Linking empires, economics, evolution
...istory of life move in the same general direction: toward larger, more powerful actors that dominate their environment and its resources. But these large, dominant groups are also more vulnerable to sudden disruptions. Vermeij studies the shells of marine animals both living and long extinct. Blind sin...... shorter toes and a big toe that is fully drawn in toward the other toes for better pushing off during running. The study by Bramble and Lieberman concludes: "Today, endurance running is primarily a form of exercise and recreation, but its roots may be as ancient as the origin of the human genus, and its...How receptors govern inflammatory pain
... potential relevance in the therapeutic approaches toward the prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory pain. Bettina Hartmann, Seifollah Ahmadi, Paul A. Heppenstall, Gary R. Lewin, Claus Schott, Thilo Borchardt, Peter H. Seeburg, Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer, Rolf Sprengel, and Rohini Kuner: "The AMPA Rec...Study shows stem cells can preserve vision
...control mice did not. "These are the first steps toward the use of stem cells for saving existing vision and then -- down the road-- restoring vision that has already been lost," says Young, who believes that stems cells will have many roles to play in the fight against blinding diseases.Young and his tea...Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...resented by TTP-6171 represents a promising avenue toward developing an effective antiviral drug that can be used to prevent or treat diseases caused by orthopoxviruses, such as smallpox," say the researchers. (C.M. Byrd, T.C. Bolken, A.M. Mjalli, M.N. Arimilli, R.C. Andrews, R. Rothlein, T. Andrea, M. Rao,...Low-carb diet during pregnancy improved triglycerides, fat metabolism in offspring
...red to females from dams on the chow diet (a trend toward reduced TG concentration was also observed in the male). Furthermore, hepatic protein levels for CD36, carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) and peroxisomal proliferator activated receptor-α (PPARα) were increased by ~ 46% (p < 0.001...Genetic discovery paves way to decode sense of smell in mammals
...finding of these accessory proteins opens the door toward understanding the mechanisms underlying our sense of smell." Matsunami and his colleagues reported their results in the November 24, 2004, issue of Cell. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and Duke University Medical Cente...Finding could improve safety of stem cell transplants
...gia. When embryonic stem cells are being coaxed toward becoming brain cells that could be transplanted, that lipid, ceramide, helps eliminate cells that could later form tumors called teratomas, researchers say in the Nov. 22 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology. "The body has amazing mechanisms to ...University of Texas at Austin researchers identify drug-tolerance mechanism in flies
..., which may reveal ways to address this early step toward addiction in humans. Neuroscientist Nigel Atkinson at The University of Texas at Austin and his laboratory determined this by studying the response of fruit flies (Drosophila) to a 15-minute exposure to benzyl alcohol coated on the inner walls of tes...Researchers reconstruct parts of the genome of a common mammalian ancestor
...ere they didn't happen along the evolutionary path toward humans." For example, even though there is currently DNA sequence data from only eight species in the FOXP2 region of the genome in the Santa Cruz database, more extensive comparisons of that region undertaken during independent studies by Svante ...Stem cells may hold promise as multiple sclerosis cure
...led cells non-invasively represents a crucial step toward the application of this therapy to humans," Dr. Politi said. While the results are promising, both authors caution that further studies need to be done, including work with human stem cells. "We know the potential therapeutic action of stem ...Study gives US a 'C' for lagging support of international reproductive health and population efforts
...es, and grades each of them on their contributions toward the goal of universal access to basic reproductive health care by 2015 - the goal agreed to by 179 nations at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. The study also addresses donors" growing focus on HIV/AIDS and th...Salt-water minnow research helps explain human cardiology
...e scientists think, their work could point the way toward identifying the number and type of certain genes a person has. With this information, doctors may be able to prescribe the most effective medication within a certain class of drugs to treat high cholesterol or blood sugar, and have a clearer understa...Efforts to clone primates move forward
...ittsburgh scientists have taken a significant step toward successful therapeutic cloning of nonhuman primate...r nonhuman primates, allowing the further progress toward development of an animal model which parallels human biology," said Dr. Schatten. "This approach doe...Idaho lab, Utah company achieve major milestone in hydrogen research
...opment in their efforts to help the nation advance toward a clean hydrogen economy. Laboratory teams have an...This development is viewed as a crucial first step toward large-scale production of hydrogen from water, rather than fossil fuels. The major private-sector...New tuberculosis antibiotic may shorten treatment time, fight drug-resistant strains
...t. Shortening the drug regimen could go a long way toward making the treatment more effective. Many patients currently stop taking the drugs before their infection is cleared because of the side effects and inconvenience, according to Andries. To improve adherence to the lengthy regimen of current tubercul...Purdue scientists hunt for 'secret X' to treat liver cancer
...e cancer cells alone. We are taking the next steps toward that goal now." That next step involves work with live animals instead of tissue samples, she said, and work is now in progress in the labs of Marie-Annick Buendia and Pierre Tiollais of the Louis Pasteur Institute in France. "I...Baby songbirds and human infants learn sounds in similar ways
...e adds. Human infants also follow different routes toward mastering the sounds of language, for reasons that remain unknown. Some infants focus at first on repeating individual words and others go through a stage of short, jumbled phrases, mostly unintelligible, with the cadence and inflection of adult spee...UT Southwestern researchers locate gene family involved in determining potential for acquiring lupus
...highly variable genes, which can provide a pathway toward disease," said Dr. Wakeland. In addition, the researchers linked this gene family to resistance to infectious diseases. The latest findings follow an earlier discovery by Dr. Wakeland and his colleagues of four genes that can halt lupus. The......ls grow and break off. The berg initially drifted toward McMurdo Sound and grounded near Cape Crozier on Ross Island. It has since broken into pieces that still are very large. Some remain in place, but the largest splinter--B-15A, approximately 100 miles long--is moving north at roughly 1-3 three kilometr...