Muscle wasting is associated with aging and a serious consequence of different diseases, including cancer and diabetes. Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center, with the assistance of other collaborating researchers, have discovered an important biochemical pathway for muscle wasting–as well as a potential target for drug therapy. The study will be published in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Cell.
Muscle wasting is a hallmark of a number of diseases, including cancer, bacteri
Intergovernmental organisation urges scientists to present a unified coherent vision for large, expensive projects
The OECD Global Science Forum has developed findings and recommendations regarding future large projects in astronomy. Some of the recommendations are directed towards the international scientific community, others pertain more to the work of government funding agencies. Among the conclusions are: the need for a globally-coordinated scientific vision of the most imp
In work that could lead to applications including multifunctional textile fabrics and all-optical computer interfaces, MIT researchers report the creation of flexible fibers and fabrics that can not only sense light, but also analyze its colors.
“These novel fiber structures offer a unique possibility for constructing an optoelectronic functional fabric because the fibers are both flexible and mechanically tough, and can thus be woven,” write the researchers in the October 14 i
Similar recommendations issued from the CDC based on benefits of early diagnosis
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation today issued a recommendation for the implementation of routine cystic fibrosis (CF) screening in all newborns. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a recommendation in its October 15 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Reports and Recommendations that all states should consider routine screening for CF in all newborns. CF Fo
From language to literature, from music to mathematics, a single protein appears central to the formation of the long-term memories needed to learn these and all other disciplines, according to a team of researchers led by scientists at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health. Their findings appear in the October 15 issue of Science.
The protein is known as mBDNF, which stands for mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
Following nutritional guidelines and not losing weight too fast key to prevention
Mayo Clinic researchers have found a significant number of patients who undergo “stomach stapling” or gastric bypass surgery for weight reduction develop peripheral neuropathy, damage to any of the body’s nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord. The development of nerve damage is associated with malnutrition, and so the researchers contend may be largely preventable with proper nutritio
New study links possible role of ephedrine in the sudden cardiac death of people with asymptomatic heart disease
Each year 80 to 100,000 Americans die suddenly from heart attacks without ever having had any symptoms of heart disease. In some cases, the victims of these unheralded sudden cardiac deaths had been taking dietary supplements containing ephedrine. In a new study in the Oct. 26, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers show how ep
Rapid and chronic tolerance appear to operate via different neurobiological mechanisms and genes
Alcohol tolerance both promotes and facilitates the increasing consumption of alcohol. New research uses fruitflies to examine the mechanistic and genetic underpinnings of different forms of tolerance. Findings suggest that rapid and chronic tolerance are partially distinct in mechanistic terms, as well as genetically distinguishable, from one another. “Alcohol
Mice with kids’ muscle tumors raise hope for new treatments
In a pair of new studies, University of Utah scientists took early but significant steps to fight a particularly deadly childhood muscle cancer by identifying some of the genetic events that cause the disease and then engineering mice that develop the tumors. The genetic events might be targets for new drugs that could be tested on the mice.
The disease, named alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, “is a very mean childh
In the steamy waters of Yellowstone National Park’s hot springs lives a type of bacterium that could help make industrial bleaching cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Scientists have found Thermus brockianus bacteria produce a hardy enzyme that can be put to work breaking down hydrogen peroxide in industrial wastewater, producing only harmless oxygen and water as byproducts. Most important, the so-called extremozyme endures harsh industrial conditions better than currently availabl
Scientists have made a world-first discovery which is a step towards using environmentally-friendly hydrogen to power our cars.
A team from the Universities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Liverpool in the UK, who report their findings in the prestigious academic journal, Science, have found a safe way of storing and releasing hydrogen to produce energy. They do this using nanoporous materials, which have tiny pores that are one hundred-thousandth (100,00th) the thickness of a sheet
Research reported in Science today (14 October 2004) shows that rocks erupted from the Mount St Helens volcano in 1980 preserve a remarkable record of the goings-on beneath the volcano in the period prior to its eruption.
Using this information, Professor Jon Blundy and his PhD student Kim Berlo from the Earth Sciences Department at Bristol University, UK, demonstrate that monitoring the isotopic content of gases being emitted from the volcano right now will help predict whether
The proposed construction of a European Arctic Flagship ‘AURORA BOREALIS’, the 250 Million Euro joint European Research Icebreaker with a deep drilling capability would result in a considerable commitment of the participating nations to coordinate and expand their Polar Research Programmes. Recent results from drilling of the Deep Arctic Ocean within the Arctic Coring Expedition (Acex) have revealed dramatic changes of climate in the Arctic region during the last 55 million years. European science
Three University of Chicago geriatricians are calling for creative and wide-reaching solutions to the problem of sub-optimal end-of-life care for patients with dementia. An estimated 500,000 people die every year in the United States suffering from Alzheimer’s or related diseases and many of them receive inadequate pain control, are subjected to ineffective and invasive therapies such as tube feedings, and do not receive the benefits of hospice care.
“The nature of the illn
Purdue University physicists have built a critical component for the development of quantum computers and spintronic devices, potentially bringing advances in cryptography and high-speed database searches a step closer.
A team of researchers including Leonid P. Rokhinson has created a device that can effectively split a stream of quantum objects such as electrons into two streams according to the spin of each, herding those with “up” spin in one direction and corralling those tha
Using reconstituted blood – packed red cells and fresh-frozen plasma that are mixed in the operating room just before use – for heart bypass surgery in infants works better than using fresh whole blood, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Children’s Medical Center Dallas have found.
Babies who received the reconstituted blood during surgery to repair congenital heart defects on average had shorter stays in the intensive care unit and spent less time
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