Ecological science for a crowded planet
...with specific actions that we hope will ultimately result in strong regional and global partnerships to create a more sustainable future," says Margaret Palmer, of the University of Maryland and Chair of the committee. "Creating a public that understands humanity's dependence on natural systems is critical...Gene therapy with growth factor seems promising therapy for incurable muscle disorder ALS
... mostly in full possession of their faculties as a result of asphyxiation. In patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) the nerves going to the muscles deteriorate, which is why the patient loses control of his muscles and is progressively paralysed, but remains disconcertingly in full possession ...Does antibiotic use contribute to allergies?
...le it remains to be tested whether human allergies result from altered microflora, we have demonstrated in an animal model that antibiotic use can promote the development of an airway allergic response following allergen exposure via the nose," says Noverr....Antibiotics alter GI tract microbes and increase lung sensitivity to allergens
...dinary mold spores, pollen or other allergens. The result is a hyperactive immune response, which can produce allergy symptoms or even asthma. To test Huffnagle's hypothesis, Mairi C. Noverr, Ph.D., a U-M research fellow in internal medicine, gave a five-day course of oral antibiotics to normal lab mice fol...Gene at root of urban air pollution's lung effects
...inhaled lipopolysaccharides, Hollingsworth said, a result which the current study confirmed. Research led by...of prolonged exposure to lower doses of ozone. The result suggests that the ramifications of toxin inhalation in the lung vary depending upon the nature of th...Nanoscale contact optimizes adhesion
...aller the size, the less important the shape. This result provides a plausible explanation why the characteristic size of hairy attachment systems in biology fall in a narrow range between a few hundred nanometer and a few micrometers and suggests a few useful guidelines for designing adhesive structures in...Institute for OneWorld Health CEO to speak at BIO on leveraging opportunities for global health
...strate greater corporate social responsibility and result in affordable new drugs for diseases of the developing world, with application for commercial drugs for the developed world. Chair: Tom Brewer, Senior Project Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Speakers: Victoria Hale, CEO, Institute for On......vels 60 times faster than the group velocity. This result complements results reported last year by the same group, in which they showed that in a "fast-light" medium where a light pulse propagates faster than c, the information travels slower. (Paper S3 11, www.aps.org/meet/DAMOP04/baps/abs/S420011.html )...Conserving hydrocarbons would save $438 billion
...onservation and energy-efficient technologies, and result in net savings." The analysis was performed in a yearlong, graduate-level class called Environmental Policy in which students, under Pimentel's direction, investigate complex environmental issues by compiling previously published studies and drawing ...Cranberry breeding program may soon bear fruit for growers
...st one step away from the wild," says Zeldin - the result of a single round of breeding by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1930s. Cranberry's wild character provides plant breeders with an abundance of genetic variation. So, when Zeldin began the cranberry-breeding effort by crossing Ben Lea...Study may improve survival of transplanted livers
...atocytes, from cell death typically occurring as a result of reperfusion stress. "Reperfusion stress precip...r protective agents in the body to function. "Our result suggests that cGMP analogues or other agents that elevate cGMP levels in liver cells may also induce...Learned social preference in zebrafish
...orm mother-of-pearl color. This difference was the result of a single DNA base change in the fish's genome. To determine whether genes or the environment determine individuals' preferences, the investigators raised subject fish either with other fish of their own color or with fish of the alternate color. W...Developing tools for reliable 'gene chip' measurements
...g to emerge. For instance, results can change as a result of differences in how tissues are collected and processed; variations in how the molecules are counted, attached to substrates and labeled for detection; deviations from recommended protocols by lab personnel; and malfunctioning or miscalibrated equi...Tigecycline - Candidate antibiotic produces 74 percent cure rate in cSSSI patients
...those with resistance. Bacterial-caused cSSSI can result in death rates of up to 75 percent. Many bacterial strains infect skin, and the most common are Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, but less common bacterial strains can cause cSSSI, particularly in hospitalized patients. In the trial, the investigato...New highways drive accelerating deforestation in Amazonia
... new highways and transportation projects, the net result will not only be further increases in Amazon forest destruction, but fragmentation of the surviving forests on an unprecedented spatial scale."...Discovery in parasite movement may offer insights into malaria
... is a "myosin motor." Toxoplasma motility may be a result of the myosin moving along the length of actin fil...ovement with respect to an actin filament will not result in parasite motility," Beckers said. "As an analogy, if you're sitting in a small boat and throw a r...Many scientists believe the dog genome holds information that will benefit human health
... genes for what are known as complex traits, which result from the interaction of multiple genes," she said....ince any traits associated with a given breed must result from a shared set of genetic determinants, these genes stand out much more obviously than they would...Researchers discover protein that dissolves amyloid fibers
...t put that cell in a different environment and the result may be a more moderate level of Hsp104 that would, in turn, create amyloid fibers in Sup35, changing how that protein functions and ultimately altering the cell's biology. And because these changes could then be passed on to subsequent generations of...Genetic barrier to self-pollination identified
...if pollen has two different S-alleles (which could result when the chromosomal region containing the pollen S-allele is duplicated in a plant), the pollen fails to function in self-incompatibility and thus cannot be rejected by any plant pistil. However, pollen with two identical S-alleles (again resulting ...Many physicians misperceive radiation risks to developing fetuses from X-rays and CT scans
...tic imaging examinations, including X-rays and CT, result in less than 50 mGy of radiation exposure to the fetus. "This misconception is important to dispel because it can lead to increased anxiety among pregnant women inadvertently exposed to diagnostic imaging and unnecessary terminations of otherwise wan...