Knowing that trichomes are supposed to be defensive structures, replete with poisons and sticky substances, the researchers were surprised to observe that freshly hatched Manduca sexta larvae as well as larvae of two Spodoptera species did not just start feeding on the leaf tissue of wild tobacco Nicotiana attenuata; they directly consumed the hairs on the leaves and their contents (see also video on http://www.ice.mpg.de/ext/735.html).
Body
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Mosquitoes make proteins to help them handle the stressful spike in body temperature that's prompted by their hot blood meals, a new study has found.
The mosquito's eating pattern is inherently risky: Taking a blood meal involves finding warm-blooded hosts, avoiding detection, penetrating tough skin and evading any host immune response, not to mention the slap of a human hand.
Until now, the stress of the hot blood meal itself has been overlooked, researchers say.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, April 25, 2011 - Call them the Jason Bournes of the bacteria world.
Going "off the grid," like rogue secret agents, some bacteria avoid antibiotic treatments by essentially shutting down and hiding until it's safe to come out again, says Thomas Wood, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University.
SEATTLE – The largest study ever to examine the association of dietary fats and prostate cancer risk has found what's good for the heart may not be good for the prostate.
Analyzing data from a nationwide study involving more than 3,400 men, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that men with the highest blood percentages of docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, an inflammation-lowering omega-3 fatty acid commonly found in fatty fish, have two-and-a-half-times the risk of developing aggressive, high-grade prostate cancer compared to men with the lowest DHA levels.
Troy, N.Y. – Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method for manufacturing green-colored LEDs with greatly enhanced light output.
Recently a research paper titled "Expanding the Diversity of Mycobacteriophages: Insights into Genome Architecture and Evolution" was published in PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed online journal published by the Public Library of Science.
The authors included 12 Washington University undergraduates who had participated as freshman in the inaugural Phage Hunters course at Washington University in St. Louis.
Phages are viruses that infect bacteria by injecting genetic material into them with a syringe-like plunger. In fact, they even look rather like outlandish syringes.
The latest Perspectives in General Physiology series examines the ion selectivity of cation-selective channels and transporters. The series appears in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of General Physiology (www.jgp.org).
Chitwan, Nepal – After three rigorous weeks of conducting the National Rhino Census in Nepal, new data on the population of greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) was formally released today.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A class of drugs that shows promise in breast and ovarian cancers with BRCA gene mutations could potentially benefit colorectal cancer patients with a different genetic mutation, a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.
Working in cell lines from colorectal cancer patients, researchers found that a new class of drugs called PARP inhibitors worked against tumors with mutations in the MRE11 gene.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new study of sexual risk behaviors within long-term couples in South Africa finds that HIV-positive people take almost as much risk in their sexual behavior when they know their partner is HIV-negative or don't know their status, as when they know their partner is already infected. At the same time, HIV-positive partners who are on antiretroviral therapy and in intensive counseling do engage in less risky behavior.
WASHINGTON, April 25—Costa Rica was once regarded as the poorest of all the colonies of the Spanish Empire, sadly deficient in the silver and gold so coveted by conquistadors. As it turns out, all of the glittering gold and silver those explorers could have ever wanted was there all along, in the country's tropical rainforests—but in the form of two gloriously lustrous species of beetle.
BETHESDA, Md., April 25, 2011 – Cancer has a mighty big bag of tricks that it uses to evade the body's natural defense mechanisms and proliferate. Among those tricks is one that allows tumor cells to turn the intricate and extensive system of lymphatic vessels into something of a highway to metastasis. Yet research unveiled this week may aid in the development of therapeutics that will put the brakes on such cancer spread, and the researchers who completed the study say the findings may extend to other lymphatic disorders.
(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that human proteins with an affinity for Dermatan Sulfate (DS) have the propensity to become autoantigens. In a companion article, the researchers also found that DS physically interacts with dead cells and that the resulting DS–autoantigen complexes drive autoreactive B-1a cell responses and autoantibody production both in-vitro and in mouse models.
New research challenges the commonly-held view that cap and trade legislation failed because of the spending advantages of opponents and false balance in news coverage. The report, "Climate Shift: Clear Vision for the Next Decade of Public Debate," was released today by American University Professor Matthew Nisbet.
(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Harvard School of Public Health, have reported widespread and increasing medication use among pregnant women. The study, which currently appears online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, also found that medication use varied by socioeconomic status, maternal age, race/ethnicity and state of residence.