|  Alaska tundra shows surprising resilience after unprecedented fire  | Despite the size and severity of the massive 2007 Anaktuvuk River fire on Alaska's North Slope, much of the arctic vegetation has recovered and the tundra is likely to return to its pre-fire condition according to scientists. | Read More » Sideline teleconcussion robot to be tested at football games  | Scientists are testing the feasibility of using a telemedicine robot to assess athletes with suspected concussions during football games as part of a research study. With sophisticated robotic technology, use of a specialized remote controlled camera system allows patients to be "seen" by the neurology specialist, miles away, in real time. During the study, the robot equipped with a specialized camera system, remotely operated by a neurologist who has the ability to assess a player for symptoms and signs of a concussion and to consult with sideline medical personnel. | Read More » New model to study schizophrenia and other neurological conditions  | Schizophrenia is one of the most devastating neurological conditions, with only 30 percent of sufferers ever experiencing full recovery. While current medications can control most psychotic symptoms, their side effects can leave individuals so severely impaired that the disease ranks among the top ten causes of disability in developed countries. | Read More » Children who go to daycare may benefit from a wider variety of social situations  | Children who go to daycare may benefit from a wider variety of social and communicative situations relative to children who do not go to daycare, a recent study suggests. The former have a heightened ability to adjust their non-verbal communication to take into account the age of the person they are playing with. | Read More » The more the merrier: Promiscuity in mice is a matter of free choice  | We know from earlier studies that mice can derive genetic benefits when females mate with multiple males, but until recently, the conditions under which females will voluntarily mate with multiple males were not clear. New results provide evidence for the infanticide avoidance explanation. Males that have a chance of reproducing with a female are unlikely to kill her young. | Read More » Mosquitoes smell you better at night  | The major malaria vector in Africa, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, is able to smell major human host odorants better at night. | Read More » New research gives answers on the relationship between chronic illness and food insecurity  | Research findings provide direct evidence that people with chronic diseases are more likely to be food insecure. | Read More » Computer program predicts functions of bacterial gene regulators  | Scientists have developed a computer program to predict the functions of bacterial gene regulators. This online software which is called CopraRNA could save researchers a lot of wet lab work as it precisely predicts which bacterial genes are controlled by certain regulators. | Read More » Into the moving, crushing, shifting ice  | Two days on an ice floe may not seem like paradise, but for a team of scientists on the multinational 2013 Oden Arctic Technology Research Cruise, it was the achievement of an important research goal. | Read More » Botany and health: Very small chemical changes to dietary flavonoids cause very large effects on human immune system  | Very small chemical changes to dietary flavonoids cause very large effects when the plant natural products are tested for their impact on the human immune system. Plants are capable of making tens of thousands of different small molecules - an average leaf for example, produces around 20,000. Many of these are found in a typical diet and some are already known to have medicinal properties with effects on health, diseases and general well-being. Now plant biologists and immunologists have examined a very closely related family of these small molecules (flavonoids) to establish how tiny changes to their chemical structures affect their bio-activity. | Read More » Liver cancer due to chronic inflammation: Tumor growth follows programmed cell death (apoptosis)  | Liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma, HCC) usually arises as the result of a chronic, inflammatory liver disease. The most common causes here are excessive alcohol consumption as well as a high-fat diet and also chronic infection with the hepatitis viruses B and C. In the course of the inflammatory process, the liver cells (hepatocytes) die more frequently due to programmed cell death. The result is increased cell growth, also referred to as compensatory proliferation, which can lead to tumor development. | Read More » Spray-on solar cells? New nanoparticles make solar cells cheaper to manufacture  | Researchers have found that abundant materials in the Earth's crust can be used to make inexpensive and easily manufactured nanoparticle-based solar cells. | Read More » Dueling infections: Parasitic worms limit the effects of giardia, and vice versa  | If the idea of hookworms makes you shudder, consider this: Those pesky intestinal parasites may actually help your body ward off other infections, and perhaps even prevent autoimmune and other diseases. | Read More » Sea-level rise drives shoreline retreat in Hawaii  | Researchers show that sea-level rise is a primary factor driving historical shoreline changes (that is, beach erosion or accretion) in Hawaii and that historical rates of shoreline change are about two orders of magnitude greater than sea-level rise. | Read More » Increased use menthol cigarette found among young people  | A new study on mentholated cigarette use in the U.S. finds an increase in menthol cigarette smoking among young adults and concludes that efforts to reduce smoking likely are being thwarted by the sale and marketing of mentholated cigarettes, including emerging varieties of established youth brands. | Read More » Overweight and obese women are equally capable of the impulse control that lean women exhibit  | Previous studies have shown that overweight and obese people have a harder time delaying gratification, so they are more likely to forego the healthy body later on in favor of eating more calorie-dense foods now. But new research now shows that behavioral interventions that improve delay of gratification can work just as well with overweight and obese women as with lean women. | Read More » Membranes contain beautiful patterns, but their function is a mystery  | Biological cells are surrounded by a membrane, and here some of the most important processes for sustaining life take place. There can also be something very beautiful happening in membranes, researchers have discovered: Membranes can contain beautiful, mysterious patterns. | Read More » Balancing act: Cell senescence, aging related to epigenetic changes  | Cell senescence, an irreversible arrest of proliferation, is thought to be associated with normal aging and is protective against cancer. Researchers found that senescent cells undergo changes in their chromatin, similar to changes in cells that are prematurely aging. When the nuclear protein lamin B1 is deleted in senescent cells, large-scale changes in gene expression occurred. This loss of lamin B1 may cause changes in chromatin architecture and add to premature cell aging. | Read More » How vegetation competes for rainfall in dry regions  | Vegetation in semi-arid environments (or regions with low rainfall) self-organizes into patterns or "bands." Banded vegetation is common where there is low rainfall. Scientists have used a mathematical model to determine the levels of precipitation within which such pattern formation occurs. | Read More » Individualized criteria for diagnosing obesity urged  | Researchers have discussed the importance of eliminating healthy obese persons from unnecessary pharmaceutical treatments of the disease. | Read More » Despite NFL settlement, still no proof football causes Alzheimer's or CTE  | Despite the NFL's $765 million settlement with retired players, there still is no credible scientific evidence that playing football causes Alzheimer's disease or other neurological disorders, according to a neuropsychologist. | Read More » Study reveals the face of sleep deprivation  | A new study finds that sleep deprivation affects facial features such as the eyes, mouth and skin, and these features function as cues of sleep loss to other people. | Read More » Brain imaging study reveals the wandering mind behind insomnia  | A new brain imaging study may help explain why people with insomnia often complain that they struggle to concentrate during the day even when objective evidence of a cognitive problem is lacking. | Read More » New ocean forecast could help predict fish habitat six months in advance  | The first seasonal forecast of conditions that matter for fisheries could help to better manage stocks. | Read More » Drug design success propels efforts to fight HIV with a combination of 2 FDA-approved drugs  | Scientists have developed a new delivery system for a combination of two FDA approved drugs that may serve as an effective treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus. The discovery, which allows for a combination of decitabine and gemcitabine to be delivered in pill form, marks a major step forward in patient feasibility for the drugs, which previously had been available solely via injection or intravenous therapy. | Read More » Red spruce reviving in New England, but why?  | In the 1970s, red spruce was the forest equivalent of a canary in the coal mine, signaling that acid rain was damaging forests and that some species, especially red spruce, were particularly sensitive to this human induced damage. Now, scientists are finding that red spruce are growing at levels almost two times the average for the last 100 years, a growth rate never before achieved by the trees examined. | Read More » Exercising one day a week may be enough for older women  | A new study reveals that women over age 60 may need to exercise only one day a week to significantly improve strength and endurance. | Read More » Short-term smoking cessation reverses endothelial damage  | Eight weeks of smoking cessation reverses the endothelial damage caused by smoking, according to new research. Serotonin remained elevated, suggesting eight weeks of cessation is insufficient to reverse the risk of myocardial infarction. | Read More » Impact of AF on stroke risk eliminated with multiple risk factors  | Patients with five or more risk factors have the same stroke risk as patients with atrial fibrillation, according to new research. The study included data on more than 4 million patients from Danish registries over a 10 year period. | Read More » Smokers who survive to 70 still lose four years of life  | Smokers who survive to 70 still lose an average of four years of life, according to new findings. | Read More » Diabetic stroke risk after AMI drops in 10 year period  | The risk of ischemic stroke after acute myocardial infarction in diabetics has dropped over a 10 year period, according to a new study of more than 173,000 AMI patients. | Read More » STEMI incidence falls in southern Switzerland after smoking ban implemented  | STEMI incidence fell in southern Switzerland after implementation of the smoking ban in public places, reveals new research. Second-hand smoke increases the risk of coronary artery disease and acute myocardial infarction. For this reason, health policies aimed at reducing tobacco consumption and public smoke exposure are strongly recommended. | Read More » Statins prevent cataracts, study suggests  | Statins lower the rate of cataract by 20 percent, according to new research. The risk of cataract was reduced by 50 percent when treatment was initiated in younger individuals (in their 40s) and the duration of therapy was longer (e.g. up to 14 years). | Read More » High dose statins prevents dementia, study suggests  | High doses of statins prevent dementia in older people, according to new research. The study of nearly 58,000 patients found that high potency statins had the strongest protective effects against dementia. | Read More » Monitor and control severe drought with analysis of data from Chollian  | Research team developing a more accurate way to monitor and predict weather changes. | Read More » | |
