keep in Biological News

Slotted buses keep passengers cool

A simple redesign of public buses used in hot and dry climates could make passengers more comfortable without the need to use extra fuel running air conditioning, according to a study published in the International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems . Sunil Kale of the Department of Mechanical E...

Herbicide diversity needed to keep Roundup effective

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Using a diverse herbicide application strategy may increase production costs, but a five-year Purdue University study shows the practice will drastically reduce weeds and seeds that are resistant to a popular herbicide. Excess usage of glyphosate-resistant crops has led t...

Pliable proteins keep photosynthesis on the light path

Photosynthesis is a remarkable biological process that supports life on earth. Plants and photosynthetic microbes do so by harvesting light to produce their food, and in the process, also provide vital oxygen for animals and people. Now, a large, international collaboration between Arizona State...

CSHL researchers identify gene that helps plant cells keep communication channels open

Plant cells communicate via microscopic channels called plasmodesmata that are embedded in their cell walls. For the stem cells in the plants' growing tips, called "meristems," the plasmodesmata are lifelines, allowing nutrients and genetic instructions for growth to flow in. Developmental and ...

Reprogrammable cell type depends on a single gene to keep its identity

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered that a certain differentiated cell type is so ready to change its identity that it requires the constant expression of a gene called Prox1 to dissuade it. The researchers showed that Prox1 acts as a two-way switch whose inacti...

Earth scientists keep an eye on Texas

Boulder, CO and Madison, WI 1 OCTOBER 2008 Not only are more than 8,000 international earth scientists coming to Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center, beginning this weekend, to participate in the first-ever Joint Annual Meeting of seven scientific societies, but they are bringing focus t...

Dark chocolate: Half a bar per week to keep at bay the risk of heart attack

Maybe gourmands are not jumping for joy. Probably they would have preferred bigger amounts to sup-port their passion. Though the news is still good for them: 6.7 grams of chocolate per day represent the ideal amount for a protective effect against inflammation and subsequent cardiovascular disease...

Let the cat keep chasing the mouse

This release is available in German . Leipzig. For the first time an international researcher team has developed a model, which identifies potential habitats and corridors for the European wildcat ( Felis silvestris silvestris ). Using Rheinland-Pfalz as an example, it was demonstrate...

Perspective: Policies must keep pace with genetic progress

Enactment of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 is a boon to individual patients and for genetic research, write Kathy Hudson, M.K. Holohan, and Francis Collins in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine . But the bill is not a panacea, they note: Employ...

Substance in red wine found to keep hearts young

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- How do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats? Scientists have long suspected that the answer to the so-called "French paradox" lies in red wine. Now, the results of a new study bring them closer to understanding why. ...

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...

Some cheaters can keep it in their genes

A new study examining social behaviour suggests certain individuals are genetically programmed to cheat and often will do providing they can get away with it. The researchers looked at slime moulds microscopic single-cell organisms or amoebae that are forced to cooperate with one another when ...

A key enzyme helps keep the synapse on track

NEW YORK (Dec. 20, 2007) -- At its core, healthy neurological function hinges on the efficient passage of information between brain cells via the synapse. Figuring out how the synapse traffics this information -- a process called neurotransmission -- is crucial to understanding the function of ...

To keep mouths safe, don't just wear a mouthguard; keep it clean

Fractured teeth, neck injuries and abrasions in the mouth, also known as sports-related dental injuries, are ever present among athletes. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, sports-related dental injuries account for more than 600,000 emergency room visits each year. One may ass...

How cells keep in shape

Cells in our body come in various shapes and sizes. Each cell is shaped in such a way as to optimise it for a specific function. When things go wrong and a cell does not adopt its dedicated shape, its function can be impaired and the cell can cause problems in the body. Researchers at the European...

After drought, ponds keep up with the Joneses

An ecologist at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that after ponds dry up through drought in a region, when they revive, the community of species in each pond tends to be very similar to one another, like so many suburban houses made of ticky tacky. Jonathan M. Chase, WUSTL a...

Female chimps keep the bullies at bay

Female chimpanzees may have found a fool-proof way to ensure they mate with only the highest ranking males, namely those with important social and physical characteristics that their offspring may inherit, according to a new study by Akiko Matsumoto-Oda from the Department of Welfare and Culture at...

Fighting to keep Darwin in the classroom

Nearly a century ago, John Scopes was found guilty of violating a Tennessee statute when he taught evolution in his classroom. Though an appeals court later reversed his conviction on a technicality, the law lingered on the books, joined by later laws promoting "scientific creationism," and, most ...

Natural anti-viral enzyme helps keep cancer cells alive, researchers find

A molecule that cells normally use to fight viruses is also involved in keeping cancer cells alive, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered. The anti-viral molecule, called TBK-1, was found to be essential for cancer cells to live, so blocking it might point to a treatment ...

Technology exists to keep E. coli out of food

In a groundbreaking study at the University of Minnesota, Extension food scientist Joellen Feirtag has been experimenting since April with a water-based electrochemical activation system that disinfects, cleans food and wipes out E. coli. While electrolyzed water systems are not new, this system...

A giant among minnows: Giant danio can keep growing

Two fish that share much in common genetically appear to have markedly different abilities to grow, a finding that could provide a new way to research such disparate areas as muscle wasting disease and fish farming, a new study shows. The study in the November issue of the American Journal of Phy...

Dogs keep dying: Many owners unaware of toxic dog food

Even though Diamond, Country Value and Professional brand dog foods have been recalled for containing highly toxic aflatoxins, they have caused at least 100 dog deaths in recent weeks, say Cornell University veterinarians, who are growing increasingly alarmed. Some kennels and consumers around the ...

UF researchers develop ways to keep the bloom on the rose

They may not be able to make love last, but a team of University of Florida researchers has figured out how to at least make the flowers go the distance. A UF environmental horticulturist has developed ways to extend flower quality and vase life by three or more days through post-harvest techniqu...

Animals can change genes quickly to keep up with viral ingenuity

Viruses are famous for evolving quickly, but the organisms they infect can't be expected to sit idly by. There is now new evidence that animals in fact do an impressive job of keeping up in the ongoing evolutionary arms race between viruses and their hosts. Studying a special class of genes thought...

Predators keep the world green, ecologists find

Predators are, ironically, the key to keeping the world green, because they keep the numbers of plant-eating herbivores under control, reports a research team lead by John Terborgh, a professor of environmental science at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. Th...

Insulin pulses keep the liver lean

Insulin, a hormone long recognized as a generator of fat, also keeps fat in the liver under control, according to a new study in the July issue of Cell Metabolism. The newly discovered role for insulin may explain how an organ frequently flooded with the fat-building hormone normally stays trim and...

Vampire bats keep out of trouble by running

Although most people think of bats as stealthy mammals that flit about in the night sky, at least one species has evolved a terrestrial trot never before seen in bats, according to a recent Cornell University study. It's known that the common vampire bats of Central and South America behave much ...

Scientists find universal rules for food-web stability

...oss from MPIPKS. Complex ecosystems can thus be simulated and analyzed under almost any conditions. "In this way we can estimate which parameters will keep ecosystems stable and which will upset their balance." The method can also be used for examining other complex systems, such as human metabolism or...

ADA releases position paper on food and water safety

...uation in this country, identifies new tools that can help decrease illness and encourages continued research, education and technological advances to keep the food and water supply safe. ADA's position paper, published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents...

National assessment done on potential invasive snail and slug pests in US

...anoa and the American Malacological Society. The research is intended to be a tool for national agriculture inspection officials, in their efforts to keep such invasive pest species out of the country. "The study is preliminary because of the serious lack of basic knowledge of many of these potentiall...

UCSF researchers identify new drug target for Kaposi's sarcoma

... small-molecule inhibitor of a herpes virus protease to not only act outside the active site, but also to select for the partially unfolded protein to keep it from forming the dimer interface. Herpes viruses make up one of the most prevalent viral families, including eight human viruses that cause a va...

Reducing risk of hospitalization in the elderly

..."The findings are particularly important because they suggest that interventions, such as physical exercise, that improve physical function could help keep more vulnerable seniors out of the hospital," says Cawthon. "That would not only reduce disability but it would also reduce the huge economic burden a...

Protein that promotes cancer cell growth identified

...ive cell division and reduced cell death. A number of cell death proteins are missing from human tumors, allowing cancer cells to ignore the cues that keep their growth in check. Cells that can evade apoptosis have a clear growth advantage. Because Caspase-8 is involved in programmed cell death, it would ...

Ethiopian government celebrates rinderpest eradication

...reezing temperatures from the point of production until it is administered to cattle, the vaccine is ineffective. "It was extremely challenging to keep the vaccine cold while traveling to isolated areas," said Catley, who is also an assistant professor at The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and P...

Healing power of aloe vera proves beneficial for teeth and gums, too

...Its ability to heal burns and cuts and soothe pain has been documented as far back as the 10th century. Legend has it that Cleopatra used aloe vera to keep her skin soft. The modern use of aloe vera was first recognized the 1930s to heal radiation burns. Since then, it has been a common ingredient in oint...

New theory on why male, female lemurs same size

...urs the same size? In most primate species, males have evolved to be much larger than females. Size is an advantage for males that guard females to keep other males from mating with them, and evolutionary biologists have long wondered why lemurs evolved differently. Some theories have suggested that en...

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

...enna. "We can't do anything about aging or family history, but research continues to show us that there are lifestyle decisions we all can make to keep our brains healthier, and that also may lower our risk of memory decline as we age," said William Thies, PhD, Chief Medical & Scientific Officer at th...

Study by NTU professors provides important insight into apoptosis or programmed cell death

...r Li, they discovered that during apoptosis, the cell's rescue mechanism is inhibited when certain proteins (i.e. 'anti-factors' that are necessary to keep a cell alive) are no longer able to enter the cell's nucleus, thus stopping the cell's ability to initiate its self-repair process. In addition, t...

Sex involved in plant defense

... attracted to them. Johnson says the nuanced results make sense. "Sex shuffles up genes and allows individual plants to get rid of bad genes and keep good ones," he said. "That helps them evolve defenses against generalist herbivores. Though there are short-term benefits to asexual reproduction pop...

Researchers achieve major breakthrough with water desalination system

... Court-ordered restrictions on water deliveries have reduced supplies from the two largest water systems, and an outdated statewide water system can't keep up with population growth. With these critical issues looming large, researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sci...