News Articles

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability, characterized by the destruction of cartilage tissue in joints, but there is a lack of effective therapies because the underlying molecular causes have been unclear. A study published by Cell Press February 13th in the journal Cell reveals that osteoarthritis-related tissue damage is caused by a molecular pathway that is involved in regulating and responding to zinc levels inside of cartilage cells. A protein called ZIP8 transports zinc inside these cells, setting off a cascade of molecular events that result in the destruction of cartilage tissue in mice. The findings could lead to a new generation of therapies for osteoarthritis.

Cells communicate through proteins embedded in their cell membranes. These proteins have diverse functions and can be compared with antennas, switches and gates. For the well-being of the cell, it has to adjust the composition of its membrane proteins and lipids constantly. New proteins are incorporated, while old proteins get recycled or eliminated. The process by which membrane material gets internalized is called endocytosis. A research team headed by Daniël van Damme and Geert De Jaeger from VIB and Ghent University (Belgium), and Staffan Persson from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm near Potsdam (Germany) has now identified a new protein complex which is crucial for endocytosis in plants.

Many psychiatric disorders are accompanied by memory deficits. Basel scientists have now identified a network of genes that controls fundamental properties of neurons and is important for human brain activity, memory and the development of schizophrenia. Their results have been published in the online edition of the US journal Neuron.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Breathing the air outside their homes may be just as toxic to pregnant women — if not more so — as breathing in cigarette smoke, increasing a mom-to-be's risk of developing deadly complications such as preeclampsia, according to findings from a new University of Florida study.
UF researchers compared birth data with Environmental Protection Agency estimates of air pollution, finding that heavy exposure to four air pollutants led to a significantly increased risk for developing a high blood pressure disorder during pregnancy. The research was published in the January issue of the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

New research quantifying the risk of admission to hospital for self-harm has identified a raised risk of self-harm among groups of patients with certain physical illnesses. While it is known that psychiatric illnesses are associated with a greatly elevated risk of self-harm, a moderately elevated risk was seen with common physical illnesses such as diabetes, epilepsy and asthma. The research, published today by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, investigated the risk of self-harm comparing people with different psychiatric and physical disorders in England.

A business scholar says that there are fewer product placements in scary movies, and therefore companies are missing a prime marketing moment.
Coca-Cola doesn't want a half-naked sorority girl to be drinking their soda just before she gets stabbed in the eye, that is a much different association than cute polar bears or, in the case of Budweiser, giant affectionate horses. Humor product placements, good, adventure, of course, but not horror.
Yet University of British Columbia PhD student Lea Dunn writes in an upcoming article in the 

The Nazis studied everything to gain an advantage. Those stories about mysticism and artifacts aren't wrong, and the advanced weapons projects are well known, that is why US President Harry Truman authorized "Operation Paperclip" to recruit their scientists and engineers, rather than just kidnapping them the way Communist leaders in the USSR did.But they weren't just interested in big weapons, they studied small ones, like bugs, though not to use them for biowarfare or weird experiments. Hitler had a ban on that.

Peregrine falcons are one of the world's fastest birds, reaching up to 200 miles per hour when diving.
Scientists are studying the body shape and wing contour of the bird to better understand how they reach these high diving speeds while maintaining maneuverability - in human planes, flaps slow you down to make the aircraft more maneuverable. 
Researchers trained peregrine falcons to dive in front of a 200 foot dam and captured 35 dives with a stereo high-speed camera system and hi-res camera. The images allowed researchers to reconstruct the flight path and body shape of the falcon during certain flight phases, and to build a life size model of the falcons. They then analyzed the aerodynamics of the model bird in a wind tunnel. 

Anthropologists have developed mathematical models that they say describe development patterns in both modern urban areas and ancient cities settled thousands of years ago.

One major challenge in stem cell research has been to reprogram differentiated cells to a totipotent state. Researchers from RIKEN in Japan have identified a duo of histone proteins that dramatically enhance the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and may be the key to generating induced totipotent stem cells.
Differentiated cells can be coaxed into returning to a stem-like pluripotent state either by artificially inducing the expression of four factors called the Yamanaka factors, or as recently shown by shocking them with sublethal stress, such as low pH or pressure. However, attempts to create totipotent stem cells capable of giving rise to a fully formed organism, from differentiated cells, have failed.

A University of Texas at Arlington team exploring pigeons as a model for vertebrate evolution has uncovered that mutations and interactions among just three genes create a wide variety of color variations. One of those genes, they also found, may be an example of a "slippery gene" more prone to evolutionary changes.

Tampa, FL (Feb. 6, 2014) – Declines in the underlying brain skills needed to think, remember and learn are normal in aging. In fact, this cognitive decline is a fact of life for most older Americans.
Therapies to improve the cognitive health of older adults are critically important for lessening declines in mental performance as people age. While physical activity and cognitive training are among the efforts aimed at preventing or delaying cognitive decline, dietary modifications and supplements have recently generated considerable interest.
Now a University of South Florida (USF) study reports that a formula of nutrients high in antioxidants and other natural components helped boost the speed at which the brains of older adults processed information.