London - 26 April, 2011 – A study, completed by researchers from Trinity College and the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society, Dublin, Ireland, compares former smokers to current smokers, and obtains insight into how to quit smoking might be discovered by studying the brains of those who have successfully managed to do so. Functional MRI images were obtained while current smokers, former smokers and never smokers performed tasks designed to assess specific cognitive skills that were reasoned to be important for smoking abstinence. These included a response ...

An invention by Rice University bioengineering students in collaboration with the Texas Heart Institute (THI) is geared toward giving immediate second chances to arrhythmia victims headed toward cardiac arrest. For their capstone design project, a team of Rice seniors created a unique pad system for automated external defibrillators (AEDs), common devices that can shock a victim's heart back into a proper rhythm in an emergency. Often, the first shock doesn't reset a heart and the procedure must be repeated, but the sticky pads on the chest must first be repositioned. ...

Alexandria, VA – Last fall, EARTH caught up with geochemistry grad student Jeremy Jacquot as he was about to embark on the first U.S.-led GEOTRACES cruise across the Atlantic, where he and 32 researchers were hoping to measure and track concentrations of various trace elements and isotopes. This month, in "Tracking Trace Elements and Isotopes in the Oceans," we follow up with Jacquot as he details the highs, lows and initial findings from the cruise, which was unfortunately cut short due to a ship malfunction. Not to worry, scientists already have lots to share about ...

Bathroom vanities online retailer Home Design Outlet Center announces a new Bathroom Vanity Collection: FW 8016 Hudson Collection with White Carrara Marble Top. Available Sizes are 24", 30", 36", 48", 56", 60", and 72". Each marble top comes with side cabinet to match. Shopping at Home Design Outlet Center. Online retailer, Home Design Outlet Center has been experiencing strong growth in recent years due to several reasons. Customers find it easy to locate and identify the ideal bathroom vanity that they are looking for. They ...

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is more common and often more deadly in blacks than in whites, and a new University of Rochester study shows that low vitamin D levels among black people might be a powerful factor that contributes to the racial differences in hypertension. The University of Rochester Medical Center findings, published online today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, are consistent with growing evidence that lower vitamin D status is associated with higher blood pressure, and that people with darker skin generally produce less vitamin D. "Our ...

WASHINGTON, April 26—The world's foremost researchers in laser science, optoelectronics and quantum optics will present their findings at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO: 2011), May 1 – 6 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The more than 1,700 presentations at the conference will cover areas from energy and biophotonics to ultrafast lasers and quantum communication. Below is a sampling of the premiere research that will be presented next week at CLEO: 2011 (www.cleoconference.org). Green UV Sterilization: Switching on LEDs to Save Energy and the ...

The low-fares airline will operate a daily flight to Amsterdam's Schipol Airport, with fares starting from GBP25.99 (one way including taxes). It is expected that the route will be popular with both leisure and business travellers. Just last month the airline announced a new route to Jersey and it is now set to replace one of its four Glasgow-based aircraft with an 180-seat Airbus 320. easyJet will also include an early morning flight on its Glasgow to London Gatwick route from June 6, providing passengers with greater options on the busy Scotland to London routes. Additionally ...

Article highlights from the May issue of The American Naturalist: Cuttlefish: From camo to tuxedo in less than a second Genes control fruit flies' social groupings What can twins tell us about mate choice? For the full May issue table of contents, go to www.journals.uchicago.edu/an. For more information or for photos (where available), contact Kevin Stacey: kstacey@press.uchicago.edu. Cuttlefish: From camo to tuxedo in less than a second Cuttlefish have the amazing ability to instantly change their color and body pattern so they can hide from predators or, ...

This release is available in Spanish. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are playing a key role in efforts to contain the emerald ash borer's destructive march through the nation's forests. Researchers with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are testing a fungal pathogen that could be used as a biocontrol, along with the release of non-stinging wasps that are the beetle's natural enemies. Wasps have been released in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland, and releases are planned in several other states. John Vandenberg, ...

BINGHAMTON, NY – It's an unfamiliar neighborhood and you find yourself in the middle of a bunch of streets and buildings you've never seen before. Giving the environment a quick once-over, you make a snap decision about whether you're safe or not. And chances are, that first 'gut' call is the right one, say Binghamton University researchers Dan O'Brien and David Sloan Wilson in an article published in the current issue of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In a recent series of studies conducted in Binghamton, New York, evolutionary biologists, O'Brien and ...

Governor Cuomo's proposal to limit the recovery of damages for pain and suffering to victims of medical negligence to $250,000 was, thankfully, defeated in the New York State Legislature Shamefully, however, something with a far devastating impact on the health of children injured by obstetrical negligence was passed and is now the law in New York. Buried in the $132.5 Billion Budget was the creation of the "New York Medical Indemnity Fund." Here's the way the fund works and why its consequences are so dangerous to children injured by malpractice at birth: The ...

Having power over others and having choices in your own life share a critical foundation: control, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The paper finds that people are willing to trade one source of control for the other. For example, if people lack power, they clamor for choice, and if they have an abundance of choice they don't strive as much for power. "People instinctively prefer high to low power positions," says M. Ena Inesi of London Business School. "Similarly, it feels good when ...

Lower vitamin D levels may explain part of the disparity in hypertension that exists between Black and White people in the US. High blood pressure is more common in Blacks than in Whites and persons with darker skin generally produce less vitamin D. This is particularly true at higher latitudes where UV radiation is less intense and the climates are colder leading to less skin exposure. Dr. Kevin Fiscella, from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in the US, and colleagues identify vitamin D status as one piece of the complex puzzle of race and blood pressure. ...

People who have strokes are often left with moderate to severe physical impairments. Now, thanks to a glove developed at McGill, stroke patients may be able to recover hand motion by playing video games. The Biomedical Sensor Glove was developed by four final-year McGill Mechanical Engineering undergrads under the supervision of Professor Rosaire Mongrain. It is designed to allow patients to exercise in their own homes with minimal supervision, while at the same time permitting doctors to monitor their progress from a distance, thus cutting down on hospital visits and ...

The Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Airport Hotel (North, I-85) offers convenient lodging to guests attending Georgia Tech Spring 2011 Commencement Ceremonies. The PhD Ceremony will be held at 7:00pm on Friday, May 6 at Ferst Center for the Arts and the Master's and Bachelor's Ceremony will be held at 12:00pm on Sunday, May 8 at Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta. Spring commencement is a special annual event for Georgia Tech graduates. The National Science Foundation Director, Dr. Subra Suresh, will be the speaker at the PhD Ceremony. The Master's and Bachelor's Ceremony speaker ...

When it comes to dreaming about diamonds, energy efficiency and powerful information processing aren't normally the thoughts that spring to mind. Unless, of course, you are a quantum physicist looking to create the most secure and powerful networks around. Researchers at the University of Calgary and Hewlett Packard Labs in Palo Alto, California, have come up with a way to use impurities in diamonds as a method of creating a node in a quantum network. In addition to making powerful and secure networks, this discovery may also help sensitive measurements of magnetic fields ...

BOSTON--Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have discovered new details of how cancer cells escape from tumor suppression mechanisms that normally prevent these damaged cells from multiplying. They also demonstrated a potential link between this cell proliferation control mechanism and the cognitive deficits caused by Down syndrome. The findings add to a still-sparse understanding of how normal and cancerous cell growth is regulated and have potential implications for improved treatments, say the authors of a pair of articles in Genes & Development. James A. DeCaprio, ...

Hampton Inn Spartanburg hotel (North I-85) offers affordable lodging to family and friends attending the May 2011 Commencement Ceremony at University of South Carolina Upstate. The event is scheduled for 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3, on the Quad behind the Administration Building. Eight hundred students will receive their diplomas. The Spring Commencement Ceremony is a popular annual event at USC Upstate. The commencement address will be delivered by Dr. John C. Stockwell. Stockwell has served as chancellor of USC Upstate since July 1994 and will retire in July 2011. He ...

Reliant Technology, an IBM and EMC reseller and supplier, is pleased to welcome Caragh Stichter as the latest addition to its EMC Storage Sales team. Stichter was previously with Automotive Broadcasting Network, where she worked to help customers achieve their goals through focused consultation. Caragh Stichter will serve as a dedicated EMC Storage Consultant. Reliant Technology is dedicated to providing superior customer service, and Stichter's knowledge and consulting experience will be a valuable asset to both the company and its EMC storage clients. Reliant Technology ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) -- Two discoveries at UC Santa Barbara point to potential new drug therapies for patients with kidney disease. The findings are published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Over 600,000 people in the U.S., and 12 million worldwide, are affected by the inherited kidney disease known as autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease, or ADPKD. The disease is characterized by the proliferation of cysts that eventually debilitate the kidneys, causing kidney failure in half of all patients by the time they reach ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University have found a way to use magnetic "nanobeads" to help detect chemical and biological agents, with possible applications in everything from bioterrorism to medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring or even water and food safety. When fully developed as a hand-held, portable sensor, like something you might see in a science fiction movie, it will provide a whole diagnostic laboratory on a single chip. The research could revolutionize the size, speed and accuracy of chemical detection systems around the world. New ...

Atlanta tree service company Yellow Ribbon Tree Experts is encouraging community members throughout the metro Atlanta area to celebrate Arbor Day this spring. The nationwide holiday commemorates and acknowledges the importance of trees to our environment and society. Yellow Ribbon Tree Experts views Arbor Day as an opportunity to and learn about arboriculture and practice proper tree maintenance. Yellow Ribbon Tree Experts is a tree service company, specializing in Atlanta tree removal, tree trimming, and storm damage response. Arbor Day is celebrated nationally on ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- (April 26, 2011) -- Take millions of puzzle pieces containing partial words and put them back together into full words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters until the book these random parts came from is rebuilt. That daunting process in not unlike sequencing an organism's genome, says University of Oregon biologist Eric A. Johnson, a member of the UO Institute of Molecular Biology. His lab developed a patent-pending technology for discovering differences between genomes called restriction-site associated DNA markers, or RAD. They have now shown that RAD ...

Cool Site of the Day owner Mike Corso announces the newest prize to complement his arsenal of daily web awards by introducing the 'Cool Site of the Month' award. The Cool Site of the Month Award will fall to the 'Cool Site of the Day' web owner whose site receives the highest rating during the calendar month (based on visitor ratings). The winner will keep his or her presence on the Cool Site of the Day home page for 12 months, and will be announced to media outlets to garner further exposure and improve its search engine marketing. This honor will potentially improve a ...

On the Front Range within the Rocky Mountains, prevailing winds sweep eastward over the mountains smack into the National Wind Technology Center. Several wind turbines, some taller than a 40-story building, spin and hum at the site, just outside of Boulder, Colo., waiting for an experiment to start in the next month. The turbines not only produce power, they produce wakes – similar to what forms in bodies of water – that are invisible ripples and waves and other disturbances in the atmosphere downstream that can damage turbines and decrease efficiency. Lawrence Livermore ...