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Chemistry/Physics/Materials Sciences
Key: Meeting Journal Funder Dissertation
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Science
Saving 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
rossflan@umich.edu
734-647-1853
University of Michigan

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
nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil
202-767-2541
Naval Research Laboratory

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Just 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
nzagorski@asbmb.org
301-634-7366
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Conference
From 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
kcapelli@usgs.gov
703-648-5086
United States Geological Survey

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Circulation Research
Carvedilol 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
gillespi@illinois.edu
217-265-0722
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Flax 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
info@plataformasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Watching a cannibal galaxy dine
A new technique using near-infrared images, obtained with ESO's 3.58-meter New Technology Telescope, allows astronomers to see through the opaque dust lanes of the giant cannibal galaxy Centaurus A, unveiling its "last meal" in unprecedented detail -- a smaller spiral galaxy, currently twisted and warped. This amazing image also shows thousands of star clusters, strewn like glittering gems, churning inside Centaurus A.

Contact: Dr. Henri Boffin
hboffin@eso.org
49-893-200-6222
ESO

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Journal of Clinical Investigation
Discovery 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
presse@helmholtz-muenchen.de
49-089-318-73946
Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Researchers 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
jdonovan@mtu.edu
906-487-4521
Michigan Technological University

Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Applied Health Economics & Health Policy
Dispensing prescription drugs in 3-month supplies reduces drug costs by a third
Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply has long been regarded as a way to save money. New research from the University of Chicago quantifies the savings for the first time.

Contact: Greg Borzo
greg.borzo@uchospitals.edu
773-795-0892
University of Chicago Medical Center

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Science Express
UCSB physicists move 1 step closer to quantum computing
Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in electrically controlling quantum states of electrons, a step that could help in the development of quantum computing. The work is published online today on the Science Express Web site.

Contact: Gail Gallessich
gail.g@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Applied Physics Letters
Nanotube defects equal better energy and storage systems
Most people would like to be able to charge their cell phones and other personal electronics quickly and not too often. A recent discovery made by UC San Diego engineers could lead to carbon nanotube-based supercapacitors that could do just this.

Contact: Andrea Siedsma
asiedsma@soe.ucsd.edu
858-822-0899
University of California - San Diego

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Microorganism may provide key to combating giant salvinia throughout Louisiana
A team of researchers at Louisiana Tech University has found that a naturally occurring microorganism acts as a natural herbicide against giant salvinia.

Contact: Dave Guerin
dguerin@latech.edu
318-257-4854
Louisiana Tech University

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Journal of the American Chemical Society
An atomic-level look at an HIV accomplice
Since the discovery in 2007 that a component of human semen called SEVI boosts infectivity of the virus that causes AIDS, researchers have been trying to learn more about SEVI and how it works, in hopes of thwarting its infection-promoting activity.
National Institutes of Health

Contact: Nancy Ross-Flanigan
rossflan@umich.edu
734-647-1853
University of Michigan

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Science
Reference genome of maize, most important US crop, is published by team co-led by CSHL scientists
A four-year, multi-institutional effort co-led by three Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists culminated today in publication of a landmark series of papers in the journal Science revealing in unprecedented detail the DNA sequence of maize. Maize, or corn, as it is commonly called by North American consumers, is one of the world's most important plants and the most valuable agricultural crop grown in the United States, representing $47 billion in annual value.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Defense

Contact: Peter Tarr
tarr@cshl.edu
516-367-8455
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Eukaryotic Cell
WPI researchers take aim at hard-to-treat fungal infections
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed a new model system to study fungal infections. The system can be a powerful tool for screening potential drug targets for conditions like thrush, athlete's foot and vaginal yeast infections, which affect millions of people each year but are difficult to treat with existing medications. Using the new model, the researchers also identified a gene that may be a promising target for a new anti-fungal drug.

Contact: Michael Cohen
mcohen@wpi.edu
508-868-4778
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Electrophoresis
New antioxidant compounds have been identified in foods such as olive oil, honey and nuts
Scientists from the University of Granada have used two new techniques, capillary electrophoresis and high resolution liquid chromatography, to enable them to identify and quantify a great part of the phenolic compounds in such foods. These compounds have a chemopreventive effect in humans and a great influence on the stability of oxidation levels of food.

Contact: Ana Gomez Caravaca
anagomez@ugr.es
34-958-248-593
University of Granada

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
International Journal of Electronic Healthcare
ICT fails to accelerate drug approvals
Drug approvals are taking just as long as they ever did despite increased expenditure on new information technology at the Food and drug Administration. So says a statistical analysis of approval intervals from 1997 to 2006, published in the International Journal of Electronic Healthcare.

Contact: John Kros
krosj@ecu.edu
252-328-6364
Inderscience Publishers

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Science
Schizophrenia gene's role may be broader, more potent, than thought
UCSF scientists studying nerve cells in fruit flies have uncovered a new function for a gene whose human equivalent may play a critical role in schizophrenia.

Contact: Jennifer O'Brien
jobrien@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Sexual Medicine Society of North America Annual Meeting
Pivotal study for PSD502 -- the first potential treatment for premature ejaculation
Results of the double-blind treatment phase of this study, which enrolled patients from the US, Canada and Poland, are consistent with previously reported results of the pivotal trial conducted in Europe and showed that men who were treated with PSD502 five minutes before intercourse were able to delay ejaculation up to five times longer than those who used placebo. Additionally, patients and partners in both trials reported significant improvements in sexual satisfaction, and the drug was well tolerated.

Contact: Dave Schemelia
dschemelia@healthstarpr.com
609-468-9325
HealthStar PR

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Drug Testing and Analysis
Promising pharmaceutical agents emerge as sports doping products
Researchers from the German Sport University Cologne in Germany found that nonsteroidal and tissue-selective anabolic agents such as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are being sold on the black market for their performance enhancing qualities. The availability of authentic SARMs was recently demonstrated for the first time by the detection of the drug candidate Andarine in a product sold via the Internet. Full findings of the study appear in the latest issue of Drug Testing and Analysis published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Contact: Dawn Peters
physicalsciencenews@wiley.com
781-388-8408
Wiley-Blackwell

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Science
Amaizing: 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
arbanasc@wustl.edu
314-286-0109
Washington University School of Medicine

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Science
ISU'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
mbgordon@iastate.edu
515-294-3945
Iowa State University

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Science
Waking 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
p-tremmel@northwestern.edu
847-491-4892
Northwestern University

Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Neurology
Good news on multiple sclerosis and pregnancy
There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have MS.

Contact: Rachel Seroka
rseroka@aan.com
651-695-2738
American Academy of Neurology