Evolution's mirror in a fish's spines
... in the regulation of specific genes can lead to a phenomenon called hindlimb reduction. The work demonstrates that rapid skeletal changes can occur in one body structure without disrupting the essential role of the same genes elsewhere in the body. The research team, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute inve...New method for determining age of artifacts fills chronological gap for scientists
...k. Quartz hydration dating is based on a natural phenomenon that occurs when a piece of quartz is fractured. When a statue or a common chopping tool or hand ax is made, the surface is chipped, flaked, fractured or polished. Over time, water diffuses into the freshly exposed surface forming a hydration layer. ...Fat hormone leptin alters brain architecture and activity, which in turn drives feeding behavior
...leptin acts by changing the wiring of the brain, a phenomenon known as plasticity. The hormone alters the wiring...euronal circuits may be evidence of a more general phenomenon regulating feeding circuits. But unlike leptin, ghrelin induced feeding behavior in minutes. Leptin ...AChemS: Cutting edge research in taste, smell, & chemical irritation
...r upon future encounters. While investigating this phenomenon in the laboratory, we have observed that a stress response can be triggered by re-exposure to a novel odor that was initially paired with a stressful experience. [ Read More ] Many Find Comfort in Absent Partner's Scent. A large majority of women...Scripps Research scientists find deafness gene's function
...hysiological process called mechanotransduction, a phenomenon in hearing in which physical cues (sound waves) ar...ss. Hearing is a classic example of a phenomenon called mechanotransduction, a process that is important not only for hearing, but also for a number ...Human genome-wide RNAi library for biotech and pharma research
...urposes. "The beauty of the RNA interference phenomenon is its potential to shut off individual genes and only those genes," said Dr. Greg Hannon, lead scientist in the development of the new library. "By individually targeting more than 10,000 human genes through this sequence-based method, a wide varie...Awards honor Alt's three decades of genetic cancer research
...locations and oncogene (cancer gene) activation, a phenomenon already seen in many human B-cell lymphomas. H2AX may play a protective role here as well, Alt believes, by ensuring that cut ends of genes are properly joined. ...Envisat fishes up facts behind Chilean giant squid invasion
...vailing winds blow warmer surface waters away. The phenomenon supports rich fisheries. But the AATSR data reveal that a coastal upwelling that typically influencing the waters between Chilo and the mainland was not seen in the last week of February. "This caused an influx of warmer water, between 0.5 and 1.5 d...Rockefeller University scientists take on controversial 'vibration theory' of smell
...ays Vosshall. Still, loose locks can't explain the phenomenon by which two chemicals, each with a unique shape, can smell the same. "There are cases that are not intuitive for the shape theory, and that is why scientists have been looking for alternative theories for a very long time," Vosshall says. Turin, who...Experiments establish 'protein-only' nature of prion infections
...nd perhaps even to trying to understand the strain phenomenon in mammalian prions. This includes how strains can affect the virulence of a disease or how likely it is to jump a species."...Ontario researchers see increase in taste and odour-causing algae problems
...with a marked rise over the past two decades. This phenomenon can't be blamed solely on "local human impact," says team member John Smol, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change and co-head of Queen's University's Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL). "It's a complex o...Migraine mouse provides insight into neurobiology of devastating headaches
...bility to cortical spreading depression (CSD), the phenomenon that underlies the migraine aura. "Previous studies have indicated that CSD is a wave of intense neuronal activity along the surface of the brain, followed by a long-lasting neuronal suppression. Our results suggest that in the migraine brain cortica...USC researchers link unusual DNA structure to cancer
...ts of DNA with chromosome 14. This is a well-known phenomenon in the world of oncology research and treatment, and is called the 14;18 translocation. "Of all the chromosomal fragile sites in cancer, this is the first one where we've actually understood why it's fragile," Lieber says. "And it's because of this m...Researchers receive $9.2 million for heart failure studies
... which is actually a more efficient fuel. This phenomenon does not occur in early stages of heart failure, only in the end stage of the disease. The finding raised the questions of whether or not this change is good for the heart, and what would happen if the change occurred earlier. If it did, could the...Optically recording millisecond brain nerve impulses
...ton microscopy with specially developed dyes and a phenomenon called second-harmonic generation, biophysicists a... Dombeck explains, is similar to the more familiar phenomenon in sound waves, such as those produced in the body of a guitar. The second-harmonic of a guitar stri...Dirty air from Asia can push U.S. air pollution to unhealthy levels
...01 and 2003 events have given greater gravity to a phenomenon he first reported in 1998. "It's gone from a geophysical curiosity to a point where we can now say that, 'Yes, this occurs at large-enough levels occasionally that it can affect our air quality,'" he said....Small amounts of alcohol or anesthetics may damage the developing brain
... directs it to commit suicide. Olney believes the phenomenon his team is studying can be viewed as a "final common pathway" type of mechanism that might explain a wide range of developmental neuropsychiatric problems. Because different networks in the brain are organized at different times during synaptogenesi...It's a stirring tale of bacteria
...ence by chemicals each secretes into the medium, a phenomenon called 'quorum sensing.' Bioluminescent bacteria, for example, use quorum sensing to know when to turn on their lights. Quorum sensing is also used by the bacteria that cause gum disease. Goldstein said the swirls and jets the researchers observed ef...Money talks: Concern for biodiversity pressed on boardrooms by new breed of fund managers
...e social, environmental and ethical performance, a phenomenon started in 1999, now wield more than $640 billion in clout in the UK alone more than 12% of all managed investments in that nation, according to experts at a United Nations forum. One firm, Insight Investment, is using its $120 billion of managed as...A shocking surprise: High voltage + rats = ozone, reopens power-line debate
...e present during a "corona discharge," an uncommon phenomenon in which electrons escape from a sharp surface of an electrical conductor at high voltage. The researchers placed rats in a Plexiglas cage hooked up to a device that produced 10 kilovolts, or roughly the power of air ionizers marketed as health aids....