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Diseased trees new source of climate gas
Yale study reveals new family tree for ray-finned fish
Researchers Demonstrate Control of Devastating Cassava Virus in Africa
Strategies converge on target in rare leukemia
Using Millions of Years of Cell Evolution in the Fight Against Cancer
Division of labor offers insight into the evolution of multicellular life
Investigators Identify New Gene Linked to PTSD
Penn Study Finds with Vacant Lots Greened, Residents Feel Safer

Diseased trees new source of climate gas

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 12:32 PM PDT

Diseased trees in forests may be a significant new source of methane that causes climate change, according to researchers at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in Geophysical Research Letters.

Sixty trees sampled at Yale Myers Forest in northeastern Connecticut contained concentrations of methane that were as high as 80,000 times ambient levels. Normal air concentrations are less than 2 parts per million, but the Yale researchers found average levels of 15,000 parts per million inside trees.

Yale study reveals new family tree for ray-finned fish

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 12:27 PM PDT

The most common lineages of fish found today in oceans, lakes, and rivers evolved about the same time as mammals and birds, a new Yale University-led study shows.

The comparative genetic analysis of more than 200 fish species, reported the week of Aug. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gave an earlier than expected evolutionary birthday to well-known teleost — or ray-finned — fish such as salmon, bass, or tuna.

Researchers Demonstrate Control of Devastating Cassava Virus in Africa

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 11:52 AM PDT

An international research collaboration recently demonstrated progress in protecting cassava against cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), a serious virus disease, in a confined field trial in Uganda using an RNA interference technology. The field trial was planted in November 2010 following approval by the National Biosafety Committee of Uganda. The plants were harvested in November 2011 and results were published in the August 1, 2012 issue of the journal Molecular Plant Pathology . These results point researchers in the right direction as they develop virus-resistant cas

Strategies converge on target in rare leukemia

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 11:43 AM PDT

For most cells, more than two copies of the entire genome can be a telltale sign of cancer. But for megakaryocytes – bone marrow cells that can give rise to thousands of platelets – having several genomic copies is normal. In their healthy state, these cells can harbor as many as 64 copies of the full complement of human DNA, a state known as polyploidy. When the normal development of megakaryocytes goes awry, they can lose this unique feature and start down the path toward a rare form of cancer known as acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL).

Using Millions of Years of Cell Evolution in the Fight Against Cancer

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 11:24 AM PDT

As the medical community continues to make positive strides in personalized cancer therapy, scientists know some dead ends are unavoidable. Drugs that target specific genes in cancerous cells are effective, but not all proteins are targetable. In fact, it has been estimated that as few as 10 to 15 percent of human proteins are potentially targetable by drugs. For this reason, Georgia Tech researchers are focusing on ways to fight cancer by attacking defective genes before they are able to make proteins.

Division of labor offers insight into the evolution of multicellular life

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:17 AM PDT

Dividing tasks among different individuals is a more efficient way to get things done, whether you are an ant, a honeybee or a human.

A new study by researchers at Michigan State University’s BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action suggests that this efficiency may also explain a key transition in evolutionary history, from single-celled to multi-celled organisms.

Investigators Identify New Gene Linked to PTSD

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:10 AM PDT

Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have identified a new gene linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings, published online in Molecular Psychiatry, indicate that a gene known to play a role in protecting brain cells from the damaging effects of stress may also be involved in the development of PTSD.

Penn Study Finds with Vacant Lots Greened, Residents Feel Safer

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 10:06 AM PDT

Greening vacant lots may make neighborhood residents feel safer and may be associated with reductions in certain gun crimes, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Results show that residents living near greened vacant lots feel safer than those near non-greened sites. Additionally, researchers noted that incidents of police-reported crimes may be reduced after greening.