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Antibiotic Resistance: Phages Can Transfer It In Chicken Meat

Antibiotic Resistance: Phages Can Transfer It In Chicken Meat

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise and they pose a global threat to public health. Common antibiotics are often ineffective in treating infectious diseases because pathogens acquire resistance genes. These antimicrobial resistance genes are obtained in different ways.

There are different explanations for how resistances are transferred and a now study found phages -
viruses that exclusively infect bacteria
- in chicken meat that are able to transfer antimicrobial resistance to bacteria.  Phages do not directly pose a risk to humans because they can only infect bacteria. No other cells or organisms can be infected.

Mummy Madness In The Anatomical Record - All Open Access

Mummy Madness In The Anatomical Record - All Open Access

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

If you like mummies (and who doesn't like mummies?) you are in luck: The Anatomical Record has a special issue with 26 articles devoted to them, all open access. You may not leave the house this weekend.
Seen And Clean: What People In Surveys Say They Want In Nutrition Labels

Seen And Clean: What People In Surveys Say They Want In Nutrition Labels

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

A new survey finds that 87 percent of Americans look at the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods and beverages and 56 percent actively seek out nutritional information and guidelines.

67 percent favor groceries with fewer and simpler ingredients, while roughly the same percentage take nutritional content statements, ingredient-free statements, and statements about health benefits into consideration when buying packaged foods and beverages.

As is well known, food consumers who are buying for those reasons are vocal on social media, focus groups, consumer surveys, and even petitions. They say they want more transparency from the food and beverage industry and shunning artificial ingredients.
The Case Of The Missing Booze: Brits Drink 12 Million More Bottles Per Week Than Previous Estimates

The Case Of The Missing Booze: Brits Drink 12 Million More Bottles Per Week Than Previous Estimates

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

Many of us have a tipple on special occasions but including these drinks in official data has been found to increase England’s alcohol consumption by 12 million bottles of wine per week.

According to a new study published in BMC Medicine, alcohol consumption figures account for only 60% of alcohol sold in England, due to a discrepancy between self-reported consumption data and retail figures.

The new research has discovered where the missing alcohol can be found.

First Drug To Treat Radiation Sickness Approved

First Drug To Treat Radiation Sickness Approved

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Neupogen,  the first approved drug to treat the deleterious effects of radiation exposure following a nuclear incident. 
Researchers Recovered A Dinosaur Foot From A Bird

Researchers Recovered A Dinosaur Foot From A Bird

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

A unique adaptation in the foot of birds is the presence of a thumb-like opposable toe, which allows them to grasp and perch.

In their dinosaur ancestors, this toe was small and non- opposable, and did not even touch the ground, resembling the dewclaws of dogs and cats.

The embryonic development of birds provides a parallel of this evolutionary history: The toe starts out like their dinosaur ancestors, but then its base (the metatarsal) becomes twisted, making it opposable. Brazilian researcher Joâo Botelho, working at the lab of Alexander Vargas at the University of Chile, decided to study the underlying mechanisms. Botelho observed that the twisting occurred shortly after the embryonic musculature of this toe was in place.
DogTilligent Collar Is Like A Smart Phone For Your Dog

DogTilligent Collar Is Like A Smart Phone For Your Dog

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

DogTilligent has developed the All-in-One Smart Dog Collar with GPS, WiFi capability, an accelerometer, a thermometer, a speaker, LED lights, and a microphone.

It helps a dog owner keep track of the dog by warning when the collar has traveled beyond a predetermined location. The Virtual Leash warns the dog when it’s moving away from a human companion by whistling, vibrating, and simulating a tug on the collar.


H/T Neatorama
Include Men In Osteoporosis Screening Guidelines

Include Men In Osteoporosis Screening Guidelines

May 23 2015 | comment(s)

Most people associate osteoporosis with women. But the truth is, one in four men over the age of 50 will break a bone as a result of this condition. That's more men than will have prostate cancer, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Risk Management Turned Upside Down

Risk Management Turned Upside Down

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

A true story. To protect the innocent – and the writer – I’ll use no names.

The president of a large, multi-national engineering and construction firm decided to attract more contracts by reducing customers’ risks. A sound decision, yes? 

It was what he did (which was to offer fixed-price contracts instead of cost-plus contracts) and how he did it (by developing his people and by continuous process improvement) that got him fired - even though the move was showing every sign of success.

So why was he dismissed? The answer lies in that ol’ stereotype of the corporation as an externality-generating machine.

The Culturally Subjective Nature Of Good Acoustics

The Culturally Subjective Nature Of Good Acoustics

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

Acoustics would seem to be primarily science - make sure sound waves are not piling up on each other in strange places and that everyone can hear what they are supposed to hear -  but a new study says it is not so objective and the response of audiences and performers to acoustic characteristics is a function of their worldview, according to archaeo-acoustician Steven J. Waller at the 169th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Pittsburgh.

"It's a parallel to 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder': perfect performance spaces are really in the ear of the listener. Today we value qualities like clarity--how it makes a modern orchestra sound," Waller continued, "whereas prior to sound wave theory, echoes were considered mysterious and divine."
Highest Energy Collisions ? Not In My Book

Highest Energy Collisions ? Not In My Book

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

Yesterday I posed a question - Are the first collisions recorded by the LHC running at 13 TeV the highest-energy ever produced by mankind with subatomic particles ? It was a tricky one, as usual, meant to think about the matter.

I received several tentative answer in the comments thread, and thus answered there. I paste the text here as it is of some interest to some of you and I wish it does not go overlooked.

---

Dear all, 
Why Is Organic Food Really So Expensive?

Why Is Organic Food Really So Expensive?

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

Organic food is a $100 billion industry yet so far has been able to consistently raise prices and maintain its health halo without issue.
Many Women Buy Products Because Models Are Thin, But There's A Market For Normal

Many Women Buy Products Because Models Are Thin, But There's A Market For Normal

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

Fashion is a huge industry and they use thin models because creating an ideal - the belief that women will look like that if they buy the clothes - is a time-honored strategy.

Yet as more American women become overweight and obese, and it becomes more difficult to create suspension of disbelief about body imaging psychology, that old strategy is less effective. A survey of diverse group of 239 women finds that marketing to the "thin ideal" -- the belief that thinner is better -- could be alienating up to 70 percent of their audience, said James Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Marketing in Baylor's Hankamer School of Business.  

Advertisers tend to default to this ideal without knowing for sure if other options are viable, James Roberts said.

Photogrammetry: Of Viking Graves And Sunken Ships

Photogrammetry: Of Viking Graves And Sunken Ships

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

Mapping archaeological digs used to take plenty of time and a lot of measuring, photographing, drawing and note taking, much of which can now be done with a technique called photogrammetry.

Photogrammetry is a method that uses two-dimensional images of an archaeological find to construct a 3-D model and it doesn't require special glasses or advanced equipment. Coupled with precise measurements of the excavation, photogrammetry can create a complete detailed map of an archaeological excavation site while being more precise than older, more time-consuming methods.

This method is already being put to use by archaeologists. When a possible Viking grave was found in Skaun in Sør-Trøndelag in 2014, the excavation site was mapped using photogrammetry.
Today, in 1849, Abraham Lincoln Got A Patent

Today, in 1849, Abraham Lincoln Got A Patent

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

In 1849, Abraham Lincoln was still 11 years from becoming President but his experience as a deck-hand on a Mississippi flat-boat would make him the first U.S. President to have a patent - No. 6,469 for utilizing inflated cylinders to float grounded vessels through shallow water - "buoying boats over shoals".

Also of note: 

In 1649 the famed French mathematician, physicist and inventor Blaise Pascal obtained a monopoly by royal decree for his computing machine.



And Orville and Wilbur Wright received the first airplane patent in the USA, for "new and useful improvements in Flying Machines" (U.S. No. 821,393).
Smaller Volumes In Certain Regions Of The Brain Could Lead To Increased Likelihood Of Drug Addiction

Smaller Volumes In Certain Regions Of The Brain Could Lead To Increased Likelihood Of Drug Addiction

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

A study has found that individual differences in brain structure could help to determine the risk for future drug addiction. The study found that occasional users who subsequently increased their drug use compared with those who did not, showed brain structural differences when they started using drugs.

New Gene Implicated In Multiple Sclerosis Disease Activity

New Gene Implicated In Multiple Sclerosis Disease Activity

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

A new study led by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) reports the discovery of a genetic variant that is associated with a patient's likelihood of responding to interferon-beta, one of the medications used in treating multiple sclerosis (MS). Published in the Annals of Neurology on May 14, the study also presents evidence that the affected gene, SLC9A9, may have a broader role in regulating the development and activity of certain immune cells that play important roles in inflammatory diseases like MS.

A proportion of MS patients experience disease activity despite treatment. The early identification of the most effective drug for a given individual is critical to impact long-term outcome and to move toward a personalized treatment approach.

World Biodiversity Day: Wetlands, Biodiversity And The Role Of Earth Observations

World Biodiversity Day: Wetlands, Biodiversity And The Role Of Earth Observations

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

It is somehow ingrained in my body, I think. The appreciation of biodiversity. I know I love wetlands, growing up by a lake (mostly in it as a child) as I did. It turns out that parts of that lake are so-called Ramsar wetlands of international importance. Little did I know, growing up to be an astrophysicist that these sites existed and that it would once become part of my professional life. Here. On my home planet. bliksvaer
Bliksvaer Ramsar site, Norway. Photo: Bente Lilja Bye
This Eye-Opening Parasite Can Get In Through Your Contact Lens

This Eye-Opening Parasite Can Get In Through Your Contact Lens

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

A recent eye infection suffered by 18-year-old Nottingham University student Jess Greaney is the kind of story that fills us with horror.

Greaney had keratitis, an inflammation of the cornea, caused by Acanthamoeba castellanii, a parasite that was living and feasting on her eye.

Even A Well-Respected Political Scientist Doesn't Know When His Own Data Has Been Faked

Even A Well-Respected Political Scientist Doesn't Know When His Own Data Has Been Faked

May 22 2015 | comment(s)

A paper in Science has been retracted - by the senior author. Because he did not know the data in his paper was fake.

Whether that makes political science or the peer review system look worse will be a matter of debate.