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Pigs Look Healthy But Test Positive for Flu at Fairs; Flu Transmission Seen Between Pigs and Humans
Study: Flame Retardant ‘Firemaster 550’ Is an Endocrine Disruptor
Models simulate what happens to DNA strands when stretched to the breaking point
Robots in the Home: Will Older Adults Roll Out the Welcome Mat?
Research predicts warning, automatic braking systems on autos will help save lives
Protein regulation linked to intellectual disability
Study Suggests Caution and Further Studies on Drugs Used to Treat Macular Degeneration
Astronomers report dark matter 'halos' may contain stars, disprove other theories
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: The majority of vendettas originate within a group
Researchers Map Strategy for "Choosing Wisely" on Low-Value Health Care Services
Americans use more efficient and renewable energy technologies
Researchers Identify Unique Immune Gene Signature across Thousands of Patients’ Solid Tumors, including Metastatic Melanoma
Fit to Fly? From F-22s to Jumbo Jets, Real-Time Info on Pilots Needed
Gene Linked to Inflammation in the Aorta May Contribute to Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Partial Sleep Deprivation Linked to Obesity
Blood Chromosome Differences are Linked to Pancreatic Cancer
Scientists begin effort to stir up a cosmic dynamo in the lab

Pigs Look Healthy But Test Positive for Flu at Fairs; Flu Transmission Seen Between Pigs and Humans

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 07:17 AM PDT

More than 80 percent of pigs that tested positive for influenza A virus at Ohio county fairs between 2009 and 2011 showed no signs of illness, according to a new study.

Ohio State University researchers tested 20 pigs each at 53 fair events over those three summers and found at least one flu-positive pig at 12 fairs – almost a quarter of fairs tested.

Study: Flame Retardant ‘Firemaster 550’ Is an Endocrine Disruptor

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 07:10 AM PDT

The flame-retardant mixture known as “Firemaster 550” is an endocrine disruptor that causes extreme weight gain, early onset of puberty and cardiovascular health effects in lab animals, according to a new study spearheaded by researchers from North Carolina State University and Duke University.

Models simulate what happens to DNA strands when stretched to the breaking point

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 07:03 AM PDT

Theoretical physicists like to play with very unconventional toys. Manoel Manghi from Toulouse University in France and his colleagues have adopted a seemingly playful approach to examining what happens to a double stranded molecule of DNA when it is stretched to the breaking point, in a study about to be published in EPJ E.

Robots in the Home: Will Older Adults Roll Out the Welcome Mat?

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 06:59 AM PDT

Robots have the potential to help older adults with daily activities that can become more challenging with age. But are people willing to use and accept the new technology? A study by the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates the answer is yes, unless the tasks involve personal care or social activities.

Research predicts warning, automatic braking systems on autos will help save lives

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 06:50 AM PDT

The second highest cause of automobile crashes is rear end collisions – 17 percent. Thousands of people die. The solution? "It is simple," said Clay Gabler, professor of biomedical engineering at Virginia Tech. "Slow the striking vehicle."

Protein regulation linked to intellectual disability

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 06:36 AM PDT

Genetics researchers at the University of Adelaide have solved a 40-year mystery for a family beset by a rare intellectual disability - and they've discovered something new about the causes of intellectual disability in the process.

While many intellectual disabilities are caused directly by a genetic mutation in the so-called "protein coding" part of our genes, the researchers found that in their case the answer laid outside the gene and in the regulation of proteins.

Study Suggests Caution and Further Studies on Drugs Used to Treat Macular Degeneration

Posted: 25 Oct 2012 06:28 AM PDT

Millions of people with “wet” macular degeneration are prescribed a class of medication known as anti-VEGF drugs. But now scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that a drastic reduction of VEGF activity may do more harm than good.

Astronomers report dark matter 'halos' may contain stars, disprove other theories

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 11:41 AM PDT

Could it be that dark matter "halos" — the huge, invisible cocoons of mass that envelop entire galaxies and account for most of the matter in the universe — aren't completely dark after all but contain a small number of stars? Astronomers from UCLA, UC Irvine and elsewhere make a case for that in the Oct. 25 issue of the journal Nature.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: The majority of vendettas originate within a group

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 11:31 AM PDT

It all began with a harmless game of soccer among young men in northwestern Albania. After one of the players had been injured in a subsequent dispute, his team members shot a relative of the suspected attacker. Now the male members of the families involved in the blood feud do not dare leave their homes. Such vendettas and blood feuds occur in many societies, sometimes lasting for decades. The harm for the participants is enormous and lacks apparent benefit, as the participants often no longer remember what actually triggered the quarrel.

Researchers Map Strategy for "Choosing Wisely" on Low-Value Health Care Services

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:49 AM PDT

Cutting the expenses associated with “low-value” medical tests and treatments – such as unnecessary imaging tests and antibiotics for viral infections that won’t benefit from them – will require a multi-pronged plan targeting insurance companies, patients, and physicians, according to a JAMA Viewpoint article published this week by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. These efforts transcend economic impact, however, and may also be essential for improving health care quality and patient safety.

Americans use more efficient and renewable energy technologies

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:23 AM PDT

Americans used less energy in 2011 than in the previous year due mainly to a shift to higher-efficiency energy technologies in the transportation and residential sectors. Meanwhile, less coal was used but more natural gas was consumed according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Wind power saw the biggest jump from .92 quadrillion BTU, or quads, in 2010 up to 1.17 quads in 2011. (BTU or British Thermal Unit is a unit of measurement for energy and is equivalent to about 1.055 kilojoules).

Researchers Identify Unique Immune Gene Signature across Thousands of Patients’ Solid Tumors, including Metastatic Melanoma

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 10:04 AM PDT

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered a unique immune gene signature that can predict the presence of microscopic lymph node-like structures in metastatic melanoma. The presence of these immune structures, the researchers said, appears to be associated with better survival and may indicate the possibility of selecting patients for immunotherapy based solely on the immune-related makeup of their tumors as an approach to personalized medicine.

The study appears in Scientific Reports, a journal from Nature Publishing Group.

Fit to Fly? From F-22s to Jumbo Jets, Real-Time Info on Pilots Needed

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:45 AM PDT

Anyone who has followed news coverage of a plane crash has probably heard of a black box, an onboard device analyzed for clues into a flight's demise. What if there were a black box for pilots that could determine, in real time, whether they are fit to fly, helping to head off cognitive and physical failures that could take a jet down? Recent issues with the physically demanding F-22 fighter jet show it's time for in-flight pilot monitoring, Mayo Clinic and other aerospace medicine physicians say.

Gene Linked to Inflammation in the Aorta May Contribute to Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT

A gene known to be involved in cancer and cardiovascular development may be the cause of inflammation in the most common form of aortic aneurysm and may be a key to treatment, according to research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The study, appearing online in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology on October 18, 2012, is the first to show that Notch 1 signaling is activated in abdominal aortic aneurysmal tissue in mice and humans.

Partial Sleep Deprivation Linked to Obesity

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:27 AM PDT

Evidence linking partial sleep deprivation to energy imbalance is relevant to weight gain prevention and weight loss promotion. A new study published today in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics bases this finding on an extensive review of literature published over a fifteen-year period.

Blood Chromosome Differences are Linked to Pancreatic Cancer

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:18 AM PDT

A new study published today by scientists at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic shows that a blood marker is linked to pancreatic cancer.

First author Dr. Halcyon Skinner, assistant professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, says the study is the first time pancreatic cancer risk has been linked to differences in telomeres’ length in blood cells.

Scientists begin effort to stir up a cosmic dynamo in the lab

Posted: 24 Oct 2012 09:13 AM PDT

For scientists trying to understand the subtleties of cosmic dynamos — the magnetic field-inducing phenomena at the hearts of planets, stars and galaxies — the physics, for the most part, must be done at vast distances.