Both sides of the brain play a role in processing emotional communication, with the right side stepping in when we focus not on the “what” of an emotional message but rather on how it feels.
By studying blood flow velocity to each side of the brain, Belgian psychologists have opened a window onto the richness and complexity of human emotional communication. Their research appears in the January 2003 issue of Neuropsychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research are gaining new insight into the molecular players involved in the process of vertebral column formation in the embryo.
A research team headed by Dr. Olivier Pourquie, currently an Associate Scientist at the Stowers Institute, were pioneers in providing evidence for an oscillator called the segmentation clock, a timing mechanism responsible for the periodic production of the somites (the precursors of the vertebrae) in the embr
With a high-tech fix for faulty cellular editing, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have moved a step closer to developing treatments for a host of diseases as diverse as breast cancer, muscular dystrophy, and cystic fibrosis.
Many human diseases have been linked to defects in a cellular editing process called pre-messenger RNA splicing. Adrian Krainer, a molecular biologist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, has spent years investigating this complex editing process, which t
Researchers have identified a protein fragment that keeps at least one major tumor suppressor gene from preventing cancer like it should. The fragment belongs to a class of proteins known as apoptotic enhancers (ASPP), named for their ability to stimulate programmed cell death, or apoptosis, by the p53 gene.
But a study published in Nature Genetics finds that one member of this group, called iASPP, actually inhibits p53’s normal cell killing power. When iASPP levels were reduced in experime
Nanoshell sensor opens door for new methods to exam single molecules
Nanotechnology researchers at Rice University have demonstrated the ability to precisely control the electromagnetic field around nanoparticles, opening the door for chemical screening techniques that could allow doctors, life scientists and chemists to routinely analyze samples as small as a single molecule.
The research is detailed in the current issue of Applied Physics Letters. It builds upon a widely u
A University at Buffalo chemist has developed a new, high-throughput method for obtaining nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data that not only has the distinction of potentially performing orders of magnitude faster than conventional methods, but does so more cheaply and with greater precision.
The new method, described in the current online issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, has the potential to increase greatly the use of high-throughput NMR to determine protein structu
The secret to its strength is a ring, Weizmann Institute researchers report in Science
Weizmann Institute scientists have found what makes the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans the most radiation-resistant organism in the world: The microbe’s DNA is packed tightly into a ring. The findings, published in the January 10 issue of Science, solve a mystery that has long engaged the scientific community.
The red bacterium can withstand 1.5 million rads – a thousand times more tha
A potent clot-busting substance originally extracted from the saliva of vampire bats may be used up to three times longer than the current stroke treatment window – without increasing the risk for additional brain damage, according to research reported in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
The vampire bat saliva-derived clot buster is called Desmodus rotundus salivary plasminogen activator (DSPA) or desmoteplase. DSPA targets and destroys fi
Local fisheries part of bigger cycle affecting entire Pacific Ocean
In the late 1930’s, California’s sardines supported the biggest fishery in the western hemisphere, with more than half a million tons of fish caught each year. By the mid-1950s, the sardines had virtually disappeared. Although fishing pressure may have played a part in this process, new research published in the current issue of Science indicates that the sardines’ demise was part of a 50-year cycle tha
Details published in Jan. 10 issue of the journal Science
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a series of novel techniques in nanotechnology that hold promise for applications ranging from highly targeted pharmaceutical therapies, to development of nutrition-enhanced foods known as “nutraceuticals,” to nanoscopic sensors that might one day advance medical imaging and diagnostics. The research, published in the Jan. 10 issue of Science, was funded by
Incidents of heart attack and stroke, some fatal, in a small number of men taking the drug Viagra have remained a puzzle. After all, Viagra, commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction, was originally developed to prevent these conditions — not only by dilating blood vessels but also by stopping platelets in the blood from clumping.
In fact, the drug does just the opposite, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. They found that Viagra, by el
In an unusual disease known as Bloom syndrome, patients exhibit an extremely high incidence of cancers in many tissues. In fact, some experts consider Bloom syndrome to be among the most cancer-prone hereditary diseases known.
Although the illness is rare, it fascinates scientists since it can teach them more about how cancers arise and how the body normally suppresses them. Information gleaned from studies of the syndrome should provide insights into other forms of cancer, they say.
Researchers at the University of Rochester have uncovered how giant magnetic fields up to a billion, billion miles across, such as the one that envelopes our galaxy, are able to take shape despite a mystery that suggested they should collapse almost before they’d begun to form. Astrophysicists have long believed that as these large magnetic fields grow, opposing small-scale fields should grow more quickly, thwarting the evolution of any giant magnetic field. The team discovered instead that the
With fewer than 300 northern right whales remaining, the seriously endangered species may face yet another obstacle to recovery. The right whale is regularly exposed to the neurotoxins responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) through feeding on contaminated zooplankton. These toxins could affect respiratory capabilities, feeding behavior, and ultimately the reproduction condition of the whale population.
In the current issue of the journal Harmful Algae, a team of scientists, led
Eating your own brain may not sound like a sensible approach to prolonging your life, but researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered that some single-celled organisms essentially do just that to keep themselves healthy. The findings are published in this month’s issue of Molecular Biology of the Cell.
David Goldfarb, professor of biology at the University of Rochester, studied the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and found that contrary to what biologists have believed, th
Innovative tests trigger clean up efforts at popular California beach
A UC Irvine-led study has proved instrumental for significantly improving the quality of beach water at a popular California tourist destination. The same study also provides the blueprint for assisting similar beachside communities with an innovative approach for pinpointing the causes of water pollution.
The research was headed by UCI environmental engineer Stanley Grant and USC microbiologist Jed Fuhrman
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