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Glycogen accumulation in neurons causes brain damage and shortens the lives of flies and mice
Early discovery of Alzheimer's improves treatment
Evidence of Familial Vulnerability for Epilepsy and Psychosis
Jurassic pain: Giant “flea-like” insects plagued dinosaurs
Marine food chain becomes clearer with new revelations about prey distribution
Anti-HIV drug use during pregnancy does not affect infant size, birth weight
Homeland Defense: Novel Radiation Surveillance Technology Could Help Thwart Nuclear Terrorism
Congo’s female western lowland gorillas seek out bigger mates to father their offspring
How does the immune system fight off threats to the brain? New research yields fresh insight
Researchers find potential 'dark side' to diets high in beta-carotene
Protein needed for the beneficial effects of red wine ingredient resveratrol confirmed
Sports and Energy Drinks Responsible for Irreversible Damage to Teeth
Risks of Mixing Drugs and Herbal Supplements: What Doctors and Patients Need to Know
Single nanomaterial yields many laser colors
Study identifies gene associated with male infertility

Glycogen accumulation in neurons causes brain damage and shortens the lives of flies and mice

Posted: 02 May 2012 05:10 AM PDT

Collaborative research by groups headed by scientists Joan J. Guinovart and Marco Milán at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has revealed conclusive evidence about the harmful effects of the accumulation of glucose chains (glycogen) in fly and mouse neurons. These two animal models will allow scientists to address the genes involved in this harmful process and to find pharmacological solutions that allow disintegration of the accumulations or limitation of glycogen production.

Early discovery of Alzheimer's improves treatment

Posted: 02 May 2012 04:44 AM PDT

The combination of an ageing population and the new methods available for early detection means that all the more people will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease as the years progress. One of the world's largest Alzheimer's conferences is to be held this year in Stockholm.

Evidence of Familial Vulnerability for Epilepsy and Psychosis

Posted: 02 May 2012 04:40 AM PDT

Although the two disorders may seem dissimilar, epilepsy and psychosis are associated. Individuals with epilepsy are more likely to have schizophrenia, and a family history of epilepsy is a risk factor for psychosis. It is not known whether the converse is true, i.e., whether a family history of psychosis is a risk factor for epilepsy.

Jurassic pain: Giant “flea-like” insects plagued dinosaurs

Posted: 01 May 2012 08:25 PM PDT

It takes a gutsy insect to sneak up on a huge dinosaur while it sleeps, crawl onto its soft underbelly and give it a bite that might have felt like a needle going in – but giant “flea-like” animals, possibly the oldest of their type ever discovered, probably did just that.

And a few actually lived through the experience, based on the discovery by Chinese scientists of remarkable fossils of these creatures, just announced in Current Biology, a professional journal.

Marine food chain becomes clearer with new revelations about prey distribution

Posted: 01 May 2012 08:17 PM PDT

A new study has found that each step of the marine food chain is clearly controlled by the trophic level below it – and the driving factor influencing that relationship is not the abundance of prey, but how that prey is distributed.

The importance of the spatial pattern of resources – sometimes called “patchiness” – is gaining new appreciation from ecologists, who are finding the overall abundance of food less important than its density and ease of access to it.

Anti-HIV drug use during pregnancy does not affect infant size, birth weight

Posted: 01 May 2012 08:01 PM PDT

Infants born to women who used the anti-HIV drug tenofovir as part of an anti-HIV drug regimen during pregnancy do not weigh less at birth and are not of shorter length than infants born to women who used anti-HIV drug regimens that do not include tenofovir during pregnancy, according to findings from a National Institutes of Health network study.

Homeland Defense: Novel Radiation Surveillance Technology Could Help Thwart Nuclear Terrorism

Posted: 01 May 2012 11:56 AM PDT

Among terrorism scenarios that raise the most concern are attacks involving nuclear devices or materials. For that reason, technology that can effectively detect smuggled radioactive materials is considered vital to U.S. security.

Congo’s female western lowland gorillas seek out bigger mates to father their offspring

Posted: 01 May 2012 11:33 AM PDT

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but even for gorillas, some traits stand out. A new study conducted in the rainforests of the Republic or Congo shows that female western lowland gorillas seek out bigger mates to father their offspring.

Conservationists with WCS and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology spent 12 years studying gorilla mating choices in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. Their findings illuminate an important factor in the evolution of great apes.

How does the immune system fight off threats to the brain? New research yields fresh insight

Posted: 01 May 2012 09:48 AM PDT

Finding of an amplification defense mechanism may help research on brain infections, tumors & autoimmune attacks – and settle a debate in immunology. Like a police officer calling for backup while also keeping a strong hold on a suspected criminal, immune cells in the brain take a two-tier approach to fighting off a threat, new research from the University of Michigan Health System finds.

Researchers find potential 'dark side' to diets high in beta-carotene

Posted: 01 May 2012 09:29 AM PDT

New research suggests that there could be health hazards associated with consuming excessive amounts of beta-carotene.

This antioxidant is a naturally occurring pigment that gives color to foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes and certain greens. It also converts to vitamin A, and foods and supplements are the only sources for this essential nutrient.

Protein needed for the beneficial effects of red wine ingredient resveratrol confirmed

Posted: 01 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Scientists now demonstrate that a protein called Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is essential for the beneficial effects of resveratrol, a red wine ingredient. This important finding gives a new twist to a recent report from another group that suggested only an indirect relationship between resveratrol and SIRT1.

Previous studies have shown that resveratrol enhances the activity of mitochondria, the energy factory of cells. However, the molecular intermediate in this function remained controversial. Hopefully this new finding settles the controversy.

Sports and Energy Drinks Responsible for Irreversible Damage to Teeth

Posted: 01 May 2012 08:27 AM PDT

A recent study published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry, found that an alarming increase in the consumption of sports and energy drinks, especially among adolescents, is causing irreversible damage to teeth—specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks ero

Risks of Mixing Drugs and Herbal Supplements: What Doctors and Patients Need to Know

Posted: 01 May 2012 08:20 AM PDT

Herbal, dietary, and energy or nutritional supplements may offer specific health benefits, but they can also have harmful and even life-threatening effects when combined with commonly used medications. Clinicians need to be aware of and educate their patients about the potential risks of mixing supplements and therapeutic agents, since their interaction can diminish or increase drug levels. This timely topic is explored in a provocative article in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Single nanomaterial yields many laser colors

Posted: 01 May 2012 08:01 AM PDT

Engineers at Brown University and QD Vision Inc. have created nanoscale single crystals that can produce the red, green, or blue laser light needed in digital displays. The size determines color, but all the pyramid-shaped quantum dots are made the same way of the same elements. In experiments, light amplification required much less power than previous attempts at the technology. The team’s prototypes are the first lasers of their kind.

Study identifies gene associated with male infertility

Posted: 01 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT

Fifteen of every 100 couples in the world who want to have children find it difficult or impossible to conceive. In about half those couples, the male partner is infertile. Now researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis have found a possible genetic cause for some cases of male infertility.