Economists have long suspected that one reason developing countries struggle to emerge from poverty is that they lack robust financial sectors, especially when compared to wealthier nations.
Although it may seem obvious that a weak financial sector would stifle growth within a developing country, few economists until now have tried to determine just how this phenomenon occurs. This has made it difficult for policymakers and investors to understand how financial markets may be failing and to create effective solutions to correct them.
Economists Francisco J. Buera of UCLA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Joseph Kaboski of the University of Notre Dame, and Yongseok Shin of Washington University in St. Louis present important insights into this phenomenon in a paper recently published in the journal American Economic Review. (more…)
*Berkeley Lab Researchers Resolve Sub-nanometer Structure of Cascade, an Ally for Human Immune System*
A complex of proteins in the bacterium E.coli that plays a critical role in defending the microbe from viruses and other invaders has been discovered to have the shape of a seahorse by researchers with the U.S Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This discovery holds far more implications for your own health than you might think.
In its never-ending battle to protect you from infections by bacteria, viruses, toxins and other invasive elements, your immune system has an important ally – many allies in fact. By the time you reach adulthood, some 90-percent of the cells in your body are microbial. These microbes – collectively known as the microbiome – play a critical role in preserving the health of their human host. (more…)
Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a way to image the spread of a dangerous form of prostate cancer earlier than today’s conventional imaging techniques. The new method may allow oncologists to find and treat metastases more quickly and give patients a better chance at survival.
The gene-based imaging system targets castration-resistant prostate cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that has become resistant to the hormone treatment known as androgen-deprivation therapy. Once this treatment no longer works, the cancer will progress within 12 to 18 months, and the prognosis becomes grim, said senior study author Dr. Lily Wu, a professor of molecular and medical pharmacology and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher.(more…)
PASADENA, Calif. – A NASA-led study has documented an unprecedented depletion of Earth’s protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere.
The study, published online Sunday, Oct. 2, in the journal Nature, finds the amount of ozone destroyed in the Arctic in 2011 was comparable to that seen in some years in the Antarctic, where an ozone “hole” has formed each spring since the mid-1980s. The stratospheric ozone layer, extending from about 10 to 20 miles (15 to 35 kilometers) above the surface, protects life on Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. (more…)
*Discovery could lead to treatments for muscular dystrophy and ALS*
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a communication breakdown between nerves and muscles in mice that may provide new insight into the debilitating and fatal human disease known as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
“Critical communication occurs at the point where nerves and muscles ‘talk’ to each other. When this communication between nerves and muscles is disrupted, muscles do not work properly,” said Michael Garcia, associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Science and the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center. “In this study, we found that delivery of ‘the words’ a nerve uses to communicate with muscles was disrupted before they arrived at the nerve ending.” (more…)
Past winners have included scientists who found that asthma symptoms can be treated with a roller coaster ride and veterinarians who reported cows with names give more milk than those without.(more…)
The UA, USC and other institutions are building the future of communications using light
Researchers from the University of Arizona, the University of Southern California and seven other institutions are attempting to save the Internet by making it cheaper, faster and better.(more…)
*Plants and animals that live on Britain’s coasts could benefit from changes to the way coastal structures such as seawalls, breakwaters, rock armour and jetties are designed and built.*
*Research by the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and Treweek Environmental Consultants, supported by the Environment Agency, has led to the development of recommendations for the design and construction of coastal defence structures.*
The team has produced guidance on how the ‘ecological enhancement’ of hard coastal structures can be embedded in the design and planning process, from conception through to construction.
Past research has found that hard structures are poor ecological substitutes for natural rocky shores, often supporting only a few dominant, opportunistic species such as green algae. The research team assessed the suitability of different materials, surface roughness, positioning and height for coastal habitats. They examined structures across the South West coast, including Ilfracombe in Devon and Newlyn in Cornwall, as well as looking further afield to work from Sydney Harbour in Australia and Seattle Harbour in the USA. They focused on organisms such as barnacles and limpets as these dominate many rocky shore environments and rapidly colonise hard surfaces placed in the sea, including harbour walls. Once these organisms have established themselves, other plants and animals typically follow, to the benefit of species such as salmon. (more…)
