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271,721 articles from PhysOrg

War affects Iraqis' health more after fleeing

The risk of depression is greater among Iraqi soldiers who took part in the Gulf War than among civilians. Surprisingly, on the other hand, neither of these groups showed any signs of post-traumatic stress ten years after that war-­with the exception of those Iraqis who have left Iraq. This is demonstrated in a study published in the new issue of the scientific journal New Iraqi Journal of...

What is really happening to the Greenland icecap?

The Greenland ice cap has been a focal point of recent climate change research because it is much more exposed to immediate global warming than the larger Antarctic ice sheet. Yet while the southern Greenland ice cap has been melting, it is still not clear how much this is contributing to rising sea levels, and much further research is needed. A framework for such research was defined at a recent...

Where have all the students gone?

Why are the number of students studying soil science as a major declining across the United States? Mary Collins, University of Florida, Gainesville, writes about this in an article published in the 2008 Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education.

Fibromyalgia can no longer be called the 'invisible' syndrome

Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the disorder are related to a dysfunction in those parts of the brain where pain is processed.

What's the role of Kupffer cells in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis?

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a disorder characterized by hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis with a risk of developing cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The progression from simple steatosis to cirrhosis has been attributed to inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-), oxidative stress and endotoxin, in combination with fatty...

Calif. surgeon faces trial in organ donation case

(AP) -- Ruben Navarro loved horror movies. He watched the "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th" series with his mother, Rosa, and liked to visit Knott's Berry Farm when it was transformed every October to "Knott's Scary Farm."

Grandparents a safe source of childcare

For working parents, having grandparents as caregivers can cut the risk of childhood injury roughly in half, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Compared to organized daycare or care by the mother or other relatives, having a grandmother watch a child was associated with a decreased risk of injury for the child. The study is among the...

Mexico City's 'water monster' nears extinction

(AP) -- Beneath the tourist gondolas in the remains of a great Aztec lake lives a creature that resembles a monster - and a Muppet - with its slimy tail, plumage-like gills and mouth that curls into an odd smile.

Sarcospan, a little protein for a big problem

The overlooked and undervalued protein, sarcospan, just got its moment in the spotlight. Peter et al. now show that adding it to muscle cells might ameliorate the most severe form of muscular dystrophy.

West Nile's North American spread described

The rapid spread of West Nile virus in North America over the past decade is likely to have long-lasting ecological consequences throughout the continent, according to an article in the November issue of BioScience. The mosquito-borne virus, which was little known before its emergence in New York in 1999, has since been found in all 48 contiguous states.


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A double-barreled immune cell approach for neuroblastoma

Adding an artificial tumor-specific receptor to immune system cells called T-lymphocytes that target a particular virus extended and improved the cells' ability to fight a form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, said researchers form Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Medicine.

Detecting tiny twists with a nanomachine

Researchers at Boston University working with collaborators in Germany, France and Korea have developed a nanoscale torsion resonator that measures miniscule amounts of twisting or torque in a metallic nanowire. This device, the size of a speck of dust, might enable measurements of the untwisting of DNA and have applications in spintronics, fundamental physics, chemistry and biology.

Human genes sing different tunes in different tissues

Scientists have long known that it's possible for one gene to produce slightly different forms of the same protein by skipping or including certain sequences from the messenger RNA. Now, an MIT team has shown that this phenomenon, known as alternative splicing, is both far more prevalent and varies more between tissues than was previously believed.