Intermittent fasting, and fasting in general, has been a popular fad health gimmick, but the science isn't on its side. Instead, proponents believe mice are little people so if mice weaned on starvation diets lived longer, people would also.
Increasingly becoming a necessity in Ecology and Earth Science research, handling complex data can be a tough nut when traditional statistical methods are applied. As one of its first publications, the new technologically-advanced Open Access journal One Ecosystem features a review paper describing the benefits of using machine learning technologies when working with highly-dimensional and non-linear data.
Research, involving scientists and doctors at the University of Southampton and Royal Bournemouth Hospital, has identified a network of genes that are likely to be shared by all patients who have chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).
Furthermore, the study has identified gene networks that are associated with patient survival, which could be identified as targets for treatment.
World-leading cancer researcher, Dr Christoph Bock, from the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, led the project, in collaboration with Professor Jonathan Strefford from the University of Southampton and CLL clinician, Professor David Oscier from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
It has been published in Nature Communications.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (June 27, 2016) - A pain medicine that potently activates a receptor vital to a healthy retina appears to help preserve vision in a model of severe retinal degeneration, scientists report.
Potentially blinding diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration result in the loss of photoreceptor cells in the retina that enable us to convert light into images.
COLUMBUS, OH - In the northern hemisphere, peak ultraviolet radiation exposure is predicted to occur between 2010 and 2020. Decreases in ozone lead to increased exposure to wavelengths in the ultraviolet range, and ultraviolet radiation in turn affects plants' ability to effectively use photosynthesis for growth and development. Scientists say large land areas could be affected by UV-B exposure on turfgrasses that are typically cut high, such as those grasses used for residential lawns, so identifying grasses that can grow in evaluated UV-B conditions is crucial.
Irvine, Calif., June 27, 2016 -- A first-of-its-kind survey has confirmed what some water polo players - especially goalies - have long suspected: Concussions seem to be prevalent in the sport.
More than a third of water polo participants reported sustaining a concussion either during games or in practice, according to a poll conducted by University of California, Irvine researchers.
China's plans to curb Beijing's health-damaging air by focusing on restricting emissions from power plants and vehicles may have limited impact if household use of coal and other dirty fuels is not also curtailed, according to a new study.
"You cannot have a clean outdoor environment if a large percentage of the population is burning dirty fuels in households several times a day," said Kirk Smith, a professor with the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health who co-led the study with Tong Zhu of Peking University and Denise Mauzerall of Princeton University. "The smoke may start indoors, but soon leaves the house and becomes a significant part of regional air pollution."
Researchers at Disney Research and ETH Zurich have demonstrated that consumer-grade light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs can, with some modifications, do double duty -- both illuminating a room and providing a communications link for devices in that room.
This visible light communication (VLC) system would be suitable for connecting the many devices, such as appliances, wearable devices, sensors, toys and utilities, that could comprise the Internet of Things, or IoT, said Stefan Schmid, a Ph.D. student at Disney Research and ETH Zurich.
A University of Adelaide analysis of genetic mutations which cause early-onset Alzheimer's disease suggests a new focus for research into the causes of the disease.
Previous research has revolved around the idea that accumulation in the brain of a small, sticky protein fragment -- amyloid beta -- causes Alzheimer's disease.
However, there is growing concern among researchers that this idea is not rapidly advancing global understanding of the disease or leading to successful treatments.
The University of Adelaide scientists, in collaboration with researchers from a number of other Australian universities, say their analysis points to a new theory about how mutations of a particular gene, PSEN1, can trigger early onset Alzheimer's disease.
A team led by Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom are presenting new images of Jupiter at the UK's Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Nottingham.
Obtained with the VISIR instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope , the new images are part of a focused effort to improve understanding of Jupiter's atmosphere prior to the arrival of NASA's Juno spacecraftJuno spacecraft [1] in July this year.
Oxford, June 27, 2016 - Sending text messages on a smartphone can change the rhythm of brain waves, according to a new study published in Epilepsy & Behavior.
People communicate increasingly via text messaging, though little is known on the neurological effects of smartphone use. To find out more about how our brains work during textual communication using smartphones, a team led by Mayo Clinic researcher William Tatum analyzed data from 129 patients. Their brain waves were monitored over a period of 16 months through electroencephalograms (EEGs) combined with video footage.
A Japanese research team have applied a method used in human genetic analysis to rice and rapidly discovered four new genes that are potentially significant for agriculture. These findings could influence crop breeding and help combat food shortages caused by a growing population. The paper was published on June 21, 2016 (Japan Standard Time) in the online edition of Nature Genetics.
Selective crop improvement based on plant genetics and breeding is essential to support the world's growing population. In order to efficiently breed new crop varieties it is necessary to rapidly identify the genes related to high crop yields and analyze what makes them special.
While most malaria research has focused on the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which is common in Africa, another parasite, Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax) is responsible for the majority of malaria infections outside this region, causing an estimated 15.8 million clinical malaria cases each year. The parasite is becoming increasingly resistant to common antimalarial drugs, posing challenges for malaria elimination.
Institute researchers Dr Alyssa Barry and Professor Ivo Mueller are part of two international teams studying P.vivax. The teams used cutting-edge genomic techniques to analyse hundreds of clinical samples from malaria-infected people around the globe. The research led to two complementary publications in this month's edition of Nature Genetics.
