Wildfires cause tragic losses to life, property, and the environment. But even after the fire rages, the damage is far from done. Without vegetation, bare, burnt soil lies vulnerable to erosion, which can impede efforts towards natural forest regeneration. Now Assaf Inbar, a graduate student at Tel Aviv University's Porter School of Environmental Studies, together with his supervisors Prof. Marcelo Sternberg of the Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Dr.Meni Ben-Hur of the Volcani Center and Dr. Marcos Lado of the University of La Coruña, Spain, have ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The editors of the journal Science have selected a Mayo Clinic discovery as one of their top 10 "groundbreaking scientific achievements of 2011." The Mayo study --the first to eliminate the effects of aging in mice -- received worldwide attention when it was published in Nature in November. Science's international list of achievements featuring scientific breakthroughs ranging from biology to aerospace research was released Thursday afternoon. The study showed that the onset of age-related disorders and disabilities could be delayed or prevented by ...

In every state but New Hampshire, drivers are required by law to carry liability insurance or some other proof of financial responsibility. This coverage ensures that those injured in motor vehicle accidents have resources available to compensate them for medical bills, wages lost due to an inability to work and other losses arising out of a crash. Adequate insurance coverage also protects those who carry it, even if they are not injured: drivers who cause an accident but lack coverage must pay out of pocket to compensate victims. Yet, according to an Insurance Research ...

Hamilton, ON (Dec. 22, 2011) - Drugs used to overcome cancer may also combat antibiotic resistance, finds a new study led by Gerry Wright, scientific director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University. "Our study found that certain proteins, called kinases, that confer antibiotic resistance are structurally related to proteins important in cancer," says Wright about the study published in Chemistry & Biology. "The pharmaceutical sector has made a big investment in targeting these proteins, so there are a lot of compounds ...

HOUSTON — An inflammation-promoting protein triggers deactivation of a tumor-suppressor that usually blocks cancer formation via the NOTCH signaling pathway, a team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell. Working in liver cancer cell lines, the team discovered a mechanism by which tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) stimulates tumor formation, said senior author Mien-Chie Hung, Ph.D., professor and chair of MD Anderson's Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology. Hung also is MD Anderson's ...

The journal Science has chosen the HPTN 052 clinical trial (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2011/Pages/HPTN052.aspx), an international HIV prevention trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, as the 2011 Breakthrough of the Year. The study found that if HIV-infected heterosexual individuals begin taking antiretroviral medicines when their immune systems are relatively healthy as opposed to delaying therapy until the disease has advanced, they are 96 percent less likely to transmit ...

Cancer cells tend to take up more glucose than healthy cells, and researchers are increasingly interested in exploiting this tendency with drugs that target cancer cells' altered metabolism. Cancer cells' sugar cravings arise partly because they turn off their mitochondria, power sources that burn glucose efficiently, in favor of a more inefficient mode of using glucose. They benefit because the byproducts can be used as building blocks for fast-growing cells. Scientists at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University have shown that many types of cancer cells flip ...

Michigan hospitals are becoming the first of their kind in implementing a project that aims to avoid unnecessary C-sections. A lower rate of C-section deliveries is associated with healthier babies and a lower risk of a birth injury. The Michigan Health and Hospital Association Keystone obstetrics project implements changes to hospitals in Michigan in their birthing procedures. The project discourages elective or C-section births unless it is for medically necessary reasons such as chronic disease, a mother carrying multiple babies or the baby is small and developing ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Creating semiconductor structures for high-end optoelectronic devices just got easier, thanks to University of Illinois researchers. The team developed a method to chemically etch patterned arrays in the semiconductor gallium arsenide, used in solar cells, lasers, light emitting diodes (LEDs), field effect transistors (FETs), capacitors and sensors. Led by electrical and computer engineering professor Xiuling Li, the researchers describe their technique in the journal Nano Letters. A semiconductor's physical properties can vary depending on its structure, ...

HACKENSACK, N.J. (December 22, 2011) — Researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, one of the nation's top 50 best hospitals for cancer, presented results from 31 major studies of blood-related cancers – leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma -- during the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, December 10-13, 2011 in San Diego. Research highlights from the John Theurer Cancer Center included a global clinical trial of a new type of medication (HDAC inhibitor) against relapsed multiple myeloma led at the John ...

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 22 – Vaccines with broader reach might be made by stimulating specialized immune cells to recognize foreign cell membrane proteins that are shared across bacterial species, say researchers from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in a report published online today in Immunity. The approach could be particularly beneficial in preventing infection by multi-drug resistant organisms. The genetic heritage of organisms such as oysters, frogs and fish indicate that a family of cell-signaling molecules ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The same principle that causes figure skaters to spin faster as they draw their arms into their bodies has now been used by Michigan State University researchers to understand how molecules move energy around following the absorption of light. Conservation of angular momentum is a fundamental property of nature, one that astronomers use to detect the presence of satellites circling distant planets. In 1927, it was proposed that this principle should apply to chemical reactions, but a clear demonstration has never been achieved. In the current issue ...

Washington, D.C. — Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that support enormous biodiversity. But they are at risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening reefs and other marine organisms. New research led by Carnegie's Kenneth Schneider analyzed the role of sea cucumbers in portions of the Great Barrier Reef and determined that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from the surrounding reef accounts for about half of at the total nighttime dissolution for the reef. The work is published December 23 by the Journal of ...

Nearly five years after an initial lawsuit was filed, a jury in Michigan recently handed down a $144 million dollar verdict against Beaumont Hospital for injuries sustained during childbirth. Kimberly VanSlembrouck initiated the lawsuit against the hospital claiming they were negligent in their actions while she gave birth, causing her daughter irrevocable birth injuries. According to VanSlembrouck, the hospital was negligent when it failed to perform a Caesarian section, but instead delivered her daughter through the birth canal. As a result, her daughter suffered a ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have created a new type of optical device small enough to fit millions on a computer chip that could lead to faster, more powerful information processing and supercomputers. The "passive optical diode" is made from two tiny silicon rings measuring 10 microns in diameter, or about one-tenth the width of a human hair. Unlike other optical diodes, it does not require external assistance to transmit signals and can be readily integrated into computer chips. The diode is capable of "nonreciprocal transmission," meaning it transmits ...

Washington D.C. – Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) announced today a major breakthrough in engineering systems of RNA molecules through computer-assisted design, which could lead to important improvements across a range of industries, including the development of cheaper advanced biofuels. Scientists will use these new "RNA machines", to adjust genetic expression in the cells of microorganisms. This will enable scientists to develop new strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) that are better able to digest switchgrass ...

In third, fourth, and multiple offense DUI cases, a defendant is often looking at a lengthy mandatory jail term or prison sentence. This can be true even where one's most recent prior offense is eight or nine years old, no one was hurt, and the defendant is currently holding a great job, with a young family to provide for. Traditionally, in many such situations, the main recognized alternative to jail has been Work Furlough. Work Furlough can be compared to a very tightly run motel, where people are released during their working hours - such that they can keep their ...

PITTSBURGH—The flu shot, typically the first line of defense against seasonal influenza, could better treat the U.S. population, thanks to University of Pittsburgh researchers. New research that focuses on the composition and timing of the shot design was published in the September-October issue of Operations Research by Pitt Swanson School of Engineering faculty members Oleg Prokopyev, an assistant professor, and Professor Andrew Schaefer, both in the Department of Industrial Engineering, and coauthors Osman Ozaltin and Mark Roberts, professor and chair in Pitt's Department ...

The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres (JGR-D), Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Journal of Geophysical Research- Planets (JGR-E), Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface (JGR-F), and Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 1. When will Antarctic ozone begin to recover? Emissions of ozone-depleting substances have declined over recent decades, but it takes time for the ozone layer to recover. Regular measurements of ozone levels above the South Pole ...

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 1.7 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries in the U.S. every year. Unfortunately, many of these injuries are misdiagnosed, diagnosed late or not diagnosed at all. When a patient suffers negative health consequences because of misdiagnosis of or failure to diagnose traumatic brain injury, he or she may be able to make a claim against the mistaken doctor in a Rhode Island medical-malpractice lawsuit. Traumatic Brain Injury The Mayo Clinic reports that traumatic brain injury ...

December 22, 2011 -- The dire physical and mental health effects of injecting methamphetamine are well known, but there's been little research about suicidal behavior and injecting meth. In a recent study, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the University of British Columbia found that drug users who inject methamphetamine had an 80% greater risk of attempting suicide than drug users who inject other substances. Although the causal pathway between injecting methamphetamine and suicidal behavior requires further investigation, study ...

The finding of a team of researchers — including several members from Johns Hopkins — that HIV treatment with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) can actually prevent transmission of the virus from an infected person to his or her uninfected partner has been named "Breakthrough of the Year" for 2011 by the journal Science. The clinical trial, known as HPTN 052, demonstrated that early initiation of ARV therapy in people infected with HIV reduces transmission of the virus to their partners by 96 percent. The findings end a longstanding debate over whether ARV treatment of HIV-infected ...

An article to be published Friday (Dec. 23) in the December 2011 issue of The Quarterly Review of Biology argues that multiple sclerosis, long viewed as primarily an autoimmune disease, is not actually a disease of the immune system. Dr. Angelique Corthals, a forensic anthropologist and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, suggests instead that MS is caused by faulty lipid metabolism, in many ways more similar to coronary atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) than to other autoimmune diseases. Framing MS as a metabolic disorder helps ...

HOUSTON – (Dec. 22, 2011) – Radiology researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have found evidence that multiple sclerosis affects an area of the brain that controls cognitive, sensory and motor functioning apart from the disabling damage caused by the disease's visible lesions. The thalamus of the brain was selected as the benchmark for the study conducted by faculty at the UTHealth Medical School. Lead researchers include Khader M. Hasan, Ph.D., associate professor, and Ponnada A. Narayana, Ph.D., professor and director of Magnetic ...

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed a bill into law restricting teen drivers and requiring more training in hopes of saving teens' lives. The new law limits the number of passengers a teen driver may have and increases the number of hours teens must be trained behind the wheel. In a press release, Governor Corbett says that while the state has made significant improvements in reducing teen driving deaths, this new law is the next step needed to keep teenage drivers and teenage passengers safe on Pennsylvania's roads. The new law, named Lacey's Law, was spurred ...