A new study by Valerie Hu, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, reports that RORA, a novel candidate gene for autism discovered by her group in a 2010 study, regulates a large number of other genes associated with autism.
For the first time, a study has suggested that the position of grandparents in the British class system has a direct effect on which class their grandchildren belong to.
In one of the few studies to provide information on eye screening of children, African American children with the greatest risk for disease of the retina as a complication of Type 1 diabetes are the least likely to have received an eye exam.
A new study that calculates the influence of cloud behavior on climate doubles the number of potentially habitable planets orbiting red dwarfs, the most common type of stars in the universe.
It’s a GEMM of a system. Genetically engineered mouse models that is. Using them allows scientists to study cancer in a way that more naturally mimics how human tumors exist within the complex environment of the body.
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a mechanism that triggers chronic inflammation in Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis and type-2 diabetes. The results, published today in Nature Immunology, suggest a common biochemical thread to multiple diseases and point the way to a new class of therapies that could treat chronic inflammation in these non-infectious diseases without crippling the immune system. Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis and type-2 diabetes—diseases associated with aging and inflammation—affect more than 100 million Americans.
A transformational leadership style—valued for stimulating innovation and worker performance—is also associated with increased well-being among employees, reports a study in the July Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Seventy percent of U.S. plastic surgeons have used fat grafting techniques for breast operations, but they are more likely to use it for breast reconstruction rather than cosmetic breast surgery, reports a survey study in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Preoperative evaluations before facial cosmetic surgery find that about half of patients are taking herbal and other supplements, reports a study in the July issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Scientists have discovered the role of the membrane protein TonB in bacteria that cause a wide variety of diseases, including typhoid fever, plague, meningitis and dysentery. Results may lead to new and improved human and animal antibiotics.
Locally, changes in coastal ocean temperatures may be much more extreme than global averages imply. New research published in the June 18 edition of Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE) entitled “Decadal Changes in the World's Coastal Latitudinal Temperature Gradients,” is highlighting some of the distinct regional implications associated with global climate-change.
Where a child lives makes a difference in how demographics and other factors influence algebra performance, and policies should take into account local variation, research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests.
New research reveals that the likely culprit behind Alzheimer's has a different molecular structure than current drugs' target -- perhaps explaining why current medications produce little improvement in patients.
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) has released a set of clinical practice guidelines to address current and changing factors that affect the diagnosis and treatment of localized esophageal cancer.
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a known risk factor following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, and a new study in the July 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery shows that the risk of death is even higher among black patients with PAD.
New research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Princeton University and other collaborators suggests that inactivation of an essential gene responsible for the cell survival process known as autophagy can suppress the growth of non-small-cell lung cancer tumors and render them more benign. The findings suggest a possible role for autophagy blockers in the treatment of this type of lung cancer, which has a five-year survival rate of only 30 to 50 percent for early-stage disease.
The American Thoracic Society has released an official statement on the ethical and health policy considerations surrounding adult and pediatric controlled organ donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD), the recovery of organs after cessation of circulation from patients with severe neurological, neuromuscular or pulmonary disease for whom decisions are made to forego additional life-prolonging treatments.
An estimated two-thirds of all Americans are overweight or obese and many find it difficult to lose weight and keep it off. They’ve tried fad diets, exercise programs, diet pills and other methods but the battle continues. Now, a new study suggests that watching an avatar model weight-loss behavior in a virtual community might help some women shed pounds in the real world.
In the world, there are a lot of small molecules people would like to get rid of, or at least convert to something useful, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison chemist Robert J. Hamers.
A protein first shown to function in the liver plays a crucial role in pregnancy in mice and has a key role in the human menstrual cycle, according to researchers at the University of Montreal.
New research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found military service members who have trouble sleeping prior to deployments may be at greater risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety once they return home. The study found that pre-existing insomnia symptoms conferred almost as a large of a risk for those mental disorders as combat exposure.
New research conducted by Texas Tech University scientists has found that low doses of arsenic and estrogen – even at levels low enough to be considered “safe” for humans if they were on their own – can cause cancer in prostate cells.
An increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria that cause pneumonia in cattle prompted scientists at the Kansas State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to survey records of pneumonia (also called bovine respiratory disease or BRD) cases over a three-year period. They discovered that drug resistance in one of the primary pathogens that cause BRD, Mannheimia haemolytica, increased over the three-year period 2009 to 2011.
For the first time, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified small molecules that allow for complete control over a genetic defect responsible for the most common adult onset form of muscular dystrophy.
For the first time, researchers investigated enteral nutrition and caloric requirements (CR) among critically ill children in a new report published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This study also showed the value of including registered dietitians in the medical team. Providing early nutritional support through the intestine, or enteral route, to critically ill adults has been an effective strategy to improve the healing process. Using a similar approach with critically ill children, however, may present challenges, such as an inability to accurately estimate CR or an inability to administer the CR because of fluid restrictions, procedures, and other barriers. Despite these perceived challenges and a lack of data, many experts believe that early enteral nutrition should be considered in most Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) patients.
A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Ohio University has developed a new, simpler way to discern molecular handedness, known as chirality, which could improve drug development, optical sensors and more.
The often forgotten lymphatic circulatory system may be intimately involved in vascular disorders, according to a study by researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and University of Michigan. Their research was reported recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A procedure to treat acid reflux could help prevent chronic rejection in lung transplant patients, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Recent studies by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University’s Kimmel Cancer Center have shown a gene known to coordinate initial development of the eye (EYA1) is a powerful breast tumor promoter in mice. The gene EYA1 was also shown to be overexpressed in a genetic breast cancer subtype called luminal B.
Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University’s Kimmel Cancer Center have discovered that decorin, a naturally occurring protein that circulates in the blood, acts as a potent inhibitor of tumor growth modulating the tumor microenvironment.
The power of the brain lies in its trillions of intercellular connections, called synapses that together form complex neural "networks." While neuroscientists have long sought to map these individual connections to see how they influence specific brain functions, traditional techniques have been unsuccessful. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute and the Gladstone Institutes, using an innovative brain- tracing technique, have found a way to untangle these networks. These findings offer new insight into how specific brain regions connect to each other, while also revealing clues as to what may happen, neuron by neuron, when these connections are disrupted.
• Elderly kidney failure patients using catheters to access the blood for dialysis have the highest risks of dying prematurely compared with patients using other types of vascular access.
• Two other types of vascular access—arteriovenous fistulas and arteriovenous grafts—provide similar survival advantages for elderly dialysis patients.
It is likely some of the most widespread and oldest art in the United States. Pieces of rock art dot the Appalachian Mountains, and research by University of Tennessee, Knoxville, anthropology professor Jan Simek finds each engraving or drawing is strategically placed to reveal a cosmological puzzle.
Data from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft continues to provide new insight on the outskirts of our solar system, a frontier thought to be the last that Voyager will cross before becoming the first man-made object to reach interstellar space.
A series of studies conducted by Randy Bruno, PhD, and Christine Constantinople, PhD, of Columbia University’s Department of Neuroscience, topples convention by showing that sensory information travels to two places at once: not only to the brain’s mid-layer (where most axons lead), but also directly to its deeper layers. The study appears in the June 28, 2013, edition of the journal Science.
Arizona State University researchers have discovered for the first time that temperature determines where key soil microbes can thrive — microbes that are critical to forming topsoil crusts in arid lands. And of concern, the scientists predict that in as little as 50 years, global warming may push some of these microbes out of their present stronghold with unknown consequences to soil fertility and erosion.
Using colorful world maps, a North Carolina State University study maps out priority areas for protection to save species and preserve biodiversity. The scale is 100 times finer than previous assessments.
A durable, multilayered thin film is a possible replacement for expensive indium-based electrodes in devices such as liquid crystal displays and solar cells.
A team led by UC San Francisco researchers has discovered a sensory system in the foreleg of the fruit fly that tells male flies whether a potential mate is from a different species. The work addresses a central problem in evolution that is poorly understood: how animals of one species know not to mate with animals of other species.
Research focused on the regulation of the adult stem cells that line the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila suggests new models for the study of Barrett’s esophagus. Barrett’s esophagus is a condition in which the cells of the lower esophagus transform into stomach-like cells. In most cases this transformation has been thought to occur directly from chronic acid indigestion. A new study suggests a change in stem cell function for this transformation.
Ever wondered what's going on inside young children's brains when they're looking at things? Researchers at the University of Iowa have used optical neuroimaging for the first time on 3-and 4-year-olds to determine which areas of the brain are activated in "visual working memory."
A new study shows that hospitals with specialized units combining the compassionate care of hospice and the level of care offered in medical-surgical units may provide efficient, cost effective assistance to patients with advanced chronic illness or terminal disease.