Effects in Biological News

New insights into health and environmental effects of carbon nanoparticles

A new study raises the possibility that flies and other insects that encounter nanomaterial "hot spots," or spills, near manufacturing facilities in the future could pick up and transport nanoparticles on their bodies, transferring the particles to other flies or habitats in the environment. The s...

UH team analyzes Hurricane Ike's effects on waterways, fish contamination

A long-term environmental research project being conducted at the University of Houston may offer important information about the effects of Hurricane Ike on pollution levels and help regulators determine whether existing fish-consumption advisories remain appropriate. With this year's storm se...

Microfossils challenge prevailing views of the effects of 'Snowball Earth' glaciations on life

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) New fossil findings discovered by scientists at UC Santa Barbara challenge prevailing views about the effects of "Snowball Earth" glaciations on life, according to an article in the June issue of the journal Nature Geoscience . By analyzing microfossils in rocks from t...

Plants could override climate change effects on wildfires

The increase in warmer and drier climates predicted to occur under climate change scenarios has led many scientists to also predict a global increase in the number of wildfires. But a new study in the May issue of Ecological Monographs shows that in some cases, changes in the types of plants gro...

Microparticle immune response modifier shows broad effects against recurrent or metastatic cancer

DENVER, CO and AUCKLAND, NZ (April 21, 2009) MIS416, a novel microparticle-based immune response modifier, demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce the number and size of metastatic tumors in preclinical mouse models of lung and breast cancers, Innate Therapeutics (formerly Virionyx Corpo...

Lab study shows THC exposure as adolescents linked to negative effects of THC as adults

In earlier studies, researchers at Louisiana State University had found that estrogen or more precisely, having ovaries made adult rats exposed for the first time to THC, the primary ingredient in marijuana and hashish, less sensitive to THC's negative effects on tests of learning and memory. ...

Frogs reveal clues about the effects of alcohol during development

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) cause malformations in babies, including facial defects, short stature, and mental and behavioral abnormalities. The African frog, Xenopus, is a valuable tool for understanding early vertebrate development since these embryos ...

Ecologists question effects of climate change on infectious diseases

Recent research has predicted that climate change may expand the scope of human infectious diseases. A new review, however, argues that climate change may have a negligible effect on pathogens or even reduce their ranges. The paper has sparked debate in the ecological community. In a forum in t...

Scientists find climate change to have paradoxical effects in coastal wetlands

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide is largely responsible for recent global warming and the rise in sea levels. However, a team of scientists, including two Smithsonian ecologists, have found that this same increase in CO 2 may ironically counterbalance some of its negative effects on one of the p...

Chantix side effects no worse with depression history

People with a likely history of depression who take varenicline (Chantix) do not report more severe mood symptoms, medication side effects, or less success quitting smoking compared to people with no history of depression taking this drug. The findings by Group Health, Free & Clear, and SRI I...

Ocean acidification could have broad effects on marine ecosystems

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--Concern about increasing ocean acidification has often focused on its potential effects on coral reefs, but broader disruptions of biological processes in the oceans may be more significant, according to Donald Potts, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the Univer...

Climate change effects on imperiled Sierra frog examined

Climate change can have significant impacts on high-elevation lakes and imperiled Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged frogs that depend upon them, according to U.S. Forest Service and University of California, Berkeley, scientists. Their findings appear in the current issue of the journal " Herpetologic...

Study reveals effects of unconscious exposure to advertisements

Troy, N.Y. Fads have been a staple of American pop culture for decades, from spandex in the 1980s to skinny jeans today. But while going from fad to flop may seem like the result of fickle consumers, a new study suggests that this is exactly what should be expected for a highly efficient, rationa...

UNC, Yale partner to study effects of cocaine use on mother-infant relationships

CHAPEL HILL Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale University have been awarded almost $10 million to study the many ways cocaine use during pregnancy can negatively affect interactions between mothers and their infants. The project's researchers hope their f...

UC Riverside biochemists devise method for bypassing aluminum toxicity effects in plants

RIVERSIDE, Calif. Aluminum toxicity, a global agricultural problem, halts root growth in plants, severely limiting agricultural productivity for more than half of the world's arable land. For many years, scientists have puzzled over how toxic levels of aluminum damage the growing root. The pop...

Prolonged effects of a warming anomaly on grasslands

Professors Yiqi Luo, Linda Wallace and Rebecca Sherry in the Department of Botany and Microbiology coauthored a paper with colleagues Jay Arnone and Paul Verburge at the Desert Research Institute; Dale Johnson from the University of Nevada at Reno; David Chimel from the National Center for Atmosph...

UCLA, partners establish new center on environmental effects of nanotechnology

UCLA and 12 collaborating institutions have been awarded $24 million in federal funding to establish the University of California Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (UC CEIN), which will help researchers design safer and more environmentally benign nanomaterials. The cen...

Gene associated with pair-bonding in animals has similar effects in human males

Variation in the gene for one of the receptors for the hormone vasopressin appears to be associated with how human males bond with their partners, according to an international team of researchers. The researchers found that the "334" allele of a common AVPR1A variation, the human version of ...

Previous claims of siRNA therapeutic effects called into question by report in human gene therapy

New Rochelle, NY, September 2, 2008The many recent reports documenting the therapeutic efficacy of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in animal models of human disease may actually be describing non-specific therapeutic effects related to the ability of siRNA to activate an immune response, according...

EPA releases science assessment on health effects of nitrogen oxides

(Washington, D.C. July 14, 2008) EPA has released the final "Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of NitrogenHealth Criteria." This is EPA's latest evaluation of the scientific literature on the potential adverse human health effects resulting from exposures to oxides of nitrogen, particular...

Scientists integrate data in three dimensions to study climate effects on young fish

From the surface, the two areas of ocean off the coasts of northern New Jersey and Long Island, New York look the same. But to NOAA scientists, the four-square-mile patches could not be more different as they view real-time underwater images and environmental data to try to figure out what lives t...

Database shows effects of acid rain on microorganisms in Adirondack Lakes

Bolton Landing, N.Y. Prior to the federal Clean Air Act, unhindered industrial emissions were released into the air throughout the Midwestern and Eastern United States for decades. Many of those harmful chemicals came right back down to earth in the form of acid rain, a chemical concoction that i...

Quest for better treatment for effects of menopause

This release is available in Spanish . During menopause, lack of oestrogens increases the risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases. For her doctoral thesis, University of the Basque Country researcher, Ainhoa Ruiz del Agua, studied the effects of substitute treatments and the genetic fac...

Herceptin and chemo improves response rates without major adverse effects in HER2 breast cancer

Berlin, Germany: Women with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer seem to do better if they are treated with a combined anthracycline and taxane chemotherapy regimen before surgery, together with trastuzumab (Herceptin) before and after surgery, according to results from the largest mult...

High blood pressure in older adults traced to gene's effects in blood vessels

COLUMBUS, Ohio Scientists have identified the gene that sets off a sequence of events in the blood vessels of otherwise healthy adults that can lead to high blood pressure. The disease process eventually makes conditions in vessels ripe for the creation of blockages that can cause heart attacks, ...

Jefferson scientists studying the effects of high-dose vitamin C on non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients

(PHILADELPHIA) - Scientists at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jeffersons Kimmel Cancer Center have received approval for a first-of-its kind study on the effect high dose vitamin C has on non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Researchers from the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medi...

Dartmouth researchers show effects of low dose arsenic on development

HANOVER, NH -- A team of Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) researchers has determined that low doses of arsenic disrupt the activity of a hormone critical in development. The finding is further evidence that arsenic at low doses (at levels found in U.S. drinking water in some areas) can be harmful...

Too much sugar turns off gene that controls the effects of sex steroids

(Vancouver November 8, 2007) Eating too much fructose and glucose can turn off the gene that regulates the levels of active testosterone and estrogen in the body, shows a new study in mice and human cell cultures thats published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. This discover...

Decoding effects of toxins on embryo development

Changes in gene expression patterns in zebrafish embryos resulting from exposure to environmental toxins can identify the individual toxins at work, according to research published in the online open access journal Genome Biology. The genetic response of zebrafish to each toxin can be read like ...

University and state agencies to forecast local health effects of climate change

Climate changes have jeopardized human health in the past, and are bound to do so again. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s, for example, led to many illnesses and deaths from breathing difficulties and malnutrition, and prompted westward migrations of people vying for scarce food, shelter, and work. F...

New paper examines dams' effects on California salmon

DURHAM, N.C. -- Spring-run Chinook salmon and other fish in the rivers of Californias Central Valley could be harmed by more water-storage dams, according to researchers at Duke University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The findings of a recent paper may serve as a cau...

Tryptophan deficiency may underlie quinine side effects

Researchers have found that the anti-malarial drug quinine can block a cell's ability to take up the essential amino acid tryptophan, a discovery that may explain many of the adverse side-effects associated with quinine. Once confirmed, these findings would suggest that dietary tryptophan suppleme...

Strong immune response to new siRNA drugs in development may cause toxic side effects

New Rochelle, NY, May 20, 2009Small synthetic fragments of genetic material called small interfering RNA (siRNA) can block production of abnormal proteins; however, these exciting new drug candidates can also induce a strong immune response, causing toxic side effects. Understanding how siRNA stim...

Stronger coastal winds due to climate change may have far-reaching effects

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--Future increases in wind strength along the California coast may have far-reaching effects, including more intense upwelling of cold water along the coast early in the season and increased fire danger in Southern California, according to researchers at the Climate Change and Imp...

How to build crops that can beat aluminum's toxic effects

Researchers may have found the key to engineering plants capable of thriving in environments laden with toxic aluminum, according to a report published online on October 2nd in Current Biology , a Cell Press publication. Aluminum (Al)a metal that is generally plentiful in the earth's crustcauses ...

How chemo kills tumors: research to reduce side effects

University of Manchester researchers are investigating exactly how chemotherapy drugs kill cancerous tumours in a bid to reduce side effects and test the effectiveness of safer new agents. Dr Stephen Taylor and Karen Gascoigne at the University of Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences have taken...

Faster koa tree growth without adverse ecosystem effects

U.S. Forest Service scientists with the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry have completed a study on ways to make high-value koa trees grow faster, while increasing biodiversity, carbon sequestration, scenic beauty and recreation opportunities in native Hawaian forests. Acacia koa is a native...

New decontamination system kills anthrax rapidly without lingering effects

In October 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two U.S. senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others. Clearing the Senate office building of the spores with chlorine dioxide gas cost $27 million, according to the Government Accountability ...

Evolutionary biology research on plant shows significance of maternal effects

When habitat changes, animals migrate. But how do immobile organisms like plants cope when faced with alterations to their environment? This is an increasingly important question in light of new environmental conditions brought on by global climate change. A University of Virginia study, publis...

Microbial biofilms evoke Jekyll & Hyde effects

Microbes such as bacteria tend to live in complex colonies called biofilms, where there can resist antibiotics and cause more problems for the immune system. Biofilms comprising millions of bacteria are at the root of many serious chronic infectious diseases such as cystic fibrosis and periodontal...