Body

Two from one: Pitt research maps out evolution of genders from hermaphroditic ancestors

PITTSBURGH—Research from the University of Pittsburgh published in the Nov. 20 edition of Heredity could finally provide evidence of the first stages of the evolution of separate sexes, a theory that holds that males and females developed from hermaphroditic ancestors. These early stages are not completely understood because the majority of animal species developed into the arguably less titillating separate-sex state too long ago for scientists to observe the transition.

Specific DNA variations of the serotonin transporter gene can influence drinking intensity

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Hazardous drinking among New Zealand university students has its roots in high school

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Exploring the health and protective benefits of light to moderate alcohol consumption

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Research finds way to double rice crops in drought-stricken areas

University of Alberta research has yielded a way to double the output of rice crops in some of the world's poorest, most distressed areas.

Jerome Bernier, a PhD student in the U of A Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, has found a group of genes in rice that enables a yield of up to 100 per cent more in severe drought conditions.

Type of breast reconstruction impacts radiation therapy outcomes

For breast cancer patients who underwent a mastectomy who undergo radiation therapy after immediate breast reconstruction, autologous tissue reconstruction provides fewer long-term complications and better cosmetic results than tissue expander and implant reconstruction, according to a study in the November issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

11,000 alien species invade Europe

Halle/Saale. For the first time it is now possible to get a comprehensive overview of which alien species are present in Europe, their impacts and consequences for the environment and society. More than 11,000 alien species have been documented by DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe), a unique three year research project with more than 100 European scientists, funded by the European Union that provides new knowledge on biological invasions in Europe.

Caltech 4-D microscope revolutionizes the way we look at the nano world

PASADENA, Calif.-- More than a century ago, the development of the earliest motion picture technology made what had been previously thought "magical" a reality: capturing and recreating the movement and dynamism of the world around us. A breakthrough technology based on new concepts has now accomplished a similar feat, but on an atomic scale--by allowing, for the first time, the real-time, real-space visualization of fleeting changes in the structure and shape of matter barely a billionth of a meter in size.

Research sheds light on benefits of multiple mates

New research could explain why females of many species have multiple partners. Published on Friday 21 November 2008 in leading journal Science, the study was carried out by a team from the Universities of Exeter (UK), Okayama (Japan) and Liverpool (UK).

A simple blood test for colon cancer

People are often reluctant to undergo a routine but painful colonoscopy ― but the consequences can be fatal. According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer is the third most common cancer found in American men and women and kills about 50,000 Americans every year.

"85% of those who develop colon cancer have no symptoms or family history," says Prof. Nadir Arber, a professor of medicine and gastroenterology, at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine. "Generally speaking, it's much harder to get these people to comply with taking the test."

Researcher tricks immune system in diabetic mice

CHICAGO -- The body's immune system hates strangers. When its security patrol spots a foreign cell, it annihilates it.

This is the problem when people with type 1 diabetes undergo human islet cell transplantation. The islet cells from a donor pancreas produce robust amounts of insulin for the recipient -- often permitting independence from insulin therapy. However, the immune system tries to kill the new hard-working islets.

ACS Thanksgiving podcasts feature advances toward safer, healthier food

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2008 — With a whole nation set to gather for the annual Thanksgiving Day feast, scientists are describing major advances in making Thursday's meal — and others — safer and more nutritious in the 10th and 11th episodes of the American Chemical Society's Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions (GC/CS) podcast series.

Part One of the podcast focuses on food safety. It includes research by Dan Donoghue, Ph.D., a chemist with the University of Arkansas, who is trying to reduce the risk of food poisoning associated with eating poultry.

Misreading of damaged DNA may spur tumor formation

The DNA in our cells is constantly under assault from oxygen, the sun's radiation and environmental stresses. Most of the time, our cells can repair the damage before it gets copied into a permanent mutation that could lead to cancer.

Adding a wrinkle to our understanding of how cancers begin, scientists have found that cells can turn on tumor-promoting growth circuits as a result of misreading damaged DNA without copying it: a process called "transcriptional mutagenesis."

The results are published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Pure insulin-producing cells produced in mouse

Singapore researchers have developed an unlimited number of pure insulin-producing cells from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs).

These pure insulin-producing cells, which according to electron microscopy studies, have the same sub-cellular structures as the insulin-producing cells naturally found in the pancreas, were highly effective in treating diabetes in the mouse model.

The transplants of pure insulin-producing cells reduced the blood glucose levels of diabetic mice with high blood glucose levels.

Discovery of giant roaming deep sea protist provides new perspective on animal evolution

AUSTIN, Texas—Groove-like tracks on the ocean floor made by giant deep-sea single-celled organisms could lead to new insights into the evolutionary origin of animals, says biologist Mikhail "Misha" Matz from The University of Texas at Austin.

Matz and his colleagues recently discovered the grape-sized protists and their complex tracks on the ocean floor near the Bahamas. This is the first time a single-celled organism has been shown to make such animal-like traces.