News Articles

Italians, Irish and European Jews were all once considered 'non-white' by the standards of their day but that's hardly the case now - and certainly not the case with the descendants of those immigrants.
But a new study on Latino immigrants finds that, in contrast to past generations of European immigrants, a significant share of second-and-third-generation Latino-Americans still identify with a Latino racial category.
Joseph Michael, a UC doctoral student in the Department of Sociology and a researcher at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, and Jeffrey Timberlake, University of Cincinnati assistant professor of sociology, are examining how the immigration of Latinos to the United States compares to the earlier European immigration waves of white ethnic

Enthusiastic observers were rewarded by a nice display of the Perseid meteor shower that was visible at its best in the night between 12 and 13 August 2007. We present glimpses of the spectacle and the scientific rewards of staying up all night.
The comet Swift-Tuttle orbits the Sun with a period of about 130 years. Whenever the comet comes close to the Sun in its orbit, it ejects a stream of dust particles, which are then distributed along its orbit. When the Earth passes through their path - a regular occurrence every August - we see a meteor shower, a fabulous spectacle for viewers on Earth.

Cocaine abuse in the U.S. is widespread, with nearly 35 million Americans reporting having ever tried cocaine and an estimated 7.3 million users, including 15 percent of young adults ages 18 to 25, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Life-threatening emergencies related to cocaine use include sudden cardiac death, high blood pressure, stroke and acute myocardial infarctions.
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a treatment that counteracts the effects of cocaine on the human cardiovascular system, including lowering the elevated heart rate and blood pressure often found in cocaine users.

Robert Weinberg, MIT professor of biology and Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research member, has created cancer stem cells in a Petri dish by isolating and transforming a particular population of cells from human breast tissue. After being injected with just 100 of these transformed cells, mice developed tumors that metastasized (spread to distant tissues).
“The operational definition of a cancer stem cell is the ability to initiate a tumor, so these are cancer stem cells,” declares Weinberg, who is also an MIT professor of biology.
Engineering these potent cells was not the original intent, says pathologist Tan Ince.

Two new studies may lead to the development of more effective therapies for individuals with multiple myeloma (MM), a common and incurable blood cell cancer. The research provides new insight into the molecular mechanisms that underlie aberrant NF-κB activity in MM tumor cells and underscores the relevance of the NF-κB signaling pathway as a target for MM therapy.
MM is a cancer of the plasma cell, a blood cell that produces antibodies to help the body fight off infections. Previous research implicates abnormal activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway as a key event in MM pathology. NF-κB target genes are known to be involved in cell proliferation and cell survival.

James Spivey, professor of chemical engineering at LSU, and Challa Kumar, group leader of nanofabrication at LSU’s Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, are working with Clemson University and Oak Ridge National Laboratories to boost the efficiency of ethanol.
Both the Department of Energy and Conoco-Phillips are behind the project and have invested $2.9 million.
“We’re working with our project partners to produce ethanol from a coal-derived syngas, a mixture of primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The United States has tremendous reserves of coal, but converting it to affordable, clean fuels is a challenge – one that we are addressing in this DOE-funded project,” said Spivey.

In a study scheduled for publication in the August issue of the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, a team of kinesiologists at the University of Illinois suggest that older adults who adopt an exercise regimen combining Taiji ( western: T'ai Chi) and Qigong may get an extra boost from their annual flu shot.
“We have found that 20 weeks of Taiji can increase the antibody response to influenza vaccine in older adults,” said the study’s lead author Yang Yang, an adjunct professor of kinesiology and community health, and a Taiji master with 30-plus years of experience as a practitioner and instructor.

Researchers who use the TeraGrid, the nation’s most comprehensive and advanced infrastructure for open scientific research, can now leverage the computing resources of a powerful, 2048-processor BlueGene/L system at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
NCAR plans to provide up to 4.5 million processor-hours of BlueGene/L computing annually to researchers who have received computing grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The operational integration of TeraGrid with the BlueGene/L system, nicknamed “frost,” involved extensive preparation by NCAR’s Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL).

Central Michigan University Research Corporation and Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc. have developed technology capable of absorbing toxic chemicals from ground water that could lead to a revolutionary ground water purification system.
The U.S. Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program has awarded CMU-RC and DNT a $1.3 million contract to refine the process using DNT's Priostar dendrimer-based nanotechnology.
The project focuses on a worldwide breakthrough that will result in a cost effective ground water purification system. Its anticipated commercial launch is set for September 2008.

A newly developed DNA vaccine appears safe and may produce beneficial changes in the brains and immune systems of individuals with multiple sclerosis, according to a new study.
In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths that protect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to background information in the article. The nerve cell’s axon, which transmits messages to other neurons, is eventually destroyed. The cause of MS is unknown, but evidence points to the involvement of immune cells and antibodies that recognize and attack specific substances in the myelin, such as myelin basic protein. Certain cytokines, small proteins produced by cells that trigger inflammation, also may play a role.

A major surprise emerging from genome sequencing projects is that humans have a comparable number of protein-coding genes as significantly less complex organisms such as the minute nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Clearly something other than gene count is behind the genetic differences between simpler and more complex life forms.
Increased functional and cellular complexity can be explained, in large part, by how genes and the products of genes are regulated. A University of Toronto-led study reveals that a step in gene expression (referred to as alternative splicing) is more highly regulated in a cell and tissue-specific manner than previously appreciated and much of this additional regulation occurs in the nervous system.

Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness worldwide. There are various types of glaucoma, all of which lead to damage in the optic nerve and progressive loss of vision.
Exfoliation glaucoma is caused by the buildup of fibrous deposits on the surfaces on the front of the eye. Between 10-20% of people over the age of 60 are believed to have some degree of exfoliation syndrome, and perhaps more than half of these individuals will go on to develop exfoliation glaucoma.
The progression of glaucoma can be slowed using various medications that promote the drainage of fluids from the eye and reduce pressure on the optic nerve. However, exfoliation glaucoma is often resistant to drug treatment.