Montefiore and Einstein researchers awarded $14 million PCORI grant for hepatitis C research

A research team at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine led by Alain Litwin, M.D., was awarded $14 million by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to determine how best to treat hepatitis C among people who inject drugs (PWID), a group with a high rate of infection. A follow up portion of the study will also seek to understand why some patients develop resistance to therapies for the hepatitis C virus

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Boston Children’s Hospital selects Vijay G. Sankaran to receive Rising Star Award

Saluting his spectacular track record to date of innovative research on red blood cell disorders and his future promise as a physician/scientist, Boston Children’s Hospital has selected Vijay G. Sankaran, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center to receive the Rising Star Award at the hospital’s third annual Global Pediatric Innovation Summit, Taking on Tomorrow (#PedInno15). The Rising Star Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of an up-and-coming innovator or team of innovators

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Experts develop low-cost method to combat deadly form of air pollution

People could soon be using their smartphones to combat a deadly form of air pollution, thanks to a potentially life-saving breakthrough by RMIT University researchers in Melbourne, Australia. Experts have developed the first low-cost and reliable method of detecting nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a significant air pollutant than contributes to more than seven million deaths worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The gas increases the risk of respiratory disorders in children and

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The 1 trick to help you get a more accurate reading of your blood pressure

People who have high blood pressure are often advised to monitor their blood pressure at home, and now, a new study suggests that blood pressure measured in the morning may be a better predictor of stroke risk than blood pressure measured in the evening. In the study, researchers looked at data from people in Japan and found that, when measured in the morning, higher blood pressure was related to an increased risk of stroke. When

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UCLA professor proposes simpler way to define what makes a planet

Since the late 1980s, scientists have discovered nearly 5,000 planetary bodies orbiting stars other than the sun. But astronomers are still working on what exactly we should call them. Today at an American Astronomical Society meeting, UCLA professor Jean-Luc Margot described a simple test that can be used to clearly separate planets from other bodies like dwarf planets and minor planets. The current official definition of a planet, which was issued by the International Astronomical

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Heart valve patients may benefit from managing own blood thinners

Chicago, 10 November 2105 – Allowing select patients to self-manage blood thinners following heart valve surgery may lead to a lower risk of major complications, according to an article posted online by the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Key Points: Allowing patients to manage their own blood thinners may reduce the risk of major complications following heart valve surgery. Patients were required to attend an educational program before gradually transitioning to self-management over the next 3

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Lung cancer surgery can be beneficial for high-risk patients with early stage disease

Chicago, 10 November 2105 – Surgical lung resection, in which part of a lung is removed, can be a safe and effective treatment option for high-risk patients with early stage lung cancer, according to an article posted online by the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Key Points: Surgical lung resection can safely be used as a treatment option with good results for patients with lung cancer who have been identified as high-risk for surgery. Overall length

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Online tracking more common than most realize, finds new study

IMAGE: These 50 corporations were monitoring the greatest percentage of third party data from the Alexa top one million sites studied. view more Credit: Courtesy of Tim Libert Think of how often sit with your phone, tablet, or computer, quietly shopping or reading the latest headlines. Browsing the internet certainly feels like a solitary activity, but as a new study in the International Journal of Communication reveals, you may be surprised by just how many companies

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Asteroid ripped apart to form star’s glowing ring system

IMAGE: An asteroid torn apart by the strong gravity of a white dwarf has formed a ring of dust particles and debris orbiting the Earth-sized burnt out stellar core. Gas produced… view more Credit: Mark Garlick/University of Warwick The sight of an asteroid being ripped apart by a dead star and forming a glowing debris ring has been captured in an image for the first time. Comprised of dust particles and debris, the rings are formed

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The glowing halo of a zombie star

Led by Christopher Manser, a PhD student at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, the team used data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and other observatories to study the shattered remains of an asteroid around a stellar remnant — a white dwarf (called SDSS J1228+1040) [1]. Using several instruments, including the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) and X-shooter, both attached to the VLT, the team obtained detailed observations of the light

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Centenarians Reveal 10 Surprising Ways To Live To 100

Much like paperboy Sharp, other centenarians also believe that keeping a job helps them keep going. Felimina Rotundo, a 100-year-old from Buffalo, New York, still works 11 hours a day, six days a week, at a local laundromat. “She says it gives her a purpose, a reason to always wake up in the morning and a reason to always hustle,” Rotundo’s son told ABC News.   The one-time world’s oldest living man, Walter Breuning, who

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Easy Ways To Cultivate Gratitude Starting Today

Gratitude. It’s everywhere these days. We’ve graduated from “count your blessings” to millions of research dollars being funded to understand this little attitude. (Which would make my grandmother choke on a chicken bone. She would have given you the advice for free.) What’s all the fuss about? If you’ve been looking for a gratitude fix lately, you’re in luck. It’s the hot new ‘tude. So much so, that the pocket protecting crowd is rallying around

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Target Accused Of Making Light Of Mental Illness With ‘Obsessive Christmas Disorder’ Sweater

It’s November, which means that the season of companies facing backlash over offensive Halloween costumes has given way to the season of companies facing backlash over offensive Christmas gear. First, Starbucks was criticized for changing the design of its iconic red holiday cups. Now, Target is taking heat for a sweater that bears the text: “OCD. Obsessive Christmas Disorder.”

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‘White Coat Syndrome’ Could Actually Be A Sign Of Future Disease

For all its life-saving potential, a blood pressure reading isn’t necessarily as straightforward as you’d think. For some people, the stress of having their blood pressure tested at a doctor’s office is enough to elevate the reading, leading to higher numbers than they’d get if they measured their blood pressure at home. This is called “white coat hypertension” or “white coat syndrome,” so-named for the doctor’s white coat that supposedly inspires anxiety in patients. Others

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Metreleptin therapy in LMNA-linked lipodystrophies

Lipodystrophic syndromes are rare diseases of acquired or genetic origin, associating a decreased amount of fat (with an altered distribution of body fat in partial forms) and the metabolic alterations usually observed in obesity, i.e. insulin resistance leading to diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia with the risk of acute pancreatitis, fatty liver with risk of cirrhosis, and precocious atherosclerosis. Mutations in more than 15 genes, including LMNA, have been shown to be responsible of monogenic forms of lipodystrophies.

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Development of a SMCs model from HGPS-iPS and proofs of principle

HGPS is a rare, progressive aging disease in children that leads to premature death. Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are the most affected cells in HGPS patients, although the reason for such sensitivity remains poorly understood. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer an unlimited source of SMCs to study the disease. iPSCs are also an important tool to study the molecular mechanisms of the disease from a developmental point of view. In this work, we

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3D culture system of muscle precursor cell to reveal mechanosensing defects in nuclear envelope related disorders

Mutations in the LInker of the Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton (LINC)-complex associated proteins, including lamins and nesprins cause human muscular dystrophies but disease mechanisms still remain to be elucidated. We aim to determine whether human muscular dystrophies resulting from mutations in A-type lamin and nesprin1 affected the capacity of myoblasts to sense the stiffness of the extracellular matrix. Human myoblasts with various mutations in the A-type lamins encoded by LMNA (LMNA), nesprin1 mutant (SYNE1), and control

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Round Table: Discussion with families and lay associations

This session was dedicated to patients, their relatives and delegates of Family Associations (the Progeria Family Circle, the European Association of Progeria Families; AIProSaB, the Italian Association for Progeria, Sammy Basso; AIDMED, the Italian Association for Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy; the Associazione Alessandra Proietti for Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy), with the main objective to establish for the first time a direct interaction with the scientific international community working on laminopathies. Since the patient number is very low,

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Molecular mechanisms of normal and pathological aging

We have recently defined nine molecular and cellular hallmarks that represent common denominators of aging in different organisms. These hallmarks are: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient-sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. On the other hand, parallel studies of our laboratory on accelerated aging syndromes, including Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) and Nestor-Guillermo Progeria Syndrome (NGPS), have provided relevant information about these hallmarks of aging.

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A new class of ultra-stable enzyme formulations for industrial applications

CinderBio’s enzymes come from extremophiles found in hot volcanic waters, like this thermal pool in Yellowstone National Park. It’s no secret that extremophiles, or microbes that live in places like polar glaciers and toxic waste pools, may hold treasures worth billions to modern industry. For years, researchers and biotech companies have been “gene prospecting” in extremophiles, looking for DNA they can exploit to make enzymes for everything from laundry detergent to renewable biofuels. Yet when

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Britain falls behind other Western countries in reducing child poverty, infant mortality

Britain has the fourth highest rate of infant mortality of all Western countries. More seriously, the high death rates of British children correlate with high child poverty and with a lack of investment in healthcare, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Britain has a child mortality rate of 1630 deaths per one million children, according to the study, which was led by Professor Colin Pritchard of Bournemouth University. The top

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Phase I clinical trial shows investigational anticancer therapeutic is safe, tolerable in lymphoma patients

Bottom Line: Results from a phase I clinical trial showed that the first-in-class, investigational, anticancer therapeutic pevonedistat was safe, tolerable, and had some anticancer activity in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research Author: Jatin J. Shah, MD, associate professor of medicine, director of myeloma clinical/translational research, and director of the lymphoma/myeloma fellowship program in the Department

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Older, low-income female patients less likely to complete cardiac rehabilitation after bypass surgery

Bypass patients who are older, female and/or from lower-income neighbourhoods are more likely to face delays in beginning cardiac rehabilitation (CR), making them less likely to complete CR, which can lead to a higher mortality risk, suggests a new study. The study, led by Dr. Susan Marzolini, exercise physiologist, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TR), UHN, examined nearly 6,500 coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients enrolled in the Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation program at Toronto Rehab over

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Sea urchin spurs new ideas for lightweight materials

IMAGE: The heart urchin lives its entire life dug into the sea bottom. Its fragile looking calcium shell needs to withstand the combined pressure of half a meter of sand and… view more Credit: Photo: Jes Andersen/University of Copenhagen Materials researchers love sea creatures. Mother-of-pearl provokes ideas for smooth surfaces, clams inspire gluey substances, shark’s skin is used to develop materials that reduce drag in water, and so on. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen’s Department

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LocoMouse

Gymnastic feats like balance beam routines clearly require a great deal of coordination. But even seemingly trivial actions such as crossing stepping-stones on a river or just walking in a straight line require these very same skills. The group of Dr. Megan Carey, principal investigator at Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, has developed a novel tool to investigate how the brain generates coordinated movement. “People who suffer damage to a part of the brain called

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Does alcohol consumption affect the risk for Parkinson’s disease?

Amsterdam, NL, November 10, 2015 – For many years, researchers have been investigating whether there are any associations between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and lifestyle choices such as smoking and coffee and alcohol consumption. In a review published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, the literature concerning alcohol consumption presents conflicting information. A systematic review of the relevant literature from 2000-2014, from observational studies, found little evidence for either a positive or negative effect on PD

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Microwave field imaging using diamond and vapor cells

IMAGE: Imaging of microwave fields is made possible by measuring of spin changes in individual atoms or electrons. view more Credit: University of Basel, Department of Physics Microwave field imaging is becoming increasingly important, as microwaves play an essential role in modern communications technology and can also be used in medical diagnostics. Researchers from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel have now independently developed two new methods for

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Ultra-thin, tunable, broadband microwave absorber may advance radar cloaking

IMAGE: For the first time, Stretching Transformation is applied to the unit cell pattern to expand the tunable bandwidth. With this technique, it is realizable to be thin and achieve broadband… view more Credit: Intelligent Electronics Institute, Huazhong University of SciTec. Washington, D.C., Nov. 10, 2015 – Microwave absorbers are a kind of material that can effectively absorb incident microwave energy to make objects invisible to radar; therefore they are commonly used in aircraft cloaking and

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New vaccine could prevent high cholesterol

Amsterdam, November 10, 2015 – A new cholesterol-lowering vaccine leads to reductions in ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol in mice and macaques, according to research published in Vaccine. The authors of the study, from the University of New Mexico and the National Institutes of health in the United States, say the vaccine has the potential to be a more powerful treatment than statins alone. The body produces cholesterol to make vitamin D, some hormones and some of

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9 Quiet Travel Destinations That Are Anything But Boring

Get on the way, way back machine on the Galapagos Islands  Only small cruise ships ply the Galapagos Islands, and tour groups are limited to 20 people at a time, so the only crowds you’ll encounter here will be blue-footed boobies, cormorants, iguanas, seals, and the finches that inspired Darwin’s theory of natural selection. The fearlessness of these protected creatures, which have never been hunted, adds to the sensation of entering a land untouched by

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Withdrawal of anticancer therapy in advanced disease: a systematic literature review

Searches yielded 8368 citations, 371 abstracts and 81 full papers were assessed. A total of 42 papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Fig. 2 summarises this process. Fig. 2. Flow diagram illustrating systematic search process Numbers of included papers are indicated in square brackets [ ]. Thirty-two papers (76 %) investigated decisions to stop treatment for a range of solid and haematological cancers. Ten (24 %) examined specific malignancies: lung 4], pancreas

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Small behavioral changes can improve heart health

Improving your heart health may be as simple as making small behavioral changes – a new study of behavioral health interventions suggests that they are effective at helping people alter their lifestyles and lead to physical changes that could improve overall health. The findings also indicate a shift is needed in the way such interventions are evaluated by researchers and used by health care providers, said Veronica Irvin of Oregon State University, a co-author of

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Dengue patients with few or no symptoms transmit virus to mosquitoes

Scientists at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the CNRS provided proof that people infected by dengue virus but showing no clinical symptoms can actually infect mosquitoes that bite them. It appears that these asymptomatic people – who, together with mildly symptomatic patients, represent three-quarters of all dengue infections – could be involved in the transmission chain of the virus. These findings, published in the journal PNAS, on the 9

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Study shows mindfulness meditation reduces pain more effectively than placebo

Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have found new evidence that mindfulness meditation reduces pain more effectively than placebo. This is significant because placebo-controlled trials are the recognized standard for demonstrating the efficacy of clinical and pharmacological treatments. The research, published in the Nov.11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, showed that study participants who practiced mindfulness meditation reported greater pain relief than placebo. Significantly, brain scans showed that mindfulness meditation produced very different

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Surgical lung resection can improve outcomes in high-risk patients with early stage disease

Surgical lung resection, in which part of a lung is removed, can be a safe and effective treatment option for high-risk patients with early stage lung cancer, according to an article posted online by The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Previous research has shown that most patients with lung cancer who undergo pulmonary resection are age 60 years or older, have a significant smoking history, and have numerous other conditions—such as lung disease or heart disease—that

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Study: Post hospital syndrome is significant risk factor for patients undergoing elective surgery

A condition known as “post hospital syndrome” (PHS) is a significant risk factor for patients who undergo elective outpatient surgery, a Loyola study has found. PHS is defined as having been hospitalized during the previous 90 days. The first-of-its-kind study found that among patients with PHS, 7.6 percent had to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of undergoing elective outpatient hernia surgery. By comparison, only 1.6 percent of non-PHS patients had to be

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Pitt study: Chronic arsenic exposure can impair ability of muscle to heal after injury

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 10, 2015 – Chronic exposure to arsenic can lead to stem cell dysfunction that impairs muscle healing and regeneration, according to an animal study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health. In a report published online in STEM CELLS, they noted that inhibiting a certain protein in an inflammatory pathway can reverse the harmful effects and that environmental exposures might explain why some

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How To Be Heard When You Aren’t The Loudest Voice In The Room

This article first appeared on QuietRev.com We’ve all been there: the staff meeting that seems to go on forever with co-workers arguing the finer points of copy paper weight while you struggle to gain their attention long enough to discuss a crucial new budget item. Even this extrovert can have a hard time getting heard in group situations when faced with railroaders and professional complainers. But introverts can have a particularly difficult time getting their

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Planned Parenthood President: 2016 GOP Candidates ‘Make Mitt Romney Look Like — A Liberal’

The Republican presidential field has Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards looking wistfully back at 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. “Everyone running, pretty much — well, and certainly the front-runners for the Republican nomination — make Mitt Romney look like — a liberal when it comes to it — and he said he wanted to overturn Roe versus Wade,” Richards told Yahoo’s Katie Couric on Tuesday. As Planned Parenthood approaches its 100th birthday, the organization has

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Kenya Slum Sitting On Valuable Art Gets Help Auctioning Off Pieces

WaterisLife worked with a local security team to engage with residents who had the murals painted on their dwellings. Many were unaware of the paintings’ value, but were willing to give them up when the organization offered to replace the murals with new corrugated metal rooftops. “It’s like it’s raining inside my house,” one resident told Deutsch of how the mural failed to provide enough coverage. The campaign removed two pieces at first from the

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Carly Fiorina Says Obamacare ‘Isn’t Helping Anyone,’ But The Numbers Tell A Different Story

Fiorina dismissed the health coverage expansion under Obamacare because the majority of newly covered people have benefits under Medicaid rather than private health insurance, which she suggested is not worthwhile because physicians don’t accept Medicaid patients. And while physicians are more likelyto see patients with private insurance or Medicare, 75 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries told Gallup they were satisfied with their coverage, a higher rating than given by people with health plans provided by employers

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CRISPR/Cas9-mediated viral interference in plants

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated interference with TYLCV In this study, we investigated whether the CRISPR/Cas9 system can be used in plants to impart molecular immunity against DNA viruses. To this end, we used our recently developed system for genome editing, which involves systemic delivery of sgRNA molecules via tobacco rattle virus (TRV) into N. benthamiana plants overexpressing Cas9 endonuclease (NB-Cas9OE) 36]. We designed sgRNAs specific for different TYLCV coding and non-coding sequences (Fig. 1a), and inserted them into the

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First-in-class investigational therapeutic shows early promise for lymphoma patients

Pevonedistat is a first-in-class, investigational small-molecule inhibitor of the NEDD8-activating enzyme, explained Shah. “This enzyme is part of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, which is the target of a number of FDA-approved anticancer therapeutics, including bortezomib (Velcade), which is used to treat multiple myeloma and various types of lymphoma. Pevonedistat also alters the ability of cancer cells to repair damaged DNA,” he said. Shah and colleagues enrolled 44 patients in the phase I clinical trial, 17 with

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Newborn Twins Conjoined at Heart and Liver in Critical Condition

Twin boys who share a heart and liver remain in critical condition at a Georgia hospital less than 24 hours after they were born, officials said today. The two boys, named Chandler and Chance, were delivered by cesarean section Monday and are being cared for at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Children’s Hospital of Georgia, hospital officials said. The pregnancy was the first for the boys’ mother, Brittany Crafton. The 26-year-old had no

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At debate, Republicans leap to attack Trump’s comments on Putin

By Steve Holland and Emily Stephenson MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – Republican U.S. presidential contenders attacked Donald Trump’s views on Syria and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as simplistic and unrealistic, and rival Jeb Bush said the real estate mogul did not grasp “how the real world works.” Trump, who has led opinion polls in the 2016 Republican race for months, praised Putin’s efforts to fight Islamic State militants and said he would back the Russian

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How mobile phones are making childbirth safer in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa (AFP) – In Ethiopia where almost nine in every 10 women give birth at home after pregnancies with little or no medical support, a mobile phone app is coming to the rescue with lifesaving guidelines when things go wrong. The “Safe Delivery App”, created by the Danish development organisation the Maternity Foundation, provides simplified instructions and animated films to deal with emergency situations, be it haemorrhaging, birthing complications, resuscitating newborns or infections. “Midwives

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Early maternal loss has lifelong effects on chimpanzees

This news release is available in German. Wild-caught chimpanzees, who were orphaned and imported from Africa in their early infancy, exhibit an impaired social behaviour also as adults. So far long-term effects of early traumatic experiences on social behaviour were known only for humans and socially isolated chimpanzees. An Austrian-Dutch research team led by Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter and Jorg Massen published these results in the scientific journal Scientific Reports. Between 1950 and 1980 thousands of chimpanzee

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Participatory breeding program assists organic tomato growers

IMAGE: Researchers in Indiana explored new breeding options using an online grower survey and field trials. They found existing cultivars and hybrids that can meet the needs of growers in the… view more Credit: Photo courtesy of Lori Hoagland. WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Organic tomato production is growing rapidly in Midwestern states in the US, as evidenced by a USDA study that found certified organic tomato production increased more than 277% in the region from 2007-2011.

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What counts as fair?

CAMBRIDGE, MA — There are many ways to divvy up a pile of cookies. Among the possibilities: Everyone can get an equal number, or those who contributed more to the cookie baking can get a larger share. In studies, young children usually default to splitting up resources equally. However, as children get older, they shift toward a merit-based approach, in which people who work harder on a task are rewarded with a bigger portion. New

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Research points to development of single vaccine for Chikungunya, related viruses

IMAGE: Washington University researchers have identified ‘broadly neutralizing’ antibodies that protect against infection by multiple, distantly related alphaviruses — including Chikungunya virus (above) — that cause fever and debilitating joint pain…. view more Credit: Wikimedia user A2-33 What if a single vaccine could protect people from infection by many different viruses? That concept is a step closer to reality. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified “broadly neutralizing” antibodies that protect

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California 6th grade science books: Climate change a matter of opinion not scientific fact

If American teens are unsure about climate change or its cause, some school textbooks aren’t helping, says teaching expert Diego Román, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, co-author of a new study on the subject. Studies estimate that only 3 percent of scientists who are experts in climate analysis disagree about the causes of climate change. But the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — the evidence of 600 climate researchers in 32

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U.S. Democrats discussing fix to healthcare ‘Cadillac tax’

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic lawmakers are discussing proposing changes to the “Cadillac tax,” a levy on high-cost employer-based healthcare plans passed as part of President Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat said on Tuesday. “I’m not proposing eliminating it at this point, I’m open to suggestions for changing it,” Illinois Senator Dick Durbin told reporters. “I don’t know if it’ll be done this year or next

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Eyes on Rubio as Republicans take debate stage in Milwaukee

By Emily Stephenson and James Oliphant MILWAUKEE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidates take the stage in Milwaukee on Tuesday night for a debate focused on the economy, with voters and donors looking to see if U.S. Senator Marco Rubio can produce a strong performance and grab the mantle of party establishment favorite. Eight Republicans seeking the party’s nomination for president in the November 2016 election will face off on Fox Business Network at 9 p.m.

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Workers in stressful, demanding jobs more likely to show up when sick

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Demanding, stressful or insecure jobs may motivate workers to show up even when they should stay home sick, a research review suggests. Understanding what motivates workers to remain on the job when they’re sick may help employers develop sick-day policies that may be more effective at preventing the spread of contagious diseases in the workplace, study co-author Gary Johns, a business and management researcher at Concordia University in Montreal,

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Former U.S. President Carter responding well to cancer treatment

By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is responding well to cancer treatment and there is no evidence of new malignancy, the Carter Center said on Tuesday. Carter, 91, started treatment in August for melanoma that had spread from his liver to his brain. After recent tests, doctors at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute gave Carter “good news,” the Carter Center said in a statement. “They tell him that recent tests

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A Professional Strength Coach On When It’s Safe For Your Kid To Lift Weights

This story originally appeared on Fatherly: Maybe your kid wants to dominate the playground or get a jumpstart on your dream of them becoming a pro athlete. (Your dream? Their dream. Definitely their dream.) Maybe they just don’t want to inherit your dadbod. Whatever their reason for trying to get big and strong, the whole “Just eat your vegetables” thing won’t cut it for long. Eventually, they’re going to want to lift some weights. If

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WHO urges routine meningitis vaccine to avoid resurgence in Africa

Geneva (AFP) – Meningitis A has almost been eradicated in Africa but could stage a “catastrophic” comeback if countries fail to include a groundbreaking vaccine in routine immunisation, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday. Immunisation campaigns using the landmark MenAfriVac vaccine began five years ago in Africa’s so-called meningitis belt, which stretches across the continent from Senegal to Ethiopia. Today, the disease has all but been wiped out in this zone, constituting a “stunning

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Half of California’s undocumented immigrants are impoverished: study

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – About half of California’s undocumented immigrants are poor enough to qualify for Medi-Cal, the state’s insurance program for its poorest residents, according to a new report. The study by the Public Policy Institute of California comes amid ongoing discussion in the most populous U.S. state over how to pay for healthcare for the estimated 60 percent of undocumented immigrants who do not have insurance. The report estimates that as many as

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U.S. trade body cannot block Internet transmissions: appeals court

By Andrew Chung NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. trade agency does not have power to regulate digital data, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday in a case involving a dental brace company’s effort to block a rival’s electronic transmissions from entering the country. The appeals court decision negates a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling last year in favor of Align Technology, Inc, the San Jose, California-based maker of the popular Invisalign plastic

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In debate, Republican candidates vow not to raise U.S. minimum wage

By Steve Holland and Emily Stephenson MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – The leading Republican presidential candidates launched into their fourth debate on Tuesday by vowing to oppose raising the federal minimum wage, saying it would hurt small businesses and reduce jobs. With income inequality looming as an election issue, thousands of protesters took to the streets across the United States earlier in the day to demand a $15-an-hour minimum wage for fast food workers. “Every time we

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Researchers find way to create wide variety of new holograms

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed techniques that can be used to create ideal geometric phase holograms for any kind of optical pattern – a significant advance over the limitations of previous techniques. The holograms can be used to create new types of displays, imaging systems, telecommunications technology and astronomical instruments. A geometric phase hologram is a thin film that manipulates light. Light moves as a wave, with peaks and troughs. When the

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Adding antiangiogenesis increases effectiveness of radiation against NF2-associated tumors

Treatment with antiangiogenesis drugs may improve the effectiveness of radiation treatment of nervous system tumors that interfere with the hearing of patients with the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2). A team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators reports in PNAS Early Edition that use of an antiangiogenesis drug reduced the radiation dose required to shrink tumors in animal models of the NF2-associated tumors called vestibular schwannomas. They also discovered several mechanisms behind this effect and

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Sunscreen ingredient may prevent medical implant infections

ANN ARBOR–A common ingredient in sunscreen could be an effective antibacterial coating for medical implants such as pacemakers and replacement joints. University of Michigan researchers found that a coating of zinc oxide nanopyramids can disrupt the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), reducing the film on treated materials by over 95 percent. About a million implanted medical devices are infected each year with MRSA and other bacterial species. “It is extremely difficult to treat these

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UA-led research: Prevention of macular degeneration possible

IMAGE: Brian McKay, co-principal investigator and UA associate professor of opthalmology and vision science and cellular and molecular medicine. view more Credit: Kris Hanning, UAHS BioCommunications, University of Arizona A University of Arizona-led study on age-related macular degeneration – the eye disease that gradually destroys the ability to read, drive, write and see close-up in 30 percent of older Americans – likely will lead to a way to delay or prevent the disease, researchers say. The

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Virginia Tech shooting has lessons for strengthening college mental health services

November 10, 2015 – As the nation reels from another mass shooting on a college campus, analysis of the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech University highlights the need for “comprehensive and coordinated mental health services on college campuses, according to a paper in the November/December issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. The Virginia Tech shooting can be viewed as a “sentinel event,” highlighting the need to improve college

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Mindfulness meditation trumps placebo in pain reduction

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Nov. 11, 2015 – Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have found new evidence that mindfulness meditation reduces pain more effectively than placebo. This is significant because placebo-controlled trials are the recognized standard for demonstrating the efficacy of clinical and pharmacological treatments. The research, published in the Nov.11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, showed that study participants who practiced mindfulness meditation reported greater pain relief than placebo. Significantly, brain scans

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Why Erectile Function Should Be a Life Philosophy

ED is a Dipstick for Everyday Health Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the persistent inability to develop or maintain penile erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance, and is one of the most common sexual complaints by men of all ages. While many tend to think of erectile problems as an elderly man problem, the prevalence of ED in younger men is higher than most realize. Studies have shown ED occurs in 26% of men less than

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