Discovery could counteract use of deadly virus for bioterrorism
UCLA scientists have discovered how the deadly Nipah virus infiltrates human cells to cause encephalitis. Designated as a potential bioterrorism agent by the National Biodefense Research Agenda, the virus exploits a protein essential to embryonic development to enter cells and launch its attack. The online edition of Nature reports the findings July 6.
“In its natural state, the Nipah virus can be used as a
Overcopied pigment-cell gene may serve as target for future drug attacks
A team of researchers led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a genetic abnormality in the cells of some advanced melanoma patients that worsens their chances of survival, but also might be a target of future drug attack against the dangerous skin cancer.
Dana-Farber’s Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, and William Sellers, MD, the paper’s first and senior authors, and their
Global warming could be controlled if we all became vegetarians and stopped eating meat. That’s the view of British physicist Alan Calverd, who thinks that giving up pork chops, lamb cutlets and chicken burgers would do more for the environment than burning less oil and gas.
Writing in this month’s Physics World, Calvert calculates that the animals we eat emit 21% of all the carbon dioxide that can be attributed to human activity. We could therefore slash man-made emissions of carbon d
Envision new type of saliva diagnostic test
Scientists at the Forsyth Institute have found that three bacterial species are associated with the most common form of oral cancer–a discovery the researchers hope will lead to a simple diagnostic test for the often-fatal disease. The findings also open the question of whether bacteria might, in some way, play a causal role.
The current discovery, reported in the July 7 Journal of Translational Medicine, suggests that el
Researchers have discovered a key regulatory molecule whose overactivation by the abnormal protein produced in Huntington’s disease (HD) causes the central pathologies of the disease. The abnormal HD protein activates the regulatory protein called p53, which in turn switches on a host of other genes. This abnormal gene activation damages the cells’ power plants, called the mitochondria, and kills brain cells.
The researchers also speculated that disturbances in p53 may also pla
Mars is a rocky planet with an ancient volcanic past, but new findings show the planet is more complex and active than previously believed – at least in certain places. Finding those places, however, turns out to be trickier than just looking at landforms like river valleys or lakebeds or searching for specific minerals.
“Context is everything,” said Philip Christensen, Principal Investigator for the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on Mars Global Surveyor and for the Therma
Delayed trains cost time and money not just for passengers but also for railway operators and national economies. Enhancing the performance of rail networks and improving the exploitation of existing infrastructure is the COMBINE 2 project.
Since the IST programme-funded project ended early last year, the COMBINE 2 algorithms have gone on to be used commercially in the Milan metro and its system has undergone extensive field trials with real trains in The Netherlands, proving its p
A disease treatment programme started three years ago by Imperial College London has now treated over ten million African children and adults for schistosomiasis and intestinal worm infections in six sub-Saharan countries.
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that leads to chronic ill-health affecting more than 200 million people in developing countries. Intestinal worms cause debilitating malnutrition, stunted growth and anaemia.
The Schistosomiasis Control Initiativ
Tension is mounting for three teams of architects and engineers who are competing for the design of the new British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Halley Research Station. The winning team will be announced on Tuesday 19 July.
The Jury Panel and technical advisory team have a difficult choice to select just one from three stunning solutions. Each proposal is designed to withstand Antarctica’s extreme environment. Each scheme is elevated above the ice to avoid burial by snow; and is capa
Patients suffering from oral cancer have increased levels of certain bacteria in their saliva, according to new research published today in the Open Access journal, Journal of Translational Medicine. Six common species of bacteria were found at significantly higher levels in the saliva of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) than in the saliva of healthy individuals. The researchers were able to use three of the six species as a diagnostic tool to predict more than 80% of oral cancer
Research into the genetics of barley could lead to improved varieties of the crop most commonly used in the production of whisky and beer. Scientists funded in part by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are beginning a new programme to uncover key genes that control the specific characteristics of different barley varieties.
The research, being carried out at the Scottish Crop Research Institute, Birmingham University and NIAB, involves almost a
Its name is Y(4260) and it is not a new humanoid of Stars Wars, but a particle identified for the first time by BaBar experiment: an international collaboration – formed by the large participation of the Italian physicists of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (Infn) – that has its seat in Stanford (California). Y(4260) represents an interesting element with respect of particles’ field and it will provide very useful signs about character of the strong force, that is the force that holds tog
Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard is constructing a solar-powered plane to fly around the world. His aim is to support sustainable development by demonstrating what renewable energy and new technologies can achieve. ESA is assisting by making available European space technologies and expertise through its Technology Transfer Programme.
Bertrand Piccard made the first non-stop around the world balloon-flight in a Breitling Orbiter in 1999 with Brian Jones from Britain. Now togeth
Gene scanning techniques developed by Professor Ian Day and colleagues at the University of Southampton are set to have a major impact on healthcare in the future.
One of two gene mutation scanning techniques devised by Professor Day and his team in the Human Genetics Division of the University’s School of Medicine has been successfully applied to search for rare genetic mutations in the population at large.
Their method, called meltMADGE, which combines thermal ramp el
Imagine entering a museum and having information about the artwork at your fingertips or being able to collaborate remotely with fellow students in a university. Those services, and others, are being provided by a new mobile learning environment.
Created by MOBIlearn under the European Commission’s IST programme by 24 partners from Europe, Israel, the United States and Australia, the system breaks new ground in the development of mobile learning, or m-learning, applications that
Resulting in a plan to promote cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention measures across Europe, the European Commission’s (EC) Heart Health Conference convened representatives of health ministries, national cardiac societies, and heart foundations, and was organised by the EC’s Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection, and the Luxembourg Presidency in partnership with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
While the conference’s strategy was to reiterate the importance of conc
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