Volume 7, Number 28 July 14, 2008

Physical sciences and technology Earthquakes Nanotechnology Brown dwarfs Distant globular clusters Extrasolar planets Carbon nanotubes Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays Supercomputers Gamma-ray bursts Dark matter Global warming Fast optical switch Climate change and storm intensity Magnetoelectronics Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope Neutralino dark matter Quantum dots Early starburst galaxies Supernovae Solar energy Rodinia High-temperature superconductivity DNA nanotechnology Background electromagnetic radiation Bottomonium Nanophotonics Exobiology Age anomalies in open star clusters Snowball Earth Life sciences Origins of human speech Brain noise Artificial DNA variant T follicular helper cells Cancer biology Dopamine, desire, and dread Chromosome organization during mitosis Brain-imaging studies Stromatolites Gene wiki Choanoflagellates Human transcriptome and alternative splicing Limb development Fear extinction Functional genomics of neuron morphology Embryonic stem cells Ebola virus Steroid hormones, caspases, and neurodegeneration Immune system code Chromatid cohesion Mitochondrial proteins DNA methylation map Evolutionary model of family size Natural killer cells Haplotype inference Voltage-gated ion channels Herpesvirus infection Histone modifications Myosin-l Brain-derived neurotrophic factor Genetic recombination during meiosis Cancer stem cells Ribozymes Telomerase and cancer RNA research Health and medicine Vaccines Cardiovascular disease Resveratrol and cancer Health benefits of polyphenols Lupus Cholesterol control Cancer Obesity Multiple sclerosis Diabetes Nanobiotechnology Stem cells AIDS Absorption of dietary fat Schizophrenia Avian flu Malaria Alzheimer's disease Alcoholism Tuberculosis Dopamine, amphetamines, and ADHD Stress, depression, and neurogenesis Autism Bipolar disorder Aging and disease Influenza Rheumatoid arthritis Drug discovery Hepatitis C Stem-cell-nanoparticle drug delivery for cancer Health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids Parkinson's disease Nicotine addiction

Physical sciences and technology

Earthquakes

1. July 7, 2008 - Shock tactics point to risk after quake
2. July 9, 2008 - Discovery may lead to quake early-warning system
3. July 9, 2008 - Fair Warning From Earthquakes?
4. July 9, 2008 - Pre-quake changes seen in rocks
5. July 10, 2008 - Early Warning System For Earthquakes: Seismic 'Stress Meter' Warned Of Earthquake 10 Hours In Advance - also here
6. July 10, 2008 - A stress meter for fault zones

Nanotechnology

1. July 7, 2008 - Visualizing Atomic-scale Acoustic Waves In Nanostructures - also here
2. July 8, 2008 - Tiny Changes At Nanometer Scale Can Have A Colossal Effect On Properties Of A Material: Now Researchers Can Predict Changes
3. July 10, 2008 - Shrinking chip could keep us on track with Moore's law
4. July 11, 2008 - Nanoscale Lithographic Technology: Finer Lines For Microchips - also here
5. July 11, 2008 - Multitasking nanotechnology - also here, here
6. July 13, 2008 - Controlling The Size Of Nanoclusters: First Step In Making New Catalysts To Control Polllution - also here, here

Brown dwarfs

1. July 8, 2008 - Brown-Dwarf Binary Tests Theories

Distant globular clusters

1. July 8, 2008 - Lucky Hubble find raises star cluster mystery

Extrasolar planets

1. July 8, 2008 - Open clusters like Orion have low fertility rate
2. July 11, 2008 - Are Jupiters Hard to Come By?

Carbon nanotubes

1. July 8, 2008 - Carbon Nanotube Windmills Powered by 'Electron Wind'
2. July 11, 2008 - Nanotubes bring artificial photosynthesis a step nearer

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

1. July 8, 2008 - Do cosmic rays get bogged down in the cosmos?

Supercomputers

1. July 8, 2008 - Herculean Device for Molecular Mysteries

Gamma-ray bursts

1. July 8, 2008 - Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows Brighter Than Expected

Dark matter

1. July 9, 2008 - Super-sensitive tool key to dark-matter claim

Global warming

1. July 9, 2008 - Cleaner skies explain surprise rate of warming
2. July 9, 2008 - Summer Arctic Sea Ice Expected To Be Among Lowest On Record - also here, here

Fast optical switch

1. July 9, 2008 - Switch on a chip to boost internet speed

Climate change and storm intensity

1. July 9, 2008 - How Intense Will Storms Get? New Model Helps Answer Question - also here, here

Magnetoelectronics

1. July 9, 2008 - The Attraction Of Magnetic Computation - also here

Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope

1. July 9, 2008 - Seeing the universe through gamma-ray eyes - also here

Neutralino dark matter

1. July 9, 2008 - Looking for neutralinos at the Large Hadron Collider

Quantum dots

1. July 9, 2008 - Improving Quantum Dot Synthesis

Early starburst galaxies

1. July 10, 2008 - NASA telescopes spot star "factory"
2. July 10, 2008 - Rare 'Star-Making Machine' Found In Distant Universe - also here
3. July 10, 2008 - Cosmic Baby Boom Baffles Astronomers
4. July 11, 2008 - "Baby Boom" in a Stellar Nursery

Supernovae

1. July 10, 2008 - Faint Supernovae Remain Unexplained

Solar energy

1. July 10, 2008 - Researchers develop efficient solar power devices
2. July 10, 2008 - Organic dye lets window panes harvest the Sun
3. July 10, 2008 - Organic dyes help harvest sunlight
4. July 11, 2008 - Organic dye turns windows to solar cells
5. July 11, 2008 - Scientists show that cheap chemical dyes may lead to efficient conversion of the sun's energy
6. July 11, 2008 - New 'Window' Opens On Solar Energy: Cost Effective Devices Available Soon
7. July 11, 2008 - A Colorful Approach to Solar Energy
8. July 11, 2008 - Solar dyes give a guiding light
9. July 12, 2008 - Thin-film dyes boost solar cells

Rodinia

1. July 10, 2008 - Millions of years ago, the American Southwest sat next to East Antarctica
2. July 17, 2008 - Single Boulder May Prove That Antarctica And North America Were Once Connected - also here

High-temperature superconductivity

1. July 10, 2008 - Room Temperature Superconductivity: One Step Closer To Holy Grail Of Physics - also here, here

DNA nanotechnology

1. July 10, 2008 - DNA Sewing Machine Manipulates Delicate DNA Chains Without Breaking Them

Background electromagnetic radiation

1. July 10, 2008 - Universe Is More Transparent To High-energy Radiation Than Previously Assumed

Bottomonium

1. July 10, 2008 - Physicists Discover New Particle: the Bottom-most 'Bottomonium'
2. July 16, 2008 - BaBar gets to the bottom of bottomonia

Nanophotonics

1. July 10, 2008 - New nanotech research to enhance future digital imaging

Exobiology

1. July 11, 2008 - Hot super-Earths could host life after all

Age anomalies in open star clusters

1. July 11, 2008 - Mystery Star Cluster Has 3 Different Birthdays - also here

Snowball Earth

1. July 11, 2008 - Researchers Find Ancient Evidence of 'Snowball Earth'

Life sciences

Origins of human speech

1. July 7, 2008 - Fossil finds suggest an early origin for human speech

Brain noise

1. July 7, 2008 - Brain Noise Is Good: New Study Overturns Notion That Brain Noise Quiets Down With Maturity

Artificial DNA variant

1. July 7, 2008 - First DNA Molecule Made Almost Entirely Of Artificial Parts - also here
2. July 9, 2008 - Artificial DNA variant could aid medicine, biotechnology and nanotechnology
3. July 14, 2008 - Four artificial new letters for the DNA alphabet

T follicular helper cells

1. July 7, 2008 - Finding suggests novel ways to boost vaccination or natural defenses

Cancer biology

1. July 7, 2008 - Bacterial peptide provides new insight into common tumor suppressor
2. July 8, 2008 - Argyrin: Natural Substance Raises Hope For New Cancer Therapies
3. July 8, 2008 - Protein Thought To Promote Cancer Instead Functions As Tumor Suppressor - also here, here
4. July 8, 2008 - Antibody To Breast Cancer-secreted Protein Blocks Metastasis, Researchers Show

Dopamine, desire, and dread

1. July 7, 2008 - Thin line between desire and dread: Dopamine controls both
2. July 8, 2008 - Desire and dread are separated by just a few millimeters in the brain
3. July 8, 2008 - Brain Chemical Shown To Induce Both Desire And Dread
4. July 14, 2008 - Fear Factor: Dopamine May Fuel Dread, Too

Chromosome organization during mitosis

1. July 8, 2008 - Dividing Cells Find Their Middle By Following A Protein 'Contour Map'

Brain-imaging studies

1. July 8, 2008 - Baby's Smile Is A Natural High - also here, here
2. July 9, 2008 - Do We Think That Machines Can Think?
3. July 11, 2008 - Empathy comes naturally to children: study
4. July 12, 2008 - Children Are Naturally Prone To Be Empathic And Moral - also here, here, here
5. July 14, 2008 - Baby's smile gives mom a natural high - also here
6. July 16, 2008 - Empathy Is 'Hard-Wired' in Children's Brains
7. July 22, 2008 - Baby's smile: drug-like high for mothers

Stromatolites

1. July 8, 2008 - Two-ton, 500 Million-year-old Fossil Of Stromatolite Discovered

Gene wiki

1. July 8, 2008 - Creating A New Approach To Archiving Human Genetic Information - also here
2. July 8, 2008 - Wikipedia opens online library on human genes - also here, here, here

Choanoflagellates

1. July 8, 2008 - Primitive Single-Celled Microbe Expert In Cellular Communication Networks - also here

Human transcriptome and alternative splicing

1. July 8, 2008 - Deep sequencing study reveals new insights into human transcriptome - also here

Limb development

1. July 9, 2008 - Watching gene activity of growing coquí frogs reveals surprising sequence

Fear extinction

1. July 9, 2008 - Brain Region for Overcoming Fear, Anxiety Found
2. July 11, 2008 - Brain Cells Related To Fear Identified - also here

Functional genomics of neuron morphology

1. July 9, 2008 - Types Of Genes Necessary For Brain Development Discovered - also here, here

Embryonic stem cells

1. July 9, 2008 - Human Embryonic Stem Cells Developed From Four-cell Embryo - also here
2. July 13, 2008 - Genes That Control Embryonic Stem Cell Fate Identified - also here

Ebola virus

1. July 9, 2008 - Structure hints at Ebola's cunning
2. July 10, 2008 - Scientists Uncover Deadly Ebola Virus's "Achilles' Heel"
3. July 11, 2008 - Structure Of Critical Protein From Ebola Virus Determined - also here, here

Steroid hormones, caspases, and neurodegeneration

1. July 9, 2008 - Seasonal programmed brain cell death foiled in living birds - also here

Immune system code

1. July 10, 2008 - Researchers Hack Final Part Of The Immune System Code - also here, here

Chromatid cohesion

1. July 10, 2008 - Enzyme key to 'sister act' that maintains genome stability - also here

Mitochondrial proteins

1. July 10, 2008 - Researchers unveil near-complete protein catalog for mitochondria - also here

DNA methylation map

1. July 10, 2008 - Scientists use genomic tools to create maps of DNA methylation - also here

Evolutionary model of family size

1. July 10, 2008 - Big babies and small families make evolutionary sense

Natural killer cells

1. July 11, 2008 - Control Switches Found For Immune Cells That Fight Cancer, Viral Infection - also here

Haplotype inference

1. July 11, 2008 - New Method Identifies Genes Affecting Health In Fraction Of A Second

Voltage-gated ion channels

1. July 11, 2008 - Researchers catch ion channels in their opening act - also here, here

Herpesvirus infection

1. July 11, 2008 - Researches identify herpesvirus proteins that target key cellular processes - also here

Histone modifications

1. July 11, 2008 - Scientists discover key patterns in the packaging of genes - also here

Myosin-l

1. July 12, 2008 - Molecular Motor Works By Detecting Minute Changes In Force - also here, here

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

1. July 12, 2008 - Learning Suffers If Brain Transcript Isn't Transported Far Out To End Of Neurons - also here

Genetic recombination during meiosis

1. July 13, 2008 - Zooming In On Genetic Shuffling - also here, here, here

Cancer stem cells

1. July 13, 2008 - Herceptin Targets Breast Cancer Stem Cells - also here

Ribozymes

1. July 13, 2008 - New Mode Of Gene Regulation Discovered In Mammals - also here

Telomerase and cancer

1. July 13, 2008 - Mechanism That Explains How Cancer Enzyme Winds Up On Ends Of Chromosomes Found - also here, here

RNA research

1. July 13, 2008 - RNA Emerges From DNA's Shadow - also here, here

Health and medicine

Vaccines

1. July 7, 2008 - New vaccine sneaks into body, then self-destructs
2. July 9, 2008 - Method could cut number of vaccinations by half
3. July 11, 2008 - Researchers Use Salmonella As A Way To Administer Vaccines In The Body - also here, here, here
4. July 13, 2008 - Superbug vaccines 'within decade'

Cardiovascular disease

1. July 7, 2008 - Treating blood pressure may help prevent dementia
2. July 8, 2008 - Blood pressure 'link to dementia'
3. July 8, 2008 - Index Used To Predict Atherosclerosis May Improve Accuracy Of Cardiovascular Risk Prediction
4. July 8, 2008 - PTSD Causes Early Death From Heart Disease, Study Suggests - also here
5. July 8, 2008 - Pregnancy Associated With Increased Risk Of Heart Attack - also here
6. July 9, 2008 - Leading Worldwide Cause Of Cardiovascular Disease May Be Modified By Diet - also here
7. July 10, 2008 - Novel Approach May Protect Against Heart Attack Injury - also here, here
8. July 11, 2008 - Why men are more at risk of diseases caused by blood clots than women - also here
9. July 12, 2008 - Unsuspected Gene Mutation Found For Atrial Fibrillation - also here, here
10. July 13, 2008 - Alcohol's Impact On Heart And Stroke Risk May Differ For Men, Women - also here

Resveratrol and cancer

1. July 7, 2008 - Cancer Preventive Properties Identified In Resveratrol, Found In Red Wine, Red Grapes - also here, here

Health benefits of polyphenols

1. July 7, 2008 - Uncertainties Prevail Over Human Health Benefits Of Polyphenols - also here

Lupus

1. July 7, 2008 - 'Multi-target' Immune Therapy Improves Outcomes Of Severe Lupus Nephritis

Cholesterol control

1. July 7, 2008 - Artichoke Leaf Extract Lowers Cholesterol
2. July 10, 2008 - Lowering Blood Cholesterol With Fish Oil And Red Yeast Rice Instead Of Statins - also here, here
3. July 17, 2008 - Red yeast rice, fish oil fight high cholesterol

Cancer

1. July 7, 2008 - Cancer Therapies From The Ocean? - also here
2. July 7, 2008 - Can Recycling Be Used To Treat Cancer?
3. July 7, 2008 - Computers Used To Hone Cancer-fighting Strategies
4. July 7, 2008 - Molecule That Kills Kidney Cancer Cells Discovered - also here
5. July 8, 2008 - FDA OKs Invitrogen genetic test for breast cancer - also here
6. July 8, 2008 - Androgen Deprivation Therapy For Localized Prostate Cancer Not Associated With Improved Survival - also here
7. July 8, 2008 - Reductions in Iron Blood Levels Associated with Decreased Cancer Risk in Men with Peripheral Arterial Disease
8. July 8, 2008 - Awareness Of Epidemiology's Limitations Could Reduce Impact Of False-positive Cancer Results
9. July 8, 2008 - Study: Hormone therapy effects limited in prostate cancer
10. July 8, 2008 - Elderly may fare worse on prostate cancer drugs
11. July 9, 2008 - Overweight, Insulin Resistant Women At Greater Risk Of Advanced Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Says Study - also here, here
12. July 9, 2008 - Aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Mantle Cell Lymphoma) On The Rise - also here, here
13. July 9, 2008 - Young Women's Breast Cancers Have More Aggressive Genes, Worse Prognosis
14. July 10, 2008 - Active lifestyle may prevent cancer: Japan study
15. July 10, 2008 - Single-nucleotide Polymorphisms Do Not Substantially Improve Risk Prediction For Breast Cancer
16. July 11, 2008 - Treating Rare Breast Cancer With Radiation Therapy May Lower Recurrence Rate - also here
17. July 11, 2008 - Researchers locate and image prostate cancer as it spreads to lymph nodes - also here
18. July 11, 2008 - Virus helps show cancer spread
19. July 12, 2008 - Detecting Early Forms Of Cancer By Analyzing Structure of Specific Sugar Molecules
20. July 12, 2008 - Magnolia compound hits elusive target in cancer cells - also here
21. July 13, 2008 - Not The Protein, But Its Location In The Cell, Determines The Onset Of Leukemia - also here
22. July 13, 2008 - Prostate Cancer Vaccines More Effective With Hormone Therapy - also here, here

Obesity

1. July 7, 2008 - Common mutations linked to common obesity in Europeans

Multiple sclerosis

1. July 7, 2008 - Teva says higher dose of MS drug no more efficient

Diabetes

1. July 8, 2008 - Study points to new way to test for diabetes risk
2. July 8, 2008 - Study finds link to high levels of the protein fetuin-A
3. July 9, 2008 - Boosting Survival Of Insulin-cell Transplants For Type 1 Diabetes - also here
4. July 9, 2008 - Trans-fatty Acids Do Not Appear To Increase The Risk Of Diabetes - also here
5. July 10, 2008 - Liver Protein Associated With Type 2 Diabetes In Older Adults - also here
6. July 11, 2008 - Fruit juice tied to modest rise in diabetes risk

Nanobiotechnology

1. July 8, 2008 - Nanoparticle 'smart bomb' homes in on cancer
2. July 8, 2008 - Nanoparticles Take On Tumors
3. July 8, 2008 - 'Smart Bomb' Nanoparticle Strategy Impacts Metastasis - also here
4. July 9, 2008 - Nanomaterials Key to New Strategies for Blocking Metastasis

Stem cells

1. July 8, 2008 - Pulling a tooth could lead to tailor-made sperm
2. July 10, 2008 - A stem cell transplant that fixes defective muscle in mice could someday become a treatment for muscular dystrophy
3. July 10, 2008 - Muscle stem cell advance hailed
4. July 13, 2008 - Purified Stem Cells Restore Muscle In Mice With Muscular Dystrophy - also here

AIDS

1. July 8, 2008 - Microbicides could lead to tougher HIV
2. July 8, 2008 - HIV Prevention Researchers To Compare Common ARV As A Pill And Vaginal Gel In Unique Study - also here, here
3. July 9, 2008 - Vaginal Microbicides May Prevent More Infections In Men Than Women - also here
4. July 11, 2008 - Viral Complementation Allows HIV-1 Replication Without Integration, Research Shows

Absorption of dietary fat

1. July 8, 2008 - Herbal Remedy Reduces Obesity And Heart Disease? - also here

Schizophrenia

1. July 8, 2008 - Schizophrenia Linked To Dysfunction In Molecular Brain Pathway Activated By Marijuana - also here, here
2. July 10, 2008 - Protein Marker For Schizophrenia Risk - also here

Avian flu

1. July 9, 2008 - Experts identify genes for bird flu replication
2. July 9, 2008 - Pandemic Mutations In Bird Flu Revealed - also here

Malaria

1. July 9, 2008 - Scientists find malaria's 'sticky' genes
2. July 10, 2008 - How The Malaria Parasite Hijacks Human Red Blood Cells - also here
3. July 10, 2008 - Discovery of key malaria proteins could mean sticky end for parasite - also here
4. July 11, 2008 - Identifying and disrupting key elements of malaria's 'sticky sack' adhesion strategy - also here, here
5. July 14, 2008 - 'Breakthrough' in malaria fight

Alzheimer's disease

1. July 9, 2008 - Can Tomatoes Carry An Oral Vaccine Against Alzheimer's Disease? - also here
2. July 9, 2008 - Cocktail Therapy For Alzheimer's Disease? Works for Gerbils - also here
3. July 10, 2008 - New Drug Reverses Alzheimer's Disease Within Days In Mouse Models - also here, here
4. July 11, 2008 - New genetic mutation tied to Alzheimer's disease
5. July 11, 2008 - Will This Vaccine Prevent or Reverse Alzheimer's Disease?
6. July 12, 2008 - Biological Marker For Alzheimer's Holds Promise For Earlier Diagnosis And Treatment - also here

Alcoholism

1. July 9, 2008 - Does Gene Variant Make Women More Prone To Alcoholism? - also here, here
2. July 9, 2008 - Alcoholism-associated molecular adaptations in brain neurocognitive circuits

Tuberculosis

1. July 9, 2008 - Tuberculosis May Have Migrated From Humans To Cattle, Not The Reverse
2. July 10, 2008 - How Can We Overcome The Barriers To Treating Drug-resistant TB?

Dopamine, amphetamines, and ADHD

1. July 9, 2008 - Protein On 'Speed' Linked To ADHD - also here

Stress, depression, and neurogenesis

1. July 9, 2008 - Neurogenesis in the adult brain: The association with stress and depression

Autism

1. July 9, 2008 - The first autism disease genes
2. July 10, 2008 - Autism gene search turns up hope for treatment
3. July 10, 2008 - Middle Eastern families yield intriguing clues to autism
4. July 10, 2008 - Genes from Middle East families yield autism clues - also here
5. July 10, 2008 - Middle East families shed light on autism genes: study
6. July 11, 2008 - Common Mechanisms May Underlie Autism's Seemingly Diverse Mutations
7. July 11, 2008 - Autism Genes That Control Early Learning

Bipolar disorder

1. July 9, 2008 - The ECNP consensus statement on bipolar depression

Aging and disease

1. July 10, 2008 - Slowing Aging Is Way To Fight Diseases In 21st Century - also here

Influenza

1. July 10, 2008 - Fruit fly gene study could yield new flu treatments - also here
2. July 11, 2008 - Flu-infected Fly Cells Reveal Dependencies Of The Virus
3. July 11, 2008 - Mobilizing white blood cells to the lung: New discovery could lead to an improved influenza vaccine - also here, here

Rheumatoid arthritis

1. July 11, 2008 - Body composition changes plague women with RA

Drug discovery

1. July 11, 2008 - Side-effects analysis reveals new uses for old drugs
2. July 11, 2008 - Scientists Predict New Uses For Existing Drugs From Their Side Effects - also here

Hepatitis C

1. July 11, 2008 - Hepatitis C Virus May Need Enzyme's Help To Cause Liver Disease - also here, here

Stem-cell-nanoparticle drug delivery for cancer

1. July 11, 2008 - Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Transport Anti-Cancer Drugs Directly To Tumors

Health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids

1. July 11, 2008 - Scientists Learn How Food Affects The Brain: Omega 3 Especially Important - also here

Parkinson's disease

1. July 11, 2008 - 'Cross fire' from the brain makes patients tremble - also here

Nicotine addiction

1. July 11, 2008 - Genetic variations put youth at higher risk for lifetime of tobacco addiction - also here

Copyright © 2008 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved