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| Inner Workings Of The Immune System Filmed Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Forget what's number one at the box office this week. The most exciting new film features the intricate workings of the body, filmed by scientists using ground-breaking technology.  |
| New Mouse Model Of Prion Disease: Mutant Proteins Result In Infectious Prion Disease In Mice Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Scientists have created an infectious prion disease in a mouse model, in a step that may help unravel the mystery of this progressive disease that affects the nervous system in humans and animals.  |
| 'Zinc Zipper' Plays Key Role In Hospital-acquired Infections Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Scientists are exploring a "zinc zipper" that holds bacterial cells together and plays a key role in hospital-acquired infections.  |
| Scientists Prove Endothelial Cells Give Rise To Blood Stem Cells Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Stem cell researchers have proven definitively that blood stem cells are made during mid-gestational embryonic development by endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of blood vessels.  |
| Dry Winter Weather Results In Highest Particulate Pollution Levels From Traffic Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Dry winter weather and low level mixing of pollutants from vehicle exhausts in cities leads to the highest concentrations of the tiny soot particles, known as PM10 particles, according to an article in the International Journal of Environment and Pollution. These findings suggest that traffic controls, other than an outright ban for several days at a time, would have little effect on levels.  |
| Past Religious Diversity And Intolerance Have Profound Impact On Genetics Of Iberian People Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST New research suggests that relatively recent events had a substantial impact on patterns of genetic diversity in the southwest region of Europe. The study shows that geographical patterns of ancestry appear to have been influenced by religious conversions of both Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula.  |
| Poor Children's Brain Activity Resembles That Of Stroke Victims, EEG Shows Posted: 06 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST Prefrontal cortex activity in children from low socioeconomic levels is lower than in similar children from well-off families. The brain differences, documented through EEGs, are dramatic: the prefrontal cortexes of poor kids 9 and 10 years of age react to novel stimuli in the same way as the brain of a stroke victim. The researchers believe this is fixable, however.  |
| Secondhand Smoke Raises Odds Of Fertility Problems In Women Posted: 06 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST If you need another reason to quit smoking, consider that it may diminish your chances of being a parent or grandparent. Scientists have found that women exposed to second hand smoke, either as adults or children, were significantly more likely to face fertility problems and suffer miscarriages.  |
| Invasive Garden Ants As New Pest Insects In Europe Posted: 06 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST A new study illuminates where Lasius neglectus, a new ant that was discovered in 1990, comes from, how it organizes its supercolonies, and how it attained its pest status. The study provides a wake-up call for closer monitoring of urban ecosystems to eliminate infestations before they become problematic.  |
| Genetic Ancestry Of African-Americans Reveals New Insights About Gene Expression Posted: 06 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST The amount of proteins produced in cells -- a fundamental determinant of biological outcomes collectively known as gene expression -- varies in African-American individuals depending on their proportion of African or European genetic ancestry.  |
| Biodiversity Hotspots Are Also Major Carbon Sinks Posted: 06 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST New research shows how reducing emissions from deforestation can not only assist in combating climate change but can also help the conservation of biodiversity, from amphibians and birds to primates. Close to 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are a result of deforestation.  |
| Vitreous Humor In The Eye Helps To Establish Time Of Death Posted: 06 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST Scientists have proposed a new method to estimate the approximate time of death. This is based on the analysis of several substances from the vitreous humor of the eye of cadavers, according to an article published in the journal Statistics in Medicine. Using this system, scientists have developed a piece of software that makes it possible to establish precisely the post mortem interval (PMI), information that will make the work of the police and the courts of justice easier.  |
| Decline Of Roman And Byzantine Empires 1,400 Years Ago May Have Been Driven By Climate Change Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST The decline of the Roman and Byzantine Empires in the Eastern Mediterranean more than 1,400 years ago may have been driven by unfavorable climate changes.  |
| Exploring Gene Therapy To Fight AIDS Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST The apparent success of a case in which German doctors cured a man of AIDS using a bone marrow transplant comes as no surprise to a UC Davis stem cell researcher. He has been working for more than 10 years on a similar cure for AIDS based on replacing the devastated immune system of an HIV-infected patient with stem cells that have been engineered to resist human immunodeficiency syndrome.  |
| Technique To Differentiate Between Original And Bootleg CDs Developed Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST A group of scientists has developed a new optical technique which permits to know if a Compact Disc (CD) is original or a copy. This new technique is economical, fast and effective, and allows to detect illegal CD copies.  |
| Fractional Dose Of Scarce Meningitis Vaccine May Be Effective In Outbreak Control Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST A partial dose of a commonly used vaccine against meningitis may be as effective as a full dose, according to new research. Fractional dosing would enable large-scale vaccination campaigns during epidemics, especially at a time of global vaccine shortages.  |
| Human Approach To Computer Processing Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST A more human approach to processing raw data could change the way that computers deal with information, according to academics.  |
| Depression Rife Among Medical Students Posted: 06 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST Medical students frequently suffer from depression, especially during their internship years. Affective symptoms represent the core symptoms of a depressive mood, based on students' reported levels of sadness, dissatisfaction, episodes of crying, irritability and social withdrawal. The cognitive cluster assessed pessimism, sense of failure or guilt, expectation of punishment, dislike of self, suicidal ideation, indecisiveness and change in body image. Finally, the somatic cluster assessed the presence of slowness, insomnia, fatigue, loss of weight and loss of sexual interest.  |
| Happiness Is 'Infectious' In Network Of Friends: Collective -- Not Just Individual -- Phenomenon Posted: 05 Dec 2008 08:00 PM PST Happiness spreads through social networks like an emotional contagion, according to a study that looked at nearly 5,000 individuals over a period of 20 years. When an individual becomes happy, the network effect can be measured up to three degrees. One person's happiness triggers a chain reaction that benefits not only his friends, but his friends' friends, and his friends' friends' friends. The effect lasts for up to one year. Conversely, sadness does not spread through social networks as robustly as happiness.  |
| Escape Cancer, But Age Sooner? The Dark Side Of The Tumor Suppressing Process Posted: 05 Dec 2008 08:00 PM PST Cells shut down and stop dividing when their DNA is damaged so as to prevent damaged DNA from leading to unregulated cell division and therefore cancer. However, a new study has found that when these cells shut down they also spew proteins into their surrounding environment. This causes inflammation and sets up conditions that support the development of age-related diseases including, ironically, cancer.  |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2008 08:00 PM PST Most plastics are based on petroleum. A bio-plastic that consists of one hundred percent renewable raw materials helps to conserve this resource. Researchers have now optimized the plastic in such a way that it is even suitable for products such as Nativity figurines.  |
| New Study Identifies Link Between Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers In Healthy Adults Posted: 05 Dec 2008 08:00 PM PST A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease provides an insight into normal, physiological levels and association between proteins involved in development of Alzheimer's disease. A group of scientists and physicians performed a study in cognitively normal and generally healthy adults, from young to old (age range 21-88 years), of both genders, measuring levels of different brain-derived molecules associated with AD.  |
| New Approach Eliminates Software Deadlocks Using Discrete Control Theory Posted: 05 Dec 2008 08:00 PM PST Software deadlocks are the catch-22s of the computer world. These common bugs can freeze the machine when different parts of a program end up in an endless cycle of waiting for one another as they access shared data.  |
| Cardiovascular Disease Causing Increasing Inequity Between Rich And Poor, Study Finds Posted: 05 Dec 2008 08:00 PM PST A new paper is warning a cardiovascular disease based epidemic is gaining pace among many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), exemplified at its worst in the world's largest populated countries -- China and India. Preventive cardiovascular treatments that are widely available in high income countries are not yet widely accessed in LMIC, contributing to an escalating inequality in health status between rich and poor.  |
| Virtual Faces Created With Emotions, Moods And Personality Posted: 05 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Computer scientists developed a computer model that enables the creation of faces which for the first time display emotions and moods according to personality traits.  |
| Extraordinary Immune Cells May Hold The Key To Managing HIV Posted: 05 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST People who manage to control HIV on their own are providing scientists with valuable information about how the immune system eliminates virus-infected cells. A new study identifies specific characteristics of the immune cells that successfully destroy HIV-infected cells and may drive strategies for developing the next generation of HIV vaccines and therapies.  |
| NASA's Swift Looks To Comets For A Cool View Posted: 05 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Explorer satellite rocketed into space in 2004 on a mission to study some of the highest-energy events in the universe. The spacecraft has detected more than 380 gamma-ray bursts, fleeting flares that likely signal the birth of a black hole in the distant universe. In that time, Swift also has observed 80 exploding stars and studied six comets.  |
| Maternal Exposure To Folic Acid Antagonists Increases Risks Of Certain Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Posted: 05 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Exposure to folic acid antagonists during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of placenta-mediated adverse outcomes such as preeclampsia, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction or fetal death reports a retrospective cohort study.  |
| Shrinking Glaciers Reveal Hidden Forests And A Warmer Climate Posted: 05 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Uniquely old tree remains have recently been uncovered by the thawing of the rapidly shrinking Kårsa Glacier west of Abisko in Lapland, in northernmost Sweden. The finds show that in the last 7,000 years it has probably never been so warm as during the last century.  |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects as many as one in five of all Americans who survive a harrowing experience like rape, assault, war or terrorism. It has emotionally paralyzed survivors of 9/11 and broken up survivors' families. There is no broadly accepted treatment that can lower the chance of developing the disorder, but thanks to new research, a medical means of preventing PTSD may be just around the corner.  |
| Venus Comes To Life At Wavelengths Invisible To Human Eyes Posted: 05 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST A pale yellow-green dot to the human eye, Earth's twin planet comes to life in the ultraviolet and the infrared. New images taken by instruments on board ESA's Venus Express provide insight into the turbulent atmosphere of our neighboring planet.  |
| New Screening Tool To Identify Patients With Prediabetes Posted: 05 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST Scientists have created a clinical tool to identify those at highest risk for having undetected hyperglycemia, impaired fasting glucose and undiagnosed diabetes. If these conditions are identified early, patients may benefit from preventative strategies that can minimize progression to diabetes, other diseases and mortality.  |
| Posted: 05 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST Research carried out at MIT's Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away. Fusion, the reaction that produces the sun's energy, is thought to have enormous potential for future power generation because fusion plant operation produces no emissions, fuel sources are potentially abundant, and it produces relatively little (and short-lived) radioactive waste. But it still faces great hurdles.  |
| Researchers Identify Cell Group Key To Lyme Disease Arthritis Posted: 05 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST A research team has illuminated the important role of natural killer T cells in Lyme disease, demonstrating that the once little understood white blood cells are central to clearing the bacterial infection and reducing the intensity and duration of arthritis associated with Lyme disease.  |
| Exposure To Second-Hand Smoke Reduced In New Estimate Posted: 05 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST As the connection between second-hand smoke and coronary heart disease (CHD) became clearer and legislation was passed to reduce such passive smoking, exposures have been reduced. Researchers have recalibrated the CHD Policy Model to better predict future trends in CHD.  |
| Satellites Flying In Formation To Help Improve Understanding Of Earth Posted: 05 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST Based on the outstanding success of the first tandem mission between ERS-2 and Envisat last year, ESA has paired the two satellites together again to help improve our understanding of the planet.  |
| Subtitles Do Not Guarantee Hearing-impaired Viewers A Total Comprehension Of Television Messages Posted: 05 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST Researchers have studied the level of comprehension of subtitled television programs by groups of students who have a severe or profound hearing impairment. The results demonstrate that deaf children and adolescents have difficulties in following subtitles and images together, due to the speed at which the subtitles appear and the literal transcription of the dialogues.  |
| Mobile Phones Affect Memory In Laboratory Animals, Swedish Study Finds Posted: 05 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST Can radiation from cell phones affect memory? Yes -- at least it appears to do so in one series of rat experiments conducted in Sweden. Researchers studied rats that were exposed to mobile phone radiation for two hours a week for more than a year. These rats had poorer results on a memory test than rats that had not been exposed to radiation.  |
| Blood Scanner Detects Even Faint Indicators Of Cancer Posted: 05 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST Researchers have developed a prototype blood scanner that can find cancer markers in the bloodstream in early stages of the disease, potentially allowing for earlier treatment and dramatically improved chances of survival. The system based on MagArray biodetection chips can find cancer-associated proteins in a blood serum sample in less than an hour, and with much greater sensitivity than existing commercial devices.  |
| New Population Of Extremely Rare Snub-Nosed Monkey Discovered Posted: 05 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST A new population of the extremely rare Tonkin snub-nosed monkey, so-called because of its unusual and distinctive up-turned nose, has recently been discovered in a remote forested area of northern Vietnam.  |
| Dormant Stem Cells For Emergencies Posted: 05 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST A small group of stem cells in the bone marrow remains dormant almost throughout life. Only in case of injury or blood loss do they awaken and become active. Then they start dividing immediately to make up for the loss of blood cells. The possibility of specifically waking up these dormant stem cells opens up new prospects for cancer treatment.  |
| Engineers Work To Make Historic Buildings Safer During Strong Earthquakes Posted: 05 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST Recent simulated earthquake tests conducted by engineers are expected to lead to retrofit schemes that make historic buildings safer.  |
| Link Between Tobacco Smoke And Behavioral Problems In Boys With Asthma Strengthened With New Study Posted: 05 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST Boys with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems, according to researchers. The researchers said behavioral problems increase along with higher exposure levels, but they added even low levels of tobacco smoke may be detrimental to behavior.  |
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