Non-Toxic Therapy For Lupus Successfully Tested On Patients

Written By: editor
John

Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Scientists from Northwestern Medicine have brought new hope to patients with lupus. A new nontoxic therapy that suppresses lupus in blood samples was designed and successfully tested on patients with the autoimmune disease.
There is hope this treatment will replace the use of toxic drugs that carry nasty side effects with a vaccine like therapy. This new treatment could keep lupus in remission in the body.
Lupus is a debilitating autoimmune disease where the body creates auto-antibodies that attack its own healthy tissue. This causes severe pain, inflammation and destruction to many vital organs in the body. The Lupus Foundation of America has estimated that some form of the disease affects 5 million people throughout the world.
Previous studies at Northwestern have showed that a nontoxic therapy using small pieces of proteins known as peptides can block lupus in mice prone to contracting the disease. The peptides produce special regulatory T cells that are vital to suppressing the disease.
This new study was comprised of 30 lupus patients, ten of whom were active and twenty who were in remission, along with fifteen healthy patients. Each person had a blood sample cultured with low doses of the peptide.
Senior study author Syamal Datta, professor of medicine-rheumatology and microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said, “We found that the peptides could not only generate regulatory T cells, but also that they block and reduce autoantibody production to almost baseline levels in the blood cultures from people with active Lupus.”
“This approach shows that the peptides have the potential to work like a vaccine in the human body, to boost the regulatory immune system of those with Lupus, fight autoimmune antibodies and keep the disease in remission,” Datta added.
The most common therapies used to treat lupus are steroids and cytoxan which carry harmful side effects even when used in very small doses. Similar to chemotherapy, drugs used to treat lupus can cause infertility and weaken the immune system, which means patients often cannot have children and are highly susceptible to infections. The drugs are harmful enough that they cannot be given to a patient indefinitely.
“This nontoxic therapy works like a vaccine in that the peptides are recognized by the bodies of almost every individual we have seen,” Datta said. “It can be given to both subjects with and without lupus and boost their regulatory response with no side effects. We don’t have to design something specifically for an unusual person. It works in everybody.”
This study is linked to the previous 27 years of Datta’s research regarding the cloning of T cells that are responsible for lupus autoimmunity. The peptides used in this study were identified by Datta’s team in 1996, and although Northwestern holds the intellectual rights to this patented discovery, they have published the results to allow open access for anyone to move further with this research.
“It is our hope that the next step is a phase one clinical trial in humans to show the efficacy of the peptide therapy in patients with lupus,” Datta said. “The key is to find an industry partner that has experience in these kind of therapies so that we can move forward.”
The study was published online in Clinical Immunology, the journal of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies.

Quest For ‘Invisibility Cloak’ Remains Elusive, Or So It Appears

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Limitations in current cloaking technology allow objects to be temporarily concealed at only narrow wavelengths of light or microwaves, while many newer designs actually make things more visible, experts at the University of Texas acknowledged on Monday.

Current cloaking devices, which are made of a variety of materials such as planes of glass, work by bending light around objects to make them temporarily invisible. Scientists have also developed ways to deflect and reposition other kinds of waves, such as sounds waves used in sonar equipment.

Although these breakthroughs are inspiring and will likely lead to further advancements, they come with serious drawbacks, the researchers noted in their study published in the journal Physical Review X.

Andrea Alu, an electrical engineer at the University of Texas at Austin and Francesco Monticone looked at three popular types of “passive” cloaks – a plasmonic cloak, a mantle cloak, and a transformation-optics cloak. Passive cloaks are those that don’t require electricity.

The researchers calculated that, when tested over the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum, all three techniques scattered more waves than the object they were trying to conceal.

This is perhaps the most significant problem to overcome with current devices, the researchers said.

The limited range of wavelengths and types of waves means that a cloak designed to deflect microwaves, for instance, would not deflect visible light. Furthermore, making an object invisible to red light can make it appear bright blue, increasing its overall visibility.

Assuming one looked at all wavelengths of light, one would actually see the cloaked object “more than the uncloaked object it is trying to hide,” the researchers said.

“If you suppress scattering in one range, you need to pay the price, with interest, in some other range,” Alu told James Morgan of BBC News.

In recent years, scientists have developed invisibility cloaks from metamaterials, which can be artificial structures with special light scattering properties. Other cloaks have been made from static materials to warp light. Someday, these devices could be made from dynamic components such as a network of electronic amplifiers that connect metal patches to create an active and changeable surface.

The use of such an “active” design would make cloaks invisible over a broader range of wavelengths and lighting conditions, the researchers said.

In the current study, Alu and his team proposed a new design that uses amplifiers to coat the surface of the object in an electric current, creating an ultrathin cloak that could hide objects at a frequency range “orders of magnitude broader” than any available passive cloaking technology.

“Our active cloak is a completely new concept and design, aimed at beating the limits of [current cloaks] and we show that it indeed does,” Alu told the British news agency.

“If you want to make an object transparent at all angles and over broad bandwidths, this is a good solution,”Alu added. “We are looking into realizing this technology at the moment, but we are still at the early stages.”

For now, a cloak that allows complete invisibility is “impossible” with current passive designs, according to the study team.

“When you add material around an object to cloak it, you can’t avoid the fact that you are adding matter, and that this matter still responds to electromagnetic waves,” Alu said.

A much more promising avenue is active cloaking technology that relies on electrical power to make objects vanish.

Precipitation Changes Linked To Global Warming

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[ Watch the Video: Changes In Global Precipitation From Greenhouse Gases ]

April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

According to Eliza Doolittle from “My Fair Lady,” the rain in Spain lies mainly on the plain. However, according to a new study from the scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the location and intensity of rain is changing around the globe, not only in Spain.

The study, published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that observed changes in global (ocean and land) precipitation are directly affected by human activities and cannot be explained by natural variability alone.

The distribution of precipitation is affected by emissions of heat-trapping and ozone-depleting gases through two mechanisms. First, increasing temperatures are expected to make wet regions wetter and dry regions drier. This is called thermodynamic change. Second, changes in atmospheric circulation patterns will push storm tracks and subtropical dry zones toward the poles.

“Both these changes are occurring simultaneously in global precipitation and this behavior cannot be explained by natural variability alone,” said Kate Marvel. “External influences such as the increase in greenhouse gases are responsible for the changes.”

Climate model predictions were compared with global observations from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project. The Project’s observations span from 1979 to 2012. The research team found that natural variability, such as from El Niño and La Niña, does not account for the changes in global precipitation patterns. Natural fluctuations in climate can lead to either intensification or poleward shifts in precipitation, however, it is very rare for the two effects to occur naturally together.

“In combination, manmade increases in greenhouse gases and stratospheric ozone depletion are expected to lead to both an intensification and redistribution of global precipitation,” said Céline Bonfils. “The fact that we see both of these effects simultaneously in the observations is strong evidence that humans are affecting global precipitation.”

The research team identified a fingerprint pattern that characterizes response of precipitation location and intensity to external forcing.

“Most previous work has focused on either thermodynamic or dynamic changes in isolation. By looking at both, we were able to identify a pattern of precipitation change that fits with what is expected from human-caused climate change,” Marvel said.

The researchers focused on the underlying mechanisms that drive changes in global precipitation and restricted the analysis to large scales where there is confidence in the models’ ability to reproduce the current climate. This, according to Bonfils, shows that “the changes observed in the satellite era are externally forced and likely to be from man.”

Global Warming Standstill Attributed To Montreal Protocol

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Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Researchers writing in the journal Nature Geoscience say CFC gases have had an impact on the rise in global temperatures. Scientists believe CFC gases are responsible for a massive hole in the ozone layer, but the latest study links the ban of these gases to a slowdown in temperature increases since the mid 1990s.

The standstill of global temperature rises since 1998 has been used as a key argument by some to show the impacts of global warming have been exaggerated. However, this new study brings this debate back to life, offering up evidence the standstill may simply be because international climate talks resulted in the Montreal Protocol.

Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam carried out a statistical analysis on the connection between rising temperature and rates of increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere between 1880 and 2010. The team analyzed radiative forcing and temperature time series with state-of-the-art statistical methods to figure out what to attribute the slowdown in warming to. They found changes in the warming rate can be attributed to human actions that affected greenhouse gas concentrations.

According to the findings, long-term trends in total radiative forcing and temperatures have been determined by atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, modulated by other radiative factors. The study identified a pronounced increase in the growth rate of both temperatures and radiative forcing around 1960, which marks the onset of sustained global warming.

The team says the standstill in global temperature rises coincides with the introduction of the Montreal Protocol, which was originally signed by 46 countries in 1987. This international treaty was designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion.

“Our statistical analysis suggests that the reduction in the emissions of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol, as well as a reduction in methane emissions, contributed to the lower rate of warming since the 1990s,” the authors wrote in the journal.

The researchers also said they identified a contribution from the two world wars and the Great Depression to the documented cooling in the mid-twentieth century. They said cooling experienced during this period was due to lower carbon dioxide emissions.

“We conclude that reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are effective in slowing the rate of warming in the short term,” the researchers wrote.

Late Nights May Cause Disruptions In Teenage Education, Emotions

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[ Watch the Video: Teens Who Sleep Earlier Perform Better At School ]

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

In a study of 2,700 middle and high school adolescents, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley found that those who stay up later are more likely to struggle academically and emotionally.

In an analysis of the longitudinal data from the large study group, of which 30 percent reported bedtimes later than 11:30 pm on school days and 1:30 am in the summer, the team found by the time the students graduated those who slept less throughout the year had lower GPA scores and were more vulnerable to emotional problems than teens who went to bed early. They said their results add more weight to the argument schools should consider a later middle and high school start time.

“Academic pressures, busy after-school schedules, and the desire to finally have free time at the end of the day to connect with friends on the phone or online make this problem even more challenging,” Lauren Asarnow, lead author of the study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, said in a statement.

Asarnow added the findings highlight how a healthy sleep cycle can promote academic and emotional success.

“The good news is that sleep behavior is highly modifiable with the right support,” said Asarnow, a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic.

Researchers said going to bed late in the summertime did not negatively impact academic achievements. However, they did find a link between late summer bedtimes and emotional problems in young adulthood.

The team theorizes an “evening circadian presence” in adolescents is a confluence of biological factors, as well as parental monitoring, academic and social pressures and the use of electronic gadgetry.

“These findings underscore the significance of evaluating and monitoring bedtime in adolescents and the importance of intervention strategies that target bedtimes in an effort to reduce associated functional impairments, and improve academic and emotional outcomes,” the researchers wrote in the journal.

Another study at the same university found bright lights and laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices might suppress melatonin, which is a hormone that regulates sleep cycle. Dim lighting and limiting technology before bedtime may be one way for parents to help combat a night-owl.

‘This very important study adds to the already clear evidence that youth who are night owls are at greater risk for adverse outcomes,” UC Berkeley psychologist Allison Harvey, senior author of the paper, said in a statement. “Helping teens go to bed earlier may be an important pathway for reducing risk. This will not be an easy process. But here at Berkeley, our sleep coaches draw from the science of motivation, habit formation and sleep to help teens achieve earlier bedtimes.”

Uncategorized

Horned Sea Star, Protoreaster nodosus

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The horned sea star (Protoreaster nodosus), also known as the chocolate chip sea star, is a species of starfish that is classified within the Oreasteridae family. It can be found in the Indo-Pacific region and prefers a habitat within hidden sandy or muddy areas, with substrate such as coral, but can be seen in sea grasses. This species can reach an average diameter of 11.8 inches with four to six arms, although it is more common to see star-shaped individuals with five arms.

It is typically red or brown in color, but can be tan like the color of cookie dough.

The main feature of the horned sea star is its horns, which occur along its arms and around the center of its upper body. These spines are black in color and serve as a defense mechanism, although some individuals have blunt spines. Because of these spines, very few species attempt to consume this creature, and it is thought that species like brittle stars and shrimp take advantage of this protection by living on the sea star. The undersides of the arms hold purple or pale pink tube feet that can be transparent.

The horned sea star is thought to be an opportunistic predator, preferring to consume immobile creatures like sponges or corals in captivity, as well as snails. In large public aquariums, this species is known to consume a wide variety of food including clams, shrimp, and chopped squid. This species is popular among collectors, but it requires pristine water conditions, so it does not often survive in personal aquariums.

This species is also popular in the seashell trade, especially in Pacific and Asian countries. Individuals are dried and sold for decorations, but this practice is causing a decrease in some populations.

Image Caption: Protoreaster nodosus, Oreasteridae – Kambodscha/Cambodia, Insel Kaoh Ruessei SSE Sihanoukville. Credit: Franz Xaver/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Fibromyalgia

Top 5 Foods Fibromyalgia Patients Should Avoid

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Understanding Fibromyalgia is a difficult thing to do, even with the nowadays’ progress in all areas of medical technology and research.

The fact that it is a real syndrome and that it affects millions of people yearly (only in the United States of America) is already clearly established, but other aspects of this syndrome may not be as clear as this one.

For instance, the causes that lead to the development of Fibromyalgia are still not very well known. Of course, most of the doctors agree that this is a neurobiological or a functional somatic disorder, and most of them will agree on the fact that its development is strongly related to an unbalance of the brain neuro-chemical elements that leads the brain to process the pain in a wrong way. Other than that though, everything else is still quite foggy.

While a list of clear causes has not yet been made, there is one related to the risk factors that could lead to developing this syndrome. Among these factors, genetics, diet, stress and other psychological elements play an important part.

For instance, stress can create abnormalities at the level of the neuro-chemical brain elements, which can eventually lead to developing Fibromyalgia. Also, depression and anxiety have been linked with this syndrome, but it has not been clearly established whether they should be considered a cause or an effect of the syndrome.

As for the symptoms of Fibromyalgia, only one aspect is clear: the fact that its main symptom is pain felt all over the body. Still, there are many other syndromes and diseases that may show the same symptom, as well as other Fibromyalgia common symptoms, so the diagnosis process can be complicated.

Top 5 Foods Fibromyalgia Patients Should Avoid

Headaches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, irritable bowel, weak limbs, tingling and numb fingers and extremities are some other commonly encountered symptoms in the case of patients with Fibromyalgia.

Since the actual cause that leads to the development of Fibromyalgia in certain patients is not clear, there is no actual cure for the syndrome. Its separate symptoms can be treated and ameliorated though and there is a series of things a doctor will prescribe and recommend in these cases.

He/she will most likely prescribe a combination of drugs, which include pain relieving medication, anti-inflammatory medication, and even benzodiazepines and antidepressants.

In addition to this, most doctors will recommend taking advantage of the natural/alternative remedies available out there: yoga, meditation, acupuncture, Tai-Chi, and so on. Simply walking or relaxing in any other way may also be recommended.

As mentioned before, diet can play an important part both in the way Fibromyalgia can develop in a patient’s body and in the way it can be ameliorated. Since good nutrition is important even for healthy people, it is essential that you, as a Fibromyalgia patient, take good care of what you eat.

What you put in your mouth can make or break the entire set of treatment that you are undergoing, so be very careful about it. Here is a list of the 5 most dangerous foods in the case of the patients who are living with this syndrome:

Fast Food

You probably know it already: Fast Food is not good for your heart, not good for your stomach and definitely not good for your waistline. But when you are a Fibromyalgia patient, things can get even more complicated. Fast Food is most usually very rich in “bad” fats that will make your condition worse from many points of view.

First of all, this kind of food can irritate your stomach (which may already be a thing you are facing, so you do not need more of it). Secondly, it will affect the energy levels in your body (which may already be very low). Thirdly, it will not provide you with any nutrients that will help you make pain feel better.

Foods with additives

It may be tempting to indulge into a whole bag of gummy bears or chips, but it may not be as pain relieving as you may think. Sure, you will feel better for the moment, but if you look at the larger picture, this will not be your best nutritional choice.

Additives can make your irritated stomach feel a lot worse and they will not feed your body with the nutrients it needs. Moreover, as unbelievable as it may seem, certain additives can actually influence the way your neurons perceive pain, which will make your condition even worse.

Sweets

Home-cooked or not, sweets are not good for patients with Fibromyalgia. Sugary foods may feel better for your taste buds, but on the long run they will increase your level of fatigue and they will increase the chances of chronic yeast infection.

Coffee and other caffeinated products

Very often, patients with Fibromyalgia suffer from bad sleeping patterns. Not sleeping enough at nights makes them feel tired during the day and the fastest and easiest method of “recharging batteries” appears to be a cup of coffee or tea.

Still, in the case of these patients, this is a very bad choice, since it will only make them sleep even worse at night and the next morning the cycle will begin again.

Dairy products

These types of foods can be both good and bad for you as a Fibromyalgia patient. On the one hand, they do contain Calcium and Vitamin D, both essential for people trying to ameliorate the symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

On the other hand though, some of the patients may be very sensitive about these kinds of foods, and thus they should avoid them as much as possible. With milk, cheese and butter, it is only a matter of your particular symptoms.

So what is there to eat when you are suffering from Fibromyalgia? The answer is simple: a lot of healthy foods. Fish contains omega 3 fatty acids, which will help reduce the inflammation, and so do walnuts and other similar products.

Also, fruits and vegetables will give you sustainable energy and they will help you make it through the day. However, avoid eggplant, tomatoes and other similar vegetables, since they tend to make symptoms worse.

Improving Smartphone Cameras Cast Doubts On Future Of High-End Cameras

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[ Watch the Video: Smartphones Put A Damper On High-End Camera Sales ]

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online
The improving quality of cameras and editing software available on smartphones could lead have a significant negative impact on high-end digital camera sales, research firm IDC reported late last week.
According to Juro Osawa of the Wall Street Journal, the group expects shipments of interchangeable-lens cameras – including the digital single-lens reflex (dSLR) camera preferred by professional photographers and dedicated amateurs – to drop from 19.1 million units last year to 17.4 million units this year. That would be a decline of 9.1 percent.
“During the past few weeks, Canon and Nikon – two of the world’s biggest makers of high-end cameras – both lowered their forecasts for sales in the fiscal year ending in March,” Osawa added. Likewise, lens manufacturer Tamron was forced to lower its profit outlook after reportedly selling 22 percent fewer interchangeable lenses during the first three quarters of 2013 than it did during the same period last year.
The three firms are citing the weak state of the global economy and inventory build-ups as reasons for the declining figures. “We are seeing tough figures at the moment, but I don’t think this will last forever,” Nikon Chief Financial Officer Junichi Itoh told Osawa. On the other hand, Tamron executive Tsugio Tsuchiya acknowledged that improving smartphone cameras “pose a threat not just to compact cameras but entry-level dSLRs as well.”
Nokia’s Lumia 1020, announced in July, sports a 41-megapixel PureView camera with lossless zoom and controls equal to those of many dSLRs, according to Information Week’s Eric Zeman. Apple followed that by including an eight-megapixel camera with its iPhone 5S, which was released last month. That camera includes a wider aperture and a more sensitive sensor, he noted, and many of the top-line smartphones from HTC, Samsung and LG are equipped with similar features.
“The phone makers aren’t alone. The app economy has risen to support smartphone-based imaging,” Zeman explained. “Consider Yahoo’s Flickr. It has revised both its Android and iOS apps in the past 12 months and offers customers 1 TB of online storage for free. Then there are apps such as Instagram that make editing and sharing pictures fun and social.”
“Social networking sites, including Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, all place a premium on posts that include images. All three have worked hard to make it easy to share images online from smartphones,” the Information Week reporter added. “Combine good cameras with appealing software and the easy portability of smartphones, and you have a recipe for disaster as far as dSLR makers are concerned.”
The preferences of picture-takers are also playing a role in the shift away from dedicated cameras and towards smartphones, according to Osawa. As an example, he cites Hong Kong artist and graphic designer Lie Fhung. Fhung, who purchased a Canon dSLR camera five years ago, now finds herself primarily using an iPhone to capture images, using the device’s photo-editing apps to alter the images, then posting them directly to Instagram.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Osawa said. “Camera makers have argued that although smartphones and mobile devices have decimated sales of cheap, compact cameras, premium products shouldn’t be affected, since they offer a level of control and picture quality that a smartphone’s tiny lens and sensor can’t replicate.”
However, Canon spokesman Takafumi Hongo doesn’t believe that smartphone picture-taking is comparable to photography using high-end cameras. “Taking photos with smartphones and editing them with apps is like cooking with cheap ingredients and a lot of artificial flavoring,” Hongo told the Wall Street Journal. “Using interchangeable cameras is like slow food cooked with natural, genuine ingredients.’”

Put Down That Coke – Your Kidneys Will Thank You For It

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Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

The subject of late night comedian’s derision for several months, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s New York City-wide ban on large sodas met an untimely end in March of this year, just days before it was to have gone into effect.

The UK is proposing a tax increase of 20 percent on sodas, claiming the move will stem the tide of heaviness in their country by as many as 285,000 of their citizens. Additionally, they believe they will reduce the total number of obese Britons by 180,000. We learned last week that not everyone is convinced the tax will have any effect on Britain’s obesity rate.

The proposal, offered up by researchers at Oxford and Reading Universities, is not quite to the policy stage yet. That team hopes their findings will stir curiosity and steel resolve among House of Commons legislators.

While achieving and maintaining a healthy weight has been the primary goal behind the Bloomberg ban and the proposed British tax, much attention has been focused lately on the particularly dire health effects the consumption of sugary sodas can bring upon you. With an article entitled ‘Are Soft Drinks As Bad As Cigarettes For Your Health,’ the Indian website Health listed a litany of negative consequences one could expect from just one of these beverages.

“Did you know that drinking even one soft drink (350ml) increases your chances of getting type 2 diabetes by 20 percent? Or that it can also damage your liver and kidney and is likely to cause cancer and dementia?” With a first paragraph like that, you’ve got my attention. The article cites studies out of the Imperial College of London and the University of North Carolina (UNC) for their stunning assertions. Professor Barry Popkin of UNC, speaking to the Sunday Times said, “If there is any item in our food supply that acts like tobacco, it is sugared drinks.”

We now have two new studies that support the findings of other research teams around the world, particularly as it relates to kidney health. The findings of these studies have been presented at this year’s ASN Kidney Week 2013 in Atlanta, GA.

The first study, led by Ryohei Yamamoto, MD, PhD of the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, found the consumption of two or more sugary soft drinks per day is linked with the condition known as proteinuria. Proteinuria is an increase in the excretion of protein in urine. When proteinuria occurs, it is widely regarded as a signifier of kidney dysfunction. The study was conducted using more than 12,000 university employees who all presented normal kidney function at the start of the study.

The full group was separated into groups based on their reported soft drink consumption. Over the 2.9 years of follow-up in the study, the group claiming to have consumed zero sodas per day saw 301, or 8.4 percent of the participants develop proteinuria. 272, or 8.9 percent of those in the group claiming one sugary soda a day developed the condition. But the group enjoying two or more beverages per day had 10.7 percent of their cohort developing the detrimental condition.

In another study, led by Agustin Gonzalez-Vicente of Case Western University, the link between even moderate fructose intake and the kidney’s sensitivity to angiotensin II was established. Angiotensin II is a protein specific to the regulation of salt balance. When this sensitivity in the kidney is increased, kidney cells increase the rate of salt reabsorption.

The Case Western Reserve researchers employed the use of laboratory research rats for their study to arrive at their findings.

The team believes this reabsorption increase, resulting  from high-fructose corn syrup consumption, may well be associated with contributing to the epidemics of diabetes, obesity, kidney failure and hypertension.

Much like professor Popkin’s assertion above, Robert H. Lustig, M.D. has called for the regulation of sweetened beverages in much the same manner the US Food and Drug Administration regulates tobacco. Lustig is a professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Lustig is also the Director of the Weight Assessment for the Teen and Child Health Program at UCSF.

Lustig may have a point, too. The human body, in much the same way it becomes addicted to nicotine, naturally craves sugar because it contains glucose. Glucose, as a source of energy, is essential for normal functioning of the human body. Before the Industrial Age and the advent of crystallized sugars, one could only obtain essential glucose through the consumption of natural sources like fruits.

In an article published on Health.com, Dr. Orlando Gutierrez, a kidney specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said, “We now understand that protein in the urine may be a really early marker for heart disease, stroke and heart failure.”

In the same article, Dr. Anil Agarwal, also a kidney specialist at the Ohio State University stated, “The new study suggests that even individuals with normal kidney function are at risk for damage if they drink too much soda.”

Agarwal continues, saying, “Fructose is sweeter than glucose, and doesn’t cause feelings of satiety.” As most soft drinks are sweetened using high-fructose corn syrup rather than glucose, many experts believe it is for that reason soft drinks may be so very dangerous. Agarwal commented that fructose may be responsible for damage by way of a different pathway than glucose. Instead of increasing blood sugar level like glucose does, it affects the kidneys instead.

“There is no safe amount of soda,” he said. “If you look at the recommended amounts of sugar we can safely consume every day, one can of soda exceeds that maximum level.

While experts in endocrinology believe the findings of these two latest studies add to a growing body of evidence against sugary soda consumption, it is important also to realize each study was only able to show an association between possible kidney damage and soda consumption. Neither study can definitively prove soda is the reason behind the increased protein levels.

The last paragraph may be, for some readers, the off-the-hook they were looking for to continue filling up their Big Gulps and stocking their refrigerators with Dr. Pepper. But one thing is certain above all else. Increasing your water consumption to the recommended adequate intake can only ever be beneficial.

Fibromyalgia

Top Workouts for Patients with Fibromyalgia

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Fibromyalgia is a type of chronic pain that affects a lot of people nowadays.

Although it has been long thought to be “just” a mental disorder and it has been often mistaken with hypochondria, more recent studies show that this is as real as any other syndrome out there and that millions of Americans live their daily lives facing it.

What is Fibromyalgia exactly, which are its precise causes and even which the exact symptoms of this syndrome are – these are questions that still lie awaiting for their clear answers.

Among specialists, opinions are divided and there are very few things on which most of them would agree. Still, these things can make the difference between living a life in pain (actual, physical pain) and ameliorating it with each day that passes by.

One of the things on which most of the doctors will agree is the fact that the general cause that leads to developing Fibromyalgia is the fact that certain unbalances in neuro-chemical elements are created at the level of the brain. These abnormalities eventually lead to the brain not being able to process pain correctly.

Still, what is it that leads to the apparition of these abnormalities has not yet been very clearly stated. A lot of opinion makers in the field believe that stress has an important role, since it can affect the neuro-chemical balance in the brain. Other specialists also think that there are other risk factors involved in the process of developing Fibromyalgia as well and genetics and environment are some the most important such risk factors.

Other factors include bad diet, repetitive injuries, bad fitness condition and a traumatic event. Also, there is a list of medical conditions that are considered to be causes, effects and misdiagnoses of Fibromyalgia (and what are they depends on the specialists opinion as well as on the patient’s particular case). Lupus, Arthritis, depression, anxiety and disease related to the CNS (Central Nervous System) are among these medical conditions.

As mentioned above, a low level of fitness capacity can be a risk factor in developing Fibromyalgia. At the same time though, it can be a good way of ameliorating its symptoms. Thus, it is important that patients suffering from this particular syndrome try to acquire a better fitness level. However, it is also important that the work outs they perform should not be very harsh, since that could make their condition worsen, instead of becoming better.

Which are the types of work outs that are both safe and effective in treating Fibromyalgia then? Here is a list of the most common, most effective and most suitable ones for patients with this syndrome:

Top Workouts for Patients with Fibromyalgia

1- Walking

Many people out there forget about walking, although it can be a very healthy way of keeping yourself in shape, both physically and mentally. A short walk can work wonders on your physical condition and people who live with Fibromyalgia should consider it. As a low-impact exercise, it will not pose risks, but its benefits will be tremendous on your general state of being. Your joints will hurt less, you will feel less depressed and even your digestion could be improved.

2- Swimming

This is another low-impact type of exercise that could benefit those who suffer from Fibromyalgia. Because it is its essence a cardio exercise, it can help greatly with your physical condition. Moreover, the water will make your weight feel less than it is, and the pain usually associated with exercising can be diminished by a lot. This makes it a good exercise for anyone who suffers from medical conditions associated with joint pain.

3- Yoga

This has become one of the most popular types of exercises that have been borrowed from the Eastern world. Essentially a spiritual practice, Yoga can bring you benefits both from a psychological point of view and from a physical one. Because it is a type of exercise routine based on stretching, it will help with relieving the pain in the joint. Furthermore, it can be as low impact or as high impact as you want it, especially since the Yoga poses are designed to fit any level of fitness.

4- Pilates

If yoga seems too complicated to you, then you could try Pilates. This is also a type of exercise routine that is based on stretching, but its poses may feel a lot less complicated to learn. Furthermore, it can be performed at various levels of intensity, which makes it suitable even for people who are not allowed to work out extensively (such as those who are patients of Fibromyalgia).

5- Tai-Chi

Brought to the Western world from China, this alternative therapy method has also gained a lot of popularity among many people suffering from Fibromyalgia. It is a light type of exercise that can improve a lot your general state of being, as well as the flexibility of your joints and it can increase your level of fitness.

6- Weight training

This may not seem like an appropriate type of exercise for those trying to avoid working out too much, but it can actually be beneficial. Patients with Fibromyalgia should choose light weight training (with weights measuring from 5 to 10 pounds) and they should make sure that the range of motion in their exercise is low enough (so that it does not cause them pain).

There are many other ways of improving your fitness level if you are trying to ameliorate the Fibromyalgia symptoms, but those presented above are among the most popular ones. As long as it has a low impact, almost every kind of exercise can be beneficial for you in a large number of ways (including the fact that it will increase the level of serotonin, the so-called “happiness hormone”, which is extremely important for those suffering from this syndrome).

However, bear in mind that regardless of the form of work out you may choose, you should check with your doctor first and that you should not overdo it. Generally speaking, 30 minutes, twice per week can bring you a lot of benefits and you will see results in almost no time.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia – Remedies You Can Apply When Everything Hurts

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Fibromyalgia Remedies You Can Apply When Everything Hurts

Fibromyalgia is a real syndrome that affects millions of Americans every year. As a type of chronic pain, this syndrome can affect every aspect of the patient’s life: from what he/she eats to how he/she sleeps.

It can be tedious and it can seem almost impossible to live with Fibromyalgia, but it can be done and there is more than one way in which things can change for the better.

To understand these remedies and how your life as a Fibromyalgia patient can improve drastically, you should first understand what this syndrome is, what causes it and which its “mechanism” is.

These pieces of information will help you gain a deeper knowledge of what you are facing and how the remedies can help you.

Fibromyalgia is, as mentioned before and as you probably know it already, a type of chronic pain. As a matter of fact, it is not as rare as it may seem and it is considered to be among the most encountered types of chronic pains out there.

Its name comes from the Greek for “muscle” (“myos”), from the Greek for “pain” (“algos”) and from the New Latin for “fibrous tissue”(“fibro”).

Although the causes that lead to developing Fibromyalgia are numerous and sometimes they can be quite confusing, there are some things on which all doctors agree to be the triggers of this syndrome. One of the leading causes for Fibromyalgia is more common than you would believe: stress.

Living a stressful life means that your body will consume more energy and, in its essence Fibromyalgia is a syndrome tightly connected with the levels of energy on one’s body.

Arthritis is also associated with Fibromyalgia and so are repetitive injuries, Lupus, Central Nervous System issues and genetics. Environment can also be an important factor into the development of fibromyalgia. In general, this syndrome can be developed as the result of certain changes made in the neuro-chemical substances in the human brain.

These abnormalities can be the result of exposing one’s self to prolonged periods of stress at a certain point in life. Which leads us back to stress…

Every patient is different, but in general, they can all show a series of symptoms that can be associated with other diseases and syndromes as well (which makes diagnosing Fibromyalgia very difficult). The main symptom shown by patients who suffer from Fibromyalgia is pain. However, this is not the only symptom that may appear.

Morning stiffness, headaches, numb fingers, cognitive issues, odd sleeping patterns, as well as the development of the Restless Leg Syndrome are all common symptoms shown by those who suffer from Fibromyalgia. Furthermore, nausea, weight gain, depression, anxiety, breathing problems, vision problems, eyesight problems and symptoms similar to those of the flu can appear.

Diagnosing Fibromyalgia can be very hard to do (mainly because, as mentioned before as well, the symptoms in each case can be very different and they can appear to be the symptoms of a completely different disease/syndrome). However, once a patient is suspected to suffer from this particular chronic pain syndrome, there are some tests that can be run.

One of them is a blood test called FM/a, but in addition to that the doctor will need to examine many areas of the patient’s body (from his/her thyroid to signs of arthritis and even depression). Furthermore, the medical professional will inquire the patient about potential stressful situations, about where the pain appears and how long has it been like that and he/she will also examine the patient’s so-called “tender points” (if 11 out 18 of them are painful, then there is a high chance that the patient developed Fibromyalgia).

How can this type of chronic pain be ameliorated and which are the ways in which you, as a patient suffering from this particular syndrome, can make your life better?

Most of the remedies available for patients suffering from Fibromyalgia are related to stress and how it can be eliminated from their lives. In addition to certain types of medication (including pain killers, anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants and benzodiazepines), patients will be recommended to call for certain natural remedies that will help ameliorating the syndrome.

One of these remedies is very common: exercising. Believe it or not, exercising is not only for sporty people and it is not only meant to make people look like model. Latin people knew it best: “Menssana in corporesano” (“A healthy mind in a healthy body”). Exercising can help relieving you from pain, it can relax you and it can make your entire health condition improve dramatically.

Also, as a Fibromyalgia patient, you may be recommended to try out some relaxation techniques. Yoga, meditation and Tai-Chi are just three of them, but you can try whatever you believe that suits your needs and your tastes better. Acupuncture is also a method of relaxation that has proved useful for many patients, and so is cognitive-behavioral therapy.

In addition to these natural ways of ameliorating pain, you should also change your life style, which means that a healthy diet will become essential to the improvement of your condition. Fast-food and sweets may seem like a good pain reliever on short term, but on the long run they will cause more damage than do good.

Start eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Also, start eating more foods that contain omega 3 fatty acids (fatty fish such as salmon or sardines, walnuts, shrimp, tofu, soybeans, beef, scallops, and so on).

These fatty acids generally help reduce inflammation at all levels of the body, so they can help you with your Fibromyalgia symptoms as well. Ginger and turmeric are also two plants that have been long-known for their anti-inflammatory effects.

As you can see, Fibromyalgia is still a mystery to most doctors out there. While its symptoms are most often misleading and its causes can vary a lot, this syndrome’s remedies are quite clear for everyone, and most of the doctors will agree that the above-mentioned ones will help ameliorating the condition of those who suffer from Fibromyalgia.

Timeline Of Alzheimer’s Onset To Death Predicted Using New Method

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Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Known as ‘The Long Goodbye,’ Alzheimer’s disease slowly and methodically ravages the minds of its sufferers, rendering memories and relationships to the darkest recesses of the brain. While there are therapies and new medications meant to prolong the inevitable, there had been no way to discern the scope and severity of the disease from one patient to another.

“Predicting Alzheimer’s progression has been a challenge because the disease varies significantly from one person to another,” says Yaakov Stern, PhD. “Two Alzheimer’s patients may both appear to have mild forms of the disease, yet one may progress rapidly, while the other progresses much more slowly.”

Stern is the senior author of research conducted by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and is a professor of neuropsychology at CUMCs Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain and the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center.

The CUMC research team was able to clinically validate a new method meant to predict time to full-time care, nursing home residence, or death for sufferers of the disease. Data collected for this new method is derived from a single patient visit. The model was developed as a result of consecutively following two sets of Alzheimer’s patients over a decade.

“Our method enables clinicians to predict the disease path with great specificity,” stated Stern. Their results have been published online ahead of print in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Study co-author and associate professor of neurology in the Taub Institute and the Sergievsky Center, Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, commented, “Until now, some methods of predicting the course of Alzheimer’s have required data not obtained in routine clinical practice, such as specific neuropsychological or other measurements, and have been relatively inaccurate. This method is more practical for routine use. It may become a valuable tool for both physicians and patients’ families.”

Additionally, the team sees great value in the use of their new method in future clinical trials. They claim it would benefit the trials by allowing practitioners to better balance the patient cohorts between those with faster-progressing Alzheimer’s and those whose form of the disease progresses more slowly. Health economists will also be able to employ this method to better predict the economic impact of the disease.

LONG IN THE WORKS

Dr. Stern began development of this method in 1989, when he received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to begin his study, ‘Predictors of Severity in Alzheimer’s Disease.’ “The fact that work on this prediction method began nearly 25 years ago underlines the difficulties of studying Alzheimer’s disease,” said Richard Mayeux, MD, MSc. Mayeux serves as professor of neurology, psychiatry and epidemiology and is chair of neurology at the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, as well as being co-director of Sergievsky and the Taub Institute.

In 1989, Stern and colleagues affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins first followed 252 non-familial Alzheimer’s patients every six months over a period of 10 years. The resultant data from that study was used by Eric Stallard, co-author of the paper and an actuary at Duke University, to create a Longitudinal Grade of Membership (L-GoM) model of Alzheimer’s progression. Those results were originally published in the journal Medical Decision Making in 2010.

After the L-GoM was created, Stern and colleagues followed a new group of 254 patients with the intent of using data collected from only a single patient visit to predict outcomes for the group.

In these visits the team, using the L-GoM, looked at 16 sets of variables. Among these variables are: ability to participate in day-to-day activities; mental status; motor skills; estimated time of symptom onset; and duration of tremor, rigidity or other neurological symptoms. Additionally, the L-GoM also includes data obtained after the patient’s death (time and cause of death).

Dr. Stern lauded the new method stating, “The benefit of the L-GoM model is that it takes into account the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients don’t typically fall neatly into mild, moderate or severe disease categories.” Stern continues, “For example, a patient may be able to live independently yet have hallucinations or behavioral outbursts. Our method is flexible enough to handle missing data. Not all 16 variables are needed for accurate predictions – just as many as are available.”

A TALE OF TWO PATIENTS

The predictive results of the L-GoM are presented as the expected time to a particular outcome. As an example, the team tells of two 68-year-old Alzheimer’s patients who presented similar mental status scores on the initial visit. However, the first patient was far more dependent on his caregiver and was experiencing delusions. The subtle differences between the two patients, having been taken into account with the L-GoM, resulted in different predictions each patient had to their time of death. The method accurately predicted the first patient would die within three years, while the other would survive more than 10 years.

First author and assistant professor of neurology at CUMC, Ray Razlighi, PhD, commented, “In addition to time to nursing home residence or death, our method can be used to predict time to assisted living or other levels of care, such as needing help with eating or dressing, or time to incontinence.” Razlighi is also an adjunct assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University.

FUTURE PLANS

The next step for Stern and his colleagues is to develop a computer program which would generate a report for clinicians after they have input the available variables in the L-GoM. Expectations are that this program will be available for use within the next two years. This program, or one like it, could eventually be incorporated into electronic health records. As Stern notes, “At our Alzheimer’s center, patients are already filling out much of their clinical information electronically.”

The first two sets of patients the method looked at were fairly homogenous, being white, educated and of a high socioeconomic status. For this reason, the team next plans to test their method following a more diverse group of participants. To do this, they will seek participants at the CUMC Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP).

WHICAP is an ongoing, community-based study of aging and dementia comprised of elderly, urban-dwelling residents. The team believes because many participants are dementia-free when they join the study, they might better be able to capture the age of dementia onset and track symptom development over time.

The paper, titled ‘A New Algorithm for Predicting Time to Disease Endpoints in Alzheimer’s Disease Patients’ was contributed to by researchers from Duke University, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Grant funding from the National Institutes of Aging supported the study.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia And Fatigue

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating
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Fibromyalgia-And-Chronic-Fatigue

One most common of the many symptoms that the fibromyalgia disorder causes for those that are diagnosed with it, chronic fatigue possibly only comes second to the body aches and severe muscle pains that are often attributed to the disorder.

The chronic fatigue that stems from fibromyalgia is very unlike the normal fatigue that affects most people. This type of fatigue can cause extreme weakness and unyielding exhaustion and oftentimes will lead to feelings of social isolation, and sometimes depression.

The fatigue that comes with fibromyalgia is often described by those that have been diagnosed with the disorder as a flu-like exhaustion that can be crippling. Those that are diagnosed with the fibromyalgia disorder may feel exhausted as soon as they wake up from what they believed to be a good night’s sleep.

Even after hours of bed rest, the fatigue that is caused by fibromyalgia can still be incredibly overwhelming and can last for days at a time. This fatigue will affect those suffering from fibromyalgia at night when they are attempting to get into a deep sleep in order to rest so they are not exhausted the next morning.

Although they may be able to trying to get rid of the exhaustion, the fatigue will actually prevent them from being able to do that. That being said, it is clear that fatigue is not one of the symptoms of fibromyalgia that can be easily treated with home or natural remedies.

Fatigue with Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Fatigue with fibromyalgia syndrome, or better known as FMS, can act either simulataneously or will cause those affected by it with very noticeable mood disturbances, severe depression, and terrible levels of anxiety. That suffering from fibromyalgia often will describe their sleep or sleeping patterns as very light, unsatisfying, or unrefreshing.

Due to not getting enough sleep, the time when the body attempts to repair itself, those with fibromyalgia will acquire aches and pains in their joints, including in the back, hips, neck, and shoulders. When these aches and pains begin to develop, sleeping and maintaining consistent sleep throughout the night will become even more difficult to attain. This continuous lack of sleep will only make the daytime feelings of fatigue and exhaustion worse.

Many experts and researchers suggest that there are a vast amount of similarities and likenesses between chronic fatigue syndrome and the fibromyalgia disorder. Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition that can be described as an ongoing and debilitating fatigue.

People that suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome often describe the tiredness and fatigue they feel as a sort of brain fatigue or mental exhaustion. Chronic fatigue syndrome can cause those that suffer from it to have much difficulty in concentrating on simple tasks and feel as if they are a total loss for energy. This state is called “fibro fog.”

Napping During the Day

Napping during the day is not always recommendable. For days when the fibromyalgia disorder has not had great effect, fatigue may be able to be eased with a little daytime napping. However, on days in which symptoms of fibromyalgia are flaring, handling fatigue can be extremely difficult for the person that is suffering from the fibromyalgia disorder and their families that are trying to cheer them on during the day. On days like these, resting at multiple points throughout the day will not provide much help or relief from feelings of achiness, exhaustion, and chronic fatigue.

Help With Fatigue Due to Fibromyalgia

The symptoms of fibromyalgia can be very hard to deal with on a daily basis. In order to manage the feelings of fatigue due to fibromyalgia will take a great deal of effort and special considerations. Isolation and depression may begin to set in after someone suffering from fibromyalgia has had to cancel plans with loved ones or miss birthday parties and dinners because they are just no longer feeling up for leaving their home.

The chronic fatigue is severe and is very difficult to overcome. Making schedules that are not packed full of commitments and meetings can prove to be quite beneficial because it will lessen the chance the chance of missing or canceling these events, or just give the person diagnosed with fibromyalgia time to relax and gather themselves.

It s highly recommended that those individuals with chronic fatigue due to fibromyalgia talk to others about their symptoms and what exactly they are feeling both physically and emotionally. When people are able to better understand the state of their loved one, they will be able to help with more.

Those suffering from fibromyalgia will have limited energy during the day so getting as much help as they can from their loved ones, friends, and coworkers can be extremely beneficial.

Continuing Work While Living With Fatigue Due to Fibromyalgia

People living with fibromyalgia are still able to work from outside of their home, but are often subject to a great deal of stress. The state of their health can cause anxiety because they may fear that someone who is healthier will be brought in to replace them. Someone is suffering from fibromyalgia will often not have the same level of performance they had when they were free of fibromyalgia.

However, people with fibromyalgia can still stay both physically and mentally sharp and are able to handle their job responsibilities with high levels of efficiency if they work hard enough at it. The symptoms of fibromyalgia will fluctuate. There will be good and bad days, but a person living with fibromyalgia should continue to believe in themselves and their skills.

The fatigue due to fibromyalgia can be very difficult to cope with at first. Actually, there will be many days that will be difficult to cope with over the course of the time they are affected by the disorder. However, life can still be made manageable and many obstacles can be overcome with the right mindset and support from the right people.

Life may be difficult, but life is not over for those living with fibromyalgia. Gathering support and maintaining a level head is the key.

FDA Paves Way For Elimination Of Trans-Fat In America’s Food

Written By: editor
editor

[ Watch the Video: FDA Wants To Trim The Fat, Literally ]

Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

By now, you’ve probably seen the news about the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) waging war on trans-fats. The preliminary determination states that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), being the primary dietary source of artificial trans-fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. And the FDA claims it arrived at this decision based upon available scientific evidence and the findings of expert scientific panels.

The US is not charting new territory on this one, though. Effective policies enacted in Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Brazil, Denmark and South Korea have, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), been important at decreasing trans-fat consumption over the previous two decades. The WHO is advocating for complete elimination of trans-fat from the global food supply.

This preliminary determination will now be followed by a 60-day comment period in which the FDA plans to collect additional data and to gain input on the time potentially needed for food manufacturers to reformulate products that currently contain trans-fat, should the determination be finalized.

“While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans-fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD. “The FDAs action today is an important step toward protecting more Americans from the potential dangers of trans fat. Further reduction in the amount of trans fat in the American diet could prevent an additional 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year – a critical step in the protection of Americans’ health.”

Partially hydrogenated oil is not new on the American food landscape. PHO, or shortening, has been a mainstay in many kitchens since as early as 1911. To form PHO, hydrogen is infused into liquid oils to make solid fats. Its benefit is an increase in a product’s shelf life as well as providing flavor to foods.

ELIMINATING TRANS-FATS

Over the past two decades, many food manufacturers, citing public opinion on the matter, have taken steps to either limit or eliminate the use of trans-fat in their products. And New York City, in 2007 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, enacted legislation that partially banned PHOs and spreads in their restaurants.

Reacting to the FDAs preliminary determination, Mayor Bloomberg said, “The groundbreaking public health policies we have adopted here in New York City have become a model for the nation for one reason: They’ve worked. Today, New Yorkers’ life expectancy is far higher than the national average, and we’ve achieved dramatic reductions in disease, including heart disease.” Bloomberg continued, “The FDA deserves great credit for taking this step, which will help Americans live longer, healthier lives.”

According to the independent Institute of Medicine, there is no known health benefit from the consumption of trans-fat and there is no safe level of consumption of artificial trans-fat. A consequence of consuming trans-fat is a marked increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as “bad” cholesterol. Unsafe LDL levels have been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

There are several sources of naturally occurring trans-fats, however. Among them are: milk, butter, cheese, beef, lamb, pork and chicken. However, in these instances, it is usually found in small amounts and is not as harmful as artificial trans-fat.

PUBLIC OPINION

As the public consciousness has been made more aware of the dangers of PHOs, many food manufacturers and retailers have been voluntarily decreasing the use of them in their products. However, many popular products still contain them. Fans of certain desserts, microwave popcorn, frozen pizzas, margarines and flavored coffee creamers may be dismayed by the FDAs decision. However, many manufacturers have already proven that these products can be made without trans-fat.

In an unrelated survey conducted by the Pew Research Center between October 30 and November 6 of this year, respondents were asked their opinion regarding the abolition of the use of trans fat by restaurants. According to the Pew website, their findings raise questions about the role the government should play in addressing broad public health concerns. Of the 996 adult respondents, 44 percent were in favor of the policy while 52 percent opposed the idea.

It was in 2006 that the FDA began requiring trans-fat content information on the Nutrition Facts label of foods. Since that time, there has been a significant reduction in the intake by American consumers, falling from 4.6 grams per day in 2003 to about 1 gram per day in 2012.

“One of the FDAs core regulatory functions is ensuring that food, including all substances added to food, is safe,” said Michael Taylor, the FDAs deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. “Food manufacturers have voluntarily decreased trans fat levels in many foods in recent years, but a substantial number of products still contain partially hydrogenated oils, which are the major source of trans fat in processed food.”

After the 60-day comment period, the FDA will review all of the submissions made to them. If a final determination is made in favor of the new policy, PHOs would be considered “food additives” and could not be used in food unless authorized by regulation. This possible new policy will only affect PHOs and will not apply to foods that have the naturally occurring trans-fat.

“If we finalize our conclusion, then we are inviting comments from industry on what would be an appropriate phaseout,” said Taylor. “The timeline would be based on the comments we get. Given the public health impact, we want to move as quickly as we can.”

THE OTHER SIDE

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), in a prepared statement said, “Through our efforts at product reformulation and the development of suitable alternatives, trans fats that are not naturally occurring have been drastically reduced in the food supply. Since 2005, food manufacturers have voluntarily lowered the amounts of trans fats in their food products by over 73 percent.” The GMA represents more than 300 food, beverage and consumer product companies.

Not to be outdone, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) touted the “tremendous strides” the industry has taken to reduce and/or eliminate trans fats. Joan McGlockton, NRA vice president of industry affairs and food policy said, “We plan to discuss the impact of this proposal on the industry and submit comments, and we will continue to work with our members and the manufacturing supply chain to address any new federal standards that may arise out of this process.”

FDA commissioner Hamburg, supported by the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, stated this week’s move is “an important step toward protecting more Americans from the potential dangers of trans fat.”

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest stated, “Artificial trans fat is a uniquely powerful promoter of heart disease, and today’s announcement will hasten its eventual disappearance from the food supply. Not only is artificial trans fat not safe, it’s not remotely necessary.” Jacobson continued, “Many companies, large and small, have switched to healthier oils over the past decade. I hope those restaurants and food manufacturers that still use this harmful ingredient see the writing on the wall and promptly replace it.”

LOOPHOLES

While waiting for a final determination on this new policy, concerned consumers are encouraged to choose products that have the lowest combined amount of saturated fat, cholesterol and trans-fat. However, under the current regulations, a company is able to claim their food has 0 grams of trans-fat if the food contains less than 0.5 grams. Therefore, read the label to see if hydrogenated oil is listed in the ingredients as that may be indicative of a small amount of trans-fat per serving.

That regulatory loophole has drawn the attention of Nancy Brown, the CEO of the American Heart Association, who hopes the FDA addresses it by revising their regulation on food labels for foods that are 100 percent trans-fat free.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and author of the new book “Disease Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well” offered a tone of caution with regard to what manufacturers might develop to replace outgoing PHOs. “That question is the potential devil in the details,” says Dr. Katz. “There are other ways to manipulate fat, and we have to be careful we don’t wind up with another bad invention.”

Urine Test Could Sniff Out Heart Disease In Diabetic Children

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John

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Researchers found that a urine test could now help identify young people with type 1 diabetes who are at risk of heart and kidney disease.

Forty-percent of young people inflicted with type 1 diabetes are at risk of kidney disease as well as heart disease. Scientists writing in the journal Diabetes Care examined the link between levels of albumin in the urine of adolescents with type 1 diabetes and the risk of these diseases. The team was able to show how normal variation in these levels can be an indicator of risk during adolescence.

“Managing type 1 diabetes is difficult enough without having to deal with other health problems. By using early screening, we can now identify young people at risk of heart and kidney disease,” Professor David Dunger, the lead author of the Adolescent Type 1 Diabetes Cardio-Renal Intervention Trial (AdDIT) study from the University of Cambridge, said in a press release. “The next step will be to see if drugs used to treat heart and kidney disease – such as statins and blood pressure lowering drugs – can help prevent kidney and heart complications in this young, potentially vulnerable population.”

The study involved 3,353 adolescents between the ages of 10- and 16-years-old with type 1 diabetes. The team measured albumin levels in the participants’ urine, as well as assessed the young people for early signs of heart and kidney diseases such as stiffening of the arteries, abnormal lipid profiles and kidney function.

Researchers discovered adolescents with type 1 diabetes whose urinary albumin levels were in the top 30 percent showed more evidence of early kidney and cardiovascular complications than those with lower levels.

“We are grateful to the study team and all the trial participants for their efforts leading to this initial data,” Helen Nickerson, Scientific Program Manager at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in New York, said in a press release. “We hope the continued participation of subjects as the AdDIT trial progresses will reveal new information about kidney and heart risk in type 1 diabetes, as well as testing a possible way to reduce this risk.”

Dr. Sanjay Thakrar, Research Advisor at the British Heart Foundation, said the findings are exciting because it shows doctors can identify young people at risk of developing these diseases.

“The researchers now need to assess whether early treatment with standard heart medication could help to keep these young people’s hearts healthy in the future,” Thakrar said in the press release.

The findings could eventually lead to treatment that would help stop these diseases from occurring early on, said Dr. Alasdair Rankin, Director of Research for Diabetes UK.

“Every year, too many people with type 1 diabetes experience kidney failure and heart disease as a result of their diabetes and this can have a really devastating effect on their lives,” Rankin said in a press release. “While it would be a number of years before this became a widely-available treatment option, this does offer real hope of another way to help people with type 1 diabetes have the best possible chance of a long and healthy life.”

Next, the researchers will be exploring whether drugs that lower the amount of fat in the blood and drugs that reduce blood pressure could reduce the risk of kidney and heart disease in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Study Finds Link Between Pre-Term Births, Retinal Detachment

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

According to new research appearing this month in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), premature children face a much greater risk of eventually experiencing retinal detachment than their full-term counterparts.

In the first large-scale, population-based investigation into the link between preterm birth and later retinal detachment, researchers discovered a link between birth before 32 weeks and the risk of retinal detachment during childhood, adolescence and young adult life.

In fact, premature babies face up to a 19-times greater risk of having the light-sensitive membrane in the rear of the eye separate from its supporting layers. The authors report that their findings indicate the need for ophthalmologic follow-up exams in children and adults who were born very early in the gestation period.

The authors used Swedish population registries of over three million births occurring from 1973 through 2008 to identify individuals born at less than 37 weeks of gestation. Those individuals were then separated into two groups – those born between 1973 and 1986 – prior to the establishment of a national retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screen program – and those born afterwards, from 1987 through 2008.

“ROP is a condition that causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina (back of the eye) and can cause retinal detachment, which is a major cause of childhood blindness globally. A detached retina may lead to vision loss and even blindness unless it is treated with surgery,” the AAO explained in a statement. While other researchers have reported the link between retinal detachment and preterm births, the newly-published study is said to be the first to analyze the topic in a far larger population.

Children born extremely premature (less than 28 weeks of gestation) between 1973 and 1986 were found to have a risk of retinal detachment 19 times higher than peers born at term. The same children born between 1987 and 2008 were found to have a nine-fold increase following adjustment for possible confounding factors.

Those born very prematurely (28 to 31 weeks of gestation) between 1973 and 1986 had a four-fold increased risk, while very premature children born post-ROP screening had a three-fold greater risk than those born following a full gestation period. No increased risk of retinal detachment was found in moderately premature (32 to 36 weeks of gestation) children, the study authors reported.

“We may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg of late ophthalmic complications after preterm birth,” said lead researcher Dr. Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, a pediatrician at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. “Not only does the risk of retinal detachment increase with age, but there has also been an increase in survival among people born prematurely since the 1970s. This provides opportunities for future research to address if the increased risk persists among those born prematurely as they age.”

According to the AAO, they – along with the American Academy of Pediatrics and other related groups, “recommend screening for ROP in infants born at less than 30 weeks of gestation or those with a birth weight of less than [3.3 pounds] (or those with a birth weight of less than [4.4 pounds] with an unstable clinical course).” The organization also notes that the researchers “recommend that individuals who have been treated for ROP in the neonatal period should continue follow up on a yearly basis.”

Western Black Rhino Officially Declared Extinct

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Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

The western black rhino is now officially extinct, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The world’s largest conservation network had considered the rhino, last seen in 2006, “critically endangered” up until it made the official declaration earlier this week.

“Given the wildlife poaching taking place, lack of political will and conservation effort by Cameroon conservation authorities in the past, and increasing illegal demand for rhino horn and associated increased commercial rhino poaching in other range states, it is highly probable that this subspecies is now extinct,” said a statement on the IUCN’s official page for the animal.

The IUCN added that Africa’s northern white rhino is “teetering on the brink of extinction” while Asia’s Javan rhino is “making its last stand” against human activities.

“In the case of the western black rhino and the northern white rhino the situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented,” said Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission, in a statement to CNN.

“These measures must be strengthened now, specifically managing habitats in order to improve performance, preventing other rhinos from fading into extinction,” he added.

The conservation network noted that conservation efforts have benefited the southern white rhino, increasing their numbers from less than 100 at the end of the 19th century to approximately 20,000 today.

The IUCN’s latest update to its Red List of Threatened Species reviewed more than 60,000 species, concluding that 25 percent of mammals on the list could become extinct in the near future. The organization also looked at various plant species under threat of going extinct.

Regional populations of Chinese fir, once prolific throughout China and Vietnam, are being threatened by agriculture, and an Asian yew tree (Taxus contorta) that is used in the making of a chemotherapy drug has been reclassified as “endangered,” according to the updated IUCN Red List.

With respect to marine life, the IUCN said over around 62 percent of tuna species are now “threatened” or “near threatened.” Many of 26 recently-identified amphibians, such as the ‘blessed poison frog’ and ‘summers’ poison frog,’ are now considered vulnerable or endangered, the IUCN said.

“This update offers both good and bad news on the status of many species around the world,” Jane Smart, director of IUCN’s global species program said in a statement. “We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner, yet, without strong political will in combination with targeted efforts and resources, the wonders of nature and the services it provides can be lost forever.”

The reclassification of the western black rhino comes after news that a safari hunting group out of Texas is auctioning off a permit to kill one of the 4,000 remaining black rhinos in Namibia, with the proceeds from the auction ironically going toward conservation efforts for the endangered animal.

“First and foremost, this is about saving the black rhino,” said Ben Carter, executive director of the Dallas Safari Club, which is holding the auction early next year. Despite what could be seen as noble intentions, the Humane Society of the United States took issue with the auction.

“The world is seeing a concerted effort to preserve the very few black rhinos and other rhinos who are dodging poachers’ bullets and habitat destruction,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the humane society.”The last thing they need are wealthy elites from foreign lands coming in to kill them for their heads.”

Low-Sodium Diets Could Prevent Kidney Failure, Heart Disease

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John

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Lowering the salt intake of heart and kidney patients could help prevent renal failure or cardiovascular disease, according to new research appearing online in Thursday’s edition of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Excessive sodium consumption is frequently associated with an increased risk of heart disease and declining kidney function, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are more likely to be affected due to the vital role the organ plays in maintaining salt balance. However, the impact of salt restriction on these individuals had not previously been analyzed in great depth, the study authors explained in a statement.

Principal investigator Dr. Katrina Campbell, a research fellow at Australia’s Princess Alexandra Hospital, and her colleagues conducted what they are calling the first blinded, randomized, controlled trial comparing high sodium (180 to 200 mmol/day) and low sodium (60 to 80 mmol/day) diets in CKD patients – the LowSALT CKD study.

Dr. Campbell, University of Queensland PhD candidate Emma McMahon and their associates maintained each diet for two weeks each in a random order in 20 kidney disease patients. Most health officials recommend consuming no more than 100 mmol (2300 mg or one teaspoon) of salt each day.

They measured extracellular fluid volume, blood pressure, protein levels in the urine, and other parameters associated with heart and kidney health. On average, they found that low sodium consumption reduced excess extracellular fluid volume by one liter, lowered blood pressure by 10/4 mm Hg, and halved protein excretion in the urine. Furthermore, they reported no significant side effects during the course of the study.

“These are clinically significant findings, with this magnitude of blood pressure reduction being comparable to that expected with the addition of an anti-hypertensive medication and larger than effects usually seen with sodium restriction in people without CKD,” McMahon said.

She added the 50 percent reduction in protein excretion in the urine was particularly of note, and that if it could be maintained long-term, it could result in a 30 percent decrease in the risk of the condition progressing to end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplant.

All told, the authors believe that their findings suggest that restricting sodium intake could be a safe, effective and inexpensive way to reduce cardiovascular risk and prevent the kidney function of CKD patients from worsening.

“If these findings are transferable to the larger CKD population and shown to be sustainable long-term, this could translate to markedly reduced risk of cardiovascular events and progression to end-stage kidney disease, and it could generate considerable health-care savings,” Dr. Campbell noted.

Scientists Discover Carolina Hammerhead Shark Species By Accident

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April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Among biologists, discovering a new species is akin to hitting a grand slam. Joe Quattro, a University of South Carolina ichthyologist, led a team that recently cleared the bases.

Quattro’s team describes a rare shark, the Carolina hammerhead, in a paper published in the journal Zootaxa. The shark has long eluded discovery because it is outwardly indistinguishable from the common scalloped hammerhead. In the face of relentless human predation, this new species, Sphyrna gilberti, underscores the fragility of shark diversity through its rarity.

Quattro’s initial goal was not to discover a cryptic new saltwater species. As a new professor at USC, his focus was mainly on fish in the freshwater rivers that flow through the state before emptying into the western Atlantic Ocean.

Currently, Quattro’s interests include conservation, genetic diversity and taxonomy. A desire to better understand evolution has been a driving force for his scientific curiosity. For mining insight into evolutionary history, South Carolina’s four major river basins — the Pee Dee, the Santee, the Edisto and the Savannah — are a source of particularly rich ore.

After growing up in Maryland, Quattro earned a doctorate at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He then completed a post-doc at Stanford University. “New Jersey and Maryland, in particular, had huge glacial influences,” said Quattro. “The areas where rivers now flow were covered with glaciers until 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, and as the glaciers receded the taxa followed them upstream.”

Rivers south of Virginia, in contrast, were not covered with glaciers. “In other words, these rivers have been around for quite some time,” Quattro said. “The Pee Dee and the Santee are two of the largest river systems on the East coast. And we just got curious — how distinct are these rivers from one another?”

Quattro and his team began with the pygmy sunfish to examine the genetic makeup of fish species within the ancient freshwater drainage systems. The banded pygmy sunfish was found in all South Carolina rivers — and in nearly all the river systems of the US southeastern and Gulf coasts, starting from the plains of North Carolina, around Florida, and all the way to and up the Mississippi River.

Two species of pygmy sunfish are much rarer, however. The bluebarred pygmy sunfish is found only in the Savannah and Edisto systems, while the Carolina pygmy sunfish is found only in the Santee and Pee Dee systems. They both coexist with the common banded pygmy sunfish in these river systems, but they do not exist anywhere else in the world.

This is a noteworthy find from an evolutionary standpoint because these rare species are related to the widespread species. However, the details of the inter-relationships, such as which pre-date the others and are thus an ancestral species, still defy ready description. Finding both the rare and common species together in an ancient river system is important information in the ongoing struggle to define evolutionary history. In previous research, taxonomic charts were drawn almost solely on the basis of physical structure (morphology) and available fossils. The process is still in its early phases, but the genetic data revolution of recent decades is helping redefine biology in a more precise manner.

Quattro has been participating in this redefinition by slowly moving down the river systems to the ocean, collecting genetic data the whole way down. He has examined pygmy sunfish, other sunfish and bass in freshwater rivers, while closer to the ocean, he has examined short-nosed sturgeon, which spend most of their time in the estuary – where the river meets the ocean. Further downriver, Quattro studied shark pups.

Several species of sharks, including the hammerhead, use South Carolina as pupping grounds. At the ocean-side fringes of the estuary, the female hammerhead will birth her young. These pups will remain in the area for a year or so before moving out to the ocean to complete their life cycle.

Quattro’s team uncovered an anomaly as they were examining hammerhead sharks in the estuary. They found that the scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) had two different genetic signatures in both the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes.

A search of relevant literature revealed that Carter Gilbert, the renowned curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History from 1961 to 1998, had previously described an anomalous scalloped hammerhead in 1967 that had 10 fewer vertebrae than S. lewini. This hammerhead had been caught near Charleston. The sample is housed in the National Museum of History, which allowed the team to examine it morphologically. This specimen suggested that it constituted a cryptic species — that is, one that is physically nearly indistinguishable from the more common species.

Quattro and his colleagues first published their preliminary genetic evidence for the new, cryptic species in Marine Biology in 2006. They followed up by making measurements of 54 cryptic individuals and 24 S. lewini hammerheads to fully describe the new species in the their paper. They named the new species, S. gilberti, in Carter Gilbert’s honor. the defining morphological difference between the two species is 10 fewer vertebrae.

The team has established locations and genetic signatures for a number of closely related, yet distinct, species in the rivers, estuaries and coastal waters of South Carolina. The findings of this study will go a long way in furthering the efforts to accurately define taxonomy and evolutionary history for aquatic life.

The findings also reveal the rarity of the species. “Outside of South Carolina, we’ve only seen five tissue samples of the cryptic species,” Quattro said. “And that’s out of three or four hundred specimens.”

Over the last few decades, shark populations have greatly decreased. “The biomass of scalloped hammerheads off the coast of the eastern U.S. is less than 10 percent of what it was historically,” Quattro said. “Here, we’re showing that the scalloped hammerheads are actually two things. Since the cryptic species is much rarer than the lewini, God only knows what its population levels have dropped to.”

GOTCHA Security Software Uses Inkblots Instead Of Passwords

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Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Computer scientists are now moving to inkblots to help provide an extra measure of security on the Internet.

Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have created the Generating panOptic Turing Tests to Tell Computers and Humans Apart (GOTCHA) in order to protect online back accounts, medical records or other sensitive information.

When using GOTCHA, a user would choose a password while a computer generates several random, multicolored inkblots. A user then describes each inkblot with a text phrase, which is stored in a random order along with the password. When users return to the site and sign in, the inkblots are displayed again along with the list of descriptive phrases, which they are prompted to match with the appropriate inkblot.

“These are puzzles that are easy for a human to solve, but hard for a computer to solve, even if it has the random bits used to generate the puzzle,” Jeremiah Blocki, a PhD student in computer science who helped develop GOTCHA, said in a press release.

The researchers believe GOTCHA would prove to be a significant asset now when website security breaches can result in the loss of millions of user passwords.

Passwords that have been stolen from companies like LinkedIn, Sony and Gawker are stored as cryptographic functions, which can become victim to an automated offline dictionary attack. Computers are able to evaluate as many as 250 million possible hash values every second.

While passwords like “123456” or “password” are easy to crack, even harder passwords become vulnerable to computer hackers these days. However, with GOTCHA a computer program wouldn’t be enough to break into an account.

“To crack the user’s password offline, the adversary must simultaneously guess the user’s password and the answer to the corresponding puzzle,” Anupam Datta, associate professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, said in a press release. “A computer can’t do that alone. And if the computer must constantly interact with a human to solve the puzzle, it no longer can bring its brute force to bear to crack hashes.”

Researchers performed a user study with 70 people hired through Mechanical Turk to see how reliable GOTCHA was. Each user was asked to describe ten inkblots with creative titles, like “evil clown” or “lady with poofy dress.” Ten days later the participants were asked to match those titles with the inkblots.

The study shows a third of the participants were able to correctly match all of the inkblots, while two-thirds were able to get half of them right. Blocki said there are ways to help make the descriptions even more memorable, including using more elaborate stories like “a happy guy on the ground protecting himself from ticklers.”

The computer scientists have invited fellow security researchers to apply artificial intelligence techniques to try and crack the password scheme through the “GOTCHA Challenge.”

Study Links Moderate Chocolate Consumption With Lower BMI

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Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Choco-holics rejoice! According to a new study in the journal Nutrition, higher consumption of chocolate is associated with a lower amount of body fat and less abdominal fat, regardless of regular physical activity, diet and other factors.
The study was performed using data from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study, which included almost 1500 Europeans between the ages of 12 and 17. Study researchers found that higher levels of chocolate consumption was related to lower fat levels as determined through body mass index and waist circumference.
Study author Magdalena Cuenca-García noted that although chocolate is often rich in sugars and saturated fats, “recent studies in adults suggest chocolate consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiometabolic disorders.”
She added that chocolate is rich in flavonoids, which “have important antioxidant, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive effects and can help prevent ischemic heart disease.”
In the study, researchers from the University of Granada in Spain said they wanted to see the effect of chocolate consumption in adolescence, while controlling for confounding factors such as participant’s gender, age, sexual maturation, total energy intake, intake of saturated fats, fruit and vegetables, consumption of tea and coffee, and physical activity. The research team said their study is based on a large number of body measures, objective determinations of physical activity, detailed dietary records and controls for the possible effects of key variables.
In their conclusion, the study authors noted the biological effect of foods should not be evaluated just in terms of calories.
“The most recent epidemiologic research focuses on studying the relation between specific foods—both for their calorie content and for their components—and the risk factors for developing chronic illnesses, including overweight and obesity,” they wrote.
The Spanish team added their findings “are also important from a clinical perspective since they contribute to our understanding of the factors underlying the control and maintenance of optimal weight.
“In moderate quantities, chocolate can be good for you, as our study has shown,” they said. “But, undoubtedly, excessive consumption is prejudicial. As they say: you can have too much of a good thing.”
The Spanish team’s results echo those of a 2012 cross-sectional study conducted by University of California researchers that linked more frequent chocolate consumption to a lower body mass index in adults.
Published as a research letter in the Archives of Internal Medicine, that study included over 1,000 adults between the ages of 20 and 85 who said they eat chocolate twice a week on average and exercise an average of 3.6 times per week.
“Our findings appear to add to a body of information suggesting that the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining their ultimate impact on weight,” said study author Beatrice Golomb in a press release. “In the case of chocolate, this is good news —both for those who have a regular chocolate habit, and those who may wish to start one.”

ESA’s Defunct GOCE Satellite Expected To Fall Back To Earth Soon

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Beware of falling satellites this weekend, as a European Space Agency (ESA) probe that had been mapping the planet’s gravitational field is expected to plummet back to Earth within the next few days.

The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite was launched in 2009, and managed to remain in low-orbit some 160 miles above the Earth thanks to its ion engine, UPI reported on Wednesday.

However, according to Nature World News, the GOCE completed its primary mission and ran out of fuel last month. Thus far, experts have been unable to predict exactly where the satellite will fall, but when it does, scientists expect as many as 45 pieces of debris, some weighing up to 200 pounds, could reach the surface.

“It’s rather hard to predict where the spacecraft will re-enter and impact. Concretely our best engineering prediction is now for a re-entry on Sunday, with a possibility for it slipping into early Monday,” GOCE mission manager Dr. Rune Floberghagen told Kenneth Chang of the New York Times.

Dr. Floberghagen explained that scientists will be able to provide a more definite time frame during which the fall will occur as it becomes closer, but since GOCE travels along a pole-to-pole orbit, it could theoretically land just about anywhere. He noted that between 15 and 20 square yards of the planet’s surface could be in danger.

“An uncontrolled re-entry was always the planned fate for GOCE,” Chang said. “Unlike most spacecraft, which use thrusters to adjust their orbits, it has a highly efficient propulsion system called an ion engine. Unlike thrusters, the engine can fire continuously to offset atmospheric drag.”

“This isn’t the first satellite to fall on earth,” Nature World News added. “In 2011, media was abuzz with stories of NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite descent on the planet. In the same year, Russia’s Mars mission went awry and crashed into the Pacific… Scientists usually direct redundant satellites to a graveyard orbit, which is just above the GEO orbit. Other satellites are dropped back to earth using specialized equipment.”

The satellite’s instruments remain operational, Dr. Floberghagen said, and as the time nears they will be able to provide ESA scientists with more detailed data pertaining to GOCE’s final decent. Using the satellite’s data, scientists have been able to make global maps of ocean currents, and the information will also help them study ice sheets and convection occurring in the planet’s mantle, Chang added.

Two Black Holes Form, Fuse Together After Star Collapses

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[ Watch the video: Supermassive Star Collapses, Forms Two Black Holes ]

April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Black holes are massive objects in space that have gravitational forces so strong that not even light can escape them. These objects, swirling at the centers of galaxies, also come in a variety of sizes.

On the small end of the spectrum are stellar-mass black holes, which are formed during the deaths of stars. On the largest end are supermassive black holes. These behemoths contain up to one billion times the mass of our sun. Small black holes, over billions of years, can slowly grow into the supermassive variety by acquiring mass from their surroundings and by merging with other black holes. This is a slow process, however, that doesn’t explain the problem of supermassive black holes existing in the early universe, as those black holes would have formed less than one billion years after the Big Bang.

A new study from the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) provides findings that may assist in testing a model that solves this problem. The findings are published in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters.

Some theoretical models of supermassive black hole growth suggest the presence of “seed” black holes. These seed black holes, which result from the deaths of very early stars, gain mass and increase in size by picking up the materials around them — a process called accretion — or by merging with other black holes.

“But in these previous models, there was simply not enough time for any black hole to reach a supermassive scale so soon after the birth of the universe,” says Christian Reisswig, NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow in Astrophysics at Caltech and the lead author of the study. “The growth of black holes to supermassive scales in the young universe seems only possible if the ‘seed’ mass of the collapsing object was already sufficiently large,” he says.

Reisswig collaborated with Christian Ott, assistant professor of theoretical astrophysics, to investigate the origins of young supermassive black holes. They, and their team, turned to a model involving supermassive stars. Scientists believe these giant, rather exotic stars only existed for a short time in the early universe. Supermassive stars, unlike ordinary stars, are stabilized against gravity, in the most part, by their own photon radiation. Photon radiation, which is the outward flux of photons generated due to the star’s very high interior temperatures, pushes gas outward from the star in opposition to the gravitational force that pulls gas back in.

When the two forces are equal, a balance called hydrostatic equilibrium is achieved.

A supermassive star cools slowly during its lifetime due to energy loss through the emission of photon radiation. During this cooling, the star becomes more compact, and its central density slowly increases — a process that lasts for a couple million years. At some point, the star reaches sufficient compactness for gravitational instability to set in and for the star to start collapsing gravitationally.

Previous research has predicted that when supermassive stars collapse, they maintain a spherical shape. This shape possibly becomes flattened due to rapid rotation into a shape called axisymmetric configuration. The current study incorporated the fact that very rapidly spinning stars are prone to tiny perturbations. The team predicted that these disturbances could cause the stars to deviate into non-axisymmetric shapes during their collapse. The tiny perturbations would increase rapidly, causing the gas inside the collapsing star to ultimately clump and form high density fragments.

The fragments would become increasingly dense as they picked up matter orbiting the center of the star during the collapse. This would also increase the temperature of the fragments.

According to Reisswig, “an interesting effect kicks in.”

When the fragments reach sufficiently high temperatures, there would be enough energy to match up electrons and their antiparticles, or positrons, into what are known as electron-positron pairs. The creation of these pairs would cause a loss of pressure, further accelerating the collapse. The two orbiting fragments would ultimately become so dense, as a result, that a black hole could form at each clump. These black holes might then spiral around one another before merging to become one large black hole.

“This is a new finding,” Reisswig says. “Nobody has ever predicted that a single collapsing star could produce a pair of black holes that then merge.”

Using supercomputers, the team simulated a supermassive star on the verge of collapse. They created a video to visualize this collapse, combining millions of points representing numerical data about density, gravitational fields, and other properties of the gases that make up the collapsing stars.

This study is purely theoretical, involving only computer simulations and not empirical data. In practice, however, Reisswig says the formation and merger of pairs of black holes can give rise to tremendously powerful gravitational radiation — ripples in the fabric of space and time, traveling at the speed of light — that is likely to be visible at the edge of our universe.

Albert Einstein first predicted this gravitational radiation in his general theory of relativity. Today, ground-based observatories such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) are searching for signs of the radiation. Reisswig says that future space-borne gravitational-wave observatories will be necessary to detect the types of gravitational waves that would confirm these recent findings.

The findings of this study have important implications for cosmology, according to Ott. “The emitted gravitational-wave signal and its potential detection will inform researchers about the formation process of the first supermassive black holes in the still very young universe, and may settle some—and raise new—important questions on the history of our universe,” he says.

Fear Of Death Could Be Alleviated Through Touch: Study

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Touch could help men and women with low self-confidence cope with their own mortality, according to researchers from VU University Amsterdam, who published a report in the latest edition of the journal Psychological Science.

As lead researcher and psychological scientist Sander Koole explains, all humans struggle with the concept that their time on this Earth will one day come to an end. Those who tend to be self-confident deal with their mortality by working hard to lead meaningful lives, while those with low self-esteem tend not to see their lives as anything special.

Koole’s research suggests that touch could help those individuals with low self-esteem deal with their own mortality. In fact, in a statement, the associate professor said that “even fleeting and seemingly trivial instances of interpersonal touch may help people to deal more effectively with existential concern.”

“This is important because we all have to deal with existential concerns and we all have times at which we struggle to find meaning in life,” Koole added. “Our findings show that people may still find existential security through interpersonal touch, even in the absence of symbolic meaning derived from religious beliefs or life values.”

The professor and his colleagues, Mandy Tjew-a-Sin and Iris K. Schneider (both of whom were also affiliated with VU University Amsterdam), conducted a series of studies examining whether or not individuals with low self-esteem dealt with existential concerns through their relationships with others.

In one study, an investigator approached participants as they walked through a college campus and gave each person a questionnaire to complete. Some of the people were given a light, open-palmed touch on the shoulder lasting about one second, and those individuals reportedly expressed less anxiety about their own deaths than those who had not received the physical contact.

Furthermore, touch also appeared to serve as a buffer against social alienation for those who were reminded of their eventual passing. Those with a lower sense of self-worth showed no decreased social connectedness after reminded of their mortality, but only if they were given a light touch, the researchers explain. The study suggests that those with low self-esteem may crave and potentially even seek out touch when faced with the issue of death.

“Our findings show that even touching an inanimate object – such as a teddy bear – can soothe existential fears,” Koole explained. “Interpersonal touch is such a powerful mechanism that even objects that simulate touch by another person may help to instill in people a sense of existential significance.”

He and his colleagues believe that the sensation of touch could be used alongside traditional cognitive therapy in treating those suffering from low self-esteem, anxiety, depression or related ailments – though they caution that the existential benefits of this approach could be limited by factors such as who or what is doing the touching. They are currently considering testing the effectiveness of a “haptic jacket” – a device that can electronically simulate the sensation of being hugged – to simulate the sensation of physical contact.

Scientists Discover Link Between Bacteria And Arthritis

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John

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

New findings reported in the journal eLife add evidence that the trillions of microbes in the human body play a major role in regulating health.

Scientists used a sophisticated DNA analysis to compare gut bacteria from fecal samples of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy individuals. The team found that P. copri was more abundant in patients newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis than in healthy individuals or patients with chronic arthritis.

“Studies in rodent models have clearly shown that the intestinal microbiota contribute significantly to the causation of systemic autoimmune diseases,” Dan R. Littman, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Pathology and Microbiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, said in a press release. “Our own results in mouse studies encouraged us to take a closer look at patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and we found this remarkable and surprising association.”

He said the team couldn’t conclude that there is a causal link between the abundance of P. copri and the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. However, he added they are developing new tools that could hopefully allow scientists to ask if this is the case.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that attacks joint tissue and causes painful stiffness and swelling. The condition strikes twice as many women as men and its cause remains unknown, although genetic and environmental factors are thought to help play a role.

“Expansion of P. copri in the intestinal microbiota exacerbates colonic inflammation in mouse models and may offer insight into the systemic autoimmune response seen in rheumatoid arthritis,” says Randy S. Longman, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Littman’s laboratory and a gastroenterologist at Weill-Cornell, said in a press release.

The team said the reason why P. copri growth takes off in newly diagnosed patients with rheumatoid arthritis is unclear. Both diet and genetic factors may play a role in this. However, the researchers also found P. copri extracted from newly diagnosed patients appears genetically distinct from P. copri found in healthy individuals.

The latest researcher shows that treated patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis carry smaller populations of P. copri.

“It could be that certain treatments help stabilize the balance of bacteria in the gut,” Jose U. Scher, director of the Microbiome Center for Rheumatology and Autoimmunity at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Hospital for Joint Diseases and an author on the new study, said in a press release. “Or it could be that certain gut bacteria favor inflammation.”

The team will now validate their results and investigate whether the gut flora can be used as a biological marker to help guide treatment.

“We want to know if people with certain populations of gut bacteria respond better to certain treatment than others,” Dr. Scher said in the release.

Senior Exercise Program Reduces Pain, Fatigue

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Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Asian-American seniors living in New York City are feeling the benefits of a new exercise program that has helped decrease physical pain, boost mobility and improve the overall health of many participants, according to a new study by the Hospital for Special Surgery.
The study, which was presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting on Tuesday in Boston, focused on a specific older Asian population in New York City that grew by 64 percent from 2000 to 2010. One in four of these seniors lived in poverty in 2010, according to study researchers.
“This population is at risk for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis,” said Laura Robbins, senior vice president of Education and Academic Affairs at HSS. “They are more than twice as likely to have no health insurance coverage compared to other major race and ethnic groups. Cultural and linguistic barriers limit access to healthcare services.”
To address the health of this population, HSS developed the Asian Community Bone Health Initiative, a series of bilingual education and exercise classes. Six eight-week sessions of the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program (AFEP) and three eight-week yoga classes were held by bilingual instructors at four senior centers in Chinatown and Flushing, Queens. The program also advocated self-management of arthritis and other conditions through exercise.
“Getting seniors to be active in any way will generally improve their quality of life and help them function better in their everyday activities,” said Dr. Linda Russell, a rheumatologist at HSS, in a statement. “People believe that if you have arthritis you shouldn’t exercise, but appropriate exercises actually help decrease pain.”
The AFEP sessions consisted mainly of low-impact, chair-based exercises. The yoga classes featured simple, beginner-level yoga moves.
Almost 200 participants enrolled in the initiative between November 2011 and September 2013. A questionnaire was administered before and after the exercise classes to assess pain, function and other health indicators. Nearly 120 participants responded to the surveys.
The respondents, who were mostly females older than 65, typically reported their pain intensity fell and interfered less with their daily life. After completing the program, 48 percent fewer participants said they felt physical pain on a daily basis, 69 percent more participants could ascend several flights of stairs and 83 percent more participants said they could now bend, kneel, or stoop. A significant number of respondents said the exercise initiative reduced their daily fatigue or stiffness.
“The study results indicate that the hospital’s Bone Health Initiative has a positive impact on the musculoskeletal health of the Asian senior population,” said Huijuan Huang, a program coordinator. “While further research is needed, HSS will continue to offer culturally-sensitive programs to this community to help seniors stay active, decrease pain and improve their overall health.”
Another exercise program for seniors in the Spokane, Washington area is specifically working to reduce potentially dangerous falls.
Starting in early October, a local retirement community has been offering a program called Stay Active & Independent for Life (SAIL) that was developed as a result of a fall-prevention study conducted in Washington’s Spokane and Pierce counties.

Most Partners Don’t Have Awkward STI Talk Before Sex

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Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Researchers have proven what most people already knew: talking about sexually transmitted infections with a partner is awkward. Scientists spoke at the American Public Health Association’s annual meeting on Wednesday about how they discovered a disconnect between the public health messages that promote STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing as a way to prevent STIs like HIV and chlamydia, and the conversations occurring in bedrooms.

“Talking to partners about STIs is an important conversation to have,” said Margo Mullinax, lead researcher for the study. “However, findings from this study suggest public health campaigns need to promote specific messages, concrete tips and tools around sexual health conversations stratified by relationship status. Campaigns should also address STI stigma and promote messages of normalcy with regard to talking about STIs.”

She said little was known about how STI testing figured into actual conversations between lovers, despite how the infections can lead to a range of health problems if they go untreated.

Researchers asked 181 sexually active men and women with an average age of 26 years old to take an anonymous online questionnaire that looked for insights into how conversations about STIs might influence behavior and decision-making.

Mullinax said the sample used included highly educated people, more than half of which were in a monogamous relationship. Most of the participants in the study were white and identified themselves as heterosexual or straight.

Margo said she was surprised to find out that the same percentage of study participants engaged in sex without a condom regardless of whether they had talked about STIs with their partner.

“Participants who reported talking to their partners about STIs say it affected their decision to engage in certain behaviors in that it made them feel more comfortable and led them to stop using condoms,” she said in a press release. “But this finding concerns me given that many participants did not also report routinely getting tested nor having detailed conversations with partners about STIs.”

The team found many participants reported they occasionally, rarely or never got tested before having sex with partners who were casual or long-term. Very few of those who did discuss STI testing talked about concurrent sexual partners or when partners’ testing occurred in relation to their last sex act.

Mullinax said just a little more than half of study participants reported feeling “very comfortable” talking to partners about how to prevent STIs. However, less than half said they felt comfortable to talk with a partner about sexual histories.

“Take time to get informed,” said Mullinax. “It will only make your conversation more comfortable and ensure that you are really protecting your health.”

Fibromyalgia Linked to Altered Brain Signals For Pain

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Rebekah Eliason for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
A new study has found hyperalgesia may be a responsible contributor for increased pain sensitivity in fibromyalgia patients. Hyperalgesia is a condition that causes a disruption in the brain signals for reward and punishment. These findings suggest a link between this altered brain process and widespread pain that is resistant to opiod therapy, the use of morphine and its derivatives, in people with fibromyalgia.
The chronic condition of fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal syndrome. It is characterized by widespread joint and muscle pain but symptoms often include fatigue, sleep disturbances and cognitive difficulty. Previously, researchers estimated that 3.4 percent of women and 0.5 percent of men suffer from this disorder. Occurrence of fibromyalgia is known to increase with age and affects more than 7 percent of women who are between the ages of 60 and 79.
Lead author of the study Dr. Marco Loggia from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston said, “In patients with fibromyalgia there is an alteration in the central nervous system pain processing and a poor response to topical pain treatments, trigger point injections and opioids. Our study examines the disruption of brain function involved in the individual experience of pain anticipation and pain relief.”
Participants in this study consisted of 31 patients with fibromyalgia and 14 healthy people. Two tests, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and cuff pressure pain stimuli on the leg, were performed on all participants. While undergoing the MRI, patients were given visual clues to inform them of impending pain onset (pain anticipation) and pain offset (relief anticipation).
Researchers found the fibromyalgia patients exhibited less robust responses during pain anticipation and relief in brain regions involved in sensory, affective, cognitive and pain regulating processes. For healthy control patients, in a central region of the brain responsible for the processing of reward and punishment, the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a group of neurons showed activation during the pain anticipation and stimulation as well as deactivation during anticipated relief. These same responses were significantly diminished in fibromyalgia patients.
“Our findings suggest that fibromyalgia patients exhibit altered brain responses to punishing and rewarding events, such as expectancy of pain and relief of pain,” Dr. Loggia explained. “These observations may contribute to explain the heightened sensitivity to pain, as well as the lack of effectiveness of pain medications such as opioids, observed in these patients. Future studies should further investigate the neurochemical basis underlying these dysfunctions.”
This study was published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

Health

Transgender Controversies Can Lead To ‘Gender Panic’

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When New York City moved in 2006 to make it easier for transgender people to revise the gender on their birth certificates, the proposal was widely expected to pass.
But the anti-discrimination measure failed, in part because of public opposition to removing the requirement that individuals have genital surgery before claiming a different gender.
“The backlash was intense,” said Kristen Schilt, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. “There was such a fervor over taking the surgery requirement out, a sense of, ‘Absolutely not. There’s going to be chaos.’”
Schilt calls this public reaction “gender panic,” a concept that she and co-author Laurel Westbrook explore in their study, “Doing Gender, Determining Gender,” published in the October issue of the journal Gender and Society. The authors examined mainstream news coverage of transgender-related news and policy issues, and found trends that reflect entrenched views about transgender people and broader gender issues. Like the terms “moral panic” and “sex panic,” Schilt describes gender panic as a deep, cultural fear, set off in this case when the “naturalness” of a male-female gender binary is challenged. When such challenges affect public policy, Schilt said, “that’s when the panic starts to get really hot.”
Perceived threats to women’s spaces spur panic
Since the 1960s, American society has tended to uphold values of autonomy and equality, including gender self-identity, Schilt said. Transgender people typically are accepted in “non-sexual” spaces like the workplace. But acceptance hits a wall when it comes to places reserved for women. In the case of New York birth certificates, the “panic” centered on how such a policy could lead to granting access to women’s bathrooms and locker rooms for individuals who identify as women but have male anatomies.
In these women-only spaces, many people regard the mere assertion of a person’s gender identity as insufficient—it must be accompanied by anatomical change. “We found that what calms down the panic is having a very clear policy about who’s in your bathroom,” Schilt said, “and that policy relates very distinctly to genitalia.” She pointed out that the world of transgender athletics elicits far less panic because the Olympics and all sports teams subscribe to the Stockholm Consensus, a rigidly detailed policy governing athletes’ bodies, from hormone levels to genitalia. For example, people with male genitalia are forbidden from competing in the Olympics as women, though a man without a penis could compete in men’s events.
The authors contend that gender panic is often unfounded, based not on evidence but on an imagined threat. “There’s an opposition that’s asking, ‘But what if?’” Schilt said. Public outcry against the birth certificate case centered on the potential dangers of encountering a transgender person in a woman’s bathroom—opponents invoked scenarios of sexual predators pretending to be transgender in order to violate women and children in these settings. Even without data to support them, such arguments are powerful enough to sway policy. New York City, for example, swiftly abandoned its proposal.
Trend mirrors views on violent crime
Instances of gender panic almost never centered on potential violation of male spaces, such as transgender men in male bathrooms, the study found. Westbrook, an assistant professor of sociology at Grand Valley State University, attributed the focus on women’s spaces to underlying social beliefs about gender, particularly the notion that women are weak and vulnerable and men are strong and dangerous. “Women have been taught that someone is always looking to attack us,” she said. “We have to be extra cautious or that attack will be successful.” Men don’t have that sense, she added, even though they are far more likely to be victims of violent crime.
Despite these deep-seated beliefs, there are signs of change. In August 2013, California became the first state to pass a law allowing transgender public school children to choose a sports team—or a bathroom—based on their own perception of their gender. The law does not include a requirement that the children be anatomically male or female.
That could signal things to come. While previous cases caused concerns about crimes by adults, Schilt said, “It’s harder to have a really negative reaction to a child.”
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Powering A Manned Mission To Mars

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editor

One of the greatest challenges of any space mission is creating enough power to operate it. While gasoline powered engines suffice on Earth, there are no refueling stations in space.

A potential solution is to harness the power of the Sun using solar panels, or even solar sails. But this is not always possible for various reasons. So researchers have begun designing highly efficient power plants, called Stirling Engines, which use the heat from radioactive decay and convert that energy into electricity.

These motors are being tested at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, to see how they will fare in the harsh environment of space. Eventually, these engines will make their way on to planetary spacecraft, and potentially provide the energy needed to create a human settlement on the surface of Mars.

To learn more, we ventured to the heart of the mid-west to talk with the scientists that are developing and testing these very efficient power sources. Tune in to this week’s Tomorrow’s Discoveries to learn about the power plants that will take us around the solar system.

credit: redOrbit

Health

New Ligament Discovered‬ In The Human Knee

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Two knee surgeons at University Hospitals Leuven have discovered a previously undescribed ligament in the human knee. The ligament appears to play an important role in patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears.

Despite successful ACL repair surgery and rehabilitation, some patients with ACL-repaired knees continue to experience so-called ‘pivot shift’, or episodes where the knee ‘gives way’ during activity. For the last four years, orthopaedic surgeons Dr Steven Claes and Professor Dr Johan Bellemans have been conducting research into serious ACL injuries in an effort to find out why. Their starting point: an 1879 article by a French surgeon that postulated the existence of an additional ligament located on the anterior of the human knee.

That postulation turned out to be correct: the Belgian doctors are the first to identify the previously unknown ligament after a broad cadaver study using macroscopic dissection techniques. Their research shows that the ligament, called the anterolateral ligament (ALL), was noted to be present in all but one of the 41 cadaveric knees studied. Subsequent research shows that pivot shift, the giving way of the knee in patients with an ACL tear, is caused by an injury in the ALL ligament.

‪Some of the researchers’ conclusions were recently published in the Journal of Anatomy. The Anatomical Society praised the research as “very refreshing” and commended the researchers for reminding the medical world that, despite the emergence of advanced technology, our knowledge of the basic anatomy of the human body is not yet exhaustive.

‪The research questions current medical thinking about serious ACL injuries and could signal a breakthrough in the treatment of patients with serious ACL injuries. Dr Claes and Professor Bellemans are currently working on a surgical technique to correct ALL injuries. Those results will be ready in several years.

‪ACL tears are common among athletes in pivot-heavy sports such as soccer, basketball, skiing and football.

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Science Could Determine If Bad Boys Will Become Adult Criminals

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Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Psychologists from the University of Michigan say they’ve developed a new, hi-tech way to neurologically pinpoint trouble-making children.

Recent advancements in the field of neurogenetics are helping researchers find the origins of certain neurological disorders and functions and, according to the latest study, the propensity for poor behavior can be identified in the brain. This, say the researchers, could allow parents to essentially “correct” any behaviors that they find unattractive in their children.

The results of this study score a win for “nurture” in its ongoing battle against “nature” as UM researchers say these problem behaviors are both developed after birth and can be changed with proper conditioning.

U Mich psychologist Luke Hyde led the study and will present his research on November 11, at the University’s Institute for Social Research (ISR).

Neurogenetics is a relatively new field of study that allows scientists to find the origin of many neurological problems and oddities. Identifying and understanding these genes can either give doctors a chance to stop potential problems early or allow patients and their family members to know what to expect in the future.

Hyde’s research is an example of both and could allow some parents to understand how their child will behave in the future. Specifically, Hyde suggests his new technique could be used to understand if misbehaving boys will continue to act out as they develop into adulthood. This could have broad effects on our future, including stopping potential crime and reducing the cost incurred by the prison system to hold many of these troublesome males.

“The lifetime prevalence of conduct disorder is around 10 percent, and even higher in males and low-income populations,” said Hyde in a statement. “The total cost to society is enormous, since these behaviors are often chronic, lasting through adulthood.”

Hyde has been working with colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh and other institutes to complete his neurogenetics research. It’s already been observed that many aggressive and anti-social behaviors can be pinpointed to a small, almond-shaped area of the brain called the amygdala. This area of the brain’s limbic system is also said to be responsible for anxiety and depression.

“Previous research suggests that the amygdala becomes over-reactive probably as a result of both genetics and experience,” explained Hyde. “And once the amygdala is over-reactive, people tend to behave in an anxious, over-reactive way to things they see as a potential threat.”

Hyde’s latest study found that a person’s amygdala can be greatly affected if they don’t get the proper support from their family or don’t have a strong social structure in which to thrive. Hyde has previously observed that kids who live in dangerous neighborhoods in poverty are also likely to be on their way to displaying anti-social and troublesome behaviors in the future. In other words, while the amygdala may be the source of these behaviors, Hyde believes a person’s environment and social structure can greatly affect this tangible part of the human brain. Kids who are unfeeling towards animals, feel little regret when they lie or act ou,t and kids who throw tantrums, may be neurologically conditioned to display more troublesome behaviors later in life.

“The results of this test aren’t really meaningful until age three or three-and-a-half,” says Hyde. “Before that, many of these behaviors are fairly common, and don’t predict anything. But after age three, if children are still behaving in these ways, their behavior is more likely to escalate in the following years rather than improve.”

Hyde emphasizes nurture over nature, saying parents who recognize problem behavior are able to correct it and should take strides to correct it as early as possible.

“They need to go for help if they see signs of trouble. Clinical psychologists, among other professionals, have empirically supported treatments that are quite effective for children, especially in this age period.”

Snakes Can Control Blood Flow To Their Eyes When A Threat Is Perceived

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April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Snakes can optimize their vision when they perceive a threat by controlling the blood flow to their eyes, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.

The coachwhip snake‘s visual blood flow patterns change depending on what is in its environment, according to Kevin van Doorn, PhD, from the School of Optometry & Vision Science, and Professor Jacob Sivak, from the Faculty of  Science.

“Each species’ perception of the world is unique due to differences in sensory systems,” said van Doorn, from the School of Optometry & Vision Science. The study results were published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Snakes have a clear scale called a spectacle instead of eyelids. This scale works like a window, covering and protecting their eyes. The spectacles are created during embryonic development as eyelids fuse together and become transparent.

Van Doorn was examining a different part of the snakes’ eyes when the illumination from his instrument detected something unusual.

The spectacles contain a network of blood vessels, Van Doorn found, much like blinds on a window. He examined the pattern of blood flow changes under different conditions to see if the vessels obstructed the snake’s vision.

The blood vessels constrict and dilate in a regular cycle during the snake’s resting period. Over the span of several minutes, this rhythmic pattern repeated several times.

When presented with threatening stimuli, however, the snake’s fight-or-flight response changed the spectacle’s blood flow pattern. The vessels constricted and kept the blood flow reduced for longer periods than during rest – for up to several minutes at a time – guaranteeing the best possible visual capacity in times of greatest need.

“This work shows that the blood flow pattern in the snake spectacle is not static but rather dynamic,” said van Doorn.

As a next step, the researchers examined the blood flow pattern of the snake spectacle when the snake shed its skin – finding a third pattern. During shedding, the vessels remained dilated and the blood flow stayed strong and continuous, unlike the cyclical pattern observed during resting.

The results reveal the relationship between environmental stimuli and vision, as well as illuminating the interesting and complex  effect blood flow patterns have on visual clarity. Further investigations are needed to explore the underlying mechanism of this relationship.

“This research is the perfect example of how a fortuitous discovery can redefine our understanding of the world around us,” said van Doorn.

Robot Cheats At Rock-Paper-Scissors And Wins Every Time

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[ Watch the Video: Janken Robot Is A Champ At Rock-Paper-Scissors ]

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

It’s easy to win a game of Paper-Rock-Scissors when you have super vision and are able to distinguish what your opponent will throw before they actually finish throwing it. This is precisely how the Janken robot, created by scientists at Japan’s Ishikawa Oku Laboratory, is able to best any human opponent in the game. Rather than predict what its opponent will throw next, the Janken robot uses a robotic “eye” that can quickly determine what will be thrown next. Then, before the human hand can complete it’s motion, the robotic hand reacts and flexes it’s fingers to throw what will ultimately be the winning hand, so to speak.

The Janken robot is named after the Japanese version of the game, but the version shown off today is an improvement over earlier models. Previously, the Janken robot threw its hand about 20 milliseconds after its human opponent had already moved. Version two is capable of determining what its opponent will play within one millisecond and has a 100 percent win rate.

“Recognition of human hand can be performed at 1ms with a high-speed vision, and the position and the shape of the human hand are recognized,” reads a technical description of how the robot hand has earned such a winning record.

[ Watch the Video: Janken (rock-paper-scissors) Robot ]

“The wrist joint angle of the robot hand is controlled based on the position of the human hand. The vision recognizes one of rock, paper and scissors based on the shape of the human hand. After that, the robot hand plays one of rock, paper and scissors so as to beat the human being in 1ms.”

Though displayed in an application that pits humans and robots against one another, the Japanese scientists say this technology could one day bring the two together peacefully. The high-speed camera used to determine the human’s next move could one day be used to help humans and robots work together, with the latter better understanding and reacting to the moves made by the former.

Robotic co-workers have already begun to clock in for work at some factories around the world. Last year, robotics company Rethink, founded by the creator of the Roomba, introduced Baxter, a robot meant to work literally side-by-side with humans on an assembly line. Baxter features programmable arms and hands that can be physically manipulated by humans to teach the robot a task and an LCD head crowned with a 360-degree array of cameras. This allows Baxter to be ever-present and react to its coworkers while on the job.

Such technology as found in the Janken robot could help robots like Baxter work more efficiently or even prevent costly accidents that can occur at the hand of human imperfection. If these robots are to improve, however, Sethu Vijayakumar, professor of robotics at Edinburgh University, says the technology must improve. In an interview with the BBC, Vijayakumar said a delay of even one millisecond, as seen with the Janken robot, might be too slow to react to certain scenarios.

“These robots are really fast at reaction, but there are scenarios where even a millisecond’s delay is not acceptable, such as accident avoidance or virtual stock markets,” said Vijayakumar.

“In these cases we need to combine high-speed reaction with high-speed prediction, using game theory and [behavior] patterning.”

New Implantable Sensor Could One Day Monitor Glucose Levels

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Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

In a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, scientists describe a newly developed sensor that is able to monitor nitric oxide in living animals and could potentially become a valuable asset to diabetic patients in the future.

Nitric oxide is considered to be one of the most important signaling molecules in living cells, but in many cancerous cells levels are perturbed. Scientists have needed a new tool to help measure this molecule in the body and in real time.

The new sensor can be implanted under the skin and used to monitor inflammation, which is a process that produces nitric oxide. These sensors can also be adapted to detect other molecules, such as monitoring glucose or insulin levels in diabetic patients.

“So far we have only looked at the liver, but we do see that it stays in the bloodstream and goes to kidneys. Potentially we could study all different areas of the body with this injectable nanoparticle,” Nicole Iverson, who led the study, said in a statement.

Researchers have previously found that carbon nanotubes can detect nitric oxide if the tubes are wrapped in DNA with a particular sequence. Scientists in the latest study were able to modify the nanotubes to create two different types of sensors, including one that can be injected into the bloodstream for short-term monitoring and one that is able to be implanted under the skin for long-term.

Iverson attached a biocompatible polymer that inhibits particle-clumping in the bloodstream in order to make the particles injectable. The researcher found that when injected into mice, the particles flow through the lungs and heart without causing any damage.

The longer-term sensor consists of nanotubes embedded in a gel made from alginate. When this gel is implanted under the skin of the mice, it stays in place and remains functional for 400 days. This sensor could be used to monitor cancer or other inflammatory diseases, or detect immune reactions in patients with artificial hips or other implanted devices.

James Tour, a professor of chemistry at Rice University’s Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, pointed out that the new sensors merge the fields of chemistry, polymers, nanomaterials, biology, medicine, and optics.

“The selectivity and sensitivity are indeed impressive,” Tour, who was not a part of the study, said in a statement.

The team is now working on adapting the technology to help detect glucose by wrapping different molecules around the nanotubes. Diabetic patients have to prick their fingers multiple times a day to take blood glucose readings. However, if Iverson and colleagues are able to modify this sensor then it would not only offer real-time glucose monitoring, but it could also provide relief from the burden of constantly pricking one’s finger.

“The current thinking is that every part of the closed-loop system is in place except for an accurate and stable sensor. There is considerable opportunity to improve upon devices that are now on the market so that a complete system can be realized,” Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, said in a statement.

Mysterious Wasting Bacteria Killing Starfish Along West Coast

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Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

California marine biologists are reporting the spread of a mysterious bacteria that is killing starfish up and down the West Coast – transforming the echinoderms into piles of goo in the process.

“They essentially melt in front of you,” Pete Raimondi, a biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, told The Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

The affected animals form white lesions on their exterior that grow and occasionally turn ulcerous. The starfish begin to lose arms and, after a few days or weeks, dissolve into what some have described simply as “goo.”

The disease, known as sea star wasting syndrome, has been seen in the past, but not at the rate observed during the current outbreak. Thought to be caused by a bacterium, scientists are trying to determine why the syndrome is spreading the way it is this year.

According to a recent report from UC Santa Cruz, ten different species of sea star have been affected with the disease and 95 percent of starfish in some coastal areas have been devastated. Scientists at the university are tracking reports of the disease, which has been seen as far north as Alaska and as far south as Santa Barbara, Calif.

“We’ve never seen it at this scale up and down the coast,” Raimondi said.

Anecdotal evidence points to something in the water as starfish in an aquarium at the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary visitor center at the San Francisco Presidio died from the syndrome in September. The tank was filled with water pumped in from the ocean, which did not affect the other organisms – such as eels and anemones – living in the aquarium.

Steven Morgan, an environmental science professor at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, told The Press Democrat that he saw some gaunt sea stars on the rocks at Schoolhouse Beach near Bodega Bay two months ago. Unfortunately, he didn’t collect samples and couldn’t substantiate if they had the wasting syndrome.

“It was a strange anomaly,” Morgan said. “None of us had ever seen anything like this before.”

While large groupings of the disease were seen near Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Barbara, Raimondi said the data probably under-represents the degree of the disease outbreak, which was first spotted over the summer in Washington.

According to The Press Democrat report, the syndrome primarily affects one species, Pisaster ochraceus. The orange and purple starfish inhabit California tide pools and play a major role in their biodiversity. The so-called ‘keystone’ species eats marine mussels and if the starfish are wiped out, the tidal mussels could proliferate and crowd out other species, Raimondi said.

The disease struck Southern California in 1983-84, but the current outbreak is already far more widespread, according to the limited data available. That outbreak decimated the area’s starfish and occurred during warmer waters of an El Niño phenomenon. Scientists believe the warmer temperatures allow the syndrome-causing bacteria to proliferate.

However, marine temperatures off Bodega Bay have been below average this year and near- average throughout the northeast Pacific, John Largier an oceanographer at the Bodega Marine Lab told The Press Democrat.

Raimondi said this fact “makes this event unusual and perhaps more disturbing.”

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Maltese tiger

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The Maltese tiger, also called the blue tiger, is considered to be a tiger with a morphed coloration. It is claimed to inhabit the region of Fujian Province, China. Sightings of Maltese tigers in Korea and Burma have also been reported.

The term Maltese derives from a domestic cat that has slate grey fur. Cats of this coloration are abundant in Malta, therefore, this variation of tiger has acquired its name.

In support of the blue tiger principle, many breeds of felines have this coloration, with wild cats such as bobcats and lynxes also being reported. A black tiger was once thought of as a myth, but pelts have been collected to prove they are real.

The blue-grey coloration of the Maltese tiger’s fur is theorized as a genetic mutation as in domesticated felines. However, it is also believed that the mutation would produce barely-visible stripes, or no stripes at all.

A sighting around 1910 by big game hunter Harry Caldwell was noted in his 1924 book, Blue Tiger. He stated that the blue tiger was seen outside of Fuzhou and he proceeded to hunt for it. Caldwell’s hunting partner also mentioned the blue tiger in his 1925 writing, Camps & Trails in China, chapter VII.

‘The markings of the beast are strikingly beautiful. The ground colour is of a delicate shade of Maltese, changing into light gray-blue on the underparts. The stripes are well defined and like those of the ordinary yellow tiger,’ — Caldwell, Chapman (1925)

Another sighting of a Maltese tiger came from the son of a US Army soldier who was in Korea during the Korean War. He claims his father spotted the tiger in the mountains.

Image Caption: An artistic rendering of the Maltese tiger (based on a photograph of a normal tiger). Credit: Mamapajama97/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 2.0)

American Girls Hitting Puberty Earlier Than Ever

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Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Sometimes it seems like today’s children are growing up faster than ever, and a new study published in the journal Pediatrics has found that American girls are indeed entering puberty earlier than ever before. The study also found a strong connection between female childhood obesity and the early onset of puberty.

“The impact of earlier maturation in girls has important clinical implications involving psychosocial and biologic outcomes,” said Dr. Frank Biro, author of the new study and a physician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “The current study suggests clinicians may need to redefine the ages for both early and late maturation in girls.”

Girls that physically mature faster than others run higher risks of having lower self-esteem, higher rates of depression, engaging in disruptive behavior, and lower academic performance. The early onset of puberty is also related to greater risks of obesity, cardiovascular problems and several types of cancer.

In the study, researchers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cincinnati and New York City tracked more than 1,200 girls ranging in age from 6 to 8 years at enrollment for the onset of breast development based on the five-stage scale known as the Tanner Breast Stages. In addition to tracking the girls’ physical maturity, the research team also recorded participants’ ethnicity and body mass index (BMI).

Female participants were followed at regular intervals from 2004 to 2011 and tracked longitudinally, which involved multiple regular visits for each girl. The researchers said this method gave a good perspective of the progress of each girl and when specific events in a girl’s life took place.

The team found that the onset of breast development varied by race, BMI and geographic location. Breast maturity started in white, non-Hispanic girls at a median age of 9.7 years, considerably earlier than previous studies had found. African-American girls experienced breast development at a median age of 8.8 years, earlier than white girls and consistent with previous studies. The median age for Hispanic girls’ development in the study was 9.3 years, and 9.7 years for girls of Asian descent.

Higher BMI was also related to earlier development. According to the research team’s report, rising obesity rates appear to be a “prime driver” for earlier breast development.

“The girls who are obese are clearly maturing earlier,” Biro told NBC News. “BMI is, we found, the biggest single factor for the onset of puberty.”

The researchers found that, on average, girls with BMIs below the 50th percentile experienced breast development at about age 10, while girls in the 85th and 95th percentiles began the maturation process as early as 8.5 years old.

Some experts say extra weight may ‘fool’ a young girls’ body into believing it has enough energy and other resources to start physically maturing – even at an earlier age.

Biro was careful to point out that BMI is just one of a host of factors that could be causing these girls to start puberty early and said parents shouldn’t focus on their child’s weight in order to delay puberty.

“Parents of these early maturing kids have to be more watchful,” he said. “But I don’t want to have a nation of patients with eating disorders. We need to figure out what are healthy weights for our kids. We want them to be comfortable with their bodies.”

A 2012 study by researchers from the University of North Carolina’s School of Public Health also found that boys were hitting puberty earlier as well – an average of six to 24 months ahead of what is considered healthy by medical professionals.

Science

Rising Temperatures Challenge Salt Lake City’s Water Supply

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In an example of the challenges water-strapped Western cities will face in a warming world, new research shows that every degree Fahrenheit of warming in the Salt Lake City region could mean a 1.8 to 6.5 percent drop in the annual flow of streams that provide water to the city.

By midcentury, warming Western temperatures may mean that some of the creeks and streams that help slake Salt Lake City’s thirst will dry up several weeks earlier in the summer and fall, according to the new paper, published today in the journal Earth Interactions. The findings may help regional planners make choices about long-term investments, including water storage and even land-protection policies.

“Many Western water suppliers are aware that climate change will have impacts, but they don’t have detailed information that can help them plan for the future,” said lead author Tim Bardsley, with NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Because our research team included hydrologists, climate scientists and water utility experts, we could dig into the issues that mattered most to the operators responsible for making sure clean water flows through taps and sprinklers without interruption.”

Bardsley works for the CIRES Western Water Assessment, from the NOAA Colorado Basin River Forecast Center in Salt Lake City. For the new paper, he worked closely with colleagues from the city’s water utility, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory and the University of Utah.

The team relied on climate model projections of temperature and precipitation in the area, historical data analysis and a detailed understanding of the region from which the city utility obtains water. The study also used NOAA streamflow forecasting models that provide information for Salt Lake City’s current water operations and management.

The picture that emerged was similar, in some ways, to previous research on the water in the Interior West: Warmer temperatures alone will cause more of the region’s precipitation to fall as rain than snow, leading to earlier runoff and less water in creeks and streams in the late summer and fall.

“Many snow-dependent regions follow a consistent pattern in responding to warming, but it’s important to drill down further to understand the sensitivity of watersheds that matter for individual water supply systems,” said NCAR’s Andy Wood, a co-author.

The specifics in the new analysis—which creeks are likely to be impacted most and soonest, how water sources on the nearby western flank of the Wasatch Mountains and the more distant eastern flank will fare—are critical to water managers with Salt Lake City.

“We are using the findings of this sensitivity analysis to better understand the range of impacts we might experience under climate change scenarios,” said co-author Laura Briefer, water resources manager at the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities. “This is the kind of tool we need to help us adapt to a changing climate, anticipate future changes and make sound water-resource decisions.”

“Water emanating from our local Wasatch Mountains is the lifeblood of the Salt Lake Valley, and is vulnerable to the projected changes in climate,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. “This study, along with other climate adaptation work Salt Lake City is doing, helps us plan to be a more resilient community in a time of climate change.”

Among the details in the new assessment:

-Temperatures are already rising in northern Utah, about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the last century, and continue to climb. Summer temperatures have increased especially steeply and are expected to continue to do so. Increasing temperatures during the summer irrigation season may increase water demand.
-Every increase in a degree Fahrenheit means an average decrease of 3.8 percent in annual water flow from watersheds used by Salt Lake City. This means less water available from Salt Lake City’s watersheds in the future.
-Lower-elevation streams are more sensitive to increasing temperatures, especially from May through September, and city water experts may need to rely on less-sensitive, higher-elevation sources in late summer, or more water storage.
-Models tell an uncertain story about total future precipitation in the region, primarily because Utah is on the boundary of the Southwest (projected to dry) and the U.S. northern tier states (projected to get wetter).
-Overall, models suggest increased winter flows, when water demand is lower, and decreased summer flows when water demand peaks.
-Annual precipitation would need to increase by about 10 percent to counteract the stream-drying effect of a 5-degree increase in temperature.
-A 5-degree temperature increase would also mean that peak water flow in the western Wasatch creeks would occur two to four weeks earlier in the summer than it does today. This earlier stream runoff will make it more difficult to meet water demand as the summer irrigation season progresses.

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New Genetic Testing Method Can Determine Whether DNA Comes From Mom Or Dad

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

In a development expected to improve the process of matching organ donors and understanding how genes contribute to diseases, researchers have devised a method that can help determine whether or not a specific genetic sequence came from an individual’s mother or father.

The technique, which was developed by experts from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and is described in the latest edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology, helps address a longstanding challenge when it comes to genome sequencing – discovering which traits come from which parent. The authors believe that the technique could improve personalized medicine.

“The technique will enable clinicians to better assess a person’s individual risk for disease. It is potentially transformative for personalized medicine,” explained Bing Ren, a Ludwig scientist working at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. “Current sequencing technologies are fast and rapidly getting cheaper… in the not too distant future, everyone’s genome will be sequenced. That will become the standard of care.”

However, Ren said, there is a potential issue with that scenario. With the exception of sex chromosomes, each person has two copies of each chromosome – one copy coming from their mother, and the other from their father. Current sequencing technology cannot distinguish between the two copies of each gene, and thus have difficulty determining whether particular genetic differences originate with a person’s mom or dad.

That’s where the new technique, HaploSeq, comes in. HaploSeq is described by the study authors as a mixture of molecular and computational biology, and allows researchers to determine which genetic variants occur together on the same stretch of a chromosome. That knowledge can tell whether or not the variations came from the same patent, and that discovery will have “profound effects on genetic research and discovery,” according to Siddarth Selvaraj, a member of the research team from UC San Diego.

“More immediately, the technique will enable clinicians to better assess a person’s individual risk for disease, a cornerstone of personalized medicine,” the Ludwig Institute said in a statement Sunday. “For instance, people at risk for a disease such as cancer often have more than one DNA mutation. HaploSeq could enable clinicians to determine if the two mutations are on the same chromosome or on different chromosomes, which can help in risk assessment – for instance, risk may be reduced if two mutations are on the same chromosome.”

In addition, with some additional fine-tuning, the technique could also streamline the process of finding a genetic match between an organ donor and the patient in need of the transplant. A large number of genes contribute to donor-recipient compatibility, the authors note. However, there is a lot of genetic variability in those genes, and the HaploSeq method could lead to the creation of a DNA database that would make it easier to determine whether or not a donor would be a good genetic match to a patient in need of an organ transplant.

“In principal, you could compare your genetic sequence to your neighbor’s and ask if you have any recent ancestors in common,” Ren said. “With our technique we can study each individual and how they relate to other individuals. As we accumulate data from many individuals we can more precisely determine their relationships… I anticipate that this new method will be quite widely used.”

Environmental Changes Following Pangea Integration May Have Caused Mass Extinction Event

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online
The integration of Pangea that began during the early Permian period may have caused the environment to deteriorate, playing a role in the mass extinction event that occurred 250 million years ago, according to research appearing in the most recent edition of the journal Science China Earth Sciences.
In the study, co-authors, professor Yin Hongfu and Dr. Song Haijun of the State Key Laboratory of Geobiology and Environmental Geology at the China University of Geosciences, reported that Pangea integration reached its peak sometime during the Late Permian or Early Triassic period, and during its formation, the world’s scattered continents joined together in one enormous landmass.
This supercontinent had an approximate area of 200 million km2, and the average thickness of this massive continent’s lithosphere would have been far greater than that of each individual continent. Based on equilibrium principle, the thicker this outermost shell of the landmass, the higher its portion over the equilibrium level. This means that the average altitude of Pangea should have been much higher than each of the individual modern continents, Hongfu and Dr. Haijun explained in their study.
At this same time, the oceans gathered to form one massive body of water known as the Panthalassa, which was likely far deeper than the separated oceans of today. Thus, during their peak, Pangea and Panthalassa would have marked an era of high continents and deep oceans, the researchers added. This should have induced tremendous regression and influenced several parts of the planet’s surface systems, especially global climate.
Also during this time, the Tunguss Trap of Siberia, the Emeishan Basalt erupted, and this large-scale volcanic event should be evoked by mantle plumes and related to Pangea integration, the study authors said. Those types of volcanic activities could cause a series of extinction events, including the emission of large volumes of carbon dioxide, methane, nitric oxide and cyanides. The release of those gases would have caused greenhouse effects, followed by poisonous gases, damage to the ozone layer and an increase in UV radiation.
Increases in greenhouse gas concentration would have resulted in global warming, oxygen depletion and carbon-cycle anomalies, and other atmospheric changes. Furthermore, physical and chemical anomalies in the oceans – including euxinia (restricted hydrologic circulation), acidification, and low sulfate concentration – would have resulted in marine extinction due to unadaptable environments, selective death and increased CO2 levels in the blood.
Meanwhile, tropical rain forests and other terrestrial land vegetation would have been devastated by wildfires, continental aridity and the disappearance of the monsoon system, Hongfu and Dr. Haijun explained. These planetary changes and mass extinction events were probably the result of the interaction among the lithosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere (including the process of evolution in living creatures). In particular, the scientists cite relationships between the biosphere and the geospheres as a key piece of the puzzle.
“The event sequence at the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) reveals two-episodic pattern of rapidly deteriorating global changes and biotic mass extinction and the intimate relationship between them. The severe global changes coupling multiple geospheres may have affected the Pangea integration on the Earth’s surface spheres,” the study authors wrote.
They added that “mantle convection may have caused the process of the Pangea integration,” and that “subduction, delamination, and accumulation of the earth’s cool lithospheric material… started mantle plume by heat compensation and disturbed the outer core thermo-convection, and the latter in turn would generate the mid-Permian geomagnetic reversal. These core and mantle perturbations may have caused the Pangea integration… and probably finally the mass extinction at the PTB.”

Fibromyalgia

Common Symptoms Attributed To Fibromyalgia

Written By: Fibromyalgia Treating

Fibromyalgia is an extremely irritating and debilitating disorder that affects quite a small percentage of the American population. The disorder can be explained as a widespread musculoskeletal pain.

The fibromyalgia disorders often accompanied by fatigue and memory, mood, and sleeping problems. Researchers of the fibromyalgia disorder believe that fibromyalgia heightens the human body’s painful sensations and can affect the processing of the brain when receiving signals of pain.

The symptoms associated to fibromyalgia will oftentimes begin sometime after a person has been subject to a physical trauma or after they have been through some type of intense surgery. Sometimes, infections can cause the fibromyalgia disorder or it can be the result of a severe amount of psychological stresses. With all that said, there is no concrete cause or trigger that has been verified as the cause of fibromyalgia.

The fibromyalgia disorder is found in the female population than it is the male population, on average. Those diagnosed with the fibromyalgia disorder commonly identify that they are subject to severe tension headaches and migraines and sometimes feel the symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ.

Also, irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, has been seen in some cases of persons afflicted by fibromyalgia. Additionally, anxiety and rather severe depression have been very commonattributions to fibromyalgia. At present moment, there is substantial evidence that can verify a cure for the fibromyalgia disorder.

However, there are a few options available to help ease the symptoms attributed to fibromyalgia. These options are usually medications or some natural treatments that those diagnose with the fibromyalgia disorder can seek out for themselves.

Moreover, it has been noted by several researches and physicians that proper exercise, a healthy diet, and the use of various stress reducing activities and relaxation techniques can help to soothe the symptoms.

Common Symptoms Attributed To Fibromyalgia

Symptoms

The list of symptoms that tend to accompany fibromyalgia is quite large. While there exists a variety medications that may help those that are suffering from the aches and ailments of fibromyalgia, it can be very difficult to keep up with the medications and what side effects they may cause when there are already so many symptoms to deal with.

Fatigue is generally the most common of these symptoms and the one that is earliest onset. The fatigue caused by fibromyalgia can be described as crippling and extremely exhausting by those that are diagnosed with fibromyalgia. No matter the amount of sleep one gets, fatigue can still be felt after awaking from slumber.

Anxiety is another symptom that often occurs simultaneously with other symptoms of fibromyalgia.. Anxiety can be very difficult to overcome and should not be something that is overlooked. Those with anxiety as a symptom of their fibromyalgia should seek out treatment for it. Anxiety can be caused by a variety of factors and there is no clear explanation as to why those diagnosed with fibromyalgia experience the symptom.

Heavy depression is extremely common among those diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The disorder oftentimes leaves those that are diagnosed feeling very useless, anxious, fatigued, exhausted mentally and physically, and psychologically agitated.Because of these everyday feelings, depression can sometimes occur.

Depression is quite difficult to avoid when diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but those that have the disorder should continue to look to fill their day with rewarding and highly pleasurable experiences that will help them to take their minds off of their conditions.

Headaches and migraines happen very frequently to those that have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. As mentioned above, the brain is subject to more pain sensations when the body is inflicted with fibromyalgia and this can cause the brain to become exhausted.

This can be very difficult to avoid. There are several over-the-counter medications that can help to ease the pain of a headache or migraine, but should always be taken in careful moderation.

The symptoms that are caused by the fibromyalgia disorder are bountiful in number. The pain that is caused by fibromyalgia is often described by those that have been diagnosed with the disorderas a constant dulling achiness that occurs all over the body, especially in the muscles.

Fibromyalgia can also cause a person to be in yet more pain when a firm pressure is applied to specific areas on their body, or on what is known as the body’s tender points. Tender points can be located in several positions and vary dependent upon the individual.

The tender points can be found on the back part of the head, in between a person’s shoulder blades, on top of the shoulders, the front side of the neck, the upper chest area, the outside of the elbows, the upper hips, the sides of the hips, and on the inside of the knees.

These areas will often feel weak and will be extremely sensitive to the touch. This makes for a very frustrating experience for those persons that are suffering from the fibromyalgia disorder.

Those that are subject to the symptoms of the fibromyalgia disorder commonly report to their physicians that they still feel very tired even after nights that they have attained what they believed to be an adequate amount of sleep.Sometime, even when a person with fibromyalgia increased the amount of time they reserve for sleeping, they will still be subject to fatigue when they awaken.

Chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia will disrupt sleep and may cause the person to be very uncomfortable while in bed. Because of this, many sleep disorders ensue including sleep apnea.

Additionally, someone with fibromyalgia will sometimes develop what is known as restless legs syndrome because they are not able to sleep off their fatigue and have begun to sleep too much in their efforts to rid themselves of their exhaustion. These types of sleep disorders sometimes can worsen the fibromyalgia symptoms.

The disease is definitely a tough one to overcome, but those diagnosed with it should know that it is not the end of their life. Many people that are diagnosed with fibromyalgia live active lifestyles that filled with pleasurable experiences and activities. While there will be bad days, they certainly must not affect the good days.

Automated System Could Monitor Drug-Induced Comas Accurately

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Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

A patient with a traumatic brain injury will sometimes be placed into a medically-induced coma, which allows the brain time to heal and dangerous swelling to subside. Brought about through the use of general anesthesia drugs, medically-induced comas can last for days.

In the current system, doctors and nurses need to monitor these patients to ensure they are at the right level of sedation. A new study published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology has described an automated system that can follow patients’ brain activity and respond accordingly with drug dosages that maintain the correct state.

“Someone has to be constantly coming back and checking on the patient, so that you can hold the brain in a fixed state. Why not build a controller to do that?” said Dr. Emery Brown, a professor of medical engineering at MIT.

Brown and his team started by analyzing brain waves in different states of activity: awake, asleep, sedated and anesthetized. For each state, they were able to select a distinctive electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern.

When patients are in a drug-induced coma, the brain is silent for up to several seconds at a time, which is interrupted by short bursts of activity. This pattern of activity, also called as burst suppression, allows the brain to save necessary energy during times of trauma.

As a patient slips into a drug-induced coma, the person administering anesthesia drugs targets a specific number of “bursts per screen” as brain activity streams across the EEG monitor. This pattern has to be established for hours or days at a time.

“If ever there were a time to try to build an autopilot, this is the perfect time,” Brown said. “Imagine that you’re going to fly for two days and I’m going to give you a very specific course to maintain over long periods of time, but I still want you to keep your hand on the stick to fly the plane. It just wouldn’t make sense.”

To automate the monitoring process, the team constructed a communication pathway between the brain and a device made to assist various brain functions. The device included an EEG system, a drug-infusion pump, a computer and a control algorithm. The anesthesia drug propofol was chosen to keep the brain at an ideal level of burst suppression.

In tests on laboratory rats, the computer’s algorithm interpreted the animal’s EEG, calculated how much drug was in the brain and adjusted how much of the drug to inject into the rodent on a second-by-second basis.

The system can also regulate the depth of a coma nearly instantaneously, which would be impossible to accomplish manually, the research team said. The system could also be set to take a patient out of an induced coma occasionally so doctors could conduct neurological tests.

“Much of what we do in medicine is making educated guesses as to what’s best for the patient at any given time,” said Dr. Sydney Cash, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School who was not part of Brown’s team. “This approach introduces a methodology where doctors and nurses don’t need to guess, but can rely on a computer to figure out — in much more detail and in a time-efficient fashion — how much drug to give.”

Severe Hot Flashes Curbed Using Neck Injection Of Anesthetic

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Women may be able to reduce the severity of hot flashes by as much as 50 percent with a quick injection to the neck of local anesthesia, according to a new study from Northwestern University.

“We think we are resetting the thermostat in women who are experiencing moderate to very severe hot flashes without using hormonal therapies,” said David Walega, MD, chief of the Division of Pain Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

The study included 40 women between the ages of 35 and 65 years old. All of the participants were experiencing either natural or induced menopause, and suffered debilitating hot flashes with more severe symptoms than the typical hot flash.

“Many of the women in our study experienced repeated drenching sweats that lessen the ability to go about a day-to-day routine, including interfering with their professional lives,” said Walega.”We wanted to see if this injection could provide symptom relief without hormones, as hormone therapy has been associated with an increased risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease, and there are few other viable treatment options available right now.”

To administer the treatment, Walega used low dose X-ray to guide an injection of bupivacaine hydrochloride, a commonly used local anesthetic, into a nerve bundle known as the stellate ganglion located in the neck near the voice box.

The 30-second procedure must be conducted by a trained physician because the injection is in close proximity to important structures like the carotid artery, the vertebral artery and the spinal nerves. Injecting any of those areas could potentially cause a seizure, loss of consciousness or other complications.

The idea for this treatment came from a pain study published in 2007 in the medical journal The Lancet, in which stellate ganglion injections were performed in an attempt to alleviate pain. The researchers found that in some cases hot flashes had entirely dissipated after the injection, independent of pain relief. This led Walega and his team to wonder if this might be a safe, effective way of treating hot flashes related to menopause.

In the current study, patients tracked their hot flashes for two weeks before and six months after the injection. Half the group received the anesthetic, while the other were injected with a placebo of saline, or salt-water. Those who received the anesthetic medication reported a reduction of hot flashes by as much as one-half, with the benefits lasting six months.

The researchers are now planning a larger study to further investigate the shot’s effectiveness. Walega presented the results of the initial study at a recent American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting.

Atmospheric Cooling Could Be Result Of Oceanic Heat Absorption

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

The apparent stabilization of atmospheric temperatures over the past decade — often cited by climate change skeptics as evidence that global warming has slowed down or stopped — is actually caused by a radical increase in the amount of heat being absorbed by the oceans, according to a new study.

Yair Rosenthal, a climate scientist at Rutgers University, and colleagues report that the ocean is now absorbing heat 15 times faster than it had over the previous 10,000 years. While that phenomenon could provide experts and government officials with additional time to deal with the climate change issue, it is a problem as well and will eventually have to be addressed.

“We may have underestimated the efficiency of the oceans as a storehouse for heat and energy,” Rosenthal, a professor of marine and coastal sciences in the Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, said in a statement Thursday. “It may buy us some time – how much time, I don’t really know – to come to terms with climate change. But it’s not going to stop climate change.”

Rosenthal and co-authors Braddock Linsley of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Delia W. Oppo of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), who have published their findings in the journal Science, created a reconstruction of Pacific Ocean temperatures during the past 10,000 years.

They discovered that the middle depths of the ocean have warmed 15 times faster over the past six decades than they did during the apparent natural warming cycles in the thousands of years prior.

“We’re experimenting by putting all this heat in the ocean without quite knowing how it’s going to come back out and affect climate,” said Linsley. “It’s not so much the magnitude of the change, but the rate of change.”

In September, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report noting the recent slowdown in the rate of global warming, the researchers said. From the 1950s through much of the 1990s, worldwide temperatures increased approximately one-fifth of a degree Fahrenheit per decade. Following record highs in 1998, however, that warming rate was cut in half.

“The IPCC has attributed the pause to natural climate fluctuations caused by volcanic eruptions, changes in solar intensity, and the movement of heat through the ocean,” officials from Columbia University said in a statement. “The IPCC scientists agree that much of the heat that humans have put into the atmosphere since the 1970s through greenhouse gas emissions probably has been absorbed by the ocean.”

According to the study authors, the newly-published study puts that hypothesis into a long-term context, while suggesting that ocean waters may have been storing a greater percentage of human emissions than had been previously realized.

Based on the study’s long-term perspective, climate scientists believe that recent trends in global warming could just be random variations in which heat is transferred from the atmosphere to the ocean waters, and that the recent decrease could have little to no long-term impact on global climate change.

AIDS Virus Protein Analysis Brings Researchers Closer To HIV Vaccine

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redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Weill Cornell Medical College have completed a new analysis of a key AIDS protein long considered to be one of the most difficult targets in structural biology, and their work is an important step forward in the development of an HIV vaccine.

In two separate papers published Thursday in Science Express, the online early edition of the journal Science, the researchers report that they have determined the first atomic-level structure of the tripartite HIV envelope protein.

Their findings provide the most detailed picture yet of the virus’s complex envelope, including sites that could be mimicked by future vaccines to produce an immune response. Currently, antiviral drugs are being used to treat the roughly 34 million HIV-infected people worldwide, but the medical community’s attempts to develop a vaccine to prevent infections and possibly even eradicate the illness have fallen short to date.

The biggest obstacle to a vaccine is Env, a name given to HIV’s envelope protein by virologists, the study authors explain. This protein’s structure is so delicate and complex that researchers have had trouble obtaining the protein in a form that is suitable to undergo atomic-resolution imaging.

“It tends to fall apart, for example, even when it’s on the surface of the virus, so to study it we have to engineer it to be more stable,” explained Andrew Ward, an assistant professor in TSRI’s Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. Thus, the goal is to engineer a version of the Env trimer stable enough to be analyzed while maintaining nearly all of the original structural characteristics.

Ward, along with Ian A. Wilson, Bridget Carragher and other colleagues from TSRI, as well as John Moore, Rogier W. Sanders and other experts from Weill Cornell, successfully managed to produce a version of the protein that can survive atomic-level imaging work while including all of the trimer structure that normally sits outside of the viral membrane.

They then evaluated this new type of Env, dubbed BG505 SOSIP.664 gp140, using both X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy. The X-ray crystallography study marked the first time that the imaging technique had been used to analyze Env, while both methods resolved the trimer structure to a finer level of detail than has been reported before, the authors of the two research papers said.

“The new data are consistent with the findings on Env subunits over the last 15 years, but also have enabled us to explain many prior observations about HIV in structural terms for the first time,” explained Dr. Jean-Philippe Julien, a senior research associate in the Wilson’s laboratory and first author of the X-ray crystallography study.

“Arguably the most important implications of the new findings are for HIV vaccine design,” Weill Cornell reported in a statement. “In both of the new studies, Env trimers were imaged while bound to broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV. Such antibodies, isolated from naturally infected patients, are the very rare ones that somehow bind to Env in a way that blocks the infectivity of a high proportion of HIV strains.”

Under ideal circumstances, an HIV vaccine would cause a tremendous release of these types of the vaccine would benefit from knowing the exact structural detail of the sites where the antibodies bind to the virus so that they can be mimicked. The authors said that the data they gathered is already being used towards vaccine development.

“We and others are already injecting the trimer into animals to elicit antibodies,” Dr. Ward said. “We can look at the antibodies that are generated and if necessary modify the Env trimer structure and try again. In this iterative way, we aim to refine and increase the antibody response in the animals and eventually, humans.”

Astronomers Say Supernova Will Be Visible From Earth Within 50 Years

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editor

[ Watch the Video: Is There A Supernova In Your Future? ]

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

A supernova is one of the most brilliant events to take place in the universe and astronomers at The Ohio State University have determined we will see one in the Milky Way Galaxy within the next 50 years.

While the odds of actually seeing a star explode with the naked eye is very low during that time span, a supernova would be visible to specialized telescopes in the form of infrared radiation, wrote the researchers in a report published in The Astrophysical Journal.

“We see all these stars go supernova in other galaxies, and we don’t fully understand how it happens. We think we know, we say we know, but that’s not actually 100 percent true,” said Christopher Kochanek, professor of astronomy at Ohio State. “Today, technologies have advanced to the point that we can learn enormously more about supernovae if we can catch the next one in our galaxy and study it with all our available tools.”

Today’s computer models are able to realistically match what astronomers see in the skies, but actually recording a supernova event from start to finish could prove or disprove those many theoretical models.

Unfortunately, the Milky Way is filled with soot-like dust particles that absorb the light and could potentially obscure a supernova from our view.

“Every few days, we have the chance to observe supernovae happening outside of our galaxy,” said study author Scott Adams, a doctoral student at Ohio State. “But there’s only so much you can learn from those, whereas a galactic supernova would show us so much more.

“Despite the ease with which astronomers find supernovae occurring outside our galaxy, it wasn’t obvious before that it would be possible to get complete observations of a supernova occurring within our galaxy,” Adams added. “Soot dims the optical light from stars near the center of the galaxy by a factor of nearly a trillion by the time it gets to us. Fortunately, infrared light is not affected by this soot as much and is only dimmed by a factor of 20.”

For anyone who might want to see a Milky Way supernova with the naked eye, the chances are lower and depend on an observer’s latitude on Earth. Adams determined between a 20 and 50 percent chance of seeing a galactic supernova with the unaided eye from somewhere on Earth within the next 50 years. Observers in the southern hemisphere would get the best chance because they can see more of the Milky Way in their night sky. As latitude of the observer increases, the chance of seeing a supernova drops, to as low as 10 percent in Ohio, for example.

In 1604, when Johannes Kepler famously spotted a supernova about 20,000 light years away, he was in northern Italy at the time. Adams said the odds Ohioans would see a similar dazzling supernova is only around 5 percent.

“The odds of seeing a spectacular display aren’t in our favor, but it is still an exciting possibility!” he concluded.

“With only one or two happening a century, the chance of a Milky Way supernova is small, but it would be a tragedy to miss it, and this work is designed to improve the chances of being ready for the scientific event of a lifetime,” added John Beacom, professor of physics and astronomy at Ohio State.

Science

Plant Production Could Drop As Climate Change Affects Soil Nutrients

Written By: editor

Northern Arizona University

As drylands of the world become even drier, water will not be the only resource in short supply. Levels of nutrients in the soil will likely be affected, and their imbalance could affect the lives of one-fifth of the world’s population.

That includes people living in Arizona, who may be in for a dustier future.

The findings are presented in a study published in Nature that details how soil changes may occur and discusses the implications. Co-author Matthew Bowker, assistant professor of forest soils and ecosystem ecology at Northern Arizona University, was involved with the project since 2009.

Bowker explained that most of the 17 nutrients that plants need to grow to their potential are soil resources, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. The statistical model he helped develop for the study suggests that as the climate becomes more arid, nitrogen will decrease and phosphorus will increase.

“Both are essential for plant growth, and both are typical components of fertilizer, but both need to be around in the right quantities for plant growth to proceed most efficiently,” Bowker said.

“It’s like a situation where you’re making hamburgers but run out of beef. You can’t just slip in another bun and still produce a hamburger.”

Drylands, which are defined by predominantly lower levels of moisture, cover about 41 percent of the earth’s surface. The study suggests that people who depend on those ecosystems for crops, livestock forage, fuel and fiber will find their resources increasingly restrained.

In Arizona, Bowker said, the projected decrease in plant production could magnify the impact of dust storms, which have been increasing in recent decades.

“We can probably expect more and more dust in the air,” he said.

The project involved visits by research teams in 16 countries to 224 locations on every continent except Antarctica. Bowker led one of the sampling teams, which visited 10 study sites in northern Arizona and Utah. Those sites ranged from dry, grassy shrublands with low precipitation to relatively wet sagebrush ecosystems.

“This is a testament to the power of networked science,” Bowker said, adding that it would have been “prohibitively expensive” for any one researcher or research group to complete the project.

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Tweaking The Recipe To Turn Junk Food Pizza Into A Healthy Snack

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editor

[ Watch the Video: Tweaking Pizza To Make It Healthier Is Possible ]

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Pizza is probably among the top guilty pleasures for most people and a new study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition has examined how a couple of healthy tweaks can make that slice of deliciousness just a little bit healthier.

Conducted by a team of Scottish researchers, the study looked specifically at the more traditional, personal-sized Margarita pizzas, which have a flat crust, a ladle full of sauce and a sprinkling of cheese.

“Traditional pizza should be a low-fat meal containing at least one portion of vegetables, so mainly made from ingredients associated with better cardiovascular health,” study author Mike Lean said of Margarita pizzas. “However, to enhance shelf-life, commercial pizza recipes today include much more fat and salt than desirable.”

“Until now, nobody has stopped to notice that many essential vitamins and minerals are very low or even completely absent. From a nutrition and health perspective, they are hazardous junk,” said Lean, a physician and nutritionist at the University of Glasgow.

First, the team of researchers determined the nutritional content and quality of commercially-available pizzas. A total of 25 Margarita pizzas were included for analysis, varying in calorie content, ranging from 200 to over 560 calories. Few of the pizzas in the study approached the 600 calorie mark that would make it a proper meal, the Scottish team said.

Just 6 of 25 pizzas in the study contained too much total fat, or 25 percent of total energy, with eight having too much saturated fat and only two having a desirable level of less than 11 percent total energy. Most of the fat in the pizzas came from the cheese, the scientists said.

To make the tiny traditional pizza into a nutritionally-balanced meal, at least 45 percent of the energy intake should come from carbohydrates, the researchers said. Five pizzas in the study failed to meet this requirement because of high fat and protein contents.

Of the few pizzas that had readily available vitamin and mineral content information, none met the recommended value for iron, vitamin C and vitamin A, the researchers said.

“While none of the pizzas tested satisfied all the nutritional requirements, many of the requirements were met in some pizzas, which told us it should be possible to modify the recipes to make them more nutritionally-balanced without impacting on flavor – health by stealth, if you like,” said Lean.

To make the pizzas into a healthier food, the researchers modified a modern pizza recipe by reducing the amount of salt used and adding whole-wheat flour, a small amount of Scottish seaweed to increase flavor, vitamin B12, fiber, iron, vitamin A and iodine, as well as adding red peppers for additional extra vitamin C.

The ratio of bread to Mozzarella cheese was changed to correct the carbohydrate-fat-protein proportions and lower saturated fat content. After cooking, the new recipe was analyzed in the laboratory.

The team also conducted a taste test with members of the public, with both children and adults giving it positive reviews for taste and attractiveness, the study said.

“There really is no reason why pizzas and other ready meals should not be nutritionally-balanced,” Lean said. “We have shown it can be done with no detriment for taste.

“Promoting ‘healthy eating’ and nutritional education have had little impact on eating habits or health so far, and taking so-called ‘nutritional supplements’ makes things worse,” he added. “We can’t all make entirely home-made meals, so it’s about time that manufacturers took steps to make their products better suited to human biology, and we have shown then [sic] how to do it. Rather than sneaking in additives like salt, they could be boasting about healthier ingredients that will benefit consumers.”

UCLA Biologists Uncover The Secrets Involved In Leaf Size, Shape

Written By: editor

Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Trees, and more specifically, the leaves that adorn them, having predated human’s foray into scientific learning, should harbor no mysteries at this point. However, nature continues to surprise us.

Whether it is news of gold in eucalyptus leaves, as we learned last week with news out of Australia, or the simple yet profound truth of the math that governs internal leaf structure, human understanding continues to expand with the study of some of the world’s oldest and simplest structures.

This week, researchers from UCLA’s College of Letters and Science have discovered the fundamental rules that govern internal leaf design. These rules grant plants the ability to produce leaves that vary greatly in size. According to Lawren Sack, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior author of the research, the study findings show how leaves are, in fact, the “perfect machines.”

Allometric analysis was employed to help the team discover the mathematical relationships which show how the proportions of parts of an organism change with differences in total size. This study marks the first time allometric analysis has been employed to study the interior of leaves.

The study results, published in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Botany, focus on how leaf anatomy varies across leaves of different sizes. Each species studied was grown on the UCLA campus even though they are native to differing regions around the world.

The team notes the study of leaf surface area among different species is easy to observe. However, differences in leaf thickness are less obvious but equally important.

“Once you start rubbing leaves between your fingers, you can feel that some leaves are floppy and thin, while others are rigid and thick,” said Grace John, a UCLA doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology and lead author of the research. “We started with the simplest questions — but ones that had never been answered clearly — such as whether leaves that are thicker or larger in area are constructed of different sizes or types of cells.”

Every leaf consists of three basic tissues. Each tissue contains cells meant to carry out its own unique and particular set of functions. Whether looking at the epidermis of the leaf or the mesophyll or vascular tissues, the team discovered that the thickness of the leaf had a direct correlation to the size of the cells in the epidermis and mesophyll. This did not hold true, however, for the cells in the vascular tissue.

Most interesting to the team was the “extraordinary” strength of the relationships linking cell size and thickness and leaf thickness, regardless of leaf species and the region on earth where it is native. The mathematical equations developed by the team apply across the board and will allow scientists in future studies to accurately predict cell and cell wall dimensions based solely on the thickness of the leaf they are studying. In most cases, the relationships the team found were isometric.

“This means that if a leaf has a larger cell in one tissue, it has a larger cell in another tissue, in direct proportion, as if you blew up the leaf and all its cells using Photoshop,” said Christine Scoffoni, a doctoral student at UCLA and member of the research team.

While the thickness of the leaf is the determinant of cell and cell wall thickness, a leaf’s area is completely unrelated to that relationship. This means plants are able to produce leaves with a huge range of surface areas without the need for larger cells in some and smaller cells in others. This, say the researchers, would be completely inefficient for the plant function.

Because some leaves receive more light than others on a plant, the team hypothesized this mathematical relationship most likely stems from leaf development – the process by which leaves form on the branch, growing from a few cells that divide into many, with cells then expanding until the leaf is fully mature. Leaves are unable to affect the number of cells they arrange vertically. Cell and cell wall expansion occurs simultaneously and is reflected in the thickness of the whole leaf, regardless of leaf area. Therefore, the cells arranged horizontally in the leaves continue to increase as the leaf expands; the size of the individual cells is irrelevant.

Sack stated the real-world benefit of the team’s findings will allow researchers the ability to make predictions of the function of the leaf based on leaf thickness. This is because leaf thickness affects not only the photosynthetic rate, but also the lifespan.

“A minor difference in thickness tells us more about the layout inside the leaf than a much more dramatic difference in leaf area,” John said.

Other disciplines, such as engineering, could gain new insight into the potential design and construction of larger structures without losing function or stability.

“Fundamental discoveries like these highlight the elegant solutions evolved by natural systems,” Sack said. “Plant anatomy often has been perceived as boring. Quantitative discoveries like these prove how exciting this science can be. We need to start re-establishing skill sets in this type of fundamental science to extract practical lessons from the mysteries of nature.

“There are so many properties of leaves we cannot yet imitate synthetically,” he added. “Leaves are providing us with the blueprints for bigger, better things. We just have to look close enough to read them.”

The discovery of these new allometric equations is, according to John, an important step toward understanding the design of leaves on a cellular basis. The overall diversity of leaf structures on earth also means there is still so much more to learn.

The research team next intends to study species that are very closely related in an effort to uncover any evolutionary relationships between leaf design and function. Funding for the current study was provided by the National Science Foundation.

“What makes the cross-sections especially exciting is the huge variation from one species to the next,” John said. “Some have relatively enormous cells in certain tissues, and cell shapes vary from cylindrical to star-shaped. Each species is beautiful in its distinctiveness. All of this variation needs decoding.”