The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://www.eurekalert.org en-us Copyright 2013 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:42:00 EDT EurekAlert! http://www.eurekalert.org/images/logo.gif http://www.eurekalert.org The premier online source for science news since 1996. A service of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 20 webmaster@eurekalert.org (EurekAlert!) UC Davis assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology George R. Thompson has written an editorial for JAMA, that appears with a new study on magnetic resonance imaging at the site of injection of a contaminated lot of a steroid drug to treat symptoms such as back pain resulted in earlier identification of patients with probable or confirmed fungal spinal or paraspinal infection, allowing early initiation of medical and surgical treatment. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--eoa061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--eoa061913.php In what is believed to be the largest follow-up record of patients with the most common form of hereditary dystonia -- a movement disorder that can cause crippling muscle contractions -- experts in deep brain stimulation report good success rates and lasting benefits. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cmc-lsr061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cmc-lsr061913.php Industrial palladium-copper catalysts change their structures before they get to work, already during the activation process. As a result, the reaction is catalyzed by a catalyst that is different from the one originally prepared for it. This surprising discovery was made by researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/iopc-ubo061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/iopc-ubo061913.php In a major international study led by researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the targeted therapy ibrutinib continues to show remarkable promise for the treatment of relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uotm-ics061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uotm-ics061913.php Child care is linked to fewer emotional problems and symptoms of social withdrawal among children exposed to maternal depression, according to a new study of nearly 2,000 children conducted by researchers in Montreal, Canada, at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, and University of Montreal. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-gcc061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-gcc061913.php A sliver of wood coated with tin could make a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly battery, say scientists from the University of Maryland. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-abm061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-abm061913.php Improved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic -- or non-food -- plant-derived biomass. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/danl-lim061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/danl-lim061913.php A new study examining the brains of fruit flies reveals a novel stem cell mechanism that may help explain how neurons form in humans. A paper on the study by researchers at the University of Oregon appeared in the online version of the journal Nature in advance of the June 27 publication date. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoo-reh061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoo-reh061913.php When a new species emerges following adaptive changes to its local environment, the process of choosing a mate can help protect the new species' genetic identity and increase the likelihood of its survival. But of the many observable traits in a potential mate, which particular traits does a female tend to prefer? http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nifm-bft061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nifm-bft061913.php Virginia Tech researchers developed a new microfabrication technique to develop three-dimensional microfluidic devices in polymers. The devices can be used in the analysis of cells and could prove useful in counterterrorism measures and in water and food safety concerns. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vt-nmc061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vt-nmc061913.php People can plan strategic movements to several different targets at the same time, even when they see far fewer targets than are actually present, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/afps-bcp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/afps-bcp061913.php Patients who survive the immediate aftermath of major burns are at greatest risk from infections -- particularly the overwhelming, life-threatening immune reaction known as sepsis. A device developed by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators that measures the movement of key immune cells may help determine which patients are at greatest risk for infections, and a novel treatment that directly addresses the cause of those complications could prevent many associated deaths. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/mgh-ram061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/mgh-ram061913.php In a study recently published on-line by the journal Environmental Pollution, researchers David Nowak and Robert Hoehn of the US Forest Service and Satoshi Hirabayashi and Allison Bodine of the Davey Institute in Syracuse, N.Y., estimated how much fine particulate matter is removed by trees in 10 cities, their impact on PM2.5 concentrations and associated values and impacts on human health. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ufs--fss061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ufs--fss061913.php The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories.However, a new study conducted in an animal model at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed that fructose rapidly caused liver damage even without weight gain. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wfbm-dfc061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wfbm-dfc061913.php Osteomyelitis -- a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus ("staph") bacteria - is particularly challenging to treat.Now, Vanderbilt University investigators have identified a staph-killing compound that may be an effective treatment for osteomyelitis, and they have developed a new mouse model that will be useful for testing this compound and for generating additional therapeutic strategies. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vumc-anm061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vumc-anm061913.php New research out of the University of Minnesota identifies significant risk factors for suicidal behavior in youth being bullied, but also identifies protective factors for the same group of children. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoma-uom061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoma-uom061913.php The results of three important studies have been published in the June issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wkh-npf061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wkh-npf061913.php In a study published in the June 19 online edition of the journal Nature, a scientific team led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine visually monitored the dynamic cellular events that take place when cardiac regeneration occurs in zebrafish after cardiac ventricular injury. Their findings provide evidence that various cell lines in the heart are more plastic, or capable of transformation into new cell types, than previously thought. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--fot061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--fot061913.php A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is the first report of an oral probiotic supplement significantly increasing circulating vitamin D levels in the blood. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/fl-ssp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/fl-ssp061913.php The advance should allow deeper insights into protein function, Chase says, "because we can only get a true understanding of what that single protein does when we isolate its function." There was no tool to do this. Cover art uses a worm jigsaw puzzle to illustrate how knockdown strategies have evolved to achieve more cell-type specificity, culminating in the new approach, which can restrict knockdown to a single cell type. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoma-uar061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoma-uar061913.php Using data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, scientists believe they have solved a mystery from one of the solar system's coldest regions -- a permanently shadowed crater on the moon. They have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice. The finding provides insight into how radiation can change the chemistry of water ice throughout the solar system. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uonh-mom061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uonh-mom061913.php A new understanding of the genetic process that can lead to cervical cancer may help improve diagnosis of potentially dangerous lesions for some women, and also raises a warning flag about the use of anti-viral therapies in certain cases -- suggesting they could actually trigger the cancer they are trying to cure. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-goc061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-goc061913.php How long ago did bacteria invade the one-celled ancestors of plants and animals to become energy-producing mitochondria and photosynthesizing chloroplasts? Two UC Berkeley doctoral candidates developed a statistical way to analyze the variation in genes common to mitochondria, chloroplasts and the eukaryotic nucleus to more precisely date these events. They found that the cyanobacterial invasion of plants took place millions of years more recently than thought. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--sdp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--sdp061913.php A new Berkeley Lab study challenges the orthodoxy of microbiology, which holds that in response to environmental changes, bacterial genes will boost production of needed proteins and decrease production of those that aren't. The study found that for bacteria in the laboratory there was little evidence of adaptive genetic response. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/dbnl-euf061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/dbnl-euf061913.php A team of NYU biologists has found that a series of genes sequentially expressed in brain stem cells control the generation of neural diversity in visual system of fruit flies. Their results are reported in the latest issue of the journal Nature. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nyu-seg061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nyu-seg061913.php Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic researchers say. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/mc-n7i061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/mc-n7i061913.php A new study by researchers with The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine suggests there are certain factors and behaviors associated with sexual hookups, particularly among first-year college women. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/l-was061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/l-was061913.php In early April, senior leaders from medical, law enforcement, military, and fire/rescue agencies met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss one question: How can first responders improve survival after a mass casualty event? http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wkh-hca061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wkh-hca061913.php A University of Iowa study reveals significant disparities between minority and white clients in success rates for completing substance abuse treatment programs. Moreover, these disparities vary widely from state to state. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoih-svw061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoih-svw061913.php A team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has developed antibacterial compounds, derived from the outer coating of HIV, that could be potential treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections and appear to avoid generating resistance. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/asfm-has061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/asfm-has061913.php In a scientific paper published in the journal Polar Biology, researchers report using DNA from tissues samples collected in 1955 to study what may be a new type of killer whale (Orcinus orca). http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nnmf-sud061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nnmf-sud061913.php Children had half as many emergency department visits if their primary care office had evening office hours on five or more days a week, according to new research from child health experts at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins University. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uomh-epc061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uomh-epc061913.php Could drugs that block the body's system for repairing damage to the genetic material DNA become a boon to health? As unlikely as it may seem, those compounds are sparking optimism as potential treatments for ovarian and breast cancers driven by a mutation in BRCA. The compounds, termed PARP inhibitors, are the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-rhi061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-rhi061913.php Species of mammals and birds are threatened with extinction as a result of rising human population density, according to a study published in Springer's journal, Human Ecology. The work is also the first to show that the exponential growth of the human population will continue to pose a threat to other species. In other words, there does not appear to be a threshold above which population growth would cease to have an incremental negative effect. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/s-awp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/s-awp061913.php The Flemish plant scientist Marc Van Montagu is being awarded the "World Food Prize 2013," jointly with the American scientists Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert T. Fraley. This was announced by US Secretary of State, John Kerry. The World Food Prize gives the award annually to one or more people whose work has been of exceptional social importance for the quality, quantity or availability of food. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vfi-wfp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vfi-wfp061913.php The mystery of how pearls form into the most perfectly spherical large objects in nature may have an unlikely explanation, scientists are proposing in a new study. It appears in ACS' journal Langmuir, named for 1932 Nobel Laureate Irving Langmuir. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-pp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-pp061913.php A new variety of canary seeds bred specifically for human consumption qualifies as a gluten-free cereal that would be ideal for people with celiac disease, scientists have confirmed in a study published in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-ncs061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-ncs061913.php Two clinical studies published online in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that the novel, targeted agent ibrutinib shows real potential is a safe, effective, treatment for adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and for patients with mantle cell lymphoma. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osum-dss061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osum-dss061913.php Taking inspiration from trees, scientists have developed a battery made from a sliver of wood coated with tin that shows promise for becoming a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly energy source. Their report on the device -- 1,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper -- appears in the journal Nano Letters. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-aef061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/acs-aef061913.php Slipping bacteria some silver could give old antibiotics new life, scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported June 19 in Science Translational Medicine. This could pave the way for new therapies for drug-resistant and recurrent infections. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wifb-asi061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wifb-asi061913.php Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at Louisiana State University have developed a method for identifying aggressive prostate cancers that require immediate therapy. It relies on understanding the genetic interaction between single nucleotide polymorphisms. The goal is to better predict a prostate cancer's aggressiveness to avoid unnecessary radical treatment. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/hlmc-mcc061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/hlmc-mcc061913.php A research team led by Assia Shisheva, Ph.D., professor of physiology in Wayne State University's School of Medicine, has made breakthrough advancements on a molecule that may provide more answers to the mystery of the molecular mechanisms by which insulin regulates glucose uptake in fat and muscle cells. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wsu--bro061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wsu--bro061913.php A practical new approach to holographic video from MIT could also enable 2-D displays with higher resolution and lower power consumption. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/miot-cch061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/miot-cch061913.php A decade-long JDRF-funded study led by the Institute of Diabetes Research in Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany, is providing a deeper understanding of the link between autoantibodies and the risk of developing type 1 diabetes, highlighting the importance of pre-diabetes research into possible preventions for the disease. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/j-ndo061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/j-ndo061913.php Recently, the discoveries of prehistoric rock art have become more common. With these discoveries comes a single giant one by a University of Tennessee professor -- all these drawing and engravings map the prehistoric peoples' cosmological world. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uota-uot061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uota-uot061913.php The ongoing global growth in the human population will inevitably crowd out mammals and birds and has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, new research shows. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-oig061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-oig061913.php The first modified adeno-associated virus was recently approved for clinical gene therapy in the Western world. Scientists from the National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center, in collaboration with uniQure biotech company, have shown that no cancer risk emanates from the virus used for gene delivery. They reported their results in the journal Nature Medicine. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/haog-ndo061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/haog-ndo061913.php A new study in reveals how the sex lives of post-menopausal women in Britain are under threat from a common and simple-to-treat symptom of the menopause. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/sp-bw5061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/sp-bw5061913.php Spring floods across the Midwest are expected to contribute to a very large and potentially record-setting 2013 Gulf of Mexico "dead zone," according to a University of Michigan ecologist and colleagues who released their annual forecast today, along with one for the Chesapeake Bay. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-ura061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-ura061913.php Our internal circadian clock regulates daily life processes and is synchronized by external cues, the so-called Zeitgebers. The main cue is the light-dark cycle, whose strength is largely reduced in extreme habitats such as in the Arctic during the polar summer. Using a radiotelemetry system a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology have now found, in four bird species in Alaska, different daily activity patterns ranging from strictly rhythmic to completely arrhythmic. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/m-tro061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/m-tro061913.php The motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, progresses in a stepwise, sequential pattern which can be classified into four distinct stages, report pathologists with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the Annals of Neurology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uops-ssi061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uops-ssi061913.php Diapocynin, a synthetic molecule derived from a naturally occurring compound (apocynin), has been found to protect neurobehavioral function in mice with Parkinson's Disease symptoms by preventing deficits in motor coordination. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/mcow-asp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/mcow-asp061913.php Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of the National Osteoporosis Guideline Group (NOGG) Update 2013 on diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and older men in the journal Maturitas. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/e-mp2061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/e-mp2061913.php A Cornell University study offers further proof that the divergence of humans from chimpanzees some 4 million to 6 million years ago was profoundly influenced by mutations to DNA sequences that play roles in turning genes on and off. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cu-nrb061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cu-nrb061913.php People who are considered unattractive are more likely to be belittled and bullied in the workplace, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by a Michigan State University business scholar. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/msu-fu061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/msu-fu061913.php More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-dwi061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-dwi061913.php Air pollution is related to forest decline and also appears to attack the protecting wax on tree leaves and needles. Bonn University scientists have now discovered a responsible mechanism: Particulate matter salt compounds that become deliquescent because of humidity and form a wick-like structure that removes water from leaves and promotes dehydration. These results are published in "Environmental Pollution." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uob-tco061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uob-tco061913.php The smaller components become, the more difficult it is to create patterns in an economical and reproducible way, according to an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers who, using sound waves, can place nanowires in repeatable patterns for potential use in a variety of sensors, optoelectronics and nanoscale circuits. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ps-swp061913.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ps-swp061913.php Type Ia supernovae are indispensable milestones for measuring the expansion of the universe. With definitive measures of Supernova 2011fe, the "Backyard Supernova" that thrilled amateur and professional astronomers alike in the summer of 2011, the Nearby Supernova Factory led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory demonstrates that this unusually close-by Type Ia is such a perfect example of its kind that future Type Ia's -- and models meant to explain their physics -- must be measured against it. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/dbnl-usi061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/dbnl-usi061813.php Using clouds of ultra-cold atoms and a pair of lasers operating at optical wavelengths, researchers have reached a quantum network milestone: entangling light with an optical atomic coherence composed of interacting atoms in two different states. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/giot-rrf061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/giot-rrf061813.php Although as many as 25 percent of patients undergoing surgery suffer from sleep apnea, few hospitals have policies to help manage the risks of this condition during surgery, and there is little evidence to help guide anesthesiologists and surgeons caring for these patients. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/hfss-bgu061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/hfss-bgu061813.php A new study by Justin Stoler, assistant professor of Geography and Regional Studies at the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences examines the demographics of sachet water usage in Ghana's capital Accra and analyzes the roles that poverty, environment, and social justice play in relation to urban water security. Stoler hopes to guide policy makers on one of the most pressing issues in West Africa -- meeting universal drinking water needs. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-las061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uom-las061813.php Scientists develop a way to see the structures that store memories in a living brain. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uosc-wdm061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uosc-wdm061813.php A higher strength of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins did not increase the risk of kidney injury after heart attack. These findings may reassure doctors and patients of the safety of higher strength statins among heart attack survivors. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aha-hss061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aha-hss061813.php People with a gene that has been turned off through a natural process maybe at higher risk of heart and blood-vessel disease. The affected gene, called CPT1A, makes a liver enzyme which, at low levels, is linked to increased risk factors for heart and blood-vessel disease. Evaluating CPT1A as a new genetic biomarker may one day identify people at the greatest risk for developing heart disease. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aha-gs061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aha-gs061813.php Mindfulness -- a mental training that develops sustained attention that can change the ways people think, act and feel -- could reduce symptoms of stress and depression and promote wellbeing among school children, according to a new study published online by the British Journal of Psychiatry. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoe-mci061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoe-mci061813.php Differences between Martian meteorites and rocks examined by a NASA rover can be explained if Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4,000 million years ago -- well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth 2,500 million years ago. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoo-mho061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoo-mho061813.php Patients who have early arthritis consume less alcohol than controls, regardless of the type of arthritis, according to a new study published online in the journal Rheumatology. In rheumatoid arthritis specifically, the inverse association between alcohol and disease was greater in men than it was in women. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/oup-pwe061813.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/oup-pwe061813.php Recent studies linking bullying and depression, coupled with extensive media coverage of bullying-related suicide among young people, led to a CDC-assembled expert panel to synthesize the latest research about the complex relationship between youth involvement in bullying and suicide-related behaviors: 1) Bullying among youth is a significant public health problem, with widespread and often harmful results; 2) There is a strong association between bullying and suicide-related behaviors; and 3) Public health strategies can be applied to prevent bullying and suicide. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ehs-bas061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ehs-bas061713.php Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is one of the world's oldest and most widely used anesthetics, but concerns that it raises the risk of a heart attack during surgery or soon afterward are unfounded, according to a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wuso-lgd061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/wuso-lgd061713.php Two researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered the chemical that makes naked mole rats cancer-proof. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uor-bit061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uor-bit061713.php A team of Vanderbilt researchers has provided important validation of maps of the brain at rest that may offer insights into changes in the brain that occur in neurological and psychiatric disorders. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vu-vmo061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/vu-vmo061713.php Half a dozen regions could provide some of the Western Hemisphere's more heavily used thoroughfares for mammals, birds and amphibians on their way to cooler environments in a warming world. This is the first broad-scale study to consider how animals might travel when confronted with cities, large agricultural areas and other human related barriers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uow-dac061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uow-dac061713.php For the first time, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have identified which emotion a person is experiencing based on brain activity.The study combines functional magnetic resonance imaging and machine learning to measure brain signals to accurately read emotions in individuals. The findings illustrate how the brain categorizes feelings, giving researchers the first reliable process to analyze emotions. Until now, research on emotions has been long stymied by the lack of reliable methods to evaluate them. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cmu-cmr061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cmu-cmr061713.php Patients at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center are being exposed to significantly less radiation during CT scans because of new technology that allows doctors to more tightly control radiation doses. The first-of-its-kind imaging software reduced overall radiation exposure from CT scans by 37 percent. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cchm-ntr061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cchm-ntr061713.php Researchers at the University of Sydney and Dartmouth College have developed a new way to design quantum memory, bringing quantum computers a step closer to reality. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/dc-mmp061713.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/dc-mmp061713.php Many proteins work like Swiss Army knives, fitting multiple functions into their elaborately folded structures. A bit mysteriously, some proteins manage to multitask even with structures that are unfolded and floppy -- "intrinsically disordered." In this week's issue of Nature, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute report their discovery of an important trick that a well-known intrinsically disordered protein uses to expand and control its functionality. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/sri-sfn061213.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/sri-sfn061213.php Crop yields worldwide are not increasing quickly enough to support estimated global needs in 2050, according to a study published June 19 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Deepak Ray and colleagues from the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/plos-yti061313.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/plos-yti061313.php Approximately 13 million illnesses and over 110,00 hospitalizations may have been averted by the flu vaccine over the last 6 years in the US, according to calculations published June 19 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Deliana Kostova and colleagues from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/plos-fsl061313.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/plos-fsl061313.php Some snails in Ireland and the Pyrenees are genetically almost identical, perhaps because they were carried across the Atlantic during an 8000-year-old human migration. The snail genetics tie in with studies of human genetics and the colonization of Ireland, according to the research published June 19 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Angus Davison and colleagues from the University of Nottingham, UK. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/plos-sgt061313.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/plos-sgt061313.php Some parents desire for their children to fulfill their own unrealized ambitions, just as psychologists have long theorized, according to a new first-of-its-kind study. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-spw061313.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/osu-spw061313.php One in four people who survive a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) suffer from symptoms of PTSD within the first year post-event, and one in nine experience chronic PTSD more than a year later. The data suggest that each year nearly 300,000 stroke/TIA survivors will develop PTSD symptoms as a result of their health scare. The study, led by Columbia University Medical Center researchers, was published today in the online edition of PLOS ONE. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cumc-1i4061213.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cumc-1i4061213.php Neuroscientists may soon be modern-day harpooners, snaring individual brain-cell signals instead of whales with tiny spears made of carbon nanotubes. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/du-cnh061213.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/du-cnh061213.php People who experience any stroke symptoms -- but do not have a stroke -- may also be more likely to develop problems with memory and thinking, according to new research published in the June 19, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aaon-ssa061113.php Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/aaon-ssa061113.php For years, Alzheimer's researchers have focused on two proteins that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's and may contribute to the disease: Plaques made up of the protein amyloid-beta, and tangles of another protein, called tau. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ohs-nar061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ohs-nar061813.php A major analysis led by UCLA researchers has examined the importance of speed of treatment when using a clot-dissolving drug to restore blood flow to the brain after a stroke. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--tta061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--tta061813.php Parasites are ubiquitous. They feed on virtually every animal and even on each other. Yet, for all the parasites' collective contributions to biomass and biodiversity, conventional food webs don't account for the presence of these tiny and numerous consumers. A recent study featuring work by several UC Santa Barbara scientists focuses on the impact parasites have on food webs, with findings that are expected to alter our picture of who-eats-who. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--pa061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc--pa061813.php Scientists at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine have discovered a mechanism that is used to protect the body from harmful bacteria. Platelets, a component of blood typically associated with clotting, were discovered to actively search for specific bacteria, and upon detection, seal it off from the rest of the body. The findings, which were published in Nature Immunology this week, provide the science community with a greater understanding of immunity. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc-imd061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc-imd061813.php Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks identified a new tool that can dramatically improve the notoriously inaccurate surveys of what and how much an individual eats and drinks. Their research is published in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of Nutrition. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoaf-sfn061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoaf-sfn061813.php Recent research has shown that cancer cells have a much different -- and more complex -- metabolism than normal cells. Now, scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas have found that exploiting these differences might provide a new strategy to combat lung cancer. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uota-uds061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uota-uds061813.php Researchers have discovered and mapped the signaling network between two previously unconnected proteins, exposing a link that, if broken, could cut off cancer cell growth at its starting point. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uotm-sce061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uotm-sce061813.php Researchers from the United Kingdom, the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the University of Kentucky have recently published a paper describing a novel cellulose-degrading enzyme from a marine wood borer Limnoria quadripunctata, commonly known as the gribble. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/drel-nef061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/drel-nef061813.php People with HIV are more likely to keep their scheduled medical appointments -- and their disease under control -- if they feel their physician listens, explains things clearly and knows them as a person, not just a "case," new Johns Hopkins research suggests. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/jhm-rmb061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/jhm-rmb061813.php Is the US Tea Party movement a racial backlash against President Obama? A new study by Angie Maxwell from the University of Arkansas, and Wayne Parent from Louisiana State University, assesses whether racial attitudes are contributing to Tea Party membership, and if so, the exact nature of this racial prejudice. Their work is published online in Springer's journal, Race and Social Problems. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ssm-tha061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ssm-tha061813.php Swainson's thrushes, from a local population near Bolinas, Calif., spend their winters together in Mexico, according to a new tracking study released by Point Blue Conservation Science. This result is important because it shows that the conservation of habitat for these local populations in California is tightly linked with climate and habitat changes in Mexico, where these birds spend their winters, 1,600 miles away. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/pcs-bat061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/pcs-bat061813.php Each of the six new papers published in Geosphere on June 13 address geoscience compiled in specially themed issues: "CRevolution 2: Origin and Evolution of the Colorado River System II"; "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes"; "New Developments in Grenville Geology"; and "Origin and Evolution of the Sierra Nevada and Walker Lane." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/gsoa-gdt061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/gsoa-gdt061813.php NOAA-supported modelers at the University of Michigan, Louisiana State University, and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium are forecasting that this year's Gulf of Mexico hypoxic "dead" zone will be between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles which could place it among the ten largest recorded. A second NOAA-funded forecast, for the Chesapeake Bay, calls for a smaller than average dead zone in the nation's largest estuary. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nh-npp061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nh-npp061813.php An international team of researchers discover new information about how rice blast fungus invades plants. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ksu-rbr061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ksu-rbr061813.php Senior Brandeis research scientist Daniel Perlman has discovered a way to make phytosterol molecules from plants dispersible in beverages and foods that are consumed by humans, potentially opening the way to dramatic reductions in human cholesterol levels.The ability of phytosterols to reduce cholesterol levels in animals has been recognized since the 1950s, but practical application of this knowledge has been difficult because phytosterols are not naturally water-soluble, and they are only poorly soluble in fatty substances. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/bu-bsi061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/bu-bsi061813.php Sophisticated computational models and advances in graphical processing units are helping scientists understand the complex interplay between genomic data, virus structure and the formation of the virus' outer "shell" -- critical for replication. "We hope that some of what we are finding will help researchers alter virus assembly, leaving viruses unable to replicate," says postdoctoral fellow Jason Perlmutter, first author of the scientific paper describing the technique, published in the open-access journal eLife. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/bu-cmt061813.php Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/bu-cmt061813.php