Body

A Salmonella infection is not a positive experience. However, by infecting the common laboratory fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster with a Salmonella strain known for causing humans intestinal grief, researchers in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University have shed light on some key cell regulatory processes – with broad implications for understanding embryonic development, immune function and congenital diseases in humans.

Trees in a hyper-diverse tropical rainforest interact with each other and their environment to create and maintain diversity, researchers report in the Oct. 24 issue of the journal Science. This study was conducted in the Yasuni forest dynamics plot of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, the most diverse tropical forest site associated with the Center for Tropical Forest Science/Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory network (CTFS/SIGEO).

Ghent, Belgium – VIB researchers at Ghent University have discovered the substance that governs the formation of root offshoots in plants, and how it works. Root offshoots are vitally important for plants – and for farmers. Plants draw the necessary nutrients from the soil through their roots. Because they do this best with a well-branched root system, plants must form offshoots of their roots at the right moment. The VIB researchers describe how this process is controlled in the prominent professional journal Science. A key player in this process is a protein called ACR4.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Patients operated on by surgeons who do not routinely remove cancer from the lungs may be at a higher risk for complications, according to a study conducted by researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

"Our study found that hospitals that do higher volumes of these types of surgeries have correspondingly lower mortality rates than those who do fewer of the procedures," said Andrew Shaw, M.D., an anesthesiologist at Duke and lead investigator on the study.

Amoebas glide toward their prey with the help of a protein switch that controls a molecular compass, biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered.

Their finding, detailed in this week's issue of the journal Current Biology, is important because the same molecular switch is shared by humans and other vertebrates to help immune cells locate the sites of infections.

Researchers have new insight into the mechanisms that underlie a pathological increase in the size of the heart. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 24th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, may lead to the development of new strategies for managing this extremely common cardiac ailment that often leads to heart failure.

From pacemakers constructed of materials that so closely mimic human tissues that a patient's body can't discern the difference to devices that bypass injured spinal cords to restore movement to paralyzed limbs, the possibilities presented by organic electronics read like something from a science fiction novel.

UCLA scientists engineered a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine specifically designed for HIV-positive people that was shown to be safer and more potent than the current TB vaccine in preclinical trials.

A more effective TB vaccine may help curtail the global spread of the disease, especially in HIV-positive people, for whom tuberculosis is the leading cause of death worldwide.

Management of hepatitis B is a challenge for physicians and patients due to an incomplete understanding of the disease course, complex treatment indications, and the lack of large studies focusing on important health outcomes. To examine these issues, the NIH convened an independent, impartial panel this week to weigh the available evidence on the management of hepatitis B.

CINCINNATI—University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists say that a recent scientific study of a now-closed uranium processing plant near Cincinnati has identified a second, potentially more significant source of radon exposure for former workers.

That source—six silos filled with uranium ore in the production area—resulted in relatively high levels of radon exposure to 12 percent of the workers. More than half (56 percent) of the workers were exposed to low levels of radon while working at the site.

October 22, 2008, Amsterdam – The past 25 years have seen an explosion of scientific investigations into the basic neurobiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Unfortunately, the gap between bench and bedside remains as vast as ever. Recent progress, however, has resulted in the development of novel, and in some cases, unconventional approaches for effective treatment. New therapies are currently undergoing preclinical investigation or are in clinical trial phase.

Stanford, CA – October 23, 2008 – Successful democracies depend on an informed, thoughtful, and engaged electorate. However, social scientific research shows the American electorate to be poorly informed and often disengaged. In an article in the 2008 Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Eamonn Callan contends that civic education in America nonetheless has an important role to play in mitigating these civic vices.

The world record bid again teams Andy, the current record holder and first man to drive a supersonic vehicle on land with Head of the Design Team and former world record holder Richard Noble. It is aiming to develop the first land speed vehicle that breaks the 1,000 mph barrier and will have its design underpinned through world-class research from some of the UK's top laboratories.

One of the most important decisions that we can make is what company we will work for. There are a number of factors to consider when making this decision, including salary, benefits and work location. However, there may also be less-obvious factors in play that sway our decision, and without us even knowing it. It is well known that unconscious thoughts can influence certain aspects of our behavior. An intriguing example of this is the "name-letter effect," a phenomenon which shows that we have a preference for things that begin with the same letter as our first name.

DURHAM, N.H. – Elderly women can increase muscle strength as much as young women can, a new study from the University of New Hampshire finds, indicating that decline in muscle function is less a natural part of the aging process than due to a decline in physical activity.