Kathleen Alexander, associate professor of wildlife in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment, has discovered a novel tuberculosis (TB) species in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, a group of pathogens that have adapted by using mammals as hosts. It has been nearly two decades since a new organism was identified in this group; the majority were discovered in the early and mid 20th century. Tuberculosis is presently the leading cause of death from infectious disease, infecting more than a third of the world's population. Alexander discovered ...

Therapeutic lentiviral vectors are emerging as vital tools for molecular medicine as evidenced by the growing number of clinical trials using these vector systems. From a basic research standpoint, lentiviral vectors are very intriguing substrates. On the one hand, the HIV-1 genome offers expanded cloning capacity and the capability to transduce nondividing cells such as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and neurons. However, concerns associated with the potential risk of generating replication competent lentiviral particles require the removal of significant portions ...

The unusual "knot" in the bright, narrow ribbon of neutral atoms emanating in from the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space appears to have "untied," according to a paper published online in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Researchers believe the ribbon, first revealed in maps produced by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, forms in response to interactions between interstellar space and the heliosphere, the protective bubble in which the Earth and other planets reside. Sensitive neutral atom detectors aboard IBEX produce ...

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Athens, Georgia, have reported for the first time that several species of Aspergillus niger, or black aspergilli, are capable of infecting corn and peanuts as endophytes. The researchers also showed that, under laboratory conditions, these species produced mycotoxins. Using a molecular procedure they developed, USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research leader Charles Bacon, microbiologist Dorothy Hinton, and Edwin Palencia, a graduate student in the Department of Plant Pathology of the University of Georgia in ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Less academically promising students should not be discouraged from setting high educational goals, according to one Kansas State University professor's research. Chardie Baird, K-State assistant professor of sociology, and John Reynolds, Florida State University professor of sociology, looked at the mental health consequences of shooting for the stars versus planning for the probable in their publication "Is There a Downside to Shooting for the Stars? Unrealized Educational Expectations and Symptoms of Depression." Their research, published earlier ...

(Garrison, NY) Research ethics review committees often require all women of childbearing age who enroll in clinical trials to use contraceptives to protect against a developing fetus being exposed to potentially harmful drugs. A mandatory contraceptive policy is often imposed even when there is no evidence that a trial drug could harm a fetus or when women have no chance of becoming pregnancy. This requirement is excessive and can safely be relaxed in many cases, according to a report in IRB: Ethics & Human Research. Policies on contraceptive use in research should reflect ...

Researchers of the University of Granada, in collaboration with the Centre for Sensory-Motor Interaction of the University of Aalborg, Denmark, and the University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, conducted a research on chronic impingement syndrome. The study revealed that excessive activation of specific neck and shoulder muscles during daily life or while playing sports –as swimming– is the cause of a high number of injury and shoulder A Common Pain The pattern of the pain originated in these muscles –sometimes in regions far from the shoulder– coincides with most of the symptoms ...

New research by Rice University scientists suggests that a class of material known as metallacarborane could store hydrogen at or better than benchmarks set by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Program for 2015. The work could receive wide attention as hydrogen comes into play as a fuel of the future for cars, in fuel cells and by industry. The new study by Rice theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues, which appears in the online Journal of the American Chemical Society, taps the power of transition metals scandium and titanium to ...

KINGSTON, R.I.-– September 30, 2010 –Watching television and its heavy dose of medical content in news and drama can lead to more concern about personal health and reduce a person's satisfaction with life according to a new study out of the University of Rhode Island. The study, authored by Yinjiao Ye, assistant professor of communications studies found that TV viewing affects people's awareness of health-risks and whether they believe they can protect their own health. People develop these perceptions because TV viewing leads them to believe they have a greater likelihood ...

A team of chemists from the University of Seville (US) has managed to distinguish between different kinds of tea leaves on the basis of their mineral content and by using artificial neural networks. This technique makes it possible to differentiate between the five main varieties of tea – white, green black, Oolong and red tea. "This method makes it possible to clearly differentiate between the five types of tea – something that is often not easy to do by eye alone – by using analysis of the leaves' mineral content and then mathematically processing these data", José ...

Northwestern University researchers have taken another step towards realizing a new class of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) enzyme mimics, opening the door for the development of highly sensitive chemical detection systems that go beyond nucleic acid targets. The blueprint for building synthetic structures to detect and signal the presence of targets such as small molecule medical analytes (signalers of disease or bodily malfunction, such as neurotransmitters) and environmental hazards, such as TNT, to name just a few, is inspired by biology and its allosteric enzymes. ...

As researchers and policymakers work toward an effective HIV vaccine in a constrained global economy, cost-effective prevention strategies such as Couples Voluntary Counseling and Testing (CVCT) must take a larger role in efforts to decrease the rates of HIV/AIDS in Africa, says Emory University HIV/AIDS vaccine researcher Susan Allen, MD, MPH. Allen, who has worked to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa for more than 25 years, highlighted the value of CVCT and other cost-effective HIV prevention strategies today at the AIDS Vaccine 2010 Conference in Atlanta. "The ...

A break in the two chromosomes has given scientists a break in finding a new gene involved in puberty, Medical College of Georgia researchers report. It's also helped clear up why some patients with delayed puberty have no sense of smell, said Dr. Lawrence C. Layman, chief of the MCG Section of Reproductive Endocrinology, Infertility and Genetics. The WRD11 gene interacts with a transcription factor that appears to be involved in development of gonadotropin releasing hormones that enable sexual maturation as well as olfactory neurons in the brain, according to a study ...

Van Den Ende-Gupta syndrome (VDEGS) is an extremely rare genetic disorder that is characterized by distinctive head and facial features, such as unusual eyelids, narrow and beaked noses, flat nasal bridges, jaw deformities, and a turned out lower lip. As part of McGill's "RaDiCAL" project (Rare Disease Consortium for Autosomal Loci), collaborators in Qatar conducted field research with three patients from biologically interrelated Bedouin families, and sent samples to Canada for analysis by GA JOE – a high-tech genome analyzing machine. The research effort was led by husband ...

Richmond, Va. (September 30, 2010) – Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researcher Steven Grant, M.D., and a team of VCU Massey researchers have uncovered the mechanism by which leukemia cells trigger a protective response when exposed to a class of cancer-killing agents known as histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs). The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, could lead to more effective treatments in patients with leukemia and other cancers of the blood. "Our findings provide new insights into the ways such cancer cells develop ...

MAYWOOD, Il. -- The latest advances in treating neurologic disorders such as stroke, headache, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and sleep disorders are detailed in a special issue of the journal Neurologic Clinics. Guest editor is Dr. Jose Biller, chairman of the Department of Neurology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "Great therapeutic strides in the clinical neurosciences have been made in the past decades," Biller wrote in the preface to the November 2010 issue, now available online. "It is likely that subsequent decades will bring even greater ...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) is responding to concerns raised by Portland-area hair salons about a product used for hair straightening. CROET has issued two public alerts describing its findings on the possible negative health impacts of this product. The product being tested is called Brazilian Blowout. After receiving two samples from Portland-area salons, CROET asked the Department of Consumer and Business Services' Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Division to chemically ...

Boulder, CO, USA – The October Geology includes a study using fish teeth to understand ocean circulation; discussion of the "Dead Clade Walking" taxa; description of the first reported example of igneous aragonite; discovery of a Paleogene California River, flowing in similar location but opposite direction to the Colorado River; a report of the earliest definite record of predation on pelagic sea lilies; and discovery of the only known active drumlin field in the world. GSA Today examines calderas. Relationship between mass extinction and iridium across the Cretaceous-Paleogene ...

What do a car engine, a power plant, a factory and a solar panel have in common? They all generate heat – a lot of which is wasted. University of Arizona physicists have discovered a new way of harvesting waste heat and turning it into electrical power. Using a theoretical model of a so-called molecular thermoelectric device, the technology holds great promise for making cars, power plants, factories and solar panels more efficient, to name a few possible applications. In addition, more efficient thermoelectric materials would make ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, ...

Troy, N.Y. – The National Lighting Product Information Program (NLPIP) released its latest Specifier Report, designed to provide objective performance information on existing street lighting technologies -- including light-emitting diode (LED), induction, and high pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights. This report comes at a critical time when many municipalities, some with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, are in the process of replacing HPS streetlights with LED and induction models. NLPIP, established by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's ...

A team of astronomers that includes the University of Hawaiʻi' at Manoa's Nader Haghighipour has announced the discovery of a planet that could have liquid water on its surface. The planet, which is probably 30 percent larger than Earth, was discovered using one of the telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. It orbits a relatively small star, Gliese 581, that is 20 light-years from Earth in the constellation Libra. "By determining the orbit of this planet, we can deduce that its surface temperature is similar to that of Earth," said Haghighipour. ...

For the first time, scientists are using advanced technology and an innovative vessel to study, image, and map the unexplored offshore Northern San Andreas Fault from north of San Francisco to its termination at the junction of three tectonic plates off Mendocino, Calif. The team includes scientists from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Oregon State University, the California Seafloor Mapping Program, the U.S. Geological Survey and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The expedition which concludes Sunday is sponsored by NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and ...

TORONTO, Sept. 30, 2010 – A waterproof controller designed and built by York University researchers is allowing an underwater robot to go "wireless" in a unique way. AQUA, an amphibious, otter-like robot, is small and nimble, with flippers rather than propellers, designed for intricate data collection from shipwrecks and reefs. The robot, a joint project of York, McGill and Dalhousie universities, can now be controlled wirelessly using a waterproof tablet built at York. While underwater, divers can program the tablet to display tags onscreen, similar to barcodes read ...

NANO -- World's smallest antenna . . . Instead of the conventional long piece of metal or dipole antenna, electronic devices of tomorrow could incorporate an antenna no bigger than a gnat. This is made possible by a design that allows an electrically charged nano-mechanical oscillator to be tuned to specific electromagnetic waves. "Gone will be the days when we need to match the antenna length to the wavelength," said Panos Datskos, a co-developer of this proprietary technology. The potentially revolutionary system detects very small electric fields over large frequency ...

High in an alpine meadow, Gesine Pufal, from the University of Wellington, New Zealand, crouched low to the ground and splashed some water from her water bottle on a low green plant cushion, then sat back waiting to see if something would move. Sound crazy? Many hikers passing by her may have thought so, but Pufal was trying to find potential plant species that possess a type of plant movement called hygrochasy. Although the ability to move is typically thought to be a characteristic unique to the animal kingdom, plants are also capable of movement, from the sudden ...