abdomen

Falling ants glide back to trunk to avoid dangers of forest floor

...cally reorient their bodies so their hind legs and abdomen point toward the tree, and use their head-up fall through the air to take them feet-first toward the trunk. How they land is still a mystery, but evidently claws on their back legs act like grappling hooks to snag the trunk and hang on. "When they d...

Programmable cells: Engineer turns bacteria into living computers

... cells are thought to differentiate into the head, abdomen and other parts based on the concentration of chemical signals that are emitted from the ends of the embryo. In addition to conducting laboratory experiments, Weiss and colleagues are creating computer models of their engineered systems, which allow...

Chromosome Deletion Predicts Aggressive Neuroblastoma

...ancers, often occurs as a solid tumor in a child's abdomen or chest. Some cases of neuroblastoma are low risk, and resolve after surgeons remove the tumor. Other cases are more aggressive, and are more likely to resist initial treatment, or to cause a relapse. Identifying the correct risk level allows doctor...

No small feat: First ever gene therapy success for muscular dystrophy achieved

...provements in the muscles of the heart, diaphragm, abdomen and legs; and they grew faster, were physically more active and lived four times as long as untreated animals. "While we have much farther to go until we can say gene therapy will work in children, we have shown here a glimmer of hope by presenting ...

New antifreeze protein found in fleas may allow longer storage of transplant organs

...use of the distinctive springing organ under their abdomen which allows them to leap hundreds of times their one-millimeter length. Dr. Graham first noticed them while cross-country skiing, and brought several samples into the lab. "It was serendipity," she says now. "They looked like dots of pepper sprinkle...

3D ultrasound device poised to advance minimally invasive surgery

... camera that surgeons can insert directly into the abdomen or chest through small incisions. "With our scanner, doctors could see the target lesion or a portion of an organ in a real-time three-dimensional scan," Smith said. "They would have the option of viewing the tissue in three perpendicular cross-sect...

Rare Tibetan antelope listed as endangered

... camera that surgeons can insert directly into the abdomen or chest through small incisions. "With our scanner, doctors could see the target lesion or a portion of an organ in a real-time three-dimensional scan," Smith said. "They would have the option of viewing the tissue in three perpendicular cross-sect...

First demonstration of 'teaching' in non-human animals

...wer has done this does it tap on the hind legs and abdomen of the leader to let it know that the tandem run can proceed. The researchers' detailed analysis of the movements of tandem leaders and tandem followers shows the mutual feedback between them: if the gap between them gets too large, the leader dece...

Radiation-armed robot rapidly destroys human lung tumors

...xternal markers attached to the patient's chest or abdomen to follow tumors in real time with a few millimeters of accuracy. The researchers also applied Synchrony to treating tumors in the thorax and abdomen, which can move as much as 4 cm during respiration. ...

Mass. General study finds potential ovarian cancer stem cells

...from ascites fluid that had accumulated within the abdomen of several ovarian cancer patients. When mouse ovarian tumor stem-like cells were injected under the skin of mice, they led to the formation of new tumors much faster than did injections of regular tumor cells. Although the potential ovarian can...

MIT engineers probe spiders' polymer art

... 500 or more. As the resulting liquid exits the abdomen through the spinneret, it has the characteristics of a liquid crystal. It's the exquisite alignment of the protein fibers, Kojic said, that gives silk threads their amazing strength. While the silk stretches and dries, it forms miniscule crystall...

Tarantulas produce silk from their feet

...nown to spin silk from spinnerets located on their abdomen and to use the silk to form webs for protection and capturing prey rather than for locomotion. The findings are published in the current issue of Nature. "If we find that other spiders in addition to these tarantulas have the ability to secrete s...

Breathing easy: When it comes to oxygen, a bug's life is full of it

...body), abdominal pumping (using the muscles in the abdomen to pump air), and tracheal compression (getting oxygen to the head and thorax). ...

Magnetic system could be key to surgery without scars

... The system uses a stack of magnets outside the abdomen to attract other magnets attached to laparoscopic ...amental problem of guiding instruments through the abdomen for natural orifice surgery, which now inserts the instruments through the throat, colon or vagina. ...

UW launches study testing adult stem cells for heart damage repair

...ally delivered under the skin in the arm, thigh or abdomen of a commercially produced protein (granulocyte colony stimulating factor). The protein helps to release blood-forming CD34+ cells from a subject's bone marrow into the bloodstream. Then, investigators use a cell separation system to remove from ...

Students invent protective pouch to enhance cell therapy

...with catheters that a physician can snake into the abdomen through the femoral vein in the leg. Using real-time imaging technology, an interventional radiologist can view and guide the minimally invasive procedure as it takes place. First, the doctor would insert the stainless steel outer stent, which would ...

pHLIP, a novel technology to locate and treat tumors

... (Low) Insertion Peptide) can be injected into the abdomen of a mouse, find its way into the blood and then specifically accumulate in tumors. Within 20 hours after injection of labeled pHLIP, the molecules had passed through the bloodstream and accumulated in mouse breast tumors grown to different “stages?...