ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Dual role of carbon dioxide in photosynthesis: Pioneering findings
• New mouse model could revolutionize research in Alzheimer's disease
• Finding the switch: Researchers create roadmap for gene expression
• Hereditary trauma: Inheritance of traumas and how they may be mediated
• Mechanism, possible treatment, for immune suppression in liver disease uncovered
• Virus-fighting genes linked to mutations in cancer: Genetic evidence supports role of gene family in cancer development
• Ocean Acidification robs reef fish of their fear of predators
• Sharpening microscope images: New technique takes cues from astronomy, ophthalmology
• Greenhouse gas emissions from today will be felt for at least 1000 years
• Cool climate – clean planet: Research suggests cooling action will clean air
• Fecal transplant? Gut microbiota may play a role in development of alcoholic liver disease
• Impressive SVR12 data for once-daily combination to treat HCV genotype 1 patients
• New Chinese herbal medicine has significant potential in treating hepatitis C, study suggests
• Women with diabetes less likely to have a mammogram: Study
• Treatment of complex developmental trauma in children and youth
• To be an organ donor, specific attitudes trump general support, study finds
• 'Nano-anesthesia: New approach to local anesthesia?
• Green space keeps you from feeling blue
• Confirmation of neurobiological origin of attention-deficit disorder
• Sharks contain more pollutants than polar bears

Dual role of carbon dioxide in photosynthesis: Pioneering findings Posted: 13 Apr 2014 12:40 PM PDT Carbon dioxide, in its ionic form bicarbonate, has a regulating function in the splitting of water in photosynthesis, researchers have found. This means that carbon dioxide has an additional role to being reduced to sugar. The pioneering work opens up a new research field where researchers can investigate possible biological and ecological consequences of the dual role of carbon dioxide.

New mouse model could revolutionize research in Alzheimer's disease Posted: 13 Apr 2014 12:40 PM PDT Alzheimer's disease, the primary cause of dementia in the elderly, imposes a tremendous social and economic burden on modern society. Unfortunately, it has proven very difficult to develop drugs capable of ameliorating the disease. After a tremendous burst of progress in the 1990s, the pace of discoveries has slowed. Part of the difficulty is the inadequacy of current mouse models to replicate the real conditions of Alzheimer's disease and allow an understanding of the underlying mechanisms that lead to neurodegeneration. Scientists have now reported the creation of two new mouse models of Alzheimer's disease that may potentially revolutionize research into this disease.

Finding the switch: Researchers create roadmap for gene expression Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT In a new study, researchers have taken the first steps toward creating a roadmap that may help scientists narrow down the genetic cause of numerous diseases. Their work also sheds new light on how heredity and environment can affect gene expression. Pinpointing the genetic causes of common diseases is not easy, as multiple genes may be involved with a disease. Moreover, disease-causing variants in DNA often do not act directly, but by activating nearby genes.

Hereditary trauma: Inheritance of traumas and how they may be mediated Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT Extreme and traumatic events can change a person -- and often, years later, even affect their children. Researchers have now unmasked a piece in the puzzle of how the inheritance of traumas may be mediated. The phenomenon has long been known in psychology: traumatic experiences can induce behavioural disorders that are passed down from one generation to the next. It is only recently that scientists have begun to understand the physiological processes underlying hereditary trauma

Mechanism, possible treatment, for immune suppression in liver disease uncovered Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT The mechanism that underlies the susceptibility of liver disease patients to life-threatening infection has been uncovered by medical scientists, who have also suggested a possible treatment to reverse immune suppression in these patients. Liver disease, or cirrhosis, patients are more than five times more likely to pick up infections in hospital than patients with other chronic conditions, due to reduced immunity which is a well-recognized feature of the disease.

Virus-fighting genes linked to mutations in cancer: Genetic evidence supports role of gene family in cancer development Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT All cancer-causing processes leave a distinct mutational imprint or signature on the genomes of patients. Researchers have found a major piece of biological evidence to support the role a group of virus-fighting genes has in cancer development. The mutational signature left by the cancer-causing process driven by this family of genes is found in half of all cancer types.

Ocean Acidification robs reef fish of their fear of predators Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:59 AM PDT Research on the behavior of coral reef fish at naturally-occurring carbon dioxide seeps in Milne Bay in eastern Papua New Guinea has shown that continuous exposure to increased levels of carbon dioxide dramatically alters the way fish respond to predators.

Sharpening microscope images: New technique takes cues from astronomy, ophthalmology Posted: 13 Apr 2014 10:23 AM PDT The complexity of biology can befuddle even the most sophisticated light microscopes. Biological samples bend light in unpredictable ways, returning difficult-to-interpret information to the microscope and distorting the resulting image. New imaging technology rapidly corrects for these distortions and sharpens high-resolution images over large volumes of tissue.

Greenhouse gas emissions from today will be felt for at least 1000 years Posted: 13 Apr 2014 06:41 AM PDT Greenhouse gas emissions from today will greatly affect our descendants for at least 1000 years. In 1000 years, between 15 and 40 per cent of the CO2 we emit today will still be left in the atmosphere," says one professor. "We are talking about effects 30 generations ahead. This is something people need to take to heart now."

Cool climate – clean planet: Research suggests cooling action will clean air Posted: 13 Apr 2014 06:41 AM PDT Ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions and the potential need to deploy untested and expensive climate engineering technologies are just two of the many bits of bad news in a new report. But there's good news hidden in the bad. If we take action to cool the planet, we can also expect the added benefit of cleaner air, particularly in China, the authors say.

Fecal transplant? Gut microbiota may play a role in development of alcoholic liver disease Posted: 12 Apr 2014 06:33 AM PDT Exciting new data shows that the gut microbiota has a potential role in the development of alcoholic liver disease. Though an early stage animal model, a French study highlights the possibility of preventing ALD with fecal microbiota transplantation -- the engrafting of new microbiota, usually through administering human fecal material from a healthy donor into the colon of a recipient.

Impressive SVR12 data for once-daily combination to treat HCV genotype 1 patients Posted: 12 Apr 2014 06:33 AM PDT Results from three Phase III clinical trials evaluating the investigational once-daily fixed-dose combination of the nucleotide analogue polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir 400mg and the NS5A inhibitor ledipasvir 90mg, with and without ribavirin, for the treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C virus infection have been presented.

New Chinese herbal medicine has significant potential in treating hepatitis C, study suggests Posted: 12 Apr 2014 06:33 AM PDT A new compound, SBEL1, has the ability to inhibit hepatitis C virus activity in cells at several points in the virus' lifecycle. SBEL1 is a compound isolated from Chinese herbal medicines that was found to inhibit HCV activity by approximately 90%. SBEL1 is extracted from a herb found in certain regions of Taiwan and Southern China. In Chinese medicine, it is used to treat sore throats and inflammations. The function of SBEL1 within the plant is unknown and its role and origins are currently being investigated.

Women with diabetes less likely to have a mammogram: Study Posted: 11 Apr 2014 12:38 PM PDT Women with diabetes are 14 percent less likely to be screened for breast cancer compared to women without diabetes, according to a study. "Managing the demands of a chronic condition such as diabetes is challenging for many women, leaving other preventative actions, like screening for cancer, to fall by the wayside," said a physician and author. "Our study found having diabetes posed a significant barrier to breast cancer screening even after considering a woman's socioeconomic status, a known contributor to disparities in care among women."

Treatment of complex developmental trauma in children and youth Posted: 11 Apr 2014 12:36 PM PDT Children and adolescents in foster care and institutional settings often face complex developmental trauma related to multiple or continuous traumatic experiences. However, successful clinical interventions are difficult to implement because of barriers to accessibility, time constraints, insufficient diagnostic criteria, and other limitations. A new study explores the benefits of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), a program designed for caregivers working closely with traumatized children.

To be an organ donor, specific attitudes trump general support, study finds Posted: 11 Apr 2014 12:36 PM PDT Most Americans say they support the idea of organ donation, yet fewer than half of eligible donors ever register, national polls show. That may be because supporting a good cause doesn't mean people will take action. However, people are more likely to sign up if they have positive attitudes specifically about registering as a donor, according to research.

'Nano-anesthesia: New approach to local anesthesia? Posted: 11 Apr 2014 12:34 PM PDT A technique using anesthesia-containing nanoparticles —- drawn to the targeted area of the body by magnets —- could one day provide a useful alternative to nerve block for local anesthesia in patients, suggests an experimental study.

Green space keeps you from feeling blue Posted: 11 Apr 2014 12:33 PM PDT If you start feeling better as spring begins pushing up its tender shoots, you might be living proof of a trend discovered in data from a new study: The more green space in the neighborhood, the happier people reported feeling. "The greening of neighborhoods could be a simple solution to reducing stress," says the lead author. "If you want to feel better, go outside."

Confirmation of neurobiological origin of attention-deficit disorder Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:17 AM PDT The neurobiological origin of attention-deficit disorder (ADD), a syndrome whose causes are poorly understood, has just been confirmed by a study carried out on mice. Researchers have identified a cerebral structure, the superior colliculus, where hyperstimulation causes behavior modifications similar to those of some patients who suffer from ADD. Their work also shows noradrenaline accumulation in the affected area, shedding light on this chemical mediator having a role in attention disorders.

Sharks contain more pollutants than polar bears Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:14 AM PDT The polar bear is known for having alarmingly high concentrations of PCB and other pollutants. But researchers have discovered that Greenland sharks store even more of these contaminants in their bodies. Greenland sharks live in deep water, at depths of 200 to 600 meters, and live farther north than any other shark. It is also long lived, and can live to be 100 years old. They are also known as the grey shark or gurry shark.

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