| |
UF
scientists reveal how dietary restriction cleans cells
Reduce, recycle and rebuild is as important to the most basic
component of the human body, the cell, as it is to the environment.
And a University of Florida study shows just how much the body
benefits when it “goes green,” at least if you’re a rat: Cutting
calories helps rodents live longer by boosting cells’ ability to
recycle damaged parts so they can maintain efficient energy
production.
Genetic
phonetics could be the trick to sounding out DNA’s meaning
| Most modern attempts to decipher how
portions of genetic code are translated into physical
characteristics are akin to a first-grader trying to sound out a
word letter by letter — or, in this case, base pair by base
pair. |
Engineers
perfecting hydrogen-generating technology
Researchers at Purdue University have
further developed a technology that could represent a
pollution-free energy source for a range of potential
applications, from golf carts to submarines and cars to
emergency portable generators
|
Arsenic
imports for lumber plunge; UF Center sets sights on disposal
Research supported by the University of Florida helped prompt the
treated wood industry to abandon a once common but potentially
harmful wood preservative from lumber in residential construction.
New statistics show that since this change in 2004, imports of
arsenic, a toxic metal used in the wood-treating chemical chromated
copper arsenate, have plunged.
Molecular
detectors may refine cancer treatment
University of Florida
researchers have successfully used molecular probes to detect subtle
differences in leukemia cells from patient samples, an achievement
that could lead to more effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer.
The strategy, described in a recent issue of Clinical Chemistry,
involves engineering short, single strands of DNA or RNA called
aptamers to seek out and bind with specific proteins in body fluids.
The future
of medicine: Insert chip, cure disease?
Imagine a chip, strategically
placed in the brain, that could prevent epileptic seizures or allow
someone who has lost a limb to control an artificial arm just by
thinking about it. It may sound like science fiction, but University
of Florida researchers are developing devices that can interpret
signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly,
Initiative
to Improve Heart Failure Care at Nation’s Hospitals Makes Major
Gains, According to UCLA Study
A national
initiative designed to improve heart-failure patient care in
hospitals proved effective at increasing hospital's adherence to key
quality-of-care performance measures and reducing the length of
hospital stays for patients.
U
of M Researchers Discover New Method to Combat HIV
Researchers at the
University of Minnesota’s Center for Drug Design have developed
a new method to combat HIV/AIDS, potentially replacing the
traditional cocktail drug approach. The new approach – proven
accurate in lab tests – merges the features of two antiviral agents
into one drug, achieving the same effect as when two or more drugs
are taken separately
Smoking
interferes with thinking and memory in recovering alcoholics
After six to nine months of abstinence from alcohol, recovering
alcoholics who were also chronic smokers showed a significantly
lower rate of improvement in tests of memory, reasoning, judgment,
and visual/spatial coordination than non-smoking recovering
alcoholics in a study conducted by researchers at the San Francisco
VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).
UCLA Study
First to Show Autistic Brains Can Be Trained to Recognize Visual and
Vocal Cues
To understand the meaning of a conversation, kids
automatically do what adults do —besides processing the meaning of
words, they unconsciously "read" the expression on a person's face
and listen to their tone of voice, then integrate that information
with the context at hand to discern meaning, be it humor, anger,
irony or straightforwardness.
Wake Forest
study investigates 'divorce' among Galapagos seabirds
Being a devoted husband and father is not enough to keep an avian
marriage together for the Nazca booby, a long-lived seabird found in
the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador
Turn off TV
to teach toddlers new words, says Wake Forest study
Toddlers learn their first words better from people than from
Teletubbies, according to new research at Wake Forest University.
The study was published in the June 21 issue of Media Psychology.
Children younger than 22 months may be entertained, but they do
not learn words from the television program, said Marina Krcmar,
associate professor of communication at Wake Forest and author of
the study.
UCLA
Scientists Combine Chopin and Molecular Biology, Converting Protein
Sequences Into Classical Music
Breakdown of
Myelin Implicated in Alzheimer’s, UCLA Research Shows
Wisdom comes
with age (doesn't it?), but not without a process that takes place
in the brain called myelination. Myelin is the fatty sheath that
coats the axons of the nerves, allowing for efficient conduction of
nerve impulses. It is key to the fast processing speeds that
underlie our higher cognitive functioning, including, yes, wisdom.
UCLA AIDS
Institute Researchers Find a Peptide That Encourages HIV Infection
UCLA AIDS
Institute researchers have discovered that when a crucial portion of
a peptide structure in monkeys that defends against viruses,
bacteria and other foreign invaders is reversed, the peptide
actually encourages infection with HIV.
Program could
ease treatment decisions for prostate cancer patients
A Web-based program that
provides prostate cancer patients with information about different
treatment approaches may make deciding which path to follow a little
easier, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
Smokeless
cannabis delivery device found efficient and less toxic
A smokeless cannabis-vaporizing device delivers the same level of
active therapeutic chemical and produces the same biological effect
as smoking cannabis, but without the harmful toxins, according to
UCSF researchers.
For the first time, MIT researchers have found a way to measure
the mass of single cells with high accuracy.
The new technique, which is based on a micromechanical detector,
could allow researchers to develop inexpensive, portable diagnostic
devices and might also offer a unique glimpse into how cells change
as they undergo cell division.
MOUSE 'MODEL'
OF SARCOMA SHOULD SPEED EFFORTS TO DEVELOP NEW TREATMENT
University of Utah geneticists have engineered mice that can develop
synovial sarcoma - a significant early step toward developing new
treatments for the aggressive, deadly cancer that most often kills
teenagers and young adults.
The genetically engineered, cancer-stricken mice were used to
determine that synovial sarcoma develops in muscle cell precursors
known as myoblasts, the researchers report in the April issue of the
journal Cancer Cell, which features the study on its cover.
Misclassified
for Centuries, Medicinal Leeches Found to Be Three Distinct Species
EARLY SEX MAY
LEAD TEENS TO DELINQUENCY, STUDY SHOWS
Teens who start having sex significantly earlier than their peers
also show higher rates of delinquency in later years, new research
shows.
A national study of more than 7,000 youth found that adolescents
who had sex early showed a 20 percent increase in delinquent acts
one year later compared to those whose first sexual experience
occurred at the average age for their school
Inflammation
May Play Role in Metastasis of Prostate Cancer
Many would
assume that “mounting an immune response” or “having your body fight
the cancer” is a good thing. Now, research at the University of
California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine strongly suggests
that inflammation associated with the progression of tumors actually
plays a key role in the metastasis of prostate cancer.
Bacterial
Virus Gene Confers Disease Resistance in Tall Fescue Grass
New
Cigarettes Designs Don't Offer Lower Predicted Cancer Risks
The tobacco
company's description of its new cigarette brand seems to promise a
lot.
"May present less risk of cancer associated with smoking," the
company boasts on its Web site, making it a natural choice "for
smokers who have decided not to quit, but who are interested in a
cigarette that responds to concerns about certain smoking-related
illnesses, including cancer." Another tobacco firm, in a print ad
for the brand, has crowed "All of the taste ... Less of the toxins."
PUT ON A
HAPPY FACE:: HAPPY DIGITAL CHARACTERS SELL PRODUCTS BETTER THAN SAD
ONES
Eavesdropping
nuthatches distinguish danger threats in chickadee alarm calls
If Dr. John Watson had been chronicling
the work of Christopher Templeton rather than the exploits of
Sherlock Holmes, he might have entitled the latest research by
Templeton "The Adventure of the Avian Eavesdroppers."
UI Studies
Reactions To 'False-Positive' Prostate Cancer Screenings
Men
who get a "false-positive" prostate cancer result -- an abnormal
screening test followed by a biopsy indicating no evidence of cancer
-- appear more likely to worry about their subsequent risk of cancer
and report more problems with sexual function compared to men with
normal screening results, according to a University of Iowa study.
Why
‘wanting’ and ‘liking’ something simultaneously is overwhelming
Wanting and liking are separate urges controlled
by different brain circuits and when combined at once, the impact on
the brain is especially powerful, according to University of
Michigan research.
The U-M study reports that the brain divides
wanting and liking into separate circuits for the same sweet reward.
Rensselaer
Researchers Create World’s First Ideal Anti-Reflection Coating
A team of researchers from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute has created the world’s first material that
reflects virtually no light. Reporting in the March issue of
Nature Photonics, they describe an optical coating made from
the material that enables vastly improved control over the basic
properties of light. The research could open the door to much
brighter LEDs, more efficient solar cells, and a new class of
“smart” light sources that adjust to specific environments, among
many other potential applications
In the first genome-wide
search for the genetic roots of the most common form of amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS), Johns Hopkins scientists have newly
identified 34 unique variations in the human genetic code among 276
unrelated subjects with ALS.
A Johns Hopkins study
has proven false established medical practice that an antiretroviral
drug widely used to treat hepatitis B liver infections was safe to
use on its own in patients co-infected with HIV. Their findings
demonstrate that treatment with entecavir leads to cross-resistance
to other antiviral drugs used to treat the AIDS virus.
A Johns Hopkins-led
study has found evidence that a genetic tendency toward suicide has
been linked to a particular area of the genome on chromosome 2 that
has been implicated in two additional recent studies of attempted
suicide.
|
Advertisement
|
|
 |
New UCLA Imaging Method
Identifies People at Risk for Alzheimer's
Disease
UCLA researchers using innovative brain-scan
technology have shown that the abnormal brain protein deposits that
define Alzheimer's disease can be detected in mild cognitive
impairment — a condition that increases the risk for developing
Alzheimer's and affects 15 to 20 million Americans. The study will
be published in the Dec. 21 issue of The New England Journal of
Medicine
Durable
critters providing insight for human egg preservation
A tiny, six-legged critter that suspends all biological activity when the going gets tough may hold answers to a better way to cryopreserve human eggs, researchers say.
Tardigrades, also called water bears, can survive Himalayan heights or ocean depths as long as they have moisture.
When they don’t, they produce a sugar, trehalose, slowly dehydrate and essentially cease functioning until the rain comes, says Dr. Ali Eroglu, reproductive biologist and cryobiologist at the Medical College of Georgia.
Exercise appears to improve brain function among younger people
 As an expanding body of work continues to confirm links between exercise and improved brain function in older adults, a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam suggests similar improvements among younger populations as well.
Study finds gender differences related to eating and body image
Researchers have discovered a subtle new difference between men and women – this one occurring in the realm of eating.
In the new study of observed eating behavior in a social setting, young men and women who perceived their bodies as being less than “ideal” ate differing amounts of food after they were shown images of “ideal-bodied” people of their own gender.
Lead researcher Kristen Harrison found that “in the presence of same-gender peers, certain women eat less and certain men eat more following exposure to ideal-body images – ‘certain’ in this case referring to women and men who have discrepancies between their actual body and the kind of body they think their peers idealize,” Harrison said.
Researchers study role of natural organic matter in environment
The decomposition of plant, animal and microbial material in soil and water produces a variety of complex organic molecules, collectively called natural organic matter. These compounds play many important roles in the environment.
By studying the molecular mechanisms responsible for the complex behavior of natural organic matter, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are finding new ways to prevent the compounds from fouling water purification and desalination facilities.
Natural organic matter is ubiquitous in soils, waters and sediments. In agriculture, natural organic matter is important because of its positive effects on the structure, water retention and nutrient properties of soils.
U.Va. Researcher Finds High-Quality Marriages Help to Calm Nerves
A University of Virginia neuroscientist has found that women under stress who hold their husbands' hands show signs of immediate relief, which can clearly be seen on their brain scans.
"This is the first study of the neurological reactions to human touch in a threatening situation, and the first study to measure how the brain facilitates the health-enhancing properties of close social relationships," says Dr. James A. Coan, author of the study, which is published in the December 2006 issue of the journal Psychological Science.
Recharging your laptop computer, your cell phone and a variety of other gadgets may one day be as convenient as surfing the web--wirelessly.
Marin Soljacic, an assistant professor in MIT's Department of Physics and Research Laboratory of Electronics, will describe his and his MIT colleagues' research on that wireless future on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the American Institute of Physics Industrial Physics Forum in San Francisco.
Today’s Seawater Is Tomorrow’s Drinking Water: UCLA Engineers Develop Revolutionary Nanotech Water Desalination Membrane
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science today announced they have developed a new reverse osmosis (RO) membrane that promises to reduce the cost of seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation.
Fighting HIV With HIV: New Gene Therapy Vector Shows Promise in Penn HIV Study
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine report the first clinical test of a new gene therapy based on a disabled AIDS virus carrying genetic material that inhibits HIV replication. For the first application of the new vector five subjects with chronic HIV infection who had failed to respond to at least two antiretroviral regimens were given a single infusion of their own immune cells that had been genetically modified for HIV resistance.
An AIDS-Related Virus Tricks Cells to Become Tumors, New Penn Study Finds
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) subverts a normal cell process in order to promote tumor growth. The finding, published in the most recent issue of PLoS Pathogens, offers new potential strategies for treating Kaposi’s sarcoma and other cancers associated with viruses.
KSHV is an opportunistic pathogen that rarely affects individuals with normal immune systems. However, HIV/AIDS patients and those who are immune suppressed such as organ transplant patients are at high risk for developing Kaposi’s sarcoma and another cancer called primary effusion lymphoma.
| Researchers To Develop Active Nanoscale Surfaces for Biological Separations |
|
|
|
First quantum grant to fund stem cell repair of damage from stroke |
|
A team of researchers has received a four-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study improved methods for biological separations. Led by Ravi Kane, the Merck Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the group plans to develop nanoscale surfaces that actively reassemble in the presence of DNA, which could eventually lead to more efficient separation tools for genomics and proteomics. more
|
|
|
|
The National Institutes of Health has named researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Rice University in Houston as the first and only recipients of the inaugural Quantum Grant for their international research initiative to regenerate damaged brain cells and blood vessels for the treatment of stroke.
The three-year, $2.9 million grant, funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the NIH, will support research on neuro-vascular regeneration, which will make new brain tissues in the laboratory. more
|
|
Fisheries linked to decline in Galapagos waved albatross population |
|
|
|
Leveling The Field For Babies With Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension |
| Fishermen caught and killed about 1 percent of the world’s waved albatrosses in a year, according to a new study by Wake Forest University biologists.
“If that happens every year, that is not sustainable,” said Jill Awkerman, more
|
|
|
|
If he can figure out which babies will be born unable to breathe properly, Dr. Stephen M. Black thinks he can help change that.
“When these kids are born, you have a short amount of time to intervene or you get brain damage,” says Dr. Black, cell and molecular physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia Vascular Biology Center more |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
