Scientists devise technique to detect squid egg clusters on the seafloor
California’s $30-million-a-year squid fishery has quadrupled in the past decade, but until now there has been no way to assess the continuing viability of squid stocks. A multi-institutional team of scientists this month reported a new sonar technique to locate squid egg clusters in the murky depths, offering a window onto next year’s potential squid population in its nursery.
The scientists demonstra
Introduced foxes throw a wrench in the food web
Indirect effects of predators
In an extensive study, researchers from the University of Montana, University of California – Santa Cruz, and the University of California – Davis have shown that a top predator strongly affected plants and animals at the bottom of an island food web by eating organisms that transport nutrients between ecosystems. “An introduced predator alters Aleutian island plant communities by thw
Working in cooperation with Maine trawler captain Cameron McLellan and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, UMaine graduate student Emily Knight and UMaine Marine Science professor Les Watling recently completed a long-term study that examines the effects of groundfish trawling on the complex ecology of the sea floor in the Gulf of Maine.
Based on the gradual increases in complexity and diversity of seafloor communities that have been protected from bottom trawling for two, four, and s
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than 170 million people worldwide and leads to both acute and chronic liver diseases. Since its discovery several decades ago, the insidious human pathogen has stymied the quest for anti-viral therapies by refusing to reproduce in test tubes for more than a few hours or days, denying scientists an efficient virus production and infection system for experimental research.
Now, in a landmark study by Florida State University biologists that could bol
The brain as command center for bodily movement was too simple an idea, thought the Russian physiologist Nicolas Bernstein some 60 years ago. After studying human movements for years, Bernstein pointed out in 1940 that the great flexibility of the body, coupled with unexpected events in the world, meant that the nervous system had to prepare the body in advance for what might happen next.
If Bernstein were right, it would affect the design of prosthetic devices and biologically inspi
Cancer researchers at the University of Helsinki, in trying to find a novel tumor suppressor gene, instead found an important evolutionary change that occurred in a key developmental signalling pathway. The finding suggests a potential mechanism for evolution of complex intercellular signalling pathways.
A relatively small number of evolutionary conserved genes are responsible for controlling the development of the diverse range of animal species. Most of these genes have been o
The technology used in the world’s first cervical cancer vaccine will be tweaked to fight the most common sexually transmitted disease, genital warts.
Australian of the Year and University of Queensland (UQ) cervical cancer vaccine creator Professor Ian Frazer launched a therapeutic vaccine trial for genital warts today (Tuesday, February 7).
Patients from Brisbane and China will take part in the joint project for UQ’s cancer research centre, the Centre f
Cleaning bathrooms may become a thing of the past with new coatings that will do the job for you.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales are developing new coatings they hope will be used for self-cleaning surfaces in hospitals and the home.
Led by Professor Rose Amal and Professor Michael Brungs of the ARC Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, a research team is studying tiny particles of titanium dioxide currently used on outdoor surfaces such as self-cleaning w
If the world continues to burn greenhouse gases, California may have an increased risk of winter floods and summer water shortages, even within the same year. This scenario may be more severe in future El Niño years.
New research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists shows that global warming is likely to change river flows in ways that may result in both increased flood risk and water shortages. The predictions assume atmospheric carbon dioxide concentratio
Lost bird of paradise found in isolated Foja mountains of Papua, along with new honeyeater bird, new frogs and a rare tree kangaroo
An expedition to one of Asia’s most isolated jungles – in the mist-shrouded Foja Mountains of western New Guinea – discovered a virtual ’’Lost World” of new species, giant flowers, and rare wildlife that was unafraid of humans.
The December 2005 trip by a team of U.S., Indonesian, and Australian scientists led by Conservatio
Women’s Health Initiative study of nearly 50,000 postmenopausal women across the United States provides first solid data on health effects of a low-fat diet
Adopting a low-fat diet in later life and following such a regimen for nearly a decade does not appear to have a significant impact on reducing the overall risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer or heart disease, according to a Women’s Health Initiative study that involved nearly 50,000 postmenopausal women across
Despite findings being announced this week that a low-fat diet introduced in the middle-age years didn’t reduce the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke or colon cancer, one of the researchers says people still need to focus on the types of fat they eat. The national diet study of almost 50,000 healthy postmenopausal women was part of the massive Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study.
The hypothesis that low-fat diets could help reduce the risk of certain disea
Leads to long-term improvement in physicians’ domestic violence management skills
Two new studies reported in the February 2006 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine show that a case-based online continuing medical education program helps community physicians better deal with the difficult problems posed by their patients who are in abusive relationships. The studies, authored by Dr. Lynn Short and her colleagues, describe the results of a 5-year federally-fund
The transistor laser invented by scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has now been found to possess fundamental non-linear characteristics that are new to a transistor and permit its use as a dual-input, dual-output, high-frequency signal processor.
“We have hit upon something surprisingly fundamental and rich in possibilities,” said Nick Holonyak Jr., a John Bardeen Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at Illinois. “We have
Hormone discovered in bird brains also plays major role in mammalian reproductive system
University of California, Berkeley, researchers have discovered a new actor in the mammalian reproductive system, a hormone that fills a role long suspected, but until now undetected.
The hormone, a small protein, or peptide, called gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), puts the brakes on reproduction by directly inhibiting the action of the central hormone of the reproductive sys
Policies supportive of new mothers in workplaces are strongly encouraged
Babies fully breastfed for six months are less likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses in their first two years than babies fully breastfed for only four months, according to research conducted by investigators at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, the University of Rochester and the American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Child Health Research.
“We found that babies who received an addition
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