UC San Diego biologists discover a motor protein that rewinds DNA

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Two biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered the first of a new class of cellular motor proteins that "rewind" sections of the double-stranded DNA molecule that become unwound, like the tangled ribbons from a cassette tape, in "bubbles" that prevent critical genes from being expressed.

"When your DNA gets stuck in the unwound position, your cells are in big trouble, and in humans, that ultimately leads to death" said Jim Kadonaga, a professor of biology at UCSD who headed the study. "What we discovered is the enzyme that fixes this problem."

Weight does not affect women's sexual behavior

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon and Hawaiian researchers have found that a woman's weight does not seem to affect sexual behavior. In fact, overweight women are more likely to report having sex with men than women considered to be of "normal weight."

Study identifies 3 effective treatments for childhood anxiety disorders

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Treatment that combines a certain type of psychotherapy with an antidepressant medication is most likely to help children with anxiety disorders, but each of the treatments alone is also effective, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study was published online Oct. 30, in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Survey reveals extent of Hurricane Ike's underwater damage to galveston

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AUSTIN, Texas—Conducting a rapid response research mission after Hurricane Ike, scientists at The University of Texas at Austin surveyed the inlet between Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, discovering the hurricane significantly reshaped the seafloor and likely carried an enormous amount of sand and sediment out into the Gulf.

Newly identified fungus implicated in white-nose syndrome in bats

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A previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus has been linked to white-nose syndrome, a condition associated with the deaths of over 100,000 hibernating bats in the northeastern United States. The findings are published in this week's issue of Science.

The probable cause of these bat deaths has puzzled researchers and resource managers urgently trying to understand why the bats were dying in such unprecedented numbers. Since the winter of 2006-07, bat declines at many surveyed hibernation caves exceeded 75 percent.

Conclusive proof that polar warming is being caused by humans

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New research by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has demonstrated for the first time that human activity is responsible for significant warming in both polar regions.

The findings by a team of scientists led by UEA's Climatic Research Unit will be published online by the Nature Geoscience this week.

Ultrafast lasers give CU-Boulder researchers a snapshot of electrons in action

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In the quest to slow down and ultimately understand chemistry at the level of atoms and electrons, University of Colorado at Boulder and Canadian scientists have found a new way to peer into a molecule that allows them to see how its electrons rearrange as the molecule changes shape.

Virginia Tech engineers identify conditions that initiate erosion

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Blacksburg, Va. -- Wind, water, and waves erode billions of tons of soil from the earth's surface. As a result, many rivers are plagued with excessive amounts of suspended sediment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, such eroded sediment is the largest nonpoint source pollution in the environment.

Without glial cells, animals lose their senses

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Sensory neurons have always put on a good show. But now, it turns out, they'll be sharing the credit. In groundbreaking research to appear in the October 31 issue of Science, Rockefeller University scientists show that while neurons play the lead role in detecting sensory information, a second type of cell, the glial cell, pulls the strings behind the scenes. The findings, point to a mechanism that may explain not only how glia are required for bringing sensory information into the brain but also how glia may influence connections between neurons deep within in it.

MIT researchers find clues to planets' birth

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Meteorites that are among the oldest rocks ever found have provided new clues about the conditions that existed at the beginning of the solar system, solving a longstanding mystery and overturning some accepted ideas about the way planets form.

The ancient meteorites, like disk drives salvaged from an ancient computer, still contain magnetic records about the very early history of planets, according to research by MIT planetary scientist Benjamin P. Weiss.