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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for April 5, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Single gene mutation can sweep through bacterial population, opening the door for the concept of 'species'- Linux Foundation takes Linux pulse in progress report
- Copper chains: Study reveals Earth's deep-seated hold on copper
- Physicists control quantum tunneling with light for the first time
- Court revives Viacom copyright suit against YouTube
- New stem cell line provides safe, prolific source for disease modeling and transplant studies
- Manipulating the immune system to develop 'next-gen' vaccines
- Artemisinin-resistant untreatable malaria increasing rapidly along the Thailand-Myanmar border: study
- Scientists discover initial stages by which gypsum crystals form
- Analytical standards needed for 'reading' Pliocene bones
- Fasting for Lent forces hyenas to change diet
- Novel method combats malaria drug resistance
- Researchers discover unique suspension technique for large-scale stem cell production
- Facebook to make stock debut on NASDAQ: report
- Hackers hitting Macs with virus: industry experts
Space & Earth news
ESA and NASA join forces to measure Arctic sea ice
Marking another remarkable collaborative effort, ESA and NASA met up over the Arctic Ocean this week to perform some carefully coordinated flights directly under CryoSat orbiting above. The data gathered help ensure the accuracy of ESA’s ice mission.
History of abandoned urban sites found stored in soil
Old houses and vacant lots may not look like much to the naked eye, but to some, the site is better than gold. Excavations over the years can create a challenge to study what's left behind and often appears as if dirt and debris ended up mixed in a blender then pressed by a giant trash compactor.
'Virtual water', a barometer of global water resources
When goods are produced, water is used in the process. Even though this water is “virtual,” tracking its import and export gives a crucial indication of the evolution of world water resources. An international team of hydrologists has studied the global trade of virtual water, and is publishing an article this week in the journal PNAS outlining a number of striking conclusions.
Carbon dioxide caused global warming at Ice Age's end, pioneering simulation shows
(PhysOrg.com) -- Climate science has an equivalent to the "what came first—the chicken or the egg?" question: What came first, greenhouse gases or global warming? A multi-institutional team led by researchers at Harvard, Oregon State University, and the University of Wisconsin used a global dataset of paleoclimate records and the Jaguar supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to find the answer (spoiler alert: carbon dioxide drives warming). The results, published in the April 5 issue of Nature, analyze 15,000 years of climate history. Scientists hope amassing knowledge of the causes of natural global climate change will aid understanding of human-caused climate change.
Evidence of banned antibiotics in poultry products found
In a joint study, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Arizona State University found evidence suggesting that a class of antibiotics previously banned by the U.S. government for poultry production is still in use. Results of the study were published March 21 in Environmental Science & Technology.
Fukushima leak may have flowed into Pacific: TEPCO
About 12 tonnes of radioactive water has leaked at Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, with the facility's operator saying Thursday that some may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean.
Researchers report potential for a 'moderate' New England 'red tide' in 2012
New England is expected to experience a "moderate" regional "red tide" this spring and summer, report NOAA-funded scientists working in the Gulf of Maine to study the toxic algae that causes the bloom. The algae in the water pose no direct threat to human beings, however the toxins they produce can accumulate in filter-feeding organisms such as mussels and clams— which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in humans who consume them.
NASA's TRMM Satellite sees tornadic Texas storms in 3-D
NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite provides a look at thunderstorms in three dimensions and shows scientists the heights of the thunderclouds and the rainfall rates coming from them, both of which indicate severity.
12-mile-high Martian dust devil caught in act
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Martian dust devil roughly 12 miles high (20 kilometers) was captured whirling its way along the Amazonis Planitia region of Northern Mars on March 14. It was imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Despite its height, the plume is little more than three-quarters of a football field wide (70 yards, or 70 meters).
Glass sponge as a living climate archive
(PhysOrg.com) -- Climate scientists have discovered a new archive of historical sea temperatures. With the help of the skeleton of a sponge that belongs to the Monorhaphis chuni species and that lived in the East China Sea for 11,000 years, an international team around scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry were now able to show that the deep ocean temperature changed several times over the past millennia. As isotopic and elemental analyses showed, the sea water temperature in the vicinity of the sponge increased at least once from less than two degrees Celsius to six to ten degrees Celsius. These temperature changes were not previously known and are due to eruptions of seamounts.
Long term North Atlantic surface temperature fluctuations linked to aerosols
(PhysOrg.com) -- Manmade pollution doesn’t always cause atmospheric warming, a group of researchers from Britain’s Met Office Hadley Centre, write in their paper published in the journal Nature, sometimes it causes cooling. That’s because, they say, manmade aerosols injected into the atmosphere can cause heat from the sun to be reflected back into space. The team has made this observation after studying the impact of aerosols on the temperature of the air just above the surface of the North Atlantic over the past century and a half, which has a decades-long cycle of rising and lowering.
Satellite observes rapid ice shelf disintegration in Antarctic
One of the satellite's first observations following its launch on 1 March 2002 was of break-up of a main section of the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica – when 3200 sq km of ice disintegrated within a few days due to mechanical instabilities of the ice masses triggered by climate warming.
Copper chains: Study reveals Earth's deep-seated hold on copper
Earth is clingy when it comes to copper. A new Rice University study this week in the journal Science finds that nature conspires at scales both large and small -- from the realms of tectonic plates down to molecular bonds -- to keep most of Earth's copper buried dozens of miles below ground.
Technology news
Al-Qaeda site says 'enemies of Allah' took it down
One of Al-Qaeda's main Internet sites has accused "enemies of Allah" of taking it down for several days, but said it was now back up stronger than ever, according to a US monitoring service Thursday.
3Qs: How hacking will affect credit-card holders
Last Friday, a major Atlanta-based payment card processor, Global Payments, announced a server security breach that could affect more than 1 million accounts. We asked William Robertson, a cybersecurity expert and professor in both the College of Computer and Information Science and the College of Engineering, to explain how hackers penetrated the company and the impact this will have on credit-card holders.
High grade steel production technologies made Tokyo Sky Tree possible
Although steel production dates back about 4000 years, exploration of steel’s potential abilities is still advancing. With an output of about 45%, China dominates when it comes to basic steel production. Japan however is shifting towards so called ‘high-grade steels’. Take for example, the water-cooled thermomechanical control process (TMCP) steels. Relative to traditional water-cooled steel plate processes, TMCP steels offer simultaneous improvements of strength and toughness, while allowing control of the steel’s microstructure.
Green homes use 80 per cent less energy
Clever, inexpensive design can cut the energy used in new homes by up to 80 per cent, says a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researcher.
Fujitsu develops power saving system control technology for container data centers
Fujitsu Laboratories today announced the development of a power conservation system control technology that reduces overall power consumption in container data centers by closely coordinating the operation of servers and air-conditioning (A/C) systems.
Hon Hai to hike salaries for Taiwan staff
Taiwan technology giant Hon Hai, which makes gadgets for Apple, said Thursday it would hike salaries for its Taiwan staff as prices on the island soar.
Online museum launches on 20th anniversary of Sarajevo siege
A "virtual museum" depicting the deadly siege of Sarajevo, the longest in the history of modern warfare, is due to be launched Thursday, organisers said.
Sex offenders booted from videogame playgrounds
New York State's top prosecutor on Thursday announced that thousands of sex offenders have been kicked out of online playgrounds popular with young videogame lovers.
Anonymous says it hacked Chinese government sites
(AP) -- China was struggling Thursday to restore several government websites that international hacking group Anonymous says it attacked in an apparent protest against Chinese Internet restrictions.
Ariz. bill against 'annoying' online to get change
(AP) -- Arizonans venturing online may have to think twice before leaving a comment on a website.
US book lovers embracing digital editions: Pew study
A Pew study released late Wednesday showed that US book lovers are increasingly turning inkless pages.
How to corner the MEMS market
In the last decade, MEMS (microelectromechanical devices) have wrought revolutions in several industries: Arrays of micromirrors, for instance, enabled digital film projectors, and accelerometers like those in Microsoft’s Wii controller have changed gaming. But commercially successful MEMS represent a tiny sampling of the prototypes developed in academic and industry labs — from supersensitive biological sensors to films that can turn any surface into a loudspeaker to devices that harvest energy from motion.
IBM partners with Brazil billionaire Batista's EBX
US computer giant IBM has signed a deal to purchase 20 percent of a subsidiary of Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista's EBX group in exchange for a $1 billion contract, the companies announced.
Simulation software optimizes networks
By the year 2020, thousands of kilometers of new grids will be operating in Germany to permit even more extensive use of power from renewable sources. However, these new "smart grids" also come with increased complexity, costs and vulnerability. Fraunhofer researchers developed new software that can be used to analyze and optimize transport grids for electricity, gas and water even at the planning stage, based on numerical simulations.
Pirates, beware: Navy's smart robocopters will spy you in the crowd
Navy unmanned aircraft will be able to distinguish small pirate boats from other vessels when an Office of Naval Research (ONR)-funded sensor starts airborne tests this summer, officials said April 5.
Google CEO reflects on past year in rare dispatch
(AP) -- Google co-founder Larry Page has ruminated about his past year as CEO and mused about the challenges ahead in an unusual dispatch that he shared Thursday.
Britannica's halt of print edition triggers sales
(AP) -- It turns out all Encyclopaedia Britannica had to do to breathe new life into the sale of its print edition was to kill it.
Court revives Viacom copyright suit against YouTube
A US appeals court on Thursday revived a billion-dollar lawsuit filed by entertainment giant Viacom accusing Google-owned website YouTube of knowingly profiting from pirated video clips.
Facebook to make stock debut on NASDAQ: report
Facebook has picked the technology-heavy NASDAQ exchange for a much-anticipated stock market debut expected next month, according to unconfirmed reports Thursday.
Hackers hitting Macs with virus: industry experts
The computer security industry buzzed Thursday with warnings that more than a half-million Macintosh computers may have been infected with a virus targeting Apple machines.
Linux Foundation takes Linux pulse in progress report
(PhysOrg.com) -- A white paper updating 2011 highlights and progress in Linux kernel development has been released by The Linux Foundation, the vendor-neutral base for collaborations on the Linux kernel. "Linux Kernel Development: How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It" is authored by Jonathan Corbet, LWN.net, Greg Kroah-Hartman and Amanda McPherson, the latter two of The Linux Foundation.
Medicine & Health news
Vitamin D influences racial differences in breast cancer risk
American women of African ancestry are more likely than European Americans to have estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer. There continues to be discussion about the role of low levels of vitamin D in the development of breast cancer for these women. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research has shown that specific genetic variations in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and in CYP24A1 (responsible for deactivating vitamin D) are associated with an increase in breast cancer risk, particularly for ER negative breast cancer, for African American women.
Affordable Care Act protections would have provided nearly $2 billion in consumer rebates
Consumers nationwide would have received an estimated $2 billion in rebates from health insurers if the new medical loss ratio (MLR) rules enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act had been in effect in 2010, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund. The MLR rules, which went into effect in 2011, aim to control private insurance costs for consumers and government by requiring a minimum percentage of premium dollars to be spent on medical care and health care quality improvement, as opposed to administrative costs and corporate profits. Insurers must meet a minimum MLR of 80 percent in the individual and small-group markets, and 85 percent in the large group market, and issue rebates if they do not.
Womb cancer deaths rise by a fifth in the last decade
(Medical Xpress) -- Deaths from womb (uterine) cancer have risen by nearly twenty per cent in the last decade, according to new figures from Cancer Research UK today.
Chasing down a better way to run: Researchers making breakthroughs in learning how and why we run
Harvard Provost Alan Garber loves running — so much so that when he returned to his alma mater last year, he listed among the job’s perks a chance to resume his exercise route along the Charles River.
Death rate for children with asthma is rising
Health experts have warned parents of children with asthma to take the condition more seriously as new data reveals that in recent years asthma-related deaths among people under 15 have increased for the first time.
Normal triglyceride levels in people of African descent may hinder diagnosis of metabolic syndrome
In most people, high blood levels of the fat known as triglycerides are an early warning sign of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, but in people of African descent these dangerous health conditions may go undiagnosed because triglyceride levels are not at the level used to diagnose metabolic syndrome (>150 mg/dL). This is known as the "TG (or lipid) paradox." Understanding how African Americans are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) despite a normal TG level is unclear and is the focus of a review article in Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders.
Hope for Romania baby born with stunted intestines
(AP) -- Baby Andrei has confounded doctors just by being alive: The tiny boy with twig-thin limbs was given just days to live when he was born with almost no intestines - eight months ago.
Diagnostic and invasive procedures common in women with breast-conserving surgery
Women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) have high rates of diagnostic and invasive breast procedures after treatment with breast-conserving surgery (BCS) according to a study published April 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Mental health may play a role in dialysis patients' survival
Dialysis patients whose mental health deteriorates over time have an increased risk of developing heart problems and dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Additional research should investigate whether caring for kidney disease patients' mental health may help prevent heart complications and even death.
Painkiller sales soar around US, fuel addiction
(AP) -- Sales of the nation's two most popular prescription painkillers have exploded in new parts of the country, an Associated Press analysis shows, worrying experts who say the push to relieve patients' suffering is spawning an addiction epidemic.
Drug use in 50- to 64-year-olds has increased 10-fold in England since 1993
Until now, illicit drug use has not been common in older people. However, it is likely to become more common as generations that use drugs more frequently reach an older age.
Active older adults less likely to experience psychological distress
In a study examining the relationship between physical activity and physical function, researchers from Australia discovered that older adults who experienced any level of psychological distress were more than four times more likely to experience functional limitation than those who did not. This study is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Outdoor gyms fight fat in South Africa
Sweat drips down the face of a plump woman as she shuffles between exercise machines and pauses to greet passersby in Soweto's first outdoor gym, a new trend in South Africa, one of the world's fattest nations.
Risk of suicide and fatal heart attack immediately following a cancer diagnosis
(Medical Xpress) -- People who are diagnosed with cancer have a markedly increased risk of suicide and cardiovascular death during the period immediately after being given the diagnosis. This has been shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the prestigious scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers move step closer to rapidly detecting resistant tuberculosis, other pathogens
For patients with infectious diseases like tuberculosis, timing is critical. Tuberculosis is one of the most common causes of death from a curable disease, and cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis are on the rise. But determining if a patient carries an antibiotic-resistant strain can take weeks or months using current clinical diagnostics. During this period, patients are often treated with ineffective drugs and can continue to spread their illness as time slips away. This problem is not unique to tuberculosis – quicker diagnostics are urgently needed for all infectious diseases.
New marker discovered to aid early detection of lung damage
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a widespread disease. In Austria alone, there are between 500,000 and 600,000 sufferers; around ninety per cent of cases are the result of smoking. Now, under the leadership of Hendrik Jan Ankersmit, a research team from the University Department of Surgery at MedUni Vienna and the Christian Doppler Laboratory for the Diagnosis and Regeneration of Heart and Thorax Diseases has discovered a protein marker in the blood that can already indicate lung damage during the early stages of COPD, before a decrease in lung volume is detected by a pulmonary function test.
Green tea could cloud Olympic doping tests
(AP) -- Olympic doping officials are considering whether to tweak their tests after a recent British study showed green tea might hide testosterone from the standard test used to spot it.
Medical malpractice claims incur substantial defense costs
(HealthDay) -- Defense costs for medical malpractice claims vary among specialties and are higher for claims that result in indemnity payments, according to a letter published in the April 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Pesticides may be linked to slightly smaller babies, shorter pregnancies
(HealthDay) -- Exposure to a type of pesticide commonly used on crops eaten by U.S. consumers is linked to shorter pregnancies and smaller babies, new research says.
Deaf children's gesture mismatches provide clues to learning moments
In a discovery that could help instructors better teach deaf children, a team of University of Chicago researchers has found that a gesture-sign mismatch made while explaining a math problem suggests that a deaf child is experiencing a teachable moment.
Study marks breakthrough in IOP regulation in fight against glaucoma
A six-year collaboration between two faculty members of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has yielded new insight regarding the regulation of intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma - an irreversible blinding disease that causes progressive visual impairment due to optic nerve damage and is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.
Physicians less likely to prescribe antidepressants to minorities, Medicaid patients
African-Americans and Hispanics with major depressive disorder are less likely to get antidepressants than Caucasian patients, and Medicare and Medicaid patients are less likely to get the newest generation of antidepressants.
More accurate method required for tracking skin cancer cases: study
Henry Ford Hospital dermatology researchers are urging caution about using claims data for identifying nonmelanoma skin cancer, suggesting that the commonly used method, which previously had not been validated, may be unreliable.
Obese patients face higher radiation exposure from CT scans -- but new technology can help
Most medical imaging equipment is not designed with overweight and obese patients in mind. As a result, these individuals can be exposed to higher levels of radiation during routine X-ray and CT scans.
New lab mice cut search for genetic links to disease by more than a decade
With a 95 percent genomic similarity to humans, mice have long been used to learn about the genetic causes of human disease. Once researchers can shine a light on the genetic factors that cause disease in mice, they can start to develop prevention and treatment options to protect the human population.
To prevent leukemia's dreaded return, go for the stem cells
Researchers reporting in the April Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press publication, have found a way to stop leukemia stem cells in their tracks. The advance in mice suggests that a combination approach to therapy might stamp out chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for good.
Tackling dyslexia before kids learn to read
For children with dyslexia, the trouble begins even before they start reading and for reasons that don't necessarily reflect other language skills. That's according to a report published online on April 5 in Current Biology, that for the first time reveals a causal connection between early problems with visual attention and a later diagnosis of dyslexia.
Heightened sensitivity to cheap, high-calorie food is linked with obesity
Obesity is increasing worldwide in adults and children and is currently viewed by many as one of the most serious threats to public health. It is likely that solutions to the obesity pandemic will require changes in public policy and that scientific insight into obesity will be invaluable for guiding those changes. Now, a new review of human brain imaging studies published by Cell Press in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests that a major reason for the dramatic increase in obesity may be a heightened sensitivity to heavily advertised and easily accessible high-calorie foods.
In children born with severe heart defect, surgical management has little effect on neuro outcomes
In the largest multicenter clinical trial of children undergoing early-stage surgery for single-ventricle heart defects, differences in intraoperative management did not significantly affect neurodevelopmental outcomes at 14 months of age. Instead, the strongest influences were innate patient characteristics and general medical morbidity during the child's first year of life.
Misperception of weight is an important barrier to weight loss
When University of Illinois researchers surveyed over 3,500 college applicants, more than a third couldn't report their weight accurately, and overweight and obese men were more likely to underestimate their weight than women.
Researchers derive purified lung and thyroid progenitors from embryonic stem cells
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have derived a population of pure lung and thyroid progenitor cells in vitro that successfully mimic the developmental milestones of lung and thyroid tissue formation. The research, which will be published in the April 6 edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell, identifies factors necessary for embryonic stem cells to differentiate into lung progenitor cells and provides key information about how the tissue engineering technology can be used to develop new gene and cell-based therapies to treat lung diseases.
New combination malaria treatment equally effective
(HealthDay) -- Fixed-dose, combination pyronaridine-artesunate treatment is as effective as mefloquine plus artesunate in treating malaria infection, according to a study published in the April 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Exercise training improves cardiac parameters in lupus
(HealthDay) -- For inactive patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a three-month exercise training program is associated with improved chronotropic reserve and heart rate recovery, according to a study published online March 21 in Arthritis Care & Research.
Detecting breast cancer's fingerprint in a droplet of blood
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. The earlier cancer is detected, the better the chance of successful treatment and long-term survival. However, early cancer diagnosis is still challenging as testing by mammography remains cumbersome, costly, and in many cases, cancer can only be detected at an advanced stage. A team based in the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine has developed a new microfluidics-based microarray that could one day radically change how and when cancer is diagnosed. Their findings are published in the April issue of the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.
Recovery from propofol anesthesia may be sped by use of common stimulant
The ability of the commonly used stimulant methylphenidate (Ritalin) to speed recovery from general anesthesia appears to apply both to the inhaled gas isoflurane, as previously reported, and to the intravenous drug propofol. Members of the same Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team that reported the isoflurane study are publishing similar results for propofol in the May issue of Anesthesiology, and their paper has been issued online.
Doctors want to redefine autism; parents worried
(AP) -- One child doesn't talk, rocks rhythmically back and forth and stares at clothes spinning in the dryer. Another has no trouble talking but is obsessed with trains, methodically naming every station in his state.
Big advance against cystic fibrosis
Harvard stem cell researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have taken a critical step in making possible the discovery in the relatively near future of a drug to control cystic fibrosis (CF), a fatal lung disease that claims about 500 lives each year, with 1,000 new cases diagnosed annually.
Breast cancer risk after false-positive mammography results
False-positive mammograms could be an indicator of underlying pathology that could result in breast cancer, according to a study published April 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Most women on dialysis may experience sexual problems
The vast majority of female kidney failure patients on dialysis may experience sexual problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Additional studies are needed to understand how sexual dysfunction affects dialysis patients' quality of life and psychological wellbeing.
Sex education efforts lagging in schools, CDC says
(HealthDay) -- There's been little progress in recent years in boosting the number of American secondary schools that teach students how to prevent pregnancy and protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Women cannot rewind the 'biological clock'
Many women do not fully appreciate the consequences of delaying motherhood, and expect that assisted reproductive technologies can reverse their aged ovarian function, Yale researchers reported in a study published in a recent issue of Fertility and Sterility.
Obesity accounts for 21 percent of medical care costs
(Medical Xpress) -- Obesity now accounts for almost 21 percent of U.S. health care costs -- more than twice the previous estimates, reports a new Cornell study.
Problems in recycling cellular waste linked to clogged arteries
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that problems with a digestive process in cells can clog arteries.
Manipulating the immune system to develop 'next-gen' vaccines
The discovery of how a vital immune cell recognises dead and damaged body cells could modernise vaccine technology by 'tricking' cells into launching an immune response, leading to next-generation vaccines that are more specific, more effective and have fewer side-effects.
Artemisinin-resistant untreatable malaria increasing rapidly along the Thailand-Myanmar border: study
Evidence that the most deadly species of malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is becoming resistant to the front line treatment for malaria on the border of Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) is reported in The Lancet today. This increases concern that resistance could now spread to India and then Africa as resistance to other antimalarial drugs has done before. Eliminating malaria might then prove impossible.
Novel method combats malaria drug resistance
Researchers from the University of Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health developed a "gene chip" to contribute to the identification of malaria drug resistance, an effort that will allow for real-time response in modified treatment strategies for this devastating disease.
Biology news
New app signals that endangered whales are nearby
A whale of an app is about to make a splash on iPhones and iPads, providing a hand-held tool for those who need to know if right whales are swimming through their shipping lanes and what to do in such an event.
Diversification of land plants
Researchers have reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among all 706 families of land plants.
Study shows how embryonic stem cells orchestrate human development
Yale researchers show in detail how three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development, a finding that increases understanding of how to grow these cells for therapeutic purposes.
Scientists discover new threat to birds posed by invasive pythons
Smithsonian scientists and their colleagues have uncovered a new threat posed by invasive Burmese pythons in Florida and the Everglades: The snakes are not only eating the area's birds, but also the birds' eggs straight from the nest. The results of this research add a new challenge to the area's already heavily taxed native wildlife. The team's findings are published in the online journal Reptiles & Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History.
Fasting for Lent forces hyenas to change diet
Many Christians give up certain foods for Lent, however ecologists have discovered these changes in human diet have a dramatic impact on the diet of wild animals. In Ethiopia, members of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church stop eating meat and dairy products during a 55-day fast before Easter. As a result, spotted hyenas too change their eating habits – from scavenging waste from butchers and households to hunting – new research in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology has found.
Lighting up plant cells to engineer biology
Cambridge researchers have developed a new technique for measuring and mapping gene and cell activity through fluorescence in living plant tissue.
New stem cell line provides safe, prolific source for disease modeling and transplant studies
Researchers have generated a new type of human stem cell that can develop into numerous types of specialized cells, including functioning pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Called endodermal progenitor (EP) cells, the new cells show two important advantages over embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells: they do not form tumors when transplanted into animals, and they can form functional pancreatic beta cells in the laboratory.
Use of imidacloprid - common pesticide - linked to bee colony collapse
The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).
Researchers discover unique suspension technique for large-scale stem cell production
Post-doctoral researcher David Fluri and Professor Peter Zandstra at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) have developed a unique new technique for growing stem cells that may make possible cost-effective, large-scale stem cell manufacturing and research.
Single gene mutation can sweep through bacterial population, opening the door for the concept of 'species'
Bacteria are the most populous organisms on the planet. They thrive in almost every known environment, adapting to different habitats by means of genetic variations that provide the capabilities essential for survival. These genetic innovations arise from what scientists believe is a random mutation and exchange of genes and other bits of DNA among bacteria that sometimes confers an advantage, and which then becomes an intrinsic part of the genome.
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