Sensors at Watts Bar being evaluated by ORNL
...d the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. ORNL's primary role is to test sensors and related technologies for effectiveness in detecting radiological materials. With more than 4,000 vessels passing through the Watts Bar dam lock each year, the opportunities for testing the system are significant, as are the pot...Women who have donated eggs sought for national study
...e researchers said that it is time to analyze what role payment plays in women's motivation to donate. The on-line survey consists of 80 questions and can be completed in about 30 minutes. The research is being funded by the UW's Research Royalty Fund. The study is focusing on Boston, Chicago, Dallas, D...Trojan Horses, xenon imaging and remote controlled genes
...urning Off Genes In order to understand the role of certain genes in embryonic development, the Dmochowski lab is studying how to use light to turn genes off. They have created caged antisense molecules stretches of DNA that can clamp on top of working genes that are released when their chemical...JGI announces community sequencing program portfolio
...coccus, marine phytoplankton that plays a critical role regulating the dynamics of the global carbon cycle, responsible for a significant fraction of photosynthesis in the world's oceans. Lactobacillus rhamnosus is considered a potential probiotic, which can protect its host and prevent disease. "These ...Length of sex act in flies dictated by genetics
...nal, Current Biology, and reports a surprising new role for these clock-related genes. Mutations in the clock genes "period" and "timeless" caused male flies to copulate significantly longer than usual. This shows that clock genes affect not only behaviors on the time scale of 24 hours, but also behaviora...Anticancer drug zebularine specifically targets tumor cells
...y have scientists begun to recognize the important role that DNA methylation--the addition of a methyl group to a stretch of DNA, which can lock, or silence, that gene--can play in the development of cancer. If methylation silences a gene that normally would control cell growth or prompt the cell to commi...Gold quantum dots have applications in biological labeling, nanoscale optics
...sulated by other matrices, suggesting an important role for amines in gold nanodot creation," Dickson noted. The nanodot solutions are stable, lasting for months either in solution or as dried powders. Solutions from re-dissolved nanodot powders have the same properties as when they were originally creat...Why your knees and quads hurt more after running than walking: You're only human
...g to generate force on the ground and the muscle's role in overcoming inertia and gravity was minimal. Res...etween walking and running as playing an important role in causing running to be less economical than walking. The researchers note that it's not the entire...Testing the fitness of biological clocks
...ay of biochemical processes. Despite the important role that they play, scientists are just beginning to understand the benefits that these internal pacemakers provide when they work and the problems they cause when they malfunction. A study performed by researchers at Vanderbilt University and published ...Nevada researcher re-ignites mammal reproduction debate
...rk research to confirm or deny my theory about the role of glucose in determining gender in reproduction," she said. "The idea is that it will hopefully encourage more research."...Researchers find clues about how antibodies specialize
...DNA, but until now, it hadn't been known to have a role in the immune system. "We've discovered a new function for it," says Alt. "It's generating quite a bit of excitement in the immunology field and promises to teach us more about the immune response." Alt has spent his career exploring the immune sys...In gene regulation, small is beautiful
...ticular genes to be active or to stay quiet. Their role is crucial, because errors in gene regulation can lead to diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer. Creating synthetic versions, known as artificial transcription factors or ATFs, could help scientists probe gene regulation and perhaps lead to new tr...Genetic clues found for common congenital brain disorder
...er in cerebellum 1, was a known gene that played a role in development of the cerebellum in mice. ZIC4 was previously uncharacterized but was similar to ZIC1. When the researchers generated mice with altered ZIC1 and ZIC4 genes they found a syndrome virtually identical to the human disorder. Mice with ...Asian elephant sex pheromone transporter revealed
...rate protein, plays an unexpected and multifaceted role as a shuttle that both protects and transports the pheromone. The authors reveal that elephant serum albumin (ESA) transports the pheromone from serum to urine and it extends the period of time that the pheromone remains available for detection in th...Managing occupational exposures to potential bioterrorist agents
...Biological Defense Research Program, playing a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. In a related article, also published in the August issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Rusnak and her colleagues reviewed the Institute's policies and management gui...Muscles are smarter than you think
...ole of the fibre. 'Chloride ions play an important role in muscle by dampening the excitability of the surface membrane and T-system, ensuring that they only respond when stimulated by nerve signals and do not become spontaneously excited,' Professor Stephenson said. 'When a muscle is worked hard, potassi......on in 1937. Nowadays this mutation plays a crucial role in mildew resistance; it was introduced by traditional plant breeding methods into approximately 70 percent of the cultivated European spring barley elite varieties since the 1970's. Barley is the raw material for beer and whiskey production. The mlo...Improved nutrition could reduce malaria burden worldwide
...ical Medicine and Hygiene. "While undernutrition's role in exacerbating diarrheal disease and respiratory ..., scientific evidence has been mixed regarding its role in malaria infection," explained lead author Laura E. Caulfield, PhD, an associate professor with th......hers concluded that their findings help reveal the role of the polysensory zone (PZ) as a "hotspot" that is relatively specialized for processing a particular set of stimuli--in this case those that represent a sudden approach of objects to the body. "PZ may provide an example in the motor system of a rel...... it shows that dispersal played a more significant role than local ecological interactions in the structure of the fish communities in these two rivers, even after many generations in this great natural experiment....