Assess in Biological News

Marine scientists to assess environment before offshore drilling begins in US arctic waters

AUSTIN, TexasThrough a $2.9 million, three-year grant from the Minerals Management Service (MMS), a team led by University of Texas at Austin marine scientists will assess the biological and chemical conditions on the seabed of the Chukchi Sea before the area opens for offshore oil drilling. Th...

Just a little squeeze lets proteins assess DNA

To find its target, all a protein needs to do is give quick squeezes as it moves along the DNA strand, suggests new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson. Scientists had thought DNA-binding proteins primarily used full-body hugs for accurate readings of the information coded in the...

Breakthrough optical technology to assess colon cancer risk, accuracy

Researchers at NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) and Northwestern University have discovered that fiber optic technology can for the very first time effectively measure blood levels in the colonic lining (mucosa) in humans, thus having potential applications for analyzing risk of col...

Monitoring outcomes of suicide attempts in pregnancy can better assess drug dangers

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (17 September, 2008) Monitoring the health of children born to women who attempted suicide while pregnant can shed light on which medicines and what doses are particularly dangerous to developing fetuses, according to researchers from Hu...

Scientists to assess Beijing Olympics air pollution control efforts

As the Summer Olympics in Beijing kicks off this week, the event is giving scientists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe how the atmosphere responds when a heavily populated region substantially curbs everyday industrial emissions. The National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded "Cheju AB...

Scripps scientists will assess Beijing Olympics air pollution control efforts

As the Summer Olympics in Beijing kicks off today, the event is affording scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe how the atmosphere responds when a heavily populated region substantially curbs everyday industrial emissions. T...

Landmark studies assess risk of exposure to elevated levels of EMS confirm clear toxicity threshold

Basel, 4 August 2008. New data from studies presented at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City have provided unprecedented insight into the toxicity of an impurity called ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). The formation of the EMS impurity is a potential by-product of the manufacturing...

NAS report offers new tools to assess health risks from chemicals

Determining how thousands of chemicals found in the environment may be interacting with the genes in your body to cause disease is becoming easier because of a new field of science called toxicogenomics. A new report issued today by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) recognizes the importan...

Smithsonian researchers develop models to assess wetland health

Healthy wetlands perform vital ecological functions in a watershed. But assessing their condition and ability to perform those functions is not easy, especially as wetlands are disappearing fast due to human encroachment. In a special issue of the journal Wetlands, Smithsonian scientists repo...

Opportunity for students displaced by Katrina to assess climate vulnerability of Southeast US

WASHINGTONWorld Wildlife Fund and the Allianz Foundation for North America today announced a new opportunity for high school students displaced by Katrina and now residing in nine U.S. cities to assess the climate change vulnerability of the Southeastern United States. As these displaced stude...

NASA satellite data helps assess the health of Florida's coral reef

NASA satellite data was used to help monitor the health of Florida's coral reef as part of a field research effort completed this August and September. The project was the first comprehensive assessment of the resiliency of reefs along the entire National Marine Sanctuary that stretches about 30...

Salmonella bacteria use RNA to assess and adjust magnesium levels

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have added a gene in the bacterium Salmonella to the short list of genes regulated by a new mechanism known as the riboswitch. The Salmonella riboswitch is the first to sense and respond to a metal ion, substantially expanding ...

Asleep in the deep: Model helps assess ocean-injection strategy for combating greenhouse effect

In searching for ways to counteract the greenhouse effect, some scientists have proposed capturing the culprit---carbon dioxide---as it is emitted from power plants, then liquefying the gas and injecting it into the ocean. But there are pitfalls in that plan. The carbon dioxide can rise toward t...

Rhesus monkeys can assess the visual perspective of others when competing for food

Researchers Jonathan Flombaum and Dr. Laurie Santos, both from Yale University, have found that rhesus monkeys consider whether a competitor can or cannot see them when trying to steal food. Working with semi-free-ranging rhesus monkeys on the island of Cayo Santiago in Puerto Rico, Flombaum and...

Scientists collaborate to assess health of global environment

For the first time, a group of scientists has accomplished the daunting task of evaluating the status of all of the ecosystems on Earth, and the outlook is troubling. Commissioned by the United Nations in 2001, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment program will issue its primary report on March 30...

Moving to the US increases cancer risk for Hispanics

...mon in the United States, such as unhealthy diets, smoking and alcohol use, according to Pinheiro and Ramirez. Additional studies are warranted to assess the variations in cancer risk according to socio-economic status and length of time spent in the United States within each Hispanic population group, ...

More than half of Texas physicians do not always recommend HPV vaccine to girls

...the legislature. Kahn said she was approached by the Texas Medical Association to assist them in conducting this survey as part of their efforts to assess educational needs related to HPV vaccination among Texas physicians. Kahn and colleagues surveyed 1,122 physicians. Of the respondents, 48.5 perce...

Pitt researchers find promising candidate protein for cancer prevention vaccines

...orking with collaborators to open, by the end of the year, a clinical trial of a cyclin B1 treatment vaccine in lung cancer patients, and she plans to assess it in the future as a prevention strategy in patients with pre-malignant lung lesions. Natural immunity to other tumor-specific proteins has been f...

Opening a new window on daylight

...he lighting bills without pumping up the air-conditioning. The team has developed a formula for tropical sky climate conditions that allows them to assess different window configurations for daylighting. The formula takes into account glass type, solar and visible light transmittance and reflectance, sha...

Got zinc? New zinc research suggests novel therapeutic targets

...n have also been related to zinc deficiency in the elderly." Scientists administered either a zinc supplement or a placebo to healthy volunteers to assess the effects of zinc on T cell activation. After isolating the T cells from the blood, scientists then simulated infection in laboratory conditions. R...

EPA grant to University of Chicago for research on food allergy triggers

...rant to the University of Chicago to investigate how allergic reactions to food are initiated. The research is expected to lead to improved methods to assess whether pesticides produced in genetically engineered plants can trigger food allergies, which impact more than 11 million Americans each year. The st...

University of Miami receives stimulus funds for study of hurricane impacts on structures, ecosystems

...t and future well-being of society." The Marine Life Science Center, co-located within the facility, will focus on coral reef research, helping to assess and measure the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on corals and reef-building processes. Scientists at the Center will also conduct f...

Reviews of microbial gene language published in special issue of Trends in Microbiology

... terms, which should in turn generate proposals for more terms." Another review reveals how terms created by the PAMGO Consortium have been used to assess the function of genes in Candida albicans , a type of yeast that can lead to disease in humans. The characterization of genes in C. albicans has al...

Scientists report first remote, underwater detection of harmful algae, toxins

... sea, lets researchers collect the algal cells and extract the genetic information required for organism identification as well as the toxin needed to assess the risk to humans and wildlife. The ESP then conducts specialized, molecular-based measurements of species and toxin abundance, and transmits results...

French Authorities Give Sole Approval to GMAT Exam to Collect Biometric Data to Advance Security

...Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), used by approximately 4,600 graduate management programs at some 1,900 business schools around the world to assess applicants. The GMAT -- the only standardized test designed expressly for graduate business and management programs worldwide -- is now available at m...

New technique can fast-track better ionic liquids for biomass pre-treatments

...earchers for the first time to dynamically track solubilization during an ionic liquid pretreatment of a biomass sample, and to accurately and quickly assess the liquid's performance without the need of labor-intensive and time-consuming chemical and immunological labeling. "Working with switchgrass and ...

'Normal' cells far from cancer give nanosignals of trouble

...ncer detection. The partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) technique, once optimized, could be used to detect cell abnormalities early and help physicians assess who might be at risk for developing cancer. Like a pap smear of the cervix, a simple brushing of cells is all that is needed to get the specimen requi...

Investing wisely to save the Great Barrier Reef

...it can accommodate input from wide-ranging fields of scientific expertise and stakeholder backgrounds," Dr Hajkowicz said. "It provides a means to assess a complex problem and support choices in a manner which is transparent, auditable and analytically robust". This work forms part of a larger effort...

Canadian researchers set to study impact of nanomaterials on aquatic ecosystems

... and engineers, led by the University of Alberta and the National Research Council of Canada, will collaborate on a $3.39 million, three-year study to assess the potential effects of nanoparticles in specific water environments. "Nanotechnology is a very new and quickly developing field. Governments an...

New biomarker method could increase the number of diagnostic tests for cancer

... This is critically important for clinical use, as well as in being able to assess whether changes in a candidate biomarker correspond with the presence or st...ombined with complementary techniques, could provide the critical filter to assess protein candidate performance without the immediate need for other detectio...

NYU Langone Medical Center awarded NIH grants totaling $1,560,000

...g the immune system that appears on the skin, usually in the form of thick, red, scaly patches, and its cause is unknown. The goal of this study is to assess whether changes in the skin microbiome may contribute to psoriasis. Additionally, Zhiheng Pei, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and medici...

Ability to literally imagine oneself in another's shoes may be tied to empathy

... task. This test involves looking at a horizontal line and marking the midpoint. Although this task is very simple, it appears to be a powerful way to assess subtle biases in spatial attention." The researchers compared performance on the test with how empathetic the subjects reported themselves to be. T...

NIH expands Human Microbiome Project; funds sequencing centers and disease projects

... University School of Medicine Skin: Psoriasis $560,000 This study will assess whether changes in the skin microbiome may contribute to psoriasis, an infl...Medicine, Baltimore Vagina: Bacterial Vaginosis $980,000 This study will assess the vaginal microbiome and whether it contributes to the risk of bacterial ...

Improved method developed to test carcinogen risk

...cant, Bailey said, since much of the carcinogen research around the world is based on this. Together, the findings suggest that past methodology to assess the danger of some of the most common carcinogens in the world may be questionable. They may, or may not, be accurate. "In the past, our regulatory...

The straight poop on counting tigers

...akthrough in the science of saving tigers: high-tech DNA fecal sampling. According to the study, researchers will be able to accurately count and assess tiger populations by identifying individual animals from the unique DNA signature found in their dung. In the past, DNA was collected from blood or t...

World Day to Combat Desertification focuses on human security

... over time. In 2004, ESA launched a large pilot project called DesertWatch to develop a set of satellite-based information services to monitor and assess the status of land degradation with the support of four of the European countries most affected by desertification Greece, Italy, Portugal and Turkey...

CU-Boulder study shows Maya intensively cultivated manioc 1,400 years ago

..., 18 large test pits dug in spring 2009 -- each measuring about 10 feet by 10 feet -- allowed the archaeologists to estimate the size of the field and assess the related agricultural activity that went on there. Sheets said manioc pollen has been found at archaeological sites in Belize, Mexico and Panama...

Beetle shell inspires brilliant white paper

...beetle's design protocols could be utilised already with tailor-made mineral designs such as Imerys' CarboFlexTM range. The company is now planning to assess the feasibility of taking these design protocols to the next level in order to produce beetle-inspired ultra-white coatings on a large scale. Mean...

Government of Canada announces funding for research on the H1N1 flu virus

...nity prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic. Network scientists will: test methodologies for the performance of rapid clinical trials assess the safety and immunogenicity of a novel pandemic influenza vaccine provide population-based estimates of vaccine safety and effectiveness measure...

Next-generation software system for flood warning and risk analysis to be developed

...they often fail to (1) incorporate multiple weather forecasts and post-forecast data processing into one system to achieve reliable flood warning, (2) assess uncertainty and risk of an ensemble forecasts and (3) provide Application Programming Interface (API) Web services with interactive flood risk mapping...