Scientists detect two decision-making pathways in human brain

In a classic Aesop fable, the Ant diligently stores food for the upcoming winter, while the Grasshopper lounges in the summer sun oblivious to the impeding change of season. Like the characters in this tale, people are often torn between impulsively choosing immediate rewards or more deliberatively planning for the future. And now new research suggests why: human decision-making is influenced by the interactions of two distinct systems in the brain which– like the Ant and Grasshopper–are often at odds.

Mini-Mouse is a bad mom

Female mice that are abnormally small due to gene ”knockout” technology are also bad mothers whose poor parenting skills cause their young to die within a day or two of birth, scientists report this week in the on-line edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Severe moth outbreak follows El Nino drought in Panama

Plant-eating insects inhabit all forest ecosystems, but sometimes their numbers explode, resulting in massive tree defoliation. Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute now associate a severe moth outbreak with drought conditions following the 1997-1998 El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event in a dry lowland forest near Panama’s Pacific coast. If ENSO events become more common, repeated herbivore outbreaks might alter forest species composition.

Scientists identify new cause of obesity

A brain protein already known to play a central role in the ”feast or fast” signaling that controls the urge to eat has now been found to influence appetite in a second way. The discovery identifies a potential new target for drugs against obesity. Earlier research has shown that this protein, called MC4R, is a receptor on neurons in the hypothalamus region of the brain and receives signals through at least two pathways about the status of the body’s fat reserves. If fat stores are increasing, theses signals stimulate MC4R, triggering physiological responses that decrease appetite. If fat reserves are decreasing, these signals turn off, deactivating MC4R and increasing appetite.

Delay in cutting the cord helps premature babies

Waiting 30 seconds to two minutes after birth to cut the umbilical cord of a premature baby appears to lessen chances of bleeding in the newborn’s brain and reduce the need for transfusions, according to a new review of research. Standard practice for preterm babies is to cut the cord as soon as possible, often within 10 to 15 seconds. A systematic review finds that delaying the clamping rather than doing it immediately also reduces anemia and increases blood pressure and blood volume, helping preterm infants off to a healthier start in life.

Antibiotic identified as potential anti-cancer candidate

A molecular mechanism that was formerly thought to be important only in bacteria has now been shown to be a potential target for an anticancer therapy based on antibiotic use. David Scheinberg and colleagues, at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, have been investigating an enzyme in humans that is similar to one in bacteria called peptide deformylase (Pdf) and have found that an antibiotic called actinonin, which inhibits the human Pdf, also inhibits tumor growth.

Bioaerosols: New element in climate mystery

Parisa Ariya’s accidental discovery of the power of
bioaerosols to generate rapid and dramatic chemical reactions may change — at the very least alter — the course of climate science. Ariya, a professor in Montreal, first made her observation in August 2001, after one of her postdoctoral fellows forgot to close the valve sealing the reaction chamber where an organic compound (containing carbon, oxygen and/or hydrogen) was reacting with ozone (the form of oxygen in the stratosphere that filters out ultraviolet radiation).

Strange-looking Rocks in Hawaii

Strange-looking rock.
While I was vacationing in Hawaii, I came across a strange looking rock on the beach. Later on, at the hotel in Waikiki beach, I noticed an old newspaper article on the wall. It was published in 1982, and had turned a burnt yellow, being on the wall so long. In the article, on the front page, the Governor of Hawaii at the time was discussing the interesting things of Hawaii, and one of the things he mentioned was “strange-looking rocks” found all over Hawaii. He also mentions over the centuries, explorers and adventurers would take some of these strange-looking rocks only to return them later on. It appears if someone take these rocks, some kind of curse occurs and these people return the rocks to relieve themselves from the evil spell. To look at what I saw, click above, on the link for a photograph of one.

Major missile study critical of Bush shield program

Intercepting missiles while their rockets are still burning would not be an effective approach for defending the U.S. against attacks by an important type of enemy missile. This conclusion comes from an independent study by the American Physical Society into the scientific and technical feasibility of boost-phase defense. President George Bush has expressed confidence in U.S. missile defense programs, which are currently planned to include boost-phase defenses as well as other defensive measures, and plans to spend $10 billion on the effort in 2005.

Incidents and accidents

A friend of mine who works in a biotech lab in Europe suffered a bout of what he thought was hayfever this year…snuffling and runny nose, itchy and sore eyes, the usual thing…except this was in February! He took a few days sick leave – it was that bad – and the symptoms subsided. Until he went back to work…

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New spin on quantum computer technology

Physicists have built a critical component for the development of quantum computers and spintronic devices, potentially bringing advances in cryptography and high-speed database searches a step closer. A team of researchers has created a device that can effectively split a stream of quantum objects such as electrons into two streams according to the spin of each, herding those with ”up” spin in one direction and corralling those that spin ”down” in another. By producing such ”spin-polarized” streams, the tiny device could become a key component in quantum computers, which have not yet left the drawing boards of the computer industry but are highly sought-after for their purported facility at cracking codes and searching large databases.

‘Energy blocker’ kills big tumors in rats

Building on their earlier work, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that an apparently nontoxic cellular ”energy blocker” can eradicate large liver tumors grown in rats. Six months to more than a year after treatment was stopped, the rats are still cancer free. While the results are dramatic, clinical trials with the chemical, 3-bromopyruvate, are likely some years away, says the study’s leader, Young Ko, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology and biological chemistry. If tests in the lab continue to be promising, however, the chemical or one like it may become an option for treating advanced liver cancers and perhaps other tumors in people.

Scientists ready for probe’s plunge into Titan’s atmosphere

On Jan. 14, 2005, the Huygens probe will plow into the orange atmosphere of Saturn’s moon, Titan, becoming the first spacecraft to attempt to land on a moon in our solar system since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 touched down on Earth’s moon in 1976. Though scientists hope that Huygens will survive the plunge, it will be flying blind through hydrocarbon haze and methane clouds to a surface that could consist of seven-kilometer-high ice mountains and liquid methane seas.