Science News SciGuru.com

Home cooking, traffic are sources of key air pollutants from China
Stem cells generated with Oct4 cannot form a complete organism
New Explanation for Key Step in Anthrax Infection Proposed by NIST and USAMRIID
Motion sickness and identification of key neurons
A new role for sodium in the brain
Unscrambling the genetics of the chicken's 'blue' egg
Fruit may reduce the risk of lethal aneurysm
How brain microcircuits integrate information from different senses
Study finds PHS gene that prevents wheat from sprouting; fewer crop losses anticipated
Neurologists Report Unique Form of Musical Hallucinations

Home cooking, traffic are sources of key air pollutants from China

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 07:40 AM PDT

Almost 80 percent of air pollution involving soot that spreads from China over large areas of East Asia — impacting human health and fostering global warming — comes from city traffic and other forms of fossil-fuel combustion, such as home cooking with coal briquettes. That’s the conclusion of a study in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology, which resolves long-standing questions about sources of air pollution responsible for Asia’s infamous atmospheric brown clouds.

Stem cells generated with Oct4 cannot form a complete organism

Posted: 21 Aug 2013 07:22 AM PDT

Somatic cells have already assumed specific tasks through differentiation, but they can be reprogrammed into “all rounders”: by using only four factors, a specialised somatic cell can thus regain its ability to form any type of cell (pluripotency). One of those factors is Oct4. Scientists from Hans Schöler’s team at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster have now been able to demonstrate that an egg cell does not require Oct4 to develop into a complete organism (totipotency).

New Explanation for Key Step in Anthrax Infection Proposed by NIST and USAMRIID

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 11:52 AM PDT

A new hypothesis concerning a crucial step in the anthrax infection process has been advanced by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Md.

Motion sickness and identification of key neurons

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:52 AM PDT

It happens to all of us at least once each winter in Montreal. You’re walking on the sidewalk and before you know it you are slipping on a patch of ice hidden under a dusting of snow. Sometimes you fall. Surprisingly often, you manage to recover your balance and walk away unscathed. McGill University researchers now understand what’s going on in the brain when you manage to recover your balance in these situations. And it is not just a matter of good luck.

A new role for sodium in the brain

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:41 AM PDT

Researchers at McGill University have found that sodium – the main chemical component in table salt – is a unique “on/off” switch for a major neurotransmitter receptor in the brain. This receptor, known as the kainate receptor, is fundamental for normal brain function and is implicated in numerous diseases, such as epilepsy and neuropathic pain.

Unscrambling the genetics of the chicken's 'blue' egg

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:18 AM PDT

They are the latest foodie fashion and look set to become big business in the baking aisles of all the major supermarkets – the blue egg produced by some chickens is prettier and some say tastier and cleaner-breaking than the traditional brown one – and now, thanks to scientists from The University of Nottingham, we know what caused the eggs in some breeds to turn this unusual colour.

Fruit may reduce the risk of lethal aneurysm

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:09 AM PDT

New research from Karolinska Institutet, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, reports that more than two daily servings of fruit may lower the risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

A high consumption of fruits may help to prevent many diseases, including abdominal aortic aneurysm, now shown by this Swedish study. Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a ballooning of the lower part of the aorta, the main blood vessel that supplies the body. It is relatively rare, but can be lethal. Older men, especially smokers, are at higher risk.

How brain microcircuits integrate information from different senses

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:01 AM PDT

A new publication in the top-ranked journal Neuron sheds new light onto the unknown processes on how the brain integrates the inputs from the different senses in the complex circuits formed by molecularly distinct types of nerve cells. The work was led by new Umeå University associate professor Paolo Medini.

Study finds PHS gene that prevents wheat from sprouting; fewer crop losses anticipated

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 07:54 AM PDT

A new study about the common problem of preharvest sprouting, or PHS, in wheat is nipping the crop-killing issue in the bud.

Researchers at Kansas State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, or USDA-ARS, found and cloned a gene in wheat named PHS that prevents the plant from preharvest sprouting. Preharvest sprouting happens when significant rain causes the wheat grain to germinate before harvest and results in significant crop losses.

Neurologists Report Unique Form of Musical Hallucinations

Posted: 20 Aug 2013 07:47 AM PDT

One night when she was trying to fall asleep, a 60-year-old woman suddenly began hearing music, as if a radio were playing at the back of her head.

The songs were popular tunes her husband recognized when she sang or hummed them. But she herself could not identify them.