Diatom genome reveals key role in biosphere's carbon cycle
...nipulate silica in ways that nanotechnologists can only dream about. If we understood how they can design and build their patterned frustule as part of their biology, perhaps this could be adapted by humans," Rokhsar says. Scientists on the project, which includes 46 researchers from 26 institutions, als...Time running out for South Asian vultures, ecologists warn
...lofenac poisoning is the main cause - possibly the only cause - of these vulture declines, which are among the most rapid ever recorded for any wild bird. Time is running out if we are to save these species. Governments, drug companies, vets, livestock owners and conservationists should act together now t...NIH awards new $14.5 million, five-year grant to the Scripps Research Institute
...ng membrane protein structures has been successful only where scientists have overcome the technical chall...brane proteins do not express well naturally. They only make up a small part of the membrane, and the membrane is only one small component of the entire cel...US researchers show cottonseed drug is cancer treatment booster
...st developed as a female contraceptive and failed, only to become the world's most successful breast cancer drug. Will gossypol follow in the footsteps of tamoxifen? "There is a lot of research still to do, but we certainly hope so," said Dr. Xu. "The natural form of gossypol has been extensively tested i...Yearling horse auction to benefit equine research
...rcise research. The annual yearling auction is not only an opportunity to purchase one of the Thoroughbreds raised at the center but a chance to speak with Virginia Tech faculty and students about the latest in equine research....Commandeering cellular machinery: recognition mechanism to detect small molecules
...said. "The yeast actually do the work for us. If only one in a million respond to the compound on the pl...f different binding pockets and shapes, so this is only the first step."......ur species, Homo sapiens. The second type is found only in the Americas, evolved on another early human sp...so Reed plans a study of pubic or crab lice which only spread sexually to confirm or disprove that possibility. Clayton and Rogers say it's also possible ...Columbia University scientist wins 2004 Nobel Prize
...the brain. Each olfactory receptor cell possesses only one type of odorant receptor, and each receptor can detect a limited number of odorant substances, so the olfactory receptor cells are highly specialized for a few odors. Most odors are composed of multiple odorant molecules, and each odorant molecu...A treatment, not a cure: Calcium silicate neutralizes an acidic stream
...te are acidic." Likens comments. Adding that, "The only way to successfully combat stream acidity is through improved air quality. Until that happens, we are exploring short-term methods of restoring water quality to sensitive sites." Symptoms of acidified streams include a drop in pH, calcium, and disso...HHMI researchers Richard Axel and Linda Buck win 2004 Nobel Prize
...nes that contained instructions for proteins found only in the olfactory epithelium. Their efforts produc...umber of odorant receptors, and each was expressed only at a very low level." Finally, Buck came up with what Axel calls "an extremely clever twist." She ma...How roots control plant shoots
...ors. "When we look at plants, it's easy to think only about the above-ground parts you can see," says Le...be very leafy in Florida's humid climate, but have only small leaves when growing in Utah during a drought, says Sieburth. She says the gene she and Van N...Research team develops nonhuman primate model of smallpox infection
.... Currently, infectious variola is known to exist only in two WHO-sanctioned repositories, one in Russia ...ndia strain. The remaining 24 animals were exposed only by the intravenous route to varying doses of the virus. Both variola strains produced severe diseas...Stanford cooling tool may improve performance of athletes, soldiers
...says Grahn. "This has significant implications not only for athletes but for people such as factory workers and military personnel who work in hot environments." In fact, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense,...Pine cones lead to a fundamental change in clothing
...s of water-absorbent material, possibly wool, each only 1/200th of a millimetre wide. When the wearer of the clothing gets hot and sweats, the tiny spikes in the material will react to the moisture and automatically open up, so that air from the outside can get through the material to cool the wearer. Whe...Internet data-mining of natural history
...r scientist Caruana: "This grant will allow us not only to develop and test leading-edge data mining, machine learning and modeling techniques, but to integrate these methodologies with the ornithology lab's existing projects. The project has the potential to greatly increase the power and scope of these ...Intelligent clothing inspired by pine cones
...s of water-absorbent material, possibly wool, each only 1/200th of a millimetre wide. When the wearer of the clothing gets hot and sweats, the tiny spikes in the material will react to the moisture and automatically open up, so that air from the outside can get through the material to cool the wearer. Whe...Below the surface: New clues to plant signaling from the roots
...ls that regulate shoot growth, but researchers are only beginning to understand the ways in which roots are able to effect this developmental control from afar. Several characterized plant hormones, such as cytokinin and abscisic acid, are thought to be transmitted from root to shoots, yet these hormones ...Head lice reveal contact between modern and ancient humans
...ht into recent human evolution, fossils remain the only available evidence for many archaic human species,...d has a worldwide distribution; the other contains only the head louse and is restricted to the New World. However, their analyses also provide evidence tha...Running not swimming or biking is best kind of loading exercise for childrens bone growth
...cteristic of the mechanosensing apparatus that has only recently been studied is the important role of desensitization," Turner notes. "Experimental protocols that insert 'rest' periods to reduce the effects of desensitization can double anabolic responses to mechanical loading," he adds. Again, it's uncl...Putting physiology into the Nobel Prize: 2004 marks 100th anniversary of Pavlov's award
...'s 1991 article in Cell, the authors note: "It was only after the discovery in 1991 of a large multigene family of odorant receptors that several specific questions (about the nature of smell) could be answered."] Three years after the inception of the Nobel Prizes in 1901, Ivan Pavlov still the world'...