The biologist Gorka Erice Soreasu, a researcher in the Department of Plant Biology of the University of Navarra, has studied the effects of climate change on the physiology of alfalfa. This study, which forms part of his doctoral thesis, demonstrates that this plant, frequently used as feed for farm animals, adapts to increases in carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature and dryness, protecting itself in this way from the effects of climate change.
His research, which focused on the regrowth o
A new collaboration covers the spectrum from molecules to therapies
Today three research organisations announce the merging of their expertise to fight cardiovascular diseases, which are among the most common health problems and causes of death in the world. The Magdi Yacoub Institute (MYI) at the UK’s Harefield Heart Science Centre, Imperial College London, and a unit of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) near Rome will work together to connect discoveries in basic
Scientists have found that organic nitrogen is more important for plant growth than previously thought and could contribute to maintaining diversity in grasslands.
Until recently it was generally believed that the most important source of nitrogen for plants was inorganic nitrogen. However, researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) from the University of Lancaster and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) have
A study published by Nature today has defined the function of p110 alpha, the flag-ship molecule of the eight member PI3K family, which is one of the most frequently activated pathways in cancer. The function of p110 alpha in the body has eluded researchers for over a decade but a new approach to generating mouse models, has allowed investigators from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research’s (LICR) UCL Branch and the UCL Centre for Diabetes & Endocrinology to solve the mystery and yield impor
Self-employed male Britons have been found to work longer hours for lower wages than those of their employee counterparts. This is attributed to them facing greater uncertainty and so working harder as a way to insure their future livelihoods. In addition, according to the research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, there was no evidence of growing female self-employment, or the anticipated greater labour flexibility resulting from self-employment during the 1990s.
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Researchers have demonstrated that an antibiotic is effective at treating acute asthma attacks, potentially providing a new way to help asthma sufferers.
Research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that the antibiotic, telithromycin, can hasten the recovery time of patients who have had asthma attacks by three days, as well as reducing their symptoms and improving lung function.
Treatment for some serious asthma attacks can involve the us
Stressed individuals might be particularly prone to binge eating or drug addiction because of the high levels of the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing factor in their brain. A study published today in the open access journal BMC Biology (http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcbiol/) shows that rats with levels of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in their brain similar to the levels experienced by humans when they are stressed show an exaggerated craving for a reward – a piece of sugar – whenever
A recent study provides some of the best evidence to date that birth order really doesn’t have an effect on intelligence.
The findings contradict many studies over the years that had reported that older children are generally smarter than their younger siblings.
This new study, based on a large, nationwide sample, suggests a critical flaw in that previous research, said Aaron Wichman, lead author of the new study and a teaching fellow in psychology at Ohio State
A “dead zone” that formed in 2001 in Narragansett Bay left a lethal legacy, Brown University research shows. In a study of nine mussel reefs, published in Ecology, researchers report that oxygen-depleted water killed one reef and nearly wiped out the rest. A year later, only one of the nine reefs was recovering. The result was a sharp reduction in the reefs’ ability to filter phytoplankton, a process that helps control “dead zone” formation.
Fish kills, foul odors and closed beaches
Scientists of the CDF collaboration at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced today (April 11, 2006) the precision measurement of extremely rapid transitions between matter and antimatter. As amazing as it may seem, it has been known for 50 years that very special species of subatomic particles can make spontaneous transitions between matter and antimatter. In this exciting new result, CDF physicists measured the rate of the matter-antimatter transitions f
Adolescents who diet and use unhealthy weight-control behaviors are more likely to be overweight and put themselves at risk for eating disorders in the future, according to new research done at the University of Minnesota.
A study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that adolescents with unhealthy weight-control behaviors were three times more likely to be overweight five years later. In addition, adolescents using unhealthy weigh
Patient who received IV bisphosphonates associated with treatment for breast carcinoma develops osteonecrosis following periodontal surgical therapy
The patient of a periodontist in private practice in New Orleans developed osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a condition that can cause severe, often irreversible and debilitating damage to the jaw, following periodontal surgical therapy. Two years prior to surgery, the patient had started receiving IV bisphosphonate therapy, or bone-sp
Studies have demonstrated an association between periodontal therapy and improved metabolic control in diabetic patients. This study supports findings related to this association.
Results of a new study support the hypothesis that periodontal therapy may improve metabolic control (lower HbA1c) in diabetic patients. This study appears in April’s issue of the Journal of Periodontology.
The results suggest that periodontal therapy may reduce a diabetic patient’s
A social psychologist at the University of Alberta claims that people who do not wear wedding rings are more neglectful of children compared to people who wear them. Further, Dr. Andrew Harrell states that young attractive people who do not wear wedding rings are the most neglectful child caretakers of all.
The director of the U of A Population Research Lab, Harrell made his conclusions after leading an experiment in which 862 caretaker-children combinations were furtively obser
In a former cowshed on the edge of the University of New Hampshire campus, David Berlinsky, assistant professor of zoology, peers into a big blue plastic tub. Inside, black sea bass circle slowly in the dim light. The converted barn is now an aquaculture research facility for the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, and home to Berlinsky’s latest research.
Black sea bass feature prominently on many menus, but wild populations of the fish are in decline and their availability
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is the Clinical Coordinating Center for the first study to assess the effectiveness of combining two FDA approved medications as initial treatment for people with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH-NINDS), the study, known as CombiRx, will determine if the combined use of each treatment reduces relapse rate when compared to either agent alone. Enrollm
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