RICHLAND, Wash. - Most of us think of that sweet smell after a storm as the aftereffect of rain that has rinsed the air of pollutants and dust. But it turns out that rain also triggers the release of a mist of particles from wet soils into the air, a finding with consequences of its own for how scientists model our planet's climate and future.
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Analyses of ancient DNA from prehistoric humans paint a picture of dramatic population change in Europe from 45,000 to 7,000 years ago, according to a new study led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator David Reich at Harvard Medical School.
OAKLAND, Calif., May 2, 2016 -- A widely recommended risk calculator for predicting a person's chance of experiencing a cardiovascular disease event -- such as heart attack, ischemic stroke or dying from coronary artery disease -- has been found to substantially overestimate the actual five-year risk in adults overall and across all sociodemographic subgroups. The study by Kaiser Permanente was published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Using an ultra fast-scanning atomic force microscope, a team of researchers from the University of Basel has filmed "living" nuclear pore complexes at work for the first time. Nuclear pores are molecular machines that control the traffic entering or exiting the cell nucleus. In their article published in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers explain how the passage of unwanted molecules is prevented by rapidly moving molecular "tentacles" inside the pore.
The primary method used to test compounds for anti-cancer activity in cells is flawed, Vanderbilt University researchers report May 2 in Nature Methods. The findings cast doubt on methods used by the entire scientific enterprise and pharmaceutical industry to discover new cancer drugs.
Individual small RNAs are responsible for controlling the expression of gonadoliberin or GnRH (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone), a neurohormone that controls sexual maturation, the appearance of puberty, and fertility in adults. This has just been demonstrated by the "Development and Plasticity of the Neuroendocrine Brain" team led by Vincent Prévot, Inserm Research Director (Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Centre, Lille). The involvement of microRNAs, transcribed from DNA, occurs around birth, and marks a key step in postnatal development.
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University discovered that nearly half of coronary artery bypass patients are not taking statins and aspirin together when they are referred for diagnostic cardiac catheterization at least three years after their initial bypass. Their results are currently in press online in the American Journal of Cardiology.
Nature is constantly evolving--its limits determined only by variations that threaten the viability of species. Research into the origin and expansion of the genetic code* are fundamental to explain the evolution of life.
The most productive way scientists have devised to nurture colonies of human embryonic stem cells is to do so atop a bed of mouse cells. That may be fine for lab research, but it poses an unacceptable contamination risk for stem cells intended for transplant into human patients. In a new study, Brown University bioengineers have developed a synthetic bed that works about as well as the mouse cells, called fibroblasts, without any possibility of contamination.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Even behind bars it can be a hard question to raise, but new research suggests that asking female inmates whether they have a history of exchanging sex for money or drugs can help identify whether they are at heightened risk for serious health consequences.
The decline of aquatic insects downstream from some hydroelectric dams has been linked to a widespread practice known as hydropeaking, whereby river flows are increased during the day when electricity demands are large, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey, along with researchers from Oregon State University, Utah State University and Idaho State University.
The research group of Prof. Antonio M. Echavarren at ICIQ has designed and synthetized a series of analogues of (-)-Englerin A that are highly selective and effective in the growth-inhibition of renal cancer cells.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The lady salamander that shuns male companionship may reap important benefits.
For instance, when a predator snaps off her tail.
New research from The Ohio State University compared an all-female population of mole salamanders to a related heterosexual species and found they grew their tails back 36 percent faster. The unisexual salamanders (part of the Ambystoma genus) contain DNA of up to five species and reproduce primarily by cloning themselves.
Biological anthropologist Sharon DeWitte studies ancient skeletons that can open a window onto the human history she hopes to illuminate. But as she and graduate student Samantha Yaussy show in a recently published study, some of the markers on the skeletons that scientists use to decipher the past might need to be looked at in a new light.
A healthy intake of vitamin D in the first year of life appears to set children up to have more muscle mass and less body fat as toddlers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.
The findings emerged from research initially aimed at confirming the importance of vitamin D for bone density. The additional benefit in terms of body composition came as a surprise for the research team.