By analysing ancient DNA, an international team of researchers has obtained data that increases our knowledge about how the large predatory cats that once roamed the prehistoric New World were related to each other.

The research, published today (9 August) in Current Biology, was carried out by Ross Barnett from the University of Oxford and a team of researchers from Britain, the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Australia.

North and South America were once home to a varie

New research suggests why some older adults who exercise have better physical function than others. Surprisingly, researchers found that an enzyme involved in blood pressure regulation may also influence how the body responds to exercise. The findings, by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues, are reported today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Our results reinforce the importance of exercise, but also may explain a mechanism

UCLA biochemists reveal the first structural details of a family of mysterious objects called microcompartments that seem to be present in a variety of bacteria. The discovery was published Aug. 5 in the journal Science.

“This is the first look at how microcompartments are built, and what the pieces look like,” said Todd O. Yeates, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and a member of the UCLA-DOE Institute of Genomics and Proteomics. “These microcompartments appear to

Two peas in a pod may not be so friendly when planted in the ground and even two parts of the same plant, once separated may treat the former conjoined twin as an alien “enemy,” according to a Penn State researcher.

“We were looking at how plants determine who is a competitor when competing with other roots for limited resources,” says Dr. Omer Falik, postdoctoral researcher in plant ecology. “There is no reason for roots to fight if they belong to the same plant.”

The

Novel structure made from cell components could deliver drugs, genes on command

By combining one natural component of a cell with the synthetic analog of another component, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have created a nanoscale hybrid they call the “smart bio-nanotube”: a novel structure that could one day become a vehicle for ultra-precise drug or therapeutic gene delivery.

The nanotubes are “smart” because they can open or close at the ends,

Research on new materials and coatings in EUREKA project E! 2866 VASCUCHARGE will extend the life of synthetic vascular grafts from months to years, saving on average €7,000 per operation. As such grafts are used in around 500 out of each million vascular treatments in Europe, the savings could be considerable. Furthermore, the pain and discomfort suffered by patients is significantly reduced, as is the drain on health service resources.

The number of implants used in the surgical trea

The treatment of a lung condition that affects almost half of all pre-school children is to be investigated by researchers at the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester.

They aim to find a definitive answer on the best way of treating the tens of thousands of children brought into hospitals every year with unexplained wheezing and shortness of breath.

The condition affecting them, known as ‘viral-induced wheezing’, is one of the commonest reasons for young children to

Treatment failures occur with any drug and aspirin is no exception. Evidence is growing that some people will not respond to the anti-coagulant action of aspirin and the drug will not protect against cardiovascular events despite its regular intake.
Professor Andrew Szczeklik from Poland and Professor Graeme Hankey from Western Australia will present the latest findings on aspirin resistance at the XXth Congress of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis today.

Cocoa shows benefits for coronary heart disease

Throughout history, cocoa has been described as a medicine for many ailments. New research suggests that cocoa may also have a beneficial effect on heart disease and stroke. A research team in Southampton in England, led by Dr Denise O’Shaugnessy, has shown that drinking a cup of cocoa can prevent potentially fatal blood clots. Dr O’Shaughnessy will present this data at the XXth Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis & H

The latest information coming from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University

Age-related cataract, the world’s leading cause of blindness, affects more than 20 million Americans over the age of 40 years. Surgical correction is currently the only known option for intervention, but researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University recently sought, in three different studies, to determine if prevention is

Anyone who’s had to find his or her way through a darkened room can appreciate that nonvisual cues play a large role in our sense of movement. What might be less apparent is that not all such cues come from our remaining four senses.

In a finding that broadens our understanding of human movement control, researchers at the Institute of Neurology in London have shown that the inner-ear vestibular organs provide what is essentially an on-line movement guidance system for maint

Insects that can withstand the powerful pesticide DDT that was banned in the 1970s have a genetic advantage over their rivals that has helped them spread across the globe ever since, according to research published in Current Biology tomorrow (9 August 2005).

This discovery overturns current theories that resistance to pesticides burdens insects with a genetic disadvantage that would stop them from competing with non-resistant insects once farmers stop using that pesticide.

Employing a simple new technique to manipulate the sugars that power many front-line drugs, a team of Wisconsin scientists has enhanced the antic-cancer properties of a digitalis, a drug commonly used to treat heart disease.

Reporting the work in the Aug. 8 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of pharmaceutical sciences Jon S. Thorson, describes a series of experiments that boosted the cell-killing

Contrary to what many scientists thought, genetically modified (GM) corn has not yet spread to native maize crops in southern Mexico.

After analyzing tens of thousands of seeds from maize crops grown in 2003 and 2004, researchers from Mexico and the United States found no evidence of transgenes in these indigenous varieties.

The finding surprised the researchers, said Allison Snow, a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University . She hel

Moderately elevated levels of insulin increase the levels of inflammatory markers and beta-amyloid in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid, and these markers may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study posted online today from Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The study will be published in the October print edition of the journal.

According to background information in the article, “conditions of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are

Researchers at Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University have found that a recently described class of molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating oogenesis, the process by which females make eggs. MiRNAs silence genes by binding to genetic elements called messenger RNA and preventing them from making new proteins — the molecules primarily responsible for cell activities.

While previous research has identified some miRNA targets, investiga