Brain cells work differently than previously thought

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Scientists know that information travels between brain cells along hairlike extensions called axons. For the first time, researchers have found that axons don’t just transmit information – they can turn the signal up or down with the right stimulation.

This finding may help scientists develop treatments for psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia in which it is thought that different parts of the brain do not communicate correctly with each other.

Compounds that color fruits and veggies may protect against colon cancer

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Understanding the molecular structures of compounds that give certain fruits and vegetables their rich colors may help researchers find even more powerful cancer fighters, a new study suggests.

Evidence from laboratory experiments on rats and on human colon cancer cells also suggests that anthocyanins, the compounds that give color to most red, purple and blue fruits and vegetables appreciably slow the growth of colon cancer cells.

The findings also bring scientists a step closer to figuring out what exactly gives fruits and vegetables their cancer-fighting properties.

Thermochemical process converts poultry litter into bio-oil

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Foster Agblevor, associate professor of biological systems engineering, is leading the team of researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (www.cals.vt.edu) at Virginia Tech (www.vt.edu) developing transportable pyrolysis units that will convert poultry litter into bio-oil, providing an economical disposal system while reducing environmental effects and biosecurity issues.

Agblevor will present the research during the 234th American Chemical Society National Meeting in Boston on August 19-23.

Biofuels CO2 Impact Is 9X That Of Petrol, Says World Land Trust

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Researchers at the University of Leeds and the World Land Trust have warned that growing biofuel crops to make eco-friendly car fuel could actually be harmful to the environment.

Large areas of land in the developing world are being converted to grow crops such as sugar cane and palm oil as part of the global rush to make biofuels which are widely thought to produce less carbon dioxide than conventional transport fuels.

UGA researcher leads effort to sequence and catalog conifer genes for future biofuels research

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Jeffrey Dean, professor of forest biotechnology in the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, is spearheading a project at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI) that will greatly expand the gene catalog for pines and initiate the first gene discovery efforts in five other conifer families.

Muscle mass: Scientists identify novel mode of transcriptional regulation during myogenesis

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In an upcoming issue of G&D, Drs. Maria Divina Deato and Robert Tjian (HHMI, UC Berkeley) reveal that the formation of an alternative transcriptional core promoter complex directs cell-type specific differentiation during myogenesis. The article uncovers a whole new level of transcriptional control of terminal cell differentiation, and will be published online ahead of its September 1 print date at www.genesdev.org.

No Evidence That Statins Protect Against Prostate Cancer

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A large community-based study refutes previous findings that statins – a top-selling drug class, worldwide -- might cut one’s risk of developing prostate cancer by reducing production of the male hormones that fuel cancer growth.

Internet Helps Motivate Teens to Lose Weight

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When 14-year-old Jared Sanchez became dangerously overweight, his primary care physician knew he would be a perfect candidate for an investigational weight loss study using the internet.

The PACE (Patient-centered Assessment and Counseling for Exercise and Nutrition) Teen Study is aimed at overweight adolescents who are at risk for Type 2 Diabetes, and their families. The program, which is still enrolling volunteers, uses web and cell phone-based prompts to urge the teens to make permanent changes in diet and behavior, without drugs, supplements or costs.

Role seen for cannabis in helping to alleviate allergic skin disease

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Administering a substance found in the cannabis plant can help the body’s natural protective system alleviate an allergic skin disease (allergic contact dermatitis), an international group of researchers from Germany, Israel, Italy, Switzerland and the U.S. has found.

A Forest Of Gold

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Researchers have found native gold, silver and platinum salts in the dust of decayed stumps. A ton of their ashes contains 3 kilograms of silver, nearly 200 milligrams of gold and 5 grams of platinum.

These biogeochemical anomalies in complex ore deposit regions were formed by microbes and trees, which act as "gold-diggers" and draw soluble salts out of the soil and then die off, leaving behind the concentrate with enormous precious metals content.