While not an outright failure, a 2010 goal set by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for staunching the loss of the world's species fell far short of expectations for "The International Year of Biodiversity." What does this mean for the 20 proposed 2020 goals being considered by the 10th conference of parties at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, on Oct. 18-29, 2010? In the article "Ecosystem Services for 2020," published Oct. 15, 2010 in the journal Science, some of the world's foremost biodiversity experts assembled by the Paris-based ...

Researchers have developed a genetic tool in mice to speed the discovery of novel genes involved in cancer. The system – called PiggyBac – has already been used by the team to identify novel candidate cancer-causing genes. This new development of the PiggyBac system makes it a powerful addition to the armoury of genetic methods available to researchers for picking apart the genetic causes of cancer. It will complement advances in genomics and genetics of cancer, by providing biological validation to human mutations identified by cancer genome sequencing. The PiggyBac ...

A gene's location on a chromosome plays a significant role in shaping how an organism's traits vary and evolve, according to findings by genome biologists at New York University's Center for Genomic and Systems Biology and Princeton University's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. Their research, which appears in the latest issue of the journal Science, suggests that evolution is less a function of what a physical trait is and more a result of where the genes that affect that trait reside in the genome. Physical traits found in nature, such as height or eye ...

Discovery of a molecular switch that turns off the natural process of skin pigmentation may lead to a novel way of protecting the skin – activating the tanning process without exposure to cancer-causing UV radiation. In their report in the journal Genes & Development, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cutaneous Biology Research Center (CBRC) describe how blocking the action of this switch – an enzyme called PDE-4D3 – in the skin of mice led to a significant increase in melanin production. "The primary goal of inducing melanin production in human ...

AUDIO: When a person has a heart attack, and the heart stops beating, a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that the... Click here for more information. Heart attack patients whose hearts have stopped beating and who receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from bystanders fare better if their resuscitators skip the rescue breaths and do only chest compression, according to a study led by researchers at Washington ...

Size matters when it comes to the nucleus of a cell, and now scientists have discovered the signals that control how big the nucleus gets. Nuclear size varies not only among different species, but also in different types of cells in the same species and at different times during development. In addition, cancer cells are known to develop larger nuclei as they become more malignant. Screening for cervical cancer, for example, involves looking for grossly distorted nuclei in cervical cells collected during a Pap smear. "Pathologists look at nuclear size in cancer cells ...

Atmospheric fine particles affect the Earth's radiation balance by interacting with solar radiation and by participating in cloud formation. Biogenic volatile organic compounds are key players in new particle formation processes. Hence, terrestrial vegetation has an important role as the newly formed particles cool our climate. The chemical composition of such secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles formed from volatile compounds emitted by vegetation is very complicated and only limited information on the phase state of SOA particles has been available. Thus the scientific ...

Des Moines, Iowa USA: World renowned scientists speaking at the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue have called for a radical transformation in the agriculture sector to cope with climate change, food security and to transition towards sustainability. Dr Dennis Garrity, Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre and Professor MS Swaminathan, 1987 World Food Prize Laureate and founder of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, have teamed up to promote what they call a 'fresh out of the box solution' which is already dramatically improving crop yields while storing ...

Babies are curious about nearly everything, and they're especially interested in what their adult companions are doing. Touch your tummy, they'll touch their own tummies. Wave your hands in the air, they'll wave their own hands. Turn your head to look at a toy, they'll follow your eyes to see what's so exciting. Curiosity drives their learning. At 18 months old, babies are intensely curious about what makes humans tick. A team of University of Washington researchers is studying how infants tell which entities are "psychological agents" that can think and feel. Research ...

While the blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from harmful chemicals occurring naturally in the blood, it also obstructs the transport of drugs to the brain. In an article in Nature scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet now present a potential solution to the problem. The key to the BBB is a cell-type in the blood vessel walls called pericytes, and the researchers hope that their findings will one day contribute to new therapies for diseases like Alzheimer's and stroke. "Our new results show that the blood-brain barrier is regulated ...

Many overseas nurses have negative experiences of living and working in the UK, particularly when it comes to feeling personally valued and professionally respected, according to the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing. Researchers from the University of Northampton also found that discrimination and racism still exist in the National Health Service and that the reality of first-world UK nursing is often very different to what overseas nurses expect. Senior lecturer and nurse Julia Nichols and Professor of Neurophysiology Jackie Campbell carried out ...

Scientists at the University of Leeds have perfected a new technique that allows them to make molecular nanowires out of thin strips of ring-shaped molecules known as discotic liquid crystals (DLCs). The findings could be an important step in the development of next generation electronic devices, such as light-harvesting cells and low-cost biosensors that could be used to test water quality in developing countries. DLCs are disk-shaped molecules that are one of the more promising candidates for organic electronic devices. However, controlling their alignment has proved ...

Disorganised and emotionally unstable, poorly adapted, suffering from alcohol problems, impulsive, or with a "globally adapted" personality. These are the features of the four diagnosed types of compulsive gamblers identified by researchers at the University Hospital of Bellvitge (IDIBELL) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). According to the scientific team, only one of these four shows signs of a significant pathology. "We need to use different treatments for each sub-group of pathological gamblers in order to respond to their specific therapeutic difficulties ...

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, October 14, 2010 -- A new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers predicts that a new generation of malware (software written for malicious purposes like identity theft) could steal data on human behavior patterns, which is more dangerous than traditional, detectable attacks. In the newly published paper, "Stealing Reality," Dr. Yaniv Altschuler and Dr. Yuval Elovici from BGU discuss malware threats that extract personal information about relationships in a real-world social network, as well as characteristic information about ...

Researchers a the University of Granada and the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital Virgen de las Nieves at Granada found that the metabolic imaging diagnosis technique –based on the analysis of a structural analog of glucose labeled with a positron-emitting compound (18F)– allows early diagnosis of gall bladder cancer, a relatively rare disease with high mortality rates among most patients suffering from it. For the purpose of this study, 62 patients were subjected to this scanning method, which represents the largest sample of patients with gall bladder cancer ...

In the first half of February 2009, two asteroids collided in a region of space beyond the orbit of Mars, as scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany have now discovered. The researchers were able to pinpoint the exact date of the impact more precisely than ever before. The debris of the crash had attracted the attention of scientists worldwide. Together with the largest earthbound telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope, the OSIRIS camera system onboard ESA's space probe Rosetta, that was developed and is now operated under ...

VIDEO: New research from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center may help clinicians better predict how a child with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) will respond to some of the most commonly... Click here for more information. EAST PROVIDENCE, RI – New research from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center may help clinicians better predict how a child with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) will respond to some of the most commonly used treatment approaches. ...

Scientists at the University of East Anglia have made an important breakthrough in the way anti-cancer drugs are tested. A tumour cannot grow to a large size or spread until it has developed its own blood supply and leading research has looked for a way of halting capillary formation to stop tumours taking hold. But new findings published today in the Journal of Cell Science have shown that scientists testing such treatments may not have been studying exactly what they thought they were. The research proves that cells are able to switch their genetic profile – ...

Findings from a study, which appear in the Oct. 14, 2010 New England Journal of Medicine, helped influence the World Health Organization (WHO) to change its guidelines this year for the treatment of HIV-infected women who receive a single dose of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine to prevent HIV transmission to their babies. The study demonstrated that the single dose of nevirapine used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV can hamper the drug's effectiveness if it is also used later as part of a regimen to treat these same individuals. The Phase III study, called ...

CHAPEL HILL, NC – A collaboration between physicians and scientists at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has demonstrated that a biomarker called TCF21 may be used to develop a potential screening test for early-stage lung cancer. Despite the fact that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, early-stage lung cancer is difficult to diagnose. A number of proposed screening tests, including screening CT scans and serum markers, have not shown any benefit in enhancing patient survival. TCF21 ...

Only one-fifth of primary care physicians in the US follow practice guidelines for colorectal cancer screening for all the tests they recommend, according to Dr. Robin Yabroff from the National Cancer Institute and her colleagues. About 40 percent followed guidelines for some of the tests they recommended and the remaining 40 percent did not follow guidelines for any of the screening tests they recommended. Furthermore, their analysis1 of physician screening recommendations for colorectal cancer shows that many clinicians either overuse or underuse screening. Their findings ...

Even Darwin was a self-admitted orchid lover. Dictionaries describe orchids as exotic ornamentals. Indeed, these plants – more than 30000 different species are thought to exist – are exotic due their extraordinary and diverse flower morphology. However, they are also exotic from a point of view other than beauty: as crafty imposters in order to achieve reproduction and to make sure that their ovaries are pollinated. Orchids depend on the assistance of pollinators, and like many other flowering plants, attract insects. Epipactis veratrifolia, an orchid native in South ...

WASHINGTON – Children whose mothers return to work before their offspring turn 3 are no more likely to have academic or behavioral problems than kids whose mothers stay at home, according to a review of 50 years of research. "Overall, I think this shows women who go back to work soon after they have their children should not be too concerned about the effects their employment has on their children's long-term well-being," said psychologist Rachel Lucas-Thompson, PhD, lead author of the study conducted with Drs. JoAnn Prause and Wendy Goldberg at the University of California, ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – People who believe false rumors about the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York City not only are more likely to oppose that project – they are more likely to oppose building of a mosque in their own neighborhood. Researchers surveyed 750 Americans and asked them if they believed any of four rumors associated with the New York City mosque, all of which have been refuted. One of the rumors, for example, falsely says that that the proposed center is scheduled to open on September 11, 2011 in celebration of the 10-year ...

New Haven, Conn.—Sixty-three percent of Americans believe that global warming is happening, but many do not understand why, according to a national study conducted by researchers at Yale University. The report titled "Americans' Knowledge of Climate Change" found that only 57 percent know what the greenhouse effect is, only 45 percent of Americans understand that carbon dioxide traps heat from the Earth's surface, and just 50 percent understand that global warming is caused mostly by human activities. Large majorities incorrectly think that the hole in the ozone layer ...