An essential regulator of body weight revealed
...times conflicting signals about hunger and satiety falls to a small cluster of about 5,000 cells in a region of the brain known as the arcuate nucleus. Hormones such as insulin, leptin, and ghrelin deliver information to the arcuate nucleus about whether the body has sufficient calories and nutrients. The ...New class of antibiotics effective against drug-resistant bacteria discovered in fungi
...peptides - the class of antibiotics that plectasin falls within - and in this study they collaborated with Novozymes, a Danish biotech company that led the research. Zasloff and Lehrer are the only two scientists from U.S. universities on the team of 20 researchers who co-authored the research paper. All ...Electrical engineer works on personalizing medical treatment
...s. This data processing and manipulation typically falls under the computational bioinformatics field, where a number of computational engineers and computer scientists are now working. Another, newer field, called systems biology or systems biomedicine, is emerging. It requires modeling and systems engine...Immune system has evolved to prevent autoimmune disease
...of adaptive response?'" Deem said. Deem's analysis falls within a branch of physics called statistical mechanics, which uses a system's physical behavior at the molecular or atomic scale to build up a picture of the behavior at a larger level. In this case, Deem and postdoctoral researchers Jun Sun and Dav...A water tale for all seasons: When it comes to hydration and exercise, the system works
...es perform progressively better as the temperature falls from hot to cool. It is also known that dehydration worsens performance in the heat, but its effect in milder environments is not well understood. A USARIEM team led by Samuel N. Cheuvront found that dehydration by 3% of body weight had little adver...Mysterious molecules begin to yield their secrets
...a stranger in the protein encoding land of RNA. It falls outside the purview of traditional molecular biologists, who once adhered to a concept called the "central dogma," which held that DNA genes are transcribed into RNA transcripts that are then translated into proteins. The fact that there is non-codin...Taking a break from fractures: A closer look at vitamin D
...that older adults can reduce their risk related to falls by more than 20 percent by ensuring they get enough vitamin D. Dawson-Hughes, an author on that paper, noted that "vitamin D may also improve muscle strength, thereby reducing fracture risk through fall prevention."......seconds of neural firing, and that their attention falls off exponentially from there. The longer the stimulus, the less important additional neuronal firings become to the monkeys' perception of how fast the stimulus is vibrating, even though they continue to pay some attention throughout. Figuring out h...MIT develops 'Anklebot' for stroke patients
... the joint would help improve gait and prevent the falls that are common to stroke victims who have limited mobility. Other MIT collaborators presenting at ICORR are MIT affiliate Dr. Susan Fasoli and Steven Charles, a Ph.D. candidate in the MIT-Harvard Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Other key...Not all industrial sectors respond the same way to changes and shocks
...riod of slow economic growth, but with substantial falls in the valuation of technology-based firms. It also saw major geopolitical developments and events, including the aftermath of 9/11. "Our aim was to find out how changes in the macroeconomy, and the inevitable shocks that occur, influence managerial ...K-State professor studies how landscape dynamics affect extinction risk for migratory songbirds
...ion growth rate scaled to the rate of habitat loss falls below 21 percent. The researchers discovered that the rate at which habitat was being destroyed or fragmented was quite important, but in rather counterintuitive ways. "Our model predicts that songbirds are likely to exhibit lagged responses to habit...PNAS highlights for the week of May 9 - 13
...l of two or more of these biomarkers for a patient falls within a certain range, the test will predict that a tumor is present. In a test group of more than 200 healthy women and women with ovarian cancer, the test showed 95% sensitivity (fraction correctly diagnosed with cancer) and 95% specificity (fract...Re-discovered ivory billed woodpecker still faces challenge to survival
...lion annually, yet the FY06 Administration request falls woefully short of what's needed to keep pace with needs. "Unless we begin to see a concerted long-term effort to increase Refuge System funding, we'll have more surprises, but rarely positive like the recent discovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker,"...Scientists find molecular pathway suspected in precancerous stomach lesions
...the stomach and esophagus. Thereafter, the pathway falls silent, unless, many years later, damage to the lining sets it in motion again. In the mouse fetus, the differentiation of intestinal lining into stomach lining happens rapidly, during a window of only one day, around the 12th and 13th days of gestat...Earth's services in peril, report concludes
...results. The impact of ecosystem disruption often falls first and most heavily on the poor, while wealthier economies can afford some engineered solutions that at least temporarily forestall the crisis. "We hear a lot about various environmental problems and ecological issues, but this report integrates ...NASA study finds soot may be changing the Arctic environment
... playing a role in melting ice and snow. When soot falls on ice, it darkens the surface and accelerates melting by increasing absorbed sunlight. Airborne soot also warms the air and affects weather patterns and clouds. Koch and Hansen?s results suggest a possible mechanism behind the satellite-derived ob...Leptin: A 'missing link' between obesity and diabetes?
...etween insulin and sugar, and their insulin supply falls woefully short as their stressed beta islet cells begin to die. In the new study, there was no difference in the function of islet beta cells between the s/s mice and the mice with no leptin receptors. That doesn't mean that defects in those cells ...Researchers discover a good side to cholesterol in controlling cell signals
... in the domains gets too low, however, the complex falls apart, leading to abnormally high levels of active ERK. Dr. Anderson and colleagues noticed that OSBP has binding sites for both cholesterol and the other proteins in the complex. They believe that when cholesterol binds OSBP it changes shape to bin......originated from shallow-water species, using whale falls as a food source along the way. Whale bone worms h...a species. If you calculate the abundance of whale falls on the sea floor say for grey whales in the northeast Pacific, the neighboring whale falls are abou...Scientists urge outcome-based, watershedwide approach to restore the Chesapeake
...pletion of oxygen in the bottom layers as it dies, falls to the bottom, and decomposes. Agricultural fertilizer runoff plays a dominant role in contaminating the Bay with excess nitrogen and has long occupied center stage in restoration efforts. But emissions to the atmosphere from cars and stationary sour...