Body | Page 4595 | Science Codex

Finding the constant in bacterial communication

DURHAM, N.C. – The Rosetta Stone of bacterial communication may have been found.

Although they have no sensory organs, bacteria can get a good idea about what's going on in their neighborhood and communicate with each other, mainly by secreting and taking in chemicals from their surrounding environment. Even though there are millions of different kinds of bacteria with their own ways of sensing the world around them, Duke University bioengineers believe they have found a principle common to all of them.

Pitt team first to profile genes in acutely ill idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients

PITTSBURGH, July 7 – The first findings from a one-of-a-kind, patient-driven effort to provide lung tissue for research might help doctors predict when patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are becoming dangerously ill and also could point the way to interventions that could sustain them until life-saving transplants can be performed.

HIV-1 destroys immune cells at breathtaking speed

DURHAM, N.C. – The virus that causes AIDS is classified as a lentivirus, a word derived from the Latin prefix, "lenti-," meaning "slow." But new research from the NIAID-funded Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology suggests that HIV-1 is anything but – moving at breathtaking speed in destroying and dysregulating the body's gut-based B-cell antibody-producing system.

Carbohydrate acts as tumor suppressor

LA JOLLA, Calif., July 6, 2009 – Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that specialized complex sugar molecules (glycans) that anchor cells into place act as tumor suppressors in breast and prostate cancers. These glycans play a critical role in cell adhesion in normal cells, and their decrease or loss leads to increased cell migration by invasive cancer cells and metastasis. An increase in expression of the enzyme that produces these glycans, β3GnT1, resulted in a significant reduction in tumor activity.

Understanding the anticancer effects of vitamin D3

The active form of vitamin D3 seems to have anticancer effects. To try and understand the mechanisms underlying these effects, researchers previously set out to identify genes whose expression in a human colon cancer cell line was altered by the active form of vitamin D3. One gene identified in this previous study was CST5, which is responsible for making the protein cystatin D.

Nitrogen research shows how some plants invade, take over others

Biologists know that when plants battle for space, often the actual battle is for getting the nitrogen.

Now, research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln gives important new information on how plants can change "nitrogen cycling" to gain nitrogen and how this allows plant species to invade and take over native plants.

First direct evidence of substantial fish consumption by early modern humans in China

Freshwater fish are an important part of the diet of many peoples around the world, but it has been unclear when fish became an important part of the year-round diet for early humans.

A new study by an international team of researchers, including Erik Trinkaus, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, shows it may have happened in China as far back as 40,000 years ago.

The study will be published online the week of July 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Study finds role for parasites in evolution of sex

What's so great about sex? From an evolutionary perspective, the answer is not as obvious as one might think. An article published in the July issue of the American Naturalist suggests that sex may have evolved in part as a defense against parasites.

Muscle damage may be present in some patients taking statins

Structural muscle damage may be present in patients who have statin-associated muscle complaints, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj-181-E11.pdf (www.cmaj.ca).

Long-term survival from abdominal aortic aneurysm repair improving

Long-term survival for patients undergoing surgical repair of intact abdominal aortic aneurysms has improved in recent decades, according to a Swedish study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a bulge in the main artery leading away from the heart (the aorta) that occurs below the kidneys (in the abdomen). If such a bulge bursts, hemorrhaging can occur within the abdominal cavity. These aneurysms can be monitored or corrected surgically while the bulge is intact, but require emergency surgery when ruptured.

Sugar substitute appears to prevent early-childhood cavities

Children given an oral syrup containing the naturally occurring sweetener xylitol may be less likely to develop decay in their baby teeth, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Family history predicts presence and course of psychiatric disorders

A family history of depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence or drug dependence is associated with the presence of each condition and also may predict its course and prognosis, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Ancient fossils shed light on anatomical changes accompanying evolution of first land vertebrates

Durham, NC -- Cartoon depictions of the first animals to emerge from the ocean and walk on land often show a simple fish with feet, venturing from water to land. But according to Jennifer Clack, a paleontologist at the University of Cambridge who has studied the fossils of these extinct creatures for more than two decades, the earliest land vertebrates — also known as tetrapods — were more diverse than we could possibly imagine.

Sheep shrink on Scottish isle as world warms, says Stanford biologist

Wild sheep on the Scottish island of Hirta have been diminishing in size for over 20 years and now researchers have puzzled out why: it's the heat. Like wool socks run through the dryer, the sheep have shrunk.

More precisely, the average size of Soay sheep on the island has declined about 5 percent in both body weight and stature since researchers began taking measurements of the herd in 1985.

The finding is the exact opposite of how researchers would have expected the sheep to respond to the consistent warming trend that global warming has brought to the island.

Scientists are learning more about big birds from feathers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Catching adult eagles for research purposes is no easy task, but a Purdue University researcher has found a way around the problem, and, in the process, gathered even more information about the birds without ever laying a hand on one.

"Many birds are small, easy to catch and abundant," said Andrew DeWoody, associate professor of forestry and natural resources. "With eagles, the effort can be 100 to 1,000 times greater than catching chickadees."