Clipmarks | Deepti's science/research collection

Even viruses get sick

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:35:37 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Even viruses can go down with a viral infection, French scientists reported on Wednesday, in a discovery that may help explain how they swap genes and evolve so rapidly

A new strain of giant virus was isolated from a cooling tower in Paris and found to be infected by a smaller type of virus, named Sputnik, after the first man-made satellite

Sputnik was able to achieve a remarkable degree of gene mixing by "looting" genes from its host virus and other organisms

The finding may shed light on how viruses mutate so quickly -- a feature that can make them difficult to tackle with drugs and vaccines

It also lends weight to the argument that viruses are true living organisms, despite not having cells

Viruses are already known to infect and sicken bacteria but this is the first example of a virus infecting one of its own kind

Tags: virus, viral, infection, mutation

Universe's first star born tiny, grew huge: study

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:27:50 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: The processes churning inside the stars synthesized the universe's first heavy elements. In dying, these stars may have blasted this stuff back into space to become building blocks of future stars and planets composed of many more elements

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

The first object to brighten the dark, primordial universe after the Big Bang was the tiny seed of a star that rapidly grew into a behemoth 100 times more massive than the sun

This first generation of stars apparently lived hard and died quickly. While our sun may live 5 billion years, this first generation of stars likely lasted only a slim fraction of that -- about 1 million years

Scientists think the universe was born in a Big Bang explosion 13.7 billion years ago and has been expanding ever since. But they have struggled to understand how the first stars formed in the aftermath of this cataclysm

Japanese and U.S. astronomers ran a sophisticated computer simulation that showed how some of the hydrogen and helium gases strewn throughout the young universe came together to form the first generation of stars

While none of the stars survive today, their influence remains

Tags: star, huge, big bang, universe, study

plant refugees

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:09:03 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: The researchers used two different climate models that predict changes in temperature and rainfall through 2100 to make their projections -- one that assumes higher and another that assumes lower greenhouse gas emissions.

What the models did suggest, however, is that reducing greenhouse gases would have a significant impact on native species

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Climate change may turn many of California's native plants into "plant refugees" in the next century as they seek more suitable habitats, U.S. researchers said

They said changes in climate arising from heat-trapping greenhouse gasses would affect hundreds of native plant species including the state's famed Coast Redwoods, which are among the tallest trees on earth

The researchers tracked 5,500 plants native to California and used computer models to predict how climate change would affect their distribution

They concluded that a warming climate and changes in rainfall would force many plants to range north or to higher elevations or possibly become extinct in the next 100 years

Brent Mishler of the University of California, Berkeley said conservationists will need to keep in mind what plants are at risk of becoming plant refugees. "Planning for refugees will become a new but important concept for natural reserves to think about,"

Tags: plants, refugees, environment, research, habitat

Healthy lifestyle triggers genetic changes: study

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:17:20 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Freaking amazing!

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said

the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy

The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation

they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes

After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off

Tags: health, genes, genetics, changes, lifestyle, food, exercise

Prescribed heroin shows promise

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:48:31 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: features.us.reuters.com

The scene wouldn't be out of place in any other clinical trial. Patients receive measured doses of a drug prescribed by a doctor, and inject it in a sterile environment under the watchful eye of a nurse. They have access to counselors and health workers, complete personal health reports and follow up with the researchers six and twelve months after they finish their treatment

The difference is that the setting is Vancouver, British Columbia's notorious Downtown Eastside, and these study participants are injecting heroin prescribed to them under an exemption to Canada's drug laws, given by Health Canada for the purpose of North America's first clinical trial studying medically prescribed heroin

Though the formal results are not yet available, the program's anecdotal results suggest that the prescribed opiate treatment has helped some addicts improve their lives

Tags: heroin, treatment, prescribe, addicts, canada

Monkeys genetically modified to have Huntington's Disease

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:14:04 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: One of the two surviving monkeys has developed symptoms including involuntary movements of the hands and face. The other has no symptoms of the disease yet but may develop them later.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Scientists have created monkeys genetically modified to have Huntington's disease in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the fatal ailment and uncover clues to possible new treatments

Huntington's -- incurable and hereditary -- is caused by a single abnormal gene in which certain nerve cells in the brain waste away. People are born with the gene but symptoms typically do not appear until middle age

Those with the progressive, degenerative disease experience uncontrolled movements, emotional disturbances and mental deterioration

People typically die within 10 to 15 years after symptoms arise

The scientists at Emory University's Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta said the monkeys are the first primates genetically modified to have a human disease

Of the five baby monkeys born using this process, two died within about a day, another one died in about a month and two are still living at age 10 months

Tags: disease, research, genetics, modification, study

Australian platypus genome a link to evolution

Thu, 08 May 2008 07:53:12 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Australia's unique duck-billed platypus -- an egg-laying, furry animal with web feet that spends most of its time underwater -- is in fact part bird, part reptile and part mammal according to its gene map

A team of international scientists released the platypus genome on Thursday, saying its complex sequence would aid the study of human evolution -- particularly the development of the immune, nervous and reproductive systems

The platypus represents the earliest offshoot of the mammalian lineage, some 166 million years ago, from primitive ancestors that had features of both mammals and reptiles

The scientists compared the platypus genome with human, mouse, dog, opossum and chicken genomes and found that the platypus shares 82 percent of its genes with these animals

Scientists said platypus sex chromosomes may help study sex determination in mammals and infertility in humans

had genes that allowed the platypus to detect odors underwater

are found in dogs and rodents that use smell to forage

Tags: platypus, genome, evolution, study, clues, information

Petrify, liquefy: new ways to bury greenhouse gas

Thu, 08 May 2008 07:35:04 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: interesting

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

The ideas may sound like far-fetched schemes from an alchemist's notebook but scientists are pursuing them as many countries prepare to bury captured greenhouse gases in coming years as part of the fight against global warming

Part of the answer could be to petrify or liquefy gases like carbon dioxide -- emitted for example from power plants and factories run on coal, oil or natural gas -- if technical hurdles can be overcome and costs are not too high

Other researchers say pumping the gas into sediments below the seabed at depths of around 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) would expose it to enough pressure to turn it into a viscous liquid, like honey or treacle

The U.N. Climate Panel said in a 2005 report that carbon storage could be one of the main ways to offset global warming, which could cause more powerful storms and heatwaves, and melt glaciers from the Himalayas to the Andes

Costs might be even higher for the more exotic solutions

Tags: greenhouse, gases, bury, method, science

Scientists find something good about a big bottom

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:28:55 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Researchers have known for some time that fat that collects in the abdomen -- known as visceral fat -- can raise a person's risk of diabetes and heart disease, while people with pear-shaped bodies, with fat deposits in the buttocks and hips, are less prone to these disorders

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

A type of fat that accumulates around the hips and bottom may actually offer some protection against diabetes, U.S. researchers said

They said subcutaneous fat, or fat that collects under the skin, helped to improve sensitivity to the hormone insulin

Mice that got transplants of this type of fat deep into their abdomens lost weight and their fat cells shrank, even though they made no changes in their diet or activity levels

it turns out that subcutaneous fat -- fat found just under the skin -- may be actively protecting people from metabolic disease

Dr. Ronald Kahn

started the study to find out why fat located in different parts of the body seems to have different risks of metabolic disease such as diabetes

Kahn's team is working to find the substances produced in subcutaneous fat that provide the benefit with the hope of developing a drug that might copy this effect

Although fat is known to produce several hormones, Kahn said none of the known hormones appeared to be involved in this process

Tags: fat, bottom, disease, research, study, benefit

Study links arms and legs with memory loss

Tue, 06 May 2008 13:50:32 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Having short arms and legs may raise a person's risk of developing memory problems later in life, U.S. researchers said

They said women with the shortest arm spans were 50 percent more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease than women with longer arm spans. And the longer a woman's leg from floor to knee, the lower her risk for dementia

In men, only a shorter arm span was linked with higher dementia risk, according to the study, which was published in the journal Neurology

The researchers said several studies have suggested that early life environment plays a role in susceptibility to chronic disease in later life. Short limbs may be a sign of nutritional deficits early in life that ultimately play a role in brain development

Other studies have found a link between limb length and dementia in populations in Asia, and Huang wanted to see if the trend would hold true in a U.S. population, where 80 percent of height is thought to be inherited

Tags: arms, legs, length, dementia, alzheimers, risk

British team finds two genes for osteoporosis

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:52:12 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

British researchers have identified two common genetic mutations that increase the risk of osteoporosis and related bone fractures, according to a study released on Tuesday

These changes were present in 20 percent of the people studied and highlight the potential role of screening for the bone-thinning disease that mainly affects women after menopause

Osteoporosis

affects about one in three women and one in five men around the world

In the Lancet study, the team scanned the genes of 2,094 female twins and identified a link between decreased bone mineral density and changes in chromosomes 8 and 11

In chromosome 11 the change was associated with a 30 percent increased risk of the condition and related fractures and for chromosome 8 the mutation raised risk by 20 percent

For people who had both changes, their risk went up by 30 percent

The findings are an important step forward toward better understanding of the genetic basis of osteoporosis, other researchers wrote in a Lancet commentary

Tags: osteoporosis, bone, density, genes, research

Global consortium to hunt for cancer genes

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:48:33 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Scientists from around the world are joining forces to hunt for key genetic mutations involved in cancer

The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), launched on Tuesday, will look at up to 50 different types of cancer and researchers hope it will eventually lead to better diagnosis, treatment and prevention

Other members of the consortium include the U.S. National Institutes of Health, as well as cancer and genetic research groups from Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Japan and Singapore

Tags: cancer, genes, consortium, world

Cancer cure using 'nano robots'

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:51:15 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: 'Heat therapy' - Targeted treatment

- Magnetic particles which have a coating that binds them to cancerous cells are injected into the patient.

- The particles are heated with a "light oven" which uses electromagnetic radiation to warm the particles by between 1 degree C and 5 degrees C.

- The heat produced kills the cancer cells without harming the healthy cells nearby

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Patients could soon be treated by tiny magnets injected into the body and activated by remote control

The robotic particles will target diseased cells and destroy them using heat, leaving healthy cells unharmed

The treatment could mean an end to invasive surgery as well as powerful chemotherapy drugs

Scientists told the told Evening Standard on Saturday that trials of the technique will begin within two years

Several teams of scientists around the world are racing to be the first to perfect the technique. But the London researchers are the only ones to have built the crucial "light box" that activates the magnetic particles and are expected to be first to bring the technique to trials

Tags: cancer, robots, cure, trials

Praise as good as cash to brain

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:20:21 GMT

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Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Paying people a compliment appears to activate the same reward center in the brain as paying them cash, Japanese researchers said

"We found that these seemingly different kinds of rewards -- a good reputation versus money -- are biologically coded by the same neural structure, the striatum,"

In one set of experiments, people played a gambling game in which they were told one of three cards would yield a payout. The researchers then monitored the brain activity triggered when the subjects got a cash reward

In a second set of experiments, people were told they were being evaluated by strangers based on information from a personality questionnaire and a video they had made

The researchers then monitored reactions to these staged evaluations -- including when the subjects thought strangers had paid them a compliment

Tags: brain, compliment, study, cash

Average-looking men are most trusted

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:12:25 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Average-looking men with good manners are among the most trusted, while good-looking men are trusted the least, a new survey suggests

The survey, conducted in Canada and the United States by public relations firm Ketchum Global Research Network and brand development firm MARC Research, showed that men with good manners are considered more attractive than those without

only 17 percent of the Canadians surveyed trust good looking men

Tags: men, trust, survey, canada, us