HOUSTON -- (April 28, 2010) -- Using a rare metal that's not utilized by nature, Rice University chemists have created a synthetic enzyme that could help unlock the identities of thousands of difficult-to-study proteins, including many that play key roles in cancer and other diseases.
The research was published online this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
April 29, 2010 – Chronic high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a serious health risk factor that afflicts more than 25% of all adults worldwide, but the molecular basis of the disease remains poorly understood. In a study published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have sequenced the genome of the spontaneously hypertensive rat, building a rich catalog of genetic variants that will help researchers to understand causes of the disease in humans.
Dominance Hierarchy of Auditory Spatial Cues in Barn Owls
Background: Barn owls integrate spatial information across frequency channels to localize sounds in space.
A daily dose of a specific form of vitamin E significantly improved the liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), according to a study funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health. Results were published April 28 online in the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition, Actos (pioglitazone), a drug used to treat diabetes, also improved many features of NASH but was associated with weight gain.
All the breast cancer risk assessment tools now available have serious limitations when it comes to discriminating between individuals who will and will not develop breast cancer, according to an article published online April 28 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
For the first time, scientists have discovered a way to predict whether women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) – the most common form of non-invasive breast cancer – are at risk of developing more invasive tumors in later years.
As a result of the finding, women with DCIS will have the opportunity to be more selective about their treatment, according to the scientists.
A binational team is studying whether running the Yuma Desalting Plant will affect Mexico's Cienega de Santa Clara, the largest wetland on the Colorado River Delta.
The cienega, a 15,000-acre wetland, is home to several endangered species and is a major stopover for birds migrating north and south along the Pacific Flyway.
The desalting plant, or YDP, is scheduled to begin its latest trial run May 3.
A post-mortem study of the hearts of 21 young people in Mexico City has found that the heart begins to show the adverse effects of air pollution at a young age and that tiny bits of inactivated bacteria that hitch a ride on pollutants may make the problem worse.
The study is part of a growing body of research showing that air pollution can damage the heart and lead to increased risk of heart disease and heart attacks. But this study contrasted two different areas of the same city, showing that different types of pollutants can produce different effects.
Aided by a new experimental model, scientists are a step closer to understanding how cystic fibrosis (CF) causes lung disease in people with the condition. The findings, published online April 28 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, could help improve treatments for lung disease, which causes most of the deaths and disability among people with CF.
LA JOLLA, CA – April 26, 2010 –A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has discovered the structure of a protein that pinches off tiny pouches from cells' outer membranes. Cells use these pouches, or vesicles, to carry nutrients and other essential substances, but many medicines also hitch a ride inside them.
Scientists are reporting what they say is compelling evidence that some powerful non-heritable, environmental factor likely plays a key role in the development of multiple sclerosis.
Their finding, the cover article in the April 29, 2010 issue of Nature, results from the most advanced genomic analysis ever conducted on identical, or "monozygote," twins where one sibling has multiple sclerosis and the other does not.
When the human body becomes infected with new influenza viruses, the immune system rapidly activates an inborn protective mechanism to inhibit the intruding pathogen. A protein known as Mx plays an important role in this process, keeping the spread of viruses in check. Exactly how Mx accomplishes this task was previously unknown.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – In studies on cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders and other degenerative conditions, some scientists are moving away from the "nature-versus-nurture" debate and are finding you're not a creature of either genetics or environment, but both – with enormous implications for a new approach to health.
A 95 million-year-old fossilized jaw discovered in Texas has been identified as a new genus and species of flying reptile, Aetodactylus halli.
Aetodactylus halli is a pterosaur, a group of flying reptiles commonly referred to as pterodactyls.