national academy of sciences – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Statistical Models Inspired from Facebook could help endangered Animals, UF Researchers say

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2011Science, Technologycactus bug, employed to analyze human interactions on social networks, endangered animals, Facebook, habitat locations, habitat movement using models, national academy of sciences, predict relationships among people in social media, predict the movements of animals, prioritize habitat restoration efforts, social network, statistical models, uf’s institute of food and agricultural sciences, university of florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some endangered animals may live in smaller habitats than scientists realize, leading to inflated estimates of their ability to survive, according to a new University of Florida study.

However, by predicting the animals’ habitat movement using models employed to analyze human interactions on social networks such as Facebook, scientists with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences find the animals’ predicament could be better understood.

Conservationists can use this improved approach to better prioritize habitat restoration efforts for endangered species, said author Robert Fletcher, a UF wildlife ecology and conservation assistant professor. (more…)

Preventing Pancreatic Cell Death in Type 1 Diabetes

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2011Health1 diabetes, beta cells, brehm foundation, diabetes researchers, excessive blood glucose levels, first biomarker, hormone insulin, juvenile diabetes research foundation, kevan c. herold, measuring dna expression, national academy of sciences, online early edition, pancreas, preventing pancreatic cell death, progression of the disease, symptoms of hyperglycemia, yale university

Diabetes researchers at Yale University have developed a method to detect and measure the destruction of beta cells that occurs in the pancreas by measuring DNA expression in the blood. The destruction of beta cells leads, over time, to type 1 diabetes. Their finding could ultimately lead to a treatment that stops the progression of the disease. The paper appears in the Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Discovery could Improve Efficiency of Molecular Factories

By Guest PostNovember 4, 2011Health, Scienceaaas fellow, chloroplasts during cell division, clmp1 plays, discovery of clumped chloroplasts, envision more efficient molecular factories, green chloroplasts, katherine osteryoung, michigan state university, mutant arabidopsis thaliana plants, national academy of sciences, u.s. department of energy

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The discovery of a new gene is helping researchers at Michigan State University envision more-efficient molecular factories of the future.
A team of researchers, led by Katherine Osteryoung, MSU plant biologist, announced the discovery of Clumped Chloroplasts – a new class of proteins – in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. CLMP1 plays a key role in helping chloroplasts, which carry out the life-sustaining process of photosynthesis, separate when the chloroplasts divide. The newly identified proteins are also critical in the perpetuation of chloroplasts during cell division.
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Links in the Chain: Global Carbon Emissions and Consumption

By Guest PostOctober 19, 2011Environmentburning fuels, carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon-based fuels, carnegie institution for science, earth’s atmosphere, fossil energy resources, gross domestic product, ken caldeira, national academy of sciences, natural gas, steven davis

Washington, D.C. — It is difficult to measure accurately each nation’s contribution of carbon dioxide to the Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon is extracted out of the ground as coal, gas, and oil, and these fuels are often exported to other countries where they are burned to generate the energy that is used to make products. In turn, these products may be traded to still other countries where they are consumed. A team led by Carnegie’s Steven Davis, and including Ken Caldeira, tracked and quantified this supply chain of global carbon dioxide emissions. Their work will be published online by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of October 17. (more…)

Circadian Rhythms Spark Plants’ Ability to Survive Freezing Weather

By Guest PostApril 14, 2011Scienceabiotic stresses, agbioresearch, bioenergy crops, circadian clock, circadian cues, circadian rhythms, eva farré, freezing weather, malia dong, michael thomashow, microbes, molecular genetics, monarch butterflies, national academy of sciences, renewal biofuels, spark plants

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Just as monarch butterflies depend on circadian cues to begin their annual migration, so do plants to survive freezing temperatures.

All living things – humans, animals, plants, microbes – are influenced by circadian rhythms, which are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Michael Thomashow, University Distinguished Professor of molecular genetics, along with MSU colleagues Malia Dong and Eva Farré, has identified that the circadian clock provides key input required for plants to attain maximum freezing tolerance. (more…)

Tackling Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease: One STEP at a Time

By Guest PostOctober 19, 2010Health, Sciencealzheimer’s disease, american health assistance foundation, national academy of sciences, paul greengard, paul lombroso, rockefeller university, yale university

Lowering levels of a key protein involved in regulating learning and memory—STtriatal-Enriched tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP)—reversed cognitive deficits in mice with Alzheimer’s disease, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the October 18 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

‘Why Our Brains Get Tripped Up When We’re Anxious’

By Guest PostSeptember 15, 2010Scienceanxiety disorders, brain mechanisms, coherent framework, cu-boulder's center, left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, midazolam, national academy of sciences, neural inhibition, neural network simulation, neuroimaging and anxiety, yuko munakata

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study sheds light on the brain mechanisms that allow us to make choices and ultimately could be helpful in improving treatments for the millions of people who suffer from the effects of anxiety disorders.