Being Human

June 26, 2009 - (BRONX, NY) - A variation in a gene that is active in the central nervous system is associated with increased risk for obesity, according to an international study in which Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University played a major role. The research adds to evidence that genes influence appetite and that the brain plays a key role in obesity.

More pieces in the complex autism inheritance puzzle are emerging in the latest study from a research team including geneticists from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and several collaborating institutions.

DURHAM, NC -- According to a new study from researchers at Duke University, total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures performed in older patients with osteoarthritis of the knee result in long-term, significant improvement of physical functioning and motor skills when compared to patients who do not receive TKA.

New Rochelle, NY, June 25, 2009 -- Excess medical expenses and reduced productivity due to diabetes costs the U.S.

Rockville, MD -- Like many diseases, causes for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be categorized as either "nature" or "nurture". Researchers think these factors, when used in the proper model, can be strong predictors of the disease.

AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older.

PHILADELPHIA (June 25, 2009) -- Reviewing the records of 577 breast cancer patients, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers found that women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who receive a breast MRI are more likely to receive a mastectomy after their diagnosis and may face delays in starting treatment.

DURHAM, N.C. -- How did piranhas -- the legendary freshwater fish with the razor bite -- get their telltale teeth? Researchers from Argentina, the United States and Venezuela have uncovered the jawbone of a striking transitional fossil that sheds light on this question.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Research published today in Science Express from the journal Science demonstrates the first definitive link between mutations in the gene DICER1 and cancer.

My future father-in-law and I were talking about aliens or possible life forms couple of weeks ago. We both agreed and disagreed on various subjects or possibilities. However, we both agreed on one idea of possible life forms. What if Aliens or E.T are not what we think they are. I mean the media has filled our head with these long green men with big black eyes.

In a recent study by pesticide toxicologists at UP Los Baños, the injection of neonicotenoid pesticides such as thiametoxam, imidachloprid and clothianidin in coconut trunks was found safe and effective in controlling the coconut leaf beetle (Brontispa longgisima).

A typical and yet interesting reality is that most women enjoy shopping and most men do not. As one interested in human behavior this is a fascinating finding worthy of some curiosity. The explanation of the differences between the two genders regarding shopping might be found in a basic understanding of the human brain.

Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan have carried out the first international comparison of cognitive function in nationally representative samples of older adults in the US and England and discovered that US seniors performed significantly better that their English counterparts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration congratulates its labs and Advanced Simulation and Computing program for earning three of the top 10 spots on the latest TOP500 supercomputer list, which was released yesterday.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco Center for Excellence in Primary Care, as lead authors on commentaries in two of the nation's leading medical journals this week, call for a national effort to revive primary care as part of health care reform legislation.

A new study by a University of Arizona professor shows employee involvement programs that executives adopt to increase efficiency also end up improving their record on diversity.

The study was published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Sociology.

A group led by Columbia University Medical Center's Timothy Wang, M.D., has studied the role of Helicobacter infection in the development of stomach cancer and found that the hormone gastrin, which stimulates secretion of gastric acid, plays a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer, and may have distinct effects on carcinogenesis in different parts of the stomach.

Ecological and economic factors are prompting telecommunications companies to deploy energy-saving systems. The broadband DSL access network consumes about 20 billion kilowatt-hours of energy per year worldwide -- equivalent to four percent of Germany's annual energy consumption.

In the brains of the mice the researchers found alterations which may be closely linked to speech and language development. Their analyses comprise part of an international study led by the Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. The findings have been published in the current issue of the renowned journal Cell.

While cancer touches the lives of many humans, it is also a major threat to wild animal populations as well, according to a recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

June 24/Geneva -- Climate has always presented a challenge to farmers, herders, fishermen and others whose livelihoods are closely linked to their environment, particularly those in poor areas of the world.