World's top theoretical physicists converge to consider 'future of physics'
... Accordingly, the auditorium is much wider than long with three rows of fixed seats in a semicircle facing a wide expanse of blackboard. Everybody can see everybody, and physicists seated in the front row can dash to the blackboard to illustrate or work out their points. Three separate, motorized dro...Emory chemists develop bacteria that may help decaffeinate coffee
...oswitch survive when exposed to chloramphenicol as long as theophylline is present because theophylline turns on the production of the "cat" protein. Gallivan says not to expect good-tasting, naturally decaffeinated coffee anytime soon. "We're still at the earliest stages of this work. There are many hur...Study describes basic mechanism in cell growth control involving damaged DNA
...called E3 ubiquitin ligases. These ligases place a long tail of ubiquitin molecules on proteins, which are then slated for degradation and recycling. The degradation signaling process is set in motion when a protein is "misfolded" and cannot function properly. Degradation also occurs when proteins of inv...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, October 2004
...e a fusion reactor. Fusion energy researchers have long sought the best shape for that field to optimize reactor performance. A team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Fusion Energy Division has designed the magnetic field coil system to shape the plasma and the vacuum vessel to contain it for the Natio...Acoustics meeting in San Diego
...objectively assessing the healing process in human long bones (such as those in the arm and thigh). By di... pulse of ultrasound to a material and detects the long echo caused by the initial pulse as it spreads out, as well as multiple reflections of the wave boun...Study in Royal Society journals presents evidence for inherited factors in homosexuality
...r MP Johnson and Dr PL Tyack Sperm whales produce long series of clicks interspersed with buzzes called "creaks" while foraging at depth. Using sound, depth and orientation-recording tags attached to 23 sperm whales using suction cups, we found they consistently produced creaks preferentially at maximum...Channel protein converts vibrations to electrical signal
...duration of a sound to the brain. Scientists have long suspected that such a molecule must exist in the t...id for this role. "Part of the TRPA1 molecule is a long chain of ankryin repeats, and we think that the ankryin repeats actually form the elastic element th...Gladstone researchers resolve key Huntington's disease mystery in Nature cover story
A mystery long associated with Huntington's disease has been reso...ding those associated with neurodegeneration, over long lengths of time. As reported in the cover story in the current issue of Nature (Oct. 14, 2004), the ...Study using robotic microscope shows how mutant Huntington's protein affects neurons
...The role of inclusion bodies in these diseases has long been controversial. Some studies suggest that they may be a critical part of the disease process, while others indicate that they may help protect the cells from toxic proteins or that they are merely bystanders in the disease process. One prob...Where in the brain decisions are made
While neurobiologists have long suspected that certain regions of the brain are specifically involved in making decisions, the challenge has been to develop rigorous laboratory behavioral experiments that could pinpoint those areas. Now, Paul Glimcher and colleague Michael Dorris h...Award-winning INEEL probe to help safely monitor hazardous waste sites
...ntists would prefer to keep an eye on contaminants long before they leave the area. Now with a new underground probing system from the Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, scientists can safely and more accurately sample and monitor soil in and below hazardous wa...INEEL uses extremophile bacteria to ease bleaching's environmental cost
... extra pretreatment. What's more, the enzyme lasts long enough to treat multiple batches of wastewater. Th...ers better than its mammalian counterparts do. Its long life in high-temperature wastewater can be traced back to T. brockianus' fondness for hot springs. B...Coke versus Pepsi: It's all in the head
...t consume the drinks." Even though scientists have long believed that such cultural messages affect taste perception, there had been no direct neural probes to test the effect, wrote the researchers. Findings about the effects of such cultural information on the brain have important medical implications, ...Flies have morning and evening clocks
...s of researchers have independently discovered the long sought dual body clocks in the brain of fruit flies that separately govern bursts of morning and evening activity. Both research groups published their findings in the October 14, 2004, issue of the journal Nature. Howard Hughes Medical Institute ...Muscling in on a deadly cancer
...atellite stem cells cells that become new muscle long have been suspected of giving rise to rhabdomyosar...o make muscle. Rhabdomyosarcomas long were thought to arise in satellite stem cells. Yet when the researchers activated the cancer-causing...NHGRI seeks next generation of sequencing technologies
...in imaging, but reduces other hurdles to achieving long sequence read length. This group is developing technology to detect the release of reaction products when nucleotides are incorporated into single DNA strands. Michael L. Metzker, Ph.D., Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Hou...How to use math and a CT scanner to see how trees intercept light
...ght environments. This is important because in the long run, it means less fertilizer application and less greenhouse gas in the atmosphere through enhanced photosynthesis". Dutilleul and his group are using CT scan data to create 3-D images of plant canopies. After scanning a plant, such as a young ceda...Researchers find protein that makes long-term memory possible
...broad categories of memory--short term memory, and long term memory. Short term memory refers to the tran...PA and BDNF might interact with each other to form long term memory. A breakthrough came in 2001, when another author of the current paper, Barbara...Identifying genes that contribute to a low level of response to alcohol
...arrow purpose, which might then preoccupy us for a long time while we miss the opportunity that's out there. Alcoholism is a complex puzzle of etiology; discovering the genes that contribute to level of response to alcohol would help to put together the whole puzzle, but right now we don't have enough pi......rm baby. On the other hand, delaying clamping too long can actually pack too many red blood cells into the baby's system. That can make the blood too thick, stressing the heart and respiration, and possibly triggering jaundice or brain damage. Such a delay may also prevent adequate resuscitation or unnec...