With species around the world disappearing faster than biologists can identify them, many scientists pinned their hopes on DNA barcoding, a recently proposed strategy that treats a short fragment of DNA as a sort of universal product code to identify species. But this approach generated controversy from the start, with skeptics bristling at the notion that a single gene fragment could perform such a tall task. In a new study published in PLoS Biology, Christopher Meyer and Gustav Paulay revisi
Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) researchers have identified a process that could lead to development of repair mechanisms for people suffering from dementia and acquired brain injury.
The research reveals discoveries in the hippocampus – a part of the brain commonly associated with memory function – where the brain’s ability to regenerate nerve cells or neurons is known to degenerate with age.
The study by Dr Natalie Bull and Professor Perry Bartlett, from The Uni
A team of Yale scientists have demonstrated a method to understand effective synthesis of semiconductor nanowires (NWs) for both their quality and quantity, according to a report published in the journal Nanotechnology.
Graduate student Eric Stern in the department of biomedical engineering along with his colleague Guosheng Cheng, associate research scientist in electrical engineering systematically varied and tested parameters for producing GaN NWs using an optical lithograp
Most people with a rare type of dementia called primary progressive aphasia (PPA) have a specific combination of prion gene variants, a new study shows. The study is the first to link the prion protein gene to this disorder. It was funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and appears in the December 2005 issue of the Annals of Neurology.[1]
The researchers, led by James A. Mastria
A clinical study of ovarian cancer initiated by investigators at Yale School of Medicine will combine the anti-cancer drug phenoxodiol with docetaxel for women with recurrent ovarian cancer.
“Advanced-stage ovarian cancer is one of the most devastating forms of cancer, with half of the women diagnosed with it dying within five years,” said principal investigator Thomas Rutherford, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at
Recent studies conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center suggest two possible mechanisms for the widely recognized link between depression and adverse outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease: lack of adherence to medication regimens and increased levels of norepinephrine, a stress hormone.
“Patients with depression are more likely to suffer heart attacks and heart failure, and more likely to die of heart disease, and no one knows why,” notes Mary Whooley, MD, a st
Computed tomography (CT) colonography with computer-aided detection (CAD) is highly effective for finding colon polyps, according to a large-scale, multi-center study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
CT colonography, commonly called virtual colonoscopy, is a minimally invasive exam that physicians hope will encourage more people to be screened for colon cancer. Vir
Digital tomosynthesis shows promise over conventional film mammography as a more specific breast screening technique and a more accurate diagnostic technology, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“The results of our preliminary trial suggest that tomosynthesis may decrease false-positive screening mammography findings by half, thereby reducing the number of women who are recalled after screening mammog
Women may not be getting the most out of vaccines and other injections, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“Our study has demonstrated that a majority of people, especially women, are not getting the proper dosage from injections to the buttocks,” said lead author Victoria O. Chan, M.B., registrar in the clinical medicine department of The Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.
“There is no ques
A team of scientists has determined that the growing worldwide problem of increased nutrient pollution, primarily nitrogen and phosphorous, on coastal waterways has altered the ecology of Chesapeake Bay as reported in the most recent issue of Marine Ecology Progress Series.
During the last 50 years, nutrient enrichment has reduced the size of sea grass beds and lowered dissolved oxygen concentrations, both contributing to the degradation of bottom habitats. Excess nutrients can
Gene is associated with increased risk of precursor of macular degeneration
A variant in a gene called Complement Factor H (CFH) appears to contribute to the increased risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) largely or entirely through its impact on the development of a precursor of advanced AMD called soft drusen (small yellowish, extracellular deposits of lipid, protein and cellular debris in the back of the eye), according to a multinational team of researchers.
People exposed to high levels of persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs), which are most likely to come from eating fatty fish such as salmon, might be at risk of developing diabetes.
A study published today in the open access journal Environmental Health reveals that exposure to high levels of POPs, a family of toxic chemicals that includes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the insecticide DDT, is associated with a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a popula
In interrogating suspected perpetrators it’s important to be able to determine who is telling the truth. A new dissertation from Göteborg University in Sweden shows that strategic questioning can considerably enhance the interrogator’s ability to assess the reliability of information.
In many contexts, such as in the justice system, it is important to be able to judge who is lying and who is telling the truth. Such judgments are not least important when it comes to interrogating s
“The treatment of breast cancer when the patient is pregnant does not increase the risk of congenital anomalies”, assures Dr. Guillermo López, director of the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University Hospital of the University of Navarra.
Breast cancer and pregnancy
The University has had wide experience in this field, in fact, one of the widest in Europe. It is estimated that some 13% of breast cancers appears in women of fertile age. Moreover, the
Researchers at Stockholm University have found a substance that quickly knocks out the anthrax bacterium. The bacterium has been used in terrorist attacks in the US and Japan, for example.
The scientists have identified the enzyme in the bacterium that makes it multiply. The substance N-hydroxylamine arrests the enzyme, and the bacterium stops growing.
“An anthrax infection in the lungs develops very rapidly and must be stopped as quickly as possible. This can be done by co
In his PhD thesis the Pamplona engineer, Francisco Falcone Lanas, has put forward various structures based on what are known as left-handed metamaterials, materials that can be used to make smaller mobile phones, aerials or GPS and which have better specifications and performance. This is the first PhD defended in the world on applications of left-handed metamaterials.
Photonic crystal devices
The research undertaken by Francisco Falcone in his PhD involved analysing t
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