A tiny fossil found more than 10 years ago in central Alberta has proved to be the key to answering a long unsolved evolutionary question, say researchers from the University of Alberta.

Back in 1991, Dr. Richard Fox and his research team found a 60 million year-old incomplete skull fossil that they now believe is the first evidence of an extinct mammal with a venom delivery apparatus. The research will be published June 23, 2005 in Nature.

“Our discovery shows that mam

Humans with an appreciation of beauty may have marveled for millennia at the artistry of a darting hummingbird, but scientists announced today that for the first time they can more fully explain how a hummingbird can hover.

Using a powerful technology that was originally developed for engineering, researchers were able to exactly document the movement of air around a hummingbird’s wings and show how its flight is accomplished with the body structure of a bird but some of th

Rising concern over food quality is pushing the industry to create ever more advanced systems to ensure food safety. A smart packing crate that uses Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags for easy tracking and tracing of meat is a case in point.

The Info-box System (iBoS) uses a special packing crate, the info-box, produced by project partner Bekuplast GmbH. The iBoS team developed a transponder, or beacon, and state-of-the-art RFID tags that could be moulded into the box during its man

Indicates whether infection will develop

Simple analysis of a bone marrow transplant patient’s oral rinse can give medical personnel a quick indication of the transplant’s effectiveness and predict whether an infection will develop, says a University of Toronto researcher. Dr. Michael Glogauer, a U of T dentistry professor with the CIHR Group in Matrix Dynamics, Dr. Yigal Dror, a professor at the U of T Faculty of Medicine and a hematologist at the Hospital for Sick Chil

Researchers have reported findings that offer a surprising new twist to our understanding of how bumblebees, a vital floral pollinator, select the flowers from which they collect nectar. When faced with unfamiliar plants, foraging bees do not choose flowers entirely alone but instead copy the choices of other bees. The new findings suggest that bees adjust their behavior when dealing with flowers of unfamiliar plant species.

The observations are reported in the June 21 issue

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a way to study the earliest steps of human blood development using human embryonic stem cells grown in a lab dish instead of the embryos themselves.

The process avoids some of the ethical and technical obstacles involved in such research, according to the Johns Hopkins investigators.

The Johns Hopkins researchers’ system involves the study of existing embryonic stem cell lines derived from in vitro fertilization methods, and s

Novel and efficient inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor identified by Burnham team

A collaborative team of scientists led by The Burnham Institute’s Maurizio Pellecchia, Ph.D., has identified inhibitors of the anthrax toxin, termed lethal factor (“LF”) that could be developed into an emergency treatment for exposure to inhalation anthrax. These findings will be published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Early Edition at the journal’s website t

The immune system is a complex and powerful weapon that provides protection against bacteria and viruses that, if left unchecked, would wreak havoc throughout the human body. The ability of the immune system to recognize the body’s own tissues is essential, but sometimes the immune system loses the ability to distinguish “self” from potentially harmful invaders. This can lead to autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of healthy tissues. Although it is not clear exactly what causes the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chemists have developed what they believe is a breakthrough method of creating the world’s tiniest manufactured particles for delivering drugs and other organic materials into the human body.

Adapting technology pioneered by the electronics industry in fabricating transistors, the team has figured out for the first time how to create particles for carrying genetic material, pharmaceuticals and other compounds of unprecedented small siz

Scientists at The Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered that a protein known as F4/80 found on immune cells in the eye and other parts of the body may have a function in the regulation of the body’s immune response and protect delicate tissues that cannot survive the “inflammation” inherent in full-blown immunity.

“We believe that this discovery may ultimately help in the development of therapies for blinding eye diseases such as macular degeneration and autoi

New research has shown that combinations of chemicals found in everyday products and food have subtle but potentially damaging effects on sperm fertility.

Professor Lynn Fraser told the 21st annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday), that her previous research had shown that certain chemicals known to mimic the female sex hormone, oestrogen, could individually affect the correct functioning of mouse sperm, but now her new

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a mechanism that causes a protein to clump together in brain cells of people with Parkinson’s disease, pointing toward a possible treatment for the condition.

The protein clumping is part of a “vicious cycle,” the researchers said. As the proteins cluster, they inhibit an enzyme that normally breaks them down, leading to the formation of even more masses.

“It’s a disease involving accumulation of

Tear samples from manatees could reveal health threats

For Florida manatees, the eyes may have it, say University of Florida researchers studying whether the mammals’ unusually thick tear film helps protect against disease and could be used to gauge the endangered sea cows’ ability to fight stress from cold water temperatures.

Manatees depend on both natural and artificial warm water refuges like those found near coal-burning power plants to survive cold winte

French scientists, examining the possibility of using nuclear medicine with gene therapy to fight heart diseases, reported their findings at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 52nd Annual Meeting June 18–22 in Toronto.

Previous studies have suggested a beneficial effect of Cyr61–a cysteine-rich, angiogenic inducer protein–in rabbits submitted to ischemic limb disease. However, no data have been available on using Cyr61 in vivo for fighting chronic myocardial ischemia (insuf

Researchers from the United States, France and Germany make advances, provide alternatives to traditional chemotherapy treatment

Three scientific studies–each highlighting new discoveries in treatment for patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma–were announced at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 52nd Annual Meeting June 18–22 in Toronto.

“Nuclear medicine has a growing role in treating non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” said SNM member Richard L. Wahl, M.D., director

Lifestyle impacts safety

Most pregnant women don’t drink, speed, or behave recklessly; yet many will end up in trauma rooms across Canada this summer.

According to a new study, to be published in the Journal of Trauma’s July issue, led by Dr. Donald Redelmeier, Director of Clinical Epidemiology and a practicing physician at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, risks are too high for pregnant women during the summer, amounting to approxi