science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τρίτη 23 Ιουλίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Researchers find binding sites in amyloid fibrils that may lead to Alzheimer's disease therapies
100K Genome Project unveils 20 more foodborne pathogen genomes
Failure to Destroy Toxic Protein, Not Buildup of Protein Itself, Contributes to Progression of Huntington’s Disease
We don’t like unfamiliar music, even though we claim we do, study finds
Teen eating disorders increase suicide risk
New study finds “nighttime heat waves” increasing in Pacific Northwest
Could turning on a gene prevent diabetes?

Researchers find binding sites in amyloid fibrils that may lead to Alzheimer's disease therapies

Posted: 22 Jul 2013 03:19 PM PDT

Scientists at Rice University and the University of Miami have figured out how synthetic molecules designed at Rice latch onto the amyloid peptide fibrils thought to be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. Their discovery could point the way toward therapies to halt or even reverse the insidious disease.

100K Genome Project unveils 20 more foodborne pathogen genomes

Posted: 22 Jul 2013 03:03 PM PDT

The 100K Genome Project, led by the University of California, Davis, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and Agilent Technologies, today announced that it has added 20 newly completed genome sequences of foodborne disease-causing microorganisms to its public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

The genomes were determined using Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) Sequencing technology from Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.

Failure to Destroy Toxic Protein, Not Buildup of Protein Itself, Contributes to Progression of Huntington’s Disease

Posted: 22 Jul 2013 02:55 PM PDT

Names forever linked to what they represent: diseases that ravage the brain’s neurons and leave entire regions to wither and die. These and other so-called neurodegenerative diseases are often associated with the buildup of toxic proteins that lead to neuronal death.

We don’t like unfamiliar music, even though we claim we do, study finds

Posted: 22 Jul 2013 02:47 PM PDT

Spotify. Pandora. iTunes. YouTube.

We are constantly bombarded with a seemingly limitless amount of new music in our daily lives. But why do we keep coming back to that one song or album we couldn’t get enough of in college?

New research from Washington University’s Olin Business School shows that although consumers say they prefer to listen to unfamiliar music, their choices actually belie that preference.

Teen eating disorders increase suicide risk

Posted: 22 Jul 2013 09:50 AM PDT

Is binge eating a tell-tale sign of suicidal thoughts? According to a new study of African American girls, by Dr. Rashelle Musci and colleagues from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University in the US, those who experience depressive and anxious symptoms are often dissatisfied with their bodies and more likely to display binge eating behaviors. These behaviors put them at higher risk for turning their emotions inward, in other words, displaying internalizing symptoms such as suicide. The study is published online in Springer's journal, Prevention Science.

New study finds “nighttime heat waves” increasing in Pacific Northwest

Posted: 22 Jul 2013 09:43 AM PDT

A new study has found that heat waves are increasing in the western portions of the Pacific Northwest, but not the kind most people envision, with scorching hot days of temperatures reaching triple digits.

These heat waves occur at night.

Could turning on a gene prevent diabetes?

Posted: 22 Jul 2013 09:33 AM PDT

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 % of cases of diabetes around the world, afflicting 2.5 million Canadians and costing over 15 billion dollars a year in Canada. It is a severe health condition which makes body cells incapable of taking up and using sugar. Dr. Alexey Pshezhetsky of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center, affiliated with the University of Montreal, has discovered that the resistance to insulin seen in type 2 diabetics is caused partly by the lack of a protein that has not previously been associated with diabetes.