Children who experience a rewarding friendship before the birth of a sibling are likely to have a better relationship with that brother or sister that endures throughout their childhood, said Laurie Kramer in a University of Illinois study published in December’s Journal of Family Psychology.
“There’s something about early friendships — when they work well, they help children learn how to behave constructively in relationships,” said Kramer, co-editor with Lew Bank
A study of seven tropical forests around the world has revealed that nature encourages biodiversity by favoring the growth of less common trees. The landmark study, conducted by 33 ecologists from 12 countries and published in the Jan. 27 issue of the journal Science, conclusively demonstrates that diversity matters and has ecological importance to tropical forests. Helene Muller-Landau, an assistant professor of ecology in the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences, is a c
One of the paradoxes of recent explorations of the Martian surface is that the more we see of the planet, the more it looks like Earth, despite a very big difference: Complex life forms have existed for billions of years on Earth, while Mars never saw life bigger than a microbe, if that.
“The rounded hills, meandering stream channels, deltas and alluvial fans are all shockingly familiar,” said William E. Dietrich, professor of earth and planetary science at the University of Ca
Researchers discover how atoms are arranged in unusual material
Using state-of-the-art lab techniques and powerful computer simulations, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered how atoms pack themselves in unusual materials known as metallic glasses. Their findings should help scientists better understand the atomic scale structure of this material, which is used to make sports equipment, cell phone cases, armor-piercing projectiles and other products.
The discovery,
Could help explain why women who have mutations in their BRCA1 gene are susceptible to ’hormone-dependent’ cancers including breast, endometrial and cervical cancers
It’s been known that the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 regulates use of estrogen in breast and other cells, but now researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have discovered that it also controls activity of a second sex steroid hormone, progesterone.
The findings, conduct
Fingerprints are usually used to identify people but, this time, they gave Penn State chemical engineers the crucial clue needed to discover an easy, versatile new method for making nanofibers that have potential uses in advanced filtration as well as wound care, drug delivery, bioassays and other medical applications.
The new technique is based on the way forensic scientists develop fingerprints from a crime scene and is easier and more versatile than either of the current met
Properly designed “rain gardens can effectively trap and retain up to 99 percent of common pollutants in urban storm runoff, potentially improving water quality and promoting the conversion of some pollutants into less harmful compounds, according to new research scheduled for publication in the Feb. 15 issue of the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science and Technology. The affordable, easy-to-design gardens could help solve one of the nation’s most pressing pollution problems,
A new cellular pathway leads to destruction of a protein that promotes growth of breast, prostate and similar cancers and could provide a new avenue through which to pursue treatment of such diseases, said a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine.
“It is another intervention point where one can now attack tumors. It’s especially important for endocrine tumors such as those of the breast, prostate, ovary and pituitary gland,” said Dr. Bert O’Malley, chair of the BCM
Study led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine may provide new hope for cancer patients and others with compromised immune systems
New study by Mount Sinai researchers may lead to improved stem cell therapies for patients with compromised immune systems due to intensive cancer therapy or autoimmune disease. The study is published in this week’s issue of Cell.
A group, led by Paul Frenette, Associate Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, found that t
Finding the variants that human history has favoured
Sequence differences in less than 0.2% of the 3-billion-base human genome play a vital role in a bewildering variety of human disease. Today, researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Cambridge University’s Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, together with international colleagues report in PLoS Genetics their detailed maps of differences implicated in disease as well as genes that are unchanged in r
Single-walled carbon nanotubes wrapped with DNA can be placed inside living cells and detect trace amounts of harmful contaminants using near infrared light, report researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their discovery opens the door to new types of optical sensors and biomarkers that exploit the unique properties of nanoparticles in living systems.
“This is the first nanotube-based sensor that can detect analytes at the subcellular level,” said Michael Str
An analysis of seven tropical forests around the world has found that nature encourages diversity by selecting for less common trees as the trees mature.
The landmark study, which was conducted by 33 ecologists from 12 countries and published in the January 27 issue of the journal Science, conclusively demonstrates that diversity matters and has ecological importance to tropical forests.
“Ecologists have debated for decades over whether there is something of ecological
Emerging cellulosic technology could make ethanol truly ’green’ fuel
Putting ethanol instead of gasoline in your tank saves oil and is probably no worse for the environment than burning gasoline, according to a new analysis by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
The researchers note, however, that new technologies now in development promise to make ethanol a truly “green” fuel with significantly less environmental impact than gasoline.
The ana
Two studies in the Jan. 27, 2006 Cell have yielded evidence that could prove a boon for stem cell therapies aimed at patients with Parkinson’s disease and those with compromised immune systems due to intensive cancer therapy or autoimmune disease, according to researchers. The basic findings in mice revealed critical factors that determine the fate of one type of nerve cell progenitor and that set bone marrow stem cells into action.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that frequent headaches in children appear to be associated with sleep problems. More than two-thirds of children studied who suffer from chronic daily headache also experience sleep disturbance, especially delay in sleep onset. For children with episodic headaches, one-fifth had sleep problems. The findings will be presented this week at the 24th Annual Conference on Sleep Disorders in Infancy and Childhood in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
“What’
Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Using a rat model of cataract formation, Masayuki Mori and researchers at Shinshu University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan have now found a link between cataracts and cholesterol.
The study, appearing online on January 26 in advance of print publication in the February 2006 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation reports that a primary genetic defect in cataractogenesis is combined mutation of the lanosterol synthase
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