Suppose a close friend who is trying to figure out the facts about climate change asks whether you think a scientist who has written a book on the topic is a knowledgeable and trustworthy expert. You see from the dust jacket that the author received a Ph.D. in a pertinent field from a major university, is on the faculty at another one, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Would you advise your friend that the scientist seems like an "expert"? If you are like most people, the answer is likely to be, "it depends." What it depends on, a recent study found, ...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2010 — A new genre of construction materials, made with particles barely 1/50,000th the width of a human hair, is about to play a big role in the building of homes, offices, bridges, and other structures, according to the latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions." A new Global Challenges podcast and website is highlighting both the potential benefits of these nanomaterials in improving construction materials and the need for guidelines to regulate their use and ...

The first randomized, placebo-controlled U.S. clinical trial to assess the use of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMC) in patients after a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI; severe heart attack) demonstrated a strong safety profile for this cell therapy, based on phase 1 results published in the September issue of the American Heart Journal. "The use of adult stem cells, derived from the patient's own bone marrow, presents a potential new type of therapy to benefit individuals after they suffer a heart attack," says the study's principal investigator Jay ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Women tend to believe the scientific consensus on global warming more than men, according to a study by a Michigan State University researcher. The findings, published in the September issue of the journal Population and Environment, challenge common perceptions that men are more scientifically literate, said sociologist Aaron M. McCright. "Men still claim they have a better understanding of global warming than women, even though women's beliefs align much more closely with the scientific consensus," said McCright, an associate professor with ...

The research, unveiled at a press conference today (14 September 2010), shows that the watercress compound is able to interfere with the function of a protein which plays a critical role in cancer development. As tumours develop they rapidly outgrow their existing blood supply so they send out signals which make surrounding normal tissues grow new blood vessels into the tumour which feed them oxygen and nutrients. The research, led by Professor Graham Packham of the University of Southampton, shows that the plant compound (called phenylethyl isothiocyanate) found ...

(PHILADELPHIA) An abrupt, fatal heart attack in a young athlete on the playing field is a tragedy destined to repeat itself over and over until more is understood about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic disorder that is the most common cause of sudden death in young people but which affects people of all ages. So says a task force of cardiologists and cardiac biologists, headed by Thomas L. Force, M.D., James C. Wilson Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, in the September 14th online edition of the journal Circulation. Their special report ...

Scientists have for the first time estimated the physical footprint of human activities on the deep seafloor of the North East Atlantic. The findings published in the journal PLoS ONE reveal that the area disturbed by bottom trawling commercial fishing fleets exceeds the combined physical footprint of other major human activities considered. The deep seafloor covers approximately 60% of Earth's surface, but only a tiny fraction of it has been studied to date. Yet as technology advances and resources from relatively shallow marine environments are depleted, human impacts ...

Global fisheries, a vital source of food and revenue throughout the world, contribute between US$225-$240 billion per year to the worldwide economy, according to four new studies released today. Researchers also concluded that healthier fisheries could have prevented malnourishment in nearly 20 million people in poorer countries. This first comprehensive, peer-reviewed estimate of the global economic contribution of fisheries was published online today in four papers as part of a special issue of the Journal of Bioeconomics. This research, conducted by the University ...

GOES-13 captured a look at System 92L this morning as it continues moving through the central Caribbean, and it's looking more and more like a tropical depression. As the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 satellite keeps relaying data to NOAA (who manages the satellite) and the NASA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the images created by the NASA GOES Project reveal that System 92L appears to be taking on the appearance of a tropical depression. In the imagery captured today, Sept. 14 at 1340 UTC (9:40 ...

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, September 14, 2010 – Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that its spinal cord stem cells survived in rat brains affected by stroke and differentiated predominantly into neurons. The transplanted animals showed significant improvement in some motor skill and strength measurements. The study entitled, "Intracerebral Implantation of Adherent Human Neural Stem Cells To Reverse Motor Deficits in Chronic Stroke Rats," was presented earlier today by senior study author, Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin, M.D., Ph.D., at the Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine ...

An astronomer may have caught a cannibalistic star in the act of devouring a companion and making a second generation of exoplanets from the resulting orbiting disk. Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Joel Kastner, professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, has found evidence that a variable star in the constellation of Pisces, BP Piscium, is not the young star it appears to be, but is more likely a one billion-year-old red giant that has gobbled up a star or planet in its vicinity. The star's extreme properties have puzzled astronomers since Kastner ...

"The IFFS's 'Surveillance 2010' report, compiled by Professor Ian Cooke and published on 14 September 2010, illustrates this for over 100 countries. The survey highlights how widely assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are being used and how different cultures are regulating services in different ways. In most countries there is no state or insurance support, so these services are costly and frequently beyond the reach of many families. In some countries access to donor gametes is denied or supply is limited. To address the safety of patients that seek treatment abroad, ...

Low Adherence with Regular Fecal Occult Blood Test Screening Among Insured Patients In a large U.S. health plan, nearly one-half of patients who initiated biennial fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening did not adhere to subsequent colorectal screening in the ensuing 2-year period, compromising the effectiveness of the screening endeavor which hinges on regular screening. Analyzing data on 11,110 patients enrolled in a Washington State health plan who completed an FOBT during the baseline period (2000-2001), researchers found 47 percent received no colorectal screening ...

Farming practices have a significant impact on the diversity of beneficial microbial fungi known to play important roles in crop productivity, soil recovery and maintenance of healthy ecosystems, according to new research published today (14 September 2010) in the journal Environmental Microbiology. The conclusions could have important implications for the way humans manage the agricultural landscape and tackle food security issues. The study was led by Dr Christopher van der Gast at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), UK and Dr Gary Bending from the University ...

A medicine widely used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also provides long-term relief from the attention and behavior changes that affect many childhood cancer survivors, according to a multicenter trial led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators. Researchers reported that one year after starting the drug methylphenidate, young cancer survivors scored better on tests of sustained attention and other measures of attention, social skills and behavior than did a similar group of unmedicated survivors. While taking methylphenidate, ...

NASA Satellites have noticed two distinct features in Igor that both indicate how powerful he has become, icy cold, high cloud tops and very heavy rainfall. NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites have provided that insight to forecasters who are predicting Igor's next move as a powerful Category 4 Hurricane. Last week, Igor was a tropical storm who faded into a tropical depression. The National Hurricane Center had forecast that over the weekend Igor would approach more favorable conditions (low wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures) causing it to strengthen into a hurricane ...

Tropical Depression 12 was born in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean yesterday, Sept. 12 and two NASA satellites saw factors that indicated she would later strengthen into Tropical Storm Julia. Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed strong convection in its center that powered the storm into tropical storm status by 11 p.m. EDT. NASA's TRMM satellite indicated very heavy rainfall from that strong area of convection. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies on NASA's Aqua satellite gives scientists and meteorologists clues about how a tropical ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) have identified an experimental agent that targets chronic lymphocytic leukemia and perhaps other proliferative disorders of lymphocytes. Their study shows that the small-molecule inhibitor CAL-101 directly promotes cell death by apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells and disrupts several external survival pathways needed for CLL cell viability and proliferation. The agent blocks ...

Washington, DC, SEPTEMBER 14, 2010– A widely prescribed class of drugs is highly effective in reducing common bone fractures in people with osteoporosis, but an expert panel announced today that these same drugs – when used long term – may be related to unusual but serious fractures of the thigh bone. In the most comprehensive scientific report to date on the topic, the task force reviewed 310 cases of "atypical femur fractures," and found that 94 percent (291) of patients had taken the drugs, most for more than five years. The task force members emphasized that atypical ...

A set of studies released in this month's special issue of The Elementary School Journal reveals the powerful effect that the coaching of teachers can have on both teachers and students. "Many in the field have trusted that intuitive feeling that putting a knowledgeable coach in a classroom to work with a teacher will result in improved teacher practices and increased student learning," write the issue's guest editors, Misty Sailors of The University of Texas at San Antonio and Nancy L. Shanklin of University of Colorado, Denver. "The jury of these researchers and the ...

Repairing small, seemingly benign holes in a child's heart may be more clinically important than previously thought, as dysfunction could be lurking out of sight. These are the findings from a study conducted by doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Ohio State University Medical Center examining a subset of the most common form of congenital heart disease, ventricular septal defect. The recently published study appears in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, the official journal of the International Society for Heart Research. Ventricular ...

Years ago the idea of using a virtual data room (VDR) seemed like it would never be accepted. The concept of taking paper due diligence materials and placing them 'online' seemed too far fetched to work. People felt the internet would never have the level of security or the speed required to display sensitive corporate information to outside parties. Once internet connection speeds increased and security measures improved so did the idea of people reviewing information on a computer screen from the comfort of their own office. Today, VDR awareness is still growing and the ...

Caring Technologies Inc., developer of the proprietary Behavior Imaging technology, unveiled a new brand identity today, changing its name to Behavior Imaging Solutions, Inc. The timing coincides with its recent registered trademark award, and reflects the company's history and commitment to Behavior Imaging technology as a means of treating behavioral disorders with greater accuracy and cost-effectiveness. The company's rebranding effort is intended to establish broader market application of Behavior Imaging as an innovative and versatile solution for healthcare providers ...

When people hear the word hospice, visions of imminent death are conjured and fear of the unknown prevails in even the coolest of heads. While death is ultimately the inescapable result, Hospice focuses on life and making sure that every last moment can be lived to the fullest. Raleigh resident Bobbi Lancaster recently experienced first-hand the value and comfort Hospice of Wake County brings to not only the patient, but the family as well. In a matter of months, Lancaster was nearly consumed by a maelstrom of events that threatened to drag her under including the loss ...

Njideka Harry, Founder & Executive Director of Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF), received a nomination for this year's 2010 Microsoft Integral Fellows Award. The Microsoft Alumni Foundation gives this award to "recognize and support a Microsoft alumnus who has made a meaningful difference in the daily lives of others by using his/her talents, time and resources to contribute to the world." Up to four alumni nominees for the Microsoft Integral Fellows Award will receive a $25K award to go to the 501(c)(3) with which they work in the form of a one-year, unrestricted ...