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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for March 10, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Researchers turn photons into work using DNA- New technology dramatically extends battery life for mobile devices
- Study explains why soggy skin gets wrinkly but does not dissolve
- New method for studying molecule reactions a breakthrough in organic chemistry
- A small quantum leap: New switching device could help build ultrafast quantum Internet
- Research reveals real-time working of the spliceosome
- Pitchers bean more batters in the heat of the summer
- Scientists find that non-native snakes are taking a toll on native birds
- Engineering students design a lock picking robot
- Faux trees convert CO2 to O2
- New model shows importance of feet, toes in body balance
- Google lets searchers sidestep unwanted websites
- Molecules work the day shift to protect the liver from accumulating fat
- Age affects us all
- Newly engineered protein has potential for new anti-inflamatory treatment
Space & Earth news
Half-time for the Mars500 mission
The Mars500 mission – a simulated mission to the red planet in which researchers from the Mainz University Medical Center in Germany are involved – has reached its half-way mark: After a 250-day virtual flight, the crew members recently landed on the virtual red planet and left the isolation container at the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in their space suits. Researchers from the Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have been involved in the Mars500 mission in an attempt to answer the question of how medical emergencies might be managed without external assistance. The group of researchers led by Professor Wolf Mann, M.D., Director of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head, and Neck Surgery - Plastic Surgery, and Professor Christian Werner, M.D., Director of the Department of Anesthesiology, has drawn positive interim results on the occasion of this virtual landing on Mars: The researchers assume that medical emergencies on a fut! ure trip to Mars could be mastered by providing crew members with targeted training.
North Atlantic oceanic currents play a greater role in the absorption of carbon than previously thought
The ocean traps carbon through two principal mechanisms: a biological pump and a physical pump linked to oceanic currents. A team of French researchers have managed to quantify the role of these two pumps in an area of the North Atlantic. Contrary to expectations, the physical pump in this region could be nearly 100 times more powerful on average than the biological pump. By pulling down masses of water cooled and enriched with carbon, ocean circulation thus plays a crucial role in deep carbon sequestration in the North Atlantic. These results are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
Latest eruption at Kilauea takes a breather
(AP) -- Kilauea volcano's latest eruption has decreased in activity and taken a breather from spewing out lava.
Color view from orbit shows mars rover beside crater
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has nearly completed its three-month examination of a crater informally named "Santa Maria," but before the rover resumes its overland trek, an orbiting camera has provided a color image of Opportunity beside Santa Maria.
Prolific NASA orbiter reaches five-year mark
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's versatile Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which began orbiting Mars five years ago tomorrow, March 10, has radically expanded our knowledge of the Red Planet and is now working overtime.
Celebrating 400 years of sunspot observations
(PhysOrg.com) -- In March of 1611, a German medical student named Johannes Fabricius left school at Leiden in Holland carrying several of the new-fangled telescopes that were beginning to appear in the Netherlands. He was off to visit his father – the well-known astronomer and astrologer David Fabricius who had had a heralded career working with Europe's celebrity astronomers, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler.
Going to Earth's core for climate insights
(PhysOrg.com) -- The latest evidence of the dominant role humans play in changing Earth's climate comes not from observations of Earth's ocean, atmosphere or land surface, but from deep within its molten core.
Rare observation of cosmic explosion
Gamma ray bursts, which are the most powerful bursts of radiation in the universe, have now been observed in direct connection with an exploding giant star - a supernova. Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen are among those who have studied the rare event. The results have been published in the scientific journal, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Lover's lane for birds found in Arctic
A new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society reveals the critical importance of western Arctic Alaska's Teshekpuk Lake region to tens of thousands of birds that breed in the area during the brief, but productive arctic summers, and makes clearer the case for permanent protection of the area.
Insights from oil spill air pollution study have applications beyond Gulf
During a special airborne mission to study the air-quality impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill last June, NOAA researchers discovered an important new mechanism by which air pollution particles form. Although predicted four years ago, this discovery now confirms the importance of this pollution mechanism and could change the way urban air quality is understood and predicted.
Technology news
Complementary technology could provide solution to our GPS vulnerability
The GNSS Interference, Detection and Monitoring Conference 2011 follows Tuesday's Royal Academy of Engineering report that set out the risks of GPS disruption from solar storms or illegal jamming and assessed what can be done to reduce impacts on society.
Smartphone sales to top 100 mn in Asia-Pacific: analyst
Sales of smartphones such as Apple's iPhone4 are set to top 100 million units for the first time this year in the Asia Pacific market -- excluding Japan, an industry analyst said Thursday.
Iowa State engineer studies damage caused by New Zealand earthquake
Iowa State University's Sri Sritharan is just back from studying the damage caused by the Feb. 22 earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand, and killed more than 160 people.
NEC demonstrates Terahertz camera for effective fire scene imaging
NEC Corporation, in cooperation with The University of Tokyo and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, announced today the successful demonstration of terahertz wave image measurement technologies that deliver superior results at fire scenes to conventional image measurement technologies that use visible light or infrared.
AOL cutting over 900 jobs in US, India
Internet company AOL is cutting more than 900 jobs as it joins forces with The Huffington Post and seeks to reinvent itself as a major player in online news.
Go-everywhere, do-everything phones usher in host of security concerns
Chances are you lock your door when you leave home, don't leave the keys in the ignition when you run into the 7-Eleven for milk and have at least some kind of security software on your computer. But what about your smart phone?
Samsung and LG in rare public battle about 3-D TV
South Korea's electronics giants are engaged in rare public mudslinging about whose 3-D television technology is better, as they battle for a greater share of a potentially huge global market.
Angry Birds developer bags 42 million-dollar investment
Rovio, the Finnish software company that unleashed the Angry Birds game on millions of mobile phone users, said Thursday it had raised a 42-million-dollar (30.4-million-euro) investment.
Wal-Mart expands online order pickup program
(AP) -- As competition grows from Amazon.com, Wal-Mart is battling back by expanding a program offering the convenience of shopping online along with same-day gratification.
YouTube growth sparks hiring binge
Google-owned YouTube said Thursday it plans to increase its staff by nearly a third in what will be the online video-sharing star's biggest hiring year.
Clean energy firms eye Hong Kong IPOs: report
Two Chinese clean energy firms are planning share sales in Hong Kong to raise a total of $1.1 billion as the country ramps up its use of renewable energy, a report has said.
Explained: Ad hoc networks
In recent years, many network scientists have turned their attention away from centralized networks — such as the Internet and the cell-phone network -- and toward ad hoc networks, wireless networks formed on the fly by, say, emergency responders fanning through a burning building, tiny sensors scattered on the slopes of a volcano to monitor its activity, or autonomous robots exploring a forbidding environment. “The problems are very tantalizing, they’re exciting to work on and they have an interesting mathematical structure,” says Nancy Lynch, NEC Professor of Software Science and Engineering. “All of traditional distributed-computing theory deals with wired-network algorithms, so those communication protocols have been studied for many years.”
Best 'sweet spots' on the backboard
According to Larry Hunter, the act of banking a basketball off the backboard and into the hoop is becoming a lost art.
Faux trees convert CO2 to O2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Air is one of the few things that you really cannot do without. At least if you want to continue to live. As the population of the earth gets bigger and bigger and increasing amounts of the globe become industrialized cityscape, the quality of air is a major environmental concern. Poor air quality can lead not only to increased instances of respiratory disease, but to global issues such as acid rain, as CO2 levels in the atmosphere rise.
Google lets searchers sidestep unwanted websites
Google on Tuesday began letting people sidestep unwanted websites by eliminating them from Internet search results.
Medicine & Health news
Study finds usage of, recommendations for supplements common within various physician specialties
For physicians within several medical specialties, including dermatology, cardiology and orthopedics, personal usage of and patient recommendations for dietary supplements are quite common, according to a study published in Nutrition Journal, a peer-reviewed, on-line journal that focuses on the field of human nutrition.
UK doctors consistently oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide
A review of research carried out over 20 years suggests that UK doctors appear to consistently oppose euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The findings - which appear in the latest issue of the journal Palliative Medicine, published by SAGE - highlight a gap between doctors' attitudes and those of the UK public.
Drug use increasingly associated with microbial infections
Illicit drug users are at increased risk of being exposed to microbial pathogens and are more susceptible to serious infections say physicians writing in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. The review, which aims to improve the microbiological diagnosis of drug use-related infections, assesses the role of drug related practices in the spread of a range of bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoal infections.
Japan reports sixth infant death after vaccination
Japan's health ministry on Thursday reported the death of a sixth infant who recently received vaccinations made by Pfizer or Sanofi-Aventis that have been suspended since last week.
New lupus drug results from Scripps Research technology
Scientific advances at The Scripps Research Institute were key to laying the foundation for the new drug Benlysta (belimumab), approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Benlysta, which treats the most common type of lupus, is the first in a new class of pharmaceuticals that prevents the body from attacking its own critical tissues.
Blackcurrant research reveals health benefits
New research shows blackcurrant extracts have a beneficial effect on gut health, reducing the activity of some metabolites of pathogenic bacteria that can cause colon cancer.
Benefits of exercise for arthritis sufferers
An estimated 50 million adults in the United States suffer from arthritis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the best ways to combat the onset of arthritis, control pain and improve function is through exercise.
Unique spinal fluid proteins found in chronic fatigue, lyme disease syndrome patients
Chronic fatigue syndrome knocks people down with a debilitating fatigue, but researchers have yet to identify an underlying cause. The difficulty in distinguishing CFS from nPTLS is a result of their shared features of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction. These shared features also create diagnostic dilemmas and impede research into understanding each individual syndrome.
The mammogram debate
When Mette Kalager published the results of her study of routine mammography screening in two Norwegian counties in September, controversy erupted.
Brain cell regrowth linked to benefits of exercise, sexual behaviors and reproductive issues
Two studies published by an interdisciplinary team of Hong Kong researchers in the current special issue of Cell Transplantation (20:1), now freely available on-line, link the regrowth of key adult brain cells (neurogenesis) in two critical areas of the brain to both the benefits of exercise as a stress reducer and also to sexual behavior and reproductive issues. The two studies reviewing the causes and impacts of neurogenesis came out of a recent Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cell Research held in Taichung, Taiwan.
'Probiotics and Health Claims'
The medical benefits of probiotics or 'friendly bacteria' are not new; thousands of years ago people drank sour milk as a cure for stomach complaints. Yet, as more and more probiotic products hit our shelves what is the scientific basis for their health benefit claims?
Referral to high-volume hospitals for operations fails to improve outcomes statewide
Referring patients to hospitals that have the largest volume of surgical procedures does not necessarily lead to improved outcomes for the overall population, according to the results of a new study in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
TGen Foundation launches 'globalCure,' targets pancreatic cancer
In an effort to improve treatment and one day find a cure for pancreatic cancer, the TGen Foundation today joined with key donors and community leaders to announce the creation of globalCure.
Researcher sends message to postmenopausal women: 'Increase yearly dental checkups'
Postmenopausal women have a new health message to hear. Two annual dental checkups aren't enough. Older women need more, according to research findings from the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and the Cleveland Clinic.
Study shows new treatment strategy effective for certain lung cancers
LSU oncologist Vince D. Cataldo, MD, is the lead author of a review article reporting two chemotherapy drugs now indicated for second and third-line therapy in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer are remarkably effective in treating a certain subset of these patients. Dr. Cataldo, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, practicing at LSU's Earl K. Long Medical Center and Hematology-Oncology Clinic in Baton Rouge, and his colleagues say these drugs should be considered as a first-line treatment in people who are known to carry an Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutation. The paper is published in the March 10, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Depression may increase the risk of kidney failure
Depression is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney failure in the future, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Approximately 10% of the US population will suffer from depression at some point during their lifetime.
Surgery without external scars is gaining traction
When Patricia Manrique was told she needed her gallbladder removed she immediately thought about the classroom full of children who rely on her to teach them tap and ballet each day. The Chicago Park District physical instructor needed a way to get the surgery performed without being laid up for weeks so she opted for an innovative minimally invasive procedure called Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) that would allow surgeons to perform organ removal surgery without any visible incisions and have her back on her feet the same day. Northwestern Medicine physicians were among the first in the U.S. to perform several types of the procedure and are leading the charge in organ removal through the mouth or vagina.
Researchers identify molecule that increases blood flow in vascular disease
Circulating through the bloodstream of every human being is a rare and powerful type of cell, one that can actually create new blood vessels to bypass blockages that cause heart attacks and peripheral artery disease. Though everyone has these cells – called endothelial progenitor cells – they are often dysfunctional in people prone to vascular disease.
Study provides explanation for connection between low birth weight and obesity later in life
Providing further understanding of the link between low birth weights and obesity later in life, researchers found nutritionally deprived newborns are "programmed" to eat more because they develop less neurons in the region of the brain that controls food intake, according to an article published today in the journal, Brain Research.
Study finds some patients with cerebral palsy have asymmetric pelvic bones
Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers have discovered that most children with severe cerebral palsy have starkly asymmetric pelvic bones. The newly identified misalignment can affect how surgeries of the pelvis, spine and surrounding structures are performed, the researchers say.
FDA approves first new drug for lupus in 56 years
(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first new drug to treat lupus in over 50 years, a milestone that medical experts say could prompt development of other drugs that are even more effective in treating the debilitating immune system disorder.
Newly discovered role for enzyme in neurodegenerative diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are partly attributable to brain inflammation. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now demonstrate in a paper published in Nature that a well-known family of enzymes can prevent the inflammation and thus constitute a potential target for drugs.
New clues to help patients with immune deficiency disease
Infection researchers at Umea University have uncovered a new disease mechanism in patients with Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) in an international clinical collaboration with the Children's Hospital in Zurich. Their new findings are published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Discrimination linked to increase in toxic abdominal fat
A new study by the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) finds that middle-aged women who reported frequent instances of discrimination had significantly higher levels of one of the most toxic forms of fat-visceral, invisible fat — making them more susceptible to a range of chronic conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. The study appears online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Drug reduces gum disease, risk of osteoporosis, heart disease in women
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research has shown that a federally approved pharmaceutical for treating periodontal disease also significantly reduces risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.
Acquisition of robotic technology leads to increased rates of prostate cancer surgery
A new study conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and Yale School of Medicine shows that when hospitals acquire surgical robotic technology, men in that region are more likely to have prostate cancer surgery. The study, "The Association between Diffusion of the Surgical Robot and Radical Prostatectomy Rates", was published this week in the online edition of the journal Medical Care.
Trapping prostate cancer cells to keep them from spreading provides hope
When prostate cancer stem cells (CSCs) were enclosed in self-assembling nanomaterials made of peptides (SAP), the SAP stopped cancer stem cell colony formation and also stopped the division of cancer cells in laboratory cultures (in vitro). According to the international team of researchers who built and tested the nano-sized traps and published their results in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:1), which is freely available on-line, the cancer cells grew and multiplied after they were "liberated" from their SAP prisons.
WHO's response to swine flu pandemic flawed
(AP) -- An expert panel commissioned by the World Health Organization to investigate its handling of the swine flu pandemic has slammed mistakes made by the U.N. body and warned tens of millions could die if there is a severe flu outbreak in the future.
Alcohol has stronger impact on gastric bypass patients, study finds
Patients who have had a gastric bypass operation take longer to process alcohol, potentially leading some of them to overindulge when drinking, according to the results of a new study in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Erectile dysfunction drug improves exercise tolerance in young people with congenital heart disease
Sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, has another possible use -- helping children and young adults with congenital heart disease to better tolerate exercise. Sildenafil significantly improved measures of exercise performance during stress testing in patients with single-ventricle heart disease, according to researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Ranks of cancer survivors growing fast, CDC says
(AP) -- The number of cancer survivors in the United States is increasing by hundreds of thousands a year, and now includes roughly one in 20 adults, health officials said Thursday.
New robot system to test 10,000 chemicals for toxicity (w/ Video)
Several federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, today unveiled a new high-speed robot screening system that will test 10,000 different chemicals for potential toxicity. The system marks the beginning of a new phase of an ongoing collaboration, referred to as Tox21, that is working to protect human health by improving how chemicals are tested in the United States.
Obama to bullying victims: I know what it's like
(AP) -- President Barack Obama smiled when he said his large ears and funny name once made him a target of school-yard harassment. But he was all seriousness Thursday when he told a White House conference on bullying that torment and intimidation must not be tolerated.
Stem cells may provide treatment for brain injuries
Stem cells derived from a patient's own bone marrow were safely used in pediatric patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to results of a Phase I clinical trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The results were published in this month's issue of Neurosurgery, the journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
New gene sites affecting nonalcoholic fatty liver disease discovered
NAFLD is a condition where fat accumulates in the liver (steatosis) and can lead to liver inflammation (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH) and permanent liver damage (fibrosis/cirrhosis). NAFLD affects anywhere from 11% to 45% of some populations and is associated with obesity, hypertension, and problems regulating serum lipids or glucose.
Grab the leash: Dog walkers more likely to reach exercise benchmarks
Man's best friend may provide more than just faithful companionship: A new study led by a Michigan State University researcher shows people who owned and walked their dogs were 34 percent more likely to meet federal benchmarks on physical activity.
Beat it: how the brain perceives rhythm
(PhysOrg.com) -- The brain uses distinct timing mechanisms to measure the duration between the intervals in a sequence of sounds, according to a study funded by the Wellcome Trust.Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL (University College London) and Newcastle University have found that distinct parts of the brain are involved in the these timing mechanisms.
Mechanism for repairing bladder infection damage identified
(PhysOrg.com) -- The bladder is a supple, muscular organ with a well-defined task: Store urine and release it at an appropriate time. Unlike its workhorse neighbor, the intestine, it doesn’t need a lot of fussy cell division to get the job done. But when the bladder becomes infected, it launches a massive, scorched-earth attack, sloughing off the innermost layer of cells to keep invading bacteria from latching on to and burrowing into its inner lining.
A glove on your hand can change your mind
Unconsciously, right-handers associate good with the right side of space and bad with the left. But this association can be rapidly changed, according to a study published online March 9, 2011 in Psychological Science, by Daniel Casasanto (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics) and Evangelia Chrysikou (University of Pennsylvania). Even a few minutes of using the left hand more fluently than the right can reverse right-handers' judgments of good and bad, making them think that the left is the 'right side' of space. Conceptions of good and bad are rooted in people's bodily experiences, and change when patterns of bodily experience change.
Pitchers bean more batters in the heat of the summer
(PhysOrg.com) -- During spring training, you will find Major League pitchers practicing their pitches, perfecting their technique and strengthening their muscles to endure the grueling 162 game season. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that hurlers might also consider the effect these sweltering months could have on their brains.
Molecules work the day shift to protect the liver from accumulating fat
The liver normally makes and stores fat, which is required in moderation for normal body function. However, if the process goes awry, excess fat in the liver can cause major liver damage. In fact, fatty liver is a leading cause of liver failure in the United States, and is often brought on by obesity and diabetes. In turn, the increasing prevalence of these diseases has brought with it an epidemic of liver disease.
Coffee drinking linked to reduced stroke risk in women
Drinking more than a cup of coffee a day was associated with a 22 percent to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with those who drank less, in a study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Scientists describe new model for neurodegeneration
A team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has developed a new model for how inherited genes contribute to a common but untreatable and incurable neurodegenerative disease. The disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, is the second most common cause of dementia before age 65, after Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers discover new details about medically important protein family
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined a new structure from a medically important superfamily of proteins. The structure should help instruct the design of a new kind of therapeutics for conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to inflammation.
Biology news
Civet 'cat' dung secret to Indonesia luxury coffee
Indonesia's self-proclaimed "King of Luwak", Gunawan Supriadi, is having a hard time keeping up with demand for the beans excreted by his stable of pampered civet "cats".
Scientists develop high-tech crop map
AgroAtlas is a new interactive website that shows the geographic distributions of 100 crops; 640 species of crop diseases, pests, and weeds; and 560 wild crop relatives growing in Russia and neighboring countries. Downloadable maps and geographic information system (GIS) software are also available, allowing layering of data, such as that relating major wheat production areas to concentrations of Russian wheat aphids.
Earth's biodiversity: What do we know and where are we headed?
the number of microorganisms, plants, and animals, their genes, and their ecosystems (such as rainforests and grasslands)—is declining at an alarming rate, even faster than the last mass extinction 65 million years ago. In fact, two thirds of the terrestrial species that exist today are estimated to be extinct by the end of this century. Humans are an integral part of this extensive network of life. We depend on biodiversity for goods and services; we impact biodiversity via rapidly expanding human population growth, consumption of resources, and spread of disease; and we study biodiversity in order to understand, conserve, and protect it.
Tons of dead fish pulled from California marina
It could take a week - and the smell could get pretty bad - before crews manage to scoop and vacuum up tons of dead sardines from a Southern California marina.
UN alarmed at huge deline in bee numbers
The UN on Thursday expressed alarm at a huge decline in bee colonies under a multiple onslaught of pests and pollution, urging an international effort to save the pollinators that are vital for food crops.
American birds of prey at higher risk of poisoning from pest control chemicals
A new study by scientists from Maryland and Colorado using American kestrels, a surrogate test species for raptorial birds, suggests that they are at greater risk from poisoning from the rodenticide diphacinone than previous believed. The research, published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, considers the threat posed by diphacinone as its usage increases following restrictions on the use of similar pesticides.
Weed-eating fish 'key to reef survival'
Preserving an intact population of weed-eating fish may be vital to saving the world's coral reefs from being engulfed by weed as human and climate impacts grow.
Shallow-water shrimp tolerates deep-sea conditions
By studying the tolerance of marine invertebrates to a wide range of temperature and pressure, scientists are beginning to understand how shallow-water species could have colonised the ocean depths.
'Singing' mice -- the ongoing debate of nature vs. nurture
What happened to being "quiet as a mouse"? Researchers have recently shown that, rather than being the silent creatures of popular belief, mice emit ultrasonic calls in a variety of social contexts, and these calls have song-like characteristics. So if mice sing, where do they get their music? Are they born with the songs fully formed in their heads, or do they learn them from their peers? This question is of great interest to scientists as, while many organisms produce genetically regulated vocalizations, only a select few species (such as ourselves) can actually learn these vocalizations. If it turns out that mice can indeed learn new songs, it would provide a very convenient mammalian model of vocal learning.
Lasers, custom microscope show gene splicing process in real time
From neurosurgery to bar code readers, lasers have been used in a myriad of applications since they were first introduced in the late 1950's. Now, with the work being done in Jeff Gelles' Lab at Brandeis University, researchers have developed a way to use lasers to study the splicing of pre-messenger RNA molecules, an essential process in creating proteins to sustain advanced organisms, including human life. This process of splicing is carried out by a cellular micro-machine called the spliceosome.
Pollution forms an invisible barrier for marine life
Over 50 percent of the population in the United States and over 60 percent in the world live in coastal areas. Rapidly growing human populations near the ocean have massively altered coastal water ecosystems.
New model shows importance of feet, toes in body balance
Researchers are using a new model to learn more about how toe strength can determine how far people can lean while keeping their balance.
Scientists find that non-native snakes are taking a toll on native birds
The Everglades National Park in Florida is home to hundreds of species of native wildlife. It has also become the well-established home of the non-native Burmese python -- known to be a predator of native species. Now scientists, for the first time, have conducted a detailed analysis of the avian component of the python's diet and the negative impact the snakes may have on Florida's native birds, including some endangered species.
Research reveals real-time working of the spliceosome
Making a movie at the molecular level? A new method of imaging molecule-sized machines as they do the complex work of cutting and pasting genetic information inside the nucleus is the subject of a just-published paper in the journal Science, and the movies have revealed a surprise about how the process works.
Age affects us all
Humans aren't the only ones who grow old gracefully, says a new study of primate aging patterns. For a long time it was thought that humans, with our relatively long life spans and access to modern medicine, aged more slowly than other animals.
Newly engineered protein has potential for new anti-inflamatory treatment
Researchers from across multiple disciplines at NYU Langone Medical Center created a new protein molecule derived from the growth factor progranulin may provide the basis for new therapies in inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to a study published in the March 10, 2011 issue of Science.
Anthropologists link human uniqueness to hunter-gatherer group structure
One of the most complex human mysteries involves how and why we became an outlier species in terms of biological success.
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