Columbia-led study of more than 38,000 women enables faster, first trimester prenatal testing for leading cause of mental retardation and birth defects
A new study from Columbia University Medical Center researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia of more than 38,000 pregnant women at 15 U.S. centers demonstrates the high accuracy of non-invasive screening for Down syndrome (also known as trisomy 21) in the first trimester of pregnancy, at 11 weeks. The findings are a
Twin APL-built solar probes shipped to NASA Goddard for pre-launch tests
The first spacecraft designed to capture 3-D “stereo” views of the sun and solar wind were shipped today from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md., for their next round of pre-launch tests.
The nearly identical twin STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) observatories, designed and built by
People in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease have greater difficulty shifting attention back and forth between competing sources of information, a finding that offers new support for theories that contend breakdowns in attention play an important role in the onset of the disease.
“Our results provide evidence that breakdowns in attention produce a clear change in the early stages of Alzheimer’s-related dementia,” said study co-author David A. Balota, a professor of psych
In a refreshing twist, humans have been shown to be part of the solution to the issue of decreasing genetic diversity in our world rather than part of the problem. Global genetic diversity is being eradicated through any number of human-driven activities, the removal of large scale forests key among them.
Now researchers at Washington University in St. Louis report that farmers and families in Central America actually have saved genetic variation in the jocote (ho-CO-tay), (S
The two Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft arrive at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. on Nov. 9 for major testing as they near completion. Set to launch in Spring 2006, STEREO is the first mission to image the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view is critical to improving our understanding of space weather and its impact to space and on Earth systems.
During its two-year mission, the two nearly identical spacecraft will explore the
Plant pathologists from The American Phytopathological Society (APS) report that citrus greening is spreading faster than expected and encourage growers and homeowners to aid in the detection process by alerting the appropriate agricultural officials if they suspect they have infected trees. Citrus greening, also known as huanglongbing, was recently discovered in samples collected from trees in South Florida.
Although citrus greening is not expected to have a major impact on the supply of
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved plans to begin a study to evaluate the safety of using adult stem cells from bone marrow to treat chronic ischemia, a serious form of heart disease.
The FDA has approved a Phase I study designed to test the safety of the procedure. It will involve injecting bone marrow stem cells at varying doses into the co
First there was green, then yellow and now red-fleshed kiwifruit. A team of researchers in Italy and New Zealand has found that a newly developed variety of red-fleshed kiwifruit contain anthocyanins, bright red pigments that are highly potent antioxidants, which are thought to provide protection against heart disease and cancer.
Kiwifruit already have the reputation of being among the most nutrient dense of all popular fruit and they are also high in antioxidant activity. Now, kiwis
Two key groups of neurons control morning and evening activity
A Brandeis University study published this week in Nature shows for the first time that a molecular signal maintains coherence among brain clock cells that regulate daily activity of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies). The two key groups of neurons control morning and evening activity and are maintained in synch even when the flies are plunged into darkness for extended periods of time.
This daily reset
An international team of researchers, using new computer simulations
Scientists from the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and the University of California Los Angeles, have now presented a new three-dimensional computer model that successfully describes and explains all important characteristics of the banded flows on Jupiter. The simulations suggest that the wind system may reach as deep as 7000 km into the planet’s
An unexpected twist to a discovery reported just two months ago may significantly improve our understanding about the molecular origins of diabetes.
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies then reported their discovery of a key cellular switch that instructs the liver to produce more glucose when blood sugar levels run low. Their paper was published in Nature.
Now, in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, they report that the very same switch limits
A deep-voiced black-capped chickadee may wonder why other birds ignore it, but there may be a good reason behind the snub, says a University of Alberta study that looked into how the bird responds to calls.
Dr. Isabelle Charrier and Dr. Chris Sturdy modified the black- capped chickadee calls, played those sounds back to the bird and observed how they reacted. They found that the chickadee relies on several acoustic features including pitch, order of the notes and rhythm of the call
For most people, just a whiff of food that has made them sick in the past is enough to trigger a wave of nausea – and to prevent them from eating that food again. It’s a response that’s instantaneous, involuntary, and so fundamental to basic biology that it occurs in a broad range of species. Even worms, researchers have now shown, quickly learn to avoid smells associated with foods that have made them ill.
The new study, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigat
The Access Project reveals another financial consequence of medical debt
In a new analysis of the financial consequences that can strike those in the U.S. with health care bills they cannot pay, the Boston-based Access Project released a report today showing that medical debt is threatening homeownership or housing stability for many American working families, including those with health insurance.
“Like other research done in this area, we found a high prevalence of m
North Carolina parents strongly favor making tobacco use prevention a higher priority across the state, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study shows.
More than 90 percent of parents surveyed thought it very important for policymakers to take more steps to prevent and reduce tobacco use among N.C. children and adolescents, the study found.
“Over 85 percent of parents asked strongly supported making schools 100 percent tobacco free,” said Dr. Adam O. Gold
An observational study of more than 1,000 patients at the Yale Center for Sleep Medicine found that obstructive sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of stroke or death from any cause, and that the risk is linked to sleep apnea severity. The researchers found the increased risk to be independent of other factors, including hypertension. Participants were over age 50 without a history of heart attack or stroke at the start of the study. They were followed for an average of just under 3.5 year
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