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Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
 ScienceSaving the single cysteine: New antioxidant system found We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines. Contact: Nancy Ross-Flanigan
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
GeneticsIt's a gas: New discovery may lead to heartier, high-yielding plants In a research report in the November 2009 journal Genetics, scientists show how a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes), in the weed Arabidopsis thaliana, are responsible for production of ethylene. This gas affects many aspects of plant development, and this information, which will be applicable to other plants, lays the foundation for future genetic manipulation that could make plants disease resistant, able to survive and thrive in difficult terrain, and increase yields. Contact: Tracey DePellegrin Connelly
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
International expedition investigates climate change, alternative fuels in Arctic NRL marine biogeochemistry and geology and geophysics scientists return from Arctic expedition exploring methane hydrate deposits in the Beaufort Sea and spatial variation of sediment contribution to Arctic climate change. Contact: Daniel Parry
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
PLoS GeneticsGenetic analysis helps dissect molecular basis of cardiovascular disease Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, researchers performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry. This large scale analysis of the effects of common genetic variation on plasma lipoprotein profile, a critical component of cardiovascular risk, identified 43 genetic loci contributing to lipoprotein metabolism. The findings are published on Nov. 20 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. Contact: Tamsin Milewicz
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesResearchers identify role of gene in tumor development, growth and progression Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. Contact: Sathya Achia Abraham
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Journal of Biological ChemistryJust like old times: Generating RNA molecules in water A key question in the origin of biological molecules like RNA and DNA is how they first came together billions of years ago from simple precursors. Now, in a study appearing in this week's JBC, researchers in Italy have reconstructed one of the earliest evolutionary steps yet: generating long chains of RNA from individual subunits using nothing but warm water. Contact: Nick Zagorski
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry ConferenceFrom toxic dust and algae to ill winds from Africa Media tipsheet on USGS scientific presentations at SETAC conference, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 
US Geological Survey
Contact: Kara Capelli
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Occupational MedicineBarn personnel experience higher-than-average rates of respiratory symptoms The estimated 4.6 million Americans involved in the equine industry may be at risk of developing respiratory symptoms due to poor air quality in horse barns, according to a questionnaire study undertaken earlier this year by investigators at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Tom Keppeler
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Circulation ResearchCarvedilol shown to have unique characteristics among beta blockers In a new study, researchers report that a class of heart medications called beta-blockers can have a helpful, or harmful, effect on the heart, depending on their molecular activity. Contact: William Gillespie
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Renewable and Sustainable Energy ReviewsFlax and yellow flowers can produce bioethanol Surplus biomass from the production of flax sheaves, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol. This has been suggested by two studies carried out by Spanish and Dutch researchers and published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Contact: SINC
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
ScienceBiologists discover bacterial defense mechanism against aggressive oxygen Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell. This is the new finding of a team of biologists that includes Joris Messens of VIB, a life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium, connected to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Catholic University of Leuven
Contact: Joris Gansemans
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Journal of Clinical InvestigationDiscovery of new type of immune cells regulating inflammation in chronic diseases Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen and the Center of Allergy and Environment of Technische Universitaet Muenchen have discovered a new type of immune cells -- the Th22 cells -- which can protect the body against inflammation and aid in tissue repair. Contact: Sven Winkler
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Applied and Environmental MicrobiologyDelft breakthrough in bioethanol production from agricultural waste With the introduction of a single bacterial gene into yeast, researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands achieved three improvements in bioethanol production from agricultural waste material: "More ethanol, less acetate and elimination of the major by-product glycerol." This week the invention was published in the scientific journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Contact: Ineke Boneschansker
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Biological PsychiatryPossible link studied between childhood abuse and early cellular aging Researchers from Brown University and Butler Hospital have determined that children who suffer physical or emotional abuse may be faced with accelerated cellular aging as adults. The findings are published online in the journal Biological Psychiatry. A print version of the article is also expected.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders
Contact: Mark Hollmer
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Journal of Biological ChemistryResearchers begin to decipher metabolism of sexual assault drug It's a naturally occurring brain chemical with an unwieldy name: 4-hydroxybutyrate (4-HB). Taken by mouth, it can be abused or used as a date-rape drug. Now, a team of Ohio and Michigan scientists have determined new routes by which 4-HB is metabolized by the body. "This is new and important information," said K. Michael Gibson, professor and chair of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University and a member of the research team.
National Institutes of Health, Cleveland Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
Contact: Jennifer Donovan
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
American Journal of MedicineProjections of savings from health IT are baseless, Harvard researchers say The increased computerization in US hospitals hasn't made them cheaper or more efficient, Harvard researchers say, although it may have modestly improved the quality of care for heart attacks. The findings contradict claims by President Obama and many lawmakers that health information technology, including electronic medical records, will save billions and help make reform affordable. The study uses data from the most extensive survey ever undertaken of hospital computerization. Contact: Mark Almberg
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceSweet corn story begins in UW-Madison lab This week, scientists are revealing the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the big three cereal crops. Corn, or maize, has one of the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, says University of Wisconsin-Madison genomicist David Schwartz, who was one of more than 100 authors in the article in the journal Science. Contact: David C. Schwartz
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceLike humans, ants use bacteria to make their gardens grow Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities.
US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation
Contact: Cameron Currie
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceAfter mastodons and mammoths, a transformed landscape Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals -- including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers -- began their precipitous slide to extinction.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, National Science Foundation
Contact: John Williams
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
PLoS PathogensResearchers find new piece of BSE puzzle A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease could be a step closer based on new results from scientists at the University of Leeds. The team has found that a protein called Glypican-1 plays a key role in the development of BSE. Details are published Nov. 20 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. Contact: Jo Kelly
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceAmaizing: Corn genome decoded In recent years, scientists have decoded the DNA of humans and a menagerie of creatures but none with genes as complex as a stalk of corn, the latest genome to be unraveled. A team of scientists led by the Genome Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis published the completed corn genome in the Nov. 20 journal Science, an accomplishment that will speed efforts to develop better crop varieties to meet the world's growing demands for food, livestock feed and fuel.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Energy
Contact: Caroline Arbanas
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceISU's Plant Sciences Institute researchers provide understanding to maize genome sequence Iowa State University Plant Sciences Institute researchers contributed to the raw data assembly and much of the ongoing functional analysis work for this multi-institutional, $32 million, National Science Foundation-funded effort to sequence the maize genome.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Meg Gordon
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceWaking up memories while you sleep They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle, somehow penetrated their slumber. The 25 sounds were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the Northwestern University research participants were unaware of the sounds as they slept. Yet, upon waking, memory tests showed that spatial memories had changed. "We are beginning to see that deep sleep actually is a key time for memory processing," said Ken Paller, professor of psychology at Northwestern. Contact: Pat Vaughan Tremmel
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental ResearchAn intervention that can reduce hostile perceptions in children with prenatal alcohol exposure Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been linked to significant impairments in social skills. Researchers have found that a social- skills intervention called Children's Friendship Training can lead to a decrease in hostile attributions or perceptions of children with PAE.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Contact: Vivien Keil, Ph.D.
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental ResearchExamining mathematical abilities in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have a number of cognitive deficits. Mathematical ability seems particularly damaged in children with FASD. A new study supports the importance of the left parietal area for mathematical abilities in children with FASD.
Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network
Contact: Catherine Lebel, B.Sc.
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