Mouse brain cells rapidly recover after Alzheimer's plaques are cleared
Brain cells in a mouse model of Alzheimer'sdisease have surprised scientists with their ability to recuperateafter the disorder's characteristic brain plaques are removed.Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louisinjected mice with an antibody for a key component of brain plaques,the amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide. In areas of the brain whereantibodies cleared plaque...Dinosaur DNA? New Patent Covers Degraded DNA recovery
The US Patent Office issued Patent # 6,872,552, "A Method of Reconstituting Nucleic Acid Molecules" today to Burt D. Ensley, Ph.D, Chairman of MatrixDesign, and CEO of DermaPlus, Inc. The patent covers methods for recovering and reconstituting genes from "degraded" DNA samples, and could allow scientists to reassemble everything from prehistoric, extinct animals to unsolved crime scenes. "...Bone Density Recovers After Teens Stop Injected Contraceptive
Lower bone density appears to recover in adolescent females once they stop using the injected contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), according to a study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health. Previous studies had shown that women who use DMPA, marketed under the brand name Depo-Provera, experience a lo...U-M team recovers ancient whale in Egyptian desert
Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have, for the first time, induced a state of reversible metabolic hibernation in mice. This achievement, the first demonstration of "hibernation on demand" in a mammal, ultimately could lead to new ways to treat cancer and prevent injury and death from insufficient blood supply to organs and tissues. "We are, in essence, temporarily conv...Low oxygen likely made Great Dying worse, greatly delayed recovery
The biggest mass extinction in Earth history some 251 million years ago was preceded by elevated extinction rates before the main event and was followed by a delayed recovery that lasted for millions of years. New research by two University of Washington scientists suggests that a sharp decline in atmospheric oxygen levels was likely a major reason for both the elevated extinction rates and the v...Tsunami-damaged coral reefs should be left to recover naturally, say scientists
Coral reefs damaged in the Asian tsunami tragedy should be allowed to recover naturally before countries launch into expensive restoration plans, according to some of the world's leading scientists. The scientists, led by a researcher from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and who set out their views in an advisory brief for the World Bank, point to historical records of major coral...Combination therapy leads to partial recovery from spinal cord injury in rats
Combining partially differentiated stem cells with gene therapy can promote the growth of new "insulation" around nerve fibers in the damaged spinal cords of rats, a new study shows. The treatment, which mimics the activity of two nerve growth factors, also improves the animals' motor function and electrical conduction from the brain to the leg muscles. The finding may eventually lead to new ways...Study shows eutrophic lakes may not recover for a millennium
Although it has taken just 60 years for humans to put many freshwater lakes on the eutrophication fast track, a new study shows their recovery may take a thousand years under the best of circumstances. Writing in today's (June 13) online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), University of Wisconsin-Madison limnologist Stephen R. Carpenter reported results...Time and money make a difference in endangered species recovery
Since passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, over 1,300 endangered species have been protected in the United States and its territories. In the forthcoming issue of Ecology Letters, Male & Bean assess 14 years of endangered plant and animal status trends and show that the length of time species are protected, and the amount of money spent on their conservation are key variables in exp...Adult stem cells aid recovery in animal model of cerebral palsy
Have you ever wondered how the myriad insect forms—beetles, flies, dragonflies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, ants, wasps, bees, and countless others—evolved? Insects make up 75% of all species known. The large number of insect species is probably a result of a combination of one or more factors: a high rate of formation of new species, or speciation, an ability to adapt to new environments an...Infused spleen cells found not to impact islet recovery and reversal of type 1 diabetes in mice
Researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins have invented a cost-effective and highly efficient way of analyzing what many have termed "junk" DNA and identified regions critical for controlling gene function. And they have found that these control regions from different species don't have to look alike to work alike. The study will be published online...Stem cell transplants improve recovery in animal models for stroke, cerebral palsy
A single dose of adult donor stem cells given to animals that have neurological damage similar to that experienced by adults with a stroke or newborns with cerebral palsy can significantly enhance recovery from these types of injuries, researchers say. Using a commonly utilized animal model for stroke, researchers administered a dose of 200,000-400,000 human stem cells into the brain of an...Scientists find Antarctic ozone hole to recover later than expected
Scientists from NASA and other agencies have concluded that the ozone hole over the Antarctic will recover around 2068, nearly 20 years later than previously believed. Researchers from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed a new tool, a math-based computer model, to predict the timing of ozone...Iraq's marshes show progress toward recovery
Reflooding of Iraq's destroyed Mesopotamian marshes since 2003 has resulted in a "remarkable rate of reestablishment" of native invertebrates, plants, fish, and birds, according to an article in the June issue of BioScience. Curtis J. Richardson of Duke University and Najah A. Hussain of the University of Basrah, writing about fieldwork conducted over the past two years in four large mars...UC Davis study finds HIV hiding from drugs in gut, preventing immune recovery
UC Davis researchers have discovered that the human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS, is able to survive efforts to destroy it by hiding out in the mucosal tissues of the intestine. They also found that HIV continues to replicate in the gut mucosa, suppressing immune function in patients being treated with antiretroviral therapy--even when blood samples from the same individuals...Atmospheric ozone recovering in mid-latitudes, report shows
Concentrations of atmospheric ozone -- which protects Earth from the sun's ultraviolet radiation -- are showing signs of recovery in the most important regions of the stratosphere above the mid-latitudes in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, a new study shows. Researchers attribute the improvement to both a reduction in ozone-depleting chemicals phased out by the global Montreal P...Insect predation sheds light on food web recovery after the dinosaur extinction
The recovery of biodiversity after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction was much more chaotic than previously thought, according to paleontologists. New fossil evidence shows that at certain times and places, plant and insect diversity were severely out of balance, not linked as they are today. The extinction took place 65.5 million years ago. Labeled the K-T extinction, it marks the beginning of t...Elephants, large mammals recover from poaching in Africa's oldest national park
A recent wildlife census conducted in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) revealed that several species of large mammal are now recovering from a decade of civil war and rampant poaching, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). Specifically, elephants and other species in the park have in...Dopamine drug leads to new neurons and recovery of function in rat model of Parkinson's
In preliminary results, researchers have shown that a drug which mimics the effects of the nerve-signaling chemical dopamine causes new neurons to develop in the part of the brain where cells are lost in Parkinson's disease (PD). The drug also led to long-lasting recovery of function in an animal model of PD. The findings may lead to new ways of treating PD and other neurodegenerative diseases....Ozone recovering, but unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, says study
When given extra shots of the plant steroid brassinolide, plants "pump up" like major league baseball players do on steroids. Tracing brassinolide's signal deep into the cell's nucleus, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have unraveled how the growth-boosting hormone accomplishes its job at the molecular level. The Salk researchers, led by Joanne Chory, a professor i...Brains can recover from alcoholic damage but patients should stop drinking as soon as possible
The findings, published today (18 December 2006) in the online edition of the journal Brain [1], used sophisticated scanning technology and computer software to measure how brain volume, form and function changed over six to seven weeks of abstinence from alcohol in 15 alcohol dependent patients (ten men, five women). The researchers from Germany, the UK, Switzerland and Italy measured the...Fish species plays surprise role in aiding coral reef recovery
In a study that marks progress in understanding the basis of coral reef recovery, researchers have revealed the critical importance of a rare batfish, Platax pinnatus, in promoting the return to health of a disturbed coral reef overgrown with algae. The findings bring to light a previously unrecognized role for the batfish species, which had not been considered a significant player in reef recove...Diabetes slows nerve recovery after heart transplant
Diabetes has a detrimental effect on a person's ability to recover from a heart transplant, notes a study in the September Journal of Nuclear Medicine. "Using positron emission tomography (PET) and the transplanted heart as a very specific model to study the regenerative capacity of the heart's sympathetic nervous system, we determined that reinnervation--or the heart's ability to develop...No-scalpel vasectomies by skilled surgeons may speed recovery
Although no-scalpel vasectomies are becoming more popular among physicians and patients, there are no definitive statistics to confirm the superiority of this choice, and a new review's main conclusion is to underline the importance of training. Yet training is not always available or sought, said lead reviewer Dr. Lynley Cook, a public health physician and clinical senior lecturer at the...Tibetan antelope slowly recovering, WCS says
Returning from a recent 1,000-mile expedition across Tibet's remote Chang Tang region, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologist George Schaller reports that the Tibetan antelope -- once the target of rampant poaching -- may be increasing in numbers due to a combination of better enforcement and a growing conservation ethic in local communities. The eight-week journey, which was co-fun...Palau's coral reefs show differential habitat recovery following the 1998 bleaching event
Coral reef bleaching, believed to be one of the detrimental effects of climate change, may receive a welcomed "buffer" through effective local management, according to new research by a team of scientists recording the long-term recovery of coral reefs in Palau and elsewhere. "It appears that coral reefs are very resilient and can bounce back magnificently if subjected to good management p...Researchers use MRI to predict recovery after spinal cord injury
"Our study demonstrates that the possibility and extent of neurological recovery after SCI can be predicted within 48 hours after injury by rigorou...