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Released: 31-Jul-2017 12:40 PM EDT
Beware Doping Athletes! This Sensor May Be Your Downfall
University at Buffalo

A new light-trapping sensor, developed by a University at Buffalo-led team of engineers and described in an Advanced Optical Materials study, makes infrared absorption more sensitive, inexpensive and versatile. It may improve scientists’ ability use to sleuth out performance-enhancing drugs in blood samples, tiny particles of explosives in the air and more.

28-Jul-2017 1:05 AM EDT
Scientists Watch ‘Artificial Atoms’ Assemble into Perfect Lattices with Many Uses
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Some of the world’s tiniest crystals are known as “artificial atoms” because they can organize themselves into structures that look like molecules, including “superlattices” that are potential building blocks for novel materials. Now scientists from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have made the first observation of these nanocrystals rapidly forming superlattices while they are themselves still growing.

Released: 30-Jul-2017 2:05 PM EDT
Winning Star Trek Tricorder Device to Be Presented to Experts at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting
69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Press Program

Press can register here to livestream this special session through Newswise Live on Monday, July 31 at 7:30 PM EDT. The winner of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition will present DxtER—a real-life tricorder—at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in San Diego. This special session will be the first time that the device is presented to researchers at a U.S. scientific conference.

   
27-Jul-2017 12:00 PM EDT
Death Rate for People with Heart Disease and Depression Double Than for Non-Depressed Heart Patients
Intermountain Medical Center

People who are diagnosed with coronary artery disease and then develop depression face a risk of death that’s twice as high as heart patients without depression, according to a major new study by researchers at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City.

26-Jul-2017 6:05 AM EDT
Scientists Become Research Subjects in After-Hours Brain-Scanning Project
Washington University in St. Louis

Dosenbach, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of pediatric and developmental neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues used imaging techniques to collect a massive amount of data on individual brains. Their work led to 10 individual-specific connectomes — detailed maps of neural brain connections that reveal spatial and organizational variability in brain networks.

Released: 27-Jul-2017 10:05 AM EDT
Analysis of Animal Teeth Suggests Neolithic Cattle Grazed at Home and Away
University of Southampton

An international team of researchers has shown in unprecedented detail that prehistoric farmers took their animals away from permanent settlements to graze in more fertile areas – probably because of high demand for land locally.

24-Jul-2017 3:35 PM EDT
Women and Men Report Similar Levels of Work-Family Conflicts
American Psychological Association (APA)

WASHINGTON -- Contrary to public perception and many media accounts, women and men report similar levels of work-family conflicts, both in the form of work interfering with family and family interfering with work, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

24-Jul-2017 1:05 PM EDT
Milky Way's Origins Are Not What They Seem
Northwestern University

In a first-of-its-kind analysis, Northwestern University astrophysicists have discovered that up to half of the matter in our Milky Way galaxy may come from distant galaxies. As a result, each one of us may be made in part from extragalactic matter. Using supercomputer simulations, the researchers found an unexpected mode for how galaxies acquired matter: intergalactic transfer. Supernova explosions eject copious amounts of gas from galaxies, causing atoms to be transported from one galaxy to another via powerful galactic winds.

25-Jul-2017 9:00 AM EDT
Brain Cells Found to Control Aging
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that stem cells in the brain’s hypothalamus govern how fast aging occurs in the body. The finding, made in mice, could lead to new strategies for warding off age-related diseases and extending lifespan. The paper was published online today in Nature.

Released: 24-Jul-2017 10:05 AM EDT
Despite Lack of FDA Approval, Stem Cell Centers Claim to Offer Effective Treatment for Patients with Heart Failure
Saint Louis University Medical Center

Stem cell centers claim to offer effective treatment to patients with heart failure, despite the fact that the treatment is not approved for such use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), says the author of research letter in the current issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.

Released: 21-Jul-2017 2:05 PM EDT
What Causes Sensitive Teeth?
Texas A&M University

An ice cream cone on a hot July day can be a tasty way to beat the heat, but if you’re one of the millions of people who have sensitive teeth, then that cold treat can be a real pain. So, what causes your teeth to fear the sweet embrace of cold, delicious treats?

17-Jul-2017 1:35 PM EDT
Experts: One in Three Cases of Dementia Preventable; Nonmedical Therapies Ideal for Dementia
Keck Medicine of USC

A report by the first Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention and Care identifies powerful tools to prevent dementia and touts the benefits of nonmedical interventions for people with dementia.

18-Jul-2017 5:00 PM EDT
Artifacts Suggest Humans Arrived in Australia Earlier Than Thought
University of Washington

A team of researchers, including a faculty member and seven students from the University of Washington, has found and dated artifacts in northern Australia that indicate humans arrived there about 65,000 years ago — more than 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.

   
Released: 18-Jul-2017 1:30 PM EDT
When Sizing Up Potential Friends and Mates, the Eyes of Men and Women Move Differently
Wellesley College

New Research from Wellesley College and the University of Kansas Shows People Observe the Body Differently When Assessing Friends vs. Mates

14-Jul-2017 9:00 AM EDT
Study Reveals Origin of Modern Dog Has a Single Geographic Origin
Stony Brook University

By analyzing the DNA of two prehistoric dogs from Germany, an international research team led by Krishna R. Veeramah, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ecology & Evolution in the College of Arts & Sciences at Stony Brook University, has determined that their genomes were the probable ancestors of modern European dogs. The finding, to be published in Nature Communications, suggests a single domestication event of modern dogs from a population of gray wolves that occurred between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.

Released: 17-Jul-2017 8:00 PM EDT
One Third of Fake Images Go Undetected in Recent Study
University of Warwick

Around one third of fake images went undetected in a recent study by the University of Warwick, UK.

   
Released: 14-Jul-2017 12:15 AM EDT
Researchers Discover an Ugly Truth About Attractiveness
Florida State University

New research from Florida State University finds the attractiveness of a romantic partner can influence a person's desire to diet and seek a slim body, though that motivation contrasts sharply between men and women.

Released: 13-Jul-2017 2:25 PM EDT
The Devastating Effects of Nuclear Weapon Testing
University of Utah

The University of Utah’s J. Marriott Library created an interactive, geospatial archive depicting the story of Utah radioactive fallout related to atmospheric nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site.

   
Released: 11-Jul-2017 11:00 AM EDT
Closing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Increases Crime, According to New Study
University of California, Irvine, Paul Merage School of Business

A new study published in the July issue of the Journal of Urban Economics finds that contrary to popular belief, medical marijuana dispensaries (MMDs) reduce crime in their immediate areas.

   
Released: 7-Jul-2017 8:00 AM EDT
Researchers Find Handwritten Opioid Prescriptions Are More Prone to Mistakes
Johns Hopkins Medicine

In a small study of opioid prescriptions filled at a Johns Hopkins Medicine outpatient pharmacy, researchers found that handwritten orders for the drugs contribute heavily to a trio of prescribing and processing errors in contrast to those created electronically.

Released: 6-Jul-2017 1:00 PM EDT
Hubble Pushed Beyond Limits to Spot Clumps of New Stars in Distant Galaxy
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

By applying a new computational analysis to a galaxy magnified by a gravitational lens, astronomers have obtained images 10 times sharper than what Hubble could achieve on its own.

27-Jun-2017 2:00 PM EDT
Gigantic Crocodile with T. Rex Teeth Was a Top Land Predator of the Jurassic in Madagascar
PeerJ

Little is known about the origin and early evolution of the Notosuchia, hitherto unknown in the Jurassic period. New research on fossils from Madagascar, published in the peer-reviewed journal PeerJ by Italian and French paleontologists, begin to fill the gap in a million-year-long ghost lineage.

28-Jun-2017 4:50 PM EDT
Utah Is Home to Earliest Use of a Wild Potato in North America
University of Utah

Researchers have discovered the earliest evidence of wild potato use in North America. This is the first archaeological study to identify a spud-bearing species native to the southwestern United States, the Four Corners potato (S. jamesii), as an important part of ancient human diets.

27-Jun-2017 11:45 AM EDT
3-D Printed Models Could Improve Patient Outcomes in Heart Valve Replacements
Georgia Institute of Technology

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Piedmont Heart Institute are using new 3-D printing technologies to create heart valve models that mimic the look and feel of the real valves. Their aim is to improve the success rate of transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR) by picking the right prosthetic and avoiding a common complication known as paravalvular leakage.

30-Jun-2017 11:05 AM EDT
Cases of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection Are Soaring
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found evidence that the most difficult C. difficile cases, known as multiple recurring C. difficile infections (mrCDI), are rapidly becoming more common.

30-Jun-2017 12:05 PM EDT
New Studies of Ancient Concrete Could Teach Us to Do as the Romans Did
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A new look inside 2,000-year-old Roman concrete has provided new clues to the evolving chemistry and mineral cements that allow ancient harbor structures to withstand the test of time.

Released: 30-Jun-2017 4:05 PM EDT
Study Finds Hackers Could Use Brainwaves to Steal Passwords
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Research suggests EEG headsets, growing in popularity among consumers, need better security.

Released: 29-Jun-2017 12:05 PM EDT
Ancient Fossils Suggest Whales Used Teeth to Filter Out Prey
NYIT

How baleen whales became filter feeders is widely debated among scientists—but now anatomy researchers at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine may finally solve this mystery.

Released: 29-Jun-2017 7:05 AM EDT
A Wave’s “Sweet Spot” Revealed
University of California San Diego

For surfers, finding the “sweet spot,” the most powerful part of the wave, is part of the thrill and the challenge.

26-Jun-2017 4:00 PM EDT
The Hippocampus Underlies the Link Between Slowed Walking and Mental Decline
Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh

The connection between slowed walking speed and declining mental acuity appears to arise in the right hippocampus, a finger-shaped region buried deep in the brain at ear-level, according to a 14-year study conducted by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

Released: 28-Jun-2017 6:05 AM EDT
Could an Artificial Coral Reef Protect Marine Biodiversity Against Climate Changes?
University of Portsmouth

Climate change from rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) is having two major effects in our seas - global warming and ocean acidification - and the combination of these threats is affecting marine life from single organisms to species communities.

21-Jun-2017 2:00 PM EDT
Messages with Moral-Emotional Words Are More Likely to Go Viral on Social Media
New York University

Tweets about political topics that include moral and emotional language are more likely to spread within the ideological networks of the sender, a team of researchers has found. Its study examined Twitter messages related to gun control, climate change, and same-sex marriage.

23-Jun-2017 3:40 PM EDT
New Class of 'Soft' Semiconductors Could Transform HD Displays
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

New research by Berkeley Lab scientists could help usher in a new generation of high-definition displays, optoelectronic devices, photodetectors, and more. They have shown that a class of “soft” semiconductors can be used to emit multiple, bright colors from a single nanowire at resolutions as small as 500 nanometers. The work could challenge quantum dot displays that rely upon traditional semiconductor nanocrystals to emit light.

26-Jun-2017 12:30 PM EDT
Study: Exposure to Light Causes Emotional and Physical Responses in Migraine Sufferers
Beth Israel Lahey Health

This research found that light makes migraine headaches more painful and induces negative emotions and unpleasant physical sensations. Laboratory studies identify previously unknown connections between nerve cells in the eye and neurons in the brain that regulate physiological, autonomic, endocrine and emotional responses. These findings offer promising path forward for researchers in treatment of migraines.

Released: 26-Jun-2017 8:00 AM EDT
Scientists Find Clever Way to Help You De-Clutter Your Home
Ohio State University

If your attic is full of stuff you no longer use but can’t bear to give away, a new study may offer you a simple solution. Researchers found that people were more willing to give away unneeded goods that still had sentimental value if they were encouraged to take a photo of these items first.

Released: 22-Jun-2017 12:00 PM EDT
Select Memories Can Be Erased, Leaving Others Intact
Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Different types of memories stored in the same neuron of the marine snail Aplysia can be selectively erased, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and McGill University and published today in Current Biology.

Released: 20-Jun-2017 10:05 AM EDT
Why Do Onions Make You Cry?
Texas A&M University

Onions are low in calories and packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. However, as everyone from expert chefs to culinary novices has learned, onions can bring a tear to your eye, and an expert from the Texas A&M College of Medicine explains why that happens.

   
Released: 19-Jun-2017 5:05 PM EDT
Yoga vs. Physical Therapy: Settling the Debate for Low Back Pain
University of Alabama at Birmingham

UAB’s Stefan Kertesz, M.D., provides commentary on a new trial comparing yoga and physical therapy for those who suffer from low back pain.

Released: 19-Jun-2017 2:05 PM EDT
Protect Your Pet From Canine Influenza
Texas A&M University

At the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM),veterinarians are working to educate pet parents about the recent outbreak of canine influenza in Georgia and Florida that could affect your dog.

   
14-Jun-2017 4:05 PM EDT
Widespread Snowmelt in West Antarctica During Unusually Warm Summer
Ohio State University

An area of West Antarctica more than twice the size of California partially melted in 2016 when warm winds forced by an especially strong El Niño blew over the continent, an international group of researchers has determined.

12-Jun-2017 3:05 PM EDT
UTI Treatment Reduces Gut E. Coli, May Offer Alternative to Antibiotics
Washington University in St. Louis

Most UTIs are caused by E. coli that live in the gut and spread to the urinary tract. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that a molecular decoy can reduce the numbers of UTI-causing bacteria in the gut, potentially reducing the risk of recurrent UTI.

Released: 12-Jun-2017 10:05 AM EDT
E-Cigarettes Less Addictive Than Cigarettes, PATH Study Shows
Penn State College of Medicine

People who regularly use electronic cigarettes are less dependent on their product than those who regularly use traditional cigarettes, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

5-Jun-2017 9:45 AM EDT
Predicting Autism: Study Links Infant Brain Connections to Diagnoses at Age 2
University of North Carolina Health Care System

In two previous studies, University of North Carolina researchers and colleagues linked infant brain anatomy differences to autism diagnoses at age two. Now they show differences in functional connections between brain regions at 6 months to predict autism at age two.

5-Jun-2017 10:00 AM EDT
Discovery in Morocco Points to Oldest Homo Sapiens Fossils
New York University

An international research team has uncovered 300,000 year-old fossil bones of Homo sapiens, a find that represents the oldest reliably dated fossil evidence of our species.

5-Jun-2017 3:05 PM EDT
Celestial Boondocks: Study Supports the Idea We Live in a Void
University of Wisconsin–Madison

A new study by a UW-Madison undergraduate not only firms up the idea that we exist in one of the holes of the Swiss cheese structure of the cosmos, but helps ease the apparent disagreement between different measurements of the Hubble Constant, the unit cosmologists use to describe the rate at which the universe is expanding today.

Released: 6-Jun-2017 10:30 AM EDT
Global Warming May Cause Spike in Asthma, Allergy Symptoms
American Physiological Society (APS)

A new study finds that exposure to a widespread outdoor fungus can increase cell damage (oxidative stress) in the airways. This spike weakens the airways’ barrier defense system that, when functioning normally, removes infection- and allergy-causing organisms (mucociliary clearance).

   
Released: 2-Jun-2017 2:25 PM EDT
Major Ivory Trafficker Jailed in Republic of Congo
Wildlife Conservation Society

Northern Congo’s notorious elephant poacher and ivory trafficker Daring Dissaka, 39, has been convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Released: 1-Jun-2017 9:00 AM EDT
Baby Teeth Link Autism and Heavy Metals, NIH Study Suggests
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Baby teeth from children with autism contain more toxic lead and less of the essential nutrients zinc and manganese, compared to teeth from children without autism, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers studied twins to control genetic influences and focus on possible environmental contributors to the disease. The findings, published June 1 in the journal Nature Communications, suggest that differences in early-life exposure to metals, or more importantly how a child’s body processes them, may affect the risk of autism.

   


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