Atrazine, one of the world's most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc with the sex lives of adult male frogs, emasculating three-quarters of them and turning one in 10 into females, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, biologists.
The 75 percent that are chemically castrated are essentially "dead" because of their inability to reproduce in the wild, reports UC Berkeley's Tyrone B. Hayes, professor of integrative biology.
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Mar. 1, 2010) -- The use of recombinant proteins, antibodies, small molecules, or nucleic acids as affinity reagents is a simple yet powerful strategy to study the protein/bait interactions that drive biological processes. Analysis via mass spectrometry rather than western blotting extends the identification of interactors, often allowing detection of thousands of proteins from complex mixtures. But this increased sensitivity can lead to problems distinguishing specific interactions from background noise.
ORLANDO, FL - Researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new assessment tool to measure the severity of symptoms that can complicate stem cell transplantation. The tool assesses symptoms resulting from chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), and was presented with supporting research at the 2010 Bone and Marrow Transplant Tandem Meeting.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – If you aren't getting a good, consistent and regular night's sleep, a new study suggests it could reduce your ability to handle oxidative stress, cause impacts to your health, increase motor and neurological deterioration, speed aging and ultimately cut short your life.
That is, if your "biological clock" genes work the same way as those of a fruit fly. And they probably do.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A rare, ancient polar bear fossil discovered in Norway in 2004 is yielding a treasure trove of essential information about the age and evolutionary origins of the species whose future is now seen as synonymous with the devastation wrought by climate change.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – If the behavior of the seasonal form of the H1N1 influenza virus is any indication, scientists say that chances are good that most strains of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus will become resistant to Tamiflu, the main drug stockpiled for use against it.
Researchers at Ohio State University have traced the evolutionary history of the seasonal H1N1 influenza virus, which first infected humans during the 1918 pandemic. It is one of three seasonal influenza A viruses that commonly infect humans. The others are H1N2 and H3N2.
Because Kanzi, Panbanisha and Nyota were raised in a culture where pointing has a purpose – The Trust's hallmark Pan/Homo environment, where infant bonobos are reared with both bonobo (Pan paniscus) and human (Homo sapiens) influences – their pointing is as scientifically meaningful as their understanding of spoken English, Fields said.
A new tool can help physicians predict the likelihood of death or readmission to hospital for patients within 30 days of discharge from hospital, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091117.pdf.
A patient with a breast lump that has no features suggesting cancer should still be immediately evaluated, according to a primer for physicians in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj090416.pdf.
This article provides an "in office" approach for immediate evaluation of women who present to their family physician with a breast lump.
Canada is lagging behind many countries in the use of electronic health records and it is critical that the country's medical and political leaders set targets for universal adoption, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj092189.pdf.
Darkness can conceal identity and encourage moral transgressions; thus Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in "Worship" in The Conduct of Life (1860), "as gaslight is the best nocturnal police, so the universe protects itself by pitiless publicity." New research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that darkness may also induce a psychological feeling of illusory anonymity, just as children playing "hide and seek" will close their eyes and believe that other cannot see them, the experience of darkness, even one as subtle as wearing a pair of s
(Boston)- Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) researchers have found that sociodemographic characteristics are related to a patients' willingness to participate in cancer screenings. They found this was more important than both attitudinal barriers and medical facilitors. This study appears in the March issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association.
Amsterdam, March 1, 2010 – Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is often considered an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD). An analysis of genetic risk factors predisposing to MCI is critical for accessing individual predisposition and reliably evaluating the effectiveness of early treatment. In a groundbreaking study published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease investigators successfully used artificial neural networks (ANNs) to help understand the causal relation between multiple factors and the occurrence of neurodegenerative disorders.
Reston, Va.—An imaging technique combining ultrasound and specially modified contrast agents may allow researchers to noninvasively detect cancer and show its progression, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). The technique enables researchers to visualize tumor activity at the molecular level.
An asteroid strike may not only account for the demise of ocean and land life 65 million years ago, but the fireball's path and the resulting dust, darkness and toxic metal contamination may explain the geographic unevenness of extinctions and recovery, according to Penn State geoscientists.