All posts from Last Month
- April 27, 2013
- 06:37 AM
- 67 views
A vaccine for autism symptoms? Not exactly
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"Vaccine". "Autism".I'm struggling to think of two words in combination which, in modern times, are any more likely to stir up emotion, debate and even argument. Indeed in these times of measles outbreaks and seemingly daily news reporting on the very, very strong requirement for vaccination to protect against the disease, it is coincidental that two research papers should now land in my inbox which mention both of those words in the title.Paradise in Zakynthos @ Wikipedia The fi........ Read more »
Pequegnat B, Sagermann M, Valliani M, Toh M, Chow H, Allen-Vercoe E, & Monteiro MA. (2013) A vaccine and diagnostic target for Clostridium bolteae, an autism-associated bacterium. Vaccine. PMID: 23602537
- April 27, 2013
- 05:34 AM
- 61 views
The climate scientist whose world spun on through war
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
Milutin Milanković calculated his way through imprisonment and bombings to show how Earth’s movement helped drive ice ages, revealing how far we’ve strayed from the path we should be following into the next global freeze. ... Read more »
Petrović, A., & Marković, S. (2010) Annus mirabilis and the end of the geocentric causality: Why celebrate the 130th anniversary of Milutin Milanković?. Quaternary International, 214(1-2), 114-118. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2009.10.031
- April 27, 2013
- 02:40 AM
- 76 views
How stores trick our senses to make us buy more (Part 4 of 5: Smell)
by Jordan Gaines in Gaines, on Brains
Not only is the ability to smell one of humans' most primitive senses, but it is also closely tied to memory and emotion. How do stores take advantage of our sense of smell to tempt us to buy more than we bargained for?... Read more »
Rabin MD, & Cain WS. (1984) Odor recognition: familiarity, identifiability, and encoding consistency. Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition, 10(2), 316-25. PMID: 6242742
- April 27, 2013
- 02:14 AM
- 75 views
Psychedelic drugs “continue to be widely used in the U.S.”
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main point:
Researchers have found that, in 2010, about 32 million people in the U.S. have used hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), “magic mushrooms” (psilocybin), or mescaline (peyote and other cacti) at some point in their lives and many of them have used it in the recent past.
Published in:
F1000Research
Study Further:
“Use of psilocybin mushrooms has increased since the 1970s in the US and worldwide, likely due to dissemination of s........ Read more »
Krebs, T., & Johansen, P. (2013) Over 30 million psychedelic users in the United States. F1000Research. DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.2-98.v1
- April 26, 2013
- 08:20 PM
- 74 views
Patenting Genes: Human Invention or Product of Nature?
Leading up to the debate on gene patenting, this week marks the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the DNA double helix. On April 25th, 1953 the work of James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and other colleagues on the structure of DNA was published in Nature. Without this milestone achievement, we wouldn’t ...... Read more »
Hall JM, Lee MK, Newman B, Morrow JE, Anderson LA, Huey B, & King MC. (1990) Linkage of early-onset familial breast cancer to chromosome 17q21. Science (New York, N.Y.), 250(4988), 1684-9. PMID: 2270482
WATSON JD, & CRICK FH. (1953) Molecular structure of nucleic acids; a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature, 171(4356), 737-8. PMID: 13054692
- April 26, 2013
- 03:46 PM
- 73 views
North Korea and the USA can indeed unite: in the battle against TB.
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium. It spreads through cough or sneeze from subjects with an active infection. While in most cases the disease is asymptomatic, a minority of latent infections does become active (i.e. the subject develops symptoms), and when it does, if left untreated, the disease can be deadly. According to the CDC one third of the world's population are infected with TB, and while in the US the incidence of the disease has been declining over time,........ Read more »
Stone, R. (2013) Public Enemy Number One. Science, 340(6131), 422-425. DOI: 10.1126/science.340.6131.422
- April 26, 2013
- 01:53 PM
- 72 views
The Curious Case of the Earworm (Part 2)
by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented
In Part 1 of this topic, we explored the reasons why we like certain songs. But what transforms that likable melody into an earworm? Or is likability even a contributing factor? We took the biochemical/neurological route in Part 1, so now we’re gonna go all psychology for this one with a paper published in 2011 in Psychology of Music.Let’s get some terminology out of the way first. We all have internally-directed thought (all that stuff you think to yourself), and we also experience spontane........ Read more »
Williamson, V., Jilka, S., Fry, J., Finkel, S., Mullensiefen, D., & Stewart, L. (2011) How do "earworms" start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery. Psychology of Music, 40(3), 259-284. DOI: 10.1177/0305735611418553
Hyman, I., Burland, N., Duskin, H., Cook, M., Roy, C., McGrath, J., & Roundhill, R. (2013) Going Gaga: Investigating, Creating, and Manipulating the Song Stuck in My Head. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27(2), 204-215. DOI: 10.1002/acp.2897
- April 26, 2013
- 12:47 PM
- 77 views
This Month In Blastocystis Research
by Christen Rune Stensvold in Blastocystis Parasite Blog
The first post in a series of monthly updates on Blastocystis research mainly based on emerging papers in PubMed.... Read more »
Gould R, & Boorom K. (2013) Blastocystis surface antigen is stable in chemically preserved stool samples for at least 1 year. Parasitology research. PMID: 23609598
Dogruman-Al F, Simsek Z, Boorom K, Ekici E, Sahin M, Tuncer C, Kustimur S, & Altinbas A. (2010) Comparison of methods for detection of Blastocystis infection in routinely submitted stool samples, and also in IBS/IBD Patients in Ankara, Turkey. PloS one, 5(11). PMID: 21124983
Alfellani MA, Stensvold CR, Vidal-Lapiedra A, Onuoha ES, Fagbenro-Beyioku AF, & Clark CG. (2013) Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications. Acta tropica, 126(1), 11-8. PMID: 23290980
Alfellani MA, Jacob AS, Perea NO, Krecek RC, Taner-Mulla D, Verweij JJ, Levecke B, Tannich E, Clark CG, & Stensvold CR. (2013) Diversity and distribution of Blastocystis sp. subtypes in non-human primates. Parasitology, 1-6. PMID: 23561720
Abdulsalam AM, Ithoi I, Al-Mekhlafi HM, Khan AH, Ahmed A, Surin J, & Mak JW. (2013) Prevalence, predictors and clinical significance of Blastocystis sp. in Sebha, Libya. Parasites , 86. PMID: 23566585
Clark CG, van der Giezen M, Alfellani MA, & Stensvold CR. (2013) Recent developments in blastocystis research. Advances in parasitology, 1-32. PMID: 23548084
Malheiros AF, Stensvold CR, Clark CG, Braga GB, & Shaw JJ. (2011) Short report: Molecular characterization of Blastocystis obtained from members of the indigenous Tapirapé ethnic group from the Brazilian Amazon region, Brazil. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 85(6), 1050-3. PMID: 22144442
- April 26, 2013
- 11:18 AM
- 81 views
Patient Perspectives on Anorexia, Treatment, and Therapeutic Alliance
by Andrea in Science of Eating Disorders
Dear Science of Eating Disorders readers, please welcome Andrea, our newest contributor! Below is her introduction and first post.
Hello SEDs readers, my name is Andrea and I’m excited to be contributing to the blog. I have an undergraduate degree in sociology and I am currently a Masters student studying family relations and human development. My research is looking at the experiences of young women in recovery from eating disorders, and uses qualitative methods including narrative interviews........ Read more »
Boughtwood, D., & Halse, C. (2009) Other than obedient: Girls' constructions of doctors and treatment regimes for anorexia nervosa. Journal of Community . DOI: 10.1002/casp.1016
- April 26, 2013
- 11:16 AM
- 104 views
What Your Eyes Reveal About Your Lies
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
It’s a very attractive idea that we can discover the truth about the stories people tell just by looking at what their eyes are doing. People for example often look to the left if they use their memory, so if they don’t, they can’t be telling anything sincere about the past. What does science make of this?... Read more »
Wiseman, R., Watt, C., ten Brinke, L., Porter, S., Couper, S., & Rankin, C. (2012) The Eyes Don’t Have It: Lie Detection and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. PLoS ONE, 7(7). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040259
- April 26, 2013
- 11:05 AM
- 100 views
The Shambulance: Reflexology and Other Stories
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
The Shambulance is an occasional series in which I try to find the truth about bogus or overhyped health products. Helping me keep the Shambulance on course are Steven Swoap and Daniel Lynch, both biology professors at Williams College.
Sticking a Q-tip up one’s nose is not the source of many great insights. Yet it’s how an American doctor in the early 20th century developed the theory that became modern reflexology. He would be proud—though maybe a little confused—to see people to........ Read more »
Ernst, E., Posadzki, P., & Lee, M. (2011) Reflexology: An update of a systematic review of randomised clinical trials. Maturitas, 68(2), 116-120. DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2010.10.011
- April 26, 2013
- 10:51 AM
- 75 views
MRI Biomarker for Parkinson's Disease Progression
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Brain Putamen Highlighted in OrangeThe search for biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease is very active. I have summarized some of the relevant Alzheimer's biomarker research here and here.Biomarker research in Parkinson's disease has been less active.However, a recent research study published in Plos One demonstrated the potential for brain magnetic resonance imaging in Parkinson's disease.Miguel Ulla and colleagues in France conducted a prospective MRI study of 27 subjects with Parkinson's d........ Read more »
Ulla M, Bonny JM, Ouchchane L, Rieu I, Claise B, & Durif F. (2013) Is R2* a new MRI biomarker for the progression of Parkinson's disease? A longitudinal follow-up. PloS one, 8(3). PMID: 23469252
- April 26, 2013
- 10:46 AM
- 69 views
A Lab-Grown Kidney on Demand
by Pieter Carrière in United Academics
A research team in Massachusetts made a promising start to solve the enormous deficiency of donor kidneys. ... Read more »
Song, J., Guyette, J., Gilpin, S., Gonzalez, G., Vacanti, J., & Ott, H. (2013) Regeneration and experimental orthotopic transplantation of a bioengineered kidney. Nature Medicine. DOI: 10.1038/nm.3154
Tasnim, F., Deng, R., Hu, M., Liour, S., Li, Y., Ni, M., Ying, J., & Zink, D. (2010) Achievements and challenges in bioartificial kidney development. Fibrogenesis , 3(1), 14. DOI: 10.1186/1755-1536-3-14
- April 26, 2013
- 09:17 AM
- 121 views
Visualization of the Gödel universe
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The standard model of modern cosmology, which is based on the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric, allows the definition of an absolute time. However, there exist (cosmological) models consistent with the theory of general relativity for which such a definition cannot be given since they offer the possibility for time travel.... Read more »
Buser, M., Kajari, E., & Schleich, W. (2013) Visualization of the Gödel universe. New Journal of Physics, 15(1), 13063. DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/15/1/013063
- April 26, 2013
- 08:47 AM
- 70 views
Jeffrey Sherman Receives the Anneliese Maier Research Award
by ebender in Daily Observations
APS Fellow Jeffrey Sherman, who studies stereotyping and prejudice at University of California, Davis, has been awarded the Anneliese Maier Research Award. Presented by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and The post Jeffrey Sherman Receives the Anneliese Maier Research Award appeared first on Association for Psychological Science.... Read more »
Damian, R., & Sherman, J. (2013) A process-dissociation examination of the cognitive processes underlying unconscious thought. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology., 49(2), 228-237. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2012.10.018
- April 26, 2013
- 07:11 AM
- 89 views
Intelligent Whales Have Their Own Culture
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Whales already were one the most fascinating and intelligent creatures we know and they now also appear to work together in adapting to their environments. Just like us, they give each other tips. Is it in their songs?... Read more »
Allen, J., Weinrich, M., Hoppitt, W., & Rendell, L. (2013) Network-Based Diffusion Analysis Reveals Cultural Transmission of Lobtail Feeding in Humpback Whales. Science, 340(6131), 485-488. DOI: 10.1126/science.1231976
- April 26, 2013
- 07:02 AM
- 86 views
Larger groups means you are less likely to form interracial relationships
by Rita Handrich in The Jury Room
I sent my kids to a small school with a 1:12 student teacher ratio for kindergarten through 12th grade. While I knew that student/teacher ratio was terrific, I worried sometimes that they did not have the diversity in student body they would have in a larger school. My kids (now in college) have told me [...]
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Attractiveness and being fired for poor performance........ Read more »
Cheng S, & Xie Y. (2013) Structural effect of size on interracial friendship. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 23589848
- April 26, 2013
- 07:00 AM
- 65 views
April 26, 2013
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
It’s Worm Week here at HighMag Blog. Worms are amazing little creatures, and the species C. elegans is an invaluable model system for studying cell and developmental biology. Their genome is sequenced, their development is precise and well-documented, and their bodies and embryos are translucent (making them photogenic under a microscope). Today’s image is from the same lab that brought Tuesday’s image…worm gonads rock!Blurb and image from Christian R. Eckmann:The image........ Read more »
Gracida, X., & Eckmann, C. (2013) Fertility and Germline Stem Cell Maintenance under Different Diets Requires nhr-114/HNF4 in C. elegans. Current Biology, 23(7), 607-613. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.02.034
- April 26, 2013
- 06:12 AM
- 46 views
Feathers stem cells provide new insight into the morphogenesis process
by beredim in Stem Cells Freak
A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC), led by Professor Chuong Cheng Ming, reveals how stem cells contribute to the unique and complex patterns bird feathers have. Surprisingly, the study has implications in the field of regenerative medicine, say the researchers.Read More... Read more »
Lin, S., Foley, J., Jiang, T., Yeh, C., Wu, P., Foley, A., Yen, C., Huang, Y., Cheng, H., Chen, C.... (2013) Topology of Feather Melanocyte Progenitor Niche Allows Complex Pigment Patterns to Emerge. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1230374
- April 26, 2013
- 05:51 AM
- 79 views
Scientists Create Novel Approach to Find RNAs Involved in Long-term Memory Storage
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Despite decades of research, relatively little is known about the identity of RNA molecules that are transported as part of the molecular process underpinning learning and memory.... Read more »
Office of Communications | Press Release. (2013) Scientists Create Novel Approach to Find RNAs Involved in Long-term Memory Storage. The Scripps Research Institute. info:/
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