Press monitoring
Chloroplast Breakthrough Could Help Unlock Key to Controlling Fruit Ripening in Crops
6.11.2012 | Press monitoring
Biologists may have unearthed the potential to manipulate the functions of chloroplasts, the parts of plant cells responsible for photosynthesis. Researchers in the University of Leicester's Department of Biology discovered that chloroplasts are affected by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) -- a process which causes the breakdown of unwanted...
Reactions to Everyday Stressors Predict Future Health
5.11.2012 | Press monitoring
Contrary to popular perception, stressors don't cause health problems -- it's people's reactions to the stressors that determine whether they will suffer health consequences, according to researchers at Penn State. "Our research shows that how you react to what happens in your life today predicts your chronic health conditions and 10 years in...
Nanosilver from Clothing Can Pose Major Environmental Problems
2.11.2012 | Press monitoring
Silver nanoparticles can have a severe environmental impact if their utilisation in clothing continues to increase. If everyone buys one silver nanoparticle-treated sock a year, the silver concentration in waste water treatment plant sludge can double. If the sludge is subsequently used as fertilizer, the silver can cause long-term damage to...
Risk Factors Predict Childhood Obesity, Researchers Find
1.11.2012 | Press monitoring
High birth weight, rapid weight gain and having an overweight mother who smokes can all increase the risk of a baby becoming obese later in childhood, research by experts at The University of Nottingham has found. The study, published in the latest edition of the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, also discovered that children who were...
Gene Mutation Linked to Old Age Hearing Loss Identified
30.10.2012 | Press monitoring
University of South Florida researchers have identified a genetic biomarker for age-related hearing loss. In a nine-year study researchers were able to identify the first genetic biomarker for presbycusis. The genetic mutation carried by those who ultimately suffer from age-related hearing loss is linked to speech processing abilities in older...
Parkinsons Breakthough Could Slow Disease Progression
29.10.2012 | Press monitoring
In an early-stage breakthrough, a team of Northwestern University scientists has developed a new family of compounds that could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. The new compounds were developed by Richard B. Silverman, the John Evans Professor of Chemistry at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and inventor of the molecule that...
Gene Polymorphisms Identified That Are Responsible for Breast Density and Cancer Risk
25.10.2012 | Press monitoring
It has long been known that breast density, or mammographic density, is a strong risk factor for breast cancer, and that estrogen and progestin hormone therapy increases dense breast tissue. Now, a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research has identified several gene variants in hormone metabolism and growth...
Top Ten list of plant-damaging fungi
24.10.2012 | Press monitoring
The first on the list is the rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe oryzae). Experts have highlighted the economic significance of this species as it can devastate rice paddies which are the food base for half the world's population. In second place is the fungus 'botrytis bunch rot' or 'grey mould' (Botrytis cinerea). In third place are the species...
Mechanisms of Action for Green Tea Extract in Breast Cancer Prevention Identified
23.10.2012 | Press monitoring
An oral green tea extract, Polyphenon E, appears to inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor, both of which promote tumor cell growth, migration and invasion. Researchers made this discovery during a secondary analysis of a phase Ib randomized, placebo-controlled study of Polyphenon E in a group of 40 women with...
Beneficial Mold Packaged in Bioplastic
22.10.2012 | Press monitoring
Aflatoxins are highly toxic carcinogens produced by several species of Aspergillus fungi. But not all Aspergillus produce aflatoxin. Some, in fact, are considered beneficial. One such strain, dubbed K49, is now being recruited to battle these harmful Aspergillus relatives, preventing them from contaminating host crops like corn with the...
