ScienceDaily: Latest Science News |
| To Find Out What's Eating Bats, Biologist Takes To Barn Rooftops Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT Bloodsucking pests like bat fleas and bat flies may not sound very appealing to the rest of us, but to many biologists they are considered among the most successful creatures evolution has ever produced. Researchers aim to provide a clearer picture of how potential disease vectors adapt to bats. This work may shed light on White Nose Syndrome, which has killed tens of thousands of bats in the northeastern U.S. and which some feel may parallel the Colony Collapse Disorder that has devastated honey bee colonies in recent years.  |
| Anti-inflammatory Drug Blocks Brain Plaques Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT An anti-inflammatory drug may help restore brain function in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to an animal study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.  |
| Engineers Create 3-D Model To Help Biologists Combat Blue Tongue Virus Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT A large 3-D model of the Blue Tongue virus has been created by WMG engineering researchers at the University of Warwick that will help biologists devise new ways to combat the virus, and protect millions of livestock from infection. The model is 5,200,000 times the size of the real thing.  |
| Crucial Factors In Lymphoma Development And Survival Discovered Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers have discovered an important factor in the development of B-cell lymphomas, one of the fastest growing forms of cancer. The B-cell receptor on the surface of B cells can cooperate with the MYC oncogene to accelerate the development of lymphomas. The research team also showed that disruption of signals from the B-cell receptor can inhibit growth of the tumors.  |
| Physicists Develop 'Impossible' Technique To Study And Develop Superconductors Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers have developed a technique that controls the number of electrons on the surface of high-temperature superconductors, a procedure considered impossible for the past two decades.  |
| Cosmetic Surgery Procedures To Exceed 55 Million In 2015, Study Predicts Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT More than 55 million cosmetic surgery procedures will be performed in 2015, predicts a recent study. This more than quadruples the number of procedures performed in 2005.  |
| When Threatened, A Few African Frogs Can Morph Toes Into Claws Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT Some African frogs carry concealed weapons: when threatened, these species puncture their own skin with sharp bones in their toes, using the bones as claws capable of wounding predators. At least 11 species kick at predators with sharp, protruding bones as a defense mechanism.  |
| Certain Anticancer Agents Could Be Harmful To Patients With Heart Disease Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT A set of promising new anticancer agents could have unforeseen risks in individuals with heart disease, suggests research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The anticancer drugs interfere with a biochemical process that promotes growth in some cancer cells. But the researchers showed that interfering with this biochemical process in mice with heart disease led to further deterioration of cardiac function and ultimately death.  |
| Phoenix Lander Prepares For Microscopy, Wet Chemistry On Mars Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has delivered a scoop of Martian soil from the "Snow White" trenches to the optical microscope for analysis tomorrow, June 24, the 29th Martian day of the mission, or Sol 29.  |
| Tethered Molecules Act As Light-driven Reversible Nanoswitches Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT A new technique for attaching light-sensitive organic molecules to metal surfaces allows the molecules to be switched between two different configurations in response to exposure to different wavelengths of light. Because the configuration changes are reversible and can be controlled without direct contact, this technique could enable applications that can be controlled at the molecular scale.  |
| How Low Blood Flow Promotes Vascular Disease: Better Understanding To Lead To New Therapies Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have found the first direct proof that a key protein drives the clogging of arteries in two ways, and that lowering levels of it opens them up, according to study results published in the June edition of the journal Circulation. The work establishes cyclophilin A as an exciting target in the design of drugs against atherosclerosis, the number one cause of heart attacks and strokes, which occur when vessels become completely blocked.  |
| Engineers Reveal What Makes Diamonds Slippery At The Nanoscale Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT Engineers have conducted the first study of diamond friction supported by spectroscopy and determined that this slippery behavior comes from passivation of atomic bonds at the diamond surface that were broken during sliding and not from the diamond turning into its more stable form, graphite.  |
| From The Egg, Baby Crocodiles Call To Each Other And To Mom Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT The pre-hatching calls of baby Nile crocodiles actually mean something to their siblings and to their mothers. The calls -- which are perfectly audible to humans and sound like "umph! umph! umph!" -- tell the others in the nest that it's time to hatch, according to research in Current Biology. Those cries also tell the mother crocodile to start digging up the nest.  |
| Accidental Discovery Could Enable Development Of Faster Computers Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT Physicists have made an accidental discovery in the lab that has potential to change how information in computers can be transported or stored. Dependent on the "spin" of electrons, a property electrons possess that makes them behave like tiny magnets, the discovery could help in the development of spin-based semiconductor technology such as ultrahigh-speed computers.  |
| Potential Role Of Fish-based Fatty Acids In Resolving, Preventing Asthma Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT In an ongoing effort to determine the anti-inflammatory value of diets rich in some types of fish, scientists studying asthma and allergic reactions have found that a molecule produced by the body from omega-3 fatty acids helps resolve and prevent respiratory distress in laboratory mice. The research, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, was led by a research team at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  |
| Prions Are Not Degraded By Conventional Sewage Treatment Processes Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT Scientists in Wisconsin are reporting that typical wastewater treatment processes do not degrade prions.  |
| Systems Properties Of Insulin Signaling Revealed Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT Swedish researchers have characterized novel systems properties of insulin signaling in human fat cells. Their mathematical modeling provides further insight into energy level maintenance (via the hormone insulin) within our bodies.  |
| Exploited Fish Make Rapid Comeback In World's Largest No-take Marine Reserve Network Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT No-take marine reserves, in which fishing is completely banned, can lead to very rapid comebacks of the fish species most prized by commercial and recreational fisheries, reveals a new study of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.  |
| Men Share Their Creative Work Online More Than Women Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT Men are significantly more likely to share their creative work online than women though both engage in creative activity about equally. With the Internet a major form of participating in popular culture and public discourse, that means men's voices are disproportionately heard. Almost two-thirds of men report posting their work online. Only half of women do. When controlling for digital literacy -- whether perceived or actual -- the research shows they post about equally.  |
| Life On The Edge: To Disperse, Or Become Extinct? Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT The hardiest plants and those most likely to survive the climatic shifts brought about by global warming are now easier to identify. Plants existing at the edges of their natural habitats may enhance survival of the species during global warming.  |
| Overcoming Resistance To A Cancer Drug Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT Drugs that target members of the EGFR family of proteins have proven effective for the treatment of certain types of cancer, including breast cancer. However, in a large number of patients for whom the treatment initially works well, the tumor recurs and is resistant to the effects of the drug.  |
| Stroke Study Reveals Key Target For Improving Treatment And Suggests That Gleevec May Help Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT For over a decade, the drug called tPA has proven its worth as the most effective emergency treatment for the most common kind of stroke, but bleeding risks and a limited time window for treatment have held it back. Now, a new study reveals why tPA has these limitations and gives tantalizing evidence about how those problems might be overcome, if a stroke victim first takes a drug currently used to treat leukemia.  |
| Researchers To Simulate And Analyze Brain, Immune System Activity And Apply Math To Medical Problems Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT In an effort to promote the application of mathematics to medical treatment, researchers in the University of Pittsburgh's department of mathematics will undertake a $2.5 million project to create models of how the brain and immune system function and change over time in response to certain illnesses, infections, and treatment. The models are intended to help doctors better understand and predict the possible short- and long-term responses of their patient's body to treatment.  |
| Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT Biologists have identified the AHK5 as an important signaling-protein for the stress-response in plant cells.  |
| Better Tools Needed For Assessing Infant Pain Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT Currently used pain assessment tools may be underestimating the pain response in infants according to a study published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine this week. Dr. Slater and colleagues (University College London, UK) studied the association between cortical pain responses in young infants and currently used pain assessment tools which are based on behavioral and physiological measures, such as change in facial expression.  |
| Building Giant 'Nanoassemblies' That Sense Their Environment Posted: 24 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Researchers in Texas are reporting the design, construction, and assembly of nano-size building blocks into the first giant structures that can sense and respond to changes in environmental conditions.  |
| Low Vitamin D Levels Associated With Death From Cardiovascular, All Causes Posted: 24 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Individuals with lower blood levels of vitamin D appear to have an increased risk of death overall and from cardiovascular causes, according to a new report.  |
| Could New Discovery About A Shape-shifting Protein Lead To A Mighty 'Morpheein' Bacteria Fighter? Posted: 24 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT A small molecule that locks an essential enzyme in an inactive form could one day form the basis of a new class of unbeatable, species-specific drugs, including antibiotics. PBGS, an enzyme used by nearly all cellular life, is a morpheein -- a molecule that spontaneously "shape-shifts," -- turning from an active octamer (eight part) protein to a hexamer (six part). Morphlock stabilizes the hexamer, thereby turning off the enzyme.  |
| Understanding The Migration Of Cancer Cells Posted: 24 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Lamellipodia and filopodia are dynamic surface extensions of the cell which play a pivotal role in cell migration, invasion and wound healing. Biochemists have succeeded in clarifying the interplay between the two types of protrusions in regulating both the migratory and invasive abilities of cancer cells. They hope to exploit their exciting findings for the development of more specific cancer therapies.  |
| Abandoned Farmlands Are Key To Sustainable Bioenergy Posted: 24 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Biofuels can be a sustainable part of the world's energy future, especially if bioenergy agriculture is developed on currently abandoned or degraded agricultural lands. Using these lands for energy crops, instead of converting existing croplands or clearing new land, avoids competition with food production and preserves carbon-storing forests needed to mitigate climate change.  |
| Scientifically Valid Prevention Programs Cut Rates Of Juvenile Delinquency Posted: 24 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Seventh-grade students in US communities that have set up scientifically validated programs to reduce juvenile delinquency have a significantly smaller chance of engaging such behavior than do children in towns that have not adopted such programs.  |
| Refusal Of Suicide Order: Why Tumor Cells Become Resistant Posted: 24 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT Cells with irreparable DNA damage normally induce programmed cell death, or apoptosis. However, this mechanism often fails in tumor cells so that transformed cells are able to multiply and spread throughout the body. Scientists have now discovered a possible cause of this failure.  |
| Single Insecticide Application Can Kill Three Cockroach Generations Posted: 24 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT One dose of an insecticide can kill three generations of cockroaches as they feed off of each other and transfer the poison, according to entomologists who tested the effectiveness of a specific gel bait.  |
| Five Genes Identified In Metastasis Of Breast Tumors To The Lung Posted: 24 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT Scientists have identified five genes involve in the metastasis of breast tumors to the lung. Of the five genes identified, the Tenascina-C gene seems to be a good therapeutic target for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. In fact, the blocking of the expression of this gene in the animal model enabled a significant reduction, both in tumour growth and in the incidence of pulmonary metastasis.  |
| Reliance On Unverifiable Observations Hinders Successful Conservation Of Wildlife Species Posted: 24 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT Researchers from the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain Research Stations examined three cases of biological misunderstandings in which unverifiable, anecdotal observations were accepted as empirical evidence. Ultimately, they found that this acceptance adversely affected conservation goals for the fisher in the Pacific states, the wolverine in California, and the ivory-billed woodpecker in the southeast by vastly overestimating their range and abundance. The researchers' findings appear in the current issue of the journal BioScience.  |
| Paradox Discovered About General Anesthesia: It Can Increase Post-surgical Pain Posted: 24 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT The general anesthesia that puts patients into unconscious sleep so they do not feel surgical pain can increase the discomfort they feel once they wake up. The findings, the first to scientifically explain what has been anecdotally observed in the clinic, may lead to wider use of the few anesthetics that don't have this side effect, or to the development of new ones.  |
| Cells Have An Appetite For Micro-doughnuts Posted: 24 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Just like humans, liver cells can't resist eating just one or two small doughnuts, say chemists in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Chemical Communications. Exploiting liver cells' appetite for polystyrene ring "doughnuts", just a few microns across, might give scientists a new way to deliver drugs selectively, potentially eliminating nasty side effects of life-saving treatments such as chemotherapy.  |
| Neural Implant That Learns With The Brain May Help Paralyzed Patients Posted: 24 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Devices known as brain-machine interfaces could someday be used routinely to help paralyzed patients and amputees control prosthetic limbs with just their thoughts. Now researchers have taken the concept a step further, devising a way for computerized devices not only to translate brain signals into movement but also to evolve with the brain as it learns.  |
| When It Comes To Female Red Squirrels, It Seems Any Male Will Do, Even Close Relatives Posted: 24 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Researchers have found that female red squirrels showed high levels of multimale mating and would even mate with males that had similar genetic relatedness, basically mating with their relatives. Researchers from the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England, United Kingdom studied a population of red squirrels over a period of three years near Kluane National Park in southwest Yukon.  |
| Weight Gain Within The Normal Range Increases Risk Of Chronic Kidney Disease Posted: 24 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Healthy individuals who gain weight, even to a weight still considered normal, are at risk for developing chronic kidney disease, according to a new study. The study suggests that CKD should be added to the list of conditions that are associated with weight gain, including diabetes and hypertension.  |
| New Study Raises Concerns About Proposed Mitigation Strategy For Marine Bycatch Posted: 24 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Huge numbers of fish, seabirds, and other marine animals are routinely killed and discarded after being inadvertently caught during fishing operations. Known as marine bycatch, this problem is an ongoing challenge to the fishing industry, regulatory agencies, and conservationists. One recent proposal would compensate for bycatch by reducing other impacts on affected species, but a new analysis suggests that this strategy could end up doing more harm than good.  |
| Many ALS Patients Have High Quality Of Life, Studies Find Posted: 24 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis experience an astonishingly high quality of life. This disease leads to progressive muscular weakness and the clinical course is always fatal. In spite of the continuously increasing loss of control, new studies have shown that many ALS patients are satisfied with their lives.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Latest Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner |
Inbox too full?  Subscribe to the feed version of ScienceDaily: Latest Science News in a feed reader. | |
| If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News, c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment