Body

Common problem for older adults: Losing the 5 key senses

It's a well-known fact that aging can lead to losing one's senses: vision, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. In previous studies, researchers have learned about the consequences of experiencing a decline in a single sense. For example, losing senses of smell, vision, and hearing have all been linked to cognitive decline, poor mental health, and increased mortality. Losing the sense of taste can lead to poor nutrition and even death in certain instances. However, until now little has been known about losing multiple senses.

Study examines Teach For America's impact on costs, hiring at 5 school systems

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Teach For America has reaped millions of dollars in nonrefundable finder's fees from school systems in the U.S. through lucrative contracts that require schools to hire designated numbers of the organization's corps members - whether or not its teachers meet districts' specific content or grade-level needs, a new study suggests.

New research reveals sound of deep-water animal migration

NEW ORLEANS - New research finds there is a distinct sound coming from a massive community of fish, shrimp, jellies and squid as they travel up and down from the depths of the ocean to the water's surface to feed. This sound could be serving as a "dinner bell" for these deep-water organisms that play a key role in ocean food webs and the global carbon cycle, and could help scientists better understand this mysterious ecosystem, according to new research being presented here Monday.

Researchers discover new Ebola-fighting antibodies in blood of outbreak survivor

LA JOLLA, CA - February 18, 2016 - A research team that included scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has identified a new group of powerful antibodies to fight Ebola virus.

The antibodies, isolated from the blood of a survivor of the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the largest panel reported to date, could guide the development of a vaccine or therapeutic against Ebola. The new study also revealed a previously unknown site of vulnerability in the structure of the deadly virus.

Study examines Teach For America's impact on costs, hiring at five school systems

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Teach For America has reaped millions of dollars in nonrefundable finder's fees from school systems in the U.S. through lucrative contracts that require schools to hire designated numbers of the organization's corps members - whether or not its teachers meet districts' specific content or grade-level needs, a new study suggests.

Ancient lone star lizard lounged in lush, tropical Texas

Researchers have discovered a new species of extinct worm lizard in Texas and dubbed it the "Lone Star" lizard. The species -- the first known example of a worm lizard in Texas -- offers evidence that Texas acted as a subtropical refuge during one of the great cooling periods of the past.

A paper describing the new species was published on Feb. 18 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. The species is officially named Solastella cookei. Solastella is a Latinized form of lone star.

UGA researchers make link between genetics, aging

Athens, Ga. - Scientists at the University of Georgia have shown that a hormone instrumental in the aging process is under genetic control, introducing a new pathway by which genetics regulates aging and disease.

Previous studies have found that blood levels of this hormone, growth differentiation factor 11, decrease over time. Restoration of GDF11 reverses cardiovascular aging in old mice and leads to muscle and brain rejuvenation, a discovery that was listed as one of the top 10 breakthroughs in science in 2014.

New mathematical model explains variability in mutation rates across the human genome

PHILADELPHIA - It turns out that the type, how frequent, and where new mutations occur in the human genome depends on which DNA building blocks are nearby, found researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in an advanced online study published this week in Nature Genetics.

New study finds Transcendental Meditation reduces stress in family caregivers

It has been estimated that over 20% of the U.S. population has served as an unpaid non-professional family caregiver for an elderly or disabled person -- and the resulting stress can be devastating. Caring for chronically ill relatives and friends often leads to stressful psychological, behavioral, and physiological effects that can contribute to impaired immune function, coronary heart disease, and a higher mortality rate.

Transcendental Meditation relieves stress in caregivers

Researchers work to decipher genetic data in hunt for new prostate cancer treatments

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State University researchers are working on new approaches to deciphering genetic data that may lead to new, more targeted prostate cancer treatments.

Prostate cancer, which affects one in seven men in the United States, tends to have multiple tumor sites within an individual prostate and each might be genetically different. Tumor characteristics also differ among racial and ethnic groups.

Common problem for older adults: Losing the five key senses

It's a well-known fact that aging can lead to losing one's senses: vision, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. In previous studies, researchers have learned about the consequences of experiencing a decline in a single sense. For example, losing senses of smell, vision, and hearing have all been linked to cognitive decline, poor mental health, and increased mortality. Losing the sense of taste can lead to poor nutrition and even death in certain instances. However, until now little has been known about losing multiple senses.

TSRI and JCVI scientists find popular stem cell techniques safe

LA JOLLA, CA - February 19, 2016 - A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) shows that the act of creating pluripotent stem cells for clinical use is unlikely to pass on cancer-causing mutations to patients.

The research, published February 19, 2016 in the journal Nature Communications, is an important step in assessing patient safety in the rapidly developing field of stem cell therapies.

Exposure to air pollution increases the risk of obesity

DURHAM, N.C. -- Laboratory rats who breathed Beijing's highly polluted air gained weight and experienced cardio-respiratory and metabolic dysfunctions after three to eight weeks of exposure.

A study appearing in the March issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) placed pregnant rats and their offspring in two chambers, one exposed to outdoor Beijing air and the other containing an air filter that removed most of the air pollution particles.

Gene therapy: T cells target mutations to fight solid tumors

The efficacy of the immune system to combat disease makes the body's own healing powers a promising approach in the fight against cancer. A Berlin research group led by Wolfgang Uckert, Thomas Blankenstein and Matthias Leisegang has been collaborating with U.S. researcher Hans Schreiber in a project to use immune components called T cells to target mutant proteins produced by cancer cells.

Georgetown ID specialist discusses global health leadership and Zika at ICID

WASHINGTON (Feb. 19, 2016) - The Zika virus pandemic in the Americas is the topic of several talks at the 17th International Congress on Infectious Diseases (ICID), March 2-5, 2016 in Hyderabad, India. Georgetown infectious disease expert Daniel Lucey, MD, MPH, will deliver a presentation titled "WHO Reforms and UN Action" during the "Ebola and Beyond: Preparing for the Next Pandemic" symposium.

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