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Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
 Cancer ResearchStudy identifies how tamoxifen stimulates uterine cell growth and cancer University of California - San Francisco researchers have identified a new "feed-forward" pathway linking estrogen receptors in the membrane of the uterus to a process that increases local estrogen levels and promotes cell growth. Contact: Kristen Bole
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Journal of NeuroscienceLearning from locusts A similarity in brain disturbance between insects and people suffering from migraines, stroke and epilepsy points the way toward new drug therapies to address these conditions. 
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Contact: Nancy Dorrance
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
ScienceA question of height Intelligent countryside management could improve the survival chances of animal and plant species threatened by climate change. The creation of small heat-shielded habitats and better links between habitats would counteract a moderate temperature increase, and give threatened species more time to adapt better and/or to migrate to cooler regions. This is the conclusion drawn by scientists at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research from a British study on saving the Large Blue butterfly. Contact: Tilo Arnhold
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Lab on a ChipIntegrated optical trap holds particles for on-chip analysis A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Tim Stephens
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Pediatric ResearchBrain malformations significantly associated with preterm birth, Wake Forest research shows New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides for the first time a solid scientific answer for the long-standing question of whether there is an association between preterm birth and brain malformations.
National Institutes of Health, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Pratt Family Foundation
Contact: Jessica Guenzel
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Ecological ApplicationsPacific Northwest forests could store more carbon, help address greenhouse issues The forests of the Pacific Northwest hold significant potential to increase carbon storage and help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in coming years, a recent study concludes, if they are managed primarily for that purpose through timber harvest reductions and increased rotation ages.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Beverly Law
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Genome ResearchBen-Gurion U. researchers reveal connection between cancer and human evolution Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer. The findings were recently the cover story in the journal Genome Research. Contact: Andrew Lavin
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Academic MedicineUT multimedia program increases middle school interest in science Middle school students who were part of a unique science learning program developed by the University of Texas School of Public Health showed significant increases in interest and achievement scores compared to other students, a recent study found. Contact: Jade Waddy
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
DiabetesNatural compound stops retinopathy Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States.
American Diabetes Association and the National Institutes of Health
Contact: Diane Clay
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesFerns took to the trees and thrived As flowering plants like giant trees quickly rose to dominate plant communities during the Cretaceous period, the ferns that had preceded them hardly saw it as a disappointment.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Karl Leif Bates
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesRampant helper syndrome The Archaea are very primitive single-celled organisms, sometimes living under extreme conditions. Some species produce methane with the help of deazaflavin cofactor. Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat in Munich have shown that this small molecule is also widespread among higher organisms, where it helps to repair damaged DNA.
Ludwig-Maximilians-University
Contact: Professor Thomas Carell
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Virus-resistant grapevines Viruses can cost winegrowers an entire harvest. If they infest the grapevines, even pesticides are often no use. What's more, these chemicals are harmful to the environment. Researchers are growing plants that produce antibodies against the viruses and are thus immune. Contact: Stefan Schillberg
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Journal of BiogeographyEvolution: Crabs go deep to avoid hot water Researchers from the National Oceanography Center, Southampton, have drawn together 200 years' worth of oceanographic knowledge to investigate the distribution of a notorious deep-sea giant -- the king crab. The results, published this week in the Journal of Biogeography, reveal temperature as a driving force behind the speciation and radiation of a major seafloor predator -- globally, and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history.
National Environment Research Council and Royal Society
Contact: Dr. Rory Howlett
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Proceedings of the Royal Society BScientists 'rebuild' giant moa using ancient DNA Scientists have performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird, using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters in New Zealand. Contact: Nicolas Rawlence
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Cell Stem CellUCLA scientists find molecular differences between embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed skin cells UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another. Contact: Kim Irwin
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Cell Death & DifferentiationGene's novel role may provide key to treating liver and neurodegenerative diseases Singapore scientists have made a novel discovery about how gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule", protects both immune and liver cells from programmed cell death. Their research is published in Cell Death and Differentiation. Contact: Cathy Yarbrough
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Cardiovascular UltrasoundA rush of blood to the head -- anger increases blood flow Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure. Contact: Graeme Baldwin
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
ScienceStanford bioethicist and colleagues call for federal regulation of genetic ancestry testing The lack of federal regulation in instances of DNA use will be addressed in the Policy Forum section in the July 3 issue of Science by Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, Ph.D., of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, and colleagues from four other universities. The need for a clear set of rules governing genetic ancestry testing is becoming more urgent, Lee said, given the proliferation of private corporations that promise consumers insight into their genetic origins. Contact: Jonathan Rabinovitz
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
ScienceClimate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep Milder winters are causing Scotland's wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research due to be published in this week's Science Express.
Natural Environment Research Council
Contact: danielle reeves
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
PLoS Genetics'Jumping gene' diminishes the effect of a new type 2 diabetes risk gene Research has identified a new gene associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible to diabetes. A genomic fragment that occurs naturally in some mouse strains diminishes the activity of the risk gene Zfp69. The researchers also found that the corresponding human gene (ZNF642) is especially active in overweight individuals with diabetes. The results of the study are published July 3 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. Contact: Catriona Silvey
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
CellResearch reveals what drives lung cancer's spread A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reveals the genetic underpinnings of what causes lung cancer to quickly metastasize, or spread, to the brain and the bone -- the two most prominent sites of lung cancer relapse. The study will be published online in the journal Cell on July 2.
National Institutes of Health, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Hearst Foundation, Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis Research Initiative
Contact: Esther Napolitano
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
World Conference of Science Journalists ScienceClimate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep Changing winter conditions are causing Scotland's wild Soay sheep to get smaller despite the evolutionary benefits of having a large body, researchers report in a study that shows how climate change can trump natural selection.
Natural Environment Research Council, NIH/National Institute on Aging
Contact: Natasha D. Pinol
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Cell Stem CellNew targeted therapy finds and eliminates deadly leukemia stem cells New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia, a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 2 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes exciting preclinical studies in which a new therapeutic approach selectively attacks human cancer cells grown in the lab and in animal models of leukemia. Contact: Cathleen Genova
Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
Genome ResearchSecrets revealed about how disease-causing DNA mutations occur A team of Penn State scientists has shed light on the processes that lead to certain human DNA mutations that are implicated in hundreds of inherited diseases. The results one day could influence the way couples who seek to have children receive genetic counseling. The findings will be published in the July 2009 edition of the journal Genome Research.
National Institutes of Health, Penn State University
Contact: Barbara K. Kennedy
Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting Journal of Experimental BiologyKey to evolutionary fitness: Cut the calories Charles Darwin postulated that animals eat as much as possible while food is plentiful, and produce as many offspring as this would allow. However, new research shows that, even when food is abundant, intake reaches a limit. Dr. Teresa Valencak will discuss the theory that animals actively limit their energy turnover to maintain a higher level of reproductive success over their lifetime at the Society for Experimental Biology Meeting on Wednesday, July 1. Contact: Tess Livermore
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