Science News SciGuru.com

Possible Connection between Air Pollution and Tuberculosis Susceptibility
Direct transfer of plant genes from chloroplasts into the cell nucleus
Caltech biologists discover that many nematode species make the same types of small-molecule pheromones
Water, water everywhere – but is it essential to life?
American Geophysical Union: Uranus auroras glimpsed from Earth
New WHO report calls governments to action on dementia
Cancer Therapy Gets a Boost From New Isotope Actinium 225 (Ac-225)
European dung-fly females all aflutter for large males

Possible Connection between Air Pollution and Tuberculosis Susceptibility

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 08:35 PM PDT

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Stephan Schwander, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Public Health (UMDNJ-SPH), has determined a possible link between exposure to a common component of urban air pollution and a change in the function of important immune cells that protect against the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis).

Direct transfer of plant genes from chloroplasts into the cell nucleus

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 08:22 PM PDT

Chloroplasts, the plant cell’s green solar power generators, were once living beings in their own right. This changed about one billion years ago, when they were swallowed up but not digested by larger cells. Since then, they have lost much of their autonomy. As time went on, most of their genetic information found its way into the cell nucleus; today, chloroplasts would no longer be able to live outside their host cell.

Caltech biologists discover that many nematode species make the same types of small-molecule pheromones

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 09:48 AM PDT

All animals seem to have ways of exchanging information—monkeys vocalize complex messages, ants create scent trails to food, and fireflies light up their bellies to attract mates. Yet, despite the fact that nematodes, or roundworms, are among the most abundant animals on the planet, little is known about the way they network. Now, research led by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) biologists has shown that a wide range of nematodes communicate using a recently discovered class of chemical cues.

Water, water everywhere – but is it essential to life?

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 09:22 AM PDT

New research by scientists at the University of Bristol has challenged one of the key beliefs in chemistry: that proteins are dependent on water to survive and function. The team’s findings, published this month in Chemical Science, could eventually lead to the development of new industrial enzymes.

American Geophysical Union: Uranus auroras glimpsed from Earth

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 09:18 AM PDT

For the first time, scientists have captured images of auroras above the giant ice planet Uranus, finding further evidence of just how peculiar a world that distant planet is. Detected by means of carefully scheduled observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, the newly witnessed Uranian light show consisted of short-lived, faint, glowing dots – a world of difference from the colorful curtains of light that often ring Earth's poles.

New WHO report calls governments to action on dementia

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 08:11 AM PDT

A report released 11th April by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) calls upon governments, policymakers and other stakeholders to make dementia a global public health priority.

The new report, compiled by experts around the world, among them Swedish Brain Power members Anders Wimo, Bengt Winblad and Miia Kivipelto, provides the most authoritative overview of the effects of dementia in the world.

Cancer Therapy Gets a Boost From New Isotope Actinium 225 (Ac-225)

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 07:52 AM PDT

A new medical isotope project at Los Alamos National Laboratory shows promise for rapidly producing major quantities of a new cancer-treatment agent, actinium 225 (Ac-225).

Using proton beams, Los Alamos and its partner Brookhaven National Laboratory could match current annual worldwide production of the isotope in just a few days, solving critical shortages of this therapeutic isotope that attacks cancer cells. A collaboration between Los Alamos, Brookhaven, and Oak Ridge national laboratories is developing a plan for full-scale production and stable supply of Ac-225.

European dung-fly females all aflutter for large males

Posted: 13 Apr 2012 07:24 AM PDT

European dung fly females prefer large males, making them the driving selective force behind the rare phenomenon in insects of large males and small females. This is what evolutionary ecologists from the University of Zurich discovered when they compared North American and European dung flies, which not only differ in sexual size dimorphism (SSD), but also in their mating behavior.