Discovery provides keys to evolution of neuronal signalling, ’left-right asymmetry’
Boston–Forsyth Institute researchers have found that serotonin-the chemical substance involved in transmitting signals between neurons and which plays a role in anxiety and mood disorders– is present in vertebrate embryos long before neurons form. The scientists also found that serotonin plays a key role in determining where organs are positioned in the body during embryonic develop
Agriculture is not unique to humans: some insect groups have also evolved this way of life. One such group is the fungus-farming termites, which cultivate fungi as food inside their nests. Such termites can be found in both rain forest and savannah habitats in the Old World tropics, from Africa to Asia. But as researchers report this week, a combination of DNA sequence analysis and computer modelling suggests that termite agriculture originated in the African rain forest, and gave rise to
Study finds men who consume more dairy products have lower incidence of diabetes
The consumption of low-fat dairy foods may reduce men’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the May 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. The report from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) – the first large-scale, prospective examination of a relationship between dairy intake an
MANCHESTER Metropolitan University has launched Biomove – a new European research consortium based in its 5* Institute for Human Movement.
The European Consortium for Research into Biological Movement (Biomove) brings together research scientists from across Europe who study the strengths and weaknesses of the human body from both athletic and clinical perspectives.
More than 100 delegates attended the inaugural meeting in Cheshire including 65 scientists from the Nether
A ‘polypill’ made up of a combination of drugs could extend the lives of thousands of patients with coronary heart disease, say researchers at The University of Nottingham.
The study, published in the latest British Medical Journal, found that combinations of cholesterol lowering drugs (statins), aspirin and beta-blockers, which lower blood pressure, improve survival rates in high-risk patients with cardiovascular disease.
However, despite proposals in the past that these d
In the face of tough competition, Skogforsk (the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden) has landed the role of coordinator for one of the EU’s biggest ever research projects in the forestry and forest-based sector. The project, entitled Eforwood, has been set up to develop a tool for sustainability impact assessment of the European forestry and forest-based sector. The project is scheduled to run for four years and will involve 35 organizations in 18 countries, with a planned total budget
In collaboration with KEMA, two postgraduate students from Eindhoven University of Technology have developed a device that continuously monitors cables to localize weak points in distribution networks. Data on weak point development and location enables an electricity company to pre-empt problems by timely intervention. This in turn enhances network reliability and reduces costs. With their invention, Jeroen Veen and Peter van der Wielen received in April their doctorate degree at the Eindhoven
The University Hospital of the University of Navarra has carried out a complicated surgical operation on a child who had a particularly large benign tumour located in the mandibular region. The procedure involved the extraction of the lower jaw and its substitution by a bone transplant from the fibula of the patient.
The pathology, known as cherubism or familial fibrous dysplasia of the jaws, is a fairly rare condition (although not unheard of) and congenital. It shows itself
These images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, show the outlet channel of the Uzboi Vallis system into Crater Holden on Mars.
The HRSC obtained these images during orbit 511 with a ground resolution of approximately 45 metres per pixel. The scenes show the region of Noachis Terra, over an area centred at about 26º South and 325º East.
The valley of Uzboi Vallis begins in the region of Argyre Planitia and crosses the southe
A major new tranche of funding is announced today by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). These, the first awards in the Science and Innovation Awards programme will directly build the UK’s research base in diverse areas.
The initial recipients include energy research, physical organic chemistry, statistics and electronics. Future awards will focus on other research areas. In a changing research landscape, as undergraduates choose new options, more tr
The ancient sea was more like a giant salty lake than a rolling ocean, report scientists from Imperial College London in the May edition of the Journal of the Geological Society. A new computer model that simulates how tides in North West Europe would have behaved 300 million years ago shows a sea with so little movement that it was unlike any on Earth today.
Using information on the ancient land masses and the tidal pull of the Moon, the new computer modelling system reveals a pi
The deployment of the second antenna boom of the Mars Express Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter (MARSIS) science experiment has been delayed pending investigation of an anomaly found during deployment of the first antenna boom.
The anomaly was discovered on 7 May towards the end of the first deployment operations. Deployment of the first boom started on Wednesday 4 May. The problem with the boom was confirmed by flight control engineers working at ESA’s European Space Operations
Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have found promising new molecular targets and treatment approaches for some of the most malignant brain tumors.
Results of three separate studies were presented at the World Federation of NeuroOncology meeting and the European Association for NeuroOncology meeting, both in Edinburgh, Scotland, on May 6 and 7. The research involved glioblastoma multiforme, the most common form of brain tumor and the least curable of
Discovery of new location in a key protein that activates genetic activity aided with use of mass spectrometry at UCR
Researcher Kangling Zhang at the University of California, Riverside is part of a team that has discovered a new way that yeast governs genetic expression and repression, a finding that could be repeated in cells of other organisms.
Zhang, an academic coordinator at the Mass Spectrometry Facility of the Department of Chemistry at UCR, worked with Feng Xu
New research on a bacterium that can survive encounters with specific immune system cells has strengthened scientists’ belief that these plentiful white blood cells, known as neutrophils, dictate whether our immune system will permit or prevent bacterial infections. A paper describing the research was released today online in The Journal of Immunology. Frank R. DeLeo, Ph.D., of Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the N
Embryos distinguish vibrational differences, hatching early to snake attacks but not to rain
At the edge of Ocelot Pond, Panama, red-eyed tree frog embryos still in their eggs are about to make a life-or-death decision. The egg clutch, a gelatinous blob clinging to a leaf overhanging the water, has been spied by a bright green parrot snake. In a twinkling, the snake tears a few eggs from the clutch.
With that bite, the embryos start to wiggle frantically. As the snake
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