Using two simultaneous light-based probing techniques at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, a team of researchers has illuminated important details about a class of enzymes involved in everything from photosynthesis to the regulation of biological clocks.

Higher-than-normal levels of insulin place postmenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report.

One of the most enduring questions is how life could have begun on Earth. Molecules that can make copies of themselves are thought to be crucial to understanding this process as they provide the basis for heritability, a critical characteristic of living systems.

The results of a new study in Psychological Science reveal that the brain does not have a distinct preference for certain cues during reorientation. These findings indicate that the brain takes into account a number of factors, including the environment and our past experiences, while determining the best way to reorient us to our surroundings.

Many of the battles to desegregate Southern colleges and universities were fought in public, but efforts to desegregate the standardized testing that is often a prerequisite to admission have, until now, received little attention. Now, a new University of Georgia study reveals how two men traveled the Deep South, facing hostility and risking violence, to ensure that students received fair and impartial treatment.

A research team led by Nancy Speck, Ph.D., Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, has identified the location and developmental timeline in which a majority of bone marrow stem cells form in the mouse embryo. The findings, appearing online this week in the journal Nature, highlight critical steps in the origin of hematopoietic (or blood) stem cells.

Northwestern University scientists now offer a promising new weapon that could help fight high cholesterol levels and the deadly heart disease that often results: synthetic high-density lipoprotein, or HDL -- the "good" cholesterol. The researchers successfully designed synthetic HDL and show that their nanoparticle version is capable of irreversibly binding cholesterol. The synthetic HDL, based on gold nanoparticles, is similar in size to HDL and mimics HDL's general surface composition.

Scientists have long thought that a bird's vocal performance is a static characteristic-set once a song is learned. Yet, a new study by University of Miami biologist explains that songbirds can modulate vocal performance, when it is important to do so.

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have shown that search algorithms used in digital communications can help scientists identify effective multi-drug combinations.

A new study sheds light on a little understood biological process called quiescence, which enables blood-forming stem cells to exist in a dormant or inactive state in which they are not growing or dividing. According to the study's findings, researchers identified the genetic pathway used to maintain a cell's quiescence, a state that allows bone marrow cells to escape the lethal effects of standard cancer treatments.

A group of Dartmouth researchers has found a new function for one of the proteins involved with chromosome segregation during cell division.

Scientists at the GKSS Research Centre of Geesthacht/Germany and the University of Bern/Suisse have investigated the frequency of warmer than average years between 1880 and 2006 for the first time. The result: the observed increase of warm years after 1990 is not a statistical accident. The results will now be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Cardiac arrest patients in large, urban, and teaching hospitals are more likely to survive compared to those in small, often rural, non-academic hospitals, according to a Penn Medicine study published recently in the journal Intensive Care Medicine. A second study, published in Resuscitation, suggests that patients who are cared for in the highest volume intensive care units after cardiac arrest are also most apt to survive.

The pain-relieving effects of nitrous oxide -- laughing gas -- may be enhanced by suggestion or hypnosis, according to a new study by UCL. The study's findings -- that people are more suggestible under the gas -- mean that dental patients may benefit from being coached to relax while undergoing sedation.

A new theory referred to as the Decrease-Radix Design is proposed. And based on this theory, the regulations of making multi-valued logic operation units are presented. The theory has laid down a solid foundation for the design of re-constructible logic units in ternary optical computers as well as any other multi-valued computers.

With health reform high on the agenda of the incoming Congress and president, a new analysis of legislative proposals -- including the plans of President-elect Barack Obama and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) -- shows that several proposals already put forth could substantially reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and would either reduce health-care spending or add only modestly to annual health-care expenditures.

School-age children may develop eating habits and leisure-time patterns that may not meet current recommendations and contribute to childhood obesity. In a study in the January/February 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, researchers report that parents perceived that their pre-school children had relatively good eating habits and physical activity levels, but that parents of school-aged children (6 to 12 years) felt their children had less healthful diets and leisure-time activities.

That pesky buzz of a nearby mosquito is the sound of love, scientists have known for some time. But a new Cornell study reports that males and females flap their wings and change their tune to create a harmonic duet just before mating.

New cells are born every day in the brain's hippocampus, but what controls this birth has remained a mystery. Reporting in the Jan. 1 issue of Science, neuroscientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that the birth of new cells, which depends on brain activity, also depends on a protein that is involved in changing epigenetic marks in the cell's genetic material.

A new report underscores the notion that stroke risks go beyond geographic and racial differences. University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Vermont researchers report in the Annals of Neurology that non-traditional risk factors must explain the South's higher stroke death rate. What those factors are need further study, but clearly diabetes and hypertension play an important role, the study authors said.

As a chemical for industrial processes, butanol is used in everything from brake fluid, to paint thinners, to plastics. According to a University of Illinois researcher, butanol made from plant material could displace butanol made from petroleum, just not at the fuel pump.

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated a more effective treatment for bacterial pneumonia following influenza. They found that the antibiotics clindamycin and azithromycin, which kill bacteria by inhibiting their protein synthesis, are more effective than a standard first-line treatment with the "beta-lactam" antibiotic ampicillin, which causes the bacteria to lyse, or burst.

Researchers have uncovered why some dietary fats, specifically long-chain fats, such as oleic acid (found in olive oil), are more prone to induce inflammation. Long-chain fats, it turns out, promote increased intestinal absorption of pro-inflammatory bacterial molecules called lipopolysaccharides.

Researchers at McGill University, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center and the McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Center, along with colleagues at other Canadian and Belgian institutions, have discovered DNA variations in a gene that increases susceptibility to developing Crohn's disease. Their study was published in the January issue of the journal Nature Genetics.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry have discovered that the nerve cells controlling heart rate and blood pressure synthesize a molecule known to be critically important for proper nervous system growth. The finding could someday play a significant role in the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and high blood pressure.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry have discovered a novel function of the peptide known as Nerve Growth Factor in the development of the trigeminal nerve.

Rocks on Mars are on the move, rolling into the wind and forming organized patterns, according to new research. Small rocks seen in images from the Spirit Rover end up evenly spaced across the landscape because of wind-caused erosion and deposition. This counters the previous idea that extremely high winds carried or pushed the rocks.

Priceless treasure from the bottom of the sea is locked away at Texas A&M University, stacked on floor-to-ceiling racks and kept secure in 15,000 square feet of refrigerated space.

Heart disease patients living in poorer areas of B.C. are up to twice as likely to die from chronic diseases than patients living in better-off areas, a University of British Columbia study has found.

Geology topics include "the best submarine record of displacement"; geophysical data from the Black Sea; hazardous volcanic ice-slurry flows; the controversy over riverbank erosion rates; surface cracks in the Atacama Desert; CO2 sequestration; ultradeep Australian diamonds; Earth's magnetic field and the cosmic-ray-climate theory; fresh-water megafloods into the Pacific; early marine fossils preserved in French amber; tiny fossil fish teeth recovered by the Ocean Drilling Program; and alkaline groundwater at the dawn of land plant radiation.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic, relapsing disorder that causes inflammation and ulceration in the inner lining of the rectum and large intestine. The most common symptoms are diarrhea and abdominal pain. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, another chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory disorder, are the two major forms of inflammatory bowel disease.

Chronic illness can lead to poorer quality of life -- particularly for adolescents. New research shows that spirituality may help teens cope with their conditions.

Educational psychologist Brendesha Tynes says adolescents are increasingly experiencing both individual and vicarious discrimination online, which in turn triggers stress, depression and anxiety.

Natural gas, believed to be among the cleanest forms of fuel, does emit ultrafine airborne particulate matter when burned in home appliances such as stove tops and water heaters.

Bladder cancer is much more likely to be deadly for women and African-Americans, but the reasons long believed to explain the phenomenon account for only part of the differences for such patients compared to their white and male counterparts, according to results published in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Cancer.

As researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, when the hydrogen atoms of pyridine are replaced with deuterium, it adopts a crystalline form that can only be achieved under high pressure with "normal" pyridine. Perhaps the minimal differences responsible for this type of effect can be implemented to improve the spectrum of properties available to pharmaceutical agents.

New research published in the international journal Neurobiology of Aging by University of Calgary researcher Marc Poulin finds that being physically fit helps the brain function at the top of its game.

Students' successes in the first grade can affect more than their future report cards. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers found links among students' weak academic performance in the first grade, self-perceptions in the sixth grade, and depression symptoms in the seventh grade.

The evolutionary history of diatoms -- abundant oceanic plankton that remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year -- needs to be rewritten, according to a new Cornell study. The findings suggest that after a sudden rise in species numbers, diatoms abruptly declined about 33 million years ago -- trends that coincided with severe global cooling.

New tires allow race cars to take tight turns at high speeds. Hind wings give moths and butterflies similar advantages: They are not necessary for basic flight but help these creatures take tight turns to evade predators.

The study, funded by the Alzheimer's Research Trust, was led by Prof. Clive Ballard's King's College London team and is published in Lancet Neurology on Jan. 9.

A pre-clinical study found a new nasal spray vaccine to provide complete protection against a major botulism toxin, according to a study published today in the Nature journal Gene Therapy.

A University of the Basque Country Ph.D. thesis has analyzed the application of waste sludge from EDAR (Estación Depuradora de Aguas Residuales -- Waste Water Purification Plant) to acid soils which have limited capacity for neutralizing the acidity.

New research indicates that the ocean could rise in the next 100 years to a meter higher than the current sea level -- which is three times higher than predictions from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC. The groundbreaking new results from an international collaboration between researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, England and Finland are published in the scientific journal Climate Dynamics.

Storms across the UK set to increase in intensity by up to 30 percent in the next 75 years, new research shows.

Obesity is known to increase the risk of chronic disorders, such as diabetes (type 2). An international team of scientists with German participation through the Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen identified six new obesity genes. Gene expression analyses have shown that all six genes are active in brain cells.

A new Rice University study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that socioemotional meanings, including sexual ones, are conveyed in human sweat.

Genetic variations that can predispose children to a serious disease that damages the heart have been identified in a genome-wide association study of Kawasaki disease, published today in PLoS Genetics.

It's debilitating, isolating and can lead to severe depression -- yet pain is widely accepted as something to be expected and regarded as "normal" in later life. Now a new study from the University of Nottingham examines older people's experiences of pain and how best government, the NHS and social care agencies can address the issue.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Canada show that children who feel that their lives have meaning and value and who develop deep, quality relationships -- both measures of spirituality -- are happier. It would appear, however, that their religious practices have little effect on their happiness. These findings have been published in the online edition of Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies.

A long-standing system for assessing the risk of cardiovascular disease amongst older people should be replaced with something more accurate, according to a study published today on bmj.com.

Routine screening of blood oxygen levels before discharge from hospital improves the detection of life threatening congenital heart disease in newborns and may save lives, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

In the Jan. 8, 2009, issue of the New England Journal of Medicin, schistosomiasis expert Charles H. King, M.D., professor of International Health at the Center for Global Health and Diseases at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, concludes global eradication of schistosomiasis is feasible if the current infection control strategy shifts to a proactive, comprehensive elimination strategy.

Adolescents who misbehave at school are more likely to have difficulties throughout their adult lives, finds a 40-year study of British citizens published on bmj.com today. These difficulties cover all areas of life, from mental health to domestic and personal relationships to economic deprivation.

In sync with the International Year of Astronomy, which marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's discoveries, a group of astronomers and curators from the Arcetri Observatory and the Institute and Museum of the History of Science, both in Florence, Italy, are recreating the kind of telescope and conditions that led to Galileo's world-changing observations, reports January's Physics World.

A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted -- and the trend shows no sign of abating.

A study looking at the entire human genome has identified new genes that appear to be involved in making some children more susceptible to Kawasaki disease, a serious illness that often leads to coronary artery disease, according to a new international study published in PLoS Genetics. This is the first genetic study of an infectious disease to look at the whole of the genome, rather than just selected genes.

A team of NASA-funded scientists, including two from UC Santa Barbara, have discovered cosmic radio noise that they find completely unexpected and exciting.

When extremes of drought and flood come in rapid succession, the extent of damage to vegetation may depend in part on the sequence of those events, according to a new study published in the American Naturalist.

A powerful new tool that can extract features and patterns from enormously large and complex data sets has been developed by scientists at University of California, Davis, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The tool -- a set of problem-solving calculations known as an algorithm -- is compact enough to run on computers with as little as two gigabytes of memory.

A study looking at the entire human genome has identified new genes that appear to be involved in making some children more susceptible to Kawasaki disease, according to a new international study published Jan. 9 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

Scientists have identified the structure of a key component of the bacteria behind such diseases as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and Legionnaires' disease. The research sheds light on how antibiotic resistance genes spread from one bacterium to another. The research may help scientists develop novel treatments for these diseases and novel ways to curtail the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Counselling via the phone and internet can help weight management in overweight individuals, according to a Dutch study published in the open access journal, BMC Public Health.

Animal species that sleep for longer do not suffer as much from parasite infestation and have a greater concentration of immune cells in their blood according to a study published in the open-access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

Scientists have tricked bone marrow into releasing extra adult stem cells into the bloodstream, a technique that they hope could one day be used to repair heart damage or mend a broken bone, in a new study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

A newly discovered family of receptors in the fly nose fills in a missing piece of the insect olfactory system -- and also suggests a new role for a class of receptors long believed to be confined to the depths of the brain.

From the structure of DNA to nautical rope to distant spiral galaxies, helical forms are as abundant as they are useful in nature and manufacturing alike. Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have discovered a way to synthesize and control the formation of nanobristles, akin to tiny hairs, into helical clusters and have further demonstrated the fabrication of such highly ordered clusters, built from similar coiled building blocks, over multiple scales and areas.

A study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, identifies components of black raspberries with chemopreventive potential.

Scientists have found that the compound, present in olive skin's leaf and wax, inhibits the growth of HT29 colon-cancer cells. It may provide a useful new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of colon carcinoma. Low concentrations of maslinic acid are to be found in plants with medicinal properties, but its concentration in the waxy skin of olives may be as high as 80 percent.

Masses of immune cells that form as a hallmark of tuberculosis have long been thought to be the body's way of trying to protect itself by literally walling off the bacteria. But a new study in the Jan. 9 issue of the journal Cell offers evidence that the TB bacteria actually sends signals that encourage the growth of those organized granuloma structures, and for good reason.

Two previously identified pathways associated with aging in mice are connected, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding reinforces what researchers have recently begun to suspect: The age-related degeneration of tissues, organs and facial skin is an active, deliberate process rather than a gradual failure of tired cells.

White people do not get as upset when confronted with racial prejudice as they think they will, a study by researchers at Yale University, York University and the University of British Columbia suggests. This indifference helps explains why racism persists even as the United States prepares to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama, researchers say.

The first people to arrive in America traveled as at least two separate groups to arrive in their new home at about the same time, according to new genetic evidence published online on Jan. 8 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

In ant society, workers normally give up reproducing themselves to care for their queen's offspring, who are their brothers and sisters. When workers try to cheat and have their own kids in the queen's presence, their peers swiftly attack and physically restrain them from reproducing.

One reason racism persists is that many people imagine they would respond strongly to a racist act but actually respond with indifference, a new study led by York University (in Toronto) shows. The study, being published just days before the inauguration of America's first black president, found that people overestimate how strongly they would react to racist comments.

The combination of estrogen plus progestin, which women stopped taking in droves following the news that it may increase their risk of breast cancer, may decrease their risk of colorectal cancer, according to a report published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

New research shows that rapidly warming climate is likely to seriously alter crop yields in the tropics and subtropics by the end of this century and, without adaptation, will leave half the world's population facing serious food shortages.

HIAPER, one of the nation's most advanced research aircraft, is scheduled to embark on an historic mission spanning the globe from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

Listening to the early universe just got harder. A team led by Alan Kogut of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., today announced the discovery of cosmic radio noise that booms six times louder than expected.

Smooth, dark buildings, vehicles and even roads can be mistaken by insects and other creatures for water, according to a Michigan State University researcher, creating "ecological traps" that jeopardize animal populations and fragile ecosystems. It's the polarized light reflected from asphalt roads, windows -- even plastic sheets and oil spills -- that to some species mimics the surface of the water they use to breed and feed.

An innovative approach for implanting a new aortic heart valve without open-heart surgery is being offered to patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Known as the PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic traNscathetER valves) trial, this Phase 3 multicenter study is being led by national co-principal investigators Dr. Martin Leon and Dr. Craig Smith and is focused on the treatment of patients who are at high risk or not suitable for open-heart valve replacement surgery.

Researchers have found that a technique used to visualize amyloid fibers in the laboratory might have the potential to destroy them in the clinic. The technique involves zapping the fluorescently tagged fibers with a laser, which can inhibit their growth and degrade them.

Nearly 543,000 babies were born too soon in 2006, according to new government statistics released Wednesday. The nation's preterm birth rate (birth before 37 completed weeks gestation) rose to 12.8 percent in 2006 -- that's a 36 percent increase since the early 1980s.

Total knee replacement is a common treatment for osteoarthritis, a disease affecting more than 20 million Americans. However, the surgery poses risks and both patients and physicians must carefully assess its potential benefits and harm.

Helping adolescents with arthritis develop the skills and secure resources to assure that their health care needs are met as they transition to adulthood is an important issue in the US.

Two rare meteorites found in Antarctica two years ago are from a previously unknown, ancient asteroid with a crust similar in composition to that of Earth's continents, reports a research team primarily composed of geochemists from the University of Maryland. Published in the Jan. 8 issue of the journal Nature, this is the first ever finding of material from an asteroid with a crust like Earth's, and the oldest rock with this composition ever found.

Mercury pollution has already spurred public health officials to advise eating less fish, but it could become a more pressing concern in a warmer world.

A Boston University Medical School research team has found a more efficient way to create induced pluripotent stem cells using a single virus vector instead of multiple viruses in the reprogramming process. The ability to combine four vectors into single "stem cell cassette" containing all four genes using a combinatioin of 2A peptides and IRES dramatically improves iPS cell productioin efficiency -- 10 times higher than previously reported studies.

In popular legend, Lucrezia Borgia stands falsely accused of poisoning her second husband. Victor Hugo portrayed her in thinly veiled fiction as a tragic femme fatale. Buffalo Bill named his gun after her.But groundbreaking new research reveals that the infamous duchess was less interested in political intrigue than in running a business. Forced by an economic downturn to become an entrepreneur, the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI would control between 30,000 and 50,000 acres within six years.

A special issue of American Journal of Medical Genetics: Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics presents a comprehensive overview of the latest progress in genetic research of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

A remarkable new discovery shows the four-eyed spookfish to be the first vertebrate ever found to use mirrors, rather than lenses, to focus light in its eyes.

The novel design of a deep muscle along the spinal column called the multifidus muscle may in fact be key to spinal support and a healthy back, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Their findings about the potentially important "scaffolding" role of this poorly understood muscle has been published on line in advance of the January issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

Consumers are often told that if they break an item, they buy it. But a new study suggests that if they just touch an item for more than a few seconds, they may also end up buying it. Researchers from Ohio State University and Illinois State University tested how touching an item before buying affects how much they are willing to pay for an item.

In relationships built on trust, a bad first impression can be harder to overcome than a betrayal that occurs after ties are established, a new study suggests. While betraying trust is never good for a relationship, the results show that early violations can be particularly devastating, and plant seeds of doubt that may never go away.

With the consequences of the current financial crisis spreading to the real economy, lawmakers are exploring new regulations to govern the financial markets.

Women choosing repeat cesarean deliveries and having them at term but before completing 39 weeks gestation are up to two times more likely to have a baby with serious complications including respiratory distress resulting in mechanical ventilation and NICU admission.

A new study published in the journal Geology explains how pebble-sized rocks organize themselves in evenly spaced patterns in sand.

A new study in Strategic Management Journal examines how the nature of outside directors' prior experience, and resulting expertise, will influence the performance of a firm's performance.

The enzyme machine that translates a cell's DNA code into the proteins of life is nothing if not an editorial perfectionist.

One of the most significant changes in China's agricultural economy over the past 15 years has been the rise of horticulture.