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Stem cell scarring aids recovery from spinal cord injury
A Constellation in the Chaos of Cancer Chromosomes
A new way to monitor induced comas: Automated system could offer better control of patients’ brain states
Scientists Capture Most Detailed Picture Yet of Key AIDS Protein
New dark matter detector sends first data from gold mine 1.5km underground
Dogs Know a Left-sided Wag from a Right
Suzaku Study Points to Early Cosmic 'Seeding'
A high protein diet and meal replacements can reduce rebound weight gain
Shedding light on previously unknown facts about muscular dystrophy
Butterflies Show Origin of Species as an Evolutionary Process, Not a Single Event

Stem cell scarring aids recovery from spinal cord injury

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PDT

In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show that the scar tissue formed by stem cells after a spinal cord injury does not impair recovery; in fact, stem cell scarring confines the damage. The findings, which are published in the scientific journal Science, indicate that scar tissue prevents the lesion from expanding and helps injured nerve cells survive.

A Constellation in the Chaos of Cancer Chromosomes

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 07:12 AM PDT

New evidence suggests that aneuploidy patterns of chromosome deletion or amplification that are recurrent among tumors actually represent a driving force during tumor evolution and are very frequent in cancer.

A new way to monitor induced comas: Automated system could offer better control of patients’ brain states

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 02:00 PM PDT

After suffering a traumatic brain injury, patients are often placed in a coma to give the brain time to heal and allow dangerous swelling to dissipate. These comas, which are induced with anesthesia drugs, can last for days. During that time, nurses must closely monitor patients to make sure their brains are at the right level of sedation — a process that MIT’s Emery Brown describes as “totally inefficient.”

Scientists Capture Most Detailed Picture Yet of Key AIDS Protein

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:43 AM PDT

Collaborating scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Weill Cornell Medical College have determined the first atomic-level structure of the tripartite HIV envelope protein—long considered one of the most difficult targets in structural biology and of great value for medical science.

The new findings provide the most detailed picture yet of the AIDS-causing virus’s complex envelope, including sites that future vaccines will try to mimic to elicit a protective immune response.

New dark matter detector sends first data from gold mine 1.5km underground

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:36 AM PDT

Scientists testing the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment have reported promising scientific and technological results today.

They have set up the experiment to identify the nature of dark matter, an invisible substance that physicists believe is all around us, making up most of the matter in the universe, but that barely has any effect on our every-day lives.

Dogs Know a Left-sided Wag from a Right

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

You might think a wagging tail is a wagging tail, but for dogs there is more to it than that. Dogs recognize and respond differently when their fellow canines wag to the right than they do when they wag to the left. The findings reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on October 31 show that dogs, like humans, have asymmetrically organized brains, with the left and right sides playing different roles.

Suzaku Study Points to Early Cosmic 'Seeding'

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 07:58 AM PDT

Most of the universe's heavy elements, including the iron central to life itself, formed early in cosmic history and spread throughout the universe, according to a new study of the Perseus Galaxy Cluster using Japan's Suzaku satellite.

Between 2009 and 2011, researchers from the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), jointly run by Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, used Suzaku's unique capabilities to map the distribution of iron throughout the Perseus Galaxy Cluster.

A high protein diet and meal replacements can reduce rebound weight gain

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 07:39 AM PDT

New research shows that there are several effective strategies available to people wanting to avoid regaining weight after a successful diet. Anti-obesity drugs, meal replacements and a high protein diet can help weight loss maintenance, according to a meta-analysis published in the scientific periodical The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Shedding light on previously unknown facts about muscular dystrophy

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 07:29 AM PDT

Recent research from University of Copenhagen sheds light on previously unknown facts about muscular dystrophy at molecular level. The breakthrough is hoped to improve future diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Researchers have developed a method that will make it easier to map the proteins that have an important kind of sugar monomer, mannose, attached. This is an important finding, as mannose deficiency can lead to diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

The research sheds light on previously unknown facts about muscular dystrophy at molecular level.

Butterflies Show Origin of Species as an Evolutionary Process, Not a Single Event

Posted: 30 Oct 2013 09:40 AM PDT

The evolution of new species might not be as hard as it seems, even when diverging populations remain in contact and continue to produce offspring. That's the conclusion of studies, reported in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports on October 31st, that examine the full genome sequences of 32 Heliconius butterflies from the Central American rain forest, representing five different species.