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When germs attack: Lens into molecular dance

Researchers have zoomed in on what is going on at the molecular level when the body recognizes and defends against an attack of pathogens, and the findings, they say, could influence how drugs are developed to treat autoimmune diseases.

Some elements of writing style differentiate successful fiction

Imagine the challenge publishers face, pouring over thousands of manuscripts to determine if a book will be a hit. One professor thinks she has a tool to bring some science to that art.

Simplified lung cancer prevention, screening guidelines

Alarmingly, more than 200,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year and nearly 160,000 people will die of the disease. In fact, lung cancer takes more lives each year than colorectal, breast and prostate cancers combined. Experts are committed to reducing these lethal statistics and have developed tools to simplify lung cancer prevention and screening recommendations.

Overuse injuries, burnout in youth sports can have long-term effects

As an emphasis on competitive success in youth sports has led to intense training, frequent competition and early single sport specialization, overuse injuries and burnout have become common. Given these concerns, a new clinical report provides guidance to physicians and healthcare professionals who provide care for young athletes.

Is multitasking mastery in genes?

Human factors/ergonomics researchers have long studied the connection between cognitive function and the ability to perform well on multiple simultaneous tasks, and recently a group of neuroergonomics researchers went a step further to examine a genetic link to multitasking ability. Neuroergonomics is the study of the brain in relation to performance.

After 49-million-year hiatus, Ectobius cockroach reappears in North America

Four ancient cockroach species in the Ectobius genus were recently discovered in the 49-million-year-old Green River Formation near Rifle, Colo., and it now appears that Ectobius may have originated in the New World.

To keep eye on ball, batters mostly use heads

Baseball players at bat follow coaches' advice to "keep your eye on the ball" —- but head movements play a surprisingly important role in tracking pitches, suggests a study.

Green spaces deliver lasting mental health benefits

Green space in towns and cities could lead to significant and sustained improvements in mental health, finds a new study. Analyzing data that followed people over a five year period, the research has found that moving to a greener area not only improves people's mental health, but that the effect continues long after they have moved.

Workplace wellness programs can cut chronic illness costs

Workplace wellness programs have the potential to reduce health risks and cut health care spending, but employers and policymakers should not take for granted that the lifestyle management components of the programs can reduce costs or lead to savings overall.

Personal health record associated with improved medication adherence

Patients with diabetes who used an online patient portal to refill medications increased their medication adherence and improved their cholesterol levels, according to a new study.

Establishing guides for molecular counting using fluorescent proteins

A study recently published has been able to determine the photoactivation efficiency of fluorescent proteins, an important parameter that has so far been difficult to measure at the single molecule level.

Study of African forest elephants helps guide research efforts in US

Researchers are employing genotyping to study movement patterns of African forest elephants in protected and unprotected regions of Gabon to better understand how human occupation of these areas might affect elephants on the African continent. Genotyping is helping conservation biologists determine the best course of action to ensure biodiversity and the preservation of various species in the US and abroad.

Found: New cellulose digestion mechanism by fast-eating enzyme

Researchers have discovered that an enzyme from a microorganism first found in the Valley of Geysers on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia in 1990 can digest cellulose almost twice as fast as the current leading component cellulase enzyme on the market.

Stormy stars? Probing weather on brown dwarfs

Swirling, stormy clouds may be ever-present on cool celestial orbs called brown dwarfs. New observations suggest that most brown dwarfs are roiling with one or more planet-size storms akin to Jupiter's "Great Red Spot."

Hubble unveils a deep sea of small and faint early galaxies

Scientists have long suspected there must be a hidden population of small, faint galaxies that were responsible during the universe's early years for producing a majority of stars now present in the cosmos. At last Hubble has found them in the deepest ultraviolet-light exposures made of the early universe. This underlying population is 100 times more abundant in the universe than their more massive cousins that were detected previously.

Ultra-bright young galaxies discovered

Astronomers have discovered and characterized four unusually bright galaxies as they appeared more than 13 billion years ago, just 500 million years after the big bang. Although Hubble has previously identified galaxies at this early epoch, astronomers were surprised to find objects that are about 10 to 20 times more luminous than anything seen previously.

Thousands of unseen, faraway galaxies discovered

The first of a set of unprecedented, super-deep views of the universe contain images of some of the intrinsically faintest and youngest galaxies ever detected. This is just the first of several primary target fields in The Frontier Fields program. The immense gravity in this foreground galaxy cluster, Abell 2744, warps space to brighten and magnify images of far-more-distant background galaxies as they looked over 12 billion years ago, not long after the big bang.

Giant sunspot, larger than Earth's diameter, appears on sun

An enormous sunspot, labeled AR1944, slipped into view over the sun's left horizon late on Jan. 1, 2014. The sunspot steadily moved toward the right, along with the rotation of the sun, and now sits almost dead center, as seen in the image above from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Snowball effect of overfishing highlighted

Researchers have completed a major review of fisheries data that examines the domino effect that occurs when too many fish are harvested from one habitat.

Eight million lives saved since Surgeon General's tobacco warning 50 years ago

A new study estimates that 8 million lives have been saved in the United States as a result of anti-smoking measures that began 50 years ago this month with the groundbreaking report from the Surgeon General outlining the deadly consequences of tobacco use.

Link found between intimate partner violence and termination of pregnancy

Intimate partner violence in women (sometimes referred to as domestic violence) is linked to termination of pregnancy, according to a new study. The study also found that intimate partner violence was linked to a women's partner not knowing about the termination of pregnancy.

Sugar-sweetened beverage tax could reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes in India

A sugar-sweetened beverage tax could help mitigate the rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes rates in India among both urban and rural populations, according to a new study.

Out-of-this-world first light images emerge from Gemini Planet Imager

After nearly a decade of development, construction and testing, the world's most advanced instrument for directly imaging and analyzing planets orbiting around other stars is pointing skyward and collecting light from distant worlds.

Pandora's magnifying glass: First image from Hubble's Frontier Fields

This image of Abell 2744 is the first to come from Hubble's Frontier Fields observing program, which is using the magnifying power of enormous galaxy clusters to peer deep into the distant universe. Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's Cluster, is thought to have a very violent history, having formed from a cosmic pile-up of multiple galaxy clusters.

Ancient sharks reared young in prehistoric river-delta nursery

Like salmon in reverse, long-snouted Bandringa sharks migrated downstream from freshwater swamps to a tropical coastline to spawn 310 million years ago, leaving behind fossil evidence of one of the earliest known shark nurseries.

On-demand vaccines possible with engineered nanoparticles

Engineers hope a new type of vaccine they have shown to work in mice will one day make it cheaper and easy to manufacture on-demand vaccines for humans. Immunizations could be administered within minutes where and when a disease is breaking out.

An improved, cost-effective catalyst for water-splitting devices

Scientists have created a simple and scalable technique for greatly improving water splitting as a source of clean energy.

Climate change: How does soil store CO2?

Global CO2 emissions continue to rise -- in 2012 alone, 35.7 billion tons of this greenhouse gas entered the atmosphere. Some of it is absorbed by the oceans, plants and soil. They provide a significant reservoir of carbon. Scientists have now discovered how organic carbon is stored in soil: The carbon only binds to certain soil structures. This means that soil's capacity to absorb CO2 needs to be re-assessed and incorporated into today's climate models.

Improper use of biocides in food production may endanger public health

Biocides used in the food industry at sublethal doses may be endangering, rather than protecting, public health by increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria and enhancing their ability to form harmful biofilms, according to a study published. This is among the first studies to examine the latter phenomenon.

Suburban sprawl cancels carbon footprint savings of dense urban cores

According to a new study, population-dense cities contribute less greenhouse gas emissions per person than other areas of the country, but these cities' extensive suburbs essentially wipe out the climate benefits. Dominated by emissions from cars, trucks and other forms of transportation, suburbs account for about 50 percent of all household emissions -- largely carbon dioxide -- in the United States.

How tastes are linked with facial expressions

Researchers links between the palatability of various tastes and circulation in different parts of the face.

Geography has impact on grapevine moth's success in French vineyards

'Location, location, location' is an adage also true for the European grapevine moth, it seems. Research has shown that these pests are better adapted and more successful in certain French wine-growing regions than in others, because of the variety of grape on which they occur and the abundance of their natural enemies around them.

Seniors moving to homecare based services face more hospital risk

Community and home-based care services are popular and cost Medicaid less money than nursing home care, but a new study finds that seniors who left the nursing home for such services were 40 percent more likely to become hospitalized for a potentially preventable reason than those who stayed in the nursing home.

Lower fat content for adolescents' diets

The prevalence of excess weight and obesity among adolescents and, as a result, the concomitant problems, has increased considerably in recent years. A study has confirmed that, irrespective of the total calories consumed and the physical activity done, an excessive proportion of fat in the diet leads to a greater accumulation of fat in the abdomen of adolescents.

Chemical imaging brings cancer tissue analysis into digital age

A new method for analyzing biological samples based on their chemical makeup is set to transform the way medical scientists examine diseased tissue.

Health, wealth connected?

We ring in the new year with hopes of being healthy, wealthy, and wise. A new study suggests that from a public health standpoint, health and wealth may be connected. Researchers examined Google search patterns during the recent recession, and discovered that people searched for keywords related to health symptoms much more frequently than they would have if the recession hadn't taken place.

New diagnostic, therapeutic techniques show potential for patients with metastasized melanoma

With low survival rates for patients with metastasized melanoma, accurate staging and effective treatments are critical to extending life. New research highlights the potential of newly developed radiopharmaceuticals with benzamide for the imaging of metastases, and as a targeted systemic therapy.

School lunches helping children from getting too-salty diets

New findings show that many Americans are at risk for high blood pressure because of too much sodium in our diets — and the risk is especially high for children.

Newly discovered celestial object defies categories: Is it a new kind of planet or a rare kind of failed star?

An object discovered by astrophysicists nearly 500 light years away from the Sun may challenge traditional understandings about how planets and stars form. The object is located near and likely orbiting a very young star about 440 light years away from the Sun, and is leading astrophysicists to believe that there is not an easy-to-define line between what is and is not a planet.

Older firefighters may be more resilient to working in heat

A new study finds that older firefighters may show signs of long-term heat adaptation due to repeated occupational heat stress exposure.

Ocean's hidden waves show their power: Origins of giant underwater waves explained

Large-scale tests in the lab and the South China Sea reveal the origins of underwater waves that can tower hundreds of feet.

Biologists establish new method for studying RNA's regulatory 'footprint'

Biologists offer a new method to efficiently obtain an entire "footprint" of interactions between RNA and the proteins that bind to RNA molecules.

Heart attacks hit poor hardest

"Frailty syndrome" is emerging in the field of public health as a powerful predictor of healthcare use and death. Now researchers have found that poor people are more than twice as likely as the wealthy to become frail after a heart attack. The findings could help doctors and policymakers improve post-heart-attack care for the poor.

New method for efficiently transporting antibodies across the blood-brain barrier

Researchers have published results on the Roche-designed Brain Shuttle technology that efficiently transfers investigational antibodies from the blood through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) into the brain in preclinical models. Scientists found that such enhanced transfer of antibodies through the BBB was associated with a marked improvement in amyloid reduction in the brain of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists identify possible key to drug resistance in Crohn's disease

Scientists have identified a normally small subset of immune cells that may play a major role in the development of Crohn's disease generally and in disease-associated steroid resistance specifically.

Stopping tumors in their path

Glioblastoma is the most common and deadly form of primary malignant brain cancer, occurring mostly in adults between the ages of 45 and 70. The recurrence of GBM is usually fatal, resulting in an average patient survival time of less than two years. A new study identifies two specific key players in the growth of GBM.

Researchers link protein with breast cancer's spread to brain

A cancer-research team has identified a protein that may be a major culprit when breast cancer metastasizes to the brain.

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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

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