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- June 11, 2013
- 08:37 AM
- 57 views
Mysterious Underwater Structure Discovered in Israel
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
Researchers stumbled upon the cone-shaped monument, that weighs about 60,000 ton, while executing geophysical research in the southern Sea of Galilee.
Expected is that the structure was built 6000 years ago. According to Prof. Shmulik Marco, who took part in the research, this is an impressive accomplishment since the stones had to be carried more than a mile – and be arranged according to a specific plan.... Read more »
Paz, Y., Moshe, R., Zvi, B., Shmuel, M., Tibor, G., & Nadel, D. (2013) A Submerged Monumental Structure in the Sea of Galilee, Israel. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 42(1), 189-193. DOI: 10.1111/1095-9270.12005
- June 10, 2013
- 09:04 AM
- 64 views
Blood Test Sets Therapy for Advanced Cancer Patient
by Agnese Mariotti in United Academics
A recent paper published in Nature reports the employment of blood tests for cancer patients to capture circulating tumor DNA that is subsequently sequenced and analyzed, the goal being to identify mutations and characterize the tumor genomic profile.... Read more »
Murtaza, M., Dawson, S., Tsui, D., Gale, D., Forshew, T., Piskorz, A., Parkinson, C., Chin, S., Kingsbury, Z., Wong, A.... (2013) Non-invasive analysis of acquired resistance to cancer therapy by sequencing of plasma DNA. Nature, 497(7447), 108-112. DOI: 10.1038/nature12065
Forshew, T., Murtaza, M., Parkinson, C., Gale, D., Tsui, D., Kaper, F., Dawson, S., Piskorz, A., Jimenez-Linan, M., Bentley, D.... (2012) Noninvasive Identification and Monitoring of Cancer Mutations by Targeted Deep Sequencing of Plasma DNA. Science Translational Medicine, 4(136), 136-136. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003726
Chan, K., Jiang, P., Zheng, Y., Liao, G., Sun, H., Wong, J., Siu, S., Chan, W., Chan, S., Chan, A.... (2012) Cancer Genome Scanning in Plasma: Detection of Tumor-Associated Copy Number Aberrations, Single-Nucleotide Variants, and Tumoral Heterogeneity by Massively Parallel Sequencing. Clinical Chemistry, 59(1), 211-224. DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2012.196014
Leary, R., Sausen, M., Kinde, I., Papadopoulos, N., Carpten, J., Craig, D., O'Shaughnessy, J., Kinzler, K., Parmigiani, G., Vogelstein, B.... (2012) Detection of Chromosomal Alterations in the Circulation of Cancer Patients with Whole-Genome Sequencing. Science Translational Medicine, 4(162), 162-162. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3004742
- June 10, 2013
- 07:18 AM
- 72 views
BDSM Practices Are Actually Healthy
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Researcher at Tilburg University has found that instead, people who practice these behaviors in the bedroom (at least) are actually quite psychologically healthy... Read more »
Wismeijer AA, & van Assen MA. (2013) Psychological Characteristics of BDSM Practitioners. The journal of sexual medicine. PMID: 23679066
- June 8, 2013
- 12:45 PM
- 52 views
Get Science Right: Covering Fraud
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
In the search for truth and answers, scientists often get it wrong. That’s the way science works; you test a hypothesis, compare your results, tweak your ideas, and maybe create a new hypothesis. Error is a big part of this process—but what if those errors are, instead, deliberate fraud? ... Read more »
Ioannidis, J. (2005) Why Most Published Research Findings Are False. PLoS Medicine, 2(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124
Fanelli, D. (2009) How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data. PLoS ONE, 4(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005738
- June 7, 2013
- 09:01 AM
- 59 views
Early Human Diet Went Grassy
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Modern apes eat mostly fruits and leaves in heavily wooded forests. Until recently, scientists believed that early human ancestors shared this diet. But a series of studies from the University of Utah found that our ancestors expanded their culinary tastes to grasses and grains, as much as 3.5 million years ago.... Read more »
Cerling TE, Manthi FK, Mbua EN, Leakey LN, Leakey MG, Leakey RE, Brown FH, Grine FE, Hart JA, Kaleme P.... (2013) Stable isotope-based diet reconstructions of Turkana Basin hominins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 23733966
Wynn JG, Sponheimer M, Kimbel WH, Alemseged Z, Reed K, Bedaso ZK, & Wilson JN. (2013) Diet of Australopithecus afarensis from the Pliocene Hadar Formation, Ethiopia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 23733965
Sponheimer M, Alemseged Z, Cerling TE, Grine FE, Kimbel WH, Leakey MG, Lee-Thorp JA, Manthi FK, Reed KE, Wood BA.... (2013) Isotopic evidence of early hominin diets. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 23733964
- June 7, 2013
- 04:42 AM
- 48 views
Video: Helicopter Flies by Thought Control
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
This video shows a demonstration flight of a new helicopter. But the helicopter isn’t new; the way it’s controlled is. The entire flight was managed by the thoughts of a man wearing a cap with electrodes. The researchers think that if a helicopter can be piloted by detachable electrodes, then these electrodes could be used to make non-invasive limbs for the disabled.... Read more »
Lafleur K, Cassady K, Doud A, Shades K, Rogin E, & He B. (2013) Quadcopter control in three-dimensional space using a noninvasive motor imagery-based brain-computer interface. Journal of neural engineering, 10(4), 46003. PMID: 23735712
- June 6, 2013
- 09:40 AM
- 42 views
A Possible Cure for Multiple Sclerosis
by Pieter Carriere in United Academics
It is better to travel well, than to arrive. This quote that arguably comes from Buddha partly explains why we focus on cell migration in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is an incurable disease that affects 2,5 million people worldwide (As reviewed by Ransohoff, 2012). The onset usually presents in young adulthood and it is mostly diagnosed in women. What causes this devastating disease?... Read more »
Odoardi F., Sie C., Streyl K., Ulaganathan V.K., Schlaeger C., Lodygin D., Heckelsmiller K., Nietfeld W., Ellwart J., Klinkert W.E.F., Lottaz C., Nosov M., Brinkmann V., Spang R. Lehrach H. Vingron M., Wekerle H. Fluegel-Koch C. . (2012) T cells become licenced in the lung to enter the central nervous system. . Nature, 675-682. info:/
Ransohoff, R. (2012) Immunology: Licensed in the lungs. Nature, 488(7413), 595-596. DOI: 10.1038/488595a
Wingerchuk, D. (2011) Smoking: effects on multiple sclerosis susceptibility and disease progression. Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, 5(1), 13-22. DOI: 10.1177/1756285611425694
Iglesias, A., Bauer, J., Litzenburger, T., Schubart, A., & Linington, C. (2001) T- and B-cell responses to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis. Glia, 36(2), 220-234. DOI: 10.1002/glia.1111
Jenh, C., Cox, M., Cui, L., Reich, E., Sullivan, L., Chen, S., Kinsley, D., Qian, S., Kim, S., Rosenblum, S.... (2012) A selective and potent CXCR3 antagonist SCH 546738 attenuates the development of autoimmune diseases and delays graft rejection. BMC Immunology, 13(1), 2. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2172-13-2
Wolf, C., Sidhu, J., Otoul, C., Morris, D., Cnops, J., Taubel, J., & Bennett, B. (2013) Pharmacodynamic Consequences of Administration of VLA-4 Antagonist CDP323 to Multiple Sclerosis Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind Phase 1/2 Study. PLoS ONE, 8(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058438
- June 5, 2013
- 09:22 AM
- 55 views
Darwin’s Theory Inadequate? Evolution by Subtraction
by Simone Munao in United Academics
So far we have always thought that evolution proceeds by addition, but nobody has ever proven that, at least in some cases, it may evolve by subtraction. In nature, in determinate phases of evolution, complicated organs may be formed, due to certain genetic assets. Sometimes the complexity of the formed tissue can be so high that prevents it from working in an optimal way. Evolution then would do its course by eliminating what is superfluous.
This is the content of the research conducted by the scientists D. McShea and W. Hordijk, recently published on Evolutionary Biology. The authors have proposed a model of evolution called “evolution by subtraction”: some species adapt themselves to the environment evolving form being roughly complex to becoming efficiently simple.... Read more »
McShea, D., & Hordijk, W. (2013) Complexity by Subtraction. Evolutionary Biology. DOI: 10.1007/s11692-013-9227-6
- June 5, 2013
- 06:59 AM
- 42 views
New Hair Growth Formula Found! (No, Seriously)
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
A research team at the University of Pennsylvania reported in Nature Medicine that they found a molecular pathway that stimulated hair follicle growth to a degree that could be therapeutic for baldness. The researchers found that a growth factor called Fgf9, which plays an important role in wound healing, stimulated these hair follicles in mice after an injury... Read more »
Gay D, Kwon O, Zhang Z, Spata M, Plikus MV, Holler PD, Ito M, Yang Z, Treffeisen E, Kim CD.... (2013) Fgf9 from dermal γδ T cells induces hair follicle neogenesis after wounding. Nature medicine. PMID: 23727932
- June 5, 2013
- 05:10 AM
- 40 views
Extinct Frog Not Extinct, But “Living Fossil” Instead
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
The Hula painted frog was the first amphibian to be declared officially extinct in 1996. In 2011, however, the frog reappeared in Israel. Now it turns out the species is actually an unique “living fossil,” without close relatives among other living frogs.
A recent study published in Nature Communications offers an in-depth genetic analysis of the amphibian. The results show that the Hula painted frog is not related to any living frog species, yet the sole representative of an prehistoric clade of frogs (a group with a single common ancestor) that has been considered extinct for a million years, named Latonia.... Read more »
Biton, R., Geffen, E., Vences, M., Cohen, O., Bailon, S., Rabinovich, R., Malka, Y., Oron, T., Boistel, R., Brumfeld, V.... (2013) The rediscovered Hula painted frog is a living fossil. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2959
- June 5, 2013
- 03:47 AM
- 36 views
Does Brain Stimulation Make You Better at Maths?
by Tom Stafford in United Academics
Researchers led by Roi Cohen Kadosh at the University of Oxford trained people on two kinds of maths skills, rote learning simple arithmetic problems and practicing more varied calculations.
During this learning process they applied small and continually varying electrical currents to the scalp, above the temples. A control group wore the electrodes but didn’t receive any current. Compared to the controls, the people who practiced with the current turned on performed faster on the maths problems.
Even more amazing, when a subset of the participants were brought back six months later, those who had received the electrical treatment were still significantly faster, albeit only for the harder, more varied, calculations.... Read more »
Snowball, A., Tachtsidis, I., Popescu, T., Thompson, J., Delazer, M., Zamarian, L., Zhu, T., & Cohen Kadosh, R. (2013) Long-Term Enhancement of Brain Function and Cognition Using Cognitive Training and Brain Stimulation. Current Biology, 23(11), 987-992. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.045
- June 4, 2013
- 08:56 AM
- 65 views
Are You Racist? Maybe Change Your Avatar
by Michael Kasumovic in United Academics
A new study in Consciousness and Cognition demonstrates technology may be able to offer part of the solution: donning the skin of a dark-skinned avatar significantly decreased an individual’s racial biases.... Read more »
Peck, T., Seinfeld, S., Aglioti, S., & Slater, M. (2013) Putting yourself in the skin of a black avatar reduces implicit racial bias. Consciousness and Cognition, 22(3), 779-787. DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.04.016
- June 3, 2013
- 11:46 AM
- 45 views
Are Women Better Babysitters?
by Mark Fonseca Rendeiro in United Academics
Whenever you talk about babysitting and who to hire to do such a job, you rarely hear of anyone wanting to hire a man. Statistics from some of the biggest babysitting agencies in the US indicate that around 90% of their caregivers are female. In the wake of many horrifying abuse scandals involving men in places like daycare centers, churches, and private homes, trust is lower than ever when it comes to having a man take care of your child.... Read more »
KELLI K.GARCÍA. (2012) The Gender Bind: Men as Inauthentic Caregivers. DUKE JOURNAL OF GENDER LAW . info:/
- June 3, 2013
- 09:22 AM
- 62 views
Dark Characters Are Attractive
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Are we attracted to people we like? Not necessarily. Good character isn’t always sexually appealing. It may even be the undesirable personality traits that make potential mates desirable, scientists say.... Read more »
Holtzman, N., & Strube, M. (2012) People With Dark Personalities Tend to Create a Physically Attractive Veneer. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(4), 461-467. DOI: 10.1177/1948550612461284
Dufner, M., Rauthmann, J., Czarna, A., & Denissen, J. (2013) Are Narcissists Sexy? Zeroing in on the Effect of Narcissism on Short-Term Mate Appeal. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. DOI: 10.1177/0146167213483580
- June 3, 2013
- 03:48 AM
- 53 views
Cancer Vaccines from a Blue-Blooded Mollusk
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Along about 1,000 miles of coastline between Monterey, California, and Isla Asuncion, Mexico, a large mollusk lives just under the breaking waves of the Pacific Ocean.
Megathura crenulata, or the giant keyhole limpet, runs up to 10 inches in size, and uses an unusual molecule for breathing: hemocyanin. Instead of its red-blooded terrestrial oxygen carrier hemoglobin, hemocyanin is blue in color, carries a copper molecule instead of iron, and is used by marine snails and mollusks for gill-based respiration.... Read more »
Kantele, A., Häkkinen, M., Zivny, J., Elson, C., Mestecky, J., & Kantele, J. (2011) Humoral Immune Response to Keyhole Limpet Haemocyanin, the Protein Carrier in Cancer Vaccines. Clinical and Developmental Immunology, 1-6. DOI: 10.1155/2011/614383
Lieb, B., Gebauer, W., Gatsogiannis, C., Depoix, F., Hellmann, N., Harasewych, M., Strong, E., & Markl, J. (2010) Molluscan mega-hemocyanin: an ancient oxygen carrier tuned by a ~550 kDa polypeptide. Frontiers in Zoology, 7(1), 14. DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-7-14
- June 1, 2013
- 11:46 AM
- 96 views
Get the Science Right: Semen Prevents Depression!
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
World-famous surgeon Lazar Greenfield probably meant no harm. In a 2011 Valentine’s Day themed article in the trade journal Surgery News, Greenfield, president of the American College of Surgeons and the inventor of a widely used surgical device that prevents blood clots, reflected on a study that reported mood-enhancement properties of semen. He then made the following statement: “So there’s a deeper bond between men and women than St Valentine would have suspected, and now we know there’s a better gift for that day than chocolate.”... Read more »
Gallup GG Jr, Burch RL, & Platek SM. (2002) Does semen have antidepressant properties?. Archives of sexual behavior, 31(3), 289-93. PMID: 12049024
- May 31, 2013
- 11:34 AM
- 66 views
Germ-Less Kissing Using This 1920s Device
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
A 2009 study suggest that the act of kissing might be important because it helps us build up our immune system – specifically women during pregnancy benefit from this strategy. The study was published in the journal Medical Hypotheses.
Back in the 1920s, however, scientists were not aware of this – on the contrary. To avoid the spreading of unwanted germs during kising, they invented the ‘kissing screen’ – a net on a stick which can be placed between both mouths.... Read more »
Hendrie, C., & Brewer, G. (2010) Kissing as an evolutionary adaptation to protect against Human Cytomegalovirus-like teratogenesis. Medical Hypotheses, 74(2), 222-224. DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.09.033
- May 31, 2013
- 11:32 AM
- 71 views
Getting Science Right: Weight Affects Personality?
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
It’s not only that people gain weight because they are bad at resisting the temptation of a snack. Gaining weight in turn also increases the inability to control eating impulses. Media like Yahoo and LiveScience enthusiastically brought this surprising news a few weeks ago, pointing to a study published in Psychological Science on april 29th.
Was this an exaggeration of a vague association that was found?... Read more »
Angelina R. Sutin, Paul T. Costa, Jr. Wayne Chan. (2013) I know not to, but I can’t help it: Weight gain and changes in impulsivity-related personality traits. Psychological Science. info:/
- May 31, 2013
- 07:04 AM
- 56 views
Who’s Happiest in US? Twitter Answers
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
A new study looked at U.S. tweets and plotted it against demographic data. That's how they named the happies and saddest cities and linked obesity with the use of certain words.... Read more »
Mitchell, L., Frank, M., Harris, K., Dodds, P., & Danforth, C. (2013) The Geography of Happiness: Connecting Twitter Sentiment and Expression, Demographics, and Objective Characteristics of Place. PLoS ONE, 8(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064417
- May 31, 2013
- 05:27 AM
- 60 views
Male Friendships Promote Healthy Sex Life Among Heterosexual Men
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
Research suggests that sexual problems in middle-aged and older aged men may be linked to the relationship between their best friends and their partner.... Read more »
Cornwell B, & Laumann EO. (2011) Network position and sexual dysfunction: implications of partner betweenness for men. AJS; American journal of sociology, 117(1), 172-208. PMID: 22003520
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