Body

Since the Victorian era, categorizing the natural world has challenged scientists. No group has presented a challenge as tricky as the protists, the tiny, complex life forms that are neither plants nor animals. A new reclassification of eukaryotic life forms, published in the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, draws together the latest research to clarify the current state of protist diversity and categorization, as well as the many species that remain to be discovered.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The recent economic downturn and volatile financial markets have drastically reduced the retirement accounts of many current and future retirees. In a new study, a University of Missouri financial expert has found that many Americans choose to retire when the economic markets are peaking, an action that can, ironically, cause major problems for the long-term financial stability of retirees.

TEMPE, Ariz.-Perhaps inspired by Arizona's blazing summers, Arizona State University scientists have developed a new method that relies on heat to improve the yield and lower the costs of high-energy biofuels production, making renewable energy production more of an everyday reality.

AMARILLO – Salt cedar along the waterways of the southern and eastern Panhandle is rapidly being defoliated and dying back, and one Texas A&M AgriLife Research entomologist believes he knows why.

When salt cedar beetles from Uzbekistan were released in 2006 by Dr. Jerry Michels and his entomology crew in parts of Lake Meredith and the Palo Duro Canyon, it was thought they would be more prolific eaters of salt cedar than other beetle species tried before.

Washington, D.C.–The D.C. Department of Health (DOH) has released a study by George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services (SPHHS) indicating the high levels of marketing by antipsychotic drug manufacturers to Medicaid psychiatrists in the District of Columbia.

In experiments on mice and rats, the scientists have managed to both prevent the development of type II diabetes and reverse the progression of established disease. The study is published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, where it is described as a breakthrough in diabetes research. The findings are the result of a joint effort by Karolinska Institutet, the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Australian biopharmaceutical company CSL Limited, amongst others.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The explosive PETN has been around for a century and is used by everyone from miners to the military, but it took new research by Sandia National Laboratories to begin to discover key mechanisms behind what causes it to fail at small scales.

"Despite the fact explosives are in widespread use, there's still a lot to learn about how detonation begins and what properties of the explosive define the key detonation phenomena," said Alex Tappan of Sandia's Explosives Technology Group.

A study co-led by Simon Fraser University and Purdue University has found that the intestinal enzymes responsible for processing starchy foods can be turned on and off, helping to better control those processes in people with Type 2 diabetes.

The process, called "toggling," was discovered in the lab of SFU V-P Research and chemist Mario Pinto, who has designed inhibitors capable of regulating each of the four starch-digesting enzymes known as alpha-glucosidases. It could lead to several solutions for diabetics and those prone to obesity.

Ottawa (September 27th, 2012) - An authoritative, evidence-based assessment of the state of science and technology in Canada has found that Canadian science and technology is healthy, growing and internationally respected. Over the past five years, real improvements have occurred in the magnitude and quality of Canadian science and technology.

Type the word 'superfood,' into a web browser and you'll be overwhelmed: some websites even maintain that dark chocolate can have beneficial effects. But take a closer look at the science underpinning these claims, and you'll discover just how sparse it is. So, when University of Calgary undergraduate Lee Fruson became curious about how dietary factors might affect memory, Ken Lukowiak was sceptical. 'I didn't think any of this stuff would work', Lukowiak recalls.

Researchers have identified 12 DNA sequences that may help doctors determine which men will suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) following radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

Cincinnati, OH, September 27, 2012 – Functional somatic symptoms (FSS) are physical complaints, such as headaches, pain, fatigue, and dizziness, that cannot be explained medically. These symptoms affect 10-30% of children and adolescents and account for 2-4% of all pediatric doctor visits. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics finds that infants with regulatory problems (i.e., feeding, sleeping, and tactile reactivity) and/or maternal psychiatric problems may have an increased risk of FSS in later childhood.

In the first study of its kind, a research team led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University discovered 12 genetic markers associated with the development of erectile dysfunction (ED) in prostate cancer patients who were treated with radiation.

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. – New optical imaging technology developed at Tufts University School of Engineering could give doctors new ways to both identify breast cancer and monitor individual patients' response to initial treatment of the disease. A five-year clinical study of the procedure, funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, is now underway at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered that the micro ribonucleic acid miR-214 plays a critical role in regulating ovarian cancer stem cell properties. This knowledge, said the researchers, could pave the way for a therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

The study appears in a recent issue of the The Journal of Biological Chemistry.