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Another Muscular Dystrophy Mystery Solved; MU Scientists Inch Closer to a Therapy for Patients

By Guest PostDecember 9, 2012Healthbony, cell degeneration, chain reaction, damage, death, devastating disease, dmd, dongsheng duan, duchenne muscular dystrophy, dystrophin, fatty tissue, fibrous, function, gene mutation, humans, missouri, molecular compound, muscle cells, muscle tissue, muscular dystrophy, nnos, protein, united states, university, utrophin, yi lai

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Approximately 250,000 people in the United States suffer from muscular dystrophy, which occurs when damaged muscle tissue is replaced with fibrous, bony or fatty tissue and loses function. Three years ago, University of Missouri scientists found a molecular compound that is vital to curing the disease, but they didn’t know how to make the compound bind to the muscle cells. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, MU School of Medicine scientists Yi Lai and Dongsheng Duan have discovered the missing pieces to this puzzle that could ultimately lead to a therapy and, potentially, a longer lifespan for patients suffering from the disease.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), predominantly affecting males, is the most common type of muscular dystrophy. Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have a gene mutation that disrupts the production of dystrophin, a protein essential for muscle cell survival and function. Absence of dystrophin starts a chain reaction that eventually leads to muscle cell degeneration and death. While dystrophin is vital for muscle development, the protein also needs several “helpers” to maintain the muscle tissue. One of these “helper” molecular compounds is nNOS, which produces nitric oxide that can keep muscle cells healthy after exercise. (more…)

Close as a Blade-Shaving and Masculinity

By Guest PostDecember 9, 2012Cultureauto pogonotomy, beardless age, blade shaving, history of shaving, masculinity, moustache, paste for shaving

Moustaches from the classic handlebar to the dramatic Dali are soon to be cut short as the month of Mo’vember draws to a close, and clean shaven faces return from their period of charitable exile

Research by a historian at the University of Exeter into the history of shaving and masculinity in eighteenth century Britain shows the advancement of new technologies in steel and the connection between advertising are inextricably linked to a closer shave. (more…)

More Potent than Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide Levels in California May be Nearly Three Times Higher Than Previously Thought

By Guest PostDecember 9, 2012Environmentagricultural production, atmospheric measurement, berkeley lab, biogeochemical process, bottom up inventory, california, carbon dioxide, CO2, cycle of emissions, edgar, emission, environmental condition, estimate, factor, fossil fuel, greenhouse gas, laughing gas, level, marc fischer, methane, model prediction, moisture, new method, nitrogen fertilizer, nitrous oxide, noaa, temperature, total n2o, type of soil, walnut grove

Berkeley Lab researchers devise a new method to estimate state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Using a new method for estimating greenhouse gases that combines atmospheric measurements with model predictions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers have found that the level of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, in California may be 2.5 to 3 times greater than the current inventory.

At that level, total N₂O emissions—which are believed to come primarily from nitrogen fertilizers used in agricultural production—would account for about 8 percent of California’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The findings were recently published in a paper titled “Seasonal variations in N₂O emissions from central California” in Geophysical Research Letters. Earlier this year, using the same methodology, the researchers found that levels of methane, another potent greenhouse gas, in California may be up to 1.8 times greater than previous estimates. (more…)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2012Entertainmentbilbo baggins, deadly wargs, dragon smaug, dwarf kingdom, epic quest, erebor, fantasy, gandalf the grey, goblin tunnels, goblins, gollum, legendary warrior, lonely mountain, middle earth, necromancer, orcs, sci fi, the hobbit, thorin oakenshield, unexpected journey, wizard

Synopsis

Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the Goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities…A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know. (more…)

Massive Crevasses and Bendable Ice affect Stability of Antarctic Ice Shelf, CU-Boulder Research Team Finds

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2012Environmentantarctic peninsula, boulder, breakup, catastrophic collapse, colorado, crevasses, daniel mcgrath, floating, glacial inflows, glacial outlets, harihar rajaram, ice shelf, ice type, icebergs, konrad steffen, larsen a, larsen b, larsen c, last century, massachusetts, meltwater, seawater, sheet of ice, southern hemisphere, summer, suture zones, ted scambos, tom weston, university, waleed abdalati, warmer climate, weddell sea

Gaping crevasses that penetrate upward from the bottom of the largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula make it more susceptible to collapse, according to University of Colorado Boulder researchers who spent the last four Southern Hemisphere summers studying the massive floating sheet of ice that covers an area twice the size of Massachusetts.

But the scientists also found that ribbons running through the Larsen C Ice Shelf – made up of a mixture of ice types that, together, are more prone to bending than breaking – make the shelf more resilient than it otherwise would be. (more…)

A Friend in the Fight against Cancer

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2012Healthbrain cancer, cancer mysteries, fight against cancer, treating a cancer

The U is at the forefront of cancer research in dogs

After more than an hour discussing the shared evolution of dogs and humans, and how the cancer mysteries that lie deep within one may inform and effect treatments on the other, U researcher Jaime Modiano smiles and says, “I love my job.” (more…)

Adolescents Under Pressure to Speak ‘Properly’

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2012Scienceadolescents, adult expectations, adulthood, boomerang kids, college, employment, happy speech, jobless, linguistics books, michigan state university, nonstandard language, philadelphia, role, social class, social incentives, speaking properly, suzanne evans wagner, transition

As adolescents transition to adulthood, the pressure to meet adult expectations – such as speaking properly – may be greater than expected, according to a new study by a Michigan State University researcher.

Suzanne Evans Wagner, assistant professor of linguistics in the College of Arts and Letters, has proven for the first time that language changes with age in addition to community pressures. And, surprisingly, college and post-high school ambitions play a huge role. (more…)

‘Disposable Heroes’

By Guest PostDecember 8, 2012Politicsafghanistan, african american soldiers, african american veterans, alford a young, army veteran, Baltimore, benjamin fleury steiner, betrayal, black veterans, crime, disposable heroes, gi bill benefits, homeless veterans, independence house, Iraq, martin luther king, military service, national guardsman, neglect, operation desert storm, poverty, sacrifice, saudi arabia, scud missiles, soldiers, streets of wilmington, trauma of war, university of delaware, Vietnam, war, war on drugs

UD sociologist writes book about ‘betrayal’ of African American veterans

For the University of Delaware’s Benjamin Fleury-Steiner, research for his new book Disposable Heroes: The Betrayal of African American Veterans was uncomfortable and disquieting.

An associate professor of sociology, Fleury-Steiner spent months interviewing black veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan in the back streets of Wilmington, Del., to learn more about their service to their country and their experiences upon returning home.

The topic had long been on Fleury-Steiner’s mind, himself an Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm who had ducked Scud missiles in Saudi Arabia. (more…)

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