Purdue research offers hope for canine, human spinal injuries
... "Certain dog breeds can easily injure their backs simply by jumping off a couch," Borgens said. "Up to this point, little could be done for dogs or humans with such injuries - even with immediate attention and the highest standard of care. Decompression surgery and injections of steroids, like methy...Experiments provide proof of how traveling in groups protects insects
...s -- each weighing less than half a gram -- to the backs of Mormon crickets in northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado, Drs. Gregory A. Sword, Patrick D. Lorch and Darryl T. Gwynne showed experimentally that band formation indeed boosted insect survival. Sword is a research ecologist with the U.S. Depa...NIH should take decisive steps to promote independence, originality
...22 awards with a new agencywide grant program that backs innovative research by scientists who are moving into their first jobs as independent investigators. Each year the proposed career-development grant program should provide 200 grants worth $500,000 apiece, payable over five years. These new award...Researchers trace evolution to relatively simple genetic changes
...ish -- with three bony spines poking up from their backs -- live both in the seas and in coastal fresh water habitats all around the northern hemisphere. Sticklebacks are enormously varied, so much so that in the 19th century naturalists had counted about 50 different species. But since then, biologists h...A little stress gives beneficial oomph! to immune system
... implanted tiny sponges underneath the skin on the backs of all of the animals, including the mice in the non-stressed group. These disc-shaped sponges were about the size of a grain of rice. Sponges were removed from some of the mice six hours after implantation and from the rest of the mice one, two or t...High fidelity keeps human DNA assembly line humming
... up properly with DNA, the system stalls and even backs up to correct the error. "We're able to show how an error will be sensed and corrected," Burton said. "The quality control system checks NTP loading several ways. If it doesn't match the criteria, it gets booted out." In addition to better underst...Stegosaur plates and spikes for looks only, researchers say
... tail, had small bony plates lying flat over their backs and tails, each with a slightly raised keel. These scutes, about a half-inch across, had an internal structure similar in some aspects to the much larger plates of the stegosaurs, yet were obviously useless in regulating the internal temperature of t......gy generated by walking with a heavy load on their backs into electricity. By carrying a load weighing from 44 to 84 pounds (20 to 38 kg), Suspended-load Backpack testers were able to generate up to 7.4 Watts--more than enough electricity to simultaneously power an MP3 player, a PDA, night vision goggles (...... an ancient Maori chief who crossed the sea on the backs of whales, and a modern Maori girl in New Zealand who aspired to become the new chief.] "Whale researchers have dreamed for years of being able to ride with the whales and see the world they experience," says study co-author Vicky Rowntree, a Unive...Nanotechnology may find disease before it starts
... anesthetized the animals and placed them on their backs on a warm imaging table. Rosol said that Liu and her team are working on creating biodegradable nanoparticles. For the purposes of this study, however, the researchers wanted to use a hard substance, silica, to see if their idea would work. The stron...Orange, grapefruit juice for breakfast builds bones in rats
...st 40 different ones, Patil cautioned. "This study backs up our thoughts about the value of citrus," Patil said, noting that until researchers completely understand the interaction of grapefruit juice and certain medications, a person should ask a doctor. "In general, people should eat a variety of all th...Researchers devise new tools to help pinpoint treatments for heart failure
...y essentially lashing molecular flashlights to the backs of 'sensor' proteins that tell us what's going on inside heart cells." By stimulating one end of the cell, the researchers were also able to watch a fluorescent wave of PKA activity travel along heart cells. They reproduced the behavior in their c...Distinguishing friend from foe in the battle against cancer
...mising as these drugs are, cancer cells with their backs against the wall have the tendency to fight back. A major goal of cancer research is to frustrate these acts of cellular desperation. In a forthcoming issue of Cancer Cell, investigators at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies uncover one means...Psst! Coffee drinkers: Fruit flies have something to tell you about caffeine
... The researchers then flipped the flies onto their backs and looked at the color of their bellies to see what they ate - blue indicating a preference for eating sugar, red indicating a preference for bitter caffeine, and purple indicating no preference. Flies missing the critical taste receptor protein Gr...MIT engineers probe spiders' polymer art
...nut-sized and -shaped protuberance on the spiders' backs containing their silk-producing glands and spinnerets. Spiders don't actually spin ("spinning" refers to the age-old art of drawing out and twisting fibers to form thread); instead, they squirt out a thick gel of silk solution. (One teaspoonful can ...Proposed FDA claim recognizes role of key nutrients in dairy in reducing osteoporosis risk
... and supports the body of scientific evidence that backs the proposed claim, which indicates that a lifestyle that includes a well-balanced diet with adequate calcium and vitamin D, and physical activity, helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis. "The proposed claim provides a clearer way to communicate the ...Study shows lizard moms dress their children for success
...ggs, creating either lengthwise stripes down their backs or bars stretching from side to side. Whether they get stripes or bars depends on the genes for other traits. "This is the first example in which exposure to the mother's hormones changes such a fundamental aspect of appearance. Even more exciting ...Satellite tracking will help answer questions about penguin travels
...ists will attach satellite tracking devices to the backs of six penguins that have been treated at two centers in northern Argentina after their feathers were fouled with oil. The birds will be released into the Atlantic Ocean and their movements traced using satellites and the Internet. The ......ncil and the Economic and Social Research Council, backs up earlier research about masculinity and perceptions of personality and gives further insight into what people see in others when choosing potential partners. It will also advance studies in areas like evolutionary biology, fertility and genetics a...