Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for November 30, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Can a car engine be built out of a single particle?- Spaun, the new human brain simulator, can carry out tasks (w/ video)
- The robotic equivalent of a Swiss army knife (w/ video)
- Illinois robotics lab's HyTAQ moves in air, rolls on land (w/ video)
- C. diff scientists reveal potential target to fight infections
- VeriSign wins .com renewal, but can't hike prices (Update)
- Carbon dioxide could reduce crop yields
- Gulf of Mexico clean-up makes 2010 spill 52-times more toxic
- Molecular knock-out alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
- US House votes for more advanced-degree visas (Update)
- Even women who exercise sit too much
- How, in the animal world, a daughter avoids mating with her father: Paternal 'voice' recognition
- Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenge
- Native Americans and Northern Europeans more closely related than previously thought
- Researcher predicts more intense North Atlantic tropical storms
Space & Earth news
New radio telescope could save world billions
A small pocket of Western Australia's remote outback is set to become the eye on the sky and could potentially save the world billions of dollars. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope, unveiled today, Friday 30 November, will give the world a dramatically improved view of the Sun and provide early warning to prevent damage to communication satellites, electric power grids and GPS navigation systems.
UN climate boss: No support for tough climate deal
(AP)—The United Nations climate chief is urging people not to look solely to their governments to make tough decisions to slow global warming, and instead to consider their own role in solving the problem.
Moon rocks found in Minn. National Guard storage
Moon rocks from mankind's first landing more than 43 years ago have been discovered tucked away in a government storage area in St. Paul, and officials are at a loss to explain how they ended up there.
Australia beaches reopen after red algal bloom
Beaches around southeastern Australia's coastline reopened after a red algal bloom that glowed a phosphorescent blue at night forced them to close to the public.
Forecasting solar activity and the weather in space
The ability to forecast periods of intense solar activity may be improved after scientists compared cycles of solar magnetic activity (over the past 10,000 years as reconstructed from ice cores) with the action of the planets. The Sun determines the course of the planets, but it has been discovered that the planets may also exert an influence on the Sun. Their configurations appear to be responsible for long-term cycles of increased solar activity.
First minisatellite mission comes to successful end
(Phys.org)—After two successful years of on-orbit operations, NASA's Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, or FASTSAT, mission is coming to an end. FASTSAT successfully demonstrated a capability to build, deploy and operate a science and technology flight mission at lower costs than previously possible.
'Spidernaut' finds home at Smithsonian museum
(Phys.org)—A jumping spider named Nefertiti that lived on the International Space Station in a habitat designed and built by a University of Colorado Boulder team has returned to Earth after 100 days in space and found a new home at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
The coastal conundrum: Balancing the costs of erosion vs. flooding
Ensuring continued flood protection for low lying coastal areas may mean sacrificing cliff top communities to the sea, experts reveal.
Everybody chill, NASA says: No Martian organics found
Relax everyone. There are no little green men or even a hint of organics on Mars… not yet, anyway.
Scientists say 15% carbon emissions cut needed
The chances of hitting the UN's global warming target are diminishing, but the goal can still be met if greenhouse-gas emissions fall by 15 percent by 2020, scientists said on Friday.
Experiment wins free trip to the International Space Station
(Phys.org)—University of Central Florida experiment that could help explain how planets formed in our solar system has won a free ride to the International Space Station in 2013.
In the shadow of the Moon: Experience a solar eclipse from 37 kilometers up
On November 14, 2012, tens of thousands of viewers across northeastern Australia got a great view of one of the most awe-inspiring sights in astronomy—a total solar eclipse. Of course many fantastic photos and videos were taken of the event, but one team of eclipse hunters from Romania went a step further—or should I say higher—and captured the event from a video camera mounted on a weather balloon soaring over 36,800 meters (120,000 feet) up!
Busy 2012 hurricane season continues decades-long high activity era in the Atlantic
(Phys.org)—November 30 marks the end of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season, one that produced 19 named storms, of which 10 became hurricanes and one became a major hurricane. The number of named storms is well above the average of 12. The number of hurricanes is also above the average of six, but the number of major hurricanes is below the average of three.
Making sustainability policies sustainable
Sweeping environmental policies come with hidden challenges – not only striving to achieve sustainability and benefit the environment – but over time ensuring the program itself can endure.
NASA sees 'hot towers' in intensifying Typhoon Bopha
Bopha intensified into a typhoon today, Nov. 30, as it continues to affect the islands in Micronesia in the western North Pacific Ocean. NASA's TRMM satellite captured rainfall data of Bopha and noticed "Hot Tower" thunderstorms as it was intensifying from a tropical storm into a typhoon.
Geoscientists cite 'critical need' for basic research to unleash promising energy resources
Developers of renewable energy and shale gas must overcome fundamental geological and environmental challenges if these promising energy sources are to reach their full potential, according to a trio of leading geoscientists. Their findings will be presented on Dec. 4, at 5:15 p.m. (PT), at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco in Room 102 of Moscone Center West .
NASA's HS3 Hurricane Mission Ends for 2012
NASA's 2012 Hurricane and Severe Storms Sentinel, or HS3, mission came to an end Nov. 6 when a NASA unmanned Global Hawk aircraft flew a final data-collection mission in the North Pacific Ocean over a large storm in preparation for next year's campaign.
NASA's TRMM satellite video reveals 2012 hurricane season rainfall
The 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season was a busy one as there were 19 tropical cyclones. A new NASA animation using data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite known as TRMM shows rainfall from tropical cyclones in the western Atlantic, as measured from space.
Even brown dwarfs may grow rocky planets
(Phys.org)—Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array have for the first time found that the outer region of a dusty disc encircling a brown dwarf contains millimetre-sized solid grains like those found in denser discs around newborn stars. The surprising finding challenges theories of how rocky, Earth-scale planets form, and suggests that rocky planets may be even more common in the Universe than expected.
Robot buddy to keep Japan astronaut company
A small humanoid robot that can talk will be sent into space to provide conversational company for a Japanese astronaut on a six-month mission, according to new plans.
Researcher points to Sun as likely source of eighth-century 'Charlemagne event'
(Phys.org)—Until recently, the years 774 and 775 were best known for Charlemagne's victory over the Lombards. But earlier this year, a team of scientists in Japan discovered a baffling spike in carbon-14 deposits within the rings of cedar trees that matched those same years. Because cosmic rays are tied to carbon-14 concentrations, scientists around the world have wondered about the cause: a nearby supernova, a gamma ray burst in the Milky Way or an intense superflare emanating from the Sun?
Research model suggests moons of some planets developed from rings
(Phys.org)—French researchers Sébastien Charnoz and Aurélien Crida have proposed in a paper published in the journal Science that moons that orbit some of the planets in our solar system came about due to accretion from material in rings that used to surround the planets, rather than as entities that took shape while their host planets were forming.
Gulf of Mexico clean-up makes 2010 spill 52-times more toxic
(Phys.org)—If the 4.9 million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill was a ecological disaster, the two million gallons of dispersant used to clean it up apparently made it even worse – 52-times more toxic. That's according to new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes (UAA), Mexico.
Researcher predicts more intense North Atlantic tropical storms
Tropical storms that make their way into the North Atlantic, and possibly strike the East Coast of the United States, likely will become more intense during the rest of this century.
Technology news
Phones and Internet cut for second day in Syria
Phone and Internet networks were down across most of Syria for a second straight day on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Hackers target Indian minister in free-speech fight
Hackers attacked and defaced the website of India's IT minister on Friday amid a growing campaign against a law governing online comments which has been condemned by free-speech advocates.
Cloud computing and big data intersect at NIST
Two major new technologies come together for the Cloud Computing and Big Data Workshop, hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at its Gaithersburg, Md., campus Jan. 15-17, 2013.
Tajikistan blocks US-funded news website
(AP)—Tajikistan has blocked a popular U.S.-funded news website, only days after barring access to social networking site Facebook for featuring content allegedly insulting to the Central Asian nation's president.
CWRU awarded grant to build battery for smart grid, renewables
A Department of Energy agency that funds high-risk, high-payoff research, has awarded engineers at Case Western Reserve University $567,805 to develop a "rustbelt" battery with unprecedented flexibility and utility.
Couple convicted of stealing GM trade secrets
(AP)—A former General Motors engineer with access to the automaker's hybrid technology was convicted Friday along with her husband of stealing trade secrets for possible use in China.
Getting to the bottom of wind turbine noise
University of Adelaide researchers are developing a sophisticated wind turbine experiment to investigate exactly how wind turbines produce noise.
Pushing natural light into the heart of buildings
(Phys.org)—Through a research project designed at MIT and continued at EPFL, researchers have designed windows that can bring natural light deep into a building. This technology was recently integrated into six floors of an ultra-modern building in Tokyo.
Predicting the effects of changes on living systems
Can scientists predict what happens when they introduce a change into a living system—for example, if they change the structure of a gene or administer a drug? Just as changing one letter can completely change the meaning of a word, the change of a single letter of the genetic code (referred to as a single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP) can subtly affect the meaning of a gene's instructions or alter them completely, making the effect of any change extremely hard to predict. Such changes are thought to be responsible for much of the variation between members of a single species—for example, in susceptibility to different diseases. The ability to successfully predict the effect of such changes would accelerate drug discovery and provide a deeper understanding of the processes of life.
Google, Twitter activate voice tweets for Syrians
Google and Twitter announced Friday they have reactivated a voice-tweet program to allow Syrians affected by the shutdown of the Internet to get messages out.
Samsung, Apple gain in US mobile market
Samsung extended its lead as the top mobile phone maker in the US market and Apple moved into second place, an industry tracker said Friday.
Study: DVRs now in half of US pay-TV homes
A new survey finds that digital video recorders are now in more than half of all U.S. homes that subscribe to cable or satellite TV services.
New iPhone, iPad to be sold in China in December
Apple said Friday its newest gadgets including the iPad mini and iPhone 5 would go on sale in December in China, the country where many Apple products are manufactured.
Americans love (and hate) their mobile phones: survey
Americans love them, and hate them. And many say they can't imagine living without their mobile phones.
NY appeals court skeptical about startup's live TV
(AP)—A New York federal appeals panel has found weaknesses with a startup company's arguments it can legally send live TV programming to iPhones and other mobile devices.
Improving cyber attack detection through computer modeling
A new study shows computer network security analysts are not prepared for drawn out cyber attacks.
Micro fuel cells made of glass: Power for your iPad?
(Phys.org)—Engineers at Yale University have developed a new breed of micro fuel cell that could serve as a long-lasting, low-cost, and eco-friendly power source for portable electronic devices, such as tablet computers, smart phones, and remote sensors. The researchers describe the novel device in a paper published online in the journal Small.
VeriSign wins .com renewal, but can't hike prices (Update)
The U.S. government has cleared VeriSign Inc. to manage the databases that house ".com" domain names for another six years, but the company won't be allowed to raise prices without approval.
Spaun, the new human brain simulator, can carry out tasks (w/ video)
(Phys.org)—One of the challenges of understanding the complex behavior of animals is to relate the behavior to the complex processes occurring within the brain. So far, neural models have not been able to bridge this gap, but a new software model, Spaun, goes some way to addressing this problem.
Medicine & Health news
More neurologists and neurosurgeons are associated with fewer deaths from strokes in the US
Researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, have found an association in the United States between a higher density of neurologists and neurosurgeons and a decreased risk of death from stroke. The findings of their study are described in the article "Association of a higher density of specialist neuroscience providers with fewer deaths from stroke in the United States population. Clinical article," by Atman Desai, M.D., and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Cancer agency OK'd faulty $11M grant
(AP)—Texas' embattled $3 billion cancer-fighting agency approved an $11 million grant to a biomedical company even though the proposal wasn't reviewed.
Ukraine fights spreading HIV epidemic
(AP)—Andrei Mandrykin, an inmate at Prison No. 85 outside Kiev, has HIV. He looks ghostly and much older than his 35 years. But Mandrykin is better off than tens of thousands of his countrymen, because is he receiving treatment amid what the World Health Organization says is the worst AIDS epidemic in Europe.
Activist discusses challenge of growing old with HIV
Old age comes faster and hits harder for those infected with HIV, a fact aging health activist Ron Swanda knows all too well.
Researchers advocate better access to angioplasty treatment
New research from the United Kingdom has found that primary angioplasty does increase the survival rate of heart attack patients. The Imperial College London researchers said recent studies examining the role of specialist heart attack centres generated misleading results, because physicians tend to allocate the best care to high-risk patients. They have discovered that the lack of benefit indicated in clinical records is an outcome of the sickest patients being sent to the specialist centres, effectively skewing the data. The finding was recently presented in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Government urged to pack it in to protect children from tobacco marketing
Nearly two thirds (63%) of people in the UK back a move to get rid of colourful and slickly designed cigarette packets according to a survey of more than 2000 adults commissioned by Cancer Research UK.
Breathalyzer for diagnosis of lung diseases, potential for earlier detection
Siemens is researching a method that may make it possible to diagnose tuberculosis or lung cancer at an early stage using breath samples. The process involves an analysis of the molecular structure of the subject's breath. If the person concerned is ill, there is a shift in the relative quantities of molecules contained in his or her breath. As reported in the current issue of Pictures of the Future magazine, preliminary tests using breath samples from cancer and tuberculosis patients have been very promising. Now the process has to be verified using a larger and more diverse group of people.
Caution still advised despite ever-improving HIV drugs
Combination therapies for AIDS are becoming increasingly effective, but they cannot protect against other sexually transmitted illnesses. It is unsafe for patients taking antiretroviral drugs to stop using condoms. This is one of the findings of research conducted in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, which is supported by the SNSF.
Help for European children to resist unhealthy temptations
Children and young people in Europe are exposed to all kinds of fast food, crisps and fizzy drinks – so how can they learn to resist the temptation to indulge?
Intermountain Healthcare Cancer research provides possible road map for improving healthcare
Given the right equipment, training and skill, an individual surgeon can expect to provide the best possible care on a consistent basis. But how do you get an entire system of surgeons—each with his or her own ideas, backgrounds, and routines—to provide that same level of care?
HIV cases reaching 'epidemic' scale in Greece: officials
HIV infection among crisis-hit Greece's drug users is reaching "epidemic" proportions with recorded cases marking a 35-fold increase from 2010, health experts warned Friday.
Cometriq approved for rare thyroid cancer
(HealthDay)—Cometriq (cabozantinib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat modullary thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, the agency said Thursday.
New patient-friendly way to make stem cells for fight against heart disease
funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Medical Research Council (MRC) and Wellcome Trust – have today published a patient-friendly and efficient way to make stem cells out of blood, increasing the hope that scientists could one day use stem cells made from patients' own cells to treat cardiovascular disease.
Understanding of the mechanisms of drug resistance to dual-agent chemotherapy in ovarian cancer
More than half of all patients with ovarian cancer experience recurrent disease and will eventually fail to respond to chemotherapy. The failure of chemotherapy is usually due to the development of resistance to the two main classes of chemotherapy agents used to fight it – platinating agents and taxanes. Now, a study reported in the open-access Journal of Ovarian Research provides novel information that further adds to clinicians' understanding of the mechanisms involved in the development of resistance to dual-agent chemotherapy.
Obese children more vulnerable to food advertising
Rates of childhood obesity have tripled in the past 30 years, and food marketing has been implicated as one factor contributing to this trend. Every year, companies spend more than $10 billion in the US marketing their food and beverages to children; 98% of the food products advertised to children on television are high in fat, sugar, or sodium. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers used neuroimaging to study the effects of food logos on obese and healthy weight children.
Australia readies for first plain pack cigarettes
All cigarettes sold in Australia will be in identical, plain packages from Saturday in a world first after the government overcame legal challenges from the tobacco industry.
Loss of gene expression may trigger cardiovascular disease, researchers find
(Medical Xpress)—A Yale-led team of researchers has uncovered a genetic malfunction that may lead to hardening of the arteries and other forms of cardiovascular disease. The study appears in the journal Cell Reports.
People not hooked on fish could get their omega-3 through dairy, study finds
(Medical Xpress)—Not everyone has a taste for fish, even though it is a natural source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
PREDICT program a model for global pandemic prevention
(Medical Xpress)—Groundbreaking efforts by PREDICT, a project led by the One Health Institute at the University of California, Davis, are highlighted today in the medical journal The Lancet as a model for a new, globally coordinated pandemic prevention strategy.
Mistletoe as treatment for colon cancer?
(Medical Xpress)—Mistletoe has become an important symbol of Christmas but it also has the potential to play a vital role as an alternative therapy for Australian sufferers of colon cancer.
Immune cells of the brain renew hopes for curing Alzheimer's disease
A new experimental study carried out in mice shows that microglia, immune cells of the brain, might play a key role in protecting the brain from Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is long believed that toxic sticky protein deposits in the brain called amyloid beta (Aβ) are responsible for loss of memory in AD patients. Earlier studies have shown that microglia can remove Aβ protein from the brain and therefore be vital for successful therapy. Interestingly, the doctoral thesis of Mr Lakshman Kumar Puli, MPharm (Pharmacology), indicates that microglia may play a significant role irrespective of their capacity to remove brain Aβ deposits.
Managing cellular security systems
Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) are the immune system's patrol. They recognize foreign threats and trigger a defensive response, while restraining immune reactions against inappropriate targets like host proteins. They achieve the former via a mechanism called cross-presentation, which displays pieces of pathogens to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs)—the immune system's 'attack dogs'—while the latter function relies on cDC interactions with regulatory T (Treg) cells.
As cigarette taxes go up, heavy smoking goes down
(Medical Xpress)—When cigarette taxes rise, hard-core smokers are more likely than lighter smokers to cut back, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Prenatal intervention reduces learning deficit in mice
Mice with a condition that serves as a laboratory model for Down syndrome perform better on memory and learning tasks as adults if they were treated before birth with neuroprotective peptides, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Clinical trial delivers good results in leukemia patients
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) researchers Michael Deininger, M.D., Ph.D., and Thomas O'Hare, Ph.D., were part of a team that found a potent oral drug, ponatinib, effective in patients who have developed resistance to standard treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic lymphoma (Ph+ ALL). The New England Journal of Medicine released results of the trial today.
Race, education, income impact trust in health information
Race, education, and income impact health information-seeking, confidence in obtaining health information and trust in health information sources.
Increasing poverty in older age will lead to adverse health outcomes, researchers warn
Many people will be much poorer than they had expected in their older age and this has profound implications for the health of our ageing population claims an editorial published today in Age & Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society.
Biomarker progress offers hope for early autism spectrum disorder detection
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders typically characterized by difficulties in social interactions and delayed or abnormal language development. Although ASD reportedly affects 1 in 88 people in the United States, to date there have been no distinctive biomarkers to diagnose the disease. In a special themed issue of Disease Markers, investigators report on the current understanding of ASD genetics and the possibilities of translating genetic research toward biomarker development in ASD.
New study finds what makes a good mentor and mentee
How-to books are full of advice on what makes a good mentor. But what makes a good mentee and what chemistry is needed to make the relationship work?
Hospital cleaning protocol ineffective against A. baumannii
Current hospital cleaning protocol may be inadequate to rid patient rooms of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii, according to a study in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
Study finds residents believe vacant land threatens community, physical and mental health
As public health researchers continue efforts to understand the effects of neighborhood conditions on health, residents themselves can provide valuable insights regarding public health issues and potential solutions. A new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania uses in-depth interviews with local residents to examine perspectives on how vacant land affects community, physical, and mental health. The study highlights the importance of community engagement in promoting urban revitalization. Full results of the study, which mirror and expand upon previous studies linking vacant land to poor health, are published online in the Journal of Urban Health.
Drugmaker Ranbaxy halts generic Lipitor production
Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has halted production of generic cholesterol drug Lipitor while it investigates how tiny glass particles got into dozens of batches of the drug that were recalled in November.
WHO: Two more cases of new virus in Jordan (Update)
International health officials have confirmed two more fatal cases of a mysterious respiratory virus in the Middle East.
ACOG OKs cell free DNA prenatal testing for high-risk women
(HealthDay)—Cell free fetal DNA testing is an effective screening tool for fetal aneuploidy and should be offered to high-risk women, but should not form part of routine prenatal laboratory assessment, according to a Committee Opinion published in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Surprise HIV diagnosis becomes life-changing moment
(HealthDay)—It was 1995, and 36-year-old Maria Davis had it all: a successful career as a music promoter and a model, two kids, and a man she loved so much she was going to move thousands of miles to be with him.
Obesity complicates lung cancer surgery, study finds
(HealthDay)—Lung cancer surgery takes longer and is more costly if a patient is obese, a new study shows.
Urban HIV infection mainly due to male-male sexual contact
(HealthDay)—More than half of HIV infections in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), smaller metropolitan areas, and nonmetropolitan areas in the United States and Puerto Rico can be attributed to male-to-male sexual contact, according to research published in the Nov. 30 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Diabetes leading to blindness in many people
Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults 20 to 74 years old. Dr. Michael Grodin, co-director of retinal services and director of clinical research at Katzen Eye Group, with locations around Baltimore, discusses eye problems and the link to diabetes.
Vitamin D tied to women's cognitive performance
Two new studies appearing in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences show that vitamin D may be a vital component for the cognitive health of women as they age.
Court: Can generic makers be sued for drug flaws?
(AP)—The Supreme Court will decide whether generic drug manufacturers can be held responsible in state courts for possible design defects that are in the brand-name medicine they are copying.
Take the money: Why we make better financial decisions for strangers than family
(Medical Xpress)—People make more rational economic decisions on behalf of strangers and distant relatives than they do for close family members or themselves, new psychology research has shown.
Electrically spun fabric offers dual defense against pregnancy, HIV
The only way to protect against HIV and unintended pregnancy today is the condom. It's an effective technology, but not appropriate or popular in all situations.
Genome mapping may stop superbug deaths
Genome mapping could prove key in preventing superbugs in hospitals, an Australian researcher said Friday, urging its use to prevent countless deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections.
C. diff scientists reveal potential target to fight infections
Researchers at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have discovered how a common diarrhea-causing bacterium sends the body's natural defenses into overdrive, actually intensifying illness while fighting infection.
Molecular knock-out alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have identified an enzyme as a possible target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The protein known as HDAC6 impairs transport processes within the nerve cells. The scientists observed only mild symptoms of the disease in mice if the enzyme was not produced. They propose to block its activity in a targeted fashion to treat the disease. Scientists from the DZNE sites in Göttingen and Bonn, the UMG as well as from the US participated in this basic research project on Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in EMBO Molecular Medicine.
Even women who exercise sit too much
(HealthDay)—For women who love that great, self-satisfied feeling after a workout, a new study could be a disappointing surprise. Regular exercise, the study found, does not reduce the risk of an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.
Emerging vector-borne diseases create new public health challenge
Human activities are advancing the spread of vector-borne, zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease and dengue fever, report scientists publishing a series of papers today in the journal The Lancet.
In schizophrenia patients, auditory cues sound bigger problems
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System have found that deficiencies in the neural processing of simple auditory tones can evolve into a cascade of dysfunctional information processing across wide swaths of the brain in patients with schizophrenia.
Biology news
Bird flu kills 4,000 wild ducks in Russia
Around 4,000 wild ducks have been found dead in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, officials said on Friday, blaming H5 bird flu for the mass deaths.
How signal molecules for the formation of various cell types are controlled
The regulation of important signal molecules that are critical for the formation of various cell types can be influenced by a chemically produced variant of indirubin, a natural material used in traditional Chinese medicine. This was shown by scientists from Heidelberg University, Kaiserslautern and Jena. The researchers were also able to demonstrate for the first time that these signal molecules in the cell – regulatory SMAD proteins – are not only controlled through regulation of their activation but also through the available quantity of signal molecules in the non-activated state. Because cellular differentiation as well as tumour growth are tied to these processes, the studies suggest a new approach for both the preparation of induced pluripotent stem cells and the development of tumour treatments. The results of the research were published in the journal Chemistry & Biology.
Birds may spread, not halt, fever-bearing ticks
Turkey raises and releases thousands of non-native guineafowl to eat ticks that carry the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. Yet research suggests guineafowl eat few ticks, but carry the parasites on their feathers, possibly spreading the disease they were meant to stop, says a Turkish biologist working at the University of Utah.
The colour of love: Zebrafish perform colorful courtship displays
Billy Ocean may not have been thinking of fish when he wrote "The Color of Love", but Sophie Hutter, Attila Hettyey, Dustin Penn, and Sarah Zala from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna were able to show that zebrafish males and females both wear their brightest colors while wooing a mate.
How native and exotic plants coexist
When people hear about exotic plants invading a new environment, there is usually a negative connotation. They often think of plants like kudzu, Chinese privet, or Japanese honeysuckle, whose thuggish behavior can push out the native plants in their backyard or local parks.
A digital portrait for grapes indicates their ripeness
Researchers at the University of Seville (Spain) have developed a technique for estimating grape composition and variety using computer imaging. They have also put forward an index for identifying the ripeness of seeds without the need for chemical analysis. This new method can help to decide the best moment for picking.
Study reports breakthrough in the understanding of embryonic stem cells
A significant breakthrough in the understanding of embryonic stem cells has been made by scientists from the Smurfit Institute of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin. The Trinity research group led by Dr Adrian Bracken and funded by Science Foundation Ireland, has just published their findings in the leading international journal, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.
How, in the animal world, a daughter avoids mating with her father: Paternal 'voice' recognition
Paternal recognition – being able to identify males from your father's line – is important for the avoidance of inbreeding, and one way that mammals can do this is through recognizing the calls of paternal kin. This was thought to occur only in large-brained animals with complex social groups, but a new study published today in the open access journal BMC Ecology provides evidence in a tiny, solitary primate that challenges this theory.
Study: Like a tree, growth rings show lobster age
Scientists have finally figured out how to determine the age of a lobster.
Size matters for fish in a changing climate
A changing climate could have a drastic impact on fish populations in the tropics, but according to new research it's likely to boost stocks in some cooler waters.
Genetic mechanism, reused, makes sexes and same-sex individuals different
(Phys.org)—Indiana University biologists Teiya Kijimoto, Justen Andrews and Armin Moczek say it's time to chalk another one up for doublesex, the master regulatory gene at the terminus of the sex determination pathway that imposes female and male sexual development in fruit flies, honey bees, silk moths and wasps.
Battling bacteria: Research shows iron's importance in infection, suggests new therapies
(Phys.org)—A Kansas State University research team has resolved a 40-year-old debate on the role of iron acquisition in bacterial invasion of animal tissues.
Researchers find scales on crocodile heads are formed from cracks not genetically defined
(Phys.org)—A research team made up of members from Switzerland, France and Belgium has discovered that the scales on the heads of crocodiles are not arranged due to genetics but come about because of cracking in the skin while the skull is still developing. They describe their research and findings in their paper published in the journal Science.
Carbon dioxide could reduce crop yields
High-yielding dwarf plant varieties lose their advantage due to increasing carbon dioxide concentration.
Native Americans and Northern Europeans more closely related than previously thought
Using genetic analyses, scientists have discovered that Northern European populations—including British, Scandinavians, French, and some Eastern Europeans—descend from a mixture of two very different ancestral populations, and one of these populations is related to Native Americans. This discovery helps fill gaps in scientific understanding of both Native American and Northern European ancestry, while providing an explanation for some genetic similarities among what would otherwise seem to be very divergent groups. This research was published in the November 2012 issue of the Genetics Society of America's journal Genetics.
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