science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Δευτέρα 15 Οκτωβρίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

New Techniques Stretch Carbon Nanotubes, Make Stronger Composites
Obesity Promotes Tumor Growth Regardless of Diet
Replicating Risk Genes in Bipolar Disorder
A complex logic circuit made from bacterial genes
Stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
Scientists Identify Mammal Model of Bladder Regeneration
Blood Cells May Offer Telltale Clues in Cancer Diagnosis
Chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, study shows

New Techniques Stretch Carbon Nanotubes, Make Stronger Composites

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new techniques for stretching carbon nanotubes (CNT) and using them to create carbon composites that can be used as stronger, lighter materials in everything from airplanes to bicycles.

By stretching the CNT material before incorporating it into a composite for use in finished products, the researchers straighten the CNTs in the material, which significantly improves its tensile strength – and enhances the stiffness of the composite material and its electrical and thermal conductivity.

Obesity Promotes Tumor Growth Regardless of Diet

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 05:08 AM PDT

Researchers may have discovered a new explanation as to why obese patients with cancer often have a poorer prognosis compared with those who are lean. The potential explanation is based on data reported in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Replicating Risk Genes in Bipolar Disorder

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 05:01 AM PDT

One of the biggest challenges in psychiatric genetics has been to replicate findings across large studies.

Scientists at King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry have now performed one of the largest ever genetic replication studies of bipolar affective disorder, with 28,000 subjects recruited from 36 different research centers. Their findings provide compelling evidence that the chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains a common genetic risk for bipolar disorder, the PBRM1 gene.

A complex logic circuit made from bacterial genes

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 04:57 AM PDT

By force of habit we tend to assume computers are made of silicon, but there is actually no necessary connection between the machine and the material. All that an engineer needs to do to make a computer is to find a way to build logic gates — the elementary building blocks of digital computers — in whatever material is handy.

So logic gates could theoretically be made of pipes of water, channels for billiard balls or even mazes for soldier crabs.

Stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases

Posted: 14 Oct 2012 08:51 AM PDT

Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have taken the first steps to create neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue in animals. Details of the work are published in two complementary studies published in the September online issues of the journals Experimental Cell Research and Stem Cell Research.

Scientists Identify Mammal Model of Bladder Regeneration

Posted: 14 Oct 2012 08:40 AM PDT

While it is well known that starfish, zebrafish and salamanders can re-grow damaged limbs, scientists understand very little about the regenerative capabilities of mammals. Now, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine report on the regenerative process that enables rats to re-grow their bladders within eight weeks.

In PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed, online publication, the scientists characterize this unique model of bladder regeneration with the goal of applying what they learn to human patients.

Blood Cells May Offer Telltale Clues in Cancer Diagnosis

Posted: 14 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

Postdoctoral Research Fellow Devin Koestler is a biostatistician at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He develops and applies statistical methods to large volumes of data, seeking new approaches for understanding disease, cancer in particular. Koestler and his colleagues are investigating the potential use of white blood cell variation as a diagnostic, predictive, and research tool in the study of non-blood cancers.

Chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, study shows

Posted: 14 Oct 2012 08:20 AM PDT

A new study in animals shows that chronic stress during pregnancy prevents brain benefits of motherhood, a finding that researchers suggest could increase understanding of postpartum depression.

Rat mothers showed an increase in brain cell connections in regions associated with learning, memory and mood. In contrast, the brains of mother rats that were stressed twice a day throughout pregnancy did not show this increase.