Science Headlines for July 6, 2008

Calpain Inhibitors Never Forget: Improving Memory In Alzheimer's Disease Mice

Overactivation of proteins known as calpains, which are involved in memory formation, has been linked to Alzheimer disease. Researchers have now shown that two different drugs that inhibit calpains can improve memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, leading them to suggest drugs that target calpains might stop or slow down the memory loss that occurs as Alzheimer's disease progresses.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Rocketing Through Water: Space-age Swimsuit Being Tested At NASA

Swimmers around the world are breaking records this year like never before, including at this week's U.S. Olympic trials. Some attribute it to extensive training as athletes prepare to compete at this summer's games in Beijing. Others say one factor may be a new swimsuit -- a space-age swimsuit made of fabric tested at NASA.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Woman Aquires New Accent After Stroke

A woman in southern Ontario is one of the first cases in Canada of a rare neurological syndrome in which a person starts speaking with a different accent, researchers reported in the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Rare Plants And Endangered Species Such As Tigers At Risk From Traditional Medicine

Two reports from TRAFFIC, the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network, on traditional medicine systems in Cambodia and Vietnam suggest that illegal wildlife trade, including entire tiger skeletons, and unsustainable harvesting is depleting the region's rich and varied biodiversity and putting the primary health care resource of millions at risk.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Acidifying Oceans Add Urgency To Carbon Dioxide Cuts

It's not just about climate change anymore. Besides loading the atmosphere with heat-trapping greenhouse gases, human emissions of carbon dioxide have also begun to alter the chemistry of the ocean. The ecological and economic consequences are difficult to predict but possibly calamitous, warn a team of chemical oceanographers, and halting the changes already underway will likely require even steeper cuts in carbon emissions than those currently proposed to curb climate change.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Looking For The Founatain Of Youth? Cut Your Calories, Research Suggests

In addition to reducing one's risk for many common diseases, new research found that calorie restriction may slow the aging process. Calorie restriction has long been shown to slow the aging process in rats and mice. Calorie restriction - cutting approximately 300 to 500 calories per day - had a similar biological effect in humans, and, therefore, may slow the aging process.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Statins Have Unexpected Effect On Pool Of Powerful Brain Cells

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells known as glial progenitor cells that are important to brain health as we age, scientists have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

Endocrinology: Understanding The Genetics Of Congenital Hyperinsulinism

A number of congenital disorders characterized by low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) as a result of excessive secretion of the hormone insulin are collectively known as congenital hyperinsulinism.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

Wild Orangutans Declining More Sharply In Sumatra And Borneo Than Thought

Endangered wild orangutan populations are declining more sharply in Sumatra and Borneo than previously estimated, according to new findings. Although other threats to orangutan survival exist, such as hunting in agricultural areas where human-orangutan conflicts exist, the biggest by far is forest destruction associated with the burgeoning palm oil industry in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

New Technique Produces Genetically Identical Stem Cells

Cells from mice created using genetically reprogrammed cells can be triggered via drug administration to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state without the need for further direct genetic manipulation. This technical advancement enables creation of large numbers of genetically identical cells that can be reprogrammed to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state simply by exposure to a drug. Researchers can exploit such cells to decipher and improve the reprogramming process.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm