Dr. John Martin awarded $3.7M for movement control studies

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
[


| E-mail



| Share

]

Contact: Ellis Simon
esimon@ccny.cuny.edu
212-650-6460
City College of New York

$3.4M from NIH for brain development and injury research; $300K from Neilsen Foundation to study recovery of movement after brain or spinal injury

The laboratory of Dr. John Martin, medical professor in The City College of New York's Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, recently received $3.7 million for three new investigations into how the nervous system controls movement. Two $1.7 million, five-year awards from the National Institutes of Health and a grant of $300,000 over two years from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation comprise the funding.

The funds will be used to generate new understanding of the connections between the brain and spinal cord that control movement. The studies will address brain development as well as recovery of movement function after brain or spinal injury.

"Our studies aim to repair the damaged nervous system after injury to restore the connections for movement," Professor Martin said. "Ultimately, we aim to translate what we learn to devise therapies for humans with mobility impairments."

One project supported by NIH focuses on repair of connections for movement that were damaged during early development. Professor Martin and colleagues are studying how electrical stimulation after brain injury can reestablish lost connections and, in turn, restore movement function. This has important implications for devising therapies for movement developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, which affect between two and three out of every 1,000 births.

In a previous investigation, Professor Martin's lab discovered an important basic mechanism that determines development of the connections for movement: more active nerve cells are able to make more connections and stronger connections between the brain and the spinal cord.

This knowledge will also be applied to additional studies funded by NIH and the Neilsen Foundation to investigate movement recovery in mature animals. The NIH project will focus on basic mechanisms of nervous system plasticity and devising novel therapies after stroke. Funding from Neilsen will support studies to promote mobility after spinal cord injury.

Electrical stimulation will be applied to activate nerve cells in order to strengthen undamaged connections and promote new connections between the brain and spinal cord after an injury. Stimulation of the motor cortex leads to growth of spared connections into areas of the spinal cord that had lost their connections after injury.

Professor Martin noted that most nervous system injuries do not completely damage the parts of the brain and spinal cord that enable people to move; many connections are spared. Unfortunately, the spared connections often are not strong enough to produce a significant range of movements.

Stimulating outgrowth of neural connection from the motor cortex to the spinal cord could form the basis of a therapy to promote function after spinal cord injury or stroke in humans, he added. Applying magnetic fields or weak electric stimulation to the body surface over damaged brain or spinal cord is a non-invasive technique. Hence, it could be developed more readily than invasive procedures or drugs.

###

On the Internet

Professor Martin

Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education

About The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education

Since 1973, the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education has offered a unique, seven-year BS/MD program that integrates an undergraduate education with the first two years of medical school. After five years, students transfer seamlessly to a cooperating medical school for the final two years. The school's mission is to increase accessibility to careers in medicine for underrepresented groups and to train primary care physicians to serve in medically underserved communities. Around 40 percent of its approximately 360 students are African-American or Hispanic.

About The City College of New York

Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture; the School of Education; the Grove School of Engineering; the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and the Colin L. Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.

Set on a striking, 35-acre hilltop campus in upper Manhattan, CCNY has produced more Nobel laureates than any other public institution in the United States. The College has been touted as one of America's Top Colleges by Forbes, one of the Best Colleges in the United States as well as one of the Best Value Colleges by the Princeton Review, and ranks among U.S. News' top regional universities. For additional information, visit http://www.ccny.ccny.edu.

---

[


| E-mail



| Share

]

 

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
[


| E-mail



| Share

]

Contact: Ellis Simon
esimon@ccny.cuny.edu
212-650-6460
City College of New York

$3.4M from NIH for brain development and injury research; $300K from Neilsen Foundation to study recovery of movement after brain or spinal injury

The laboratory of Dr. John Martin, medical professor in The City College of New York's Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, recently received $3.7 million for three new investigations into how the nervous system controls movement. Two $1.7 million, five-year awards from the National Institutes of Health and a grant of $300,000 over two years from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation comprise the funding.

The funds will be used to generate new understanding of the connections between the brain and spinal cord that control movement. The studies will address brain development as well as recovery of movement function after brain or spinal injury.

"Our studies aim to repair the damaged nervous system after injury to restore the connections for movement," Professor Martin said. "Ultimately, we aim to translate what we learn to devise therapies for humans with mobility impairments."

One project supported by NIH focuses on repair of connections for movement that were damaged during early development. Professor Martin and colleagues are studying how electrical stimulation after brain injury can reestablish lost connections and, in turn, restore movement function. This has important implications for devising therapies for movement developmental disorders such as cerebral palsy, which affect between two and three out of every 1,000 births.

In a previous investigation, Professor Martin's lab discovered an important basic mechanism that determines development of the connections for movement: more active nerve cells are able to make more connections and stronger connections between the brain and the spinal cord.

This knowledge will also be applied to additional studies funded by NIH and the Neilsen Foundation to investigate movement recovery in mature animals. The NIH project will focus on basic mechanisms of nervous system plasticity and devising novel therapies after stroke. Funding from Neilsen will support studies to promote mobility after spinal cord injury.

Electrical stimulation will be applied to activate nerve cells in order to strengthen undamaged connections and promote new connections between the brain and spinal cord after an injury. Stimulation of the motor cortex leads to growth of spared connections into areas of the spinal cord that had lost their connections after injury.

Professor Martin noted that most nervous system injuries do not completely damage the parts of the brain and spinal cord that enable people to move; many connections are spared. Unfortunately, the spared connections often are not strong enough to produce a significant range of movements.

Stimulating outgrowth of neural connection from the motor cortex to the spinal cord could form the basis of a therapy to promote function after spinal cord injury or stroke in humans, he added. Applying magnetic fields or weak electric stimulation to the body surface over damaged brain or spinal cord is a non-invasive technique. Hence, it could be developed more readily than invasive procedures or drugs.

###

On the Internet

Professor Martin

Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education

About The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education

Since 1973, the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education has offered a unique, seven-year BS/MD program that integrates an undergraduate education with the first two years of medical school. After five years, students transfer seamlessly to a cooperating medical school for the final two years. The school's mission is to increase accessibility to careers in medicine for underrepresented groups and to train primary care physicians to serve in medically underserved communities. Around 40 percent of its approximately 360 students are African-American or Hispanic.

About The City College of New York

Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. More than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture; the School of Education; the Grove School of Engineering; the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and the Colin L. Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.

Set on a striking, 35-acre hilltop campus in upper Manhattan, CCNY has produced more Nobel laureates than any other public institution in the United States. The College has been touted as one of America's Top Colleges by Forbes, one of the Best Colleges in the United States as well as one of the Best Value Colleges by the Princeton Review, and ranks among U.S. News' top regional universities. For additional information, visit http://www.ccny.ccny.edu.

---

[


| E-mail



| Share

]

 

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/ccon-djm101613.php
Similar Articles: aldon smith   New Girl   nfl schedule   Darren Young   mila kunis  

Birds on repeat: Do playbacks hurt fowl?

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
[


| E-mail



| Share

]

Contact: B. Rose Huber
brhuber@princeton.edu
609-258-0157
Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Princeton study shows that playing bird recordings could zap birds' energy

PRINCETON, NJIn the forests of Ecuador, plain-tailed wrens nest in bamboo thickets, singing complex and continuous melodies. Residing nearby are rufous antpittas, small, secretive birds that hop like thrushes and whistle in mossy forests. Together, their songs fill parts of the South American Andes.

Birdwatchers often seek out rare and beautiful birds like the wren and antpitta using "playbacks" or recordings of bird songs to draw such them out from their hideaways. But does such babbling-on-repeat harm the birds?

Using the emphatic sounds of both bird species, a Princeton University researcher has for the first time in peer-reviewed research examined the effects of birdwatchers' "playbacks" in the wild. In PLOS One, he shows that playbacks do have potentially negative consequences, especially in terms of birds' energies.

"Playbacks would be harmful if a species becomes stressed, expends energy, or takes time away from other activities to respond to these recordings," said J. Berton C. Harris, a postdoctoral fellow studying under Professor David Wilcove from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs' Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy.

Working in a southern Ecuadorian biological reserve, Harris studied the effects of both single and repeated playbacks on wrens and antpittas. In his first trial, he introduced single playbacks to 24 groups of wrens and 12 groups of antpittas. Along with David Haskell from the University of the South in Tennessee, Harris monitored both bird species for one hour after playing a five-minute, self-recorded song.

Harris' results show that, after the single playbacks, both wrens and antpittas sang more often. Both species also tended to repeat these songs more often after listening to the playbacks. This could be harmful to the birds, Harris said, if it zaps them of too much energy.

"Birds could be wasting their time and energy by responding to non-existent intruders. When male birds respond to birdwatchers' playbacks to defend their territories, they may spend less time caring for their nestlings, experience higher levels of stress hormones or be subject to a romantic coup from other males while away from their mates."

In the second part of the study, Harris and Haskell monitored the effects of daily playback on groups of plain-tailed wrens. Like the first experiment, he played the birds' song once for five minutes, recording the birds' responses for one hour. This was done daily for two-and-a-half weeks.

Although the vocal response was strong for the first 12 days, the wrens eventually habituated and stopped responding suggesting that playbacks have minimal effects on wrens. One group of wrens, seemingly uninterested, even built a nest near a playback site. Harris says this behavior should nudge scientists to consider birdwatching activity when selecting research sites so that results aren't biased.

"Birdwatchers are ardent conservationists, and they want to minimize their impact while observing secretive birds," Harris said. "They promote environmental conservation by funding ecotourism infrastructure, especially in developing countries, where tourism can provide local people alternatives to habitat exploitation. Unfortunately, as evidenced by this research, birdwatchers may also have negative effects on ecosystems."

Harris suggests that future studies be conducted in order to better understand how playbacks may affect other aspects of a bird's life.

"Studies of the effects of playback on bird reproductive success have not yet been done. And until such studies are available, it'd be wise for birdwatchers to be cautious of the negative effects. For example, it might make sense to minimize the use of playback with endangered species or in areas that host a lot of birdwatchers."

###

The paper, "Simulated Birdwatchers' Playback Affects the Behavior of Two Tropical Birds," was first published online Oct. 11 in PLOS One. This research was supported by the Jocotoco Conservation Foundation in Ecuador.

For more information about the Woodrow Wilson School's STEP program, click here.

Founded in 1930, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University is a major international center of advanced training and research in public affairs. The Woodrow Wilson School is an institution with the energy and strength to tackle the most serious issues of the present day, and the vision and experience to prepare the leaders who will shape the public policies of the future.

---

[


| E-mail



| Share

]

 

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 16-Oct-2013
[


| E-mail



| Share

]

Contact: B. Rose Huber
brhuber@princeton.edu
609-258-0157
Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Princeton study shows that playing bird recordings could zap birds' energy

PRINCETON, NJIn the forests of Ecuador, plain-tailed wrens nest in bamboo thickets, singing complex and continuous melodies. Residing nearby are rufous antpittas, small, secretive birds that hop like thrushes and whistle in mossy forests. Together, their songs fill parts of the South American Andes.

Birdwatchers often seek out rare and beautiful birds like the wren and antpitta using "playbacks" or recordings of bird songs to draw such them out from their hideaways. But does such babbling-on-repeat harm the birds?

Using the emphatic sounds of both bird species, a Princeton University researcher has for the first time in peer-reviewed research examined the effects of birdwatchers' "playbacks" in the wild. In PLOS One, he shows that playbacks do have potentially negative consequences, especially in terms of birds' energies.

"Playbacks would be harmful if a species becomes stressed, expends energy, or takes time away from other activities to respond to these recordings," said J. Berton C. Harris, a postdoctoral fellow studying under Professor David Wilcove from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs' Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy.

Working in a southern Ecuadorian biological reserve, Harris studied the effects of both single and repeated playbacks on wrens and antpittas. In his first trial, he introduced single playbacks to 24 groups of wrens and 12 groups of antpittas. Along with David Haskell from the University of the South in Tennessee, Harris monitored both bird species for one hour after playing a five-minute, self-recorded song.

Harris' results show that, after the single playbacks, both wrens and antpittas sang more often. Both species also tended to repeat these songs more often after listening to the playbacks. This could be harmful to the birds, Harris said, if it zaps them of too much energy.

"Birds could be wasting their time and energy by responding to non-existent intruders. When male birds respond to birdwatchers' playbacks to defend their territories, they may spend less time caring for their nestlings, experience higher levels of stress hormones or be subject to a romantic coup from other males while away from their mates."

In the second part of the study, Harris and Haskell monitored the effects of daily playback on groups of plain-tailed wrens. Like the first experiment, he played the birds' song once for five minutes, recording the birds' responses for one hour. This was done daily for two-and-a-half weeks.

Although the vocal response was strong for the first 12 days, the wrens eventually habituated and stopped responding suggesting that playbacks have minimal effects on wrens. One group of wrens, seemingly uninterested, even built a nest near a playback site. Harris says this behavior should nudge scientists to consider birdwatching activity when selecting research sites so that results aren't biased.

"Birdwatchers are ardent conservationists, and they want to minimize their impact while observing secretive birds," Harris said. "They promote environmental conservation by funding ecotourism infrastructure, especially in developing countries, where tourism can provide local people alternatives to habitat exploitation. Unfortunately, as evidenced by this research, birdwatchers may also have negative effects on ecosystems."

Harris suggests that future studies be conducted in order to better understand how playbacks may affect other aspects of a bird's life.

"Studies of the effects of playback on bird reproductive success have not yet been done. And until such studies are available, it'd be wise for birdwatchers to be cautious of the negative effects. For example, it might make sense to minimize the use of playback with endangered species or in areas that host a lot of birdwatchers."

###

The paper, "Simulated Birdwatchers' Playback Affects the Behavior of Two Tropical Birds," was first published online Oct. 11 in PLOS One. This research was supported by the Jocotoco Conservation Foundation in Ecuador.

For more information about the Woodrow Wilson School's STEP program, click here.

Founded in 1930, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University is a major international center of advanced training and research in public affairs. The Woodrow Wilson School is an institution with the energy and strength to tackle the most serious issues of the present day, and the vision and experience to prepare the leaders who will shape the public policies of the future.

---

[


| E-mail



| Share

]

 

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/puww-bor101613.php
Category: politico   thursday night football   iOS 7 Release Time   Galaxy Note 3   khan academy  

Italy rescues 370 migrants, steps up naval patrols

By Steve Scherer

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's navy rescued about 370 migrants in the waters between Sicily and Libya on Tuesday as the government deployed ships, helicopters and unmanned drones to help avert further shipwrecks that have already drowned hundreds this month.

A naval frigate and a patrol boat brought some 290 people, mostly Syrians, Somalis and Eritreans, to the tiny southern Italian island of Lampedusa after two migrant vessels used satellite phones to dial for help late on Monday, the navy said.

A Panamanian merchant vessel later picked up about 80 people adrift on a large raft in Libyan waters and took them to Sicily, the coastguard said.

The migrant boats risked the dangerous sea passage despite a shipwreck on October 3 that killed more than 360, mostly Eritreans, less than a kilometer from Lampedusa. Last Friday, at least 34 more migrants drowned when their boat capsized, though Italian officials say the true figure may be above 200.

Lampedusa, which lies southwest of Sicily and just 70 miles from the coast of Tunisia, has been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe for two decades.

Now the Syrian civil war and unrest in Egypt and other Arab and African countries are fuelling the flow of refugees, many of whom have to pass through an increasingly unstable Libya.

Sicily's regional parliament declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, a move that allows it to tap additional funds to help its struggling immigration services.

The reception center on Lampedusa, which is under Sicily's administration, is now hosting four or five times its capacity.

To try to stem the flow of rickety boats and prevent further tragedies, Italy began on Tuesday deploying more ships, long-range helicopters, an airplane equipped with night-vision, plus unmanned drone aircraft.

MILITARISATION

However, humanitarian organizations say the measures may leave more migrants stranded in the Sahara desert or delivered into the hands of Libyan militias and crime groups, which are known to have beaten, raped and imprisoned migrants in the past.

Libya is the departure point for two thirds of the boats.

Riccardo Compagnucci, head of the Interior Ministry's immigration office, ruled out Libya as a safe port because of its poor security and human rights situation.

Compagnucci told Reuters some migrants could be taken to "Malta and Greece" in order to facilitate rescue operations, but added: "Libya isn't safe even for its prime minister."

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was kidnapped for several hours last week. This week, he asked for Europe's help to stem the flow of migrants.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was heckled on Lampedusa last week by islanders who said the European Union was partly responsible for the October 3 shipwreck.

Italy and Malta have asked for more EU funds and have called for the migrant emergency to be put on the agenda of the next European Council meeting on October 24-25.

(Additional reporting by Antonella Cinelli, Gabriele Pileri and Cristiano Corvino; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italy-rescues-300-migrants-sends-navy-ships-drones-094747294.html
Related Topics: Chelsea Manning  

For Medal of Honor recipient, award is a long time coming (CNN)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/334259338?client_source=feed&format=rss
Similar Articles: tom brady   Jeff Daniels   liberace   mumford and sons   emmy nominations  

18-Foot-Long Sea Creature Found Off Calif. Coast

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A marine science instructor snorkeling off the Southern California coast spotted something out of a fantasy novel: the silvery carcass of an 18-foot-long, serpent-like oarfish.

Jasmine Santana of the Catalina Island Marine Institute needed more than 15 helpers to drag the giant sea creature with eyes the size of half dollars to shore Sunday.

Staffers at the institute are calling it the discovery of a lifetime.

"We've never seen a fish this big," said Mark Waddington, senior captain of the Tole Mour, CIMI's sail training ship. "The last oarfish we saw was three feet long."

Because oarfish dive more than 3,000 feet deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudied, according to CIMI.

The obscure fish apparently died of natural causes. Tissue samples and video footage were sent to be studied by biologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Santana spotted something shimmering about 30 feet deep while snorkeling during a staff trip in Toyon Bay at Santa Catalina Island, about two dozen miles from the mainland.

"She said, 'I have to drag this thing out of here or nobody will believe me,'" Waddington said.

After she dragged the carcass by the tail for more than 75 feet, staffers waded in and helped her bring it to shore.

The carcass was on display Tuesday for 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students studying at CIMI. It will be buried in the sand until it decomposes and then its skeleton will be reconstituted for display, Waddington said.

The oarfish, which can grow to more than 50 feet, is a deep-water pelagic fish — the longest bony fish in the world, according to CIMI.

They are likely responsible for sea serpent legends throughout history.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=234773236&ft=1&f=
Tags: nobel peace prize   FIFA 14   us open   Blackboard   Gia Allemand  

Selena Gomez Falls Off Stage During Concert (Video)

8:49 AM PDT 10/15/2013 by Kimberly Nordyke

Getty Images

Selena Gomez performing in Fairfax.

Selena Gomez had an un-choreographed moment in one of her recent concerts.

STORY: Selena Gomez Scraps Concerts in Russia Amid Visa Controversy

During her Oct. 10 show in Fairfax, Va., the singer was so into her performance of "Slow Down" that she didn't realize she was too close to the front of the stage. She ended up falling off the stage while jumping up and down -- wearing, it should be noted, high-heeled boots.

Fortunately for Gomez, it wasn't a long drop. She immediately got up, shook a few fans' hands and, with the help of a dancer, returned to her performance on stage.

STORY: Selena Gomez Earns First No. 1 Album With 'Stars Dance'

Gomez is in the midst of her "Stars Dance" tour, which next hits Buffalo, N.Y.

Watch the video below.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/music/~3/Yemz7jfA3CA/story01.htm
Category: bob costas   Miriam Carey   chicago fire   yom kippur   VMAs  

CSX 3Q profit grows 2 pct on higher volume, rates

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — CSX says it delivered a 2 percent profit increase in the third quarter as the railroad operator's overall revenue rose despite disappointing coal revenue.

The results beat Wall Street expectations, and the railroad slightly increased its outlook for the year. Its shares edged up.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based railroad said Tuesday that it earned $463 million, or 46 cents per share. That's up from $455 million, or 44 cents per share, a year ago.

CSX's revenue grew 4 percent to nearly $3 billion as it hauled 5 percent more carloads of freight and increased some shipping rates.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected CSX to report earnings of 42 cents per share on revenue of $2.95 billion.

CSX says it expects slightly higher 2013 earnings per share than in 2012. Previously, the railroad predicted relatively flat earnings.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-10-15-US-Earns-CSX/id-4502eadf04dd4a5ca7eeae9c4c595b85
Similar Articles: Helen Lasichanh   iOS 7 Release Time   9/11 Memorial   Amish Mafia   Rafael Caro Quintero