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279,036 articles from PhysOrg

Microsoft Excel-based algorithm predicts cancer prognosis

Using readily available computer programs, researchers have developed a system to identify genes that will be useful in the classification of breast cancer. The algorithm, described in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research will enable researchers to quickly generate valuable gene signatures without specialized software or extensive bioinformatics training.

Study recommends changes to emergency seed aid

A major study of agriculture in Haiti after this year's earthquake has found that much of the emergency seed aid provided after the disaster was not targeted to emergency needs. The report concludes that seed aid, when poorly-designed, could actually harm farmers or depress local markets, therefore hampering recovery from emergencies.

UK: New guidelines to ease sleepless nights

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common, yet are not generally well understood by doctors and other health care professionals. Now the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has released up-to-the-minute guidelines in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, to guide psychiatrists and physicians caring for those with sleep problems.

Biochemical pathway may link addiction, compulsive eating

Ezlopitant, a compound known to suppress craving for alcohol in humans, was shown to decrease consumption of sweetened water by rodents in a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.

Brain exercises may slow cognitive decline initially, but speed up dementia later

New research shows that mentally stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles, reading and listening to the radio may, at first, slow the decline of thinking skills but speed up dementia later in old age. The research is published in the September 1, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Critical polar data flows briskly to researchers

Operation IceBridge -- a NASA airborne mission to observe changes in Earth's rapidly changing polar land ice and sea ice -- is soon to embark on its fourth field season in October. The mission is now paralleled by a campaign to bring data to researchers as quickly as possible and to accelerate the analysis of those changes and how they may affect people and climate systems.

Global Hawk drone aircraft flies over Frank on the GRIP hurricane mission

NASA's 2010 hurricane experiment is in full swing as the tropics have heated up. NASA's Global Hawk unmanned aircraft was sent out over this past weekend to conduct measurements on then Tropical Storm Frank in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the first ever high-altitude flyover of a tropical cyclone with a UAS (unmanned aircraft system).

Kids with sports concussions need time out

Between 1997-2007, the number of emergency room visits for concussions doubled in children ages 8-13 who play organized sports. Part of the reason is greater awareness, according to Mark E. Halstead, MD, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery and of pediatrics and director of Washington University in St. Louis` Sports Concussion Program.

Lower blood pressure goal benefits some African-Americans with chronic kidney disease

On average, a lower blood pressure goal was no better than the standard blood pressure goal at slowing progression of kidney disease among African-Americans who had chronic kidney disease resulting from high blood pressure, according to results of the African-American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK), the largest and longest study of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in...

Neonatal intensive care units critical to infant survival

Very low birthweight and very preterm infants are more likely to die if they are not born at hospitals with neonatal intensive care units specially equipped to care for seriously ill newborns, in contrast to similar babies born at those specialized facilities.

Recipe for water: Just add starlight

ESA's (European Space Agency) Herschel infrared space observatory has discovered that ultraviolet starlight is a key ingredient for making water in the atmosphere of some stars. It is the only explanation for why a dying star is surrounded by a gigantic cloud of hot water vapour. These new results will be published tomorrow in Nature.

Researchers receive largest single collection of psoriasis DNA samples

Millions of Americans struggling with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are one step closer to a cure with the release of the first National Psoriasis Victor Henschel BioBank DNA samples for use in research at the University of Michigan Health System; research that hopes to uncover the unknowns about the genetics of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Sensor measures yoctonewton forces fast

(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have used a small crystal of ions (electrically charged atoms) to detect forces at the scale of yoctonewtons. Measurements of slight forces -one yoctonewton is equivalent to the weight of a single copper atom on Earth -- can be useful in force microscopy, nanoscale science, and tests of fundamental physics theories.

Spectrum of young extrasolar planet yields surprising results

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have measured the temperature of a young gas-giant planet around another star using the W. M. Keck Observatory, and the results are puzzling. They have found that its atmosphere is unlike that of any previously studied extrasolar planet.

Taking fantasy football strategy to the next level

The fantasy football season's outcome is often decided before real NFL players take the field for meaningful games. Separating your team from the crowd takes analysis -- based in logic, math, and knowledge of the unique quirks of a league.


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'You kick like a girl': Men and women use different leg and hip muscles during soccer kick

Significant differences in knee alignment and muscle activation exist between men and women while kicking a soccer ball, according to a study published this month in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Data reveals that males activate certain hip and leg muscles more than females during the motion of the instep and side-foot kicks - the most common soccer kicks - which may help explain why...