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• Scientists uncover vast differences in Earth's polar ocean microbial communities
• Researchers discover regenerated lizard tails are different from originals
• Nobel Prize in Physics for 2012 to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland
• Adaptable Button Mushroom Serves Up Biomass-Degrading Genes Critical to Managing the Planet’s Carbon Stores
• Poinsettias cultivars can take cooler temperatures, save growers
• Study Tests Potential New Drug to Reduce Pain and Symptoms of Endometriosis
• Researchers probe protein linked to hereditary spastic paraplegia
• Poorer Lung Health Leads to Age-Related Changes in Brain Function
• Fossil of ancient spider attack only one of its type ever discovered
• Bitter Taste Receptors Regulate the Upper Respiratory Defense System, Penn Medicine Study Reveals
• Genome-wide study identifies 8 new susceptibility loci for atopic dermatitis
• The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka
• New technique reveals lithium in action

Scientists uncover vast differences in Earth's polar ocean microbial communities Posted: 09 Oct 2012 07:53 AM PDT An international team of scientists, including a University of Michigan graduate student, has demonstrated that a clear difference exists between the marine microbial communities in the Southern and Arctic oceans, contributing to a better understanding of the biodiversity of marine life at the poles. read more

Researchers discover regenerated lizard tails are different from originals Posted: 09 Oct 2012 07:39 AM PDT Just because a lizard can grow back its tail, doesn’t mean it will be exactly the same. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona examined the anatomical and microscopic makeup of regenerated lizard tails and discovered that the new tails are quite different from the original ones. The findings are published in a pair of articles featured in a special October edition of the journal The Anatomical Record. read more

Nobel Prize in Physics for 2012 to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland Posted: 09 Oct 2012 07:30 AM PDT The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2012 to Serge Haroche Collège de France and Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France and David J. Wineland National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and University of Colorado Boulder, CO, USA for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems. read more

Adaptable Button Mushroom Serves Up Biomass-Degrading Genes Critical to Managing the Planet’s Carbon Stores Posted: 08 Oct 2012 03:52 PM PDT The button mushroom occupies a prominent place in our diet and in the grocery store where it boasts a tasty multibillion-dollar niche, while in nature, Agaricus bisporus is known to decay leaf matter on the forest floor. read more

Poinsettias cultivars can take cooler temperatures, save growers Posted: 08 Oct 2012 03:35 PM PDT Growers who carefully select their poinsettia cultivars can lower their greenhouse thermostats in mid-October to save on energy costs and produce high-quality plants, according to a Purdue University and University of New Hampshire study. read more

Study Tests Potential New Drug to Reduce Pain and Symptoms of Endometriosis Posted: 08 Oct 2012 01:24 PM PDT According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), endometriosis, a gynecological disorder in which cells from the uterus lining grow in other areas of the body, is the number one reason for a hysterectomy in women ages 18-35.  Current treatment options for endometriosis are severely limited by side effects of existing medications and surgical options have more risks.  A nationwide clinical trial is testing an investigational drug as a potential new option for patients with moderate to severe pain from this disease.  read more

Researchers probe protein linked to hereditary spastic paraplegia Posted: 08 Oct 2012 01:17 PM PDT Rice University biochemist James McNew has gotten used to doing research on the fly, but he no longer has to do it on a shoestring thanks to a new grant from the National Institutes of Health. The new four-year $1.4 million R01 grant is for the study of a protein called atlastin, a key player in the genetic disorder hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). read more

Poorer Lung Health Leads to Age-Related Changes in Brain Function Posted: 08 Oct 2012 12:07 PM PDT Keeping the lungs healthy could be an important way to retain thinking functions that relate to problem-solving and processing speed in one’s later years, new research suggests. While these two types of “fluid” cognitive functions were influenced by reduced pulmonary function, a drop in lung health did not appear to impair memory or lead to any significant loss of stored knowledge, the study showed. read more

Fossil of ancient spider attack only one of its type ever discovered Posted: 08 Oct 2012 12:03 PM PDT Researchers have found what they say is the only fossil ever discovered of a spider attack on prey caught in its web – a 100 million-year-old snapshot of an engagement frozen in time. The extraordinarily rare fossils are in a piece of amber that preserved this event in remarkable detail, an action that took place in the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar in the Early Cretaceous between 97-110 million years ago, almost certainly with dinosaurs wandering nearby. read more

Bitter Taste Receptors Regulate the Upper Respiratory Defense System, Penn Medicine Study Reveals Posted: 08 Oct 2012 11:17 AM PDT A new study from a team of researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Monell Chemical Senses Center, and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, reveals that a person’s ability to taste certain bitter flavors is directly related to their ability to fight off upper respiratory tract infections, specifically chronic sinus infections.  The new research is published in the latest edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. read more

Genome-wide study identifies 8 new susceptibility loci for atopic dermatitis Posted: 08 Oct 2012 11:07 AM PDT Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM) and their colleagues have identified 8 new loci associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis in the Japanese population. The findings, which appear in the journal Nature Genetics, advance our understanding of the genetic basis of the skin disorder, which affects millions of children and adults around the world. read more

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka Posted: 08 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT The Nobel Prize recognizes two scientists who discovered that mature, specialised cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop. read more

New technique reveals lithium in action Posted: 08 Oct 2012 07:37 AM PDT Exactly what goes inside advanced lithium-air batteries as they charge and discharge has always been impossible to observe directly. Now, a new technique developed by MIT researchers promises to change that, allowing study of this electrochemical activity as it happens. The research has just been published in the journal Scientific Reports. read more

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