science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Πέμπτη 21 Φεβρουαρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Molecules Assemble in Water, Hint at Origins of Life
A diet of resistant starch helps the body resist colorectal cancer
Take the tubes but leave the ovaries: salpingectomy an evolving option for young women at high risk for gynecologic cancers
MIT researchers build Quad HD TV chip
It’s Not Just Amyloid: White Matter Hyperintensities and Alzheimer’s Disease

Molecules Assemble in Water, Hint at Origins of Life

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 10:00 AM PST

The base pairs that hold together two pieces of RNA, the older cousin of DNA, are some of the most important molecular interactions in living cells. Many scientists believe that these base pairs were part of life from the very beginning and that RNA was one of the first polymers of life. But there is a problem. The RNA bases don’t form base pairs in water unless they are connected to a polymer backbone, a trait that has baffled origin-of-life scientists for decades.

A diet of resistant starch helps the body resist colorectal cancer

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:50 AM PST

As the name suggests, you can’t digest resistant starch so it ends up in the bowel in pretty much the same form it entered your mouth. As unlovely as that seems, once in the bowel this resistant starch does some important things, including decreasing bowel pH and transit time, and increasing the production of short-chain fatty acids. These effects promote the growth of good bugs while keeping bad bugs at bay.

Take the tubes but leave the ovaries: salpingectomy an evolving option for young women at high risk for gynecologic cancers

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:43 AM PST

In women at high risk for ovarian cancer, the common prevention strategy is to remove fallopian tubes and ovaries as soon as the woman is done having a family – the sooner the better. But this initiates menopause and along with it higher risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, sexual side-effects, and perhaps even Alzheimer’s disease.

MIT researchers build Quad HD TV chip

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:35 AM PST

It took only a few years for high-definition televisions to make the transition from high-priced novelty to ubiquitous commodity — and they now seem to be heading for obsolescence just as quickly. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, several manufacturers debuted new ultrahigh-definition, or UHD, models (also known as 4K or Quad HD) with four times the resolution of today’s HD TVs.

It’s Not Just Amyloid: White Matter Hyperintensities and Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:30 AM PST

New findings by Columbia researchers suggest that along with amyloid deposits, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) may be a second necessary factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.