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Smarter Toxins Help Crops Fight Resistant Pests

By Guest PostOctober 11, 2011Scienceb rogers leonard, bacillus thuringiensis, bacterium, beneficial insects, bruce tabashnik, bt, bt cotton, bt toxins, cadherin, cadherin mutations, caterpillars, change in molecular structure, crop protecting proteins, david heckel, fangneng huang, genetic engineering, Germany, jena, lady bugs, manduca sexta, max planck institute for chemical ecology, mukti ghimire, pectinophora gossypiella, pests, pink bollworm, rna interference, tobacco hornworm

*A slight change in molecular structure introduced by genetic engineering gives crop-protecting proteins called Bt toxins a new edge in overcoming resistance of certain pests, a UA-led team of researchers reports in Nature Biotechnology.*

One of the most successful strategies in pest control is to endow crop plants with genes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt for short, which code for proteins that kill pests attempting to eat them.

But insect pests are evolving resistance to Bt toxins, which threatens the continued success of this approach. In the current issue of Nature Biotechnology, a research team led by UA Professor Bruce Tabashnik reports the discovery that a small modification of the toxins’ structure overcomes the defenses of some major pests that are resistant to the natural, unmodified Bt toxins. (more…)

Charles P. Sonett: the Legacy of a Pioneering Space Scientist

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2011Scienceapollo program, interplanetary space, shock waves, space scientist, spacecraft missions

Charles P. Sonett, the first head of the UA’s department of planetary sciences, died at the age of 87. Sonett was involved in spacecraft missions that dramatically advanced our understanding of the solar system and beyond, including the Pioneer Program, the Explorer Program and the Apollo Program

Charles “Chuck” P. Sonett, a founding faculty member and the first department head of the University of Arizona’s department of planetary sciences, died on Sept. 30. He was 87. (more…)

How the Brain Makes Memories: Rhythmically!

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2011Health, Sciencearvind kumar, brain, brain mechanisms of learning, brain rhythms, connections between neurons, conventional wisdom, detuning process, einstein, experimental data, frequency, mayank r mehta, memory disorders, mozart, neural signals, neuro physicists, optimal brain rhythm, optimal learning, spike trains, stimuli, synapses, synaptic plasticity, synaptic strength

The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses — the connections between neurons — in response to stimuli.

Now, in a discovery that challenges conventional wisdom on the brain mechanisms of learning, UCLA neuro-physicists have found there is an optimal brain “rhythm,” or frequency, for changing synaptic strength. And further, like stations on a radio dial, each synapse is tuned to a different optimal frequency for learning.

The findings, which provide a grand-unified theory of the mechanisms that underlie learning in the brain, may lead to possible new therapies for treating learning disabilities. (more…)

Space Observatory Provides Clues to Creation of Earth’s Oceans

By Guest PostOctober 8, 2011Sciencecreation of oceans, early earth, early solar system, kuiper belt, oort cloud, oort cloud comets

PASADENA, Calif. — Astronomers have found a new cosmic source for the same kind of water that appeared on Earth billions of years ago and created the oceans. The findings may help explain how Earth’s surface ended up covered in water. (more…)

UA Alumnus Wins Nobel Prize

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2011Sciencecosmic yardstick, expansion of universe, exploding stars, relative brightness, stars, structure of universe

Brian P. Schmidt, who graduated from the UA in 1989 with a double major in astronomy and physics, shares this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics with two colleagues for a discovery that has rocked our understanding of the cosmos: The universe is expanding at an ever-faster pace.

In the last years of the 20^th century, two teams of researchers set out to race each other to measure the rate of the universe’s expansion, and by extension, unveil how the universe most likely will end. (more…)

UCLA Study Shows Cell-Penetrating Peptides for Drug Delivery Act Like A Swiss Army Knife

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2011Health, Sciencebiomaterials, cell penetrating peptides, cells, cellular transfer, chemical molecules, cpps, cytoskeletons of cells, daniel kamei, DNA, drug carrier designs, endocytosis, endocytotic event, general recipe, gerard wong, hiv tat peptide, membrane, molecular cargoes, molecules, nano sized particles, normal peptides, swiss army knife, therapeutic agents, timothy deming

Cell-penetrating peptides, such as the HIV TAT peptide, are able to enter cells using a number of mechanisms, from direct entry to endocytosis, a process by which cells internalize molecules by engulfing them.

Further, these cell-penetrating peptides, or CPPs, can facilitate the cellular transfer of various molecular cargoes, from small chemical molecules to nano-sized particles and large fragments of DNA. Because of this ability, CPPs hold great potential as in vitro and in vivo delivery vehicles for use in research and for the targeted delivery of therapeutics to individual cells. (more…)

Scientists, Philosophers and Theologians Poised To Ask: “Why Is There Anything?”

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2011Scienceend of time, meaning of existence, philosophy of existence, questions about existence

Some of the world’s most renowned scholars, in fields as diverse as astrophysics, philosophy, and religious studies, will convene on the Yale campus October 6-9 to ponder the most fundamental existential question of all: “Why Is There Anything in the Universe?” (more…)

Learning From our Mistakes is Hardwired

By Guest PostOctober 4, 2011Scienceaware of mistake, brain activity, brain reaction, learning from mistakes, training programs

EAST LANSING, Mich. — People who think they can learn from their mistakes have a different brain reaction to errors than those who don’t think they can learn from their mistakes, according to a groundbreaking study by Michigan State University researchers. (more…)

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