Duke study disputes idea that trees can 'relocate' quickly in response to climate change
PORTLAND, ORE. -- In a study with implications for how North American trees might respond to a changing climate, molecular information collected by Duke University researchers refutes a widely accepted theory that many of the continent's tree species migrated rapidly from the deep South as glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age.... ..."When you put the molecular data together with othe...News tip: Duke marine biologist calls for whale-proof fishing gear
Current efforts to disentangle an endangered right whale whose flipper is wrapped in fishing gear off the North Carolina coast, while essential, are "really only a Band-Aid," says a Duke University marine mammal expert who has participated in past whale rescues.... ..."It's something to do in the interim while we search for better solutions," says Andrew Read, the Rachel Carson Associate Profes...Duke study gives first worldwide measure of sea turtle casualties by longline fishing
DURHAM, N.C. -- More than 250,000 loggerhead and 60,000 leatherback turtles are estimated to be inadvertently snared each year by commercial longline fishing, with up to tens of thousands dying, according to the first global assessment of the problem. The researchers who conducted the assessment said that, although their numbers are estimates, they are firm enough to warrant the development of r...Duke open-air experiment results could deflate hopes that forests can alleviate global warming
SEATTLE -- A futuristic Duke University simulation of forest growth under the carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere expected by 2050 does not reinforce the optimism of those who believe trees can absorb that extra CO2 by growing faster, said a spokesman for the experiment.... ...During seven years of exposure to carbon dioxide concentrations 1 times higher than today's, test plots of loblolly pines...Duke researchers link nitric oxide, vessel health
SEATTLE Duke University Medical Center researchers have shown an association between changes in nitrate, a biochemical marker of nitric oxide production, and physiological changes in arteries' reaction to stress. They hope their discovery could eventually lead to a non-invasive method of determining which patients are at risk for developing cardiovascular disease.... ...Such a simple diagnostic...Duke commits to enhance Primate Center
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University officials have announced that the Duke University Primate Center has made sufficient progress toward improving its research and educational programs that the university will commit to maintaining and enhancing the center for the foreseeable future. The center is the world's only research and education center devoted to prosimians and comprises the world's largest c...Duke researchers discover power behind molecular motors
DURHAM, N.C. -- After having demonstrated how "molecular motors" move within cells, a team of researchers led by a Duke University Medical Center scientist now believe they have discovered the power stroke that drives these motors.... ...Molecular motors are proteins made up of amino acids like any other protein in a cell. Unlike other proteins, however, they move along cellular highways of tiny...Duke ecologist finds devastation, hope in Iraqi marshes
DURHAM, N.C. -- An expedition by Duke University wetlands expert Curtis Richardson to evaluate damage to Iraq's storied Mesopotamian Marshlands revealed an environmental disaster of vast proportions. However, he also found the potential for restoring a significant portion of the marshes and with them the Marsh Arab culture. ... On his June 16-26 trip, he encountered dust-bowl-level desiccation wi...Scientists re-evaluating the meaning of 'desertification,' Duke ecologist says
DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke University ecologist is leading an international scientific reassessment of the causes and effects of desertification, a term he said has been subject to misinterpretation and oversimplification. ... In a new book he co-edited, and as organizer of a new ARIDnet research network that will study desertification worldwide, James F. Reynolds is seeking to better explain the int...U-M bone marrow transplant expert receives Doris Duke Charitable Foundation award
ANN ARBOR, MI James L.M. Ferrara, M.D., Director of the University of Michigan Health System's Bone Marrow Transplantation Program, is the recipient of the prestigious 2002 Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award in the field of oncology. This is a highly competitive national award in which Ferrara was selected from a field of distinguished candidates in translational cancer research;...Duke ecologist's book offers hopeful view of Earth's plight
DURHAM, N.C. -- As described by ecologist Rob Jackson in his new book "The Earth Remains Forever," ours is a planet that is losing species at more than 100 times the average historical rate as reflected in the fossil record.... ... It is also a planet where the population of six billion humans increases by another billion about every 12 years; where farmers pour billions of pounds of pesticides i...From arts to neurobiology versatile Duke scientist chosen for NSF Waterman Award
The National Science Foundation has given its highest honor for a young researcher to a man of many dimensions.... Erich Jarvis is a performing artist turned scientist. He overcame economic disadvantage as a child growing up in New York Citys Harlem to become a top young researcher at Duke University -- one of only 52 African American men out of more than 4,300 biologists who received Ph.Ds...UNC, Duke researchers discover cause of mysterious pancreatitis in some people
CHAPEL HILL Working together, medical school faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University have discovered a previously unrecognized cause of pancreatitis, a common ailment often correctly attributed to alcohol or drug abuse but also of mysterious -- or idiopathic -- origin.... ...The newly discovered culprit has nothing to do with substance use or anatomic abnor...Duke forum to address medical aspects of terrorism
DURHAM, N.C. -- A Nov. 26 forum hosted by Duke University Medical Center will examine what the medical community is doing to respond to and prepare for acts of terrorism.... The session, which is free and open to the public, is the eighth in a series of forums organized by Duke in the wake of the events of Sept. 11. The 90-minute forum begins at 7 p.m. in Von Canon rooms B and C in the B......DURHAM, N.C. -- Classifying kangaroos and platypuses together on the evolutionary family tree is as absurd as adding your neighbors to your own family ancestral line simply because they share your love of the opera, according to scientists at Duke University. ... But the current molecular method of using mitochondrial DNA to classify how mammals evolved is so flawed that it might have err.... . . . DURHAM, N.C. Results from continuing experiments near Duke University where forest plots grow in the higher atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide expected by the mid 21st century suggest that trees and soil may not sop up much of the extra gas over the long term under real-world conditions.. One of two articles in the May 24 issue of the research journal Nature shows that while 20-ye...UNC-Duke Scientists develop interactive learning tool simulating nerve function
. CHAPEL HILL -- A husband-wife scientist team from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a computerized interactive learning tool that simulates laboratory experiments on nerve cells. . Stored on a CD-ROM, the new simulator opens a door into neurobiology education that allows students to duplicate experiments and extend them beyond what can be done...Duke study: Exercise may be just as effective as medication for treating major depression
. DURHAM, N.C.--A brisk 30-minute walk or jog around the track three.times a week may be just as effective in relieving the symptoms of major.depression as the standard treatment of anti-depressant medications, according.to the results of a Duke University Medical Center study.. The researchers studied 156 elderly patients diagnosed with major.depressive disorder (MDD) and assigne...Duke expedition to rescue rare lemurs
. . Note to editors: Primate Center Director Ken Glander may be reached at (919).489-3364 until Oct. 7. A high resolution jpeg image of "Romeo" is available at. . File name is.Romeo. . DURHAM, N.C. -- An expedition from the Duke University Primate Center.will set out .Oct. 7 to rescue extremely rare lemurs in a small, doomed patch of forest.habitat in Madagascar.. The res...Duke scientists reverse a rare form of muscular dystrophy in mice using gene therapy
. DURHAM, N.C. -- Using a modified virus to deliver a therapeutic gene,.scientists at Duke University Medical Center have shown that, in mice, they can.reverse the damage caused by an inherited muscle-wasting disease with a single.injected dose. . . The study findings, which appear in the Aug. 3 issue of the Proceedings.of the National Academy of Science, show for the first time t...Conference on the chemistry of light will draw international audience to Duke
.DURHAM, N.C. -- A major conference at Duke University Aug. 1-6 is expected to.attract about 250 scientists from more than 26 nations who specialize in.interactions between light and a wide array of chemical processes in nature and.the laboratory.. . The 19th International Conference on Photochemistry will feature five.days of the latest research findings in areas as diverse as light emit...Duke researchers discover protein that can alert immune system to fight cancer
. DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have.discovered that an ancient protein can perform a decidedly modern function:.stimulating the immune system to fight tumors.. . The protein, called calreticulin, belongs to a family of proteins called.chaperones that help fold other proteins into their globular working shapes.after they are synthesized as string-lik...Gene treatment can boost heart function in rabbits, Duke researchers say
. DURHAM, N.C. -- Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have.delivered therapeutic genes throughout a rabbit's heart and have shown that the.genes can both boost heart function on their own and also increase sensitivity.to heart-stimulating drugs.. . According to the researchers, the experiments, reported in the July 1.Journal of Clinical Investigation, are a crucial step in...Report: High Carbon Dioxide Boosts Duke Forest Growth By 25 Percent
. DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University forest plots bathed in the higher.carbon-dioxide atmosphere expected by the year 2050 experienced a 25 percent growth.increase over the first two years of a continuing experiment, scientists from.the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Duke reported Thursday.. . "This study puts forests on the CO2 map," said Evan DeLucia, a U. of.Ill. at...Tumor Oxygen Level And Blood Flow Fluctuate, Duke Scientists Discover
.PHILADELPHIA -- In a discovery that might help explain why widely used cancer.therapies are less than optimal, Duke University Medical Center researchers have.found that a tumor's oxygen level and blood flow can fluctuate rapidly..The Duke animal study, which contradicts previous assumptions about tumors,.could be important because the two major cancer treatments, radiation and.chemotherapy, de...Duke Scientists Engineer 'Stealth Virus' To Deliver Genes
. DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University Medical Center researchers report that.they have modified a common virus so that it can carry corrective genes to.defective cells without stimulating an immune response.. . They believe their achievement overcomes a major barrier to widespread.use of adenovirus, a common cold virus, as a genetic delivery vehicle.. . Their results were publis....DURHAM, N.C. -- Mapping the human genome isn't his job, but Dr. Gerold Bepler, a.researcher at Duke University Medical Center, has tackled part of it anyway. He.sought an unknown gene on human chromosome 11 that might be involved in lung.cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. Locating the.gene was the scientific equivalent of finding a house while only knowing the.con...Duke Geologist Decries Using Engineering Models To Predict Natural Phenomena
. ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- Using mathematical models to predict natural.processes -- such as how well a sandy beach can weather randomly occurring storm.buffeting -- is a commonplace but wrongheaded engineering practice that can cause.real harm, according to a Duke University geologist who studies such coastal.dynamics.. . "Engineering models of Earth surface phenomena do not work, and I...Wildlife Conservation Society Receives $700,000 Grant From Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
. . Bronx-Based Organization Focuses on Conservation Strategies.For Metropolitan Area Within 100 Miles of New York City .NEW YORK, N.Y., December 16 - The Wildlife Conservation Society, based in Bronx,.New York, today received a three-year, $700,000 grant from the Doris Duke.Charitable Foundation to incorporate ecosystem and biological research into.local...Duke Study Shows Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant Is Viable Treatment For Genetic Disorders
.. Note to editors: Photo below is available on the web at ftp://152.3.242.19/Pub/.as cordblood.hqx. . . MIAMI -- Children whose genetic disorders have previously been a death.sentence have a reasonable chance for life with umbilical cord blood.transplants, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. . The physicians found that of the patients treated, t...Duke Study Finds More Genes May Be Affected By Toxic Cadmium
. DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University researchers studying primitive worms have.found that as many as 31 different genes may react to the metal cadmium, an.industrial additive and contaminant that is toxic to humans and animals..Twenty-two are unknown genes with no previous links to cadmium exposure.. . The findings, by assistant professor Jonathan Freedman and doctoral.student Vivian...Duke Scientist Reports Advances In Gene Therapy For Heart Failure
. DALLAS -- Scientists are one step closer to making gene therapy for heart.failure a reality, scientists from Duke University Medical Center reported.Sunday. . Molecular biologist Walter J. Koch and his colleagues said in a report.prepared for the 71st scientific sessions of the American Heart Association that.they have for the first time delivered therapeutic genes throughout a r...Duke Study Helps Explain How Cells Divvy Up Genes During Reproduction
. DURHAM, N.C. -- For centuries, scientists have watched in wonder at the.microscopic world of the cell. In many ways a self-contained world, it runs much.as a tiny metropolis with production plants, energy generators, and transport.systems to move its products around efficiently. Now researchers are beginning.to sort out just how cells get all this work done. . In a report publi...Duke Studies Show That Environmental Effects Of Dams Extend To Insect Life
.BALTIMORE, Md. -- Studies of butterfly and ant life on Venezuelan islands newly.created by the flooding of the world's second largest reservoir show how.dramatically sudden isolation can change even tiny components of a.once-integrated ecosystem. . By painstakingly investigating these small invertebrate species for.three years, two researchers from Duke University's Nicholas School of th...Transplanted Skeletal Muscle Mimics Heart Muscle; Helps Failing Heart Pump, Duke Researchers Say
.DURHAM, N.C. -- Immature muscle cells transplanted from the leg of an animal to.its heart apparently can "learn" to act like heart muscle, significantly.boosting the ability of damaged hearts to contract, Duke researchers have found.. The researchers say it is a promising first step toward a simple.transplant procedure that could augment current treatment for damaged hearts.. Th...Duke Studies Show U.S. Central Plains Vulnerable To Global Warming
.BALTIMORE, Md. -- By analyzing how the northern U.S. Central Plains changed between.grassland and forest due to past climate changes, Duke University ecologists.have offered further evidence that the region will likely undergo drastic.ecological changes due to 21st-century global warming.. In a report prepared for a meeting of the Ecological Society of America.(ESA), the Duke scientists...News Backgrounder: Duke Primate Center Successfully Fosters Mysterious Aye-Ayes
...DURHAM, N.C. -- The goggle-eyed, bat-eared little ball of wiry fur was...nicknamed "Starvin' Marvin," because he had been rejected by his mother, who had...become ill immediately after birth last February.... But the Duke University Primate Center veterinarian and animal...technicians resolved that Marvin wouldn't starve for long. They set out to save...the little creature, known as a...Duke Researchers Call Gene Therapy A Promising Strategy For Sickle Cell Anemia
.DURHAM, N.C. -- In a first step toward an effective treatment for sickle cell.anemia, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have shown that they can.use a new type of gene therapy to correct the defect in human blood cells.. The results of their laboratory studies, published in the June 5 issue.of the journal Science, show that successful gene therapy may lie not in.correcting f...Duke Researchers Finds That Moderate Caffeine Use Boosts Blood Pressure, Potential For Heart Disease
. DURHAM, N.C. -- Drinking a few extra mugs of coffee each day can boost.blood pressure, heart rate and stress levels enough to increase a person's risk.of developing heart disease over a lifetime of moderate caffeine consumption,.according to a Duke University researcher. . In a study of 19 habitual coffee drinkers who wore "ambulatory".blood-pressure monitors throughout their d...Birds Sing The 'Story Of Their Lives,' Theorize Duke Biologists
...Note to editors: A photo of Steve Nowicki is available on the University...Photography ftp site at .... The filename is Nowicki.... He...may be reached at (919) 684-6950, ...... ...... DURHAM, N.C. -- When male songbirds sing to attract mates, the quality...of their song might directly portray their fitness, say Duke University...biologists in advancing a new theory of how birdso...