A half-billion years ago, vertebrates lacked the ability to chew their food. They did not have jaws. Instead, their heads consisted of a flexible, fused basket of cartilage. This week, an international team of researchers led by a faculty member from the University of Colorado at Boulder published evidence that three genes in jawless vertebrates might have been key to the development of jaws in higher vertebrates. The finding is potentially significant in that it might help explain how vertebrates shifted from a life of passive "filter feeding" to one of active predation. "Essentially ...

Stress has become one of the major disease states in the developed world. But what is stress? It depends on from where you look. You may experience stress as something that affects your entire body and mind, the causes of which are plentiful. But if we zoom in on the building bricks of the body, our cells, stress and its causes are defined somewhat differently. Stress can arise at the cellular level after exposure to pollution, tobacco smoke, bacterial toxins etc, where stressed cells have to react to survive and maintain their normal function. In worst case scenario, cellular ...

Science is literally in the dark when it comes to the birth of stars, which occurs deep inside clouds of gas and dust. These clouds are completely opaque to ordinary light. Now, a group of astronomers has discovered a new astronomical phenomenon that appears to be common in such clouds, and promises a new window onto the earliest phases of star formation. The phenomenon - infra red light that is scattered by unexpectedly large grains of dust, which the astronomers have termed "coreshine" - probes the dense cores where stars are born. (Science, September 24, 2010) Stars ...

As the shipping industry's emissions are predicted to continue to grow in the future, the UK will fail to meet its commitment to avoid dangerous climate change if additional cuts are not made to other sectors. According to a University of Manchester study, the global shipping industry, despite being traditionally viewed as one of the most energy efficient means of transport, releases increasing amounts of harmful emissions into the atmosphere every year. Indeed, as the rest of the world strives to avoid dangerous climate change, the global shipping industry's carbon ...

In a series of reports to be presented at a major conference this week, scientists at The University of Manchester claim using sustainable wood and other biofuels could hold the key to lowering harmful greenhouse gases. Building district heating schemes which would provide heat and hot water for a neighbourhood or community would not only drastically reduce greenhouse gases but would also be highly cost effective, the authors claim. Focus groups to test the UK public's eagerness for such schemes have already been held and have resulted in the majority of people being ...

Milan, Italy, 24 September 2010 – After the loss of a limb, most patients experience the feeling of a phantom limb – the vivid illusion that the amputated arm or leg is still present. Damage to the nervous system, such as stroke, may cause similar illusions in weakened limbs, whereby an arm or leg may feel as if it is in a completely different position or may even feel as if it is moving when it is not. Cases of phantom limbs in non-amputees have previously been considered rare events, but a new study published in the October 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/cortex) ...

Milan, Italy, 24 September 2010 – Playing video games for hours on end may prepare your child to become a laparoscopic surgeon one day, a new study has shown. Reorganisation of the brain's cortical network in young men with significant experience playing video games gives them an advantage not only in playing the games but also in performing other tasks requiring visuomotor skills. The findings are published in the October 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/cortex). Researchers from the Centre for Vision Research at York University in Canada ...

EUREKA project E! 4104 ECOPROMAT has developed a novel and environmentally-friendly type of matting for use in protection against the spread of contagious animal diseases such as avian influenza, and for routine hygiene in animal and food production. Soaked with disinfectant solution, the matting can be used for disinfecting vehicle tyres, and the shoes and boots of personnel. As it is made of 100% natural fibres, it is highly absorbent to disinfectant solution; it is also fully biodegradable and therefore avoids the high disposal costs of synthetic alternatives. The under-surface ...

The well-documented disparities in cardiac care may begin almost as soon as patients arrive at hospital emergency rooms. In a study published in Academic Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report that African-American and Hispanic patients assessed for chest pain were less likely than white patients to be categorized as requiring immediate care, despite a lack of significant differences in symptoms. Such practices directly violate American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines specifying immediate electrocardiogram ...

Montreal September 24, 2010 – Feeling a little sluggish and having trouble concentrating? Hormones might be to blame according to new research from Concordia University published in the journal Brain and Cognition. The study shows that high estrogen levels are associated with an inability to pay attention and learn – the first such paper to report how this impediment can be due to a direct effect of the hormone on mature brain structures. "Although estrogen is known to play a significant role in learning and memory, there has been no clear consensus on its effect," says ...

A team led by a North Carolina State University researcher has shown that water-gel-based solar devices – "artificial leaves" – can act like solar cells to produce electricity. The findings prove the concept for making solar cells that more closely mimic nature. They also have the potential to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly than the current standard-bearer: silicon-based solar cells. The bendable devices are composed of water-based gel infused with light-sensitive molecules – the researchers used plant chlorophyll in one of the experiments – coupled ...

London, UK (September 24, 2010) – Prison numbers in England and Wales have risen sharply in the last decade, and are set to rise further. A study out today in the Probation Journal published by SAGE suggests that economists have a unique opportunity to help solve the prison crisis by bringing sophisticated economic modelling techniques to bear on the problem. Chris Fox and Kevin Albertson from Manchester Metropolitan University contend that during the last decade, penal policy allowed many opportunities to harness the latest analytical research to optimise public spending ...

Sept. 24, 2010 — Biometric systems -- designed to automatically recognize individuals based on biological and behavioral traits such as fingerprints, palm prints, or voice or face recognition -- are "inherently fallible," says a new report by the National Research Council, and no single trait has been identified that is stable and distinctive across all groups. To strengthen the science and improve system effectiveness, additional research is needed at virtually all levels of design and operation. "For nearly 50 years, the promise of biometrics has outpaced the application ...

Basic physical limitations following breast cancer treatment can have far-reaching consequences that substantially affect how long a patient lives. According to a new study published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer survivors with functional limitations – an inability to perform normal daily activities – caused by the disease or its treatment are more likely to die because of overall poorer health. The scientists found that survivors who reported physical limitations after breast cancer treatment have the same risk of dying from ...

The first cultivar of 'ōhelo berry, a popular native Hawaiian fruit, has been released by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their university and industry cooperators. 'Ōhelo (Vaccinium reticulatum Smith) is a small, native Hawaiian shrub in the cranberry family, commonly found at high elevations on the islands of Maui and Hawaii. As people scour the landscape to harvest this delectable berry for use in jam, jelly and pie filling, they unfortunately disrupt the fragile habitats where this plant grows. In an effort to reduce damage to the ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study has determined that teenagers who have abortions are no more likely to become depressed or have low self-esteem than their peers whose pregnancies do not end in abortion. The study conducted by researchers from Oregon State University and University of California, San Francisco, is the first to use both depression and low self-esteem as outcomes with a nationally representative sample of adolescents. The researchers found that young women in the study who had an abortion were no more likely to become depressed or have low self-esteem within ...

You'd think that people choosing to live near to outdoor recreation amenities would have a lower body mass index or BMI thanks to an increase in all that healthy outdoor activity right on one's doorstep. Yet a new University of Alberta study looking at the relationship between reasons for choosing a neighbourhood to live in, physical activity and BMI, shows that's simply not the case. In fact researchers found that those who said they'd moved to be closer to outdoor recreation opportunities actually showed a marked increase in BMI over the six years of a longitudinal ...

BOSTON—In the quest to arrest the growth and spread of tumors, there have been many attempts to get cancer genes to ignore their internal instruction manual. In a new study, a team led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists has created the first molecule able to prevent cancer genes from "hearing" those instructions, stifling the cancer process at its root. The study, published online by the journal Nature, demonstrates that proteins issuing stop and start commands to a cancer gene – known as epigenetic "reader" proteins – can be targeted for future cancer therapies. ...

With several advanced warfare vehicles and a lineup of exciting technologies, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) will showcase its latest expeditionary equipment at the 2010 Modern Day Marine Exposition scheduled Sept. 28-30 at Quantico Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va. Modern Day Marine is one of the world's largest trade shows featuring expeditionary warfare equipment. More than 400 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees are expected to attend the event—now in its 30th year—for an up-close look at equipment and systems that support the U.S. Marine Corps and other allied forces' ...

An instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite noticed increasing colder cloud top temperatures of tropical depression 15 in the south-central Caribbean just before it strengthened into Tropical Storm Matthew late on Sept. 23. The TRMM satellite also spotted heavy rainfall within the system. Matthew is now headed to the western Caribbean and watches and warnings are in place as Matthew may continue to strengthen. Cloud top temperatures indicate the strength of the storm to forecasters. The colder the cloud top temperatures, the stronger the convection and uplift. When cloud top ...

Towering thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are two things that NASA's CloudSat satellite saw as it passed over Typhoon Malakas, and those two factors confirm a strong storm. NASA's CloudSat satellite's Cloud Profiling Radar can basically slice a tropical cyclone in half and take a look at its clouds and rainfall, and that's what it did when it passed over Typhoon Malakas on Sept. 23. CloudSat flew over Typhoon Malakas during the daytime on Sept. 23. At that time, Malakas had a minimum central pressure of 965 millibars, maximum winds of around 115 mph (100 knots), and ...

The GOES-13 satellite has been keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Lisa and watched her birth, graduation to depression then tropical storm and back to depression. Now, Lisa has grown back to tropical storm status, but it may be short-lived. At 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 24, Tropical Storm Lisa had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and she may strengthen and weaken over the weekend, but by Sunday colder waters will zap her energy source and she is forecast to be a depression. Meanwhile, on Sept. 24, she was still frolicking in the eastern Atlantic, about 320 miles ...

How could the current financial crisis have happened? While fingers have been pointing to greedy banks, subprime-loan officers, and sloppy credit card practices, these are not the only contributors to the economic downturn. A new report in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, examines the psychology of financial decision making, including the role of risk in making economic choices, how individuals behave in stock and credit markets, and how financial crises impact people's well-being. Risk taking is a ...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, U.S.A. (Sept. 22, 2010) – Candida albicans, a fungus that kills more than 10,000 people with weakened immune systems each year, grows more dangerous as it forms and extends long strands of cells called hyphal filaments. In a paper published this month, UT Health Science Center San Antonio microbiologists describe a key factor involved in this damaging growth. This finding may eventually lead to targets for antifungal strategies, the scientists said. Patricia Carlisle, a Ph.D. student at the Health Science Center, and David Kadosh, Ph.D., assistant ...

AURORA, Colo (Sept. 22, 2010) Antisocial boys who abuse drugs, break laws, and act recklessly are not just "bad" kids. Many of these boys may have malfunctioning brains, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Brain responses to everyday rewards and punishments gradually guide most youngsters' decisions to conform with society's rules. However, when these seriously troubled kids experience rewards and punishments, and make decisions, their brains apparently malfunction," said Thomas Crowley, MD, a professor of Psychiatry ...