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• Mutation timing counts for tuberous sclerosis

  Futurity.org » Brown University

  David Orenstein-Brown

  13 May 2013 | 5:27 am

  BROWN (US) — Early genetic deletions in the thalamus may play an important role in the course and severity of a developmental disease that affects one in 6,000 people. Doctors often diagnose tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) based on the abnormal growths the genetic disease causes in organs around the body. Those overt anatomical structures, however, belie the microscopic and mysterious neurological differences behind the disease’s troublesome behavioral symptoms: autism, intellectual disabilities, and seizures. TSC can arise in humans and mice alike when both alleles (the one from mom…

• Is middle class wealth in meltdown?

  Futurity.org » New York University

  James Devitt-NYU

  13 May 2013 | 7:54 am

  NYU / BROWN (US) —The collapse of home prices and the stock market has taken an immense toll on the assets of the middle class, hitting minorities and young adults especially hard, a new study suggests.“Most telling is that the wealth of the average person by 2010 was at its lowest level since 1969,” says Edward Wolff, professor of economics at New York University. “Inequality of net worth, after almost two decades of little change, rose sharply between 2007 and 2010. Inequalities rose by income class, by race and ethnicity, and across age groups.”

• Peptides kick-start body to fight sepsis

  Futurity.org » Cardiff University

  Christopher Jones-Cardiff

  16 May 2013 | 5:46 pm

  CARDIFF U. (UK) — Peptide molecules derived from the body’s natural immune system can help boost the body’s defense against life-threatening blood poisoning. In an article published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers report that peptide molecules derived from immune sensors known as Toll-like receptors or TLRs can kick-start the body’s natural immune defense that was affected by blood poisoning. “Blood poisoning or sepsis is triggered by the body’s overreaction to infection; it can lead to widespread inflammation and blood clotting as well as, in…

• Scientists wait to see black hole’s birth

  Futurity.org » California Institute of Technology

  Marcus Woo-Caltech

  6 May 2013 | 7:01 am

  CALTECH (US) — A new kind of cosmic flash may reveal the birth of a black hole for the first time. When a massive star exhausts its fuel, it collapses under its own gravity and produces a black hole, an object so dense that not even light can escape its gravitational grip.

• Flyby radar maps Saturn’s Earth-like moon

  Futurity.org » Johns Hopkins University

  Michael Buckley-Johns Hopkins

  17 May 2013 | 6:27 am

  JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Using a radar imager to peer through the soupy atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, scientists have created the first topographic map of one of the most Earth-like worlds in the solar system. The map, identifying surface features and elevations, is a valuable new tool for researchers seeking to know more about Saturn’s largest moon, which, at 1,600 miles across, is bigger than Mercury and the second-largest moon in the solar system. The map and a paper on the project appear in the journal Icarus. Scientists care about Titan because it’s the only moon in…

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  Futurity.org

• Purify water with tiny magnetic scavengers

  Andrew Myers-Stanford

  20 May 2013 | 1:46 pm

  STANFORD (US) — Nanoparticles that can be removed quickly by magnet could offer a promising new way to disinfect water.Similar existing technologies leave too many nanoscavengers behind for the water to be considered safe for human use.

• ‘Water-pumping’ fabric channels away sweat

  Andy Fell-UC Davis

  20 May 2013 | 1:43 pm

  UC DAVIS (US) — A new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, says inventor Tingrui Pan.Pan, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of California, Davis, and his research team developed a new textile microfluidic platform using hydrophilic (water-attracting) threads stitched into a highly water-repellent fabric.

• Cartilage gets bum rap for osteoarthritis

  Catherine Kolf-Johns Hopkins

  20 May 2013 | 12:30 pm

  JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Osteoarthritis, a painful disease thought to be primarily a problem with the cartilage that cushions joints, may actually be caused in large part by the bone underneath. The insight led to a proof-of-concept experiment in which researchers found they could stop progression of the degenerative disease by blocking the action of a critical protein involved in bone regulation. Should that strategy prove sound in further studies, it could help future patients avoid joint replacement surgery. “Our results are potentially really good news for patients with OA,”…

• How to decide if a daily aspirin is harmful

  Melissa Blouin-Florida

  20 May 2013 | 11:31 am

  U. FLORIDA (US) — A new algorithm outlines factors doctors should consider when deciding whether or not a patient would benefit from a daily dose of aspirin.Approximately 50 million people in the United States take a daily aspirin to treat or prevent heart disease. Of these, at least half take more than 100 milligrams of the drug—more than one baby aspirin—a day.

• Slow quakes put ‘big wrinkle’ in rock theory

  A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State

  20 May 2013 | 11:07 am

  PENN STATE (US) — When researchers duplicate slow earthquakes, they find that rocks at the fault get stronger when slippage begins, but suddenly weaken. Earthquakes that last minutes rather than seconds are a relatively recent discovery, according to an international team of seismologists. Researchers have been aware of these slow earthquakes, only for the past five to ten years because of new tools and new observations, but these tools may explain the triggering of some normal earthquakes and could help in earthquake prediction.

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  Futurity.org » Earth & Environment

• Lack of biodiversity could topple fisheries

  David Garner-York

  20 May 2013 | 9:14 am

  U. YORK (UK) — The consequences of overfishing have led fisheries to rely on a handful of highly valuable shellfish—but new research shows this approach is extremely risky. Overfishing has reduced fish populations and biodiversity across much of the world’s oceans. New research, published today in Fish and Fisheries, shows that traditional fisheries targeting large predators such as cod and haddock have declined over the past hundred years.

• Marcellus Shale fracking: Is well water really clean?

  B. Rose Huber-Pittsburgh

  20 May 2013 | 9:11 am

  U. PITTSBURGH (US) — No proof of groundwater contamination in Pennsylvania from hydrofracking doesn’t guarantee the water’s clean. More monitoring is needed to know for sure, experts say. What to do with Marcellus Shale wastewater is one of the biggest concerns in Pennsylvania, and few published studies have evaluated wastewater effects on regional groundwater, according to a newly published review in the journal Science.

• Massive Cascadia quake on the horizon?

  Evan Lerner-Pennsylvania

  16 May 2013 | 10:12 am

  U. PENNSYLVANIA (US) — Tiny fossils offer clues to a 1700 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest that was strong enough to cause a tsunami as far away as Japan.The lack of local documentation has made studying this historic event challenging. New work provides a finer-grained portrait of this earthquake and the changes in coastal land level it produced, enabling modelers to better prepare for future events. The research was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

• Clawed frogs spread deadly amphibian fungus

  Ruthann Richter-Stanford

  16 May 2013 | 7:37 am

  STANFORD (US) — The African clawed frog, a species used around the world for biomedical research, is spreading an amphibian-killing fungus when they are released into the wild. In a new study, researchers provide the first evidence that the frogs in California harbor a fungal infection that is decimating amphibian populations across the globe. Among 23 samples tested, the researchers identified three frogs, one found in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, that were carriers of the pathogen that has led to the decline or extinction of some 200 amphibian species worldwide. The research was…

• No signs of fracking fluids in Arkansas drinking water

  Tim Lucas-Duke

  15 May 2013 | 1:18 pm

  DUKE (US) — Samples from drinking water wells show no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas.“Our results show no discernible impairment of groundwater quality in areas associated with natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in this region,” says Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

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  Futurity.org » Health & Medicine

• Cartilage gets bum rap for osteoarthritis

  Catherine Kolf-Johns Hopkins

  20 May 2013 | 12:30 pm

  JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Osteoarthritis, a painful disease thought to be primarily a problem with the cartilage that cushions joints, may actually be caused in large part by the bone underneath. The insight led to a proof-of-concept experiment in which researchers found they could stop progression of the degenerative disease by blocking the action of a critical protein involved in bone regulation. Should that strategy prove sound in further studies, it could help future patients avoid joint replacement surgery. “Our results are potentially really good news for patients with OA,”…

• How to decide if a daily aspirin is harmful

  Melissa Blouin-Florida

  20 May 2013 | 11:31 am

  U. FLORIDA (US) — A new algorithm outlines factors doctors should consider when deciding whether or not a patient would benefit from a daily dose of aspirin.Approximately 50 million people in the United States take a daily aspirin to treat or prevent heart disease. Of these, at least half take more than 100 milligrams of the drug—more than one baby aspirin—a day.

• Anxiety drug reduces MS symptoms in mice

  Charles Casey-UC Davis

  20 May 2013 | 10:31 am

  UC DAVIS (US) — An anti-anxiety drug available in Europe helps protect nerve fibers and slows the progression of symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, a study shows. The findings, published online in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine , could have therapeutic applications for MS as well as cerebral palsy and leukodystrophies, all disorders associated with loss of white matter, which is the brain tissue that carries information between nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The target, a protein referred to as mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO), had been previously…

• ‘Vicious cycle’ in brain keeps obesity going

  David Orenstein-Brown

  20 May 2013 | 7:24 am

  BROWN (US) — In rat brain cells, obesity blocks the production of a hormone that curbs appetite and inspires calorie burning, according to new research. The root cause appears to be a breakdown in the protein-processing mechanism of the cells, according to the researchers, who also found that they could intervene to break that cycle by fixing the core protein-processing problem.

• Diabetes rises sharply among UK’s young adults

  Chris Jones-Cardiff

  17 May 2013 | 7:47 am

  CARDIFF U. (UK) — Researchers in the United Kingdom find a significant increase in the overall incidence of type 2 diabetes, with a marked increase among adults under age 40. The research, published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, examined published data describing the incidence of newly diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes between 1991 and 2010. “We have known for some time that the incidence of new cases and prevalence of the total number of people of type 2 diabetes has been increasing in the UK,” says Professor Craig Currie from Cardiff University’s…

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  Futurity.org » Science & Technology

• Purify water with tiny magnetic scavengers

  Andrew Myers-Stanford

  20 May 2013 | 1:46 pm

  STANFORD (US) — Nanoparticles that can be removed quickly by magnet could offer a promising new way to disinfect water.Similar existing technologies leave too many nanoscavengers behind for the water to be considered safe for human use.

• ‘Water-pumping’ fabric channels away sweat

  Andy Fell-UC Davis

  20 May 2013 | 1:43 pm

  UC DAVIS (US) — A new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, says inventor Tingrui Pan.Pan, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of California, Davis, and his research team developed a new textile microfluidic platform using hydrophilic (water-attracting) threads stitched into a highly water-repellent fabric.

• Slow quakes put ‘big wrinkle’ in rock theory

  A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State

  20 May 2013 | 11:07 am

  PENN STATE (US) — When researchers duplicate slow earthquakes, they find that rocks at the fault get stronger when slippage begins, but suddenly weaken. Earthquakes that last minutes rather than seconds are a relatively recent discovery, according to an international team of seismologists. Researchers have been aware of these slow earthquakes, only for the past five to ten years because of new tools and new observations, but these tools may explain the triggering of some normal earthquakes and could help in earthquake prediction.

• ‘Crazy ant’ invaders make fire ants seem polite

  Daniel Oppenheimer-U. Texas

  20 May 2013 | 9:48 am

  U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — Invasive “crazy ants” are displacing fire ants across the southeastern United States and may have dramatic effects on the region’s ecosystem, researchers say.The ecologically dominant crazy ants are reducing diversity and abundance across a range of ant and arthropod species—but their spread can be limited if people are careful not to transport them inadvertently.

• Tiny droplets ‘flow’ like quark-gluon plasma

  David Salisbury-VU

  20 May 2013 | 8:47 am

  VANDERBILT (US) — Physicists may have created the smallest drops of liquid ever made in the lab—only the size of three to five protons. To provide a sense of scale, that is about one-100,000th the size of a hydrogen atom or one-100,000,000th the size of a virus. That possibility has been raised by the results of a recent experiment conducted by Vanderbilt University physicist Julia Velkovska and her colleagues at the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider located at the European Laboratory for Nuclear and Particle Physics (CERN) in…

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  Futurity.org » Society & Culture

• Kindergarten math lessons are ‘old news’

  Bonnie Ertelt-Vanderbilt

  17 May 2013 | 7:26 am

  VANDERBILT (US) — Kindergarten teachers say they spend most of their math instructional time teaching lessons students have already mastered, like shapes and basic counting. The findings reveal a misalignment between what the students are being taught and what they already know.

• Kids aren’t kind to chubby cartoons

  Rachel Barson-Leeds

  15 May 2013 | 8:55 am

  U. LEEDS (UK) — Very young children appear to reject storybook characters who are overweight as potential friends, a study shows.Researchers asked children in the UK to rate their choices between characters that were drawn as overweight, normal weight, or disabled. They found that children voiced more negative views about the fictional book character “fat Alfie”.

• DNA reveals origins of Minoan civilization

  Stephanie Seiler-U. Washington

  15 May 2013 | 7:16 am

  U. WASHINGTON (US) — DNA from skeletal remains clears up competing theories about the origins of the earliest European civilization. DNA analysis is unearthing the origins of the Minoans, who some 5,000 years ago established the first advanced Bronze Age civilization in present-day Crete. The findings suggest they arose from an ancestral Neolithic population that had arrived in the region about 4,000 years earlier.

• Come on, get happy, crank up the music

  Timothy Wall-Missouri

  14 May 2013 | 11:34 am

  U. MISSOURI (US) — You really can convince yourself to be happier, especially if you’re listening to an upbeat song while doing so.“Our work provides support for what many people already do—listen to music to improve their moods,” says lead author Yuna Ferguson, who performed the study while she was a doctoral student in psychological science at the University of Missouri.

• Is middle class wealth in meltdown?

  James Devitt-NYU

  13 May 2013 | 7:54 am

  NYU / BROWN (US) —The collapse of home prices and the stock market has taken an immense toll on the assets of the middle class, hitting minorities and young adults especially hard, a new study suggests.“Most telling is that the wealth of the average person by 2010 was at its lowest level since 1969,” says Edward Wolff, professor of economics at New York University. “Inequality of net worth, after almost two decades of little change, rose sharply between 2007 and 2010. Inequalities rose by income class, by race and ethnicity, and across age groups.”

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  Futurity.org » Brown University

• ‘Vicious cycle’ in brain keeps obesity going

  David Orenstein-Brown

  20 May 2013 | 7:24 am

  BROWN (US) — In rat brain cells, obesity blocks the production of a hormone that curbs appetite and inspires calorie burning, according to new research. The root cause appears to be a breakdown in the protein-processing mechanism of the cells, according to the researchers, who also found that they could intervene to break that cycle by fixing the core protein-processing problem.

• Is middle class wealth in meltdown?

  James Devitt-NYU

  13 May 2013 | 7:54 am

  NYU / BROWN (US) —The collapse of home prices and the stock market has taken an immense toll on the assets of the middle class, hitting minorities and young adults especially hard, a new study suggests.“Most telling is that the wealth of the average person by 2010 was at its lowest level since 1969,” says Edward Wolff, professor of economics at New York University. “Inequality of net worth, after almost two decades of little change, rose sharply between 2007 and 2010. Inequalities rose by income class, by race and ethnicity, and across age groups.”

• Mutation timing counts for tuberous sclerosis

  David Orenstein-Brown

  13 May 2013 | 5:27 am

  BROWN (US) — Early genetic deletions in the thalamus may play an important role in the course and severity of a developmental disease that affects one in 6,000 people. Doctors often diagnose tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) based on the abnormal growths the genetic disease causes in organs around the body. Those overt anatomical structures, however, belie the microscopic and mysterious neurological differences behind the disease’s troublesome behavioral symptoms: autism, intellectual disabilities, and seizures. TSC can arise in humans and mice alike when both alleles (the one from mom…

• Did water on moon come from Earth?

  Kevin Stacey-Brown

  10 May 2013 | 8:54 am

  BROWN (US) — Water inside the moon’s mantle came from primitive meteorites, the same source believed to have supplied most of the water on Earth, researchers report.They say the findings raise new questions about how the moon was formed.

• Guideposts in silicone unravel neuron growth

  David Orenstein-Brown

  7 May 2013 | 6:25 am

  BROWN (US) — By guiding nerve cells’ growth, scientists have optimized the branching, tendrilous neurons for applications such as reconstructive surgery. Their work helps explain how neurons grow in new tissues in response to physical guideposts, called Schwann cells. The paper also provides medical device makers with an overt demonstration of how to craft the best artificial Schwann cell implants in silicone to make neurons grow as straight as possible in a desired direction. “If you’ve got an injury in your arm or your leg then you’d like to have proper…

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  Futurity.org » California Institute of Technology

• ‘Slope winds’ could have built Mars mound

  Morgan Kelly-Princeton

  7 May 2013 | 9:00 am

  PRINCETON / CALTECH (US) — New analysis suggests that a roughly 3.5-mile-high mound on Mars came from the planet’s dusty atmosphere, not a massive lake, report researchers. If correct, the research could dilute expectations that the mound holds evidence of a large body of water, which would have important implications for understanding Mars’ past habitability.

• Scientists wait to see black hole’s birth

  Marcus Woo-Caltech

  6 May 2013 | 7:01 am

  CALTECH (US) — A new kind of cosmic flash may reveal the birth of a black hole for the first time. When a massive star exhausts its fuel, it collapses under its own gravity and produces a black hole, an object so dense that not even light can escape its gravitational grip.

• Massive star factory in early universe

  Brian Bell-Caltech

  18 Apr 2013 | 3:47 am

  CALTECH (US) — Astronomers have found a star-generating galaxy that existed billions of years earlier than expected possible, churning out 2,000 times more stars than the Milky Way. The first galaxies were small, then eventually merged together to form the behemoths we see in the present universe. Those smaller galaxies produced stars at a modest rate; only later—when the universe was a couple of billion years old—did the vast majority of larger galaxies begin to form and accumulate enough gas and dust to become prolific star factories.

• Sensor for asteroid camera passes critical test

  Leonor Sierra-Rochester

  16 Apr 2013 | 8:59 am

  U. ROCHESTER (US) — Scientists are testing a new sensor designed to be the eyes of a future asteroid-tracking mission.“The Near Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) sensor will increase our ability to detect hazardous asteroids near the Earth and improve our understanding of threatening objects,” says William J. Forrest, professor of astronomy at the University of Rochester. Once launched, the space-based telescope would be positioned at a location about four times the distance between Earth and the moon. From this lofty perch, NEOCam could observe the comings and goings of objects near…

• Did phosphorous from space spark life on Earth?

  Richard Mellor-Leeds

  4 Apr 2013 | 7:14 am

  U. LEEDS (UK) — Experiments suggest that unusual phosphorus chemicals from meteorites could have given power to Earth’s “primordial soup.”While it is generally accepted that some important ingredients for life came from meteorites bombarding the early Earth, scientists have not been able to explain how that inanimate rock transformed into the building blocks of life. This new study shows how a chemical, similar to one now found in all living cells and vital for generating the energy that makes something alive, could have been created when meteorites containing phosphorus…

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  Futurity.org » Cardiff University

• Peptides kick-start body to fight sepsis

  Christopher Jones-Cardiff

  16 May 2013 | 5:46 pm

  CARDIFF U. (UK) — Peptide molecules derived from the body’s natural immune system can help boost the body’s defense against life-threatening blood poisoning. In an article published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers report that peptide molecules derived from immune sensors known as Toll-like receptors or TLRs can kick-start the body’s natural immune defense that was affected by blood poisoning. “Blood poisoning or sepsis is triggered by the body’s overreaction to infection; it can lead to widespread inflammation and blood clotting as well as, in…

• Inbreeding threatens India’s wild tigers

  Tomas Barrett-Cardiff

  15 May 2013 | 8:16 am

  CARDIFF U. (UK) — A collapse in the variety of mating partners is putting tigers in India at risk of extinction, a new study suggests.Approximately 60 percent of the world’s wild tigers live in India, but even there numbers remain low and their genetic diversity is declining rapidly.

• Brain ‘speed’ linked to psychosis risk

  Tomas Barrett-Cardiff

  1 May 2013 | 8:06 am

  CARDIFF U. (UK) — Children whose brains process information more slowly than those of their peers are at greater risk of psychotic experiences, according to new research. Psychotic experiences can include hearing voices, seeing things that are not present, or holding unrealistic beliefs that other people don’t share. These experiences can often be distressing and frightening and interfere with their everyday life. Children with psychotic experiences are more likely to develop psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia later in life.

• Replace police stations with ‘cop shops’

  Tomas Barrett-Cardiff

  29 Apr 2013 | 2:00 pm

  CARDIFF U. (UK) — The police could save money and better serve the public by closing police stations and opening more local police offices in shopping centers, post offices, and other public locations, a new paper suggests.The report, Rebooting the PC, urges police chiefs to not put “buildings before bobbies,” stressing that the nature of the emergent financial and social challenges that British society faces over the next decade means police service needs to become more imaginative in how it interacts with the public, including “managing the police estate in a smarter…

• Baby sweat may predict toddler aggression

  Tomas Barrett-Cardiff

  23 Apr 2013 | 11:32 am

  CARDIFF U. (UK) — Babies who get less sweaty in response to scary situations at age one show more physical and verbal aggression at age three, according to new research. Lower levels of sweat, as measured by skin conductance activity (SCA), have been linked with conduct disorder and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents.

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  Futurity.org » Carnegie Mellon University

• Digital formats split up electronics market

  Adam Reger-Pittsburgh

  8 May 2013 | 12:30 pm

  U. PITTSBURGH / CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — Digital converters lower the risk of getting “stranded” with a losing, incompatible format—like when VHS made Betamax obsolete. Consumers now have more choice, and firms may be able to increase total market shares by accommodating themselves to compatible formats, cross-licensing, and avoiding standards wars.

• To think clearly under stress, focus on values

  Shilo Rea-Carnegie Mellon

  6 May 2013 | 7:49 am

  CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — New research provides the first evidence that self-affirmation can protect against the damaging effects of stress on problem-solving performance. Understanding that self-affirmation—the process of identifying and focusing on one’s most important values—boosts stressed individuals’ problem-solving abilities. The findings, published in PLOS ONE, will help guide future research and the development of educational interventions. “An emerging set of published Carnegie Mellon University studies suggest that a brief self-affirmation activity at the…

• Diverse neuron ‘dream teams’ beat the rest

  Jocelyn Duffy-Carnegie Mellon

  1 May 2013 | 6:42 am

  CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — Scientists have used a statistical model to evaluate the fitness of individual neurons and find which ones will make the most successful “team.”In a process similar to the way a sports fanatic puts together a fantasy football team, a computer simulation then pitted the groups of neurons against one another in a playoff-style format to find out which population was the best. Researchers then analyzed the winners to see what types of neurons made the most successful squads.

• Keyboards shrink for extra tiny devices

  Byron Spice-Carnegie Mellon

  1 May 2013 | 3:47 am

  CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — A new iterative zooming technique could make it possible to enter text on ultra-small computers, like smartwatches. Smartwatches may soon be on their way from companies such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and Microsoft. But as capable as these ultra-small computers may be, how will users enter an address, a name, or a search term into them?

• Wave hand. Turn any surface into a touchscreen

  Byron Spice-Carnegie Mellon

  25 Apr 2013 | 1:27 pm

  CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — New technology makes it possible to create touch-based interfaces almost at will, with just the swipe of your hand.The system goes beyond previous work that allowed a depth camera system such as Kinect to be combined with a projector to turn almost any surface into a touchscreen.

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  Futurity.org » Case Western Reserve University

• Did water on moon come from Earth?

  Kevin Stacey-Brown

  10 May 2013 | 8:54 am

  BROWN (US) — Water inside the moon’s mantle came from primitive meteorites, the same source believed to have supplied most of the water on Earth, researchers report.They say the findings raise new questions about how the moon was formed.

• New moms welcome online help for depression

  Chris Sheridan-Case Western

  17 Apr 2013 | 9:10 am

  CASE WESTERN RESERVE (US) — Mothers suffering from postpartum depression after a high-risk pregnancy will go online for help if it’s available anonymously and from professional healthcare providers, new research suggests.Postpartum depression, a moderate to severe depression that can occur after a woman has given birth, affects about 7 to 15 percent of new mothers. The effects can be felt from soon after delivery to as long as a year later.

• Material for implants mimics squid beaks

  Chris Sheridan-Case Western

  10 Apr 2013 | 7:42 am

  CASE WESTERN RESERVE (US) — A new material modeled after squid beaks may lead to safer, more comfortable medical implants.Many medical implants require hard materials that have to connect to or pass through soft body tissue, a mechanical mismatch that can lead to problems including a breakdown of the skin from abdominal feeding tubes or where wires pass through the chest to power heart pumps. Enter the squid.

• Faster MRI finds disease with ‘fingerprints’

  Chris Sheridan-Case Western

  18 Mar 2013 | 9:31 am

  CASE WESTERN RESERVE (US) — A new MRI method could provide early identification of specific cancers, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and other maladies, new research shows.Each body tissue and disease has a unique fingerprint that can be used to diagnose problems before they become untreatable.

• Rats sniff to show who is top dog

  Chris Sheridan-Case Western

  11 Mar 2013 | 8:18 am

  CASE WESTERN RESERVE (US) — When rats sniff each other they’re doing more than simply smelling. They sniff to show social hierarchy and to prevent aggression, a new study shows.The discovery may help scientists identify brain regions critical for interpreting communications cues. When two rats approach each other, one communicates dominance by sniffing more frequently, while the subordinate signals its role by sniffing less. If the subordinate doesn’t do so, the dominant rat is more likely to become aggressive to the other.

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  Futurity.org » Cornell University

• Hungry shoppers buy more junk food

  Stacey Shackford-Cornell

  7 May 2013 | 1:02 pm

  CORNELL (US) — Skipping meals before going to the grocery store can sabotage your shopping—and your diet—according to new research.Even short-term food deprivation not only increases overall grocery shopping, but also leads shoppers to buy 31 percent more high-calorie foods, according to a study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.

• Hundreds of possible ways to starve cancer

  Michelle Falling-Columbia

  6 May 2013 | 1:04 pm

  COLUMBIA U. (US) — An analysis of gene expression from 22 types of tumors has come up with hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off cancer’s fuel supply.Scientists say the results should ramp up research into drugs that interfere with cancer metabolism, a field that dominated cancer research in the early 20th century and has recently undergone a renaissance.

• Baby immune cells are born ready to fight

  Carly Hodes-Cornell

  6 May 2013 | 12:25 pm

  CORNELL (US) — Found in newborns, small populations of preprogrammed immune cells can fight specific pathogens that they have never encountered. The findings, say the researchers, have the potential to revolutionize how and when people are immunized. The study, published in the Journal of Immunology, demonstrates a way to grow these cells, potentially transforming our approach to preventing infectious disease. When first exposed to a new pathogen, the immune system takes up to a week to effectively respond, and up to a month to make specialized memory cells that remember how to fight it.

• Watch squishy creatures evolve to run

  Syl Kacapyr-Cornell

  3 May 2013 | 6:34 am

  CORNELL (US) — A computer algorithm shows virtual “softbots” evolving muscle-like features and teaching themselves to walk. The team incorporated concepts from developmental biology and how nature builds complex animals—from jellyfish to jaguars. The result is an array of bizarre, simulated robots that evolve a diverse series of gaits and gallops.

• Happy heads may get better sleep

  Karene Booker-Cornell

  29 Apr 2013 | 7:41 am

  CORNELL (US) — When a person’s happiness swings widely in reaction to the good and bad things that happen during the day, sleep can suffer.Researchers analyzed data from 100 middle-aged participants in a longitudinal study of midlife in the United States that included telephone interviews about participants’ daily experience as well as subjective and objective measures of sleeping habits. Published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the study looked at the overall levels of positive emotion that the participants experienced in their lives—those associated with more stable…

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  Futurity.org » Duke University

• No signs of fracking fluids in Arkansas drinking water

  Tim Lucas-Duke

  15 May 2013 | 1:18 pm

  DUKE (US) — Samples from drinking water wells show no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas.“Our results show no discernible impairment of groundwater quality in areas associated with natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in this region,” says Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

• New invisibility cloak is 3D-printed ‘frisbee’

  Richard Merritt-Duke

  6 May 2013 | 8:33 am

  DUKE (US) — Seven years ago, the first working invisibility cloak resulted from complex laboratory experiments. It’s now easier and cheaper to make a simple cloak. “I would argue that essentially anyone who can spend a couple thousand dollars on a non-industry grade 3-D printer can literally make a plastic cloak overnight,” says Yaroslav Urzhumov, assistant research professor in electrical and computer engineering at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. Three-dimensional printing, technically known as stereolithographic fabrication, has become increasingly…

• Radio collars reveal hibernating lemurs

  Karl Bates-Duke

  2 May 2013 | 8:48 am

  DUKE (US) — Scientists only knew of one primate that hibernates as a survival strategy—the western fat-tailed dwarf lemur—but it turns out they’re not the only lemurs nodding off. In a study appearing today in Scientific Reports, researchers report that two other little-known lemurs—Crossley’s dwarf lemur and Sibree’s dwarf lemur—burrow into the soft, spongy rainforest floor in the eastern part of Madagascar, curl up and spend the next three to seven months snoozing underground.

• Baby’s cells emit hormone to prevent preeclampsia

  Tom Hughes-UNC

  1 May 2013 | 11:34 am

  UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — A new understanding of the hormonal “conversation” between mother and fetus could lead to new ways to detect and prevent preeclampsia. In a study using mice, researchers found that a hormone, adrenomedullin, plays a crucial role in preventing the pregnancy complication preeclampsia. Surprisingly, this hormone protects women from preeclampsia when emitted by the fetus, not the mother, during the most critical times in pregnancy.

• Conservatives don’t buy into ‘green’ labels

  Erin Medlyn-Duke

  30 Apr 2013 | 1:22 pm

  DUKE (US) — When it comes to deciding which light bulb to buy, a label touting a product’s environmental benefit may actually discourage politically conservative shoppers.Researchers conducted two studies to determine how political ideology affected a person’s choice to buy energy-efficient products in the United States.

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  Futurity.org » Emory University

• Cells in hydrogel reverse diabetes in mice

  Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech

  9 May 2013 | 8:54 am

  GEORGIA TECH / EMORY (US) — Scientists reversed Type 1 diabetes in mice in as little as 10 days using a new technique to transplant cells.The research team engineered a biomaterial to protect the cluster of insulin-producing cells—donor pancreatic islets—during injection. The material also contains proteins to foster blood vessel formation that allow the cells to successfully graft, survive and function within the body.

• ‘Touchy’ robot arm reaches past clutter

  Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech

  30 Apr 2013 | 8:10 am

  GEORGIA TECH (US) — Thanks to a robot with a flexible arm covered with tactile sensors, a man with quadriplegia was able to pull a blanket over himself and grab a cloth to wipe his face. Whether reaching for a book out of a cluttered cabinet or pruning a bush in the backyard, people’s arms frequently makes contact with objects during everyday tasks. Animals do it too, when foraging for food, for example.

• Diabetes care improves, but costly gaps remain

  Melva Robertson-Emory

  26 Apr 2013 | 9:43 am

  EMORY (US) — People with diabetes are getting better control of the disease, but a new study suggests that other health issues that can complicate the condition are not as well tended to. According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Americans with diabetes had increasingly better control of their blood sugar and cholesterol levels and attended more preventive check-ups from 1999 to 2010. However, one in five Americans with diabetes still smokes and approximately 40 percent don’t receive education at diagnosis, annual vaccinations, or annual checks for…

• To harness HIV, make it get ‘naked’

  Quinn Eastmann-Emory

  18 Apr 2013 | 8:58 am

  EMORY (US) — A new understanding of how HIV “gets dressed” in the human cells it has taken over could lead to new antiretroviral drugs, researchers say.Without its clothes—the envelope proteins that appear on the surface of the viral particle—the virus can’t spread from one cell to another.

• Immune system ‘trainer’ cells don’t quit

  Quinn Eastmann-Emory

  12 Apr 2013 | 11:47 am

  EMORY (US) — Follicular helper T cells, which are important for generating potent antibodies, stick around even after a viral infection is over, new research shows.Understanding how follicular helper T cells form and are maintained could improve the design of vaccines against a wide variety of viruses, such as HIV or influenza. The results were published this week in the journal Immunity.

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  Futurity.org » Georgia Institute of Technology

• Cells in hydrogel reverse diabetes in mice

  Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech

  9 May 2013 | 8:54 am

  GEORGIA TECH / EMORY (US) — Scientists reversed Type 1 diabetes in mice in as little as 10 days using a new technique to transplant cells.The research team engineered a biomaterial to protect the cluster of insulin-producing cells—donor pancreatic islets—during injection. The material also contains proteins to foster blood vessel formation that allow the cells to successfully graft, survive and function within the body.

• Teens breathe easier with texts about asthma

  Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech

  2 May 2013 | 7:31 am

  GEORGIA TECH (US) — Sending children with asthma a daily text message asking about their symptoms and offering information about their condition can lead to improved health and fewer doctor visits.Pediatric patients who were asked questions about their symptoms and provided information about asthma via SMS text messages showed improved pulmonary function and a better understanding of their condition within four months, compared to other groups.

• ‘Touchy’ robot arm reaches past clutter

  Liz Klipp-Georgia Tech

  30 Apr 2013 | 8:10 am

  GEORGIA TECH (US) — Thanks to a robot with a flexible arm covered with tactile sensors, a man with quadriplegia was able to pull a blanket over himself and grab a cloth to wipe his face. Whether reaching for a book out of a cluttered cabinet or pruning a bush in the backyard, people’s arms frequently makes contact with objects during everyday tasks. Animals do it too, when foraging for food, for example.

• Like baby turtles, ‘FlipperBot’ has bendy wrists

  John Toon-Georgia Tech

  25 Apr 2013 | 10:23 am

  GEORGIA TECH (US) — To move over surfaces like sand, a robot called “FlipperBot” uses flexible wrists inspired by how hatchling sea turtles get to the ocean. Both the baby turtles and FlipperBot run into trouble under the same conditions: traversing granular media disturbed by previous steps.

• New sensors for military capture blast data

  Josh Toon-Georgia Tech

  24 Apr 2013 | 8:18 am

  GEORGIA TECH (US) — A new wearable system measures the physical environment of an explosion and collects information that could match a soldier’s experience to his or her long-term medical outcome. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are becoming a global problem for the US armed forces. To prevent injuries to soldiers and provide better care to those who are injured, the US military is striving to better understand how blasts impact the human body.

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  Futurity.org » Indiana University

• Rock gas fuels ‘eternal flame’ behind waterfall

  Steve Hinnefeld-Indiana

  13 May 2013 | 9:05 am

  INDIANA U. (US) — Natural gas in underground rock layers can seep to the surface—sometimes in quantities abundant enough to produce “eternal flames.”Researchers say much remains to be learned about these conditions and their contributions to atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.

• Carnivorous plant trims its tiny genome

  Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo

  13 May 2013 | 7:08 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — A carnivorous plant is slowly deleting noncoding or “junk” DNA from its genome, report researchers. Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities. The new study offers an unexpected insight: the large majority of noncoding DNA, which is abundant in many living things, may not actually be needed for complex life, according to research set to appear in Nature.

• Gene tied to double Alzheimer’s risk in African Americans

  Michelle Falling-Columbia

  10 Apr 2013 | 10:57 am

  COLUMBIA (US) — African Americans with a specific gene variant have almost double the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease compared with African Americans who lack the variant.The ABCA7 gene is involved in the production of cholesterol and lipids, which suggests that lipid metabolism may be a more important pathway in Alzheimer’s disease in African Americans than in whites.

• Welcome to the USA: Do religious groups play unique role?

  David Ruth-Rice

  8 Apr 2013 | 10:17 am

  RICE (US) — Despite different motivations, religious and nonreligious organizations may have a similar effect on the ability of immigrants to acclimate to life in the US, new research suggests.“There’s been a lot of discussion as to whether religious organizations offer some special or unique benefit to immigrant groups that will help them better adapt to American society,” says Elaine Howard Ecklund, the professor of sociology at Rice University. “We wanted to see at the organizational level whether there was any practical difference between these two groups.”

• From DNA clash, ‘double whammy’ for flies

  David Orenstein-Brown

  6 Feb 2013 | 3:05 am

  BROWN / INDIANA U. (US) — Animal cells have two genomes—in the nucleus and the mitochondria. A new study describes how a clash between the two makes fruit flies sick. Diseases from a mutation in one genome are complicated enough, but some illnesses arise from errant interactions between the DNA in the nucleus and in the mitochondria. Scientists want to know more about how such genomic disconnects cause disease. In a step in that direction, scientists have traced one such incompatibility in fruit flies down to the level of individual nucleotide mutations and describe how the genetic double…

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  Futurity.org » Iowa State University

• Privacy: Does face recognition cross the line?

  Angie Hunt-Iowa State

  9 May 2013 | 11:29 am

  IOWA STATE (US) — Facial recognition technology could help businesses customize services but are customers ready for it?“It’s beneficial for a company to have more information about you because it allows them to customize their service and products as well as their advertising,” says Brian Mennecke, an associate professor of information systems at Iowa State University. “And it’s certainly beneficial to the customer because they don’t have to waste time essentially relaying that information.

• High hopes can lead to voter letdown

  Angie Hunt-Iowa State

  17 Apr 2013 | 1:27 am

  IOWA STATE (US) — Leading up to an election, supporters who maintain a high level of optimism are more likely to vote—but are also more disappointed if the results don’t go their way.“People tend to expect things they want to happen to actually happen. The reason this is interesting in elections is because your ability to make that happen, assuming you’re not heavily involved with the campaign, is almost zero,” says Zlatan Krizan, an assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University.

• Parent violence leads to teen dating abuse

  Angie Hunt-Iowa State

  29 Mar 2013 | 8:05 am

  IOWA STATE (US) — Psychological violence from a parent has a greater impact on the child’s teenage relationships than witnessing violence between two adults in the home, a new study finds. “It is true that if you grow up in a violent household you have a higher likelihood of being in a violent relationship,” says Brenda Lohman, lead author and an associate professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University. The research focuses on psychological violence instead of physical violence.

• Violent games strongly linked to youth crime

  Angie Hunt-Iowa State

  27 Mar 2013 | 8:56 am

  IOWA STATE (US) — A new study suggests there’s a strong connection between violent video games and aggressive behavior in kids. Matt DeLisi, a professor of sociology at Iowa State University, says the research shows a strong link even when controlling for a history of violence and psychopathic traits among juvenile offenders. “When critics say, ‘Well, it’s probably not video games, it’s probably how antisocial they are,’ we can address that directly because we controlled for a lot of things that we know matter,” DeLisi says.

• Tiny planet is a bit bigger than Earth’s moon

  Mike Krapfl-Iowa State

  20 Feb 2013 | 12:20 pm

  IOWA STATE (US) — A planet discovered outside our solar system is smaller than Mercury, the smallest planet orbiting our sun.The planet, about the size of the Earth’s moon, is one of three orbiting a star designated Kepler-37 in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way.

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  Futurity.org » Johns Hopkins University

• Cartilage gets bum rap for osteoarthritis

  Catherine Kolf-Johns Hopkins

  20 May 2013 | 12:30 pm

  JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Osteoarthritis, a painful disease thought to be primarily a problem with the cartilage that cushions joints, may actually be caused in large part by the bone underneath. The insight led to a proof-of-concept experiment in which researchers found they could stop progression of the degenerative disease by blocking the action of a critical protein involved in bone regulation. Should that strategy prove sound in further studies, it could help future patients avoid joint replacement surgery. “Our results are potentially really good news for patients with OA,”…

• Flyby radar maps Saturn’s Earth-like moon

  Michael Buckley-Johns Hopkins

  17 May 2013 | 6:27 am

  JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Using a radar imager to peer through the soupy atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, scientists have created the first topographic map of one of the most Earth-like worlds in the solar system. The map, identifying surface features and elevations, is a valuable new tool for researchers seeking to know more about Saturn’s largest moon, which, at 1,600 miles across, is bigger than Mercury and the second-largest moon in the solar system. The map and a paper on the project appear in the journal Icarus. Scientists care about Titan because it’s the only moon in…

• Heavy metal cadmium tied to liver disease

  Stephanie Desmon-JHU

  10 May 2013 | 11:55 am

  JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — People with more chronic environmental exposure to cadmium appear to be nearly 3.5 times more likely to die of liver disease than those with less of the heavy metal in their bodies.The findings don’t prove that cadmium from such sources as industrial emissions or tobacco smoke directly causes liver disease, but suggest an association that needs more investigation.

• Vaccinate mosquitoes to stop malaria?

  Layne Cameron-Michigan State

  10 May 2013 | 10:37 am

  MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Mosquitoes are deadly and efficient disease transmitters, but they also can be equally good at spreading a cure for diseases they transmit, such as malaria, new research suggests. A study in the current issue of Science shows that the transmission of malaria via mosquitoes to humans can be interrupted by using a strain of the bacteria Wolbachia in the insects. In a sense, Wolbachia would act as a vaccine of sorts for mosquitoes that would protect them from malaria parasites.

• 3D printed ear binds biology with electronics

  John Sullivan-Princeton

  10 May 2013 | 9:35 am

  PRINCETON (US) — Using 3D printing tools, scientists have created a functional ear that can “hear” radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability. The researchers’ primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile method of merging electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3D printing of cells and nanoparticles—with an off-the-shelf printer purchased off the Internet—followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating what they term a bionic ear.

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  Futurity.org » King’s College London

• Kidney disease may be written on your face

  Emma Reynolds-Kings College London

  25 Apr 2013 | 1:57 pm

  KING’S COLLEGE LONDON (UK) — People with a certain kind of kidney disease have characteristic facial features that may reflect the genetic mutation they carry.Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is the most common genetic kidney disorder. In the UK, it accounts for around 1 in 10 people on dialysis and 1 in 8 of those with a kidney transplant. About 64-85 percent of ADPKD families have mutations in the PKD1 gene and about 15-36 percent have mutations in the related PKD2 gene.

• Why are insect and human brains so similar?

  Daniel Stolte-Arizona

  12 Apr 2013 | 8:22 am

  U. ARIZONA (US) / KING’S COLLEGE LONDON (UK) — Decision-making centers in the brains of insects and mammals share too many similarities to have evolved independently, a new study suggests. Published in Science, the findings point to deep similarities in how the brain regulates behavior in arthropods (such as flies and crabs) and vertebrates (such as fish, mice, and humans).

• Obesity and type 2 diabetes link identified

  Emma Reynolds-Kings College London

  4 Apr 2013 | 5:45 am

  KING’S COLLEGE LONDON (UK) — Researchers are hopeful that obesity can be “uncoupled” from insulin resistance after finding that the immune system and a key protein link the two disorders.There are an estimated 371 million people with diabetes in the world and around 90 percent of these cases are type 2 diabetes. By 2030, there will be some 550 million with the condition based on current trends.

• Higher autism risk with older grandpas

  Seil Collins-Kings College London

  21 Mar 2013 | 12:10 pm

  KING’S COLLEGE LONDON (UK) — Men who become fathers at older ages are more likely to have grandchildren with autism.The new study shows how risk factors for the condition may accumulate over generations.

• Lifelong exercise may keep aging mind sharp

  Jack Stonebridge-Kings College London

  14 Mar 2013 | 3:43 am

  KING’S COLLEGE LONDON (UK) — Research shows a link between lifelong exercise and improved brain function in later life. The study found that regular intensive lifelong exercise as a child and adult improved cognitive functioning at the age of 50 and that even exercise of a lower frequency could offer benefits for cognitive well-being.

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  Futurity.org » McGill University

• For babies, how much vitamin D is enough?

  Katherine Gombay-McGill

  30 Apr 2013 | 8:18 am

  MCGILL (CAN) — Vitamin D is especially important for babies in the first 12 months of life when bones are growing rapidly, but new research shows more is not necessarily better.Health care providers frequently recommend that parents give their babies a daily vitamin D supplement, but how much vitamin D babies should be given has been a matter of debate.

• ‘Sports car’ galaxy burns gas into stars

  Chris Chipello-McGill

  24 Apr 2013 | 6:45 am

  MCGILL (CAN) — A newly discovered galaxy turns gas into stars with almost 100 percent efficiency—a rare phase of evolution that is the most extreme ever observed.“Galaxies burn gas like a car engine burns fuel. Most galaxies have fairly inefficient engines, meaning they form stars from their stellar fuel tanks far below the maximum theoretical rate,” says Jim Geach of McGill University. “This galaxy is like a highly tuned sports car, converting gas to stars at the most efficient rate thought to be possible.”

• ‘Lazy eye’ improves with Tetris

  Julie Robert-McGill

  22 Apr 2013 | 12:44 pm

  MCGILL (CAN) — The popular puzzle video game Tetris appears to be a winner when it comes to treating adults with amblyopia, commonly known as “lazy eye.” By distributing information between the two eyes in a complementary fashion, the video game trains both eyes to work together, which is counter to previous treatments for the disorder, which included patching.

• Stressed moms make baby squirrels grow faster

  Layne Cameron-Michigan State

  19 Apr 2013 | 7:32 am

  MICHIGAN STATE (US) — When the woods get crowded, pregnant squirrels improve their offspring’s odds of survival by ramping up hormones that help their babies grow. A study showed for the first time how females use social cues to correctly prepare their offspring for life outside the nest. The results, published in Science, confirm that red squirrel mothers boost stress hormone production during pregnancy, which increases the size and the chances of survival of their pups. “Natural selection favors faster-growing offspring, and female red squirrels react accordingly to increase…

• To heal heart, treat depression, too

  Wilson Valentin-Columbia

  1 Apr 2013 | 1:25 pm

  COLUMBIA U. (US) —Treating people for depression after a heart attack could reduce the risk of death or another attack, new research shows.Researchers completed a randomized controlled trial with 150 patients with elevated depressive symptoms two to six months after hospitalization for heart disease.

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  Futurity.org » Michigan State University

• Carnivorous plant trims its tiny genome

  Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo

  13 May 2013 | 7:08 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — A carnivorous plant is slowly deleting noncoding or “junk” DNA from its genome, report researchers. Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities. The new study offers an unexpected insight: the large majority of noncoding DNA, which is abundant in many living things, may not actually be needed for complex life, according to research set to appear in Nature.

• Vaccinate mosquitoes to stop malaria?

  Layne Cameron-Michigan State

  10 May 2013 | 10:37 am

  MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Mosquitoes are deadly and efficient disease transmitters, but they also can be equally good at spreading a cure for diseases they transmit, such as malaria, new research suggests. A study in the current issue of Science shows that the transmission of malaria via mosquitoes to humans can be interrupted by using a strain of the bacteria Wolbachia in the insects. In a sense, Wolbachia would act as a vaccine of sorts for mosquitoes that would protect them from malaria parasites.

• Sexual harassment may trigger men to purge

  Andy Henion-Michigan State

  10 May 2013 | 8:57 am

  MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Men who report being sexually harassed are significantly more likely than women to engage in “purging compensatory behaviors,” new research suggests.The study is one of the first to examine the effects of sexual harassment on body image and eating behaviors in both women and men.

• Social games may treat infant autism

  Andrea Estrada-UCSB

  2 May 2013 | 7:14 am

  UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — A brief intervention conducted with babies only four to twelve weeks old shows promise for treating symptoms of autism, according to researchers. Most infants respond to a game of peek-a-boo with smiles at the very least, and, for those who find the activity particularly entertaining, gales of laughter.

• Binge eating may be based in biology

  Andy Henion-Michigan State

  1 May 2013 | 2:04 pm

  MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Female rats are much more likely to binge eat than male rats are, according to new research that provides some of the strongest evidence yet that biology plays a role in eating disorders.The study, published online in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, is the first to establish sex differences in rates of binge eating in animals and has implications for humans. Binge eating is one of the core symptoms of most eating disorders, including bulimia nervosa and the binge/purge subtype of anorexia nervosa, and females are four to 10 times more likely than males…

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  Futurity.org » Monash University

• ‘Simple path’ from fish hips to 4-legged walk

  Emily Walker-Monash

  14 May 2013 | 7:48 am

  MONASH U. (AUS) — The evolution of the complex, weight-bearing hips of walking animals from the basic hips of fish was a much simpler process than previously thought, report researchers. Tetrapods, or four-legged animals, first stepped onto land about 395 million years ago. This significant change was made possible by strong hipbones and a connection through the spine via an ilium—features that were not present in the fish ancestors of tetrapods.

• Vaccinate mosquitoes to stop malaria?

  Layne Cameron-Michigan State

  10 May 2013 | 10:37 am

  MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Mosquitoes are deadly and efficient disease transmitters, but they also can be equally good at spreading a cure for diseases they transmit, such as malaria, new research suggests. A study in the current issue of Science shows that the transmission of malaria via mosquitoes to humans can be interrupted by using a strain of the bacteria Wolbachia in the insects. In a sense, Wolbachia would act as a vaccine of sorts for mosquitoes that would protect them from malaria parasites.

• Women: Hormone therapy won’t harm your head

  Courtney Karayannis-Monash

  19 Apr 2013 | 3:41 am

  MONASH U. (AUS) — Women do not suffer cognitive loss when taking hormone replacement therapy to treat symptoms of menopause, a new study finds. Researchers tested the treatment for six months in early postmenopausal women between the ages of 49 and 55 who had never used HRT E2D—a combination of hormones estradiol and drospirenone. The examined HRT’s effects on memory, language and concentration. The treatment resulted in significant improvement in menopausal symptoms including hot flushes, night sweats, and sexual function, and it lowered blood pressure and weight in comparison…

• Nip mosquito-borne disease in the ‘bug’

  David Scott-Melbourne

  10 Apr 2013 | 9:16 am

  U. MELBOURNE (AUS) — Scientists report promising results from a new technique to introduce disease-blocking bacteria into mosquitoes in an effort to stop the spread of dengue, yellow fever, and possibly malaria. When infected with the bacteria Wolbachia, mosquitoes are unable to spread viruses such as dengue, a disease that kills about 40,000 people each year with no vaccines or specific treatments currently available. However, the bacteria have been difficult to spread within the mosquito population because they reduce the mosquitoes’ ability to lay viable eggs. Wolbachia bacteria…

• Science suggests that size does matter

  Emily Walker-Monash

  9 Apr 2013 | 8:56 am

  MONASH U. (AUS) — Asked to rate 3D, computer-generated male bodies, women in a new study preferred taller figures, as well as those with larger penises. The study also shows that taller men with larger genitalia were considered more attractive than shorter men with larger genitalia. The researchers showed the male bodies to 105 female participants with the images differing in height, body shape, and penis size, and asked them to assess the figures’ sexual attractiveness.

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  Futurity.org » New York University

• Start ‘magnetic fire’ without a spark?

  James Devitt-NYU

  13 May 2013 | 11:30 am

  NYU (US) — Physicists have uncovered new clues to how energy is sustained and spreads in “magnetic fire.”They say the process is similar to how forest fires spread, a finding that has the potential to deepen our understanding of self-sustained chemical reactions.

• Is middle class wealth in meltdown?

  James Devitt-NYU

  13 May 2013 | 7:54 am

  NYU / BROWN (US) —The collapse of home prices and the stock market has taken an immense toll on the assets of the middle class, hitting minorities and young adults especially hard, a new study suggests.“Most telling is that the wealth of the average person by 2010 was at its lowest level since 1969,” says Edward Wolff, professor of economics at New York University. “Inequality of net worth, after almost two decades of little change, rose sharply between 2007 and 2010. Inequalities rose by income class, by race and ethnicity, and across age groups.”

• Brain scans reveal the ‘signature’ of pain

  Diane Swanbrow-Michigan

  12 Apr 2013 | 11:12 am

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — In the first objective measure of pain, scientists find that its brain “signature” is the same for everyone. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, may lead to the development of methods doctors can use to objectively quantify patients’ pain.

• Ape-like human ancestor stirs debate

  Karl Bates-Duke

  12 Apr 2013 | 7:42 am

  BOSTON U. / DUKE (US) — New analysis of a pair of 1.98 million year old fossil proto-humans discovered in a South African cave in 2008 has yielded surprising insights into human evolution.An international team of scientists has written seven papers appearing in Science. There were six earlier papers in September 2011 and two before that in 2010.

• “Sustainable” fish may not deserve the label

  James Devitt-NYU

  12 Apr 2013 | 6:27 am

  NYU (US) — Certification of seafood as “sustainable” by the nonprofit Marine Stewardship Council is too lenient and misleading, report researchers. “When consumers want sustainable fish there are two options to meet the demand: fisheries can become more sustainable or the definition of sustainable can be watered down to be practically meaningless—with MSC seafood, the definition has been repeatedly watered down,” says Jennifer Jacquet, a clinical assistant professor in New York University’s Environmental Studies Program and one of 11 authors of the study,…

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  Futurity.org » Northwestern University

• One gene lets mice smell danger

  Megan Fellman-Northwestern

  8 May 2013 | 9:38 am

  NORTHWESTERN (US) — Mice would be easy prey without a single gene that lets them smell cats on the prowl.The gene, called TAAR4, encodes a receptor that responds to a chemical that is enriched in the urine of carnivores. While normal mice innately avoid the scent marks of predators, mice lacking the TAAR4 receptor don’t.

• Sleeping on it helps memories stick

  Hilary Hurd Anyaso-Northwestern

  19 Apr 2013 | 8:19 am

  NORTHWESTERN (US) — Rehearsing memories, during either sleep or waking, can affect what is remembered later, new research reveals. The study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, shows that when the information that makes up a memory has a high value—associated with, for example, making more money—the memory is more likely to be rehearsed and consolidated during sleep and, thus, be remembered. Also, through the use of a direct manipulation of sleep, the research demonstrated a way to encourage the reactivation of low-value memories so they too were…

• Volcanoes on early Mars likely kept it toasty

  Kevin Stacey-Brown

  9 Apr 2013 | 12:33 pm

  BROWN (US) —When giant volcanoes were active early in Mars’ history, the planet may have released enough methane to keep the planet significantly warmer than it is today.In fact, Mars might have been warm enough to support liquid water, researchers report.

• Do ERs measure up for Medicare bonuses?

  Erin White-Northwestern

  4 Apr 2013 | 10:23 am

  NORTHWESTERN (US) — For-profit hospitals outperform others in emergency department care—and will be more likely to get reimbursements under Medicare’s new payment rules, researchers say. Though nonprofit and public hospitals are lagging behind in performance, many are making noticeable improvements and will be eligible for bonuses, too, according to a study that gives an early look at how hospitals are measuring up under the new, mandatory Hospital Inpatient Value-Based Purchasing Program that went into effect October 2012.

• New docs: Fewer hours, but more mistakes

  Jim Erickson-Michigan

  26 Mar 2013 | 11:09 am

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — New rules that require young doctors to work fewer hours without a break were supposed to protect patients from sleepy physicians, but a new study finds that medical errors may have actually increased.Traditionally, residents were allowed to work more than 24 hours without a break. In 2011, new regulations cut back the number of hours they can work consecutively to 16. But while work hours went down, sleep hours didn’t go up significantly and risk of depression symptoms in the doctors stayed the same.

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  Futurity.org » Penn State

• Slow quakes put ‘big wrinkle’ in rock theory

  A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State

  20 May 2013 | 11:07 am

  PENN STATE (US) — When researchers duplicate slow earthquakes, they find that rocks at the fault get stronger when slippage begins, but suddenly weaken. Earthquakes that last minutes rather than seconds are a relatively recent discovery, according to an international team of seismologists. Researchers have been aware of these slow earthquakes, only for the past five to ten years because of new tools and new observations, but these tools may explain the triggering of some normal earthquakes and could help in earthquake prediction.

• Chats with mom may keep students healthy

  Sara LaJeunesse-Penn State

  16 May 2013 | 8:46 am

  PENN STATE (US) — College students eat better and get more exercise on days when they communicate more with their parents, according to researchers. “Only a third of college students consume a diet that is consistent with national recommendations,” says Meg Small, research associate in the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development at Penn State.

• Carnivorous plant trims its tiny genome

  Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo

  13 May 2013 | 7:08 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — A carnivorous plant is slowly deleting noncoding or “junk” DNA from its genome, report researchers. Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities. The new study offers an unexpected insight: the large majority of noncoding DNA, which is abundant in many living things, may not actually be needed for complex life, according to research set to appear in Nature.

• School obesity rate shifts pregnancy risk

  Matthew Swayne-Penn State

  9 May 2013 | 9:31 am

  PENN STATE (US) — As the prevalence of obesity rises in a high school, so does the risk of an obese female student bearing a child, according to new research. “We did find that obese females are at lower risk of having a child while in high school,” says Jennifer Buher Kane, who received earned her PhD at Penn State and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Carolina Population Center at University of North Carolina. “But that relative risk depends a lot on the type of school they attend.” Health officials tend to focus on the biological link between obesity and…

• Bonding with avatar can shift perception

  Matthew Swayne-Penn State

  2 May 2013 | 9:26 am

  PENN STATE / U. MICHIGAN (US) — People who customized an avatar and saw it wearing a backpack overestimated the heights of virtual hills, just as people in real life tend to overestimate heights and distances while carrying extra weight. “You exert more of your agency through an avatar when you design it yourself,” says S. Shyam Sundar, professor of communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State, who worked with University of Michigan doctoral student Sangseok You.

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  Futurity.org » Princeton University

• 3D printed ear binds biology with electronics

  John Sullivan-Princeton

  10 May 2013 | 9:35 am

  PRINCETON (US) — Using 3D printing tools, scientists have created a functional ear that can “hear” radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability. The researchers’ primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile method of merging electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3D printing of cells and nanoparticles—with an off-the-shelf printer purchased off the Internet—followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating what they term a bionic ear.

• ‘Slope winds’ could have built Mars mound

  Morgan Kelly-Princeton

  7 May 2013 | 9:00 am

  PRINCETON / CALTECH (US) — New analysis suggests that a roughly 3.5-mile-high mound on Mars came from the planet’s dusty atmosphere, not a massive lake, report researchers. If correct, the research could dilute expectations that the mound holds evidence of a large body of water, which would have important implications for understanding Mars’ past habitability.

• How ‘jail-breaker’ cancer cells escape

  Catherine Zandonella-Princeton

  26 Apr 2013 | 1:16 pm

  PRINCETON (US) — Cancer cells that can break out of a tumor and invade other organs are more aggressive than nonmalignant cells and are nimble enough to maneuver their way into small spaces.A systematic comparison of metastatic breast cancer cells to healthy breast cells revealed dramatic differences between the two cell lines in their mechanics, migration, oxygen response, protein production, and ability to stick to surfaces.

• Don’t blame your brain for that bad decision

  Catherine Zandonella-Princeton

  16 Apr 2013 | 9:14 am

  PRINCETON (US) — Researchers find that bad decisions are usually made because of errors or “noisy” information, not in the brain’s processing of information. Making decisions involves a gradual accumulation of facts that support one choice or another. A person choosing a college might weigh factors such as course selection, institutional reputation, and the quality of future job prospects. But if the wrong choice is made, it might be the information rather than the brain’s decision-making process that is to blame. The researchers report in the journal Science that…

• How your brain chunks ‘moments’ into ‘events’

  Morgan Kelly-Princeton

  11 Apr 2013 | 10:00 am

  PRINCETON (US) — Scientists say they have a new explanation for how the brain breaks experiences into “events,” or the related groups that help us mentally organize the day’s many situations.They propose that the brain may actually work from subconscious mental categories it creates based on how it considers people, objects, and actions are related.

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  Futurity.org » Purdue University

• White veggies dropped like a hot potato

  Amy Patterson Neubert-Purdue

  15 May 2013 | 3:20 am

  PURDUE (US) — Colorful vegetables are promoted as key to a healthy diet, but white vegetables, especially potatoes, are getting a bad rap, nutrition expert says. “Potatoes are a great source for potassium, and only 3 percent of American adults consume the recommended daily intake for this mineral that’s essential to healthy blood pressure,” says Connie Weaver, distinguished professor of nutrition science at Purdue University.

• LEDs cut tomato costs, not yield

  Brian Wallheimer-Purdue

  30 Apr 2013 | 8:05 am

  PURDUE (US) — Tomatoes grown around LED lights in the winter can significantly reduce greenhouse energy costs without sacrificing yield.The average tomato is shipped about 1,500 miles from warmer climates where they’re grown to cooler climates that cannot produce the fruit cost-effectively in the winter. But the journey is costly—tomatoes are picked green and ripen during shipping, decreasing quality and flavor. The lengthy shipping distance also adds to the industry’s carbon footprint.

• Business will likely boom for livestock producers

  Brian Wallheimer-Purdue

  29 Apr 2013 | 7:55 am

  PURDUE (US) — Stalled demand for ethanol and growing demand for meat in developing countries should boost the livestock industry, a new study predicts. “Due to consumer taste preferences, global growth in income and population, the livestock industry will grow, particularly toward poultry and pork,” says Farzad Taheripour, a research assistant professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

• ‘Plasma’ zaps bacteria in bagged veggies

  Brian Wallheimer-Purdue

  17 Apr 2013 | 7:41 am

  PURDUE (US) — Exposing packaged liquids and fresh produce to an electrical field for just minutes might eliminate all traces of food borne pathogens. Kevin Keener, a professor of food science at Purdue University, looked for new ways to kill harmful bacteria, such as E.coli and Salmonella, that contaminate foods and cause serious illnesses and deaths. His method uses electricity to generate a plasma, or ionized gas, from atmospheric gases inside the food package.

• Sunlight on snow reacts to clean Arctic air

  Elizabeth Gardner-Purdue

  16 Apr 2013 | 1:34 pm

  PURDUE (US) — Rising surface temperatures in the Arctic could affect a unique chemical reaction that helps rid the air of pollutants, experts report.“We are racing to understand exactly what happens in the Arctic and how it affects the planet because it is a delicate balance when it comes to an atmosphere that is hospitable to human life,” says team leader Paul Shepson, a professor of chemistry at Purdue University.

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  Futurity.org » Rice University

• To let graphene boost batteries, add boron

  Mike Williams-Rice

  17 May 2013 | 5:54 am

  RICE (US) — Calculations show that a graphene/boron anode should be able to hold lots of lithium and perform at the right voltage for use in lithium-ion batteries. The possibilities offered by graphene get clearer by the day as labs around the world grow and test the one-atom-thick form of carbon. Because it is as thin as possible, battery manufacturers hope to take advantage of graphene’s massive surface area to store lithium ions. Counting both sides of the material, one gram would cover 2,630 square meters, or nearly half a football field. But there’s a problem: The ions…

• Cow blood prevents globs of nano gold

  Mike Williams-Rice

  15 May 2013 | 1:06 pm

  RICE (US) — A protein from bovine blood can keep gold nanoparticles from clumping in a solution—a discovery that could lead to improved biomedical applications. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) forms a protein “corona” around gold nanoparticles that keeps them from aggregating, particularly in high-salt environments like seawater.

• Epilepsy belt alerts caregivers of kid’s seizure

  David Ruth-Rice

  14 May 2013 | 3:37 am

  RICE (US) — Engineering students have designed a belt that monitors signs of epileptic seizures and sends information via Bluetooth to a caregiver’s computer or smart phone. The belt detects increased electrical conductance in the skin and changes in respiration rate, both signs that a seizure is under way. Though children or adults can wear the belt, the students designed it with kids in mind. They want parents to be aware of when a child is having a seizure, especially during the night.

• Stem cells ‘talk’ to heart cells but don’t touch

  Mike Williams-Rice

  3 May 2013 | 7:32 am

  RICE (US) —Amniotic fluid stem cells and heart cells can pass signals without touching, but these electrical connections aren’t enough to prompt the stem cells to turn into cardiac cells. Jeff Jacot, a bioengineer at Rice University, is designing scaffold patches that can be implanted into the hearts of infants born with congenital defects. When seeded with stem cells from the mother’s own amniotic fluid, the patches would ideally prompt the growth of healthy tissue that wouldn’t be rejected. But to get there, researchers have to figure out how signals that are passed from…

• Compress silicone to make it stiffer

  Mike Williams-Rice

  30 Apr 2013 | 9:27 am

  RICE (US) — Silicone in the liquid crystal phase becomes 90 percent stiffer when it’s gently and repeatedly compressed.The research could lead to new strategies for self-healing materials or biocompatible materials that mimic human tissues.

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  Futurity.org » Rutgers

• Carnivorous plant trims its tiny genome

  Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo

  13 May 2013 | 7:08 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — A carnivorous plant is slowly deleting noncoding or “junk” DNA from its genome, report researchers. Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities. The new study offers an unexpected insight: the large majority of noncoding DNA, which is abundant in many living things, may not actually be needed for complex life, according to research set to appear in Nature.

• Volcano event lines up with pre-dino die-offs

  Kevin Krajick-Columbia

  5 Apr 2013 | 9:18 am

  COLUMBIA U. (US) — New evidence from around the world links the abrupt disappearance of half of Earth’s species 200 million years ago to a precisely dated set of gigantic volcanic eruptions. The eruptions may have caused climate changes so sudden that many creatures were unable to adapt—possibly on a pace similar to that of human-influenced climate warming today.

• Bumble bee loss threatens food security

  Ken Branson-Rutgers

  14 Mar 2013 | 7:27 am

  RUTGERS (US) — Wild pollinators are just as important, and often more efficient, at pollinating crops than domestic honey bee colonies, but bumble bee colonies are vanishing. “This will be a surprise to the agricultural establishment,” says Rachael Winfree, professor of ecology, evolution, and natural resources in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, who was involved in the two new studies.

• College fails to lower divorce for black women

  Steve Manas-Rutgers

  8 Mar 2013 | 3:26 am

  RUTGERS (US) — A college education is linked to lower divorce rates for white women, but black women are not getting the same benefit, a study shows.“African-American women don’t seem to enjoy the same degree of protection that education confers on marriage,” says Jeounghee Kim, assistant professor at Rutgers University’s School of Social Work. “For white Americans, higher education is related to a lower chance of divorce, and this protective effect of education on marriage increased consistently among the recent generations. But for African-American women,…

• Too much chemo leaves brain in a fog

  Robin Lally-Rutgers

  21 Feb 2013 | 11:59 am

  RUTGERS (US) — The effect prolonged chemotherapy has on the development of new brain cells and rhythms may be the cause for the fog-like condition known as “chemo-brain.”It’s not unusual for cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy to complain about not being able to think clearly, connect thoughts, or concentrate on daily tasks. Chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (chemo-brain) is common, but the scientific cause has been difficult to pinpoint.

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  Futurity.org » Stanford University

• Purify water with tiny magnetic scavengers

  Andrew Myers-Stanford

  20 May 2013 | 1:46 pm

  STANFORD (US) — Nanoparticles that can be removed quickly by magnet could offer a promising new way to disinfect water.Similar existing technologies leave too many nanoscavengers behind for the water to be considered safe for human use.

• Depressed people’s body clocks ‘out of sync’

  U. Michigan

  16 May 2013 | 1:19 pm

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — A new brain study reveals that the circadian clocks of people with depression are altered at the cellular level.Every cell in our bodies runs on a 24-hour clock, tuned to the night-day, light-dark cycles that have ruled us since the dawn of humanity. The brain acts as timekeeper, keeping the cellular clock in sync with the outside world so that it can govern our appetites, sleep, moods, and much more.

• Earth’s iron core is not ‘rock solid’

  Louis Bergeron-Stanford

  16 May 2013 | 9:49 am

  STANFORD (US) — Researchers squeezed iron at pressures as high as 3 million times that felt at sea level to recreate conditions at Earth’s center. The results suggest the core is uneven, grainy, and weak. The massive ball of iron sitting at the center of Earth is not quite as “rock-solid” as has been thought, say two mineral physicists. By conducting experiments that simulate the immense pressures deep in the planet’s interior, the researchers determined that iron in Earth’s inner core is only about 40 percent as strong as previous studies estimated.

• Wait for it: Ants pick perfect time to forage

  Bjorn Carey-Stanford

  16 May 2013 | 9:01 am

  STANFORD (US) — A biologist’s decades-long study of the collective behavior of harvester ant colonies has provided a rare real-time look at natural selection at work. In ancient Greece, the city-states that waited until their own harvest was in before attacking and destroying a rival community’s crops often experienced better long-term success.

• Clawed frogs spread deadly amphibian fungus

  Ruthann Richter-Stanford

  16 May 2013 | 7:37 am

  STANFORD (US) — The African clawed frog, a species used around the world for biomedical research, is spreading an amphibian-killing fungus when they are released into the wild. In a new study, researchers provide the first evidence that the frogs in California harbor a fungal infection that is decimating amphibian populations across the globe. Among 23 samples tested, the researchers identified three frogs, one found in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, that were carriers of the pathogen that has led to the decline or extinction of some 200 amphibian species worldwide. The research was…

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  Futurity.org » Stony Brook University

• Lyme disease vaccine trials show promise

  James Montalto-Stony Brook

  13 May 2013 | 12:58 pm

  STONY BROOK (US) — Clinical trials of a new vaccine for Lyme disease reveal strong immune response in 300 individuals with little adverse reaction. The results of a phase 1/2 clinical trial in Europe of an investigational Lyme disease vaccine shows to be promising and well tolerated, according to a research paper published online in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

• Ape pelvis fills gap in evolution puzzle

  Christian Basi-Missouri

  2 May 2013 | 9:22 am

  U. MISSOURI (US) — Experts say the pelvis from an 11.9 million-year-old ape skeleton suggests the primate probably lived near the beginning of the great ape evolution.Researchers who unearthed the fossil specimen of the ape skeleton in Spain in 2002 assigned it a new genus and species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. They argued that it could be the last common ancestor of modern great apes: chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos, gorillas, and humans. Ashley Hammond, a Life Sciences Fellow in the department of pathology and anatomical sciences at the University of Missouri, used a tabletop laser…

• Are planets made of ‘totally unexpected’ stuff?

  Gregory Filiano-Stony Brook

  24 Apr 2013 | 10:30 am

  STONY BROOK (US) — Researchers have made a surprising prediction about one of the main materials inside planets.They calculate that magnesium oxide (MgO) can exist in several different compositions. The predicted compounds would be radically different from traditionally known or expected materials.

• Are those tiny gold particles bad for you?

  James Montalto-Stony Brook

  19 Apr 2013 | 8:07 am

  STONY BROOK (US) — Pure gold nanoparticles found in everyday items such as personal care products can inhibit fat storage, slow wound healing, and accelerate wrinkling.Gold nanoparticles are also used for drug delivery, as MRI contrast agents, and in solar cells.

• ‘Freezer burn’ method numbs painful nerves

  James Montalto-Stony Brook

  15 Apr 2013 | 9:45 am

  STONY BROOK (US) — A new technique involving tiny balls of ice can safely short circuit chronic pain caused by nerve damage, according to new research. For the millions of Americans who rely on pain medications for neuralgia, a condition where nerves damaged by surgery, traumatic injury, or diseases such as diabetes cause chronic pain, an emerging non-pharmacological treatment may offer relief. The method involves placing a tiny ball of ice on damaged nerves by way of a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment called cryoneurolysis.

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  Futurity.org » Texas A&M University

• Ape-like ear bones found in hominin skull

  Keith Randall-Texas A&M

  14 May 2013 | 7:00 am

  TEXAS A&M (US) — Ear bone fossils discovered in the skull of a hominin believed to be about 1.9 million years old have features found in both humans and apes.The tiniest bones in the human body—the bones of the middle ear—could provide huge clues about our evolution and the development of modern-day humans, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

• Genome shows macaw is one smart bird

  Keith Randall-Texas A&M

  9 May 2013 | 9:28 am

  TEXAS A&M (US) — By sequencing the complete genome of a Scarlet macaw, researchers hope to learn more about the genetics behind the bird’s longevity and intelligence.The bird selected for the sequencing was a female named Neblina who lives in the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa. Believed to be from Brazil, she was confiscated during a raid on illegally imported exotic birds by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995.

• Gambling was a good bet in early baseball

  Keith Randall-Texas A&M

  8 Apr 2013 | 9:54 am

  TEXAS A&M (US) — Players, fans, and even umpires gambled on every aspect of early baseball games, and that’s how players made money, according to a new history of the sport. David Vaught, head of the history department at Texas A&M University and a baseball historian, has written The Farmer’s Game: Baseball In Rural America (Johns Hopkins University Press).

• Violins ‘sing’ in multiple languages

  Keith Randall-Texas A&M

  20 Mar 2013 | 8:40 am

  TEXAS A&M (US) —When creating violins, the Italian masters Stradivari and Guarneri tried to impart specific vowel sounds to the instruments, but new research shows only two of the vowels were in their native language.Joseph Nagyvary, professor emeritus in biochemistry at Texas A&M University, says of the various vowels he identified in their violins, only the “i” and “e” were in Italian. The others were more of French and English origin.

• Material may let ultrasound ‘see’ like never before

  Ryan Garcia-Texas A&M

  6 Mar 2013 | 12:40 pm

  TEXAS A&M (US) — Ultrasound technology could get a significant upgrade from a new material that converts ultrasound waves into optical signals to produce high-quality, high-resolution images.The technology offers significant advantages over conventional ultrasound technology, which generates images by converting ultrasound waves into electrical signals.

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  Futurity.org » University at Buffalo

• Why bullies succeed on the job

  Kevin Manne-Buffalo

  17 May 2013 | 4:20 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — Social skills may explain why bullies often achieve high levels of career success.They use those skills to strategically abuse their coworkers, yet still receive positive evaluations from their supervisors, according to a recent study that is one of the first attempts to measure the relationship between being a bully and job performance.

• Carnivorous plant trims its tiny genome

  Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo

  13 May 2013 | 7:08 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — A carnivorous plant is slowly deleting noncoding or “junk” DNA from its genome, report researchers. Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous quantities. The new study offers an unexpected insight: the large majority of noncoding DNA, which is abundant in many living things, may not actually be needed for complex life, according to research set to appear in Nature.

• Breast milk protein fights back superbugs

  Charlotte Hsu-Buffalo

  6 May 2013 | 5:44 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — A protein complex found in human breast milk can help reverse the antibiotic resistance of some bacteria that cause dangerous pneumonia and staph infections, new research shows.In petri dish and animal experiments, the protein complex—called Hamlet—increased bacteria’s sensitivity to multiple classes of antibiotics, including penicillin and erythromycin.

• For infants, high-carb diet sets metabolism

  Ellen Goldbaum-Buffalo

  19 Mar 2013 | 11:49 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — A diet rich in carbs early in life can cause weight gain later, according to a new study that suggests babies may be less prone to obesity if given solid foods later. “This is the first time that we have shown in our rat model of obesity that there is a resistance to the reversal of this programming effect in adult life,” explains Mulchand S. Patel, professor of biochemistry and associate dean for research and biomedical education in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

• Gene mutation causes ‘ion leak’ in anemia

  Ellen Goldbaum-Buffalo

  12 Mar 2013 | 9:30 am

  U. BUFFALO (US) — Scientists have found the cause of an inherited type of anemia, and say a peptide originally discovered in tarantula venom could be a potential treatment. A genetic mutation that alters the kinetics of an ion channel in red blood cells has been identified is the culprit, according to a paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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  Futurity.org » University of California at Berkeley

• Wireless helmet detects brain bleeding

  Sarah Yang-Berkeley

  15 May 2013 | 12:32 pm

  UC BERKELEY (US) — Researchers are testing a helmet-like device that uses wireless signals to instantly diagnose brain swelling and bleeding.The device analyzes data from low energy electromagnetic waves that are similar to those used to transmit radio and mobile signals.

• Bubble math shows foam evolve and pop

  Robert Sanders-UC Berkeley

  13 May 2013 | 11:41 am

  UC BERKELEY (US) — Using a set of linked partial differential equations, researchers explain what happens as foamy bubbles form and then disappear. The feat could help in modeling industrial processes in which liquids mix or in the formation of solid foams such as those used to cushion bicycle helmets.

• How brain lets eyes track 95 mph fastball

  Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley

  10 May 2013 | 9:29 am

  UC BERKELEY (US) — Our brain “pushes” forward moving objects to look closer than they really are, forcing a quick reaction, such as dodging a ball—or hitting it over the fence. How does San Francisco Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval swat a 95 mph fastball, or tennis icon Venus Williams see the oncoming ball, let alone return her sister Serena’s 120 mph serves? For the first time, vision scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have pinpointed how the brain tracks fast-moving objects. The discovery advances our understanding of how humans predict the trajectory…

• US birth tied to health risks in Mexican-Americans

  Dominic Ali-Toronto

  6 May 2013 | 7:14 am

  U. TORONTO (CAN) / UC BERKELEY (US) — Mexican-Americans over 55 who were born in the US are significantly more likely than immigrants from Mexico to report limitations in one or more basic physical activities.A new study shows they have substantial limitations (30 percent versus 25 percent) in walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying.

• Before you pucker: Toxic metals in lipstick

  Sarah Yang-Berkeley

  3 May 2013 | 9:06 am

  UC BERKELEY (US) — Scientists found lead and eight other metals in lipsticks commonly sold in the US, in some cases at levels that could raise potential health concerns.The researchers tested 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses sold in drugstores and department stores and detected lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum, and five other metals.

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  Futurity.org » University of California at Davis

• ‘Water-pumping’ fabric channels away sweat

  Andy Fell-UC Davis

  20 May 2013 | 1:43 pm

  UC DAVIS (US) — A new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, says inventor Tingrui Pan.Pan, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of California, Davis, and his research team developed a new textile microfluidic platform using hydrophilic (water-attracting) threads stitched into a highly water-repellent fabric.

• Anxiety drug reduces MS symptoms in mice

  Charles Casey-UC Davis

  20 May 2013 | 10:31 am

  UC DAVIS (US) — An anti-anxiety drug available in Europe helps protect nerve fibers and slows the progression of symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, a study shows. The findings, published online in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine , could have therapeutic applications for MS as well as cerebral palsy and leukodystrophies, all disorders associated with loss of white matter, which is the brain tissue that carries information between nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The target, a protein referred to as mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO), had been previously…

• Depressed people’s body clocks ‘out of sync’

  U. Michigan

  16 May 2013 | 1:19 pm

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — A new brain study reveals that the circadian clocks of people with depression are altered at the cellular level.Every cell in our bodies runs on a 24-hour clock, tuned to the night-day, light-dark cycles that have ruled us since the dawn of humanity. The brain acts as timekeeper, keeping the cellular clock in sync with the outside world so that it can govern our appetites, sleep, moods, and much more.

• Nose swabs confirm H1N1 flu in seals

  Kat Kerlin-UC Davis

  16 May 2013 | 10:01 am

  UC DAVIS (US) — A year after the human pandemic began, scientists found H1N1 (2009) infections in two free-ranging northern elephant seals off the central California coast, and antibodies to the virus in 28 more. Those antibodies indicate more widespread exposure, report the researchers. Between 2009 and 2011, the team tested nasal swabs from more than 900 marine mammals from 10 different species off the Pacific Coast from Alaska to California. Neither infected seal appeared to be ill, indicating marine mammals may be infected without showing clinical signs of illness. The study, the first…

• Europeans are basically one big family

  Andy Fell-UC Davis

  8 May 2013 | 12:25 pm

  UC DAVIS (US) — Everyone with ancestors from the European continent are likely cousins who share the same family members from about a thousand years ago. “What’s remarkable about this is how closely everyone is related to each other. On a genealogical level, everyone in Europe traces back to nearly the same set of ancestors only a thousand years ago,” says study co-author Graham Coop, a professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis.

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  Futurity.org » University of California at Santa Barbara

• Progesterone says ‘stop’ to female sex drive

  Andrea Estrada-UCSB

  1 May 2013 | 11:28 am

  UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — Scientists have long suspected a correlation between women’s hormone levels and libido, but new research reveals hormonal predictors for sexual desire. “We found two hormonal signals that had opposite effects on sexual motivation,” says lead author James Roney, professor in the psychological and brain sciences department at University of California, Santa Barbara. “Estrogen was having a positive effect, but with a two-day lag. Progesterone was having a persistent negative effect, both for current day, day before, and two days earlier.”

• No more droop: LED future looks bright

  Melissa Van De Werfhorst-UC Santa Barbara

  24 Apr 2013 | 1:06 pm

  UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — Researchers have conclusively identified what causes light emitting diodes (LEDs) to dim and be less efficient at high drive currents.Until now, scientists had only theorized the cause behind the phenomenon known as LED “droop”—a mysterious drop in the light produced when a higher current is applied. The cost per lumen of LEDs has held the technology back as a viable replacement for incandescent bulbs for all-purpose commercial and residential lighting. This could all change now that the cause of LED efficiency droop has been explained, according to…

• Plant builds bigger shells in acidic water

  Erin Lennon-UC Santa Barbara

  16 Apr 2013 | 7:47 am

  UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — The future of ocean life for its shelled creatures may not be so bleak, marine scientists say.As fossil fuel emissions increase, so does the amount of carbon dioxide oceans absorb and dissolve, lowering pH levels.

• Bacteria armed with toxic tips kill rivals

  Julie Cohen-UC Santa Barbara

  9 Apr 2013 | 10:43 am

  UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — A mysterious type of protein found in bacteria and other organisms, including humans, appears to act as a delivery system for toxins.While these proteins, called rearrangement hotspots (Rhs), have been recognized for more 30 years, their function has been enigmatic.

• Genetic ‘roulette’ gives tiny cells their sex

  Shelly Leachman-UCSB

  27 Mar 2013 | 7:08 am

  UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — A single-celled organism ends up with one of seven possible “mating types,” or sexes, in a process that scientists call “random.” By identifying the long-unknown mating-type genes of Tetrahymena thermophila, biologists also uncovered the unusual process of DNA rearrangements required for sex determination in this organism.

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  Futurity.org » University of Chicago

• Kindergarten math lessons are ‘old news’

  Bonnie Ertelt-Vanderbilt

  17 May 2013 | 7:26 am

  VANDERBILT (US) — Kindergarten teachers say they spend most of their math instructional time teaching lessons students have already mastered, like shapes and basic counting. The findings reveal a misalignment between what the students are being taught and what they already know.

• Psychopaths not wired for empathy

  William Harms-Chicago

  25 Apr 2013 | 9:06 am

  U. CHICAGO (US) — Psychopaths show less activity in areas of the brain linked to empathy when they view images of people in distress, a study shows.Psychopathy affects approximately 1 percent of the United States general population and 20 percent to 30 percent of the male and female US prison population. Relative to non-psychopathic criminals, psychopaths are responsible for a disproportionate amount of repetitive crime and violence in society.

• Sleep can fuse conflicting tasks in brain

  William Harms-Chicago

  21 Mar 2013 | 12:20 pm

  U. CHICAGO (US) — A good night’s sleep helps the brain retain multiple, potentially conflicting memories, according to new research with starlings.Other studies have shown that sleep consolidates learning for a new task. The new study, which measured starlings’ ability to recognize new songs, shows that learning a second task can undermine the performance of a previously learned task. But this study shows that sleep helps the brain consolidate learning when two new potentially competing tasks are learned in the same day. Starlings provide an excellent model for studying memory because…

• In US, 20 percent now say ‘no religion’

  Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley

  18 Mar 2013 | 6:19 am

  UC BERKELEY / DUKE (US) — Last year, one in five Americans claimed no religious preference—more than double the number reported in 1990.Religious affiliation in the United States is at its lowest point since it began to be tracked in the 1930s, according to recent analysis of newly released survey data.

• ‘Horsey’ teeth evolved in forest, not grassland

  Sandra Hines-UW

  6 Mar 2013 | 12:43 pm

  U. WASHINGTON (US) — Some prehistoric mammals got their big chompers from the gritty dust and volcanish ash in their food, new research suggests. Dining on field grasses would seriously damage human teeth, but mammals such as horses, rhinos and gazelles evolved long, strong teeth that are up to the task. New research challenges the 140-year-old assumption that finding fossilized remains of prehistoric animals with such teeth meant the animals were living in grasslands and savannas.

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  Futurity.org » University of Florida

• How to decide if a daily aspirin is harmful

  Melissa Blouin-Florida

  20 May 2013 | 11:31 am

  U. FLORIDA (US) — A new algorithm outlines factors doctors should consider when deciding whether or not a patient would benefit from a daily dose of aspirin.Approximately 50 million people in the United States take a daily aspirin to treat or prevent heart disease. Of these, at least half take more than 100 milligrams of the drug—more than one baby aspirin—a day.

• Why your ‘seesaw’ brain can’t stay on task

  Melissa Blouin-Florida

  11 Apr 2013 | 11:08 am

  U. FLORIDA (US) — When we try to concentrate on a specific task, different parts of our brain are in a constant battle for control behind the scenes.We’ve all been there: You’re at work deeply immersed in a project when suddenly you start thinking about your weekend plans. Now, researchers are using a new technique to examine how parts of the brain fight for dominance.

• Dual therapies treat blindness in dogs

  Andy McGlashen-Michigan State

  9 Apr 2013 | 11:01 am

  MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Two kinds of therapy may be a knockout combo against inherited blindness. The study focused on impaired dogs, but the remedy may help people, too. Published in the journal Molecular Therapy, the study builds on earlier work by Michigan State University veterinary ophthalmologist András Komáromy and colleagues. In 2010, they restored day vision in dogs suffering from achromatopsia, an inherited form of total color blindness, by replacing the mutant gene associated with the condition. While that treatment was effective for most younger dogs, it didn’t work for…

• To heal heart, treat depression, too

  Wilson Valentin-Columbia

  1 Apr 2013 | 1:25 pm

  COLUMBIA U. (US) —Treating people for depression after a heart attack could reduce the risk of death or another attack, new research shows.Researchers completed a randomized controlled trial with 150 patients with elevated depressive symptoms two to six months after hospitalization for heart disease.

• Tool keeps track of at-risk older drivers

  Jill Pease-Florida

  29 Mar 2013 | 6:57 am

  U. FLORIDA (US) — A free, online tool will help caregivers and family members identify drivers age 65 and older who may be at risk of driving problems.The Fitness-to-Drive Screening Measure can be completed by caregivers or family members who have been a passenger in a vehicle driven by an older driver within the past three months.

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  Futurity.org » University of Leeds

• Kids aren’t kind to chubby cartoons

  Rachel Barson-Leeds

  15 May 2013 | 8:55 am

  U. LEEDS (UK) — Very young children appear to reject storybook characters who are overweight as potential friends, a study shows.Researchers asked children in the UK to rate their choices between characters that were drawn as overweight, normal weight, or disabled. They found that children voiced more negative views about the fictional book character “fat Alfie”.

• Kids admitted to ICU on weekends as likely to survive

  Chris Bunting-U. Leeds

  9 May 2013 | 11:54 am

  U. LEEDS (UK) — Children in the UK who are admitted to intensive care units after hours face no greater risk of dying than children arriving during normal working hours, experts say.However, mortality rates are significantly higher in the winter, even after taking into account added health risks for children in the colder months, new research suggests.

• Saving energy could raise infection risks

  Chris Bunting-U. Leeds

  17 Apr 2013 | 1:48 am

  U. LEEDS (UK) — The chance of infection in some hospital wards varies dramatically according to whether the windows are left open or not, researchers find. A research team studied airflow in a “Nightingale” ward—a classic hospital ward design that traditionally accommodates two rows of up to 30 beds—by using tracer gases to simulate how airborne infections spread.

• Soil mites rescued by rapid evolution

  Richard Mellor-Leeds

  10 Apr 2013 | 8:43 am

  U. LEEDS (UK) — A recent study involving soil mites overturns the common assumption that evolution only occurs gradually over hundreds or thousands of years.Researchers found significant genetically transmitted changes in laboratory populations of soil mites in just 15 generations, leading to a doubling of the age at which the mites reached adulthood and large changes in population size.

• Did phosphorous from space spark life on Earth?

  Richard Mellor-Leeds

  4 Apr 2013 | 7:14 am

  U. LEEDS (UK) — Experiments suggest that unusual phosphorus chemicals from meteorites could have given power to Earth’s “primordial soup.”While it is generally accepted that some important ingredients for life came from meteorites bombarding the early Earth, scientists have not been able to explain how that inanimate rock transformed into the building blocks of life. This new study shows how a chemical, similar to one now found in all living cells and vital for generating the energy that makes something alive, could have been created when meteorites containing phosphorus…

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  Futurity.org » University of Melbourne

• Tiny implant sends seizure alert

  Rebecca Scott-Melbourne

  3 May 2013 | 6:25 am

  U. MELBOURNE (AUS) — A small device implanted in the brain accurately predicts epilepsy seizures in humans, a new study shows.The device is designed to be implanted between the skull and brain surface to monitor long-term electrical signals in the brain (EEG data).

• Nip mosquito-borne disease in the ‘bug’

  David Scott-Melbourne

  10 Apr 2013 | 9:16 am

  U. MELBOURNE (AUS) — Scientists report promising results from a new technique to introduce disease-blocking bacteria into mosquitoes in an effort to stop the spread of dengue, yellow fever, and possibly malaria. When infected with the bacteria Wolbachia, mosquitoes are unable to spread viruses such as dengue, a disease that kills about 40,000 people each year with no vaccines or specific treatments currently available. However, the bacteria have been difficult to spread within the mosquito population because they reduce the mosquitoes’ ability to lay viable eggs. Wolbachia bacteria…

• Predict mutants to create universal flu vaccine

  Rebecca Scott-Melbourne

  13 Mar 2013 | 5:14 am

  U. MELBOURNE / MONASH U. (AUS) — Researchers have found a way to predict and potentially stop the mutating cells of the influenza virus.The finding may lead to a new universal influenza vaccine to better protect against both seasonal and pandemic outbreaks, says Katherine Kedzierska, the study’s senior author and an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne.

• Fairy-wren guys boast body size in song

  Rebecca Scott-Melbourne

  21 Feb 2013 | 6:37 am

  U. MELBOURNE (AUS) — Male fairy-wrens use the pitch of their songs to broadcast their body size, new research shows. The study led by University of Melbourne researcher Michelle Hall, is the first to show that the larger the male fairy wren, the lower the pitch of his song.

• Youth protects malaria parasite from drugs

  David Scott-Melbourne

  20 Feb 2013 | 7:34 am

  U. MELBOURNE (AUS) — Immature malaria parasites are more than 100 times less sensitive than their elders to key anti-malarial drugs. The recent discovery could lead to more effective treatments for a disease that kills one person every minute and is developing resistance to drugs at an alarming rate. The study was conducted by a team led by Professor Leann Tilley and Nectarios (Nick) Klonis from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Melbourne, and will be published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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  Futurity.org » University of Michigan

• Depressed people’s body clocks ‘out of sync’

  U. Michigan

  16 May 2013 | 1:19 pm

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — A new brain study reveals that the circadian clocks of people with depression are altered at the cellular level.Every cell in our bodies runs on a 24-hour clock, tuned to the night-day, light-dark cycles that have ruled us since the dawn of humanity. The brain acts as timekeeper, keeping the cellular clock in sync with the outside world so that it can govern our appetites, sleep, moods, and much more.

• Fracking’s rewards come with risks, survey shows

  Greta Guest-Michigan

  15 May 2013 | 3:55 am

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — Most Michigan and Pennsylvania residents say hydrofracking is good for the economy, but also have concerns about chemicals used and other environmental risks, a new survey shows.Fracking is the common term for hydraulic fracturing, which involves injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals deep into the ground through encased wells at high pressure to create and expand fractures in the shale rock to release trapped oil and natural gas.

• Why pear shape may explain matter vs. antimatter

  Nicole Casal Moore-Michigan

  13 May 2013 | 12:50 pm

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — The first direct evidence of pear-shaped nuclei in exotic atoms may help explain why the Big Bang created more matter than antimatter.“If equal amounts of matter and antimatter were created at the Big Bang, everything would have annihilated, and there would be no galaxies, stars, planets, or people,” says Tim Chupp, professor of physics and biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan. Antimatter particles have the same mass but opposite charge from their matter counterparts. Antimatter is rare in the known universe, flitting briefly in and out of…

• Food ads fire up the teenage brain

  Jared Wadley-Michigan

  9 May 2013 | 9:01 am

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — Watching TV commercials of people munching on French fries or cereal resonates more with teens than advertisements about cell phones or the latest car.Regardless of their body weight, teens’ brain activity is higher during food commercials than nonfood commercials, according to new research published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

• Bonding with avatar can shift perception

  Matthew Swayne-Penn State

  2 May 2013 | 9:26 am

  PENN STATE / U. MICHIGAN (US) — People who customized an avatar and saw it wearing a backpack overestimated the heights of virtual hills, just as people in real life tend to overestimate heights and distances while carrying extra weight. “You exert more of your agency through an avatar when you design it yourself,” says S. Shyam Sundar, professor of communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State, who worked with University of Michigan doctoral student Sangseok You.

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  Futurity.org » University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Chronic pain after trauma may be genetic

  Tom Hughes-UNC

  3 May 2013 | 6:46 am

  UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Persistent pain after a traumatic event like a car accident or sexual assault may have a neurological basis, new research suggests.“Our study findings indicate that mechanisms influencing chronic pain development may be related to the stress response, rather than any specific injury caused by the traumatic event,” says Samuel McLean, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

• Baby’s cells emit hormone to prevent preeclampsia

  Tom Hughes-UNC

  1 May 2013 | 11:34 am

  UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — A new understanding of the hormonal “conversation” between mother and fetus could lead to new ways to detect and prevent preeclampsia. In a study using mice, researchers found that a hormone, adrenomedullin, plays a crucial role in preventing the pregnancy complication preeclampsia. Surprisingly, this hormone protects women from preeclampsia when emitted by the fetus, not the mother, during the most critical times in pregnancy.

• Turn off gene and blood vessels don’t sprout

  Tom Hughes-UNC

  29 Apr 2013 | 11:47 am

  UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — When researchers removed a gene called CASZ1 in frog embryos, the frogs failed to form branched and functional blood vessels.When they removed the CASZ1 gene from cultured human cells, scientists saw similar defects: the cells did not sprout or branch correctly due to their inability to maintain proper adhesions with the surrounding extracellular matrix.

• How trees contribute to making smog

  Thania Benios-UNC

  26 Apr 2013 | 12:52 pm

  UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — Researchers have shown how a molecule produced by trees combines with pollutants to create a potentially hazardous form of air pollution. It has long been known that trees produce and emit isoprene, an abundant molecule in the air known to protect leaves from oxygen damage and temperature fluctuations. However, in 2004, researchers, contrary to popular assumptions, revealed that isoprene was likely involved in the production of particulate matter, tiny particles that can get lodged in lungs, lead to lung cancer and asthma, and damage other tissues, not to mention the…

• Doctors make the call about gun permits

  Tom Hughes-UNC

  22 Apr 2013 | 8:22 am

  UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — New protocols and policies are needed to help physicians assess a patient’s physical or mental competency to carry a concealed weapon, say experts. In the wake of recent mass shootings, such as the one in Newtown, Conn., physicians are increasingly being called on to pass judgment in the permitting process on whether their patient is physically and mentally competent to safely have and use a concealed weapon.

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  Futurity.org » University of Nottingham

• Little boys more likely to get water scalds

  Emma Thorne-Nottingham

  14 May 2013 | 8:11 am

  U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Toddlers, particularly boys, with multiple siblings are more likely to be scalded by hot water at home, research shows.The study also found children whose mothers are 40 or older are less at risk than those with teenage mothers.

• Kids with autism mimic ‘more efficiently’

  Emma Thorne-Nottingham

  8 Apr 2013 | 1:07 pm

  U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Children typically copy adult behavior as a social phenomenon, not to learn new skills, though this differs among those with autism. In their study, published today in Current Biology, scientists report that autistic children, who have profound difficulty in engaging in social situations, were less likely to copy unnecessary behavior when learning a new task. The research could offer a new approach to examining social development in children and adults with disorders on the autistic spectrum.

• Breast cancer biology differs in older women

  Lindsay Brooke-Nottingham

  29 Mar 2013 | 7:13 am

  U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Breast cancer in women over 70 has a less aggressive and distinct biology—findings that could lead to improvements in treatment and outcomes. That older women have a unique biological type of breast cancer—low estrogen receptor luminal—supports observations as to why breast cancers in this age group appear to have different behaviors. The findings have recently been published in British Journal of Cancer. “As age advances breast cancer appears to change its biological characteristics, but we still don’t know enough about the precise differences between…

• Charging for mistakes can sharpen brain

  Emma Thorne-Nottingham

  14 Mar 2013 | 8:12 am

  U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — To improve performance, punishment can work just as well as a monetary reward, a new study reports.“This work reveals important new information about how the brain functions that could lead to new methods of diagnosing neural development disorders such as autism, ADHD, and personality disorders, where decision-making processes have been shown to be compromised,” says Marios Philiastides, lecturer at the University of Nottingham.

• Fertilizer adds selenium to Malawi food crops

  Emma Thorne-Nottingham

  13 Mar 2013 | 7:27 am

  U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Soil in Malawi often lacks enough selenium for adequate nutrition, according to researchers who say enriched fertilizer could raise levels of the mineral in the country’s food. This step could help to reduce disease and premature death in the country, say the researchers, whose findings are published in Scientific Reports.

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  Futurity.org » University of Oregon

• Brain readily spots grammatical errors

  Jim Barlow-Oregon

  13 May 2013 | 11:56 am

  U. OREGON (US) — Neuroscientists have captured hard evidence that people detect and process grammatical errors with no awareness of doing so. Participants in the study—native-English speaking people, ages 18-30—had their brain activity recorded using electroencephalography, from which researchers focused on a signal known as the event-related potential (ERP). This noninvasive technique allows for the capture of changes in brain electrical activity during an event. In this case, events were short sentences presented visually one word at a time.

• More women skip periods for convenience

  Matt Cooper-Oregon

  9 May 2013 | 9:09 am

  U. OREGON (US) — A large number of women deviate from the instructions on birth control pills to delay or skip monthly menstruation—not to avoid symptoms, but for convenience, new research suggests.As research indicates reducing the occurrence of menstruation has been found to be safe and can even be beneficial, women are increasingly using hormonal contraceptives to alter bleeding cycles—but they are learning about the option from nonmedical sources.

• Social change shows up in preteen brain

  Jim Barlow-Oregon

  24 Apr 2013 | 6:46 am

  U. OREGON (US) — New research reveals which brain regions are active as kids on the brink of adolescence consider their identity and social status. In a study of 27 neurologically typical children who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at ages 10 and 13, activity in the brain’s ventromedial prefrontal cortex increased dramatically when the subjects responded to questions about how they view themselves.

• Study: Give animals credit for shaping society

  Jim Barlow-Oregon

  9 Apr 2013 | 11:06 am

  U. OREGON (US) — Animals don’t get their due for their role in sculpting human societies throughout history, argue sociologists. Animals are more than pets or domesticated creatures bended to human needs, say Richard York of the University of Oregon and Philip Mancus of the College of the Redwoods in Crescent City, California. That idea has been slowly emerging in sociology, which focuses on the origin, development, organization, and functioning of human society. In 2002, the American Sociological Association created the section “Animals & Society” as a response to new…

• Sleeping babies respond to angry voices

  Jim Barlow-Oregon

  5 Apr 2013 | 7:04 am

  U. OREGON (US) — Infants respond to their parents’ angry tone of voice, even when they’re sleeping, new research suggests.Babies’ brains are highly plastic, allowing them to develop in response to the environments and encounters they experience. But this plasticity comes with a certain degree of vulnerability—research shows that severe stress, such as maltreatment or institutionalization, can have a significant, negative impact on child development.

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  Futurity.org » University of Pennsylvania

• Massive Cascadia quake on the horizon?

  Evan Lerner-Pennsylvania

  16 May 2013 | 10:12 am

  U. PENNSYLVANIA (US) — Tiny fossils offer clues to a 1700 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest that was strong enough to cause a tsunami as far away as Japan.The lack of local documentation has made studying this historic event challenging. New work provides a finer-grained portrait of this earthquake and the changes in coastal land level it produced, enabling modelers to better prepare for future events. The research was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

• Genetic ‘typos’ linked to testicular cancer

  Steve Graff-Pennsylvania

  16 May 2013 | 7:14 am

  U. PENNSYLVANIA (US) — A study looking at the genomes of more than 13,000 men identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer, the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in young men today.The discovery of these genetic variations—chromosomal “typos,” so to speak—could ultimately help researchers better understand which men are at high risk and allow for early detection or prevention of the disease.

• Not all congenital heart disease is inherited

  Bill Hathaway-Yale

  13 May 2013 | 9:13 am

  YALE (US) — New mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their children account for at least 10 percent of severe congenital heart disease, a new study reveals.The analysis of all the genes of more than 1800 individuals found hundreds of mutations that can cause congenital heart disease, the most common form of birth defect that afflicts nearly 1 percent of all newborns.

• Conservatives don’t buy into ‘green’ labels

  Erin Medlyn-Duke

  30 Apr 2013 | 1:22 pm

  DUKE (US) — When it comes to deciding which light bulb to buy, a label touting a product’s environmental benefit may actually discourage politically conservative shoppers.Researchers conducted two studies to determine how political ideology affected a person’s choice to buy energy-efficient products in the United States.

• No ‘quick fix’ to reduce hospital readmissions

  Sara LaJeunesse-Penn State

  17 Apr 2013 | 12:52 am

  PENN STATE (US) — Medical providers need to create networks of collaboration in order to lower patients’ risk of being readmitted to the hospital, researchers say. But achieving widespread reductions in preventable hospital readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries could take longer than many health care professionals originally anticipated, according to a study that appears in the journal Population Health Management.

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  Futurity.org » University of Pittsburgh

• Marcellus Shale fracking: Is well water really clean?

  B. Rose Huber-Pittsburgh

  20 May 2013 | 9:11 am

  U. PITTSBURGH (US) — No proof of groundwater contamination in Pennsylvania from hydrofracking doesn’t guarantee the water’s clean. More monitoring is needed to know for sure, experts say. What to do with Marcellus Shale wastewater is one of the biggest concerns in Pennsylvania, and few published studies have evaluated wastewater effects on regional groundwater, according to a newly published review in the journal Science.

• Tripped T-cells reject transplant organs

  Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh

  15 May 2013 | 11:33 am

  U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Certain cells “stick their feet” in the bloodstream to trip-up and collect immune system T-cells, which can lead to transplant organ rejection. This recent discovery challenges a long-held assumption about how biologic pathways trigger immune system rejection of donor organs—and suggests a different paradigm is needed to develop better anti-rejection therapies.

• Tiny, tunable alloys emit near-infrared light

  B. Rose Huber-Pittsburgh

  15 May 2013 | 8:20 am

  U. PITTSBURGH (US) — New nanoparticle alloys offer light so bright they could have potential applications in medicine, report researchers. Alloys like bronze and steel have been transformational for centuries, yielding top-of-the-line machines necessary for industry. As scientists move toward nanotechnology, the focus has shifted toward creating alloys at the nanometer scale—producing materials with properties unlike their predecessors. The findings have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

• Frogs near fields build resistance to insecticides

  B. Rose Huber-Pittsburgh

  14 May 2013 | 9:08 am

  U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Two recent studies show that wood frogs living close to fields are resistant to multiple insecticides, but not to Roundup, a common weed killer. In a new study published in Evolutionary Applications, researchers demonstrate, for the first time, that tadpoles from populations close to farm fields are more resistant to chlorpyrifos—one of the most commonly applied insecticides in the world, often sold as Dursban or Lorsban. “While we’ve made a lot of progress in understanding the ecological consequences to animals that are unintentionally exposed to…

• Doctor’s words can sway family about CPR

  Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh

  10 May 2013 | 12:19 pm

  U. PITTSBURGH (US) — The doctor’s choice of words may influence a family’s decision to permit CPR if a critically ill patient’s heart stops. “It’s long been known that the way a choice is framed can influence people’s decisions,” says Amber E. Barnato, associate professor of clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Our study shows that the words physicians use may play an important role in determining critical end-of-life decisions.” For this first-of-its-kind study, published in the journal…

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  Futurity.org » University of Rochester

• Kids with autism spot motion faster

  Susan Hagen-Rochester

  10 May 2013 | 9:12 am

  U. ROCHESTER / YALE / VANDERBILT (US) — Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, a new study shows.Researchers say this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder.

• Inhaling nanoparticles may injure lungs

  Phyllis Brown-UC Davis

  7 May 2013 | 7:09 am

  UC DAVIS (US) — Breathing two of the most common types of engineered nanomaterials can cause lung inflammation and damage, new research shows. The ultrafine particles from a large family of materials increasingly are found in a host of household and commercial products, from sunscreens to the ink in copy machines to super-strong but lightweight sporting equipment.

• Grassroots laws shield kids from lead paint

  Mark Michaud-Rochester

  6 May 2013 | 10:58 am

  U. ROCHESTER (US) — Community-based efforts to develop strategies and policies that target high-risk housing may be the key to reducing the dangers of lead paint in homes with children.“Lead poisoning has long been characterized as a health problem with a housing solution,” says Katrina Korfmacher, director of the Community Outreach and Engagement Core of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Environmental Health Sciences Center.

• Count on it: Baboons ‘know’ numbers

  Susan Hagen-Rochester

  3 May 2013 | 12:16 pm

  U. ROCHESTER (US) — Like children who have not yet learned to count, olive baboons are able to rely on “more or less” comparisons to understand numbers.“The human capacity for complex symbolic math is clearly unique to our species,” says co-author Jessica Cantlon, assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester. “But where did this numeric prowess come from?

• How to tame ‘triple negative’ breast cancer

  Leslie Orr-Rochester

  24 Apr 2013 | 8:06 am

  U. ROCHESTER (US) — Scientists have discovered how to exploit tamoxifen’s secondary activities to treat more aggressive breast cancers.Tamoxifen is a time-honored breast cancer drug used to treat millions of women with early-stage and less-aggressive disease.

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  Futurity.org » University of Sheffield

• To think clearly under stress, focus on values

  Shilo Rea-Carnegie Mellon

  6 May 2013 | 7:49 am

  CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — New research provides the first evidence that self-affirmation can protect against the damaging effects of stress on problem-solving performance. Understanding that self-affirmation—the process of identifying and focusing on one’s most important values—boosts stressed individuals’ problem-solving abilities. The findings, published in PLOS ONE, will help guide future research and the development of educational interventions. “An emerging set of published Carnegie Mellon University studies suggest that a brief self-affirmation activity at the…

• Existing drugs treat seizures in zebrafish

  Paul Mannion-Sheffield

  28 Mar 2013 | 9:41 am

  U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Screening a collection of 2,000 biologically active compounds with two-day-old epileptic zebrafish has revealed 46 potential options for future epilepsy treatment. Those 46 compounds—including some which are used to treat infectious, psychiatric, and inflammatory disorders—were found to exhibit anticonvulsant activity. Approximately one out of every 140 people in the UK has epilepsy—more than 400,000 people—of which about 30 percent do not respond favorably to the available anti-epileptic drugs.

• Books contain fewer words about feelings

  Amy Stone-Sheffield

  22 Mar 2013 | 3:22 am

  U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Other than fear, words about emotions have steadily decreased in books throughout the last century, say researchers. As reported in PLOS ONE, the researchers looked at how frequently “mood” words were used through time in a database of more than five million digitized books provided by Google.

• With less ice, growing seasons shift in Arctic

  Sara Rimer-Boston U

  21 Mar 2013 | 9:17 am

  BOSTON U. (US) — As snow and ice cover shrink in northern latitudes, researchers say temperatures and vegetation increasingly resemble those found farther south.The findings, published in the journal Natural Climate Change, are based on newly improved ground and satellite data sets.

• Inflammation turns off gene that stops early labor

  Amy Pullan-Sheffield

  5 Mar 2013 | 9:59 am

  U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Inflammation in the uterus can switch off a key gene that stops labor from occurring too early, research shows. The discovery may lead to new treatments to prevent premature births.The process behind how women go into normal term labor is still poorly understood, but it is vital that it happens at the right time when the baby is ready to be born and can survive. Currently there are few reliable drugs that can be used to stop labor if it starts too early.

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  Futurity.org » University of Southampton

• Taxidermy mystery reveals ‘big cats’ in UK

  Andrew Duff-Southampton

  26 Apr 2013 | 8:14 am

  U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK) — The rediscovery of a lynx in a museum’s underground storeroom proves that a non-native “big cat” prowled the British countryside in the early 1900s. Researchers analyzed the animal’s skeleton and mounted skin and found it to be a Canadian lynx—a carnivorous predator more than twice the size of a domestic cat. Researcher Max Blake rediscovered the Canadian lynx among hundreds of thousands of specimens at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. According to the new study, records unearthed at the museum show that, in 1903, Edwardian curators…

• Antarctic whale bones teem with critters

  Andrew Duff-Southampton

  18 Mar 2013 | 7:02 am

  U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK) — Scientists have discovered a whale skeleton in an undersea crater near Antarctica, as well as at least nine new species of deep-sea organisms thriving on the bones. Samples revealed several new species of deep-sea creatures living on the whale’s remains, which were discovered almost a mile under the surface. The researchers’ finds include a “bone-eating zombie worm” known as Osedax burrowing into the bones and a new species of isopod crustacean, similar to woodlice, crawling over the skeleton.

• ‘Honeycomb’ implant helps grow new bone

  Andrew Duff-Southampton

  11 Feb 2013 | 9:24 am

  U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK) — Shattered limbs may soon get a boost in healing from an implant made from stem cells and a lightweight plastic that degrades as the bone mends. The new method uses bone stem cells combined with a degradable rigid material that inserts into broken bones, encouraging real bone to re-grow.

• Switch to vegetable fats linked to death risk

  Leslie Lang-UNC

  7 Feb 2013 | 8:51 am

  UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US) — A new look at data missing from a 1966-73 study casts doubt on current dietary advice about vegetable fats and heart health.For patients with heart disease, switching to polyunsaturated vegetable fats (PUFAs) from saturated animal fats is linked to an increased risk of death, report researchers in the British Journal of Medicine, “These findings highlight the need to re-evaluate worldwide dietary advice to substitute omega 6 PUFAs for saturated fats,” says study co-author Daisy Zamora, a nutrition epidemiologist and postdoctoral researcher at the…

• Fossils hold evidence of sexual selection

  Andrew Duff-Southampton

  29 Jan 2013 | 10:49 am

  U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK) — Comparisons with living animals make it possible for scientists to detect sexual selection among creatures in the fossil record, say researchers. The term “sexual selection” refers to the evolutionary pressures that relate to a species’ ability to repel rivals, meet mates, and pass on genes. We can observe these processes happening in living animals, but how do paleontologists know that sexual selection operated in fossil ones? Historically, paleontologists have thought it challenging, even impossible, to recognize sexual selection in extinct animals.

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  Futurity.org » University of Southern California

• Behind gator’s grin, the secret to regrowing teeth?

  Alison Trinidad-USC

  14 May 2013 | 7:21 am

  USC (US) — Alligator stem cells that allow tooth regeneration may help scientists figure out how to regrow teeth in people.Researchers have uncovered the unique cellular and molecular mechanisms behind tooth renewal that makes it possible for American alligators to replace each of their 80 teeth as many as 50 times throughout their lifetime.

• Feather pigments hint at stem cell ‘fates’

  Robin Heffler-USC

  10 May 2013 | 6:46 am

  USC (US) — To understand how stem cells turn into certain tissue patterns and shapes, researchers looked at the sources of complex pigment patterns in feathers. The researchers uncovered several fundamental rules of morphogenesis ─ the organizational process of functional cellular patterning. Their study appears in Science Express. “Feathers are a good research model because they are unique, able to regenerate repetitively under normal conditions, and are positioned at the surface of the body so that we can see their patterns,” says corresponding author Cheng-Ming Chuong, the…

• Teen smoking influences change over time

  Leslie Ridgeway-USC

  12 Apr 2013 | 12:44 pm

  USC (US) — Friends in junior high may have more influence on smoking behavior than high school pals do, a new study finds. The research, which appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health, identifies how friends’ and parental influence on cigarette smoking changes from junior high to high school.

• Gender gap in the ‘Women’s Olympics’

  Merrill Balassone-USC

  11 Apr 2013 | 8:16 am

  USC (US) / U. TORONTO (CAN) — The 2012 Olympic Games in London was the first time all participating nations allowed women to compete, but there were still 1,233 more male athletes and 30 more medal events exclusively for men.A new report shows that in what was billed as the “Women’s Olympics,” international rules severely limited the number of female competitors who were allowed to compete in 11 of 26 sports.

• Adding customs officers could boost GDP

  Andrew Good-USC

  9 Apr 2013 | 8:31 am

  USC (US) — A new customs and border protections officer at each of 33 selected land and airport locations could add $61.8 million to the US economy. This step could also add 1,053 jobs in the US, according to a study released today by the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE).

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  Futurity.org » University of Texas at Austin

• ‘Crazy ant’ invaders make fire ants seem polite

  Daniel Oppenheimer-U. Texas

  20 May 2013 | 9:48 am

  U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — Invasive “crazy ants” are displacing fire ants across the southeastern United States and may have dramatic effects on the region’s ecosystem, researchers say.The ecologically dominant crazy ants are reducing diversity and abundance across a range of ant and arthropod species—but their spread can be limited if people are careful not to transport them inadvertently.

• Bacteria help trace how alcohol binds to brain

  Daniel Oppenheimer-U. Texas

  29 Apr 2013 | 10:12 am

  U. TEXAS – AUSTIN (US) — Bacteria that grows only on rocks in the Swiss Alps has helped researchers identify how alcohol might affect key brain proteins.“Now that we’ve identified this key brain protein and understand its structure, it’s possible to imagine developing a drug that could block the binding site,” says Adron Harris, professor of biology and director of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction at the University of Texas at Austin. Harris and Rebecca Howard, an assistant professor at Skidmore College,  co-author the paper that was recently…

• Dead zebras help detect how anthrax spreads

  Daniel Oppenheimer-U. Texas

  25 Apr 2013 | 3:34 am

  U. TEXAS – AUSTIN (US) — Scavengers might not play as key a role in spreading anthrax through wildlife populations as scientists previously thought.Wildlife managers currently spend large amounts of money and time to control anthrax outbreaks by preventing scavengers from feeding on infected carcasses. The effort might be ill spent, according to results of a small study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Carrion produced by anthrax deaths feeds many scavengers, including jackals, hyena, vultures, marabou storks, and occasionally even lions. These scavengers have…

• Algorithm ‘learns’ to fix up grainy photos

  David Ochsner-Texas

  16 Apr 2013 | 1:41 pm

  U. TEXAS – AUSTIN (US) — A new, free website provides tools to “de-noise” photos, such as removing imperfections from low light, and to enlarge images without losing picture quality. “The free image-processing website allows users to upload as many as 1,000 images daily,” says Wilson Geisler, director of the Center for Perceptual Systems and professor in the department of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.

• Cold prompts ‘power stroke’ in tiny swimmers

  Lee Clippard-Texas

  2 Apr 2013 | 9:14 am

  U. TEXAS -- AUSTIN (US) — To escape from predators in cold, viscous water, marine copepods switch up their swimming method, say researchers. Copepods are tiny crustaceans found in nearly every aquatic environment on Earth. By some estimates, they are the most abundant animals on the planet. Their change in stroke in cold water helps them escape a slew of predators, from larval fish to crabs, oysters, and jellyfish.

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  Futurity.org » University of Toronto

• Plants do better far away from close relatives

  Dominic Ali-Toronto

  14 May 2013 | 8:36 am

  U. TORONTO (CAN) — Charles Darwin got it right. Plant species that share environments with those that are distantly related are more productive. The findings by Marc William Cadotte of the University of Toronto Scarborough confirm a prediction made by Darwin in On the Origin of Species, first published in 1859. Darwin wrote that a plot of land growing distantly related grasses would be more productive than a plot with a single species of grass. Since then, many experiments have shown that multi-species plots are more productive. Cadotte’s experiment showed for the first time that…

• Children of addicted parents face depression risk

  Dominic Ali-Toronto

  10 May 2013 | 12:01 pm

  U. TORONTO (CAN) — The children of parents who were addicted to drugs or alcohol are more likely to be depressed as adults than their peers, a new study shows. Investigators examined the association between parental addictions and adult depression in a representative sample of 6,268 adults, drawn from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey. Of these respondents, 312 had a major depressive episode within the year preceding the survey and 877 reported that while they were under the age of 18 and still living at home that at least one parent who drank or used drugs “so often that it…

• Why getting scared ‘magnifies’ our eyes

  Jessica Lewis-Toronto

  8 May 2013 | 9:41 am

  U. TORONTO (CAN) — We go wide-eyed with fear because a larger visual field makes it easier to see threats, and the expression can help others spot the source of danger, say researchers. “Emotional expressions look the way they do for a reason,” says Daniel Lee, a graduate student in the University of Toronto department of psychology. “They are socially useful for communicating emotional states, but they are also useful as raw physical signals. In the case of widened eyes, they help send a clearer gaze signal that tells observers to ‘look there.’” Lee, his…

• Fungus adds to asthma for 5 million worldwide

  Dominic Ali-Toronto

  8 May 2013 | 8:44 am

  U. TORONTO (CAN) — Antifungal treatment could improve the health of an estimated 4,837,000 people with asthma and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), according to new research. The study also re-estimates the total number of asthmatics worldwide—a staggering 193 million sufferers. Twenty-four million asthma sufferers live in the United States, 20 million each in India and China, and seven million in the United Kingdom. Clinical studies have shown that oral antifungal drugs significantly improve symptoms and asthma control in asthmatics with ABPA. This is the first time that a…

• US birth tied to health risks in Mexican-Americans

  Dominic Ali-Toronto

  6 May 2013 | 7:14 am

  U. TORONTO (CAN) / UC BERKELEY (US) — Mexican-Americans over 55 who were born in the US are significantly more likely than immigrants from Mexico to report limitations in one or more basic physical activities.A new study shows they have substantial limitations (30 percent versus 25 percent) in walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying.

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  Futurity.org » University of Warwick

• Can high home ownership lead to unemployment?

  Anna Blackaby-Warwick

  7 May 2013 | 10:23 am

  U. WARWICK (UK) — Government policies that boost the number of homeowners are likely to inflict severe damage on the labor market, an international study suggests. Economists examined a century of unemployment and home-ownership data in the US from 1900 to 2010. Combining those numbers with modern data on millions of randomly sampled Americans, the researchers show there is a powerful link between the housing market and the later health of the economy. The study, published online by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, finds that rises in homeownership in the US is followed…

• In nursing homes, exercise doesn’t lift depression

  Luke Harrison-Warwick

  2 May 2013 | 11:08 am

  U. WARWICK (UK) — Physical activity is not an effective way to reduce depression among elderly people who live in nursing homes, report researchers.Exercise is a low-risk intervention that can improve mental health but the findings of a National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme study, published in The Lancet, conclude that there is a requirement for alternative approaches to reduce the burden of depression in frail, very elderly, care home residents. The large randomized controlled trial sought to discover whether an intervention that combined a…

• Gamma-ray burst from whopper of a star

  Anna Blackaby-Warwick

  17 Apr 2013 | 9:20 am

  U. WARWICK (UK) — A new type of exceptionally powerful and long-lived cosmic explosion may come from the violent death throes of a supergiant star.The explosions create powerful blasts of high energy gamma-rays, known as gamma-ray bursts, but while most bursts are over in about a minute, the new type can last for several hours.

• Seniors lose memory as the mind gets flighty

  Anna Blackaby-Warwick

  16 Apr 2013 | 11:48 am

  U. WARWICK (UK) — Memory decline may come from the tendency to flit among “patches” of memories, like birds that stop foraging too soon in a berry-laden bush. The study published in the journal Developmental Psychology seeks to model the mechanisms behind memory decline in old age.

• ID deadly pathogens without growing bacteria

  Luke Harrison-Warwick

  10 Apr 2013 | 9:57 am

  U. WARWICK (UK) — Metagenomics has allowed researchers to reconstruct the genome sequence of a deadly Shiga-toxigenic E. coli outbreak without having to grow bacteria in the lab. “The outbreak of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli illustrated the effects of a bacterial epidemic on a wealthy, modern, industrialized society, with more than 3,000 cases and more than 50 deaths reported in Germany between May and June of 2011,” says Mark Pallen, professor of microbial genomics at Warwick Medical School. “During an outbreak such as this, rapid and accurate pathogen identification…

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  Futurity.org » University of Washington

• Earthquake sensors on seafloor track whale songs

  Hannah Hickey-UW

  14 May 2013 | 11:17 am

  U. WASHINGTON (US) — Seafloor earthquake sensors are an inexpensive and noninvasive way to monitor the movements of fin whales that are vulnerable to collision with fast-moving ships.Fin whales are the second-largest animal ever to live on Earth—but paradoxically are also one of the least understood because their huge size and global range make movements and behavior hard to study.

• Can eating peppers help prevent Parkinson’s?

  Vince Stricherz-UW

  13 May 2013 | 7:15 am

  U. WASHINGTON (US) — Eating peppers may reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease, a new study suggests.Peppers are in the same botanical family as tobacco, and research has shown that dietary sources of nicotine may prove protective.

• Hundreds of possible ways to starve cancer

  Michelle Falling-Columbia

  6 May 2013 | 1:04 pm

  COLUMBIA U. (US) — An analysis of gene expression from 22 types of tumors has come up with hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off cancer’s fuel supply.Scientists say the results should ramp up research into drugs that interfere with cancer metabolism, a field that dominated cancer research in the early 20th century and has recently undergone a renaissance.

• Why beers warm up faster in humid weather

  Hannah Hickey-UW

  26 Apr 2013 | 9:08 am

  U. WASHINGTON (US) — Condensation on a can of beer or soda provides more heat than the surrounding air, which means humid weather warms up your drink more than twice as much as dry heat does. “Probably the most important thing a beer koozie does is not simply insulate the can, but keep condensation from forming on the outside of it,” says Dale Durran, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington. He’s co-author of results published in the April issue of Physics Today that give the exact warming for a range of plausible summer temperatures and humidity…

• Super-Earth planets snug ‘in the zone’

  Peter Kelley-U. Washington

  22 Apr 2013 | 8:05 am

  U. WASHINGTON (US) — Astronomers have discovered perhaps the most Earth-like planet yet found outside our solar system.Researchers say Kepler 62f is a small, probably rocky planet orbiting a sunlike star in the Lyra constellation. The planet is about 1.4 times the size of Earth, receives about half as much solar flux, or heat and radiation, as Earth and circles its star in 267.3 (Earth) days.

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  Futurity.org » Vanderbilt University

• Tiny droplets ‘flow’ like quark-gluon plasma

  David Salisbury-VU

  20 May 2013 | 8:47 am

  VANDERBILT (US) — Physicists may have created the smallest drops of liquid ever made in the lab—only the size of three to five protons. To provide a sense of scale, that is about one-100,000th the size of a hydrogen atom or one-100,000,000th the size of a virus. That possibility has been raised by the results of a recent experiment conducted by Vanderbilt University physicist Julia Velkovska and her colleagues at the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider located at the European Laboratory for Nuclear and Particle Physics (CERN) in…

• Big data sets create ‘tree of life’ confusion

  David Salisbury-VU

  20 May 2013 | 7:18 am

  VANDERBILT (US) — The genomics revolution has given experts mountains of DNA data to reconstruct the evolution of all living beings, but the vast information has led to contradictory conclusions. “It has become common for top-notch studies to report genealogies that strongly contradict each other in where certain organisms sprung from, such as the place of sponges on the animal tree or of snails on the tree of mollusks,” says Antonis Rokas, associate professor of biological sciences, at Vanderbilt University. In a study published online by the journal Nature, Rokas and graduate…

• Kindergarten math lessons are ‘old news’

  Bonnie Ertelt-Vanderbilt

  17 May 2013 | 7:26 am

  VANDERBILT (US) — Kindergarten teachers say they spend most of their math instructional time teaching lessons students have already mastered, like shapes and basic counting. The findings reveal a misalignment between what the students are being taught and what they already know.

• Salt adds to stomach bug’s cancer risk

  Leigh MacMillan-Vanderbilt

  13 May 2013 | 1:02 pm

  VANDERBILT (US) — Combining a high-salt diet with a type of H. pylori infection can increase the risk of gastric cancer, according to new research with gerbils. Infection with the stomach-dwelling bacterium Helicobacter pylori, particularly strains expressing the oncoprotein CagA , is a strong risk factor for gastric cancer. Timothy Cover, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University, and colleagues previously showed that high salt, which is also associated with gastric cancer risk, increased H. pylori expression of CagA in vitro.

• Kids with autism spot motion faster

  Susan Hagen-Rochester

  10 May 2013 | 9:12 am

  U. ROCHESTER / YALE / VANDERBILT (US) — Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, a new study shows.Researchers say this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder.

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  Futurity.org » Washington University in St. Louis

• Self-destructive nerves can be beneficial

  Julia Evangelou Strait-WUSTL

  16 May 2013 | 9:56 am

  WASHINGTON U. – ST. LOUIS (US) — A new understanding of how nerve axons degenerate might lead to effective ways to remove damaged nerves before the illness or drug at fault affects healthy nerve tissue. Many medical issues affect nerves, from injuries in car accidents and side effects of chemotherapy to glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

• Sticky questions about role of Alzheimer’s gene

  Michael Purdy-WUSTL

  8 May 2013 | 11:45 am

  WASHINGTON U. – ST. LOUIS (US) — Scientists’ picture of how a gene strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease harms the brain may need to be revised.People with harmful forms of the APOE gene have up to 12 times the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared with those who have other variations of the gene.

• How ‘jolt’ to nerve treats stubborn depression

  Jim Dryden-WUSTL

  8 May 2013 | 9:08 am

  WASHINGTON U. – ST. LOUIS (US) — Brain scans offer new details on how a device that stimulates the vagus nerve can bring relief for severe depression.The stimulation brings about changes in brain metabolism weeks or even months before patients begin to feel better. Researchers say the findings, published in the journal Brain Stimulation, may provide some clues about how the device improves depression.

• Faulty memory fails to ‘chunk’ events

  Gerry Everding-WUSTL

  8 May 2013 | 7:49 am

  WASHINGTON U. – ST. LOUIS (US) — How older adults perceive life events can hurt their ability to remember, but breaking the day into meaningful events can help them recall better. Grandpa’s stories often begin with the phrase, “Have I ever told you about the time…?” What he doesn’t know is that, yes, he has told you about that time, and he has told you many times before.

• Algorithms find ‘hot networks’ in cancer

  Kevin Stacey-Brown

  2 May 2013 | 8:48 am

  BROWN / WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — Scientists have used two new algorithms to assemble the most complete genetic profile yet of an aggressive form of blood cancer.The researchers hope the work will lead to new treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) based on the genetics of each patient’s disease.

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  Futurity.org » Yale University

• Tripped T-cells reject transplant organs

  Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh

  15 May 2013 | 11:33 am

  U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Certain cells “stick their feet” in the bloodstream to trip-up and collect immune system T-cells, which can lead to transplant organ rejection. This recent discovery challenges a long-held assumption about how biologic pathways trigger immune system rejection of donor organs—and suggests a different paradigm is needed to develop better anti-rejection therapies.

• Not all congenital heart disease is inherited

  Bill Hathaway-Yale

  13 May 2013 | 9:13 am

  YALE (US) — New mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their children account for at least 10 percent of severe congenital heart disease, a new study reveals.The analysis of all the genes of more than 1800 individuals found hundreds of mutations that can cause congenital heart disease, the most common form of birth defect that afflicts nearly 1 percent of all newborns.

• Kids with autism spot motion faster

  Susan Hagen-Rochester

  10 May 2013 | 9:12 am

  U. ROCHESTER / YALE / VANDERBILT (US) — Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, a new study shows.Researchers say this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder.

• Food ads fire up the teenage brain

  Jared Wadley-Michigan

  9 May 2013 | 9:01 am

  U. MICHIGAN (US) — Watching TV commercials of people munching on French fries or cereal resonates more with teens than advertisements about cell phones or the latest car.Regardless of their body weight, teens’ brain activity is higher during food commercials than nonfood commercials, according to new research published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

• Brain scans of alcoholics show relapse risk

  Bill Hathaway-Yale

  8 May 2013 | 3:49 am

  YALE (US) — Even experienced counselors have difficultly spotting a recovering alcoholic in danger of relapse. Brain imaging might do a better job, research suggests. Alcoholics with abnormal activity in areas of the brain that control emotions and desires are eight times more likely to relapse and drink heavily than alcoholics with more normal patterns of activity or healthy individuals, according to the study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. “These areas in the prefrontal cortex are involved in regulating emotion and in controlling responses to reward,” says Rajita…