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Blinding a CYCLOPS
Black belts’ white matter shows how a powerful punch comes from the brain
Quantum State of a Single Atomic Nucleus Can Be Controlled and Determined by Simple Electrodes
Antimicrobials triclosan and triclocarban from personal care products found in statewide survey of Minnesota’s rivers and lakes
When it comes to food, chimps only think of themselves
Tripping the Switches on Brain Growth to Treat Depression
By studying animal health, researchers find improved ways for developing, testing cancer therapies
Rating of ocean health shows “room for improvement”
Study shows heroin, morphine addiction can be blocked
Flexible snake armour: Systems in engineering with minimized abrasion
Noise down, neuron signals up
BCG vaccine International study suggests benefits of TB vaccine have been underestimated

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 06:06 AM PDT

Targeted therapies are changing cancer treatment. Designed to wield laser-like precision, they focus on overactive proteins produced by mutated genes, destroying cancer cells but sparing normal cells. Most of the cancer drugs created in the last decade follow that model, exploiting knowledge of genetic mutations to stop cancer’s progression rather than aiming a fusillade of chemotherapy agents against all fast-growing cells, normal or cancerous.

Black belts’ white matter shows how a powerful punch comes from the brain

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 05:59 AM PDT

Brain scans have revealed distinctive features in the brain structure of karate experts, which could be linked to their ability to punch powerfully from close range.

Researchers from UCL and Imperial College London found that differences in the microstructure of connections in the brain were correlated with how black belts and novices performed in a test of punching ability.

Quantum State of a Single Atomic Nucleus Can Be Controlled and Determined by Simple Electrodes

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 05:18 AM PDT

Quantum computers promise to reach computation speeds far beyond that of today’s computers. As they would use quantum effects, however, they would also be susceptible to external interferences. Information flow into and out of the system is a critical point. Researchers from KIT with partners from Grenoble and Strasbourg have now read out the quantum state of an atom directly by using electrodes. In the Nature journal, it is reported about the stable interface between classical and quantum world.

Antimicrobials triclosan and triclocarban from personal care products found in statewide survey of Minnesota’s rivers and lakes

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 11:46 AM PDT

A science team from Arizona State University, in collaboration with federal partners, has completed the first statewide analysis of freshwater bodies in Minnesota, finding widespread evidence of the presence of active ingredients of personal care products in Minnesota lakes, streams and rivers.

When it comes to food, chimps only think of themselves

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 11:38 AM PDT

A sense of fairness is an important part of human behaviour, yet a research team involving Queen Mary, University of London found it did not evolve from our closest living relatives.

The study, published in the journal Biology Letters today (15 August) tested whether our great ape relatives, the chimpanzees and bonobos, have a sense of fairness like humans.

The scientists, including Professor Keith Jensen, from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, put the apes through a series of ultimatum games.

Tripping the Switches on Brain Growth to Treat Depression

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 11:24 AM PDT

Depression takes a substantial toll on brain health. Brain imaging and post-mortem studies provide evidence that the wealth of connections in the brain are reduced in individuals with depression, with the result of impaired functional connections between key brain centers involved in mood regulation. Glial cells are one of the cell types that appear to be particularly reduced when analyzing post-mortem brain tissue from people who had depression. Glial cells support the growth and function of nerve cells and their connections.

By studying animal health, researchers find improved ways for developing, testing cancer therapies

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

A group of Kansas State University researchers has made valuable findings in the search for cancer's cure.

Rating of ocean health shows “room for improvement”

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 11:03 AM PDT

An international group of more than 30 researchers today gave a score to every coastal nation on their contribution to the health of the world’s oceans, which showed the United States as being slightly above average, and identified food provision, tourism and recreation as leading concerns.

The analysis, published in the journal Nature, scored each nation on a 0-100 scale in 10 separate categories such as clean water, biodiversity, food provision, carbon storage, coastal protection, coastal economies and others.

Study shows heroin, morphine addiction can be blocked

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 09:22 AM PDT

In a major breakthrough, an international team of scientists from the University of Adelaide and University of Colorado Boulder has proven that addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked, while at the same time increasing pain relief.

The team has discovered the key mechanism in the body’s immune system that amplifies addiction to opioid drugs. Laboratory studies involving rats have shown that the drug (+)-naloxone will selectively block the immune-addiction response.

Flexible snake armour: Systems in engineering with minimized abrasion

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 08:21 AM PDT

Snakes are highly specialized legless animals, which have evolved around 150 Million years ago. Although without extremities their body is exposed to constant friction forces. The PhD-Student Marie-Christin Klein and Professor Stanislav Gorb of Kiel University found out how snake skin is adapted to legless locomotion. The skin is stiff and hard on the outside and becomes soft and flexible towards the inside, independent of habitat.

Noise down, neuron signals up

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 08:12 AM PDT

A new model of background noise present in the nervous system could help better understand neuronal signalling delay in response to a stimulus

BCG vaccine International study suggests benefits of TB vaccine have been underestimated

Posted: 15 Aug 2012 07:54 AM PDT

The BCG vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis (TB) has a bigger role in protecting children than previously thought, according to an international study led by investigators at Imperial College London and published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. BCG was understood to prevent severe illness from tuberculosis, but not to prevent infection with TB bacteria. Now data collected from five countries in Europe suggest that the vaccine is also effective at preventing infection.