Index

Researchers have completed a massive survey of the network of protein complexes that orchestrate the fundamental processes of life. In the journal Science, researchers describe protein complexes and networks of complexes never before observed -- including two implicated in the normal mechanisms by which cells divide and proliferate and another that controls recycling of the molecular building blocks of life called autophagy.

Researchers have pinpointed the protein that can lead to genetic changes that cause lung cancer. They discovered the production of a protein, FANCD2, is slowed when lung cells are exposed to cigarette smoke. Low levels of FANCD2 leads to DNA damage, triggering cancer. Cigarette smoke curbs the production of 'caretaker' proteins, like FANCD2, which prevent cancer by fixing damages in DNA and causing faulty cells to die.

To prepare for a return to the moon, researchers are evaluating how dust deposits in the lungs in reduced gravity in order to assess the health risk of long-term exposure to lunar particles. The findings will influence the design of lunar bases and could also provide benefits for health care on Earth, such as improved delivery of aerosol medications to the lungs.

Girls and children who have asthma and are exposed to tobacco smoke respond particularly well to montelukast (Singulair), a new study shows. Researchers also identified two biomarkers that may help physicians predict even more precisely which patients will benefit from montelukast.

The Hofmeister series governs the strengths of ions in inducing protein unfolding and many other phenomena and remains vital to protein chemistry to this day. Although it dates from the late 19th century, its mechanism has never been properly understood. Scientists have now found strong experimental support for a new explanation of Hofmeister effects, known as the Law of Matching Water Affinities.

A recent study offers new information that can help schools and contractors get outdoor athletic fields ready for fall sports more quickly. Certain blends of grass work better than others.

n their fight against cancer, doctors have just gained an impressive new weapon to add to their arsenal. Researchers have developed a chip that can save lives by diagnosing certain cancers even before patients become symptomatic. The new technology, known as a biochip, consists of a one-centimeter by one centimeter array that comprises anywhere between several dozen and several hundred "dots," or small drops. Each of these drops contains a unique protein, antibody or nucleic acid that will attach to a particular DNA sequence or antigen.

Neuroscientists are a step closer to understanding pain sensitivity -- specifically why it's variable instead of constant -- having identified a gene that regulates a heat-activated molecular sensor.

Some Malagasy mouse lemurs are so similar that picking a mate of the right species, especially at night time in a tropical forest, might seem like a matter of pot luck. However, new research has shown that our desperately cute distant cousins use vocalizations to pick up a partner of the right species.

Scientists have in two recent studies shown that a receptor called ALK7 plays important roles in the regulation of body fat deposition as well as the release of insulin from beta-cells in the pancreas. These findings have implications for the development of treatments against diabetes and obesity.

How can traffic be monitored and controlled more effectively? Scientists have now developed methods of determining the traffic situation across a wide area, and have refined processes that enable traffic to be optimally channeled. Traffic jams on the way to work, to the shops or to a holiday destination – a common experience for most of us.

As environmentalists have pointed out, it can be as dangerous to be outdoors behind a city bus -- walking or bicycling -- as it is to be in front of one. All the exhaust and smoke -- even when they have been reduced by clean-air technology -- can damage a person's health. The dangers of urban air pollution are of special concern to those who exercise by running, bicycling or skating. These individuals, while trying to help their bodies through exercise, should take care that they do not harm themselves through exposure to air pollution.

Satellite imagery obtained from NASA will help archaeologists peer into the ancient Mexican past. In a novel archaeological application, multi- and hyperspectral data will help build the most accurate and most detailed landscape map that exists of the southern state of Oaxaca, where the Zapotec people formed the first state-level and urban society in Mexico.

Promising results from a team of physician-scientists show that gene therapy is both safe and effective at slowing the progression of Batten disease, or Late Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, a rare, genetic, degenerative neurological disorder that usually becomes fatal in children by the age of 8 to 12.

Researchers have found a series of markers that indicate which patients are more likely to survive cancers of the base of the tongue and tonsils. Most notably, they found that cancers linked to HPV, or human papillomavirus, are the most responsive to current chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders show profound deficits in social interactions and communications and display repetitive behaviors and abnormal responses to sensory experiences. One aspect of an autistic child's impaired social abilities is their lack of affiliative behaviors, i.e., behaviors such as touching and hugging that strengthen social bonds.

Satellites currently use radio waves to exchange data. Now the data rate has been increased a hundredfold by using lasers instead of radio signals. Two test satellites each carried a diode laser pump module. The data whizzed back and forth at the speed of light between German satellite TerraSAR-X and US satellite NFIRE, covering more than 5000 kilometers in space without any errors.

An individual's expectation of getting better plays a crucial role in the likelihood of his or her recovery, even after the severity of their physical and psychological symptoms are taken into account. Researchers investigated the role of individuals' expectation of recovery by using a questionnaire-based study of adult insurance claimants.

Researchers found socially subordinate female rhesus macaques over consume calorie-rich foods, resulting in accelerated weight gain and an increase in fat-derived hormones. The study is a critical step in understanding the psychological basis for the sharp increase in obesity across all age groups since the mid-1970s. This is the first study to show how food intake can be reliably and automatically measured, thus identifying the optimal animal model and setting for future obesity studies.

A toxic gas present in air pollution and tobacco smoke plays a significant role in triggering tuberculosis infection, according to a new study. The study shows for the first time how carbon monoxide triggers Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, to shift from active infection to a drug-resistant dormant state. TB latency is a global problem that results in tuberculosis escaping detection and treatment. The CO biological trigger happens with both airborne and internal sources of the gas.

The demand for alternative sweeteners to sugar is increasing at a rate of 8% per year. The market is showing more and more interest in natural sweeteners compared to synthetic ones. This research highlights the rise in the market of natural non-caloric sweeteners, particularly those that have a low glycaemic index (GI), and contain polyhydric alcohols.

Ancient acupuncture and modern myofascial pain therapy each focus on hundreds of similar points on the body to treat pain, although they do it differently, says a physician at Mayo Clinic who analyzed the two techniques.

Lenses in optical devices are kept in place by adhesives. This can cause problems when the microscopes and cameras are employed inside a vacuum, as the adhesives may release gases that contaminate the lenses. One alternative is to solder them instead.

The risk of being hospitalized from being violently assaulted increases when there is increased alcohol sales near the victim's residence. For every extra 1,000 liters of alcohol sold per store per day (a doubling of alcohol sales), the overall risk of being hospitalized for assault increased by 13%. At peak times of alcohol sales, the risk of assault was 41% higher than at times when alcohol sales were lowest.

Insects have provided the inspiration for a team of European researchers seeking to improve the functionality of robots and robotic tools. The research furthers the development of more intelligent robots, which can then be used by industry, and by emergency and security services, among others. Smarter robots would be better able to find humans buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed building, for example.

Marijuana abuse leads to blood flow problems in the brain and increased risks for heart problems. To understand the way that marijuana might cause these side-effects, NIH scientists measured proteins in the blood of marijuana abusers and found that heavy marijuana users show increased levels of a protein called apolipoprotein CIII which can cause increases in blood triglyceride levels. These findings might explain why marijuana users suffer from brain and cardiac problems.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs may contribute to the behavioral and neuronal deficits associated with schizophrenia and possibly other brain disorders. They uncovered a previously unknown alteration in the production of microRNAs of a mouse modeled to have the same chromosome 22q11.2 deletions previously identified in humans with schizophrenia.

A low-vision therapy program that includes a home visit, counseling, assistive devices such as magnifiers and assignments to practice using them appears to significantly improve vision in veterans with diseases of the macula, according to a new article.

Engineers have developed software toolbox that is intended to help bioscience researchers characterize protein patterns in human tissues. The automated protein pattern recognition tool and its underlying methods as important for identifying biomarkers that could be useful for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

The post-university years can start out tough. The good news: it gets better. A new study of almost 600 recent graduates (ages 20-29 years old) tracked mental health symptoms in participants for seven years post-graduation and looked at how key events like leaving home and becoming a parent were related to depression and anger. Graduates showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms over the seven years. Expressed anger also declined over time after graduation, suggesting improved mental health.

Even before Weixiao Huang received his doctorate, his new transistor captured the attention of some of the biggest American and Japanese automobile companies. The 2008 graduate's invention could replace one of the most common pieces of technology in the world -- the silicon transistor for high-power and high-temperature electronics.

By inducing a specific gene to increase expression of a key enzyme, vitamin D protects healthy prostate cells from the damage and injuries that can lead to cancer, researchers report.

The patient's sight was restored through a two-step surgical procedure that involves cutting into the eye to take out the cloudy cornea and inserting a permanent, plastic cornea. The new cornea is sutured, or stitched, into place. The entire eye including the new, plastic cornea is then covered with tissue from the dog to help the eye heal from the surgery. Because of the tissue and the bandages, the dog cannot see after this procedure. After several weeks, the bandages are removed and a hole is cut into the tissue exposing the new, plastic cornea.

Obesity rates appear high in most but not all ethnic groups in the United States, and extra weight is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and markers of sub-clinical heart disease, according to a new article.

With the Olympic Games in sight, the Chinese Government is committed to improving the air quality in Beijing, and has had measures in place since 1998 which have already made a difference. However, there is still some way to go to meet national air quality standards in the Chinese capital, according experts in environmental science in Beijing.

A new study that is the first to systematically examine a large sample of female child molesters finds that many of them were themselves victims of sexual abuse as children. The finding has the potential to help break the cycle of abuse by improving treatment for offenders and their young victims.

Cornell researchers are studying bacterium big enough to see -- the Shaquille O'Neal of bacteria. The secret to an unusual bacterium's massive size -- it's the size of a grain of salt, or a million times bigger than E. coli bacteria, and big enough to see with the naked eye -- may be found in its ability to copy its genome tens of thousands of times.

Women who breast feed for longer have a smaller chance of getting rheumatoid arthritis, suggests a new study. The study also found that taking oral contraceptives, which are suspected to protect against the disease because they contain hormones that are raised in pregnancy, did not have the same effect. Also, simply having children and not breast feeding also did not seem to be protective.

Intravenous administration of isotonic fluids is the standard emergency treatment in the U.S. for patients with severe blood loss, but now bioengineering researchers have reported improved resuscitation with a radically different approach. Building on earlier studies in humans that have shown benefits of intravenous fluids that are eight times saltier than normal saline, the researchers combined hypertonic saline with viscosity enhancers that thicken blood.

Physically active women are 25 percent less likely to get breast cancer, but certain groups are more likely to see these benefits than others, finds a review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The type of activity undertaken, at what time in life and the woman's body mass index (BMI) will determine how protective the activity is against the disease.

Blackberries, blueberries, oranges and grapes --- chemistry students are loading up on their fruits these days, but it has nothing to do with the food pyramid. The students are using the fruit to produce solar energy. Actually, they are using the dye from the fruit in a process to create solar cells.

An international study of animal behavior has important implications for human decision-making. For animals that live in social groups, and that includes humans, blindly following a leader could place them in danger. To avoid this, animals have developed simple but effective behavior to follow where at least a few of them dare to tread -- rather than follow a single group member. This pattern of behavior reduces the risk of imitating maverick behavior of an individual as the group recognize that consensus is better than following someone that goes it alone.

A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics finds that a much hotter climate could shut down the Earth's plate tectonics. While human-induced climate change couldn't generate the needed heat, volcanic activity or changes in the sun's luminosity could. The research, in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, may help explain why Venus swelters beneath a thick blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.

A study of seven patients with Parkinson's disease suggests that those who have poor results following implantation of electrodes to stimulate the brain may benefit from additional surgery to correct the electrode placement, according to a new report.

People diet to look more attractive. Fish diet to avoid being beaten up, thrown out of their social group and getting eaten as a result. Researchers have discovered that subordinate gobis deliberately diet to avoid posing a challenge to their larger rivals by consistently remaining 5-10% smaller. Once a subordinate fish grows to within 5-10% of its larger rival, it provokes a fight which usually ends in the smaller goby being expelled from the group.

New research is changing the way cleft palate surgeries are performed throughout North America and around the world. Surgical timing has been a controversial topic with various cleft centers around the world opting for early closure at about 3-6 months of age. However, research complied over the past 20 years has shown that the best time to close the cleft at the alveolus (gum) in patients with either one or two sided clefts is at eight or nine years of age prior to canine tooth eruption.

Researchers in California report development of a new kind of genetically modified yeast cell that produces complex proteins up to 300 times more than possible in the past. These "super yeasts" could help boost production and lower prices for a new generation of protein-based drugs that show promise for fighting diabetes, obesity, and other diseases, the researchers suggest.

Asthma is associated with higher suicidal thoughts with attempted suicide, but does not seem to be linked with suicidal thoughts without attempts, according to a new report in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Cigarette smoking and concurrent mental health conditions may independently account for significant proportions (but not all) of the association between asthma and suicidal thoughts with attempts noted researchers.