UIC researchers show protein routes messages in nerve cells
Nerve cells relay messages at blink-of-the-eye speeds by squirting chemicals called neurotransmitters across tiny gaps called synapses to awaiting message receptors. But lots of different receptors and neurotransmitters work simultaneously. Which goes where to send the proper message? Research reported in the July 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience (released online July 13) by a team...Squid skin reveals hidden messages
In the animal world, squid are masters of disguise. Pigmented skin cells enable them to camouflage themselves--almost instantaneously--from predators. Squid also produce polarized skin patterns by regulating the iridescence of their skin, possibly creating a "hidden communication channel" visible only to animals that are sensitive to polarized light. In research published today in the jou...Critical hearing gene helps send auditory messages to brain
By studying a gene earlier linked to deafness in humans, researchers now have new insight into the molecular process by which components of the inner ear send messages to the brain. The team reports its findings in the October 20, 2006, issue of the journal Cell, published by Cell Press. The researchers found that mice lacking the gene otoferlin are profoundly deaf. The animals' deafness r...How brain pacemakers erase diseased messages
Despite the clinical success of the devices, which have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and can be found in the heads of about 30,000 Americans, the mechanisms by which deep brain...Media Messages Can Serve To Reduce Smoking Indoors
Passive smoking which usually takes place at home can be reduced by the health warning ‘Smoking is injurious to health’. An American Journal of Health Behavior// study has revealed this, which stated that smoking at home may be restricted as people realize the harmful effects of second hand smoke. Secondhand smoke exposure has been linked to lung cancer and heart disease in adults an...University Envisages Improvements in Artificial Arm
Concerted efforts by the University of Utah researchers in the development and testing of a 'peripheral nerve interface' which is an implanted device// that would transmit the nerve impulses from nerves in the residual limb to a small computer worn on a belt and then to the bionic arm. This will facilitate the person to move the artificial limb like a real one. Sensors placed in the a...Mobile Phone Messages Assists in Unraveling Murder Mystery
It was a well-planned honeymoon murder, worked out to the last detail. But the mobile phone messages proved their undoing and helped// nail a new bride and her lover in the crime. The murder last Sunday of 30-year-old Anantharaman amid the idyllic locales of this tourist resort in Kerala's Idukki district had been scripted by his wife, 24-year-old Vidyalakshmi, and her lover, before th...Repeated Weight loss Messages Have No Effect On Couch Potatoes
The obsession of the media as well as the society of having slim bodies may not be enough motivation for couch potatoes to get up and exercise// , according to a UCLA study. In fact the repeated stress on weight loss may make obese people more determined to spend time doing nothing, the study said. Published in the June edition of the peer-reviewed journal Obesity, the cross-cultural s...