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Rate of bicycle-related fatalities significantly lower in states with helmet laws

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:45:01 -0500

Existing research shows that bicyclists who wear helmets have an 88 percent lower risk of brain injury, but researchers at Boston Children's Hospital found that simply having bicycle helmet laws in place showed a 20 percent decrease in deaths and injuries for children younger than 16 who were in bicycle-motor vehicle collisions.

Source: Boston Children's Hospital - Discipline: Health

Scientists discover how rapamycin slows cell growth

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:30:01 -0500

University of Montreal researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that can potentially slow the progression of some cancers and other diseases of abnormal growth. In the May 23 edition of the prestigious journal Cell, scientists from the University of Montreal explain how they found that the anti-cancer and anti-proliferative drug rapamycin slows down or prevents cells from dividing.

Source: University of Montreal - Discipline: Molecular Biology

Vaccine blackjack: IL-21 critical to fight against viral infections

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:15:01 -0500

Scientists at Emory Vaccine Center have shown that an immune regulatory molecule called IL-21 is needed for long-lasting antibody responses in mice against viral infections.

Source: Emory Health Sciences - Discipline: Immunology

Hubble reveals the Ring Nebula's true shape

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:00:01 -0500

The Ring Nebula's distinctive shape makes it a popular illustration for astronomy books. But new observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of the glowing gas shroud around an old, dying, sun-like star reveal a new twist.

Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center - Discipline: Astronomy

A hidden population of exotic neutron stars

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:45:01 -0500

Magnetars – the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation – are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other satellites shows magnetars may be more diverse – and common – than previously thought.

Source: Chandra X-ray Center - Discipline: Astronomy

The secret lives, and deaths, of neurons

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:30:03 -0500

As the human body fine-tunes its neurological wiring, nerve cells often must fix a faulty connection by amputating an axon — the "business end" of the neuron that sends electrical impulses to tissues or other neurons. It is a dance with death, however, because the molecular poison the neuron deploys to sever an axon could, if uncontained, kill the entire cell.

Source: University of North Carolina Health Care - Discipline: Neuroscience

Researchers suggest boosting body's natural flu killers

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:15:01 -0500

A known difficulty in fighting influenza (flu) is the ability of the flu viruses to mutate and thus evade various medications that were previously found to be effective. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown recently that another, more promising, approach is to focus on improving drugs that boost the body's natural flu killer system.

Source: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Discipline: Immunology

Protein preps cells to survive stress of cancer growth and chemotherapy

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:00:01 -0500

Scientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant-cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers-which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors.

Source: Salk Institute - Discipline: Cancer

The world's favorite fruit only better-tasting and longer-lasting

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:45:01 -0500

Tomatoes, said to be the world's most popular fruit, can be made both better-tasting and longer-lasting thanks to UK research with purple GM varieties.

Source: Norwich BioScience Institutes - Discipline: Agriculture

Video: Motion quotient - A brief visual task can predict IQ

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:30:02 -0500

A brief visual task can predict IQ, according to a new study. This surprisingly simple exercise measures the brain's unconscious ability to filter out visual movement. The study shows that individuals whose brains are better at automatically suppressing background motion perform better on standard measures of intelligence.

Source: University of Rochester - Discipline: Agriculture

Researchers identify new target to boost plant resistance to insects and pathogens

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:15:01 -0500

Plants can't swat a bug or run away from one, but that doesn't mean that plants can't fight back. Plants have evolved unique and sophisticated immune systems to defend themselves against insects and pathogens. Plant hormones called jasmonates play an important role in this defense, but jasmonates have been found to also be important for plant growth. Now, researchers reporting in the May 23 issue

Source: Cell Press - Discipline: Plant Biology

Defective cellular waste removal explains why Gaucher patients often develop Parkinson's disease

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:00:01 -0500

Gaucher disease causes debilitating and sometimes fatal neurodegeneration in early childhood. Recent studies have uncovered a link between the mutations responsible for Gaucher disease and an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life. New research published online on May 23 in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism indicates that the neurodegeneration found in Gaucher d

Source: Cell Press - Discipline: Neuroscience

White tiger mystery solved

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:45:01 -0500

White tigers today are only seen in zoos, but they belong in nature, say researchers reporting new evidence about what makes those tigers white. Their spectacular white coats are produced by a single change in a known pigment gene, according to the study, appearing on May 23 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

Source: Cell Press - Discipline: Genetics

Gold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:30:01 -0500

A billon-frames-per-second film has captured the vibrations of gold nanocrystals in stunning detail for the first time.

Source: University College London - Discipline: Physics

Consumers largely underestimating calorie content of fast food

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:15:01 -0500

People eating at fast food restaurants largely underestimate the calorie content of meals, especially large ones, according to a paper published today on bmj.com.

Source: BMJ-British Medical Journal - Discipline: Health

Astronomers team up with the public to solve decade old puzzle

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:00:02 -0500

An extremely precise measurement of the distance to a star system has finally allowed astronomers to solve a decade-old puzzle, confirming understanding of the way exotic objects like black holes interact with nearby stars.

Source: International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research - Discipline: Astronomy

Video: Bait-averse cockroaches shudder at sugar

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:45:01 -0500

Sugar isn't always sweet to German cockroaches, especially to the ones that avoid roach baits.

Source: North Carolina State University - Discipline: Animal Behavior

Scientists discover molecule triggers sensation of itch

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:30:01 -0500

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as the sensation of itch.

Source: NIH/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research - Discipline: Neuroscience

Study shows people can be trained to be more compassionate

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:15:01 -0500

Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion — the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison - Discipline: Neuroscience

Chemists find new compounds to curb staph infection

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:00:05 -0500

In an age when microbial pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics used to tamp down infection, a team of Wisconsin scientists has synthesized a potent new class of compounds capable of curbing the bacteria that cause staph infections.

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison - Discipline: Microbiology

Thinking 'big' may not be best approach to saving large-river fish

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:45:01 -0500

Large-river specialist fishes — from giant species like paddlefish and blue catfish, to tiny crystal darters and silver chub — are in danger, but researchers say there is greater hope to save them if major tributaries identified in a University of Wisconsin-Madison study become a focus of conservation efforts.

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison - Discipline: Ecology

Drought makes Borneo's trees flower at the same time

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:30:01 -0500

Tropical plants flower at supra-annual irregular intervals. In addition, mass flowering is typical for the tropical forests in Borneo and elsewhere, where hundreds of different plant timber species from the Dipterocarpaceae family flower synchronously. This phenomenon is all the more puzzling because both temperature and day length are relatively constant all year round due to geographical proximi

Source: University of Zurich - Discipline: Ecology

DNA damage: The dark side of respiration

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:15:01 -0500

Adventitious changes in cellular DNA can endanger the whole organism, as they may lead to life-threatening illnesses like cancer. Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now report how byproducts of respiration cause mispairing of subunits in the double helix.

Source: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit�t M�nchen - Discipline: Molecular Biology

Magnetic fingerprints of superfluid helium-3

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:00:01 -0500

With their SQUIDs, low-temperature specialists of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have made it possible for the magnetic moments of atoms of the rare isotope 3He (helium-3) to be measured with extreme sensitivity.

Source: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) - Discipline: Chemistry

Small, speedy plant-eater extends knowledge of dinosaur ecosystems

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:45:01 -0500

Dinosaurs are often thought of as large, fierce animals, but new research highlights a previously overlooked diversity of small dinosaurs. In the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, a team of paleontologists from the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Cleveland Museum of Natural History and University of Calgary have described a new dinosaur, the smallest plant-eating dinosaur spe

Source: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology - Discipline: Paleontology

Mechanism discovered which aids Legionella to camouflage itself in the organism

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:30:03 -0500

The feared Legionella pneumophila bacteria is responsible for legionellosis, an infectious disease that can lead to pneumonia. In order to infect us, this pathogen has developed a complex method enabling it to camouflage itself and go unnoticed in our cells, thus avoiding these acting against the infectious bacteria.

Source: Elhuyar Fundazioa - Discipline: Molecular Biology

Detecting mirror molecules

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:15:01 -0500

Harvard physicists have developed a novel technique that can detect molecular variants in chemical mixtures – greatly simplifying a process that is one of the most important, though time-consuming, processes in analytical chemistry.

Source: Harvard University - Discipline: Chemistry

Taming suspect gene reverses schizophrenia-like abnormalities in mice

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:01 -0500

Scientists have reversed behavioral and brain abnormalities in adult mice that resemble some features of schizophrenia by restoring normal expression to a suspect gene that is over-expressed in humans with the illness. Targeting expression of the gene Neuregulin1, which makes a protein important for brain development, may hold promise for treating at least some patients with the brain disorder, sa

Source: NIH/National Institute of Mental Health - Discipline: Neuroscience

Scientists uncover molecular roots of cocaine addiction in the brain

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:45:01 -0500

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine's effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe for humans, is undergoing further animal testing in preparation for possible clinical trials in cocaine addicts, the researchers say. "It was remarkably serendipitous that

Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine - Discipline: Neuroscience

The tropical upper atmosphere 'fingerprint' of global warming

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:30:01 -0500

In the tropics at heights more than 10 miles above the surface, the prevailing winds alternate between strong easterlies and strong westerlies roughly every other year. This slow heartbeat in the tropical upper atmosphere, referred to as the quasibiennial oscillation (QBO), impacts the winds and chemical composition of the global atmosphere and even the climate at Earth's surface.

Source: University of Hawaii ‑ SOEST - Discipline: Environment

Researchers reveal model of Sun's magnetic field

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:15:01 -0500

Researchers at the Universities of Leeds and Chicago have uncovered an important mechanism behind the generation of astrophysical magnetic fields such as that of the Sun.

Source: University of Leeds - Discipline: Science Politics

Video: Slowing the aging process -- only with antibiotics

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:01 -0500

Why is it that within a homogeneous population of the same species, some individuals live three times as long as others? This question has stumped scientists for centuries.

Source: Ecole Polytechnique F�d�rale de Lausanne - Discipline: Molecular Biology

Researchers conduct first genomic survey of human skin fungal diversity

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:45:01 -0500

While humans have harnessed the power of yeast to ferment bread and beer, the function of yeast or other types of fungi that live in and on the human body is not well understood. In the first study of human fungal skin diversity, National Institutes of Health researchers sequenced the DNA of fungi at skin sites of healthy adults to define the normal populations across the skin and to provide a fr

Source: NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute - Discipline: Genetics

Mega genomes of spruce species decoded

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:30:01 -0500

Canadian and Swedish scientists today released genome sequences of two of the most economically important forest trees in the world.

Source: University of British Columbia - Discipline: Genetics

Enzyme-activating antibodies revealed as marker for most severe form of rheumatoid arthritis

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:15:01 -0500

In a series of lab experiments designed to unravel the workings of a key enzyme widely considered a possible trigger of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that in the most severe cases of the disease, the immune system makes a unique subset of antibodies that have a disease-promoting role.

Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine - Discipline: Immunology

Fetch, boy! Study shows homes with dogs have more types of bacteria

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:02 -0500

New research from North Carolina State University and the University of Colorado shows that households with dogs are home to more types of bacteria – including bacteria that are rarely found in households that do not have dogs. The finding is part of a larger study to improve our understanding of the microscopic life forms that live in our homes.

Source: North Carolina State University - Discipline: Microbiology

Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:45:01 -0500

Every day, their baby stopped breathing, his collapsed bronchus blocking the crucial flow of air to his lungs. April and Bryan Gionfriddo watched helplessly, just praying that somehow the dire predictions weren't true.

Source: University of Michigan Health System - Discipline: Health

Migraine and depression together may be linked with brain size

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:30:01 -0500

Older people with a history of migraines and depression may have smaller brain tissue volumes than people with only one or neither of the conditions, according to a new study in the May 22, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Source: American Academy of Neurology - Discipline: Neuroscience

Scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:15:02 -0500

UCLA life scientists provide important new details on how climate change will affect interactions between species in research published online May 21 in the Journal of Animal Ecology. This knowledge, they say, is critical to making accurate predictions and informing policymakers of how species are likely to be impacted by rising temperatures.

Source: University of California - Los Angeles - Discipline: Ecology

Whirlpools on the nanoscale could multiply magnetic memory

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:00:04 -0500

"We spent 15 percent of home energy on gadgets in 2009, and we're buying more gadgets all the time," says Peter Fischer of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Fischer lets you know right away that while it's scientific curiosity that inspires his research at the Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS), he intends it to help solve pressing problems.

Source: DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Discipline: Physics

Study links chemicals widely found in plastics and processed food to elevated blood pressure in children and teens

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:00:01 -0500

Plastic additives known as phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) are odorless, colorless and just about everywhere: They turn up in flooring, plastic cups, beach balls, plastic wrap, intravenous tubing and—according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the bodies of most Americans. Once perceived as harmless, phthalates have come under increasing scrutiny. A growin

Source: NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine - Discipline: Health

Bird's playlist could signal mental strengths and weaknesses

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:45:01 -0500

Having the biggest playlist doesn't make a male songbird the brainiest of the bunch, a new study shows.

Source: Duke University - Discipline: Neuroscience

New method for producing clean hydrogen

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:30:01 -0500

Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.

Source: Duke University - Discipline: Energy

Finding a family for a pair of orphan receptors in the brain

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:15:01 -0500

Researchers at Emory University have identified a protein that stimulates a pair of "orphan receptors" found in the brain, solving a long-standing biological puzzle and possibly leading to future treatments for neurological diseases.

Source: Emory Health Sciences - Discipline: Neuroscience

Changing cancer's environment to halt its spread

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:01 -0500

By studying the roles two proteins, thrombospondin-1 and prosaposin, play in discouraging cancer metastasis, a trans-Atlantic research team has identified a five-amino acid fragment of prosaposin that significantly reduces metastatic spread in mouse models of prostate, breast and lung cancer. The findings suggest that a prosaposin-based drug could potentially block metastasis in a va

Source: Boston Children's Hospital - Discipline: Cancer

Estimates reveal low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:45:01 -0500

The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population level study to examine human immunity to the virus, which was previously only found in birds. The findings have implications for planning the public health response to this pandemic threat.

Source: Wellcome Trust - Discipline: Epidemiology

Going green: Nation equipped to grow serious amounts of pond scum for fuel

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:30:03 -0500

A new analysis shows that the nation's land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year in the United States, one-twelfth of the country's yearly needs.

Source: DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - Discipline: Energy

Minus environment, patterns still emerge

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:15:01 -0500

Environment is not the only factor in shaping regulatory patterns -- and it might not even be the primary factor, according to a new Rice University study that looks at how cells' protein networks relate to a bacteria's genome.

Source: Rice University - Discipline: Microbiology

Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:01 -0500

Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.

Source: Garvan Institute of Medical Research - Discipline: Health

Single-cell transfection tool enables added control for biological studies

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:45:02 -0500

Northwestern University researchers have developed a new method for delivering molecules into single, targeted cells through temporary holes in the cell surface. The technique could find applications in drug delivery, cell therapy, and related biological fields.

Source: Northwestern University - Discipline: Molecular Biology

14 closely related crocodiles existed around 5 million years ago

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:30:01 -0500

Nowadays, the most diverse species of crocodile are found in northern South America and Southeast Asia: As many as six species of alligator and four true crocodiles exist, although no more than two or three ever live alongside one another at the same time. It was a different story nine to about five million years ago, however, when a total of 14 different crocodile species existed and at least sev

Source: University of Zurich - Discipline: Paleontology

Origins of human culture linked to rapid climate change

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:15:02 -0500

Rapid climate change during the Middle Stone Age, between 80,000 and 40,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age, sparked surges in cultural innovation in early modern human populations, according to new research.

Source: Cardiff University - Discipline: Environment

The pirate ant: A new species from the Philippines with a bizarre pigmentation pattern

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:01 -0500

Scientists discovered a new enigmatic species of ant coming from the Philippines. Cardiocondyla pirata or the pirate ant engages the imagination with a bizarre pigmentation pattern that has no equivalent worldwide. The female castes in the colonies of these species can be recognized by a distinctive dark stripe across the eyes that resembles a pirate eye patch, which inspired the authors to

Source: Pensoft Publishers - Discipline: Animals

Small but speedy: Short plants live in the evolutionary fast lane

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:45:01 -0500

Biologists have known for a long time that some creatures evolve more quickly than others. Exactly why isn't well understood, particularly for plants. But it may be that height plays a role, says Robert Lanfear of Australian National University and the U. S. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center.

Source: National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) - Discipline: Evolution

Video: Allosaurus fed more like a falcon than a crocodile, new study finds

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:30:01 -0500

The mighty T. rex may have thrashed its massive head from side to side to dismember prey, but a new study shows that its smaller cousin Allosaurus was a more dexterous hunter and tugged at prey more like a modern-day falcon.

Source: Ohio University - Discipline: Paleontology

Novel RNA-based classification system for colorectal cancer

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:15:01 -0500

A novel transcriptome-based classification of colon cancer that improves the current disease stratification based on clinicopathological variables and common DNA markers is presented in a study published in PLOS Medicine this week. (A transcriptome is all RNA produced by a population of cells.) Pr. Pierre Laurent-Puig and colleagues from INSERM in Paris, France used genetic information from

Source: Public Library of Science - Discipline: Cancer

Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:00:02 -0500

Activating an enzyme known to play a role in the anti-aging benefits of calorie restriction delays the loss of brain cells and preserves cognitive function in mice, according to a study published in the May 22 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings could one day guide researchers to discover drug alternatives that slow the progress of age-associated impairments i

Source: Society for Neuroscience - Discipline: Neuroscience

Soft matter offers new ways to study how ordered materials arrange themselves

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:45:01 -0500

A fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics and materials.

Source: Georgia Institute of Technology - Discipline: Materials Science

Abundance and distribution of Hawaiian coral species predicted by model

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:01 -0500

Researchers from the University of Hawaii – Manoa (UHM) School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) developed species distribution models of the six dominant Hawaiian coral species around the main Hawaiian Islands including two species currently under consideration as threatened or endangered. They found the order of coral abundance (from highest to lowest) around the main Hawaiian I

Source: University of Hawaii ‑ SOEST - Discipline: Marine Biology

Study shows where scene context happens in our brain

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:15:01 -0500

In a remote fishing community in Venezuela, a lone fisherman sits on a cliff overlooking the southern Caribbean Sea. This man –– the lookout –– is responsible for directing his comrades on the water, who are too close to their target to detect their next catch. Using abilities honed by years of scanning the water's surface, he can tell by shadows, ripples, and even the b

Source: University of California - Santa Barbara - Discipline: Neuroscience