Tag Archives: ohio state university

The Compound in the Mediterranean Diet that Makes Cancer Cells ‘Mortal’

By Guest PostJune 1, 2013Healthalper yilmaz, andrea doseff, apigenin, benefits of nutrients, cancer cell behavior, cancer cells, caps, chemotherapeutic drugs, compound, daniel arango, erich grotewold, flavonoids, hnrnpa2, kengo morohashi, mediterranean diet, mortal, mrna, nutraceuticals, ohio state university, plant-based foods, proteins, rna, single molecule, superpower, technique to fishing

Scientists Design ‘Fishing’ Technique to Show How Foods Improve Health

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells’ “superpower” to escape death.

By altering a very specific step in gene regulation, this compound essentially re-educates cancer cells into normal cells that die as scheduled.

One way that cancer cells thrive is by inhibiting a process that would cause them to die on a regular cycle that is subject to strict programming. This study in cells, led by researchers at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that a compound in certain plant-based foods, called apigenin, could stop breast cancer cells from inhibiting their own death. (more…)

Antarctic and Arctic Insects Use Different Genetic Mechanisms to Cope With Lack of Water

By Guest PostMarch 13, 2013Environment, NatureAntarctic, antarctic midge, antarctic midge larvae, antarctic peninsula, anvers island, arctic circle, arctic insects, arctic springtail, belgica antarctica, coastal margins, collembola, cope, david denlinger, dry conditions, ecological niche, entomology, environmental ice, extreme ecosystems, folsomia candida, genetic mechanisms, genetics, genomic era, genomic revolution, genomic techniques, lack of water, liquid water, megaphorura arctica, national science foundation, nsf, oceans, ohio state university, peninsula region, polar arthropods, polar desert, polar environments, polar regions, risk of dehydration, sterile environments

Genomic techniques facilitate discovery that gene expression causes disparity

Although they live in similarly extreme ecosystems at opposite ends of the world, Antarctic insects appear to employ entirely different methods at the genetic level to cope with extremely dry conditions than their counterparts that live north of the Arctic Circle, according to National Science Foundation- (NSF) funded researchers.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers concluded, “Polar arthropods have developed distinct… mechanisms to cope with similar desiccating conditions.” (more…)

Climate Change is not an All-or-Nothing Proposition, Researcher Says

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2013Environmentamericans, climate, climate change, climate model, climate research, data accumulates, earth, extreme disasters, high tides, human difficulty, human nature, mark berliner, mitigation strategies, model, negative impacts, ohio state university, periodic floods, statistician

BOSTON — An Ohio State University statistician says that the natural human difficulty with grasping probabilities is preventing Americans from dealing with climate change.

In a panel discussion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting on Feb. 15, Mark Berliner said that an aversion to statistical thinking and probability is a significant reason that we haven’t enacted strategies to deal with climate change right now. (more…)

Ancient Fossilized Sea Creatures Yield Oldest Biomolecules Isolated Directly from a Fossil

By Guest PostFebruary 21, 2013Nature, Scienceamerican midwest, analytical tools, ancient, aquatic sea creatures, aromatic compounds, biological signal, biomarkers, calcite crystal, carboniferous period, christina omalley, complex organic molecules, crinoids, crinoids today, DNA, feathery arms, fine grained sediment, fossil, fossilization, fossilized sea creatures, function, gas chromatograph, geochemist, geologic time, geologists, hard calcite shell, Indiana, iowa, layer, living tissue, mass spectrometer, midwest, mountain chains, North America, ohio, ohio state, ohio state geologists, ohio state university, oldest biomolecules, organic matter, organic molecules, pigments, pores, predators, quinines, sand dollars, sea lily, spindly animals, toxins, vast inland seas, volcanism, william ausich, yu ping chin

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Though scientists have long believed that complex organic molecules couldn’t survive fossilization, some 350-million-year-old remains of aquatic sea creatures uncovered in Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa have challenged that assumption.

The spindly animals with feathery arms—called crinoids, but better known today by the plant-like name “sea lily”—appear to have been buried alive in storms during the Carboniferous Period, when North America was covered with vast inland seas. Buried quickly and isolated from the water above by layers of fine-grained sediment, their porous skeletons gradually filled with minerals, but some of the pores containing organic molecules were sealed intact. (more…)

Zinc Helps against Infection by Tapping Brakes in Immune Response

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2013Healthaction, against infection, andrew rudawsky, animal studies, beans, bug, cell culture, charlie pyle, collateral damage, dairy products, daren knoell, excessive inflammation, fortified cereals, human monocytes, ikkb, immune response, inflammatory pathway, invading pathogen, key cells, mark wewers, ming jie liu, nf kb pathway, nuts, ohio state university, protein, shengying bao, some shellfish, sustain human life, tapping brakes, toxic levels, united states, vulnerability to infection, whole grains, zinc, zinc deficiency, zinc deficient mice, zinc supplementation, zinc transporter, zip8

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that zinc helps control infections by gently tapping the brakes on the immune response in a way that prevents out-of-control inflammation that can be damaging and even deadly.

Scientists determined in human cell culture and animal studies that a protein lures zinc into key cells that are first-responders against infection. The zinc then interacts with a process that is vital to the fight against infection and by doing so helps balance the immune response. (more…)

Study: Alternate Walking and Running to Save Energy, Maintain Endurance

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Healthalternate walking, best strategy, bus stop, calculation, conserve energy, data, exoskeletons, goal, human body, human energy costs, hypothesis, leroy long, less energy, maintain endurance, manoj srinivasan, marathon finish line, natural environment, notion, ohio state university, optimize energy, pam frost gorder, physical factor, prosthetic devices, running, save energy, transition region, treadmill

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Forget “slow and steady wins the race.” A new study shows that, at least sometimes, the best way to conserve energy and reach your destination on time is to alternate between walking and running—whether your goal is the bus stop or a marathon finish line.

In the January 30, 2013 issue of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers examined how people budget their time as they travel on foot to reach a destination at a particular appointed time. The study found that when people have neither too much time nor too little time to reach their destination, they naturally switch back and forth between walking and running, which turns out to be the best strategy for saving energy. (more…)

Motion Control Keeps Electric Car’s Four Wheels—and Four Motors—on the Road

By Guest PostFebruary 2, 2013Science, Technologybrake, built in, central computer, city car, columbus metro school, east liberty, electric car, electric motor, electrical cable, experimental car, fishtailing, fiwa, freedom of movement, future vehicle architectures, gas pedal, junmin wang, lithium-ion battery, motion control system, ohio state university, rongrong wang, sports car, steering wheel, stem, traction

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It weighs half as much as a sports car, and turns on a dime—so its no surprise that the electric car being developed at Ohio State University needs an exceptional traction and motion control system to keep it on the road.

With four wheels that turn independently, each with its own built-in electric motor and set of batteries, the experimental car is the only one of its kind outside of commercial carmakers’ laboratories. (more…)

Study Shows Rapid Warming on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2012Environmentandrew monaghan, Antarctic, Antarctica, below sea level, byrd station, climate change, contribution, data, david bromwich, discovery, earth, greenland, ice sheet, ice shelf, ice shelves, julien nicolas, larsen b, meteorological observation, ocean, ohio state university, polar night, sea-level rise, solar panels, southern hemisphere, surface melting, temperature, wais, wais glaciers, warming, west antarctic

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a discovery that raises further concerns about the future contribution of Antarctica to sea level rise, a new study finds that the western part of the ice sheet is experiencing nearly twice as much warming as previously thought.

The temperature record from Byrd Station, a scientific outpost in the center of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), demonstrates a marked increase of 4.3 degrees Fahrenheit (2.4 degrees Celsius) in average annual temperature since 1958—that is, three times faster than the average temperature rise around the globe. (more…)