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Make or break for cellular tissues
U.S., Great Britain Share Risk Factors For Child Behavior Problems
MIT study suggests that at low dose-rate, radiation poses little risk to DNA
University of Maryland Finding May Hold Key to Gaia Theory of Earth as Living Organism
For Highly Educated Women, Families Are an Increasingly Popular Option
Drugs from lizard saliva reduces the cravings for food
Cancer vaccine combination therapy shows survival benefit in breast cancer
New inflammation hormone link may pave way to study new drugs for type 2 diabetes
Researchers identify key genes and prototype predictive test for schizophrenia
Delivery system for gene therapy may help treat arthritis
Watching an Electron Being Born: Measurements to visualize atomic processes

Posted: 16 May 2012 07:00 AM PDT

Models developed to study liquids are used to investigate the mechanics of cellular tissues, which could further our understanding of embryonic development and cancer.

U.S., Great Britain Share Risk Factors For Child Behavior Problems

Posted: 16 May 2012 05:45 AM PDT

New research from North Carolina State University shows that the United States and Great Britain share common risk factors that increase the likelihood of behavioral problems in children – and that Britain’s broader social welfare programs don’t appear to mitigate those risks.

MIT study suggests that at low dose-rate, radiation poses little risk to DNA

Posted: 15 May 2012 07:48 PM PDT

A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative.

The study, led by Bevin Engelward and Jacquelyn Yanch and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that when mice were exposed to radiation doses about 400 times greater than background levels for five weeks, no DNA damage could be detected.

University of Maryland Finding May Hold Key to Gaia Theory of Earth as Living Organism

Posted: 15 May 2012 07:24 PM PDT

Is Earth really a sort of giant living organism as the Gaia hypothesis predicts? A new discovery made at the University of Maryland may provide a key to answering this question. This key of sulfur could allow scientists to unlock heretofore hidden interactions between ocean organisms, atmosphere, and land -- interactions that might provide evidence supporting this famous theory.

For Highly Educated Women, Families Are an Increasingly Popular Option

Posted: 15 May 2012 07:13 PM PDT

An increasing number of highly educated women are opting for families, according to a national study co-authored by a University at Buffalo economist.

Qingyan Shang, an assistant professor at UB, says the study uncovers what may be the reversal of a trend by highly educated women.

Drugs from lizard saliva reduces the cravings for food

Posted: 15 May 2012 12:10 PM PDT

A drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard is effective in reducing the craving for food. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have tested the drug on rats, who after treatment ceased their cravings for both food and chocolate.

Cancer vaccine combination therapy shows survival benefit in breast cancer

Posted: 15 May 2012 09:51 AM PDT

A vaccine that targets cancer cells in combination with the drug letrozole, a standard hormonal therapy against breast cancer, significantly increased survival when tested in mice, a team of UC Davis investigators has found.

The findings will be published today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

New inflammation hormone link may pave way to study new drugs for type 2 diabetes

Posted: 15 May 2012 09:32 AM PDT

A new link between obesity and type 2 diabetes found in mice could open the door to exploring new potential drug treatments for diabetes, University of Michigan Health System research has found.

Drugs for type 2 diabetes commonly target insulin, which lowers blood glucose levels. But the U-M study suggests that glucagon – a pancreas-produced hormone that has the opposite effect of insulin by raising blood glucose levels – may also provide a powerful pathway to preventing and treating the increasingly prevalent disease.

Researchers identify key genes and prototype predictive test for schizophrenia

Posted: 15 May 2012 09:02 AM PDT

An Indiana University-led research team, along with a group of national and international collaborators, has identified and prioritized a comprehensive group of genes most associated with schizophrenia that together can generate a score indicating whether an individual is at higher or lower risk of developing the disease.

Delivery system for gene therapy may help treat arthritis

Posted: 15 May 2012 08:45 AM PDT

A DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report.

Within a few hours of injecting empty-handed DNA nanoparticles, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers were surprised to see increased expression of an enzyme that calms the immune response.

Watching an Electron Being Born: Measurements to visualize atomic processes

Posted: 15 May 2012 08:32 AM PDT

A strong laser beam can remove an electron from an atom – a process which takes place almost instantly. At the Vienna University of Technology, this phenomenon could now be studied with a time resolution of less than ten attoseconds (ten billionths of a billionth of a second).