science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τρίτη 10 Ιουλίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Copper making salmon prone to predators
Federally Funded Clinics for Low-Income Patients as Effective as Private Practices on Most Quality Measure
Handlebar Level Can Affect Sexual Health of Female Cyclists
New insights into Taspase1 function: Exploiting "molecular glues" to target disease relevant proteolytic enzymes
Long-term hormone treatment increases synapses in rat prefrontal cortex
Investing in Karma by Doing Good Deeds
Corals on ocean-side of reef are most susceptible to recent warming

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 06:16 AM PDT

Minute amounts of copper from brake linings and mining operations can affect salmon to where they are easily eaten by predators, says a Washington State University researcher. Jenifer McIntyre found the metal affects salmon's sense of smell so much that they won't detect a compound that ordinarily alerts them to be still and wary.

Federally Funded Clinics for Low-Income Patients as Effective as Private Practices on Most Quality Measure

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 06:11 AM PDT

The federal government has committed $11 billion to expand the operating capacity of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), which receive federal funding and enhanced Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, and “look-alike” clinics that receive enhanced reimbursement but no federal grants. These clinics, which serve primarily the poor and uninsured, are expected to be part of the solution to anticipated primary care shortages, as up to 32 million currently uninsured people begin to seek health care as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Handlebar Level Can Affect Sexual Health of Female Cyclists

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 05:28 AM PDT

A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that handlebar position is associated with changes in genital sensation in female cyclists.

Led by Marsha K. Guess, MD, MS, of Yale University School of Medicine, researchers evaluated bicycle set-up in terms of the relationship between the seat and the handlebars. 48 competitive women cyclists were studied.

New insights into Taspase1 function: Exploiting "molecular glues" to target disease relevant proteolytic enzymes

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 05:07 AM PDT

Scientists at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany identified a novel strategy to target the oncologically relevant protein-cleaving enzyme Taspase1. Taspase1 levels are not only elevated in cancer cells of patients with head and neck tumors and other solid malignancies but the enzyme is also critical for the development of leukemias. Central to this concept is the approach to inhibit the enzyme’s activity by 'gluing together' individual Taspase1 molecules. The results of a study undertaken by Professor Dr.

Long-term hormone treatment increases synapses in rat prefrontal cortex

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 12:59 PM PDT

A new study of aged female rats found that long-term treatment with estrogen and a synthetic progesterone known as MPA increased levels of a protein marker of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to suffer significant losses in aging.

Investing in Karma by Doing Good Deeds

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 11:57 AM PDT

For so many important outcomes in life – applying for jobs, waiting for medical test results – there comes a point when you just have to sit back and hope for the best. But that doesn’t mean we always behave that way. New research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that even when an outcome is out of our control we often act as though we can still get on the good side of fate by doing good deeds.

Corals on ocean-side of reef are most susceptible to recent warming

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Marine scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have linked the decline in growth of Caribbean forereef corals — due to recent warming — to long-term trends in seawater temperature experienced by these corals located on the ocean-side of the reef. The research was conducted on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System in southern Belize.