November 29, 2004 |
| Emory
chemists create unprecedented metallic molecule: For the first
time ever, Emory University researchers have broken through the so-called
'oxo-wall' to create stable multiple chemical bonds between oxygen and platinum
- once thought impossible because oxygen is extremely unstable when combined
with certain metals. |
| A
new species of amyloid peptide: Scientists have identified
a new, longer species of amyloid peptide that has the potential to be a
new target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. |
| Precocious
supermassive black holes challenge theories: NASA's Chandra
X-ray Observatory has obtained definitive evidence that a distant quasar
formed less than a billion years after the big bang contains a fully-grown
supermassive black hole generating energy at the rate of twenty trillion
suns. |
| New
project takes measure of plastic electronics: In the future,
the phrase smarty pants might be taken quite literally, referring to trousers
embedded with electronic 'intelligence' so that they change color, for example,
in response to their surroundings. |
| Eelgrass
provides a refuge from predators for some fish species: The
meadows of eelgrass found in lagoons along the Atlantic seacoast have a
long history of providing a habitat for fish and invertebrates of many species.
Despite this long history, it has proven difficult to document and quantify
the relationships between eelgrass cover and the abundance of fish and crabs
on a larger scale. |
| New
research shows stomach (gastric) cancer originates from bone marrow derived
stem cells: A new study from Columbia University Medical Center
finds that stomach (gastric) cancer originates from bone marrow derived
stem cells (BMDC), rather than from stomach stem cells, as previously thought. |
November 15, 2004 |
| Molecular
technique shows promise in destroying drug resistance in bacteria:
Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Wildlife Health
Center are concerned that avian cholera, which recently killed about 30,000
eared grebes--small, diving water birds--at Great Salt Lake, Utah, could
spread as birds migrate south for the winter, the agency announced today. |
| Avian
cholera could spread from Great Salt Lake: Scientists at the
U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center are concerned
that avian cholera, which recently killed about 30,000 eared grebes--small,
diving water birds--at Great Salt Lake, Utah, could spread as birds migrate
south for the winter, the agency announced today. |
| Scientists
advocate genomic sequencing of 'living fossil': A team of Stanford
University researchers led by Richard Myers, Ph.D., in collaboration with
Chris Amemiya, Ph.D., of the Benaroya Research Institute in Seattle, campaign
in the December issue of Genome Research for deciphering the genetic code
of a 'living fossil' fish, the coelacanth. |
| Researchers
are studying photodynamic therapy: As the scientific community
is seeking alternatives to antibiotic treatment, periodontal researchers
found that photodynamic therapy (PDT) is advantageous for suppressing anaerobic
bacteria that lead to periodontal diseases according to a recent study in
the Journal of Periodontology. |
| Tropical
birds sensitive to environmental cues that can be impacted by global warming:
A bird's song is music to our ears -- and to the ears of his potential mates
-- and a warning to other males to stay out of his territory. |
| Lyme
disease receptor identified in tick guts: Researchers at Yale
School of Medicine have identified a Lyme disease receptor called TROSPA
that is used by disease agents to invade ticks. |
November 4, 2004 |
| Ecosystem
remodelling among vertebrates during the Permian-Triassic extinction:
The biggest mass extinction of all time happened 251 million years ago,
at the Permian-Triassic boundary. Virtually all of life was wiped out, but
the pattern of how life was killed off on land has been mysterious until
now. A team from Bristol University and Saratov University, Russia, have
now laid the evidence bare. |
| Pitt
researchers identify biomarkers of lupus which could lead to quicker and
better diagnosis: University of Pittsburgh researchers have
identified biomarkers that could result in earlier and more accurate diagnosis
of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a devastating disease that affects
as many as 1.5 million Americans, and occurs 10 to 15 times more frequently
in women. |
| Researchers
grow sperm stem cells in laboratory cultures: A team of researchers
working with cells from mice has overcome a technical barrier and succeeded
in growing sperm progenitor cells in laboratory culture. The researchers
transplanted the cells into infertile mice, which were then able to produce
sperm and father offspring that were genetically related to the donor mice. |
| Possible
origin of cosmic rays revealed with gamma rays: An international
team of astronomers has produced the first ever image of an astronomical
object using high energy gamma rays, helping to solve a 100 year old mystery
- an origin of cosmic rays. |
| Stretching
the supply of flu vaccine: Solution offered in new SLU research in New England
Journal: New research demonstrates a possible way to more than
double the available supply of influenza vaccine for adults between the
ages of 18 and 60, according to a study led by Saint Louis University's
Center for Vaccine Development and appearing this week in the New England
Journal of Medicine. |
| Researchers
discover potential skin cancer prevention target: Scientists
at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have identified
a protein that serves as a master regulator of skin cancer - a finding that
could lead to new ways to prevent skin cancer before it starts. |
November 3, 2004 |
| Plentiful
fossils of dinosaur contemporary allow population study: Dinosaurs
ruled the earth for hundreds of millions of years, then disappeared so completely
that to find even a partially complete skeleton of a single multi-ton animal
is rare. Meanwhile, the Virginia Museum of Natural History has scores of
fossils of Tanytrachelos ahynis, a 12 to 18-inch reptile that also lived
millions of years ago, at the same time as the earliest dinosaurs. |
| First
human trial of bioartificial kidney shows promise for acute renal failure:
The first test in humans of a bioartificial kidney offers hope of the device's
potential to save the lives of people with acute renal failure, researchers
at the University of Michigan Health System report. |
| Scientists
raise concerns about second wave of 'mad cow' prion infection:
There is increasing evidence that infectious prions that can cause variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), the human form of 'mad cow' disease, can
be transmitted through blood transfusion, according to Roger Eglin, Ph.D.,
Head of National Transfusion Microbiology Laboratories for the English National
Blood Service. |
| Researchers
unlock mysteries of toxic metals in the largest contaminated site in United
States: Copper mining in Butte and Anaconda, Montana, starting
in 1860's, poisoned the air, the land, and the water; well over 100 years
later, contaminants are still found as far as 300 miles down the Clark Fork
River, whose headwaters are in that area. |
| Air
bubbles in breakfast syrup illustrate potential pathway to new technology:
The behavior of air bubbles in ordinary breakfast syrup demonstrates how
scientists might be able to make vanishingly thin tubes and fibers for biomedical
and other applications. |
| Researchers
tracking sources of arsenic contamination in water: Virginia
Tech researchers from geosciences and biology are looking at where arsenic
occurs in water, how it is getting there, and how to prevent it. |
November 1, 2004 |
| UCLA
chemists report new nano flash welding: UCLA chemists report
the discovery of a remarkable new nanoscale phenomenon: An ordinary camera
flash causes the instantaneous welding together of nanofibers made of polyaniline,
a unique synthetic polymer that can be made in either a conducting or an
insulating form. |
| Electroconvulsive
therapy improves mood, quality of life: Electroconvulsive therapy
(ECT) improves mood, quality of life and activities of daily living in patients
with major depression, according to researchers at Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center, 'Quality of life and function are improved in ECT
patients as early as two weeks after the conclusion of ECT,' said Vaughn
McCall, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Medicine and the lead author, writing in the November issue of
the British Journal of Psychiatry. |
| Scientists
discover enzyme crucial to HIV replication: Scientists have
discovered that a cellular enzyme helps ferry HIV genetic instructions out
of the cell nucleus where they can then be translated into proteins to begin
their most destructive work. |
| Research
uncovers role of Apolipoprotein E in Alzheimer's disease: A
research team led by University of South Florida neuroscientist Huntington
Potter, PhD, CEO of the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research
Institute, for the first time has defined how the protein Apolipoprotein
E (ApoE) contributes to both the formation of amyloid brain lesions and
the memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease. |
| Researchers
describe how natural nuclear reactor worked: To operate a nuclear
power plant like Three Mile Island, hundreds of highly trained employees
must work in concert to generate power from safe fission, all the while
containing dangerous nuclear wastes. |
| Human
embryonic stem cells promising for replacement of blood supply:
Researchers at the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute are one step
closer to understanding how blood cells develop through the use of human
embryonic stem cells. |
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