studying the life threatening infectious disease sepsis have discovered how the infection can lead to a fatal inflammatory response through blood vessel cells. The research, which is published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, focuses on blocking crucial Matrix Metalloprotease enzymes (MMP) which activate the response. Sepsis, and the associated systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), is a deadly condition caused by an infection of the blood which leads to whole-body inflammation. The condition is a major cause of death in intensive care wards worldwide ...

Do we buy things because of their attributes, their price, or out of brand loyalty? This was one of the questions asked by researchers from the University of Seville (US), who studied families' behaviour in putting together their shopping basket. They did this by studying their consumption patterns for ground coffee and tomato puree. "We wanted to know whether there was any similarity in families' behaviour, regardless of the product being bought, and we found that there were certain aspects, such as price sensitivity and brand preference, which could, with a certain ...

If the idea of homemade macaroni and cheese evokes happy memories and makes your tummy growl, you will want to be at The Eatery on Thursday. Co-owners, Don and Cindy Gifford are inviting guests to belly up to their family restaurant's new gourmet mac and cheese bar that features an array of delicious ingredients and an offer to "brown it on top" tableside. Fans of the comfort food dish will be able to pile on the pasta. Add a favorite grated cheese (cheddar, American, or parmesan). Pick a meat (Virginia baked ham, crumpled bacon, smoked sausage or The Eatery's ...

A new study led by the University of Leicester has concluded that being able to see the GP of your choice in a doctor's surgery helps to reduce emergency hospital admissions. The findings by researchers in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Leicester revealed a correlation between patients being able to see a preferred GP and emergency hospital admissions. The research, published in Emergency Medical Journal, was led by Dr John Bankart, a research fellow in medical statistics at the University. The research was funded by the NHS. Dr Bankart said: ...

No password is 100% secure. There are always ways and means for those with malicious intent to hack, crack or socially engineer access to a password. Indeed, there are more and more websites and databases compromised on a seemingly daily basis. A new approach to verifying passwords that also takes into account the speed with which a user types in their login and the gaps between characters would render a stolen password useless. Writing in the International Journal of Internet Technology and Secured Transactions computer scientists from Beirut explain the shortcomings ...

Security concerns are one of the key obstacles to the adoption of new non-volatile main memory (NVMM) technology in next-generation computers, which would improve computer start times and boost memory capacity. But now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new encryption hardware for use with NVMM to protect personal information and other data. NVMM technologies, such as phase-change memory, hold great promise to replace conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM) in the main memory of computers. NVMM would allow computers to start instantly, ...

Amsterdam, 17 May, 2011 - New analysis published by the UK journal Reproductive Health Matters shows that the criminalisation of abortion in Poland has led to the development of a vast illegal private sector with no controls on price, quality of care or accountability. Since abortion became illegal in the late 1980s the number of abortions carried out in hospitals has fallen by 99%. The private trade in abortions is, however, flourishing, with abortion providers advertising openly in newspapers. Women have been the biggest losers during this push of abortion provision ...

Amsterdam, 17 May 2011 - Elsevier announced the publication of an important position statement from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the journal Maturitas (http://www.maturitas.org/) on managing menopausal women with a personal or family history of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The statement includes summary recommendations as a quick aid for the busy clinician. "The expanding ageing female population means that clinicians increasingly have to deal with post-reproductive health problems," said Professor Serge Rozenberg, President of EMAS. "EMAS ...

Brooklyn chess coach Christian Whitted and his first and second graders from Pioneer Academy (P.S. 307 in Corona Queens) come surprisingly close to winning at their first national chess tournament. It looked like a good chance for a "Cinderella" ending up until the final round but there was just one team better in the K - 3rd grade unrated section this year at the United States Chess Federation's Elementary School national chess tournament. The brand new chess team from Pioneer Academy in Corona Queens NY had to settle for 2nd place as another team from New ...

The Epstein-Barr (EVB) virus –belonging to the herpesviruses family, which also includes the herpes simplex virus and the cytomegalovirus– is one of the environmental factors that might cause multiple sclerosis, a condition affecting the central nervous system, which causes are unknown. This has been confirmed by University of Granada scientists that analyzed the presence of this virus in patients with multiple sclerosis. Researchers analyzed antibody levels, that is, antibodies that are produced within the central nervous system and that could be directly involved in the ...

Since the smoking ban in restaurants, bars and nightclubs, customers are more aware of unpleasant smells, such as body odors and the smell of old beer, that used to be masked by cigarette smoke. Now science is looking at how the introduction of pleasant ambient scents that hide unwanted odors might enhance the nightlife experience. According to Dr. Hendrik Schifferstein from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and his colleagues, carefully selected fragrances can enhance dancing activity, improve the overall perception of the evening, and improve how nightclub ...

It likely comes as no surprise that low back pain is the most common form of chronic pain among adults. Lesser known is the fact that those withchronic pain also experience cognitive impairments and reduced gray matter in parts of the brain associated with pain processing and the emotional components of pain, like depression and anxiety. In a longitudinal study published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, a group of pain researchers from McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) posed a fundamental question: If you can alleviate chronic ...

Hamilton, ON (May 17, 2011) - For the first time, researchers at McMaster University have conclusive evidence that bacteria residing in the gut influence brain chemistry and behaviour. The findings are important because several common types of gastrointestinal disease, including irritable bowel syndrome, are frequently associated with anxiety or depression. In addition there has been speculation that some psychiatric disorders, such as late onset autism, may be associated with an abnormal bacterial content in the gut. "The exciting results provide stimulus for further ...

Blueberries may be nutritional powerhouses, but some types are no match for the fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi, which causes "mummy berry" disease. Fortunately, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have more than 100 years of experience in blueberry breeding and cultivation. Geneticist Mark Ehlenfeldt and plant pathologist James Polashock embody the latest generation. They work for USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). With ARS colleagues, they have conducted comprehensive studies examining the responses of today's blueberry cultivars to infection ...

OTTAWA, May 17, 2011 - It is important for health care providers to report health issues, such as influenza outbreaks, to public health authorities. But there is evidence of a reluctance to share patient data for public health purposes due to concerns for both patient privacy and provider confidentiality. Dr. Khaled El-Emam and his research team at the CHEO Research Institute have developed a secure protocol and system that would solve this problem. The new system would protect the identity of patients and health care providers while providing effective disease surveillance ...

To understand the long-term effects of a prolonged tropical storm in the Panama Canal watershed, Robert Stallard, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and Armando Ubeda, the LightHawk Mesoamerica program manager, organized four flights over the watershed to create a digital map of landslide scars. Two feet of heavy rain inundated the Panama Canal watershed between Dec. 7 and 10, 2010. Landslides tore down steep slopes, choking rivers with sediment and overwhelming Panama City's water-treatment ...

SaaS-based Paperless Office solution, DynaFile, launched a digital drop box feature to its suite of document management solutions last month. DynaFile subscribers can now receive files in their paperless filing cabinet through a secure online drop box without worrying about sensitive information disclosure, inadvertent spam blocking, or downloading bulky attachments. In the past, users who received a documents attached to an email would have to download the file onto their computer and then upload it into the online DynaFile system. Now, clients and external partners ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Some forms of technology — think, for example, of computer chips — are on a fast track to constant improvements, while others evolve much more slowly. Now, a new study by researchers at MIT and other institutions shows that it may be possible to predict which technologies are likeliest to advance rapidly, and therefore may be worth more investment in research and resources. In a nutshell, the researchers found that the greater a technology's complexity, the more slowly it changes and improves over time. They devised a way of mathematically modeling ...

In an effort to help children lead happier, healthier lives, Columbus Motor Speedway will unite on NASCAR Day, May 20, with Car Wash for Kids, a NASCAR Unites national fundraiser engaging motorsports tracks, charities and organizations with the goal of raising $1 million for children's charities. Columbus Motor Speedway is located at 1841 Williams Road, Columbus, OH, 43207. Complete information is available at ColumbusSpeedway.com, www.NASCAR.com/foundation or www.facebook.com/NASCARFoundation. "Columbus Motor Speedway is proud to be a part of this national effort ...

Philadelphia, PA – 17 May 2011 – There is a significant need for objective tests that could improve clinical prediction of future psychosis. One strategy has been to determine whether physiologic measures that are abnormal in people diagnosed with schizophrenia might also be useful in estimating the risk for developing this illness. This is the strategy taken by German and Swiss researchers in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry. They used electroencephalography (EEG), which measures the brain's electrical activity or "brain waves", to study the brain's response ...

This release is available in French. Montreal, May 17, 2010 – Country roadways can be hazardous for moose and men. According to estimates, millions of vehicles collide with moose, elk and caribou in North America and Europe each year. Moose, in particular, venture to roadsides to lick the salt pools that collect following pavement deicing. Because moose are the largest animal in the deer family, with males weighing up to 720 kilograms, their salt cravings can pose significant risks to human and vehicle safety. That's why a group of Canadian researchers has investigated ...