While the field of human embryonic stem cell research receives a tremendous amount of public attention, many scientists are also exploring the potential of adult stem cells for possible therapies. But this field raises other difficulties. Although adult stem cell research isn’t fraught with the controversies that surround embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells are extremely difficult to isolate and then to multiply in a lab dish. Now, as reported in the May 6 issue of the journal Cell, resea
By deciphering the ingenious mechanism used by a particular enzyme to modify bacterial chromosome chemistry, scientists have come a step closer to designing a new kind of drug that could stop virulent bacterial infections in their tracks. Their research will be published in the May 6 issue of the journal Cell.
Scientists have known for many years that an enzyme called Dam (DNA adenine methyltransferase) plays a role in regulating gene expression in many bacteria. Each time t
Earth’s climate is being changed substantially by a buildup of atmospheric greenhouse gases, but a group of leading climate scientists contends the overall impact is not understood as well as it should be because data are too scarce on how much energy the planet reflects into space.
Reflectivity, or albedo, is largely governed by clouds and atmospheric particles called aerosols, but it is one of Earth’s least-understood properties, said Robert Charlson, a University of W
Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered a gene responsible for one form of chronic kidney disease. The disease, called familial focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), can lead to complete kidney failure and affects 20 percent of patients on dialysis. The finding could lead to more effective treatments, according to the researchers.
By examining the genetic makeup of one large, multi-generational family with a dominant form of FSGS, the researchers linked
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Australian National University have found new evidence that environmental conditions on early Earth, within 200 million years of solar system formation, were characterized by liquid-water oceans and continental crust similar to those of the present day. The researchers developed a new thermometer that made the discovery possible.
“Our data support recent theories that Earth began a pattern of crust formation, erosion, and sediment
Arizona State University researchers and Tempe-based Kinetic Muscles, Inc., have developed a robotic arm to help stroke survivors regain the ability to perform basic tasks, such as reaching for objects or feeding themselves. The rehabilitative device aids in task-oriented repetitive therapy, and the hope is that it will provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional therapy. This would enable a wider population to regain maximum motor function.
The research team is led by Jip
NASA is set to launch the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES), another critical link in the development of a global Earth-observation program.
The spacecraft, NOAA-N, will lift off at 6:22 a.m. EDT, May 11, 2005, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. “The NOAA-N satellite is key to establishing a strong Global Earth Observation System of Systems, because it will strengthen our understanding about
Exercise in cold water instead of warm water may increase people’s appetites, making it harder for them to lose extra pounds, a University of Florida study finds.
Results indicate people may consume more calories after exercising in cold water, according to Lesley White, a UF researcher who designed the study to better understand why aquatic exercise is often less successful than equal amounts of jogging or cycling for people who want to lose weight. “It’s possible that
Penn researchers demonstrate that a metabolic enzyme works through the tumor-suppressor protein p53 to control cellular replication
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified in normal cells that a common metabolic enzyme, which acts as a rheostat of cellular conditions, also controls cell replication. This control is managed through p53, the much-studied protein implicated in many types of cancer. The discovery of the interaction between th
Research has shown for the first time that human eggs may develop directly from cultured ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) cells derived from adult human ovaries. Oocytes derived from the culture of OSE cells developed in vitro into mature eggs suitable for fertilization and development into an embryo. These findings, published today in the Open Access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, offer important new strategies for use in in vitro fertilization and stem cell research, and cast
Imagine discovering pandas in California or kangaroos in Argentina.
For David Wake, one of the world’s leading experts on amphibians and a professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, an equivalent surprise was the recent discovery in Korea of a type of salamander that comprises the majority of species in the world, but is totally unknown in Asia and rare outside the Americas.
“I’ve discovered and named nearly 50 species of sa
UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute study reveals new approach
Scientific theory holds that Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by a mutant protein that arises within brain cells and kills them, triggering the genetic neurological disorder. Now a new UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute study reveals the first strong evidence that the mutant protein also elicits toxic interactions from neighboring cells to provoke the fatal brain disorder. The May 5 edition of Neuron reports the fi
Two infant boys whose bodies were overloaded with excess fluid have led UCSF pediatricians to the discovery of a new genetic disease. In the process, they have discovered a rare type of mutation where different substitutions in a single amino acid cause two different, opposite genetic disorders.
The new disorder, called Nephrogenic Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis (NSIAD), is described in the May 5 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. “This discovery gives bett
’LPA receptors’ affect implantation of embryos in womb
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting that mice created to lack a certain type of molecule known as an LPA receptor have fertility problems, which suggests that these receptors play a major role in conception.
In the latest issue of the journal Nature, the scientists detail how mice that lack LPA receptors, which normally appear on the surface of cells in a mouse’s womb, have fe
In their extraordinary annual migration from North America to Mexico, monarch butterflies are known to use the angle of polarized sunlight as a celestial guide to help them keep to a straight and true path southward. But details of their navigational machinery have remained a mystery.
Now, researchers, led by Steven Reppert of University of Massachusetts Medical School, Ivo Sauman of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Adriana Briscoe of the University of California at Irvine, have
An innovative 3D design system using semantic information has proven its ability to overcome many of the drawbacks of existing Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programmes, speeding the work of designers and opening the door to an array of commercial applications in a broad variety of sectors.
The IST programme-funded SpacemantiX project, which ended in April, resulted in a series of pilot tools for use in mechanical and automotive engineering, interior design and architecture, and to
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