Science Sunday: Wrap-up of recent advancements in science from EurekAlert!
Scientists to explore life's mysteries through encyclopedic 'macroscope'
The first 30,000 pages of a 1.8 million page online Encyclopedia of Life will be unveiled Feb. 27 at the TED Conference in Monterey Calif., as scientific interest grows amid creative ideas emerging about potential insights into life's secrets made possible by the "macroscope" on biodiversity now under construction.
2 oxygenation events in ancient oceans sparked spread of complex life
The rise of oxygen and the oxidation of deep oceans between 635 and 551 million years ago may have had an impact on the increase and spread of the earliest complex life, including animals.
Blocking protein kills prostate cancer cells, inhibits tumor growth, Jefferson scientists find
Researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have shown that they can effectively kill prostate cancer cells in both the laboratory and in experimental animal models by blocking a signaling protein that is key to the cancer's growth. The work proves that the protein, Stat5, is both vital to prostate cancer cell maintenance and that it is a viable target for drug therapy.
Scientists discover how cigarette smoke causes cancer: Study points to new treatments, safer tobacco
Everyone has known for decades that that smoking can kill, but until now no one really understood how cigarette smoke causes healthy lung cells to become cancerous. In a research report published in the March print issue of The FASEB Journal, researchers show that hydrogen peroxide (or similar oxidants) in cigarette smoke is the culprit. This finding may help the tobacco industry develop "safer" cigarettes, while helping medical researchers develop new lung cancer treatments.
Extract of broccoli sprouts may protect against bladder cancer
A concentrated extract of freeze dried broccoli sprouts cut development of bladder tumors in an animal model by more than half, according to a report in the March 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Magnetic atoms of gold, silver and copper have been obtained
An international team led by physics and chemistry teams from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of the Basque Country and directed by Professor Jose Javier Saiz Garitaonandia, has achieved, by means of a controlled chemical process, that atoms of gold, silver and copper -- intrinsically non-magnetic (not attracted to a magnet) -- become magnetic.
Nature's helpers: Using microorganisms to remove TCE from water
Bruce Rittmann and his Biodesign Institute research team, which includes Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown and Jinwook Chung, recently published a paper in the journal Environmental Science & Technology for a new application that removes a problematic contaminant that has made local headlines.The chlorinated solvent trichloroethene has been found to be an increasingly problematic contaminant in groundwater. The detection of TCE recently forced the shut down of the water supply for the Greater Phoenix area municipalities of Paradise Valley and Scottsdale.
Rutgers researchers unlock mysteries of vitamin A metabolism during embryonic development
Researchers at Rutgers have unlocked some of the mysteries of how the developing embryo reacts to fluctuations in the amount of vitamin A present in the maternal blood stream. Their results are presented in the Feb.28 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
UCLA researchers solve decade-old mystery
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, with the use of molecular dynamics simulations, have solved a decade old mystery that could one day lead to commercially practical designs of storage materials for use in environmentally friendly hydrogen gas fueled vehicles. The study appears on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Web site on Feb. 27.
Gene that controls ozone resistance of plants could lead to drought-resistant crops
Biologists at the University of California-San Diego, working with collaborators at the University of Helsinki in Finland and two other European institutions, have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant's leaves.
Why juniper trees can live on less water
An ability to avoid the plant equivalent of vapor lock and a favorable evolutionary history may explain the unusual drought resistance of junipers, some varieties of which are now spreading rapidly in water-starved regions of the western United States, a Duke University study has found.
Scientists look at 'syringe' assembly in plague bacteria
Bacteria that cause the bubonic plague avoid death in our bodies by injecting our cells with immune evasion proteins. Scientists have discovered a new way bacteria build and hold the syringes, according to research published in the journal Microbiology.
'2-faced' particles act like tiny submarines
For the first time, researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated that microscopic "two-faced" spheres whose halves are physically or chemically different -- so-called Janus particles -- will move like stealthy submarines when an alternating electrical field is applied to liquid surrounding the particles.
Stanford physicist aids search for dark matter deep in Minnesota mine
A consortium of research scientists, including Stanford physicist Blas Cabrera, have built the world's most sensitive WIMP detectors in an attempt to catch some of those mysterious particles of dark matter. Running a clearn-room laboratory a half-mile underground in an old iron ore mine raises challenges of its own.
Arctic seed vault opens doors for 100 million seeds
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened today on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, receiving inaugural shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries.
Penn researchers engineer first system of human nerve-cell tissue
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that living human nerve cells can be engineered into a network that could one day be used for transplants to repair damaged to the nervous system.
Yale scientists create artificial 'cells' that boost the immune response to cancer
Using artificial cell-like particles, Yale biomedical engineers have devised a rapid and efficient way to produce a 45-fold enhancement of T cell activation and expansion, an immune response important for a patient's ability to fight cancer and infectious diseases, according to an advance on line report in Molecular Therapy.
Krill discovered living in the Antarctic abyss
Scientists have discovered Antarctic krill living and feeding down to depths of 3000 meters in the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. Until now this shrimp-like crustacean was thought to live only in the upper ocean. The discovery completely changes scientists' understanding of the major food source for fish, squid, penguins, seals and whales.
Silica smart bombs deliver knock-out to bacteria
Bacteria mutate for a living, evading antibiotic drugs while killing tens of thousands of people in the United States each year. But as concern about drug-resistant bacteria grows, one novel approach under way at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks to thwart the bug without a drug by taking a cue from nature.
Scientists identify proteins that help bacteria put up a fight
Scientists have identified the role of two proteins that contribute to disease-causing bacteria cells' versatility in resisting certain classes of antibiotics. The finding is a step toward development of drug therapies that could target bacterial resistance at its cellular source. Before researchers can design such drugs, they must understand all of the activities at play in the conflict between bacteria and the agents that kill them.
STOP terrorism software
Researchers at the University of Maryland's Institute for Advanced Computer Studies have developed the SOMA Terror Organization Portal allowing analysts to query automatically learned rules on terrorist organization behavior, forecast potential behavior based on these rules, and, most importantly, to network with other analysts examining the same subjects.
Protein shines light on cancer response
A technique that specifically "tags" tumors responding to chemotherapy may offer a new strategy for determining a cancer treatment's effectiveness within days of starting treatment, according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.
Breakthroughs in nanotechnology on edge of 'knowledge frontier'
University of Missouri scientist Kattesh Katti recently discovered how to make gold nanoparticles using gold salts, soybeans and water. Katti's research has garnered attention worldwide and the environmentally-friendly discovery could have major applications in several disciplines.
The first 30,000 pages of a 1.8 million page online Encyclopedia of Life will be unveiled Feb. 27 at the TED Conference in Monterey Calif., as scientific interest grows amid creative ideas emerging about potential insights into life's secrets made possible by the "macroscope" on biodiversity now under construction.
2 oxygenation events in ancient oceans sparked spread of complex life
The rise of oxygen and the oxidation of deep oceans between 635 and 551 million years ago may have had an impact on the increase and spread of the earliest complex life, including animals.
Blocking protein kills prostate cancer cells, inhibits tumor growth, Jefferson scientists find
Researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have shown that they can effectively kill prostate cancer cells in both the laboratory and in experimental animal models by blocking a signaling protein that is key to the cancer's growth. The work proves that the protein, Stat5, is both vital to prostate cancer cell maintenance and that it is a viable target for drug therapy.
Scientists discover how cigarette smoke causes cancer: Study points to new treatments, safer tobacco
Everyone has known for decades that that smoking can kill, but until now no one really understood how cigarette smoke causes healthy lung cells to become cancerous. In a research report published in the March print issue of The FASEB Journal, researchers show that hydrogen peroxide (or similar oxidants) in cigarette smoke is the culprit. This finding may help the tobacco industry develop "safer" cigarettes, while helping medical researchers develop new lung cancer treatments.
Extract of broccoli sprouts may protect against bladder cancer
A concentrated extract of freeze dried broccoli sprouts cut development of bladder tumors in an animal model by more than half, according to a report in the March 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Magnetic atoms of gold, silver and copper have been obtained
An international team led by physics and chemistry teams from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of the Basque Country and directed by Professor Jose Javier Saiz Garitaonandia, has achieved, by means of a controlled chemical process, that atoms of gold, silver and copper -- intrinsically non-magnetic (not attracted to a magnet) -- become magnetic.
Nature's helpers: Using microorganisms to remove TCE from water
Bruce Rittmann and his Biodesign Institute research team, which includes Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown and Jinwook Chung, recently published a paper in the journal Environmental Science & Technology for a new application that removes a problematic contaminant that has made local headlines.The chlorinated solvent trichloroethene has been found to be an increasingly problematic contaminant in groundwater. The detection of TCE recently forced the shut down of the water supply for the Greater Phoenix area municipalities of Paradise Valley and Scottsdale.
Rutgers researchers unlock mysteries of vitamin A metabolism during embryonic development
Researchers at Rutgers have unlocked some of the mysteries of how the developing embryo reacts to fluctuations in the amount of vitamin A present in the maternal blood stream. Their results are presented in the Feb.28 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
UCLA researchers solve decade-old mystery
Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, with the use of molecular dynamics simulations, have solved a decade old mystery that could one day lead to commercially practical designs of storage materials for use in environmentally friendly hydrogen gas fueled vehicles. The study appears on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Web site on Feb. 27.
Gene that controls ozone resistance of plants could lead to drought-resistant crops
Biologists at the University of California-San Diego, working with collaborators at the University of Helsinki in Finland and two other European institutions, have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant's leaves.
Why juniper trees can live on less water
An ability to avoid the plant equivalent of vapor lock and a favorable evolutionary history may explain the unusual drought resistance of junipers, some varieties of which are now spreading rapidly in water-starved regions of the western United States, a Duke University study has found.
Scientists look at 'syringe' assembly in plague bacteria
Bacteria that cause the bubonic plague avoid death in our bodies by injecting our cells with immune evasion proteins. Scientists have discovered a new way bacteria build and hold the syringes, according to research published in the journal Microbiology.
'2-faced' particles act like tiny submarines
For the first time, researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated that microscopic "two-faced" spheres whose halves are physically or chemically different -- so-called Janus particles -- will move like stealthy submarines when an alternating electrical field is applied to liquid surrounding the particles.
Stanford physicist aids search for dark matter deep in Minnesota mine
A consortium of research scientists, including Stanford physicist Blas Cabrera, have built the world's most sensitive WIMP detectors in an attempt to catch some of those mysterious particles of dark matter. Running a clearn-room laboratory a half-mile underground in an old iron ore mine raises challenges of its own.
Arctic seed vault opens doors for 100 million seeds
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened today on a remote island in the Arctic Circle, receiving inaugural shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries.
Penn researchers engineer first system of human nerve-cell tissue
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that living human nerve cells can be engineered into a network that could one day be used for transplants to repair damaged to the nervous system.
Yale scientists create artificial 'cells' that boost the immune response to cancer
Using artificial cell-like particles, Yale biomedical engineers have devised a rapid and efficient way to produce a 45-fold enhancement of T cell activation and expansion, an immune response important for a patient's ability to fight cancer and infectious diseases, according to an advance on line report in Molecular Therapy.
Krill discovered living in the Antarctic abyss
Scientists have discovered Antarctic krill living and feeding down to depths of 3000 meters in the waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. Until now this shrimp-like crustacean was thought to live only in the upper ocean. The discovery completely changes scientists' understanding of the major food source for fish, squid, penguins, seals and whales.
Silica smart bombs deliver knock-out to bacteria
Bacteria mutate for a living, evading antibiotic drugs while killing tens of thousands of people in the United States each year. But as concern about drug-resistant bacteria grows, one novel approach under way at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeks to thwart the bug without a drug by taking a cue from nature.
Scientists identify proteins that help bacteria put up a fight
Scientists have identified the role of two proteins that contribute to disease-causing bacteria cells' versatility in resisting certain classes of antibiotics. The finding is a step toward development of drug therapies that could target bacterial resistance at its cellular source. Before researchers can design such drugs, they must understand all of the activities at play in the conflict between bacteria and the agents that kill them.
STOP terrorism software
Researchers at the University of Maryland's Institute for Advanced Computer Studies have developed the SOMA Terror Organization Portal allowing analysts to query automatically learned rules on terrorist organization behavior, forecast potential behavior based on these rules, and, most importantly, to network with other analysts examining the same subjects.
Protein shines light on cancer response
A technique that specifically "tags" tumors responding to chemotherapy may offer a new strategy for determining a cancer treatment's effectiveness within days of starting treatment, according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.
Breakthroughs in nanotechnology on edge of 'knowledge frontier'
University of Missouri scientist Kattesh Katti recently discovered how to make gold nanoparticles using gold salts, soybeans and water. Katti's research has garnered attention worldwide and the environmentally-friendly discovery could have major applications in several disciplines.
Posted by Porkopolis at 3/02/2008 10:24:00 AM
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