admin on December 4th, 2009

Researchers have identified a new factor that is necessary for the development of many forms of medulloblastoma, the most common type of malignant childhood brain cancer.

Continue reading about Gene that spurs deadly brain cancer identified

People who smoke their first cigarette within minutes after waking up have much higher levels of cotinine, a by-product of nicotine when processed by the body, than those who wait to smoke, regardless of the number of cigarettes smoked.

Continue reading about Increased nicotine levels detected in those who light-up earlier in the morning

A new fossil species suggests that some land animals may have survived the end-Permian extinction by living in cooler climates in Antarctica. Researchers have identified a distant relative of mammals that apparently survived the mass extinction by living in Antarctica.

Continue reading about Antarctica served as climatic refuge in Earth’s greatest extinction event

Researchers have pinpointed a mechanism that may help explain how chromosomal translocations — the supposedly random shuffling of large chunks of DNA that frequently lead to cancer — aren’t so random after all. They have developed a model of such chromosomal mix-ups in prostate cancer which indicates that the male sex hormone (androgen) receptor unexpectedly [...]

Continue reading about Random DNA mix-ups not so random in cancer development

Researchers have used lasers to create the first practical macroscopic yarns from boron nitride fibers, opening the door for an array of applications, from radiation-shielded spacecraft to stronger body armor, according to a just-published study.

Continue reading about Lasers used to make first boron-nitride nanotube yarn

The relatively low number of new cases created by a single case of H1N1 influenza indicates that mitigation strategies such as vaccination, social distancing and the use of antiviral drugs may help to lessen the final impact of the virus, suggests an epidemiological modeling study.

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admin on December 4th, 2009

Climatic fluctuations close to the equator show a different pattern to climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic. In the tropics, distinct 11,500-year fluctuations between wet and dry periods can be clearly identified which do not occur in temperature reconstructions of polar ice cores.

Continue reading about Strong regional climatic fluctuations in the tropics

admin on December 4th, 2009

Our ability to learn new information and adapt to changes in our daily environment, as well as to retain lifelong memories, appears to lie in the minute junctions where nerve cells communicate, according to a new study.

Continue reading about Lifelong memories linked to stable nerve connections