NASA plans to launch a new orbiter called Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on Aug. 10 as the next step in its ambitious Mars exploration program. MRO will return more data about the red planet than all previous Mars missions combined, according to the U.S. space agency. More than 40 University of Arizona researchers, family members and friends leave for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week to cheer the launch. The soon-to-fly orbiter payload includes UA’s High
Researchers investigating anecdotal evidence that cannabis relieves some of the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have discovered a potential new target for cannabis-derived drugs for treatment of the disease.
This finding, published in the journal Gastroenterology today (Monday 1 August), could bring new hope for the UK’s 90,000 – 180,000 sufferers of diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis* with the possibility that cannabis-derived drugs may help to heal th
Since Darwin, the peacock exhibiting an elongated tail composed of ocelli has been considered a prime example of the strength of sexual selection. Professor Marion Petrie’s classical studies have shown that females prefer males with a high number of ocelli. However, a remaining question concerning the role played by ocelli is how peahens value their number. New research published today in Ethology describes that females may actually assess ocelli density.
Adeline Loyau, Michel Saint
Successfully prototyped hardware and software that helps keep rail operators on track with their maintenance offers real-time diagnostic capabilities and remote monitoring for train systems through the use of Internet technology.
EUROMAIN aimed to define a complete maintenance support system for rail operators, one that would support real-time monitoring and diagnosis of systems and equipment aboard trains and in fixed plants. However the project team also intended to establish st
Scientists have identified some of the very earliest genetic changes involved in the development of lung cancer and have incorporated them into a new strain of mouse that develops the disease in much the same way that humans do.
The discoveries, reported in the August 1 issue of Cancer Research, open the door to the possibility of new, targeted treatments that could be offered at the very first signs of lung cancer, when the possibility of a cure is most likely.
Creat
A team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA, Yale University in New Haven, CT, and Gemini Observatory in Hilo, HI, report the discovery of a new planet in the outer solar system. Officially designated 2003 UB313, the new planet is intrinsically brighter than Pluto and three times farther away. Assuming the reflectivity of the surface is the same as Pluto’s, it is the largest object detected in the solar system since the discovery of Neptune and its moon
In a groundbreaking population-based study, researchers in Mayo Clinic Cancer Center found that new onset of hyperglycemic diabetes in adults age 50 or older may be a signal of underlying pancreatic cancer. The risk of developing the cancer within three years after a new diagnosis of diabetes is eight times higher than for the average same-age individual. The findings will be published in the Aug. 1 issue of Gastroenterology.
“Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect until it is in an adva
Babies born at night had a 12 to 16 percent increase in neonatal mortality
There is strong evidence that babies born at night have a greater risk of dying in their first month of life than babies born earlier in the day, according to a new study published this month in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
“We’re not surprised at this finding because it is supported by previous studies in the medical literature that were carried out in Europe,” said Diane M. Ashton, M.D., M.P.
A controversial surgical procedure that has lost favor among medical professionals may benefit women who have had caesarean sections. So say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who have found that closing the parietal peritoneum, a multi-layered membrane that lines the abdomino-pelvic walls, substantially decreases the likelihood of scarring that can make future C-sections more difficult.
The finding on this link between peritoneum closure and fewer adhesi
Presence of canine predator cascades through populations of elk, trees, beavers, and songbirds
Willow trees, riparian willow warblers and beaver dams once were bountiful in an area near the town of Banff, Alberta, Canada. But once wolves left this area, elk grew more plentiful, browsing heavily on young willows. Today, there is little trace of beavers, and sparrows have replaced the warblers in what is now a grassland meadow. These profound changes were driven by the absence
The results of an international clinical trial led by Duke University Medical Center researchers has shown that a new drug is not a suitable replacement for protamine, a drug that has been used for more than 40 years after coronary artery bypass surgery to return thinned blood to its normal state.
While protamine is effective in reversing the blood-thinning properties of heparin, recent studies have shown that its use can cause changes in blood pressure which have been link
For about a decade, scientists have recognized that many cases of hereditary breast cancer result from a mutation of a specific gene called BRCA1, which, in its normal state, helps keep tumor formation in check. About five to 10 percent of breast cancer cases are linked to genetic miscues, about half of which are linked to BRCA1.
But now scientists have discovered that a protein called cyclin D1, grossly overproduced in about half of all cases of breast cancer, can also disrupt
A new technique aimed at directly controlling the expression of genes by turning them on or off at the DNA level could lead to drugs for the treatment or cure of many diseases, say researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
“Virtually every disease starts at the level of malfunctioning gene expression, or viral or bacterial gene expression,” said Dr. David Corey, professor of pharmacology and biochemistry. “This is an approach that could theoretically produce a drug for the
Swedish meta-analysis of 47 scientific studies finds clear patterns across thousands of people who went on to be diagnosed with the disease
By combing through dozens of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) studies, psychologists have gained a clear picture of cognitive problems in people who will develop the degenerative brain disease. The meta-analysis reveals that people can show early warning signs across several cognitive domains years before they are officially diagnosed, confirmi
Independent papers in the August 1 issue of G&D investigate the asymmetric localization of beta-catenin (WRM-1) during polarized cell divisions during C. elegans development.
Dr. Craig Mello and colleagues used conditional mutants that disrupt Wnt signaling to analyze the moleculaes involved in Wnt-dependent differential nuclear localization of beta-catenin during endoderm development.
Drs. Hitoshi Sawa & Hisako Takeshita observed that in C. elegans larval development, beta
While the human body has plenty of specialized molecular motors and machines powering the mechanical work necessary for cells to function properly, scientists themselves face many hurdles as they try to create their own molecular machines in the laboratory.
The downsides of conventional molecular machines are that they are driven as an ensemble, by external light or chemistry, for example, and they are big — made up of many molecules. These factors make these machines diffi
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