feed info

168,137 articles from ScienceDaily

Future ‘Battlegrounds’ for Habitat Conservation Very Different to Those in Past

Biologists have developed a series of global maps that show where projected habitat loss and climate change are expected to drive the need for future reserves to prevent biodiversity loss. Many of the regions that face the greatest habitat change in relation to the amount of land currently protected —- such as Indonesia and Madagascar —- are in globally threatened and endemic species-rich,...

Common Variations In Gene Segments That Increase The Risk For Prostate Cancer

Researchers report that a set of genetic variations in at least four regions of DNA strongly predicts prostate cancer risk and that these variations may be responsible for a large number of prostate cancer cases in white men in the United States. Researchers are scanning the entire human genome to identify common, inherited gene variations that increase the risks for breast and prostate cancers....

Low-intensity Exercise Reduces Fatigue Symptoms By 65 Percent, Study Finds

Sedentary people who regularly complain of fatigue can increase their energy levels by 20 percent and decrease their fatigue by 65 percent by engaging in regular, low intensity exercise, according to a new study. Interestingly, improvements in energy and fatigue were not related to increases in aerobic fitness that the exercisers experienced....

Novel Way To Develop Tumor Vaccines: Regulate Immune Inhibitor To Overcome Tumor Supression

A new way to develop more effective tumor vaccines by turning off the suppression function of regulatory T cells has been developed. The study identified a new molecular player called A20, an enzyme that restricts inflammatory signal transduction in dendritic cells. When it is inhibited, the dendritic cells overproduce an array of cytokines and co-stimulatory molecules that triggers unusually...

Psoriasis Lesions Loaded With Newly Discovered Immune Cell

A new study of psoriasis patients shows that a recently discovered immune cell, called Th17, appears to be a key player in the disease and occurs in far higher concentrations in their skin than occurs in skin of healthy individuals. Scientists compared skin and blood from healthy people to those from patients with psoriasis. After culturing the samples and examining the T helper cells -- immune...

Ski Tourism StressingThreatened European Bird, The Capercaillie

Ski tourism is raising stress levels among capercaillie the largest member of the grouse family of birds, which could harm the birds' fitness and ability to breed successfully, ecologists have found. Researchers warn that forests should be kept free from tourism infrastructure if they are inhabited by capercaillie - a rare species whose numbers are declining markedly across central Europe....

Understanding Primate Evolution Could Aid HIV Research

Evolution moves in fits and starts, shaping species through random genetic mutations that can help them survive or even hasten their death. But although the mutations occur by chance, the process can create surprisingly similar results. Now, in a startling twist, new research has provided an example in which evolution didn't just result in similar outcomes -- it actually repeated itself, occurring...


SATURDAY 1. MARCH 2008


Comparison Of Antipsychotic Treatments In Adolescents With Schizophrenia

There is a wealth of scientific literature available on the treatment of adults diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, there is a paucity of data to guide the treatment of children and adolescents with schizophrenia. The researchers discovered that clozapine was approximately twice as likely to produce a treatment response as olanzapine....

New Theory For Dogfish And Skate Population Outburst, Off New England Shore, US

New research questions the long-held belief that a lack of predators and competitors was the primary cause for the increase of skates and dogfish observed in Southern New England's George's Bank following overfishing of commercially important species in the 1980's. Scientists now suggest that the increase of winter skate on George's Bank was the result of a migration to the area from adjacent --...

Data Show A Decline In Cystic Fibrosis Since Introduction Of Prenatal Carrier Screening

Data show a declining incidence of the genetic disease cystic fibrosis, providing what may be the first demonstration of a link between two independent population-based screening programs. The number of live-born infants with CF dropped by about 50 percent from one four-year period to the next. Moreover, among the babies who were born with CF, markedly fewer had two copies of the delta F508 gene...

Maternal Love: How A Mother's Brain Responds To Her Infant

The distinctive ability of mothers to identify the cries of their offspring is widely evident in nature, where it is critical to the survival of these offspring. Particular circuits in the brain, involving several regions in the cerebral cortex and limbic system, are distinctively activated when mothers distinguish the smiles and cries of their own infants from those of other infants....

Clues To How Plants Form Cell Walls Could Aid Biofuels, Nanotech

When plant cells divide, they assemble molecular building blocks into new cell walls made of carbohydrate and protein, but scientists know almost nothing about how this process occurs. Researchers have found that the first step in building new plant cell walls is the assembly of a scaffold made of structural proteins, a process similar to using a metal or wood scaffold to construct the walls of a...

Does Gingko Biloba Affect Memory?

Taking the supplement ginkgo biloba had no clear-cut benefit on the risk of developing memory problems, according to a new study. The three-year study involved 118 people age 85 and older with no memory problems. Half of the participants took ginkgo biloba extract three times a day and half took a placebo. During the study, 21 people developed mild memory problems, or questionable dementia....

Engineering The World's Fastest Swimsuit

A highly specialized computer modeling technique has been instrumental in the design of a revolutionary new swimsuit which is now being hailed as the fastest in the world. Within a week of its launch athletes wearing the new swimsuit had broken three world records....

Breast Cancer Subtypes Linked To Survival From Secondary Brain Tumors

Screening breast cancers for three receptors could help doctors predict the likely survival of patients with brain metastases. A new study shows that patients with tumours that are negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth receptor-2 or that are HER2+/EQ- appear to be most at risk from developing brain metastases. Survival is also correlated to the triple...

Class Size Alone Not Enough To Close Academic Achievement Gap

A study investigating the effects of class size on the achievement gap between high and low academic achievers suggests that high achievers benefit more from small classes than low achievers, especially at the kindergarten and first grade levels. "While decreasing class size may increase achievement on average for all types of students, it does not appear to reduce the achievement gap within a...

Nature's Helpers: Using Microorganisms To Remove TCE Pollutants From Water

The chlorinated solvent trichloroethene (TCE) has been found to be an increasingly problematic contaminant in groundwater. The detection of TCE recently forced the shut down of the water supply for the Greater Phoenix area municipalities of Paradise Valley and Scottsdale. TCE has been widely used as a cleaning agent and solvent for many military, commercial, and industrial applications. Its...