News Articles

Four million people die every year from respiratory diseases such as viral influenza. For elderly people in particular, an infection can be dangerous. What is more, the flu vaccine is not as effective with this risk group as it is with younger people. The reason for this is that with age the fire power of the immune system is reduced. Why this is the case is largely unknown. An international EU project led by the University of Bonn is now starting which aims at shedding light on this. Among other things, the researchers want to get a step closer to solving this riddle by examining tens of thousands of blood samples.

An international team of scientists has discovered that the ubiquitous bacteria that causes most painful stomach ulcers has been present in the human digestive system since modern man migrated from Africa over 60,000 years ago. The research, published online (7 February) by the journal Nature, not only furthers our understanding of a disease causing bacteria but also offers a new way to study the migration and diversification of early humans.

A cell of H.pylori, a bacterial pathogen of the human stomach. The curved shape of the cell, and its bundle of flagella which enable it to wriggle through mucus covering the cells lining the stomach, can be seen clearly. (Image Credit: Dr.

As the second leading cause of death in the world, cigarette smoking is a preventable behavior. Most countries require warnings about health risks on every package, but the effectiveness of these warnings depends upon the design and the "freshness" of the messages. In a multi-country study published in the March 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that more prominent text messages were more effective and graphic pictures even more so in affecting smokers' behaviors.

Researchers have constructed a protein out of amino acids not found in natural proteins, discovering that they can form a complex, stable structure that closely resembles a natural protein. Their findings could help scientists design drugs that look and act like real proteins but won't be degraded by enzymes or targeted by the immune system, as natural proteins are.

Structure of the Zwit-1F beta-peptide bundle as determined by x-ray crystallography. The bundle contains eight copies of the beta-peptide Zwit-1F with parallel and antiparallel helices in like and unlike colors, respectively. (Image Credit: Douglas S. Daniels)

In work that could lead to completely new devices, systems and applications in computing and telecommunications, MIT researchers are bringing the long-sought goal of "optics on a chip" one step closer to market.
In the January 2007 inaugural issue of the journal Nature Photonics, the team reports a novel way to integrate photonic circuitry on a silicon chip. Adding the power and speed of light waves to traditional electronics could achieve system performance inconceivable by electronic means alone.

Illustration of MIT's solution to polarization sensitivity, which until now prohibited most real-world applications of 'optics on a chip.' (Graphic courtesy of Tymon Barwicz, MIT)

Researchers from the University of Leicester and the British Geological Society (BGS) have proposed storing carbon dioxide in huge underground reservoirs as a way of reducing emissions- and have even identified sites in Western Europe that would be suitable.
Their research, published in the journal, Planet Earth, reveals that CO2 can be contained in cool geological aquifers or reservoirs, where it can remain harmlessly for many thousands of years.
PhD research student, Ameena Camps, is working with Professor Mike Lovell at the University's Department of Geology and with Chris Rochelle at BGS, investigating the storage of CO2.

Schematic diagram representing the proposed storage as a liquid and hydrate, with an example

A new process for creating patterns of individual molecules on a surface combines control of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and a soft lithography technique known as microcontact printing. Scientists use the process, known as "microcontact insertion printing" to build surfaces that have molecules with specific functions inserted at known intervals on a surface. The new technique, with potential applications ranging from analysis of biochemical mixtures to molecular-scale electronic components, will be described as the cover story of the 5 February 2007 issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters by a team led by Penn State researchers Paul S. Weiss, distinguished professor of chemistry and physics; Mark Horn, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics; and Anne M.

Just a few whiffs of a chemical found in male sweat is enough to raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol in heterosexual women, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.
The study, reported this week in The Journal of Neuroscience, provides the first direct evidence that humans, like rats, moths and butterflies, secrete a scent that affects the physiology of the opposite sex.
"This is the first time anyone has demonstrated that a change in women's hormonal levels is induced by sniffing an identified compound of male sweat," as opposed to applying a chemical to the upper lip, said study leader Claire Wyart, a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.

The team's work was inspired by previous studies

The first draft of the horse genome sequence has been deposited in public databases and is freely available for use by biomedical and veterinary researchers around the globe, leaders of the international Horse Genome Sequencing Project announced today.

Photo of Twilight the horse. NHGRI-supported researchers have sequenced the genome of this Thoroughbred mare from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. (Courtesy of Doug Antzak, Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University)

Sucrose plays a vital role in coffee organoleptic quality. A team from CIRAD and the Agricultural Institute of Paraná in Brazil has recently identified the genes responsible for sucrose accumulation in coffee beans. This is a new step along the way to producing exceptional coffees.

The sucrose accumulated in the beans is one of the organoleptic compounds in coffee. (Photo Credit: Pierre Marraccini, CIRAD)

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute and the University of Wisconsin have identified two small molecules with promising activity against neurotoxins produced by the Clostridium botulinum, a compound so deadly it has been labeled one of the six highest-risk bioterrorism agents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Because of the high cost and limited applicability of currently available treatments, the newly identified compounds have the potential to fill the existing therapy gap and to provide protection against a bioterrorism attack using the toxin.
The study is being published the week of February 5 in an online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Our study is an important milestone in the fight against biological terrorism," s

Does orange juice taste sweeter if it's a brighter orange? A new study in the March issue of the Journal of Consumer Research finds that the color of a drink can influence how we think it tastes. In fact, the researchers found that color was more of an influence on how taste was perceived than quality or price information.
"Perceptual discrimination is fundamental to rational choice in many product categories yet rarely examined in consumer research," write JoAndrea Hoegg (University of British Columbia) and Joseph W. Alba (University of Florida).