Telescope mirror to get shiny finish in major test run

In an airplane hangar in Columbus, OH, some 80 tons of steel, electronics, and cryogenic equipment are about to come together — all to deposit one ounce of aluminum as a near-perfect, whisper-thin coating on a giant telescope mirror. The successful operation of the coating system will represent a milestone in the construction of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), and a critical phase in Ohio State University ‘s participation in the LBT project.

Higher Death Rate Seen in ICU Patients Given Diuretics

A substantially higher death rate and inability to recover from kidney failure was documented in a study of 552 critically ill, hospitalized patients who were given diuretics, the most commonly used therapy for kidney failure. Published in the November 27, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the study suggests that physicians treating patients in acute kidney failure should reassess the use of diuretics, particularly when there is a limited response in terms of increased urine output.

No brain benefit from hormone therapy in women with heart disease

Another menopausal myth is challenged: Women with existing coronary disease do not realize improvement in their cognitive function as a result of taking the most common form of hormone replacement therapy, a UCSF study has found. Investigators followed more than 1000 women from ten US test sites for four years. Half took a placebo; the other half took hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Although other, smaller studies have shown an improvement, in the UCSF study the women who received HRT performed no better on standard tests of cognitive function than those who received placebo.

Even boffins hit by down market; employment sags for chemists

It’s a tough time to be a young chemist. Last year’s demand for new graduates was down substantially from the previous year as companies have been hiring fewer people, a new study finds. Even pharmaceutical companies, a good source of jobs for chemists in recent years, have cut back on hiring. Because drug companies and universities are delaying hiring while they wait for signs of economic recovery, new graduates in chemistry or chemical engineering are going to have a more difficult time finding their first job than they have had in many years.

Researchers Discover Unusual Protein Structure: A Knot

Researchers have determined the structure of a protein with a surprising feature in it: a knot. This is the first time a knot has been found in a protein from the most ancient type of single-celled organism, an archaebacterium, and one of only a few times a knot has been seen in any protein structure. This very unusual protein shape finding is a result from the NIGMS Protein Structure Initiative, a 10-year effort to determine 10,000 unique protein structures using fast, highly automated methods.

New NASA theory may help improve weather predictions

Less precipitation and more lightning eventually may be forecast as a result of a NASA study that shows that cloud droplets freeze from the outside inward instead of the opposite. The new theory of how super-cooled water droplets in clouds freeze, which appears in this week’s on-line edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reverses a 60-year-old assumption.

Large-scale climate changes occur naturally, new research says

A Canadian researcher has found new evidence that — contrary to previous belief — the past 6,000 years have been marked by large-scale climate changes occurring naturally, on a regular basis. He and his research team have documented four abrupt climate shifts over the past 5,500 years in western Canada, occurring on average every 1,220 years. Until now the last 6,000 years has been considered climatically stable, with the main evidence of large-scale shifts being found in the Greenland ice cores and sediments from the Atlantic Ocean. The team’s findings are reported in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Little Yellow Molecule Comes Up Big

Bilirubin has been a mystery of a molecule, associated with better health if there’s just a little more than normal, but best known for being at the root of the yellow color in jaundice and, at high levels, for causing brain damage in newborns. In the current online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team from Johns Hopkins reports that bilirubin and the enzyme that makes it appear to be the body’s most potent protection against oxidative damage.

Mighty Mice Are Less Susceptible To Muscular Dystrophy Gene’s Effects

The scientists who first discovered that knocking out a particular muscle gene results in “mighty mice” now report that it also softens the effects of a genetic mutation that causes muscular dystrophy. The findings build support for the idea that blocking the activity of that gene, known as myostatin, may one day help treat humans with degenerative muscle diseases.

Crossover Drug Effective For Restless Legs Syndrome

An anticonvulsant drug typically used to control seizures and neuropathic pain may reduce symptoms among those who suffer from restless legs syndrome (RLS), a movement disorder that affects up to 10 percent of the population. RLS is characterized by an urge to move the legs, generally accompanied by unpleasant sensations; an increase of symptoms during rest and a partial, temporary relief of symptoms through activity; and worsening of symptoms in the evening or at night.

Generalized anxiety disorder, peptic ulcers linked

A new finding of a link between an anxiety disorder and peptic ulcer disease lends support to the view that this gastrointestinal disease and anxiety disorder may share a common link. In recent years, attention has focused on a more biological element with the identification of bacteria as a cause of peptic ulcers. “The identification of Helicobacter pylori as an infectious cause of peptic ulcer disease has been considered by many to disprove the possibility that there is an important relationship between anxiety disorders and gastrointestinal disease,” says study author Renee D. Goodwin, Ph.D., from the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City. “Over the last several years research on the causes and treatments for peptic ulcer disease has neglected the links with psychiatric/psychological factors,” she notes.