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Research Shows Why One Bacterial Infection is So Deadly in Cystic Fibrosis

By Guest PostApril 28, 2012Scienceacute infection, amal amer, antibiotics, anwari akhter, arwa abu khweek, autophagy, bacterial infection, bacterium, basant abdulrahman, benjamin kopp, burkholderia cenocepacia, cf, chronic destruction, cystic fibrosis, genetic mutation, kyle caution, lung infection, lung tissue, macrophage, mia tazi, mice and humans, molecule, ohio state university, p62, rapamycin

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have found why a certain type of bacteria, harmless in healthy people, is so deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis.

The bacterium, Burkholderia cenocepacia, causes a severe and persistent lung infection in patients with CF and is resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. Cystic fibrosis is a chronic disorder characterized by a buildup of mucus in the lungs and other parts of the body, and various types of lung infection are responsible for about 85 percent of deaths in these patients. (more…)

New Graphene-Based Material Could Revolutionise Electronics Industry

By Guest PostApril 27, 2012Scienceconductive material, graphene based conductors, graphexeter

The most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity has been invented by a team from the University of Exeter (more…)

NASA’s Spitzer Finds Galaxy with Split Personality

By Guest PostApril 27, 2012Sciencearchetypal galaxy, centaurus, Chile, constellation virgo, dimitri gadotti, earth, elliptical galaxy, ellipticals, Galaxy, galaxy evolution, globular cluster, NASA, ngc 4594, ruben sanchez janssen, sean carey, sombrero galaxy, spiral disk, spiral milky way, spitzer space telescope, split personality

PASADENA, Calif. — While some galaxies are rotund and others are slender disks like our spiral Milky Way, new observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope show that the Sombrero galaxy is both. The galaxy, which is a round elliptical galaxy with a thin disk embedded inside, is one of the first known to exhibit characteristics of the two different types. The findings will lead to a better understanding of galaxy evolution, a topic still poorly understood.

“The Sombrero is more complex than previously thought,” said Dimitri Gadotti of the European Southern Observatory in Chile and lead author of a new paper on the findings appearing in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. “The only way to understand all we know about this galaxy is to think of it as two galaxies, one inside the other.” (more…)

Cells in Blood Vessel Found To Cling More Tightly in Regions of Rapid Flow

By Guest PostApril 27, 2012Health, Sciencebenjamin shuman, biochemical change, blockage, cardiac surgeon, cardiovascular disease, cell, cholesterol, clogging, heart, joon jung, living organ, lucas ting, mechanical engineering, nathan sniadecki, sangyoon han, shirin feghhi, surgeon, tugging force, university of washington, vascular leakage

Clogging of pipes leading to the heart is the planet’s number one killer. Surgeons can act as medical plumbers to repair some blockages, but we don’t fully understand how this living organ deteriorates or repairs itself over time.

Researchers at the University of Washington have studied vessel walls and found the cells pull more tightly together, reducing vascular leakage, in areas of fast-flowing blood. The finding could influence how doctors design drugs to treat high cholesterol, or how cardiac surgeons plan their procedures. (more…)

Researchers Boost Efficiency of Multi-Hop Wireless Networks

By Guest PostApril 27, 2012Science, Technologyalgorithm, data access, data transmission, multi hop, node, parth pathak, rudra dutta, wireless network, wireless node

Multi-hop wireless networks can provide data access for large and unconventional spaces, but they have long faced significant limits on the amount of data they can transmit. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a more efficient data transmission approach that can boost the amount of data the networks can transmit by 20 to 80 percent.

“Our approach increases the average amount of data that can be transmitted within the network by at least 20 percent for networks with randomly placed nodes – and up to 80 percent if the nodes are positioned in clusters within the network,” says Dr. Rudra Dutta, an associate professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper on the research. The approach also makes the network more energy efficient, which can extend the lifetime of the network if the nodes are battery-powered. (more…)

Locked RNA Editing Yields Odd Fly Behavior

By Guest PostApril 26, 2012Scienceabiotic factor, als, arthur sugden, asli sahin, brown university, cell, charles lawrence, dadar, enzyme adar, epilepsy, factor, fruit fly, function, genetic, jacquelyn dorsky, james jepson, lauren alpert, locking down, lou gehrigs disease, nucleus, organism, phenomenon, protein, rna, robert reenan, suicidal depression, temperature, wallflowers, yiannis savva

At the level of proteins, organisms can adapt by editing their RNA — and an editor can even edit itself. Brown University scientists working with fruit flies found that “locking down” the self-editing process at two extremes created some strange behaviors. They also found that the process is significantly affected by temperature.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Because a function of RNA is to be translated as the genetic instructions for the protein-making machinery of cells, RNA editing is the body’s way of fine-tuning the proteins it produces, allowing us to adapt. The enzyme ADAR, which does this editing job in the nervous system of creatures ranging from mice to men, even edits itself. In a new study that examined the self-editing process and locked it down at two extremes in fruit flies, Brown University scientists found some surprising insights into how this “fine-tuning of the fine-tuner” happens, including bizarre behavioral effects that come about when the self-editor can’t edit. (more…)

My Fair Physicist? Feminine Math, Science Role Models Do Not Motivate Girls

By Guest PostApril 26, 2012General, Sciencedenise sekaquaptewa, diana betz, engineering, excel, feminine qualities, field, jared wadley, mathematic, role model, Science, stem, stereotype, Technology, unfeminine, university of michigan, women

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Women who excel in male-dominated science, technology, engineering and mathematic fields are often unjustly stereotyped as unfeminine.

However, if women are perceived as having feminine qualities, their success may actually decrease interest in these fields (usually referred to as “STEM”), particularly among young girls, according to a new University of Michigan study. (more…)

Which Ads Are Winners? Your Brain Knows Better Than You Do

By Guest PostApril 26, 2012Scienceadvertisements, advertising campaigns, advertising dollars, advertising industry, anti smoking advertisements, brain data, persuasive advertising

Study on smokers’ brains may mark dawn of a new age in advertising

Advertisers and public health officials may be able to access hidden wisdom in the brain to more effectively sell their products and promote health and safety, UCLA neuroscientists report in the first study to use brain data to predict how large populations will respond to advertisements. (more…)

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