Global warming may decimate the top 10 feet (3 meters) or more of perennially frozen soil across the Northern Hemisphere, altering ecosystems as well as damaging buildings and roads across Canada, Alaska, and Russia. New simulations from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) show that over half of the area covered by this topmost layer of permafrost could thaw by 2050 and as much as 90 percent by 2100. Scientists expect the thawing to increase runoff to the Arctic Ocean and relea
Chlorine solutions much weaker than previously believed can still be used to kill more than 99 percent of noroviruses, the chief cause of outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness around the world, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study concludes.
Researchers presented their findings over the weekend at the 2005 International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, which ends today (Dec. 19) in Washington, D.C. They discovered for the first time that di
Ohio State University scientists have thought of a new way to solve an astronomical mystery, and their plan relies on a well-connected network of amateur stargazers and one very elusive subatomic particle.
To understand what happens inside exploding stars, or supernovae, scientists need to study particles called neutrinos, explained John Beacom, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Ohio State. Neutrinos are formed in the nuclear reactions that make stars like our sun s
Results from a new study in laboratory mice show that nighttime exposure to artificial light stimulated the growth of human breast tumors by suppressing the levels of a key hormone called melatonin. The study also showed that extended periods of nighttime darkness greatly slowed the growth of these tumors.
The study results might explain why female night shift workers have a higher rate of breast cancer. It also offers a promising new explanation for the epidemic rise in breast c
A groundbreaking new study examines the origins of holiday giving and finds that our early human ancestors were frequently altruistic.
“Reciprocity is arguably the foundational basis of cooperation in humans,” writes Michael Gurven (University of California – Santa Barbara). “A core feature of reciprocity is the contingent relationship between acts of giving and receiving among social partners. Contingency is important because it sets the rules for who qualifies as a free-rider
Researchers from Northwestern Memorial recommend physicians be vigilant in looking for symptoms
Drug-eluting stents have greatly reduced the risk of repeat blockage of heart arteries, but researchers from Northwestern Memorial Hospital have found that in some patients, the stents can cause allergic reactions that can have serious consequences. They stress that physicians and their patients should be aware of this potential and know the symptoms. The findings have been published on
A recent study in The American Journal of Gastroenterology revealed that patterns in diet may effect the development of colorectal adenomas, or precancerous polyps of the colon.
In this study, over 1500 patients underwent baseline colonoscopy to remove existing polyps. They were then given a survey about their diet. After a period of one and then four years later, the group underwent follow-up colonoscopies to determine if any polyps had returned. Those who had consumed diets higher in p
Scientists have identified 570 genes that act abnormally during the development of Parkinson’s Disease, a finding which could help doctors predict the likelihood of it developing, and provide targets for new treatments.
The research published in Neurogenetics, by the team from Imperial College London and the University of Liege, Belgium, uses microarrays to analyse brains from Parkinson’s patients. Microarrays are laboratory chips able to pick out which genes are active
Migraines and panic attacks may be the triggers for Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome in adults, according a small study published today in the open access journal BMC Medicine. Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome (CVS), widely accepted as occurring in children, is also found in adults according to researchers.
David R. Fleisher, of the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, Missouri in the US, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of 41 adults patients they had seen from 1994 to
Motorcycles collectively emit 16 times more hydrocarbons, three times more carbon monoxide and a “disproportionately high” amount of other air pollutants compared to passenger cars, according to a Swiss study to be published in the Jan. 1 issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology. The study, by Ana-Marija Vasic and Martin Weilenmann of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, found both two- and four-cycle motorcycle engines e
The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) is making significant strides in the battle against the avian “bird” flu, with pre-clinical trials under way on a potential treatment conceived by one of its scientists. The Institute, a not-for-profit organization whose cutting-edge research focuses on infectious diseases and other immune system disorders, is also developing information for a “universal” flu vaccine, as well as researching a needle-free vaccine that would treat various influenz
The effects of overfishing may have driven marbled murrelets, an endangered seabird found along the Pacific coast, to increasingly rely upon less nutritious food sources, according to a new study by biologists at the University of California, Berkeley.
The results, to be published online by early March 2006 in the journal Conservation Biology, suggest that feeding further down the food web may have played a role in low levels of reproduction observed in contemporary murrelet population
Experts in ancient DNA from McMaster University (Canada) have teamed up with genome researchers from Penn State University (USA) for the investigation of permafrost bone samples from Siberia. The project also involved paleontologists from the American Museum of Natural History (USA) and researchers from Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The researchers’ report on the first genomic sequences from a woolly mammoth will be published on 22 December 2005 by the journal Science on
’Pre-surgical’ team approach gets patients ready to leave same day
Orthopedic surgeons at Rush University Medical Center found that 96 percent of patients who had minimally invasive total knee replacement surgery were able to go home the same day, without complications-many walking out unassisted or with a cane. These results were published in the October issue of the Journal of Arthroplasty.
Lead author surgeon Richard A. Berger says it’s not just the
A key toxin associated with whooping cough helps the germs resist the human immune system and infect vaccinated populations. Discovery of this resistance mechanism could lead to potential new treatments for the disease, according to researchers at Penn State.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the germ Bordetella pertussis. Whooping cough can occur at any age but is generally considered a childhood disease marked by severe spells of coug
A sharper focus than that given by the previous collection of molecular and fossil studies
A team of researchers has proposed new limits on the time when the most recent common ancestor of humans and their closest ape relatives — the chimpanzees — lived. Scientists at Arizona State and Penn State Universities have placed the time of this split between 5 and 7 million years ago — a sharper focus than that given by the previous collection of molecular and fossil studies, which hav
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