News Articles

Scorpion venom is composed of a complex cocktail of poisonous peptides that immobilize animal prey on the spot. Some of the toxins in this cocktail, however, are only harmful to insects, which has prompted researchers to harness them to create a safe and ecologically sound pesticide.Scientists from Tel Aviv University's Department of Plant Sciences have isolated the genetic sequences for important neurotoxins in the scorpion venom and have also developed methods to produce and manipulate toxins to restrict their toxicity in certain insects or mammals. The findings appear in a study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution.

While genetics play a key role in children's initial reading skills, a new study of twins is the first to demonstrate that environment plays an important role in reading growth over time. The results, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, give further evidence that children can make gains in reading during their early school years, above and beyond the important genetic factors that influence differences in reading.

The compounded effects of climate change and land development are taking a toll on California butterflies, says an analysis conducted by scientists from UC Davis and the University of Nevada, Reno. The new analysis, scheduled to be published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gives insights into how a major and much-studied group of organisms is reacting to the Earth's warming climate.

Why are some people willing to take risks by gambling on "longshot" payoffs while, on the other hand, taking the opposite tack by buying insurance to reduce their risks? An international team of economists and molecular geneticists says the answer can be found in our genetic makeup.In an article recently published online in PLoS ONE, researchers combined the tools of experimental economics and molecular genetics to examine the role of a well-characterizedgene, monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), in predicting whether subjects are more likely to buy the lottery or insurance (or both) under well-controlled laboratory conditions.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers say the subtle but ongoing pressures of human evolution could explain the seeming rise of disorders such as autism, autoimmune diseases, and reproductive cancers. They suggest that certain adaptations that once benefited humans may now be helping such ailments persist in spite of – or perhaps because of – advancements in modern culture and medicine.The team first presented their research at the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium, co-sponsored by the National Academy of Science and the Institute of Medicine. Colloquium presentations described in the current paper include research suggesting that:

A new study conducted by scientists in France concludes that the alluring eye makeup worn by ancient Egyptians also may have been used to help prevent or treat eye disease by doubling as an infection-fighter. The study appears in the January 15 issue of Analytical Chemistry. The researchers note that thousands of years ago the ancient Egyptians used lead-based substances as cosmetics, including an ingredient in black eye makeup. Some Egyptians believed that this makeup also had a "magical" role in which the ancient gods Horus and Ra would protect wearers against several illnesses. Until now, however, modern scientists largely dismissed that possibility, knowing that lead-based substances can be quite toxic. 

A molecule called Alda-1 can repair Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), an often defective alcohol metabolism enzyme that affects an estimated 1 billion people worldwide, according to research published Jan. 10 in the advance online edition of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. The findings suggest the possibility of a treatment to reduce the health problems associated with the enzyme defect.After alcohol is consumed, it is metabolized into acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical that causes DNA damage.  Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is the main enzyme responsible for breaking down acetaldehyde into acetate, a nontoxic metabolite in the body.  It also removes other toxic aldehydes that can accumulate in the body.

In an effort to be more environmentally conscious, the United States government is dolling out various rebates and tax credits to consumers who purchase more earth friendly, energy efficient appliances. While the aim of the rebate program may be admirable, economists from the University of Delaware say taxpayers will lose a significant portion of the $300 Million they are contributing to the federal government's appliance rebate program and the energy-saving program could actually increase energy usage. Their analysis is published in the 1st Quarter 2010 issue of the Milken Institute Review.

New research published in Nature Geoscience shows that water levels in the Bering Strait helped drive global climate patterns during ice age episodes dating back more than 100,000 years. The study, led by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), found that the repeated opening and closing of the narrow strait due to fluctuating sea levels affected currents that transported heat and salinity in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. As a result, summer temperatures in parts of North America and Greenland oscillated between warmer and colder phases, causing ice sheets to alternate between expansion and retreat and affecting sea levels worldwide.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers is challenging the theory that the origin of life stems from a system of self-catalytic molecules capable of experiencing Darwinian evolution without the need of RNA or DNA and their replication. Through the analysis of 'compound genomes', the team argues that these chemical networks cannot be considered evolutionary units because they lose properties which are essential for evolution when they reach a critical size and greater level of complexity.

A group of marine organisms called Echinoderms, which includes starfish and sea urchin, has a significant impact on the levels of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and that influence has been greatly underestimated by scientists, argues a new paper in Ecological Monographs. "Climate models must take this carbon sink into account," says Mario Lebrato, lead author of the study. Globally, the seabed habitats occupy more than 300 million million square metres, from the intertidal flats and pools to the mightiest deep-sea trenches at 11,000 meters. The benthos – the animals living on and in the sediments – populate this vast ecosystem.

Neuroscientists have forged an interesting partnership with some unlikely molecular characters to accelerate their fight against diseases of the brain and nervous system. Researchers have brought together the herpes virus and a molecule known as Sleeping Beauty to improve gene therapy, a technology which aims to manipulate genes to correct for molecular flaws that cause disease. Detailed in a paper published online in Gene Therapy, the effort has allowed scientists shuttle into brain cells a relatively large gene that can remain on for an extended period of time.