EurekAlert! - Biology

Ants are friendly to some trees, but not others

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Chicago Press Journals) Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees.

AIBS publishes Darwin articles open access

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Institute of Biological Sciences) Two articles about Charles Darwin and his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection have been published in the AIBS journal BioScience and have been made open to the public in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species." The articles are by Kevin Padian and James T. Costa. Together the articles dispel some common myths about Darwin the man and detail his efforts over many years to develop a theory to explain nature's diversity.

Society of Interventional Radiology hosts oncology therapies Webinar, offers resources

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Society of Interventional Radiology) Registration is now open for the Society of Interventional Radiology's "Image-guided Interventional Oncology Therapies" Webinar, which will provide the latest updates on percutaneous and transcatheter treatment of liver tumors, kidney tumor ablation and lung tumor ablation. SIR is a national organization of physicians, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving public health through pioneering advances in image-guided therapy.

Monell Center joins with CAS to host Beijing meeting on taste and smell research

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Monell Chemical Senses Center) The Monell Center and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) are co-hosts of the Beijing International Meeting on Taste and Smell Research. Organized by Monell in collaboration with the CAS, the meeting will be the first international meeting on taste and smell to be held in China. The historic meeting will be held Nov. 15-17 at the Beijing Marriot Hotel City Wall.

Possible help in fight against muscle-wasting disease

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Oregon) A compound already used to treat pneumonia could become a new therapy for an inherited muscular wasting disease. A five-member team of researchers from University of Oregon and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry report that pentamidine might be adapted to counter genetic splicing defects in RNA that lead to type 1 myotonic dystrophy.

Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Cornell University) As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers.

Local health investigation sheds light on gastroschisis birth defect

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Nevada, Reno) Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007-April 2008. Subsequent review of medical records since the study's conclusion indicates that while the rate is still elevated, the cluster appears to have subsided.

Pathogen protection and virulence: Dark side of fungal membrane protein revealed

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Virginia Tech) Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and Montana State University have discovered a fungal protein that plays a key role in causing disease in plants and animals and which also shields the pathogen from oxidative stress.

Brown professor to lead $6-million NIH grant to study rare brain disease

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Brown University) Walter Atwood, professor of medical science, will lead research efforts to determine how the JC virus, which can cause a rare brain disease known as PML, attaches to host cells. He will collaborate with research teams at Dartmouth College and the University of Tübingen in Germany.

DNA molecules in moss open door to new biotechnology

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Uppsala University) Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research. The findings have been published in the distinguished journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Blood test identifies women at risk from Alzheimer's

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Gothenburg) Middle-aged women with high levels of a specific amino acid in their blood are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's many years later, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. This discovery this could lead to a new and simple way of determining who is at risk long before there are any signs of the illness.

We spend more on products with detailed nutritional information

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) People would be willing to pay more for products that carry detailed nutritional information than for the so-called light items. Thus it has been confirmed by researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Center for Agro-Food Research and Technology of Aragón (CITA) in a new study on the nutritional labeling of breakfast biscuits.

SNM applauds House action to build medical isotopes reactor in the US

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Society of Nuclear Medicine) SNM applauds the US House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 3276 -- the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009.

Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Institute of Physics) The future for magentic nanoparticles (mNPs) appears bright With the design of "theranostic" molecules. mNPs could play a crucial role in developing one-stop tools to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat a wide range of common diseases and injuries.

DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL)) Some 350 experts from 50 nations gathering in Mexico for their 3rd global meeting will outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding, including several projects related to human health, fraud, smuggling, the food chain and reconstructing environmental history.

Biologists, educators recognize excellence in evolution education

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Institute of Biological Sciences) The National Association of Biology Teachers will recognize Leonard C. Yannielli, professor of biological sciences at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Conn., with the 2009 Evolution Education Award during the NABT annual professional development conference to be held Nov. 11-14, 2009 in Denver, Colo.

Keystone Symposia announces new three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Keystone Symposia on Molecular & Cellular Biology) Keystone Symposia is pleased to announce that it has received a second grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation worth $2.7 million over three years to fund meetings and Global Health Travel Awards in the Keystone Symposia Global Health Series. Currently, five 2010 scheduled conferences will fall within this grant. Keystone Symposia is offering a total of 52 conferences in its 2010 season in a diverse array of life science disciplines.

Montana State University to figure out tricky viruses, adapt for gene therapy

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Montana State University) Montana State University has a new grant to tap into the talent that viruses have for invading cells and seizing control.

New synthetic molecules trigger immune response to HIV and prostate cancer

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Yale University) Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases.

Mom was right: Nice guys don't always finish last

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Binghamton University) Picture it: one jerk in a bar spends the night delivering bad come-ons to women. By the end of the evening, the women aren't receptive to even the nicest guys around. It's a scenario with a basis in evolutionary theory. Males increase their fitness by acquiring more mates; however, this is often not the case for females -- and therein lies the conflict.

Coral reefs inspire rare consensus -- just save them

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Oregon State University) One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation -- their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity.

Kent State receives $2.7 million NSF training grant for environmental aquatic resource sensing

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Kent State University) Kent State University has been awarded a training grant in the amount of $2,756,719 by the National Science Foundation under its Integrative Graduation Education and Research Training program. This is the first IGERT grant to be awarded to Kent State. The grant, which is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, runs through 2014.

Research findings key for understanding, interpreting genetic testing for long QT syndrome

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Mayo Clinic) Results of a long QT syndrome study published in the current issue of Circulation play an important role in understanding genetic testing's role in diagnosing disease, according to the senior author, Michael Ackerman, M.D., Ph.D. A pediatric cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Ackerman directs Mayo's Long QT Syndrome Clinic and is the director of the Mayo Clinic Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory.

Springer to partner with Society of Wetland Scientists

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Springer) Starting in January 2010, Springer will publish Wetlands, the official journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists. Together with the journals Wetlands Ecology and Management and Estuaries and Coasts, Springer now leads the field in journals dedicated to wetlands research. Wetlands is an international journal concerned with all aspects of wetland biology, ecology, hydrology, water chemistry and soil and sediment characteristics as well as issues relating to management, policy and regulation.

Plastic surgeons offer microsurgery technique for breast reconstruction, tummy tuck after mastectomy

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(UT Southwestern Medical Center) Since her teens, Jennifer Jablon had watched family members deal with breast cancer during their 40s, 50s and 60s. She wondered whether it would be her fate too.