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168,100 articles from ScienceDaily

Well-traveled Wasps Provide Hope For Vanishing Species

They may only be 1.5mm in size, but the tiny wasps that pollinate fig trees can travel over 160km in less than 48 hours, according to new research. The fig wasps are transporting pollen ten times further than previously recorded for any insect. The fig wasps travel these distances in search of trees to lay their eggs, which offers hope that trees pollinated by similar creatures have a good chance...

Hunting oscillation of muon to electron: Neutrino data to flow in 2010; NOvA scientists tune design

Physicists may see data by late summer from a prototype for a $278 million NOvA neutrino experiment that can yield clues to the universe's mysteries. Construction is underway on a 220-ton "integration prototype" detector and a larger 14,000-ton detector, a project of Fermilab and University of Minnesota. About 40 scientists will fine-tune design Jan. 8-10 at Southern Methodist University in...

Sex Life May Hold Key To Honeybee Survival

The number and diversity of male partners a queen honeybee has could help to protect her children from disease, say scientists, who are investigating possible causes of the widespread increase in bee deaths seen around the world.

Melting tundra creating vast river of waste into Arctic Ocean

The increase in temperature in the Arctic has already caused the sea-ice there to melt. According to new research from Sweden, if the Arctic tundra also melts, vast amounts of organic material will be carried by the rivers straight into the Arctic Ocean, resulting in additional emissions of carbon...

Neuroimaging may shed light on how Alzheimer's disease develops

Current Alzheimer's disease research indicates that accumulation of amyloid-beta (AB) protein plaques in the brain is central to the development of AD. While previously presence of these plaques could only be confirmed at autopsy. Positron emission tomography provides researchers with an opportunity to test the amyloid hypothesis as it occurs in living patients. A new study summarizes the results...

New ways to pressure HIV

Two new studies show that protein bits produced by unusual "reading" of the HIV genome can induce immune responses. The information provided by these findings may prove useful during future HIV vaccine design efforts.


SUNDAY 10. JANUARY 2010


MicroRNA targets identified in C. elegans

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that impact almost every aspect of biology. In recent years, they have been strongly implicated in stem cell biology, tissue and organism development, as well as human conditions ranging from mental disorders to cancer. Now, researchers have identified the binding sites of these miRNAs in one of the foremost model organisms, C. elegans, using biochemical means...

Molecule repairs alcohol metabolism enzyme

About 1 billion people worldwide carry a genetic mutation that produces an inactive form of ALDH2, an important alcohol metabolism enzyme. When individuals with the ALDH2 mutation drink alcohol, the toxic compound acetaldehyde accumulates in the body. The inactive form of ALDH2 is linked to increased risk for cancer. Researchers found that an experimental compound restores the structure and...

More evidence that autism is a brain 'connectivity' disorder

Studying a rare disorder that also causes autism in 25-50 percent of affected patients, new research supports the emerging idea that autism results from disrupted brain "connectivity" causing improper information flow. These abnormalities might be reversible with rapamycin or rapamycin-like drugs, which the studies researchers will be bringing to clinical trial later this...

Quantum computer calculates exact energy of molecular hydrogen

In an important first for a promising new technology, scientists have used a quantum computer to calculate the precise energy of molecular hydrogen. This groundbreaking approach to molecular simulations could have profound implications not just for quantum chemistry, but also for a range of fields from cryptography to materials...