A new study documents malformations seen in an infant born to a kidney transplant recipient who had taken mycophenolate mofetil, a widely used immunosuppressant available commercially as Cellcept. The use of immunosuppressant drugs is a required, life-long treatment for solid organ transplant recipients.
The blood of the Vikings is still coursing through the veins of men living in the Northwest of England -- according to a new study which has been just published. The population in parts of northwest England carries up to 50 per cent male Norse origins.
The number of acute coronary events such as heart attack in adults dropped significantly after a smoking ban in public places in Italy. Researchers in Rome compared acute coronary events in the city for five years preceding a public smoking ban with those occurring one year after the ban. They found an 11.2 percent reduction of acute coronary events in persons 35 to 64 years and a 7.9 percent reduction in those ages 65 to 74.
Among the gliding animals, the colugo or "flying" lemur of Southeast Asia is the champ. It's able to glide the length of two football fields with its doormat-sized skin flaps. Researchers are strapping small backpacks to these animals to find out how they do it without injuring themselves. The devices in the backpacks, which measure acceleration, have motion-detecting technology similar to that in Wii remote controllers, which allow electronic game players to simulate the swing of a golf club or baseball bat.
Move over, compact discs, DVDs, and hard drives. Researchers in Japan report progress toward developing a new protein-based memory device that could provide an alternative to conventional magnetic and optical storage systems, which are quickly approaching their memory storage capacities. Just as nature chose proteins as the memory storage medium of the brain, scientists have spent years exploring the possibility of similarly using proteins and other biological materials to build memory-based devices with the potential for processing information faster and providing greater storage capacity than existing materials.
Prion infection of neurons increases the free cholesterol content in cell membranes. A new study suggests that disturbances in membrane cholesterol may be the mechanism by which prions cause neurodegeneration and could point to a role for cholesterol in other neurodegenerative diseases.
A new plan to further reduce, refine and replace the use of animals in research and regulatory testing commonly referred to as the 3Rs was unveiled February 5. A cornerstone of the federal government's five-year plan is the formation of partnerships with industry and other national and international stakeholders to achieve measurable progress.
Researchers working to prevent Alzheimer's disease have looked for ideas in some unusual places, and found a gene in moss that is also structurally conserved in Alzheimer's disease. "We were amazed to realize that genes from moss and humans were not only structurally conserved but also shared similar functions," the professor of molecular biology and pharmacology said.
Natural variability in the Earth's atmosphere could be masking the overall effect of global warming in the North Atlantic Ocean. Scientists have previously found that surface temperatures around the globe have risen over the last 30 years in accord with global warming. New data, however, shows that heat stored in the North Atlantic Ocean has a more complex pattern than initially expected, suggesting that natural changes in the atmosphere also play a role.
Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who were treated with a gene therapy protocol began making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells. Researchers inserted a gene with the potential to activate an immune response into six patients with CLL, the most common form of adult leukemia. Several of the patients started making antibodies that reacted against their own leukemia cells. When tested in the lab, the antibodies also reacted with the leukemia cells of other patients with the disease.
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Europe finally got a place of its own in space when astronauts attached the European laboratory Columbus to the International Space Station on Monday.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean police said on Tuesday they arrested a pensioner who confessed to burning down a 600-year-old gate designated as the country's number one national treasure because he was angry about a compensation payment.
A deadly UK heatwave may be imminent, but climate change may mean fewer temperature-related deaths, a report says. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 12 Feb 2008 | 11:55 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists and police have exposed a major Asian trade in life-threatening fake malaria drugs, resulting in the seizure of hundreds of thousands of tablets and the arrest of a dealer in southern China.
Scientists home in on secrets of longevity in study of thousands of pensioners who live to 90 and beyond Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 12 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
Former Boeing engineer and analyst with US defence department charged with supplying military secrets to China Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 12 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
GENEVA (Reuters) - A sea-surface cooling in the Pacific, which may have contributed to strong hurricanes in the United States and a freeze-up in China, could last at least until mid-year, the U.N. weather body WMO said on Monday.
Europe's space laboratory is unloaded from space shuttle Atlantis and docked with the International Space Station. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 11 Feb 2008 | 10:51 pm
A new fossil species of flying reptile with a wingspan of less than 30cm (1ft) has been discovered in China. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 11 Feb 2008 | 9:15 pm
A 72-year-old former Boeing engineer is accused of giving China details about the space shuttle. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 11 Feb 2008 | 8:26 pm
A golden eagle who was blinded after flying into an electricity pylon has her vision partially restored. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 11 Feb 2008 | 7:41 pm
PENIPE, Ecuador (Reuters) - Transito Gavilanez, a 70-year-old Ecuadorean farmer, has lived in and out of shelters since the "Throat of Fire" volcano began nine years ago to roar and spit fiery rock near rural hamlets tucked on its folds.
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bird flu has spread to another district in Bangladesh despite efforts by authorities to contain it, taking the number of affected districts to 40, officials said on Sunday.
