HHMI researchers Richard Axel and Linda Buck win 2004 Nobel Prize
... have been identified in this way. The team's most surprising finding was that there are so many olfactory receptors. The 100 different genes the researchers identified first were just the tip of the iceberg. It now appears that there are between 500 and 1,000 separate receptor proteins on rat and mouse--and pr...Yale scientists find cooperative RNA switches in nature
...es but not usually associated with RNA. It is also surprising that such complex relics of an RNA World are seen in modern organisms. Breaker and his research team have pioneered the field of riboswitches and reported the existence of nine classes, so far. Earlier this year they reported in the journal Nature on...Acoustics meeting in San Diego
...n Michigan ( drussell@kettering.edu ) will present surprising new discoveries on the baseball bat's "sweet spot," conventionally defined as a region, approximately 5 to 7 inches from the "barrel" end, where the bat exhibits the least vibration and gives the ball maximum propulsion. Robert Collier of Dartmouth ...Time-lapse movies show brain cells move like a two-stroke engine
... the course of an hour. The new study shows that a surprising mechanism underlies neuronal migration. The Rockefeller scientists suspected that the cytoskeleton, the scaffold of elements called microtubules that support a cell's three-dimensional shape, was important to neuron migration. They knew that disrupti...Pushing the envelope to overcome HIV drug resistance
...tease inhibitors is devastating to patients and is surprising given the way these drugs work. Protease inhibitors are all small-molecule, competitive, active-site inhibitors--low molecular weight compounds that fit squarely in the center of the active site of HIV-1 protease and prevent protein processing that i...For inferring the biological tree of life, simple is better
...nt years, turns out to be far more accurate. These surprising findings may change the way evolutionary biologists infer the relationships among species - a cornerstone of modern biology - according to researchers at the University of Oregon. Joe Thornton, a UO assistant professor of biology, and Bryan Kolaczkow...Predicting infection risk of mosquito-borne disease
...tion of these factors results in, for example, the surprising prediction that the risk of infection can be lowest just outside an edge of town. By mapping larval habitats against the local risk of mosquito-borne infections, Smith and colleagues conclude, epidemiological models can be developed to predict risk ...Clues to the puzzle of 'talking' root cells
...evious studies, Benfey and his colleagues made the surprising finding that the Short-Root protein is one means by which one root cell "talks" to another to instruct it to develop in a certain way. Short-Root is so named because genetic mutations that generate a non-functional protein produce plants with stun...Darwin's greatest challenge tackled: the mystery of eye evolution
...at were initially located in the brain. "It is not surprising that cells of human eyes come from the brain. We still have light-sensitive cells in our brains today which detect light and influence our daily rhythms of activity," explains Wittbrodt. "Quite possibly, the human eye has originated from light-sensit...Award will help unlock mysteries of one of Earth's most important organisms
...ies of diatom, a kind of phytoplankton, and offers surprising insights about the way it may be using nitrogen, fats and silica to thrive the world over. A news article in the magazine quotes a diatom systematist not connected with the paper as saying, "We've just jumped a generation ahead by having this kind of...New findings may redirect strategies for treatment of prostate cancer
...es. The research provides significant and somewhat surprising new information about modulation of the androgen receptor (AR), a key determinant of prostate cancer progression and an attractive target for prostate cancer therapies. The AR is a transcription factor that plays a major physiological role in normal...Building a tree of life needs less 'wood'
...nts and 7,500 plants and animals. "It's pretty surprising that you can draw conclusions from such a small amount of information, compared to how much there would be if the databases contained a better sample of biodiversity," Sanderson said. Researchers can now take the same approach and add more inf...Heart responds to fasting by remodeling vital energy-producing components
...decrease of the magnitude reported is all the more surprising because phospholipids comprise essential components of all cellular membranes and have previously been thought to be preserved except in cases of extreme starvation. The researchers' data also reveal that after feeding resumes, the phospholipid leve...Census of Marine Life - Discoveries and Highlights 2004: Scientists add 4m+ records, 13,000 species
...rth's least-known marine areas. The samples reveal surprising patterns of deep-sea species and endemism markedly different from one animal group to another. Previous research shows many fauna of the Antarctic shelf are highly endemic. For example, about 85 percent of deep-sea crustaceans found there are unique ...Promising results in the battle against incurable ALS muscle disease
...t the Catholic University of Leuven has led to the surprising discovery that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a major role in this disease. VEGF: a promising track to follow VEGF is a signaling substance that controls the growth of blood vessels. To a large extent, a tissue in need of ...Purdue research offers hope for canine, human spinal injuries
...s added to the fluid they live in. Because of this surprising ability, PEG is sometimes called a "fusogen." About five years ago, Borgens and his partner, Riyi Shi, found that they could actually fuse hundreds to thousands of severed nerve fibers of the guinea pig spinal cord with only a two-minute PEG...Study reveals developing countries with recipe for thriving health biotech industries
...most nonexistent in other countries. As a result a surprising 450 and 600 Korean companies are using some aspect of biotechnology in their business. Successful Innovation Requires Collaboration The case studies confirmed that successful innovation requires widespread collaborat...Stanford biologist working to restore native forests to Hawaii
...postdoctoral researcher working with Daily, made a surprising discovery while completing her doctoral research. "She found that young koa plantations, the kind someone growing for profit would have, are really good habitat for the 'Akiapola'au," Daily said. "Usually you hear that you need old growth to be biolo......ther backward EDCBA. Rose says the reversal was surprising because it shows training can overcome sparrows' innate tendency to start their song with a whistle (represented by A). The sparrows' ability to construct a complete song from its pieces by knowing how the pieces fit together is comparable to compl...