The study was initiated in 1985. A total of 51 teenagers with anorexia nervosa were studied, together with an equally large control group of healthy persons. The groups have been investigated and compared several times as the years have passed. "This study is unique in an international perspective. It is the only study in the world that reflects the natural course of anorexia nervosa in the p...

A ghostly property of matter, called quantum tunneling, may aid the quest for accurate, low-cost genomic sequencing, according to a new paper in Nature Nanotechnology Letters by Stuart Lindsay and his collaborators at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University. Tunneling implies that a particle, say an electron, can cross a barrier, when, according to classical physics, it does not have e...

Children and siblings of those with venous thrombosis, or blood clots in the veins, appear to have more than double the risk of developing the condition than those without a family history, according to a new article. Venous thrombosis typically begins in leg veins, although the clot may subsequently break off and travel to the lungs. Several genetic risk factors have been identified that increase...

A tiny protein helps protect disease-causing bacteria from the ravaging effects of stomach acid, researchers at the University of Michigan and Howard Hughes Medical Institute have discovered. Stomach acid aids in food digestion and helps kill disease-causing bacteria. One way that acid kills bacteria is by causing the proteins in them to unfold and stick together in much the same way that heating ...

A buildup of chemical bonds on certain cancer-promoting genes, a process known as hypermethylation, is widely known to render cells cancerous by disrupting biological brakes on runaway growth. Now, Johns Hopkins scientists say the reverse process — demethylation — which wipes off those chemical bonds may also trigger more than half of all cancers. One potential consequence of the new r...

Video games that involve high levels of action, such as first-person-shooter games, increase a player`s real-world vision, according to research in Nature Neuroscience March 29. The ability to discern slight differences in shades of gray has long been thought to be an attribute of the human visual system that cannot be improved. But Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the...

The benefits to animals of omega 3 fatty acids in fish oils have been well documented – helping the heart and circulatory system, improving meat quality and reducing methane emissions. These last two benefits may only apply to cows but lowering emissions is important for the environment, as methane given off by farm animals is a major contribution to greenhouse gas levels. Researchers from U...

The large amount of waste that follows the sale of computers and electronics is reduced when states charge consumers a fee at the time of sale, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®). Management Insights, a regular feature of the journal, is a d...

Can the newly designed dashboard be easily installed? What paths should the assembly robot take so that the cables do not hit against the car body? A new software program simulates assembly paths and also factors in the pliability of components. Car component designers not only have to ensure that their designs are visually appealing, they also have to think about the assembly process: Can the des...

Scientists at the University of Illinois have successfully demonstrated a microwave signal mixer made from a tunnel-junction transistor laser. Development of the device brings researchers a big step closer to higher speed electronics and higher performance electrical and optical integrated circuits. The mixing device accepts two electrical inputs and produces an optical signal that was measured at...