UCSB scientists probe sea floor venting to gain understanding of early life on Earth
New keys to understanding the evolution of life on Earth may be found in the microbes and minerals vented from below the ocean floor, say scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The UCSB scientists are making new contributions to this field of inquiry in their studies of seafloor hydrothermal fluid discharge into the Earth's oceans, which has been occurring ever since t...Zebrafish may hold key to understanding human nerve cell development
Glia appear essential for 'hair cells'responsible for hearing and balance. Traditionally viewed as supportingactors, cells known as glia may be essential for the normal developmentof nerve cells responsible for hearing and balance, according to newUniversity of Utah research. The study is reported in the January 6,2005 issue of Neuron and is co-authored by scientists at the Universityof Was...Novel ultrafast laser detection of cancer cells also may improve understanding of stem cells
To investigate tumors, pathologists currently rely on labor-intensive microscopic examination, using century-old cell-staining methods that can take days to complete and may give false readings. A lightning-fast laser technique, led by Sandia National Laboratories researcher Paul Gourley, has provided laboratory demonstrations of accurate, real-time, high-throughput identification of live...Researchers make gains in understanding antibiotic resistance
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers chiseling away at the problem of antibiotic resistance now have a detailed explanation of how the drugs' main cellular target in bacteria evolves to become resistant to some of these medications. The findings are already leading to new experimental antibiotics that are being engineered to circumvent resistance, which is a major worldwide health problem....Brain-mapping technique aids understanding of sleep, wakefulness
The power of a new technique to map connections among nerve cells in the brain has a UT Southwestern Medical Center scientist dreaming of solving the mysteries of sleep. By tracking which nerve cells in the mouse brain stimulate others, researchers in Japan and at UT Southwestern found that a type of neuron responsible for keeping animals awake receives inhibitory signals from neurons act...A Further Step in Understanding Apoptosis Direct Detection of PARP Cleavage
Detection of early apoptotic events has become quiterelevant since many studies have demonstrated thatabnormalities in cell death regulation cause a variety ofdiseases and pathological conditions accompaniedeither by cell accumulation (e.g., cancer) or by cell loss(e...How do babies understand language?
A study conducted by Dr. Michael Brent, an associate professor of computer science at the Washington University in St. Louis, gives us an insight into the way children understand and speak languages at such a tender age.These findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American association for the advancement of science in San Francisco.For years the ability of children to pick u...Understanding The Risks Of Hormone Therapy
Women who take hormone therapy that combines estrogen with progestin have double the risk for venous thrombosis ( VT ), a type of blood clot,// according to a recent study. VT affects one to two people in every 1,000. Risk for VT increases with age and is higher in men, blacks and obese individuals. Postmenopausal hormone therapy is associated with a two- to three-fold increased risk of...Understanding The Predictors Of Prostate Cancer
A new study could change the way doctors treat certain prostate cancer patients.The three strongest predictors for the outcome for a prostate cancer patient are grade, PSA level and pathologic stage. //The summation of these three predictors is what determines the Gleason grading system or a Gleason score (GS). The most common Gleason score among patients with prostate cancer is seven. In...Understanding Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless legs syndrome is an irritating feeling of uneasiness, tiredness and itching deep in the muscles of the legs. The symptoms can be painful // and often worsen at night. A new study aims to better understand the common condition called restless legs syndrome. Studies on restless legs syndrome are rare. However, researchers in Germany recently conducted a population-based study to l...Understanding Lung Cancer Metastasis
Around 165,000 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in the United States annually, and of these, 20 percent to 25 percent are classified // as small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). Prognosis for these patients is poor, and the disease frequently travels to the brain and central nervous system. The probability of developing brain cancer, for example, ranges up to 80 percent. Whether or not thes...