Volume 8, Number 34 August 24, 2009

Physical sciences and technology Nanotechnology Nanoelectronics Cometary glycine Quantum theory Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Organic electronics Earthquakes Quantum gravity Global warming Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Spurious explanation of dark energy Planet formation Black holes and gamma-ray bursts Gamma-ray pulsars Black holes Virtual reality Archean atmosphere Quantum dots Inflation and gravitational waves Sunspots Superconductivity Star size distribution Earth's mantle National Ignition Facility Star formation Macroscopic quantum effects Superfluids and Mott insulators Paleoclimatology Spiral galaxies Supercomputers Hydrocarbons on Titan Metamaterials M87's black hole Life sciences Bacterial shape shifting DNA methylation test Acetylation MicroRNA Mitosis Wnt and lung development Vitamin-D mediated immune response Nuclear pore complex Nucleosomes and exons Bioinformatics Origins of gram-negative bacteria Ediacara organisms Glucocorticoid hormones and gene activity Commensal bacteria and immune response Protein shape-shifting and drug interaction Modeling complex biological and physical systems Bacterial genetic engineering Ribosomes Cellular fusion Transposons and antibiotic resistance Nanog and pluripotency Sexual selection Brown adipose tissue Cellular adaptive response Messenger RNA decay Neuroscience, psychology, and behavior Emotions and uncertainty Auditory processing in the presence of noise Short- and long-term memory MECP2 and brain structure Brain-imaging studies Exercise addiction Corticotrophin releasing factor and alcoholism Face recognition Bilingualism Tone deafness Neural activity and obesity in fruit flies Biological function of sleep Rivalry in the olfactory system Health and medicine Multiple sclerosis Cancer Cancer biology Stem cells Protein interaction interference drugs Nanobiotechnology Hepatitis C Alzheimer's disease Malaria Cancer stem cells Tuberculosis Tissue engineering Asthma Polyphenol sources Cardiovascular disease Modeling epidemics Klotho and hypertension Protein-polymer conjugates Parkinson's disease MicroRNA and cancer Progesterone, inflammation, and cancer Antioxidants, metabolism of matrix-detached cells, and cancer Inflammatory bowel disease Oxycholesterol Antibiotics Diabetes Fitness and longevity Prions MCAT and longevity Obesity and dementia

Physical sciences and technology

Nanotechnology

1. August 17, 2009 - Chemist creates trapping technique for nanoparticles
2. August 17, 2009 - Tiny robots get a grip on nanotubes - also here
3. August 19, 2009 - A safe approach to nanotechnology: Boiling up zinc oxide nanorods without toxic solvents
4. August 19, 2009 - Bio-enabled, surface-mediated approach produces nanoparticle composites - also here

Nanoelectronics

1. August 17, 2009 - IBM uses DNA to make next-gen microchips
2. August 17, 2009 - New material for nanoscale computer chips
3. August 17, 2009 - DNA 'organises itself' on silicon
4. August 18, 2009 - Scientists Use DNA Scaffolding To Build Tiny Circuit Boards - also here
5. August 18, 2009 - Nuclear fusion research key to advancing computer chips - also here
6. August 18, 2009 - DNA could become building blocks of smaller, more powerful microchips
7. August 21, 2009 - DNA scaffolds could make nano-circuits

Cometary glycine

1. August 17, 2009 - Comet Contains One of Life's Precursors
2. August 17, 2009 - First discovery of life's building block in comet made - also here
3. August 17, 2009 - Life's Building Block Found in Comet
4. August 17, 2009 - Found: first amino acid on a comet
5. August 18, 2009 - Building block of life found on comet
6. August 18, 2009 - Comet dust harbors life's building blocks
7. August 18, 2009 - 'Life chemical' detected in comet
8. August 18, 2009 - Life-giving compound found in space
9. August 19, 2009 - Comet holds building block of life

Quantum theory

1. August 17, 2009 - New Law of Physics Could Explain Quantum Mysteries

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

1. August 17, 2009 - In Search of Antimatter Galaxies

Organic electronics

1. August 17, 2009 - Organic electronics a two-way street, thanks to new plastic semiconductor - also here

Earthquakes

1. August 17, 2009 - Listening to rocks helps researchers better understand earthquakes - also here
2. August 21, 2009 - Ocean-drilling Expedition Cites New Evidence Related To Origin And Evolution Of Seismogenic Faults

Quantum gravity

1. August 17, 2009 - Old methods lead to a new approach to finding a quantum theory of gravity - also here

Global warming

1. August 17, 2009 - Analysis shows climate change to yield more extreme rainfall
2. August 17, 2009 - As Arctic Ocean warms, megatonnes of methane bubble up
3. August 18, 2009 - Methane seeps from Arctic sea-bed
4. August 19, 2009 - Those dog days of August: 3 times the heat by 2050?
5. August 20, 2009 - Global warming could change Earth's tilt
6. August 20, 2009 - In hot water: World sets ocean temperature record

Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

1. August 17, 2009 - NASA's WISE Mission Arrives at Launch Site

Spurious explanation of dark energy

1. August 17, 2009 - 'Big Wave' Theory Offers Alternative to Dark Energy
2. August 18, 2009 - Dark Energy's Demise? New Theory Doesn't Use the Force

Planet formation

1. August 17, 2009 - Did asteroids flock together to build planets?
2. August 21, 2009 - Making Jupiters

Black holes and gamma-ray bursts

1. August 17, 2009 - Black hole parasites explain cosmic flashes
2. September 22, 2009 - Radical New Theory: Black Holes Attack and Devour Stars from the Inside

Gamma-ray pulsars

1. August 18, 2009 - Fermi Tracks Gamma-ray Pulsars

Black holes

1. August 18, 2009 - The Edge of a Black Hole

Virtual reality

1. August 18, 2009 - Modified HDTV screens used for 3-D technology

Archean atmosphere

1. August 18, 2009 - The greenhouse gas that saved the world - also here

Quantum dots

1. August 18, 2009 - Confined electrons live longer - also here

Inflation and gravitational waves

1. August 19, 2009 - LIGO Listens for Gravitational Echoes of the Birth of the Universe
2. August 19, 2009 - New Limits on the Big Bang
3. August 19, 2009 - Gravity waves 'around the corner'
4. August 19, 2009 - Lack of Gravity Waves Puts Limits on Exotic Cosmology Theories
5. August 19, 2009 - Listening for Gravitational Echoes of the Universe's Birth - also here
6. August 19, 2009 - Gravitational wave detectors home in on their quarry
7. August 20, 2009 - Gravitational waves project yields first results
8. August 21, 2009 - 'Nondiscovery' creates media ripple
9. August 26, 2008 - Listening for Gravity Waves, Silence Becomes Meaningful

Sunspots

1. August 19, 2009 - Long-standing sunspot puzzle solved

Superconductivity

1. August 19, 2009 - Research pokes holes in Hubbard model: Could help solve enigma of high-temperature superconductors - also here

Star size distribution

1. August 19, 2009 - Galaxies Demand a Stellar Recount - also here

Earth's mantle

1. August 19, 2009 - Water in Earth's mantle may be associated with subduction
2. August 20, 2009 - Scientists Create First Three-dimensional Global Map Of Electrical Conductivity In Earth's Mantle

National Ignition Facility

1. August 19, 2009 - Toward limitless energy: National Ignition Facility focus of ACS symposium - also here

Star formation

1. August 19, 2009 - Stars Born in Violent Cosmic Cradle
2. August 21, 2009 - Big Squeeze Creates New Stars in Cosmic Cloud

Macroscopic quantum effects

1. August 19, 2009 - Seeing quantum effects on a big scale

Superfluids and Mott insulators

1. August 20, 2009 - 'Wedding Cake' Images Display Transitions between Exotic Quantum States

Paleoclimatology

1. August 20, 2009 - Shark Teeth Provide Key To North Sea's Climatic Past - also here

Spiral galaxies

1. August 21, 2009 - Where Did You Get Those Lovely Spirals?

Supercomputers

1. August 21, 2009 - Cystorm supercomputer unleashes 28.16 trillion calculations per second - also here

Hydrocarbons on Titan

1. August 21, 2009 - Saturn moon's mirror-smooth lake 'good for skipping rocks'

Metamaterials

1. August 21, 2009 - Metamaterials learn to remember

M87's black hole

1. August 23, 2009 - Mega black hole twice as big as we thought

Life sciences

Bacterial shape shifting

1. August 17, 2009 - Flat bacteria in nanoslits - also here

DNA methylation test

1. August 17, 2009 - New DNA test uses nanotechnology to find early signs of cancer - also here

Acetylation

1. August 17, 2009 - From cell division to ageing: Scientists locate main cell switches

MicroRNA

1. August 17, 2009 - To contract or not to contract: Decision controlled by 2 microRNAs - also here

Mitosis

1. August 17, 2009 - Newly discovered mechanism in cell division has implications for chromosome's role in cancer - also here

Wnt and lung development

1. August 17, 2009 - Cell-regeneration molecules essential signals for early lung development - also here

Vitamin-D mediated immune response

1. August 18, 2009 - Key feature of immune system survived in humans, other primates for 60 million years - also here

Nuclear pore complex

1. August 18, 2009 - New research supports model for nuclear pore complex - also here
2. August 19, 2009 - Solving the Nuclear Pore Puzzle

Nucleosomes and exons

1. August 18, 2009 - Evolutionarily preserved mechanism governs use of genes - also here

Bioinformatics

1. August 18, 2009 - Two software tools that improve identification of cancer biomarkers earn certification - also here

Ediacara organisms

1. August 18, 2009 - Bizarre Fossil Organisms Likely Absorbed Nutrients through Their Skin
2. August 19, 2009 - Geobiologists propose that the earliest complex organisms fed by absorbing ocean buffet - also here

Origins of gram-negative bacteria

1. August 19, 2009 - Early Life Didn't Just Divide, It United
2. August 19, 2009 - Major insights into evolution of life reported - also here

Glucocorticoid hormones and gene activity

1. August 19, 2009 - Hormones found to affect gene activity

Commensal bacteria and immune response

1. August 19, 2009 - Friendly gut bacteria lend a hand to fight infection, study suggests - also here

Protein shape-shifting and drug interaction

1. August 19, 2009 - Intrinsic changes in protein shape influence drug binding - also here

Modeling complex biological and physical systems

1. August 19, 2009 - New initiative to develop modeling tools for disease and complex systems

Bacterial genetic engineering

1. August 20, 2009 - Gene swap experiment makes altering bugs easier
2. August 20, 2009 - Building better bacteria
3. August 20, 2009 - Scientists devise new way to modify organisms
4. August 20, 2009 - A step closer to 'synthetic life'
5. August 20, 2009 - Genome smuggling is step towards synthetic life
6. August 22, 2009 - Artificial Life One Step Closer: Scientists Clone And Engineer Bacterial Genomes In Yeast And Transplant Genomes Back Into Bacterial Cells - also here
7. August 24, 2009 - Gene swap experiment makes altering bugs easier

Ribosomes

1. August 20, 2009 - New images capture cell's ribosomes at work, could aid in molecular war against disease - also here

Cellular fusion

1. August 20, 2009 - A new 'bent' on fusion - also here

Transposons and antibiotic resistance

1. August 20, 2009 - 'Jumping genes' create antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Nanog and pluripotency

1. August 20, 2009 - New insight into how stems cells develop into other types of cells - also here

Sexual selection

1. August 21, 2009 - Should females trust showy males?
2. August 21, 2009 - Females 'distrust flashy males'

Brown adipose tissue

1. August 21, 2009 - Daylight could help control our weight - also here

Cellular adaptive response

1. August 22, 2009 - Researchers identify 2 key pathways in adaptive response - also here

Messenger RNA decay

1. August 23, 2009 - Researchers demonstrate that messenger RNA are lost in translation - also here

Neuroscience, psychology, and behavior

Emotions and uncertainty

1. August 17, 2009 - Brain scans show uncertainty fuels anxiety - also here

Auditory processing in the presence of noise

1. August 17, 2009 - Taking up music so you can hear

Short- and long-term memory

1. August 17, 2009 - Study finds short- and long-term memories require same gene but in different circuits - also here

MECP2 and brain structure

1. August 17, 2009 - Common variation in gene linked to structural changes in the brain - also here
2. August 20, 2009 - Genetic Variations Linked To Brain Size

Brain-imaging studies

1. August 17, 2009 - Researchers find genetic link between physical pain and social rejection - also here

Exercise addiction

1. August 17, 2009 - Excessive exercise can be addicting, new study says - also here
2. August 20, 2009 - Exercise Can Be Like Heroin, "Gym Rats" Show

Corticotrophin releasing factor and alcoholism

1. August 17, 2009 - Monkeys booze because of genes

Face recognition

1. August 18, 2009 - Kids ID each other better than adults

Bilingualism

1. August 18, 2009 - Study shows bilinguals are unable to 'turn off' a language completely - also here

Tone deafness

1. August 18, 2009 - Neural pathway missing in tone-deaf people - also here
2. August 22, 2009 - Tone-deaf people have fewer brain connections

Neural activity and obesity in fruit flies

1. August 18, 2009 - Researchers pinpoint neurons that control obesity in fruit flies - also here

Biological function of sleep

1. August 20, 2009 - Why sleep? Scientist delves into one of science's great mysteries - also here

Rivalry in the olfactory system

1. August 20, 2009 - Battle of the nostrils?

Health and medicine

Multiple sclerosis

1. August 17, 2009 - Blood pressure drug reverses MS symptoms in mice
2. August 17, 2009 - Inexpensive hypertension drug could be multiple sclerosis treatment - also here
3. August 17, 2009 - Smoking linked to increased brain lesions and brain shrinkage in MS
4. August 18, 2009 - MS Patients Who Smoke Show More Brain Atrophy, More Lesions, Than MS Nonsmokers

Cancer

1. August 17, 2009 - Study supports DNA repair-blocker research in cancer therapy - also here
2. August 17, 2009 - Research points to new target for stopping colon cancer - also here
3. August 17, 2009 - Antioxidants not associated with increased melanoma risk - also here
4. August 17, 2009 - Dermatologist skin examinations detect more, thinner skin cancers than patients identify themselves - also here
5. August 17, 2009 - Post-treatment pain in head and neck cancer patients linked to recurrence, lower survival rate - also here
6. August 18, 2009 - Low-dose estrogen may help if breast cancer recurs
7. August 18, 2009 - Digital mammography finds more breast cancers
8. August 18, 2009 - Tall men at risk of early prostate cancer
9. August 18, 2009 - Using estrogen to combat persistent breast cancer
10. August 18, 2009 - Fine-tuning an anti-cancer drug - also here
11. August 18, 2009 - Researchers identify key factor that stimulates brain cancer cells to spread - also here
12. August 18, 2009 - Low-dose estrogen shown safe and effective for metastatic breast cancer - also here
13. August 18, 2009 - Study backs Roche's new use of Avastin cancer drug
14. August 19, 2009 - Cannabis chemicals may help fight prostate cancer
15. August 19, 2009 - Tests help lung cancer drugs reach right patients
16. August 19, 2009 - Drug sequence does not up breast cancer survival
17. August 19, 2009 - New robot-assisted surgical method found successful for treatment of thyroid cancer - also here
18. August 19, 2009 - Tumor size and level of visceral pleura invasion can impact survival of NSCLC patients - also here
19. August 19, 2009 - Kinetic variable most useful for identifying malignant MRI-detected breast lesions identified - also here
20. August 19, 2009 - Primary liver cancers 'soaring'
21. August 19, 2009 - Study: Lung cancer pill works for some patients
22. August 20, 2009 - Cancer vaccine for clinical use made
23. August 20, 2009 - Lung cancer genetics unravelled
24. August 21, 2009 - Daily drinking may raise risk of several cancers
25. August 21, 2009 - Fecal DNA methylation detects gastric and colorectal cancers - also here
26. August 21, 2009 - Robot's gentle touch aids delicate cancer surgery - also here
27. August 21, 2009 - High serum insulin levels and risk of prostate cancer - also here
28. August 21, 2009 - New treatments offer better survival and fresh challenges in colorectal cancer - also here
29. August 23, 2009 - How diarrheal bacteria cause some colon cancers revealed in mouse studies - also here

Cancer biology

1. August 17, 2009 - Does sugar feed cancer? - also here
2. August 17, 2009 - Cancer's break-in tools possibly identified - also here
3. August 17, 2009 - Prion protein identified as a novel early pancreatic cancer biomarker - also here
4. August 17, 2009 - Metastatic Cancer And Macrophages: Cells Thought To Protect Against Cancer May Actually Promote It
5. August 19, 2009 - Cancer cells don't need a map to travel
6. August 20, 2009 - The ends of mRNAs may prevent the beginnings of cancer - also here
7. August 20, 2009 - Disrupting a destructive duo: Researchers inhibit cancer proteins - also here
8. August 23, 2009 - Some brain tumors may be mediated by tiny filament on cells - also here
9. August 23, 2009 - Some skin cancer may be mediated by primary cilia activity - also here

Stem cells

1. August 17, 2009 - Nanomagnets guide stem cells to damaged tissue - also here
2. August 17, 2009 - 'Magnetic' stem cells for hearts
3. August 19, 2009 - Watching stem cells repair the human brain - also here
4. August 20, 2009 - 'Housekeeping' genes play important role in developmental pathways of cells - also here
5. August 20, 2009 - Human stem cell trial on hold
6. August 24, 2009 - Stem cell researchers see red
7. August 24, 2009 - 'Glow-in-the-dark' red blood cells made from human stem cells - also here

Protein interaction interference drugs

1. August 17, 2009 - Engineered protein-like molecule protects cells against HIV infection - also here

Nanobiotechnology

1. August 17, 2009 - Harnessing carbon nanomaterials for drug delivery systems, oxygen sensors - also here
2. August 19, 2009 - DNA-Coated Nanotubes Help Kill Tumors Without Harm to Surrounding Tissue - also here
3. August 19, 2009 - Scientists develop targeted cancer treatment using nanomaterials - also here

Hepatitis C

1. August 17, 2009 - Hepatitis C virus channels efforts into cell survival - also here

Alzheimer's disease

1. August 17, 2009 - Study shows how to boost value of Alzheimer's-fighting compounds - also here
2. August 20, 2009 - Neural networks mapped in dementia patients - also here
3. August 26, 2008 - Many degrees of separation in dementia brains

Malaria

1. August 17, 2009 - Naturally occurring protection against severe malaria - also here
2. August 21, 2009 - New discovery points the way towards malaria 'vaccine' - also here

Cancer stem cells

1. August 17, 2009 - Gene vital to brain's stem cells implicated in deadly brain cancer - also here

Tuberculosis

1. August 17, 2009 - Tuberculosis treatment may be shortened

Tissue engineering

1. August 17, 2009 - Researcher says microchannels could advance tissue engineering methods - also here
2. August 20, 2009 - Muscular blob shows new direction for tissue engineering

Asthma

1. August 18, 2009 - Sad, stressful events may worsen kids' asthma - also here
2. August 19, 2009 - Experts question study's asthma drug safety claim

Polyphenol sources

1. August 18, 2009 - Whole grain cereals, popcorn rich in antioxidants, not just fiber: study - also here

Cardiovascular disease

1. August 18, 2009 - Scientists help explain effects of ancient Chinese herbal formulas on heart health - also here
2. August 20, 2009 - Diabetes drug linked to increased risk of heart failure
3. August 20, 2009 - Increase in visceral fat during menopause linked with testosterone - also here
4. August 20, 2009 - Smokeless tobacco increases risk of heart attack and stroke - also here
5. August 21, 2009 - New research sheds light on sudden death in people with high cholesterol - also here
6. August 22, 2009 - Research shows why low vitamin D raises heart disease risks in diabetics - also here
7. August 25, 2009 - Vitamin D may be heart protective

Modeling epidemics

1. August 18, 2009 - Science ponders 'zombie attack'

Klotho and hypertension

1. August 19, 2009 - Anti-aging gene linked to high blood pressure - also here

Protein-polymer conjugates

1. August 19, 2009 - Novel polymer could improve protein-based drugs - also here

Parkinson's disease

1. August 19, 2009 - Parkinson's disease: Iron accumulation to the point of demise - also here

MicroRNA and cancer

1. August 19, 2009 - Researchers discover new targets for treatment of invasive breast cancer - also here

Progesterone, inflammation, and cancer

1. August 19, 2009 - Study: Progesterone leads to inflammation - also here

Antioxidants, metabolism of matrix-detached cells, and cancer

1. August 19, 2009 - Antioxidants Encourage Cancer in Some Cases, Study Says
2. August 19, 2009 - Antioxidants help cancer cells?
3. August 20, 2009 - Antioxidants could give cancer a hand
4. August 19, 2009 - New metabolic safeguards against tumor cells revealed - also here

Inflammatory bowel disease

1. August 20, 2009 - Scientists make "sugar bug" drug for bowel disease - also here
2. August 20, 2009 - Genetically engineered bacteria are sweet success against IBD - also here

Oxycholesterol

1. August 20, 2009 - Little known type of cholesterol may pose the greatest heart disease risk - also here

Antibiotics

1. August 20, 2009 - Scientists learn why some drugs pack such a punch - also here

Diabetes

1. August 20, 2009 - Type 1 diabetes linked to immune response to wheat - also here

Fitness and longevity

1. August 21, 2009 - Even modest fitness may extend lifespan

Prions

1. August 21, 2009 - Impaired transport in neurons triggers prion disease - also here

MCAT and longevity

1. August 21, 2009 - Living Longer And Happier

Obesity and dementia

1. August 23, 2009 - Expanding waistlines may cause shrinking brains

Copyright © 2009 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved