Metal-Rich Distant Galaxy Found With ESO’s VLT

Astronomers, using the unique capabilities offered by the high-resolution spectrograph UVES on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, have found a metal-rich hydrogen cloud in the distant universe. The result may help to solve the missing metal problem and provides insight on how galaxies form.

“Our discovery shows that significant quantities of metals are to be found in very remote galaxies that are too faint to be directly seen”, said

Boys are almost twice as likely as girls to burn themselves and children under three face particular risks, according to research published in the February issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

A team from Malmo University in Sweden looked at 148 children up to the age of six who were taken to the University Hospital and 21 health centres.

They discovered that 96 per cent of the accidents could have been prevented, as they happened at home when an adult was nearby, a

Calcium and vitamin D supplements in healthy postmenopausal women provide a modest benefit in preserving bone mass and prevent hip fractures in certain groups including older women but do not prevent other types of fractures or colorectal cancer, according to the results of a major clinical trial, part of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). While generally well tolerated, the supplements were associated with an increased risk of kidney stones.

The study results are published in the

Women in developing countries who cook over a wood stove for years and inhale the smoke can develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and experience the same clinical characteristics, diminished quality of life and increased mortality rates as tobacco smokers.

These findings from a Mexican study appear in the second issue for February 2006 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.

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Researchers have identified a new compound called CDDO-Im that protects against the development of liver cancer in laboratory animals. The compound appears to stimulate the enzymes that remove toxic substances from the cells, thereby increasing the cells’ resistance to cancer-causing toxins. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, agencies of the federal National Institutes of Health, provided funding to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Blo

Monoclonal antibody targets key tumor growth factor; Successfully causes brain tumor regression and improves animal survival

Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors, and also one of the most complicated cancers to treat. Currently, treatment options such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are only marginally beneficial and present significant risks for patients, including loss of physical and cognitive abilities. But, a new study published today in Clinical Cancer

Potential Exists to Possibly Prevent Disease Before Onset Symptoms Appear, Suggests Report in February’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine

Using both brain function (PET) and anatomical structure (MR) imaging studies, Italian researchers—within the context of an Italian-British collaboration—discovered that degenerative and dysfunctional events occur in individuals many years before the onset of Huntington’s disease—particularly in the brain’s white matter—an area not previously considere

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a quick and simple way to investigate the sugar coating that surrounds bacteria and plays a role in infection and immunity.

The sugars coating bacteria can change very quickly during the course of an infection, cloaking the bacteria from the immune system of their host. Previous techniques for studying the sugars were too slow to catch these rapid changes.

“There’s a growing recognition of the importance of

Undergraduate is lead author of study in top national journal

In a significant advance for regenerative medicine, researchers at Rice University have discovered a new way to culture adult stem cells from bone marrow such that the cells themselves produce a growth matrix that is rich in important biochemical growth factors.
The research, which appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is notable not just because of the science – resear

Of all of the materials that make up our bodies, nothing is more ubiquitous than collagen.

It is the most important structural protein in the body, reinforcing connective tissue, bones and teeth, and forming long, fibrous cables to strengthen tendons. Collagen forms sheets of tissue that support the skin and every internal organ. There is nothing in the body, in fact, that does not depend in some way on collagen.

In medicine, collagen from animals, principally cows, is us

A new paper in the February 15th issue of Genes & Development lends novel insight into the cellular changes that occur in sperm while they reside in the female reproductive tract – providing a new understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization.

It had been believed for decades that spermatozoa are translationally silent. However, Dr. Yael Gur and Haim Breitbart (Bar-Ilan University, Israel) now show that, in fact, protein translation does take place in mammalian

Various forms of human muscular dystrophy result from mutations in genes encoding proteins of the nuclear envelope. A new paper in the February 15th issue of G&D reveals how.

Ten human hereditary laminopathies, including Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD), are associated with mutations in the LMNA gene that codes for the nuclear filament proteins, lamins A and C. Dr. Brain Kennedy and colleagues at the University of Washington have used a mouse model of EDMD to elucidate the

DePaoli asparagus offers a higher yield of spears than other varieties of the vegetable

UC Riverside researchers have released a new variety of asparagus that offers a higher yield than previous varieties of the vegetable and boasts an excellent spear quality, marked by a high percentage of marketable spears. Higher yield of marketable spears reduces the impact of high land and labor costs, thereby making the asparagus more profitable without raising consumer prices.

Named

An innovative new medical approach which could substantially improve the quality of life for over a million kidney dialysis patients, and bring huge savings to health services around the globe has received an investment round worth £2.6m.

The development of this new product has been made possible thanks to a major funding round of £2.6m led by NPI Ventures with funding from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), who had previously invested £95,000 in

Researchers have introduced the concept that the cost of extending life with a defibrillator in young and otherwise healthy subjects with genetic cardiac disorders can be balanced by society gains when the lifespan of an individual is considered. Through computer-based analytical models, the study, published in Annals of Noninvasive Electrocardiology, shows that primary intervention with defibrillator therapy is cost-effective and even cost-gaining in this population.

Defibrillator

Natural herbal supplements are supposed to help boost our immune systems, give us more energy and make us generally healthier. However, many of these “harmless” supplements could cause dangerous side effects during plastic surgery, reports a study in February’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). In fact, the study found approximately 55 percent of plastic surgery patients, compared to 24 percent of the gene