Last fall, ecologists at Ohio State University cracked open an acorn they had found in an Ohio park and discovered a colony of extremely rare ants.
They had uncovered Leptothorax minutissimus, an ant species that has been found in only four other areas of the eastern United States. The researchers found the acorn at a Columbus metro park – the first time the ant has been found in Ohio.
“What makes this find special is the lifestyle of these ants,” said Joan Herbers, an ant expert a
Scientists have discovered just how a genetic defect disrupts the cellular “garbage disposal” of a cell, resulting in a horrific childhood disease that kills most patients before the age of 25.
For nine years researchers have known the precise genetic flaw that causes Batten disease. But understanding how a straightforward mistake in life’s blueprint translates to a disease that ravages roughly 1,000 children in the United States each year has been a challenge. Now, in a paper in the D
The cooler and drier conditions in Southern California over the last few years appear to be a direct result of a long-term ocean pattern known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), according to research presented at the 2004 meeting of the American Meteorological Society.
The study, by Steve LaDochy, associate professor of geography at California State University-Los Angeles; Bill Patzert, research oceanographer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.; and others, su
Chemical engineers at Purdue University have shown how to make yeast cells double the activity and boost productivity of a type of enzyme plants need to create important chemicals such as anticancer compounds.
The work is related to efforts aimed at developing techniques to use plants and microorganisms as natural factories for producing pharmaceuticals. Such techniques would be safer and more environmentally friendly than conventional methods for making drugs, which often require hazardous
In the 19th century a fossil was uncovered in Belgium that was believed to be the jaw of a fish. Now a team of scientists have shown that it is in fact a fossil from an ancestor of all present-day land animals. It is the first discovery of a so-called tetrapod from the Devonian Period in continental Europe, which may trigger an interest in re-examining objects in museums.
In collaboration with researchers from France, England, and Belgium, Per Ahlberg, professor of evolutionary organism bio
Teenagers suffering from depression may have abnormal brain structure, according to new research. An article published in BMC Medicine this week shows that adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder tend to have a small hippocampus – a part of the brain associated with motivation, emotion, and memory formation.
Researchers from Dalhousie University and the National Research Council of Canada studied 34 adolescents between the ages of 13 to 18 years old, half of whom were suffering
The rapidly changing face of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is portrayed by contrasting Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images taken less than four years apart, most notably as a whole new artificial island is seen to rise from the seabed.
An initial radar image of Dubai was taken by ERS-2’s SAR instrument in May 1999. The coastal city has since been re-imaged by the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument aboard Envisat, ESA’s latest Earth Observation satellite. Unlike optica
Common and small mutation in the fragile X gene, once thought to have no health effects in male carriers, now linked to tremors, balance problems and dementia.
A team of researchers, led by physicians at the UC Davis M.I.N.D Institute, have discovered a new, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that predominantly affects men over age 50 and results in tremors, balance problems and dementia that become increasingly more severe with age.
A significant but currently unknown
Kidney dialysis patients with higher cholesterol levels die at a lower rate than those with lower cholesterol levels, which is opposite of the general public. However, a study by researchers at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determined that the lower mortality rate of those with higher cholesterol is likely due to the cholesterol-lowering effects of inflammation and malnutrition, two serious complications of kidney dialysis, and not a benefit of high cholesterol. The study is publ
Incidental abnormalities detected in cancer patients by radiologists using positron emission tomography (PET) may signal new, unrelated malignancies, according to a study appearing in the February issue of the journal Radiology.
“The unexpected abnormalities we followed up on were significant,” said the study’s lead author, Harry Agress Jr., M.D., who is director of nuclear medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center’s PET center. “Approximately 71 percent of the lesions that
Statins and ACE inhibitors for peripheral arterial disease studied
The same drugs that help millions of heart patients can also aid people who have painful blockages in the blood vessels of their legs, new research from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center shows.
Drugs called statins and ACE inhibitors can save those patients’ lives, or their limbs, if they take the medications before having a leg bypass operation, the study finds.
But the U-M rese
ESA’s X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton, has imaged a spectacular set of rings which appear to expand, with a speed a thousand times faster than that of light, around the point in the sky where a powerful gamma-ray explosion took place in early December. This is the first time that such a fascinating event, called an `echo’, has been seen in X-ray wavelengths.
This echo forms when the powerful radiation of a gamma-ray burst, coming from far away, crosses a slab of dust in our Galaxy and is sca
Since traditional cultivation methods can erode soil, new research taps companion crops for weed control
Organic soybean producers may be able to use winter cereal rye as an inter-seeded companion crop to control weeds, according to research led by a Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) crop and soil scientist.
Traditionally, organic growers have used only mechanical cultivation to control weeds, but this method has been shown to cause soil erosion and lead to poo
Even well-studied proteins can reveal surprises. University of Iowa scientists have discovered a new enzyme activity for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). CFTR is the protein that is defective in cystic fibrosis, a common life-threatening genetic disease that affects primarily the lungs and pancreas of young people. The discovery, which appeared in the Dec. 26, 2003 issue of Cell, helps solve a long-standing puzzle about how this important protein works.
CFTR f
Scientists are finding a computer program called Elves to be a nearly magical solution to the tedious and time-consuming task of determining the 3-D shape of proteins – a major focus of cutting-edge proteomics today – from X-ray diffraction data.
According to Elves developer James Holton, who recently received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, researchers can unleash Elves on a set of X-ray diffraction data and go on to other things – or take a nap – while the computer
Didn’t get your flu shot this season? A study published in the February 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases supports the efficacy of an adjunct to influenza vaccination.
Researchers examined the common influenza season scenario of a household in which a family member is infected with influenza virus. They found that when the family member with influenza was treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir, post-exposure oseltamivir prophylaxis of all other family members significa
Feedback
