Researchers have identified a new gene required for memory formation in Drosophila, which may have similar functions in humans. The discovery sheds light on neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and could lead to new insights into cognitive enhancement.
Researchers have found potassium in the atmosphere of a giant planet, HD 80606 b, using narrow-band transit spectrophotometry. The discovery supports previous computer models and demonstrates the value of this observational technique for characterizing planets that might support life.
The discovery of two planets, Kepler 9b and 9c, confirms the first planetary system with more than one planet transiting the same star. The planets, both Saturn-sized gas giants, exhibit orbital resonance and gravitational interaction.
Researchers at Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a critical role for myosin II in long-term memory formation. Myosin II links together key processes, including signal transmission and synaptic plasticity, to solidify neuronal communication.
A new study shows that sunlight drives asteroids to split in two and move far apart, forming binary and divorced binaries. The research suggests that many of these binaries likely originated from asteroid fission, with smaller asteroids separating at low velocities.
A recent NIH-funded study has uncovered a key step in brain events leading up to cocaine addiction, highlighting the potential for MeCP2 to regulate cocaine intake and determine vulnerability. By balancing with miRNA-212, this protein impacts an individual's motivation for self-administering cocaine.
Researchers have discovered a protein called methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) that may control the addictive impact of cocaine in the brain. MeCP2 interacts with microRNA to regulate an individual's motivation to consume cocaine, and its influence can reduce vulnerability to addiction.
Asteroid 2008 LC18 is found in the L5 stability region of Neptune, with an estimated diameter of 100 kilometers. The discovery suggests a population of similar asteroids at L5, outnumbering those in the main asteroid belt.
Astronomers have discovered a brown dwarf companion to a young sun-like star, PZ Tel A. The discovery reveals the early stages of solar system formation and provides insights into planetary formation.
Scientists discovered that abnormal prions, a type of infectious protein, can suddenly appear in healthy brain tissue when coated onto metal surfaces. This finding raises questions about the origin of these deadly proteins and their potential role in neurodegenerative diseases.
Tropical Storm Bonnie strengthened into a tropical storm, bringing heavy rainfall to south Florida. The GOES-13 satellite provides visible images of the storm's cloud-covered center, and forecasts indicate it will pass near the Florida Keys and southern Florida before moving over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
A recent study analyzing the JUPITER trial found that HDL cholesterol levels are not predictive of residual vascular risk among patients treated with potent statin therapy. This suggests that caution should be displayed when interpreting the results and more data is needed to determine whether raising HDL levels is beneficial.
Rochester Institute of Technology scientist Don Figer is developing a new detector technology that can directly image and characterize exoplanets, potentially finding smaller, rocky planets like Earth. This technology could reduce detection time by one-third and overcome current limitations.
Tropical Depression 3 has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, triggering warnings for the Bahamas and Florida. The system strengthened into a tropical depression on July 22, with maximum sustained winds of near 35 mph and an estimated minimum central pressure of 1008 millibars.
Studies based on the JUPITER trial found that high-dose statin treatment significantly reduces myocardial infarction and stroke risk. In contrast, good cholesterol levels no longer predict cardiovascular risk in patients with very low bad cholesterol levels.
Researchers found that compounds targeting PPARγ can improve insulin sensitivity without promoting fat cell growth, offering a new target for anti-diabetic treatments. The study suggests a unified framework for understanding the relationship between fat cell dysfunction and anti-diabetic therapies.
Researchers discovered a specific microRNA sequence, microRNA-212, that protects rats from cocaine addiction by regulating CREB signaling. This finding suggests microRNAs may play a crucial role in vulnerability to addiction, offering new promise for anti-addiction medications.
Researchers at Scripps Research Institute have identified a specific microRNA that controls cocaine consumption and addiction. MicroRNA-212 was found to be increased in the brains of rats with extended access to cocaine, leading to reduced addictive behavior. This discovery suggests a potential new method for treating cocaine addiction.
Three scientists from Scripps Research will receive funding to develop advanced cancer therapies. Glenn Micalizio, Thomas Bannister, and Douglas Kojetin will explore novel protein targets and cancer treatment pathways.
Researchers used quantum simulations to study hydrogen's behavior under extreme pressure, discovering a discontinuous transition between molecular and atomic states. The critical point occurs at high temperatures and pressures, near 3100°F and 1 million atmospheres.
The discovery of exoplanet Beta Pictoris b, located 60 light-years from Earth, confirms that giant planets can form in time-spans as short as a few million years. The planet has a massive nine-Jupiter-mass orbit, challenging previous theories on planetary formation.
Computer modeling reveals that planets in habitable zones can fluctuate between life-supporting conditions and inhospitable temperatures due to giant neighbor's gravitational pull. This can cause drastic changes in a planet's orbit, potentially altering its geological properties over long timescales.
A team of researchers tracked a comet as it approached the sun using data from NASA's STEREO and SOHO spacecraft. The comet, believed to be part of the Kreutz family, survived the intense heat of the corona and evaporated in the chromosphere.
Researchers from the University of the Basque Country and American scientists publish first results of a study on the impact of a large-sized celestial body on Jupiter last July. The impact created a massive ash cloud of around 5,000 km in size, with surrounding halo effects.
The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $1.3 million grant to develop a series of tests at its Florida campus to explore the potential of GPR119, a protein that regulates glucose balance and weight gain. The goal is to identify small molecule compounds that can be used therapeutically.
Researchers discovered water ice and organic molecules on asteroid 24 Themis, suggesting it may have delivered water to Earth 4 billion years ago. The findings support the theory that asteroids could have brought water to our planet after its formation.
Asteroid 24 Themis has been found to have a thin film of ice coating its surface, with complex, long-chained molecules detected as well. This suggests that water ice is abundant in the asteroid's interior and may be responsible for delivering water to Earth.
New research identifies Jupiter Family comets as the primary source of the zodiacal cloud's eerie glow, contradicting previous theories that pointed to asteroid dust.
Scientists at Scripps Research Institute found that compulsive eating shares the same molecular mechanisms as cocaine and heroin addiction. In rat models, obesity coincides with a deteriorating chemical balance in reward brain circuitries, leading to compulsive overeating habits.
Scientists at UC Berkeley propose helium rain as explanation for neon depletion in Jupiter's atmosphere, with helium droplets forming around 10,000 km below the surface and releasing heat that explains Saturn's excess brightness.
Researchers discovered a layer where helium condenses into droplets, allowing neon to dissolve and fall towards the planet's interior. This phenomenon explains the observed lack of neon in Jupiter's upper atmosphere.
Corot-9b, a gas giant planet, has an interior similar to that of Jupiter and Saturn, allowing it to maintain liquid water. The planet's distance from its star and lack of tidal forces make this possibility plausible.
Astronomers have discovered a temperate exoplanet, Corot-9b, with a mass about 80% that of Jupiter and an orbit similar to Mercury's. The planet is thought to have a temperature range of -20°C to 160°C, making it a significant finding in the study of exoplanets.
An international team of scientists has discovered a new planet called CoRoT-9b, similar in size to Jupiter. Located 1500 light-years from Earth, the planet orbits a star similar to our sun and is considered temperate.
Researchers have observed a warm core at the center of the Great Red Spot, with temperatures varying by up to 3 degrees compared to surrounding areas. This temperature difference affects wind velocities and cloud patterns in Jupiter's belts and zones.
Researchers use a novel light activation technique to turn modest molecules into powerful protein destroyers, expanding the search for new therapies. The new technique, CALI, uses a 'warhead' molecule capable of inactivating nearby proteins when triggered by light.
The massive planet WASP-12b is being torn apart by the gravitational forces of its host star, resulting in a 'death march' that explains its unusually large size. The research also suggests the presence of a super-Earth in the disk around the star.
The University of California, Berkeley team's paper published in Science won the 2009 Newcomb Cleveland Prize for outstanding contributions to the field. The award recognizes the first visible-light picture of an extrasolar planet and its potential to change our view of how planets originate.
A team of researchers led by Bruce Macintosh has won the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for their groundbreaking discovery of multiple planets orbiting a distant star. The study, published in Science, provides new insights into the detection and characterization of exoplanets.
The 2009 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize was awarded to Christian Marois and colleagues for their direct imaging of multiple planets orbiting HR 8799, a distant star. The discovery, made using the Keck and Gemini North telescopes, reveals a system resembling our solar system's outer portion.
Researchers at Scripps Institute create a novel screening technique for large compound libraries, enabling efficient identification of high-affinity protein ligands. The innovative approach combines bead display and microarray analysis, allowing for rapid comparison of binding affinity without tedious re-synthesis.
A new experiment has confirmed that a levitating magnet can create a dense plasma, a crucial step in achieving fusion reactions. The findings offer a potential new path to fusion energy, which could provide a long-term solution to the planet's energy needs without contributing to global warming.
Researchers at the Southwest Research Institute suggest that differences in cometary impacts and melting patterns explain Ganymede and Callisto's distinct surfaces. The study reveals that Ganymede received more intense impacts, leading to deeper melting and a heavier core.
Asteroids that come within a quarter of the distance between Earth and the moon experience seismic shakes strong enough to create fresh surface material. The finding helps answer decades-long questions about meteorite origins and opens a new field of asteroid seismology.
CoRoT-7 b is a rocky planet circling a star 480 light years from Earth, with temperatures above 4,000 degrees F on its surface and potentially hosting multiple volcanoes due to its close orbit. Its extreme volcanic activity makes it unlikely to harbor life.
Astronomers found that only 10 percent of stars host planetary systems similar to our own, with several gas giant planets in the outer part of the system. The discovery was made using gravitational microlensing and is based on 10 years' worth of data from the MicroFUN survey.
Prions, infectious protein particles devoid of DNA, can develop mutations and adapt through natural selection, leading to drug resistance. The study suggests that normal prion proteins may be more effective therapeutic targets than their abnormal forms, offering new hope for treating deadly neurodegenerative diseases.
The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded $1.2 million to develop high-throughput screening tests that will help identify potential small molecule therapies for breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. The project aims to modulate the activity of the LRH-1 receptor, which plays a crucial role in hormone-driven breast cancer.
Recent NASA missions suggest conditions necessary for life may exist on the icy satellites of Saturn and Jupiter, particularly Europa and Enceladus. Liquid water beneath their surfaces could harbor life, with tidal forces keeping oceans from freezing up due to eccentric orbits.
Researchers have discovered two new planetary systems with low-mass 'super-Earths' orbiting nearby sun-like stars. The planets are smaller than previously discovered worlds and may be habitable.
Astronomers have directly imaged a faint celestial body orbiting the star GJ 758, estimated to be between 10 and 40 Jupiter masses. The discovered planet, GJ 758 B, has a temperature of around 330 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest companion of a Sun-like star ever imaged.
An international team of scientists has made the first direct observation of a planet-like object orbiting a star similar to the sun. The object, GJ 758 B, is estimated to be 10-40 times as massive as Jupiter and orbits its star at a distance of approximately 300 trillion miles.
A Scripps Research Institute study describes a new approach to identifying molecules that prevent autoreactive T cells from attacking the body. The method uses peptoids to visualize binding antibodies and has the potential to create new therapeutic discoveries for autoimmune diseases like MS and blood cancers.
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Accelerator and Fusion Research Division are making progress with their Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment-II (NDCX-II) accelerator, a specialized user facility designed to study warm dense matter. The NDCX-II can deliver high currents in short pulses of moderate energy, heati...
A UCLA-led study confirms Pallas, the second-largest asteroid, is a protoplanet due to its unique shape and color variation. The research reveals a dynamic surface with areas of dark and light, indicating internal changes, similar to those found on planets.
Researchers at Scripps Research Institute will combine two advanced technologies to screen massive peptoid libraries in parallel fashion, increasing the rate of ligand discovery by several hundred times over current methods. The new technology has the potential to revolutionize the search for new therapies.
Researchers calculate that adding small amounts of lithium can convert hydrogen to a metal at significantly lower pressures. The study predicts the formation of metallic hydrogen compounds under experimentally accessible pressures.
The study reveals two distinct dust disks around the star 51 Ophiuchi, with the inner disk spanning 4 Astronomical Units from the star and tapering off rapidly. The outer disk extends hundreds of times farther and appears more puffed up, holding smaller particles similar in size to those in smoke.
Researchers develop algorithms that allow end users to ask computers why they made mistakes, read their responses, and explain why those were errors. This 'meaningful' interaction enables computers to customize themselves to users and perform better in the future.
New University of Washington research suggests comets unlikely cause mass extinctions, contradicting long-held belief. The study shows that Jupiter and Saturn's gravitational fields protect Earth from most comets, limiting potential impact.