WASHINGTON, D.C., April 8, 2016 -- University of Houston physicists report finding major theoretical flaws in the generally accepted understanding of how a superconductor traps and holds a magnetic field. More than 50 years ago, C.P. Bean, a scientist at General Electric, developed a theoretical explanation known as the "Bean Model" or "Critical State Model."

The basic property of superconductors is that they represent zero "resistance" to electrical circuits. In a way, they are the opposite of toasters, which resist electrical currents and thereby convert energy into heat. Superconductors consume zero energy and can store it for a long period of time. Those that store magnetic energy --known as "trapped field magnets" or TFMs -- can behave like a magnet.

Coeliac disease is a chronic, immunological disease that is manifested as intolerance to gluten proteins present in wheat, rye and barley. This intolerance leads to an inflammatory reaction in the small intestine that hampers the absorption of nutrients. The only treatment is a strict, life-long, gluten-free diet.

Players are also using online betting sites to conceal their gambling from their partners, the British Sociological Association's annual conference in Birmingham was told today [Thursday, April 7. 2016].

Graeme Law, of the University of Chester, interviewed 34 current and former professional football players, including international and Premiership players as well as those in lower leagues.

Players talked about how worries caused by gambling -- usually poker games on the coach or at hotels before matches -- had impaired performances on the pitch.

Type II diabetes is booming in the developed world and obviously obesity is the primary driver. A new paper contends sugar is a primary driver of that obesity, rather than consuming too many calories and not exercising, and so sugar addiction should be treated just like cigarettes.

While pharmaceutical companies will be delighted by the efforts of scholars in the pay-to-publish journal PLOS ONE to give them a brand new market, claims of sugar addiction, while a popular fad for the last few years, have not really held up. Nonetheless, neuroscience Professor Selena Bartlett from 
Queensland University of Technology

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the chloride channel CFTR, which disrupts fluid transport in the lungs. CF patients have a variety of complications, including airway obstruction, infection, and pathological tissue remodeling. Alterations in airway smooth muscle have been observed in CF patients but it is not clear if these abnormalities are directly due to loss of CFTR in airway smooth muscle cells. In this issue of JCI Insight, David Stoltz of the University of Iowa and colleagues provide evidence that CTFR dysfunction directly alters the elasticity and blood supply of the airway. The authors evaluated smooth muscle function in a cohort of CF patients before and immediately after treatment with ivacaftor, which restores CFTR function in this set of patients.

Public Health England (PHE), the UK governmental body the equivalent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says that its review of the evidence has found that e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful to health than combustible cigarettes and they should be recommended for smoking cessation and harm reduction.

This is the opposite stance taken by anti-smoking activists who have morphed into anti-nicotine activists, and demand that cigarette smokers engage in "abstinence only" when it comes to nicotine, an approach that works with almost nothing. 

RICHLAND, Wash. - When water levels in rivers rise, an area known as the "river's liver" kicks into action, cleansing river water of pollutants and altering the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Now, in a paper published April 7 in Nature Communications, scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory present evidence suggesting that rising river waters deliver a feast of carbon to hungry microbes where water meets land, triggering increased activity, which could naturally boost emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases.

London, UK (April 06, 2016). A new report from Index on Censorship exposes how many LGBT activists in Honduras risk torture, prison and assassination.

The research from Index on Censorship, published by SAGE, carried out by journalist Duncan Tucker and utilising data collected by on-the-ground NGOs, delves into some shocking statistics:

• 215 LGBT people were murdered in Honduras between 2009 and 2015
• 37 deaths occurred in 2015 alone

Of the?235 murders of LGBT people since 1994, only?48?cases (20%) have gone to court.