Culture

CHICAGO--Music serves as a natural and non-invasive intervention for patients with severe neurological disorders to promote long-term memory, social interaction and communication. However, there is currently no plausible explanation of its neural basis for why and how music affects physical and psychosocial responses.

This is a supplementary video to the Molecular Therapy publication "Prevention of Dystrophic Pathology in Severely Affected Dystrophin/Utrophin-deficient Mice by Morpholino-oligomer-mediated Exon-skipping" showing visual evidence of mouse with pronounced curving of the spine and dramatically reduced mobility as a result of deficiency of both dystrophin and utrophin proteins.

(Photo Credit: University of Oxford)

A new study from Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business finds that Americans who believe in equality are more-impulsive shoppers. And it has implications for how to market products differently in countries where shoppers are more likely to buy on impulse.

The study, "Power-Distance Belief and Impulsive Buying," was authored by Rice management professor Vikas Mittal and recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Marketing Research.

More than 120 years after the discovery of the electromagnetic character of radio waves by Heinrich Hertz, wireless data transmission dominates information technology. Higher and higher radio frequencies are applied to transmit more data within shorter periods of time. Some years ago, scientists found that light waves might also be used for radio transmis-sion. So far, however, manufacture of the small antennas has required an enormous expenditure. KIT scientists have now succeeded for the first time in specifically and reproducibly manufacturing smallest optical nanoantennas from gold.

Babesiosis is a potentially dangerous parasitic disease transmitted by ticks and is common in the Northeast and the upper Midwest. Babesia lives inside of red blood cells, meaning it can also be transmitted through a blood transfusion from an infected but otherwise asymptomatic blood donor.

WASHINGTON -- The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program should adopt a new set of nutrient targets and standards for menu planning, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The recommended targets and standards would update and improve the programs' abilities to meet children's nutritional needs and foster healthy eating habits.

Avignon, France, October 20, 2009 – Decades of studies have documented the link between eating a diet rich in vegetables and multiple health benefits, yet nearly eight out of 10 people worldwide fall short of the daily recommendation. Research presented at the International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables suggests the best approach may be to focus on the factors that are often behind this vegetable gap: convenience and enjoyment.

A new study shows uninsured American adults with chronic illnesses like diabetes or high cholesterol often go undiagnosed and undertreated, leading to an increased risk of costly, disabling and even lethal complications of their disease.

San Diego, October 20, 2009 – With the 2009 influenza season upon us, characterization of the epidemiology and duration of shedding for the nH1N1 virus is critical. Investigators from the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine Epidemiology Consult Service capitalized on a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights about the natural behavior of the nH1N1 virus, including shedding patterns, during a recent large-scale swine flu outbreak at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA).

DURHAM, N.C. -- Exposure to lead in early childhood significantly contributes to lower performances on end-of-grade (EOG) reading tests among minority and low-income children, according to researchers at Duke University and North Carolina Central University.

Treatment with a glucocorticoid medication, either alone or in combination with Ginkgo biloba, appears to significantly improve the sense of smell in individuals with previous olfactory loss due to upper respiratory infections, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

An insight from the labs of Harvard chemist George Whitesides and cell biologist Don Ingber is likely to make a fundamental shift in how biologists grow and study cells – and it's as cheap and simple as reaching for a paper towel.

Washington — Following PETA's call for U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) to adopt non-animal methods to test the potency of each batch of a vaccine, the CVB has informed PETA that three of the tests involving pigs have been replaced with modern non-animal methods. The USDA has amended its Web site to reflect the changes.

Boulder, CO, USA – Some time soon, a powerful earthquake will trigger a massive tsunami that will flood the Pacific Northwest, destroying homes and threatening the lives of tens of thousands of people, says Yumei Wang, a geotechnical engineer at the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries in Portland.

Boulder, CO, USA – Jerusalem's geology has been crucial in molding it into one of the most religiously important cities on the planet, according to a new study.