Scientists have learned that recent fears of invasive lionfish causing fish poisoning may be unfounded. If so, current efforts to control lionfish by fishing derbies and targeted fisheries may remain the best way to control the invasion. And there's a simple way to know for sure whether a lionfish is toxic: test it after it's been cooked.
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HOUSTON – (July 31, 2014) – A flu virus acts like a Trojan horse as it attacks and infects host cells. Scientists at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have acquired a clearer view of the well-hidden mechanism involved.
Their computer simulations may lead to new strategies to stop influenza, perhaps even a one-size-fits-all vaccine.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- By tracing nearly 3,000 genes to the earliest common ancestor of butterflies and moths, University of Florida scientists have created an extensive "Tree of Lepidoptera" in the first study to use large-scale, next-generation DNA sequencing.
The prevalence of heroin use has been rising steadily in the U.S in recent years. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the number of individuals reporting past year heroin use almost doubled between 2007 (373,000) and 2012 (669,000). Emerging evidence suggests the increase may be linked to prescription opioid (PO) users who transition from oral and/or intranasal PO use to heroin use, with POs providing the entryway to regular opioid use, and ultimately, heroin injection.
There is epidemiological evidence that links type B coxsackie virus (CVB) infection with heart disease, and research published on July 31st in PLOS Pathogens now suggests a mechanism by which early infection impairs the heart's ability to tolerate stress at later stages of life.
Quantifying and transforming the history of culture into visual representation isn't easy. There are thousands of individual stories across millennia to consider, and some historical conditions are nearly impossible to measure.
Addressing this challenge, Dr. Maximilian Schich, associate professor of arts and technology at The University of Texas at Dallas, has brought together a team of network and complexity scientists to create and quantify a big picture of European and North American cultural history.
A new study led by an Adelaide scientist has revealed how massive, meat-eating, ground-dwelling dinosaurs − the theropods − evolved into agile flyers: they just kept shrinking and shrinking, for over 50 million years.
Today, in the prestigious journal Science, the researchers present a detailed family tree of these dinosaurs and their bird descendants which maps out this unlikely transformation.
"Birds evolved through a unique phase of sustained miniaturisation in dinosaurs," says lead author Associate Professor Michael Lee, from the University of Adelaide's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the South Australian Museum.
Cambridge, MA. Thurs. July 31, 2014 — Extensive sequencing of DNA from thousands of individuals in Finland has unearthed scores of mutations that destroy gene function and are found at unusually high frequencies. Among these are two mutations in a gene called LPA that may reduce a person's risk of heart disease. These findings are an exciting proof-of-concept for a new "genotype first" approach to identifying rare genetic variants associated with, or protecting from, disease followed by extensive medical review of carriers.
Alan Turing, the British mathematician (1912-1954), is famous for a number of breakthroughs, which altered the course of the 20th century. In 1936 he published a paper, which laid the foundation of computer science, providing the first formal concept of a computer algorithm. He next played a pivotal role in the Second World War, designing the machines which cracked the German military codes, enabling the Allies to defeat the Nazis in several crucial battles.
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University researchers have completed a 20-year study that looks at the consequences of burning Flint Hills prairie at different times of the year. It finds that burning outside of the current late spring time frame has no measurable negative consequences for the prairie and, in fact, may have multiple benefits.
DENVER (July 31, 2014) – A recently released study by a researcher at the University of Colorado Denver and published in the Journal of Humanistic Counseling explores why people of Latin American descent self-identify using terms like Latina/o, Hispanic, and Chicana/o. Carlos Hipolito-Delgado, an associate professor in the School of Education & Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver, found a difference between preferred ethnic labels and how a person identifies with their cultural heritage and United States values.
PITTSBURGH—Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have developed a novel method for creating self-assembled protein/polymer nanostructures that are reminiscent of fibers found in living cells. The work offers a promising new way to fabricate materials for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. The findings were published in the July 28 issue of Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
During the winter of 1944, the Nazis blocked food supplies to the western Netherlands, creating a period of widespread famine and devastation. The impact of starvation on expectant mothers produced one of the first known epigenetic "experiments" — changes resulting from external rather than genetic influences — which suggested that the body's physiological responses to hardship could be inherited. The underlying mechanism, however, remained a mystery.
There's sad news in the study of happiness.
Rest assured, there is a happy ending, though.
University of Cincinnati research on perceived happiness shows that many college students are stressed out and aren't coping.
This is despite the fact that there are simple ways for students to relieve stress and feel happier, says Keith King, professor and coordinator of UC's Health Promotion and Education Program. The trouble is, they don't use them enough.