Tiny organisms that covered the planet more than 250 million years ago appear to be a species of ancient fungus that thrived in dead wood, according to new research published today (Thursday 1 October 2009) in the journal Geology.
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Biologists have genetically mapped the sex chromosomes of several species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi, East Africa, and identified a mechanism by which new sex chromosomes may evolve.
In research published in this week's issue of the journal Science, biologists Thomas Kocher, Reade Roberts and Jennifer Ser of the University of Maryland describe the genetic basis for two co-existing systems of sexual determination in cichlid fish from Lake Malawi.
Aggressive African bees were accidentally released in Brazil in 1957. As "killer bees" spread northward, David Roubik, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, began a 17-year study that revealed that Africanized bees caused less damage to native bees than changes in the weather and may have increased the availability of their food plants.
Nearly 17 years after plucking the fossilized tooth of a new human ancestor from a pebbly desert in Ethiopia, an international team of scientists today (Thursday, Oct. 1) announced their reconstruction of a partial skeleton of the hominid, Ardipithecus ramidus, which they say revolutionizes our understanding of the earliest phase of human evolution.
TORONTO, Ont., October 1, 2009 — People taking one of several drugs commonly prescribed to treat Alzheimer's disease are more likely to be hospitalized for a potentially serious condition called bradycardia than patients not taking these medications.
Researchers from St. Michael's Hospital and Ontario's Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) analyzed data from 1.4 million people aged 67 and older to see whether the risk for bradycardia was higher for those taking drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors.
MAYWOOD, Il. -- A Loyola University Health System study has found that high-risk surgery patients experienced significantly shorter hospital stays when they were seen by general internists trained in managing medical complications in surgical patients.
Patients who underwent high-risk orthopaedic surgeries experienced shorter stays when their care was co-managed by hospitalists and their surgeons. And, the study found, patients reported they were treated by doctors with more courtesy and respect.
AMES, Iowa - Researchers at Iowa State University have identified an enzyme that helps make tuberculosis resistant to a human's natural defense system. Researchers have also found a method to possibly neutralize that enzyme, which may someday lead to a cure for tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is a contagious disease that is on the rise, killing 1.5 to 2 million people worldwide annually.
Infecting mosquitoes with a bacterial parasite could help prevent the spread of lymphatic filariasis, one of the major neglected tropical diseases of the developing world, according to research published today in the journal Science.
For many years, the mosquitoes that transmit malaria to humans were seen as public enemies, and campaigns to eradicate the disease focused on eliminating the mosquitoes. But, as a study published today in Science shows, the mosquitoes can also be our allies in the fight against this common foe, which kills almost one million people a year and heavily impairs the economies of affected countries.
Scientists have managed to extend the lifespan of mice by up to a fifth and reduce the number of age-related diseases the animals suffer. The research, which involved blocking a key molecular pathway, mimics the health benefits of reducing calorie intake and suggests that drug treatments for ageing and age-related diseases are feasible.
University of Maryland biologists have genetically mapped the sex chromosomes of several species of cichlid (pronounced "sick-lid") fish from Lake Malawi, East Africa, and identified a mechanism by which new sex chromosomes may evolve. In research published in the journal Science (October 1, 2009), Professor Thomas D. Kocher, Department of Biology, College of Chemical and Life Sciences; Reade Roberts, post-doctoral associate; and Jennifer Ser, research associate, describe the genetic basis for two co-existing systems of sexual determination in cichlid fish from Lake Malawi.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that a program of pelvic floor muscle exercises, combined with pelvic health education, can be an effective way to manage urinary incontinence in elderly women.
The study, involving 65 women between the ages of 67 and 95, is being presented this week at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society in San Diego.
BERKELEY, CA — Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the role played by the least-understood part of a first-responder molecule that rushes in to bind and repair breaks in DNA strands, a process that helps people avoid cancer.
Flies fed an "anti-Atkins" low protein diet live longer because their mitochondria function better. The research, done at the Buck Institute for Age Research, shows that the molecular mechanisms responsible for the lifespan extension in the flies have important implications for human aging and diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cancer.
Human umbilical cord blood cells may be far more versatile than previous research has indicated. Two independent studies, published by Cell Press in the October 2nd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, report that they have successfully reprogrammed human umbilical cord blood cells into cells with properties similar to human embryonic stem cells. The results are significant as they identify cord blood as a convenient source for generating cells with a theoretically limitless potential.