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Study reveals neural basis of rapid brain adaptation

Study reveals neural basis of rapid brain adaptation
2010-11-23
You detect an object flying at your head. What do you do? You probably first move out of the way -- and then you try to determine what the object is. Your brain is able to quickly switch from detecting an object moving in your direction to determining what the object is through a phenomenon called adaptation. A new study in the Nov. 21 advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience details the biological basis of this ability for rapid adaptation: neurons located at the beginning of the brain's sensory information pathway that change their level of simultaneous ...

Fall bonefish census sounds warning bell that warrants careful future monitoring

Fall bonefish census sounds warning bell that warrants careful future monitoring
2010-11-23
MIAMI – November 22, 2010 – This October more than 60 guides and anglers in the Florida Keys poled across the flats from Biscayne Bay to the Marquesas, assisting in the annual bonefish census. This year's count, held in extremely difficult weather with lowered visibility, was down by 25-percent from an 8-year mean estimate of 316,805 bonefish to a new low of about 240,000 bonefish, according to Professor Jerry Ault, a fisheries scientist with the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. "Since 2003 we have conducted an annual bonefish ...

Flexible wings driven by simple oscillation may be viable for efficient micro air vehicles

Flexible wings driven by simple oscillation may be viable for efficient micro air vehicles
2010-11-23
In the future, tiny air vehicles may be able to fly through cracks in concrete to search for earthquake victims, explore a contaminated building or conduct surveillance missions for the military. But today, designing the best flying mechanism for these miniature aerial machines is still a challenging task. Creating micro-scale air vehicles that mimic the flapping of winged insects or birds has become popular, but they typically require a complex combination of pitching and plunging motions to oscillate the flapping wings. To avoid some of the design challenges involved ...

Putting the squeeze on fat cells

2010-11-23
From fad diets to exercise programs, Americans continue to fight the battle of the bulge. Now they'll have help from recent Tel Aviv University research that has developed a new method to look at how fat cells -- which produce the fat in our bodies -- respond to mechanical loads. This might be the key to understanding how to control the amount of fat produced by fat cells, the holy grail of weight loss researchers, says Prof. Amit Gefen of Tel Aviv University's Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research is driven by the theory that fat cells, like bone or muscle ...

Scientists clock on to how sunlight shapes daily rhythms

2010-11-23
Fresh insight into how biological clocks adjust to having less sunlight in the winter could help us better understand the impact of jet lag and shift work. Scientists studying the daily activity cycle in plants – known as circadian rhythms – have discovered a finely tuned process that enables the plant's genes to respond to the times of dawn and dusk each day, as well as the length of daylight in between. This system helps the plant to reset its internal clock every day in response to seasonal changes in daylight, which helps the plant control the timing of key activities ...

Bacteria help infants digest milk more effectively than adults

2010-11-23
Infants are more efficient at digesting and utilizing nutritional components of milk than adults due to a difference in the strains of bacteria that dominate their digestive tracts. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and Utah State University report on genomic analysis of these strains in the November 2010 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology identifying the genes that are most likely responsible for this difference. "Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are the third-largest solid component of milk. Their structural complexity ...

Hong Kong hospital reports possible airborne influenza transmission

2010-11-23
Direct contact and droplets are the primary ways influenza spreads. Under certain conditions, however, aerosol transmission is possible. In a study published in the current issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/656743), the authors examined such an outbreak in their own hospital in Hong Kong. On April 4, 2008, seven inpatients in the hospital's general medical ward developed fever and respiratory symptoms. Ultimately, nine inpatients exhibited influenza-like symptoms and tested positive for influenza ...

Researchers kick-start ancient DNA

Researchers kick-start ancient DNA
2010-11-23
BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton University researchers recently revived ancient bacteria trapped for thousands of years in water droplets embedded in salt crystals. For decades, geologists have looked at these water droplets — called fluid inclusions — and wondered whether microbes could be extracted from them. Fluid inclusions have been found inside salt crystals ranging in age from thousands to hundreds of millions years old. But there has always been a question about whether the organisms cultured from salt crystals are genuinely ancient material or whether they are ...

MU scientist develops salmonella test that makes food safer, reduce recalls

MU scientist develops salmonella test that makes food safer, reduce recalls
2010-11-23
VIDEO: University of Missouri researchers have created a new test for salmonella in poultry and eggs that will produce faster and more accurate results than most currently available tests. Click here for more information. COLUMBIA, Mo. –Earlier this year, an outbreak of salmonella caused by infected eggs resulted in thousands of illnesses before a costly recall could be implemented. Now, University of Missouri researchers have created a new test for salmonella in poultry ...

Cutting-edge salivary diagnostics research presented at AADR 3rd Fall Focused Symposium

2010-11-23
Alexandria, Va. – The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) held its 3rd Fall Focused Symposium on November 12-13, in the Washington, DC, area. This year, the theme was the fast-moving field of Salivary Diagnostics, with a focus on Scientific & Clinical Frontiers. The symposium was sold-out, but AADR also offered a live Webinar broadcast of the oral sessions. AADR created the Fall Focused Symposium under the objective to provide networking opportunities and exchange of ideas, and to offer small regional symposia focused on cutting-edge technology and techniques. ...

Speed heals

Speed heals
2010-11-23
Both the rate and direction of axon growth in the spinal cord can be controlled, according to new research by USC College's Samantha Butler and her collaborators. The study, "The Bone Morphogenetic Protein Roof Plate Chemorepellent Regulates the Rate of Commissural Axonal Growth," by Butler; lead researcher Keith Phan and graduate students Virginia Hazen and Michele Frendo of USC College; and Zhengping Jia of the University of Toronto, was published online in the November 17 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. Butler, assistant professor of biological sciences, found ...

New tool detects Ebola, Marburg quickly, easily

2010-11-23
BOSTON (11-22-10) -- Boston University researchers have developed a simple diagnostic tool that can quickly identify dangerous viruses like Ebola and Marburg. The biosensor, which is the size of a quarter and can detect viruses in a blood sample, could be used in developing nations, airports and other places where natural or man-made outbreaks could erupt. "By enabling ultra-portable and fast detection, our technology can directly impact the course of our reaction against bio-terrorism threats and dramatically improve our capability to confine viral outbreaks," said Assistant ...

Ultrathin alternative to silicon for future electronics

Ultrathin alternative to silicon for future electronics
2010-11-23
There's good news in the search for the next generation of semiconductors. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley, have successfully integrated ultra-thin layers of the semiconductor indium arsenide onto a silicon substrate to create a nanoscale transistor with excellent electronic properties. A member of the III–V family of semiconductors, indium arsenide offers several advantages as an alternative to silicon including superior electron mobility and velocity, ...

Hybrid tugboat cuts emissions, University of California, Riverside study shows

2010-11-23
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) --A new study by University of California, Riverside scientists of what is believed to be the world's only hybrid electric tugboat found that the vessel is effective in reducing emissions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Researchers at the UC Riverside College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) demonstrated the hybrid electric tugboat reduces emissions of soot by about 73 percent, oxides of nitrogen (which help cause smog) by 51 percent, and carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, ...

Overweight primarily a problem among wealthier women in low- to middle-income countries

2010-11-23
Boston, MA – A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds that high body mass index (BMI) in developing countries remains primarily a problem of the rich. The findings suggest that the shift towards overweight and obesity among the poor that has already happened in wealthier countries has not yet happened in developing countries. The study appears in an advance online edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and will appear in an upcoming print edition. "Previous research on the increasing overweight and obesity burden in developing countries ...

Mayo Clinic study finds aggressive surgery is best for children with brain tumors

2010-11-23
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A new Mayo Clinic study (http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2008/12/03/brain-tumors-best-treatments-for-long-term-survival/) found that children with low-grade brain tumors (gliomas) (http://www.mayoclinic.org/brain-tumors/) who undergo aggressive surgery to completely remove the tumor have an increased chance of overall survival. If complete removal is not possible, adding radiation therapy to a less complete surgery provides patients with the same outcomes as a complete removal. This study was presented at the Society for NeuroOncology Annual Scientific ...

New American Chemical Society Prized Science video focuses on shrinking the computer chip

New American Chemical Society Prized Science video focuses on shrinking the computer chip
2010-11-23
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2010 — The science that helped make today's smartphones and iPods smaller but more powerful than yesterday's desktop computers highlights the latest episode in the American Chemical Society (ACS) Prized Science video series. The new high-definition video, released today, focuses on IBM chemist Robert Miller, winner of the 2010 ACS Award for Chemistry of Materials. Miller developed materials that helped pack more transistors onto each computer chip, those postage stamp-size slivers of silicon that make up the brains of computers and other electronic ...

University of Minnesota engineering researcher finds new way to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria

2010-11-23
New findings by civil engineering researchers in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering shows that treating municipal wastewater solids at higher temperatures may be an effective tool in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Heating the solid waste to 130 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius) was particularly effective in eliminating the genes that confer antibiotic resistance. These genes are used by bacteria to become resistant to multiple antibiotics, which are then known as "superbacteria" or "superbugs." The research paper ...

The not-so-sweet truth about sugar -- a risk choice?

The not-so-sweet truth about sugar -- a risk choice?
2010-11-23
More and more people have become aware of the dangers of excessive fructose in diet. A new review on fructose in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) indicates just how dangerous this simple sugar may be. Richard J. Johnson, MD and Takahiko Nakagawa, MD (Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado) provide a concise overview of recent clinical and experimental studies to understand how excessive amounts of fructose, present in added sugars, may play a role in high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and ...

Perceptual training improves vision of the elderly

2010-11-23
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Elderly adults can improve their vision with perceptual training, according to a study from the University of California, Riverside and Boston University that has implications for the health and mobility of senior citizens. The study, "Perceptual learning, aging, and improved visual performance in early stages of visual processing," appears in the current online issue of the Journal of Vision. It was funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. UCR researchers G. John Andersen, professor of psychology; Rui Ni, formerly a postdoctoral ...

HIV drugs interfere with blood sugar, lead to insulin resistance

2010-11-23
The same powerful drugs that have extended the lives of countless people with HIV come with a price – insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have determined why that happens. Their research shows that HIV protease inhibitors directly interfere with the way blood sugar levels are controlled in the body. This leads to insulin resistance, a condition that occurs when the body produces enough insulin but doesn't use it properly. This confirmation provides the potential ...

Number of doctorates awarded continued to grow in 2009

2010-11-23
U.S. academic institutions awarded 49,562 research doctorate degrees in 2009, the highest number ever reported by the National Science Foundation's Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), and a 1.6 percent increase over 2008's total of 48,802. The SED is an annual census of all individuals who receive a research doctorate from a U.S. academic institution in an academic year, which is July 1 through June 30 of the following year. The 2009 census covered individuals who earned doctorates in the academic year ending June 2009. NSF's Science Resources Statistics division compiled ...

AGU highlights: Nov. 22, 2010

2010-11-23
The following highlights summarize research papers that have been recently published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL), Water Resources Research (WRR), and Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface (JGR-F). In this release: Changing winds can influence amounts of carbon dioxide the ocean holds Large methane release from ocean sediments during glacial periods? Magnetic island observed at Earth's magnetopause Understanding particle movement improves models of stream erosion and deposition New method for assessing uncertainty in groundwater models ...

Gene find could lead to healthier food, better biofuel production

2010-11-23
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University scientists have found the last undiscovered gene responsible for the production of the amino acid phenylalanine, a discovery that could lead to processes to control the amino acid to boost plants' nutritional values and produce better biofuel feedstocks. Natalia Dudareva, a distinguished professor of horticulture, and Hiroshi Maeda, a postdoctoral researcher in Dudareva's laboratory, determined that the gene is one of 10 responsible for phenylalanine production in plants. Understanding how the amino acid is produced could provide ...

The puzzle of biological diversity

The puzzle of biological diversity
2010-11-23
Biologists have long thought that interactions between plants and pollinating insects hasten evolutionary changes and promote biological diversity. However, new findings show that some interactions between plants and pollinators are less likely to increase diversity than previously thought, and in some instances, reduce it. Findings, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, show that local populations of one of the most distinctive plants in the Mojave Desert, the Joshua tree, are not as biologically diverse as would be expected. Joshua trees cannot produce seeds ...
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