Body

Strict requirements on the use of animal manures in fresh produce production imposed by the new federal food-safety law threatened to adversely impact the mushroom industry, which relies on horse and poultry manure for a specialized growth substrate.

But a new study shows that heat generated during the traditional composting process -- originally developed to kill insect and fungal pests of mushrooms -- is adequate for eliminating human pathogens that might be present, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

A provocative new study suggests it is straightforward to predict which academics will succeed as publishing scientists.

Those who publish earlier and more often while young are typically the long-term winners.

"We were really surprised," said Professor William Laurance of James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, who led the study.

"It doesn't matter if you go to Harvard or a low-ranked university. If you begin publishing scientific articles when you're still a graduate student, you are far more likely to succeed in the long run."

Like normal cells, cancer cells require amino acids for growth, maintenance, and cell signaling, and L-type amino acid transporters (LATs) are the delivery vehicles that supply them. Metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells are highly dependent on LATs to deliver the amino acid leucine that the cells need for growth and proliferation, according to a study published September 19 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory -- Investigators at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) today report important progress in research aimed at finding ways to fight cancer by targeting the local environment in which tumors grow and from which they draw sustenance.

The targeting of interactions between cancer cells and their environment together with the traditional tactic of directly targeting cancer cells with drugs or radiation is an important new front in the fight against cancer.

Each of our cells has an energy furnace, and it is called a mitochondrion. A Northwestern University-led research team now has identified a new mode of timekeeping that involves priming the cell's furnace to properly use stored fuel when we are not eating.

The interdisciplinary team has identified the "match" and "flint" responsible for lighting this tiny furnace. And the match is only available when the circadian clock says so, underscoring the importance of the biological timing system to metabolism.

Genome sequencing has identified several infection transmission chains of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in humans. The study published in the Lancet, which produced the largest number of MERS-CoV genomes described to date, provides evidence that MERS-CoV transmission patterns are more complicated than previously considered.

The World Alzheimer Report 2013 'Journey of Caring: An analysis of long-term care for dementia', released today, calls for governments around the world to make dementia a priority by implementing national plans, and by initiating urgent national debates on future arrangements for long-term care.

Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) and Bupa commissioned a team of researchers, led by Professor Martin Prince from King's College London, to produce the report.

Paracetamol has a significant effect on exercise performance and the body's ability to cope with the thermal challenge of exercise in the heat, shows a study published today [20 September] in Experimental Physiology.

The explosion of animal life on Earth around 520 million years ago was the result of a combination of interlinked factors rather than a single underlying cause, according to a new study.

Dozens of individual theories have been put forward over the past few decades for this rapid diversification of animal species in the early Cambrian period of geological time.

Augusta, Ga. – Researchers have found a way to make early liver cancer show its true colors.

They have developed a test that will help pathologists clearly distinguish early liver cancer cells from nearly identical normal liver cells by giving them a distinctive red-brown hue.

The breakthrough concerns a gene called OPA1, which when mutated is responsible for dominant optic atrophy, a hereditary visual disease characterized by a progressive and symmetrical loss vision that becomes apparent early in life.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The bodies of mammals, including humans, respond to injury by releasing endogenous opioids -- compounds that mitigate acute pain. A team of researchers led by those at the University of Kentucky has uncovered groundbreaking new information about how the body responds to traumatic injury with the development of a surprisingly long-lasting opioid mechanism of natural chronic pain control. Remarkably, the body develops both physical and physiological dependence on this opioid system, just as it does to opiate narcotic drugs.

The idea behind DAVEI was to design a molecule that hijacks the virus's fusion machinery, the tools it uses to attach to and attack a healthy cell, and trick the virus into destroying itself. HIV invades a healthy cell by first attaching via protein "spikes" that then collapse to pull viral and cell membranes together, fusing them and allowing the genetic contents of the virus to enter the healthy cell.

Working with cells in test tubes and in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a chemical commonly used as a dog food preservative may prevent the kind of painful nerve damage found in the hands and feet of four out of five cancer patients taking the chemotherapy drug Taxol.

The Food and Drug Administration-approved preservative, an antioxidant called ethoxyquin, was shown in experiments to bind to certain cell proteins in a way that limits their exposure to the damaging effects of Taxol, the researchers say.

Bracing in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis reduces the likelihood that the condition will progress to the point that surgery is needed, according to a study published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The work was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health.