The CFIT Reduction Task Force has found that airlines are placing too much faith in new technologies and not enough emphasis on basic training and safety procedures. The task force recommends a checklist and education aid to alert flight crews to the dangers of CFIT accidents, which have increased by seven confirmed incidents this year.
A team led by Patrick Kochanek has identified specific biochemical markers that may help detect child abuse. Preliminary evidence suggests that victims of abuse often have abnormal levels of quinolinic acid in their cerebrospinal fluid, which could reveal whether a parent is lying about the timing of an injury.
A team of astronomers led by Bo Reipurth and John Bally observed that ultraviolet radiation from nearby massive stars destroyed the cocoons of gas and dust surrounding young stars, revealing billions of miles long supersonic jets. The destruction has provided new insight into star birth and evolution, and may have implications for the ...
A team of scientists, including MSU's Frankie Jackson, discovered a rare dinosaur embryo in Patagonia, Argentina, with implications for understanding sauropod reproduction. The find confirms the identity of the embryo as belonging to a type of plant-eating dinosaur.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a key step in regulating PPAR-gamma receptors, which control insulin sensitivity. The finding may lead to drugs with fewer side effects and greater efficiency for treating adult-onset diabetes.
Neuroscientist Michela Gallagher's research reveals that cognitive decline in old age is not caused by dying brain cells, but rather by the natural aging process. The study used rat models to show that neuron losses are confined to populations of cells with limited memory function.
The largest series of unrelated cord blood transplants confirms the feasibility of transplantation for patients without a matching donor. The study demonstrates success in children and mismatched transplants with reduced acute graft versus host disease incidence.
Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a molecular mechanism that allows organisms to evolve new traits in response to environmental stress. The mechanism involves the protein heat shock protein 90 (Hsp 90), which normally keeps genetic variations silent but can reveal them during times of stress.
A team of researchers has identified the normal function of a protein associated with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an inherited neuromuscular disease that is the most common genetic cause of infant mortality. The study, published in the journal Cell, also developed cell-based assays to search for potential therapeutic compounds.