The biology of being oily. Something old and something new.
Relax. This is not another story of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This [...]
Archive | July, 2010 
Negative effects of sleep restriction may linger after 1 night of recovery sleep
DARIEN, Ill. — A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep suggests that a dose of extra sleep on the weekend may be good medicine for adults who repeatedly stay up too late or wake up too early during the workweek. However, even a night of 1…
Short and long sleep durations are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease
DARIEN, Ill. — A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep suggests that regularly sleeping for more or less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Results show that eight percent of the st…
SIDS surprise: Study finds that infant boys are more easily aroused from sleep than girls
DARIEN, Ill. — A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that at 2 to 4 weeks of age male infants are easier to arouse than females during quiet sleep, and by 2 to 3 months of age there are no significant gender differences in arousab…
Purple light means go, ultraviolet light means stop
A new membrane developed at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics blocks gas from flowing through it when one color of light is shined on its surface, and permits gas to flow through when another color of light is used. It i…
‘Guardian of the genome’: Protein helps prevent damaged DNA in yeast
ITHACA, N.Y. — Like a scout that runs ahead to spot signs of damage or danger, a protein in yeast safeguards the yeast cells’ genome during replication — a process vulnerable to errors when DNA is copied — according to new Cornell research.
R…
Missing Puma reveals cancer conundrum
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers in Melbourne, Australia, have made a discovery that has upended scientists’ understanding of programmed cell death and its role in tumour formation.
Programmed cell death, also called apoptosis, is a…
UT Southwestern researchers find key step in body’s ability to make red blood cells
DALLAS — July 31, 2010 — Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered a key step in the creation of new red blood cells in an animal study.
They found that a tiny fragment of ribonucleic acid (RNA), a chemical cousin of DNA, p…
Red blood cells have a tiny but effective protector — microRNA
Pediatric researchers have discovered a new biological pathway in which small segments of RNA, called microRNA, help protect red blood cells from injury caused by chemicals called free radicals. The microRNA seems to have only a modest role when red…
Review of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz
I realize that I promised to post the full review of this book after it appeared in print. Apologies for [...]
Reading terrorists minds about imminent attack
EVANSTON, Ill. — Imagine technology that allows you to get inside the mind of a terrorist to know how, when and where the next attack will occur.
That’s not nearly as far-fetched as it seems, according to a new Northwestern University study.
…
Reality TV, cosmetic surgey linked, says Rutgers-Camden researcher
CAMDEN — Teenage years have long been linked with a heightened concern with appearance. Some reality TV shows take full advantage and tout happiness as just a nip/tuck away. A Rutgers — Camden psychologist has found that teens fond of these kin…
Some like it hot: How to heat a ‘nano bathtub’ the JILA way
Researchers at JILA have demonstrated the use of infrared laser light to quickly and precisely heat the water in “nano bathtubs” — tiny sample containers — for microscopy studies of the biochemistry of single molecules and nanoparticles.
D…
Breaking the language barrier: NIST tests language translation devices for US troops
At dusk, a car stops at a checkpoint in Afghanistan. It is a tense moment for all. Because an interpreter is not available, U.S. Marines use hand gestures to ask the driver to step out of the car and open the trunk and hood for inspection. There’s…
Nano ‘pin art’: NIST arrays are step toward mass production of nanowires
NIST researchers grow nanowires made of semiconductors — gallium nitride alloys — by depositing atoms layer-by-layer on a silicon crystal under high vacuum. NIST has the unusual capability to produce these nanowires without using metal catal…
Body of evidence: New fast, reliable method to detect gravesoil
Nothing against bloodhounds, but finding bodies buried by someone who wanted them to stay undiscovered can be difficult. However a new technique developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), can reliably detec…
Oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy may protect women against brain aneurysms
(CHICAGO) — Results from a new study suggest that oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may yield additional benefit of protecting against the formation and rupture of brain aneurysms in women. The findings from this first-of-i…
Cosmic Dust and the 2010 Lindau Nobel Meeting on Elementary Particles in Cosmology
Background The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is of interest to astronomers because elementary particles are thought related to Big Bang [...]
