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Developmental Genes Have More Than One Way to Stop

By Guest PostFebruary 26, 2011Sciencegene activity, gene regulation, genetic level, healthy genes, molecular switch

EAST LANSING, Mich. — There’s more than one way to silence gene activity, according to a Michigan State University researcher. (more…)

WaterWheel Will Bring Clean Water to a Thirsty World

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 20111 commentEnvironmentclean water, colm fay, cynthia koenig, dow sustainability innovation student challenge, India, rajasthan, rolling water barrel, waterwheel, wello, wheel, world

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Cynthia Koenig knows that by reinventing the wheel she could change the world. In a few months, she hopes to make a difference in India.

Koenig, a graduate student at the University of Michigan, created the WaterWheel, a 20-gallon rolling water barrel and Wello, the business that distributes it in developing countries, where clean water is scarce. (more…)

A Second Pathway for Antidepressants: Berkeley Lab Reports New Fluorescent Assay Reveals TREK1 Mechanism

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2011Scienceantidepressant drugs, berkeley lab, c terminal, cell based fluorescent assay, cytoplasm, ehud isacoff, flow of electrical current, fluorescent protein, fluoxetine, gfp, green fluorescent protein, guillaume sandoz, high speed transistors, human brain, ion channels, membrane, molecular gates, neurons, pharmacological agents, plasma membrane, protein, prozac, sarah bell, transmembrane proteins, trek1, trek1 potassium channel

Using a unique and relatively simple cell-based fluorescent assay they developed, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley have identified a means by which fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, suppresses the activity of the TREK1 potassium channel. TREK1 activity has been implicated in mood regulation and could be an important target for fluoxetine and other antidepressant drugs. (more…)

Smartphone Adoption Continues to Grow in Japan

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2011Technologycomscore japan, comscore mobilens, japan mobile users, mobile usage, mobilens, smartphone adoption

comScore Releases Latest Mobile Industry Insights from its MobiLens Product

Tokyo, Japan, February 25, 2011 – comScore Japan KK, a wholly owned subsidiary of comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the latest insights into mobile usage in Japan from its comScore MobiLens product. The report found that Japanese users are continuing to adopt smartphone devices, with Apple and Google platforms seeing significant increases in subscribers. (more…)

Bios for the Birds: USGS-Raised Whooping Crane Chicks Leave the Nest

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 20111 commentNaturebios for birds, louisianans, usgs, whoopers in captivity, whoopers in wild, whooping crane, whooping crane project

LAUREL, Md. — Imagine spending your time feeding, nurturing, and teaching the daily tasks of survival to a baby who could never know your true identity. (more…)

Social Network Games Even Help Grown-ups With Their Relationships

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2011Culture, Technologyadults, clifford lampe, Facebook, facebook users, farmville, michigan state university, nicole ellison, playing games, relationship management strategies, relationships, rick wash, social game, social network games, social network sites, yvette wohn

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Think social network games are just for kids? A recent Michigan State University study found that many adults are playing games such as Facebook’s “Farmville” to help initiate, develop and maintain relationships.

The MSU team of researchers interviewed a number of Facebook users between the ages of 25 and 55, said Yvette Wohn, a doctoral student in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media who led the study.

“The interesting thing is that we were asking people how they use Facebook to manage their different relationships,” she said. “Surprisingly, all but one person talked about playing games as one of their relationship-management strategies.” (more…)

Pollution Triggers Genetic Resistance Mechanism in a Coastal Fish

By Guest PostFebruary 24, 20112 commentsEnvironmentacushnet river estuary, ahr2, amino acids, antibiotics, atlantic tomcod, bacteria, diana franks, Environment, evolutionary change, fish, fish populations, general electric facilities, genetic receptor, genetic resistance, hudson environment, hudson river, insecticides, insects, isaac wirgin, mark hahn, natural selection, new york, pahs, PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, protein, receptor gene, stress factors, superfund basic research, tomcod, toxicity, vertebrate population

For 30 years, two General Electric facilities released about 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into New York’s Hudson River, devastating and contaminating fish populations. Some 50 years later, one type of fish—the Atlantic tomcod—has not only survived but appears to be thriving in the hostile Hudson environment.

Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have joined colleagues from New York University (NYU) and NOAA to investigate this phenomenon and report that the tomcod living in the Hudson River have undergone a rapid evolutionary change in developing a genetic resistance to PCBs. (more…)

Slide Show: Exploring a World of Natural User Interfaces

By Guest PostFebruary 24, 2011Technology3d technologies, avatar kinect, avatar kinect for xbox, computers, craig mundie, don mattrick, image manipulation, kinect, Microsoft, natural user interfaces, prototype, retro reflective air gesture, virtual environments, xbox avatar

*Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie gathered with individuals from across the company this week for a day of futuristic demos showcasing natural user interfaces, 3D technologies and new ways to interact with computers. Get a behind-the-scenes look.*

REDMOND, Wash. – Feb. 24, 2011 – Microsoft provided a glimpse into computing’s future at the Microsoft Home this week, showing demos of 3D and virtual worlds, vision systems that create new models for interacting with computers, and research that explores potential scenarios for Kinect beyond gaming.

Mundie and Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, also announced plans to make a Kinect for Windows software development kit (SDK) available this spring. The non-commercial SDK will be geared to academics and enthusiasts. (more…)

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