EurekAlert! Public News List

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Nano Letters
A battery made of wood?
A sliver of wood coated with tin could make a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly battery, say scientists from the University of Maryland.

University of Maryland, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Less is more: Novel cellulose structure requires fewer enzymes to process biomass to fuel
Improved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic -- or non-food -- plant-derived biomass.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

JAMA Psychiatry
Group-based child care is linked to reduced emotional problems in children of depressed mothers
Child care is linked to fewer emotional problems and symptoms of social withdrawal among children exposed to maternal depression, according to a new study of nearly 2,000 children conducted by researchers in Montreal, Canada, at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, and University of Montreal.

Québec Government's Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, Fonds de recherche du Québec

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Nature
Researchers explain how neural stem cells create new and varied neurons
A new study examining the brains of fruit flies reveals a novel stem cell mechanism that may help explain how neurons form in humans. A paper on the study by researchers at the University of Oregon appeared in the online version of the journal Nature in advance of the June 27 publication date.

National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Ecology Letters
Biological fitness trumps other traits in mating game
When a new species emerges following adaptive changes to its local environment, the process of choosing a mate can help protect the new species' genetic identity and increase the likelihood of its survival. But of the many observable traits in a potential mate, which particular traits does a female tend to prefer?

National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems
New microfluidic chip can help identify unwanted particles in water and food
Virginia Tech researchers developed a new microfabrication technique to develop three-dimensional microfluidic devices in polymers. The devices can be used in the analysis of cells and could prove useful in counterterrorism measures and in water and food safety concerns.

National Science Foundation

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Psychological Science
Brain can plan actions toward things the eye doesn't see
People can plan strategic movements to several different targets at the same time, even when they see far fewer targets than are actually present, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

FASEB Journal
Restoring appropriate movement to immune cells may save seriously burned patients
Patients who survive the immediate aftermath of major burns are at greatest risk from infections -- particularly the overwhelming, life-threatening immune reaction known as sepsis. A device developed by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators that measures the movement of key immune cells may help determine which patients are at greatest risk for infections, and a novel treatment that directly addresses the cause of those complications could prevent many associated deaths.

Shriners Burns Hospital, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Environmental Pollution
Forest Service study finds urban trees removing fine particulate air pollution, saving lives
In a study recently published on-line by the journal Environmental Pollution, researchers David Nowak and Robert Hoehn of the US Forest Service and Satoshi Hirabayashi and Allison Bodine of the Davey Institute in Syracuse, N.Y., estimated how much fine particulate matter is removed by trees in 10 cities, their impact on PM2.5 concentrations and associated values and impacts on human health.

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Dietary fructose causes liver damage in animal model, study finds
The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories. However, a new study conducted in an animal model at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center showed that fructose rapidly caused liver damage even without weight gain.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Cell Host & Microbe
A new model -- and possible treatment -- for staph bone infections
Osteomyelitis -- a debilitating bone infection most frequently caused by Staphylococcus aureus ("staph") bacteria – is particularly challenging to treat. Now, Vanderbilt University investigators have identified a staph-killing compound that may be an effective treatment for osteomyelitis, and they have developed a new mouse model that will be useful for testing this compound and for generating additional therapeutic strategies.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Journal of Adolescent Health
U of M researchers identify risk and protective factors for youth involved in bullying
New research out of the University of Minnesota identifies significant risk factors for suicidal behavior in youth being bullied, but also identifies protective factors for the same group of children.

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery publishes findings of 3 important studies in June issue
The results of three important studies have been published in the June issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Nature
Fate of the heart: Researchers track cellular events leading to cardiac regeneration
In a study published in the June 19 online edition of the journal Nature, a scientific team led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine visually monitored the dynamic cellular events that take place when cardiac regeneration occurs in zebrafish after cardiac ventricular injury. Their findings provide evidence that various cell lines in the heart are more plastic, or capable of transformation into new cell types, than previously thought.

American Heart Association, Packard Foundation, NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Study shows probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242 significantly increased vitamin D levels
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is the first report of an oral probiotic supplement significantly increasing circulating vitamin D levels in the blood.

Micropharma Limited

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Genetics
UMass Amherst researchers develop powerful new technique to study protein function
The advance should allow deeper insights into protein function, Chase says, "because we can only get a true understanding of what that single protein does when we isolate its function." There was no tool to do this. Cover art uses a worm jigsaw puzzle to illustrate how knockdown strategies have evolved to achieve more cell-type specificity, culminating in the new approach, which can restrict knockdown to a single cell type.

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Scientists date prehistoric bacterial invasion still present in today's cells
How long ago did bacteria invade the one-celled ancestors of plants and animals to become energy-producing mitochondria and photosynthesizing chloroplasts? Two UC Berkeley doctoral candidates developed a statistical way to analyze the variation in genes common to mitochondria, chloroplasts and the eukaryotic nucleus to more precisely date these events. They found that the cyanobacterial invasion of plants took place millions of years more recently than thought.

National Science Foundation

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Molecular Systems Biology
Expressly unfit for the laboratory
A new Berkeley Lab study challenges the orthodoxy of microbiology, which holds that in response to environmental changes, bacterial genes will boost production of needed proteins and decrease production of those that aren't. The study found that for bacteria in the laboratory there was little evidence of adaptive genetic response.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Nature
Sequentially expressed genes in neural progenitors create neural diversity, NYU biologists find
A team of NYU biologists has found that a series of genes sequentially expressed in brain stem cells control the generation of neural diversity in visual system of fruit flies. Their results are reported in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

Naitonal Institutes of Health

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets
Metamorphosis of moon's water ice explained
Using data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, scientists believe they have solved a mystery from one of the solar system's coldest regions -- a permanently shadowed crater on the moon. They have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice. The finding provides insight into how radiation can change the chemistry of water ice throughout the solar system.

NASA

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Nature Communications
Genetics of cervical cancer raise concern about antiviral therapy in some cases
A new understanding of the genetic process that can lead to cervical cancer may help improve diagnosis of potentially dangerous lesions for some women, and also raises a warning flag about the use of anti-viral therapies in certain cases -- suggesting they could actually trigger the cancer they are trying to cure.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Nearly 7 in 10 Americans are on prescription drugs, Mayo Clinic study finds
Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic researchers say.

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Archives of Sexual Behavior
Why are some college students more likely to 'hook up'?
A new study by researchers with The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine suggests there are certain factors and behaviors associated with sexual hookups, particularly among first-year college women.

NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
Hartford consensus aims to improve survival after mass shootings
In early April, senior leaders from medical, law enforcement, military, and fire/rescue agencies met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss one question: How can first responders improve survival after a mass casualty event?

Public Release: 19-Jun-2013

Drug and Alcohol Dependence
States vary widely on success rates for minorities in drug treatment programs
A University of Iowa study reveals significant disparities between minority and white clients in success rates for completing substance abuse treatment programs. Moreover, these disparities vary widely from state to state.


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