Volume 7, Number 52 December 29, 2008

Physical sciences and technology Seawater and climate change Carbon nanotubes Black holes Extrasolar planets Galaxies Quantum computing Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey Lab-on-a-chip Nanotechnology Climate change Photovoltaics Life sciences Blindsight Genetics and personality Embryonic cell differentiation Oxygen and organism size discontinuities Hox genes and brain development Quantitative immunology Alternative splicing Development of neuromuscular connection Computation of protein interactions Memory erasure Brain-imaging studies Unconscious decision making Nuclear pore complex Sex differences in opioid effects Biofilms Chromosome colocalization Viral molecular motors Health and medicine Cancer Cardiovascular disease Prions Hepatitis C Avian flu Cancer biology Malaria Multiple sclerosis Nanobiotechnology Diabetes Stem cells AIDS Alzheimer's disease Autism Autoimmunity Lupus Antibody receptor editing and autoimmune disease Leptin and insulin control Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Disturbed REM sleep and neurological disease Regulation of inflammation Genetics of autoimmune diseases Flavonoids and cognitive performance Apolipoprotein(a) and inflammation Metabolic syndrome Parkinson's disease

Physical sciences and technology

Seawater and climate change

1. December 22, 2008 - Seawater science can help climate change forecasts

Carbon nanotubes

1. December 22, 2008 - Study on cytotoxicity of carbon nanotubes - also here
2. December 23, 2008 - Researchers Fabricate Complex SWNT Architectures Using Newly Developed Assembly Process

Black holes

1. December 22, 2008 - PS3s help astrophysicists solve mystery of black hole vibrations

Extrasolar planets

1. December 22, 2008 - Have a Hot Time on WASP-12b
2. December 23, 2008 - Young Active Star Resembles The Sun When It Was Young - also here

Galaxies

1. December 22, 2008 - Galactic Halfway House Discovered

Quantum computing

1. December 23, 2008 - Quantum Computing Closer To Reality As Mathematicians Chase Key Breakthrough - also here, here
2. December 23, 2008 - Fock states could hold clues to quantum memory components
3. December 23, 2008 - Diamond 'wires' - quantum computing's best friend

Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey

1. December 23, 2008 - Astronomers gaze back in time and map the history of the Universe - also here

Lab-on-a-chip

1. December 23, 2008 - 'Barcode Chip' Enables Cheap, Fast Blood Tests

Nanotechnology

1. December 25, 2008 - Nanowires Can Now Be Controlled Down To Single Atom Level

Climate change

1. December 25, 2008 - Faster Climate Change Feared
2. December 27, 2008 - Abrupt Climate Change: Will It Happen This Century?

Photovoltaics

1. December 26, 2008 - Enhancing Solar Cells With Nanoparticles - also here

Life sciences

Blindsight

1. December 22, 2008 - Blind man aces obstacle course
2. December 22, 2008 - Blind man walking
3. December 22, 2008 - Blind man navigates maze
4. December 22, 2008 - Blind man 'sees' his way past obstacles
5. December 25, 2008 - With No Visual Awareness, Man Navigates Obstacle Course Flawlessly - also here

Genetics and personality

1. December 22, 2008 - Genes May Influence Popularity, Study Of College Students Finds

Embryonic cell differentiation

1. December 22, 2008 - Mechanism That Triggers Differentiation Of Embryo Cells Discovered - also here

Oxygen and organism size discontinuities

1. December 22, 2008 - Research team reports how, when life on Earth became so big
2. December 23, 2008 - Life On Earth Got Bigger In 2-million-fold Leaps - also here

Hox genes and brain development

1. December 23, 2008 - Modulation Of Gene Expression By Protein Coding Regions Demonstrated - also here

Quantitative immunology

1. December 23, 2008 - Mathematical Models Of Adaptive Immunity

Alternative splicing

1. December 23, 2008 - Gene Expression and Splicing Vary Widely from One Tissue to the Next - also here
2. December 26, 2008 - Mechanism Underlying Alternative Splicing Of Premessenger RNA Into Messenger RNA Discovered - also here

Development of neuromuscular connection

1. December 24, 2008 - Motor Nerve Targeting To Limb Muscles Is Controlled By Ephrin Proteins - also here, here

Computation of protein interactions

1. December 24, 2008 - New Technique Is Quantum Leap Forward In Understanding Proteins - also here

Memory erasure

1. December 24, 2008 - Unwanted Memories Might Be Erasable Without Harming Other Brain Functions - also here

Brain-imaging studies

1. December 24, 2008 - Psychologist identifies area of brain key to choosing words - also here, here
2. December 26, 2008 - Visual Areas Of Brain Respond More To Valuable Objects, Brain-imaging Shows - also here

Unconscious decision making

1. December 24, 2008 - Our unconscious brain makes the best decisions possible - also here, here

Nuclear pore complex

1. December 24, 2008 - Structural study backs new model for the nuclear pore complex - also here

Sex differences in opioid effects

1. December 24, 2008 - 'Clue' to sexes' pain difference
2. December 25, 2008 - Why Analgesic Drugs May Be Less Potent In Females Than In Males - also here, here, here

Biofilms

1. December 26, 2008 - Small Molecule Triggers Bacterial Community - also here, here

Chromosome colocalization

1. December 27, 2008 - How chromosomes meet in the dark -- Switch that turns on X chromosome matchmaking - also here, here

Viral molecular motors

1. December 28, 2008 - Biologists Learn Structure, Mechanism Of Powerful 'Molecular Motor' In Virus - also here
2. December 31, 2008 - Clockwork That Drives Powerful Virus Nanomotor Discovered - also here, here

Health and medicine

Cancer

1. December 22, 2008 - Experts identify gene variants linked to lung cancer
2. December 22, 2008 - SNPs Of ABC Transporter Genes Linked To Lung Cancer Risk - also here
3. December 22, 2008 - Alternating Mammography And MRI May Be Best For High-risk Women
4. December 22, 2008 - Cancer-fighting antibodies
5. December 23, 2008 - Scientists show how certain vegetables combat cancer - also here
6. December 23, 2008 - Discovery offers hope for treating kidney cancer - also here
7. December 24, 2008 - Hormone Therapy For Prostate Cancer Does Not Appear To Increase Cardiac Deaths
8. December 25, 2008 - Surgery improves kidney cancer survival: study
9. December 25, 2008 - Tau Protein Expression Predicts Breast Cancer Survival -- Though Not As Expected
10. December 26, 2008 - Pain pills may cut risk of bowel cancer: study

Cardiovascular disease

1. December 22, 2008 - Even a tiny bit of flab raises heart failure risk
2. December 22, 2008 - Heart Attack Calculator Created
3. December 23, 2008 - Skimping on sleep is bad for the heart: U.S. study
4. December 23, 2008 - Echocardiography Now Recommended As The 'First-line' Test In Cardiovascular Disease
5. December 23, 2008 - Your Genetic Make-up Influences The Levels Of Fats In Your Blood
6. December 23, 2008 - Skipping sleep may signal problems for coronary arteries - also here
7. December 23, 2008 - Miscarriage And Infertility Treatment Increase Pre-eclampsia Risk
8. December 24, 2008 - Evidence for protective effect of fish oil not conclusive - also here
9. December 24, 2008 - Heart study serves as a wake-up call
10. December 24, 2008 - Skipping sleep 'hardens arteries'
11. December 24, 2008 - Skimping on sleep linked to hardened arteries
12. December 25, 2008 - Large waist size a good predictor of stroke risk
13. December 25, 2008 - Diet appears to alter heart failure risk
14. December 26, 2008 - Smoking ups risk of common heart rhythm problem
15. December 27, 2008 - 'Painful legacy' of heart attack

Prions

1. December 22, 2008 - Scientists sniff out prion secret
2. December 23, 2008 - A Whiff of Mad Cow

Hepatitis C

1. December 22, 2008 - Study may predict if hepatitis C drugs will work
2. December 22, 2008 - How To Tell If A Hepatitis-C-virus-infected Patient Will Respond To Therapy - also here, here
3. December 22, 2008 - Using Math To Understand Hep. C: Patterns Paint Picture Of Who Will Respond To Treatment - also here, here

Avian flu

1. December 22, 2008 - Bird flu vaccine protects children
2. December 24, 2008 - Bangladesh confirms bird flu outbreak
3. December 25, 2008 - Bangladesh slaughters 10,000 birds over avian flu
4. December 27, 2008 - Bird flu found in poultry in northern Vietnam
5. December 28, 2008 - Bird flu hits Vietnam poultry farms: report

Cancer biology

1. December 22, 2008 - Mutations Common To Cancer And Developmental Disorder Examined In A Novel Disease Model - also here, here
2. December 23, 2008 - Scientists Unlock Key Mechanism Behind Cancer Metastasis
3. December 28, 2008 - Newly Found Enzymes May Play Early Role In Cancer - also here, here

Malaria

1. December 22, 2008 - New Data Regarding Safety Of Artemisinin Combination Therapy For Pregnant Women With Malaria
2. December 22, 2008 - African thicket rat malaria linked to virulent human form - also here

Multiple sclerosis

1. December 22, 2008 - Nerve cell defect contributes to multiple sclerosis

Nanobiotechnology

1. December 22, 2008 - Smaller, Brighter Probe Tailored For Molecular Imaging And Tumor Targeting Created - also here, here

Diabetes

1. December 22, 2008 - Modeling Neonatal Diabetes
2. December 23, 2008 - Treating Gum Disease Linked To Lower Medical Costs For Patients With Diabetes - also here
3. December 24, 2008 - Vitamin D deficiency common in diabetic kids
4. December 27, 2008 - Signal Pathway Found That May Be Involved In Type 2 Diabetes
5. December 28, 2008 - Study: Obesity surgery reverses diabetes in teens

Stem cells

1. December 22, 2008 - First Functional Stem-cell Niche Model Created
2. December 24, 2008 - New Embryonic Stem Cells Ratted Out
3. December 24, 2008 - Rat embryonic stem cells created
4. December 24, 2008 - Researchers derive first embryonic stem cells from rats
5. December 26, 2008 - Recipe For Capturing Authentic Embryonic Stem Cells May Apply To Any Mammal, Study Suggests - also here

AIDS

1. December 22, 2008 - HIV Dementia: How Major HIV Strains Affect The Brain Differently
2. December 22, 2008 - Natural Immune Response to HIV Not Sufficient to Prevent Secondary Superinfection

Alzheimer's disease

1. December 22, 2008 - Alzheimer's Disease: Women Affected More Often Than Men
2. December 24, 2008 - Blood sugar loss may trigger Alzheimer's: study
3. December 24, 2008 - Poor blood flow to brain may provoke Alzheimer's: study
4. December 24, 2008 - Impaired energy metabolism linked with initiation of plaques in Alzheimer's brain - also here
5. December 24, 2008 - New insight into Alzheimer's disease
6. December 28, 2008 - Brain Starvation As We Age Appears To Trigger Alzheimer's: Improving Blood Flow To Brain Is Preventive Strategy - also here

Autism

1. December 22, 2008 - New Insights Into Autism, Obsessive Behavior: Decreased Levels Of Binding Gene Affect Memory And Behavior

Autoimmunity

1. December 22, 2008 - Potential autoimmunity-inducing cells found in healthy adults - also here, here

Lupus

1. December 23, 2008 - Lupus affects the brain very early in the disease
2. December 25, 2008 - Subtle brain deficits seen in lupus patients

Antibody receptor editing and autoimmune disease

1. December 23, 2008 - Reduction In Antibody Gene Rearrangement In B Cells Related To Type 1 Diabetes, Lupus - also here

Leptin and insulin control

1. December 23, 2008 - New Treatment For Diabetes? Leptin's Long-distance Call To The Pancreas - also here, here

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

1. December 23, 2008 - Researchers find link to severe Staph infections - also here

Disturbed REM sleep and neurological disease

1. December 24, 2008 - Rare sleep disorder may be a harbinger of dementia
2. December 24, 2008 - Disturbed Sleep Tied to Parkinson's Risk
3. December 24, 2008 - Sleep disorders: A warning sign for neurodegenerative disease? - also here
4. December 24, 2008 - Can a Sleep Disorder Predict Parkinson's?
5. December 25, 2008 - Sleep gives brain disease warning

Regulation of inflammation

1. December 24, 2008 - Natural Regulator Of Inflammation Identified

Genetics of autoimmune diseases

1. December 24, 2008 - Various Immune-related Diseases Have A Strong Genetic Overlap

Flavonoids and cognitive performance

1. December 24, 2008 - Chocolate, Wine And Tea Improve Brain Performance - also here

Apolipoprotein(a) and inflammation

1. December 24, 2008 - Apolipoprotein(a): A natural regulator of inflammation - also here

Metabolic syndrome

1. December 25, 2008 - Metabolic syndrome predicts kidney disease

Parkinson's disease

1. December 26, 2008 - Immune Cells Contribute To Development Of Parkinson's Disease - also here, here
2. December 28, 2008 - Immune cells link to Parkinson's

Copyright © 2008 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved