AMES, Iowa — A new Iowa State University study has found that corn bred to contain increased levels of beta-carotene is a good source of vitamin A. The discovery gives added support to the promise of biofortified corn being developed throug…
In a counter-intuitive finding, new research from North Carolina State University shows that a species of shellfish widely consumed in the Pacific over the past 3,000 years has actually increased in size, despite — and possibly because of — …
AMES, Iowa — The Spitzer Space Telescope is now taking aim at the outer reaches of the Milky Way and helping two Iowa State University astronomers advance their star studies.
Massimo Marengo, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy,…
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed extremely small microneedles that can be used to deliver medically-relevant nanoscale dyes called quantum dots into skin — an advance that opens the door to new techniques for d…
Strong evidence for a new five-quark baryon state (known as a pentaquark) has been reported by a team of physicists known as the CLAS Collaboration working at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) in Virginia. Link
There is a growing disconnect between American children and marriage — society’s chief child-rearing institution — according to the latest report by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Fewer children are living in married-couple households and fewer married couples families have children compared to past decades, according to “Marriage and Children: Coming Together Again?” from “The State of Our Unions 2003,” a report issued annually by the National Marriage Project.
Forget everything you’ve heard about forgetfulness. Researchers at North Carolina State University believe that age-related declines in memory and cognitive functioning may not be as pronounced as once believed. Dr. Thomas Hess, professor of psychology at NC State, says pessimistic notions of changes in mental abilities associated with growing older may in part be attributed to how early studies into cognition and aging were conducted. His findings were outlined in a recent edition of the Journal of Gerontology and chronicled in Science magazine. Hess’ research is part of a three-year study into stereotype threat, aging and memory as part of a $403,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging.
Researchers from Ohio State University found that a common pain relief medication seems to increase the effectiveness of a drug used to treat skin cancer. Experiments in mice showed that the combination of celecoxib — a prescription-only non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) — and a cream commonly used to treat nonmelanoma skin cancer was up to 35 percent more effective in reducing the number of skin cancer tumors than treating such lesions with the cream alone.
In the last few months, severe acute respiratory syndrome has infected thousands in Asia, traveled to various parts of the world and gained international attention. In April 2003, the disease was conclusively identified as a type of coronavirus unlike any other known human or animal virus in the Coronavirus family.
Sanjay Kapil, a Kansas State University associate professor of diagnostic medicine pathobiology, says human interference with domestic and wild animals could be a factor in the development of the disease.
Samples of the pathogens identified in severe acute respiratory syndrome look similar to coronaviruses found in animals. Because the sequences found in human samples are unique, the virus must have changed substantially when it transferred from animals to humans, Kapil said.
The Web site of a Portland State University graduate student has been targeted in a wave of Internet hackings supporting al-Qaida, attracting federal authorities and terrorism experts who worry the break-in may be more than a prank.
How do you move a wounded, 2,080-pound patriot? Very carefully. Recently, under the watchful eyes of curators, conservators, surveyors, and engineers, a team of riggers deftly lifted the fragile Liberty Bell off of the supports on which it has been resting for a quarter century and confirmed the Bell can be safely moved into its new home this fall.
Mathematical models have given physicists a new look at DNA’s chemical counterpart, RNA. The models — showing that RNA behaves differently depending on the temperature of its environment — may help biologists better understand how life evolved on Earth.