ScienceDaily: Top News

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• New insights into how immune system fights atherosclerosis
• Researchers discover genetic basis for eczema, new avenue to therapies
• Physicists take photonic topological insulators to the next level
• A new type of nerve cell found in the brain
• Targeting taste receptors in the gut may help fight obesity
• Targeted therapy proves effective against brain tumors in preclinical studies
• New pathways that drive metastatic prostate cancer identified
• Bats may hold clues to long life and disease resistance
• Liver mitochondria improve, increase after chronic alcohol feeding in mice
• Hawaiian Islands are dissolving from within, study says
• Suspend the crystals, and they grow better
• Young scientist helps identify cause of widespread eye disease
• Test to detect pre-menstrual syndrome
• May the force be with the atomic probe
• Cholesterol boosts the memory of the immune system
• Ups and downs of biodiversity after mass extinction
• Rebuilding blood vessels through gene therapy
• Cancer diagnosis later in life poses significant risk to offspring, study suggests
• Microevolutionary analysis of Clostridium difficile genomes to investigate transmission
• Genetic differences may influence sensitivity to pain, according to new study
• To outsmart malarial drug resistance, research team develops new whole-plant strategy
• New MRI analysis useful in predicting stroke complications caused by clot-busters
• Data storage: A fast and loose approach improves memory
• Nanotechnology: Spotting a molecular mix-up
• Discovery of Africa moth species important for agriculture, controlling invasive plants
• Protein kinase Akt identified as arbiter of cancer stem cell fate
• Genetically enhanced biofuel crops? Plants engineered to have increased levels of beta-1,4-galactan may enhance biofuel production
• Death of hemlock trees yields new life for hardwood trees, but at what cost to the ecosystem?
• Towards treatment for aortic aneurysms in the abdomen
• Pair of proteins gets brain cells into shape
• Can observations of a hardy weed help feed the world?
• Game-changing diagnostic and prognostic prostate cancer genetic tests developed
• Production of 5-aminovaleric and glutaric acid by metabolically engineered microorganism
• Italian wolves prefer pork to venison

New insights into how immune system fights atherosclerosis Posted: 21 Dec 2012 10:13 AM PST A new study has found that an important branch of the immune system, in reaction to the development of atherosclerotic lesions, mounts a surprisingly robust anti-inflammatory T cell response that helps prevent the disease from progressing. The findings may help inform the design of anti-atherosclerosis vaccines and other therapies that can take advantage of this aspect of the immune system.

Researchers discover genetic basis for eczema, new avenue to therapies Posted: 21 Dec 2012 10:12 AM PST Researchers have discovered an underlying genetic cause of atopic dermatitis, a type of eczema most common in infancy that also affects millions of adults around the world with dry, itchy and inflamed skin lesions. The findings could lead to new therapies.

Physicists take photonic topological insulators to the next level Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:35 AM PST Researchers have designed a simulation that for the first time emulates key properties of electronic topological insulators. Topological insulators, a state of matter that was only discovered in the past decade, may enable dramatic advances in quantum computing and spintronics.

A new type of nerve cell found in the brain Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:35 AM PST An international team of scientists has identified a previously unknown group of nerve cells in the brain. The nerve cells regulate cardiovascular functions such as heart rhythm and blood pressure. It is hoped that the discovery will be significant in the long term in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in humans.

Targeting taste receptors in the gut may help fight obesity Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:34 AM PST Despite more than 25 years of research on antiobesity drugs, few medications have shown long-term success. Now researchers say that targeting taste sensors in the gut may be a promising new strategy.

Targeted therapy proves effective against brain tumors in preclinical studies Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:33 AM PST Researchers have published the first evidence that inhibiting focal adhesion kinase with CFAK-Y15 can control the growth of glioblastoma tumors.

New pathways that drive metastatic prostate cancer identified Posted: 21 Dec 2012 09:33 AM PST Elevated levels of Cyclin D1b could function as a novel biomarker of lethal metastatic disease in prostate cancer patients.

Bats may hold clues to long life and disease resistance Posted: 21 Dec 2012 08:41 AM PST The genes of long-living and virus resistant bats may provide clues to the future treatment and prevention of infectious diseases and cancer in people, researchers have found.

Liver mitochondria improve, increase after chronic alcohol feeding in mice Posted: 21 Dec 2012 08:41 AM PST Scientists have identified mitochondria plasticity as an important mechanism of how the mouse liver adapts to alcohol and other toxins. Liver mitochondria in mice increase in number and improve metabolism after chronic feeding of alcohol. The increase in oxygen used to metabolize the alcohol may increase cellular damage over time, as free radicals are normal byproducts of cellular respiration.

Hawaiian Islands are dissolving from within, study says Posted: 21 Dec 2012 08:40 AM PST Most of us think of soil erosion as the primary force that levels mountains but geologists have found that Oahu's mountains are dissolving from within due to groundwater.

Suspend the crystals, and they grow better Posted: 21 Dec 2012 08:39 AM PST The idea is so simple you wonder why no one thought of it before. Crystals growing near the bottom of a beaker are subject to convection, but it is much quieter near the top of the beaker. In that case, why not just let them grow hanging in the beaker? Well, the idea was there for the taking, and that is exactly what researchers have done.

Young scientist helps identify cause of widespread eye disease Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:17 AM PST Branch retinal vein occlusion -- blockage of the blood vessels that channel blood from the retina -- is a common eye disease. A type of blood clot in the eye, the disease causes reduced vision, and people with the disease also typically have an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes and other serious conditions. A young scientist has made a significant contribution to finding the cause of the disease.

Test to detect pre-menstrual syndrome Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:16 AM PST Even though there are many women who do not notice any special symptoms, there are some whose pre-menstrual disorders hamper their everyday lives: depressive mood, anxiety, excessive emotional sensitivity, fatigue, lack of concentration, headache, etc. Nevertheless, unified criteria for defining and diagnosing this disease have yet to be agreed on and so it is difficult to develop suitable interventions to treat women suffering from these symptoms, researchers say.

May the force be with the atomic probe Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:16 AM PST A new models suggest devising means of probing a surface at a sub-micrometric level as this will help us understand how electrons' diffusion affects long-range attractive forces. Theoretical physicists created models to study the attractive forces affecting atoms located at a wide range of distances from a surface, in the hundreds of nanometers range.

Cholesterol boosts the memory of the immune system Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:16 AM PST The memory of the human immune system is critical for the development of vaccines. Only if the body recognizes a pathogen with which it has already come into contact in the case of a second infection, the immune system can combat it more effectively than it did the first time. Immunobiologists have succeeded in demonstrating how the memory of the immune system functions.

Ups and downs of biodiversity after mass extinction Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:16 AM PST The climate after the largest mass extinction so far 252 million years ago was cool, later very warm and then cool again. Thanks to the cooler temperatures, the diversity of marine fauna ballooned, as paleontologists have reconstructed. The warmer climate, coupled with a high carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere, initially gave rise to new, short-lived species. In the longer term, however, this climate change had an adverse effect on biodiversity and caused species to become extinct.

Rebuilding blood vessels through gene therapy Posted: 21 Dec 2012 05:14 AM PST Diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, a group of patients too ill for or not responding to other treatment options decided to take part in a clinical trial testing angiogenic gene therapy to help rebuild their damaged blood vessels.

Cancer diagnosis later in life poses significant risk to offspring, study suggests Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:57 PM PST Relatives of family members diagnosed with cancer are still at risk of the disease even if the diagnosis came at an older age, a new paper suggests.

Microevolutionary analysis of Clostridium difficile genomes to investigate transmission Posted: 20 Dec 2012 04:52 PM PST Over recent years, hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infections have been a significant problem in UK hospitals and globally. There have been concerns that infections may be due to transmission between symptomatic patients, either directly, or indirectly via hospital staff; these concerns were strengthened when enhanced infection control was introduced in England in 2007, and the incidence of C. difficile infection declined. A recent study took a genomics approach to assess the incidence of patient-to-patient transmission of C. difficile.

Genetic differences may influence sensitivity to pain, according to new study Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:18 PM PST A particular set of genes that interact with one another to regulate pain in humans has been identified. They found as well that differences in these genes may influence people's sensitivity to pain.

To outsmart malarial drug resistance, research team develops new whole-plant strategy Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:16 PM PST Malaria kills millions each year and gives medical researchers headaches because the mosquito-borne parasite that causes its deadliest form has developed resistance to every drug thrown at it. Now a molecular parasitologist reports a promising new low-cost therapy to outwit that resistance.

New MRI analysis useful in predicting stroke complications caused by clot-busters Posted: 20 Dec 2012 02:16 PM PST Researchers have developed a new way of looking at standard MRI scans that more accurately measures damage to the blood-brain barrier in stroke victims, a process they hope will lead to safer, more individualized treatment of blood clots in the brain and better outcomes.

Data storage: A fast and loose approach improves memory Posted: 20 Dec 2012 12:31 PM PST An unconventional design for a nanoscale memory device uses a freely moving mechanical shuttle to improve performance.

Nanotechnology: Spotting a molecular mix-up Posted: 20 Dec 2012 12:31 PM PST Information within the bonds of molecules known as super benzene oligomers pave the way for new types of quantum computers.

Discovery of Africa moth species important for agriculture, controlling invasive plants Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:41 AM PST In the rain forests of the Congo, where mammals and birds are hunted to near-extinction, an impenetrable sound of buzzing insects blankets the atmosphere. Because it is a fairly inaccessible region with political unrest, much of the Congo's insect biodiversity remains largely undiscovered. In a new monographic book, researchers provide insect biodiversity information for this area in Central Africa that increasingly undergoes habitat destruction.

Protein kinase Akt identified as arbiter of cancer stem cell fate Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:41 AM PST The protein kinase Akt is a key regulator of cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, survival, and death. New research shows that Akt may be the key as to why cancer stem cells are so hard for the body to get rid of.

Genetically enhanced biofuel crops? Plants engineered to have increased levels of beta-1,4-galactan may enhance biofuel production Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST Given that fermenting bacteria readily convert six-carbon sugars into the biofuel ethanol, it would be advantageous to generate biofuel crops with increased levels of these sugars. A new study identifies a family of enzymes responsible for the production of beta-1,4-galactan, a polymer of six-carbon sugars, in the model plant Arabidopsis. Increasing the activity of one of these enzymes dramatically enhances the production of beta-1,4-galactan without damaging the plant.

Death of hemlock trees yields new life for hardwood trees, but at what cost to the ecosystem? Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST Due to the introduction of exotic pests and pathogens, tree species are being eliminated one by one from forest ecosystems. In some cases, scientists can observe immediately how their loss affects the environment, whereas in other cases, creative puzzle solving and analysis reveal unexpected repercussions. In the case of the loss of the hemlock tree, a landscape and ecosystem ecologist uncovered a surprising benefit to hardwood species.

Towards treatment for aortic aneurysms in the abdomen Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST A researcher is looking closely at a molecule linked to aortic aneurysms in the abdomen, and her findings could lead to a treatment to reduce swelling of the aortic artery, which would be a life-saving treatment.

Pair of proteins gets brain cells into shape Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST Scientists have gained new insights into the early phase of the brain's development. Scientists have identified two proteins that control the formation of cell protuberances. The typical ramifications through which nerve cells receive and forward signals ultimately originate from these outgrowths.

Can observations of a hardy weed help feed the world? Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST Scientists have explored how the responses to environmental stresses by one small, genetically diverse plant species might illuminate possible approaches to addressing growing human demand for crop products amid decreasing resources.

Game-changing diagnostic and prognostic prostate cancer genetic tests developed Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST Researchers have developed potentially game-changing diagnostic and prognostic genetic tests shown to better predict prostate cancer survival outcomes and distinguish clinically-relevant cancers.

Production of 5-aminovaleric and glutaric acid by metabolically engineered microorganism Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:37 AM PST Scientists have applied a systems metabolic engineering approach to develop recombinant Escherichia coli for the production of 5-aminovaleric acid and glutaric acid, the promising C5 platform chemicals, by fermentation.

Italian wolves prefer pork to venison Posted: 20 Dec 2012 11:37 AM PST Some European wolves have a distinct preference for wild boar over other prey, according to new research. Scientists found that the diet of wolves was consistently dominated by the consumption of wild boar which accounted for about two thirds of total prey biomass, with roe deer accounting for around a third.

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