Scratching deep beneath the surface, a team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and three South Korean institutions have identified two distinct neuronal signaling pathways activated by a topical cream used to treat a variety of skin diseases. One pathway produces the therapeutic benefit; the other induces severe itching as a side effect. The findings, published in this week's early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, point to the possibility of designing future drugs that effectively treat ...

New Rochelle, NY, February 8, 2011—Successful intranasal delivery of stem cells to the brains of rats with Parkinson disease yielded significant improvement in motor function and reversed the dopamine deficiency characteristic of the disease. These highly promising findings, reported in Rejuvenation Research, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. highlight the potential for a noninvasive approach to cell therapy delivery in Parkinson disease–a safer and effective alternative to surgical transplantation of stem cells. The article is available free online. ...

Beginning on February 6, 2011, the two STEREO spacecraft are 180 degrees apart providing Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) scientists with a 360-degree view of the Sun. NASA's STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) spacecraft were launched on October 25, 2006, and have been gathering spectacular images of solar activity, especially solar storms, since the mission began. A key component of the STEREO mission is NRL's Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI), a suite of five scientific telescopes that observe the solar corona and inner ...

LA JOLLA, CA – February 8, 2011 - A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have developed a novel technique to observe previously unknown details of how folded structures are formed from an intrinsically disordered protein. The insights could help scientists to better understand the mechanism of plaque formation in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. The results of the study, which has broad implications for the field, were recently published in an advanced, online ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Researchers at the University at Buffalo have devised two new ways of "stapling" peptide helices to prevent these medically important molecules from losing their shape and degrading in the presence of enzymes. The discovery could help speed the development of peptide-based drugs against diseases including cancer. UB scientists say the methods they pioneered are simpler than existing techniques, one of which employs an expensive ruthenium catalyst to connect chemical side chains that protrude from the main body of helical peptides. "There's a lot of potential ...

Lung injury is a common cause of death among patients with pneumonia, sepsis or trauma and in those who have had lung transplants. The damage often occurs suddenly and can cause life-threatening breathing problems and rapid lung failure. There are no effective treatments. Patients usually are put on ventilators to give their lungs a chance to heal, but there is little else doctors can do but wait and hope for the best. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have identified a gene that limits damage to the lung during acute ...

A study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers reports that electronic cigarettes are a promising tool to help smokers quit, producing six-month abstinence rates nearly double those for traditional nicotine replacement products. In a study published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that 31 percent of respondents reported having quit smoking six months after first purchasing an electronic cigarette, a battery-powered device providing tobacco-less doses of nicotine in a vaporized solution. ...

Researchers from Northwestern University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have studied individual water droplets and discovered a miniature version of the "water hammer," an effect that produces the familiar radiator pipe clanging in older buildings. In piping systems, the water hammer occurs when fluid is forced to stop abruptly, causing huge pressure spikes that can rupture pipe walls. Now, for the first time, the researchers have observed this force on the scale of microns: such pressure spikes can move through a water droplet, causing it to be impaled ...

Philadelphia, PA, February 8, 2011 – For the one in 200 adults in Western societies born with congenital heart disease, adult survivors face a lifelong process of medical interactions. Treatments received during neonatal, childhood, and adolescent years affect future adult events. In the January/February issue of Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases ten articles explore our current understanding of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) in survivors. This issue of Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases is dedicated to exploring the path to and current understanding of lifelong ...

Researchers at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego say that medication education is a key factor in helping patients with diabetes better stick to their drug treatments plans. The study, currently on line in the February issue of the journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy, points to the need for pharmacists and other health care providers to assess reasons why some patients don't adhere to their medication plans, and to provide counseling opportunities to help them. "Counseling can be more effective if pharmacists ...

RICHLAND, Wash. -- A new combination of nanoparticles and graphene results in a more durable catalytic material for fuel cells, according to work published today online at the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The catalytic material is not only hardier but more chemically active as well. The researchers are confident the results will help improve fuel cell design. "Fuel cells are an important area of energy technology, but cost and durability are big challenges," said chemist Jun Liu. "The unique structure of this material provides much needed stability, good ...

Analysis of a comprehensive database has revealed strong links between biological productivity in the surface oceans and patterns of biomass and abundance at the seafloor, helping to explain large regional differences. The research was conducted by an international, multi-institutional research team including scientists from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), and incorporated data from the Census of Marine Life (CoML). The vast majority of the biological production in the world's oceans occurs within sunlit surface waters – the so-called photic zone. Through the ...

Countries need to increase co-operation over conservation to protect birds and other wildlife in an era of climate change, according to a new continental-scale study. Experts have established a new conservation index to help policy-makers to deal with the effects of climate change on birds in Africa, and it could assist governments across the world to protect wildlife areas and help species as climate change forces them to move to new areas. It is the first categorisation of protected areas to show how conservationists might deal with climate change and the shuffling ...

The construction of new rail lines, or the relocation of old ones underground, has increased society's interest over recent years in the vibrations produced by trains, especially among people who live or work near the tracks. Now a study headed by the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) has made it possible to estimate the trajectory of vibrations from the point at which they are generated (wheel-rail contact) through to the ground. "The model acts as a "virtual train laboratory', meaning that, if the parameters of the train or the track ballast are changed, it is ...

The first time that many patients realise that diabetes can affect their kidneys is when they are referred to renal services, according to a multi-cultural study in the March issue of the Journal of Renal Care. UK researchers who spoke to 48 patients with diabetes attending specialist renal services in Leicester, Luton and Ealing, discovered that awareness of the kidney risks posed by the disease was very low. "The people we spoke to experienced feelings of surprise, fear and regret when they found out their kidney had been affected" says Professor Gurch Randhawa, ...

A new study from Utrecht and Cambridge Universities has for the first time found that an administration of testosterone under the tongue in volunteers negatively affects a person's ability to 'mind read', an indication of empathy. The findings are published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, the effects of testosterone administration are predicted by a fetal marker of prenatal testosterone, the 2D:4D ratio. The study has important implications for the androgen theory of autism (testosterone is an androgen) and confirms ...

A systematic review of medical evidence has determined drug-eluting stents (DES) outperform bare metal stents (BMS) for revascularization of chronic total occlusions. Researchers found coated stents reduce restenosis and target revascularization, offering a safe approach with similar adverse events as BMS. Full findings are available in the February issue of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. Medical evidence maintains that chronic total occlusions ...

BINGHAMTON, NY – Eight small teeth found in a cave near Rosh Haain, central Israel, are raising big questions about the earliest existence of humans and where we may have originated, says Binghamton University anthropologist Rolf Quam. Part of a team of international researchers led by Dr. Israel Hershovitz of Tel Aviv University, Qaum and his colleagues have been examining the dental discovery and recently published their joint findings in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Excavated at Qesem cave, a pre-historic site that was uncovered in 2000, the size ...

This release is available in Spanish. Researchers from the Hospital Virgen de las Nieves of the University of Granada have identified the most frequent mutations in the gene KCNH2 in patients with long QT syndrome. Long Qt syndrome is a disorder of cardiac ionic channels that approximately affects one in every 2,500 people and may cause torsade de pointes episodes, which can trigger sudden death. This condition usually affects children and adolescents, and it is occasionally mistaken for convulsions, leading to a misdiagnosis of epilepsy. So far, hundreds of mutations ...

Blinds4Home opens its doors to people who wish to purchase window blinds for their windows. There is a need for this fixture as you require privacy, if not protection against the glaring sun or the need to preserve the heat during the coldest of winter. Window blinds, vertical blinds, window shades, roller shades and solar shades are made affordable for you to suit your needs. These also come with safety devices to protect your children and your pets. This store offers different varieties of window treatments that meet your requirements. Their lines of products furnish ...

Social networks are immensely popular because they feed the users with a few basic but very important needs. Not even social insuccess and difficulties will push users away from these networks. It is thus possible to offer individuals participation within a social network and ask for something in exchange that they would not do otherwise. That's exactly what MathLanders does. MathLanders enforces sustained math practice by capitalizing on children innate inclination towards online peer competition and acquiring a reputable position in the social hierarchy. The software ...

The Bridal Solution is celebrating their second anniversary in style after receiving the prestigious "WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award" for 2011 in the wedding and event coordination category. Founder and owner, Natalie Imhoff, takes the success in stride. Imhoff notes, "We are obviously pleased to receive the award. We know our clients want their weddings and other events to be unique, memorable and proceed flawlessly. So, they seek a firm with a stellar reputation. I'm pleased The Bridal Solution has achieved that status. For us, 2011 will be a year filled with fresh ...

The mercury may be dipping below zero in parts of the country, but Dr. Patty Ann Tublin has a number of ways for couples to heat things up this Valentine's Day. Dr. Patty Ann, a world-renowned relationship expert who helps couples stop fighting and achieve happiness and intimacy, has just released a new article on her web site titled, "5 Easy Ways to Heat Up the Flames of Love & Passion on Valentine's Day." It's available now at http://bit.ly/fG7BAv In the article, Dr. Patty Ann provides five easy things couples can do on Valentine's Day to show they care and celebrate ...

Apollo Business Development announces its upcoming Web Seminar curriculum for lawyers. *Crafting Your Personal Marketing Plan for 2011 Wednesday, February 9, 2011; 1 PM - 2:15 PM Eastern time. In this session, begin to Think and Act like other Rainmakers. The key is to develop a personal marketing program, a blueprint for getting new business on a a systematic and disciplined basis. If you think like a rainmaker, take the same actions each day and build your skills over time - then you will start to produce the same results... ~Do you have a roadmap for the ...

Virtually no one who watches TV is immune to being carpet bombed by ad campaigns that unleash a numbing repetition of messages day and night. It's a take-no-prisoners strategy employed by advertisers like law firms, tax consultants, politicians, and many others intended to drive their target audiences into submission by forging an indelible brand image in their minds. Some commercials even resort to the garish, the juvenile and the utterly outrageous to command attention. But does it work? That's what a recent survey conducted by the Las Vegas advertising firm Ritchie ...