Culture

Washington, DC—Researchers conduct a memory study, scan a participant's brain, and find more than they bargain for: a tumor. What do the researchers owe the participant? What does the participant want to know? This is an increasingly common scenario for practitioners across contexts and for recipients of unexpected results that can be discovered through a variety of procedures and tests.

HUNTSVILLE, TX (12/12/13) -- A team of researchers led by Sam Houston State University identified a number of areas of improvement in a national database of forensic ballistics evidence used to link guns to violent crimes.

The report, just released by the National Institute of Justice, already has led to improvements in the system called the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which is operated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, FIMM, and the Helsinki University Central Hospital has developed a novel individualized systems medicine (ISM) strategy which enables selection of potentially effective cancer therapies for individual patients. Furthermore, this strategy helps in understanding and predicting drug resistance and may pave a path for individualized optimization of patient therapies in the clinic for various types of cancers.

Hollywood, FL (December 12, 2013) – A new study shows that two unusual treatment approaches may have beneficial effects on the symptoms of autism in children and adults with the disorder. Using a hot bath to raise body temperature and thereby mimic the effects of infection, or using worm eggs to stimulate the production of immunoregulatory factors in the gut to diminish inflammatory signals, both attenuated symptoms of autism. These findings support the idea that disruption of systems in the body that control inflammation may contribute to the disorder.

Children get plenty of benefits from music lessons – learning to play an instrument can be a great outlet for a child's creativity, and the repeated practice can teach much-needed focus and discipline. What's more, the payoff, whether it's learning a new song – or just mastering a new chord – is often a boost of self-esteem.

But Harvard researchers now say that one oft-cited benefit – that studying music improves intelligence – is a myth.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Four nuclear power plants, sources of low-emissions electricity, have announced closings this year. If plants continue to shut down instead of extending operations the nation risks losing 60 percent of its clean electricity starting in 2030, according to a new report, Renewing Licenses for the Nation's Nuclear Power Plant by the American Physical Society.

New York University College of Nursing researcher and Assistant Professor Abraham A. Brody, RN, PhD, GNP-BC and colleagues reporting in Journal of Palliative Medicine found that initiating a palliative care consult in the emergency department (ED) reduced hospital length of stay (LOS) when compared to patients who receive the palliative care consult after admission.