A growing international consensus to formally recognize and protect people uprooted by environmental problems is expected to accelerate at a major conference in Bonn, Germany Oct. 9 to 11.
Featured at the conference will be the presentation and discussion of early results of the first comprehensive empirical study, funded by the European Commission, gauging the extent to which environment problems influence migration decisions.
NEW YORK, NY, October 8, 2008: In research aimed at addressing a global epidemic, a team of scientists from around the world has cracked the genetic code for the parasite that is responsible for up to 40 percent of the 515 million annual malaria infections worldwide, Nature reveals in its October 9 cover story.
Researchers have decoded the genome of a malaria parasite that has a host range from monkeys to man. Identified originally in monkeys, the parasite was first reported in a human infection just over 40 years ago.
The circadian rhythm that quietly pulses inside us all, guiding our daily cycle from sleep to wakefulness and back to sleep again, may be doing much more than just that simple metronomic task, according to Stanford researchers.
Working with Siberian hamsters, biologist Norman Ruby has shown that having a functioning circadian system is critical to the hamsters' ability to remember what they have learned. Without it, he said, "They can't remember anything."
New research findings suggest that structural abnormalities in the brains of cocaine addicts are related in part to drug use and in part to a predisposition toward addiction. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 9th issue of the journal Neuron, maps the topography of the addicted brain and provides new insight into the effect of cocaine on neural systems mediating cognition and motivation.
A new animal model has provided insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with behavioral therapy for depression. The study, published by Cell Press in the October 9th issue of Neuron, may provide a good model system for testing cellular and molecular interactions between antidepressive medications and behavioral treatments for depression.
A brain imaging study carried out at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals abnormalities in the cortex – the outer surface of the brain – of cocaine addicts that appear to correlate with dysfunction in areas responsible for attention and for reward-based decision-making. While some of these abnormalities may reflect an inborn vulnerability to drug use, others appear to be the result of long-term cocaine exposure. The report appears in the October 9 issue of Neuron.
LA JOLLA, CA— Once a toddler has mastered the art of walking, it seems to come naturally for the rest of her life. But walking and running require a high degree of coordination between the left and right sides of the body. Now researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have shown how a class of spinal cord neurons, known as V3 neurons, makes sure that one side of the body doesn't get ahead of the other.
Why do some people have the ability to remain calm and relaxed even in the most stressful situations? New experiments in mice by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers are providing insight into how the brain changes when the animals learn to feel safe and secure in situations that would normally make them anxious.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 -- Frontiers in Optics 2008 (FiO), the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Optical Society (OSA), will be held from Oct. 19-23 at the Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, N.Y. FiO 2008 will take place alongside Laser Science XXIV, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Laser Science.
Reporters interested in obtaining a badge to attend the meeting should contact Colleen Morrison at 202.416.1437, cmorri@osa.org.
FiO RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Miles below us, deep within Earth's crust, life is astir. Organisms there are not the large creatures typically envisioned when thinking of life. Instead, thriving there are microbes, the smallest and oldest form of life on Earth. Although the biological diversity of these deep biosphere microorganisms may surpass that of the more familiar surface biosphere, much about them is still unknown, including the origin of the organic compounds they consume.
With increasing consumer pressure on both farmers and supermarkets to minimise the use of chemical pesticides in fruit and vegetables, a new study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), looks at why there is currently little use of biological alternatives in the UK.
Data from a new study suggests that individuals who engage in compassion meditation may benefit by reductions in inflammatory and behavioral responses to stress that have been linked to depression and a number of medical illnesses. The study's findings are published online at www.sciencedirect.com and in the medical journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- As medicine undergoes rapid transformation, North American leaders in continuing medical education (CME) have joined together to transform CME itself. Their goal is to see that physicians have the best professional development resources available throughout their careers to translate new research into better patient care.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – When a group is without a leader, you can often count on a narcissist to take charge, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups. Narcissism is a trait in which people are self-centered, exaggerate their talents and abilities, and lack empathy for others.