Life Sciences and Chemistry

Alistair Lees spends much of his research time hoping to see the light.

Using tools that improve by several orders of magnitude on the accuracy of microscopes and stopwatches, Lees is working at the molecular level to explore the effect of light on chemical systems. The field is called photochemistry and Lees’ efforts could help to find less-expensive ways to produce gasoline, make the environment cleaner and safer, and enhance the quality of microcircuitry and the equipment that re

Pesticides attack same cellular targets as rotenone – already implicated in Parkinson’s disease

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found in laboratory experiments that several commonly used pesticides are just as toxic or even more toxic to the mitochondria of cells than the pesticide rotenone, which already has been implicated in the development of Parkinson’s disease. The Emory neurologists, led by Tim Greenamyre, MD, PhD and Todd B. Sherer, PhD, will p

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine were able to enhance significantly the re-growth of damaged peripheral nerves in mice by treating them with enzymes that counteracted a growth-blocking mechanism. The research offers the potential for improving functional recovery after peripheral nerve injuries. The Emory scientists were led by Arthur English, PhD, professor of cell biology, with faculty colleagues Robert McKeon, PhD and Erica Werner, PhD and former Emory student M.L. Groves. Results

Scientists are closing in on genetic contributors to high blood pressure and other causes of heart and cardiovascular disease. At the American Society for Human Genetics annual meeting in Los Angeles, Hopkins research associate Yen-Pei Christy Chang, Ph.D., will present evidence that a region of chromosome 1 is involved in appropriately regulating blood pressure. Her talk is scheduled for 10:15 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 8.

The scientists conducted a genome-wide analysis of 1,875 people in 585 fa

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, have documented what they are calling possibly the most extreme case of animal structure elongation documented to date.

In a paper published in the November 6 issue of the journal Nature, Suzanne Dufour and Horst Felbeck show that a clam from a certain species can extend its foot (clams have only one foot) up to 30 times the length of its shell to reach chemicals in marine sediment necessary for th

In the animal world, it’s common for females to mate with several males during one and the same reproductive period. This leads to sperm competition, that is, sperm from several different males compete to fertilize the egg at the same time.

The most common response to increased sperm competition is for males to increase the number of sperm cells to inseminate a female with. Since males’ sperm reserves are not unlimited, males should be economical in using their sperm resources. Therefore, a