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Adults with ADHD commit fewer crimes when on medication
Herbivore defence in ferns
Experimental Drug Improves Memory in Mice with Multiple Sclerosis
Neural interaction in periods of silence
New noninvasive tool helps target Parkinson’s disease
Pathway Identified in Human Lymphoma Points Way to New Blood Cancer Treatments
Astronomers Pin Down Origins of “Mile Markers” for Expansion of Universe
Scientists Chart the Emergence of High-Temperature Superconductivity
Scotch tape finds new use as grasping 'smart material'
MicroRNAs can convert normal cells into cancer promoters
Flower power to purge poison and produce platinum
Short DNA strands in the genome may be key to understanding human cognition and diseases
Researcher Find that Being One of the Younger Kids in Class May Have a Negative Effect on Academic Performance
Study looks at what makes flycatchers change their song length
Ocean currents play a role in predicting extent of Arctic sea ice

Adults with ADHD commit fewer crimes when on medication

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 05:06 AM PST

Criminal behaviour in people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) dropped sharply during periods when they were on medication, according to a new extensive registry study conducted at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The study that contained of over 25,000 individuals is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Herbivore defence in ferns

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 05:01 AM PST

They dominated the earth for 200 million years and numerous different species can still be found all over the world: mosses, horsetails and ferns. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now found out that bracken ferns (Pteridium aquilinum) do not release any volatiles when they are attacked − unlike many of the now dominant and evolutionary younger flowering plants. Such an emission of volatile compounds may attract the pest insects’ enemies, such as ichneumon wasps or predatory bugs, that parasitise herbivores.

Experimental Drug Improves Memory in Mice with Multiple Sclerosis

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 04:52 AM PST

Johns Hopkins researchers report the successful use of a form of MRI to identify what appears to be a key biochemical marker for cognitive impairment in the brains of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). In follow-up experiments on mice with a rodent form of MS, researchers were able to use an experimental compound to manipulate that same marker and dramatically improve learning and memory.

Neural interaction in periods of silence

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 04:42 AM PST

While in deep dreamless sleep, our hippocampus sends messages to our cortex and changes its plasticity, possibly transferring recently acquired knowledge to long-term memory. But how exactly is this done? Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics have now developed a novel multimodal methodology called “neural event-triggered functional magnetic resonance imaging” (NET-fMRI) and presented the very first results obtained using it in experiments with both anesthetized and awake, behaving monkeys.

New noninvasive tool helps target Parkinson’s disease

Posted: 22 Nov 2012 04:17 AM PST

Health professionals may soon have a new method of diagnosing Parkinson’s disease, one that is noninvasive and inexpensive, and, in early testing, has proved to be effective more than 90 percent of the time.

In addition, this new method has the potential to track the progression of Parkinson’s, as well as measure the effectiveness of treatments for the disorder, said Rahul Shrivastav, professor and chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders and a member of the team developing the new method.

Pathway Identified in Human Lymphoma Points Way to New Blood Cancer Treatments

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 01:36 PM PST

A pathway called the “Unfolded Protein Response,” or UPR, a cell’s way of responding to unfolded and misfolded proteins, helps tumor cells escape programmed cell death during the development of lymphoma.

Astronomers Pin Down Origins of “Mile Markers” for Expansion of Universe

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 01:24 PM PST

A study using a unique new instrument on the world’s largest optical telescope has revealed the likely origins of especially bright supernovae that astronomers use as easy-to-spot “mile markers” to measure the expansion and acceleration of the universe.

In a paper to appear in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers describe observations of recent supernova 2011fe that they captured with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) using a tool created at Ohio State University: the Multi-Object Double Spectrograph (MODS).

Scientists Chart the Emergence of High-Temperature Superconductivity

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 01:15 PM PST

The next generation of sustainable energy systems, from magnetic storage to offshore wind turbines, hinges in part on high-temperature superconductors (HTS), which can carry current with zero loss and perfect efficiency. Unfortunately, that loss-free behavior comes at the cost of extreme and inefficient cooling, and the fundamental physics that governs the behavior of these remarkable materials remains mysterious.

Scotch tape finds new use as grasping 'smart material'

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 08:42 AM PST

Scotch tape, a versatile household staple and a mainstay of holiday gift-wrapping, may have a new scientific application as a shape-changing "smart material."

Researchers used a laser to form slender half-centimeter-long fingers out of the tape. When exposed to water, the four wispy fingers morph into a tiny robotic claw that captures water droplets.

The innovation could be used to collect water samples for environmental testing, said Babak Ziaie, a Purdue University professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering.

MicroRNAs can convert normal cells into cancer promoters

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 08:29 AM PST

Unraveling the mechanism that ovarian cancer cells use to change normal cells around them into cells that promote tumor growth has identified several new targets for treatment of this deadly disease.

Flower power to purge poison and produce platinum

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 08:16 AM PST

A consortium of researchers led by WMG at the University of Warwick are to embark on a £3 million research programme called “Cleaning Land for Wealth” (CL4W), that will use a common class of flower to restore poisoned soils while at the same time producing perfectly sized and shaped nano sized platinum and arsenic nanoparticles for use in catalytic convertors, cancer treatments and a range of other applications.

Short DNA strands in the genome may be key to understanding human cognition and diseases

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 08:09 AM PST

Short snippets of DNA found in human brain tissue provide new insight into human cognitive function and risk for developing certain neurological diseases, according to researchers from the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The findings are published in the November 20th issue of PLoS Biology.

Researcher Find that Being One of the Younger Kids in Class May Have a Negative Effect on Academic Performance

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 08:05 AM PST

A team of researchers led by an epidemiologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that being one of the younger kids in class can affect a student's academic performance. The authors of the study believe that these findings should be taken into account when evaluating children for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). As a result of the study, the team recommends that educators and health care providers take children's relative age in class into account when evaluating academic performance and other criteria for ADHD diagnosis.

Study looks at what makes flycatchers change their song length

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 07:58 AM PST

Do birds change their tune in response to urban noise? It depends on the bird species, according to Dr. Alejandro Ariel Ríos-Chelén from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and colleagues. Their work shows that while some birds do adapt their songs in noisy conditions by means of frequency changes, others like the vermilion flycatchers adapt their song by means of changes in song lengths. The work is published online in Springer's journal, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

Ocean currents play a role in predicting extent of Arctic sea ice

Posted: 21 Nov 2012 07:42 AM PST

Each winter, wide swaths of the Arctic Ocean freeze to form sheets of sea ice that spread over millions of square miles. This ice acts as a massive sun visor for the Earth, reflecting solar radiation and shielding the planet from excessive warming.

The Arctic ice cover reaches its peak each year in mid-March, before shrinking with warmer spring temperatures. But over the last three decades, this winter ice cap has shrunk: Its annual maximum reached record lows, according to satellite observations, in 2007 and again in 2011.