EurekAlert! - Biology

Protected areas provide African birds with stepping stones to survival

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of York) The protected area network in Tanzania is playing a vital role in the survival of savannah bird species as they move west in response to climate and environmental changes, according to new research led by the University of York.

Evolution of an outbreak: Complications from contaminated steroid injections

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - Davis Health System) UC Davis assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology George R. Thompson has written an editorial for JAMA, that appears with a new study on magnetic resonance imaging at the site of injection of a contaminated lot of a steroid drug to treat symptoms such as back pain resulted in earlier identification of patients with probable or confirmed fungal spinal or paraspinal infection, allowing early initiation of medical and surgical treatment.

Unexpected behavior of well-known catalysts

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences) Industrial palladium-copper catalysts change their structures before they get to work, already during the activation process. As a result, the reaction is catalyzed by a catalyst that is different from the one originally prepared for it. This surprising discovery was made by researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.

Less is more: Novel cellulose structure requires fewer enzymes to process biomass to fuel

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory) 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.

UTSA student wins American Heart Association fellowship for nanosystems engineering research

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Texas at San Antonio) University of Texas at San Antonio biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate Anand Srinivasan has been awarded a $25,000, one-year doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association. This highly competitive fellowship provides significant funding to doctoral students to support research and training in cardiovascular and stroke discoveries. Srinivasan will develop a new chip-based platform that can be used to test the effectiveness of drug treatments for infective endocarditis, a dangerous bacterial-fungal infection of the heart's inner lining.

Researchers explain how neural stem cells create new and varied neurons

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Oregon) 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.

Biological fitness trumps other traits in mating game

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)) 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?

New microfluidic chip can help identify unwanted particles in water and food

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Virginia Tech) 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.

Forest Service study finds urban trees removing fine particulate air pollution, saving lives

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station) 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.

A new model -- and possible treatment -- for staph bone infections

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Vanderbilt University Medical Center) 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.

PETA International Science Consortium disappointed in denial of Dow appeal

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) The PETA International Science Consortium is extremely disappointed that the European Chemicals Agency Board of Appeal has upheld a decision that requires Dow Benelux B.V. to conduct a prenatal developmental toxicity study in rats. The study will use approximately 1,160 animals and expose pregnant rats and their unborn pups to the substance dipropylene glycol methyl ether acetate in order to comply with the European Community's Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.

Study shows probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242 significantly increased vitamin D levels

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(FoodMinds LLC) 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.

UMass Amherst researchers develop powerful new technique to study protein function

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Massachusetts at Amherst) 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.

'Waterlust' whets appetite of Florida outdoor writers

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) University of Miami Applied Marine Physics graduate student and creator/director of Waterlust, Patrick Rynne is the 2013 recipient of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association (FOWA) Scholarship for Outdoor Communicators. Waterlust explores how people relate to water for recreation, scientific research and creative inspiration. Devan Coffaro, a junior at the University of Central Florida Nicholson School of Communication also won a FOWA scholarship for her work.

Scientists awarded $1.4 million to develop new therapeutic approaches to chronic leukemia

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Scripps Research Institute) Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded more than $1.4 million from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to create a potential new drug to attack the malignant cells that cause chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common leukemia in the Western world.

Genetics of cervical cancer raise concern about antiviral therapy in some cases

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Oregon State University) 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.

Scientists date prehistoric bacterial invasion still present in today's cells

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - Berkeley) 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.

Expressly unfit for the laboratory

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National 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.

NCAR joins massive field campaign to examine summertime air in Southeast

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) Taking part in the largest US air quality field project in decades, the National Center for Atmospheric Research is working with partners to study pollution in the Southeast. The study looks at the impact of chemical reactions occurring between human-related pollution and volatile organic compounds emitted from vegetation.

Sequentially expressed genes in neural progenitors create neural diversity, NYU biologists find

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(New York University) 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.

Brain re-training may improve memory, focus in schizophrenia

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University) Much like physical exercise can re-chisel the body, researchers hope targeted mental workouts can sharpen the memory, focus and function of adults with schizophrenia.

HIV-derived antibacterial shows promise against drug-resistant bacteria

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(American Society for Microbiology) A team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has developed antibacterial compounds, derived from the outer coating of HIV, that could be potential treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections and appear to avoid generating resistance.

Scientists use DNA from a museum specimen to study rarely observed type of killer whale

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service) In a scientific paper published in the journal Polar Biology, researchers report using DNA from tissues samples collected in 1955 to study what may be a new type of killer whale (Orcinus orca).

Renewed hope in a once-abandoned cancer drug class

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(American Chemical Society) Could drugs that block the body's system for repairing damage to the genetic material DNA become a boon to health? As unlikely as it may seem, those compounds are sparking optimism as potential treatments for ovarian and breast cancers driven by a mutation in BRCA. The compounds, termed PARP inhibitors, are the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

Are we pushing animals over the edge?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Springer) Species of mammals and birds are threatened with extinction as a result of rising human population density, according to a study published in Springer's journal, Human Ecology. The work is also the first to show that the exponential growth of the human population will continue to pose a threat to other species. In other words, there does not appear to be a threshold above which population growth would cease to have an incremental negative effect.