science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Πέμπτη 13 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Unraveling the Causal Basis of Speech Errors in Aphasia
Was life inevitable? New paper pieces together metabolism’s beginnings
Emerging virus in raccoons may provide cancer clues
Study paves way to design drugs aimed at multiple protein targets at once

Unraveling the Causal Basis of Speech Errors in Aphasia

Posted: 13 Dec 2012 03:53 AM PST

The consequences of stroke are highly variable depending on what part of the brain is affected and what functions that brain area serves. It has long been known that some individuals who experience stroke on the left side of the brain lose normal speech, a condition known as “aphasia”. However, explanations are lacking for why the symptoms of aphasia differ so markedly from one patient to another.

Was life inevitable? New paper pieces together metabolism’s beginnings

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:46 AM PST

Describing how living organisms emerged from Earth's abiotic chemistry has remained a conundrum for scientists, in part because any credible explanation for such a complex process must draw from fields spanning the reaches of science.

Emerging virus in raccoons may provide cancer clues

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:39 AM PST

Rare brain tumors emerging among raccoons in Northern California and Oregon may be linked to a previously unidentified virus discovered by a team of researchers, led by scientists from the University of California, Davis. Their findings, published today in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, could lead to a better understanding of how viruses can cause cancer in animals and humans.

Study paves way to design drugs aimed at multiple protein targets at once

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 10:21 AM PST

An international research collaboration led by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the University of Dundee, in the U.K., have developed a way to efficiently and effectively make designer drugs that hit multiple protein targets at once.

This accomplishment, described in the Dec. 13, 2012 issue of the journal Nature, may prove invaluable for developing drugs to treat many common human diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, cancer, schizophrenia, and bi-polar disorder.