Using statistical analysis methods to examine rainfall extremes in India, a team of researchers has made a discovery that resolves an ongoing debate in published findings and offers new insights.

Patients are overwhelmingly interested in exploring the notes doctors write about them after an office visit, but doctors worry about the impact of such transparency on their patients and on their own workflow, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) study suggests.

Overeating may cause brain aging while eating less turns on a molecule that helps the brain stay young.A team of Italian researchers at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome have discovered that this molecule, called CREB1, is triggered by "caloric restriction" in the brain of mice. They found that CREB1 activates many genes linked to longevity and to the proper functioning of the brain.

Children may have a better quality of life and diminished cardiovascular disease risk from the decreased endothelin 1 levels after adenotonsillectomy, according to new research published in the December 2011 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

Known for her poetry, letters, love affair and marriage to Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning also left a legacy of unanswered questions about her lifelong chronic illness. Now, a Penn State anthropologist, with the aid of her daughter, may have unraveled the mystery.

The European Society of Cardiology welcomes the spotlight that a US study has placed on the importance of measuring rates of re-hospitalization following percutaneous coronary intervention procedures.

The impact of hatcheries on salmon is so profound that in just one generation traits are selected that allow fish to survive and prosper in the hatchery environment, at the cost of their ability to thrive and reproduce in a wild environment. Researchers were surprised by the speed of evolution and natural selection.

They come out in the spring, and each year they spread further - the ticks. Thirty percent of them transmit borrelia pathogens, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis that can damage joints and organs. The disease often goes undetected. In the future, a new type of gel is intended to prevent an infection - if applied after a tick bite.

In a major step that could revolutionize biomedical research, scientists have discovered a way to keep normal cells as well as tumor cells taken from an individual cancer patient alive in the laboratory -- which previously had not been possible. Normal cells usually die in the lab after dividing only a few times, and many common cancers will not grow, unaltered, outside of the body.

A new German-based project is setting out to rescue biodiversity data at risk of being lost, because they are not integrated in institutional databases, are kept in outdated digital storage systems, or are not properly documented.The project, run by the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, provides a good example for a GBIF recommendation to establish hosting centers for biodiversity...

Researchers grafting human spinal stem cells into rats modeled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) tested four immunosuppressive protocols to determine which regimen improved long-term therapeutic effects. Combined, systematically delivered immunosuppression regimens of tacrolimus (FK506) and mycophenolate significantly improved the survival of transplanted human spinal stem cells. While the...

A new study of hedge fund managers' trading habits shows they sell off their holdings ahead of other investors. The motivation, the researchers say, is a predictable drop in fund performance after investors pull out of share-restricted funds. The authors say private information about a fund -- particularly the flow of investment dollars -- may constitute material information.

A new study co-authored by University of Florida researchers on the endangered Ozark Hellbender giant salamander is the first to detail its skin microbes, the bacteria and fungi that defend against pathogens.

Similarly, high levels of lead, arsenic, and cadmium could boost the likelihood of developing the disease, the study shows.

Researchers have found a 44 percent increase since 2001 in the number of hospitals that offer definitive emergency care to patients with heart attack, but only a one percent increase in access to that care. The study, led by Thomas W. Concannon, PhD, Assistant Professor Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, will be published Jan. 1, 2012 in Circulation: Cardiovascular...

The first comprehensive study of changes in the oxygenation of oceans at the end of the last Ice Age has implications for the future of our oceans under global warming.

Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid are developing an infrared measuring method to analyze the thermal properties and resistance to fire of composite materials. This advance would have applications in aerospace engineering and other areas where fire safety requires that the "composite" materials withstand high temperatures.

Stabilizing the cell's power-generating center protects against Parkinson's disease in a rat model, according to a report published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

This release contains summaries, links to PDFs, and contact information for the following newsworthy papers to be published online, Dec. 19, 2011, in the JCI: Potential concern about drugs in clinical trial; Blood pressure drug limits cigarette smoke-induced lung injury in mice; A full TANC(1) needed to drive rhabdomyosarcoma; Growth factor link to breast cancer; Heparan sulfate: protecting the...

New research shows 63 percent of women age 50 and older reported persistent, incident, or intermittent knee pain during a 12-year study period. Predictors for persistent pain included higher body mass index, previous knee injury, and radiographic osteoarthritis. Details of this longitudinal study are available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the...

A 125-year debate on how nitrogen-fixing bacteria are able to breach the cell walls of legumes has been settled. A paper to be published on Monday by John Innes Centre scientists reports that plants themselves allow bacteria in. The fact that legumes themselves call the shots is a great finding but it also shows the complexity of the challenge to try to transfer the process to non-legumes.

Location and other geographical factors play an important role in supporting economic growth and development in emerging markets, a new study from the Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty has found.

Emotional differences between the rich and poor, as depicted in such Charles Dickens classics as "A Christmas Carol" and "A Tale of Two Cities," may have a scientific basis. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that people in the lower socio-economic classes are more physiologically attuned to suffering, and quicker to express compassion than their more affluent...

Changes in blood pressure during middle age can affect lifetime risk for heart disease and stroke. People who maintain or reduce their blood pressure to normal levels during middle age have the lowest lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease, while those with an increase in blood pressure have the highest risk. Age and duration of blood pressure changes can help determine individualized lifetime...