Earth Rx: A microbial biotechnology prescription for global environmental health
...ology and may be the key to helping the planet by putting these rich microbial communities to work to help serve the needs of society through environmental biotechnology. Leading the marriage are revolutionary changes in compiling vast amounts of genetic information on microbial organisms through state-of...York researchers develop pollution-busting plants to clean up contaminated land
...e using an enzyme already existing in the soil but putting it into a more efficient machine to biodegrade the RDX. It is a sustainable, low maintenance and low cost process which has the potential to clean up large areas of land in military training ranges or industrial sites." So far, the research has invol...Increased competition for pollen may lead to plant extinctions
...tors in the world's most diverse ecosystems may be putting plants in those areas at risk, according to new research. The finding raises concern that more may have to be done to protect Earth's most biologically rich areas, scientists say in an article appearing in the Jan. 17 issue of the Proceedings of the ...Lots of flowers and trees, not enough birds and bees
...ical rainforests, a dearth of pollinators could be putting many species at risk of extinction, according to a new study that includes three University of Pittsburgh researchers. The finding is raising concerns that more may need to be done to protect the Earth's most biologically rich areas. The study, titl...Increased sexual competition among flowering plants in biodiversity hotspots may lead to extinctions
...ecline of birds, bees and other pollinators may be putting plants of the world's most diverse ecosystems at risk of extinction, according to a new study that analyzed hundreds of field studies investigating fruit production in hundreds of wild plant species. The finding raises concern that more may have to ...The giant protein titin helps build muscles
... the length of a sarcomere. Its size and position putting it into contact with all the majorcomponents of sarcomeres suggests that it might help in their assembly. The latest study, which arises from more than a decade of collaborative research by the Wilmanns and Gautel teams, gives a solution to how this...Teaching worms good taste: Researcher reveals the cell biology of learning at ASCB meeting
...re unable to learn the good stuff from the bad. By putting the tph-1 gene back to their ADF neurons, Zhang rescued the mutants' ability to learn aversion. Further experiments also identified a serotonin-gated chloride channel, MOD-1, functioning in interneurons downstream of ADF to promote aversive learning....Vitamin supplement could help treatment-resistant asthma
...this treatment in the clinic, and we are currently putting a proposal together to carry out this work. 'Interestingly, vitamin D3 is at present occasionally administered to patients with severe asthma to help prevent steroid-induced osteoporosis. Our studies suggest that there is an additional potential bene...NC State scientist assists in cracking code of dog genome
...ces back into pages. Our lab's role contributed to putting all the pagesof the book back together in the proper order." Funding for the dog genome project came from that National Human Genetics Research Institute and the Canine Health Foundation. The sequence of the dog genome will be publicly available for ...War on terror meets war on cancer
...ng each cake in a test tube, freezing the cakes by putting the tubes in liquid nitrogen, using a vacuum to remove the air from each tube, then putting the tubes in boiling water. The water from each cell cake was boiled into steam, which was routed to...Studies show apo A-I Milano gene transfer and antibody therapy cut atherosclerotic plaque
...using not the protein, but the gene itself. We are putting the gene inside an innocuous virus and injecting the virus so that the body can produce its own supply of apo A-I Milano. One single injection of the gene, carried by the virus, markedly reduces plaque buildup in mice. Advantages of this approach are...Missing fossil link 'Dallasaurus' found
...f Turner's discovery isn't lost on the researchers putting together the pieces of the mosasaur puzzle. In fact, they predict the legacy of Turner's discovery will live on. His contribution was honored by naming the species, "turneri," after his last name. "Not all major discoveries are made by highly trained...Modern technology helps shed light on illnesses in artists of the past
...the time, wine containers were lead lined, thereby putting high levels of lead into the drink. This leads to what is known as "saturnine gout," which was rampant in Europe. According to Wolf, lead injures the kidneys, thereby causing them to elevate the serum uric acid concentration, which becomes outwardly...Scholar uncovers the story behind the 'obesity epidemic'
...result, Oliver contends, millions of Americans are putting their health at risk with fad diets, dangerous drugs, or even extreme measures, such as gastric-bypass surgeries, which cause over 1,000 deaths annually and complications such as kidney diseases, cancer and heart failure. "The irony," Oliver says, "...Light exercise a tonic to keep the brain young
...that thing all the time, unless it's sleeping. But putting an exercise machine in your family room doesn't mean you're going to use it." The next step in the research is to determine which natural chemicals and mechanisms are triggered by exercise to fight oxidative stress, and to test whether reducing the s......es, and one Florida State University researcher is putting her engineering knowledge to work to develop tools for more accurately diagnosing breast cancer. Anke Meyer-Baese is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Florida A&M University-FSU College of Engineering. Her work focu...'Good' bacteria could save patients from infection infection by deadlier ones
...tiseptics and antibiotics in hospitals is actually putting patients at a greater risk of suffering fatal bacterial infection? Yes, argues Mark Spigelman, a visiting professor at the Sanford F. Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Me...Your brain cells may 'know' more than you let on by your behavior
...another, and so on. Naturally, neurobiologists are putting a lot of effort into trying to understand how associative memory works. One way to study associative memory is to train rhesus monkeys to remember arbitrary pairs of symbols. After being shown the first symbol (i.e. dark clouds) they are presented wi...Sudden change in social status triggers genetic response in male fish, study finds
...chlids can quickly become leading men without even putting up a fight. In fact, a drab subordinate male cichlid will begin physically transforming into a colorful dominant male as soon as he notices that his competition is no longer around, according to a new study conducted at Stanford University. "We sho...Low blood glucose levels may complicate gastric bypass surgery, study shows
... amounts of weight through gastric bypass surgery, putting them in the normal Body Mass Index (BMI) range. Each, however, developed postprandial hypoglycemia (low blood glucose after meals) that failed to respond to dietary or medical intervention. As a result, all patients required removal of part or all of...