Scientists have reported that an experimental vaccine targeting one of the most common genetic drivers of pancreatic cancer, called mutant KRAS, is safe and generated a durable immune responses aimed at preventing the cancer.
Two proteins involved in oral taste detection, TAS1R3 and GNAT3, also play a crucial role in sperm development, according to a new paper.While breeding mice for taste-related studies, the researchers discovered that they were unable to produce offspring that were simultaneously missing two taste-signaling proteins: TAS1R3, a component of both the sweet and umami (amino acid) taste receptors; and GNAT3, a molecule needed to convert the oral taste receptor signal into a nerve cell response.
Some elite track and field athletes peak young, under the age of 20, while others peak later - but only a small fraction of star junior athletes had similar success as senior athletes.
An Indiana University analysis compared the performance of elite track and field athletes and conclude that physical maturation is behind the disparity, with athletes who mature early reaping the benefits early, seeing their best times, jumps and throws at a younger age than Olympians, many of whom mature later.
Veloxis Pharmaceuticals announced that LCP-Tacro successfully demonstrated non-inferiority compared to tacrolimus (Prograf®; Astellas Pharma) in its Phase III clinical trial, Study 3002. The Phase III randomized, double-blind and double-dummy study in 543 de novo kidney transplant recipients, with Prograf as the comparator, met its primary efficacy and primary safety endpoints. The study was conducted under a Special Protocol Agreement with the FDA and the results are considered pivotal for the planned U.S. regulatory filing expected to occur in the second half of 2013.
There's a new weapon to fight poachers who kill elephants, hippos, rhinos and other wildlife - nuclear bombs. By measuring radioactive carbon-14 deposited in tusks and teeth by open-air nuclear bomb tests, researchers can pinpoint the year an animal died, which discloses if the ivory was taken illegally.
Miniaturization is in - but often the batteries that power them are as large or larger than the devices themselves, which defeats the purpose of building small.Nowm a team of researchers has shown that 3D printing can be used to print lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand. The printed microbatteries could supply electricity to tiny devices in fields from medicine to communications, including many that have lingered on lab benches for lack of a battery small enough to fit the device, yet provide enough stored energy to power them.
A new study used mathematical modeling and experiments on ants to show that a group is capable of developing flexible resource management strategies and characteristic responses of its own.Group-living animals are led to regulate their activity and to make decisions on how to manage resources, under the action of a variety of environmental stimuli and of their intrinsic interactions. The latter are typically cooperative, in the sense that the activity of a single animal increases nonlinearly with the number of already active ones.
Archaeologists hope to shed new light on Richard III’s final resting place, with a new dig at the site of the Grey Friars church. Experts will spend a month excavating the choir area of the church, where Richard’s body was discovered, and hope to reveal much more about the medieval friary than was possible during the initial dig.The team from University of Leicester Archaeological Services hope the new dig may help to uncover:- More details about Richard III’s burial and its place within the Grey Friars church
It currently takes a long time to measure a bacterial infection's response to antibiotic treatment. Clinicians must culture the bacteria and then observe its growth, in the case of tuberculosis for almost a month, in order to determine if the treatment has been effective.Using laser and optical technology, an EPFL team of physicists has reduced this time to a couple of minutes. To do so, Giovanni Dietler, Sandor Kasas and Giovanni Longo have exploited the microscopic movements of a bacterium's metabolism.
The liver receptor homolog-1 (Lrh-1) molecule first shown to function in the liver plays a crucial role in pregnancy in mice and has a key role in the human menstrual cycle, according to researchers at the University of Montreal. Mice that were genetically engineered not to produce Lrh-1 were unable to create the uterine conditions necessary for establishing and sustaining pregnancy, resulting in the formation of defective placentas. The researchers then showed that Lhr-1 was present in the human uterus and the essential processes related to the success of early gestation.
India and China were both exempt from restrictions in the Kyoto agreements, because they were considered emerging economies. For that reason, while western nations have reduced their carbon footprints, CO2 emissions worldwide have continued upward.It's hard to tell people in developing nations that they have to stop progress and can't have air conditioners and will not enjoy things developed nations already have.
Resverlogix Corp. has announced that its Phase 2b ASSURE clinical trial evaluating RVX-208 in high-risk cardiovascular patients with low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) did not meet its primary endpoint of a -0.6% change in percent atheroma volume as determined by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). The RVX-208 treated group had -0.4% plaque regression (p= 0.08).
Crystal Solar has completed a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded Incubator project regarding technology development and manufacturing cost-effectiveness of epitaxial solar cells and modules. Thin epitaxial silicon solar cell technology has the capability to improve the way silicon is made by eliminating many steps in the current process flow while retaining the high efficiency of mono-crystalline silicon. They estimate this could result in reduction of module costs by approximately 50% from today's levels to ~$0.40/W, enabling the cost of solar power to become comparable to existing energy costs in most parts of the world.
