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Public Release: 2-Aug-2013
 Nature CommunicationsResearchers create 'soft robotic' devices using water-based gels Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating devices out of a water-based hydrogel material that can be patterned, folded and used to manipulate objects. The technique holds promise for use in "soft robotics" and biomedical applications. 
National Science Foundation
Contact: Mick Kulikowski
Public Release: 2-Aug-2013
Nature CommunicationsNew drugs to find the right target to fight Alzheimer's disease The future is looking good for drugs designed to combat Alzheimer's disease. EPFL scientists have unveiled how two classes of drug compounds currently in clinical trials work to fight the disease. Their research suggests that these compounds target the disease-causing peptides with high precision and with minimal side-effects. The encouraging conclusions of their research have been published in the journal Nature Communications. Contact: Patrick Fraering
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Sounding rocket to study active regions on the sun At NASA's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M., a sounding rocket is being readied for flight. Due to launch on Aug. 8, 2013, the VERIS rocket, short for Very high Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, will launch for a 15-minute trip carrying an instrument that can measure properties of the structures in the sun's upper atmosphere down to 145 miles across, some eight times clearer than any similar telescope currently in space.
NASA
Contact: Karen Fox
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Skeletal MuscleBurnt sugar derivative reduces muscle wasting in fly and mouse muscular dystrophy A trace substance in caramelized sugar, when purified and given in appropriate doses, improves muscle regeneration in an insect and mammal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The substance, THI, protects the body's levels of a cell signal important in cell differentiation, proliferation, and migration. Fruit flies and mice with the muscular dystrophy gene both showed improvements in movement, and other reductions of symptoms.
National Institutes of Health, Duchenne Alliance, RaceMD, Ryan's Quest
Contact: Leila Gray
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Las Cumbres Observatory 'Sinistro' astronomy imager captures first light The Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope has captured its first on-sky images with the production Sinistro CCD camera. Contact: David Petry
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
August 2013 story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory The following are story ideas from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory for August 2013. Contact: Ron Walli
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
ScienceScientists discover new type of protein modification, may play role in cancer and diabetes Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have discovered a new type of chemical modification that affects numerous proteins within mammalian cells. The modification appears to work as a regulator of important cellular processes including the metabolism of glucose. Further study of this modification could provide insights into the causes of diabetes, cancer and other disorders.
National Institutes of Health, Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Contact: Mika Ono
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
BiomicrofluidicsCatching cancer early by chasing it Reaching a clinic in time to receive an early diagnosis for cancer -- when the disease is most treatable -- is a global problem. And now a team of Chinese researchers proposes a global solution: have a user-friendly diagnostic device travel to the patient, anywhere in the world. Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesGeoscientists unearth mineral-making secrets potentially useful for new technologies Proteins have gotten most of the attention in studies of how organic materials control the initial step of making the first tiny crystals that organisms use to build structures that help them move and protect themselves. Virginia Tech researchers have discovered that certain types of sugars, known as polysaccharides, may also control the timing and placement of minerals that animals use to produce hard structures.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy
Contact: John Pastor
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
FASEB JournalFetal stress disrupts the way genes are transmitted Stress might have harmed your health even before you were born. In a new report in The FASEB Journal, Harvard researchers find that epigenetic disruptions associated with chronic disease later in life are already common at birth. These aberrations result from stressors in the intrauterine environment (maternal smoking, diet, or high levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals). Consequently, the seeds of disease may be sown before birth, increasing the importance of optimal prenatal care. Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
FASEB JournalInflammatory on and off switch identified for allergic asthma and COPD Japanese researchers have made strides toward understanding runaway inflammation for both COPD and allergic asthma. New research appearing in The FASEB Journal shows how two receptors of the inflammatory molecule, leukotriene B4, plays opposing roles in turning inflammation on and off for allergic asthma and COPD. The first receptor, BLT1, promotes inflammation, while the second receptor, BLT2, may weaken inflammation during an allergic reaction. Until now, BLT2 was believed to increase inflammatory reaction. Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of Leukocyte BiologySmall protein plays big role in asthma severity A new culprit has been identified that likely plays a big role in the severity of asthma--a small protein chemokine called CCL26. These findings were published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology and represent the first demonstration that CCL26 is a potent regulator of the migration of asthmatic eosinophils, commonly observed in asthmatic airways. Results from this discovery may lead to new drug targets for the treatment of asthma. Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of Biological ChemistryStudy highlights possible new approach to prostate cancer treatment A study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry identifies a new therapeutic approach to treat prostate cancer. The research shows that expression of the FoxM1 protein is essential for prostate cancer to develop in mouse models. The study also shows that depletion of FoxM1 in prostate epithelial cells inhibits tumor cell proliferation, the process by which new blood vessels are formed, and metastasis -- the spread of cancer to other organs of the body.
Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Nick Miller
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Environment InternationalNew analysis sheds light on the links between chemicals in our body and income A new study published this week has found that the build-up of harmful chemicals in the body is affecting people of all social standings -- not just those from economically deprived backgrounds as previously thought. Contact: Alex Smalley
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
CellTargeted therapy identified for protein that protects and nourishes cancer UT MD Anderson scientists identify the first targeted therapy to block Skp2, which suppresses a cellular defense against cancer and activates glycolysis to feed tumors. The drug restores the senescence program and stifles glycolysis to thwart tumor progression.
NIH/National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Contact: Scott Merville
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
ScienceCU-Boulder team develops new water splitting technique that could produce hydrogen fuel A University of Colorado Boulder team has developed a radically new technique that uses the power of sunlight to efficiently split water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, paving the way for the broad use of hydrogen as a clean, green fuel.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy
Contact: Alan Weimer
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
CellNew insight into how brain 'learns' cocaine addiction A team of researchers says it has solved the longstanding puzzle of why a key protein linked to learning is also needed to become addicted to cocaine. Results of the study, published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Cell, describe how the learning-related protein works with other proteins to forge new pathways in the brain in response to a drug-induced rush of the "pleasure" molecule dopamine.
NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Cancer Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, US Department of Energy
Contact: Shawna Williams
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
BMC Infectious DiseasesThe 4-point test to predict death risk from C. difficile A research paper published today, 2nd August 2013, in BMC Infectious Diseases has for the first time identified a unique four-point test using easily measurable clinical variables which can be used to accurately predict the death risk to patients from C. diff. Accurate prediction means that those patients at risk can be managed accordingly by the clinical team.
NIH/National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care in the South West Peninsula
Contact: Louise Vennells
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
ScienceScientists find long-sought method to efficiently make complex anticancer compound Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have achieved the first efficient chemical synthesis of ingenol, a highly complex, plant-derived compound of interest to drug developers for its anticancer potential. The achievement will enable scientists to synthesize a wide variety of ingenol derivatives and investigate their therapeutic properties. The achievement also sets the stage for the efficient commercial production of ingenol mebutate, an existing anticancer drug that at present must be extracted inefficiently from plants.
LEO Pharma, Carlsberg Foundation, Danish Council for Independent Research, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Contact: Mika Ono
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
The Astrophysics JournalWhen galaxies switch off Some galaxies hit a point in their lives when their star formation is snuffed out, and they become "quenched". Quenched galaxies in the distant past appear to be much smaller than the quenched galaxies in the Universe today. This has always puzzled astronomers -- how can these galaxies grow if they are no longer forming stars? A team of astronomers has now used a huge set of Hubble observations to give a surprisingly simple answer to this long-standing cosmic riddle. Contact: Nicky Guttridge
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Science'Soft' approach leads to revolutionary energy storage Monash University researchers have brought next generation energy storage closer with an engineering first -- a graphene-based device that is compact, yet lasts as long as a conventional battery.
Australian Research Council
Contact: Emily Walker
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Science2 dimensions of value: Dopamine neurons represent reward but not aversiveness The experiments reported here show that dopamine neurons are sensitive to the value of reward but not punishment (like the aversiveness of a bitter taste). This demonstrates that reward and aversiveness are represented as two discrete dimensions (or categories) in the brain. Contact: Lan Yoon
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Nature CommunicationsFly study finds 2 new drivers of RNA editing A new study in Nature Communications finds that RNA editing is not only regulated by sequences and structures near the editing sites but also by ones found much farther away. One newly discovered structure gives an editing enzyme an alternate docking site. The other appears to throttle competing splicing activity.
National Science Foundation
Contact: David Orenstein
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Current BiologyTrouble waking up? Camping could set your clock straight If you have trouble going to sleep at night and waking up for work or school in the morning, a week of camping in the great outdoors might be just what you need. That's according to evidence reported on August 1 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, showing that humans' internal biological clocks will tightly synchronize to a natural, midsummer light-dark cycle, if only they are given the chance. Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Science China Physics, Mechanics & AstronomyAn interesting feature of the α-preformation probability was identified by Chinese researchers Alpha decay is always an important topic in nuclear physics, and the formation of the α-particle is usually supposed to be indispensable in this decay process. In the 2013 issue of Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy, a paper reports the derivation from experimental data of an empirical expression that offers new insight into an aspect of a crucial quantity, namely the α-preformation probability.
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Major State Basic Research and Development of China
Contact: REN ZhongZhou
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