AFRICAN national parks like Masai Mara and the Serengeti have seen populations of large mammals decline by up to 59 per cent, according to a study published in Biological Conservation.
The parks are each visited by thousands of tourists each year hoping to spot Africa's 'Big Five' – lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino – but the research shows that urgent efforts are needed to secure the future of the parks and their role in tourism.
A study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Labor Economics finds that highly skilled temporary immigrants boost technological innovation in the U.S. without displacing U.S.-born workers in the process.
Dr Andrew Johnson is speaking today (12 July) at the UK National Stem Cell Network annual conference. He and his team from the University of Nottingham have been using a Mexican aquatic salamander called an axolotl to study the evolution and genetics of stem cells - research that supports the development of regenerative medicine to treat the consequences of disease and injury using stem cell therapies.
New research being presented today (12 July) at the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting in Nottingham shows that adding fat to mouse stem cells grown in the lab affects their response to the signals that push them to develop into one or other of the main types of fat storage cells – subcutaneous (under the skin) or visceral (around the organs).
LONGYEARBYEN, NORWAY (11 July 2010)—A new collection of some of North America's hottest foods—an eclectic range of New World chili peppers—were delivered to the cool Arctic Circle environs of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week, where their exotic tongue-scorching qualities can be kept safe for centuries.
Farmed fish are an increasingly important food source, with a global harvest now at 110 million tons and growing at more than 8 percent a year. But epidemics of infectious disease threaten this vital industry, including one of its most popular products: farmed Atlantic salmon. Perhaps even more worrisome: these infections can spread to wild fish coming in close proximity to marine pens and fish escaping from them.
Australian and Vietnamese researchers have estimated the current prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Vietnam, and have developed a simple tool for identifying individuals at high risk.
Often triggered by sedentary lifestyles and high-fat or high-sugar diets, diabetes is a condition where the body becomes less able to make and use insulin, a hormone that reduces sugar in the blood by moving it into cells for energy use.
DURHAM, N.C. -- Vaccine manufacturers in India and other developing countries may be able to produce a lower-cost HPV vaccine in spite of the complicated array of patent protections on the technology, say researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy. At a cost of at least $300 for the three-dose regimen, the blockbuster HPV vaccines, including Gardasil® from Merck and Cervarix® from GlaxoSmithKline, are some of the most expensive ever introduced.
WALNUT CREEK, CA—On the long and difficult road toward a carbon-neutral source of transportation fuels, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing a diversified approach. This effort involves exploring a range of potential new fuel sources in nature: from plants that may serve as cellulosic feedstocks—fast-growing trees and perennial grasses on land—to oil-producing organisms in aquatic and other environments, such as algae and bacteria.
CORAL GABLES, FL (July 9, 2010) —Defeating the flu is challenging because the virus responsible for the disease undergoes frequent changes of its genetic code, making it difficult for scientists to manufacture effective vaccines for the seasonal flu in a timely manner. Now, a University of Miami (UM) computer scientist, Dimitris Papamichail, and a team of researchers from Stony Brook University have developed a rapid and effective approach to produce vaccines for new strains of influenza viruses.
The application of nanotechnology in the field of drug delivery has attracted much attention in recent years. In cancer research, nanotechnology holds great promise for the development of targeted, localized delivery of anticancer drugs, in which only cancer cells are affected.
Such targeted-therapy methods would represent a major advance over current chemotherapy, in which anticancer drugs are distributed throughout the body, attacking healthy cells along with cancer cells and causing a number of adverse side effects.
Los Baños, Philippines – Farmers in the "texting capital" of the world—the Philippines—will soon have nutrient management advice tailored specifically to their rice crops delivered to their mobile phones.
The brand-new Jean Jeener Bio-NMR Center at the VIB Department of Molecular and Cellular Interactions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, has already played a role in a scientific breakthrough that made it into the leading science journal Cell. Thanks to NMR technology, it is possible to determine the dynamic structure of proteins. So Flemish scientists put it to use to find out how the activity of certain proteins involved in the stress physiology of bacteria is regulated. This is a first in every way.
Proteins, major players in the body
URBANA – With corn being a critical U.S. crop expected to help feed livestock and people around the world and also be a source for the production of clean energy, plant breeders are continually seeking ways to make the plants more productive. To better understand the role corn roots play in this regard, an agricultural engineer and a crop scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have teamed up to examine corn root complexity and how it impacts corn development.
Hamilton, ON (July 9, 2010) – An ultra-low-molecular-weight heparin called semuloparin has been found to reduce the incidence of venous thromboembolism in orthopedic surgery patients in a large clinical program being lead by a steering committee chaired by McMaster University professor Dr. Alexander Turpie.