Tear samples from manatees could reveal health threats
For Florida manatees, the eyes may have it, say University of Florida researchers studying whether the mammals’ unusually thick tear film helps protect against disease and could be used to gauge the endangered sea cows’ ability to fight stress from cold water temperatures.
Manatees depend on both natural and artificial warm water refuges like those found near coal-burning power plants to survive cold winte
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a mechanism that causes a protein to clump together in brain cells of people with Parkinson’s disease, pointing toward a possible treatment for the condition.
The protein clumping is part of a “vicious cycle,” the researchers said. As the proteins cluster, they inhibit an enzyme that normally breaks them down, leading to the formation of even more masses.
“It’s a disease involving accumulation of
New research has shown that combinations of chemicals found in everyday products and food have subtle but potentially damaging effects on sperm fertility.
Professor Lynn Fraser told the 21st annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday), that her previous research had shown that certain chemicals known to mimic the female sex hormone, oestrogen, could individually affect the correct functioning of mouse sperm, but now her new
Scientists at The Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered that a protein known as F4/80 found on immune cells in the eye and other parts of the body may have a function in the regulation of the body’s immune response and protect delicate tissues that cannot survive the “inflammation” inherent in full-blown immunity.
“We believe that this discovery may ultimately help in the development of therapies for blinding eye diseases such as macular degeneration and autoi
Unsurpassed exciton distances, lifetimes may lead to new form of optical communication
When light hits a semiconductor material and is absorbed, its photons can become “excitons,” sometimes referred to as “heavy photons” because they carry energy, like photons, but have mass, like electrons. Excitons typically exist for only a short time–trillionths of a second–and travel only a few microns before turning back into photons, which are then emitted from the material.
In
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chemists have developed what they believe is a breakthrough method of creating the world’s tiniest manufactured particles for delivering drugs and other organic materials into the human body.
Adapting technology pioneered by the electronics industry in fabricating transistors, the team has figured out for the first time how to create particles for carrying genetic material, pharmaceuticals and other compounds of unprecedented small siz
Ohio State University physicists have obtained the first-ever experimental evidence of a particular quantum mechanical effect –- one that was theorized a decade ago.
The effect, called quantum monodromy (Greek for “once around”), relates in part to the behavior of molecules based on their atomic structure and vibrational frequencies. A better understanding of quantum monodromy could have implications in astronomy, atmospheric science, and biology.
The physicists reported t
Science fiction writer Harlan Ellison once said that the most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
While the verdict is still out on the volume of stupidity, scientists have long known that hydrogen is indeed by far the most abundant element in the universe. When they peer through their telescopes, they see hydrogen in the vast clouds of dust and gas between stars –- especially in the denser regions that are collapsing to form new stars and planets.
Bu
The immune system is a complex and powerful weapon that provides protection against bacteria and viruses that, if left unchecked, would wreak havoc throughout the human body. The ability of the immune system to recognize the body’s own tissues is essential, but sometimes the immune system loses the ability to distinguish “self” from potentially harmful invaders. This can lead to autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of healthy tissues. Although it is not clear exactly what causes the
A new technique for detecting forged photographs will help newspapers and magazines check celebrity pictures that might have been doctored to make them more newsworthy, and prevent hackers from tampering with sensitive legal images including fingerprint records and medical scans used as evidence in court.
Defence agencies could also use the technique to verify the source of secret military reports, and to protect satellite images, such as aerial photographs of the Iraqi desert,
Novel and efficient inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor identified by Burnham team
A collaborative team of scientists led by The Burnham Institute’s Maurizio Pellecchia, Ph.D., has identified inhibitors of the anthrax toxin, termed lethal factor (“LF”) that could be developed into an emergency treatment for exposure to inhalation anthrax. These findings will be published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Early Edition at the journal’s website t
Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a way to study the earliest steps of human blood development using human embryonic stem cells grown in a lab dish instead of the embryos themselves.
The process avoids some of the ethical and technical obstacles involved in such research, according to the Johns Hopkins investigators.
The Johns Hopkins researchers’ system involves the study of existing embryonic stem cell lines derived from in vitro fertilization methods, and s
Lifestyle impacts safety
Most pregnant women don’t drink, speed, or behave recklessly; yet many will end up in trauma rooms across Canada this summer.
According to a new study, to be published in the Journal of Trauma’s July issue, led by Dr. Donald Redelmeier, Director of Clinical Epidemiology and a practicing physician at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, risks are too high for pregnant women during the summer, amounting to approxi
Researchers have reported findings that offer a surprising new twist to our understanding of how bumblebees, a vital floral pollinator, select the flowers from which they collect nectar. When faced with unfamiliar plants, foraging bees do not choose flowers entirely alone but instead copy the choices of other bees. The new findings suggest that bees adjust their behavior when dealing with flowers of unfamiliar plant species.
The observations are reported in the June 21 issue
Accounts of the tsunami that killed over a quarter of a million people in Southeast Asia on the 26th of December, 2004, slowly disappear from the media, but the event is nevertheless heavily burned into the memories of those who are directly involved. In the aftermath of the disaster, academics and politicians alike are trying to investigate how the number of casualties could have been reduced and, more important, how such severe damage can be avoided if a tsunami ever strikes again. In an essa
Researchers from the United States, France and Germany make advances, provide alternatives to traditional chemotherapy treatment
Three scientific studies–each highlighting new discoveries in treatment for patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma–were announced at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 52nd Annual Meeting June 18–22 in Toronto.
“Nuclear medicine has a growing role in treating non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” said SNM member Richard L. Wahl, M.D., director
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