Body

Optical microscopes offer limited resolution, while the more powerful electron microscopes require freezing samples before they can be magnified. But by using neutron diffraction, which does not require frozen subjects, the team not only observed the membrane more closely and in motion, but they also gained insight into the long-known phenomenon of the membrane growing thicker and stiffer in the presence of cholesterol.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have for the first time used an apparatus that relies on the "noise" of jiggling electrons to make highly accurate measurements of the Boltzmann constant, an important value for many scientific calculations. The technique is simpler and more compact than other methods for measuring the constant and could advance international efforts to revamp the world's scientific measurement system.

Trace-explosives detectors (TEDs) are an increasingly common sight at airports and on loading docks, and emergency response personnel carry them to evaluate suspicious packages. A new test material developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in cooperation with ASTM International enables users of these products to evaluate their performance and reliability.

PITTSBURGH—Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Stanford University discovered that a supposedly inactive protein actually plays a crucial role in the ability of one the world's most prolific pathogens to cause disease, findings that suggest the possible role of similarly errant proteins in other diseases.

Populations of Fraser River sockeye salmon are so fine-tuned to their environment that any further environmental changes caused by climate change could lead to the disappearance of some populations, while others may be less affected, says a new study by University of British Columbia scientists.

Bats in North America are under a two-pronged attack but they are not the only victim – so is the U.S. economy. Gary McCracken, head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, analyzed the economic impact of the loss of bats in North America in agriculture and found it to be in the $3.7 to $53 billion a year range.

Conservationists may need to change their approach to protecting animals and plants from extinction if they are to successfully shield key species and habitats from the effects of global climate change, according to a new review in the journal Science.

Scientists and conservation organisations currently work out a species' extinction risk by determining how likely it is that climate change will make its habitat unsuitable. They then focus their efforts on protecting species whose location is threatened by changing temperature and rainfall.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Scientists from the United States and China have discovered the first intact fossil of a mature eudicot, a type of flowering plant whose membership includes buttercups, apple trees, maple trees, dandelions and proteas. The 125 million-year-old find, described in this week's Nature, reveals a remarkably developed species, leading the scientists to argue for an earlier origin of the eudicots -- and perhaps flowering plants in general.

The wolves and moose of Isle Royale have done it again. They've surprised the scientists who have spent more than half a century studying them.

New research suggests that infection with a probiotic strain of E. coli bacteria could help treat an reduce the negative effects of another E. coli infection that may be associated with Crohn's disease. Researchrs from the University of Auckland, New Zealand publish their results in the April 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

ANAHEIM, March 31, 2011 — In a scientific advance literally plucked from the waste heap, scientists today described a key step toward using the billions of pounds of waste chicken feathers produced each year to make one of the more important kinds of plastic. They described the new method at the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, being held here this week.

Results from an international study presented today at the International Liver Congress have shown Obeticholic Acid (OCA) is a safe and effective treatment in patients suffering from Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) as demonstrated by substantial decreases in the levels of alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzyme in the blood, a key marker for PBC.

In this double blind parallel group study, 59 patients received 10 or 50mg of OCA or a placebo once a day for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks the 10mg group showed the greatest reduction in AP levels.

NEW YORK (March 31, 2011) -- Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have shown that it is possible to immunize mammals to control fertility. They say their technique could possibly be used on other mammals -- including humans -- because fertility hormones and their receptors are species-non-specific and are similar in both females and males. For pets, the technique could be an alternative to castration and adverse effects of hormone administration.

CLEVELAND -- Dr. Leona Cuttler, a pediatric endocrinologist and growth hormone expert from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, is the co-author of an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine commenting on a new study that found giving girls with Turner syndrome low doses of estrogen, as well as growth hormone, years before the onset of puberty, increases their height and offers other benefits.

A new study uncovers a previously unrecognized link between tobacco smoking and a gene known to influence the cardiovascular system, possibly identifying an early stage of smoking-associated cardiovascular pathology. The research, published by Cell Press in the April issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics, may serve to guide future research strategies aimed at identifying and counteracting mechanisms of smoking-induced pathology.