Data from unique gene function studies show Rb is required for proliferation of retinal cells and development of the light-sensitive rods and gives hints for improving treatment of retinoblastoma
The finding that a tumor-suppressor protein called Rb is required for proper development of the mouse retina is a major step toward understanding why some children develop the devastating eye cancer called retinoblastoma. This discovery should eventually help scientists design a better treatm
In the morning of March 2, the Rosetta spacecraft was launched on board an Ariane-5 launcher from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft will be the first to land on a comet.
Before the launch, and as a salute to their colleagues at ESA, astronomers used the New Technology Telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) of La Silla in Chile to image Rosetta’s target, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, an approximately 4 kilometre size
Surprisingly, the probability that an earthquake should reoccur in any part of the world is smaller, the longer the time since the last quake took place. This is one of the conclusions reached by the physicist Álvaro Corral, researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Corral has been the first to observe that there is a relation between consecutive quake-to-quake time intervals that follows a universal distribution of probability. This in turn suggests the existence of a simple physica
A voting system that encrypts data transmission to allow voters to cast their ballots in secretly and securely over the Internet was developed by TRUE-VOTE.
The goal of this IST programme-funded project was to design and implement a voting protocol based on digital signature and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), as well as to integrate the most advanced technologies in cryptography and Information and Communication Technologies to guarantee transaction security and privacy.
The pro
Nature’s secrets are just about to become a little less secret. Armed with a modern mobile phone, outdoor-lovers will soon be able to roam Europe’s national parks and find their favourite animals and plants with ease. Getting lost there could also be a thing of the past.
The technology behind these services – including mobile telephony and personal digital assistants (PDAs) – is not new. What is innovative is the way they are combined to offer personalised location-based services.
Why aren’t left and right-handers equally common? New research* demonstrates that the prevalence of bias or handedness in one direction (Lateralisation) is likely to result from social selection pressures, rather than mere evolutionary chance or genetics. The research is published in Proceedings B, a learned journal published by The Royal Society.
We have long known that the two sides of the brain perform different functions – the left hemisphere for language and the right for visual-spatial
Inserm and CNRS research scientists and doctors at the Institut Curie have demonstrated the influence of the status – mutated or functional – of the tumour suppressor gene p53 in the response of colorectal cancer to chemotherapy. Tumours in which the p53 gene is mutated respond less well to treatment. However, by adding another agent, researchers at the Institut Curie have succeeded in increasing the efficacy of chemotherapy in mice bearing human cancer xenografts.
The presence of a mutatio
Locked in Arctic Soils Into the Ocean, Researchers Say The Arctic Ocean receives about ten percent of Earth’s river water and with it some 25 teragrams [28 million tons] per year of dissolved organic carbon that had been held in far northern bogs and other soils. Scientists had not known the age of the carbon that reaches the ocean: was it recently derived from contemporary plant material, or had it been locked in soils for hundreds or thousands of years and therefore not part of
The music industry is poised for a revolution if a self-employed design consultant from London can get his innovative touch-screen technology off the ground. NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) – the organisation that nurtures UK creativity and innovation – has invested £100,000 in the idea to help turn it into a commercial reality.
Experts predict that some day, all music machines will be controlled by touchscreen. Andrew is hoping to bring that day nearer wi
Microwaves could provide a safe new way of finding hidden weapons and buried mines, thanks to UK research.
Scientists are developing a microwave-based technique that can generate high-quality images of hidden objects. The research may lead to the use of microwaves as a safer alternative to X-rays in airport security checks, building searches, landmine detection and other applications.
This leading-edge work is being carried out by a team of engineers and physicists at Northu
Australia’s air pollution death toll is higher than fatalities from road accidents. So air quality scientists, medical researchers and Government agency representatives from around Australia are meeting in Melbourne this week to tackle the health problems associated with air pollution.
“Mortality due to air pollution in Australia is higher than the road toll,” says Dr Tom Beer from CSIRO Atmospheric Research, one of the organisers of the two-day course. “Each year on average, 2400 of th
A University of Iowa study suggests that inhibiting a certain protein involved in inflammation might be of therapeutic benefit in organ transplantation, heart attacks and possibly stroke. The study, led by John Engelhardt, Ph.D., UI professor and interim head of anatomy and cell biology, found that blocking the action of this protein can prevent the tissue damage caused by ischemia/reperfusion injury. The study is published in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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Disulfiram (a drug used to help selected patients with alcohol disorders remain sober) and cognitive behavioral therapy appear effective in reducing cocaine use, especially among cocaine users who are not dependent on alcohol, according to an article in the March issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Patients taking disulfiram who ingest even small amounts of alcohol develop a reaction that produces nausea, flushing, vomiting, and throbbing headache
Unwanted fat may have a bigger effect on the heart than physicians previously thought.
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered that cells in human fat actually may help the body grow new blood vessels to repair both muscle and heart tissue. These cells, called stromal cells, are immature fat cells. Their findings are reported in the March 1 online issue of Circulation, the scientific journal of the American Heart Association.
Jalees Rehman,
First avian genome now available to scientists worldwide
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced that the first draft of the chicken genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases for use by biomedical and agricultural researchers around the globe.
A team led by Richard Wilson, Ph.D., from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis successfully assembled the genome of
Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne may owe John Preskill a set of encyclopedias
In 1997, the three cosmologists made a famous bet as to whether information that enters a black hole ceases to exist — that is, whether the interior of a black hole is changed at all by the characteristics of particles that enter it.
Hawking’s research suggested that the particles have no effect whatsoever. But his theory violated the laws of quantum mechanics and created a contradiction known as th
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