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Measuring changes in rock

2010-10-21
WASHINGTON, D.C., (Oct. 20, 2010) -- The capture and storage of carbon dioxide in deep geologic formations, a strategy for minimizing the impacts of greenhouse gases on global warming, may currently be technologically feasible. But one key question that must be answered is the ability of subsurface materials to maintain their integrity in the presence of supercritical carbon dioxide -- a fluid state in which the gas is condensed at high temperature and pressure into a liquid. A research team at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed tools in EMSL, a ...

Rare but deadly virus reveals potential weakness in new study

2010-10-21
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The JC polyomavirus doesn't strike very often, but it's a mean bug that preys on people with weakened immune systems, including people with AIDS, and almost always kills them. Now an international team of scientists at Brown University, the University of Tübingen in Germany, and Imperial College in London has found a potential Achilles Heel and painted a target on it: The virus must bind to a very specific sugar molecule dangling from the side of the brain cells it attacks. Like the rebel forces in the 1977 classic movie Star Wars, ...

Neurogenetics research sheds light on the causes of neurological disease

2010-10-21
The last two decades have seen tremendous progress in understanding the genetic basis of human brain disorders. Research developments in this area have revealed fundamental insights into the genes and molecular pathways that underlie neurological and psychiatric diseases. In a new series of review articles published by Cell Press in the October 21 issue of the journal Neuron, experts in the field discuss exciting recent advances in neurogenetics research and the potential implications for the treatment of these devastating disorders. Genetic discoveries have transformed ...

Gene therapy may be powerful new treatment for major depression

2010-10-21
NEW YORK (Oct. 20, 2010) -- In a report published in the Oct. 20 issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center say animal and human data suggest gene therapy to the brain may be able to treat patients with major depression who do not respond to traditional drug treatment. The researchers hope to rapidly translate their findings into a human clinical trial using the same kind of gene therapy modality the investigators have pioneered to treat Parkinson's disease. A 45-patient randomized blinded phase II ...

Surgical aortic valve replacement should remain the standard treatment for aortic stenosis

2010-10-21
(Boston) - Despite the promising results of the "Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valves (PARTNER) trial," featured in the Oct. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a cardiothoracic surgeon from Boston Medical Center (BMC) believes that surgical aortic-valve replacement should remain the standard treatment of aortic stenosis. In the accompanying editorial, the author argues that Transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) should be reserved for patients at inordinately high risk who are not suitable candidates for surgery and who have decreased life expectancy. ...

Energy revolution key to complex life

2010-10-21
The evolution of complex life is strictly dependent on mitochondria, the tiny power stations found in all complex cells, according to a new study by Dr Nick Lane, from UCL (University College London), and Dr William Martin, from the University of Dusseldorf. "The underlying principles are universal. Energy is vital, even in the realm of evolutionary inventions," said Dr Lane, UCL Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment. "Even aliens will need mitochondria." For 70 years scientists have reasoned that evolution of nucleus was the key to complex life. Now, in ...

Star, not so bright

2010-10-21
In a galaxy far away, an exceptionally massive black hole is traveling around a massive star in an unusually tight orbit. Also odd, the star is not as bright as it should be. Astronomers have puzzled over this X-ray binary system, named M33 X-7, but no one could explain all of its features. Now a Northwestern University research team has. The researchers have produced a model of the system's evolutionary history and formation that explains all of the system's observational characteristics: the tight orbit, the large masses of the star and black hole, the X-ray luminosity ...

New space research settles years of scientific debate

2010-10-21
New space research published this week (Thursday 21 October) in the journal Nature, has settled decades of scientific debate. Researchers from the University of California (UCLA) and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found the final link between electrons trapped in space and the glow of light from the upper atmosphere known as the diffuse aurora. The research will help us understand 'space weather', with benefits for the satellite, power grid and aviation industries, and how space storms affect the Earth's atmosphere from the top down. Scientists have long understood ...

Clearing the cosmic fog

Clearing the cosmic fog
2010-10-21
A European team of astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has measured the distance to the most remote galaxy so far. By carefully analysing the very faint glow of the galaxy they have found that they are seeing it when the Universe was only about 600 million years old (a redshift of 8.6). These are the first confirmed observations of a galaxy whose light is clearing the opaque hydrogen fog that filled the cosmos at this early time. The results will be presented at an online press conference with the scientists on 19 October 2010, and will appear in the 21 October ...

UT MD Anderson scientists show TAp63 suppresses cancer metastasis

2010-10-21
HOUSTON - Long overshadowed by p53, its famous tumor-suppressing sibling, the p63 gene does the tougher, important job of stifling the spread of cancer to other organs, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the Oct. 21 issue of Nature. Not only does a specific form of p63 protein block metastasis, but it does so by activating the enzyme Dicer, which plays a pivotal role in the creation of micro RNAs, tiny bits of RNA that regulate a host of cellular processes. "p63 is a master regulator of metastasis, an important role in its own ...

Mount Sinai researchers find potential therapeutic target across a range of cancer types

2010-10-21
Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with investigators of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) of France led by Nicolae Ghinea, PhD, have found a common link among several malignant tumor types in all grades of cancer. This breakthrough may ultimately provide a new diagnostic or therapeutic target to detect cancer early or stop tumor growth. The study is published in the October 21 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The team discovered that a hormone receptor typically found in human reproductive organs ...

New tumor proteins may identify a range of cancers early

2010-10-21
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study led by Ohio State University cancer researchers describes a novel cancer-specific protein that is present in a broad range of cancer types and at all stages of tumor development, from premalignant cells to metastatic tumor cells. If verified, the antigen could serve as a marker for the early detection and treatment of primary and metastatic tumors, and provide a target for the development of anticancer therapies, the researchers say. In addition, a vaccine designed to target these cancer-cell proteins, called Piwil2-like (PL2L) proteins, ...

New industrial application for revolutionary forensic metal fingerprinting technique

New industrial application for revolutionary forensic metal fingerprinting technique
2010-10-21
Groundbreaking research into fingerprint detection developed at the University of Leicester now has an industrial application, thanks to a new invention by the scientist who developed the technique. Dr John Bond's method of identifying fingerprints on brass bullet-casings, even after they have been wiped clean, was based on the minuscule amounts of corrosion which can be caused by sweat. First announced in 2008, this breakthrough was cited as one of the technologies 'most likely to change the world' by a panel of experts for BBC Focus magazine and was included in Time ...

NTU researchers develop world's smallest on-chip low-pass filter

NTU researchers develop worlds smallest on-chip low-pass filter
2010-10-21
A research team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has successfully designed the world's smallest on-chip low-pass filter which is 1,000 times smaller than existing off-chip filters. A low-pass filter is a circuit that allows low-frequency signals to pass through while reducing unwanted high-frequency signals from passing through. Compared to existing off-chip filters, which are discrete and bulky components, on-chip filters occupy a small area on integrated circuit chips, which can be found in portable devices such as mobile phones, laptops, vehicle-mounted ...

Measuring sea-level rise in the Falklands

2010-10-21
Sea levels around the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic have risen since the mid nineteenth century and the rate of sea-level rise has accelerated over recent decades, according to newly published research. The findings are as expected under global warming and consistent with observations elsewhere around the globe. "We have been fortunate in being able to compare modern sea-level measurements obtained from tide gauges and from satellite radar altimeters with historical measurements made at Port Louis in the Falkland Islands in 1842," explained researcher Prof. Philip ...

Eating mostly whole grains, few refined grains linked to lower body fat

2010-10-21
BOSTON (October 20, 2010) - People who consume several servings of whole grains per day while limiting daily intake of refined grains appear to have less of a type of fat tissue thought to play a key role in triggering cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Researcher Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University observed lower volumes of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in people who chose to eat mostly whole grains instead of refined grains. "VAT volume was approximately 10 % lower in adults ...

Cancer: Discovery of a very promising biological marker

2010-10-21
The follicle stimulating hormone, FSH, targets the human reproductive organs: the ovaries and testicles. In women, it stimulates maturation of ovarian follicles and production of oestrogens (via its action on granulosa cells). In men, it stimulates production of spermatozoa (via its action on the Sertoli cells). FSH receptor, which was the subject of the work carried out by the Inserm researchers, is normally only found in cells stimulated by FSH (granulosa cells in women and Sertoli cells in men). However, it is also present in very small quantities in the blood vessels ...

Small is beautiful in hydroelectric power plant design, and good for the environment

Small is beautiful in hydroelectric power plant design, and good for the environment
2010-10-21
Hydroelectric power is the oldest and the "greenest" source of renewable energy. In Germany, the potential would appear to be completely exploited, while large-scale projects in developing countries are eliciting strong criticism due to their major impact on the environment. Researchers at Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have developed a small-scale hydroelectric power plant that solves a number of problems at the same time: The construction is so simple, and thereby cost-efficient, that the power generation system is capable of operating profitably in connection ...

New equation could advance research in solar cell materials

2010-10-21
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A groundbreaking new equation developed in part by researchers at the University of Michigan could do for organic semiconductors what the Shockley ideal diode equation did for inorganic semiconductors: help to enable their wider adoption. Without the Shockley equation, the computers of today would not be possible. Developed in 1949 by William Shockley, the inventor of the transistor, the Shockley equation describes the relationship between electric current and voltage in inorganic semiconductors such as silicon. The new equation describes the ...

Philippines may have more unique bird species: CCNY biologist

2010-10-21
Recent work by Dr. David Lohman, assistant professor of biology at The City College of New York, suggests the Philippines, considered by biologists to be a "biodiversity hotspot," could have more unique species of birds than previously thought. If that proves to be the case, it could have important ramifications for conservation practices there. Many of the animal species found in the Philippines are endemic to this nation, which is made up of more than 7,100 islands. For example, 64 percent of its land mammal species and 77 percent of its amphibians are not found anywhere ...

Dopamine model could play role in treating schizophrenia and drug addiction

2010-10-21
In the brain, dopamine is involved in a number of processes that control the way we behave. If an action results in the substance being released, we are more likely to repeat the action. This applies to actions such as eating, sexual intercourse or winning a competition. However, the same also holds true when individuals take harmful narcotics. Scientists believe that mental illnesses such as schizophrenia can be linked to dopamine imbalances. Learning signal If an action leads to a better response than expected, the brain will temporarily release more dopamine. If ...

Psychologists at the forefront of weight management

2010-10-21
Over the last few decades, the dramatic rise in pediatric obesity rates has emerged as a public health threat requiring urgent attention. The responsibility of identifying and treating eating and weight-related problems early in children and adolescents falls to health care providers and other professionals who work with the child, according to Professor Denise Wilfley and colleagues from the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in the US. Furthermore, the key to successful treatment is a team effort involving providers and parents. Wilfley's ...

Hormone therapy increases invasive breast cancer and mortality, WHI 11-year follow up finds

2010-10-21
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Results of a new Women's Health Initiative (WHI) report show that hormone therapy is associated with an increased the risk of death from breast cancer, as well as an increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, professor of social and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo and one of the primary authors on the paper, published today in JAMA, says the breast cancers found in these women also tended to have more lymph node involvement, indicating a poorer prognosis. "This report, which ...

The real 'mommy brain': New mothers grew

2010-10-21
WASHINGTON — Motherhood may actually cause the brain to grow, not turn it into mush, as some have claimed. Exploratory research published by the American Psychological Association found that the brains of new mothers bulked up in areas linked to motivation and behavior, and that mothers who gushed the most about their babies showed the greatest growth in key parts of the mid-brain. Led by neuroscientist Pilyoung Kim, PhD, now with the National Institute of Mental Health, the authors speculated that hormonal changes right after birth, including increases in estrogen, ...

New regulator of circadian clock identified

2010-10-21
Montreal, October 20, 2010 – Daily sleeping and eating patterns are critical to human well-being and health. Now, a new study from Concordia University has demonstrated how the brain chemical dopamine regulates these cycles by altering the activity of the "clock-protein" PER2. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, these findings may have implications for individuals with Parkinson's Disease with disrupted 24-hour rhythms of activity and sleep. "PER2 is a protein well-known for its role in the regulation of daily or circadian rhythms, this is why it is referred to ...
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