An earthquake or a snow avalanche has its own shape However, it is crucial what one observes – paper fracture or the avalanching of snow. The results were just published in the Nature Communications journal. Avalanches of snow or earthquakes can be described in other ...

Smooth or grainy? A SISSA paper reviews research on the grain of space-time Smooth" or grainy? Is space-time continuous or is it made up of very fine (10-35 metres on the "Planck scale") but discrete grains, if we look at it very ...

IRB develops ChroGPS, a new generation visual browser of the epigenome This is a software application that provides easily interpretable maps from which to analyse and understand the immense volume of epigenetic and genetic ...

Birth control at the zoo Vets meet the elusive goal of hippo castration Common hippopotami (Hippopotamus amphibius) are vulnerable to extinction in the wild, but reproduce extremely well under captive breeding conditions. Females ...

Breaking down cancer's defense mechanisms A possible new method for treating pancreatic cancer which enables the body's immune system to attack and kill cancer cells has been developed by researchers. The method uses a drug which breaks down the ...

A gluttonous plant reveals how its cellular power plant devours foreign DNA Amborella trichopoda, a sprawling shrub that grows on just a single island in the remote South Pacific, is the only plant in its family and genus. It is also one of the oldest flowering ...

Charge order competes with superconductivity Today in Science express: Charge carriers in cuprate high-Tc superconductors form nanostripes that suppress superconductivity, as shown by guest researchers from Princeton ...

Elucidating biological cells' transport mechanisms A new study focuses on the motion of motor proteins in living cells, applying a physicist's tool called non-equilibrium statistical mechanics Motion fascinates physicists. It becomes even more intriguing when ...

How the cells remove copper We are fundamentally dependent on the presence of copper in the cells of the body. Copper is actually part of the body's energy conversion and protective mechanisms against oxygen radicals, as well as part of the immune system, and it also has great ...

New research provides insight into epilepsy Jørgen Kjems and Morten Trillingsgaard Venø, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO), contribute to an article on microRNA-128 just published in Science. ...

EARTH Magazine: Navigating the risks of hazard research Alexandria, VA – When individuals die in a natural disaster or property damage is costly, can anyone be blamed? After the 2012 conviction of six Italian geoscientists on manslaughter charges related ...

Half of National Lottery in Spain sold at Christmas Sales of the National Lottery have fallen for the last five years, which shows that even the most traditional games have been affected by the economic crisis. In 2012, it collected 5.0163 billion euros, down 4.8% from 2011 ...

Neurobiology: The logistics of learning Learning requires constant reconfiguration of the connections between nerve cells. Two new studies now yield new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie the learning process. Learning and memory ...

Increasing personal savings, the 'Groundhog Day' way How a cyclical concept of time can boost your bank account Thinking about time as a cycle of recurring experiences — a reality Bill Murray's character knows all too well in the movie ...

Early detection of blinding eye disease could be as easy as scanning a barcode New hand-held optical device to catch early signs of retinal disease

New data for engineering immune cells shows early promise in solid tumors PHILADELPHIA — Engineered immune cells, called CARTmeso cells, designed to direct antitumor immune responses toward tumors that carry a protein called mesothelin, showed ...

Sugar cane fires in Louisiana According to KATC Channel 3 in Lafayette, LA on December 17, 2013 , thick plumes of smoke are visible for miles around Acadiana (the mostly French region of Louisiana in the southern part of the state). They aren't major fires, but instead ...

Parasitic DNA proliferates in aging tissues The genomes of organisms from humans to corn are replete with "parasitic" strands of DNA that, when not suppressed, copy themselves and spread throughout the genome, potentially affecting health. Earlier this year Brown University researchers ...

Common disorders: It's not the genes themselves, but how they are controlled Case Western Reserve identifies multiple DNA changes cause disease, offering new drug targets Many rare disorders are caused by gene mutation, like sickle cell anemia. Yet ...

Want to stop smoking? See a specialist! Smokers in England who want to stop smoking are three times more likely to succeed if they see a trained advisor than if they try by themselves, according to a new study published online today in the medical journal Addiction. Worryingly, ...

Gene transfer gone wild reveals driving force behind mitochondrial sex Report largest example of horizontal gene transfer in any organism Pioneering research led by Indiana University has identified genes from a number of plant species, including the entire mitochondrial ...

Science's top 10 breakthroughs of 2013 Journal celebrates recent success with cancer immunotherapy and more This news release is available in Spanish, French, Arabic, Japanese and Chinese. The cancer research community experienced ...

The origin of flowers: DNA of storied plant provides insight into the evolution of flowering plants The newly sequenced genome of the Amborella plant addresses Darwin's "abominable mystery" -- the question of why flowers suddenly proliferated on Earth millions of years ...

Cocaine, meth response differ between 2 substrains of 'Black 6' laboratory mouse Researchers including Jackson Laboratory Professor Gary Churchill, Ph.D., have found a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) difference in cocaine and methamphetamine response between ...

Researchers generate kidney tubular cells from stem cells Advance could allow regenerative medicine to replace dialysis or transplantation for treating kidney failure Washington, DC (December 19, 2013) — Researchers have successfully coaxed stem cells to become kidney ...