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New weapon against highly resistant microbes within grasp

An active compound from fungi and lower animals may well be suitable as an effective weapon against dangerous bacteria. We're talking about plectasin, a small protein molecule that can even destroy highly resistant bacteria . Researchers at the Universities of Bonn, Utrecht, Aalborg and of the Danish company Novozymes AS have shed light on how the substance does this. The authors see plectasin as a promising lead compound for new antibiotics.

These results will be published in Science journal on 28th May.

Solar panels can attract breeding water insects

Solar panels can attract breeding water insects

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Solar power might be nature's most plentiful and benign source of energy, but shiny black solar cells can lure water insects away from critical breeding areas, a Michigan State University scientist and colleagues warn.

Shape matters: The corkscrew twist of H. pylori enables it to 'set up shop' in the stomach

SEATTLE – The bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which lives in the human stomach and is associated with ulcers and gastric cancer, is shaped like a corkscrew, or helix. For years researchers have hypothesized that the bacterium's twisty shape is what enables it to survive – and thrive – within the stomach's acid-drenched environment, but until now they have had no proof.

Pitt researchers discover gene mutation linked to lymphatic dysfunction

PITTSBURGH, May 27 – A genetic mutation for inherited lymphedema associated with lymphatic function has been discovered that could help create new treatments for the condition, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Their findings are reported in the June issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Scaffold gradients: Finding the right environment for developing cells

Finding the right environment for developing cells

NIST scientists gain new 'core' understanding of nanoparticles

NIST scientists gain new 'core' understanding of nanoparticles

While attempting to solve one mystery about iron oxide-based nanoparticles, a research team working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) stumbled upon another one. But once its implications are understood, their discovery* may give nanotechnologists a new and useful tool.

Oil spill threatens toothy marine predator that is cultural and historic icon

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The BP oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico threatens the existence of a critically endangered sawfish and its relative that recently has been proposed to join it as the only two marine fish in United States waters to receive such federal protection, says a University of Florida researcher.

The largetooth sawfish, a popular curio item known for its sawlike snout, was proposed as a federally endangered species on May 7, less than three weeks after massive amounts of oil started gushing into Gulf waters, said George Burgess, a UF ichthyologist and sawfish expert.

Researchers validate a new test for assessing children's and teenagers' fitness to prevent morbidity

Antiviral therapy during compensated cirrhosis most cost-effective approach

Researchers at the UCLA Medical Center found that antiviral therapy during compensated cirrhosis, when compared with all other strategies, is the most cost-effective approach to treating patients with advanced liver disease due to hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Full details appear in the June issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

A Dictyostelium discoideum mystery solved - why starving slime molds survive and get others to die

The title sounds like a crime novel on a dime-store shelf. But "An Invitation to Die" is quite literal in its meaning. And the prime suspect is very, very small.

Rice University evolutionary biologists reported in a paper published this week that the first cells to starve in a slime mold seem to have an advantage that not only helps them survive to reproduce, but also pushes those that keep on eating into sacrificing themselves for the common good.

Alcohol-related death rates much higher in deprived areas of England and Wales

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have found that there are substantially increased death rates from alcohol-related diseases in socioeconomically deprived areas of England and Wales.

U of M study definitively links indoor tanning to melanoma

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (May 27, 2010) – New research from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health and Masonic Cancer Center definitively links the use of indoor tanning devices to increased risk of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

This research study involving 2,268 Minnesotans is the largest of its kind. It found:

Color-coded tracking method helps scientists analyze outcomes of newly transplanted tissue

BOSTON – A group of "color-coded" laboratory mice are providing researchers with a novel way of tracking T-cells, enabling them to visualize and monitor the cellular immune responses of transplanted tissue in real time. The new imaging system is described in the June issue of Nature Medicine, which appears on-line this week.

Ultrasound could boost tissue implant success

London, UK (May 27, 2010) – When we think of ultrasound, it's usually imaging the inside of the body that springs to mind. However, while ultrasound imaging typically requires frequencies that are 50 to 2500 times higher than those human ear can detect, recent increasing evidence indicates that ultrasound at lower frequency can also be used to help certain body tissues to heal and regenerate.

Henry Ford Hospital study: Fewer infections with new heart-pump implant

A state-of-the-art heart pump recently approved for use in end-stage cardiac patients has a significantly lower risk for infection than an earlier model of the device, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.