From left: Professor Gail Tripp, Ms. Emi Nakanishi and Dr. Shizuka Shimabukuro from OIST’s Human Development Neurobiology Unit

OIST researchers have successfully adapted a parent-training program for ADHD for use with families in Japan, where ADHD-specific behavioral interventions are limited. The results of the proof-of-concept of the new program, the “New Forest Parenting Programme-Japan”, published in Japanese Psychological Research, show reductions in children’s ADHD symptoms and improvements in parent-child relationships, suggesting that the parent-training program might prove to be an effective mainstream behavioral treatment for ADHD in Japan. International guidelines for the management of ADHD in children recommend approved medications and/or behavioral therapy. Compared with many western countries, Japan has fewer pharmacological and behavioral options. The availability of behavioral therapy is further limited by a shortage of trained specialists.

Secondo i deputati, l'utilizzo di prodotti fitosanitari tradizionali è sempre più oggetto di pubblico dibattito

I pesticidi biologici a basso rischio, compresi quelli a base di bio-organismi come i feromoni o gli oli essenziali, potrebbero sostituire quelli convenzionali, sospettati di danneggiare l'ambiente e la salute umana. I deputati si chiedono il motivo per il quale alcuni Stati membri esitano o rifiutano la loro omologazione e vogliono che la Commissione proponga una revisione delle norme per accelerare il processo di approvazione. In una risoluzione votata mercoledì, i deputati hanno fatto notare che l'utilizzo di prodotti fitosanitari tradizionali è sempre più oggetto di pubblico dibattito, a causa dei potenziali rischi che presentano per la salute umana, gli animali e l'ambiente. Eppure solo sette sostanze attive classificate come alternative "a basso rischio" sono state approvate nell'Unione europea.

Observing Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28 May 2016

Adolescence is an important stage of growth characterized by significant physical, cognitive, and emotional changes.  Learning at this stage leads to a healthy or unhealthy adulthood. A recent research article published in Northern International Medical College Journal and available online at Bangladesh Journals Online (BanglaJOL), supported by INASP, has shown that the majority of Bangladeshi girls are unaware of menstrual hygiene and do not follow standard hygienic procedures during menstruation. According to the research, 52% of the adolescent girls used cloths instead of sanitary pads; more than one third of the adolescent girls participating in the research said they skipped school on the first two days of menstruation as the schools lacked proper sanitary facilities for girls. Incorrect advice from family members was the main reason behind this. 42.5% of the respondents said they did not use sanitary napkins because family members suggested they use cloths.

Treegraphic

Astronomers are borrowing principles applied in biology and archaeology to build a family tree of the stars in the galaxy. By studying chemical signatures found in the stars, they are piecing together these evolutionary trees looking at how the stars formed and how they are connected to each other. The signatures act as a proxy for DNA sequences. It’s akin to chemical tagging of stars and forms the basis of a discipline astronomers refer to as Galactic archaeology.

It was Charles Darwin, who, in 1859 published his revolutionary theory that all life forms are descended from one common ancestor. This theory has informed evolutionary biology ever since but it was a chance encounter between an astronomer and an biologist over dinner at King’s College in Cambridge that got the astronomer thinking about how it could be applied to stars in the Milky Way.

Richard Moriggl and his team identified activation of the leukemia factor STAT5 being connected to the modified metabolism of cancer cells. (Photo: Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft)

The metabolic state of tumor cells contributes to signals that control the proliferation of tumor cells. Already the German biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate Otto H. Warburg observed in the 1920s that tumor cells radically change their metabolism. This process was termed "Warburg Effect", however neglected until recently by cancer research, but the latest results show it is indeed of fundamental importance for the development of aggressive tumors. Richard Moriggl and his co-workers have now published in the journal Leukemia how the tumor promoter STAT5 integrates metabolic signals that contribute to oncogenic transformation. Researchers from the VetmeduniVienna, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research and Meduni Wien may have thus identified a new target to tackle cancer.

Since 1980, populations of warm-dwelling species in Germany, e.g. some bird species, have increased. Copyright: Wolfgang Henkes

Since 1980, populations of warm-dwelling species in Germany have increased. The trend is particularly strong among warm-dwelling terrestrial species, as shown by the most comprehensive study across ecosystems in this regard to date. The most obvious increases occurred among warm-dwelling birds, butterflies, beetles, soil organisms and lichens according to the study published recently in the scientific journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution” led by Senckenberg scientists. Thus, it appears possible that rising temperatures due to the climate change have had a widespread impact on the population trends of animals in the past 30 years.

Nella risoluzione approvata giovedì 16 febbraio, i deputati chiedono norme UE nel campo della robotica, un settore in rapida evoluzione, ad esempio per far rispettare standard etici o per stabilire la responsabilità civile in caso di incidenti che coinvolgono un’auto senza conducente. I deputati chiedono alla Commissione europea di proporre norme in materia di robotica e di intelligenza artificiale per sfruttarne appieno il potenziale economico e garantire un livello standard di sicurezza e protezione. Sottolineano che in diversi Paesi sono previsti standard normativi per i robot e sottolineano che spetta all’UE prendere l'iniziativa su come impostare questi standard, in modo da non essere costretti a seguire quelli eventualmente stabiliti da Paesi terzi.

Swordfish auction in the fish market of Vigo (Spain). / José Antonio Gil Martínez

Researchers from the University of Burgos (Spain) have developed a fluorescent polymer that lights up in contact with mercury that may be present in fish. High levels of the metal were detected in samples of swordfish and tuna. According to the conclusions of another Spanish study, mercury exposure is linked to reduced foetal and placental growth in pregnant women. The presence of the toxic metal mercury in the environment comes from natural sources, however, in the last decades industrial waste has caused an increase in concentrations of the metal in some areas of the sea. In the food chain, mercury can be diluted either in organic form as methylmercury (MeHg+) or as an inorganic salt, the cation Hg2+.