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Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
 American NaturalistAnts are friendly to some trees, but not others Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees. Contact: Kevin Stacey
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
BioScienceAIBS publishes Darwin articles open access Two articles about Charles Darwin and his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection have been published in the AIBS journal BioScience and have been made open to the public in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species." The articles are by Kevin Padian and James T. Costa. Together the articles dispel some common myths about Darwin the man and detail his efforts over many years to develop a theory to explain nature's diversity. Contact: Tim Beardsley
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesPossible help in fight against muscle-wasting disease A compound already used to treat pneumonia could become a new therapy for an inherited muscular wasting disease. A five-member team of researchers from University of Oregon and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry report that pentamidine might be adapted to counter genetic splicing defects in RNA that lead to type 1 myotonic dystrophy. 
National Institutes of Health Muscular Dystrophy Association
Contact: Jim Barlow
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
ScienceNitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Blaine Friedlander
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent MedicineLocal health investigation sheds light on gastroschisis birth defect Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007-April 2008. Subsequent review of medical records since the study's conclusion indicates that while the rate is still elevated, the cluster appears to have subsided. Contact: Claudene Wharton
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
PLoS PathogensPathogen protection and virulence: Dark side of fungal membrane protein revealed Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and Montana State University have discovered a fungal protein that plays a key role in causing disease in plants and animals and which also shields the pathogen from oxidative stress.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Barry Whyte
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesDNA molecules in moss open door to new biotechnology Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research. The findings have been published in the distinguished journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Contact: Hans Ronne
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
SNM applauds House action to build medical isotopes reactor in the US SNM applauds the US House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 3276 -- the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009. Contact: Amy Shaw
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
Food Quality and PreferenceWe spend more on products with detailed nutritional information People would be willing to pay more for products that carry detailed nutritional information than for the so-called light items. Thus it has been confirmed by researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Center for Agro-Food Research and Technology of Aragón (CITA) in a new study on the nutritional labeling of breakfast biscuits. Contact: SINC
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
Journal of Physics D: Applied PhysicsMagnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat The future for magentic nanoparticles (mNPs) appears bright With the design of "theranostic" molecules. mNPs could play a crucial role in developing one-stop tools to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat a wide range of common diseases and injuries. Contact: Joe Winters
Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
3rd International Barcode of Life ConferenceDNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more Some 350 experts from 50 nations gathering in Mexico for their 3rd global meeting will outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding, including several projects related to human health, fraud, smuggling, the food chain and reconstructing environmental history. Contact: Terry Collins
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ChestOral contraceptives may benefit women with asthma New research from the November issue of Chest shows that women with asthma who are on oral contraceptives may have better outcomes than women who are not on the medication. Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceAirborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes, according to a study published Nov. 6 in the journal Science.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Margaret Coulombe
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceGenome sequence for the domestic horse to be unveiled The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that includes scientists at the University of California, Davis. The findings, which have important implications for improved breeding of horses and for studies of human health, will be reported in the Nov. 6 issue of the journal Science.
NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation, Volkswagen Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation, Italy's Programmi di Ricerca Scientifica di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale
Contact: Patricia Bailey
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceCU-Boulder map of human bacterial diversity shows wide interpersonal differences A University of Colorado at Boulder team has developed the first atlas of bacterial diversity across the human body, charting wide variations in microbe populations that live in different regions of the human body and which aid us in physiological functions that contribute to our health.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America
Contact: Rob Knight
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceStudy reveals how plants and bacteria 'talk' to thwart disease Unwrapping some of the mystery from how plants and bacteria communicate to trigger an innate immune response, scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified the bacterial signaling molecule that matches up with a specific receptor in rice plants to ward off a devastating disease known as bacterial blight of rice.
US Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Patricia Bailey
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceComplete Genomics publishes in Science on low-cost sequencing of 3 human genomes Complete Genomics, a third-generation human genome sequencing company, today announced publication of a report in the journal Science describing its proprietary DNA sequencing platform, including analysis of sequence data from three complete human genomes. The consumables cost for these three genomes sequenced on the proof-of-principle genomic DNA nanoarrays ranged from $8,005 for 87x coverage to $1,726 for 45x coverage for the samples described in this report.
Complete Genomics
Contact: Andrea Long
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Genome ResearchGenomes of biofuel yeasts reveal clues that could boost fuel ethanol production worldwide As global temperatures and energy costs continue to soar, renewable sources of energy will be key to a sustainable future. An attractive replacement for gasoline is biofuel, and in two studies published online in Genome Research, scientists have analyzed the genome structures of bioethanol-producing microorganisms, uncovering genetic clues that will be critical in developing new technologies needed to implement production on a global scale. Contact: Peggy Calicchia
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceGene therapy success in severe brain disorder applauded by the STOP ALD Foundation First gene therapy success in boys with fatal brain disorder -- the Stop ALD Foundation, having spurred a successful European gene therapy trial, is now pressing to bring this therapy to the US. The foundation was started by families with children who have died or suffered from adrenoleukodystrophy, the disease highlighted in the movie Lorenzo's Oil. A report of the trial appears in the current issue of Science.
INSERM, Stop ALD Foundation, European Leukodystrophy Association, AP-HP, Association Française contre les Myopathies, others
Contact: Amber Salzman
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceHow size matters for catalysts University of Utah chemists demonstrated the first conclusive link between the size of catalyst particles on a solid surface, their electronic properties and their ability to speed chemical reactions. The study is a step toward the goal of designing cheaper, more efficient catalysts to increase energy production, reduce Earth-warming gases and manufacture a wide variety of goods from medicines to gasoline.
US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, US Department of Energy
Contact: Lee Siegel
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceCaught in the act: Butterfly mate preference shows how 1 species can become 2 Breaking up may not be hard to do, say scientists who've found a population of tropical butterflies that may be splitting into two distinct species. The cause of this particular break-up? A shift in wing color and mate preference. In a paper published this week in the journal Science, the researchers describe the relationship between diverging color patterns in Heliconius butterflies and the long-term divergence of populations into new and distinct species.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Lee Clippard
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
ScienceHorse genome sequence and analysis published in Science An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of the domestic horse Equus caballus, revealing a genome structure with remarkable similarities to humans and more than one million genetic differences across a variety of horse breeds. In addition to shedding light on a key part of the mammalian branch of the evolutionary tree, the work also provides a critical starting point for mapping disease genes in horses.
NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Foundation, Volkswagen Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation, Programmi di Ricerca Scientifica di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale
Contact: Nicole Davis
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Cancer Prevention ResearchDoes green tea prevent cancer? Evidence continues to brew, but questions remain Although scientists are reluctant to officially endorse green tea as a cancer prevention method, evidence continues to grow about its protective effects, including results of a new study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, which suggests some reduction in oral cancer. Contact: Jeremy Moore
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Current BiologyEarly scents really do get 'etched' in the brain Common experience tells us that particular scents of childhood can leave quite an impression, for better or for worse. Now, researchers reporting the results of a brain imaging study online on Nov. 5 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, show that first scents really do enjoy a "privileged" status in the brain. Contact: Cathleen Genova
Public Release: 5-Nov-2009
Current BiologyBabies' language learning starts from the womb From their very first days, newborns' cries already bear the mark of the language their parents speak, reveals a new study published online on Nov. 5 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The findings suggest that infants begin picking up elements of what will be their first language in the womb, and certainly long before their first babble or coo. Contact: Cathleen Genova
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