Five cheetah cubs were born May 28 to 6-year-old Amani at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. Amani is a dedicated mother according to keepers, who have observed her nursing and grooming the cubs.
Body
New research says studying both adult and embryonic stem cells can benefit medical science, but banning the study of either type could harm studies of the other.
Researchers from the University of Michigan, Stanford University and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. recently investigated whether the increased number of studies with a certain type of adult stem cell has changed the overall course of research in the field.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today added eight substances to its Report on Carcinogens, a science-based document that identifies chemicals and biological agents that may put people at increased risk for cancer.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-led consortium of scientists has fully sequenced the genome of the pathogen that causes the wheat disease known as septoria tritici blotch, which can cause significant yield losses.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — By digging a little deeper, researchers may have found a potential target for reversing the deadly blood infection sepsis.
Scientists at the University of Michigan Health System looked at microRNA, a type of RNA that does not code for a protein itself but that can regulate the expression of other genes and proteins. They found that by attacking the right microRNA they could influence a key trigger of inflammatory diseases such as sepsis.
Athens, Ga. – The Internet is often thought of as a forum that enables egalitarian communication among people from diverse backgrounds and political persuasions, but a University of Georgia study reveals that online discussion groups display the same hierarchical structure as other large social groups.
People lose 30% of their muscle strength between the ages of 50 and 70 years. However, maintaining muscle strength in old age is enormously important in order to maintain mobility and to be able to lead an independent life and manage everyday tasks independently. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Frank Mayer and colleagues from the University of Potsdam conclude that progressive strength (resistance) training counteracts muscular atrophy in old age (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108(21): 359-64).
Venice – the City of Dreams – may have one less nightmare to deal with following a finding that the frequency of extreme storm surge events generated by Adriatic Sea tempests could fall by about 30 per cent by 2100.
A team of international scientists led by CSIRO's Dr Alberto Troccoli studied atmospheric circulation in the Mediterranean region to assess climate impacts through changes in storm surge frequency in Venice – a World Heritage-listed city built on 117 small islands and considered vulnerable to high sea levels (locally known as Acqua Alta).
Clinically ascertained reports suggest that boys and girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may differ from each other in their vulnerability to substance use problems, say the researchers of the University of Helsinki and University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
[EMBARGOED FOR JUNE 10, 2011] Although liver-related mortality among those infected with hepatitis C is well-documented, little is known about deaths in these patients that are not related to liver problems. A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online (http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/cid/cir306.pdf) sought to determine mortality from all causes, including liver- and non-liver related deaths among hepatitis C patients in the general U.S. population.
PHILADELPHIA—Receiving radiation therapy immediately after a radical prostatectomy is a cost-effective treatment for prostate cancer patients when compared with waiting and acting on elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, according to a new study by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital.
What's more, a separate, but related study, found that urologists were less likely than radiation oncologists to recommend adjuvant radiation therapy or to believe it improves overall survival.
The origins of rice have been cast in a new light by research publishing in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics on June 9, 2011. By reconciling two theories, the authors show that the domestication of rice occurred at least twice independently but with extensive "borrowing" between the two subspecies.
Research published in PLoS Genetics today (9 June) provides insights into how an important fungal disease is able to evade wheat's defences. The researchers hope that the study, which reveals the fungus' complete genome sequence, will enable them to breed resistant crop plants or improve the use of pesticides.
Some asteroids may have been like "molecular factories" cranking out life's ingredients and shipping them to Earth via meteorite impacts, according to scientists who've made discoveries of molecules essential for life in material from certain kinds of asteroids and comets. Now it appears that at least one may have been less like a rigid assembly line and more like a flexible diner that doesn't mind making changes to the menu.