Body | Page 3719 | Science Codex

The eyes have it: Dinosaurs hunted by night

The movie Jurassic Park got one thing right: Those velociraptors hunted by night while the big plant-eaters browsed around the clock, according to a new study of the eyes of fossil animals. The study will be published online April 14 in the journal Science.

This conclusion overturns the conventional wisdom that dinosaurs were active by day while early mammals scurried around at night, said Ryosuke Motani, professor of geology at UC Davis and co-author of the paper.

"It was a surprise, but it makes sense," Motani said.

New DNA nanoforms take shape

Once the desired shape has been framed by a length of single-stranded DNA, short DNA "staple strands" integrate the structure and act as the glue to hold the desired shape together. The nucleotide sequence of the scaffold strand is composed in such a way that it runs through every helix in the design, like a serpentine thread knitting together a patchwork of fabric. Further reinforcement is provided by the staple strands, which are also pre-designed to attach to desired regions of the finished structure, through base pairing.

Researchers gain new clues about how to prevent aortic aneurysm in patients with Marfan syndrome

Five years ago, patients with Marfan syndrome received new hope when laboratory studies suggested that losartan, an FDA-approved drug used to treat high blood pressure, might prevent the potentially deadly enlargement of the aorta that the syndrome can cause. Now, researchers have a clearer picture of the cellular signals that contribute to progression of aortic aneurysm in Marfan syndrome and how losartan alters those signals. The new information is expected to help guide treatment decisions, as well as efforts to develop therapies that might offer benefits that losartan does not.

Hopkins research sheds light on aortic aneurysm growth, treatment in Marfan syndrome

The Johns Hopkins researchers who first showed that the commonly used blood pressure drug losartan may help prevent life-threatening aneurysms of the aorta in patients with Marfan syndrome have now discovered new clues about the precise mechanism behind the drug's protective effects.

The team's findings not only answer many lingering questions — including how exactly the drug works and whether other classes of blood-pressure medication may work as well as or better than losartan — but also identify new targets for treating Marfan and other connective-tissue disorders.

Study finds diet plus exercise is more effective for weight loss than either method alone

SEATTLE – Everyone knows that eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet and getting regular exercise helps shed pounds, but a new study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that when it comes to losing weight and body fat, diet and exercise are most effective when done together as compared to either strategy alone.

The results of this randomized trial, led by Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Prevention Center and a member of the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division, were published online April 14 in Obesity.

Integrative medicine, spirituality improves outcomes in urban adolescents with asthma

CINCINNATI—A new study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that urban adolescents with asthma may experience worse outcomes when not using spiritual coping and often use complementary and alternative medicine, or integrative medicine, like prayer or relaxation, to manage symptoms.

These findings, being presented at the National Conference in Pediatric Psychology in San Antonio April14-16, could help physicians and other providers gain insight into additional ways to help pediatric populations self-manage chronic illnesses.

New study identifies possible cause of salt-induced hypertension

New research from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Kent State University shows that salt intake raises blood pressure because it makes it harder for the cardiovascular system to simultaneously juggle the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature.

Recent census in war-torn DR Congo finds gorillas have survived, even increased

A census team led by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Insitut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo today announced some encouraging news from a region plagued by warfare and insecurity: a small population of Grauer's gorillas has not only survived, but also increased since the last census.

Study suggests enzyme crucial to DNA replication may provide potent anti-cancer drug target

LA JOLLA, CA – April 14, 2011 – An enzyme essential for DNA replication and repair in humans works in a way that might be exploited as anti-cancer therapy, say researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The research, published in the April 15, 2011 issue of the journal Cell, focused on a member of a group of enzymes called flap endonucleases, which are essential to the life of a cell. The findings show new, clearly defined crystal structures of the enzyme FEN1 in action—demonstrating it functions in a way opposite to accepted dogma.

Heart needs work after heart attack: U of A study challenges the notion that the heart must rest

(Edmonton) A new study by researchers at the University of Alberta shows that for best results in stable patients after a heart attack, early exercise as well as prolonged exercise is the key to the best outcomes.

A sleep strategy commonly used by night nurses throws off their circadian clocks

As many as 25 percent of hospital nurses go without sleep for at least 24 hours in order to adjust to working on the night shift, which is the least effective strategy for adapting their internal, circadian clocks to a night-time schedule.

Eyes of rock let chitons see predators

DURHAM, N.C. – Using eyes made of a calcium carbonate crystal, a simple mollusk may have evolved enough vision to spot potential predators, scientists say.

The three-inch-long mollusks, called chitons, have hundreds of eye-like structures with lenses made of aragonite, a type of rock. It's the first time scientists have found an animal that makes eye lenses from aragonite and not the rock's close cousin, calcite.

Researchers confirm key feature of age-related miscarriages and birth defects

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University researchers have confirmed a critical step in cell division that results in age-related miscarriages and birth defects, including Down syndrome.

Hopkins team discovers how DNA changes

Using human kidney cells and brain tissue from adult mice, Johns Hopkins scientists have uncovered the sequence of steps that makes normally stable DNA undergo the crucial chemical changes implicated in cancers, psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. The process may also be involved in learning and memory, the researchers say.

A report on their study appears online April 14 in Cell.

Heart needs work after heart attack: U of A Study challenges the notion that the heart must rest

(Edmonton) A new study by researchers at the University of Alberta shows that for best results in stable patients after heart attack, early exercise as well as prolonged exercise is the key to the best outcomes.