October 29, 2004 |
| Scientists
zero in on why time flows in one direction: The big bang could
be a normal event in the natural evolution of the universe that will happen
repeatedly over incredibly vast time scales as the universe expands, empties
out and cools off, according to two University of Chicago physicists. |
| Cassini
peeks below cloud shroud around Titan: Early analysis of images
and other data captured during last night's close flyby of Saturn's moon
Titan by the Cassini spacecraft reveals greater surface detail than ever
before and shows that Titan has lost much of its original atmosphere over
time. |
| Munching
microbes could cleanse arsenic-contaminated groundwater: Microbial
processes ultimately determine whether arsenic builds to dangerous levels
in groundwater, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Remediation may be as simple as stimulating certain microbes to grow. |
| Evidence
that learning is consolidated during sleep: Researchers who
analyzed brain activity in sleeping volunteers who had learned to navigate
through a computer-generated virtual town have discovered evidence that
spatial memories are consolidated during deep sleep. |
| Research
on nerve cell circuitry reveals clue about schizophrenia: Animal
research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has found how
one of the genes linked to schizophrenia might function to cause the disease.
The work was reported today at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience
in San Diego. |
| Watts
from wastewater: New device produces power while treating sewage:
A new technology is being developed that can turn raw sewage into raw power.
The device, called a microbial fuel cell, not only treats wastewater, but
also provides a clean energy source with the potential for enormous financial
savings, according to scientists at Pennsylvania State University. |
October 25, 2004 |
| Researchers
discover gene mutations for Parkinson's disease: An international
research team, led by scientists at the National Institute on Aging (NIA),
has discovered a gene, which when mutated, causes Parkinson's disease in
some families. |
| New
technologies shed light on schizophrenia: Researchers at the
Boston Veterans Affairs Health Care System - Brockton Division, Harvard
Medical School, and the University of Massachusetts-Boston are using new
imaging technology to gather valuable information about the brains of people
with schizophrenia. |
| Scientists
reveal significant behavioral impacts of early life stress, study therapies:
Scientists at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center and the University
of Pittsburgh report significant stress early in life can have varying lifelong
impacts depending on the timing of the stress exposure. |
| New
method studies living bacteria cells: In research published
today in Science, the scientists used high-energy X-ray fluorescence measurements
for mapping and chemical analyses of single free-floating, or planktonic,
and surface-adhered, or biofilm, cells of Pseudomonas fluorescens. |
| Latest
buzz in research: Intoxicated honey bees may clue scientists into drunken
human behavior: Inebriated bees could give researchers better
insight into alcohol's effects on human behavior, a new study suggests. |
| Lab
study defines and blocks mechanism that lets brain tumors sidetrack immune
response: Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical
Institute have described an immune-disruptive process driven by an enzyme
that is overexpressed in the cells of many types of tumors, including malignant
brain tumors called gliomas. |
October 22, 2004 |
| Discovery
of two-dimensional fabric denotes dawn of new materials era:
Researchers at The University of Manchester and Chernogolovka, Russia have
discovered the world's first single-atom-thick fabric, which reveals the
existence of a new class of materials and may lead to computers made from
a single molecule. |
| Ancient
sea spider fossils discovered in volcanic ash: Volcanic ash
that encased and preserved sea life in the Silurian age 425 million years
ago near Herefordshire, UK has yielded fossils of an ancient sea spider,
or pycnogonid, one of the most unusual types of arthropod in the seas today. |
| Strong
Earth tides can trigger earthquakes, UCLA scientists report:
Earthquakes can be triggered by the Earth's tides, UCLA scientists confirmed
Oct. 21 in Science Express, the online journal of Science. Earth tides are
produced by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth,
causing the ocean's waters to slosh, which in turn raise and lower stress
on faults roughly twice a day. |
| New
DNA repair enzyme makes mistakes to save lives of cells: A
newly discovered enzyme described by University of Pittsburgh researchers
in a study published online today, is believed to play a key role in maintaining
the integrity of a cell's genetic information - the basis by which the life
of a cell or species is preserved - by allowing its DNA to be replicated
despite discovery of a mishap on the sequence that it corrects with a new
mistake. |
| Molecular
mechanism sheds light on neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's.
Parkinson's. Lou Gehrig's. Huntington's. These neurodegenerative diseases
exhibit loss of nerve function in different ways, from memory lapses to
uncontrollable muscular movements, but it is now believed that these diseases
share many common molecular mechanisms. |
| Newly
discovered protein suggests novel tumorigenic pathway: Scientists
in Tokyo have discovered a new protein, named PICT-1, that is involved in
regulating PTEN, the second most commonly mutated tumor suppressor in human
tumors. This discovery suggests the possibility of a new tumorigenic pathway
that is due to defects in a protein involved in stabilizing PTEN rather
than defects in PTEN itself. |
October 21, 2004 |
| International
human genome sequencing consortium describes finished human genome sequence:
The International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, led in the United
States by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Department
of Energy (DOE), today published its scientific description of the finished
human genome sequence, reducing the estimated number of human protein-coding
genes from 35,000 to only 20,000-25,000, a surprisingly low number for our
species. |
| Bacteria-killing
vs. bacteria-inhibiting drugs in treating infections: When
treating an infection, physicians may face a choice between using a bactericidal
(bacteria-killing) drug, a bacteriostatic (bacteria-inhibiting) drug or
a combination of the two. |
| Genetic
data crunching achieves milestone at Stanford: In the fall
of 1999, the Stanford Microarray Database booted up, and a level of computing
power was suddenly available to the field of molecular biology that only
a few years earlier was inconceivable. On Oct. 19, the database recorded
its 50,000th experiment, marking its place at the forefront of an information
processing revolution that has yielded groundbreaking insights into the
relationships between genes and illness, as well as fundamental biological
discoveries. |
| Leading
scientists to discuss research applications for therapeutic cloning:
As members of the United Nations General Assembly are soon to vote on the
future of cloning research, possibly within days, leading scientists will
be conducting a symposium discussion on the status of current work in cloning
and its potential for the emerging field of regenerative medicine. |
| Large-scale
forces shape local ocean life, global study shows: In a groundbreaking,
globetrotting study of sea life in shallow waters, a research team led by
a Brown University marine ecologist has found that the richness of species
diversity in a small patch of ocean is powerfully shaped by far-away forces. |
| Antipsychotic
drugs linked to insulin resistance in children: Researchers
from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center say a group of drugs known as 'atypical
antipsychotics' that are commonly used to treat children with aggression,
bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia may trigger insulin resistance, a condition
that increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease
later in life. |
October 20, 2004 |
| MRI
appears to have advantages over CT scan for detecting bleeding in the brain
in stroke patients: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be
as accurate as computed tomography (CT) in detecting acute bleeding in the
brain in patients showing signs of stroke, and more accurate than CT in
revealing chronic bleeding in the brain, according to a study in the October
20 issue of JAMA. |
| UC
Irvine scientists develop world's longest electrically conducting nanotubes:
Breakthrough discovery is 10 times longer than previous current-carrying
nanotubes, paves way for supercomputer and health care applications. |
| Researchers
guide light through liquids and gases on a chip: Researchers
at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have reported the first demonstration
of integrated optical waveguides with liquid cores, a technology that enables
light propagation through small volumes of liquids on a chip. The new technology
has a wide range of potential applications, including chemical and biological
sensors with single-molecule sensitivity. |
| UCLA
scientists discover new way to fix defective gene: UCLA scientists
have devised a novel way to repair one of the genetic mutations that cause
ataxia-telangiectasia, (A-T), a life-shortening disorder that devastates
the neurological and immune systems of one in 40,000 young children. |
| Gene
linked to greater risk of heart disease in type 2 diabetes:
New studies by an international team of scientists led by Joslin Diabetes
Center have found variations in a gene that help explain why people with
type 2 diabetes are at much greater risk for coronary artery disease, the
leading cause of death for this group. |
| Zebrafish
may offer researchers powerful new tool for studying innate immunity:
For the first time, researchers have sequenced all 36 genes of novel receptors
that appear to play a critical role in the innate immune protection of zebrafish
- an achievement that could lead to a better understanding of infectious
diseases and certain cancers. |
October 13, 2004 |
| Researchers
find frozen north may accelerate climate change: NASA-funded
researchers have found that despite their sub-zero temperatures, a warming
north may add more carbon to the atmosphere from soil, accelerating climate
warming further. |
| New
study on smallpox in monkeys reveals tactics of a killer: Results
of a new study in monkeys offer scientists a rare glimpse of how, on a molecular
level, the smallpox virus attacks its victims. The findings shed light on
how the virus caused mass death and suffering, and will help point the way
to new diagnostics, vaccines and drugs that would be needed in the event
of a smallpox bioterror incident. |
| Plastic
surgeons perform first entire face reconstruction: Hundreds
of thousands of people are burned in fires each year with many suffering
from facial burns as a result. These burn victims not only have severe physical
scars, but deep emotional scars, too. A team of plastic surgeons has successfully
combined several reconstructive techniques to help burn victims regain some
sense of self without undergoing multiple painful procedures and huge scarring
often associated with reconstructing the face. |
| Epilepsy
study shows memory loss after brain surgery: Epilepsia, the
official publication of the International League Against Epilepsy, recently
published a one-year follow-up study that finds some post-surgical epilepsy
patients have a significant decline in verbal memory. This type of memory
loss is associated with learning, recall and recognition. |
| Technique
for genetically modifying blood stem cells brings cure for blood diseases
closer: The condition of mice with a genetic blood disease
called beta-thalassemia improved significantly following treatment of their
blood forming cells with a gene that enabled them to produce the type of
hemoglobin normally found only in the fetus. These findings, by investigators
at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, are published in the October issue
of Blood. |
| FSU
scientist links iron imbalance to Parkinson's disease: Dietary
iron imbalances either way spell trouble for healthy cells, triggering a
chain of cellular events in the brain that increases the odds of developing
Parkinson's disease, a degenerative condition affecting movement and balance
in more than 1 million Americans each year. But excessive iron levels are
worse -- much worse. |
October 12, 2004 |
| Blood
pressure drugs may slow deterioration of Alzheimer's: Certain
blood pressure drugs may slow the deterioration of Alzheimer's disease,
according to a study published in the October 12 issue of Neurology, the
scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. |
| UF
scientists have bionanotechnology recipe to find elusive bacteria:
A team of University of Florida researchers has created tiny hybrid particles
that can speedily root out even one isolated E. coli bacterium lurking in
ground beef or provide a crucial early warning alarm for bacteria used as
agents of bioterrorism and for early disease diagnosis. |
| Dartmouth
study suggests caution against using certain drugs to unclog heart arteries:
Dartmouth Medical School cardiology researchers have discovered a new mechanism
for what drives the growth of muscle tissue in the lining of injured heart
vessels that can eventually lead to blockage. |
| Researchers
provide road map for generating B cells from stem cells: Before
stem cells, of whatever origin, can be used to treat patients, scientists
will need to learn how to coax them to develop into the desired cell types,
a major challenge. |
| New
method identifies chromosome changes in malignant cells: In
a boost to cancer research, Princeton scientists have invented a fast and
reliable method for identifying alterations to chromosomes that occur when
cells become malignant. The technique helps to show how cells modify their
own genetic makeup and may allow cancer treatments to be tailored more precisely
to a patient's disease. |
| Cells
in retina found to behave like soap bubbles: Soap bubbles delight
children and the young at heart, but they also have been objects of scientific
study for centuries. Operating under the laws of physics, bubbles always
try to minimize their surface area, even when many bubbles are aggregated
together. |
October 11, 2004 |
| Study
describes basic mechanism in cell growth control involving damaged DNA:
As interactions of cellular proteins increasingly take center stage in basic
biomedical research, studies are revealing a complex molecular choreography
with implications for human health and disease. |
| Telling
a salty tale of martian water: University of California scientists
working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, along with a scientist from Indiana
University have devised a method for determining whether sulfate salts can
account for evidence of water on Mars. The work could pave the way to a
better understanding of the martian environment and the history of water
on Mars. |
| Component
of volcanic gas may have played a significant role in the origins of life
on Earth: Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and
the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are reporting a possible answer
to a longstanding question in research on the origins of life on Earth--how
did the first amino acids form the first peptides? |
| Recycling
of scrapped electronics studied: MIT researchers have developed
new metrics for assessing the performance of firms that recycle scrapped
electronic equipment, a major source of toxic pollutants. |
| Under
the surface, the brain seethes with undiscovered activity:
There’s an old myth that we only use 10 percent of our brains, but
researchers at the University of Rochester have found in reality that roughly
80 percent of our cognitive power may be cranking away on tasks completely
unknown to us. |
| Lithium
may protect neurons from radiation therapy: Patients who undergo
radiation for treatment of brain tumors may survive their cancer only to
have lasting memory and learning deficiencies, the impact of which can be
particularly devastating for children. |
October 4, 2004 |
| Diatom
genome reveals key role in biosphere's carbon cycle: The first
genetic instruction manual of a diatom, from a family of microscopic ocean
algae that are among the Earth's most prolific carbon dioxide assimilators,
has yielded important insights on how the creature uses nitrogen, fats,
and silica to thrive. |
| After
trio of explosions, scientists say supernova is imminent: Three
powerful recent blasts from three wholly different regions in space have
left scientists scrambling. The blasts, which lasted only a few seconds,
might be early alert systems for star explosions called supernovae, which
could start appearing any day. |
| NASA
leaders weigh impact of Hurricanes on return to flight plans:
NASA is working to determine how four hurricanes that affected several centers
this year will impact efforts to return the Space Shuttle to flight. The
agency has been working toward a launch-planning window that opens in March
2005. |
| Radiologists
call for judicious use of CT for detecting pulmonary embolism:
There has been a striking increase in the number of patients undergoing
CT examinations of the chest to look for clots in the lung (pulmonary embolism)
over recent years, especially through the emergency department, a study
at one facility shows. |
| Stress
and aggression reinforce each other at the biological level:
Scientists may be learning why it's so hard to stop the cycle of violence.
The answer may lie in the nervous system. |
| Studying
the chemistry of drugs in wastewater: What happens to painkillers,
antibiotics and other medicines after their work is done, and they end up
in the wastewater stream? |
October 1, 2004 |
| New
therapy for specific form of leukemia: Leukemia, or cancer
of the bone marrow, strikes some 700 Belgians each year. Medical science
has been at a total loss regarding the origin or cause of some forms of
this disease including T-cell acute lymphatic leukemia, or T-ALL. |
| Potential
for enhanced sequestration of carbon in soils supports evaluations:
A group of researchers led by Wilfred M. Post of the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory describes in the October 2004 issue of BioScience an approach
to assessing 'promising' techniques for mitigating global warming caused
by the greenhouse effect. |
| US
researchers show cottonseed drug is cancer treatment booster:
New research from the United States has opened up the prospect that gossypol
- a drug refined from cottonseed oil and previously tried and abandoned
as a male contraceptive - could boost the effectiveness of treatment for
prostate tumours and possibly other common cancers as well. |
| Fast,
robust, and a blast from the past, mechanical memory switch outstrips chip
technology: There are no gears or levers involved, nor even,
for those who remember such things, punch cards transported in oblong boxes.
Yet research by a Boston University team led by physicist Pritiraj Mohanty
does update a decidedly 'old' technology in a bid to build better, faster
data storage systems for today's computers. |
| Don't
stand so close to me: A new view on how species coexist: Plants
and animals living together in communities don't rub shoulders too closely
because evolution has caused them to compromise on key life measures, say
ecologists at Imperial College London and Royal Holloway, University of
London, writing in the journal Science. |
| Time
running out for South Asian vultures, ecologists warn: Ecologists
are calling on South Asian governments to ban veterinary use of the anti-inflammatory
drug diclofenac. Without banning use of the drug in livestock species likely
to be eaten by vultures - mainly cattle and buffalo - three species of vulture
in the Indian subcontinent are likely to become extinct. |
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