A mix of serendipity and dogged laboratory work allowed a diverse team of University of Pittsburgh scientists to report in the Oct. 1 issue of Nature Cell Biology that they had solved the mystery of a basic biological function essential to cellular health. By discovering a mechanism by which mitochondria – tiny structures inside cells often described as "power plants" – signal that they are damaged and need to be eliminated, the Pitt team has opened the door to potential research into cures for disorders such as Parkinson's disease that are believed to be caused by dysfunctional ...

VIDEO: This is a video of radial diffusion of lithium into an uncoated germanium nanowire as well as axial lithiation of a silicon-coated nanowire's germanium core. This research on nanowires could... Click here for more information. New research led by an electrical engineer at the University of California, San Diego is aimed at improving lithium-ion batteries through possible new electrode architectures with precise nano-scale designs. The researchers created nanowires ...

The aerosolized dust created by vacuums contain bacteria and mold that "could lead to adverse effects in allergic people, infants, and people with compromised immunity," according to researchers at the University of Queensland and Laval University. Their findings are published ahead of print in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This finding is worrying as the study found resistance genes for five common antibiotics in the sampled bacteria along with the Clostridium botulinum toxin gene. This is of particular concern as, "The dust found indoors could act as a vehicle ...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Two Kansas geologists are helping shed new light on how tungsten metal is leached from the sediment surrounding aquifers into the groundwater. The findings may have implications for human health. Tungsten is a naturally occurring metal that is primarily used for incandescent light bulb filaments, drill bits and an alternative to lead in bullets. Though it is thought to be nonhazardous to the environment and nontoxic to humans, it can be poisonous if ingested in large amounts. In recent years, tungsten has been tentatively linked to cases of childhood ...

Younger patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body represent a high-risk group that is less likely to respond to treatment. Colorectal cancer in patients younger than 40 is more likely to grow despite treatment and young patients are at greater risk of death than people in other age groups. That's according to research presented to the 2013 European Cancer Congress in Amsterdam. The team of scientists is led by an investigator at University of Colorado Cancer Center. An analysis of 20,034 patients in 24 phase III clinical trials showed ...

DURHAM, N.C. – By detailing a process required for repairing DNA breakage, scientists at the Duke Cancer Institute have gained a better understanding of how cells deal with the barrage of damage that can contribute to cancer and other diseases. The insights, reported online the week of Sept. 30, 2013, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, build on earlier work by the research team and identify new prospects for developing cancer therapies. The researchers have focused on a complex series of events that cells routinely undertake to repair DNA ...

Blending cremated remains into tattoos, creating "virtual tombstones" online and displaying "Rest in Peace" car decals or T-shirts are unconventional ways people increasingly are using to honor the dead this century, a Baylor University researcher says. "With 'do-it-yourself' memorials, people are creating their own ways of memorializing the dead, particularly in a more secularized society," said Candi Cann, Ph.D., an assistant professor of religion in Baylor's Honors College. "Some people are alienated from some common traditions such as a long funeral Mass. Cohesive ...

Alexandria, VA – In the first study of its kind, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) Workforce Program has published the results of the National Geoscience Student Exit Survey, which documents the experiences of graduating geosciences majors. Initial findings support that these new graduates, at all levels, shared some common traits such as the importance of field experiences and exposure to Earth science at the K-12 level. The need for continued growth in the geoscience workforce is well documented and supported by its continuance as one of the most lucrative ...

ANN ARBOR—A microfluidic chip developed at the University of Michigan is among the best at capturing elusive circulating tumor cells from blood—and it can support the cells' growth for further analysis. The device, believed to be the first to pair these functions, uses the advanced electronics material graphene oxide. In clinics, such a device could one day help doctors diagnose cancers, give more accurate prognoses and test treatment options on cultured cells without subjecting patients to traditional biopsies. "If we can get these technologies to work, it will advance ...

BOSTON (Sept. 30, 2013) — Short-term hearing loss during childhood may lead to persistent hearing deficits, long after basic auditory sensitivity has returned to normal. The processing of sound in the brain is shaped by early experience. New research from Massachusetts Eye and Ear has identified two critical periods occurring shortly after hearing onset that regulate how sounds from each ear are fused into a coherent representation in the brain. Their research is described in Nature Communications. Hearing scientist Daniel Polley, Ph.D., an investigator at Massachusetts ...

UCLA chemical engineering researchers have created a new synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose that could lead to a 50 percent increase in the production of biofuels. The new pathway is intended to replace the natural metabolic pathway known as glycolysis, a series of chemical reactions that nearly all organisms use to convert sugars into the molecular precursors that cells need. Glycolysis converts four of the six carbon atoms found in glucose into two-carbon molecules known acetyl-CoA, a precursor to biofuels like ethanol and butanol, as well as fatty ...

Membrane proteins are responsible for transporting chemicals and messages between a cell and its environment. But determining their structure has proved challenging for scientists. A study by UC Santa Barbara's Han Research Group demonstrates a new tool to resolve the structure of membrane-embedded and membrane-associating proteins using the water dynamics gradient they found across and above the lipid bilayer as a unique ruler. More than 25 percent of all human proteins are membrane proteins, which perform other essential functions, such as sensing and signaling. They ...

LA JOLLA, CA—September 30, 2013¬–A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has created the first comprehensive roadmap of the protein interactions that enable cells in the pancreas to produce, store and secrete the hormone insulin. The finding makes possible a deeper scientific understanding of the insulin secretion process—and how it fails in insulin disorders such as type 2 diabetes. "The development of this insulin interaction map is unprecedented, and we expect it to lead us to new therapeutic approaches for type 2 diabetes," said William E. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. ¬— As the oldest of the baby boomers begin to reach retirement age, a large percentage of Americans are thinking more and more about how much money they must save to be able to retire comfortably. Also, more and more employers are changing retirement benefits from defined-benefit plans, which guarantee some level of retirement income, to defined-contribution plans, which require employees to invest on their own for retirement. All of these changes, plus the recent economic recession, have created a difficult financial environment for future retirees. Now, ...

MADISON — Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have made a discovery that, if replicated in humans, suggests a shortage of zinc may contribute to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which have been linked to defective proteins clumping together in the brain. With proteins, shape is everything. The correct shape allows some proteins to ferry atoms or molecules about a cell, others to provide essential cellular scaffolding or identify invading bacteria for attack. When proteins lose their shape due to high temperature or chemical damage, they stop working ...

VIDEO: NASA planetary scientist Conor Nixon explains his discovery of propylene on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Scientists have known about the presence of atmospheric hydrocarbons on Titan since Voyager 1 flew... Click here for more information. NASA's Cassini spacecraft has detected propylene, a chemical used to make food-storage containers, car bumpers and other consumer products, on Saturn's moon Titan. This is the first definitive detection of the plastic ingredient ...

WASHINGTON, DC, September 26, 2013 -- In response to past economic crises such as the Great Depression, Americans demanded government policy solutions to widespread unemployment and rising income insecurity. But a new study in the October issue of the American Sociological Review found that public support for government efforts to address social problems actually declined in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. "We found it surprising that as the Great Recession emerged, the American public moved quickly toward lower levels of support for government policy solutions ...

To address the global phenomenon of disparities in respiratory health, the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society have released an official policy statement in which each pledges its commitment to reducing health disparities between the lowest and highest socioeconomic groups by continuing or initiating work with leaders from governments, academia, and other organizations to promote scientific inquiry and training, disseminate medical information and best practices, and monitor and advocate for public respiratory health. The statement appears in ...

Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2013 -- Resveratrol, a naturally occurring polyphenol compound produced by the skin of red grapes and peanuts, and found in red wine, has been touted as a beneficial supplement due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This has been supported by some experimental studies, whereas others suggest a lack of benefit. A new study using two multiple sclerosis (MS) models published in The American Journal of Pathology has found that resveratrol actually worsened MS-like neuropathology and inflammation and had no neuroprotective effects. ...

A recent research has explored the environmental exposure and flux of thallium to the environment; and it provides the foundations for theoretical calculation to control Tl pollution by utilizing of Tl-rich pyrite minerals. This paper, "Environmental Exposure and Flux of Thallium by Industrial Activities Utilizing Thallium-Bearing Pyrite", written by professor CHEN Yong-Heng et al. from Key Laboratory of Waters Safety & Protection in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University, is published in Science China: Earth Sciences (No.9, 2013) . Thallium ...

Unique DNA markings on certain genes may "predict" the risk of developing head and neck cancer, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London. The findings, published today in the journal Cancer, raise the potential for the development of non-invasive tests which could pick up these tell-tale signs of early cancer initiation. Head and neck cancers are cancers that develop anywhere in the head and neck, including mouth cancer and throat cancer. About 16,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with head and neck cancer every year*. In this study scientists ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. --The total hospital cost of mitral valve repair surgery -- from the time a patient is admitted to the hospital until release --is similar, whether performed through small port incisions using robotic equipment or via the conventional open-chest method, a Mayo Clinic study of 370 patients found. Importantly, robotic surgeries were just as safe as conventional open procedures, but patients who underwent robotic mitral valve repair recovered more rapidly and returned home earlier than patients who had open-chest surgery, the study found. The results of the ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —Although a number of chain restaurants have announced healthy menu changes over the years, the overall calorie and sodium levels in main entrées offered by top U.S. chain restaurants assessed from 2010 to 2011 have remained the same, according to a study published today in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The study, "Changes in the Energy and Sodium Content of Main Entrées in U.S. Chain Restaurants from 2010 to 2011," evaluated the nutritional content changes of more than 26,000 regular menu entrées in a year by 213 major U.S. ...

It's often said that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has a woman's face. The proportion of women infected with HIV has been on the rise for a decade; in sub-Saharan Africa, women constitute 60 percent of people living with disease. While preventative drugs exist, they have often proven ineffective, especially in light of financial and cultural barriers in developing nations. A new intravaginal ring filled with an anti-retroviral drug could help. Developed with support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases by Northwestern University visiting associate professor ...

Daejeon, Republic of Korea, September 29, 2013 -- For many decades, we have been relying on fossil resources to produce liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and many industrial and consumer chemicals for daily use. However, increasing strains on natural resources as well as environmental issues including global warming have triggered a strong interest in developing sustainable ways to obtain fuels and chemicals. Gasoline, the petroleum-derived product that is most widely used as a fuel for transportation, is a mixture of hydrocarbons, additives, and blending agents. ...