Body

HOUSTON - (Aug. 15, 2016) - Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) bend and twist easily in solution, making them adaptable for biological uses like DNA analysis, drug delivery and biomimetic applications, according to scientists at Rice University.

Using a unique single-molecule force measurement tool, a research team has developed a clearer understanding of how platelets sense the mechanical forces they encounter during bleeding to initiate the cascading process that leads to blood clotting.

It isn't often that a graduate student makes a spectacular technical leap in his field, or invents a process that can have a significant impact on a real-world problem. Di Liu did both. Liu, a chemistry graduate student at the University of Chicago, devised an ingenious way to make tiny knotted and interlocked chemical structures that have been impossible for chemists to fabricate until now, and he invented a way that those knots might be used to quickly screen hundreds of chemicals for fighting cancer.

Ever thought of putting sewage on your plants? Scientists say thermally conditioned sewage sludge serves as an excellent fertilizer to improve soil properties. This was recently published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Nutrition. The major advantage over commercial fertilizers? Sustainable re-use of essential and finite phosphorus resources.

A cache of exquisitely preserved bones, found in a coal mine in the state of Gujarat, India, appear to be the most primitive primate bones yet discovered, according to an analysis led by researchers from The Johns Hopkins University and Des Moines University. Their assessment of the bones, belonging to ancient, rat-sized, tree-dwelling primates, bolsters the controversial idea that primates native to what is now India played an important role in the very early evolution of primates, mammals that include humans, apes and monkeys.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- For years, employers, pundits and policymakers alike have bemoaned the lack of qualified workers available to fill vacant manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

Despite the prominence of the skills-gap debate, a new paper co-written by a University of Illinois expert in labor economics and workforce policy finds that the demand for higher-level skills in U.S. manufacturing jobs is generally modest.

LA JOLLA, CA--August 15, 2015--Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have taken a big step toward the laboratory re-creation of the "RNA world," which is generally believed to have preceded modern life forms based on DNA and proteins.

"This is probably the first time some of these complex RNA molecules have been synthesized with a ribozyme [a special RNA enzyme] since the end of the RNA world four billion years ago," said TSRI Professor Gerald F. Joyce, the senior author of the study.

A team of researchers from nine leading academic hospitals and research centers have published a paper in the early online edition of the journal Cancer that describes pulmonary outcomes among childhood cancer survivors. The study also evaluates the impact of complications such as asthma, chronic cough, emphysema and recurrent pneumonia on daily activities.

When Shayla Haddock was born in 1997, her parents immediately realized something was wrong. The sixth of seven children, Shayla had unusual facial features. She had club feet and shorter-than-normal limbs. She was smaller than most newborns. Hearing tests showed she was deaf.

Biologists at the University of Washington hope September will bring welcome news for a dazzling array of sea creatures that have long been victims of human aesthetic fascination.

DENVER - Leptomeningeal metastases (LM), a devastating complication and predictor of poor survival in lung cancer patients, was found to be more prevalent in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. Patients receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting EGFR mutations had a longer overall survival (OS) than those who did not receive TKIs, demonstrating the effectiveness of TKIs for LM therapy.

A Northwestern University team recently caught DNA doing something that has never been seen before: it blinked.

For decades, textbooks have stated that macromolecules within living cells, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, do not fluoresce on their own. Technology instead relies on special fluorescence dyes to enhance contrast when macromolecules are imaged.

• Lower socio-economic African-American women have increased risk of depressive disorders
• African-American women are less likely to access traditional mental health services
• Study uses mindfulness-based intervention to combat depression
• 'It felt good to be in control of my emotions for the first time in my life,' participant says

ROSEMONT, Ill., ARLINGTON, Va., ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Three leading national cancer organizations today issued a consensus guideline for physicians treating women who have ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) treated with breast-conserving surgery with whole breast irradiation. The new guideline has the potential to save many women from unnecessary surgeries while reducing costs to the health care system.

The balmy waters of the Caribbean could turn into a deadly heat trap for countless tiny creatures. Authors of a new study conducted at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama discovered that microscopic sea urchin eggs and larvae may suffer stunting or death when the water temperature spikes just a couple of degrees above normal, adding to the impact of climate change in already warm tropical oceans.