Body

Self-assembling and self-organizing systems are the Holy Grails of nanotechnology, but nature has been producing such systems for millions of years. A team of scientists has taken a unique look at how thousands of bacterial membrane proteins are able to assemble into clusters that direct cell movement to select chemicals in their environment. Their results provide valuable insight into how complex periodic patterns in biological systems can be generated and repaired.

PHILADELPHIA (July 8, 2009) -- Using a combination of sensory, genetic, and in vitro approaches, researchers from the Monell Center confirm that the T1R1-T1R3 taste receptor plays a role in human umami (amino acid) taste.

They further report that variations in the genes that code for this receptor correspond to individual variation in sensitivity to and perceived intensity of umami taste.

MAYWOOD – Adverse work conditions may be to blame for the decline in the number of primary care physicians nationwide, according to a study published in the latest issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

A long-term environmental research project being conducted at the University of Houston may offer important information about the effects of Hurricane Ike on pollution levels and help regulators determine whether existing fish-consumption advisories remain appropriate.

With this year's storm season under way, the UH engineering team's project is entering a new phase as participants collect and analyze fresh samples from Galveston Bay and related waterways.

HANOVER, NH – Dartmouth researchers who were pioneers in Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) – a system that secures and authenticates computer communications – are now playing leading roles establishing Internet standards and guidelines for security.

NEW YORK (July 8, 2009) – A new finding reveals that African-American patients with breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer tend to die earlier than patients of other races with these cancers, even when they receive identical medical treatment and when socioeconomic factors are controlled for. The finding, an analysis of almost 20,000 patient records from 35 clinical trials, points to biological or genetic factors as the potential source of the survival gap.

Scientists are reporting for the first time that the use of weed killers in farmers' fields boosts the nutritional value of an important food a crop. Application of two common herbicides to several varieties of sweet corn significantly increased the amount of key nutrients termed carotenoids in the corn kernels, according to a study scheduled for publication in the July 22 issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

The restoration of a 2,000-year-old bronze sculpture of the famed ancient Greek athlete Apoxyomenos may help modern scientists understand how to prevent metal corrosion, discover the safest ways to permanently store nuclear waste, and understand other perplexing problems. That's the conclusion of a new study on the so-called "biomineralization" of Apoxyomenos appearing in the current issue of ACS' Crystal Growth & Design, a bi-monthly journal. Best known as "The Scraper," the statue depicts an athlete scraping sweat and dust from his body with a small curved instrument.

Scientists in Japan are reporting development of a faster, less expensive version of the fabled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a DNA test widely used in criminal investigations, disease diagnosis, biological research and other applications. The new method could lead to expanded use of PCR in medicine, the criminal justice system and elsewhere, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the July 15 issue of Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bisphenol A, a chemical widely used in plastics and known to cause reproductive problems in the offspring of pregnant mice exposed to it, also has been found to retard the growth of follicles of adult mice and hinder their production of steroid hormones, researchers report.

Their study is the first to show that chronic exposure to low doses of BPA can impair the growth and function of adult reproductive cells. The researchers will describe their findings this month at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction.

(Boston) – Boston University School of Medicine researchers (BUSM) have observed in a study of pregnant women that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). The BUSM study appears online in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

Iatrogenic perforation of cancer of the esophagus or the gastroesophageal (GE) junction is a severe complication. Its incidence has increased most likely because of more aggressive palliative endoscopic therapy and the current widespread use of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for accurate preoperative staging. Therapy, i.e. conservative versus surgical treatment remains controversial.

Bowel preparation has been reported inadequate in 10%-75% of colonoscopic examinations. None of the preparations reached all the requirements of safety, acceptance for patients with negligible discomfort, and rapid cleansing. Polyethyleneglycol is considered to be the gold standard for colonoscopic bowel preparation (Grade IA), and aqueous sodium phosphate was an alternative regimen to PEG solution (Grade IA). This consensus also stated that adjunctive therapy, such as bisacodyl, metoclopramide, and simethicone, was shown to improve the quality of bowel preparation.

Pluronic surfactants are synthetic copolymers based on ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. It has been reported that a nonionic L-81, effectively inhibits absorption of dietary lipids from the intestine and secretion of VLDL and LDL from the liver. Although L-81 is a potent anti-obesity drug, its potential in alleviating obesity-induced insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has not been fully explored.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU)'s Associate Professor Zhong Guofu has made a significant contribution to the field of organic chemistry, in particular the study of using small organic molecules as catalysts, in the synthesis process called organocatalysis. Such synthesis process takes place for example, during the production of chiral drugs.