Newborn neurons in the adult brain can settle in the wrong neighborhood

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LA JOLLA, CA—In a study that could have significant consequences for neural tissue transplantation strategies, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that inactivating a specific gene in adult neural stem cells makes nerve cells emerging from those precursors form connections in the wrong part of the adult brain.

Limb loss in lizards -- evidence for rapid evolution

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Small skink lizards, Lerista, demonstrate extensive changes in body shape over geologically brief periods. Research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that several species of these skinks have rapidly evolved an elongate, limbless body form.

Western Transportation Institute installs one of the country’s largest driving simulators

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BOZEMAN -- The Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University is now home to one of the largest and most sophisticated motion-based driving simulators in the United States.

The $915,000 simulator uses real vehicle bodies mounted on a motion platform and surrounded by a 240-degree arc of projector screens to more accurately simulate the experience of being behind the wheel, said WTI's simulator manager Suzy Lassacher. Funding for the simulator came from a variety of federal and private sources.

Pollinator decline not reducing crop yields just yet

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The well-documented worldwide decline in the number of bees and other pollinators is not, at this stage, limiting global crop yields, according to the results of an international study published in the latest edition of the respected science journal, Current Biology.

Co-author, CSIRO Entomology's Dr Saul Cunningham, says however that the study detected warning signs that demand for pollinators is still growing and some highly pollinator-dependant crops are suffering.

Battling bacteria in the blood: Researchers tackle deadly infections

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It's a leading cause of death, but no one knows for sure how and why it happens. It's a major source of health care costs, adding days or weeks to the hospital stays and lost work time of millions of people. But no one fully understands how best to fight it.

"It" is bacterial infection in the blood, also called bacteremia, and it's a major part of the very serious illness called sepsis.

'Arid aquaculture' among livelihoods promoted to relieve worsening pressure on world's drylands

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"Arid aquaculture" using ponds filled with salty, undrinkable water for fish production is one of several options experts have proven to be an effective potential alternative livelihood for people living in desertified parts of the world's expanding drylands.

Without enzyme, biological reaction essential to life takes 2.3 billion years

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CHAPEL HILL – All biological reactions within human cells depend on enzymes. Their power as catalysts enables biological reactions to occur usually in milliseconds. But how slowly would these reactions proceed spontaneously, in the absence of enzymes – minutes, hours, days? And why even pose the question?

NC State finds new nanomaterial could be breakthrough for implantable medical devices

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A team of researchers led by North Carolina State University has made a breakthrough that could lead to new dialysis devices and a host of other revolutionary medical implants. The researchers have found that the unique properties of a new material can be used to create new devices that can be implanted into the human body – including blood glucose sensors for diabetics and artificial hemo-dialysis membranes that can scrub impurities from the blood.

Doctors should disclose off-label prescribing to their patients

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Doctors should be required to disclose when they are prescribing drugs off-label, argues a new article in this week's PLoS Medicine. Michael Wilkes and Margaret Johns from the University of California Davis argue that the ethics related to informed consent and shared decision-making provide an imperative for doctors to inform patients about the risks of a medical treatment when their use has not been approved by regulators.

Marine invasive species advance 50km per decade, World Conference on Marine Biodiversity told

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A rapid, climate change-induced northern migration of invasive marine is one of many research results announced Tues. Nov. 11 during opening day presentations at the First World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, in Valencia.