Nature's secrets yield new adhesive material
...s climb walls and other dry, steep surfaces not by producing a glue-like substance but through a natural adaptation of the hairs that cover the soles of their feet. Roughly one-tenth the thickness of a human hair, each gecko hair splits multiple times at the end. These split ends contain cup-like structure...American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- July 11, 2007
...nology that could substantially reduce the cost of producing clean-burning fuels from underground deposits of coal. In a study scheduled for the July 18 issue of ACSs Energy & Fuels , a bi-monthly publication, Lanhe Yang and colleagues focus on coal gasification, a process for making gaseous fuels, similar to...Stem cell specialists face questioning
...at Kyoto University in Japan is pioneering ways of producing stem cells from adult human cells and therefore avoiding the need for embryos....A new plant-bacterial symbiotic mechanism promising
...nt work, seeking to identify the genes involved in producing the unknown signal molecule that plays the role of Nod factor, prompted the teams hypothesis that a molecule similar to a plant hormone (4), cytokinin, could act in the mechanisms by triggering nodulation. The discovery of the nature of the signal mo...Chitin from lobster shell shows great healing and bio-stimulant properties
...rks as a bio-stimulant in tomato seed treatment by producing better seed germination and greater plant height, stem thickness and dry mass about a week earlier than usual". Chitosan proved to be a natural polymer with great film-generating capacity, apart from other highly interesting properties: chitosan does...Cells take risks with their identities
... cells. Flip the switch and a cell starts or stops producing a particular protein. But new evidence suggests that this model is too simple and that our genes are more ready for action than previously thought. Scientists in the lab of Whitehead Member Richard Young have discovered that many human genes hover ...Brightly colored birds most affected by Chernobyl radiation
...se up large amounts of antioxidants. These include producing carotenoid-based pigments for feathers, migrating long distances and laying large eggs (birds lay down antioxidants in their eggs, and will deposit larger amounts of antioxidants in larger eggs). Mller and Mousseau hypothesized that because they had ...Researchers discover human embryonic stem cells are the ultimate perpetual fuel cell
...such as neurons for Parkinsons disease, or insulin producing cells for diabetes . The research has been funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. The Nature article is the latest in a series of important papers published by scientists at the 18-month...Invisible gases form most organic haze in urban, rural areas
... the air travels downwind into more rural regions, producing more organic haze," he said. Reactive gases are a diverse group of chemical compounds that include VOCs, surface ozone, nitrogen compounds and sulfur dioxide. All play a major role in the chemistry of the atmosphere and as such are heavily involv...First all-African produced genetically engineered maize is resistant to maize streak virus
...e not only the effectiveness of this technology in producing resistance to a destructive pathogen but also the safety of GE foods. Part of the objective is to provide seed that will be sold at a minimal profit to subsistence farmers, thus removing the objection that GE technology is principally profit-driven...Link between immune system and mammary gland could shed new light on breast cancer
...ed in the breast to promote the production of milk producing cells. The finding has implications for understand...and uses this system to enhance the growth of milk producing cells. The breast uses Type 2 T helper cytokines as a signal to get resting mammary duct cells to ......the chemotherapy can then seep out into the tumor, producing a lethal by-stander effect. In nude mice animals with an inhibited immune system engrafted with human colon cancer, the researchers first injected the engineered mesenchymal stem cells, then 5-FC. They found tumor growth was inhibited by up to 6...Weeds survive the wild better than natives
... not ignoring natives, their interest in weeds was producing a hybrid native/weed species of seed. "In many cases when hybrids are created they are not as healthy as the original plant and this is what I have seen," she said. "What I have found is the hybrid's seeds are not able to survive into maturity. T...Mother-of-pearl -- Classic beauty and remarkable strength
...d how it forms, you could think of reproducing it, producing a synthetic material that's inspired by nature - a so-called 'biomimetic' material," Gilbert explains. "If we learn how to harness the mechanism of formation, then we could, for example, produce cars that absorb all the energy at the impact point bu...Early fire risk for mountains near Los Angeles
... says. Low live fuel moisture is one ingredient in producing large fires in Southern California. You also need high winds and something to start the fire. The researchers tested their forecasting method back to 1933, and found the predicted date for vegetation moisture to drop below 71 percent was within on...... of susceptible mice, dendritic cells have stopped producing IL-12. This research was carried out in collaboration with the University of Siena. We have identified a molecule that is very important for the regulation of immune response and for the first time clearly represents a potential target for the th......dea is to suppress inflammation so that cells stop producing MIF, said Dr. Al-Abed. Every year, 215,000 Americans die of sepsis, a systemic inflammatory reaction to infection. Another 500,000 survive the infection, and scientists are still trying to figure out why these patients survive and others dont. Ther...Female iguanas pay high costs to choose a mate
...itors energy they could otherwise spend foraging, producing eggs, or avoiding predators. Scientists have generally assumed that being choosy about potential mates carries low costs for females. These costs were thought to be particularly small when male territories are clustered together in groups, known a...Biotech breakthrough could end biodiesel's glycerin glut
...al costs to be about 40 percent less that those of producing ethanol from corn." Gonzalez said the biodiesel industry's rapid growth has created a glycerin glut. The glut has forced glycerin producers like Dow Chemical and Procter and Gamble to shutter plants, and Gonzalez said some biodiesel producers are a......rectal cancer, especially for patients with tumors producing clusterin, the scientists concluded. Article: Clusterin Expression in Normal Mucosa and Colorectal Cancer , by Claus Lindbjerg Andersen, Troels Schepeler, Kasper Thorsen, Karin Birkenkamp-Demtroder, Francisco Mansilla, Lauri A. Aaltonen, Sren La...