MSU discoveries upend traditional thinking about how plants make certain compounds

EAST LANSING, Mich. Michigan State University plant scientists have identified two new genes and two new enzymes in tomato plants; those findings led them to discover that the plants were making monoterpenes, compounds that help give tomato leaves their distinctive smell, in a way that flies in t...

'No time to lose' to start thinking sustainability

As director of the University of Oregon's Climate Leadership Initiative, the need to address human contributions to global warming is a no-brainer that Bob Doppelt says in his new book requires a mindset tuned into "The Power of Sustainable Thinking." The 240-page book published by London-based...

Case researcher in RNA biology makes waves by challenging current thinking

In the January 18th issue of Molecular Cell, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher Kristian E. Baker, Ph.D. challenges molecular biologys established body of evidence and widely-accepted model for nonsense-mediated messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) decay. With her collabora...

Common gene version optimizes thinking -- but with a possible downside

Most people inherit a version of a gene that optimizes their brain's thinking circuitry, yet also appears to increase risk for schizophrenia, a severe mental illness marked by impaired thinking, scientists at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have ...

Jefferson researchers' discovery may change thinking on how viruses invade the brain

A molecule thought crucial to ferrying the deadly rabies virus into the brain, where it eventually kills, apparently isn’t. The surprising finding, say researchers at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, may change the way scientists think about how central nervous system-attacking viruses su...

Scientists show how thinking can harm brain cells

Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have targeted a new culprit and method of attack on neurologic functions in diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia associated with HIV. In an article in the Nov. 1 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Rochester scientists ...

Lateral thinking produces first map of gene transmission

A University of Queensland study mapping the evolution of genes has shed light on the role of gene transfer in bacterial diseases. The study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, was conducted by three scientists at UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience. ...

New research puts a fresh spin on current thinking of speech evolution in humans

A study, published today in the prestigious journal Nature by Dr. Michael Petrides and colleagues at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at McGill University, challenges current thinking that speech developed as a result of new structures that evolved in the human brain. Dr. Petrides and coll...

Venomous sea snakes play heads or tails with their predators

...sen and Dr Johan Elmberg, showed that Yellow-lipped Sea Kraits ( Laticauda colubrina ) use skin markings and behaviour patterns to fool predators into thinking their tail is a second head, complete with lethal venom. There are over 65 species of sea snakes in the tropical waters of the Southern Hemisphe...

Smaller plants punch above their weight in the forest, say Queen's biologists

... New findings from Queen's University biologists show that in the plant world, bigger isn't necessarily better. "Until now most of the thinking has suggested that to be a good competitor in the forest, you have to be a big plant," says Queen's Biology professor Lonnie Aarssen. "But our researc...

A 'heart healthy' diet and ongoing, moderate physical activity may protect against cognitive decline

...uly 14, 2009 Eating a "heart healthy" diet and maintaining or increasing participation in moderate physical activity may help preserve our memory and thinking abilities as we age, according to new research reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICA...

2 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists receive Presidential Early Career Award

...id colleague Mark T. Groudine, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of the Hutchinson Center and former director of the Center's Basic Sciences Division. "His thinking really pushes the envelope, and his ideas have had an enormous impact on the field." In addition to his research, Malik is dedicated to educating t...

Our 'caveman logic' embraces ESP over evolution

...er. In CAVEMAN LOGIC: THE PERSISTENCE OF PRIMITIVE thinking IN A MODERN WORLD (Prometheus Books, $19.98), Davi...s says CAVEMAN LOGIC: THE PERSISTENCE OF PRIMITIVE thinking IN A MODERN WORLD is the product of more than two ... "the powerful influence of irrational, delusional thinking that is anchored to our Pleistocene-era brain circ...

Recent news reports of sweetener reformulations raise questions about motivations

...nly has a health aura. Marketers have wasted no time moving in to use that aura to sell the same old products." "Consumers are being misled into thinking that there are nutritional differences between high fructose corn syrup and sugar, when in fact they are nutritionally the same," said Audrae Erickson...

American Chemical Society's Weekly Presspac -- June 17, 2009

...as created a new pressroom blog to highlight prominent research from ACS' 34 journals. Bytesize Science blog Educators and kids, put on your thinking caps: The American Chemical Society has a blog for Bytesize Science , a science podcast for kids of all ages. ACS satellite pressroom: Daily n...

Caltech researchers explore how cells reconcile mixed messages in decisions about growth

...w more quickly relative to the rest of the area, or you can get the entire cluster to increase in size all at once." "This is useful," he adds, "in thinking about how to engineer organs and tissues. I believe that this can become an important building block, a part of the tool set, that allows us to grow m...

Common fish species has 'human' ability to learn

... Although worlds apart, the way fish learn could be closer to humans' way of thinking than previously believed, suggests a new research study. A common species of fish which is found across Europe including the UK, called the nine-sp...

Why do we choose our mates? Ask Charles Darwin, prof says

... all creatures and a conscious "choice" is made between the two so the romantic fireworks can begin. Jones says Darwin set the standard for original thinking about animal reproduction and was first scientist to propose plausible mechanisms of evolution, and from there he took it one step further he confirm...

TRAPping proteins that work together inside living cells

...between old and new proteins with chemicals called crosslinkers. The sticky crosslinkers will only connect proteins close enough to work together, the thinking goes. But most crosslinkers are too large to squeeze into living cells, are harmful to cells, or link proteins that are neighbors but not coworkers. ...

'Shortcuts' of the mind lead to miscalculations of weight and caloric intake, says Penn study

...e artifacts packaged within the evolved way the human brain processes information. The mind has evolved to develop a capacity to free up our conscious thinking for dangerous and reproductive situations. For example, a driver at a green light doesn't need to cycle through a series of decisions. Green simply me...

Tracking down the causes of multiple sclerosis

...he reason for the significantly greater aggressiveness of these cells", suggests Hartmut Wekerle, the head of the study. And, of course, he is already thinking one step ahead: "We must now find a way of identifying these special T cells in the patient." Based on this, treatments could be developed that specif...

Brain-computer interface, developed at Brown, begins new clinical trial

... a computer was connected to the sensor through a pedestal on the participant's head, allowing the participants to control a computer cursor by simply thinking about the movement of their own paralyzed hand. "We learned an incredible amount with the assistance of the first participants in the BrainGate tri...

Climate change could drive vast human migrations

...to resettle populations of low-lying areas, and strengthen the ability of emigrants to send remittances to those left in affected regions. "New thinking and practical approaches are needed to address the threats that climate-related migration poses to human security and well-being," said coauthor Koko ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- June 3, 2009

...as created a new pressroom blog to highlight prominent research from ACS' 34 journals. Bytesize Science blog Educators and kids, put on your thinking caps: The American Chemical Society has blog for Bytesize Science , a science podcast for kids of all ages. ACS satellite pressroom: Daily news...

Scientists examine perceptions of risk and the spread of disease

... gotten good at modeling and projecting risk. The next major frontier is how do we manage risk in a cost effective way," Fenichel said. "It's a way of thinking about how resources get allocated to address emerging pathogens like the flu now. For example, if we believe that people will behave in a certain way ...

Scientists examine human behavior and the threat of disease

... gotten good at modeling and projecting risk. The next major frontier is how do we manage risk in a cost effective way," Fenichel said. "It's a way of thinking about how resources get allocated to address emerging pathogens like the flu now. For example, if we believe that people will behave in a certain way ...

Did the North Atlantic fisheries collapse due to fisheries-induced evolution?

...he mortality is non-selective in the habitat in which it occurs. The study highlights the importance of applying Darwinian principles and evolutionary thinking to fisheries and conservation science. ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- May 20, 2009

... the national meetings and other general news from the world's largest scientific society. Bytesize Science blog Educators and kids, put on your thinking caps: The American Chemical Society has new blog for Bytesize Science , a science podcast for kids of all ages. The Bytesize blog contains entertain...

International team tracks clues to HIV

...lico testing of molecules. They approached us and said, 'Do you think we could use some of these?' Then we started bouncing ideas around. "We began thinking about a very simple experiment to calculate the binding efficiency of a molecule in the HIV pocket, then calculate that for a series of molecules, dec...

100 reasons to change the way we think about genetics

... for the study of evolution, Jablonka and Raz say. "Incorporating epigenetic inheritance into evolutionary theory extends the scope of evolutionary thinking and leads to notions of heredity and evolution that incorporate development," they write. This is a vindication of sorts for 18th century naturalis...

Scientists work to plug microorganisms into the energy grid

... The answer to the looming fuel crisis in the 21st century may be found by thinking small, microscopic in fact. Microscopic organisms from bacteria and cyanobacteria, to fungi and microalgae, are biological factories that are proving...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- May 13, 2009

... the national meetings and other general news from the world's largest scientific society. Bytesize Science blog Educators and kids, put on your thinking caps: The American Chemical Society has new blog for Bytesize Science , a science podcast for kids of all ages. The Bytesize blog contains entertain...

ExcellGene and Khner achieved milestone in development of novel 250 Liter mammalian cell culture bioreactors

...ucts up to the multi-thousand liter scale from mammalian cells such as CHO, NS0 and PerC6. Cell culture technology has to be liberated from pre-formed thinking and unjustified mental barriers in order to provide more cost-effective and simpler procedures to subcultivate and expand cell biomass in reactors wit...

Flow of potassium into cells implicated in schizophrenia

...tments free of such cardiac side-effects. Dramatically changed activity in rodent brains toward a neuronal firing pattern that may be important for thinking and memory tasks unique to primates. Is expressed much more prior to birth, compared to the other main form of KCNH2, suggesting that it plays a pr...

From cars to cancer: UH professor employs auto industry tools for tumor therapy

...can help us solve the problem. There's a big workflow issue. If we do replanning every day and re-CT every day, that's lot of effort," he said. "We're thinking there is a better, smarter way." ...

Princeton geoscientist offers new evidence that meteorite did not wipe out dinosaurs

... disappeared from the fossil record at the K-T boundary. "Keller and colleagues continue to amass detailed stratigraphic information supporting new thinking about the Chicxulub impact and the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous," said Richard Lane, program director in the National Science Foundati...

Single gene defect can cause stroke, other artery diseases

... School at Houston. The discovery of the causal relationship between the mutated gene ACTA2 and artery diseases has opened the door to a new way of thinking about the vascular system, Milewicz said. "We need to look at the artery system as a continuous system or organ," said Milewicz, the President Geor...

Researcher: Lasers used to detect melamine in baby formula

...he received a new software program that she wanted the students to become familiar with. Mauer challenged them to use spectroscopy to detect melamine, thinking they might be able to do so at high concentrations. After successful tries at higher concentrations, Mauer and the students kept lowering the conce...

Unifying the animate and the inanimate designs of nature

... predicts the design of a wide range of flow systems seen in nature, from biology and geophysics to social dynamics and technology evolution. "When thinking of evolution and Darwin, most people think of animals or trees," Bejan said. "That's too bad, because design features are everywhere in nature. The co...

Findings uncover new details about mysterious virus

...nstructing the virus assuming it possessed not standard icosahedral symmetry but another configuration called five-fold symmetry. "If you start out thinking the object has icosahedral symmetry, then you assume there are 60 identical pieces, and that influences how you reconstruct the virus's structure," Ro...