science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Πέμπτη 21 Ιουνίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Study Shows Role of Cellular Protein in Regulation of Binge Eating
NIH study finds HIV-positive young men at risk of low bone mass
Molecule Thought Cancer Foe Actually Helps Thyroid Tumors Grow
New drugs, new ways to target androgens in prostate cancer therapy
Simple mathematcal pattern describes shape of neuron 'jungle'
Asymmetry may provide clue to superconductivity
Melting Sea Ice Threatens Emperor Penguins, Study Finds

Study Shows Role of Cellular Protein in Regulation of Binge Eating

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 12:44 PM PDT

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated in experimental models that blocking the Sigma-1 receptor, a cellular protein, reduced binge eating and caused binge eaters to eat more slowly. The research, which is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology, was led by Pietro Cottone, PhD, and Valentina Sabino, PhD, both assistant professors in the pharmacology and psychiatry departments at BUSM.

NIH study finds HIV-positive young men at risk of low bone mass

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 12:38 PM PDT

Young men being treated for HIV are more likely to experience low bone mass than are other men their age, according to results from a research network supported by the National Institutes of Health. The findings indicate that physicians who care for these patients should monitor them regularly for signs of bone thinning, which could foretell a risk for fractures. The young men in the study did not have HIV at birth and had been diagnosed with HIV an average of two years earlier.

Molecule Thought Cancer Foe Actually Helps Thyroid Tumors Grow

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 12:18 PM PDT

A molecule widely believed to fight many forms of cancer actually helps deadly thyroid tumors grow, and cancer therapies now being tested in humans might boost the activity of this newly revealed bad guy, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida say. Their findings are published online this month in the Journal of Cell Science.

New drugs, new ways to target androgens in prostate cancer therapy

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 12:18 PM PDT

Prostate cancer cells require androgens including testosterone to grow. A recent review in the British Journal of Urology International describes new classes of drugs that target androgens in novel ways, providing alternatives to the traditional methods that frequently carry high side effects.

Simple mathematcal pattern describes shape of neuron 'jungle'

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 11:14 AM PDT

Neurons come in an astounding assortment of shapes and sizes, forming a thick inter-connected jungle of cells. Now, UCL neuroscientists have found that there is a simple pattern that describes the tree-like shape of all neurons.

Neurons look remarkably like trees, and connect to other cells with many branches that effectively act like wires in an electrical circuit, carrying impulses that represent sensation, emotion, thought and action.

Asymmetry may provide clue to superconductivity

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 11:05 AM PDT

Japanese and U.S. physicists are offering new details this week in the journal Nature regarding intriguing similarities between the quirky electronic properties of a new iron-based high-temperature superconductor (HTS) and its copper-based cousins.

Melting Sea Ice Threatens Emperor Penguins, Study Finds

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:25 AM PDT

At nearly four feet tall, the Emperor penguin is Antarctica’s largest sea bird—and thanks to films like “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet,” it’s also one of the continent’s most iconic. If global temperatures continue to rise, however, the Emperor penguins in Terre Adélie, in East Antarctica may eventually disappear, according to a new study by led by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The study was published in the June 20th edition of the journal Global Change Biology.