suggests in Biological News

Got zinc? New zinc research suggests novel therapeutic targets

Everyone knows that vitamins "from A to zinc" are important for good health. Now, a new research study in the August 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology ( http://www.jleukbio.org ) suggests that zinc may be pointing the way to new therapeutic targets for fighting infections. Spe...

New discovery suggests trees evolved camouflage defense against long extinct predator

Many animal species such as snakes, insects and fish have evolved camouflage defences to deter attack from their predators. However research published in New Phytologist has discovered that trees in New Zealand have evolved a similar defence to protect themselves from extinct giant birds, provi...

New discovery suggests mammoths survived in Britain until 14,000 years ago

Research which finally proves that bones found in Shropshire, England provide the most geologically recent evidence of woolly mammoths in North Western Europe publishes today in the Geological Journal . Analysis of both the bones and the surrounding environment suggests that some mammoths remaine...

Study suggests obese women should not gain weight

For years, doctors and other health-care providers have managed pregnant patients according to guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). In 1986, ACOG stated, "Regardless of how much women weigh before they become pregnant, gaining between 26-35 pounds du...

Bolivian rainforest study suggests feeding behavior in monkeys and humans have ancient, shared roots

Behavioural ecologists working in Bolivia have found that wild spider monkeys control their diets in a similar way to humans, contrary to what has been thought up to now. Rather than trying to maximize their daily energy intake, the monkeys tightly regulate their daily protein intake, so that it s...

New book suggests Earth perhaps not such a benevolent mother after all

In the past 50 years it has become commonplace to think of Earth as a nurturing place, straining mightily to maintain equilibrium so that life might continue and flourish. The Gaia hypothesis, named for the ancient Greek goddess of Earth, even put forth the idea that our planet behaves as a ...

Research suggests vegetable juice may help people with metabolic syndrome lose weight

NEW ORLEANS, April 19, 2009 Drinking at least one glass of low sodium vegetable juice daily may help overweight people with metabolic syndrome achieve better weight loss results. A study, conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine and presented at this week's Experimental Biology Meeting, found...

The genetics of fear: Study suggests specific genetic variations contribute to anxiety disorders

Polymorphisms are variations in genes which can result in changes in the way a particular gene functions and thus may be associated with susceptibility to common diseases. In a new study in Psychological Science , a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologist Tina B. Lonsdo...

Study suggests salt might be 'nature's antidepressant'

Most people consume far too much salt, and a University of Iowa researcher has discovered one potential reason we crave it: it might put us in a better mood. UI psychologist Kim Johnson and colleagues found in their research that when rats are deficient in sodium chloride, common table salt, th...

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...

New lab evidence suggests preventive effect of herbal supplement in prostate cancer

PHILADELPHIA DHEA is a natural circulating hormone and the body's production of it decreases with age. Men take DHEA as an over-the-counter supplement because it has been suggested that DHEA can reverse aging or have anabolic effects since it can be metabolized in the body to androgens. Increased...

Cancer-causing gene discovery suggests new therapies

Scientists have discovered a novel way by which a much-studied cancer-promoting gene accelerates the disease. The finding suggests a new strategy to halt cancer's progress. Up to now, research has largely focused on how the mutated gene, Myc, disrupts the ability of DNA to be "transcribed" int...

Mayo Clinic: Brain disorder suggests common mechanism may underlie many neurodegenerative diseases

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A Mayo Clinic-led international consortium has found a mechanism that may help explain Parkinson's and other neurological disorders. Studying just eight families worldwide, the international team of researchers have discovered a genetic defect that results in profound depre...

Purdue study suggests warmer temperatures could lead to a boom in corn pests

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Climate change could provide the warmer weather pests prefer, leading to an increase in populations that feed on corn and other crops, according to a new study. Warmer growing season temperatures and milder winters could allow some of these insects to expand their territo...

Discovery of new gene associated with diabetes risk suggests link with body clock

A connection between the body clock and abnormalities in metabolism and diabetes has been suggested in new research by an international team involving the University of Oxford, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge. The researchers have identified a gene...

Revised theory suggests carbon dioxide levels already in danger zone

New Haven, Conn. If climate disasters are to be averted, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) must be reduced below the levels that already exist today, according to a study published in Open Atmospheric Science Journal by a group of 10 scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom and Fr...

NJIT professor's research suggests changes in underwater data communications

An NJIT professor, who has discovered new communication channels in underwater environments and invented a technique to communicate data through these channels, will be honored later this month by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. His work will eventually allow multiple users and underwater v...

CU-Boulder study suggests air quality regulations miss key pollutants

A new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder reveals that air quality regulations may not effectively target a large source of fine, organic particle pollutants that contribute to hazy skies and poor air quality over the Los Angeles region. According to the study, a much smaller per...

New research suggests diabetes transmitted from parents to children

A new study in the September issue of the Journal of Lipid Research suggests an unusual form of inheritance may have a role in the rising rate of diabetes, especially in children and young adults, in the United States. DNA is the primary mechanism of inheritance; kids get half their genes from...

Study suggests 86 percent of Americans could be overweight or obese by 2030

Most adults in the U.S. will be overweight or obese by 2030, with related health care spending projected to be as much as $956.9 billion, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the University of Pennsylvan...

Study suggests past climate changes may have promoted the formation of new species in the Amazon

AUSTIN, TEXASThe results of a new study suggest that past climate changes and sea level fluctuations may have promoted the formation of new species in the Amazon region of South America. Today, the Amazon basin is home to the richest diversity of life on earth, yet the reasons why this came to...

Stroke study reveals key target for improving treatment and suggests that Gleevec may help

ANN ARBOR, Mich. For over a decade, the drug called tPA has proven its worth as the most effective emergency treatment for the most common kind of stroke. But its promise is blemished by two facts: tPA can cause dangerous bleeding in the brain, and its brain-saving power fades fast after the thir...

Research suggests parts of UK could be too hot for wine making by 2080

Increasing summer temperatures could mean some parts of southern England are too hot to grow vines for making wine by 2080, according to a new book launched today (26 May 2008). The author, Emeritus Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London, claims that if average summer temperatur...

Research suggests parts of UK could be too hot for wine-making by 2080

Increasing summer temperatures could mean some parts of southern England are too hot to grow vines for making wine by 2080, according to a new book launched today (26 May 2008). The author, Emeritus Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London, claims that if average summer temperatur...

The cooperative view: New evidence suggests a symbiogenetic origin for the centrosome

MBL, WOODS HOLE, MA There are two ways in which cooperation is the theme of a paper published this week by Mark Alliegro and Mary Anne Alliegro, scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratorys (MBL) Josephine Bay Paul Center. One is revealed in the papers acknowledgements, where the Alliegros...

Decoding the dictionary: Study suggests lexicon evolved to fit in the brain

Troy, N.Y. The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary boasts 22,000 pages of definitions. While that may seem far from succinct, new research suggests the reference manual is meticulously organized to be as concise as possible a format that mirrors the way our brains make sense of and c...

Evidence now suggests eating soy foods in puberty protects against breast cancer

Washington, D.C. Evidence is growing from animal and human studies that genistein, a potent chemical found in soy, protects against development of breast cancer - but only if consumed during puberty, says a Georgetown University Medical Center researcher in the British Journal of Cancer published...

First 'rule' of evolution suggests that life is destined to become more complex

Scientists have revealed what may well be the first pervasive rule of evolution. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers have found evidence which suggests that evolution drives animals to become increasingly more complex. Looking back throug...

Study suggests new way to screen infants for fetal alcohol syndrome

Cincinnati, OH, March 5, 2008 Children who have been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) are more likely to have serious psychiatric and behavioral problems later in life, including a higher risk for dropping out of school, unemployment, and criminal behavior. Studies have shown that ear...

NIA uses Genomatix in stem cell research, suggests novel transcription factors for stemness

Genomatix Software with businesses in Munich, Germany and Ann Arbor, Michigan released today that the group of Kenneth R. Boheler at the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Md published some remarkable work on embryonic stem (ES) cells. In their work they first...

New research suggests biofuel blending is often inaccurate

While sampling blended biodiesel fuels purchased from small-scale retailers, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that many of the blends do not contain the advertised amount of biofuel. Marine chemist Chris Reddy and colleagues sampled pure biodiesel and blends from m...

Study suggests genetic connection between short stature and arthritis

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Common genetic variants linked to arthritis may also play a role in human height, a new study shows. The international study was co-led by the University of Michigan School of Public Health. The journal Nature Genetics will publish the findings online Jan. 13. The new stu...

Study suggests link between obesity, poor bone health

Athens, Ga. Being overweight is a known risk factor for heart disease, diabetes and a host of other health conditions. Now, a University of Georgia study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that obesity may also be bad for bone health. Researcher...

Yale discovery suggests protein may play a role in severe asthma

New Haven, Conn.A protein measured in a simple blood test may be a new biomarker to identify patients with the most serious form of asthma, Yale School of Medicine researchers report today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Identifying this new biomarker, YKL-40, brings investigators one ...

Wasp genetics study suggests altruism evolved from maternal behavior

Researchers at the University of Illinois have used an innovative approach to reveal the molecular basis of altruistic behavior in wasps. The research team focused on the expression of behavior-related genes in Polistes metricus paper wasps, a species for which little genetic data was available wh...

Feeling hot, hot, hot: New study suggests ways to control fever-induced seizures

When your body cranks up the heat, its a sign that somethings wrongand a fever is designed to help fight off the infection. But turning up the temperature can have a down side: in about one in 25 infants or small children, high fever can trigger fever-induced (febrile) seizures. While the seizure...

American carnivores evolved to avoid each other, new study suggests

How do the many carnivorous animals of the Americas avoid competing for the same lunch, or becoming each other's meal? A possible answer comes from a new study by a pair of researchers at the University of California, Davis. Their large-scale analysis shows that it's not just chance that's at p...

Recipe for capturing authentic embryonic stem cells may apply to any mammal, study suggests

Researchers have what they think may be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal, including cows, pigs and even humans. Two new studies reported in the December 26th issue of the journal Cell , a Cell Press ...

Shrimp trawling may boost mercury in red snapper, study suggests

Fishery experts have known for years that shrimp trawling operations in the Gulf of Mexico are contributing to sharp declines in the ranks of Red Snapper, one of the most delicious and popular marine fish on the seafood menu. While it's clear that thousands of young snapper are killed and wast...

Seasonal affective disorder may be linked to genetic mutation, study suggests

With the days shortening toward winter, many people will begin to experience the winter blahs. For some, the effect can be devastating. About 6 percent of the U.S. population suffers from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a sometimes-debilitating depression that begins in the fall and conti...