News of Science
Human milk fat improves growth in premature infants
3.11.2014 | News of Science
For premature infants, adequate growth while in the neonatal intensive care unit is an indicator of better long-term health and developmental outcomes. Researchers at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital have now successfully incorporated a cream supplement into premature...
Human nasal epithelial cells cultured on a microchip react to air pollutants
27.10.2014 | News of Science
The upper respiratory tract is the first line of defense against air pollutants, including allergens, bacteria and environmental toxicants. Finger-like protrusions called cilia on the surface of the human mucous membrane, or epithelium, sway back and forth when irritated. This coordinated 'beating' movement of the cilia helps to remove foreign...
Biomotor discovered in many bacteria and viruses
20.10.2014 | News of Science
Nano-biotechnologists have reported the discovery of a new, third class of biomotor, unique in that it uses a "revolution without rotation" mechanism. These revolution biomotors are widespread among many bacteria and viruses.
Cancer treatment clears two Australian patients of HIV
15.9.2014 | News of Science
Scientists have uncovered two new cases of HIV patients in whom the virus has become undetectable. The two patients, both Australian men, became apparently HIV-free after receiving stem cells to treat cancer. They are still on antiretroviral therapy (ART) “as a precaution”, but those drugs alone could not be responsible for bringing the virus to...
Ebola Protein Blocks Early Step in Body’s Counterattack on Virus
8.9.2014 | News of Science
Findings Provide Framework for New Drug Development Efforts. One of the human body’s first responses to a viral infection is to make and release signaling proteins called interferons, which amplify the immune system response to viruses. Over time, many viruses have evolved to undermine interferon’s immune-boosting signal, and a paper published...
New genetic brain disorder discovered in humans
1.9.2014 | News of Science
A newly identified disorder affecting the human nervous system is caused by a mutation in a gene never before implicated in human disease, according to two studies published by Cell Press in the journal Cell. By performing DNA sequencing of children affected by neurological problems, two research teams independently discovered that a disease...
Sending algae into space to probe plants in extreme environments
25.8.2014 | News of Science
It may sound like the opening scene in a low-budget science fiction movie: Scientists send algae into space—some of it mutant—to see if it will grow. But an Agricultural Research Service scientist and an international team of researchers have in fact sent algae into a low Earth orbit to study the effects of space on photosynthesis and plant...
An Inside Job: Using Nematodes\' Own Biology Against Them
18.8.2014 | News of Science
ARS scientists are looking within for environmentally friendly ways to battle nematodes. Within the nematode, that is. "We want to find out what makes nematodes tick, and what we can do to them to make them stop ticking," says zoologist David Chitwood. He's research leader of ARS's Nematology Laboratory in Beltsville, Marylan...
Scientists unravel nerve-cell death in rare children\'s disease
11.8.2014 | News of Science
A team of scientists, led by Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Neuroscience and Aging Research Center at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), recently discovered why cerebellar granule cell neurons in patients suffering from ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) were unable to repair DNA damage and thus...
Live cables explain enigmatic electric currents
28.7.2014 | News of Science
Researchers at Aarhus University, Denmark, made a sensational discovery almost three years ago when they measured electric currents in the seabed. It was unclear as to what was conducting the current, but the researchers imagined the electric currents might run between different bacteria via a joint external wiring network.The researchers have now...
