science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τρίτη 11 Ιουνίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Micro-RNA controls lignin biosynthesis: Could lead to advances in paper and biofuels production
Thermophiles, humans share ancient machinery used in cell division
The Body Electric: Researchers Move Closer to Low-Cost, Implantable Electronics
How cells get a skeleton
Treatment of Mental Illness Lowers Arrest Rates, Saves Money

Micro-RNA controls lignin biosynthesis: Could lead to advances in paper and biofuels production

Posted: 11 Jun 2013 05:03 AM PDT

For more than a decade, scientists have suspected that hairpin-shaped chains of micro-RNA regulate wood formation inside plant cells. Now, scientists at NC State University have found the first example and mapped out key relationships that control the process.

Thermophiles, humans share ancient machinery used in cell division

Posted: 10 Jun 2013 01:21 PM PDT

Biologists from Indiana University and Montana State University have discovered a striking connection between viruses such as HIV and Ebola and viruses that infect organisms called archaea that grow in volcanic hot springs. Despite the huge difference in environments and a 2 billion year evolutionary time span between archaea and humans, the viruses hijack the same set of proteins to break out of infected cells.

The Body Electric: Researchers Move Closer to Low-Cost, Implantable Electronics

Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:28 AM PDT

New technology under development at The Ohio State University is paving the way for low-cost electronic devices that work in direct contact with living tissue inside the body.

The first planned use of the technology is a sensor that will detect the very early stages of organ transplant rejection.

How cells get a skeleton

Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:21 AM PDT

The mechanism responsible for generating part of the skeletal support for the membrane in animal cells is not yet clearly understood. Now, Jean-François Joanny from the Physico Chemistry Curie Unit at the Curie Institute in Paris and colleagues have found that a well-defined layer beneath the cell outer membrane forms beyond a certain critical level of stress generated by motor proteins within the cellular system. These findings, which offer a new understanding of the formation of this so-called cortical layer, have just been published in EPJ E.

Treatment of Mental Illness Lowers Arrest Rates, Saves Money

Posted: 10 Jun 2013 07:06 AM PDT

Research from North Carolina State University, the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and the University of South Florida shows that outpatient treatment of mental illness significantly reduces arrest rates for people with mental health problems and saves taxpayers money.

“This study shows that providing mental health care is not only in the best interest of people with mental illness, but in the best interests of society,” says Dr. Sarah Desmarais, an assistant professor of psychology at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research.