News Articles

Video games may help recovering stroke patients improve their motor function, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2010.The pilot study focused on movements with survivors' impaired arms to help both fine (small muscle) and gross (large muscle) motor function.Twenty survivors (average age 61) of mild to moderate ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes were randomized to playing recreational games (cards or Jenga, a block stacking and balancing game) or Two Nintendo Wii games,  tennis or Wii Cooking Mama, which uses movements that simulate cutting a potato, peeling an onion, slicing meat and shredding cheese.

New research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows that abuse or emotional neglect during childhood combined with genetic factors can result in structural brain changes, rendering some individuals more vulnerable to  depression. The study results appear in Neuropsychopharmacology.

The food police have argued amongst themselves for many years over how to change consumers' eating habits. Some have suggested that 'pricing strategies' (i.e. higher taxes) may change behavior while others say subsidies for healthy foods are the way to encourage people to eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The thought is that if you make it cheaper, people will eat more of it, more expensive and people will eat less.To sort out the controversy, a team of researchers from the University of Buffalo set out to determine in the laboratory which method is best for dictating to consumers what's good for them, taxes on junk food or subsidies for healthy food. Their results appear this month in Psychological Science.

The T2K (Tokai-to-Kamioka) project has tracked their first neutrino, one of the least understood particles in the universe.  The detection of the neutrino as it passed 185 miles from the East to the West of Japan means the study of the mysterious phenomenon of neutrino oscillations may shed more light on the role of the neutrino in the early universe, or perhaps even help answer questions about why there is more matter than anti-matter in the universe."Neutrinos are the elusive ghosts of particle physics, T2K spokesperson Takashi Kobayashi said."They come in three types, called electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos, and tau neutrinos, which used to be thought to be unchanging. This is a big step forward, we've been working hard for more than 10 years to make this happen."

Researchers who observed viruses as they evolved to infect bacteria say they have confirmed the Red Queen Hypothesis, the idea that competing species drive molecular evolution through natural selection for adaptation and counter-adaptation. The team used high-throughput DNA sequencing technology to sequence thousands of virus genomes. They found that when the bacteria could evolve defenses, the viruses evolved at a quicker rate and generated greater diversity, compared to situations where the bacteria were unable to adapt to the viral infection. The results are published in Nature.

Why do some people who experience traumatizing events develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder while others don't? Scientists know that, in general, the more traumatic events a person experiences the higher their likelihood of developing PTSD, but even under extreme stress not all individuals develop the disorder. Now, researchers writing in Biological Psychiatry say that survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide may help explain how genetic factors influence this relationship.

Promiscuous females may be the key to a species' survival, according to new research published today in Current Biology. The study may explain why females of most species have multiple mates, despite this being more risky for the individual.Known as 'polyandry' among scientists, the phenomenon of females having multiple mates is shared across most animal species, from insects to mammals. This study suggests that polyandry reduces the risk of populations becoming extinct because of all-female broods being born.

Research conducted at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests that "exergames" – entertaining video games that combine game play with exercise can improve the symptoms of subsyndromal depression (SSD) in seniors. In a pilot study, researchers found that use of exergames significantly improved mood and mental health-related quality of life in older adults with SSD. The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

People have a strong tendency to give nonhuman entities human characteristics (known as anthropomorphism), and researchers from Harvard and the University of Chicago say they now understand the psychology that underlies this behavior. The research appears in Current Directions In Psychological Science.Neuroscience research has shown that similar brain regions are involved when we think about the behavior of both humans and of nonhuman entities, suggesting that anthropomorphism may be using similar processes as those used for thinking about other people.

A three-year field program now underway is measuring carbon distributions and primary productivity in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean to help determine the impacts of a changing climate on ocean biology and biogeochemistry. The study will also help validate ocean color satellite measurements and refine biogeochemistry models of ocean processes.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists and engineers have devised an undersea optical communications system that—complemented by acoustics—enables a virtual revolution in high-speed undersea data collection and transmission. Its developers are likening the new technology to the cell phone and wireless Internet access. Their report will  be presented Feb. 23 at the 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland Ore.Compared to communication in the air, communicating underwater is severely limited because water is essentially opaque to electromagnetic radiation except in the visible band. Even then, light penetrates only a few hundred meters in the clearest waters; less in sediment-laden or highly populated waters.

In a study in Nano Letters, scientists report that they have developed a flexible, biocompatible rubber film called Piezo-rubber for use in implantable or wearable energy harvesting systems. The material could be used, for instance, to harvest energy from the motion of the lungs during breathing and used to run pacemakers without the need for batteries that must be surgically replaced every few years.