EDITOR'S PICK: Intriguing viral link to intestinal cancer in mice More than 50% of adults in the United States test positive for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. For most people, infection produces no symptoms and results in the virus persisting in the body for a long time. HCMV infects many cell types in the body including the cells that line the intestines (IECs). New research, led by Sergio Lira, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, shows that mice engineered to express the HCMV protein US28 in IECs develop intestinal tumors as they age. These mice ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida researchers presenting new fossil evidence of an exceptionally well-preserved 55-million-year-old North American mammal have found it shares a common ancestor with rodents and primates, including humans. The study, scheduled to appear in the Oct. 11 online edition of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, describes the cranial anatomy of the extinct mammal, Labidolemur kayi. High resolution CT scans of the specimens allowed researchers to study minute details in the skull, including bone structures smaller than one-tenth ...

Two separate research groups are reporting groundbreaking measurements of the fluid flow that surrounds freely swimming microorganisms. Experiments involving two common types of microbes reveal the ways that one creature's motion can affect its neighbors, which in turn can lead to collective motions of microorganism swarms. In addition, the research is helping to clarify how the motions of microscopic swimmers produces large scale stirring that distributes nutrients, oxygen and chemicals in lakes and oceans. A pair of papers describing the experiments will appear in the ...

### ABOUT NOVOCURE Novocure is a subsidiary of Jersey Isle based Standen Ltd., an oncology company pioneering tumor treating fields (TTF) therapy, a new modality for treating solid tumors. Novocure’s US operations are based in Portsmouth, NH and the company’s research center is located in Haifa, Israel. For additional information about Novocure, please visit www.novocuretrial.com. EDITORS NOTE: High resolution device photos available by request. 1Nasser Hanna et al; "Randomized Phase III Trial of Pemetrexed versus Docetaxel in Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer ...

Deaf or blind people often report enhanced abilities in their remaining senses, but up until now, no one has explained how and why that could be. Researchers at The University of Western Ontario, led by Stephen Lomber of The Centre for Brain and Mind have discovered there is a causal link between enhanced visual abilities and reorganization of the part of the brain that usually handles auditory input in congenitally deaf cats. The findings, published online in Nature Neuroscience, provide insight into the plasticity that may occur in the brains of deaf people. Cats ...

JUPITER, Fl, October 7, 2010 – Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered new evidence that challenges the current theory about a process key to the way modern drugs are designed and how they work in the human body. The new study was published October 10, 2010 in an advance, online edition of the journal Nature Chemical Biology. Currently, the theory about ligands – compounds that bind to proteins and trigger a specific biological action – and how they bind to proteins runs along the lines of a one person-one vote paradigm. Ligands are considered ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—October 10, 2010—Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) have found that an enzyme associated with the storage of fat in the liver is required for the infectious activity of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). This discovery may offer a new strategy for treating the infection. More than 160 million people are infected throughout the world, and no vaccine is available to prevent further spread of the disease. Current treatments are not effective against the most common strains in the US and Europe. The study, published in the ...

Palo Alto, CA—Researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science, with colleagues at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, observed for the first time a fundamental process of cellular organization in living plant cells: the birth of microtubules by studying recruitment and activity of individual protein complexes that create the cellular protein network known as the microtubule cytoskeleton—the scaffolding that provides structure and ultimately form and shape to the cell. These fundamental results could be important to agricultural research and are published in ...

Strasbourg, 11 October 2010 - A Europe-wide network of labs focusing on RNA research is needed to make the most of RNA's high potential for treating a wide range of diseases. The recommendation for this virtual research institute comes from a panel of biologists at the European Science Foundation in a report published today, 'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research'. Ten years on from the human genome project, RNA (ribonucleic acid) has stolen some of DNA's limelight. The basic ingredient of our genes, DNA long outshone the other form of genetic material in our ...

An international consortium has made significant inroads into uncovering the genetic basis of obesity by identifying 18 new gene sites associated with overall obesity and 13 that affect fat distribution. The studies include data from nearly a quarter of a million participants, the largest genetic investigation of human traits to date. The papers, both from the GIANT (Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits) consortium – which consists of more than 400 scientists from 280 research institutions worldwide – will appear in Nature Genetics and are receiving early online ...

Geologists studying the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake say the risk of destructive tsunamis is higher than expected in places such as Kingston, Istanbul, and Los Angeles. Like Haiti's capital, these cities all lie near the coast and near an active geologic feature called a strike-slip fault where two tectonic plates slide past each other like two hands rubbing against each other. Until now, geologists did not consider the tsunami risk to be very high in these places because when these faults rupture, they usually do not vertically displace the seafloor much, which is how ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Physicists at Rutgers University have discovered new properties in a material that could result in efficient and inexpensive plastic solar cells for pollution-free electricity production. The discovery, posted online and slated for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature Materials, reveals that energy-carrying particles generated by packets of light can travel on the order of a thousand times farther in organic (carbon-based) semiconductors than scientists previously observed. This boosts scientists' hopes that solar cells based on ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including major portions of Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade, a group of researchers conclude in the first major study to ever examine "evapotranspiration" on a global basis. Most climate models have suggested that evapotranspiration, which is the movement of water from the land to the atmosphere, would increase with global warming. The new research, published online this week in the journal Nature, found that's exactly what was happening from 1982 to the ...

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have developed a novel approach for delivering small bits of genetic material into the body to improve the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Delivering short strands of RNA into cells has become a popular research area because of its potential therapeutic applications, but how to deliver them into targeted cells in a living organism has been an obstacle. In the Oct. 10 advance online edition of the journal Nature Materials, researchers describe how they encapsulated short pieces of RNA into ...

Children who spend longer than two hours in front of a computer or television screen are more likely to suffer psychological difficulties, regardless of how physically active they are. The PEACH project, a study of over a 1,000 children aged between ten and 11, measured the time children spent in front of a screen as well as their psychological well being. In addition, an activity monitor recorded both children's sedentary time and moderate physical activity. The results showed that more than two hours per day of both television viewing and recreational computer use ...

Racial disparities in the receipt of breast cancer care persist despite accounting for patients' insurance and social and economic status. That is the conclusion of a study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The findings suggest that greater efforts are needed to better understand disparities in breast cancer care and to ensure that all affected women receive equal and effective treatments. Studies have demonstrated that black and Hispanic women are less likely to receive recommended breast cancer treatments than ...

Unless the IT industry adopts new energy-efficient technologies in the coming decade, it runs a serious risk of being unable to contribute to growing the global economy if limits are placed on carbon emissions. The findings come from an 18-month investigation by scholars at the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID) in Singapore and Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston. "In the face of growing global concerns over greenhouse carbon emission, the key for the industry is finding new technologies that deliver more performance ...

For most American students, spending a semester or two studying in a foreign country means the opportunity to improve foreign language skills and become immersed in a different culture. For others, studying abroad is more like a prolonged spring break: it can be months with fewer academic responsibilities, plentiful bars and alcohol, and parents far away. New results from University of Washington researchers point to why some students drink more alcohol while abroad and suggest ways to intervene. "We hear stories in the media and elsewhere about students going abroad, ...

DALLAS – Oct. 11, 2010 – A clinical trial at UT Southwestern Medical Center aims to determine whether adding the hormone leptin to standard insulin therapy might help rein in the tumultuous blood-sugar levels of people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. This is the first type 1 diabetes treatment trial involving leptin, which is naturally produced by fat cells and involved in body-weight regulation. For this study, UT Southwestern researchers will be using metreleptin, a slightly modified form of the hormone that has been well-tolerated in other clinical trials. "Leptin ...

Monarch butterflies appear to use medicinal plants to treat their offspring for disease, research by biologists at Emory University shows. Their findings were published online Oct. 6 in the journal Ecology Letters. "We have shown that some species of milkweed, the larva's food plants, can reduce parasite infection in the monarchs," says Jaap de Roode, the evolutionary biologist who led the study. "And we have also found that infected female butterflies prefer to lay their eggs on plants that will make their offspring less sick, suggesting that monarchs have evolved the ...

The Colorado Cleantech Industry Association(CCIA) has released names of the finalists for its inaugural "Colorado Cleantech Awards Celebration" recognition event, honoring leadership in advancing cleantech. "Winners will be announced at our now officially sold-out event on Tuesday, October 19, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Denver Marriott City Center," Christine Shapard, CCIA Executive Director announces, "We're extremely pleased to share the twenty finalists who emerged from our statewide call for nominations." CCIA - Leadership in Advancing Cleantech Awards - Finalists: * ...

Chasing Arrows is a group of like-minded musicians that have integrated varied musical influences into a seamless dynamic whole. They have played the last several years up and down the East Coast for numerous enthusiastic audiences while sharing the stage with many notable acts including The Plain White T's, Carbon Leaf, Days Difference, Uh Huh Her and Vertical Horizon to name but a few. And to top it off, they were selected as first runner up for the MTVU Best Music on Campus Woodie Award in a competition that eliminated literally thousands of bands across the nation and ...

Excelsior SEO a Houston, Texas based Search Engine Optimization company announces a new service to help small businesses succeed with their online marketing efforts. The goal of this service is to provide a SEO service that the business needs, at a price the average business owner can afford. The Webpage Optimization Service is intended for small to mid-size companies to help get them noticed by search engines in their local markets. This service optimizes a clients website page for submission to search engines, local directories, and social media sites so that they ...

When a homeowner moves into a new home, everything should be fresh out of the box. All systems should be in good working order and under warranty. However, as Graham Gamble of Houston custom home builder Whitestone Builders, points out, that doesn't mean they should be ignored. Just because you drive a new car off the lot, doesn't mean you never bring it back for maintenance such as oil and filter changes or routine checks. The systems in a new home should demand the same attention. Here are some tips every Houston homeowner should know: 1. YOUR AC/HAVC - Late summer ...

Florida known as the "Yachting Capital of the World" will host the largest in-water boat show in the world. The 51st International Boat Show will encompass more than 3 million square feet of space, both on land and in water. The show will feature more than a billion dollars' worth of boats, yachts and accessories from every major marine manufacturer including Radio Zeeland DMP, a company known for their cutting edge technology that is setting the standard with easy to use, high quality and reliable products. With offices in Terneuzen, Netherlands and locally in Fort Lauderdale, ...