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ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A delicate balance of atomic forces can be exploited to make nanoparticle superclusters that are uniform in size---an attribute that's important for many nanotech applications but hard to accomplish, University of Michigan researchers say.

The same type of forces are at work bringing the building blocks of viruses together, and the inorganic supercluster structures in this research are in many ways similar to viruses.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – 79 million American adults have prediabetes and will likely develop diabetes later in life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the number of people diagnosed with diabetes continues to grow, researchers are focusing on discovering why the prevalence of the disease is increasing.

Persons with high cholesterol who received counseling regarding a diet that combined cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, nuts and plant sterols over 6 months experienced a greater reduction in their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels than individuals who received advice on a low-saturated fat diet, according to a study in the August 24/31 issue of JAMA.

Sunbathers have long known that melanin in their skin cells provides protection from the damage caused by visible and ultraviolet light. More recent studies have shown that melanin, which is produced by multitudes of the planet's life forms, also gives some species protection from ionizing radiation. In certain microbes, in particular some organisms from near the former nuclear reactor facilities in Chernobyl, melanin has even been linked to increased growth in the presence of ionizing radiation.

JUPITER, FL, August 23, 2011 – In a joint research effort with researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and with help from scientists at The University of Pennsylvania, The University of Minnesota, and the National Institutes of Health, investigators from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have defined a specific protein complex that allows cells to rid themselves of damaged mitochondria, which are the energy producing machines of the cell.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist has created a new weapon in the war being waged against the potato cyst nematode-a diagnostic test that identifies the type of nematode infesting a grower's field.

Afghan patients treated at a U.S. military hospital in Afghanistan often carry multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, according to a report in the September issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The findings underscore the need for effective infection control measures at deployed hospitals where both soldiers and local patients are treated, the study's authors say.

AURORA, Colo. (Aug. 23, 2011) – A new study of children's hospitals nationwide has found them underequipped to handle a major surge of patients in the event of a pandemic, and urges health care institutions and government agencies to immediately review emergency preparedness plans as flu season approaches.

"Every year we get lucky," said the study's lead author, Marion Sills, MD, MPH, and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "But it wouldn't take much of an epidemic to put us over capacity. If that happens where do the children go?"

NEW YORK (Aug. 23, 2011) -- For men with erectile dysfunction (ED), 65 percent are unable to have an orgasm and 58 percent have problems with ejaculation, according to new research which sfollowed 12,130 men with mild to severe ED and is the largest-ever analysis of orgasmic and ejaculatory dysfunction.

Scientists have for the first time generated stem cells from one of the most rapidly progressing forms of Parkinson's disease.

The development will help research into the condition as it will enable scientists to model the disease in the laboratory to shed light on why certain nerve cells die.

Scientists, funded with a £300,000 grant from the charity Parkinson's UK, took skin samples from a patient diagnosed with one of the most progressive types of Parkinson's.

Researchers have used ancient DNA to produce compelling evidence that the lack of genetic diversity in modern stallions is the result of the domestication process.

The team has carried out the first study on Y chromosomal DNA sequences from extinct ancient wild horses and found an abundance of diversity.

The results suggest the almost complete absence of genetic diversity in modern male horses is not based on properties intrinsic to wild horses, but on the domestication process itself.

Baylor University environmental researchers have proposed in a new study a different approach to predict the environmental safety of chemicals by using data from other similar chemicals.

Amid the controversy surrounding the Food and Drug Administration's ruling that Avastin should no longer be used to treat metastatic breast cancer, a new multinational Phase III clinical trial shows that Avastin significantly increased tumor response rates in breast cancer patients when given before surgery.

Saranac Lake, N.Y. – New research from the Trudeau Institute may help to explain why live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), commonly known as FluMist, elicits protection. The research is published in this month's issue of Vaccine. The journal article is entitled "Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) impacts innate and adaptive immune responses" and was authored by Trudeau Institute scientist Dr. Laura Haynes and her colleagues.