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Monday, November 26, 2012

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

Cell biology: Calcium 'accelerator' keeps cell power supply going

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 04:30 PM PST

Scientists have moved another step closer to solving a decades-long mystery of how the flow of calcium into the cell's power source, the mitochondria, is controlled. By shutting down 50 genes, one at a time, they have identified a protein, MCUR1, that is part of an elaborate channel pore system and acts as an accelerator to help regulate calcium coming into the mitochondria.

Alzheimer's disease in mice alleviated: Promising therapeutic approach for humans

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 04:30 PM PST

Pathological changes typical of Alzheimer's disease were significantly reduced in mice by blockade of an immune system transmitter. The new therapeutic approach in fighting Alzheimer's disease promises potential both in prevention and in cases where the disease has already set in.

Patient's own immune cells may blunt viral therapy for brain cancer

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 04:30 PM PST

Doctors now use cancer-killing viruses to treat some patients with lethal, fast-growing brain tumors. Clinical trials show that these therapeutic viruses are safe but less effective than expected. A new study shows that the patient's own immune system quickly works to eliminate the anticancer virus, and it discovered how this happens.

Engineering plants for biofuels

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 04:28 PM PST

With increasing demands for sustainable energy, being able to cost-efficiently produce biofuels from plant biomass is more important than ever. However, lignin and hemicelluloses present in certain plants mean that they cannot be easily converted into biofuels. A new study appears to have solved this problem, using gene manipulation techniques to engineer plants that can be more easily broken down into biofuels.

Transposable elements reveal a stem cell specific class of long noncoding RNAs

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 04:28 PM PST

Over a decade after sequencing the human genome, it has now become clear that the genome is not mostly 'junk' as previously thought. In fact, the ENCODE project consortium of dozens of labs and petabytes of data have determined that these 'noncoding' regions house everything from disease trait loci to important regulatory signals, all the way through to new types of RNA-based genes.

From degeneration to regeneration: Advances in skeletal muscle engineering

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 04:28 PM PST

Medical researchers have developed a new therapeutic technique to repair and rebuild muscle for sufferers of degenerative muscle disorders. The therapy brings together two existing techniques for muscle repair – cell transplantation and tissue engineering – specifically, mesoangioblast stem cells delivered via a hydrogel cell-carrier matrix.

Health and environmental risk in flame retardants in building insulation

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 04:28 PM PST

Researchers in the United States are calling for a change to the US building codes, following a study showing that the mandatory flame retardants routinely added to foam insulation are not only harmful to human health and the environment, but also make no difference to the prevention of fire in buildings where a fire-safe thermal barrier already exists. Such a change would bring the US building codes in line with regulations in Sweden and Norway.

Fetal alcohol exposure affects brain structure in children

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 07:39 AM PST

Children exposed to alcohol during fetal development exhibit changes in brain structure and metabolism that are visible using various imaging techniques, according to a new study.

Reading, writing and playing games may help aging brains stay healthy

Posted: 25 Nov 2012 07:39 AM PST

Mental activities like reading and writing can preserve structural integrity in the brains of older people, according to a new study.
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