Control in Biological News

Robo-bats with metal muscles may be next generation of remote control flyers

Tiny flying machines can be used for everything from indoor surveillance to exploring collapsed buildings, but simply making smaller versions of planes and helicopters doesn't work very well. Instead, researchers at North Carolina State University are mimicking nature's small flyers and developin...

MicroRNAs help control HIV life cycle

LA JOLLA, Calif., June 26, 2009 Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that specific microRNAs (non-coding RNAs that interfere with gene expression) reduce HIV replication and infectivity in human T-cells. In particular, miR29 plays a key role in controllin...

Environmental cues control reproductive timing and longevity, University of Minnesota study shows

When humans and animals delay reproduction because food or other resources are scarce, they may live longer to increase the impact of reproduction, according to a new study by University of Minnesota researchers published in the June 25 issue of PLoS (Public Library of Science) One . The disco...

Targeting children effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine and could help control flu spread

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research at the University of Warwick funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the cu...

Resilin springs simplify the control of crustacean limb movements

Animals can simplify the brain control of their limb movements by moving a joint with just one muscle that operates against a spring made of the almost perfect elastic substance called resilin. This principle is analysed and illustrated by striking photographs and high-speed video footage, publish...

Caltech scientists control complex nucleation processes using DNA origami seeds

PASADENA, Calif.--The construction of complex man-made objects--a car, for example, or even a pizza--almost invariably entails what are known as "top-down" processes, in which the structure and order of the thing being built is imposed from the outside (say, by an automobile assembly line, or the ...

Is it really only our kidneys that control blood pressure?

The problem of high blood pressure has reached pandemic proportions, causing premature death through heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease in a third of the UK population. For decades, scientists have battled at length over its cause yet still cannot agree; is the kidney or the brain to blame?...

'Biological control of tropical weeds using arthropods'

One man's weed is another man's wonder and University of Guam research scientist Dr. Gadi V. P. Reddy has spent much of his career finding environmentally safe methods to control invasive plants. A chemical ecologist and entomologist, Dr. Reddy is the coeditor and coauthor of the book Biological ...

New models question old assumptions about how many molecules it takes to control cell division

Blacksburg, Va. -- A single cell whether a yeast cell or one of your cells is exquisitely sensitive to its surroundings. It receives input signals, processes the information, makes decisions, and issues commands for making the proper response. As with any control system, noise errors, slip-ups,...

Suppressing cancer with a master control gene

Starting with the tiny fruit fly and then moving into mice and humans, researchers at VIB and K. U. Leuven show that expression of the same gene suppresses cancer in all three organisms. Reciprocally, switching off the gene called Ato in flies and ATOH1 in mammals leads to cancer. The authors sh...

Tiny tool to control growing blood vessels opens new potential in tumor research

Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a new tool that makes it possible to study the signals in the body that control the generation of blood vessels. The researchers' findings, published in the new issue of Lab on a Chip , enable scientists to determine what signals in the body attra...

Forget the freezer: Research suggests novel way to control water behavior

Researchers may be able to "freeze" water into a solid, not by cooling but by confining it to narrow spaces less than one-millionth of a millimeter wide, according to new results from an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers. It's more than a neat trick -- a deeper understanding of...

Organic plant waste proves effective weed control for citrus trees

GIZA, EGYPTInterest in organic crop production is increasing around the world. Organics are healthy for consumers while adding environmental benefits and decreasing the amount of synthetic herbicides in foods, soil, and water. While organics gain popularity with consumers, organic farmers are face...

'Cool' idea for efficient climate control wins recognition

EAST LANSING, Mich. A Michigan State University researcher and a colleague have won the Boston Innovation Prize for the design of a low-cost, energy-efficient method of cooling and dehumidifying residential and small commercial spaces. Norbert Mϋller, assistant professor in Michigan State...

A scientific breakthrough on the control of the bad cholesterol

Montral, November 24, 2008 A study performed by the team of Dr. Nabil G. Seidah, Director of the Biochemical Neuroendocrinology Research Unit at the IRCM, shows for the very first time that the degradation by PCSK9 of the LDLR receptor, which is responsible for removing the bad cholesterol (LDL-c...

Futronic Launches FS22 Fingerprint Access Control Device

HONG KONG, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Futronic Technology Company Limited, a global provider of biometric software and hardware products, announces the commercial release of FS22, a high performance fingerprint access and attendance control device with Mifare. Together with its previously launched FS...

Ultrasound shown to exert remote control of brain circuits

In a twist on nontraditional uses of ultrasound, a group of neuroscientists at Arizona State University has developed pulsed ultrasound techniques that can remotely stimulate brain circuit activity. Their findings, published in the Oct. 29 issue of the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One...

Boost from McGill, Gates Foundation helps Africans control pharma research

This release is available in French . A McGill University parasitology researcher has received a $100,000 grant from the Gates Foundation to help establish locally controlled pharmaceutical-research programs in Botswana and South Africa. "People are always asking why the pharmaceutica...

Birth control has long-term effect on hormone exposure

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine may be one step closer to understanding why past oral contraceptive use dramatically lowers the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers later in life. While studying the effect of post-menopausal dietary soy consumption ...

Waste from gut bacteria helps host control weight, UT Southwestern researchers report

DALLAS Oct. 17, 2008 A single molecule in the intestinal wall, activated by the waste products from gut bacteria, plays a large role in controlling whether the host animals are lean or fatty, a research team, including scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has found in a mouse study. ...

Genes that control cell death fingered in age-related hearing loss

Several genes that play a role in how our body's cells normally auto-destruct may play a role in age-related hearing loss, according to research published online in the journal Apoptosis a journal devoted to the topic of cell suicide, or programmed cell death. Doctors know that genetics play...

Site used by sodium to control sensitivity of certain potassium ion channels

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 18, 2008) Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have uncovered how sodium is able to control specific potassium ion channels in cells, according to new study findings published online this week in Nature Chemical Biology . These findings, publish...

'Biological clock' genes control plant growth

CORVALLIS, Ore. More than 125 years ago Charles Darwin first reported that most plants grow in a spurt during the night, not the day and this week, scientists are reporting the discovery of the genes that control this phenomenon. These rhythmic growth spurts, and the ability of plants to move...

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...

'Smart' materials get smarter with ability to better control shape and size

AUSTIN, TexasA dynamic way to alter the shape and size of microscopic three-dimensional structures built out of proteins has been developed by biological chemist Jason Shear and his former graduate student Bryan Kaehr at The University of Texas at Austin. Shear and Kaehr fabricated a variety of...

Research required urgently to control planthopper pests

Los Baos, Philippines A small insect that has devastated millions of hectares of rice in southern China and Vietnam over the past few yearscausing the loss of thousands of tons of the grain at a crucial time for global productionis the focus of a critical and timely conference this week in the Ph...

From Canada to the Caribbean: Tree leaves control their own temperature, Penn study reveals

PHILADELPHIA - The temperature inside a healthy, photosynthesizing tree leaf is affected less by outside environmental temperature than originally believed, according to new research from biologists at the University of Pennsylvania. Surveying 39 tree species ranging in location from subtropic...

Study findings show infection control intervention helps keep kids in school

BOSTON, June 2, 2008 A study from researchers at Children's Hospital Boston published in Pediatrics found that a simple infection control intervention in elementary schools disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers helped reduce illness-related student abs...

Insect release proposed to control exotic strawberry guava

U.S. Forest Service scientists with the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry have submitted a proposal to release a Brazilian insect to control the spread of strawberry guava, a South American tree that has invaded and degraded native Hawaian ecosystems since it was introduced in 1825 as a garden...

Fruit fly avoidance mechanism could lead to new ways to control pain in humans

At first, fruit flies eat like horses. Hatching inside over-ripe fruit where they were laid, they feed wildly in the sugar-rich environment until nature sends them an offer they cant refuse. To survive, they must leave the fruit, wander off and burrow into the earth where they avoid food as if it ...

Stem cells and cancer: cancer pathways that also control the adult stem cell population

Speaking today (10 April) at the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting in Edinburgh, Professor Alan Clarke from Cardiff University describes his work to investigate a mechanism that normally drives adult stem cells to repair the intestine. Together with his colleague Owen Sansom fro...

Scientists uncover the potential to control adult stem cells

Research being presented today (10 April) at the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting in Edinburgh represents a step towards the use of Adult Stem Cells (ASCs) to repair damaged tissue. Speaking at the conference in Edinburgh, Professor Cay Kielty of the University of Manchester d...

Chemical engineers discover new way to control particle motion

Chemical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered a new way to control the motion of fluid particles through tiny channels, potentially aiding the development of micro- and nano-scale technologies such as drug delivery devices, chemical and biological sensors, and components ...

Xie Lab characterizes niche control of stem cell function

The Stowers Institutes Xie Lab has published findings that begin to characterize the poorly understood interaction among stem cells within their cellular microenvironment, called a niche. The findings appear in todays issue of Cell Stem Cell. The Xie Lab demonstrated that differentiation-...

Research project aims to control sunlight, extend growing season and conserve energy

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Botanical Garden and Kent State Universitys Liquid Crystal Institute - recognized internationally as the pioneering scientific center for research in the field - today announced a partnership to design and construct unique research greenhouses on the Gardens campus. ...

'Jekyll and Hyde' bacteria offer pest control clue

New research at York has revealed so-called Jekyll and Hyde bacteria, suggesting a novel way to control insect pests without using insecticides. Researchers at the University of York studied the relationship between plant-dwelling insects and the bacteria that live in them and discovered an un...

Climate's remote control on hurricanes

Virginia Key, Fla. -- Natural climate variations, which tend to involve localized changes in sea surface temperature, may have a larger effect on hurricane activity than the more uniform patterns of global warming, a report in this week's Nature suggests. In the debate over the effect of global...

Selfish DNA and the Genetic Control of Vector-Borne Diseases

Mosquito borne diseases such as malaria and dengue cause suffering and death around the world. Malaria alone causes at least one million deaths annually, and is particularly devastating in children under the age of five. In addition to the human toll, these diseases consume vast economic resourc...

New evidence for female control in reproduction

WASHINGTON, D.C. Adding another layer of competition to the mating game, scientists are reporting possible biochemical proof that the reproductive system of female mammals can sense the presence of sperm and react to it by changing the uterine environment. This may be the molecular mechanism behi...