What can parents do to help children doing poorly in school? Two new studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggest that supporting their children’s autonomy and refraining from being controlling will help kids do better on their homework and raise their grades.
The findings, published in the May/June issue of the journal Child Development, send home a poignant message. If parents intervene in a controlling way by issuing commands, by doing the assigned tasks for the
Regimen enhances caffeine’s ability to target key sleep system
Caffeine is the world’s most widely-used stimulant yet, scientists still do not know exactly how it staves off sleep. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and other institutions have now discovered that caffeine works by thwarting one of two interacting physiological systems that govern the human sleep-wake cycle. The researchers, who report their findings in the May issue of t
A team of investigators at The Scripps Research Institute and its Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology in La Jolla, California has modified a form of the bacterium Escherichia coli to use a 22-amino acid genetic code.
“We have demonstrated the simultaneous incorporation of two unnatural amino acids into the same polypeptide,” says Professor Peter G. Schultz, Ph.D., who holds the Scripps Family Chair in Chemistry at Scripps Research. “Now that we know the genetic code is amenable to expans
The car will not be the first application for fuel cells. This is one of the conclusions in the doctoral thesis of Robert van den Hoed, which he will defend on 17 May at TU Delft. “My research project confirms that large organisations such as in the automobile industry have trouble implementing radical changes.” A fuel cell powered car as a case to gain insight into radical innovation theory.
For years now, fuel cells running on hydrogen have been mentioned as an environmentally friendly a
Astronomers may not have observed the fabled “Stairway to Heaven”, but they have photographed something almost as intriguing: ladder-like structures surrounding a dying star.
This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, reveals startling new details of one of the most unusual nebulae known in our Galaxy. Catalogued as HD 44179, this nebula is more commonly called the “Red Rectangle” because of its unique shape and colour as seen with ground-based telescopes.
H
atugen AG, The Gene Silencing Company, announced today that it has demonstrated, in vivo, proof-of-concept in functional delivery of its highly stable siRNA therapeutics. In a series of repeat studies to test glucose tolerance in normal rodents, atugen’s siRNA therapy was shown to be effective in regulating blood sugar levels.
In the study, treatment with stabilized siRNA molecules (atuRNAi) through clinically-relevant i.v. infusion led to downregulation of a target which plays a significan
For years, astronomers have wondered whether stars similar to the Sun go through periodic cycles of enhanced X-ray activity, like those often causing troubles to telephone and power lines here on Earth.
ESA’s X-ray observatory XMM-Newton has now revealed for the first time a cyclic behaviour in the X-ray radiation emitted by a star similar to the Sun. This discovery may help scientists to understand how stars affect the development of life on their planets.
Since the time Galil
In densely populated Europe, environmental and industrial disasters endanger thousands of peoples’ lives every year, causing enormous disruption to civil infrastructures. Frequently emergency services struggle to react in time and control a fast-developing situation. IST project EGERIS was intended to increase the safety and the efficiency of civil protection organisations and authorities involved in risk management operations.
EGERIS was completed in December 2003 with demonstrations of w
Viagra affects growth of the male sex organ of plants, by intensifying the effect of nitric oxide during plant fertilization. This discovery, made by the Plant Development team at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, will be published in Development, in June. The study, led by José Feijó, takes a step further in understanding fertilization in plants, a complex process but an absolutely essential one for the survival and evolution of species.
Pollen grains, which contain t
Future potential for the production of new wonder drugs – including anti-cancer agents – from marine animals and plants, is under threat according to biodiversity expert Professor Carlo Heip, speaking at the European marine science and ocean technology conference EurOCEAN 2004 in Galway, today.
According to Professor Heip, marine biodiversity – the richness of life in the sea – is being undermined by overfishing, pollution, the introduction of exotic or alien species from other countries, by
ESA’s Proba satellite here shows a winding segment of the 7240-km long Great Wall of China situated just northeast of Beijing. The Great Wall’s relative visibility or otherwise from orbit has inspired much recent debate.
The 21 hours spent in space last October by Yang Liwei – China’s first ever space traveller – were a proud achievement for his nation. The only disappointment came as Liwei informed his countrymen he had not spotted their single greatest national symbol from
The bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, which infects the stomach, causes duodenal ulcer disease and is thought to cause stomach cancer. The question of why the bacteria are only found in the stomach has puzzled scientists for many years. Researchers at the Conway Institute and the Children’s Research Centre at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Dublin in collaboration with workers at The National Centre for Sensor Research, Dublin City University and The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK have di
Researchers at the University of Warwick have for the first time been able to detail how and why specific neurons in the brain control the hunger response. They have revealed a set of pacemaker nerve cells in the brain that appear to underlie the drive to feed which itself feeds on a complex web of signals. The level of complexity they have found is such that the system could be much more at risk of serious repercussions from a single error in how those signals are processed than anyone had previousl
Biotech corn carrying a gene that confers protection from insects can pollinate corn plants as far as 100 feet (31 meters) away, reports a pair of researchers.
The gene, known as Bt, codes for a toxin that kills corn-munching caterpillars, including European corn borer and corn earworm.
The findings suggest measures are needed to reduce pollen spread from Bt corn to corn fields that should be Bt-free, according to the researchers.
The discovery is important because plan
In an unusual but useful example of cellular flip-flop, a new research study demonstrates that multiple cell types have the ability to temporarily switch into renin-secreting cells when they are needed to stabilize blood pressure. The research, published in the May issue of Developmental Cell, demonstrates that the recruited cells are direct descendants of cells that expressed renin at one time during development.
Renin is a hormone released into the blood by specialized cells in the walls
This release is being distributed on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.
It is one of man’s most common, underestimated sexual problems: Ejaculating earlier than desired. More common than erectile dysfunction, this condition can affect men at any point in their lives, and one in four men experience poor control over ejaculation on a frequent basis. According to published research, 20%-30% of men worldwide are commonly affected by premature ej
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