Bacterial Toxin Surprises Scientists
...counterintuitive that we've spent a lot of time documenting exactly what's going on to make sure we're not dealing with some massive hallucination," said Dr. Finkelstein. It may eventually be possible to take advantage of this large protein movement as a transport...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
...of cABL like a key fits a lock. "This is the first time we've been able to open a window on what activates normal cABL," said Pendergast. "People have been looking for this molecule, or a molecule with these characteristics, for over a decade." In their experiments, Dai and Pendergast discovered that if t...Duke Geologists Explore Alternative Way To Measure Ice Age Sea Bottom Temperatures
...hemist. "The temperature of the deep water through time is very poorly understood because there hasn't been any unambiguous paleothermometer developed." The researchers cautioned that more work needs to be done before the calcium-magnesium method is thoroughly tested. Among other things, the calcium-magne......al. The mass spectrometric method also extends the time horizon for the method, allowing scientists to date material as far back as 600,000 years. In addition to using a more sensitive dating method, Ku believes he has reduced error by analyzing undisturbed limestone from the strata in which the bones wer...Computer Program For Quicker, More Detailed Mapping
...takes a large computer a relativelyshort amount of time if processing only 15 or 20 markers. However, eachof the human chromosomes contains 500 to 1,000 of these markers -- far toomany to map all at once using available computer programs. To solve this problem, computer scientists at the Stanford Human G...From Corn Rootworms To Art, Cornell's Reactor Is At The Core
...tures that X-rays cannot produce. It is the first time neutron radiography has been used to study insects. "X-rays pass through the rootworms without attenuation. Neutrons, however, are attenuated by the hydrogen in the rootworms," Davis said. "With a neutron beam, we can also see the corn roots and se...Duke Researchers Show "Editing" Can Fix Faulty Genes In New Approach To Gene Therapy
...Medical Center researchershave shown for the first time that enzymes can be used inside living cellsto repair faulty genetic messages, instead of replacing them. The finding, published in the June issue of Nature Medicine ,opens up a new realm of possibilities for correcting genetic information,according...Transgenic Rice Plants Resist Insects, Drought And Salt Damage
... the journal Nature Biotechnology, marks the first time that useful genes were successfully transferred from a dicotyledonous plant, the potato, to rice, a monocotyedonous plant. The potato genes cause rice plants to produce a protein that interferes with insects' digestive process whenever the plant is w......n Roach, a Cornell postdoctoral researcher at the time of the studies and now a staff scientist at the It...a beetles do not contain cantharidin. But by the time adult beetles are caught in the field and subjected to mass spectrometry, they test positive for Spa...DNA Techniques Allow Scientists To Become Pollution Detectives.
...owing where the pollution came from could helpsave time and money spent devising solutions to protect theenvironment. "Down the road, these techniques could be used to help us manageour problems," Edmiston said. "There is good potential here tohelp us develop management plans for different sources ofpollu...Cornell Researchers Precisely Date Wood From Ancient Tomb In Turkey
...es of the timbers are superimposed on a calibrated time scale and moved until the lines match up, and their knowledge of an earlier climatic event. Previous research has shown that the major second millenium B.C. eruption of Thera, a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, had global effects that likely influe...Researchers Use Hydrated Lime To Reduce Toxic Selenium Emissions
...sulfur dioxide from flue gas.But this is the first time studies have shown that hydrated limechemically re...the selenium to create calcium selenite, the first time this reactionhas been documented," Fan said. "The compound is thencaptured by the dry sorbent and ca...Bee Sting Treatment Should Emphasize Speed, Not Method Of Removal
...ter scraping and pinching the stings out atvarious time intervals. Visscher and Scott Camazine, assistant professorat Pennsylvania State University, also showed that welt size is a good measurementof envenomization, by measuring the welts from injecting known quantitiesof bee venom into their skin with a ...Ocean Sediments Contain Record of Past Vegetation Fires in Africa
...anges in ecology, and perhaps evolution, on longer time scales. "Another implication of Verardo's work," adds Sancetta, "is that if a lot of the carbon [charcoal] in ocean sediments is terrestrial in origin, then it isn't marine in origin. And scientists have been studying the marine record as a major p...Asian Beetle, New In This Country, Threatens Brooklyn's Shade Trees
... the southern sections of China, this is the first time this beetle has been seen outside of Asia, said E. Richard Hoebeke, Cornell senior extension associate and assistant curator in entomology. It did not have a ticket to ride. "I don't know how it got here from Asia," Hoebeke said. "As if the trees i...Study Shows Songbirds Switch From Bugs To Berries To Fuel Fall Migration
...umped in specificsites, migrating birds spend less time and energy searching for food. Eatingberries is more efficient than chasing insects, which are difficult to catchand less numerous in the fall. Feeding in dense, fruit-laden shrubbery ratherthan pursuing insects through open air also makes songbirds ...Human-Like Ability, Categorical Perception, Found In Insects
...riation between 'ba' and 'pa' based on voice onset time or VOT, which instruments can detect, our ears don...t 20kHz habituated Wyttenbach's crickets, and each time they steered less and less vigorously from the speaker. (In the real world, that habituated respons......n. The researchers were able to show for the first time that structures higher up in the brain's chain of command directly control the more abstract information, while the component bits are managed by lower brain centers. The research is reported in today's issue of the journal Science . Daniel Margoli...Discovery Could Help Understand Breast-Cancer Therapies
...fferent form of amino acid is substituted one at a time intospecific positions along the receptor protein. Anti-estrogens bind to the same receptor as estrogens. In fighting breastcancer, tamoxifen blocks the binding of estrogen, enabling the drug to workagainst the growth of cancer cells while still hav......ere,Charlie will spend only two or three days at a time in the forest,"Glander said. The aim of the expeditions is to capture a mate for Romeo, as well as anotherbreeding pair. Once captured, the animals will be temporarily housed atthe Ivoloina Zoological Park in Madagascar, where they will be gradually...