Tag Archives: Nature
Biological mechanism that plays key role in early-onset dementia identified
ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2012) Using animal models, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered how a protein deficiency may be linked to frontotemporal dementia (FTD) — a form of early-onset dementia that is similar to Alzheimer’s disease
Vitamin variants could combat cancer as scientists unravel B12 secrets
ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2012) In a development that may lead to new drugs to treat cancer, scientists at the University of Kent have discovered the process by which a key vitamin (B12) is made in cells
Smallest and fastest-known RNA switches provide new drug targets
ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2012) A University of Michigan biophysical chemist and his colleagues have discovered the smallest and fastest-known molecular switches made of RNA, the chemical cousin of DNA. The researchers say these rare, fleeting structures are prime targets for the development of new antiviral and antibiotic drugs
Bioengineers design rapid diagnostic tests inspired by nature
ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) By mimicking nature’s own sensing mechanisms, bioengineers at UC Santa Barbara and University of Rome Tor Vergata have designed inexpensive medical diagnostic tests that take only a few minutes to perform
Treating ovarian cancer: New pathways through genetics
ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2012) A new discovery that sheds light on the genetic make up of ovarian cancer cells could explain why some women survive longer than others with this deadly disease
‘Stem cell hope’ for deaf people
12 September 2012 Last updated at 13:00 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News UK researchers say they have taken a huge step forward in treating deafness after stem cells were used to restore hearing in animals for the first time. Hearing partially improved when nerves in the ear, which pass sounds into the brain, were rebuilt in gerbils – a UK study in the journal Nature reports. 1 Getting the same improvement in people would be a shift from being unable to hear traffic to hearing a conversation
Crippling viruses ’cause asthma’
9 September 2012 Last updated at 13:54 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News Viral infections in newborns “cripple” part of the immune system and increase the risk of asthma later in life, US researchers studying mice have said.
Most mutations come from dad: New insights into age, height and sex reshape views of human evolution
ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2012) Humans inherit more than three times as many mutations from their fathers as from their mothers, and mutation rates increase with the father’s age but not the mother’s, researchers have found in the largest study of human genetic mutations to date. The study, based on the DNA of around 85,000 Icelanders, also calculates the rate of human mutation at high resolution, providing estimates of when human ancestors diverged from nonhuman primates
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