An international team of scientists, including Brown University geologist John Mustard, has created the most comprehensive mineral record of Mars to date. Using data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission, the record shows three distinct geological eras on the Red Planet, with the earliest marked by the presence of water. Results are published in Science.
Mars started out relatively wet and temperate, underwent a major climate shift, and evolved into a cold,
Primary care physicians (PCP) care for basic health problems of the population and facilitate the referral to specialists, the second level of health care. That is to say, PCPs identify pathologies and help establishing a connection with the health system network. Dermatology is one of the public health areas where the ability of PCPs could contribute with more benefits. A study promoted by researchers of the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), in collabor
A discovery made at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute provides new insights into enhancing the function of the protein SOCS3, which regulates the response of cells to external stimuli.
SOCS3 (Suppressors of Cytokine Signalling) controls the responses of cells to cytokines (growth factors). It is important that cytokine signalling is properly regulated within the human body. If SOCS3 permits cytokine signalling to be too “loud”, then the excess of growth signals can cause crippl
A rare Patagonian rodent known as the colonial tuco-tuco fascinates biologists because it seems to defy all odds. This threatened species has so little genetic diversity that the slightest whiff of climate change or disease should have wiped it off the face of the earth long ago. Yet the hearty gopher-like creature has not only managed to survive for thousands of years in the harsh climate of the Argentine highlands, it has evolved a complex social structure that’s unique among the more than
While most nations excavate their skeletons using a toothbrush, the Norwegians found one using a drill.
The somewhat rough uncovering of Norway’s first dinosaur happened in the North Sea, at an entire 2256 metres below the seabed. It had been there for nearly 200 million years, ever since the time the North Sea wasn’t a sea at all, but an enormous alluvial plane.
It is merely a coincidence that the remains of the old dinosaur now see the light of day again, or more preci
Andalusian scientists of the University of Cadiz and Pablo de Olavide University (Seville) are working on a project of improvement in the photoelectrochemical solar cells performance, an alternative to the silicon cells that are normally used. This would entail reductions in the cost of the parts.
The semi-conduit used in most photovoltaic solar cells that are commercialised is silicon, and despite its optimum efficiency in the exploitation of solar energy, it is a material whose produ
The Académie des sciences has just submitted its 21st science and technology report to the French government. The report looks at science in developing countries, particularly in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. It was coordinated by François Gros, and involved more than 35 contributors. CIRAD participated in the working group (P. Debré, M. Griffon, C. Freud) and in several chapters on Franco-African agricultural research (F. Maraux), food and nutrition (N. Bricas), animal resources and heal
Research news from the European Journal of Social Psychology
Recent studies investigating individuals’ perception of themselves as becoming better looking across time have found that we think we really do get more attractive each day. This research is revealed today in the European Journal of Social Psychology.
In an amusing and popular country and western song from 1980, Mac Davis commented how he couldn’t wait to look in the mirror, because he seemed to get better looki
Daily monitoring of C-reactive protein levels could help in the prediction of infections acquired in the intensive care unit. A study published today in the journal Critical Care reveals that a daily variation of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels greater than 4.1 mg/dl is a good marker for prediction of infection. The authors of the study also identify different patterns of CRP level progression, associated with different predictions of infection, which could guide antibiotic prescription.
Ancient fish teeth are yielding clues about when Antarctica became the icy continent it is today, highlighting how ocean currents affect climate change.
University of Florida geologists have used a rare element found in tiny fish teeth gathered from miles below the ocean surface to date the opening of a passage at the bottom of the globe between the Atlantic and Pacific. The opening, which occurred millions of years ago in a much warmer era, allowed the formation of an ocean c
UCI study points to new therapeutic possibilities for epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases
UC Irvine researchers have found that a protein best known for building connections between nerve cells and muscle also plays a role in controlling brain cell activity. The finding points to possible therapeutic applications in the development of new drugs for treatment of epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders.
Martin Smith, professor of anatomy and neurobiology in the School o
Scientists uncover signatures near crucial developmental genes; Analysis provides framework for understanding cells’ unusual plasticity
A team of scientists announced today a critical step on the path of realizing the promise of embryonic stem (ES) cells for medicine. As described in the April 21 issue of Cell, the researchers have discovered unique molecular imprints coupled to DNA in mouse ES cells that help explain the cells’ rare ability to form almost any body
If only Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were around today to take a spin with new technology being developed and tested by a team of computer scientists in Illinois and California.
If they were, they’d be dancing circles around each other – only from a considerable distance. That’s the beauty of Tele-immersive Environments for EVErybody, or TEEVE, a system that’s being test-driven simultaneously across thousands of miles this spring in the labs of Klara Nahrstedt, a computer sci
Anyone who uses a cell phone or a WiFi laptop knows the irritation of a dead-battery surprise. But now researchers at the University of Rochester have broken a barrier in wireless chip design that uses a tenth as much battery power as current designs and, better yet, will use much less in emerging wireless devices of the future.
Hui Wu, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Rochester, a pioneer in a circuit design called an “injection locked freq
Researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected to the University of Antwerp are the first to show that the quantity of amyloid protein in brain cells is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid protein has already been known to be the primary component of the senile plaques in the brains of patients. The new discovery demonstrates that the greater the quantity of the protein that is produced, the younger the dementia patient is.
In the frantic world of fruitfly courtship, the difference between attracting a mate and going home alone may depend on having the right wing spots. Now, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have learned which elements of fly DNA make these spots come and go in different species. Their studies have also uncovered surprising new evidence supporting the idea that evolution is an incessant tinkerer when it comes to complex traits.
The experiments are among the first to root out “th
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