Life & Chemistry

Life & Chemistry

Culling can't control deadly bat disease

White-nose syndrome, which is estimated to have killed over a million bats in a three year period, is probably caused by a newly discovered cold-adapted…

Life & Chemistry

Simpler fabrication of nanogaps

Plasmons, which are density waves of electrons, are of great interest to pure and applied scientists because of their novel properties, and because of their…

Life & Chemistry

New Model Reveals Pesticide-free Method to Control Mosquito-borne Disease

The first gene causes males to transmit a toxin to females through their semen. The second gene, when expressed in females, makes them immune to this toxin.This research, published in the February 2011 issue of Genetics (http://www.genetics.org), describes a system that can be created using currently available molecular tools and could confine the spread of mosquitoes to isolated populations. It also allows the genes to be recalled if necessary….

Life & Chemistry

Where Did Flowers Come From?

Amborella is an understory shrub or small tree found in only one place on the planet: the Pacific islands of New Caledonia. The plant, a direct descendant of…

Life & Chemistry

Innovative Europe Project Tackles West Nile Fever Outbreaks

In 2010 a severe outbreak of West Nile Fever in Greece left 34 dead and hundreds of persons were seriously affected. An increasing number of cases over the…

Life & Chemistry

Cell Signaling Discovery Nominated as a Breakthrough of the Year in 2010 by Science Signaling

The editors of Science Signaling, a peer-reviewed scientific journal focusing on the process of basic cellular communication and development, have nominated a…

Life & Chemistry

Gonorrhea Gains Human DNA: A Surprising Genetic Exchange

If a human cell and a bacterial cell met at a speed-dating event, they would never be expected to exchange phone numbers, much less genetic material. In more…

Life & Chemistry

Partnership of genes affects the brain's development

Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now shown that growing nerve cells realise when they've reached their target area in…

Life & Chemistry

Scripps Research study sheds light on RNA 'on/off switches'

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have shed new light on a molecular switch that turns genes on or off in response to a cell's energy needs. The…

Life & Chemistry

How the Brain Compresses Visual Information Like JPEGs

The brain is faced with a similar problem. The images captured by light-sensitive cells in the retina are on the order of a megapixel. The brain does not have…

Life & Chemistry

Roses Gain Celery Gene to Combat Botrytis Disease

North Carolina State University research intended to extend the “vase life” of roses inserts a gene from celery inside rose plants to help fight off botrytis,…

Life & Chemistry

VCU Massey Pioneers Targeted Therapy for Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a cancer involving antibody-producing cells in the bone marrow, and, in most cases, is incurable. Targeted therapies work by interfering…

Life & Chemistry

Tumor Microvesicles: Unlocking Genetic Insights from Blood

The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team that first discovered tumor-associated RNA in tiny membrane-enclosed sacs released into the bloodstream…

Life & Chemistry

UCSB chemists make discovery that may lead to drug treatment possibilities for Alzheimer's

The amyloid diseases are characterized by plaque that aggregates into toxic agents that interact with cellular machinery, explained Michael T. Bowers, lead…

Life & Chemistry

Toward a Fast, Simple Test for Detecting Cholera Rampaging in 40 Countries

The report appears in ACS’ journal Bioconjugate Chemistry. Cholera affects more than 200,000 people annually, mainly in developing countries, and causes about…

Life & Chemistry

Firefly Protein Lights Pathway to Improved Detection of Blood Clots

Bruce Branchini and colleagues describe a need for new medical imaging agents that emit near-infrared light — the light rays that “night vision” technology…

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