New 'Twist' In Proteins Offers Possible Route To Improved Antibiotics
...l enzyme works. Roderickis currently attempting to locate the active site by determining the X-raystructure of the enzyme with one of its bound substrates. In a first step toward developing antibiotics that would block the enzyme'sactivity, the Duke scientists also are planning to survey known chemi...Overweight Cats Risk Disease And Premature Death, Cornell Study Finds
...d as many of the original pet owners as they could locate and asked about the cats' health. Researchers also reviewed veterinarians' medical records for the animals in the first survey. Among the findings: Overweight cats, including those considered "heavy" and "obese," are four-and-a-half times more l...Biosensor Is A Model For Widespread Testing Of Chemicals, Molecules
...ndings is altered. The trick, said Hellinga,was to locate the spot where the reporter feels the movement in the structureof the protein when maltose becomes attached to it. Using their computers,the team created a special sequence of events: the protein binds to maltose,and starts to change. These structura...Wild Plant Genes Increase Food Production
... food, Cornell University scientists have begun to locate high-production genes from wild plants to put into domesticated, edible crop plants -- thus boosting food production worldwide, according to their report in the journal Science. "We are fortunate to be living at a time when genetic modification holds...Female Fireflies Lure Males For Defense Chemical
...kering "passwords" that luminescent beetles use to locate mates of their own species. "Generally, courting males are the fancy flashers, and they signal with their light organs in characteristic, species-specific patterns of flashes. They watch for females to respond to their pattern with single flashes."...Hunt For Early Heart Attack Genes Begins
...M.D., researchassociate at Rockefeller. To locate and determine the structure and function of one or more genesinvolved in heart attacks, the scientists will examine blood samples and medicalhistories of 2,000 people who have heart attacks at an early age. Because heartdisease is likely to have var...Gene Locus Found For Essential Tremor Disorder
...loy a research technique called linkageanalysis to locate the vicinity of an ET gene," says Dr. Higgins. "This findinglays the foundation for future research aimed at identifying the cause of ET. And it may eventually further our understanding of why people shake and benefitindividuals with tremor through ...Termites' Attraction To Small Amounts Of Carbon Dioxide Lures Pests To Their Deaths
...lely usesCO2 to find young corn roots. Larvae must locate roots within three days afterhatching or die of st...y that many soil-borne insects also rely on CO2 to locate food andshelter. If so, the gas could be used to steer other agricultural and householdpests away fr...Tiger Beetles Go Blind At High Speeds
...otons reflected from the prey to make an image and locate the prey. That is why they have to stop, look around and go. Although it is temporary, they go blind." In nature, such stop-and-go chase patterns are unusual, but the tiger beetle is unique. In the midst of hot pursuit, it stops three or four time...Handfish Steps Back From Brink Of Extinction
...if any remained. The research involved surveys to locate remnants of the former population in the Derwent Estuary, monitoring these colonies, and the study of the biology and habitat of the fish. "Although there are still many gaps in our understanding of the species and what affects them, the informa...USGS Cautions Proper Use Of Pepper Spray To Avoid Bear Attacks
... Scent, of course, is what bears rely on most to locate food in theirenvironment, which is why campers and other backwoods users are encouraged tocarefully rid their tents and sleeping areas of articles that might smell,including toothpaste, food and soap. Unfortunately, said Smith, red pepperspray, besid...Females' Siren Song Initiates Courtship Duets In African Frogs, Columbia Biologists Find
...uring breeding season. If areceptive female can't locate the male, she sings her rapping song; the maleresponds with a different song, an answer trill, and mating follows. If a maleapproaches an unreceptive female, she responds with a different song, a slow,monotonous ticking, which silences him. ...Extra Choline During Pregnancy Enhances Memory In Offspring
...ember thelocation of food in a maze, as well as to locate and swim to safety on a hiddenplatform in a water-filled maze. And, their memory abilities lasted well intoold age. That research, conducted by Christina Williams and Warren Meck of Duke-- both co-authors of the current study -- was among the first t...Two Environmental Articles: Deformed Frogs & Dioxin In Old Soil
...th, many industrializedcountries have attempted to locate the PCDD/F sources in order to take reductionmeasures, Jones says. But there is no agreement on whether the key sources havebeen found, or even if there were PCDD/Fs in the environment before chloroaromatics were made synthetically, according to Jon...Scientists Use Gene Therapy To Correct Deafness In Mice
...use genome and the humangenome made it possible to locate these genes so quickly," Camper said. "It's aperfect example of how transgenic technology in mice can contribute to researchwith the potential to help people." Other researchers from the U-M Medical School collaborating in the studyincluded Thomas L...USDA Researchers Prepare A New Trap For The Potato Beetle
... Insects rely primarily on their sense of smell to locate the plants on whichthey feed and lay eggs. The USDA is studying the chemical structures of theattractant plant odors in order to create synthetic odors that will attract thehungry pests. Now work is underway on a new synthetic geared to protect ...UF Researcher's Innovative Fence Helps Control Sand Flies
...s and blackflies--sand flies use carbon dioxide to locate a host. So the huffing,puffing children on the playground present a smorgasbord, said Universityof Florida researcher Jonathan Day. "They are all beacons out there, flashing 'blood meal, blood meal, bloodmeal,'" said Day, an entomologist with UF's In...'Auditory Scene Analysis' Helps Find Mates
...e of the beats that helps in their calculations to locate the hum of interest from all the rest." The brain side of the story recently was reported in the Journal of Neuroscience by Bass and by Deana Bodnar, a Cornell senior research associate in neurobiology and behavior. Details of the playback studi...News Backgrounder: Duke Primate Center Successfully Fosters Mysterious Aye-Ayes
...iggest mystery -- how aye-ayes use theirtapping to locate food -- Duke psychology professor Carl Erickson has spent thelast seven years experimentally challenging the animals to perform feats ofdetection. In his studies, he constructs puzzles consisting of mazes ofinsect-sized tunnels cut into the d......rol methods were sought. "Firstly, we needed to locate water hyacinth outbreaks and determine the extent of the problem," says Mr Julien. It was found to be much more widely-spread than previously thought with infestations in about 250 locations. The second aspect of the project was deciding what...