Ecologists work to link kids with nature
Cable television and video games are winning out over more traditional outdoor recreation for the time and interest of our young people. Our kids need fewer adventure games and more actual adventure in their lives and we need to make that happen. So said Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Chairman of the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee during a hearing held this past spri...Improved NIST SRM aids lead poisoning detection
... SRM 955c is an improved version of SRM 955b, a material clinicians already relied on heavily to provide quality assurance for lead blood measurements. Significant changes in material composition, lead levels and expanded uncertainties of the certified lead concentrations make SRM 955c an even more effec...New target for HIV/AIDS drugs and vaccine discovered
Researchers from Rome, Italy, describe a finding in the August 2007 print issue of The FASEB Journal that could lead to new drugs to fight the HIV/AIDS virus, as well as new vaccines to prevent infection. It has been known that HIV proteins disable the antibody-forming part of the immune system (the homeland defense or acquired immune system). In this report, researchers demonstrate for the firs...Steroids, not songs, spur growth of brain regions in sparrows
... Writing last month in the Journal of Neuroscience, Eliot Brenowitz and his colleagues showed that the Gambels whit...Coming soon -- Protein synthesis without amino acids?
...... Usually, the synthesis of short protein chains (polypeptides) begins with the production of their components, the amino acids. But it can be done differently: In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Chinese researchers report a considerably more convenient method that is similar to olefin polymerization, which is used for the mass production of plastics such as polyethylene. The advantage of t...MIT IDs link between brain tumor proteins
... ... Now, MIT scientists have uncovered a connection between two prot...... ... A study conducted by the Army in 2004 found that one in eight soldiers return...Aphids make 'chemical weapons' to fight off killer ladybirds
... ... When the aphids feed on ca...Omega-3 fatty acids protect eyes against retinopathy, study finds
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids protect against the development and progression of retinopathy, a deterioration of the retina, in mice. This is the major finding of a study that appears in the July 2007 issue of the journal Nature Medicine. The study was a collaborative effort by researchers at Childrens Hospital Boston, the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, Bri...What causes Alzheimer's? Researchers tie beta-amyloids to brain dysfunction
... "Our findings show that beta-amyloid is associated with brain dysfunctioneven in apparently normal elderly individualsproviding further evidence that it is likely related to the fundamental cause of Alzheimer's disease," said Christopher Rowe, director of the nuclear medicine department and Centre for PET at Austin Hosp...Endogenous cannabinoids linked to fetal brain damage imposed by maternal cannabis use
... The formation of connections among...Fused nasal bones helped tyrannosaurids dismember prey
... ... Snively and co-authors, number-crunching physicist Donald Henderson from th...Combining NSAIDs with chemotherapy, radiation may improve cancer treatment
... However, certain NSAIDs may be better suited to treating cancer, in combination with standard therapies, rather than preventing it, according to new research by scientists at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver Col...UCLA AIDS Institute researchers find a peptide that encourages HIV infection
... ... "Although it may seem counterintuitive to value or even study a peptide that increases the ability of HIV-1 to enter a broad range of human...Study shows marine omega-3 fatty acids have positive effect on muscle mass
... In mammals, the ability to use nutrients from food and convert them into muscle proteins decreases with age. Though the exact cause of this phenomenon is still unclear, insul...Researcher receives $1.8M AIDS-related grant
... Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Johnson's research focuses on the JC virus, discovered in 1971 and named for the initials of a patient who died of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML. A disease that afflicts patients with a weak...Why some aphids can't stand the heat
... ... ... "It's the first time a mutation in a symbiont has been shown to have a huge impact on host ecology," said Nancy A. Moran, Regents' Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at The University of Arizona in Tucson. "One version of the gene is good if the aphids experience h...Omega-3 fatty acids affect risk of depression, inflammation
... ... This is the most recent in a...Prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids has long-term deleterious effects on newborns
... Glucocorticoids are still widely used in obstetric practice. So, Jonathan Seckl and colleagues set out to determine the relevance to human pregnancy of rodent and nonprimate data indicating that prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids (through either the administration...A rarity among arachnids, whip spiders have a sociable family life
Whip spiders, considered by many to be creepy-crawly, are giving new meaning to the term touchy-feely.... In two species of whip spiders, or amblypygids, mothers caress their young with long feelers, siblings stick together until they reach sexual maturity, and all mix in social groups. This is surprising behavior for these arachnids long-thought to be purely aggressive and anti-social, accordin...Studies force new view on biology of flavonoids
... ... Based o...Sphingolipids with therapeutic ends
... Sphingolipids are a class of fats fundamental to the architecture of the cell and for regulating metabolism. They are impor...Genes and stressed-out parents lead to shy kids
... In a study published in the February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, Nathan Fox, professor and director of the Child Development Laboratory, and his team found that kids who are consistently shy while growing up are particularly likely to be raised by stressed-out parents, and to possess a genetic variant associated with stress sen...NSAIDs modulate biomarker panel for esophageal adenocarcinoma
... ... A study of 243 patients with Barretts esophagus followed up for 10 years by Patricia Galipeau and colleagues from...Global study concludes 'attack rate' of flu in kids is 55 percent lower with nasal spray vaccine
... "Children get the flu twice as often as adults," said Robert Belshe, M.D., a vaccine researcher at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and the lead author of the study. "It's important to vaccinate kids against influenza -- and to identi...Human trial results show excellent safety data, from Geovax's DNA/MVA AIDS vaccines
GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC BB: GOVX), an Atlanta-based biotechnology company, today reported successful early results from two ongoing AIDS prevention Phase I human vaccine trials. Results from the first low dose trial indicate a good safety profile as well as positive immune responses in human volunteers receiving 1/10th dose of GeoVax's AIDS vaccine. Results from a second larger full dose trial al...Standardized house dust aids health researchers
... Although a "standard house dust" may sound funny, environmental scientists are quite serious about the potential for household grime to harbor harmful chemicals. A 2004 study by NIST and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for example, found high concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in household dust*. PBDEs were wide...Changes in amino acids in the 1918 influenza virus cut transmission
... While flu pandemics occur...Can engineered immune cells stop AIDS?
... As challenging as the problem has been, researchers in the Viterbi School of Engineering may be turning a corner. With support from a $13.9 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a multi-institutional team of scientists, includ...Loyola prof. aids in discovery of first case of insect transmission of Chagas parasite in Louisiana
... The discovery was made after a resident brought insects to the attention of a pest control operator who identified them as kissing bugs. After researching the bug on the Internet, the resident re...Heart rhythm genes possible factors in SIDS
... ... According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 2,20...Delay in use of nevirapine-based AIDS treatment can improve outcomes
... Nevirapine, given once during labor, either alone or in combinati...Embryonic selection of sex avoids conceiving blind children
... Retinosis Pigmentaria is a hereditary illness of the eyes of a degenerative nature. It causes a serious reduction in visual capacity and, in many cases, leads to blindness. The ailment does not affect males and females equally: in the case of men, there is...'Lessons learned' highlighted as global politics of HIV/AIDS examined in new research
... ww...A molecular condom against AIDS
..... "We have developed a new vaginal gel that we call a molecular condom because it is composed of molecules that are liquid at room temperature and, when applied in the vagina, will spread and turn into a gel and effectively coat the tissue," says Patrick Kiser, an assistant professor of bioengineering. "It's a smart molecular c...Geneticists discover genes that make fruit fly hybrids sterile
While hybrids -- the result of the mating of two different species -- may offer interesting and beneficial traits, they are usually sterile or unable to survive. For example, a mule, the result of the mating of a horse and a donkey, is sterile.... ) that interfere with each other, thereby preventing the production...ORNL aids diesel parts manufacturers
... Laboratory researchers are helping companies characterize materials and test components as part of the industrys preparation for the new emissions mandates. The requirements will result in a 90 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide, or NOX, and particulate matter, or soot, released by diesel vehicles, from semi-trucks to cars.</...Jefferson researchers develop combined procedure for uterine preservation in treating fibroids
... In a study in the December issue of The Female Patient, physicians at ...Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia present a case history of a 35-year-old women whose numerous fibroids formed a large mass in her pelvic area that, when initially diagnosed, was of a size comparable to a full-term pregnancy. ... "Traditionall...Molecular 'marker' on stem cells aids research, perhaps therapies
DALLAS Dec. 5, 2006 A sugar molecule present on embryonic stem cells also has been found on the surface of a type of adult stem cell, a discovery that may help researchers isolate and purify adult stem cells for use in therapies aimed at bone healing, tendon repair and cartilage regeneration, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report. ... The molecule, called SSEA-4, was found on th...Plants, plasmids and possibilities -- Methods permit functional gene studies in plants
... One of the protocols, freely available at <A HREF="http://www.cshproto...