ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Small solar eruptions can have profound effects on unprotected planets
• Panama debate fueled by zircon dating
• Engineers now understand how complex carbon nanostructures form
• Exceptionally preserved fossil gives voice to ancient terror bird
• Poison center warns against designer drug 'N-bomb'
• Likely genetic source of muscle weakness found in six previously undiagnosed children
• Who's a CEO? Google image results can shift gender biases
• Chemists create tiny gold nanoparticles that reflect nature's patterns
• Microbes help produce serotonin in gut
• Dynamics of spinning black holes: Flip-flopping black holes spin to the end of the dance
• 'Warm blob' in Pacific Ocean linked to weird weather across the US
• Quantum physics: Hot and cold at the same time
• Greatest mass extinction driven by acidic oceans, study finds
• Mountain gorillas: Lots of deleterious genetic variation disappeared from population thanks to inbreeding
• Our sun came late to the Milky Way's star-birth party
• Signal variability, cognitive performance in the aging human brain
• New Waldenstrom's drug shows sustained benefit at two years
• Review highlights potential of cancer immunotherapy plus targeted therapy
• Gene loss creates eating disorder-related behaviors in mice
• Study revises theory of how PTEN, a critical tumor suppressor, shuts off growth signals
• Pluck hair in a specific pattern to grow new hair: Hair six times thicker in mice
• Spontaneous formation of biomimetic, nanoporous membrane channels
• New Ebola study points to potential drug target
• How the brain balances risk-taking and learning: Learning circuit in worms gives clues to human behavior
• Holometer extends limit on knowable universe
• Choice of protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods may have big effects on long-term weight gain
• Detecting lysosomal pH with better fluorescent probes
• Breakthrough finds molecules that block previously 'undruggable' protein tied to cancer
• Arctic: Ferromanganese crusts record past climates
• Execs sitting on each's other's boards: How unethical behavior can inflate executives' pay
• Fecal transplants in treatment of Clostridium difficile infection
• More food, low pollution effort gains traction
• Why do people play violent video games? Storytelling and meaningful choices may play a part
• Study tallies huge cost of hepatitis C drugs for prisons
• Hormone receptor found that allows mosquitoes to reproduce
• Improving the quality of medical care using computer understanding of human language
• Amygdala encodes 'cooties' and 'crushes' in the developing brain
• Shakespeare's plays reveal his psychological signature
• Axillary lymph node evaluation performed frequently in ductal carcinoma in situ
• Facial plastic surgery improves perception of femininity, personality, attractiveness
• Animals can adapt to increasingly frequent cold snaps
• Multimetal nanoframes improve catalyst performance
• Optimizing atomic neighborhoods for speedier chemical reactions
• Affordable Care Act provision for young adults leaves racial disparities intact among trauma patients
• Doing the impossible: Enzyme-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction
• Amniotic stem cells demonstrate healing potential
• Epigenomic changes play an important role during the progression of melanoma
• Road salt guidelines need review to protect food chain in lakes
• First real-time observation of the onset of stellar jets during the formation of a massive protostar
• Put teaching at the heart of improvements in educational quality, experts say
• Dispersant used to clean deepwater horizon spill more toxic to corals than the oil
• Children with neurological disorders need flu vaccine but don't always get it
• A revealing new look at the secretive black tinamou
• Lights tuned to birds' eyes may help reduce bird-aircraft collisions
• Nintedanib in lung cancer: Added benefit depends on disease severity
• Clot-busting drug benefits stroke patients, brain scan study shows
• Researchers deliver large particles into cells at high speed
• Drug regulations tied to fewer prescriptions of effective gout drug
• Tracking the toxicity of Lake Erie cyanobacterial blooms
• A grateful heart is a healthier heart

Small solar eruptions can have profound effects on unprotected planets Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:29 PM PDT While no one yet knows what's needed to build a habitable planet, it's clear that the interplay between the sun and Earth is crucial for making our planet livable -- a balance between a sun that provides energy and a planet that can protect itself from the harshest solar emissions.

Panama debate fueled by zircon dating Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:29 PM PDT New evidence by geologists dates the closure of an ancient seaway at 13 to 15 million years ago and challenges accepted theories about the rise of the Isthmus of Panama and its impact on world climate and animal migrations.

Engineers now understand how complex carbon nanostructures form Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:29 PM PDT Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are microscopic tubular structures that engineers 'grow' through a process conducted in a high-temperature furnace. The forces that create the CNT structures known as 'forests' often are unpredictable and are mostly left to chance. Now, a researcher has developed a way to predict how these complicated structures are formed. By understanding how CNT arrays are created, engineers can better incorporate the highly adaptable material into devices and products.

Exceptionally preserved fossil gives voice to ancient terror bird Posted: 09 Apr 2015 03:29 PM PDT A new species of South American fossil terror bird called Llallawavis scagliai or, 'Scaglia's Magnificent Bird' is shedding light on the diversity of the group and how these giant extinct predators interacted with their environment. The new species is the most complete terror bird ever discovered, with more than 90 percent of the skeleton exquisitely preserved.

Poison center warns against designer drug 'N-bomb' Posted: 09 Apr 2015 01:22 PM PDT The relatively new synthetic drug 25I-NBOMe, or "N bomb," has been associated with the deaths of at least 17 people in the United States since 2010, when it first became available over the Internet, often marketed as "legal" or "natural" LSD.

Likely genetic source of muscle weakness found in six previously undiagnosed children Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:31 AM PDT Using state-of-the-art genetic technology, researchers have discovered the likely cause of a child's rare type of severe muscle weakness. The child was one of six cases in which investigators sequenced -- or decoded -- the genes of patients with Neuromuscular Disease and was then able to identify the genetic source, or likely genetic source, of each child's symptoms.

Who's a CEO? Google image results can shift gender biases Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:31 AM PDT A new study assesses how accurately gender representations in online image search results for 45 different occupations -- from CEO to telemarketer to engineer -- match reality. Exposure to skewed image results shifted people's perceptions about how many women actually hold those jobs.

Chemists create tiny gold nanoparticles that reflect nature's patterns Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:31 AM PDT Our world is full of patterns, from the twist of a DNA molecule to the spiral of the Milky Way. New research from chemists has revealed that tiny, synthetic gold nanoparticles exhibit some of nature's most intricate patterns.

Microbes help produce serotonin in gut Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:30 AM PDT Although serotonin is well known as a brain neurotransmitter, it is estimated that 90 percent of the body's serotonin is made in the digestive tract. In fact, altered levels of this peripheral serotonin has been linked to diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. New research shows that certain bacteria in the gut are important for the production of peripheral serotonin.

Dynamics of spinning black holes: Flip-flopping black holes spin to the end of the dance Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:30 AM PDT Researchers simulated the merger of binary black holes and noticed that one black hole completely changes the orientation of its spin. Their findings have could affect how we understand galactic evolution, cosmology and gravitational physics.

'Warm blob' in Pacific Ocean linked to weird weather across the US Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:30 AM PDT An unusually warm patch of surface water, nicknamed 'the blob' when it emerged in early 2014, is part of a Pacific Ocean pattern that may be affecting everything from West Coast fisheries and water supplies to East Coast snowstorms. The blob is just one element of a broader pattern in the Pacific Ocean whose influence reaches much further -- possibly to include two bone-chilling winters in the Eastern U.S.

Quantum physics: Hot and cold at the same time Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:30 AM PDT Temperature is a statistical concept. Very small systems, consisting of a small number of particles, are not usually described statistically. Scientists have now measured how quantum systems reach a state with well defined statistical properties -- and surprisingly, they found out that quantum systems can have several temperatures at once. The connection between small quantum systems and large systems obeying the laws of classical physics is one of the big open questions in physics.

Greatest mass extinction driven by acidic oceans, study finds Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:30 AM PDT Changes to the Earth's oceans, caused by extreme volcanic activity, triggered the greatest extinction of all time, a study suggests. The amount of carbon added to the atmosphere that triggered the mass extinction was probably greater than today's fossil fuel reserves, the team says. However, the carbon was released at a rate similar to modern emissions. This fast rate of release was a critical factor driving ocean acidification, researchers say.

Mountain gorillas: Lots of deleterious genetic variation disappeared from population thanks to inbreeding Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:30 AM PDT Researchers have produced the first whole-genome sequences of endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga volcanic mountain range in central Africa. Findings from sequence analysis suggest the gorillas have lived in small groups for thousands of years, coping well with inbreeding that scientists feared would lead to health problems. Based on these results, scientist say the gorillas, if properly protected from habitat destruction and hunting, should continue to flourish for thousands of years to come.

Our sun came late to the Milky Way's star-birth party Posted: 09 Apr 2015 11:29 AM PDT Astronomers compiled a story of our Milky Way's growth by studying galaxies similar in mass to our galaxy, found in deep surveys of the universe. Stretching back more than 10 billion years, the census contains nearly 2,000 snapshots of Milky Way-like galaxies.

Signal variability, cognitive performance in the aging human brain Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:35 AM PDT As we age, the physical make up of our brains changes. This includes changes in neural processing in grey matter, but also in the deterioration of structural connections in the brain, which allow communication between distinct brain regions, so the brain is able to work as a well-wired network system. The moment-to-moment variability in brain activity has been studied by researchers, and more specifically, in the blood oxygenation level-dependent signal.

New Waldenstrom's drug shows sustained benefit at two years Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:35 AM PDT Ibrutinib, a newly approved drug for Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia, continues to control the rare blood cancer, with 95 percent of patients surviving for two years, research concludes. The disease stems from an abnormality in B lymphocytes in the bone marrow causing them to overproduce IgM, an immunoglobulin protein that thickens the blood; patients may experience bleeding, dizziness, headaches, weight loss, bruising and nerve damage.

Review highlights potential of cancer immunotherapy plus targeted therapy Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:35 AM PDT The prospect of combining genomically targeted therapies with drugs that free the immune system to attack cancer suggests 'we are finally poised to deliver curative therapies to cancer patients,' researchers state in a new report that covers the strengths and weaknesses of the two forms of therapy and notes how their combination could be particularly potent.

Gene loss creates eating disorder-related behaviors in mice Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:35 AM PDT Building on their discovery of a gene linked to eating disorders in humans, a team of researchers has now shown that loss of the gene in mice leads to several behavioral abnormalities that resemble behaviors seen in people with anorexia nervosa.

Study revises theory of how PTEN, a critical tumor suppressor, shuts off growth signals Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:35 AM PDT New evidence contradicts prior beliefs about how the protein PTEN -- one of the most important of the body's tumor suppressors -- works. Specifically, a new study shows how it is recruited to particular locations in our cells where pro-growth signals need to be shut off. This work could help scientists design more effective drugs to counteract cancer's hallmark trait, uncontrolled cellular growth.

Pluck hair in a specific pattern to grow new hair: Hair six times thicker in mice Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:34 AM PDT If there's a cure for male pattern baldness, it might hurt a little. Scientists have demonstrated that by plucking 200 hairs in a specific pattern and density, they can induce up to 1,200 replacement hairs to grow in a mouse.

Spontaneous formation of biomimetic, nanoporous membrane channels Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:33 AM PDT For the first time, carbon nanotubes were spontaneously inserted into natural and synthetic cell membranes to form pores that mimic biological channels. The pores replicate the major functions of protein-based biological channels.

New Ebola study points to potential drug target Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:32 AM PDT Interfering with the replication of the Ebola virus can stop the virus in its tracks, a new study shows. The discovery opens the door to finding more effective treatments. The Ebola outbreak that began last year in West Africa has infected nearly 25,000 people and killed more than 10,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How the brain balances risk-taking and learning: Learning circuit in worms gives clues to human behavior Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:32 AM PDT If you had 10 chances to roll a die, would you rather be guaranteed to receive $5 for every roll ($50 total) or take the risk of winning $100 if you only roll a six?

Holometer extends limit on knowable universe Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:32 AM PDT The Holometer experiment is sensitive to gravitational waves at frequencies in the range of a million cycles per second. Thus it addresses a spectrum not covered by experiments such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, which searches for lower-frequency waves to detect massive cosmic events such as colliding black holes and merging neutron stars.

Choice of protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods may have big effects on long-term weight gain Posted: 09 Apr 2015 10:32 AM PDT Small changes to the types of protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods that we eat may have a large impact on preventing long-term weight gain. The study also suggests that changes in refined carbohydrates can enhance -- or offset -- the weight-gain or weight-loss effects of certain protein-rich foods.

Detecting lysosomal pH with better fluorescent probes Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT Detecting problems with lysosomes is the focus of a new set of fluorescent probes. "A lot of diseases are related to problems with lysosome functions," says a chemistry doctoral candidate involved in the study. The researchers have developed the new probes, essentially chemical dyes that illuminate lysosome structures with fluorescence.

Breakthrough finds molecules that block previously 'undruggable' protein tied to cancer Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT New findings on HuR, an 'oncoprotein,' hold promise for treating every type of cancer tested, including cancers of the colon, prostate, breast, brain, ovaries, pancreas and lung, scientists report, adding that the findings could lead to a new class of cancer drugs.

Arctic: Ferromanganese crusts record past climates Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT The onset of northern hemispheric glaciation cycles three million years ago has dramatically changed Arctic climate. Scientists have now for the first time reconstructed the history of Arctic climate based on records archived in ferromanganese crusts.

Execs sitting on each's other's boards: How unethical behavior can inflate executives' pay Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT If you have a strong network of business colleagues who sit on each other's board, your pay can be a lot heftier -- but often at the expense of your shareholders.

Fecal transplants in treatment of Clostridium difficile infection Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT New evidence has been gained for the success of fecal microbial transplantation in treating severe Clostridium difficile infection, a growing problem worldwide that leads to thousands of fatalities every year. The findings have important implications for a range of diseases associated with microbial imbalance, or dysbiosis, researchers say.

More food, low pollution effort gains traction Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT Nitrogen fertilizers make it possible to feed more people in the world than ever before. However, too much of it can also harm the environment. A group of scientists, economists, social scientists, and agriculture experts have been working to figure out how to produce more food while lowering pollution at the same time. They call it a 'Mo Fo Lo Po': more food, low pollution.

Why do people play violent video games? Storytelling and meaningful choices may play a part Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT A wealth of studies have shown that violent video games contribute to antisocial and aggressive behavior. But what makes those games appealing in the first place? One possibility is that storytelling plays a role, particularly if it lets players engage in meaningful choices. A new study suggests that non-violent video games that capitalize on such storytelling have prosocial benefits that could ultimately be helpful to clinical disorders such as autism.

Study tallies huge cost of hepatitis C drugs for prisons Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT Correctional systems are obliged to care for inmates but, as a new study of Rhode Island prisons shows, treating every chronically infected inmate in the state with expensive but effective hepatitis C drugs would cost nearly twice as much as the entire correctional health budget. Treating only the sickest would still far outstrip the pharmaceutical budget.

Hormone receptor found that allows mosquitoes to reproduce Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:04 AM PDT Entomologists have unlocked one of the hormonal mechanisms that allow mosquitoes to produce eggs. The results provide insight into how reproduction is regulated in female mosquitoes, which transmit agents that cause malaria and other diseases in humans and domestic animals.

Improving the quality of medical care using computer understanding of human language Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:03 AM PDT How can computer-based analysis of free text -- the narrative comments found in medical records and expressed in everyday language or technical terminology - help improve the quality of medical care?

Amygdala encodes 'cooties' and 'crushes' in the developing brain Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:03 AM PDT Scientists have found a signal in the brain that reflects young children's aversion to members of the opposite sex (the 'cooties' effect) and also their growing interest in opposite-sex peers as they enter puberty. These two responses to members of the opposite sex are encoded in the amygdala, the researchers report. The findings challenge traditional notions about the role of the amygdala, the researchers say.

Shakespeare's plays reveal his psychological signature Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:02 AM PDT Applying psychological theory and text-analyzing software, researchers have discovered a unique psychological profile that characterizes Shakespeare's established works, and this profile strongly identifies Shakespeare as an author of the long-contested play Double Falsehood.

Axillary lymph node evaluation performed frequently in ductal carcinoma in situ Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:02 AM PDT Axillary lymph node evaluation is performed frequently in women with ductal carcinoma in situ breast cancer, despite recommendations generally against such an assessment procedure in women with localized cancer undergoing breast-conserving surgery, according to a study.

Facial plastic surgery improves perception of femininity, personality, attractiveness Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:02 AM PDT Facial plastic surgery may do more than make you look youthful. It could change -- for the better -- how people perceive you. The first study of its kind to examine perception after plastic surgery finds that women who have certain procedures are perceived as having greater social skills and are more likeable, attractive and feminine.

Animals can adapt to increasingly frequent cold snaps Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:00 AM PDT There is substantial genetic variation in nature for both long-term seasonal acclimation and short-term acclimation associated with rapid extreme weather events, a new study shows. While much of the emphasis regarding climate change is on overall warming, increased frequency of extreme weather events is also a critical concern. As fall and spring temperatures rise, animals will increasingly have to deal with rapid changes from warm conditions to dangerously cold temperatures as weather fronts sweep through.

Multimetal nanoframes improve catalyst performance Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:00 AM PDT Scientists built a highly active and durable class of electrocatalysts by exploiting the structural evolution of solid platinum-nickel nanocrystals. The novel material enhanced catalytic activity for splitting oxygen, a reaction vital to fuel cells and potentially other uses.

Optimizing atomic neighborhoods for speedier chemical reactions Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:00 AM PDT Scientists discovered that for palladium-nickel catalysts, certain surface characteristics, measured at the atomic level, sped the creation of carbon dioxide from carbon monoxide.

Affordable Care Act provision for young adults leaves racial disparities intact among trauma patients Posted: 09 Apr 2015 09:00 AM PDT The Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed millions of young adults to retain health care coverage through their parents' insurance plans, but new research finds that many young African-American and Hispanic adults who need coverage for trauma care may not get it.

Doing the impossible: Enzyme-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:21 AM PDT A computational study focused on the mechanistic pathway of the SpnF-catalyzed cycloaddition reaction leading to Spinosyn A -- tetracyclic natural insecticide produced by the cells of the bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa. Computational modeling revealed energetically balanced reaction coordinate of the studied process and highlighted new possibilities for enzymatic catalysis of cycloaddition reactions.

Amniotic stem cells demonstrate healing potential Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:21 AM PDT Scientists use stem cells derived from amniotic fluid to promote the growth of robust, functional blood vessels in healing hydrogels. The researchers combined versatile amniotic stem cells with injectable hydrogels used as scaffolds in regenerative medicine and proved they enhance the development of vessels needed to bring blood to new tissue and carry waste products away.

Epigenomic changes play an important role during the progression of melanoma Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:21 AM PDT Researchers have zeroed in on what makes cancer cells in melanoma so aggressive. They also succeeded in taming the effect in cell cultures. Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is notoriously quick to metastasize and responds poorly to existing cancer treatments. In their study, the researchers report a significant step forward in the characterization and potential treatment of melanoma.

Road salt guidelines need review to protect food chain in lakes Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:21 AM PDT Lake and highway authorities should consider adjusting road salt use protocols to protect aquatic life such as the water flea, by taking the nutritional status of the lakes into account, experts argue in a new study. In particular, they suggest revising the Water Quality Guideline for chloride, especially for lakes near winter-maintained roads on the Canadian Shield that tend to have very low nutrient levels.

First real-time observation of the onset of stellar jets during the formation of a massive protostar Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:20 AM PDT An international team of astronomers has first observed the moment in which a massive protostar begins to develop jets of matter and energy, crucial for star formation.

Put teaching at the heart of improvements in educational quality, experts say Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:20 AM PDT A major re-appraisal of teaching methods will help to transform the educational opportunities for millions of children in the developing world, a scholar has suggested in a new article. Authors of the new report support the move to bring together efforts to ensure coherence, consistency and quality of training so that all children, including the most marginalized, have access to competent teachers.

Dispersant used to clean deepwater horizon spill more toxic to corals than the oil Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:19 AM PDT The dispersant used to remediate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is more toxic to cold-water corals at lower concentrations than the spilled oil, according to a new study that comes on the eve of the spill's fifth anniversary, April 20th.

Children with neurological disorders need flu vaccine but don't always get it Posted: 09 Apr 2015 07:19 AM PDT Children with neurologic or neurodevelopmental disorders (NNDDs) are at increased risk of complications from influenza. Although experts have recognized NNDDs as high-risk conditions for influenza complications since 2005, little is known about influenza vaccination practices in this population.

A revealing new look at the secretive black tinamou Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:48 AM PDT One of the world's least-known birds, the black tinamou, is finally coming to light thanks to the persistence of a small group of researchers. A study presents new ecological information as well as some of the first video and sound recordings of this elusive species.

Lights tuned to birds' eyes may help reduce bird-aircraft collisions Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:48 AM PDT A new study may have important implications for reducing bird-aircraft collisions through the customization of aircraft and runway lights to birds' visual systems. Birds' eyes are different from human eyes in several key ways, and researchers determined that blue light would be most conspicuous to the Brown-headed Cowbirds used in their study. Outfitting a remote-controlled model airplane with lights in this color, they tested how the captive flock reacted to continuous versus pulsing lights and to a stationary versus approaching aircraft. When the aircraft was stationary, cowbirds became alert more quickly when the lights were on than when they were off. When the aircraft approached the birds with lights off, their response times slowed as the aircraft's speed increased, but lights helped mitigate this effect.

Nintedanib in lung cancer: Added benefit depends on disease severity Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:48 AM PDT In non-small cell lung cancer the new angiokinase inhibitor has advantages in patients without brain metastases, but disadvantages in patients with brain metastases. In principle, at most an indication of an added benefit can be derived from the results of the only study included in the manufacturer dossier. As the analysis of the data shows, the advantages or disadvantages of nintedanib in combination with docetaxel primarily depend on whether patients already had brain metastases at the start of the study or not.

Clot-busting drug benefits stroke patients, brain scan study shows Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:48 AM PDT A drug that breaks up blood clots in the brains of stroke patients could be used more widely than at present without increased risk, a brain scan study suggests. It had previously been thought that giving the drug to people with signs of early damage in the brain caused by a stroke would increase the chances of them suffering a bleed on the brain -- which can be fatal. The study is the first to show that early tissue damage seen in brain scans does not necessarily indicate an increased risk of bleeding.

Researchers deliver large particles into cells at high speed Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:48 AM PDT A new device developed by engineers and doctors eventually help scientists study the development of disease, enable them to capture improved images of the inside of cells and lead to other improvements in medical and biological research.

Drug regulations tied to fewer prescriptions of effective gout drug Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:40 AM PDT Well intentioned, but costly and potentially problematic. That's how researchers describe the end result of a decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate colchicine, a drug used to treat gout, among other ailments. Fewer patients are actually now taking it, and it has come at a cost to their wallets, says the study's leader. Colchicine had been sold at low cost for many years in the US. It is widely used to treat gout, and is the primary treatment for a rare inflammatory disease called familial Mediterranean fever.

Tracking the toxicity of Lake Erie cyanobacterial blooms Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:39 AM PDT Efforts to reduce the amount of phosphorus and other nutrients washing off farm fields and into Lake Erie shifted into overdrive after high levels of a bacterial toxin shut down the drinking water supply to more than 400,000 Toledo-area residents last August. "We know what causes these blooms: It's nutrients from farm runoff. What we don't fully understand is what determines whether these cyanobacterial blooms are highly toxic or not," said a marine microbiologist and oceanographer and leader of this project.

A grateful heart is a healthier heart Posted: 09 Apr 2015 06:39 AM PDT Recognizing and giving thanks for the positive aspects of life can result in improved mental, and ultimately physical, health in patients with asymptomatic heart failure, according to new research.

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