http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Arctic springtails (Megaphorura arctica) survive freezing temperatures by dehydrating themselves before the coldest weather sets in. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Genomics have identified a suite of genes involved in controlling this extreme survival mechanism. http://www.physorg.com/news167375159.html Biology Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:14:46 EST news167375159 Two genes may contribute to chemotherapy resistance in drugs like 5-fluorouracil, which is used in liver cancer treatment, according to Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news167325348.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:16:45 EST news167325348 Researchers have identified a potential biological mechanism that could explain why oral contraceptives may be less effective at preventing pregnancy in obese women, as some epidemiological studies have indicated. http://www.physorg.com/news166795862.html Medicine & Health Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:00:02 EST news166795862 The Rosetta Stone of bacterial communication may have been found. http://www.physorg.com/news166162905.html Biology Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:30:11 EST news166162905 Skinning a knee, swallowing habanero salsa, and installing snow chains bare-handed might seem pretty different at first. But all have one thing in common -- they're guaranteed to hurt. http://www.physorg.com/news165766405.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:30:01 EST news165766405 Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered a new brain mechanism involved in alcohol addiction involving the stomach hormone ghrelin. When ghrelin's actions in the brain are blocked, alcohol's effects on the reward system are reduced. It is an important discovery that could lead to new therapies for addictions such as alcohol dependence. http://www.physorg.com/news165575416.html Medicine & Health Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:10:48 EST news165575416 (PhysOrg.com) -- Human beings constantly make inferences about other people's state of mind, usually without even realizing they are doing it. Cognitive scientists call this ability "theory of mind," and until recently, not much has been known about the brain mechanisms underlying it. http://www.physorg.com/news165505015.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:37:23 EST news165505015 The Stowers Institute's Xie Lab has revealed how the BAM protein affects germline stem cell differentiation and how it is involved in regulating the quality of stem cells through intercellular competition. The work was published today by PNAS Early Edition. http://www.physorg.com/news165234322.html Biology Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:32:18 EST news165234322 Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that specific microRNAs (non-coding RNAs that interfere with gene expression) reduce HIV replication and infectivity in human T-cells. In particular, miR29 plays a key role in controlling the HIV life cycle. The study suggests that HIV may have co-opted this cellular defense mechanism to help the virus hide from the immune system and antiviral drugs. The research was published today in the journal Molecular Cell. http://www.physorg.com/news165152981.html Chemistry Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:10:01 EST news165152981 Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have demonstrated for the first time rhesus monkeys and humans share a specific perceptual mechanism, configural perception, for discriminating among the numerous faces they encounter daily. The study, reported in the June 25 online issue of Current Biology, provides insight into the evolution of the critical human social skill of facial recognition, which enables us to form relationships and interact appropriately with others. http://www.physorg.com/news165152366.html Biology Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:39:56 EST news165152366 If the growing presence of computer 'geeks' on television crime shows is any indicator, computers are increasingly becoming essential tools for detecting and combating skullduggery. However, television detectives are not the only ones taking advantage of these tools. Researchers also are beginning to collaborate with computer scientists to help uncover biological forms of deception, known as molecular mimicry. http://www.physorg.com/news165147154.html Biology Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:40:01 EST news165147154 Although there is no doubt that hypnosis can impact the mind and behavior, the underlying brain mechanisms are not well understood. Now, new research provides fascinating insight into the specific neural effect of the power of suggestion. The study, published by Cell Press in the June 25 issue of the journal Neuron, uncovers the influence of hypnotic paralysis on brain networks involved in internal representations and self imagery. http://www.physorg.com/news165065163.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:40:03 EST news165065163 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at McGill University have discovered a series of molecular mechanisms that regulate how our brains call up, restore and even change old memories. http://www.physorg.com/news164909611.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:20:04 EST news164909611 A Japanese research group, led by Dr. Yoko Yamagata of the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, has successfully generated a novel kinase-dead mutant mouse of the CaMKIIalpha gene that completely and exclusively lacks its kinase activity. They examined hippocampal synaptic plasticity and behavioral learning of the mouse, and found a severe deficit in both processes. They reported their findings in Journal of Neuroscience on June 10, 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news164625012.html Medicine & Health Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:19:20 EST news164625012 By applying cutting-edge techniques in single-molecule manipulation, researchers at Harvard University have uncovered a fundamental feedback mechanism that the body uses to regulate the clotting of blood. The finding, which could lead to a new physical, quantitative, and predictive model of how the body works to respond to injury, has implications for the treatment of bleeding disorders. http://www.physorg.com/news163343921.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:20:15 EST news163343921 (PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell scientists have discovered how two related proteins and their roles in a key molecular pathway are critical to creating obesity-causing fat cells. http://www.physorg.com/news163266213.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:44:35 EST news163266213 The chemical mechanism that occurs on the surface of an automotive catalytic converter has been deciphered thanks to an observation speed record established by Frédéric Thibault-Strarzyk at the Laboratoire Catalyse et Spectrochimie in Caen (CNRS, France). This performance, achieved in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, has made it possible to characterize this key step in the reaction that ensures pollutant removal by automotive converters. http://www.physorg.com/news162743807.html Chemistry Thu, 28 May 2009 15:37:20 EST news162743807 (PhysOrg.com) -- While proving a long-held theory that suberin blocks water and nutrient absorption in plants, a Purdue University scientist learned more about manipulating the substance to better feed plants. http://www.physorg.com/news162220687.html Biology Fri, 22 May 2009 14:18:47 EST news162220687 A protein that plays a key role in tumor formation, oxygen metabolism and inflammation is involved in a pathway that extends lifespan by dietary restriction. The finding, which appears in the May 22, 2009 edition of the on-line journal PLoS Genetics, provides a new understanding of how dietary restriction contributes to longevity and cancer prevention and gives scientists new targets for developing and testing drugs that could extend the healthy years of life. http://www.physorg.com/news162215715.html Medicine & Health Fri, 22 May 2009 12:55:40 EST news162215715 It is the concentration of a few signaling molecules that determines the fate of individual cells during the early development of organisms. In the renowned journal Current Biology, a team of molecular biologists led by Pia Aanstad of the University of Innsbruck reports that a variety of molecular mechanisms accounts for the interpretation of the concentration of the signaling molecule Hedgehog. http://www.physorg.com/news162215335.html Biology Fri, 22 May 2009 12:49:30 EST news162215335 New research provides exciting genetic insight into a rare syndrome that first appeared in the medical literature in the mid 1800s with the case of Julia Pastrana, the world's most notorious bearded lady. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 21st issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, reveals intriguing molecular clues about the pathogenesis of this mysterious condition that has captured the attention of the public since the Middle Ages. http://www.physorg.com/news162129462.html Medicine & Health Thu, 21 May 2009 12:58:57 EST news162129462 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the developing fetus, cell growth follows a very specific schedule. In the eye's retina, for example, cones -- which help distinguish color during the day -- develop before the more light-sensitive rods -- which are needed for night vision. http://www.physorg.com/news162057067.html Biology Wed, 20 May 2009 16:51:42 EST news162057067 Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a critical molecular mechanism that allows the influenza virus to evade the body's immune response system. http://www.physorg.com/news162056670.html Biology Wed, 20 May 2009 16:44:55 EST news162056670 A Boston University-led research team has identified the structural underpinnings of a widely-known enzyme -- acetoacetate decarboxylase (AADase) -- that was first described correctly more than 43 years ago including how it accelerates its target reaction. Until now it has never been fully explained how the reactions occur in the environment of the cell. http://www.physorg.com/news162044237.html Chemistry Wed, 20 May 2009 13:18:09 EST news162044237 A new study uncovers a molecular mechanism that explains why joints fail to develop in embryos with paralyzed limbs. The research, published by Cell Press in the May issue of the journal Developmental Cell, answers a longstanding question about the influence of muscle activity on developing joints and underscores the critical contribution of movement to regulation of a signaling pathway that is important during development and beyond. http://www.physorg.com/news161869493.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 May 2009 12:46:11 EST news161869493 Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, along with collaborators from research institutions across Europe and the United States, have for the first time identified two genes that are involved in determining when girls begin menstruation. The work will be published in Nature Genetics this weekend. http://www.physorg.com/news161786861.html Medicine & Health Sun, 17 May 2009 13:48:15 EST news161786861 It can take just hours after the symptoms appear for someone to die from bacterial meningitis. Now, after years of research, experts at The University of Nottingham have finally discovered how the deadly meningococcal bacteria is able to break through the body's natural defence mechanism and attack the brain. http://www.physorg.com/news161429472.html Medicine & Health Wed, 13 May 2009 10:32:42 EST news161429472 Just as scientists finished sequencing the human genome, they got a new surprise. Inside the genetic pathway, where DNA produces proteins to sustain life, they found microRNA. These tiny ubiquitous molecules have opened a new research channel in biology, allowing scientists to more closely examine what causes genetic diseases, and what makes our cells tick. http://www.physorg.com/news160922147.html Biology Thu, 07 May 2009 13:36:09 EST news160922147 Researchers at Harvard University have found that humans aren't the only ones who can groove to a beat -- some other species can dance, too. This capability was previously believed to be specific to humans. The research team found that only species that can mimic sound seem to be able to keep a beat, implying an evolutionary link between the two capacities. http://www.physorg.com/news160315376.html Biology Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:04:38 EST news160315376 A new study provides direct experimental evidence that a brain region important for reading and word recognition contains neurons that are highly selective for individual real words. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 30th issue of the journal Neuron, provides important insight into brain mechanisms associated with reading and may lead to a better understanding of reading disabilities. http://www.physorg.com/news160229278.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:08:32 EST news160229278