Conti

After the yeast is gone bacteria continue to develop flavor of sparkling wine

Researchers at the University of Barcelona, Spain, show for the first time that bacteria, in addition to yeast, are involved in the secondary fermentation of the sparkling wine known as Cava. They report their findings today at the 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. "Bacteria found in Cava samples could have a distinctive impact upon sparkling wine quality in t...

Continued reduction in the number of drug-related deaths in the UK

The National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (np-SAD) based at the International Centre for Drug Policy, St George's, University of London, has found that there has been a decline in the number of drug-related deaths occurring, from 1,487 in 2003 to 1,372 in 2004, a drop of eight per cent. The report published today contains information on drug-related deaths for the year 2004 reported by Co...

International HIV/AIDS trial finds continuous antiretroviral therapy superior to episodic therapy

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced that enrollment into a large international HIV/AIDS trial comparing continuous antiretroviral therapy with episodic drug treatment guided by levels of CD4+ cells has been stopped. Enrollment was stopped because those patients receiving episodic therapy had twice the...

Antarctic Treaty Meeting moves to protect frozen continent from non-native species

Important new measures to protect Antarctica ?the world's last great wilderness ?from invasive non-native species have been agreed at a meeting of Antarctic experts in Edinburgh. Scientists and policy makers at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, which finished at Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Friday 23 June, agreed new measures that will reduce the risk of non-native...

Arctic coring expedition continues to yield new clues

For the second time in as many months, the IODP Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) is making news with new analysis of ocean-floor sediments. In the Aug. 10 issue of Nature, an article by several of the expedition scientists summarizes their findings: more evidence that the Arctic was extremely warm, unusually wet, and ice-free up to the time the last massive amounts of greenhouse gases were release...

Evolution of Old World fruit flies on three continents mirrors climate change

Fast-warming climate appears to be triggering genetic changes in a species of fruit fly that is native to Europe and was introduced into North and South America about 25 years ago. "This is a clear signal on three different continents that climate change is occurring, and that genetic change is going along with it," said Raymond Huey, a University of Washington biology professor who is...

Mine runoff continues to provide clues to microbial diversification

Pink slime at the surface of water trickling through an old mine in California is proving to be a treasure for researchers in their quest to learn more about how bacterial communities exist in nature. A letter published in today’s online edition of Nature shows that it is possible to follow what microorganisms are doing in their natural environment by identifying the range of proteins that...

30+ AIDS vaccine clinical trials in 24 countries, research occurring on every continent

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's (IAVI) January 2007 Annual Issue of VAX, an editorially independent bulletin on AIDS vaccine research published by IAVI, reports that 13 new preventive AIDS vaccine trials were initiated in eight countries around the world in 2006. There are now more than 30 trials ongoing in 24 countries, across every continent. This annual publication provides...

Study shows continued success for new HPV vaccine against virus responsible for cervical cancer

A new vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer is nearly 100 percent effective against the two types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. Results of a nationwide study of the vaccine will be published in the May 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide,...