Washington, D.C. — Although its name may make many people think of flowers, the element germanium is part of a frequently studied group of elements, called IVa, which could have applications for next-generation computer architecture as well as implications for fundamental condensed matter physics. New research conducted by Xiao-Jia Chen, Viktor Struzhkin, and Ho-Kwang (Dave) Mao from Geophysical Laboratory at Carnegie Institution for Science, along with collaborators from China, reveals details of the element's transitions under pressure. Their results show extraordinary ...

Living along the coast has its advantages. The nice weather and quick access to beaches provide ample opportunities to relax. However, there are some drawbacks that accompany these perks, especially for those who live along the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes and other weather-related events can make living in this region dangerous, and residents need to be prepared in the event of a hurricane. Hurricane insurance is just one part of any hurricane preparation plan. Many homeowners that live right along the coast have had to deal with the high costs of homeowner's insurance, ...

Contagious yawning is not just a marker of sleepiness or boredom. For chimpanzees, it may actually be a sign of a social connection between individuals. New research at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, may help scientists understand empathy, the mechanism thought to underlie contagious yawning, in both chimpanzees and humans. The research also may help show how social biases strengthen or weaken empathy. Scientists at Yerkes discovered chimpanzees yawn more after watching familiar chimpanzees yawn than after watching strangers yawn. The ...

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA — Delivering quality health care rather than health care sustainability is a key issue for Canada's federal election, and Canadians need a vision from federal leaders to radically transform our health care system, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.110540. While health care delivery is a provincial and territorial jurisdiction, renegotiation of Canada's health accord is a federal responsibility. "Without hesitation, we should all ask how governments propose to deliver quality ...

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided to allow the family of a woman killed in a car accident to sue Mazda for failing to install shoulder belts for all passengers in its minivans. Until now, this type of lawsuit has been thrown out by lower courts, since federal regulations allow companies to install lap belts only for middle second or third row seats. The new ruling will likely open up a variety of legal options for those injured in cars that do not meet the strictest safety standards. The Case Thanh Williamson died in a 2002 accident while riding ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Communication researchers at four major universities have found that if you receive a lot of email, habitually respond to a good portion of it, maintain a lot of online relationships and conduct a large number of transactions online, you are more susceptible to email phishing expeditions than those who limit their online activity. The study, "Why Do People Get Phished?" forthcoming in the journal Decision Support Systems and Electronic Commerce, uses an integrated information processing model to test individual differences in vulnerability to phishing. ...

Frequent reports of accelerating species losses invariably raise questions about why such losses matter and why we should work to conserve biodiversity. Biologists have traditionally responded to such questions by citing societal benefits that are often presumed to be offered by biodiversity--benefits like controlling pests and diseases, promoting the productivity of fisheries, and helping to purify air and water, among many others. Nevertheless, many of these presumed benefits are have yet to be supported by rigorous scientific data. But Bradley J. Cardinale of the ...

A recent Los Angeles Times article provided interesting insights about ongoing efforts to make automobile event data recorders (EDRs or "black boxes") mandatory on all vehicles sold in the U.S., and to make better data available to promote public safety. In the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident, such data can help investigators understand whether the crash was caused by a negligent driver, an auto defect or a hazardous highway condition. Jim Hall, a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and Tom Kowalick, a North Carolina college professor, ...

ROCKVILLE, April 6, Maryland, 2011 – Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that the Phase I safety trial of its human spinal cord stem cells (HSSCs) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) is the subject of three presentations at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting, April 9-16th, in Honolulu, HI (http://www.aan.com/go/am11). Chief among these will be a presentation by Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., who is an unpaid consultant to Neuralstem and the Principal Investigator in the ongoing ALS trial, entitled: "A Phase I, Open-Label, ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Chemical engineers at UC Santa Barbara expect that their new process to create molecular probes may eventually result in the development of new drugs to treat cancer and other illnesses. Their work, reported in the journal Chemistry & Biology, published by Cell Press, describes a new strategy to build molecular probes to visualize, measure, and learn about the activities of enzymes, called proteases, on the surface of cancer cells. Patrick Daugherty, senior author and professor of chemical engineering at UCSB, explained that the probes are ...

A new bill before the Arizona legislature aims to ease tough DUI laws that put in place in 2001, when Arizona passed a rule that established a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 percent as the legal limit within the state. Since then, the DUI laws have become even tougher. Presently, first-time offenders face at least ten days in jail, fines of $250 or more, and if they blow a .15 percent BAC or higher, the installation of an ignition interlock device in their vehicles for an entire year. The ignition interlock device is connected to the car's starter; a driver must ...

As of January, Michigan law enforcement agencies are taking a new approach to bringing down fatal drunk driving statistics in Michigan. The Michigan Legislature approved a new pilot program that will require convicted drunk drivers to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles. Michigan lawmakers also approved a bill restricting teenage drivers. Michigan Requires DUI Offenders to Install Ignition Interlock Devices on Vehicles Michigan lawmakers passed legislation now requiring convicted drunk drivers to install ignition interlock devices on their motor vehicles. ...

SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have found compelling evidence that Parkinson's disease is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma, and that this increased cancer risk also extends to close and distant relatives of individuals with Parkinson's disease. Although a link between Parkinson's disease and melanoma has been suspected before, this is the first time that an increased risk of prostate cancer has been reported in Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurologic condition that leads ...

In the wake of yet another e-commerce data breach in which the names and email addresses of millions of online shoppers and credit card users have been accessed illegally, researchers in the US suggest that privacy discussions, and ultimately legislation must urgently focus on the expanding roles of third-parties handling pervasive online customer profiles. Nancy King of the College of Business, at Oregon State University, in Corvallis, explains in the latest issue of the International Journal of Private Law that marketers have long created market segments in an effort ...

Atlanta tree service company Yellow Ribbon Tree Experts views spring as a perfect time to care for trees, especially as more and more homeowners get out to work in their yards. Often, an early spring brings with it significant amounts of rain which can have adverse effects on trees, especially if proper mulching techniques are not followed. Yellow Ribbon Tree Experts, Atlanta tree removal company, is advising homeowners on how to correctly lay mulch around trees in order to create an environment that will encourage growth and health during the spring rain season. Mulch ...

Social scientists are struggling with a perplexing earth-science question: as the power of evidence showing manmade global warming is rising, why do opinion polls suggest public belief in the findings is wavering? Part of the answer may be that some people are too easily swayed by the easiest, most irrational piece of evidence at hand: their own estimation of the day's temperature. In three separate studies, researchers affiliated with Columbia University's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) surveyed about 1,200 people in the United States and ...

What: Scientists supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health, will be presenting their latest research findings at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS). When: April 13-17, 2011 Where: Tradewinds Grand Isle Resort, St. Petersburg, Florida Additional Information: Research topics to be presented by NIDCD-funded scientists will include: New Findings Suggest Novel Avenues to Explore Taste Loss in Autoimmune Diseases Reduced taste sensitivity ...

Thomson Cruises has announced it will be making some changes to its Summer 2012 holiday programme. For Summer 2012 Thomson Cruises will be reintroducing cruises from the UK on Thomson Spirit. Based in Newcastle from May to July 2012 and Harwich in August and September, customers can now drive to the port, climb aboard and start enjoying their Thomson cruise without leaving the UK. Thomson Spirit will sail 15 different ex-UK itineraries, taking in 39 destinations and providing a great selection of 3-14 night cruises. Not only will Thomson be back cruising from the ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The persistent fatigue that plagues one out of every three breast cancer survivors may be caused by one part of the autonomic nervous system running in overdrive, while the other part fails to slow it down. That imbalance of a natural system in the body appears linked to the tiredness and exhaustion that can burden cancer patients as much as a decade after their successful treatment. The effect is so great, researchers say, that it may be a sign of accelerated aging in fatigued patients, causing them to seem as much as 20 years older compared with patients ...

If mice commuted, their brains might find it progressively harder to navigate the maze of Los Angeles freeways. A new study reveals that after short-term exposure to vehicle pollution, mice showed significant brain damage — including signs associated with memory loss and Alzheimer's disease. The mind-numbing toxin is not an exhaust gas, but a mix of tiny particles from burning of fossil fuel and weathering of car parts and pavement, according to the study to be published Thursday, April 7 in the leading journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Many studies have ...

New to the hip hop music scene, Feature is making his mark with his avant-garde music video for "We Want It" at Film Festivals across the country. The video was recently selected as finalist for the 7th Annual Florida Indie Film Festival. Winners will be selected at the festival on Saturday April 9th at Cafe Anne's in Orlando Florida. "We Want It" is one of the original singles off the mix tape "The Trailer" which was released in August 2010. The song conveys the hunger, anger and frustration that comes with an overwhelming desire to make it in hip hop. Filmed in New ...

WASHINGTON—Concentrated waste plumes from fish farms could travel significant distances to reach coastlines, according to a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Environmental Fluid Mechanics, available online now. Roz Naylor, Oliver Fringer and Jeffrey Koseff of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University found that relatively high concentrations of dissolved waste from fish pens do not consistently dilute immediately. The paper is the first detailed look at how 'real world' variables, such as tides, currents, the earth's rotation ...

IBADAN, NIGERIA (7 April 2011)—Low-input farming for cocoa, cassava and oil palm has resulted in widespread deforestation and degredation of West Africa's tropical forest area, according to a new study by researchers at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). The study was published online this week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Management. Cocoa production in West Africa is an important commercial sector and a source of livelihoods for about two million households in the region. ...

The Brooklyn specialist in unlocked cell phones known as Cellification.com is celebrating the return of spring with the new GooglePhone from long-time industry leader HTC. Coupled with Google's Android operating system, the Nexus One is only 11.5mm deep and weighs in at just 130 grams, housing a gorgeous 3.7-inch OLED capacitive touchscreen at a resolution of 480x800 pixels. Unique among their offerings of unlocked cell phones, the Nexus One features a Snapdragon 1GHz processor for smooth running of multiple applications simultaneously. Also on board is a 5 megapixel ...

Revelers with smart phones will be able to get the information they need, as they need it Fun-seekers carrying smartphones at this year's Night In Old San Antonio (NIOSA) Fiesta event will be able to get the information they need, in real time, to enjoy themselves safely thanks to a new mobile Web site produced by Webhead. "I am excited about this on many levels," said Nancy Avellar, 2011 NIOSA Chairperson and fourth Vice President of the San Antonio Conservation Society. "It is a great complement to NIOSA's and the society's ever-growing presence on Facebook; it is ...