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Misregulated genes may have big autism role

By Guest PostApril 1, 2013Healthautism, autism cerebral cortex, bank, biochemical exchanges, brain tissue, brains of children, brown university, christianson syndrome, daniel geschwind, endosomes of cells, epilepsy, eric morrow, genetic pathway, human behavior, irinia voineagu, karoly mirnics, key molecular player, krassimira garbett, los angeles, messenger rna, misregulated genes, mutations, nhe6, nhe9, proteins, raw data, statistical analysis, university of california, vanderbilt university

A genetic pathway involving proteins in the endosomes of cells appears to be misregulated in the brains of children with autism, according to a newly published statistical analysis in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Previously the genes were shown to cause rare forms of the disease but the new study suggests they have a wider role.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new study finds that two genes individually associated with rare autism-related disorders are also jointly linked to more general forms of autism. The finding suggests a new genetic pathway to investigate in general autism research. (more…)

High-speed rail study finds that remote cities benefit from connection to global hubs

By Guest PostMarch 26, 2013Technologybakersfield, bullet trains, cangzhou, China, environmental economist, hang lung center, high speed, los angeles, matthew kahn, megacities like beijing, palmdale, qinhuangdao, quality of life, rail system, second tier, second tier cities, shijiazhuang, siqi zheng, tsinghua university, ucla, water pollution, yangquan

Bullet trains fuel real-estate booms, improve quality of life and create other unintended consequences by sharply reducing commute times from smaller cities to large megacities, economists from UCLA and China’s Tsinghua University observed in a new study in China. A similar dynamic, they said, could play out as California builds its own high-speed rail system.

Because high-speed rail effectively brings cities closer together by reducing travel times, it allows people to enjoy many of the benefits of big cities while living in “second-tier” cities far from the pollution and congestion. By making second-tier cities attractive to those who would otherwise flock to global hubs, bullet trains could act as a safety valve for crowded megacities in the developing world and ease the effects of overpopulation, the study authors report. (more…)

‘Cool’ Kids In Middle School Bully More, UCLA Psychologists Report

By Guest PostFebruary 7, 2013General, Healthanti bullying programs, bullied by classmates, cool kids, eighth grade, female typed, forms of aggression, harmless name calling, innocent punch, jaana juvonen, los angeles, male typed, middle school bully, middle school students, non human primates, physical aggression, popularity, social status, spreading rumors, ucla psychologists

Study of seventh and eighth graders finds no difference between boys, girls

Bullying, whether it’s physical aggression or spreading rumors, boosts the social status and popularity of middle school students, according to a new UCLA psychology study that has implications for programs aimed at combatting school bullying. In addition, students already considered popular engage in these forms of bullying, the researchers found.

The psychologists studied 1,895 ethnically diverse students from 99 classes at 11 Los Angeles middle schools. They conducted surveys at three points: during the spring of seventh grade, the fall of eighth grade and the spring of eighth grade. Each time, students were asked to name the students who were considered the “coolest,” the students who “start fights or push other kids around” and the ones who “spread nasty rumors about other kids.” (more…)

More than Half a Million California Adults Think Seriously about Committing Suicide

By Guest PostDecember 20, 2012Generaladult, alaska natives, american indians, bisexual, california, californians, chis, committing suicide, david grant, ethnic groups, gay, half a million, health interview survey, lesbian, los angeles, mental health services, prevention, risk, sacramento area, sierra counties, smokers, statistics data, suicidal behavior, suicidal thoughts, suicide ideation, suicide rate, ucla

More than half a million adults in California seriously thought about committing suicide during the previous year, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

The study, which uses data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), is the first by the center to focus on suicide ideation.

In California, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, the researchers noted. An average of nine deaths by suicide occur each day in the state. (more…)

Transforming America by Redirecting Wasted Health Care Dollars

By Guest PostOctober 30, 2012Generalalternative, ambitious plans, americans, childhood education, congressional, county department, economic sector, Environment, fraud, frederick zimmerman, Health, health care, health industry, jeffrey mccullough, jonathan fielding, los angeles, myriad, public health, quality, social value, spending, steven teutsch, super committee, system, Washington, waste, wasteful, well being

Eliminating excessive spending could mean windfall for U.S., study suggests

The respected national Institute of Medicine estimates that $750 billion is lost each year to wasteful or excessive health care spending. This sum includes excess administrative costs, inflated prices, unnecessary services and fraud — dollars that add no value to health and well-being.

If those wasteful costs could be corralled without sacrificing health care quality, how might that money be better spent? (more…)

Nettles — it’s what’s for dinner!

By Guest PostOctober 27, 2012Culture, Generalada de santis, american cooks, ancient egypt, arugula, bay leaf liquor, blackberry semifreddo, blackberry shoot, california, capers, chamomile, chicory, culinary history, dean, deluca, edible plants, english, escarole, Europe, fats domino, fennel, fennel field, gianpiero doebler, god apollo, greek mythology, greek word, italian, italian cuisine, italian gastronomy, john evelyn, los angeles, luigi ballerini, mallow, marathon, medical science, milan, myrtle berries, new york, nymph, point mugu, rosemary, salad, southern california, swiss chard, topanga canyon, united states, university, viagra, wild, wild asparagus, wild mint

UCLA scholar, culinary historian champions foraged foods in new book

Today, delicacies like capers, arugula and fennel are at home at Dean & Deluca, Whole Foods and fancy restaurants, but they haven’t always lived the high life.

These and other darlings of the foodie set started out as peasants’ fodder, foraged from rocky outcroppings, empty fields and roadsides, according to a new book by a UCLA professor.

Luigi Ballerini revisits this distant past in “A Feast of Weeds: A Literary Guide to Foraging and Cooking Wild Edible Plants” (University of California Press), which celebrates the foraged foods that are currently enjoying a renaissance in Italy and elsewhere. (more…)

State-Mandated Planning, Higher Resident Wealth Linked to More Sustainable City Transportation

By Guest PostOctober 13, 2012Environmentanna mccreery, columbus, ecosummit 2012, environmentally friendly, income, index, las vegas, los angeles, metropolitan area, new orleans, ohio, per capita, pittsburgh, population density, public transit, seattle, socioeconomic factor, solo commuter, span, state university, sustainability, time, transportation ecoefficiency, transportation practice, transportation system, US, wealthier

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Transportation practices tend to be more environmentally friendly in wealthier metropolitan areas located within states that mandate comprehensive planning, new research suggests.

The study involved an examination of 225 U.S. metropolitan areas between 1980 and 2008 to gauge how sustainable their transportation practices were and determine what kinds of socioeconomic factors appeared to influence those practices. (more…)

CU Mathematicians Show How Shallow Waves May Help Explain Tsunami Power

By Guest PostSeptember 19, 2012Scienceboulder, colorado, douglas baldwin, earthquake, interaction height, Japan, los angeles, low tide, mark ablowitz, mathematical equation, Mexico, nonlinear, nonlinearity, nuevo vallarta, ocean wave, pacific ocean, physics, tsunami, university, venice beach, wave height, wave watching

While wave watching is a favorite pastime of beachgoers, few notice what is happening in the shallowest water. A closer look by two University of Colorado Boulder applied mathematicians has led to the discovery of interacting X- and Y-shaped ocean waves that may help explain why some tsunamis are able to wreak so much havoc.

Professor Mark Ablowitz and doctoral student Douglas Baldwin repeatedly observed such wave interactions in ankle-deep water at both Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, and Venice Beach, Calif., in the Pacific Ocean — interactions that were thought to be very rare but which actually happen every day near low tide. There they saw single, straight waves interacting with each other to form X- and Y-shaped waves as well as more complex wave structures, all predicted by mathematical equations, said Ablowitz. (more…)

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