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Brain images show nerves ‘crisscrossing’ in neat but complex patterns: Study

New images of the brain reveal a deceptively simple pattern of organization in the wiring of this complex organ. Instead of nerve fibers travelling randomly through the brain like spaghetti, as some imaging has suggested, the new portraits reveal two-dimensional sheets of parallel fibers ‘crisscrossing’ other sheets at right angles in a grid-like structure that folds and contorts with the convolutions of the brain. This same pattern appeared in the brains of humans, rhesus monkeys, owl monkeys, marmosets and galagos, researchers report Thursday in the journal Science.

1 Apr 2012

Study uses simple technique to break military camouflage

Researchers want to help the Army better camouflage its soldiers and break the enemy's efforts to hide. "We want to make our camouflage unbreakable and we want to break the camouflage of the enemy," said Dr. Jay Hegde, neuroscientist in the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University.

31 Mar 2012

Thermally content mice might serve as meaningful research subjects

Nine out of 10 drugs successfully tested in mice and other animal models ultimately fail to work in people, and one reason may be traced back to a common fact of life for laboratory mice: they're cold, according to a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

31 Mar 2012

U.S. releases policy requiring dual-use biological research reviews amid bird flu debate

"The U.S. government on Thursday released a new policy that will require federal agencies to systematically review the potential risks associated with federally funded studies involving 15 'high consequence' pathogens and toxins, including the H5N1 avian influenza virus," Science Insider reports.

31 Mar 2012

State of Texas awards Asuragen $6.8M to pursue Next Generation Sequencing applications

Asuragen, Inc. announced today that the Company received notice of a $6.8 million commercialization award to pursue Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) applications from the State of Texas through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas ("CPRIT").

31 Mar 2012

Number of kidney cancer cases rises over 9,000 in Great Britain

The number of cases of kidney cancer diagnosed each year in Great Britain has risen over 9,000 for the first time, new figures from Cancer Research UK show today.

31 Mar 2012

Accuray, University of Heidelberg enter multi-year master research and collaboration agreement

Accuray Incorporated, the premier radiation oncology company, announced today the signing of a multi-year master research and collaboration agreement with the University of Heidelberg, a luminary research institution located in Heidelberg, Germany that contributes to the city's top international position in therapy, research and science.

31 Mar 2012

Study shows how eating fast food is linked to increased risk of depression

A new study along the same lines as its predecessors shows how eating fast food is linked to a greater risk of suffering from depression. This study has been published in the Public Health Nutrition journal

31 Mar 2012

Staggering economic costs of autism will continue to rise

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced preliminary results of new research that estimates autism costs society a staggering $126 billion per year (U.S.) - a number that has more than tripled since 2006, and annually in the U.K. has reached more than -34 billion (equivalent to $54 billion U.S.).

30 Mar 2012

BPA shows tangible effects on health endpoints at high dosage levels

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)-such as BPA-can show tangible effects on health endpoints at high dosage levels, yet those effects do not predict how EDCs will affect the endocrine system at low doses, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Endocrine Reviews.

30 Mar 2012

Physicians advised to use caution in prescribing sedatives for patients taking opioids

Adverse events associated with taking opioid pain medications increase in patients who concurrently use sedatives and alcohol. A study in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, advises physicians to use caution in prescribing sedatives for patients taking opioids, even if there is no history of substance abuse.

30 Mar 2012

Stop TB Partnership, TAG release report on tuberculosis research funding

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports the findings from the second edition of the 2011 Report on Tuberculosis (TB) Research Funding and Trends from 2005-2010, released Thursday by Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the Stop TB Partnership.

30 Mar 2012

Researchers, experts debate publication of H5N1 research amid updated studies

"As researchers from both sides of the debate over two controversial H5N1 studies weighed in Tuesday on full publication versus a more cautionary approach, two U.S. journals" -- the Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID) and its sister publication, Clinical Infectious Diseases -- "said they are developing policies to address any future such instances," CIDRAP News writes.

30 Mar 2012

First study to examine link between cumulative traumatic stress exposure and inflammation

Greater lifetime exposure to the stress of traumatic events was linked to higher levels of inflammation in a study of almost 1,000 patients with cardiovascular disease led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

30 Mar 2012

Narrative exposure therapy can be used with BPD patients in a standard clinical setting

An investigation published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics introduces a new treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) that ensues after a traumatic stress.

30 Mar 2012

Study evaluates efficacy of CBT in obsessive-compulsive disorder

This study evaluates the efficacy of a specialized form of psychotherapy (cognitive behavioral therapy) in clinical presentations characterized by the joint presence of obsessions and psychotic symptoms.

30 Mar 2012

Asian Canadian LGB youth more likely to face harassment

Asian Canadian teenagers who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are 30 times more likely to face harassment than their heterosexual peers - a factor that is linked to higher rates of alcohol or drug use, according to University of British Columbia research.

30 Mar 2012

Scientists produce first genetic brain atlas

The first atlas of the surface of the human brain based upon genetic information has been produced by a national team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

30 Mar 2012

Patients with IBS have higher prevalence of early adverse life events

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have a significantly greater prevalence of early adverse life events , including general trauma as well as physical, emotional and sexual abuse, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

30 Mar 2012

Mind-pop experiences are related to hallucinations in people with schizophrenia

Almost everyone reports experiencing mind-pops at some time or another, but some experience them more than others according to research conducted by the University of Hertfordshire. In the paper to be published in Psychiatry Research, findings suggest that mind-pop experiences are related to hallucinations in those people suffering from schizophrenia.

30 Mar 2012