EurekAlert! - Biology

Study identifies how tamoxifen stimulates uterine cell growth and cancer

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - San Francisco) University of California - San Francisco researchers have identified a new "feed-forward" pathway linking estrogen receptors in the membrane of the uterus to a process that increases local estrogen levels and promotes cell growth.

'Genetic arms race' between bacteria, viruses subject of stimulus grant

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Michigan State University) The oceans teem with microscopic bacteria that produce much of Earth's oxygen as they absorb carbon dioxide greenhouse gas. But fast-mutating viruses also populate the seas, attacking marine bacteria in an ages-old evolutionary arms race. A Michigan State University researcher will probe that ancient dynamic against the backdrop of environmental and climate change, and the pivotal role played by aquatic bacteria in maintaining the Earth's biological balance.

Learning from locusts

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Queen's University) A similarity in brain disturbance between insects and people suffering from migraines, stroke and epilepsy points the way toward new drug therapies to address these conditions.

A question of height

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Intelligent countryside management could improve the survival chances of animal and plant species threatened by climate change. The creation of small heat-shielded habitats and better links between habitats would counteract a moderate temperature increase, and give threatened species more time to adapt better and/or to migrate to cooler regions. This is the conclusion drawn by scientists at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research from a British study on saving the Large Blue butterfly.

New book by USC professor details the economics of climate change policies

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Southern California) As the US Congress considers enacting historic "cap and trade" legislation, a newly-published book by University of Southern California professor Adam Rose provides valuable lessons and reference points in evaluating the economic impacts of climate change policy.

Integrated optical trap holds particles for on-chip analysis

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - Santa Cruz) A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform.

Brain malformations significantly associated with preterm birth, Wake Forest research shows

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center) New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides for the first time a solid scientific answer for the long-standing question of whether there is an association between preterm birth and brain malformations.

Pacific Northwest forests could store more carbon, help address greenhouse issues

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Oregon State University) The forests of the Pacific Northwest hold significant potential to increase carbon storage and help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in coming years, a recent study concludes, if they are managed primarily for that purpose through timber harvest reductions and increased rotation ages.

Ben-Gurion U. researchers reveal connection between cancer and human evolution

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer. The findings were recently the cover story in the journal Genome Research.

UT multimedia program increases middle school interest in science

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston) Middle school students who were part of a unique science learning program developed by the University of Texas School of Public Health showed significant increases in interest and achievement scores compared to other students, a recent study found.

Natural compound stops retinopathy

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Oklahoma) Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States.

Ferns took to the trees and thrived

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Duke University) As flowering plants like giant trees quickly rose to dominate plant communities during the Cretaceous period, the ferns that had preceded them hardly saw it as a disappointment.

Biological warfare in bacteria offers hope for new antibiotics

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of York) Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics. Researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds have been awarded £3.3 million ($5.4 million) from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to find out how a family of proteins known as colicins force their way into bacterial cells before destroying them.

UT scientist receives hemophilia research award

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston) Keri Smith, Ph.D., an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, has received a Career Development Award from the National Hemophilia Foundation.

Virus-resistant grapevines

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) Viruses can cost winegrowers an entire harvest. If they infest the grapevines, even pesticides are often no use. What's more, these chemicals are harmful to the environment. Researchers are growing plants that produce antibodies against the viruses and are thus immune.

All in sight

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) A new measurement system for the detection of whales is used for the first time on board of the research vessel Polarstern. Visual sightings of whales by marine mammal observers are usually based on observations of the spout, the condensing and warm breathing cloud. It rises between one meter and ten meters over the water surface and remains visible for only a few seconds. A thermal imaging camera now uses the heat of this spout.

Rampant helper syndrome

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) The Archaea are very primitive single-celled organisms, sometimes living under extreme conditions. Some species produce methane with the help of deazaflavin cofactor. Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat in Munich have shown that this small molecule is also widespread among higher organisms, where it helps to repair damaged DNA.

Evolution: Crabs go deep to avoid hot water

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) Researchers from the National Oceanography Center, Southampton, have drawn together 200 years' worth of oceanographic knowledge to investigate the distribution of a notorious deep-sea giant -- the king crab. The results, published this week in the Journal of Biogeography, reveal temperature as a driving force behind the speciation and radiation of a major seafloor predator -- globally, and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history.

Scientists 'rebuild' giant moa using ancient DNA

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Adelaide) Scientists have performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird, using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters in New Zealand.

Nursery programs for corals receive TLC from NOAA this Independence Day

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) As the nation celebrates its birth on the 4th of July, University of Miami Prof. Diego Lirman and fellow coral nursery scientists will be celebrating as well. NOAA announced that The Nature Conservancy and its partners' staghorn and elkhorn coral recovery projects, including Lirman's nursery in Biscayne National Park, will receive $350K in stimulus support from the ARRA to further develop large-scale, in-water coral nurseries and restore reefs along Florida's southern coast and in the US Virgin Islands.

UCLA scientists find molecular differences between embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed skin cells

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - Los Angeles) UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another.

Gene's novel role may provide key to treating liver and neurodegenerative diseases

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore) Singapore scientists have made a novel discovery about how gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule", protects both immune and liver cells from programmed cell death. Their research is published in Cell Death and Differentiation.

A rush of blood to the head -- anger increases blood flow

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(BioMed Central) Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure.

Stanford bioethicist and colleagues call for federal regulation of genetic ancestry testing

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Stanford University Medical Center) The lack of federal regulation in instances of DNA use will be addressed in the Policy Forum section in the July 3 issue of Science by Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, Ph.D., of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, and colleagues from four other universities. The need for a clear set of rules governing genetic ancestry testing is becoming more urgent, Lee said, given the proliferation of private corporations that promise consumers insight into their genetic origins.

Climate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

(Imperial College London) Milder winters are causing Scotland's wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research due to be published in this week's Science Express.