Health of normal synapses seen to depend on neurotrophin signaling
...s onereason for the decrease in muscle strength in old age. So, one question we'll be looking at in the future is whetherneurotrophin treatment of aging synapses might slow this process down." "What we've done argues that, in any disease orinjury where the neuromuscular junction or other synapse is affec...New Cosumnes River research partnership announced
...nwood trees and scrub jays gather acorns from rare old groves of valley oaks. The river and its surrounding floodplains support dozens of kinds of native fish, including the endangered chinook salmon and the Sacramento splittail, which is a candidate for the federal endangered species list. One of the m...Fall Meeting: updated press conferences and special events
...s. FAST has also validated a controversial 50 year old hypothesis of Nobel laureate Hans Alfvn of Sweden, concerning accelerated particles. This will be the first ever press conference on science results from the FAST satellite. Panel: Dr. Charles W. Carlson, Principal Investigator, FAST Satellite, S...Peter H. Raven voted president-elect of AAAS
...na and raised in California, Raven was eight years old when he joined the student section of the California Academy of Sciences. His career was launched at the age of 14, when he discovered an overlooked shrub growing in the wilds of San Francisco, subsequently named the Raven's Manzanita (Arctostaphylo...Scientists at TIGR uncover the minimal number of cellular genes needed for life
...is breakthrough allowed researchers to reframe the old question "What is life?" or in genetic terms, "What is a minimal set of cellular genes?" TIGR researchers have whittled away at the tiny genome of Mycoplasma genitalium whose genetic information consists of only 517 genes. They used a method they cal...Younger people are at greater risk for alcohol problems
...ered "young" in the study would be almost 50 years old today. Stoltenberg said that even though "it's hard to extrapolate from one cohort to another, I wouldn't be surprised if the rates of these kinds of behaviors are going to be even higher in groups in their 20s and 30s right now." Co-authors of t...Human stem cell research leads Science's top ten list of the best scientific advances in 1999
...ht conditions many adult stem cells can shed their old identities and adopt new ones, for example produci...ells (which contain a nucleus) in 2.7 billion-year old Australian rocks. These primitive inklings of life were unearthed with the help of a technique that ...Genes pertaining to 'maleness' evolve more rapidly than their non-sexual counterparts
...researchers also surveyed 50 genes from humans and old world monkeys, of which 18 pertained to male reproduction and the rest did not. They found that 11 of the 18 male genes evolved much faster than the average rate of evolution of the non-sexual genes. Wu thinks that the rapid rate of evolution of ...Obesity gene controls bone density via brain pathway
...lls that form new bone and other cells that digest old bone. Osteoporosis results from an imbalance in this equilibrium--specifically, an increase in bone resorption. Current therapies are aimed at slowing down resorption, but little is known about the formation side of maintaining bone mass. Identifi...Well-nourished women maintain ability to ward off disease in old age
...e ability to fight off germs and reduce illness in old age, she adds. The results of the study are detailed in the current issue of the journal Mechanisms for Aging and Development. The authors are Deanna Krause, Dr. Ahluwalia's former master's degree student; Dr. Andrea Mastro, professor of microbiolog...Smokers benefit more from vitamin C supplementation than non-smokers
... Volunteers for this study were healthy 20-50 year old male smokers and nonsmokers from the San Francisco Bay area, specifically chosen because they had a poor diet with – 3 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Baseline blood samples were taken, and half of the group was provided with a vitamin...Life on land tied to gene expansion
...t just the invention of new genes but also putting old ones to new uses. It is a process nature has used many times before, Dymecki says.The Hox genes, which were first found to regulate body shape in flies and are now known to regulate body and limb development in vertebrates, produce their wide variety...Too large portions encourage overeating by preschoolers
...8 boys and 8 girls who were about 3 and half years old and 6 boys and 10 girls who were about 5. On three different days, during their regular lunch period, the children were served either a small, medium or large portion of macaroni and cheese, carrot sticks, applesauce and milk. For the younger child...INEEL microbiologist joins Japanese on expedition to tap marine-methane deposits
... decisions." Being back on a drilling rig was like old times for Delwiche, who spent ten years doing such work earlier in his career. But round-the-clock work, cramped quarters with no privacy and only a tenuous connection to the outside world can wear thin. "I never got good at feeling like the enviro...Emerging 'R&D' patterns in genes may reduce evolution's risks
...story. "The big surprise, though, is evidence that old superfamilies can be remarkably stable alongside a new family being created," Hedgecock says. "The old idea was that all the genes of the genome were subject to similar mutational processes, so roughly s...ANN ARBOR---Analyzing craniofacial measurements of old and new skulls from around the world, University of Michigan anthropologists have confirmed the complex origins of Native Americans that have been suggested by recent archeological and genetic studies. In a seminar Friday (Feb. 18) on the initial ...Researchers study 10,000-year-old buried forest
...bout 30 feet. The oldesttrees were about 145 years old when they died. "Most of what we know about changes in forests has come from studies offossil pollen, buried in ponds and lakes," Pregitzer said. "It's unique tofind an entire forest standing, so you can see everything." The buried forest has particu...UMass microbiologist's Nature article contributes to understanding of how cells divide
...minating instead of confusing. We have interpreted old studies and combined that information with our own research, to see recombination in a new light. There is a link between DNA replication and recombination that we never knew before." Using E. coli as a model, the researchers looked at mutations in...Acid-loving microbe may be a key to mine pollution
...ty of Wisconsin-Madison report the discovery in an old mine of an archaeon that thrives when metal sulfide ores are exposed to air and water, conditions that mimic hot battery acid. The microbe, the scientists say, is present in such abundance that it is believed to be a key mediator of the process of ac...It's an old axiom that in life we have to "take the bitter with the sweet." A recent study has shown that humans, as well as rodents, are well equipped to do just that. Scientists have discovered a new family of taste receptors (T2Rs) that may comprise as many...