In the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains two closely related species of mice share a habitat and a genetic lineage, but have very different social lives. The California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) is characterized by a lifetime of monogamy; the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is sexually promiscuous.
Researchers at the University of California Berkeley recently showed how these differences in sexual behavior impact the bacteria hosted by each species as well as the diversity of the genes that control immunity. The results were published in the May 2012 edition of PLoS One.
Monogamy is a fairly rare trait in mammals, possessed by only five percent of species. Rarely do two related, but socially distinguishable, species live side-by-side. This makes these two species of mice interesting subjects for Matthew MacManes, a National Institutes of Health-sponsored post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.
Through a series of analyses, MacManes and researchers from the Lacey Lab examined the differences between these two species on the microscopic and molecular levels. They discovered that the lifestyles of the two mice had a direct impact on the bacterial communities that reside within the female reproductive tract. Furthermore, these differences correlate with enhanced diversifying selection on genes related to immunity against bacterial diseases.
August 31, 2012
Leaders' emotional cues may predict acts of terror or political aggression
Leaders often use rousing speeches to evoke powerful emotions, and those emotions may predict when a group will commit an act of violence or terrorism, according to new research published in the journal Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression. Analysis of speeches delivered by government, activist and terrorist leaders found that leaders' expressions of anger, contempt and disgust spiked immediately before their group committed an act of violence.
"When leaders express a combination of anger, contempt and disgust in their speeches, it seems to be instrumental in inciting a group to act violently," said David Matsumoto, professor of psychology at San Francisco State University.
As part of a five-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Minerva Initiative, Matsumoto and colleagues studied the transcripts of speeches delivered by the leaders of ideologically motivated groups over the past 100 years. The analysis included such speeches as Osama bin Laden's remarks leading up to the bombings of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The researchers analyzed the pattern of emotions conveyed when leaders spoke about their rival group and examined speeches given at three points in time before a specific act of aggression. They compared the results with the content of speeches delivered by leaders whose groups engaged in nonviolent acts of resistance such as rallies and protests.
"When leaders express a combination of anger, contempt and disgust in their speeches, it seems to be instrumental in inciting a group to act violently," said David Matsumoto, professor of psychology at San Francisco State University.
As part of a five-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Minerva Initiative, Matsumoto and colleagues studied the transcripts of speeches delivered by the leaders of ideologically motivated groups over the past 100 years. The analysis included such speeches as Osama bin Laden's remarks leading up to the bombings of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The researchers analyzed the pattern of emotions conveyed when leaders spoke about their rival group and examined speeches given at three points in time before a specific act of aggression. They compared the results with the content of speeches delivered by leaders whose groups engaged in nonviolent acts of resistance such as rallies and protests.
Chemical exposure in the womb from household items may contribute to obesity
Pregnant women who are highly exposed to common environmental chemicals -- polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) -- have babies that are smaller at birth and larger at 20 months of age, according to a study from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health published online in the August 30 edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.
PFCs are used in the production of fluoropolymers and are found widely in protective coatings of packaging products, clothes, furniture and non-stick cookware. They are persistent compounds found abundantly in the environment and human exposure is common. PFCs have been detected in human sera, breast milk and cord blood.
The study, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, included 447 British girls and their mothers in the United Kingdom participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a large-scale health research project that has provided a vast amount of genetic and environmental information since it began in the early 1990s.
The researchers found that even though girls with higher exposure were smaller than average (43rd percentile) at birth, they were heavier than average (58th percentile) by 20 months of age. The authors say this path may lead to obesity at older ages.
PFCs are used in the production of fluoropolymers and are found widely in protective coatings of packaging products, clothes, furniture and non-stick cookware. They are persistent compounds found abundantly in the environment and human exposure is common. PFCs have been detected in human sera, breast milk and cord blood.
The study, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, included 447 British girls and their mothers in the United Kingdom participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a large-scale health research project that has provided a vast amount of genetic and environmental information since it began in the early 1990s.
The researchers found that even though girls with higher exposure were smaller than average (43rd percentile) at birth, they were heavier than average (58th percentile) by 20 months of age. The authors say this path may lead to obesity at older ages.
August 30, 2012
Alarming levels of drug-resistant TB found worldwide
Scientists have found an alarming number of cases of the lung disease tuberculosis in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America that are resistant to up to four powerful antibiotic drugs.
In a large international study published in the Lancet medical journal on Thursday, researchers found rates of both multi drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) were higher than previously thought and were threatening global efforts to curb the spread of the disease.
"Most international recommendations for TB control have been developed for MDR-TB prevalence of up to around 5 percent. Yet now we face prevalence up to 10 times higher in some places, where almost half of the patients ... are transmitting MDR strains," Sven Hoffner of the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, said in a commentary on the study.
In a large international study published in the Lancet medical journal on Thursday, researchers found rates of both multi drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) were higher than previously thought and were threatening global efforts to curb the spread of the disease.
"Most international recommendations for TB control have been developed for MDR-TB prevalence of up to around 5 percent. Yet now we face prevalence up to 10 times higher in some places, where almost half of the patients ... are transmitting MDR strains," Sven Hoffner of the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control, said in a commentary on the study.
Australians implant 'world first' bionic eye
Australian scientists said Thursday they had successfully implanted a "world first" bionic eye prototype, describing it as a major breakthrough for the visually impaired.
Bionic Vision Australia (BVA), a government-funded science consortium, said it had surgically installed an "early prototype" robotic eye in a woman with hereditary sight loss caused by degenerative retinitis pigmentosa.
Described as a "pre-bionic eye", the tiny device is attached to Dianne Ashworth's retina and contains 24 electrodes which send electrical impulses to stimulate her eye's nerve cells.
Researchers switched on the device in their laboratory last month after Ashworth had fully recovered from surgery and she said it was an incredible experience.
"I didn't know what to expect, but all of a sudden, I could see a little flash -- it was amazing," she said in a statement.
Bionic Vision Australia (BVA), a government-funded science consortium, said it had surgically installed an "early prototype" robotic eye in a woman with hereditary sight loss caused by degenerative retinitis pigmentosa.
Described as a "pre-bionic eye", the tiny device is attached to Dianne Ashworth's retina and contains 24 electrodes which send electrical impulses to stimulate her eye's nerve cells.
Researchers switched on the device in their laboratory last month after Ashworth had fully recovered from surgery and she said it was an incredible experience.
"I didn't know what to expect, but all of a sudden, I could see a little flash -- it was amazing," she said in a statement.
Australians implant 'world first' bionic eye
Australian scientists said Thursday they had successfully implanted a "world first" bionic eye prototype, describing it as a major breakthrough for the visually impaired.
Bionic Vision Australia (BVA), a government-funded science consortium, said it had surgically installed an "early prototype" robotic eye in a woman with hereditary sight loss caused by degenerative retinitis pigmentosa.
Described as a "pre-bionic eye", the tiny device is attached to Dianne Ashworth's retina and contains 24 electrodes which send electrical impulses to stimulate her eye's nerve cells.
Researchers switched on the device in their laboratory last month after Ashworth had fully recovered from surgery and she said it was an incredible experience.
"I didn't know what to expect, but all of a sudden, I could see a little flash -- it was amazing," she said in a statement.
Bionic Vision Australia (BVA), a government-funded science consortium, said it had surgically installed an "early prototype" robotic eye in a woman with hereditary sight loss caused by degenerative retinitis pigmentosa.
Described as a "pre-bionic eye", the tiny device is attached to Dianne Ashworth's retina and contains 24 electrodes which send electrical impulses to stimulate her eye's nerve cells.
Researchers switched on the device in their laboratory last month after Ashworth had fully recovered from surgery and she said it was an incredible experience.
"I didn't know what to expect, but all of a sudden, I could see a little flash -- it was amazing," she said in a statement.
Work, mahjong and tea: Hong Kong's secrets to longevity
Covered in smog and cramped apartment towers, Hong Kong is not usually associated with a healthy lifestyle. But new figures show that Hong Kongers are the longest-living people in the world.
Hong Kong men have held the title for more than a decade and recent data show women in the southern Chinese city overtaking their Japanese counterparts for the first time, according to the governments in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong women's life expectancy rose from an average 86 years in 2010 to 86.7 years in 2011, while Japanese women's longevity was hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami, falling to 85.9 years, census figures reveal.
So what is Hong Kong's secret to a long life?
Hong Kong men have held the title for more than a decade and recent data show women in the southern Chinese city overtaking their Japanese counterparts for the first time, according to the governments in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong women's life expectancy rose from an average 86 years in 2010 to 86.7 years in 2011, while Japanese women's longevity was hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami, falling to 85.9 years, census figures reveal.
So what is Hong Kong's secret to a long life?
Sweetened drinks may be linked to premature births
Women who drink a lot of sweet sodas during pregnancy may be more likely to give birth prematurely, a new study suggests.
The study, of more than 60,000 pregnant women in Norway, found that those who drank one sugary soda a day were up to 25 percent more likely to give birth prematurely than those who avoided the sweetened drinks.
However, it's not clear whether the drinks themselves are to blame for the early births.
"We are all desperately searching for causes of preterm birth," said Dr. Michael Katz at the New York-based March of Dimes foundation, a non-profit organization that works to improve babies' health. But, added Katz, who was not involved in the study, "this study does not indicate that (drinking soda) is a tremendously serious risk of any sort."
The study, of more than 60,000 pregnant women in Norway, found that those who drank one sugary soda a day were up to 25 percent more likely to give birth prematurely than those who avoided the sweetened drinks.
However, it's not clear whether the drinks themselves are to blame for the early births.
"We are all desperately searching for causes of preterm birth," said Dr. Michael Katz at the New York-based March of Dimes foundation, a non-profit organization that works to improve babies' health. But, added Katz, who was not involved in the study, "this study does not indicate that (drinking soda) is a tremendously serious risk of any sort."
Living against the clock; Does loss of daily rhythms cause obesity?
When Thomas Edison tested the first light bulb in 1879, he could never have imagined that his invention could one day contribute to a global obesity epidemic. Electric light allows us to work, rest and play at all hours of the day, and a paper published this week in Bioessays suggests that this might have serious consequences for our health and for our waistlines.
Daily or "circadian" rhythms including the sleep wake cycle, and rhythms in hormone release are controlled by a molecular clock that is present in every cell of the human body. This human clock has its own inbuilt, default rhythm of almost exactly 24 hours that allows it to stay finely tuned to the daily cycle generated by the rotation of Earth. This beautiful symmetry between the human clock and the daily cycle of Earth's rotation is disrupted by exposure to artificial light cycles, and by irregular meal, work and sleep times. This mismatch between the natural circadian rhythms of our bodies and the environment is called "circadian desynchrony."
The paper, by Dr. Cathy Wyse, working in the chronobiology research group at the University of Aberdeen, focuses on how the human clock struggles to stay in tune with the irregular meal, sleep and work schedules of the developed world, and how this might influence health and even cause obesity.
"Electric light allowed humans to override an ancient synchronization between the rhythm of the human clock and the environment, and over the last century, daily rhythms in meal, sleep and working times have gradually disappeared from our lives," said Wyse. "The human clock struggles to remain tuned to our highly irregular lifestyles, and I believe that this causes metabolic and other health problems, and makes us more likely to become obese."
Daily or "circadian" rhythms including the sleep wake cycle, and rhythms in hormone release are controlled by a molecular clock that is present in every cell of the human body. This human clock has its own inbuilt, default rhythm of almost exactly 24 hours that allows it to stay finely tuned to the daily cycle generated by the rotation of Earth. This beautiful symmetry between the human clock and the daily cycle of Earth's rotation is disrupted by exposure to artificial light cycles, and by irregular meal, work and sleep times. This mismatch between the natural circadian rhythms of our bodies and the environment is called "circadian desynchrony."
The paper, by Dr. Cathy Wyse, working in the chronobiology research group at the University of Aberdeen, focuses on how the human clock struggles to stay in tune with the irregular meal, sleep and work schedules of the developed world, and how this might influence health and even cause obesity.
"Electric light allowed humans to override an ancient synchronization between the rhythm of the human clock and the environment, and over the last century, daily rhythms in meal, sleep and working times have gradually disappeared from our lives," said Wyse. "The human clock struggles to remain tuned to our highly irregular lifestyles, and I believe that this causes metabolic and other health problems, and makes us more likely to become obese."
Calorie Restriction Does Not Affect Survival: Study Of Monkeys Also Suggests Some Health Benefits
Scientists have found that calorie restriction -- a diet composed of approximately 30 percent fewer calories but with the same nutrients of a standard diet -- does not extend years of life or reduce age-related deaths in a 23-year study of rhesus monkeys. However, calorie restriction did extend certain aspects of health.
The research, conducted by scientists at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health, is reported in the August 29, 2012 online issue of Nature.
Calorie restriction research has a long history. The first finding came in the 1930s, when investigators observed laboratory rats and mice lived up to 40 percent longer when fed a calorie-restricted diet. Subsequent research has cited calorie restriction as extending lifespan of yeast, worms, flies and some strains of mice. But other studies have not shown a longevity benefit. For example, in studies of certain strains of mice, calorie restriction on average had no effect on lifespan. Some of these mice actually had a shorter lifespan when given a calorie-restricted diet. To date, research does not provide evidence that calorie restriction is an appropriate age regulator in humans, the NIA investigators point out. Currently, limited human studies are under way to test the effectiveness and safety of calorie restriction in people.
The research, conducted by scientists at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health, is reported in the August 29, 2012 online issue of Nature.
Calorie restriction research has a long history. The first finding came in the 1930s, when investigators observed laboratory rats and mice lived up to 40 percent longer when fed a calorie-restricted diet. Subsequent research has cited calorie restriction as extending lifespan of yeast, worms, flies and some strains of mice. But other studies have not shown a longevity benefit. For example, in studies of certain strains of mice, calorie restriction on average had no effect on lifespan. Some of these mice actually had a shorter lifespan when given a calorie-restricted diet. To date, research does not provide evidence that calorie restriction is an appropriate age regulator in humans, the NIA investigators point out. Currently, limited human studies are under way to test the effectiveness and safety of calorie restriction in people.
August 28, 2012
We are more easily influenced when we follow our heart
When we let our hearts choose for us, we are more influenced by people who resemble ourselves, a PhD study from BI Norwegian Business School shows.
Every day we have to make a number of choices, and it is not always easy to know what the right choice is. That is why we often seek advice from others before making decisions. The Internet provides us with entirely new ways of finding out what other people feel about different products and services.
Many of us book hotel rooms online. Unless we are already familiar with the hotel, we will probably read reviews by former guests at the hotel before making up our minds. Such reviews are written by many different types of guests, families with small children, families with older children, single travellers, older guests and many other groups.
If you are a 25 year old student, for instance, you might attach different weight to a review from a student of your own age (the reviewer is similar to you) than you would to the comments from a 60 year old professor (who is different from you).
Every day we have to make a number of choices, and it is not always easy to know what the right choice is. That is why we often seek advice from others before making decisions. The Internet provides us with entirely new ways of finding out what other people feel about different products and services.
Many of us book hotel rooms online. Unless we are already familiar with the hotel, we will probably read reviews by former guests at the hotel before making up our minds. Such reviews are written by many different types of guests, families with small children, families with older children, single travellers, older guests and many other groups.
If you are a 25 year old student, for instance, you might attach different weight to a review from a student of your own age (the reviewer is similar to you) than you would to the comments from a 60 year old professor (who is different from you).
People Can Learn While They're Asleep, Study Finds
People are able to learn new information while they sleep, a study has found. Unfortunately, what the study's volunteers learned is much simpler than what most people might wish for. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel taught 55 study volunteers to associate certain sounds with certain smells, Nature News reported. The study appeared in a journal by Nature News' publisher, Nature Neuroscience.
Using classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning, the Weizmann researchers played certain sounds while wafting different odors to the volunteers while they were asleep. The researchers used pleasant smells, such as deodorant and shampoo, and unpleasant smells, such as rotting fish and carrion. The scientists found that the sleepers breathed shallowly when exposed to the unpleasant smells, but sniffed in deep when exposed to the pleasant smells.
Once they awakened, the sleepers didn't remember anything about the sound-smell conditioning. Yet when certain sounds were played — without the accompanying smells — the volunteers would sniff either shallowly or deeply, depending on the smell with which the sound was originally associated.
Using classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning, the Weizmann researchers played certain sounds while wafting different odors to the volunteers while they were asleep. The researchers used pleasant smells, such as deodorant and shampoo, and unpleasant smells, such as rotting fish and carrion. The scientists found that the sleepers breathed shallowly when exposed to the unpleasant smells, but sniffed in deep when exposed to the pleasant smells.
Once they awakened, the sleepers didn't remember anything about the sound-smell conditioning. Yet when certain sounds were played — without the accompanying smells — the volunteers would sniff either shallowly or deeply, depending on the smell with which the sound was originally associated.
How a virus might make you diabetic later in life
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the viruses that most infected people carry without ill effects. Once infected you are infected for life and, although it normally is dormant, it can become active again at any point in time. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Immunity and Ageing shows that CMV infection is a significant risk factor for the type 2 diabetes in the elderly.
Obesity, inactivity and aging are known to be associated with insulin resistance, one of the first signs of incipient diabetes. However only a third of those with insulin resistance go on the develop type 2 diabetes. So what marks these people as different? Why do their pancreas' fail? Genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a part but so also does inflammation. People with type 2 diabetes usually have raised levels of biological markers for inflammation such as elevated CRP and larger numbers of active white blood cells.
Chronic infections including CMV can 'stress' the immune system and when researchers from Leiden University Medical Centre and University of Tubingen Medical School compared glucose regulation with antibodies to CMV (or CMV seropositivity) in over 500 participants of the Leiden 85-plus Study they found that having CMV was associated with type 2 diabetes.
Obesity, inactivity and aging are known to be associated with insulin resistance, one of the first signs of incipient diabetes. However only a third of those with insulin resistance go on the develop type 2 diabetes. So what marks these people as different? Why do their pancreas' fail? Genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a part but so also does inflammation. People with type 2 diabetes usually have raised levels of biological markers for inflammation such as elevated CRP and larger numbers of active white blood cells.
Chronic infections including CMV can 'stress' the immune system and when researchers from Leiden University Medical Centre and University of Tubingen Medical School compared glucose regulation with antibodies to CMV (or CMV seropositivity) in over 500 participants of the Leiden 85-plus Study they found that having CMV was associated with type 2 diabetes.
Speaking two languages also benefits low-income children
Living in poverty is often accompanied by conditions that can negatively influence cognitive development. Is it possible that being bilingual might counteract these effects? Although previous research has shown that being bilingual enhances executive functioning in middle-class children, less is known about how it affects lower income populations.
In a study forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientist Pascale Engel de Abreu of the University of Luxembourg and colleagues examine the effects of speaking two languages on the executive functioning of low-income children.
"Low-income children represent a vulnerable population," says Engel de Abreu. "Studying cognitive processes in this population is of great societal importance and represents a significant advancement in our understanding of childhood development."
Existing research, conducted with older bilingual children and bilingual adults from middle class backgrounds, suggests that knowing two languages may have different effects on different aspects of executive functioning: while being bilingual seems to have a positive influence on the ability to direct and focus attention (control), researchers have found no such benefit for how people encode and structure knowledge in memory (representation).
In a study forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientist Pascale Engel de Abreu of the University of Luxembourg and colleagues examine the effects of speaking two languages on the executive functioning of low-income children.
"Low-income children represent a vulnerable population," says Engel de Abreu. "Studying cognitive processes in this population is of great societal importance and represents a significant advancement in our understanding of childhood development."
Existing research, conducted with older bilingual children and bilingual adults from middle class backgrounds, suggests that knowing two languages may have different effects on different aspects of executive functioning: while being bilingual seems to have a positive influence on the ability to direct and focus attention (control), researchers have found no such benefit for how people encode and structure knowledge in memory (representation).
Low cost, high efficiency solar technology developed
Researchers at RTI International have developed a new solar technology that could make solar energy more affordable, and thus speed-up its market adoption.
The RTI solar cells are formed from solutions of semiconductor particles, known as colloidal quantum dots, and can have a power conversion efficiency that is competitive to traditional cells at a fraction of the cost.
Solar energy has the potential to be a renewable, carbon-neutral source of electricity but the high cost of photovoltaics -- the devices that convert sunlight into electricity -- has slowed widespread adoption of this resource.
The RTI-developed solar cells were created using low-cost materials and processing techniques that reduce the primary costs of photovoltaic production, including materials, capital infrastructure and energy associated with manufacturing.
Preliminary analysis of the material costs of the technology show that it can be produced for less than $20 per square meter -- as much as 75 percent less than traditional solar cells.
The RTI solar cells are formed from solutions of semiconductor particles, known as colloidal quantum dots, and can have a power conversion efficiency that is competitive to traditional cells at a fraction of the cost.
Solar energy has the potential to be a renewable, carbon-neutral source of electricity but the high cost of photovoltaics -- the devices that convert sunlight into electricity -- has slowed widespread adoption of this resource.
The RTI-developed solar cells were created using low-cost materials and processing techniques that reduce the primary costs of photovoltaic production, including materials, capital infrastructure and energy associated with manufacturing.
Preliminary analysis of the material costs of the technology show that it can be produced for less than $20 per square meter -- as much as 75 percent less than traditional solar cells.
August 27, 2012
Energy drinks improve heart function, study suggests
Consuming energy drinks can exert acute positive benefits on myocardial performance, according to research presented August 27 at the ESC Congress by Dr Matteo Cameli from University of Siena."In recent years the energy drink market has exploded, with more people than ever before turning to these products as quick 'pick me ups', whether to stay awake during all night study vigils or gain the edge in sport," said Dr Cameli.
"With energy drinks containing both caffeine and taurine concerns have been raised of adverse effects on the heart. While caffeine increases blood pressure, studies suggest that taurine may stimulate the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum."
In the current study the researchers used speckle-tracking echocardiography, the avant-garde technique in echocardiography, and echo Doppler analysis to explore the influence of energy drinks on heart function.
For the study 35 healthy subjects (mean age 25 years), drank a body surface area indexed amount of an energy drink (168 ml/m2) containing caffeine and taurine.
Assessments of heart rate, blood pressure, left ventricular function and right ventricular function were undertaken at baseline and one hour after consumption.
"With energy drinks containing both caffeine and taurine concerns have been raised of adverse effects on the heart. While caffeine increases blood pressure, studies suggest that taurine may stimulate the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum."
In the current study the researchers used speckle-tracking echocardiography, the avant-garde technique in echocardiography, and echo Doppler analysis to explore the influence of energy drinks on heart function.
For the study 35 healthy subjects (mean age 25 years), drank a body surface area indexed amount of an energy drink (168 ml/m2) containing caffeine and taurine.
Assessments of heart rate, blood pressure, left ventricular function and right ventricular function were undertaken at baseline and one hour after consumption.
Scientist Create First Cyborg Tissues
The creation of cyborgs – the part human, part machine organisms which are a mainstay of science fiction – took a big step closer to reality this week as scientists from Harvard University announced the successful creation of the world’s first cyborg tissue.
In a paper published in the scientific journal Nature Materials a multi-institutional research team led by Charles M. Lieber, Professor of Chemistry at Harvard, and Daniel Kohane, a Harvard Medical School professor in the Department of Anesthesia at Children’s Hospital Boston, describes how they were able to develop a system for creating nanoscale ‘scaffolds’ which they could then seed with cells which would grow into tissue.
This new system will enable technological devices to effectively ‘communicate’ with living tissue, enabling the two systems – biological and technological – to work together more fully. Electronic devices implanted in the body would then be able to undertake detailed monitoring of the biological environment in which they were placed, allowing them to react accordingly in real time.
In a paper published in the scientific journal Nature Materials a multi-institutional research team led by Charles M. Lieber, Professor of Chemistry at Harvard, and Daniel Kohane, a Harvard Medical School professor in the Department of Anesthesia at Children’s Hospital Boston, describes how they were able to develop a system for creating nanoscale ‘scaffolds’ which they could then seed with cells which would grow into tissue.
This new system will enable technological devices to effectively ‘communicate’ with living tissue, enabling the two systems – biological and technological – to work together more fully. Electronic devices implanted in the body would then be able to undertake detailed monitoring of the biological environment in which they were placed, allowing them to react accordingly in real time.
Nutrition tied to improved sperm DNA quality in older men: Healthy micronutrient intake linked to reduced DNA fragmentation
A new study led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that a healthy intake of micronutrients is strongly associated with improved sperm DNA quality in older men. In younger men, however, a higher intake of micronutrients didn't improve their sperm DNA.
In an analysis of 80 healthy male volunteers between 22 and 80 years of age, the scientists found that men older than 44 who consumed the most vitamin C had 20 percent less sperm DNA damage compared to men older than 44 who consumed the least vitamin C. The same was true for vitamin E, zinc, and folate.
"It appears that consuming more micronutrients such as vitamin C, E, folate and zinc helps turn back the clock for older men. We found that men 44 and older who consumed at least the recommended dietary allowance of certain micronutrients had sperm with a similar amount of DNA damage as the sperm of younger men," says Andy Wyrobek of Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division.
"This means that men who are at increased risk of sperm DNA damage because of advancing age can do something about it. They can make sure they get enough vitamins and micronutrients in their diets or through supplements," adds Wyrobek.
In an analysis of 80 healthy male volunteers between 22 and 80 years of age, the scientists found that men older than 44 who consumed the most vitamin C had 20 percent less sperm DNA damage compared to men older than 44 who consumed the least vitamin C. The same was true for vitamin E, zinc, and folate.
"It appears that consuming more micronutrients such as vitamin C, E, folate and zinc helps turn back the clock for older men. We found that men 44 and older who consumed at least the recommended dietary allowance of certain micronutrients had sperm with a similar amount of DNA damage as the sperm of younger men," says Andy Wyrobek of Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division.
"This means that men who are at increased risk of sperm DNA damage because of advancing age can do something about it. They can make sure they get enough vitamins and micronutrients in their diets or through supplements," adds Wyrobek.
August 24, 2012
Virus detector harnesses ring of light in 'whispering gallery mode'
By affixing nanoscale gold spheres onto a microscopic bead of glass, researchers have created a super-sensor that can detect even single samples of the smallest known viruses. The sensor uses a peculiar behavior of light known as "whispering gallery mode," named after the famous circular gallery in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where a whisper near the wall can be heard around the gallery.
In a similar way, waves of light are sent whirling around the inside of a small glass bead, resonating at a specific frequency. Just as a small object on a vibrating violin string can change its frequency -- ever so slightly -- so too can a virus landing on the sensor change the resonant frequency of the light. With the initial glass sphere, researchers were able to detect changes in frequency from viruses about the size of influenza, a relatively large virus.
The system, however, was not sensitive enough to detect anything smaller, such as the Polio virus. The researchers were able to increase the sensitivity of the device nearly seventyfold by adding gold nanospheres to the surface of the glass, which created what the researchers referred to as "plasmonic hot spots" -- areas where the light waves coupled with waves of electrons.
This hybrid sensor not only detected the presence of the MS2 virus -- the current light-weight in the world of RNA viruses -- it also was able to determine the weight of the virus by measuring the precise frequency change of the light.
In a similar way, waves of light are sent whirling around the inside of a small glass bead, resonating at a specific frequency. Just as a small object on a vibrating violin string can change its frequency -- ever so slightly -- so too can a virus landing on the sensor change the resonant frequency of the light. With the initial glass sphere, researchers were able to detect changes in frequency from viruses about the size of influenza, a relatively large virus.
The system, however, was not sensitive enough to detect anything smaller, such as the Polio virus. The researchers were able to increase the sensitivity of the device nearly seventyfold by adding gold nanospheres to the surface of the glass, which created what the researchers referred to as "plasmonic hot spots" -- areas where the light waves coupled with waves of electrons.
This hybrid sensor not only detected the presence of the MS2 virus -- the current light-weight in the world of RNA viruses -- it also was able to determine the weight of the virus by measuring the precise frequency change of the light.
Bigger creatures live longer, travel farther for a reason
A long-standing mystery in biology about the longer lifespans of bigger creatures may be explained by the application of a physical law called the Constructal Law.*
What this law proposes is that anything that flows -- a river, bloodstream or highway network -- will evolve toward the same basic configuration out of a need to be more efficient. And, as it turns out, that same basic law applies to all bodies in motion, be they animals or tanker trucks, says Adrian Bejan, the J.A. Jones Professor of mechanical engineering at Duke and father of the Constructal Law.
In his latest theory paper, appearing Aug. 24 in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, Bejan argues that there is a universal tendency for larger things, animate and inanimate, to live longer and to travel further.
He starts his argument with an examination of the well-known observation in biology that larger animals tend to live longer. Bejan wanted to see if this general rule might apply to inanimate systems as well and proceeded to mathematically analyze the relationship in rivers, jets of air and vehicles.
He found, as a general rule, that bigger rivers are older and that larger jets of air, such as atmospheric jet streams, last longer. By his calculations, larger vehicles should also last longer, but hard evidence of that is lacking, he says, and there are outliers of course, like Subaru Justys with 300,000 miles.
What this law proposes is that anything that flows -- a river, bloodstream or highway network -- will evolve toward the same basic configuration out of a need to be more efficient. And, as it turns out, that same basic law applies to all bodies in motion, be they animals or tanker trucks, says Adrian Bejan, the J.A. Jones Professor of mechanical engineering at Duke and father of the Constructal Law.
In his latest theory paper, appearing Aug. 24 in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, Bejan argues that there is a universal tendency for larger things, animate and inanimate, to live longer and to travel further.
He starts his argument with an examination of the well-known observation in biology that larger animals tend to live longer. Bejan wanted to see if this general rule might apply to inanimate systems as well and proceeded to mathematically analyze the relationship in rivers, jets of air and vehicles.
He found, as a general rule, that bigger rivers are older and that larger jets of air, such as atmospheric jet streams, last longer. By his calculations, larger vehicles should also last longer, but hard evidence of that is lacking, he says, and there are outliers of course, like Subaru Justys with 300,000 miles.
Working class prefers comedy and the intellectual class goes for drama
A study enjoying Spanish participation has analysed the theatre demand of society according to the socioeconomic status of the different types of the viewing public. The results were that the theatre is not just enjoyed by the intellectual classes. While they do prefer drama, the working class opts for comedy and the wealthier are swayed by reviews.
Theatre arts are loss-making services that require subsidies to stay afloat. This type of practice has frequently come under fire as it is thought that theatre is consumed mainly by society's economic elite.
A study published in the Journal of Cultural Economics proves this notion wrong. According to its results, the so-called "intellectual class" prefers dramas, the "working class" opts for comedies and the wealthier are influenced by professional reviews when they have paid for a theatre ticket.
"The aim was to analyse theatre demand. It was based on a type of models used in microeconomics that analyses how individuals make their decisions. These models are used frequently in transport and marketing and go by the name of discrete choice models. We conducted surveys in two of Newcastle's most important theatres," as explained by J.M. GrisolÃa, coauthor of the study and researcher at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Theatre arts are loss-making services that require subsidies to stay afloat. This type of practice has frequently come under fire as it is thought that theatre is consumed mainly by society's economic elite.
A study published in the Journal of Cultural Economics proves this notion wrong. According to its results, the so-called "intellectual class" prefers dramas, the "working class" opts for comedies and the wealthier are influenced by professional reviews when they have paid for a theatre ticket.
"The aim was to analyse theatre demand. It was based on a type of models used in microeconomics that analyses how individuals make their decisions. These models are used frequently in transport and marketing and go by the name of discrete choice models. We conducted surveys in two of Newcastle's most important theatres," as explained by J.M. GrisolÃa, coauthor of the study and researcher at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
LSD could help alcoholics stop drinking, AA founder believed
The co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) believed LSD could be used to cure alcoholics and credited the drug with helping his own recovery from often debilitating depression, according to new research.
About 20 years after setting up the Ohio-based sobriety movement in 1935, Bill Wilson came to believe that LSD could help "cynical alcoholics" achieve a "spiritual awakening" and start on the path to recovery.
The discovery that Wilson considered using the drug as an aid to recovery for addicts was made by Don Lattin, author of a book to be published in October by the University of California Press, entitled Distilled Spirits.
Lattin found letters and documents revealing that Wilson at first struggled with the idea that one drug could be used to overcome addiction to another. LSD, which was first synthesised in 1938, is a non-addictive drug that alters thought processes and can inspire spiritual experiences. Wilson thought initially the substance could help others understand the alcohol-induced hallucinations experienced by addicts, and that it might terrify drinkers into changing their ways.
About 20 years after setting up the Ohio-based sobriety movement in 1935, Bill Wilson came to believe that LSD could help "cynical alcoholics" achieve a "spiritual awakening" and start on the path to recovery.
The discovery that Wilson considered using the drug as an aid to recovery for addicts was made by Don Lattin, author of a book to be published in October by the University of California Press, entitled Distilled Spirits.
Lattin found letters and documents revealing that Wilson at first struggled with the idea that one drug could be used to overcome addiction to another. LSD, which was first synthesised in 1938, is a non-addictive drug that alters thought processes and can inspire spiritual experiences. Wilson thought initially the substance could help others understand the alcohol-induced hallucinations experienced by addicts, and that it might terrify drinkers into changing their ways.
'Brush' offers clues to fighting lung disease
Scientists say the discovery of an internal "brush" that helps clear lungs of unwanted matter could help them understand more about lung diseases.
A team from the University of North Carolina found that the brush-like layer pushes out sticky mucus and the foreign bodies it contains.
Writing in Science, it says that could help identify what goes wrong in cystic fibrosis, asthma and similar diseases.
UK lung experts said the work aided understanding of how lungs function.
The mucus, which helps collect inhaled pollutants, emerges as a runny nose and a wet cough.
A team from the University of North Carolina found that the brush-like layer pushes out sticky mucus and the foreign bodies it contains.
Writing in Science, it says that could help identify what goes wrong in cystic fibrosis, asthma and similar diseases.
UK lung experts said the work aided understanding of how lungs function.
The mucus, which helps collect inhaled pollutants, emerges as a runny nose and a wet cough.
Nanofibres 'may pose health risk'
Inhaling tiny fibres made by the nanotechnology industry could cause similar health problems to asbestos, say researchers.
Some are similar in shape to asbestos fibres, which have caused lung cancers such as mesothelioma.
Research on mice, published in Toxicology Sciences, suggests the longer nanofibres are more dangerous.
Human and mouse lungs are different, but the researchers hope the study will help to design safer nanofibres.
Nanofibres are in a range of goods, from airplane wings to tennis rackets.
Some are similar in shape to asbestos fibres, which have caused lung cancers such as mesothelioma.
Research on mice, published in Toxicology Sciences, suggests the longer nanofibres are more dangerous.
Human and mouse lungs are different, but the researchers hope the study will help to design safer nanofibres.
Nanofibres are in a range of goods, from airplane wings to tennis rackets.
August 23, 2012
Scientists create chemical 'brain': Giant network links all known compounds and reactions
Northwestern University scientists have connected 250 years of organic chemical knowledge into one giant computer network -- a chemical Google on steroids. This "immortal chemist" will never retire and take away its knowledge but instead will continue to learn, grow and share.
A decade in the making, the software optimizes syntheses of drug molecules and other important compounds, combines long (and expensive) syntheses of compounds into shorter and more economical routes and identifies suspicious chemical recipes that could lead to chemical weapons.
"I realized that if we could link all the known chemical compounds and reactions between them into one giant network, we could create not only a new repository of chemical methods but an entirely new knowledge platform where each chemical reaction ever performed and each compound ever made would give rise to a collective 'chemical brain,'" said Bartosz A. Grzybowski, who led the work. "The brain then could be searched and analyzed with algorithms akin to those used in Google or telecom networks."
Called Chematica, the network comprises some seven million chemicals connected by a similar number of reactions. A family of algorithms that searches and analyzes the network allows the chemist at his or her computer to easily tap into this vast compendium of chemical knowledge. And the system learns from experience, as more data and algorithms are added to its knowledge base.
A decade in the making, the software optimizes syntheses of drug molecules and other important compounds, combines long (and expensive) syntheses of compounds into shorter and more economical routes and identifies suspicious chemical recipes that could lead to chemical weapons.
"I realized that if we could link all the known chemical compounds and reactions between them into one giant network, we could create not only a new repository of chemical methods but an entirely new knowledge platform where each chemical reaction ever performed and each compound ever made would give rise to a collective 'chemical brain,'" said Bartosz A. Grzybowski, who led the work. "The brain then could be searched and analyzed with algorithms akin to those used in Google or telecom networks."
Called Chematica, the network comprises some seven million chemicals connected by a similar number of reactions. A family of algorithms that searches and analyzes the network allows the chemist at his or her computer to easily tap into this vast compendium of chemical knowledge. And the system learns from experience, as more data and algorithms are added to its knowledge base.
Roots of human self-awareness: New study points to a complex, diffuse patchwork of brain pathways
Ancient Greek philosophers considered the ability to "know thyself" as the pinnacle of humanity. Now, thousands of years later, neuroscientists are trying to decipher precisely how the human brain constructs our sense of self.
Self-awareness is defined as being aware of oneself, including one's traits, feelings, and behaviors. Neuroscientists have believed that three brain regions are critical for self-awareness: the insular cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the medial prefrontal cortex.
However, a research team led by the University of Iowa has challenged this theory by showing that self-awareness is more a product of a diffuse patchwork of pathways in the brain -- including other regions -- rather than confined to specific areas.
Self-awareness is defined as being aware of oneself, including one's traits, feelings, and behaviors. Neuroscientists have believed that three brain regions are critical for self-awareness: the insular cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the medial prefrontal cortex.
However, a research team led by the University of Iowa has challenged this theory by showing that self-awareness is more a product of a diffuse patchwork of pathways in the brain -- including other regions -- rather than confined to specific areas.
Half of the particulate pollution in North America comes from other continents
Roughly half the aerosols that affect air quality and climate change in North America may be coming from other continents, including Asia, Africa and Europe, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, University of Maryland at Baltimore County and the Universities Space Research Association.
Atmospheric particles can travel thousands of miles downwind and impact the environment in other regions, found lead researcher Hongbin Yu of the University of Maryland, and his team in a report published in the August 3, 2012 issue of the journal Science. This could offset emission controls in North America and suggests there are more factors affecting domestic pollution than the Environmental Protection Agency has accounted for.
"People have been concerned about how an emerging Asian economy and increased manmade pollution will influence North American air quality and climate, but we found that dust makes large contributions here," explained Yu, an associate research scientist in UMD's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC). "So we cannot just focus on pollution. We need to consider dust."
Atmospheric particles can travel thousands of miles downwind and impact the environment in other regions, found lead researcher Hongbin Yu of the University of Maryland, and his team in a report published in the August 3, 2012 issue of the journal Science. This could offset emission controls in North America and suggests there are more factors affecting domestic pollution than the Environmental Protection Agency has accounted for.
"People have been concerned about how an emerging Asian economy and increased manmade pollution will influence North American air quality and climate, but we found that dust makes large contributions here," explained Yu, an associate research scientist in UMD's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC). "So we cannot just focus on pollution. We need to consider dust."
Key to burning fat faster discovered
Enzymes involved in breaking down fat can now be manipulated to work three times harder by turning on a molecular switch recently observed by chemists at the University of Copenhagen. Being able to control this chemical on/off button could have massive implications for curing diseases related to obesity including diabetes, cardio vascular disease, stroke and even skin problems like acne. But the implications may be wider.
Possibly the most important discovery in enzymology
The results suggest that the switch may be a common characteristic of many more enzymes. Since enzymes are miniscule worker-molecules that control a vast variety of functions in cells, if the switches are standard, it may well be one of the most important discoveries in enzymology.
"If many enzymes turn out to be switched on in the same way as the ones we've studied, this opens a door to understanding- and maybe curing, a wide range of diseases," says professor Dimitrios Stamou.
Possibly the most important discovery in enzymology
The results suggest that the switch may be a common characteristic of many more enzymes. Since enzymes are miniscule worker-molecules that control a vast variety of functions in cells, if the switches are standard, it may well be one of the most important discoveries in enzymology.
"If many enzymes turn out to be switched on in the same way as the ones we've studied, this opens a door to understanding- and maybe curing, a wide range of diseases," says professor Dimitrios Stamou.
Matter in universe is evenly distributed, so we're not fractal
Stars crowd together into galaxies, galaxies assemble into clusters, and clusters amass to form superclusters. Astronomers, probing ever-larger volumes of the cosmos, have been surprised again and again to find matter clustering on ever-larger scales. This Russian-nesting-doll-like distribution of matter has led them to wonder whether the universe is a fractal: a mathematical object that looks the same at any scale, whether you zoom in or out.
If the fractal pattern continues no matter how far out you look, this would have profound implications for scientists' understanding of the universe. But now, a new astronomy survey refutes the notion.
The universe is fractal-like out to large distance scales, but at a certain point, the mathematical form breaks down. There are no more Russian nesting dolls — i.e., clumps of matter containing smaller clumps of matter — larger than 350 million light-years across.
If the fractal pattern continues no matter how far out you look, this would have profound implications for scientists' understanding of the universe. But now, a new astronomy survey refutes the notion.
The universe is fractal-like out to large distance scales, but at a certain point, the mathematical form breaks down. There are no more Russian nesting dolls — i.e., clumps of matter containing smaller clumps of matter — larger than 350 million light-years across.
August 22, 2012
Child eating disorders on the rise
Swimming outdoors, playing with the family pet and enjoying an ice cream cone -- that is the summer life of a typical 9-year-old girl.
Not for Sarah Smith. As a child, Smith (whose name has been changed to protect her privacy) formed habits that would eventually lead her to develop both bulimia and anorexia nervosa, both of which she is still dealing with today.
Smith remembers her parents using food in a reward-punishment system. When she was good, she got treats; if she was bad, snacks were forbidden.
"I think there was a mixture of ... intentionally restricting my food and then going to try to find the food my parents were hiding," Smith said. "Even in childhood, it became sort of obsessive."
When Smith was born in 1989, child eating disorders were a rarity. Today, they are far more commonplace.
Not for Sarah Smith. As a child, Smith (whose name has been changed to protect her privacy) formed habits that would eventually lead her to develop both bulimia and anorexia nervosa, both of which she is still dealing with today.
Smith remembers her parents using food in a reward-punishment system. When she was good, she got treats; if she was bad, snacks were forbidden.
"I think there was a mixture of ... intentionally restricting my food and then going to try to find the food my parents were hiding," Smith said. "Even in childhood, it became sort of obsessive."
When Smith was born in 1989, child eating disorders were a rarity. Today, they are far more commonplace.
Obesity 'bad for brain' by hastening cognitive decline
Being overweight is not just bad for waistlines but for brains too, say researchers who have linked obesity to declining mental performance.
Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.
Obesity has already been tipped as a risk factor for dementia.
The work, published in Neurology, tracked the health of more than 6,000 British people over a decade.
The participants, who were aged between 35 and 55, took tests on memory and other cognitive skills three times over a 10-year period.
People who were both obese and who had unhealthy metabolic changes showed a much faster decline on their cognitive test scores compared to others in the study.
Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.
Obesity has already been tipped as a risk factor for dementia.
The work, published in Neurology, tracked the health of more than 6,000 British people over a decade.
The participants, who were aged between 35 and 55, took tests on memory and other cognitive skills three times over a 10-year period.
People who were both obese and who had unhealthy metabolic changes showed a much faster decline on their cognitive test scores compared to others in the study.
Green tea compound shows promise for tackling cancer
A compound found in green tea could be a weapon in treatments for tackling cancer, according to newly published research at the University of Strathclyde.
The extract, known as epigallocatechin gallate, has been known to have preventative anti-cancer properties but fails to reach tumours when delivered by conventional intravenous administration.
However, in initial laboratory tests at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, researchers used an approach which allowed the treatment to be delivered specifically to the tumours after intravenous administration. Nearly two-thirds of the tumours it was delivered to either shrank or disappeared within one month and the treatment displayed no side effects to normal tissues.
The tests are thought to be the first time that this type of treatment has made cancerous tumours shrink or vanish.
In the tests, on two different types of skin cancer, 40% of both types of tumour vanished, while 30% of one and 20% of another shrank. A further 10% of one of the types were stabilised.
The extract, known as epigallocatechin gallate, has been known to have preventative anti-cancer properties but fails to reach tumours when delivered by conventional intravenous administration.
However, in initial laboratory tests at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, researchers used an approach which allowed the treatment to be delivered specifically to the tumours after intravenous administration. Nearly two-thirds of the tumours it was delivered to either shrank or disappeared within one month and the treatment displayed no side effects to normal tissues.
The tests are thought to be the first time that this type of treatment has made cancerous tumours shrink or vanish.
In the tests, on two different types of skin cancer, 40% of both types of tumour vanished, while 30% of one and 20% of another shrank. A further 10% of one of the types were stabilised.
Good news: Your cat won't give you brain cancer
Cat owners are no more likely than people without pets to have brain cancer, a new study finds.
If you're wondering whether you should be relieved as a cat owner or confused as to what Fluffy the Persian has to do with brain cancer at all, we're here to help. The story starts last year, when researchers released a study in the journal Biology Letters finding that infection with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii may be linked to brain cancer in humans.
T. gondii can live in a variety of mammals and often infects mice. But to reproduce, it needs to get into a cat's gut. It seems to do so by giving its mouse hosts an uncanny bravery around the smell of cat pee, presumably making it more likely that the mice get eaten.
Given cats' role as natural T. gondii hosts, the brain cancer finding naturally raised some concern over whether housecats might pass the parasite to humans, increasing brain cancer risk. T. gondii is also linked with neurosis, schizophrenia and suicide attempts.
If you're wondering whether you should be relieved as a cat owner or confused as to what Fluffy the Persian has to do with brain cancer at all, we're here to help. The story starts last year, when researchers released a study in the journal Biology Letters finding that infection with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii may be linked to brain cancer in humans.
T. gondii can live in a variety of mammals and often infects mice. But to reproduce, it needs to get into a cat's gut. It seems to do so by giving its mouse hosts an uncanny bravery around the smell of cat pee, presumably making it more likely that the mice get eaten.
Given cats' role as natural T. gondii hosts, the brain cancer finding naturally raised some concern over whether housecats might pass the parasite to humans, increasing brain cancer risk. T. gondii is also linked with neurosis, schizophrenia and suicide attempts.
A little music training goes a long way: Practicing music for only few years in childhood helps improve adult brain
A little music training in childhood goes a long way in improving how the brain functions in adulthood when it comes to listening and the complex processing of sound, according to a new Northwestern University study.
The impact of music on the brain has been a hot topic in science in the past decade. Now Northwestern researchers for the first time have directly examined what happens after children stop playing a musical instrument after only a few years -- a common childhood experience.
Compared to peers with no musical training, adults with one to five years of musical training as children had enhanced brain responses to complex sounds, making them more effective at pulling out the fundamental frequency of the sound signal.
The fundamental frequency, which is the lowest frequency in sound, is crucial for speech and music perception, allowing recognition of sounds in complex and noisy auditory environments.
"Thus, musical training as children makes better listeners later in life," said Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Communication Sciences at Northwestern.
"Based on what we already know about the ways that music helps shape the brain," she said, "the study suggests that short-term music lessons may enhance lifelong listening and learning."
The impact of music on the brain has been a hot topic in science in the past decade. Now Northwestern researchers for the first time have directly examined what happens after children stop playing a musical instrument after only a few years -- a common childhood experience.
Compared to peers with no musical training, adults with one to five years of musical training as children had enhanced brain responses to complex sounds, making them more effective at pulling out the fundamental frequency of the sound signal.
The fundamental frequency, which is the lowest frequency in sound, is crucial for speech and music perception, allowing recognition of sounds in complex and noisy auditory environments.
"Thus, musical training as children makes better listeners later in life," said Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Communication Sciences at Northwestern.
"Based on what we already know about the ways that music helps shape the brain," she said, "the study suggests that short-term music lessons may enhance lifelong listening and learning."
Sanctuary chimps show high rates of drug-resistant staph
Chimpanzees from African sanctuaries carry drug-resistant, human-associated strains of the bacteria Staphlyococcus aureus, a pathogen that the infected chimpanzees could spread to endangered wild ape populations if they were reintroduced to their natural habitat, a new study shows.
The study by veterinarians, microbiologists and ecologists was the first to apply the same modern sequencing technology of bacterial genomes used in hospitals to track the transmission of staph from humans to African wildlife. The results were published August 21 by the American Journal of Primatology.
Drug-resistant staph was found in 36 chimpanzees, or 58 percent of those tested at two sanctuaries, located in Uganda and Zambia. Nearly 10 percent of the staph cases in chimpanzees showed signs of multi-drug resistance, the most dangerous and hard to cure form of the pathogen.
"One of the biggest threats to wild apes is the risk of acquiring novel pathogens from humans," says study co-author Thomas Gillespie, a primate disease ecologist at Emory University.
The study by veterinarians, microbiologists and ecologists was the first to apply the same modern sequencing technology of bacterial genomes used in hospitals to track the transmission of staph from humans to African wildlife. The results were published August 21 by the American Journal of Primatology.
Drug-resistant staph was found in 36 chimpanzees, or 58 percent of those tested at two sanctuaries, located in Uganda and Zambia. Nearly 10 percent of the staph cases in chimpanzees showed signs of multi-drug resistance, the most dangerous and hard to cure form of the pathogen.
"One of the biggest threats to wild apes is the risk of acquiring novel pathogens from humans," says study co-author Thomas Gillespie, a primate disease ecologist at Emory University.
August 20, 2012
Shy People Better at Reading Facial Expressions
Shy people may be hesitant to look you in the eye, but they seem to have a superior ability to recognize certain facial expressions, a new study suggests.
In the study, college-age adults who were shy were better able to recognize expressions of sadness and fear compared with those who were not shy.
The findings were surprising, said study researcher Laura Graves O'Haver, a doctoral student at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, given that previous work has found shy people tend to misinterpret facial expressions. However, this earlier work was typically performed on children, and the ability to recognize facial expressions may change with age, Graves O'Haver said.
The new results put a positive twist on a trait that is usually considered unfavorable, she said.
"We tend to give shy people a bad rap," but the new study suggests there are some strengths to being shy, Graves O'Haver said. "It might be nice to focus on those strengths."
In the study, college-age adults who were shy were better able to recognize expressions of sadness and fear compared with those who were not shy.
The findings were surprising, said study researcher Laura Graves O'Haver, a doctoral student at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, given that previous work has found shy people tend to misinterpret facial expressions. However, this earlier work was typically performed on children, and the ability to recognize facial expressions may change with age, Graves O'Haver said.
The new results put a positive twist on a trait that is usually considered unfavorable, she said.
"We tend to give shy people a bad rap," but the new study suggests there are some strengths to being shy, Graves O'Haver said. "It might be nice to focus on those strengths."
Photosynthesis-like process found in insects
The biology of aphids is bizarre: they can be born pregnant and males sometimes lack mouths, causing them to die not long after mating. In an addition to their list of anomalies, work published this week indicates that they may also capture sunlight and use the energy for metabolic purposes.
Aphids are unique among animals in their ability to synthesize pigments called carotenoids. Many creatures rely on these pigments for a variety of functions, such as maintaining a healthy immune system and making certain vitamins, but all other animals must obtain them through their diet. Entomologist Alain Robichon at the Sophia Agrobiotech Institute in Sophia Antipolis, France, and his colleagues suggest that, in aphids, these pigments can absorb energy from the Sun and transfer it to the cellular machinery involved in energy production1.
Aphids are unique among animals in their ability to synthesize pigments called carotenoids. Many creatures rely on these pigments for a variety of functions, such as maintaining a healthy immune system and making certain vitamins, but all other animals must obtain them through their diet. Entomologist Alain Robichon at the Sophia Agrobiotech Institute in Sophia Antipolis, France, and his colleagues suggest that, in aphids, these pigments can absorb energy from the Sun and transfer it to the cellular machinery involved in energy production1.
Work has more benefits than just a paycheck for moms: Working moms are healthier than stay-at-home moms
Working moms striving to "have it all" now can add another perk to their list of benefits -- health. New research from University of Akron Assistant Sociology Professor Adrianne Frech finds that moms who work full time are healthier at age 40 than stay-at-home moms, moms who work part time, or moms who have some work history, but are repeatedly unemployed.
Frech and co-author Sarah Damaske of Pennsylvania State University examined longitudinal data from 2,540 women who became mothers between 1978 and 1995. Accounting for pre-pregnancy employment, race/ethnicity, cognitive ability, single motherhood, prior health conditions and age at first birth, the research reveals that the choices women make early in their professional careers can affect their health later in life. Women who return full time to the workforce shortly after having children report better mental and physical health, i.e. greater mobility, more energy, less depression, etc. at age 40.
"Work is good for your health, both mentally and physically," says Frech. "It gives women a sense of purpose, self-efficacy, control and autonomy. They have a place where they are an expert on something, and they're paid a wage."
Frech and co-author Sarah Damaske of Pennsylvania State University examined longitudinal data from 2,540 women who became mothers between 1978 and 1995. Accounting for pre-pregnancy employment, race/ethnicity, cognitive ability, single motherhood, prior health conditions and age at first birth, the research reveals that the choices women make early in their professional careers can affect their health later in life. Women who return full time to the workforce shortly after having children report better mental and physical health, i.e. greater mobility, more energy, less depression, etc. at age 40.
"Work is good for your health, both mentally and physically," says Frech. "It gives women a sense of purpose, self-efficacy, control and autonomy. They have a place where they are an expert on something, and they're paid a wage."
August 17, 2012
Crystals from chaos: Physicists observe new form of carbon
A team of scientists led by Carnegie's Lin Wang has observed a new form of very hard carbon clusters, which are unusual in their mix of crystalline and disordered structure. The material is capable of indenting diamond. This finding has potential applications for a range of mechanical, electronic, and electrochemical uses. The work is published in Science on Aug. 17.
Carbon is the fourth-most-abundant element in the universe and takes on a wide variety of forms—the honeycomb-like graphene, the pencil "lead" graphite, diamond, cylindrically structured nanotubes, and hollow spheres called fullerenes.
Some forms of carbon are crystalline, meaning that the structure is organized in repeating atomic units. Other forms are amorphous, meaning that the structure lacks the long-range order of crystals. Hybrid products that combine both crystalline and amorphous elements had not previously been observed, although scientists believed they could be created.
Carbon is the fourth-most-abundant element in the universe and takes on a wide variety of forms—the honeycomb-like graphene, the pencil "lead" graphite, diamond, cylindrically structured nanotubes, and hollow spheres called fullerenes.
Some forms of carbon are crystalline, meaning that the structure is organized in repeating atomic units. Other forms are amorphous, meaning that the structure lacks the long-range order of crystals. Hybrid products that combine both crystalline and amorphous elements had not previously been observed, although scientists believed they could be created.
Clear links found between inflammation, bacterial communities and cancer
What if a key factor ultimately behind a cancer was not a genetic defect but ecological?
Ecologists have long known that when some major change disturbs an environment in some way, ecosystem structure is likely to change dramatically. Further, this shift in interconnected species' diversity, abundances, and relationships can in turn have a transforming effect on health of the whole landscape -- causing a rich woodland or grassland to become permanently degraded, for example -- as the ecosystem becomes unstable and then breaks down the environment.
For this reason, it should come as no surprise that a significant disturbance in the human body can profoundly alter the makeup of otherwise stable microbial communities co-existing within it and that changes in the internal ecology known as the human microbiome can result in unexpected and drastic consequences for human health.
Ecologists have long known that when some major change disturbs an environment in some way, ecosystem structure is likely to change dramatically. Further, this shift in interconnected species' diversity, abundances, and relationships can in turn have a transforming effect on health of the whole landscape -- causing a rich woodland or grassland to become permanently degraded, for example -- as the ecosystem becomes unstable and then breaks down the environment.
For this reason, it should come as no surprise that a significant disturbance in the human body can profoundly alter the makeup of otherwise stable microbial communities co-existing within it and that changes in the internal ecology known as the human microbiome can result in unexpected and drastic consequences for human health.
August 16, 2012
Pregnancy Changes Mom's Gut Bacteria
Having a kid changes everything, from your sleep schedule to the status of that formerly spare room. The stable of bacteria that live in a woman’s gut is also transformed when their host becomes pregnant. So finds research in the journal Cell.
The study looked at women in Finland. The women’s microbial makeup changed dramatically between the first and third trimesters. The array of microbes in the gut went from looking normal in the first three months of a pregnancy to resembling what’s found in patients suffering from metabolic disease in the last three.
But some of the symptoms of that condition – like weight-gain and slower sugar metabolism – can be beneficial to pregnant women, supporting energy storage that helps a fetus develop. Other symptoms, like inflammation, demonstrate that the immune system is functioning properly as a pregnancy comes to term.
Scientists don’t yet fully understand what brings about the changes in gut bacteria – immune function is a suspect, but factors like hormonal signals aren’t ruled out. The research suggests that other changes to the body, like puberty or old age, could also bring about microbial makeovers.
The study looked at women in Finland. The women’s microbial makeup changed dramatically between the first and third trimesters. The array of microbes in the gut went from looking normal in the first three months of a pregnancy to resembling what’s found in patients suffering from metabolic disease in the last three.
But some of the symptoms of that condition – like weight-gain and slower sugar metabolism – can be beneficial to pregnant women, supporting energy storage that helps a fetus develop. Other symptoms, like inflammation, demonstrate that the immune system is functioning properly as a pregnancy comes to term.
Scientists don’t yet fully understand what brings about the changes in gut bacteria – immune function is a suspect, but factors like hormonal signals aren’t ruled out. The research suggests that other changes to the body, like puberty or old age, could also bring about microbial makeovers.
Gonorrhea Evades Antibiotics, Leaving Only One Drug To Treat Disease
There's some disturbing news out today about a disease we don't hear about much these days: gonorrhea. Federal health officials announced that the sexually transmitted infection is getting dangerously close to being untreatable.
As a result, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines for how doctors should treat gonorrhea. The guidelines are designed to keep one of the remaining effective antibiotics useful for as long as possible by restricting the use of the other drug that works against the disease.
"We are sounding the alarm," said Gail Bolan, who heads the CDC's division of STD prevention.
Gonorrhea has been plaguing humanity for centuries. But ever since penicillin came along a dose of antibiotics would usually take care of the disease.
"Gonorrhea used to be susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline and doxycycline — very commonly used drugs," said Jonathan Zenilman, who studies infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins.
A woman's dance moves may give clues to her fertility
In a new meaning of "fertility dance," a woman's moves on the dance floor may reveal captivating clues about her current likelihood of getting pregnant.
Women in the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle are judged as more attractive dancers by men than are women in a less-fertile phase, a new study finds. The research suggests that ovulation is not as hidden in humans as scientists had once suspected, said study researcher Bernhard Fink of the University of Göttingen in Germany.
"These changes are subtle, and women may not always be consciously aware of them. However, men seem to derive information on women's fertility status from these cues," Fink told LiveScience.
Earlier studies have found hints that women's behavior changes slightly during fertile phases, from an increase in sexual desire to a preference for strong-jawed men. Research also suggests that men prefer the voices, smells and even facial attractiveness of women during fertile compared with nonfertile phases. One famous 2007 study even found that exotic dancers get better tips during the fertile phases of their cycle.
Women in the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle are judged as more attractive dancers by men than are women in a less-fertile phase, a new study finds. The research suggests that ovulation is not as hidden in humans as scientists had once suspected, said study researcher Bernhard Fink of the University of Göttingen in Germany.
"These changes are subtle, and women may not always be consciously aware of them. However, men seem to derive information on women's fertility status from these cues," Fink told LiveScience.
Earlier studies have found hints that women's behavior changes slightly during fertile phases, from an increase in sexual desire to a preference for strong-jawed men. Research also suggests that men prefer the voices, smells and even facial attractiveness of women during fertile compared with nonfertile phases. One famous 2007 study even found that exotic dancers get better tips during the fertile phases of their cycle.
BPA may boost artery disease risk
Exposure to bisphenol-A, a chemical found in many plastics and commonly known as BPA, may increase the chance of people's arteries narrowing, which can lead to a heart attack, according to a new study.
Researchers studied the BPA levels of 591 people who were suspected by their doctors of having severe coronary artery disease (CAD), a condition of narrowing arteries. They found that BPA levels were higher in those who were ultimately diagnosed with the disease.
The results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that BPA is harmful to human health, though the results "merit further investigation, but are not yet definitive enough to really worry people," said study author David Mosedale, chairman of the Metabonomics and Genomics in Coronary Artery Disease study. "There are a lot of things out there that we can consider harmful the longer we look," he said.
The people in the study were referred by their doctors to a CAD specialist because they exhibited some signs of the disease. The researchers used urine samples to measure the level of BPA in each person's body.
Researchers studied the BPA levels of 591 people who were suspected by their doctors of having severe coronary artery disease (CAD), a condition of narrowing arteries. They found that BPA levels were higher in those who were ultimately diagnosed with the disease.
The results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that BPA is harmful to human health, though the results "merit further investigation, but are not yet definitive enough to really worry people," said study author David Mosedale, chairman of the Metabonomics and Genomics in Coronary Artery Disease study. "There are a lot of things out there that we can consider harmful the longer we look," he said.
The people in the study were referred by their doctors to a CAD specialist because they exhibited some signs of the disease. The researchers used urine samples to measure the level of BPA in each person's body.
Walnuts 'improve sperm health'
Eating around two handfuls of walnuts a day improves sperm health in young men, a study in the journal Biology of Reproduction suggests.
Sperm shape, movement and vitality improved in men who added walnuts to their diet over 12 weeks.
The fatty acids found in these nuts are thought to have helped sperm development. It is not known if this would help improve male fertility.
About one in six couples are infertile, with 40% of these due to a male factor.
Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield said: "It would be relatively easy to poke fun at studies like this, but there is increasing evidence to show that aspects of a man's diet can affect the number and quality of sperm produced by his testicles."
Sperm shape, movement and vitality improved in men who added walnuts to their diet over 12 weeks.
The fatty acids found in these nuts are thought to have helped sperm development. It is not known if this would help improve male fertility.
About one in six couples are infertile, with 40% of these due to a male factor.
Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield said: "It would be relatively easy to poke fun at studies like this, but there is increasing evidence to show that aspects of a man's diet can affect the number and quality of sperm produced by his testicles."
Children’s self-control is associated with their body mass index as adults
As adults, we know that self-control and delaying gratification are important for making healthful eating choices, portion control, and maintaining a healthy weight. However, exhibiting these skills at a young age actually may affect weight later in life. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics finds that delaying gratification longer at 4 years of age is associated with having a lower body mass index (BMI) 30 years later.
Between 1968 and 1974, 653 4-year-olds completed a delay of gratification test, in which the children were given one treat, such as a cookie or a marshmallow, and were told that they would be given a second treat if they could wait to eat the first treat for an unspecified length of time (it ended up being 15 minutes). Follow-up studies found that delaying gratification for a longer time as a preschooler was associated with adolescent academic strength, social competence, planfulness, ability to handle stress, and higher SAT scores. According to Tanya R, Schlam, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health's Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, "Interventions can improve young children's self-control, which may decrease children's risk of becoming overweight and may have further positive effects on other outcomes important to society (general health, financial stability, and a reduced likelihood of being convicted of a crime)."
A video of children trying to delay gratification can be found at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EjJsPylEOY.
Between 1968 and 1974, 653 4-year-olds completed a delay of gratification test, in which the children were given one treat, such as a cookie or a marshmallow, and were told that they would be given a second treat if they could wait to eat the first treat for an unspecified length of time (it ended up being 15 minutes). Follow-up studies found that delaying gratification for a longer time as a preschooler was associated with adolescent academic strength, social competence, planfulness, ability to handle stress, and higher SAT scores. According to Tanya R, Schlam, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health's Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, "Interventions can improve young children's self-control, which may decrease children's risk of becoming overweight and may have further positive effects on other outcomes important to society (general health, financial stability, and a reduced likelihood of being convicted of a crime)."
A video of children trying to delay gratification can be found at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EjJsPylEOY.
August 15, 2012
Danger in the blood: How antibiotic-resisting bacterial infections form
New research may help explain why hundreds of thousands of Americans a year get sick -- and tens of thousands die -- after bacteria get into their blood. It also suggests why some of those bloodstream infections resist treatment with even the most powerful antibiotics.
In a new paper in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a team of University of Michigan researchers demonstrate that bacteria can form antibiotic-resistant clumps in a short time, even in a flowing liquid such as the blood.
The researchers made the discovery by building a special device that closely simulates the turbulence and forces of blood flow, and adding a strain of bacteria that's a common cause of bloodstream infections.
Tiny aggregates, or clumps, of 10 to 20 bacteria formed in the flowing liquid in just two hours -- about the same time it takes human patients to develop infections.
The researchers also showed that these clumps only formed when certain sticky carbohydrate molecules were present on the surface of the bacteria. The clumps persisted even when two different types of antibiotics were added -- suggesting that sticking together protects the floating bacteria from the drugs' effects.
In a new paper in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a team of University of Michigan researchers demonstrate that bacteria can form antibiotic-resistant clumps in a short time, even in a flowing liquid such as the blood.
The researchers made the discovery by building a special device that closely simulates the turbulence and forces of blood flow, and adding a strain of bacteria that's a common cause of bloodstream infections.
Tiny aggregates, or clumps, of 10 to 20 bacteria formed in the flowing liquid in just two hours -- about the same time it takes human patients to develop infections.
The researchers also showed that these clumps only formed when certain sticky carbohydrate molecules were present on the surface of the bacteria. The clumps persisted even when two different types of antibiotics were added -- suggesting that sticking together protects the floating bacteria from the drugs' effects.
New toilet developed: Needs no connection to water supply
There are 2.6 billion people in the world who have no access to a decent toilet. An interdisciplinary team of Swiss aquatic researchers and designers from Austria won with their invention as part of the 'Re-invent the Toilet' competition, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation a special recognition award. The new toilet model will provide a sanitary solution that ensures human dignity and hygiene, while also being environment-friendly and economically feasible. All for less than five cents per day and person.
A total of 22 universities and research facilities submitted proposals to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2011 for the 'Re-Invent the Toilet Challenge' (RTTC). Goal of the competition: invent the toilet of the future! Prerequisites: the new toilet should need no sewer and no outside energy source, should be part of a recycling and treatment system for wastes and should cost no more than five cents per day per person. By the end of 2011, eight teams were still in the running, among them the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and the California Institute of Technology. They all presented their projects August 14 in Seattle (USA).
A total of 22 universities and research facilities submitted proposals to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2011 for the 'Re-Invent the Toilet Challenge' (RTTC). Goal of the competition: invent the toilet of the future! Prerequisites: the new toilet should need no sewer and no outside energy source, should be part of a recycling and treatment system for wastes and should cost no more than five cents per day per person. By the end of 2011, eight teams were still in the running, among them the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and the California Institute of Technology. They all presented their projects August 14 in Seattle (USA).
Children who spend three-quarters of their time in sedentary behavior have up to nine times poorer motor coordination than active peers
Children who spend more than three-quarters of their time engaging in sedentary behaviour, such as watching TV and sitting at computers, have up to nine times poorer motor coordination than their more active peers, reveals a study published in the American Journal of Human Biology.
The study, involving Portuguese children, found that physical activity alone was not enough to overcome the negative effect of sedentary behaviour on basic motor coordination skills such as walking, throwing or catching, which are considered the building blocks of more complex movements.
"Childhood is a critical time for the development of motor coordination skills which are essential for health and well-being," said lead author Dr Luis Lopes, from the University of Minho. "We know that sedentary lifestyles have a negative effect on these skills and are associated with decreased fitness, lower self-esteem, decreased academic achievement and increased obesity."
The study, involving Portuguese children, found that physical activity alone was not enough to overcome the negative effect of sedentary behaviour on basic motor coordination skills such as walking, throwing or catching, which are considered the building blocks of more complex movements.
"Childhood is a critical time for the development of motor coordination skills which are essential for health and well-being," said lead author Dr Luis Lopes, from the University of Minho. "We know that sedentary lifestyles have a negative effect on these skills and are associated with decreased fitness, lower self-esteem, decreased academic achievement and increased obesity."
August 14, 2012
Elderly brains get a boost from dark chocolate
Eating dark chocolate every day may improve thinking abilities in people with mild cognitive impairment, according to a new study.
Researchers enlisted older adults to consume either low, moderate or high amounts of flavanols in a cocoa-based beverage every day for eight weeks, and a link was found between the higher amounts of flavanols and improvements in tests of cognitive function.
The higher the concentration of flavanols, the better the people did on the tests — completing them more quickly and recalling more information, the researchers found.
The study was funded by Mars, a company that makes chocolate candy.
Researchers enlisted older adults to consume either low, moderate or high amounts of flavanols in a cocoa-based beverage every day for eight weeks, and a link was found between the higher amounts of flavanols and improvements in tests of cognitive function.
The higher the concentration of flavanols, the better the people did on the tests — completing them more quickly and recalling more information, the researchers found.
The study was funded by Mars, a company that makes chocolate candy.
Shopping Sales May Be Bad for Mental Health
If all of the back-to-school sales and end-of-summer clearances are making you feel overwhelmed, you're not alone. A new study shows that the craziness of large sales may cause shoppers to experience symptoms of serious mental health conditions, such as anxiety or a loss of reality.
Researchers surveyed people who recently participated in a major sales event, such as Black Friday. According to the results, 20 percent of participants experienced high levels of anxiety during the shopping event, 23 percent experienced a change in their perception of reality known as "derealization," and close to 50 percent felt a lack of empathy for other shoppers.
The results may explain horrific incidences that have occurred at Black Fridays in the past, said study researcher Noel Hunter, a doctoral student in psychology at Long Island University in N.Y., such as trampling of shoppers, use of pepper spray and even a shooting.
Hunter said that marketing ploys, such as making certain sale items available for a limited time, boost anxiety. "They're purposefully trying to increase anxiety, which then results in all of these symptoms," Hunter said.
Researchers surveyed people who recently participated in a major sales event, such as Black Friday. According to the results, 20 percent of participants experienced high levels of anxiety during the shopping event, 23 percent experienced a change in their perception of reality known as "derealization," and close to 50 percent felt a lack of empathy for other shoppers.
The results may explain horrific incidences that have occurred at Black Fridays in the past, said study researcher Noel Hunter, a doctoral student in psychology at Long Island University in N.Y., such as trampling of shoppers, use of pepper spray and even a shooting.
Hunter said that marketing ploys, such as making certain sale items available for a limited time, boost anxiety. "They're purposefully trying to increase anxiety, which then results in all of these symptoms," Hunter said.
Neanderthals did not interbreed with humans, scientists find
Cambridge University researchers concluded that the DNA similarities were unlikely to be the result of human-Neanderthal sex during their 15,000-year coexistence in Europe.
People living outside Africa share as much as four per cent of their DNA with Neanderthals, a cave-dwelling species with muscular short arms and legs and a brain slightly larger than ours.
The Cambridge researchers examined demographic patterns suggesting that humans were far from intimate with the species they displaced in Europe almost 40,000 years ago.
The study into the genomes of the two species, found a common ancestor 500,000 years ago would be enough to account for the shared DNA.
Their analysis, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contradicts recent studies that found inter-species mating, known as hybridisation, probably occurred.
People living outside Africa share as much as four per cent of their DNA with Neanderthals, a cave-dwelling species with muscular short arms and legs and a brain slightly larger than ours.
The Cambridge researchers examined demographic patterns suggesting that humans were far from intimate with the species they displaced in Europe almost 40,000 years ago.
The study into the genomes of the two species, found a common ancestor 500,000 years ago would be enough to account for the shared DNA.
Their analysis, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contradicts recent studies that found inter-species mating, known as hybridisation, probably occurred.
Young cricket characters shaped by 'song'
The experiences of youth can change the adult personalities of crickets, a new study has found.
Scientists discovered that juvenile males that did not hear a cricket chorus while young grew into more aggressive adults.
It suggests that the animals can pick up behavioural traits while young which then become fixed in adulthood.
The scientists believe that personality may play a crucial role in ecology and evolution.
Scientists discovered that juvenile males that did not hear a cricket chorus while young grew into more aggressive adults.
It suggests that the animals can pick up behavioural traits while young which then become fixed in adulthood.
The scientists believe that personality may play a crucial role in ecology and evolution.
Hot particle soup may reveal secrets of primordial universe
A soup of ultra-hot elementary particles could be the key to understanding what the universe was like just after its formation, scientists say.
Over the past few years, physicists have created this soup inside two of the world's most powerful particle accelerators — the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in New York — by smashing particles together at superfast speeds.
When two particles collide, they explode into pure energy powerful enough to melt down atoms and break apart protons and neutrons (the building blocks of atomic nuclei) into their constituent quarks and gluons. Protons and neutrons contain three quarks each, and gluons are the mass-less glue that holds the quarks together.
The result is a plasma scientists call an " almost-perfect liquid," with almost zero friction.
Over the past few years, physicists have created this soup inside two of the world's most powerful particle accelerators — the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in New York — by smashing particles together at superfast speeds.
When two particles collide, they explode into pure energy powerful enough to melt down atoms and break apart protons and neutrons (the building blocks of atomic nuclei) into their constituent quarks and gluons. Protons and neutrons contain three quarks each, and gluons are the mass-less glue that holds the quarks together.
The result is a plasma scientists call an " almost-perfect liquid," with almost zero friction.
Smell Deals With Deprivation Differently
When a cold takes away a person’s sense of smell, part of the brain that helps link odors with memory, emotion and reward works overtime in preparation for the return of air flow.
The way smell rebounds from a period of diminished sensory input distinguishes it from the other senses, researchers at the Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago report online August 12 in Nature Neuroscience.
Other senses tend to back off when their functions are restricted. When a person wears a patch over one eye, for example, the part of the brain devoted to processing information from that eye weakens while the part linked to the other eye grows stronger. The same is true for hearing and touch, such as when a person goes deaf in one ear or loses a finger.
To find out what happens to the olfactory system — the part of the brain that processes scents — when it’s completely odor deprived, Northwestern neuroscientist Joanna Keng Nei Wu and her colleagues set up a scent-free zone in a hospital’s research wing. Volunteers had to give up scented toiletries and spend a week with cotton stuffed up their nostrils to seal their noses off from the outside world. The researchers even took away the volunteers’ toothpaste, forcing them to brush with baking soda instead. Despite the hardships, it wasn’t difficult to find willing volunteers, Wu says. “We had a lot of medical students who wanted us to lock them up in the hospital for a week so they could study.”
The way smell rebounds from a period of diminished sensory input distinguishes it from the other senses, researchers at the Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago report online August 12 in Nature Neuroscience.
Other senses tend to back off when their functions are restricted. When a person wears a patch over one eye, for example, the part of the brain devoted to processing information from that eye weakens while the part linked to the other eye grows stronger. The same is true for hearing and touch, such as when a person goes deaf in one ear or loses a finger.
To find out what happens to the olfactory system — the part of the brain that processes scents — when it’s completely odor deprived, Northwestern neuroscientist Joanna Keng Nei Wu and her colleagues set up a scent-free zone in a hospital’s research wing. Volunteers had to give up scented toiletries and spend a week with cotton stuffed up their nostrils to seal their noses off from the outside world. The researchers even took away the volunteers’ toothpaste, forcing them to brush with baking soda instead. Despite the hardships, it wasn’t difficult to find willing volunteers, Wu says. “We had a lot of medical students who wanted us to lock them up in the hospital for a week so they could study.”
Speedy ions could add zip to quantum computers
Take that, sports cars! Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can accelerate their beryllium ions from zero to 100 miles per hour and stop them in just a few microseconds. What's more, the ions come to a complete stop and hardly feel the effects of the ride. And they're not just good for submicroscopic racing -- NIST physicists think their zippy ions may be useful in future quantum computers.
The ions (electrically charged atoms) travel 100 times faster than was possible before across a few hundred micrometers in an ion trap -- a single ion can go 370 micrometers in 8 microseconds, to be exact (about 100 miles per hour.)
Although ions can go much faster in accelerators, the NIST ions demonstrate precision control of fast acceleration and sudden stops in an ion trap. A close analogy is a marble resting at the bottom of a bowl, and the bowl suddenly accelerating (see animation). During the transport, the marble will oscillate back and forth relative to the center of the bowl. If the bowl is suddenly stopped at the right time, the marble will come to rest together with the bowl. Furthermore, the NIST researchers assured that their atomic marble's electron energy levels are not affected, which is important for a quantum computer, where information stored in these energy levels would need to be moved around without compromising the information content.
The ions (electrically charged atoms) travel 100 times faster than was possible before across a few hundred micrometers in an ion trap -- a single ion can go 370 micrometers in 8 microseconds, to be exact (about 100 miles per hour.)
Although ions can go much faster in accelerators, the NIST ions demonstrate precision control of fast acceleration and sudden stops in an ion trap. A close analogy is a marble resting at the bottom of a bowl, and the bowl suddenly accelerating (see animation). During the transport, the marble will oscillate back and forth relative to the center of the bowl. If the bowl is suddenly stopped at the right time, the marble will come to rest together with the bowl. Furthermore, the NIST researchers assured that their atomic marble's electron energy levels are not affected, which is important for a quantum computer, where information stored in these energy levels would need to be moved around without compromising the information content.
Earth's magnetic field weakening
The strength of the Earth's magnetic field has decreased 10 percent over the past 150 years, raising the remote possibility that it may collapse and later reverse, flipping the planet's poles for the first time in nearly a million years, scientists said Thursday.
At the current rate of decline, the field could vanish altogether in 1,500 to 2,000 years, said Jeremy Bloxham of Harvard University.
Hundreds of years could pass before a flip-flopped field returned to where it was 780,000 years ago.
However, scientists at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union cautioned that scenario is an unlikely one.
"The chances are it will not," Bloxham said. "Reversals are a rare event."
At the current rate of decline, the field could vanish altogether in 1,500 to 2,000 years, said Jeremy Bloxham of Harvard University.
Hundreds of years could pass before a flip-flopped field returned to where it was 780,000 years ago.
However, scientists at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union cautioned that scenario is an unlikely one.
"The chances are it will not," Bloxham said. "Reversals are a rare event."
August 13, 2012
Study claims drug companies putting profits ahead of medical breakthrough treatments
A new study says that pharmaceutical companies have been putting medical discoveries on the back burner in favor of making profits with inefficient drugs, the Daily Mail reports.
According to the British Medical Journal, 85 to 90 percent of all prescription drugs developed in the past 50 years provide few benefits, but many have caused hazardous side-effects.
For every dollar that goes toward finding breakthrough medicine, $19 goes to marketing and promoting mediocre drugs.
Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/health/study-claims-drug-companies-putting-profits-ahead-of-medical-breakthrough-treatments#ixzz23Rk3yX4K
According to the British Medical Journal, 85 to 90 percent of all prescription drugs developed in the past 50 years provide few benefits, but many have caused hazardous side-effects.
For every dollar that goes toward finding breakthrough medicine, $19 goes to marketing and promoting mediocre drugs.
Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/health/study-claims-drug-companies-putting-profits-ahead-of-medical-breakthrough-treatments#ixzz23Rk3yX4K
Doctor and Patient: The Bullying Culture of Medical School
Powerfully built and with the face of a boxer, he cast a bone-chilling shadow wherever he went in the hospital.
At least that is what my medical school classmates and I thought whenever we passed by a certain resident, or doctor-in-training, just a few years older than we were.
With the wisdom of hindsight, I now see that the young man was a brilliant and promising young doctor who took his patients’ conditions to heart but who also possessed a temper so explosive that medical students dreaded working with him. He had called various classmates “stupid” and “useless” and could erupt with little warning in the middle of hospital halls. Like frightened little mice, we endured the treatment as an inevitable part of medical training, fearful that doing otherwise could result in a career-destroying evaluation or grade.
At least that is what my medical school classmates and I thought whenever we passed by a certain resident, or doctor-in-training, just a few years older than we were.
With the wisdom of hindsight, I now see that the young man was a brilliant and promising young doctor who took his patients’ conditions to heart but who also possessed a temper so explosive that medical students dreaded working with him. He had called various classmates “stupid” and “useless” and could erupt with little warning in the middle of hospital halls. Like frightened little mice, we endured the treatment as an inevitable part of medical training, fearful that doing otherwise could result in a career-destroying evaluation or grade.
Parasites may get nastier with climate swings
Parasites look set to become more virulent because of climate change, according to a study showing that frogs suffer more infections from a fungus when exposed to unexpected swings in temperatures.
Parasites, which include tapeworms, the tiny organisms that cause malaria and funguses, may be more nimble at adapting to climatic shifts than the animals they live on since they are smaller and grow more quickly, scientists said.
"Increases in climate variability are likely to make it easier for parasites to infect their hosts," Thomas Raffel of Oakland University in the United States told Reuters, based on findings about frogs and a sometimes deadly skin fungus.
Parasites, which include tapeworms, the tiny organisms that cause malaria and funguses, may be more nimble at adapting to climatic shifts than the animals they live on since they are smaller and grow more quickly, scientists said.
"Increases in climate variability are likely to make it easier for parasites to infect their hosts," Thomas Raffel of Oakland University in the United States told Reuters, based on findings about frogs and a sometimes deadly skin fungus.
How depression shrinks the brain
Certain brain regions in people with major depression are smaller and less dense than those of their healthy counterparts. Now, researchers have traced the genetic reasons for this shrinkage.
A series of genes linked to the function of synapses, or the gaps between brain cells crucial for cell-to-cell communication, can be controlled by a single genetic "switch" that appears to be overproduced in the brains of people with depression, a new study finds.
"We show that circuits normally involved in emotion, as well as cognition, are disrupted when this single transcription factor is activated," study researcher Ronald Duman, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University, said in a statement.
Transcription factors are proteins that help control which genetic instructions from DNA will be copied, or transcribed, as part of the process of building the body's proteins.
A series of genes linked to the function of synapses, or the gaps between brain cells crucial for cell-to-cell communication, can be controlled by a single genetic "switch" that appears to be overproduced in the brains of people with depression, a new study finds.
"We show that circuits normally involved in emotion, as well as cognition, are disrupted when this single transcription factor is activated," study researcher Ronald Duman, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University, said in a statement.
Transcription factors are proteins that help control which genetic instructions from DNA will be copied, or transcribed, as part of the process of building the body's proteins.
August 10, 2012
Scientists find the stem cells that drive our creativity
A newly-discovered type of stem cell could be the key to higher thinking in humans, research suggests.
Scientists have identified a family of stem cells that may give birth to neurons responsible for abstract thought and creativity.
The cells were found in embryonic mice, where they formed the upper layers of the brain’s cerebral cortex.
In humans, the same brain region allows abstract thinking, planning for the future and solving problems.
Previously it was thought that all cortical neurons - upper and lower layers - arose from the same stem cells, called radial glial cells (RGCs).
The new research shows that the upper layer neurons develop from a distinct population of diverse stem cells.
Scientists have identified a family of stem cells that may give birth to neurons responsible for abstract thought and creativity.
The cells were found in embryonic mice, where they formed the upper layers of the brain’s cerebral cortex.
In humans, the same brain region allows abstract thinking, planning for the future and solving problems.
Previously it was thought that all cortical neurons - upper and lower layers - arose from the same stem cells, called radial glial cells (RGCs).
The new research shows that the upper layer neurons develop from a distinct population of diverse stem cells.
August 8, 2012
Thinner Isn't Always Better In Diabetes
Skinny doesn’t always mean healthy for people with type 2 diabetes. People who are normal weight when diagnosed with the condition may have a higher risk of death than those who are overweight or obese.
While counterintuitive, the findings may suggest that normal-weight people who have type 2 diabetes are more likely to have other illnesses, frail bones or wasting muscles, researchers report in the Aug. 8 Journal of the American Medical Association.
“This study raises a lot more questions than answers,” says epidemiologist Lynne Wagenknecht of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. But the authors have done “a really nice job examining every which way, upside down and right side up of what might be going on here,” she says.
While counterintuitive, the findings may suggest that normal-weight people who have type 2 diabetes are more likely to have other illnesses, frail bones or wasting muscles, researchers report in the Aug. 8 Journal of the American Medical Association.
“This study raises a lot more questions than answers,” says epidemiologist Lynne Wagenknecht of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. But the authors have done “a really nice job examining every which way, upside down and right side up of what might be going on here,” she says.
New global warming culprit: Methane emissions jump dramatically during dam drawdowns
Washington State University researchers have documented an underappreciated suite of players in global warming: dams, the water reservoirs behind them, and surges of greenhouse gases as water levels go up and down.
Bridget Deemer, a doctoral student at Washington State University-Vancouver, measured dissolved gases in the water column of Lacamas Lake in Clark County and found methane emissions jumped 20-fold when the water level was drawn down. A fellow WSU-Vancouver student, Maria Glavin, sampled bubbles rising from the lake mud and measured a 36-fold increase in methane during a drawdown.
Methane is 25 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. And while dams and the water behind them cover only a small portion of Earth's surface, they harbor biological activity that can produce large amounts of greenhouse gases. There are also some 80,000 dams in the United States alone, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams.
"Reservoirs have typically been looked at as a green energy source," says Deemer. "But their role in greenhouse gas emissions has been overlooked."
Bridget Deemer, a doctoral student at Washington State University-Vancouver, measured dissolved gases in the water column of Lacamas Lake in Clark County and found methane emissions jumped 20-fold when the water level was drawn down. A fellow WSU-Vancouver student, Maria Glavin, sampled bubbles rising from the lake mud and measured a 36-fold increase in methane during a drawdown.
Methane is 25 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. And while dams and the water behind them cover only a small portion of Earth's surface, they harbor biological activity that can produce large amounts of greenhouse gases. There are also some 80,000 dams in the United States alone, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams.
"Reservoirs have typically been looked at as a green energy source," says Deemer. "But their role in greenhouse gas emissions has been overlooked."
August 7, 2012
Pubic hair has a job to do – stop shaving and leave it alone
But why pick on the lowly pubic hair? A few sociological theories suggest it has to do with cultural trends spawned by bikinis and thongs, certain hairless actors and actresses or a desire to return to childhood or even a misguided attempt at hygiene.
It is a sadly misconceived war. Long ago, surgeons figured out that shaving a body part prior to surgery actually increased, rather than decreased, surgical site infections. No matter what expensive and complex weapons are used – razor blades, electric shavers, tweezers, waxing, depilatories, electrolysis – hair, like crab grass, always grows back and eventually wins. In the meantime, the skin suffers the effects of the scorched battlefield.
Pubic hair removal naturally irritates and inflames the hair follicles left behind, leaving microscopic open wounds. Rather than suffering a comparison to a bristle brush, frequent hair removal is necessary to stay smooth, causing regular irritation of the shaved or waxed area. When that irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of the genitals, it becomes a happy culture medium for some of the nastiest of bacterial pathogens, namely Group A Streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus and its recently mutated cousin methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There is an increase in staph boils and abscesses, necessitating incisions to drain the infection, resulting in scarring that can be significant. It is not at all unusual to find pustules and other hair-follicle inflammation papules on shaved genitals.
It is a sadly misconceived war. Long ago, surgeons figured out that shaving a body part prior to surgery actually increased, rather than decreased, surgical site infections. No matter what expensive and complex weapons are used – razor blades, electric shavers, tweezers, waxing, depilatories, electrolysis – hair, like crab grass, always grows back and eventually wins. In the meantime, the skin suffers the effects of the scorched battlefield.
Pubic hair removal naturally irritates and inflames the hair follicles left behind, leaving microscopic open wounds. Rather than suffering a comparison to a bristle brush, frequent hair removal is necessary to stay smooth, causing regular irritation of the shaved or waxed area. When that irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of the genitals, it becomes a happy culture medium for some of the nastiest of bacterial pathogens, namely Group A Streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus and its recently mutated cousin methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There is an increase in staph boils and abscesses, necessitating incisions to drain the infection, resulting in scarring that can be significant. It is not at all unusual to find pustules and other hair-follicle inflammation papules on shaved genitals.
Cannabis as painkiller
Cannabis-based medications have been demonstrated to relieve pain. Cannabis medications can be used in patients whose symptoms are not adequately alleviated by conventional treatment. The indications are muscle spasms, nausea and vomiting as a result of chemotherapy, loss of appetite in HIV/Aids, and neuropathic pain.
This is the conclusion drawn by Franjo Grotenhermen and Kirsten Müller-Vahl in issue 29-30 of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.
The clinical effect of the various cannabis-based medications rests primarily on activation of endogenous cannabinoid receptors. Consumption of therapeutic amounts by adults does not lead to irreversible cognitive impairment. The risk is much greater, however, in children and adolescents (particularly before puberty), even at therapeutic doses.
Over 100 controlled trials of the effects of cannabinoids in various indications have been carried out since 1975. The positive results have led to official licensing of cannabis-based medications in many countries. In Germany, a cannabis extract was approved in 2011 for treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis. In June 2012 the Federal Joint Committee (the highest decision-making body for the joint self-government of physicians, dentists, hospitals and health insurance funds in Germany) pronounced that the cannabis extract showed a slight additional benefit for this indication and granted a temporary license until 2015.
This is the conclusion drawn by Franjo Grotenhermen and Kirsten Müller-Vahl in issue 29-30 of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.
The clinical effect of the various cannabis-based medications rests primarily on activation of endogenous cannabinoid receptors. Consumption of therapeutic amounts by adults does not lead to irreversible cognitive impairment. The risk is much greater, however, in children and adolescents (particularly before puberty), even at therapeutic doses.
Over 100 controlled trials of the effects of cannabinoids in various indications have been carried out since 1975. The positive results have led to official licensing of cannabis-based medications in many countries. In Germany, a cannabis extract was approved in 2011 for treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis. In June 2012 the Federal Joint Committee (the highest decision-making body for the joint self-government of physicians, dentists, hospitals and health insurance funds in Germany) pronounced that the cannabis extract showed a slight additional benefit for this indication and granted a temporary license until 2015.
The economic cost of increased temperatures: Warming episodes hurt poor countries and limit long-term growth
Even temporary rises in local temperatures significantly damage long-term economic growth in the world's developing nations, according to a new study co-authored by an MIT economist.
Looking at weather data over the last half-century, the study finds that every 1-degree-Celsius increase in a poor country, over the course of a given year, reduces its economic growth by about 1.3 percentage points. However, this only applies to the world's developing nations; wealthier countries do not appear to be affected by the variations in temperature.
"Higher temperatures lead to substantially lower economic growth in poor countries," says Ben Olken, a professor of economics at MIT, who helped conduct the research. And while it's relatively straightforward to see how droughts and hot weather might hurt agriculture, the study indicates that hot spells have much wider economic effects.
"What we're suggesting is that it's much broader than [agriculture]," Olken adds. "It affects investment, political stability and industrial output."
Looking at weather data over the last half-century, the study finds that every 1-degree-Celsius increase in a poor country, over the course of a given year, reduces its economic growth by about 1.3 percentage points. However, this only applies to the world's developing nations; wealthier countries do not appear to be affected by the variations in temperature.
"Higher temperatures lead to substantially lower economic growth in poor countries," says Ben Olken, a professor of economics at MIT, who helped conduct the research. And while it's relatively straightforward to see how droughts and hot weather might hurt agriculture, the study indicates that hot spells have much wider economic effects.
"What we're suggesting is that it's much broader than [agriculture]," Olken adds. "It affects investment, political stability and industrial output."
More Kids Taking Antipsychotics for ADHD: Study
Use of powerful antipsychotic medications such as Abilify and Risperdal to control youngsters with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other behavior problems has skyrocketed in recent years, a new study finds.
Antipsychotics are approved to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, other serious mental problems and irritability related to autism. But they don't have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for ADHD or other childhood behavior problems, and their use for this purpose is considered "off label."
"Only a small proportion of antipsychotic treatment of children (6 percent) and adolescents (13 percent) is for FDA-approved clinical indications," said lead researcher Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
"These national trends focus attention on the substantial and growing extent to which children diagnosed with ADHD and other disruptive behavioral disorders are being treated with antipsychotic medications," said Olfson.
Antipsychotics are approved to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, other serious mental problems and irritability related to autism. But they don't have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for ADHD or other childhood behavior problems, and their use for this purpose is considered "off label."
"Only a small proportion of antipsychotic treatment of children (6 percent) and adolescents (13 percent) is for FDA-approved clinical indications," said lead researcher Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
"These national trends focus attention on the substantial and growing extent to which children diagnosed with ADHD and other disruptive behavioral disorders are being treated with antipsychotic medications," said Olfson.
Testers fear reality of genetically modified Olympians
There have been "marathon mice", "Schwarzenegger mice" and dogs whose wasted muscles were repaired with injected substances that switch off key genes. It may not be long before we get the first genetically modified athlete.
Some fear the use of gene therapy to improve athleticism is already a reality. But since sports authorities' drug testing methods still lack the sophistication needed to pick up gene doping, its status remains unclear.
What is certain, from scientific studies and from surveys of elite sports people, is that it is technically feasible to use genetic modification to improve sporting performance, and that some athletes are prepared to risk their lives if they could be guaranteed to win gold medals.
Officially, UK Anti-Doping, the body which oversees the control of performance enhancing drugs in Britain, says genetic manipulation as a form of performance enhancement "is currently a theoretical rather than a proven issue".
Some fear the use of gene therapy to improve athleticism is already a reality. But since sports authorities' drug testing methods still lack the sophistication needed to pick up gene doping, its status remains unclear.
What is certain, from scientific studies and from surveys of elite sports people, is that it is technically feasible to use genetic modification to improve sporting performance, and that some athletes are prepared to risk their lives if they could be guaranteed to win gold medals.
Officially, UK Anti-Doping, the body which oversees the control of performance enhancing drugs in Britain, says genetic manipulation as a form of performance enhancement "is currently a theoretical rather than a proven issue".
August 6, 2012
Chronic 'Butter Flavoring' Exposure Linked to Harmful Brain Process
Chronic exposure to an artificial butter flavoring ingredient, known as diacetyl, may worsen the harmful effects of a protein in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.
The findings should serve as a red flag for factory workers with significant exposure to the food-flavoring ingredient, researchers from the University of Minnesota said in the report published in a recent issue of the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
Diacetyl is used to give a buttery taste and aroma to common food items such as margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and other products.
The findings should serve as a red flag for factory workers with significant exposure to the food-flavoring ingredient, researchers from the University of Minnesota said in the report published in a recent issue of the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
Diacetyl is used to give a buttery taste and aroma to common food items such as margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and other products.
Pupil dilation reveals sexual orientation in new study
There is a popular belief that sexual orientation can be revealed by pupil dilation to attractive people, yet until now there was no scientific evidence. For the first time, researchers at Cornell University used a specialized infrared lens to measure pupillary changes to participants watching erotic videos. Pupils were highly telling: they widened most to videos of people who participants found attractive, thereby revealing where they were on the sexual spectrum from heterosexual to homosexual.
The findings were published August 3 in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.
Previous research explored these mechanisms either by simply asking people about their sexuality, or by using physiological measures such as assessing their genital arousal. These methods, however, come with substantial problems.
"We wanted to find an alternative measure that would be an automatic indication of sexual orientation, but without being as invasive as previous measures. Pupillary responses are exactly that," says Gerulf Rieger, lead author and research fellow at Cornell. "With this new technology we are able to explore sexual orientation of people who would never participate in a study on genital arousal, such as people from traditional cultures. This will give us a much better understanding how sexuality is expressed across the planet."
The findings were published August 3 in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.
Previous research explored these mechanisms either by simply asking people about their sexuality, or by using physiological measures such as assessing their genital arousal. These methods, however, come with substantial problems.
"We wanted to find an alternative measure that would be an automatic indication of sexual orientation, but without being as invasive as previous measures. Pupillary responses are exactly that," says Gerulf Rieger, lead author and research fellow at Cornell. "With this new technology we are able to explore sexual orientation of people who would never participate in a study on genital arousal, such as people from traditional cultures. This will give us a much better understanding how sexuality is expressed across the planet."
Carbon monoxide's damaging role in heart rhythm found
The way that even low levels of carbon monoxide can be fatal, by disrupting the heart's rhythm, has been unravelled by researchers in Leeds.
They found that levels common in heavy traffic could affect the way the heart resets itself after every beat.
Their study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine showed a common angina drug may reverse the effect.
The British Heart Foundation said the research was a promising start.
Carbon monoxide is produced by faulty boilers, cigarettes and car exhausts.
They found that levels common in heavy traffic could affect the way the heart resets itself after every beat.
Their study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine showed a common angina drug may reverse the effect.
The British Heart Foundation said the research was a promising start.
Carbon monoxide is produced by faulty boilers, cigarettes and car exhausts.
Playfulness may help adults attract mates, study finds
Why do adults continue to play throughout their lives while most other mature mammals cease such behavior? According to researchers at Penn State, playfulness may serve an evolutionary role in human mating preferences by signaling positive qualities to potential long-term mates.
"Humans and other animals exhibit a variety of signals as to their value as mates," said Garry Chick, professor and head of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management. "Just as birds display bright plumage or coloration, men may attract women by showing off expensive cars or clothing. In the same vein, playfulness in a male may signal to females that he is nonaggressive and less likely to harm them or their offspring. A woman's playfulness, on the other hand, may signal her youth and fertility."
Chick and colleagues Careen Yarnal, associate professor of recreation, park and tourism management, and Andrew Purrington, lecturer in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, expanded on a previous survey that included a list of 13 possible characteristics that individuals might seek in prospective mates. To that original list, they added three new traits: "playful," "sense of humor" and "fun loving." The authors gave the survey to 164 male and 89 female undergraduate students, ages 18 to 26.
"Humans and other animals exhibit a variety of signals as to their value as mates," said Garry Chick, professor and head of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management. "Just as birds display bright plumage or coloration, men may attract women by showing off expensive cars or clothing. In the same vein, playfulness in a male may signal to females that he is nonaggressive and less likely to harm them or their offspring. A woman's playfulness, on the other hand, may signal her youth and fertility."
Chick and colleagues Careen Yarnal, associate professor of recreation, park and tourism management, and Andrew Purrington, lecturer in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, expanded on a previous survey that included a list of 13 possible characteristics that individuals might seek in prospective mates. To that original list, they added three new traits: "playful," "sense of humor" and "fun loving." The authors gave the survey to 164 male and 89 female undergraduate students, ages 18 to 26.
Love and Lust Are Seasonal, Google Study Finds
Real-time tracking by researchers has identified a risqué trend in winter and early summer — people on the Internet looking for love — or at least sex.
In a new study published this month in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior researchers tracked Google keyword searches in the United States for pornography, prostitution and dating sites between January 2006 and March 2011. Researchers wanted to gauge the real-time mood of the nation and found that online interest in the mating game peaked around Christmas and early summer.
This bi-annual cycle isn't unheard of. A 2007 review of research on sexual activity in young people published in the journal Health Education found a six-month cycle for human sexual activity in the United States. Research on the so-called "holiday season effect" and the "summer vacation effect" has involved studying the outcomes of sex, such as births and sexually transmitted infections (STI) — events that occur weeks to months after doing the deed.
Scientists have also documented increases in condom sales around Christmas week and during the summer months. [The Sex Quiz: Myths, Taboos and Bizarre Facts]
In a new study published this month in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior researchers tracked Google keyword searches in the United States for pornography, prostitution and dating sites between January 2006 and March 2011. Researchers wanted to gauge the real-time mood of the nation and found that online interest in the mating game peaked around Christmas and early summer.
This bi-annual cycle isn't unheard of. A 2007 review of research on sexual activity in young people published in the journal Health Education found a six-month cycle for human sexual activity in the United States. Research on the so-called "holiday season effect" and the "summer vacation effect" has involved studying the outcomes of sex, such as births and sexually transmitted infections (STI) — events that occur weeks to months after doing the deed.
Scientists have also documented increases in condom sales around Christmas week and during the summer months. [The Sex Quiz: Myths, Taboos and Bizarre Facts]
The power of intermittent fasting
Scientists are uncovering evidence that short periods of fasting, if properly controlled, could achieve a number of health benefits, as well as potentially helping the overweight, as Michael Mosley discovered.
I'd always thought of fasting as something unpleasant, with no obvious long term benefits. So when I was asked to make a documentary that would involve me going without food, I was not keen as I was sure I would not enjoy it.
But the Horizon editor assured me there was great new science and that I might see some dramatic improvements to my body. So, of course, I said, "yes".
I am not strong-willed enough to diet over the long term, but I am extremely interested in the reasons why eating less might lead to increased life span, particularly as scientists think it may be possible to get the benefits without the pain.
I'd always thought of fasting as something unpleasant, with no obvious long term benefits. So when I was asked to make a documentary that would involve me going without food, I was not keen as I was sure I would not enjoy it.
But the Horizon editor assured me there was great new science and that I might see some dramatic improvements to my body. So, of course, I said, "yes".
I am not strong-willed enough to diet over the long term, but I am extremely interested in the reasons why eating less might lead to increased life span, particularly as scientists think it may be possible to get the benefits without the pain.
The Positive Power of Negative Thinking
21 people were treated for burns after walking barefoot over hot coals as part of an event called Unleash the Power Within, starring the motivational speaker Tony Robbins. If you’re anything like me, a cynical retort might suggest itself: What, exactly, did they expect would happen? In fact, there’s a simple secret to “firewalking”: coal is a poor conductor of heat to surrounding surfaces, including human flesh, so with quick, light steps, you’ll usually be fine.
But Mr. Robbins and his acolytes have little time for physics. To them, it’s all a matter of mind-set: cultivate the belief that success is guaranteed, and anything is possible. One singed but undeterred participant told The San Jose Mercury News: “I wasn’t at my peak state.” What if all this positivity is part of the problem? What if we’re trying too hard to think positive and might do better to reconsider our relationship to “negative” emotions and situations?
But Mr. Robbins and his acolytes have little time for physics. To them, it’s all a matter of mind-set: cultivate the belief that success is guaranteed, and anything is possible. One singed but undeterred participant told The San Jose Mercury News: “I wasn’t at my peak state.” What if all this positivity is part of the problem? What if we’re trying too hard to think positive and might do better to reconsider our relationship to “negative” emotions and situations?
Lying less linked to better health
Telling the truth when tempted to lie can significantly improve a person's mental and physical health, according to a "Science of Honesty" study presented at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention.
"Recent evidence indicates that Americans average about 11 lies per week. We wanted to find out if living more honestly can actually cause better health," said lead author Anita E. Kelly, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame. "We found that the participants could purposefully and dramatically reduce their everyday lies, and that in turn was associated with significantly improved health."
Kelly and co-author Lijuan Wang, PhD, also of Notre Dame, conducted the honesty experiment over 10 weeks with a sample of 110 people, of whom 34 percent were adults in the community and 66 percent were college students. They ranged in age from 18 to 71 years, with an average age of 31. The just-completed study has not yet undergone peer review and has yet to be published.
Approximately half the participants were instructed to stop telling major and minor lies for the 10 weeks. The other half served as a control group that received no special instructions about lying. Both groups came to the laboratory each week to complete health and relationship measures and to take a polygraph test assessing the number of major and white lies they had told that week.
"Recent evidence indicates that Americans average about 11 lies per week. We wanted to find out if living more honestly can actually cause better health," said lead author Anita E. Kelly, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame. "We found that the participants could purposefully and dramatically reduce their everyday lies, and that in turn was associated with significantly improved health."
Kelly and co-author Lijuan Wang, PhD, also of Notre Dame, conducted the honesty experiment over 10 weeks with a sample of 110 people, of whom 34 percent were adults in the community and 66 percent were college students. They ranged in age from 18 to 71 years, with an average age of 31. The just-completed study has not yet undergone peer review and has yet to be published.
Approximately half the participants were instructed to stop telling major and minor lies for the 10 weeks. The other half served as a control group that received no special instructions about lying. Both groups came to the laboratory each week to complete health and relationship measures and to take a polygraph test assessing the number of major and white lies they had told that week.
August 3, 2012
Bilingualism 'can increase mental agility'
Bilingual children outperform children who speak only one language in problem-solving skills and creative thinking, according to research led at the University of Strathclyde.
A study of primary school pupils who spoke English or Italian- half of whom also spoke Gaelic or Sardinian- found that the bilingual children were significantly more successful in the tasks set for them. The Gaelic-speaking children were, in turn, more successful than the Sardinian speakers.
The differences were linked to the mental alertness required to switch between languages, which could develop skills useful in other types of thinking. The further advantage for Gaelic-speaking children may have been due to the formal teaching of the language and its extensive literature.
In contrast, Sardinian is not widely taught in schools on the Italian island and has a largely oral tradition, which means there is currently no standardised form of the language.
A study of primary school pupils who spoke English or Italian- half of whom also spoke Gaelic or Sardinian- found that the bilingual children were significantly more successful in the tasks set for them. The Gaelic-speaking children were, in turn, more successful than the Sardinian speakers.
The differences were linked to the mental alertness required to switch between languages, which could develop skills useful in other types of thinking. The further advantage for Gaelic-speaking children may have been due to the formal teaching of the language and its extensive literature.
In contrast, Sardinian is not widely taught in schools on the Italian island and has a largely oral tradition, which means there is currently no standardised form of the language.
Strawberry extract protects against UVA rays, study suggests
An experiment has shown that strawberry extract added to skin cell cultures acts as a protector against ultraviolet radiation as well as increasing its viability and reducing damage to DNA. Developed by a team of Italian and Spanish researchers, the study opens the door to the creation of photoprotective cream made from strawberries.
"We have verified the protecting effect of strawberry extract against damage to skins cells caused by UVA rays," as explained by Maurizio Battino, researcher at the Università Politecnica delle Marche in Italy and lead author of the jointly Spanish and Italian study. The results are published in the 'Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry'.
The team prepared human skin cell cultures (fibroblasts) and added strawberry extract in different concentrations (0.05, 0.25 and 0.5 mg/ml), the only exception being the control extract. Using ultraviolet light, the samples were then exposed to a dose "equivalent to 90 minutes of midday summer sun in the French Riviera."
Data confirm that the strawberry extract, especially at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml, displays photoprotective properties in those fibroblasts exposed to UVA radiation, it increases cell survival and viability and decreases damage in the DNA when compared with control cells.
"We have verified the protecting effect of strawberry extract against damage to skins cells caused by UVA rays," as explained by Maurizio Battino, researcher at the Università Politecnica delle Marche in Italy and lead author of the jointly Spanish and Italian study. The results are published in the 'Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry'.
The team prepared human skin cell cultures (fibroblasts) and added strawberry extract in different concentrations (0.05, 0.25 and 0.5 mg/ml), the only exception being the control extract. Using ultraviolet light, the samples were then exposed to a dose "equivalent to 90 minutes of midday summer sun in the French Riviera."
Data confirm that the strawberry extract, especially at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml, displays photoprotective properties in those fibroblasts exposed to UVA radiation, it increases cell survival and viability and decreases damage in the DNA when compared with control cells.
August 2, 2012
Musicians' Brains Might Have an Edge on Aging
It's been said that music soothes the savage beast, but if you're the one playing the instrument it might benefit your brain.
A growing body of evidence suggests that learning to play an instrument and continuing to practice and play it may offer mental benefits throughout life. Hearing has also been shown to be positively affected by making music.
The latest study, published in the July issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, shows that musical instrument training may reduce the effects of mental decline associated with aging. The research found that older adults who learned music in childhood and continued to play an instrument for at least 10 years outperformed others in tests of memory and cognitive ability.
It also revealed that sustaining musical activity during advanced age may enhance thinking ability, neutralizing any negative impact of age and even lack of education. It's unclear, however, whether starting an instrument in adulthood provides any mental advantages.
A growing body of evidence suggests that learning to play an instrument and continuing to practice and play it may offer mental benefits throughout life. Hearing has also been shown to be positively affected by making music.
The latest study, published in the July issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, shows that musical instrument training may reduce the effects of mental decline associated with aging. The research found that older adults who learned music in childhood and continued to play an instrument for at least 10 years outperformed others in tests of memory and cognitive ability.
It also revealed that sustaining musical activity during advanced age may enhance thinking ability, neutralizing any negative impact of age and even lack of education. It's unclear, however, whether starting an instrument in adulthood provides any mental advantages.
Strangers on a bus: Study reveals lengths commuters go to avoid each other
You're on the bus, and one of the only free seats is next to you. How, and why, do you stop another passenger sitting there? New research reveals the tactics commuters use to avoid each other, a practice the paper published in Symbolic Interaction describes as 'nonsocial transient behavior.'
The study was carried out by Esther Kim, from Yale University, who chalked up thousands of miles of bus travel to examine the unspoken rules and behaviors of commuters.
Over three years Kim took coach trips across the United States. Kim's first trip, between Connecticut and New Mexico, took two days and 17 hours, and this was followed by further adventures from California to Illinois, Colorado to New York, and Texas to Nevada.
"We live in a world of strangers, where life in public spaces feels increasingly anonymous," said Kim. "However, avoiding other people actually requires quite a lot of effort and this is especially true in confined spaces like public transport."
Kim found that the greatest unspoken rule of bus travel is that if other seats are available you shouldn't sit next to someone else. As the passengers claimed, "It makes you look weird." When all the rows are filled and more passengers are getting aboard the seated passengers initiate a performance to strategically avoid anyone sitting next to them.
The study was carried out by Esther Kim, from Yale University, who chalked up thousands of miles of bus travel to examine the unspoken rules and behaviors of commuters.
Over three years Kim took coach trips across the United States. Kim's first trip, between Connecticut and New Mexico, took two days and 17 hours, and this was followed by further adventures from California to Illinois, Colorado to New York, and Texas to Nevada.
"We live in a world of strangers, where life in public spaces feels increasingly anonymous," said Kim. "However, avoiding other people actually requires quite a lot of effort and this is especially true in confined spaces like public transport."
Kim found that the greatest unspoken rule of bus travel is that if other seats are available you shouldn't sit next to someone else. As the passengers claimed, "It makes you look weird." When all the rows are filled and more passengers are getting aboard the seated passengers initiate a performance to strategically avoid anyone sitting next to them.
Depression Could Shorten Cancer Survival, Study Suggests
Symptoms of depression are linked to shorter survival times among cancer patients, according to a new study.
The link may be attributed to abnormal stress hormone regulation and inflammatory gene expression, researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center reported in the Aug. 1 edition of PLoS ONE.
"Our findings, and those of others, suggest that mental health and social well-being can affect biological processes, which influence cancer-related outcomes," Lorenzo Cohen, a professor in the center's departments of general oncology and behavioral science, and director of the Integrative Medicine Program, said in a university news release.
The findings "also suggest that screening for mental health should be part of standard care because there are well-accepted ways of helping people manage distress, even in the face of a life-threatening illness," Cohen added.
The link may be attributed to abnormal stress hormone regulation and inflammatory gene expression, researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center reported in the Aug. 1 edition of PLoS ONE.
"Our findings, and those of others, suggest that mental health and social well-being can affect biological processes, which influence cancer-related outcomes," Lorenzo Cohen, a professor in the center's departments of general oncology and behavioral science, and director of the Integrative Medicine Program, said in a university news release.
The findings "also suggest that screening for mental health should be part of standard care because there are well-accepted ways of helping people manage distress, even in the face of a life-threatening illness," Cohen added.
Untreated Rabies May Not Be Lethal for All, Study Says
Bucking the notion that untreated rabies always proves lethal to humans, scientists studying the virus in isolated pockets of the world have found evidence that either natural resistance or an immune response may stave off certain death for some.
Traveling to the Peruvian Amazon, where outbreaks of rabies infections are spurred by highly common vampire bats, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention learned that 10 percent of natives appeared to have survived exposure to the virus without any medical intervention. Another 11 percent were found to have antibodies in their blood that would neutralize rabies.
"This is a potential game-changer if the study is repeated successfully," said Dr. Rodney Willoughby Jr., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and the author of an editorial accompanying the research. "It suggests either that rabies is not universally severe or fatal [HIV used to be thought of this way] or that there are ways of conferring relative resistance to rabies in humans. If the latter could be identified -- these days, probably through genetic sequencing -- then that might afford insights into prevention or treatment."
Traveling to the Peruvian Amazon, where outbreaks of rabies infections are spurred by highly common vampire bats, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention learned that 10 percent of natives appeared to have survived exposure to the virus without any medical intervention. Another 11 percent were found to have antibodies in their blood that would neutralize rabies.
"This is a potential game-changer if the study is repeated successfully," said Dr. Rodney Willoughby Jr., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and the author of an editorial accompanying the research. "It suggests either that rabies is not universally severe or fatal [HIV used to be thought of this way] or that there are ways of conferring relative resistance to rabies in humans. If the latter could be identified -- these days, probably through genetic sequencing -- then that might afford insights into prevention or treatment."
Earth sucking up increasing amounts of carbon dioxide
The Earth's ability to soak up man-made carbon dioxide emissions is a crucial yet poorly understood process with profound implications for climate change.
Among the questions that have vexed climate scientists is whether the planet can keep pace with humanity's production of greenhouse gases. The loss of this natural damper would carry dire consequences for global warming.
A study published in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature concludes that these reservoirs are continuing to increase their uptake of carbon — and show no sign of diminishing.
In an accounting of the global "carbon budget," researchers calculated that Earth's oceans, plants and soils had almost doubled their uptake of carbon each year for the last half-century. In 1960, these carbon sinks absorbed around 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon; in 2010, that figure had grown to around 5 billion metric tons.
Among the questions that have vexed climate scientists is whether the planet can keep pace with humanity's production of greenhouse gases. The loss of this natural damper would carry dire consequences for global warming.
A study published in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature concludes that these reservoirs are continuing to increase their uptake of carbon — and show no sign of diminishing.
In an accounting of the global "carbon budget," researchers calculated that Earth's oceans, plants and soils had almost doubled their uptake of carbon each year for the last half-century. In 1960, these carbon sinks absorbed around 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon; in 2010, that figure had grown to around 5 billion metric tons.
Are Americans ready to solve the weight of the nation?
In a Perspective article appearing in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, public health researchers examine how recommendations in a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) -- "Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation" -- square with American's opinions about the obesity epidemic.
Over the last 30 years, rates of obesity have doubled among adults and tripled among children. The new IOM report summarizes growing evidence that these increases have been driven by a complex interaction of changes in the environments in which we live -- our schools, our workplaces, our communities, in the media and in our food and beverage systems.
While praising the IOM report's scope and vision, Colleen L. Barry, PhD, MPP, associate professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and lead author of "Are Americans Ready to Solve the Weight of the Nation?" says that it is critical to understand how the public thinks about the problem of obesity. Barry notes that one recent poll found that 64 percent of Americans believe personal decisions -- overeating, lack of exercise, watching too much television -- are the biggest contributors to obesity. However, only 18 percent of Americans attribute environmental factors, such as safe places for children to play, access and availability of healthy foods and exposure to junk food, as major contributors.
Over the last 30 years, rates of obesity have doubled among adults and tripled among children. The new IOM report summarizes growing evidence that these increases have been driven by a complex interaction of changes in the environments in which we live -- our schools, our workplaces, our communities, in the media and in our food and beverage systems.
While praising the IOM report's scope and vision, Colleen L. Barry, PhD, MPP, associate professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and lead author of "Are Americans Ready to Solve the Weight of the Nation?" says that it is critical to understand how the public thinks about the problem of obesity. Barry notes that one recent poll found that 64 percent of Americans believe personal decisions -- overeating, lack of exercise, watching too much television -- are the biggest contributors to obesity. However, only 18 percent of Americans attribute environmental factors, such as safe places for children to play, access and availability of healthy foods and exposure to junk food, as major contributors.
Fish getting skin cancer from UV radiation, scientists say
If you're still skeptical that a tan can be dangerous, consider this: Scientists have found that wild fish are getting skin cancer from ultraviolet radiation.
Approximately 15% of coral trout in Australia's Great Barrier Reef had cancerous lesions on their scales. In that regard, they resemble Australians who live on land — 2 in 3 people who live down under will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70, the highest rate in the world. It's probably no coincidence that Australia is under the Earth's biggest hole in the ozone layer.
Researchers hadn't set out to look for signs of cancer in fish.
Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science were near the Great Barrier Reef conducting a survey of shark prey, predominantly coral trout. They kept seeing strange dark patches on the normally bright orange fish, and for help they turned to another research team from the University of Newcastle in England that was studying coral disease in the area.
Approximately 15% of coral trout in Australia's Great Barrier Reef had cancerous lesions on their scales. In that regard, they resemble Australians who live on land — 2 in 3 people who live down under will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70, the highest rate in the world. It's probably no coincidence that Australia is under the Earth's biggest hole in the ozone layer.
Researchers hadn't set out to look for signs of cancer in fish.
Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science were near the Great Barrier Reef conducting a survey of shark prey, predominantly coral trout. They kept seeing strange dark patches on the normally bright orange fish, and for help they turned to another research team from the University of Newcastle in England that was studying coral disease in the area.
Why We're More Interested in Sex During the Summer
People in the U.S. are most interested in sex during the early summer, as well as in December and January, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed the keywords that people in the U.S. used in Google searches over four years, and found that every year, searches for keywords related to finding dates, prostitutes and pornography showed distinct peaks during June and July, and again during the winter.
"Wherever we looked within these three different areas — whether it was searches for 'eHarmony,' or for 'brothel' — there was this exact same pattern," said study researcher Patrick Markey, an associate professor of psychology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. The timing of the peaks was remarkably consistent from year to year, he said.
Exactly why these two peaks in sexual interest occur isn't completely clear, Markey said, but the findings suggest they are linked to a general increase in the amount of time that people spend being around other people.
Researchers analyzed the keywords that people in the U.S. used in Google searches over four years, and found that every year, searches for keywords related to finding dates, prostitutes and pornography showed distinct peaks during June and July, and again during the winter.
"Wherever we looked within these three different areas — whether it was searches for 'eHarmony,' or for 'brothel' — there was this exact same pattern," said study researcher Patrick Markey, an associate professor of psychology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. The timing of the peaks was remarkably consistent from year to year, he said.
Exactly why these two peaks in sexual interest occur isn't completely clear, Markey said, but the findings suggest they are linked to a general increase in the amount of time that people spend being around other people.
August 1, 2012
More than 80 reasons to use honey as a DIY home remedy for better health and good eats
Everyone knows honey tastes sweet and is delicious mixed with tea and lemon; but chances are you never realized how many health-related uses this versatile food possesses. It makes a wonderful DIY home remedy that helps to cure many conditions that ail you. The best honey is one that is totally raw, organic and contains the honeycomb in the jar. It should include royal jelly, propolis and bee pollen for maximum health benefits.
Medicinal Uses
~ Moisturize skin with a mixture of honey, eggs and flour
~ Honey is antibacterial and makes a powerful antiseptic to cleanse and heal wounds and prevent scabs from sticking to bandages
~ Kills viruses and bacterial infections when mixed and eaten with raw, minced garlic
~ Boosts energy, reduces fatigue, stimulates mental alertness, strengthens immunity, provides minerals, vitamins, antioxidants
~ Restores eyesight, relieves a sore throat, makes an effective cough syrup
~ Prevents heart disease by improving blood flow and prevents damage to capillaries
~ Regulates the bowels; cures colitis and IBS
~ Soothes burns, disinfects wounds, reduces inflammation and pain, promotes faster healing
~ Reduces anxiety and acts as a sedative; creating calm and restful sleep, alkalizes body's pH
~ Anti-cancer agents protect against the formation of tumors
~ Relieves indigestion and acid reflux, heals peptic ulcers
~ Makes a great lip balm and refreshing herbal wash or lotion
~ Destroys bacteria causing acne, prevents scarring
~ Flushes parasites from liver and colon
~ Heal diabetic ulcers with topical applications
~ Mix with powdered herbs for topical applications or to reduce bitterness when taken internally
~ Smooths and exfoliates facial skin, reduces surface lines, softens dry skin on elbows and heels
~ Add to green coconut water for supercharged athletic drinks
~ Relieve hangovers by eating honey the morning after
~ Protect hair from split ends with a honey conditioner; honey rinse promotes shiny hair
~ Soften hard water by adding honey to bath water
~ Speeds metabolism to stimulate weight loss
~ Improves digestion with natural enzymes
~ Mix honey and lemon with warm water first thing in the morning for an effective cleanse
~ Anti-fungal properties cure vaginal yeast infections and athlete's foot
~ Relieve hay fever by chewing on honeycomb
~ Protects topically and internally against pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and MRSA
~ Builds immunity to hay fever allergens by mixing honey and bee pollen and take early in season
~ Quenches thirst and relieves heat stroke; stops hiccups
~ Lessens the effects of poisons and toxins
~ Has mild laxative properties
~ Relieves asthma when mixed with black pepper and ginger
~ Controls blood pressure when mixed with fresh garlic juice
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036649_honey_home_remedies_medicine.html#ixzz22JBXkV63
Medicinal Uses
~ Moisturize skin with a mixture of honey, eggs and flour
~ Honey is antibacterial and makes a powerful antiseptic to cleanse and heal wounds and prevent scabs from sticking to bandages
~ Kills viruses and bacterial infections when mixed and eaten with raw, minced garlic
~ Boosts energy, reduces fatigue, stimulates mental alertness, strengthens immunity, provides minerals, vitamins, antioxidants
~ Restores eyesight, relieves a sore throat, makes an effective cough syrup
~ Prevents heart disease by improving blood flow and prevents damage to capillaries
~ Regulates the bowels; cures colitis and IBS
~ Soothes burns, disinfects wounds, reduces inflammation and pain, promotes faster healing
~ Reduces anxiety and acts as a sedative; creating calm and restful sleep, alkalizes body's pH
~ Anti-cancer agents protect against the formation of tumors
~ Relieves indigestion and acid reflux, heals peptic ulcers
~ Makes a great lip balm and refreshing herbal wash or lotion
~ Destroys bacteria causing acne, prevents scarring
~ Flushes parasites from liver and colon
~ Heal diabetic ulcers with topical applications
~ Mix with powdered herbs for topical applications or to reduce bitterness when taken internally
~ Smooths and exfoliates facial skin, reduces surface lines, softens dry skin on elbows and heels
~ Add to green coconut water for supercharged athletic drinks
~ Relieve hangovers by eating honey the morning after
~ Protect hair from split ends with a honey conditioner; honey rinse promotes shiny hair
~ Soften hard water by adding honey to bath water
~ Speeds metabolism to stimulate weight loss
~ Improves digestion with natural enzymes
~ Mix honey and lemon with warm water first thing in the morning for an effective cleanse
~ Anti-fungal properties cure vaginal yeast infections and athlete's foot
~ Relieve hay fever by chewing on honeycomb
~ Protects topically and internally against pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and MRSA
~ Builds immunity to hay fever allergens by mixing honey and bee pollen and take early in season
~ Quenches thirst and relieves heat stroke; stops hiccups
~ Lessens the effects of poisons and toxins
~ Has mild laxative properties
~ Relieves asthma when mixed with black pepper and ginger
~ Controls blood pressure when mixed with fresh garlic juice
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036649_honey_home_remedies_medicine.html#ixzz22JBXkV63
8 percent of Olympians have asthma
Asthma is the most common chronic disease among athletes at the Olympic Games, a new study says.
About 8 percent of Olympic athletes have asthma or one of its symptoms, a narrowing of the airways, the study found.
The study analyzed information from athletes at the last five summer and winter Olympic Games, from 2002 to 2010. It identified athletes who took inhaled beta-2 agonists, an asthma drug.
The condition was most common among athletes who took part in endurance sports, said study researcher Kenneth Fitch, of the University of Western Australia.
About 8 percent of Olympic athletes have asthma or one of its symptoms, a narrowing of the airways, the study found.
The study analyzed information from athletes at the last five summer and winter Olympic Games, from 2002 to 2010. It identified athletes who took inhaled beta-2 agonists, an asthma drug.
The condition was most common among athletes who took part in endurance sports, said study researcher Kenneth Fitch, of the University of Western Australia.
Even Mild Depression, Anxiety Hurts the Heart: Study
Even mild depression or anxiety may raise your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and other causes, according to British researchers.
And the greater the level of psychological distress, the higher the odds of death from heart disease, the researchers say.
"The fact that an increased risk of mortality was evident, even at low levels of psychological distress, should prompt research into whether treatment of these very common, minor symptoms can reduce this increased risk of death," said lead researcher Tom Russ, a clinical research fellow at the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Center of the University of Edinburgh.
For the study, published online July 31 in BMJ, Russ and colleagues analyzed 10 studies of men and women enrolled in the Health Survey for England from 1994 to 2004. Data on more than 68,000 adults aged 35 and older was included overall.
And the greater the level of psychological distress, the higher the odds of death from heart disease, the researchers say.
"The fact that an increased risk of mortality was evident, even at low levels of psychological distress, should prompt research into whether treatment of these very common, minor symptoms can reduce this increased risk of death," said lead researcher Tom Russ, a clinical research fellow at the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Center of the University of Edinburgh.
For the study, published online July 31 in BMJ, Russ and colleagues analyzed 10 studies of men and women enrolled in the Health Survey for England from 1994 to 2004. Data on more than 68,000 adults aged 35 and older was included overall.
Too Much Bottled Water Might Harm Kids' Teeth
On grocery store shelves and kitchen counters alike, bottled water has become a staple of the American dietary landscape.
But, some experts say it may contribute to diminished dental health.
While most bottled water manufacturers declare that their products are 100 percent "pure," "clean" or "natural," few brands contain one ingredient that most Americans take for granted: fluoride.
A salt formed from the combination of fluorine and soil and rock minerals, fluoride is voluntarily added by the vast majority of states and/or local municipalities (rather than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), to public water supplies across the United States.
But, some experts say it may contribute to diminished dental health.
While most bottled water manufacturers declare that their products are 100 percent "pure," "clean" or "natural," few brands contain one ingredient that most Americans take for granted: fluoride.
A salt formed from the combination of fluorine and soil and rock minerals, fluoride is voluntarily added by the vast majority of states and/or local municipalities (rather than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), to public water supplies across the United States.
Eyes and attention of men and women meander in distinctly different ways
In a new study published in the journal Vision Research, researchers at the University of Southern California show that the eyes and attention of men and women meander in distinctly different ways.
The article, authored by Dr. Laurent Itti and doctoral student John Shen, challenges the way scientists generally conceive of attention, or how sensory information is prioritized. While previous study of vision and attention had disregarded individual factors such as sex, race and age, Itti and Shen demonstrated that men and women pay visual attention in different ways.
Dr. Itti's lab studied 34 participants as they watched videos of people being interviewed. Behind the interview subjects, within the video frame, pedestrians, bicycles and cars passed by -- distractions included to pull attention away from the filmed conversation.
While participants watched and listened to the interview, another camera was pointed at participants' eyes, recording the movement of their pupils as they glanced across the screen.
Researchers discovered the following: • Men, when focused on the person being interviewed, parked their eyes on the speaker's mouth. They tended to be most distracted by distinctive movement behind the interview subjects • By contrast, women shift their focus between the interview subject's eyes and body. When they were distracted, it was typically by other people entering the video frame.
The article, authored by Dr. Laurent Itti and doctoral student John Shen, challenges the way scientists generally conceive of attention, or how sensory information is prioritized. While previous study of vision and attention had disregarded individual factors such as sex, race and age, Itti and Shen demonstrated that men and women pay visual attention in different ways.
Dr. Itti's lab studied 34 participants as they watched videos of people being interviewed. Behind the interview subjects, within the video frame, pedestrians, bicycles and cars passed by -- distractions included to pull attention away from the filmed conversation.
While participants watched and listened to the interview, another camera was pointed at participants' eyes, recording the movement of their pupils as they glanced across the screen.
Researchers discovered the following: • Men, when focused on the person being interviewed, parked their eyes on the speaker's mouth. They tended to be most distracted by distinctive movement behind the interview subjects • By contrast, women shift their focus between the interview subject's eyes and body. When they were distracted, it was typically by other people entering the video frame.
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