Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, July 2004
...th while still preserving it. They conservatively estimate the tooth is 500,000 years old. The ORNL team dates sample components such as quartz, feldspar or tooth enamel by doing radiation damage dating. First, scientists determine the dose of the sample by measuring electrons that have been promoted by nat...Italian research links diet with endometriosis risk
...to a few selected indicator foods and there was no estimate of portion size (therefore no estimate of the total intake in calories). However, since the possible relationship between diet and endometr...Findings suggest need for new view of p53 cancer protein's interaction with DNA
...gene for a tumor suppressor called p53. Scientists estimate that at least half of human cancers involve mutant p53. In the course of performing its regular duties, the normal p53 protein binds to DNA, and a number of cancer-linked p53 mutations affect the DNA-binding region of the p53 protein. But precisely h...UCSD biologists discover cell's defense mechanism against class of disease-causing bacterial toxins
...he membranes of the cells they infect. Scientists estimate that such "pore-forming" bacterial toxins account for approximately one-quarter of the known protein "virulence factors" that increase the infection and severity of a bacterial-caused disease. "For the first time, we have provided a glimpse of how t...'Extinct' bird rediscovered in Mexico
...so contributed to the species' decline. Scientists estimate that as many as 10,000 once thrived on the island. Previous recent expeditions to find the Cozumel Thrasher proved futile. Last month, a team of field biologists working in conjunction with Villanova University and the Mexican counterpart of the Isla...New lower-cost assay system equivalent to flow cytometry for accurate CD4+/CD8+ cell counts
... calculated to be 10.6% and 10.8% respectively. To estimate within-site variability, %CVs (coefficient of variation) were calculated using the three EasyCD4 and EasyCD8 replicates at each site and were reported to be 4.1% to 5.6% and 4.5 % to 5.1%, respectively. Correlation of both the EasyCD4 and EasyCD8 ass...Study: Artificial sweetener may disrupt body's ability to count calories
..."This finding indicates that rats are less able to estimate and compensate for the calories contained in liquids than in semi-solid foods," Davidson said. "If the body is less able to detect and compensate for calories contained in liquids, then intake of high-calorie beverages compared to semi-solid or solid...NASA scientists get global fix on food, wood & fiber use
...growth on land. NASA developed models were used to estimate the annual percentage of NPP humans consume. Calculations of domesticated animal consumption were made based on plant-life required to support them. Marc Imhoff and Lahouari Bounoua, researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Gre...UK researchers develop way of predicting a woman's 'reproductive' age
...measured by tranvaginal ultrasound, may be used to estimate accurately how many follicles (eggs) are left and therefore what is the woman's 'reproductive age'." Said Dr. Wallace: "The age of menopause varies from woman to woman and there is currently no reliable test of ovarian reserve for an individual woman...Ecosystem bounces back from hurricanes
...to a major artery, the Neuse River Estuary, and to estimate mean annual versus storm-related volume delivery to the Neuse River Estuary and Pamlico Sound. Significantly less water volume was delivered by Hurricane Fran (1996), but massive fish kills occurred in association with severe dissolved oxygen deficit...Trapping carbon in soil key for protecting global food security, dealing with climate change
...ration center at Ohio State University. Scientists estimate that, since the mechanization of agriculture began a few hundred years ago, some 78 billion metric tons more than 171 trillion pounds of carbon once trapped in the soil have been lost to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). "Converti...Hidden cost of Colorado River diversions is $2.4 billion annually
...rsity of Arizona researcher. It's the first dollar estimate of the benefits society would get from the natural...UA's department of geosciences. "What I've done is estimate what's the value to society if you just leave the water in the river. Human populations are losing t...Obesity and hypertension: Two epidemics or one?
... Government and private sector health experts now estimate that 65 percent of America's adults are overweight and 31 percent of adults are obese and at risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The link between obesity and hypertension is well known, but the exact nature of the association...Articles on remote sensing in ecology published in BioScience
... for assessing forest structure and can be used to estimate quantities such as biomass. Susan Ustin of the University of California, Davis, and co-authors then describe the uses of airborne and space borne imaging spectrometers, cutting-edge systems that measure hundreds of narrow spectral bands and can provi...Discovery of tiny microbes in ancient Greenland glacier may define limits for life on Earth
...metry to quickly reveal the number of cells and to estimate their different sizes, DNA content, and other characteristics. Miteva and Brenchley discovered cells with many different shapes and sizes, including a large percentage that were even smaller than filter-pore sizes of only 0.2 microns. "It appears t...Small, cold, & hungry: Ultra-small microbes from 120,000-year-old glacier ice sample
...metry to quickly reveal the number of cells and to estimate their different sizes, DNA content, and other characteristics. Miteva and Brenchley discovered cells with many different shapes and sizes, including a large percentage that were even smaller than filter-pore sizes of only 0.2 microns. "It appears t...New screening method turns up potential compound for treating anthrax
... "We screened 10,000 compounds in three days. We estimate that it would be possible to screen 50,000 compounds a day with available robotic equipment," said Milan Mrksich, Professor in Chemistry at the University of Chicago. His co-authors of the Nature Biotechnology article are Dal-Hee Min, a Ph.D. student...Gene maps of simpler life forms point the way to human disease gene
... on the surfaces of cells, are complex. Scientists estimate that cells use at least 250 proteins to build cilia and an additional 150 for basal bodies. Studying algae allows Dutcher's group to isolate and manipulate cilia more easily. Simpler life forms like Chlamydomonas often have genes for many basic cellu......d within a given territory, an accurate population estimate can be determined. "Our results show that the Chaco is rich with jaguars and Kaa-Iya in fact probably contains the largest population recorded in any protected area," said WCS conservationist, Dr. Andrew Noss, who co-authored the paper along with r...