Stanford launches interdisciplinary initiative in the biological sciences
...o-hourtutorial that will be designed to ?level the playing field? among students fromdifferent disciplines. "This turns the seminars into real teaching tools, and will show the studentsthat Bio-X is a serious enterprise," says Robertson. "The success of Bio-X must come from the faculty and it has to stay wit...UCSF-Led Team Offers New Insight Into Neurological Basis Of Dyslexia
...y defect in the brain'sprocessing of sound must be playing an important role in the generation ofrelatively weak neuronal representations of the sound parts of aural speech. And this elementary neurological deficit, they said, could provide a target forremedial therapies aimed at training the brain to incre...The Largest Bacterium: Scientist Discovers New Bacterial Life Form Off The African Coast
...n highbiomass of up to 47 g per square meter, thus playing an important role in theoxidation of the toxic sulfide in Namibian sediments. By coupling the oxidationof sulfide with the reduction of nitrate these bacteria use an energy sourcewhich is not accessible for most bacteria in the absence of oxygen. The...Animals' Behavior Can Hasten Their Extinction
...called leksand biologists have created new leks by playing recordings of grouse calls. Biologists have alsoattracted young griffon vultures to cliff faces by using white paint to mimicdroppings. While Reed focused on birds, his findings apply to many other kinds of animalsfrom insects to mammals.......pact. When you see a highschool student drop dead playing sports, LVD is one of the common causes,"Towbin says. LVD can be caused by coronary heart disease, a genetic defect, and even tissuedamage from using cocaine. Viruses, primarily members of a group known as theenteroviruses, have been known to cause ...Better Binding Through Chemistry
...sewitz, Gregory Ray and ThomasWandless leveled the playing field by increasing the size of the small moleculeinhibitor. They did this by chemically attaching the inhibitor to another smalllinker molecule that binds tightly to a much bigger "presenting" protein thatexists naturally in the human body. In esse......, a newlydiscovered protein that bears his name is playing an equally revelatory role,exposing an intimate relationship between copper and iron metabolism, andoffering researchers an important insight into a cause of iron-deficiencyanemia. The discovery of the Hephaestin gene -- and the protein it encodes --...NCAR Team Tags 'Imported' Pollutants Over The Pacific Northwest
... "It's widely recognized that sulfate aerosols are playing a major rolein the climate system," says Kiehl. The ability of these aerosols (tinyparticles of liquids and solids) to reflect the sun's radiation may beone reason that increasing greenhouse gases have not warmed the earth asmuch as some climate mode......nger andcarries out a host of important functions, playing a role in everything fromacquiring and storing memories to possibly contributing to certain mental healthailments. Past research has detected signs of glutamate overload in thepost-mortem brains of people with schizophrenia, and faulty glutamate sign...History Of The Rainforest Told In Song
...roon conducted an intriguingexperiment, taping and playing the songs of bower birds from various localitiesto those at other places. "If we played the local song, the birds got really aggressive. They looked asthough they were ready to beat the hell out of the intruder. "But when we played them the song fro...New Hypothesis Proposed For Cause Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
...eing identified. Stress and depression may be playing a related role as well, Kiecolt-Glaser said. Earlier research has repeatedly shown that increased stress and depression can reactivate latent viruses, decrease the body’s immune response, and stimulate the production of certain cyto...ASU Professor Helps In Fight To Protect Japanese Pika Habitat
...u. Ichikawa says the Asian financial crisis may be playing a big role inconstructing the tunnel at the last 1.5 miles of the road. At an estimatedcost of $83 million, public works contractors stand to benefit most if thework is completed. The Hokkaido government believes the new road willstrengthen tourism a...Researchers Link Gene Defects To The Course Of A Deadly Form Of Heart Disease
...about jumping into aswimming pool, working out, or playing sports without a "buddy"who can call 911 if trouble strikes. Though the syndrome appears to be a single disease, it's actuallythe result of one of three possible defective genes that expressthemselves in similar ways. To properly attribute each "ver......at the Louisiana Agricultural ExperimentStation is playing a leading role in the development of weed control technologythat will have a revolutionary impact on the way rice is produced," he added. "This is truly a milestone event in the history of rice weed control technologythat will rival or perhaps exceed...... used for everythingfrom information technology to playing music. In this special section, fourarticles and a special news section show how purposely creating "defects"--orputting naturally occurring defects to good use--can have major implications forthe future of electronics and materials science. ...Genetic Clue Found To The Leading Cause Of Blindness In The United States
...drive at night and she struggles toread music when playing the violin, one of her favorite activities. New researchby a team at the Macular Degeneration Center at Oregon Health SciencesUniversity's Casey Eye Institute shows the disease that's blurring Oster'svision has a genetic cause. The research was done ...The Best Molecular Snapshot Yet Of Cells Affected By Alzheimer's Disease
...cture that establishesthat cell-cycle genes may be playing a significant role in thedisease," says Coleman, a professor of neurobiology and anatomywho heads the University's Alzheimer's Disease Center, one of 27nationally recognized Alzheimer's centers funded by NIH. Through statistical analysis, the te...Gene-Toxin Link May Shed Light On Cause Of Parkinson's Disease
... analyzed three genes suspected of playing a role in predisposing a person to the disease. They also considered three other characteristics shown to be more common among Parkinson's patients with dementia: Having less than 1...Jefferson Researchers Provide Leads To Potential Parkinson's Treatment
...s in the brain. He would like to find out ifGM1 is playing either a neuroprotective or neurostimulatory role in patients'improvements. More than one million people in the United States suffer fromParkinson's disease. It commonly strikes people over 50. Symptoms include handtremor, slowness in movemen...Researchers Show Mechanism And Similarities Of Biological Clocks
...is really the first evidence -- with the samegenes playing the same role in flies and mice," says Joseph S. Takahashi,professor of neurobiology and physiology at Northwestern University, who is anauthor on both papers and last year was the first to clone the mammalian clockgene. "We now have three di...