Bethesda, MD–Stress can take a daily toll on us that has broad physical and psychological implications. Science has long documented the effect of extreme stress, such as war, injury or traumatic grief on humans. Typically, such situations cause victims to decrease their food intake and body weight. Recent studies, however, tend to suggest that social stress--public speaking, tests, job and relationship pressures--may have the opposite effect--over-eating and weight gain. With the rise of obesity rates, science has increasingly focused on its causes and effects--including stress.
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Rosemont, Ill. – Significant differences in knee alignment and muscle activation exist between men and women while kicking a soccer ball, according to a study published this month in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Data reveals that males activate certain hip and leg muscles more than females during the motion of the instep and side-foot kicks – the most common soccer kicks – which may help explain why female players are more than twice as likely as males to sustain an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury.
Drug resistant bacteria are a problem in many environments, especially healthcare institutions. While the ways in which these cells become resistant are understood at the cellular level, until now, the bacteria's survival strategies at the population level remained unclear.
STANFORD, Calif. - "There's an app for that." To a cadre of scientists, the familiar phrase will soon mean they can enter a specific RNA from baker's yeast into their iPhone and see a depiction of its two-dimensional structure - thanks to a new technology developed by scientists at Stanford University.
In the war against antibiotics, bacteria aren't selfish. According to a new report from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers, a handful of resistant pathogens can protect an entire colony.
Prevailing wisdom held that antibiotic resistance works only on an individual level: a bacterium acquires a genetic mutation that confers protection against a drug, allowing it to survive and reproduce. Eventually, as vulnerable bacteria die, the mutant's stronger progeny repopulate the colony.
BOSTON (9/1/10) – Researchers at Boston University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard have discovered that charitable behavior exists in one of the most microscopic forms of life—bacteria. Their findings appear in the Sept. 2 issue of Nature.
New findings show the value of genetic studies across human populations and the value of the latest DNA sequencing technologies to interrogate genetic variation. The results, from the latest phase of the international HapMap Project, are reported in Nature.
An international consortium today published a third-generation map of human genetic variation, called the HapMap, which includes data from an additional seven global populations, increasing the total number to 11 populations. The improved resolution will help researchers interpret current genome studies aimed at finding common and rarer genetic variants associated with complex diseases.
Lizards are an important indicator species for understanding the condition of specific ecosystems. Their body weight is a crucial index for evaluating species health, but lizards are seldom weighed, perhaps due in part to the recurring problem of spontaneous tail loss when lizards are in stress.
Scientists are reporting new evidence that the fat tissue in those spare tires and lower belly pooches — far from being a dormant storage depot for surplus calories — is an active organ that sends chemical signals to other parts of the body, perhaps increasing the risk of heart attacks, cancer, and other diseases. They are reporting discovery of 20 new hormones and other substances not previously known to be secreted into the blood by human fat cells and verification that fat secretes dozens of hormones and other chemical messengers.
Health conscious consumers who hesitate at the price of fresh blueberries and blackberries, fruits renowned for high levels of healthful antioxidants, now have an economical alternative, scientists reported a meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It is black rice, one variety of which got the moniker "Forbidden Rice" in ancient China because nobles commandeered every grain for themselves and forbade the common people from eating it.
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Wed., Sept. 1, 2010) -- A cell devotes a significant amount of effort to maintaining the stability of its genome, preventing the sorts of chromosomal rearrangements characteristic of many cancers. Assays that measure the rate of gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) are needed in order to understand the individual genes and the different pathways that suppress genomic instability.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When breast cancer surgeons regularly confer with plastic surgeons prior to surgery, their patients are more likely to have reconstruction, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
WASHINGTON, DC – September 1, 2010 -- Bacteria tend to be more frugal when constructing proteins for use outside of the cell versus internally, saving their energy for synthesizing compounds that can be recycled, according to research published in the current issue of the online journal mBio™.