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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for March 30, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Multiple groups claim to create first atom-thick silicon sheets- Noxious nanotech: Water-borne nanomaterials promote multidrug-resistance gene transfer
- Simulations unravel mysteries of 2009 Jupiter impact
- Honeycombs of magnets could lead to new type of computer processing
- When dark energy turned on (Update)
- Microprocessors from pencil lead
- Organic compounds found in proto-planetary disks
- Images capture split personality of dense suspensions
- Bend-it e-books get real with EPD in factory mode
- Declines in Caribbean coral reefs pre-date damage resulting from climate change
- Google plans low-price tablet computer
- Visa, MasterCard scramble after massive data breach
- Making mice comfy leads to better science, researcher says
- Biologists identify a key enzyme involved in protecting nerves from degeneration
- Fingerprints tell all: Progress in fingerprint analysis
Space & Earth news
Bangladesh plans to build its first satellite
(AP) -- An American firm will help Bangladesh design and launch the South Asian country's first satellite.
Nepal's whitewater rapids threatened by hydropower
The Bhote Koshi river rises in Tibet and cuts a mighty swathe through the Himalayas, carving out gorges as it tumbles into Nepal in a series of thundering rapids.
CODITA: measuring the cosmic dust swept up by the Earth
Although we think of space as being empty, there is more out there than meets the eye – dust, for example, is everywhere. If all the material between the Sun and Jupiter were compressed together it would form a moon 25 km across. Now a new research programme will try to see how much of this dust enters the Earth’s atmosphere. Metals from the cosmic dust play a part in various phenomena that affect our climate. An accurate estimate of dust would also help us understand how particles are transported through different layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. Professor John Plane of the University of Leeds will present the Cosmic Dust in the Terrestrial Atmosphere (CODITA) project on Friday 30 March at the National Astronomy Meeting in Manchester.
England needs 'twice normal rainfall' to overcome drought
Southern England needs twice as much rainfall over the summer than normal to get back to expected levels, climate scientists have calculated.
International scientific community issues first 'State of the Planet Declaration'
Scientists issued the first "State of the Planet" declaration at a major gathering of experts on global environmental and social issues in advance of the major UN Summit Rio+20 in June.
Total plans relief wells to stop North Sea gas leak
Total is preparing to sink two relief wells to stop a gas leak at a North Sea platform in parallel with a plugging operation, a senior company executive said Friday.
$7M spaceport runway extension OK'd
(AP) -- The nearly two-mile-long runway at Spaceport America in southern New Mexico will have to be extended to accommodate Virgin Galactic's sleek rocket-powered spacecraft, spaceport officials confirmed Thursday.
Nasa sees fields of green spring up in Saudi Arabia
(PhysOrg.com) -- Saudi Arabia is drilling for a resource possibly more precious than oil.
Checking CryoSat reveals rising Antarctic blue ice
Field measurements in the spectacular blue ice region of Antarctica not only provide confidence in the accuracy of ESA’s CryoSat mission, but have also shown that this part of the ice sheet has increased in height.
NASA fires up rocket sled hardware at China Lake
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA recently performed a trial run on a rocket sled test fixture, powered by rockets, to replicate the forces a supersonic spacecraft would experience prior to landing.
Some corals like it hot: Heat stress may help coral reefs survive climate change
A team of international scientists working in the central Pacific have discovered that coral which has survived heat stress in the past is more likely to survive it in the future.
Preventing home invasions means fighting side-by-side for coral-dwelling crabs and shrimp
As any comic book lover knows, when superheroes band together the bad guys fall harder. The strength that comes in numbers is greater than the sum of its parts.
NASA sees Typhoon Pakhar headed for Vietnam landfall
The first typhoon of the northern hemisphere 2012 typhoon season is headed for landfall in Vietnam. NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites have been providing forecasters with valuable data on Typhoon Pakhar, that includes rainfall rates, cloud extent and temperature.
Richard Branson headed to 'center of Earth'
British billionaire Richard Branson may have lost his race to the bottom of the ocean, but not his sense of humor, declaring Friday a faux plan to top his adventure rivals by voyaging to the center of the Earth.
Coral links ice to ancient 'mega flood'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Coral off Tahiti has linked the collapse of massive ice sheets 14,600 years ago to a dramatic and rapid rise in global sea-levels of around 14 metres.
Recycling galaxies caught in the act
(PhysOrg.com) -- When astronomers add up all the gas and dust contained in ordinary galaxies like our own Milky Way, they stumble on a puzzle: There is not nearly enough matter for stars to be born at the rates that are observed. Part of the solution might be a recycling of matter on gigantic scales – veritable galactic fountains of matter flowing out and then back into galaxies over multi-billion-year timescales.
Getting to know the Goldilocks planet
NASA's Kepler spacecraft is discovering a veritable avalanche of alien worlds. Recent finds include planets with double suns, massive "super-Earths" and "hot Jupiters," and a miniature solar system. The variety of planets circling distant suns is as wonderful as it is surprising.
Volcanic plumbing exposed
Two new studies into the "plumbing systems" that lie under volcanoes could bring scientists closer to predicting large eruptions.
Declines in Caribbean coral reefs pre-date damage resulting from climate change
The decline of Caribbean coral reefs has been linked to the recent effects of human-induced climate change. However, new research led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego suggests an even earlier cause. The bad news – humans are still to blame. The good news – relatively simple policy changes can hinder further coral reef decline.
Organic compounds found in proto-planetary disks
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study from scientists in the US has reported that organic compounds could be formed in proto-planetary disks, and could have seeded the development of life in our own and other planetary systems.
When dark energy turned on (Update)
Some six billion light years ago, almost halfway from now back to the big bang, the universe was undergoing an elemental change. Held back until then by the mutual gravitational attraction of all the matter it contained, the universe had been expanding ever more slowly. Then, as matter spread out and its density decreased, dark energy took over and expansion began to accelerate.
Simulations unravel mysteries of 2009 Jupiter impact
(PhysOrg.com) -- During July of 1994, both amateur and professional astronomers were captivated as comet Shoemaker/Levy 9 broke apart and slammed into the atmosphere of Jupiter. While these types of impacts are generally rare, a second impact event occurred fifteen years later in July of 2009. The object responsible for the 2009 impact was not directly observed, so astronomers could only make inferences about the object based on the disturbances in the Jovian atmosphere, as shown in the image above.
Technology news
Apple assembly line gets pay raise, fewer hours
(AP) -- Chinese workers who often spend more than 60 hours per week assembling iPhones and iPads will have their overtime hours curbed and their pay increased after a labor auditor hired by Apple Inc. inspected their factories.
The heat is on: New study of MIT buildings suggests additional approaches to energy efficiency
Many workplaces feature major changes in occupancy over the course of a week. In academic buildings, hundreds of students may pour in for a lecture, then leave an hour or two later, while faculty, researchers and staff can enter and exit in irregular patterns. In commercial structures, workers may come and go en masse during short time periods during the day. As a result, energy use in virtually all workspaces can rapidly become inefficient — too large or too small — in relation to the number of people inside.
Apple pledge likely to boost China factory wages
(AP) -- This week's pledge to trim work hours and effectively raise wages for the hardscrabble Chinese employees who assemble Apple's iPads and iPhones isn't likely to drive up the prices that consumers pay.
IPO market heats up, more startups going public
(AP) -- The IPO market is heating up. A growing economy and rising stock market are prompting more startups to go public, and investors appear hungry to invest.
Lost data may have exposed 800,000 people in Calif
(AP) -- A disaster preparedness exercise to ensure California's child support system could be run remotely went smoothly, except for one casualty: the names, Social Security numbers and other private records of about 800,000 adults and children.
Feds, 5 states to push for Great Lakes wind farms
(AP) -- The Obama administration and five states have reached an agreement to speed up approval of offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes, which have been delayed by cost concerns and public opposition.
China's mobile phone subscriptions top a billion
China said Friday it had broken the barrier of one billion mobile phone accounts at the end of February, as more people in the world's most populous country ditch fixed phones.
S. Korea's Hynix bids for Japan's Elpida
SK Hynix, the world's second largest microchip maker, said Friday it has submitted a preliminary bid for its struggling Japanese rival Elpida Memory.
SBU study finds informal awards contribute to higher Wikipedia participation
When Stony Brook University Sociology Professor Arnout van de Rijt and graduate student Michael Restivo decided to find out what makes Wikipedia work, they knew they faced quite a challenge. After all, neither monetary compensation nor formal work relations explain the success of this all-volunteer online encyclopedia. The team reasoned that expressions of appreciation by other Wikipedia contributors, including awards, helped to fuel what they called a “spirit of generosity.”
The future of power
What is power, and how can the United States effectively project power in the information or cyber age? This was the focus of a recent lecture by Joseph Nye as part of a seminar series on U.S. foreign policy sponsored by the Center for Global Security Research.
Micron, Oracle settle lawsuit over chip prices
(AP) -- Micron Technology Inc. has settled a lawsuit in which Oracle Corp. accused the Idaho memory chipmaker and other companies of artificially inflating prices for microchips.
Apple chief a hit with workers
Apple chief Tim Cook has won over the company's employees, according to a workplace study released on Friday showing he may be better liked than his legendary predecessor Steve Jobs.
Security firm links cyber spy campaign to Chinese hacker
Tokyo-based computer security firm Trend Micro on Friday said it linked a hacker in China to a "cyber espionage" campaign targeting India, Japan, and Tibetans.
Cognitive researcher designs and builds a real-world modular working tricorder
(PhysOrg.com) -- To say it’s about copying the tricorder from Star Trek, of television and movie fame, is to belittle the ingenuity and thought that has gone into the devices that Peter Jansen has created; his tricorders, which were designed to look like the devices used by the TV characters, are both far more advanced and far less than their fictional counterparts. Far more, because unlike those represented on the silver screen, his actually work in real life. Far less, because its capabilities are still of the stone-age compared to those we see Captain Kirk or Picard and crew using to identify pretty much anything alien encountered at a moment’s notice.
Visa, MasterCard scramble after massive data breach
Credit card giants Visa and MasterCard were scrambling on Friday to thwart cyber crooks who looted a massive trove of precious account data, evidently from a payment processor in New York.
Medicine & Health news
Countdown to 2015: Early breast feeding is the most equitable intervention, skilled birth attendance the least equitable
An article in this week's edition of the Lancet tracks progress towards Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, that promote maternal and child health. It finds that skilled birth attendant coverage was the least equitable intervention, while the most the most equitable intervention was early initiation of breastfeeding. The study is by Dr Aluisio J D Barros, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, and colleagues.
UK Biobank opens to researchers
A unique data resource of the health and lifestyles of half a million Britons - including 26 000 people with diabetes and 50 000 with joint disorders, 41 000 teetotallers, and 11 000 heart attack patients - becomes available for research today.
Public is less willing to pay to avoid mental illness than general medical illnes
People are less willing to pay to avoid mental illness than medical illness, even though they recognize that severe mental illnesses can dramatically lower quality of life, according to new research published in the April issue of Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association.
IoP Neuroscientists develop new 'Brain' App
A team of neuroscientists from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London have developed a digital atlas of the human brain for iPad. The ‘Brain’ App is the first of its kind, and is based on cutting edge neuro-imaging research from the NatBrainLab at the IoP.
Treating cancer as a chronic disease
New research from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute and the Rambam Medical Center may lead to the development of new methods for controlling the growth of cancer, and perhaps lead to treatments that will transform cancer from a lethal disease to a chronic, manageable one, similar to AIDS.
People with multiple chronic illnesses have trouble coordinating care
People with chronic illnesses often see up to 5 specialists a year. One major challenge for these patients and their doctors is coordinating care among multiple health care providers. Younger patients and those with several chronic illnesses are more likely to report difficulties with care coordination than older patients with just one chronic illness, finds a new study in Health Services Research.
IOM report identifies public health actions for improving the lives of those with epilepsy
An estimated 2.2 million people in the United States live with epilepsy, a complex brain disorder characterized by sudden and often unpredictable seizures. The highest rate of onset occurs in children and older adults, and it affects people of all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, yet this common disorder is widely misunderstood. Epilepsy refers to a spectrum of disorders with seizures that vary in type, cause, severity, and frequency. Many people do not know the causes of epilepsy or what measures to take if they witness a seizure. A new report from the Institute of Medicine highlights numerous gaps in the knowledge and management of epilepsy and recommends actions for improving the lives of those with epilepsy and their families and promoting better understanding of the disorder.
ADHD is over-diagnosed: German study
What experts and the public have already long suspected is now supported by representative data collected by researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and University of Basel: ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is over-diagnosed. The study showed that child and adolescent psychotherapists and psychiatrists tend to give a diagnosis based on heuristics, unclear rules of thumb, rather than adhering to recognized diagnostic criteria. Boys in particular are substantially more often misdiagnosed compared to girls.
Published study finds usage of, reccomendations for dietary supplements high among dietitians
Registered dietitians are one of several groups of healthcare professionals who report using dietary supplements as part of their health regimen, according to a newly published study in Nutrition Journal, a peer-reviewed, online journal that focuses on the field of human nutrition. According to data from the 2009 "Life…supplemented" Healthcare Professionals (HCP) Impact Study, 74 percent of dietitians use dietary supplements regularly while 22 percent reported using them occasionally or seasonally. The data also indicated that an overwhelming percentage of dietitians, 97 percent, recommend dietary supplements to their clients.
Sanofi teams up with India to make cheap ARVs in S.Africa
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has signed a partnership with India's Hetero to manufacture cheap anti-HIV drugs in South Africa, the company said on Friday.
Better short-Term outcomes for private prostatectomies
(HealthDay) -- For men undergoing radical prostatectomies (RPs), private health insurance coverage is linked with fewer complications, less in-hospital recovery time, and decreased mortality, compared to public coverage, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of Cancer.
Poor health-related function, diabetes combo ups death risk
(HealthDay) -- The combination of type 2 diabetes and impaired health-related functioning (HRF) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, according to a study published online March 23 in Diabetes Care.
Obama defends health care, mum on court case
President Barack Obama defended his signature health care reform Friday, without discussing a Supreme Court case that could spell its end ahead of November's presidential elections.
States' efforts to boost cigarette taxes slows: CDC
(HealthDay) -- Although eight states boosted their sales taxes on cigarettes over the past two years, that's a decline in the number of such increases by states compared to 2009, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
FDA: tobacco companies must report chemicals
(AP) -- Tobacco companies will be required to report the levels of dangerous chemicals found in cigarettes, chew and other products under the latest rules designed to tighten regulation of the tobacco industry.
CDC study forges link between depression and sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea and other symptoms of OSA are associated with probable major depression, regardless of factors like weight, age, sex or race, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There was no link between depression and snoring.
Neuroscientists work to helps soldiers break camouflage
Researchers want to help the Army better camouflage its soldiers and break the enemy's efforts to hide.
Middle-of-the-night PCIs do not adversely affect success of next-day procedures
A single-center study found that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures performed during the middle of the night do not adversely affect the safety and effectiveness of procedures performed the next day by the same operator. Findings now available in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), show late night work while on call does not worsen performance of the interventionist doing PCIs the next day.
Children who develop asthma have lung function deficits as neonates
Children who develop asthma by age seven have deficits in lung function and increased bronchial responsiveness as neonates, a new study from researchers in Denmark suggests.
Starvation linked to greater risk of cardiac complications
Russians born during the Leningrad Siege in World War II, which was responsible for some of the greatest losses of civilian life in history, are giving scientists new strategies to identify people who experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and starvation during childhood at greatest risk of developing long term heart complications. The abstract study¹, presented at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) meeting, in London, UK, 30 March to 1 April 2012, makes use of a unique population of people exposed to extreme starvation both as foetuses and during childhood.
Polymorphism in opioid gene affects breast cancer survival
(HealthDay) -- Genotype at the A118G polymorphism of the µ-opioid receptor gene is associated with breast cancer-specific mortality, according to a study published in the April issue of Anesthesiology.
Electrocorticographic signals may restore arm movement
(HealthDay) -- Electrocorticography (ECoG) signals from patients with chronic motor dysfunction represent motor information that may be useful for controlling prosthetic arms, according to a study published in the March issue of the Annals of Neurology.
Scientists find new drug target for hard-to-treat leukaemia
(Medical Xpress) -- Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered a promising new approach to treat a type of myeloid leukaemia – a cancer with limited treatment options and relatively poor survival, according to research published in Cancer Cell today.
Gene found in worms could play a role in human cancer
(Medical Xpress) -- Scientists at The University of Nottingham have identified a gene, in a simple water-dwelling worm, that might play an important role in the development of cancer.
Dutch, Belgians mark decade of 'mercy killings'
Ten years after they became the first countries to legalise euthanasia, the Netherlands and Belgium now provide assisted suicide to 4,000 people a year.
KU researcher developing synthetic patch to improve tracheal surgery
(Medical Xpress) -- Each year, thousands of newborns develop tracheal stenosis, a narrowing of the trachea that can make it difficult for them to breathe. While surgeons can fix this condition, the procedure requires reshaping the trachea and patching it with a piece of rib cartilage taken from the patient’s torso, which adds a level of complexity to the process.
A central regulator of the inflammatory response shows signs as a target for therapies against autoimmune disease
Some bacterial infections trigger the formation of structures known as granulomas, which essentially quarantine compromised cells. “Infected macrophages get surrounded by other immune cells, such as T cells and neutrophils,” explains Takashi Tanaka of the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology in Yokohama. “This serves to wall off pathogens that resist destruction and limits their infection within a restricted area.”
Human attention to a particular portion of an image alters the way the brain processes visual cortex responses to that i
Our ability to ignore some, but not other stimuli, allows us to focus our attention and improve our performance on a specific task. The ability to respond to visual stimuli during a visual task hinges on altered brain processing of responses within the visual cortex at the back of the brain, where visual information is first received from the eyes. How this occurs was recently demonstrated by an international team of researchers led by Justin Gardner at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako, Japan.
S.Africa conducts trials for shorter TB treatment
South African researchers said Friday they were conducting medical trials to shorten the duration of tuberculosis treatment to make it easier for patients to complete the full regimen.
Warm weather triggers early allergy season
(HealthDay) -- While unseasonably warm weather delights many people, those with allergies may not be as thrilled with the early arrival of spring.
Immune therapies: The next frontier in battle against atherosclerosis
New strategies injecting cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients with vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to combat atherosclerosis could soon change the treatment landscape of heart disease. Both approaches, Professor Jan Nilsson told delegates at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2012 meeting, can be considered truly ground breaking since for the first time they target the underlying cause of CVD. The FCVB meeting, organised by the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science (CBCS) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), held 30 March to 1 April at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College in London.
MRI and neuropsychological tests best predict Alzheimer's disease in old patients
Investigators from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, have shown that in most elderly patients invasive and expensive techniques, i.e. lumbar puncture and PET scan, are not useful to establish the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. They arrived at this conclusion after analysis of data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a large collaborative research project of medical centers in the USA and Canada.
The link between fast food and depression confirmed
According to a recent study headed by scientists from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Granada, eating commercial baked goods (fairy cakes, croissants, doughnuts, etc.) and fast food (hamburgers, hotdogs and pizza) is linked to depression.
Amyloid beta in the brain of individuals with Alzheimer's disease
While there may not be a consensus whether deposition of amyloid beta contributes to Alzheimer's disease or is a consequence of it, there is agreement that something else is promoting the process. Other proteins are often co-deposited with amyloid beta including serum amyloid P component. Recent evidence has suggested that SAP is elevated in Alzheimer's disease. Researchers from Keele University have shown that physiologically-significant concentrations of SAP promote the deposition of amyloid beta under conditions approaching those found in vivo.
Tales from the crypt lead researchers to cancer discovery
Tales from the crypt are supposed to be scary, but new research from Vanderbilt University, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and colleagues shows that crypts can be places of renewal too: intestinal crypts, that is. Intestinal crypts are small areas of the intestine where new cells are formed to continuously renew the digestive tract. By focusing on one protein expressed in our intestines called Lrig1, the researchers have identified a special population of intestinal stem cells that respond to damage and help to prevent cancer.
Study weighs in on diets for kids
(HealthDay) -- If you're trying to get your child to drop a few pounds, here's some food for thought: A new study finds that among three types of diets, kids preferred the one emphasizing foods that don't cause blood-sugar imbalances.
Two-Thirds of kids with autism have been bullied: study
(HealthDay) -- Nearly two-thirds of American children with autism have been bullied at some point in their lives, and these kids are bullied three times more often than their siblings without autism, a new survey finds.
Lasers remove inches from fat trouble spots
(HealthDay) -- Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is effective for body slimming, according to a study published in the March issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
Cardiac shock wave therapy improves angina symptoms
(HealthDay) -- Cardiac shock wave therapy (CSWT) can significantly improve symptoms, ischemic threshold during exercise, and specific quality-of-life parameters for patients with chronic refractory angina pectoris, according to a study published online March 23 in Cardiovascular Therapeutics.
Adherence to cancer surveillance guidelines varies
(HealthDay) -- Insured breast cancer survivors have high rates of guideline-recommended recurrence testing and non-recommended metastatic testing, while only about half of colorectal cancer survivors undergo recommended surveillance and two-thirds receive non-recommended metastatic testing, according to a study published online March 20 in Cancer.
NIH study finds women spend longer in labor now than 50 years ago
Women take longer to give birth today than did women 50 years ago, according to an analysis of nearly 140,000 deliveries conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The researchers could not identify all of the factors that accounted for the increase, but concluded that the change is likely due to changes in delivery room practice.
Study supports using virtual environment to teach mind/body techniques
A small study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers found that online virtual communities may be an effective way to train patients in meditation and other mind/body techniques. The ability to learn and practice approaches that elicit the relaxation response – a state of deep rest that has been shown to alleviate stress-related symptoms – in a virtual environment could help surmount several barriers that can restrict participation.
CDC: Ads spark huge increase to quit smoking line
(AP) -- More than twice as many people called a toll-free number to help them quit smoking a week after the launch of a $54 million ad campaign that shows graphic images of diseased smokers, federal health officials said Friday.
FDA rejects call to ban BPA from food packaging
(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration has rejected a petition from environmentalists that would have banned the plastic-hardening chemical bisphenol-A from all food and drink packaging, including plastic bottles and canned food.
Swimming improves vascular function, BP in older adults
(HealthDay) -- Swimming exercise is associated with a decrease in blood pressure (BP) and improvements in vascular function in older adults with early hypertension, according to a study published in the April 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
Making mice comfy leads to better science, researcher says
Nine out of 10 drugs successfully tested in mice and other animal models ultimately fail to work in people, and one reason may be traced back to a common fact of life for laboratory mice: they're cold, according to a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Biologists identify a key enzyme involved in protecting nerves from degeneration
- A new animal model of nerve injury has brought to light a critical role of an enzyme called Nmnat in nerve fiber maintenance and neuroprotection. Understanding biological pathways involved in maintaining healthy nerves and clearing away damaged ones may offer scientists targets for drugs to mitigate neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's and Parkinson's, as well as aid in situations of acute nerve damage, such as spinal cord injury.
Biology news
Student researchers help discover world's smallest frog
When two Cornell undergraduates and a recent graduate went on a field research trip to Papua New Guinea in 2008, little did they know it would lead to entries in the Guinness Book of World Records and a groundbreaking research paper.
Whole Foods to stop sale of unsustainable seafood
(AP) -- Whole Foods Market said Friday that it will stop selling fish caught from depleted waters or through ecologically damaging methods, a move that comes as supermarkets nationwide try to make their seafood selections more sustainable.
Entangled gray whale off Calif. freed after chase
(AP) -- A migrating gray whale with debris wrapped around its tail was finally freed after rescuers in a small boat chased it along the Southern California coast so they could cut away the fishing traps and lines.
Study sheds light on the diseasing-fighting process of 'autophagy'
A team of scientists from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has made a novel discovery regarding the molecular structure of a protein that plays a crucial regulatory role in the “autophagy” cellular process. This breakthrough has paved the way for researchers to target “autophagy” for potential treatment of cancer and other diseases.
Inside a plant's pharma factory
A newly discovered enzyme brings scientists one step closer to understanding how plants manufacture a molecule with potent medicinal properties.
Extreme weather threatens rich ecosystems
Extreme weather such as hurricanes, torrential downpours and droughts will become more frequent in pace with global warming. Consequently, this increases the risk for species extinction, especially in bio diverse ecosystems such as coral reefs and tropical rainforests.
Birds found to put more energy into current brood when ill
(PhysOrg.com) -- In an interesting study designed to find out how birds make choices, whether consciously or not, about how much effort to expend on offspring when ill, a team from Illinois University has found that at least for house wrens, giving their all up front makes more sense than saving their strength to recover and reproduce another day. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team explains how they analyzed the birds’ decision-making by artificially inducing illness symptoms in a group of wrens and then measuring their offspring for robustness.
Bees 'self-medicate' when infected with some pathogens
Research from North Carolina State University shows that honey bees "self-medicate" when their colony is infected with a harmful fungus, bringing in increased amounts of antifungal plant resins to ward off the pathogen.
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