Academia News
The Lead
Sex at Zero Gravity
May 2, 2013 1:38 pm | by Skip Derra | Articles | Comments
If the long-term goal of humans is, indeed, space exploration and colonization, then there are many survivability questions that need to be answered. Leaving Earth means leaving the friendly confines of a planet on which we have evolved over the eons and to which our bodies have adapted. And it turns out gravity has a role in successful sexual reproduction, at least for plants.
The Driving Force of Biomimicry
April 22, 2013 11:38 am | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | Comments
It already has its own peer-reviewed journal, its own economic index and its own institute. As...
Platelet Rich Plasma Significantly Improves Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Tennis Elbow
March 21, 2013 11:58 am | News | Comments
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been used to manage pain associated with torn tendons,...
Platelet Rich Plasma Significantly Improves Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Tennis Elbow
March 21, 2013 11:58 am | News | Comments
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been used to manage pain associated with torn tendons,...
Scientists Announce Top 10 New Species
May 24, 2013 9:11 am | News | CommentsAn amazing glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a harp-shaped carnivorous sponge and the smallest vertebrate on Earth are just three of the newly discovered top 10 species selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University.
NYU Researchers Took Chinese Bribes
May 20, 2013 3:37 pm | by BY TOM HAYS - ASSOCIATED PRESS | News | CommentsThree New York University researchers from China divulged results from a federally funded study to Chinese competitors in exchange for tuition, rent and other expenses, federal prosecutors say. Yudong Zhu, a U.S.-educated NYU professor, and Xing Yang, a lab engineer, were released on bail after appearing in federal court in Manhattan to face commercial bribery and other charges. They left court without speaking to reporters.
3 Cancer Scientists Awarded $500K NY Medical Prize
April 16, 2013 11:31 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThree scientists at universities in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Oregon whose research has helped transform cancer treatment will share one of the richest prizes in medicine and biomedical research. Dr. Peter Nowell of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Janet Rowley of the University of Chicago...
Music of the Spheres
April 11, 2013 4:33 pm | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsThey call it Hi-Fi-Sci: It’s the marriage of music and science animation, it features HMS scientist Tom Kirchhausen and it’s coming to the Cambridge Science Festival on Sunday, April 14. Five composers will premiere original pieces of music inspired by five scientists, including Kirchhausen, an HMS professor of cell biology and pediatrics and an investigator at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Healing by the Clock
April 10, 2013 11:26 am | by Harvard Medical School | News | CommentsCircadian rhythms keep time for all living things, from regulating when plants open their flowers to foiling people when they try to beat jet lag. Day-night cycles are controlled through ancient biological mechanisms, evolutionarily speaking, so in essence, a human has the same internal clock as a fly does.
Misregulated Genes May Have Big Autism Role
March 21, 2013 12:09 pm | News | CommentsA new study finds that two genes individually associated with rare autism-related disorders are also jointly linked to more general forms of autism. The finding suggests a new genetic pathway to investigate in general autism research.
Humanoid Robot Helps Train Children with Autism
March 21, 2013 11:32 am | News | CommentsAn interdisciplinary team of mechanical engineers and autism experts at Vanderbilt University have developed a system that demonstrates that robotic systems may be powerful tools for enhancing the basic social learning skills of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Study Shows How Two Brain Areas Interact to Trigger Divergent Emotional Behaviors
March 21, 2013 10:48 am | News | CommentsNew research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine for the first time explains exactly how two brain regions interact to promote emotionally motivated behaviors associated with anxiety and reward.
Colleges Say Federal Cuts Could Cause Brain Drain
March 16, 2013 2:19 pm | by BRIDGET MURPHY - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsAt the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, faculty fret about the future of the school's Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Thirty miles away, administrators at the state university campus in Lowell worry that research aimed at designing better body armor for soldiers could suffer.
Leaders Highlight Impact of Sequestration on Research, Public Health
March 12, 2013 10:00 am | News | CommentsNancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, said that the federal government’s budget cuts through sequestration hurt the health and wellbeing of Americans.
Pregnancy Permanently Changes Foot Size
March 1, 2013 2:08 pm | News | CommentsA University of Iowa study confirms what many women have long suspected—that pregnancy permanently changes the size and shape of their feet. Flat feet are a common problem for pregnant women. The arch of the foot flattens out, possibly due to the extra weight and increased looseness (laxity) of the joints associated with pregnancy.
The Beauty and Benefits of Science
February 28, 2013 4:00 pm | by Cynthia Fox | Articles | Comments“Genetic engineering is moving faster than anything we have ever seen.” With these words, Harvard University genomics pioneer George Church captured the excitement of many talks at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Cell Circuits Remember Their History
February 11, 2013 1:35 pm | News | CommentsMIT engineers have created genetic circuits in bacterial cells that not only perform logic functions, but also remember the results, which are encoded in the cell’s DNA and passed on for dozens of generations. The circuits could be used as long-term environmental sensors, efficient controls for biomanufacturing, or to program stem cells to differentiate into other cell types.
Protein Paves the Way for Correct Stem Cell Differentiation
February 8, 2013 10:20 am | News | CommentsA single embryonic stem cell can develop into more than 200 specialized cell types that make up our body. This maturation process is called differentiation and is tightly regulated through strict control of gene activity. If the regulation is lost, specialized cells cannot develop correctly during development. In adulthood, the specialized cells may forget their identity and develop into cancer cells.
Implants Make Light Work of Fixing Broken Bones
February 8, 2013 10:14 am | News | CommentsArtificial bone, created using stem cells and a new lightweight plastic, could soon be used to heal shattered limbs. The use of bone stem cells combined with a degradable rigid material that inserts into broken bones and encourages real bone to re-grow has been developed at the Universities of Edinburgh and Southampton.
Scientists Find Key to Growth of "Bad" Bacteria in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
February 8, 2013 10:09 am | News | CommentsScientists have long puzzled over why “bad” bacteria such as E. coli can thrive in the guts of those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing serious diarrhea. Now UC Davis researchers have discovered the answer—one that may be the first step toward finding new and better treatments for IBD.
Scientists Identify Genetic Mechanism That Contributed to Irish Famine
February 7, 2013 11:23 am | News | CommentsWhen a pathogen attacks a plant, infection usually follows after the plant’s immune system is compromised. A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside focused on Phytophthora, the pathogen that triggered the Irish Famine of the 19th century, and deciphered how it succeeded in crippling the potato plant’s immune system.
Tiny Capsule Effectively Kills Cancer Cells
February 7, 2013 11:15 am | News | CommentsDevising a method for more precise and less invasive treatment of cancer tumors, a team led by researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a degradable nanoscale shell to carry proteins to cancer cells and stunt the growth of tumors without damaging healthy cells.
Plants Cut the Mustard for Basic Discoveries in Metabolism
February 6, 2013 11:49 am | News | CommentsYou might think you have nothing in common with mustard except hotdogs. Yet based on research in a plant from the mustard family, Salk scientists have discovered a possible explanation for how organisms, including humans, directly regulate chemical reactions that quickly adjust the growth of organs.
Scientists Debate CDC Recommendations During Meningitis Outbreak
February 6, 2013 11:39 am | News | CommentsA pair of commentaries to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy highlight a debate within the public health community surrounding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for treatment of exposed individuals during last year’s fungal meningitis outbreak.
When the Cell’s Two Genomes Collide
February 6, 2013 10:27 am | News | CommentsDiseases from a mutation in one genome are complicated enough, but some illnesses arise from errant interactions between two genomes: the DNA in the nucleus and in the mitochondria. Scientists want to know more about how such genomic disconnects cause disease.
Stroke Damage in Mice Overcome by Training that 'Rewires' Brain Centers
February 5, 2013 1:07 pm | News | CommentsJohns Hopkins researchers have found that mice can recover from physically debilitating strokes that damage the primary motor cortex, the region of the brain that controls most movement in the body, if the rodents are quickly subjected to physical conditioning that rapidly “rewires” a different part of the brain to take over lost function.
Human Brain is Divided on Fear and Panic
February 5, 2013 11:09 am | News | CommentsA University of Iowa team provides proof that the amygdala is not the only gatekeeper of fear in the human mind. Other regions—such as the brainstem, diencephalon, or insular cortex—could sense the body’s most primal inner signals of danger when basic survival is threatened.
Damaged Blood Vessels Loaded with Amyloid Worsen Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease
February 5, 2013 11:03 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College has discovered that amyloid peptides are harmful to the blood vessels that supply the brain with blood in Alzheimer's disease—thus accelerating cognitive decline by limiting oxygen-rich blood and nutrients. In their animal studies, the investigators reveal how amyloid-ß accumulates in blood vessels and how such accumulation and damage might be ultimately prevented.
Can You Predict How a Disease Will Spread in a Population?
February 5, 2013 10:37 am | News | CommentsHow, when and where a pathogen is transmitted between two individuals in a population is crucial in understanding and predicting how a disease will spread. New research has laid the foundation for a new generation of zoonotic disease spreading models, which could allow for more targeted prevention strategies.
