Molecular motor implicated in tissue remodeling
St. Louis, Sept. 30, 2004--A well-known enzyme present in the skin and other tissues turns out to be a molecule-sized motor that extracts its fuel from the road it runs on, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Their discovery appears in the Oct. 1 issue of Science.... ...The enzyme, MMP-1, is a member of a group of enzymes that breaks down collagen, a...New Arizona State center brings science to policy on issues of water resources and urban growth
TEMPE, Ariz. A new $6.9-million center at Arizona State University will study the decision processes used to plan and manage water resources and desert city growth. The center, called the Decision Center for a Desert City, could have a profound effect on the future directions of urban growth in arid regions by providing a sound scientific basis to the decisions that balance growth with finite wa...High resolution satellite imagery assists hunt for infectious 'kissing bugs'
Their targets are blood-sucking reduviid insects, generally known as 'kissing bugs' because they emerge from their hiding places each night to bite human skin where it is thinnest around the mouth and eyes. ...Growing up to five centimetres long, the kissing bugs are harmless by themselves, but carry a microscopic protozoan parasite that causes the wasting and eventually lethal Chagas disease....Study: Emission of smog ingredients from trees is increasing rapidly
Changes in U.S. forests caused by land use practices may have inadvertently worsened ozone pollution, according to a study led by Princeton University scientists....... The study examined a class of chemicals that are emitted as unburned fuel from automobile tailpipes and as vapors from industrial chemicals, but also come naturally from tree leaves. These chemicals, known collectively as VOCs, re...Environmental issues center of Inland Northwest Research Alliance 4th Annual Symposium
The former Secretary of Interior, Bruce Babbitt, addressed the importance of science and how it relates to politics within the Pacific Northwest and the U.S., during the opening session of the fourth annual Inland Northwest Research Alliance Environmental and Subsurface Science Symposium in Spokane, WA. ...... "We understand the issues and what needs to be done, even if our leaders do not," said...Tufts University establishes $4 million dollar tissue engineering resource center
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. With a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Tufts University has established a Tissue Engineering Resource Center on its Medford/Somerville campus, officials announced today.... ...The grant is funded through the NIH's National Institutes of Biomedical Instrumentation and Bioengineering.... ...Tissue engineering has grown immensely as a discipline...Missing genes may help explain why plague bacteria are so deadly
LIVERMORE, Calif. What makes the germ that causes plague so fearsomely lethal, while a close relative only produces digestive disorders and is rarely fatal?... The answer may be in its genes or rather, its lack of them.... By comparing the genome of the plague bacillus, Yersinia pestis, with the almost-identical DNA sequence of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, an international team led by researc...Single isolated mouse skin cell can generate into variety of epidermal tissues
Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at The Rockefeller University have isolated stem cells from the skin of a mouse, and showed, for the first time, that an individual stem cell can renew itself in the laboratory and then be used in grafts to produce skin, hair and oil glands. ... ...The study, published in the September 3 issue of the journal Cell, not only demonstrates for the fi...Diabodies act as guided missiles targeted to mammary tumor growth
A mini-antibody bearing a payload of tumor-busting radiation thwarts the growth of human breast cancer in laboratory animals, according to research published in the September 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research. ... ...The research shows that a diabody, an antibody surrogate just one third the size of native antibodies, can be used effectively as a targeting vehicle for radioimmunotherapy, sai...Patented process preserves transplant tissues/organs
Body tissues such as blood vessels, cartilage and skineven whole organs such as kidneys, livers and heartscould become more widely available for transplants as a result of a patent issued recently to Organ Recovery Systems of Chicago for a method to chill body tissues and organs well below freezing without forming ice crystals. The new process for tissue "vitrification"-chilling tissue and organs...U-M scientists find common virus in human prostate tissue
ANN ARBOR, Mich. Chances are excellent that your urinary tract is home to a pathogenic organism called the human BK virus. Most of the time, the virus lurks quietly in the kidneys without causing problems. But in people with a depressed immune system especially those who have just received a kidney transplant the virus can cause serious kidney and bladder disease.... ...Now, new researc...Scientists issue statement on scientific peer review
The issue of scientific peer review has received a significant amount of attention from both Congress and the Administration. When it comes to peer review of in-house agency science and the body of science underlying management decisions, it has become clear that, in some cases, significant confusion exists regarding what constitutes good, adequate and much needed review versus review that may b...Cell study leap forward for tissue engineering, diseases
University of Toronto researchers have discovered a key mechanism in tissue formation that could have implications for tissue engineering, as well as for diseases such as spina bifida and cancer. ...... U of T professor Rudolf Winklbauer and postdoctoral fellow Hiromasa Ninomiya, of the Department of Zoology, have found that the mechanism that controls cell differentiation is the same one that c...Vollum scientists find new form of dopamine transmission
PORTLAND, Ore. -- An Oregon Health & Science University research team has uncovered a novel form of transmission between neurons in the brain that is mediated by dopamine. The neurons are found in parts of the brain associated with movement, substance abuse and mental disorders.... ...Scientists at the Vollum Institute, OHSU School of Medicine, reported in a study published in the journal Neuron...American Phytopathological Society accepting technical submissions for 2004 Annual Meeting
St. Paul, Minn. The American Phytopathological Society (APS) is now accepting applications for poster and oral presentations for the 2004 APS Annual Meeting, July 31 August 4, 2004, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.... ...The APS annual meeting is the primary education and networking event for more than 1,500 scientists from around the world who are devoted to the study...Inhibition of Borrelia burgdorferi protein may reduce Lyme disease transmission
In the January 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation researchers from Yale University demonstrate that an outer surface protein, OspC, of the organism Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, is critical for the organism's ability to invade the tick salivary gland and therefore be transmitted from ticks to humans. ......Lyme disease was first named in 1977, when arthritis was...Cervantes mission concludes with Soyuz TMA-2 landing
The mission proceeded flawlessly with the completion of the experiment programme, the changeover of ISS Expedition crews and the exchange of the Space Station's Soyuz TMA lifeboat. ... ...The Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 00:17 (CET) today with Duque as Flight Engineer, Yuri Malenchenko (Rosaviakosmos) as Commander and Edward Lu (NASA) as 2nd Flight Engineer. ...All phases of th...Energy companies, conservation groups issue biodiversity recommendations for oil & gas development
The Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI), a partnership of four energy companies and five conservation organizations, released its collaborative report, "Energy and Biodiversity: Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas Development." This report contains recommendations and tools for integrating biodiversity conservation into oil and gas development, and is intended to be a pra...Instruction and permission in eye/brain development
Researchers at UC Davis are challenging...the conventional view of how connections form between the optic...nerves and the brain. ... ...Early in development, cells in the retina show waves of activity long...before the eyes are exposed to light. At the same time, optic nerves...grow from the left and right eyes into the brain and form separate..."eye-specific" layers in a brain structure called...Invasive species summit aims to halt Great Lakes-Mississippi River species exchange
... Experts on aquatic invasive species will meet with environmental engineers and fishing and river-carrier interests to come up with practical ways to prevent invasive species from moving between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. More than 60 people from the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom will participate in the summit. The summit will begin with presentat...Missing protein is double-edged sword in cancer development
COLUMBUS, Ohio The lack of a special protein crucial to cell... growth and development may help cancer cells proliferate, new... research suggests....... Cells without this protein E2F3 are usually... rendered genetically unstable. In most cases, such... instability would either kill a cel...Experiment station researcher looking for missing links in corn
COLLEGE STATION A scientist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station said the development of corn with improved protein quality would reduce the need for soybean additives when feeding corn to swine and poultry. ... ...Corn is deficient in two essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophan. Increasing the relative content of these two amino acids is the project of corn researcher Dr. Javier...Underground carbon dioxide storage reduces emissions
A new approach that is one of the first to successfully store carbon dioxide underground may have huge implications for global warming and the oil industry, says a University of Alberta researcher. Dr. Ben Rostron is part of an extensive team working on the $28 million International Energy Agency Weyburn CO Monitoring and Storage Project--the largest of its kind--that has safely buried the green...$5 million grant funds partnership, studies of minority-based issues in reproductive health
HERSHEY, PA- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., recently were awarded a $5 million collaborative research grant to establish research centers for the study of minority-based issues in reproductive health.... ...The goal of the Meharry-Penn State U54 Cooperative Reproductive Science Center is to establish a premier clinical research center...Growing replacement teeth and dental tissues
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA--The restoration of lost tooth tissue, whether from disease or trauma, represents a significant proportion of the daily routine for many practicing clinicians. The challenge and resource burden of restoring lost tooth tissue will be with us for many years to come. ... Two reports in the July issue of the Journal of Dental Research highlight exciting advances in moving toward...Jefferson researchers develop microchip to track genetic signature of cancer and normal tissue
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), tiny pieces of genetic material that can serve as stop signs for gene expression and protein synthesis, are thought to be important in the development of cancer. Now, researchers at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have developed a technique that allows them to find which miRNA genes are expressed and how i...UK small firms pay lip service to green issues
Government emphasis on voluntary environmental action is unlikely to have a significant effect on the environmental practices of SMEs, according to researchers at Kingston University who will present their findings at the Environment and Human Behaviour Programme seminar at the Policy Studies Institute in London on June 23 during ESRC's Social Science Week. The research concluded that small firms...European Commission approves Herceptin + Taxotere as 1st-line therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer
Roche announced today that the European Commission has approved the use of Herceptin (trastuzumab) in combination with Taxotere (docetaxel) in the European Union as a first-line therapy in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients who have not yet received chemotherapy for their disease. HER2-positive breast cancer patients suffer from a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer which t...Researcher issues caution on live virus vaccines
VALHALLA, N.Y., June 18, 2004--A New York Medical College microbiologist warns that live virus vaccines to prevent infectious diseases like West Nile virus and yellow fever could have dire consequences. Should one of the vaccine flaviviruses recombine with a wild-type virus, a new microbe with potentially undesirable properties could result, according to Stephen J. Seligman, M.D., research profes...ESA and EADS-CASA sign contract to build instrument for the SMOS mission
The contract, worth 62 million euros, was signed in Madrid, Spain on 11 June 2004 at the premises of the CDTI (Centre for Development of Industrial Technology). EADS-CASA now heads an industrial consortium of more than 20 companies from all over Europe, and is committed to construct the innovative MIRAS (Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis) instrument that will form the core of...DCI donor services begins distribution of tissue implants
Los Angeles, CA, June 4, 2004 Clearant, Inc. announced today that DCI Donor Services (DCIDS), an affiliation of organ and tissue recovery organizations across the United States dedicated to providing organs and tissues for transplantation, is making available an initial supply of tissue allografts that have been microbially inactivated to a level consistent with current medical device and pharma...3-D micro-imaging technology licensed to Carl Zeiss Jena
NEW YORK -- Biomedical microscopic imaging deep inside living tissue with unprecedented clarity could become routine and widely available with the signing of technology-transfer and collaborative-research agreements today (May 28, 2004) by Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH, a leading maker of microscopy instrumentation, and by CCTEC, the technology, enterprise and commercialization arm of Cornell University.....'Dissecting sleep' by studying the strange phenomenon of cataplexy
Measuring brain cell activity in dogs with a genetic form of narcolepsy, neurobiologists Jerome Siegel and his colleagues have presented evidence that wakefulness is maintained by the activity of neurons triggered by the neurotransmitter histamine. The discovery will be appreciated by anyone in whom antihistamines in allergy or over-the-counter sleep drugs cause drowsiness. ... ...The findings of...Promising research: From employment issues to virology
The twelve new Priority Programmes to be funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) from the beginning of 2005 onwards cover such topics as the use of concrete, cultures in the Middle Ages, astrophysics and the kinships of animals. The Senate of the DFG selected them from among 80 applications and will provide a total of 32.6 million to support them during th...Researchers discover protein that dissolves amyloid fibers
Amyloid fibers, those clumps of plaque-like proteins that clog up the brains of Alzheimer's patients, have perplexed scientists with their robust structures. In laboratory experiments, they are able to withstand extreme heat and cold and powerful detergents that cripple most other proteins. The fibers are in fact so tough that researchers now are exploring ways that they can be used in nanoscale...Embryonic stem cell - based tissue engineering may help repair damaged heart muscle
NEW YORK--Embryonic stem cells may hold the key to regenerating damaged heart muscle, when transplanted within a 3-dimensional scaffold into the infracted heart, according to a new study coming out in June in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. In the study, embryonic stem cells were more successful in restoring heart muscle when transplanted within a 3-dimensional matrix into damaged...New research supports theory that indirect transmission of chronic wasting disease
Arlington, Va.--A team of researchers has reported that chronic...wasting disease (CWD) can be transmitted through environments...contaminated by whole carcasses or excrement of animals infected...with the pathogen that causes CWD.... ...The research confirms long-held theories that CWD can be...indirectly spread through environmental sources, in addition to...direct interactions between infecte...Lewis and Clark data show a different Missouri River
The oldest data available on the Missouri River - from the logs of ...Lewis and Clark - show that water flow on the river today is far more ...variable than it was 200 years ago. The data also show that the ...river is some 220 yards narrower at St. Charles, Mo., today at 500 ...yards across than in 1804 when it spread out some 720 yards. ... These changes are due to modifications of the...Alice S. Weissfeld wins 2004 bioMrieux Sonnenwirth Award
WASHINGTON, DC--APRIL 23, 2004--Alice S. Weissfeld, Ph.D., President and Chief Operating Officer of Microbiology Specialists Incorporated, Houston, Texas, will receive the bioMrieux Sonnenwirth Award for Leadership in Clinical Microbiology from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Given in memory of Alexander Sonnenwirth and supported by bioMrieux, Inc., the award honors Weissfeld for her...Brace therapy for osteoarthrisis, legal issues in TBI research, prosthetic fitting
The current issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRRD) covers an array of rehabilitation research from legal and ethical issues relevant to traumatic brain injury research to patient satisfaction and use of braces in treating osteoarthritis to a new liner classification system that will improve the fit of prosthetic limbs. Abstracts from the Third International Confere...