Press monitoring
New drug could cure nearly any viral infection
15.8.2011 | Press monitoring
Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold, and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola. Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at...
E. coli metabolism reversed for speedy production of fuels, chemicals
12.8.2011 | Press monitoring
In a biotechnological tour de force, Rice University engineering researchers this week unveiled a new method for rapidly converting simple glucose into biofuels and petrochemical substitutes. In a paper published online in Nature, Rice's team described how it reversed one of the most efficient of all metabolic pathways -- the beta oxidation cycle...
Chemist contributes to development of novel method for recovering old fingerprints
10.8.2011 | Press monitoring
A Northern Illinois University chemist is part of an international team of scientists whose work might someday crack open cold-case files. The scientists are developing a new fingerprinting method that could make it possible to recover previously unusable or undetected prints from old evidence and from surfaces long considered too difficult by...
Researchers discover a natural food preservative that kills food-borne bacteria
9.8.2011 | Press monitoring
University of Minnesota researchers have discovered and received a patent for a naturally occurring lantibiotic — a peptide produced by a harmless bacteria — that could be added to food to kill harmful bacteria like salmonella, E. coli and listeria. The U of M lantibiotic is the first natural preservative found to kill gram-negative bacteria,...
Taller Women Are at Increased Risk of a Wide Range of Cancers, Research Suggests
8.8.2011 | Press monitoring
Taller people are at increased risk of a wide range of cancers, according to new research led by Oxford University. The study found that in women the risk of cancer rises by about 16% for every 10cm (4 inches) increase in height. Previous studies have shown a link between height and cancer risk. The risk of total cancer increased with increasing...
Some Exercise Is Better Than None: More Is Better to Reduce Heart Disease Risk
4.8.2011 | Press monitoring
Even small amounts of physical activity will help reduce heart disease risk, and the benefit increases as the amount of activity increases, according to a quantitative review reported in Circulation, journal of the American Heart Association. People who engaged in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity leisure activity had a 14 percent lower risk of...
Nicotine Can Protect the Brain from Parkinson's Disease, Research Suggests
3.8.2011 | Press monitoring
If you've ever wondered if nicotine offered society any benefit, a new study published in The FASEB Journal offers a surprising answer. Nicotine can protect the brain against Parkinson's disease, the research suggests, and the discovery of how nicotine does this may lead to entirely new types of treatments for the disease. To make this discovery,...
Brain differences between humans and chimpanzees linked to aging
2.8.2011 | Press monitoring
Chimpanzees, the closest living relatives to humans, do not experience a decrease in brain volume as they age like humans do, according to a study by George Washington University researcher Chet Sherwood and his colleagues. There are many similarities between the species, but this discovery reveals an important distinction, demonstrating how...
Researchers Tap Yeasts as Source of 'Green' Surfactants
1.8.2011 | Press monitoring
Surfactants, which are wetting agents that lower a liquid's surface tension, have a long list of uses, from detergents and cosmetics to paints and pesticides. Most surfactants are petroleum-based. But in Peoria, Ill., a team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists has focused their attention on sophorolipids, surfactant-like molecules...
Fatty foods really are mood enhancers
29.7.2011 | Press monitoring
A new study published in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows just why it is that people tend to turn to fatty foods in order to boost their emotional state and reduce feelings of sadness. Be it chocolate chip cookies, French fries and a chocolate shake or whatever your favorite fatty food may be, researchers say these...
