Freshwater Sponges May Pose Threat To Zebra Mussels
...sition to gain access to food. Researchers also examined 290 sponge-covered mussels attached to surfaces in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system for the study. Of that number, 197 were found dead. "We found that the effect of sponge overgrowth was only impressive on vertical surfaces, which could ...Cooking And Salad Oils Could Lubricate Cars, Boats, Machines
...and for evaporation loss. While the tests examined important but relatively narrow characteristics, Duda notes that one of the group's commercial partners, Renewable Lubricants of Ohio, has also demonstrated vegetable oil's potential by using similar corn oil formulations successfully...Genetic Alterations Linked To Cancer In Some Blood Samples
...of cancer cells. In this study, the investigators examined DNA from patients' serum (a component of blood plasma) and compared this DNA pattern to normal DNA from circulating white blood cells. They found genetic alterations in the serum of 6 of 21 head and neck cancer patients that were identical to altera...Duke Ecologist Says Logging Is Creating 'Mahogany Deserts'
...d. Because the growth rings of mahoganies she has examined don't form at annualintervals, Snook can only guess at the species' maximum age. Based on extrapolationand evidence, including old photographs of huge harvested logs and four-foot-wideboards, she speculates that mahoganies may live up to 600 or more ...Researchers Identify A New Cellular Structure: The "Dumposome"
...of the nucleus. "When Tetrahymena nuclei are examined during reproduction, they look like cereal bowls with floating Cheeriosclinging to their inner edges," Allis says. "But these 'Cheerios' are actually dumposomes that are breaking down DNAwithin their middles." "Other researchers had thought that...An Equal Opportunity Extinction? Cincinnati Geologists Find Global Impact from Permian Die
...ass extinctions. However, when Ebersole and Miller examined data on articulatebrachiopods, which were diverse groups at the time, they found notrend at all. "Early on, I expected to see that the tropics wouldbe smashed," explained Ebersole. "But extinction rates wereconsistent from pole to pole. All the area...Bog Beetle, Misidentified For 85 Years, Is 'Discovered' At Cornell
...Platynus indecentis species that Will and Liebherr examined at Cornell was on found at McLean Bog. Other specimens were found in boggy areas at Fall Creek, in Tompkins County. "It just shows the complexity of the systems surrounding us," Liebherr said. "Sometimes finding these things are serendipitous."...Scientists Use Magnetic Field As Alternative To Space-Based Zero Gravity
...re unsure of the exact impacton plants and animals examined under the MFGL technique. In the study, themagnetic field caused changes in the early development of almost half of thefrog embryos. The study has been accepted for publication in the BiophysicalJournal. The scientists first described their findin...Stuttering Appears To Have Strong Link To Family Genes, Researchers Say
...aon more than 150 children so far. The project has examined numerous areas,such as speech, language, and emotional and cognitive development. Researchers long have known that stuttering tends to run in familiesand that persistent stuttering is much more common in males than females,by a ratio of 4 or 5 to 1,...Calorie Restriction Reduces Age-Related Muscle Loss
...aminedfibers in specific rat muscles. Researchers examined muscle tissue from old rats on unrestricteddiets, and moderately (35 percent) and highly (50 percent) restricteddiets. Young rats on unrestricted diets also were included in the study. Analysis of the tissue showed that fiber numbers were preserved ...Resistance To Leptin Contributes To Obesity
... degrees of insensitivityto the protein. The team examined the effect of leptin given during a30-day period as infusions either into the fat tissue under the skin ordirectly into the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal column. Thisinnovative technique, called ICV infusion, was developed by coauthor Dr.De...New Gene May Intensify Breast Cancer Growth
...ost breast cancer patients, more thanhalf of cases examined so far. The researchers report their findings in theAugust 15 issue of Science. In many cancers, but especially breast cancer, tumor cells accumulate extracopies of genes that give the cancer a growth advantage. The new gene is onesuch amplified gene...Oak Regeneration In Some Ohio Forests Is Failing, Researchers Find
...ent ScottRobinson and forest service collaborators examined the patterns of hardwoodregeneration in 108 plots in four stands of a mature mixed-oak forest inSoutheastern Ohio. The area studied gets as much as 10 to 15 percent of theavailable sunlight and has moderately dry soil. McCarthy collected data...Lethal Parasite Prime Suspect In Fish Kills At Salton Sea
... Florida Department of Environmental Protection, examined gills from 23 fish collected at the Salton Sea for parasites. She found 22 to be infested with moderate to high levels of a lethal parasite of warm-water marine fish. The parasite, a dinoflagellate known as Amyloodinium ocell...Wonder Thread: UD Scientists Report First Protein With Collagen And Elastin-Like Domains
...Col-D at the far, or distal end." The UD team also examined the protein precursors for Col-P and Col-D, found in the mussel foot, where byssal threads are produced. Specific antibodies--proteins designed to detect and fight off foreign molecules by binding with them--helped Coyne target preCol-P. First, messe......ol, cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates. "We examined mice that were genetically engineered to lack the D4dopaminereceptor to investigate the role of this receptor in mediating the effects ofvarious drugs," says Grandy. "We discovered that mice given either alcohol,cocaine or methamphetamine displayed a...... thatregulates cytokine production, the scientists examined the effects of Vpr onnuclear factor kappa-B. They found that Vpr activated another factor calledinhibitor of kappa-B to neutralize nuclear factor kappa-B, largely shutting downproduction of the cytokines. In addition to Weiner and Ayyavoo, co...Insects Provide Clues About Bodies Underwater
...hey estimatetime of death in such cases. Macdonell examined 200 cases of freshwater deaths in B.C. in 1995/96, andnow wants to see if what happens to the pigs is what happens to humans. "I'm trying to find out whether we can use some of these invertebrates toindicate a time line in deaths," says Macdonell. "I...Geologist Finds Evidence Supporting Mysterious Ancient Sea
...the Iapetus Ocean. Huff and his collaborators have examined dozens of ancientvolcanic ash beds, including 30 in the Argentine Precordillera.They find no similarities between ash beds in North and SouthAmerica. "If two land masses were adjacent, the volcanoes should leavetheir mark on both continents," explain......e-term babies experience at school age. The study examined three groups of 329 infants in the neonatal intensive care units at three Cleveland hospitals; 122 had very low birth weight and had BPD, 84 had very low birth weight without BPD, and 123 were full-term. Very low birth weight babies are under three ...