science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τρίτη 9 Ιουλίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Researchers identify potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis
DNA study reveals clues to human, ape evolution
Study shows “low oxygen dead zone” impacts Bay fishes
Cosmochemist discovers potential solution to meteorite mystery
A light transistor: Transistor that functions with light instead of electrical current
Natural selection in the time of cholera

Researchers identify potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis

Posted: 09 Jul 2013 06:11 AM PDT

Scientists studying cancer development have known about micronuclei for some time. These erratic, small extra nuclei, which contain fragments, or whole chromosomes that were not incorporated into daughter cells after cell division, are associated with specific forms of cancer and are predictive of poorer prognosis.

DNA study reveals clues to human, ape evolution

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 12:09 PM PDT

A massive effort to catalog the genetic variation in humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans has helped researchers piece together a model of great ape history spanning 15 million years.

The new database of great ape genetic diversity, the most comprehensive yet, elucidates the evolution and population histories of great apes from Africa and Indonesia. The resource likely will aid conservation efforts that strive to preserve their natural genetic diversity, the researchers report online July 3 in Nature.

Study shows “low oxygen dead zone” impacts Bay fishes

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 10:06 AM PDT

A 10-year study of Chesapeake Bay fishes by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science provides the first quantitative evidence on a bay-wide scale that low-oxygen “dead zones” are impacting the distribution and abundance of “demersal” fishes—those that live and feed near the Bay bottom.

The affected species—which include Atlantic croaker, white perch, spot, striped bass, and summer flounder—are a key part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and support important commercial and recreational fisheries.

Cosmochemist discovers potential solution to meteorite mystery

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 09:51 AM PDT

A normally staid University of Chicago scientist has stunned many of his colleagues with his radical solution to a 135-year-old mystery in cosmochemistry. “I’m a fairly sober guy. People didn’t know what to think all of a sudden,” said Lawrence Grossman, professor in geophysical sciences.

A light transistor: Transistor that functions with light instead of electrical current

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 08:51 AM PDT

Light can oscillate in different directions, as we can see in the 3D cinema: Each lens of the glasses only allows light of a particular oscillation direction to pass through. However, changing the polarization direction of light without a large part of it being lost is difficult. The TU Vienna has now managed this feat, using a type of light – terahertz radiation – that is of particular technological importance. An electrical field applied to an ultra-thin layer of material can turn the polarisation of the beam as required.

Natural selection in the time of cholera

Posted: 08 Jul 2013 07:16 AM PDT

Cholera is a brutal and deadly disease that has dogged humanity since the beginning of recorded history. One of the earliest basic biomedical texts, written in Sanskrit, describes a disease that sounds eerily similar to modern day cholera, which today afflicts 3 to 5 million people every year, resulting in more than 100,000 deaths.