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The dance of the chaperones: Max Planck scientists identify key player of protein folding
Abscopal Effect in a Melanoma Patient - Local Radiation Kills Distant Tumors
New test can better predict successful IVF embryos, scientists say
Why do plant roots grow down and not up?
Microneedle vaccine patch boosts flu protection through robust skin cell response
New species of deep-sea catshark described from the Galapagos
NIST measurements may help optimize organic solar cells
Hot Meets Cold at New Deep-Sea Ecosystem: "Hydrothermal Seep"
Aggressive Traumatic Brain Injury Care Improves Outcomes, Reduces Long-Term Costs, Penn Study Shows
15-year study: When it comes to creating wetlands, mother nature is in charge
Nanotrees Harvest the Sun’s Energy to Turn Water Into Hydrogen Fuel
Scripps Research Discoveries Lead to Newly Approved Drug for Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Blocking natural, marijuana-like chemical in the brain boosts fat burning
Research finds manganese concentrations higher in residential neighborhoods than industrial sites, levels vary by region

The dance of the chaperones: Max Planck scientists identify key player of protein folding

Posted: 08 Mar 2012 05:49 AM PST

Proteins are the molecular building blocks and machinery of cells and involved in practically all biological processes. To fulfil their tasks, they need to be folded into a complicated three-dimensional structure. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, have now analysed one of the key players of this folding process: the molecular chaperone DnaK.

Abscopal Effect in a Melanoma Patient - Local Radiation Kills Distant Tumors

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 07:22 PM PST

Scientists now demonstrate immunologic correlates of the abscopal effect in a patient with melanoma. In a new study the researchers showed that combining targeted radiation therapy with immunotherapy (ipilimumab), fostered a strong immune response and a favorable clinical outcome in a patient with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. The size of both the tumor that was treated with radiation and distant tumors in the patient were reduced.

New test can better predict successful IVF embryos, scientists say

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 06:30 PM PST

Scientists at University College Dublin have discovered a new way of measuring the potential success rate of an embryo before it is transferred back into the womb during in vitrofertilisation (IVF).

According to the findings published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility, the fluid within a woman’s ovaries that surrounds the egg or oocyte holds metabolic information that can improve predictions on which embryo is more likely to lead to pregnancy.

Why do plant roots grow down and not up?

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 12:39 PM PST

It is essential for roots to grow down so they can explore the soil and maximise their water uptake. But how they know that is a question that has fascinated scientists since Darwin. Now scientists led by The University of Nottingham have found the answer.

Microneedle vaccine patch boosts flu protection through robust skin cell response

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 12:30 PM PST

Recent research found that microneedle vaccine patches are more effective at delivering protection against influenza virus in mice than subcutaneous or intramuscular inoculation. A new, detailed analysis of the early immune responses by the Emory and Georgia Tech research team helps explain why the skin is such fertile ground for vaccination with these tiny, virtually painless microneedles.

The research was published in the January/February issue of the online journal MBio.

New species of deep-sea catshark described from the Galapagos

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 10:56 AM PST

Scientists conducting deep-sea research in the Galapagos have described a new species of catshark, Bythaelurus giddingsi, in the March 5 issue of the journal Zootaxa. The new shark is approximately a foot long and has a chocolate-brown coloration with pale, irregularly distributed spots on its body. The spotted patterns appear to be unique to each individual. John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences collected the first specimens of this new catshark while diving to depths of 1,400 - 1,900 feet aboard the Johnson Sea-Link submersible.

NIST measurements may help optimize organic solar cells

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 10:46 AM PST

Organic solar cells may be a step closer to market because of measurements taken at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where a team of scientists has developed a better fundamental understanding of how to optimize the cells' performance.

Hot Meets Cold at New Deep-Sea Ecosystem: "Hydrothermal Seep"

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 09:31 AM PST

Decades ago, marine scientists made a startling discovery in the deep sea. They found environments known as hydrothermal vents, where hot water surges from the seafloor and life thrives without sunlight.

Then they found equally unique, sunless habitats in cold areas where methane rises from seeps on the ocean bottom.

Could vents and seeps co-exist in the deep, happily living side-by-side?

No one thought so. Until now.

Aggressive Traumatic Brain Injury Care Improves Outcomes, Reduces Long-Term Costs, Penn Study Shows

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 09:05 AM PST

Aggressive treatment for severe traumatic brain injuries costs more than routine care, yet yields significantly better outcomes, improved quality of life, and lower long term care costs, according to a new study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. For example, in 20 year old traumatic brain injury survivor, aggressive care leads to significantly improved outcomes and costs nearly $100,000 less compared to routine care. Across age groups, the costs of aggressive care were outweighed by the beneficial outcomes and long-term cost savings.

15-year study: When it comes to creating wetlands, mother nature is in charge

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 09:01 AM PST

Fifteen years of studying two experimental wetlands has convinced Bill Mitsch that turning the reins over to Mother Nature makes the most sense when it comes to this area of ecological restoration.

Mitsch, an environment and natural resources professor at Ohio State University, has led the effort to compare the behavior of two experimental marshes on campus – one that was planted in 1994 with wetland vegetation and another that was left to colonize plant and animal life on its own.

Nanotrees Harvest the Sun’s Energy to Turn Water Into Hydrogen Fuel

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 08:41 AM PST

University of California, San Diego electrical engineers are building a forest of tiny nanowire trees in order to cleanly capture solar energy without using fossil fuels and harvest it for hydrogen fuel generation. Reporting in the journal Nanoscale, the team said nanowires, which are made from abundant natural materials like silicon and zinc oxide, also offer a cheap way to deliver hydrogen fuel on a mass scale.

Scripps Research Discoveries Lead to Newly Approved Drug for Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 08:34 AM PST

Scientific advances at The Scripps Research Institute have led to a new drug Surfaxin® (lucinactant), approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat infant respiratory distress syndrome.

"I am excited that our scientific findings will help save lives," said Charles Cochrane, MD, professor emeritus at Scripps Research. “Many years of work in our basic research laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute made this landmark development possible.”

Blocking natural, marijuana-like chemical in the brain boosts fat burning

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 08:24 AM PST

Stop exercising, eat as much as you want … and still lose weight? It sounds impossible, but UC Irvine and Italian researchers have found that by blocking a natural, marijuana-like chemical regulating energy metabolism, this can happen, at least in the lab.

Research finds manganese concentrations higher in residential neighborhoods than industrial sites, levels vary by region

Posted: 07 Mar 2012 08:19 AM PST

In residential neighborhoods near manufacturing industries, a breath of air may be more hazardous than refreshing depending on the location, finds a recent study involving a Kansas State University geologist.