Modern marsupials may be popular animals at the zoo and in children’s books, but new findings reveal that they harbor a “fossil” copy of a gene that codes for filoviruses, which cause Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fevers and are the most lethal viruses known to humans.
With more than 100 billion neurons and billions of other specialized cells, the human brain is a marvel of nature. It is the organ that makes people unique.
Continue reading about Gene regulating human brain development identified
Adding to all that ails people managing their multiple sclerosis (MS) is depression, which has a lifetime risk for MS sufferers as high as 50 percent. Now for the first time in living humans, researchers suggest atrophy of a specific region of the hippocampus, a critical part of the brain involved in mood and memory, [...]
The muscle weakness and coordination problems sometimes seen in patients with neonatal diabetes — a rare, inherited form of diabetes — are caused by problems in the brain rather than the muscles, according to new research. The findings could pave the way for the development of improved treatments for the disease.
Researchers have discovered a simple process — employing molecules typically used in blue jean and ink dyes — for building an organic framework that could lead to economical, flexible and versatile solar cells.
Researchers have found that lower, though not necessarily impaired, performance on tests measuring story learning or retention and processing speed in motor tasks dependent on visual control, as well as symptoms of depression, predicted subsequent cognitive decline in a normal population.
Continue reading about Memory problems not the only predictor of later mild cognitive impairment
Astronomers have uncovered what appear to be 14 of the coldest stars known in our universe. These failed stars, called brown dwarfs, are so cold and faint that they’d be impossible to see with current visible-light telescopes. Spitzer’s infrared vision was able to pick out their feeble glow, much as a firefighter uses infrared goggles [...]
Continue reading about Coolest stars come out of the dark: Spitzer spies frigid brown dwarfs
A meta-analysis of previously published studies finds no evidence that statins are associated with a reduced risk of death among individuals at risk for but with no history of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.
Scientists are finding that healthy eating can reduce not only health care costs, but also the decline of quality of life due to these diseases.
New research illuminates in fine detail one of the genetic paths that leads to a particularly aggressive form of leukemia. A team discovered a new tumor-suppressing function of p53, distinct, for instance, from apoptosis, and somewhat related to senescence. They showed that it has the ability to reinforce cell-fate and differentiation programs. In AML, p53 [...]
Continue reading about How loss of key protein promotes aggressive form of leukemia