A far wider range of wildlife species could be at risk from bird flu, warns a biologist from the University of East Anglia.
Dr Diana Bell, of UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, says the discovery that avian flu was responsible for the death of three rare civet cats in Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam, raises important questions about the range of wildlife species which could now be at risk from this virus.
“Vietnam and the other Asian countries chronically infected wi
This season’s Antarctic ozone hole has swollen to an area of ten million square kilometres from mid-August – approximately the same size as Europe and still expanding. It is expected to reach maximum extent during September, and ESA satellites are vital for monitoring its development.
This year’s hole is large for this time of year, based on results from the last decade: only the ozone holes of 1996 and 2000 had a larger area at this point in their development.
Researchers at The University of Manchester are testing our genetic disposition to depression with a unique Internet test.
The team, based at the Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit (NPU), in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, has set up a website (www.newmood.co.uk) where would-be volunteers can see how prone they may be to depression by identifying the emotions on people’s faces and taking a gambling test.
The team aims to recruit more than 1000 UK voluntee
New results shed light on how Antarctica became the icy, barren continent that we know today. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists have discovered that 30-50 million years ago, South America and Antarctica split apart very rapidly. This formed the Drake Passage and resulted in a major global cooling. The findings are published in the latest issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Lead Author Dr Roy Livermore says ‘we deciphered the remarkable ‘herringbone’ pattern of
A Rensselaer researcher has developed a new tool to help unravel the function of an elusive DNA structure. The findings, which were presented today at the 230th national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Washington, D.C., could lead to a better understanding of diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
The standard version of the human genome is a double-stranded helix of complementary bases: adenine binds to thymine and cytosine binds to guanine. “Our focus is on a
More rapid and accurate test results may translate to better quality products
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, working in collaboration with scientists at the USDA, have used genomic information to develop tests that can rapidly detect and differentiate the bacteria that causes Johne’s disease, a chronic wasting disease found in cattle and other ruminant animals such as sheep, goats and deer. This research, scheduled to be published in the Aug. 30 issue of the Proceed
Bitter-tasting fescue takes over more quickly with help of plant-eating bugs, animals
New research by biologists at Rice University, Indiana University and George Mason University reveals how some non-native fescue grass gets a leg up over competing native plants: it’s passed over by plant-eating insects and animals because its leaves are laced with toxic alkaloids, thanks to a symbiotic fungus that has co-evolved with the grass.
In a 54-month study conducted at Indi
Research by a Michigan State University cardiologist published in the September edition of Clinical Cardiology has shed new light on the role that cholesterol plays in causing heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events in humans.
The work of George Abela, a professor in MSU’s Department of Medicine and chief of the department’s cardiology section, finds that cholesterol that has built up along the wall of an artery and crystallized from a liquid to a solid state can expa
A new laboratory method for quickly detecting active anthrax proteins within an infected blood sample at extremely low levels has been developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the National Cancer Institute.
Current detection methods rely on injecting live animals or cell cultures with samples for analysis and require up to several days before results are available. Describ
An international team of scientists that includes a researcher from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory has determined the three-dimensional molecular structure of a promising malaria-vaccine component. This research may help lead to a successful vaccine for the disease, which currently infects approximately 400 million people worldwide and kills about two million people each year — mostly children. The study is described in the August 29, 2005, online edition of the Pr
Advances in the molecular modeling and simulation of complex biological systems are enabling researchers to study how certain microbial systems may play an important role in the remediation of contaminated soils. One target is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common microbe in sediments and the subsurface. This bacterium is also an important opportunistic pathogen that can cause fatal infections in people with a weakened immune systems.
T.P. Straatsma is leading a team of researchers model
Rising oil prices have revved momentum to develop more efficient combustion systems. But instrumental to this goal is a need to achieve greater understanding of the complex chemical reactions involved in combustion processes.
In one of the largest simulations ever brought to bear on this problem, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory performed quantum chemical calculations to accurately predict the heat of formation of octane, a key component of gasoline.
As researchers at Pacifi c Northwest National Laboratory investigated the hydrogen storage capabilities of amine borane compounds, they knew that a rhodium catalyst readily releases hydrogen from the compound at room temperature. But they weren’t sure how it worked. Aside from the scientific quest for knowledge, understanding the mechanism at work with rhodium may help with the development of a more cost-effective catalyst to enable hydrogen storage.
PNNL scientists used
Hint: It’s not who you think!
In the first-ever research of its kind, a study conducted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) details the people considering plastic surgery and their motivations, debunking many stereotypes. The study, published in the September issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the ASPS, found potential patients came from all economic levels and age ranges. Their motivations were personal but not va
Automobile bumpers that deform and recover rather than crack and splinter, computer cases that withstand the occasional rough encounter, and resilient coatings that can withstand the ravages of the sun, may all be possible if tiny functionalized rubbery particles are imbedded in their plastic matrices, according to Penn State materials scientists.
“Plastics such as polypropylene, nylon, polycarbonate, epoxy resins and other compounds are brittle and fracture easily,” says Dr. T.C.
A class of anticancer drugs currently being evaluated in phase 3 clinical trials may also be an effective treatment for Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a fatal genetic disorder that causes premature aging. If upcoming studies in a HGPS mouse model validate the results of experiments in cultured cells in the laboratory, a clinical trial of these drugs in HGPS children may begin as early as next spring.
Brian Capell, a New York University medical student participating i
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