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Physics celebrates God particle
Pediatric atrial fibrillation, rare, but has serious complications risk & high recurrence rates
Study shows how neurons enable us to know smells we like and dislike, whether to approach or retreat
Scientists tap into spinal response from gastric reflux
Researchers find chemicals in marijuana could help treat Multiple Sclerosis
Researchers Test Effectiveness of Behavioral and Medication Treatments for Patients with Alcoholism and Anxiety
Less Invasive Surgery Detects Residual Breast Cancer in Lymph Nodes after Chemotherapy
Several risk genes for Sjögren's syndrome identified
Astronomers observe distant galaxy powered by primordial cosmic fuel
Schekman, Südhof and Rothman Awarded 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Posted: 08 Oct 2013 04:39 AM PDT

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 was awarded jointly to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs for the theory of how particles acqire mass. In 2012, their ideas were confirmed by the discovery of the Higgs particle, also called Higgs boson or the God particle, at the CERN laboratory outside Geneva in Switzerland. In 1964, they had proposed the theory independently of each other (Englert together with his now deceased colleague Robert Brout). The Higgs particle is a particle with mass very close to zero.

Pediatric atrial fibrillation, rare, but has serious complications risk & high recurrence rates

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 12:02 PM PDT

Atrial fibrillation (AF), characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat, is the most common chronic arrhythmia in adults, but is rare in children. In one of the first studies of pediatric "lone AF" (AF without associated heart disease), researchers found a nearly 40% recurrence rate and that AF in the young is accompanied by substantial symptoms. Three patients had significant complications: one with a stroke and two with substantially impaired heart function. The researchers' findings are published in the October issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Study shows how neurons enable us to know smells we like and dislike, whether to approach or retreat

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 11:46 AM PDT

Think of the smell of freshly baking bread. There is something in that smell, without any other cues – visual or tactile – that steers you toward the bakery. On the flip side, there may be a smell, for instance that of fresh fish, that may not appeal to you. If you haven’t eaten a morsel of food in three days, of course, a fishy odor might seem a good deal more attractive.

Scientists tap into spinal response from gastric reflux

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 09:31 AM PDT

University of Adelaide researchers have made advances in the understanding of one of the world's most common medical conditions, gastric reflux, and how patients experience pain from it.

Gastric reflux affects as many as one in five people in Western countries and is on the increase in Asia. Diet and lifestyle, as well as genetic and hormonal issues, are commonly considered to be major causes of gastric reflux.

Researchers find chemicals in marijuana could help treat Multiple Sclerosis

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 09:02 AM PDT

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. The result can be a wide range of debilitating motor, physical, and mental problems. No one knows why people get the disease or how to treat it.

Researchers Test Effectiveness of Behavioral and Medication Treatments for Patients with Alcoholism and Anxiety

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 09:02 AM PDT

Domenic Ciraulo, MD, chair of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and David H. Barlow, PhD, professor of psychology at Boston University (BU), have collaborated to study the effect of behavioral and medication treatments on patients with alcoholism and anxiety.

Less Invasive Surgery Detects Residual Breast Cancer in Lymph Nodes after Chemotherapy

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 08:21 AM PDT

Most patients whose breast cancer has spread to their lymph nodes have most of the lymph nodes in their armpit area removed after chemotherapy to determine if any cancer remains. A study conducted through the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group and led by Judy Boughey, M.D., a breast surgeon at Mayo Clinic, shows that a less-invasive procedure known as sentinel lymph node surgery successfully identified whether cancer remained in lymph nodes in 91 percent of patients with node-positive breast cancer who received chemotherapy before their surgery.

Several risk genes for Sjögren's syndrome identified

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 08:10 AM PDT

For the first time, genetic factors increasing the risk of the rheumatic disease known as Sjögren's syndrome have been examined using analyses of the entire human genome. The results of the international study, in which researchers from Karolinska Institutet have participated, are published in the scientific periodical Nature Genetics.

Astronomers observe distant galaxy powered by primordial cosmic fuel

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 08:05 AM PDT

Astronomers have detected cold streams of primordial hydrogen, vestigial matter left over from the Big Bang, fuelling a distant star-forming galaxy in the early Universe. Profuse flows of gas onto galaxies are believed to be crucial for explaining an era 10 billion years ago, when galaxies were copiously forming stars.

Schekman, Südhof and Rothman Awarded 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Posted: 07 Oct 2013 07:37 AM PDT

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that HHMI investigators Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof, and Yale's James E. Rothman are the recipients of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells.