To commemorate 100 years since the term ’hormone’ was first coined, the Society for Endocrinology’s flagship journal will be publishing a series of special, free, reviews that recognise the past 100 years of hormones, and look to the future of the expanding science of endocrinology.
In February’s issue Professor Steve Bloom co-authors a fantastic review of the last ten years’ of research and current knowledge of the neural networks and hormonal regulation that cont
The proteins actin and myosin have a firm place in the muscles where they are responsible for contraction. While recent investigations have shown that they are also found in the nucleus, it has been unclear to date just what they are doing there. Now an international team of investigators headed by Professor Dr. Ingrid Grummt, head of the Division of Molecular Biology of the Cell II of the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ), has shown that the muscle proteins
A team of chemists at the University of Reading, led by Professor Howard Colquhoun, have designed a system in which a tweezer-like molecule is able to recognise specific monomer sequences in a linear copolymer. As a result, and for the first time ever, sequence-information in a synthetic polymer has been ‘read’ by a mechanism which mirrors one of the processes on which life itself is based.
The discovery is described in two papers: Recognition of polyimide sequence information by
University Of Manchester Seeks Volunteers for Pioneering Trials
The University of Manchester has just launched trials to investigate whether increasing the testosterone levels of frail elderly men could improve their strength, energy and mobility.
The study is the first in the world to examine the impact of testosterone treatment on this age-group, and is being led by Professor Fred Wu of the Department of Endocrinology at Manchester Royal Infirmary.
Professor Wu
Scientists will be able to view the sea bed in incredible 3-D detail following new investment and collaboration in the School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Science at Cardiff University, UK.
The new CodaOctopus laboratory will map extensive areas of the sea bed to create a virtual reality image, allowing scientists to walk the sea bed from the laboratory. It features novel 3-D methods to map the seabed, addressing risks in terms of marine security, the environment and health and s
Oil-coated birds turning up on southern California beaches in recent weeks have raised concern about potential oil sources. The Coal Oil Point seep field, located offshore and adjacent to the University of California, Santa Barbara, is one of the biggest natural marine oil and gas seeps in the world and is the predominant source of oil to southern California waters. Extensive oil slicks have been observed near Coal Oil Point since the recent severe storms pummeled the region in January. These
An enzyme that initiates inflammation has been directly linked to insulin resistance and resulting type II diabetes by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. In addition, the team suggests that inhibition of the enzyme in the immune system’s macrophages may be a new diabetes therapy.
Published in the February 2005 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, the study describes research in mice that identifies enzyme IkB kinase â (Ikk-â)
Clearstream announced that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) has signed up to implement the innovative new investment service called Vestima+. BBVA is Spain’s biggest bank and has been a strong proponent of the open architecture model that is a key element of Clearstream’s new service. Clearstream launched the Vestima+ service as planned on 24 January 2005. The Vestima+ service is targeting the costly order processing difficulties within the industry and delivers a new form o
A recent article in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis determined that drinkers of wine benefit from its cardio-protective effects, more so than those who drink beer or other spirits, and may also live longer. The article is part of a series of papers published in an open forum on wine, alcohol and cardiovascular risk. The analysis, encompassing various international studies, further confirms the agreement among researchers that any alcohol, in light to moderate intake, puts drinkers at lowe
Researchers at New York University and the medical schools at Harvard and Yale universities have identified new genes necessary for embryonic development, according to findings published in the latest issue of Genome Research. This discovery is an important step toward a complete mapping of which parts of the genome are required for embryonic development. The new findings also probe into how genetic networks are built and how they could evolve.
The team, headed by biologists at
A theoretical study of friction between solids that looks at the process just one molecule at a time could soon lead to a more effective way to stop cars in an emergency than simply slamming on the brakes or using ABS. This research is reported today in a special Einstein Year issue of the New Journal of Physics (www.njp.org) published jointly by the Institute of Physics and the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft).
Scientists and engineers have assimi
Study shows that pilots who drink and drive are at higher risk to crash planes background ’DWI’ checks effective: Study shows that pilots who drink and drive are at higher risk to crash planes
General aviation pilots with a previous conviction for driving while intoxicated (DWI) are 43 percent more likely to crash their plane than pilots with no history of DWI, according to a new study of more than 300,000 pilot records by researchers at Johns Hopkins. The Hopkins findings,
In a development that could one day score a touchdown for better health, chemists in Australia have created a “superbowl” molecule that shows promise for precision drug delivery, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Shaped like a miniature football stadium, the molecule is capable of delivering a wide range of drugs — from painkillers to chemotherapy cocktails — to specific areas of the body, potentially resulting in improved treatment outcomes and perhaps
The chemical nicotine–a main ingredient in tobacco–may hold promise in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, give insight into therapeutic interventions for nicotine addiction and possibly complement the diagnosis of certain forms of lung cancer, according to a study in the January issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Researchers are examining nicotine’s cognitive, behavioral and addictive actions, and, by looking at targets i
A gene that plays many fundamental roles in cells throughout the body has, for the first time, been implicated in human disease, according to researchers at the Duke Center for Human Genetics. A defect in the ubiquitous gene dynamin 2 underlies one form of the prevalent, familial nerve disorder, known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). The disorder affects approximately 1 in every 2,500 people, making it one of the most common of all hereditary disorders, said the researchers.
Professor Gregory M. Cahill’s research illuminates a ’first’ in this species
Using genetically altered zebrafish that glow in the dark, University of Houston researchers have found new tools that shed light upon biological clock cycles. Gregory M. Cahill, associate professor of biology and biochemistry at UH, and Maki Kaneko, a fellow UH researcher who is now at the University of California-San Diego, presented their findings in a paper titled “Light-dependent Development of Circ
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