Scientists aboard the Royal Research Ship James Cook have discovered a new set of deep-sea volcanic vents in the chilly waters of the Southern Ocean. The discovery is the fourth made by the research team in three years, which suggests that deep-sea vents may be more common in our oceans than previously thought. Using an underwater camera system, the researchers saw slender mineral spires three metres tall, with shimmering hot water gushing from their peaks, and gossamer-like white mats of bacteria coating their sides. The vents are at a depth of 520 metres in a newly-discovered ...

Culling will not stop the spread of a deadly fungus that is threatening to wipe out hibernating bats in North America, according to a new mathematical model. White-nose syndrome, which is estimated to have killed over a million bats in a three year period, is probably caused by a newly discovered cold-adapted fungus, Geomyces destructans. The new model examines how WNS is passed from bat to bat and concludes that culling would not work because of the complexity of bat life history and because the fungal pathogen occurs in the caves and mines where the bats live. "Because ...

New research shows a link between use of two pesticides, rotenone and paraquat, and Parkinson's disease. People who used either pesticide developed Parkinson's disease approximately 2.5 times more often than non-users. The study was a collaborative effort conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making ...

This release is available in French. Montreal, February 14, 2010 – A new study has confirmed an old adage: A family that plays together stays together. Researchers from Concordia University and Wilfrid Laurier University examined the ways grandparents can maintain close ties with their adult grandchildren. True to the old maxim, recreation emerged as the glue sealing intergenerational bonds. "Leisure is vital in the formation of bonds that last from generation to generation," says lead author Shannon Hebblethwaite, a professor in Concordia University's Department ...

Tampa, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2011) – Transplanting autologous renal progenitor cells (RPCs), (kidney stem cells derived from self-donors), into rat models with kidney damage from pyelonephritis - a type of urinary infection that has reached the kidney - has been found to improve kidney structure and function. The study, authored by a research team from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, is published in the current issue of Cell Medicine [1(3)] and is freely available on-line at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/cm . "Advancements in stem cell therapies and ...

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Northeast Georgia Medical Center are one step closer to their goal of automating the management of sedation in hospital intensive care units (ICUs). They have developed control algorithms that use clinical data to accurately determine a patient's level of sedation and can notify medical staff if there is a change in the level. "ICU nurses have one of the most task-laden jobs in medicine and typically take care of multiple patients at the same time, so if we can use control system technology to automate the task ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Scientists have discovered a molecular assistant called Spy that helps bacteria excel at producing proteins for medical and industrial purposes. Bacteria are widely used to manufacture proteins used in medicine and industry, but the bugs often bungle the job. Many proteins fall apart and get cut up inside the bacteria before they can be harvested. Others collapse into useless tangles instead of folding properly, as they must in order to function normally. A research team led by James Bardwell, who is a professor of molecular, cellular and developmental ...

CHICAGO, IL – In an unprecedented coming-out party, 100 newly discovered species are revealed to the world in a single scholarly paper coordinated by Field Museum scientists. The 100 organisms are lichens, a type of fungi that form associations with algae and populate environments from arctic tundra to tropical rain forests. And the usual inattention bestowed upon new lichens is one reason for aggregating so many new ones in a single paper in the Feb. 18 issue of the journal Phytotaxa. It is estimated that about 100,000 fungal species, including 17,500 lichens, have been ...

MBL, WOODS HOLE, MA—Like people in cities, microbes often live in complex communities that contain many different microbial types. Also like us, microbes tend to gravitate to and "hang out" with certain other types in their community, more than with the rest. And sometimes, when opportunities arise, they move to more favorable locations. But until recently, scientists have not been able to look at a microbial community and distinguish the spatial relationship of more than 2 or 3 kinds of microbes at once. Now, a microscopy technique developed at the Marine Biological ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Pure organic compounds that glow in jewel tones could potentially lead to cheaper, more efficient and flexible display screens, among other applications. University of Michigan researcher Jinsang Kim and his colleagues have developed a new class of material that shines with phosphorescence---a property that has previously been seen only in non-organic compounds or organometallics. Kim and his colleagues made metal-free organic crystals that are white in visible light and radiate blue, green, yellow and orange when triggered by ultraviolet light. ...

DETROIT – The human body is made up of several organs composed of tissues that enable them to perform a particular function. The heart circulates blood; the brain is the micro-neuro center of the body; the lungs bring in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. The failure of any one of these tissue systems can cause serious health issues, even death. When components of the organ are fixed, typically the organ functions better. For instance, unclogging a blocked artery with a balloon stent improves blood circulation to and from the heart. Henry Ford Hospital researcher Fred ...

When psychotherapy is helping someone get better, what does that change look like in the brain? This was the question a team of Canadian psychological scientists set out to investigate in patients suffering from social anxiety disorder. Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science. Social anxiety is a common disorder, marked by overwhelming fears of interacting with others and expectations of being harshly judged. Medication and psychotherapy both help people with the disorder. But research on the neurological ...

In recent years, topological insulators have become one of the hottest topics in physics. These new materials act as both insulators and conductors, with their interior preventing the flow of electrical currents while their edges or surfaces allow the movement of a charge. Perhaps most importantly, the surfaces of topological insulators enable the transport of spin-polarized electrons while preventing the "scattering" typically associated with power consumption, in which electrons deviate from their trajectory, resulting in dissipation. Because of such characteristics, ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois researchers have documented the first observations of some unusual physics when two prominent electric materials are connected: superconductors and graphene. Led by University of Illinois physics professor Nadya Mason, the group published its findings in the journal Nature Physics. When a current is applied to a normal conductor, such as metal or graphene, it flows through the material as a stream of single electrons. By contrast, electrons travel in pairs in superconductors. Yet when a normal material is sandwiched between superconductors, ...

A group of University of Cincinnati seniors in the psychology program will nationally present their comparison of educational technology alternatives to purchasing college textbooks that can run into hundreds of dollars per academic quarter. Their research as part of the statewide Ohio Digital Bookshelf Project will be presented on Monday, Feb. 14, at the national EDUCAUSE Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The Digital Bookshelf Project is an initiative under the University System of Ohio (USO) Strategic Plan for Higher Education to develop a high-quality, affordable, ...

Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that the placentas of women who suffer preeclampsia during pregnancy have an overabundance of a gene associated with the regulation of the body's immune system. Their discovery may lead to improved screening and prenatal care for these patients and their babies. Preeclampsia occurs in up to 10 percent of all pregnancies, and is responsible for about 15 percent of pre-term births. The disorder is usually marked by a rapid rise in blood pressure that can lead to stroke, seizures or organ failures in the mother. ...

WORCESTER, Mass. – Year-end test scores of Massachusetts middle school students whose teachers used a Web-based tutoring platform called ASSISTments as a central part of their mathematics instruction were significantly better than those of students whose teachers did not use the platform, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Educational Computing Research. Conducted by Neil T. Heffernan, PhD, of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), and Kenneth R. Koedinger, PhD, and Elizabeth A. McLaughlin, both of Carnegie Mellon University, the study examined data ...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- A new analysis of sulfur emissions appearing in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics shows that after declining for a decade, worldwide emissions rose again in 2000 due largely to international shipping and a growing Chinese economy. An accurate read on sulfur emissions will help researchers predict future changes in climate and determine present day effects on the atmosphere, health and the environment. "Sulfur dioxide is an important component of the atmosphere. It changes the radiative balance of the earth by influencing the amount of ...

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with diabetes. Patients with type 1diabetes have a 200 percent to 400 percent greater chance of developing cardiovascular disease than those without diabetes. Medical College of Wisconsin researchers at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin discovered the early signs of cardiovascular disease are likely to manifest before the onset of puberty in many children with diabetes. Those findings are published in the February 2, 2011 online version of Diabetes Care and will be in the March 2011 issue of Diabetes Care. Led ...

VIDEO: A new technology that allows wireless signals to be sent and received simultaneously on a single channel has been developed by Stanford researchers. Their research could help build faster, more... Click here for more information. "Wireless communication is a one-way street. Over." Radio traffic can flow in only one direction at a time on a specific frequency, hence the frequent use of "over" by pilots and air traffic controllers, walkie-talkie users and emergency ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 14, 2011 -- Bioethanol from new lines of native perennial prairie grass could become less costly because of plant engineering by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and fermentation research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe their transgenic version of switchgrass as one that produces about one-third more ethanol by fermentation than conventional switchgrass. This improved plant feedstock will be able to generate more biofuel per acre, benefiting not ...

Although many human factors/ergonomics studies conducted over the past few years indicate that drivers who talk on the phone fail to attend to the road and increase the likelihood of an accident, the monotony of driving may also pose an accident risk. New research by HF/E researchers at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, published in Human Factors, suggests that drivers who lose focus on the road because of boredom may actually increase their attention by engaging in a secondary task, particularly during the last leg of their journey. In a driving simulator, 45 ...

Budding guitarists seek the magical powers of rock hero instruments, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Like people from the Middle Ages who sought saints' relics, modern consumers like the budding rock guitarist desire fetishes (objects perceived as magical and possessing extraordinary power)" write authors Karen V. Fernandez (University of Aukland, New Zealand) and John L. Lastovicka (Arizona State University). "We live in a world where anybody with a modest amount of money can buy a close copy or a replica of a desired object," the authors ...

MADISON — With one arm raised and a determined scowl, the figure looks ready to march right off his carved tablet and into the history books. If only we knew who he was - corn god? Tribal chief? Sacred priest? "It's beautiful and was obviously very important," says University of Wisconsin-Madison archaeologist John Hodgson of the newly discovered stone monument. "But we will probably never know who he was or what the sculpture means in its entirety." The man is the central figure on a stone monument discovered in 2009 at a site called Ojo de Agua in far southern Mexico ...

Women prefer female service providers in situations where they might fall prey to stereotypes about their math and science abilities, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "One of the most widely held stereotypes in North America is that women's competence and aptitude in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) domains is less than men's," write authors Kyoungmi Lee (Yonsei University, Korea), Hakkyun Kim (Concordia University, Canada), and Kathleen Vohs (University of Minnesota). In their study, the authors demonstrate that stereotypes ...