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Sugar makes cancer light-up in MRI scanners

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2013Healthcabi, cancer, dose of radiation, glucocest, human cancer, image tumour, magnetic resonance imaging, mark lythgoe, mri, mri scanners, new technique, radioactive material, radiologist, scans of mice, simon walker samuel, standard radioactive techniques, sugar, ucl scientists, university college london, xavier golay

A new technique for detecting cancer by imaging the consumption of sugar with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been unveiled by UCL scientists. The breakthrough could provide a safer and simpler alternative to standard radioactive techniques and enable radiologists to image tumours in greater detail.

The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth. (more…)

New Approach to Measuring Coral Growth Offers Valuable Tool for Reef Managers

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2013Environmentbiscayne national park, calcification, calcium carbonate, climate change, coral growth, coral health, dry tortugas, ecosystem, environmental information, florida keys, fowey rocks, growth pattern, ilsa kuffner, level of precision, marathon, marine organisms, massive starlet coral, miami, national park, ocean water, ph, reef managers, scuba diver working, shell, siderastrea siderea, skeleton, suzette kimball, U.S. Geological Survey, us virgin islands, usgs scientist, water quality

Finds surprising growth patterns in the Florida Keys

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A new more sensitive weight-based approach for monitoring coral growth in the wild has been developed by U.S. Geological Survey researchers leading to more definitive answers about the status of coral reefs.

Corals and other marine organisms build their skeletons and shells through calcification, the biological process of secreting calcium carbonate obtained from ocean water. This new approach to measuring corals can provide finer-scale resolution than traditional linear measurements of coral growth. (more…)

Over-Confident CEOs Can Put Companies at Risk, MU Study Finds

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2013Economyarlington, brazil, decision making skills, france, georgia tech university, Germany, Japan, long term orientation, Mexico, narayanan jayaraman, over confident ceos, sanjiv sabherwal, stephen ferris, united kingdom, university of missouri, university of texas

COLUMBIA, Mo. — CEOs need to demonstrate strong leadership and good decision-making skills, but CEOs with over-confidence can involve their companies in riskier ventures and put investors’ funds at risk, according to a new study from the University of Missouri, Georgia Tech University and the University of Texas-Arlington.

“Over-confident CEOs feel they have superior decision-making abilities and are more capable than their peers,” said Stephen Ferris, professor of finance in the MU Trulaske College of Business. “Unfortunately, they tend to make decisions about mergers or acquisitions that can be viewed as risky. For example, CEOs who are over-confident tend to target companies that do not focus on their core line of business. Generally speaking, mergers that diversify companies don’t work.” (more…)

More women pick computer science if media nix outdated ‘nerd’ stereotype

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2013Technologycomputer scientists, gender stereotype, stereotype, stereotypical view, women

Parents and teachers like to tell children they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. But are there inaccurate stereotypes in the media that nudge them away from certain careers? (more…)

Prostate cancer: moving beyond ‘watchful waiting’

By Guest PostJuly 12, 2013Healthabnormal digital exam, benign hyperplasia, cancer death, fusion biopsy, prostate cancer, prostate enlargement, prostate specific antigen, psa result

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men: the American Cancer Society expects the disease will claim nearly 30,000 lives in 2013. The disease mainly affects older men—the median age of diagnosis is 67—and it’s a slow-growing cancer, so most men diagnosed with the disease are likely to die of other causes. (more…)

UA Study: Evolution Too Slow to Keep Up With Climate Change

By Guest PostJuly 11, 2013Environment, Natureclimatic niche, evolutionary trees, phylogenies, rapid climate change, rates of evolution, terrestrial vertebrates, warmer climate

A study led by a UA ecologist has found that many species evolve too slowly to adapt to the rapid climate change expected in the next 100 years.

Many vertebrate species would have to evolve about 10,000 times faster than they have in the past to adapt to the rapid climate change expected in the next 100 years, a study led by a University of Arizona ecologist has found.
(more…)

Cosmochemist discovers potential solution to meteorite mystery

By Guest PostJuly 11, 2013Sciencealexei fedkin, british mineralogist, carnegie institution, chondrules, cosmochemist, crystal structures, discover, early solar system, forming jupiter, fred ciesla, gaseous magnesium, henry sorby, high pressure collisions, iron oxide, jay melosh, lawrence grossman, magnesium silicates, meteorite mystery, mystery in cosmochemistry, olivine, oxide bearing olivine, planets, potential solution, primordial gas cloud, silicates, solar nebula, steven simon, sun, university of chicago, Washington

Chondrules may have formed from high-pressure collisions in early solar system

A normally staid University of Chicago scientist has stunned many of his colleagues with his radical solution to a 135-year-old mystery in cosmochemistry. “I’m a fairly sober guy. People didn’t know what to think all of a sudden,” said Lawrence Grossman, professor in geophysical sciences.

At issue is how numerous small, glassy spherules had become embedded within specimens of the largest class of meteorites—the chondrites. British mineralogist Henry Sorby first described these spherules, called chondrules, in 1877. Sorby suggested that they might be “droplets of fiery rain” which somehow condensed out of the cloud of gas and dust that formed the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. (more…)

Exercise reorganizes the brain to be more resilient to stress

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2013Healthbrain, brain cell, brain region, brian hsueh, elizabeth gould, exercise, fight, flight, gaba, gamma aminobutyric acid, human anxiety disorders, immediate early genes, mechanism, neurons, neurotransmitter, normal brain function, pedro pieruzzini, pedro rada, physical activity, princeton university, reaction, regulate anxiety, resilient to stress, sedentary mice, stanford university, timothy schoenfeld, university of los andes, Venezuela, ventral hippocampus

Physical activity reorganizes the brain so that its response to stress is reduced and anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal brain function, according to a research team based at Princeton University.

The researchers report in the Journal of Neuroscience that when mice allowed to exercise regularly experienced a stressor — exposure to cold water — their brains exhibited a spike in the activity of neurons that shut off excitement in the ventral hippocampus, a brain region shown to regulate anxiety. (more…)

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