Spectacular coral reefs are usually associated with warm tropical climates but can be found in the cold, inky depths off Ireland and the UK. The expansion of deep-water trawling is causing widespread damage to these long-lived corals which can take over 4,500 years to build up.
Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, a marine biologist from the University of Plymouth, has been studying these cold water coral habitats and will be revealing previously-unseen footage from recent international expe
Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh and colleagues report today in the online issue of Molecular Cell that the “Rett Syndrome protein”, MeCP2, only binds to genes with a specific sequence of nucleotide bases. This knowledge will aid in the identification of the genes that are regulated by the gene MECP2. This work was supported, in part, by the Rett Syndrome Research Foundation (RSRF).
Rett Syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurological disorder diagnosed almost exclusively in gi
How insects avoid getting diseases they can carry and spread to humans is the focus of research at Kansas State University.
Mike Kanost, university distinguished professor of biochemistry and head of the department of biochemistry, and researchers in his lab are studying how insects protect themselves against infection. They think the answer lies in insects’ blood, specifically proteins.
The researchers have made progress in understanding which molecules are present
New findings suggest balancing Chk1 activity will produce less toxic cancer drugs
A study published by The Burnham Institute in the September edition of Molecular Cell reports that a cell-cycle checkpoint protein, known to be activated by an important class of anticancer drugs, may play crucial roles in both the hampering of therapeutic actions and aiding cancer cells to “recover” and start dividing again after treatment with these drugs. The study is expected to help academic r
The immunosuppressive drug mycophenolate mofetil, used to prevent rejection of transplanted hearts, kidneys and livers, may also be effective in controlling inflammatory eye diseases, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins’ Wilmer Eye Institute.
“The drug seemed to be effective even in patients who had failed treatment from other immunosuppressive drugs,” says lead author Jennifer E. Thorne, M.D., an assistant professor of ophthalmology.
Physicians gav
Researchers able to calculate projected damage based on wind speeds, severity of waves, other effects of storm
About 86 percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and 59 percent of the natural gas output are being disrupted by Hurricane Katrina, according to a new prediction model developed by a University of Central Florida researcher and his Georgia colleague.
On their Web site, http://hurricane.methaz.org, UCF statistics professor Mark Johnson and Chuck Watson, founde
If you want to hear a little bit of the Big Bang, you’re going to have to turn down your stereo.
That’s what neighbors of MIT’s Haystack Observatory found out. They were asked to make a little accommodation for science, and now the results are in: Scientists at Haystack have made the first radio detection of deuterium, an atom that is key to understanding the beginning of the universe. The findings are being reported in an article in the Sept. 1 issue of Astrophysical Journal Lett
Scientists from the University of Delaware have made a significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids (RNAs), discovering 10 times more small RNAs in the plant Arabidopsis (a weed of the mustard family) than previously had been identified. The advance is reported in the Sept. 2 issue of Science magazine.
The research was conducted over the course of the last year and a half by teams from the laboratories headed by Pamela J. Green, Crawford H. Greenewalt Endowed Chair
Expedition team dodges storm and returns to gulf seafloor
Despite having to evade hurricane Katrina, a team of scientists from Harbor Branch and other institutions is returning to port this Sunday with new tales from the deep after completing their second annual Deep Scope expedition. The group has discovered a mysterious visual capability in a deep-sea crab; captured new video of a large, recently discovered squid species; and took clear video of the world’s first known fluor
Five years after breaking ground on a South African mountaintop near the edge of the Kalahari desert, astronomers today (Sept. 1, 2005) released the first images captured by the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), now the equal of the world’s largest optical telescope and a prized window to the night skies of the southern hemisphere.
With a 10- by 11-meter hexagonal segmented mirror and state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation, the new telescope was constructed by
Nanospheres could help dentists fill the tiny holes in our teeth that make them incredibly sensitive, and that cause severe pain for millions of adults and children worldwide.
Preliminary research presented today at the Institute of Physics conference EMAG-NANO 2005 shows that creating tiny spheres of a ceramic material called hydroxyapatite could be a long term solution or cure for sensitive teeth.
Sensitive teeth or ’dental hypersensitivity’ is a condition tha
Controlling nanoparticle size
Because the properties of nanoparticles depend so closely on their size, size distribution and morphology, techniques for controlling the growth of these tiny structures is of great interest to materials researchers today.
A research team from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Drexel University has discovered a surprising new mechanism by which polymer materials used in nanocomposites control the growth of particles. Reported on Au
A new study to evaluate the Illinois Soil N Test (ISNT) calls into question traditional soil fertility recommendations and promises a radical new soil-based approach that will benefit crop yields, the environment, and the bottom line for farmers.
In a forthcoming issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will outline how current nitrogen recommendations are faulty, the soybean credit is invalid, and bala
Thanks to the doggedness of a Cornell University marine biologist, researchers have discovered that one of Maine’s most important fishing areas has been invaded by an alien tunicate, or sea squirt, that could threaten the commercial fishing industry there.
A rapid assessment survey for marine invasive species in Cobscook Bay in August found a type of sea squirt — Didemnum sp. — that can damage ocean floor habitats and commercial species that live there. The survey was conceived
Holds promise for treating eye disease and cancer and for healing injuries
Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered that a particular immune cell contributes to the growth of new lymph vessels, which aid in healing. This cell, known as a macrophage, is called in by the body during the wound healing process. The discovery of this new role for the macrophage, published in the September 2005 Journal of Clinical Investigation, may ultimately inspire innovative t
Study suggests cirrhosis and liver disease nearly inevitable for people with hep C
Nearly 80 percent of chronic hepatitis C sufferers who have the disease for several decades will develop cirrhosis or end-stage liver disease later in life, according to a study published today in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Researchers found that it is highly likely that people who are infected with hepatitis C (HCV) for mor
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