won

Learning to fight an adversary that won't stay down

New biomolecular technologies have largely failed to deliver the hoped-for knockout punch breakthrough against the defences of disease-causing bacteria, says a leading Canadian specialist in antibiotic resistance. Techniques such as genomic sequencing and high throughput screening were expected to make the development of new antibiotic compounds easier and more productive. But in most cas...

Caloric restriction won't dramatically extend life span in humans: UCLA research

Severely restricting calories over decades may add a few years to a human life span, but will not enable humans to live to 125 and beyond, as many have speculated, evolutionary biologists report. "Our message is that suffering years of misery to remain super-skinny is not going to have a big payoff in terms of a longer life," said UCLA evolutionary biologist John Phelan. "I once heard some...

Field tested: Grasslands won't help buffer climate change as carbon dioxide levels rise

UCLA biochemists reveal the first structural details of a family of mysterious objects called microcompartments that seem to be present in a variety of bacteria. The discovery was published Aug. 5 in the journal Science. "This is the first look at how microcompartments are built, and what the pieces look like," said Todd O. Yeates, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and a member...

Allergy battle could be won in five years, says scientist

Researchers, working with colleagues at St George's, University of London, are developing drugs designed to stop allergens from entering the body, so rendering them harmless. Professor David Garrod said the research ?recently shortlisted for the Northwest Regional Development Agency's Bionow Project of the Year ?takes a completely new approach to the treatment and prevention of allergies....

Ghengis Khan wonder berry could conquer heart disease

Berries taken since the time of Ghengis Khan could form the basis of the next big thing in heart health. Sea buckthorn is a known source of biologically active chemicals and is used in Tibet, Mongolia, China and Russia for health drinks and various cosmetics. Juice extracted using current methods is of poor quality, but scientists in India have developed a highly efficient technique to extract la...

Biodiesel won't drive down global warming

EU legislation to promote the uptake of biodiesel will not make any difference to global warming, and could potentially result in greater emissions of greenhouse gases than from conventional petroleum derived diesel. This is the conclusion of a new study reported today in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. Analysts at SRI Consulting compared the emissions of greenhouse gas...