After celebrating its 60th birthday in August, Whataburger pays tribute to its founder, Harmon Dobson, by offering free four-ounce samplings of its famous shakes on Sunday, September 19 from 12-4 p.m. for dine-in customers. Dobson opened his first Whataburger in 1950, a small burger stand located at 2609 Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, offering chocolate shakes for 15 cents to accompany the 25 cent burgers. Today, Whataburger offers thick, delicious shakes at 700+ locations in 10 states. "Harmon Dobson opened his first Whataburger in 1950 and creamy, cold shakes ...

The team at Fly Away Simulation has added a whole new dimension to its flight simulator portal following an exciting announcement by Microsoft. Microsoft has announced that they will be releasing the next in its series of flight simulator packages for PC users, with the next release being called Microsoft Flight. Microsoft Flight is set to become the biggest complete flight simulator package available to PC users. With drastic enhancements in technology, and more powerful machines for the software to run on, the graphics will be like nothing yet seen in a simulation ...

Volcanoes display the awesome power of Nature like few other events. Earlier this year, ash from an Icelandic volcano disrupted air travel throughout much of northern Europe. Yet this recent eruption pales next to the fury of Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanic body in our solar system. Now that astronomers are finding rocky worlds orbiting distant stars, they're asking the next logical questions: Do any of those worlds have volcanoes? And if so, could we detect them? Work by theorists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggests that the answer to the ...

Using high-resolution microscopy, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have shown how insulin prompts fat cells to take in glucose in a rat model. The findings were reported in the Sept. 8 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism. By studying the surface of healthy, live fat cells in rats, researchers were able to understand the process by which cells take in glucose. Next, they plan to observe the fat cells of people with varying degrees of insulin sensitivity, including insulin resistance–considered a precursor to type 2 diabetes [http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov]. ...

AMES, Iowa -- A new Iowa State University study has found that corn bred to contain increased levels of beta-carotene is a good source of vitamin A. The discovery gives added support to the promise of biofortified corn being developed through conventional plant breeding as an effective tool to combat vitamin A deficiency in developing countries. Beta-carotene is converted in the body to vitamin A. The researchers found that the beta-carotene in the corn was converted to vitamin A at a higher rate than what's predicted for corn, and higher than the rate for beta-carotene ...

Scientists from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified dendritic antigen-presenting cells in zebrafish, opening the possibility that the tiny fish could become a new model for studying the complexities of the human immune system. The study, reported in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was headed by David Traver, an associate professor in UCSD's Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, with colleagues in UCSD's Division of Biological Sciences and at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute. ...

September 7, 2010 (4 pm ET) – Nevirapine is widely used to help prevent mother-to-child transmission of the HIV virus. In cases where the infants are nonetheless infected with HIV virus at birth, the standard treatment is to use protease inhibitors (PI) to reduce the amount of virus in their bloodstream. A new study involving 195 infants in South Africa found that children who were treated with PI and then switched to nevirapine were more likely to maintain virus below the detection threshold of the test than infants who continued to receive PI. Results of the study are ...

Chemists at the University of California, San Diego, have identified how a protein that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease interferes with the ability of cells to get rid of debris. They also found a natural mechanism by which this protein, amyloid beta, itself may be discarded. Plaques of amyloid are a hallmark of the ailment, but no one is sure exactly how they contribute to catastrophic loss of memory and cognition. Scientists have begun to suspect that amyloid disables a structure called a proteasome, which chops up proteins that cells ...

Too much testosterone can be a deal breaker, according to Sauder School of Business researchers at the University of British Columbia. Their paper, to be published in the INFORMS journal Management Science on September 10, shows that young CEOs with more of the steroidal hormone in their system are more likely to initiate, scrap or resist mergers and acquisitions. The study by Sauder Finance Professors Maurice Levi and Kai Li, and PhD student Feng Zhang, titled "Deal or No Deal: Hormones and the Mergers and Acquisitions Game," shows that testosterone – a hormone associated ...

Fairbanks, Alaska—A University of Alaska Fairbanks fisheries scientist has teamed up with Alaska Power and Telephone to study how a new power-generating turbine affects fish in the Yukon River. So far, the news looks good for the fish. "In the brief testing that we have been able to accomplish, we have no indication that the turbine has killed or even injured any fish," said Andrew Seitz, project leader and assistant professor of fisheries. Alaska Power and Telephone installed the in-stream turbine near Eagle, Alaska this summer. They are testing its effectiveness ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – There's a reason why some sports fans are referred to as "die-hards" – even after they move away, their loyalty to their hometown team endures, according to research by two University of Illinois professors. Scott Tainsky and Monika Stodolska, professors of recreation, sport and tourism, say new residents of a community maintain an attachment to their old team or former city as a way of asserting their identity after they move. "People new to a city don't just adopt their new hometown's team as a way to acclimate themselves in a new community," Tainsky ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A University of Illinois economist says consumers and investors concerned about the specter of deflation looming over an already bleak economic landscape should relax – for the time being, at least. Although the consumer price index is near zero, J. Fred Giertz says we're unlikely to see a prolonged deflationary period like the slump Japan experienced during its "lost decade" of the 1990s. "We're close to zero right now, but we're not below zero," said Giertz, an Institute of Government and Public Affairs economist who compiles a monthly barometer ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Most proteins are shapely. But about one-third of them lack a definitive form, at least that scientists can readily observe. These intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) perform a host of important biological functions, from muscle contraction to other neuronal actions. Yet despite their importance, "We don't know much about them," said Wolfgang Peti, associate professor of medical science and chemistry. "No one really worried about them." Now, Peti, joined by researchers at the University of Toronto and at Brookhaven National Laboratory ...

A new study identifies molecules that can be used to selectively reduce generation of the sticky, neuron-damaging plaques that are the hallmark of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. The research, published by Cell Press in the September 9 issue of the journal Neuron, may lead to the development of effective and safe therapeutics for this currently incurable disease. Previous research has suggested that an alteration in brain levels of amyloid ? proteins (A?) plays a major pathogenic role in AD, a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive cognitive ...

Addictive drugs are known to induce changes in the brain's reward circuits that may underlie drug craving and relapse after long periods of abstinence. Now, new research, published by Cell Press in the September 9 issue of the journal Neuron, uncovers a specific neural mechanism that may be linked to persistent drug-seeking behavior and could help to guide strategies for development of new therapies for cocaine addiction. Previous research has shown that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a brain region that is activated when cocaine users experience a craving for cocaine ...

New York (September 8, 2010) – In a surprising and unexpected discovery, scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have found that a single type of gene acts as a master organizer of motor neurons in the spinal cord. The finding, published in the September 9, 2010 issue of Neuron, could help scientists develop new treatments for diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease or spinal cord injury. The "master organizer" is a member of the Hox family of genes, best known for controlling the overall pattern of body development. By orchestrating a cascade of gene expression in ...

A team of scientists, led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers, has synthesized hundreds of new compounds with the potential of reducing the production of the A-beta 42 peptide, a primary component of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In mouse models, one tested compound specifically reduced levels of A-beta 42, which is believed to be responsible for the destruction of neurons, but left other essential enzymatic activities in the brain unaffected, said Steven Wagner, PhD, a project scientist in the UCSD Department of Neurosciences. The ...

A group of international astronomers in the UK, France and the USA, led by the University of Leicester, have found proof to confirm the distance and brightness of the most extreme ultra-luminous X-ray source, which may herald a new type of Black Hole. The X-ray source, HLX-1, is the most extreme member of an extraordinary class of objects – the ultra-luminous X-ray sources – and is located in the galaxy ESO 243-49 at a distance of ~300 million light years from the Earth. The astronomers' findings confirm that the extreme luminosity (which is a factor of ~100 above ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A type of neuron that, when malfunctioning, has been tied to epilepsy, autism and schizophrenia is much more complex than previously thought, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory report in the Sept. 9 issue of Neuron. The majority of brain cells are called excitatory because they ramp up the action of target cells. In contrast, inhibitory cells called interneurons put the brakes on unbridled activity to maintain order and control. Epileptic seizures, as well as symptoms of autism and schizophrenia, have been tied to dysfunctional ...

SAN DIEGO -- In the Sept 9, 2010 issue of Neuron, Neurogenetic Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NGP) reports proof of concept studies that show its proprietary compound, NGP 555, is effective in preventing the amyloid pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a transgenic mouse model. The study further demonstrates that following chronic treatment with the gamma secretase modulator (GSM) compound from NGP, the mice were devoid of gastrointestinal side effects, an adverse finding commonly associated with gamma secretase inhibitors (GSIs). A major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's ...

Scientific research published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) reports on a study of genetic variants that influence human susceptibility to peripheral arterial disease (PAD), made possible by leveraging electronic medical records (EMRs; also called EHRs or electronic health records). A team of authors from the Mayo Clinic Divisions of Cardiovascular Diseases and Biomedical Informatics and Statistics conducted the study and concluded that EMR-based data, used across institutions in a structured way, "offer great ...

NOAA's Fisheries Service has designated the eastern North Pacific basking shark, a "species of concern" because it has suffered a dramatic decline in population despite decreasing fishing pressure. The label "species of concern" may be given to a species when there are concerns regarding the population status. The eastern Pacific basking shark is not being considered for listing pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, rather it is a species of concern because it has been over fished and its population has apparently not responded to conservation measures implemented ...

An international study has discovered the reason why some people who eat a high-fat diet remain slim, yet others pile on the weight. The study, led in Australia by the Monash Obesity and Diabetes Institute (MODI) at Monash University, found a high-fat diet causes brain cells to become insulated from the body preventing vital signals, which tell the body to stop eating and to burn energy, from reaching the brain efficiently. MODI director and Australian Life Scientist of the Year Professor Michael Cowley said there were two clear outcomes from the findings. 'We discovered ...

LOS ANGELES – Sept. 7, 2010 – Researchers in Cedars-Sinai's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences have reported people who undergo massage experience measureable changes in their body's immune and endocrine response. Although there have been previous, smaller studies about the health benefits of massage, the Cedars-Sinai study is widely believed to be the first systematic study of a larger group of healthy adults. The study is published online at http://www.liebertonline.com/loi/acm. It also will be published in the October printed edition of ...

Consuming energy drinks during team sports could help young people perform better, a study suggests. Sports scientists found that 12-14 year olds can play for longer in team games when they drink an isotonic sports drink before and during games. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh measured the performance of 15 adolescents during exercise designed to simulate the physical demands of team games such as football, rugby and hockey. They showed for the first time that sports drinks helped the young people continue high intensity, stop-start activity for up to ...