Body

Menlo Park, Calif. — The first complete chemical analysis of feathers from Archaeopteryx, a famous fossil linking dinosaurs and birds, reveals that the feathers were patterned—light in color, with a dark edge and tip—rather than all black, as previously thought.

The findings came from X-ray experiments at the Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where scientists were able to find chemical traces of the original dinobird and its pigments in the rock that entombed it 150 million years ago.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 12, 2013)—More than half of middle-aged women who still have regular cycles have hot flashes. Asian and Hispanic women are less likely to have them than white women, but compared with previous studies, the figures are surprisingly high, showed a survey of some 1,500 women published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

UK and Australian scientists have been able to show ways in which we can markedly improve drug targeting of solid tumours, using tiny 'biosensors' along with new advanced imaging techniques.

Cross-country skiers who take part in one of the world's most challenging ski races, the 90 km Vasaloppet in Sweden, are at increased risk of developing arrhythmia – problems with the rate or rhythm of their heart beat – according to a study of nearly 53,000 race participants published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal [1].

Younger mothers are at a higher risk of preterm birth while older mothers are more likely to have a caesarean section, suggests a new study published today (12 June) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The study, conducted over a 12-year period (2000-2011) in Ireland, examined the delivery outcomes of 36,916 first-time mothers at varying maternal ages.

Scheduled exercise, regular meals and the periodic warming and cooling of joints could be used to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis according to scientists at The University of Manchester. Their research may also help explain why older people are more prone to developing this common joint disorder.

The findings came from X-ray experiments by a team from The University of Manchester, working with colleagues at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The scientists were able to find chemical traces of the original 'dinobird' and dilute traces of plumage pigments in the 150 million-year-old fossil.

HAMILTON, ON (June 11, 2013) -- One in six women arriving at orthopedic fracture clinics have been victims of physical, emotional, or sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner within the past year, and one in 50 arrive as a direct result of intimate partner violence (IPV), according to the largest multinational study of its kind to date, led by McMaster University researchers.

The report has been published on Online First by The Lancet.

Parasites comprise a large proportion of the diversity of species in every ecosystem. Despite this, they are rarely included in analyses or models of food webs. If parasites play different roles from other predators and prey, however, their inclusion could fundamentally alter our understanding of how food webs are organized.

People in India who walk or cycle to work are less likely to be overweight or obese, according to a study led by Christopher Millett from Imperial College London and the Public Health Foundation of India and colleagues. Their paper reporting the study, published in this week's PLOS Medicine, reveals that cyclists are also less likely to have diabetes or high blood pressure compared to people who take public or private transport to work.

Nine years after the World Health Organization adopted a global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health to address risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes (referred to internationally as noncommunicable diseases), only a few low-and middle-income countries have implemented robust national policies to help prevent such diseases, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

A team of NIH-supported researchers is the first to show, in mice, an unexpected two-step process that happens during the growth and regeneration of inner ear tip links. Tip links are extracellular tethers that link stereocilia, the tiny sensory projections on inner ear hair cells that convert sound into electrical signals, and play a key role in hearing. The discovery offers a possible mechanism for potential interventions that could preserve hearing in people whose hearing loss is caused by genetic disorders related to tip link dysfunction.

People in India who walk or cycle to work are less likely to be overweight or obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure, a study has found.

These findings suggest that encouraging more people to use physically active modes of transport could reduce rates of important risk factors for many chronic diseases, say the researchers from Imperial College London and the Public Health Foundation of India. Rates of diabetes and heart disease are projected to increase dramatically in India and other low and middle income countries over the next two decades.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has found that childhood cancer survivors overwhelmingly experience a significant amount of undiagnosed, serious disease through their adult years, establishing the importance of proactive, life-long clinical health screenings for this growing high-risk population. The findings appear in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

An intervention consisting of clinician education coupled with personalized audit and feedback about antibiotic prescribing improved adherence to prescribing guidelines for common pediatric bacterial acute respiratory tract infections, although the intervention did not affect antibiotic prescribing for viral infections, according to a study in the June 12 issue of JAMA.