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New world Helicobacter pylori genome sequenced, dynamics of inflammation-related genes revealedAn international team of researchers has sequenced the genome of an Amerindian strain of the gastric bug Helicobacter pylori, confirming the out-of-Africa migration of this bacterial stowaway to the New World. Experiments in animals have highlighted how specific genes in the bacterial strain may be crucial to the onset of inflammation and disease.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Dinosaur-chewing mammals leave behind oldest known tooth marksPaleontologists have discovered the oldest mammalian tooth marks yet on the bones of ancient animals, including several large dinosaurs.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Little is understood about alcohol's effect on fetal development, researchers sayIt's long been known that alcohol use in pregnancy can lead to children with mental retardation and birth defects, but researchers who study fetal alcohol syndrome have not made definitive progress on preventing the disorder, detecting it early, or effectively treating it, say researchers.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Towards nanowire solar cells with a 65-percent efficiencyResearchers want to develop solar cells with an efficiency of over 65 percent by means of nanotechnology. In Southern Europe and North Africa these new solar cells can generate a substantial portion of the European demand for electricity.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Questioning the effectiveness of oil dispersants in Gulf oil spillThe widespread belief that chemical dispersants will enhance the breakdown of oil from the Gulf of Mexico disaster is based on weak scientific data, according to a new article.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Symptoms of 'male menopause' unzippedScientists have for the first time identified the symptoms associated with what has been termed late-onset hypogonadism or "male menopause" caused by a reduction in testosterone production in aging men.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Incidence of malaria jumps when Amazon forests are cut, study findsEstablishing a firm link between environmental change and human disease has always been an iffy proposition. Now, however, a team of scientists presents the most enumerated case to date linking increased incidence of malaria to land-use practices in the Amazon.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am Volcanic emissions used to study Earth’s atmospheric pastOn March 20, Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano woke from its nearly 200-year slumber to change the way the world viewed volcanoes forever. Bringing almost all transatlantic air travel to a halt for the first time in modern history, this volcano reminded humanity of the powers these forces of nature contain -- and of our relative inability to understand them. Researchers have studied this event and other massive volcanic eruptions and their atmospheric consequences in the past in North America.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am Blood relations: New study explores early detection of ovarian cancerResearchers have used a novel method for identifying biomarkers -- proteins in blood that can identify ovarian cancer before symptoms appear.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am Insulin peptide may point to a solution for type 1 diabetesResearchers have identified the precise peptide that can trigger diabetes in mice. The finding supports an emerging theory about the origins of autoimmunity, and may lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in humans.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am Bones found in a German cathedral 'are Saxon queen'Bones found in a German cathedral are the remains of a Saxon member of the English royal family, scientists claim.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Jun 2010 | 4:07 am The nation's weather (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 3:13 am BP agrees to $20 bln oil spill fund (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 2:58 am BP shares jump on dividend suspension (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 2:56 am BP shares higher on oil spill fund deal (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 2:52 am 'Strong' BP has resources for US pay-outs: Osborne (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 2:50 am BP to fund $20bn oil spill payoutBP is to place $20bn in an independent fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill and will cancel dividend payments for 2010.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Jun 2010 | 2:36 am Pacific nations deny selling Japan whaling votes (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 1:02 am Ferry stowaway shrew flown home to the Isles of ScillyA rare shrew which stowed away aboard a ferry from the Isles of Scilly to Cornwall has been flown home.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Jun 2010 | 12:42 am Space asteroid pod leaves Australia for Japan (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Jun 2010 | 12:06 am Flooding, landslides kill nearly 50 in Myanmar (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:12 pm Fungus gold rush in Tibetan plateauGrowing dependence on the profitable trade in 'Himalayan Viagra' has led to violent clashes Amid the wreckage of the devastating earthquake that recently ripped through this corner of the Tibetan plateau, local people are rebuilding their livelihoods with one of the world's most ghoulish parasites – the caterpillar fungus. The government has accorded extra importance this year to the annual picking season for the ingredient, prescribed in traditional medicine to cure cancer and also nicknamed "Himalayan Viagra" because of its alleged aphrodisiac qualities. But the growing dependence of the local community on this remarkable crop has prompted violent confrontations between rival pickers and is now stoking concerns that the mountain hillsides may one day be harvested empty. The Cordyceps sinensis fungus is known locally as Yartsa Gunbu or "summer grass winter worm", named after the transformation that takes place as it devours its host, the ghost moth caterpillar, from inside out during the latter's hibernation on the mountain grasslands. The fungus briefly grabbed the world's attention in 1993, when the Chinese national athletics coach Ma Junren credited it with the stunning success of three female runners who came from nowhere to break five world records in one competition. Western studies suggest the fungus may protect the liver. But its benefits are already treasured in Asia, where it is prescribed by doctors and given as a luxury gift, often literally worth its weight in gold. Thanks to the expansion of this market, the value of Yartsa Gunbu has increased more than ninefold since 1997, creating what mycologist Daniel Winkler calls a "globally unique rural fungal economy" on the Tibetan Plateau. This month, the government earmarked caterpillar fungus collection as one of three industries that it will focus on to revitalise the region in the wake of the 6.9 magnitude quake that struck on 15 April. Along with the export of migrant workers and Tibetan mastiff breeding, it is a mainstay of family incomes. These yellow-brown organisms account for four out of every ten dollars earned by rural Tibetans and provide a bigger boost for the economy than the combined revenue from manufacturing and mining, according to Winkler. In recent years, Yushu – close to the border with Tibet – has been at the centre of this fungal gold rush, making it the fastest growing economy in Qinghai Province. The town's central market is dominated by fungus sellers, each haggling behind a table or basket filled with what looks like a mass of yellow and brown worms. To improve sales, some traders employ local women to clean the dirt off of the fungi. They earn 100 yuan per day – a better income than most Chinese factory labourers – as they sit in circles on the pavement chatting and scrubbing the long, slim cordyceps with brushes. Higher up the value chain, a strata of budding fungal entrepreneurs have emerged in recent years. Depending on the size and quality, the fungi are sold here for 25 to 35 yuan each, or about 40,000 yuan per kilogram. At the end of the retail chain, the best fungi can fetch up to 360,000 yuan per kilogram – more than gold. Tsuren Pingcuo, one of Yushu's fungus dealers, claimed he could make hundreds of thousands of yuan a year from the trade. "The caterpillar fungus is everything to the people here. We all depend on it for a living," he said. "I used to work for the government, but now fungus is my business. It has changed my life. I'm rich." He insisted that the harvesting of the fungi does no damage to the environment, but high on the hillsides near Longbaozhen – the epicentre of the quake – pickers say the business is unsustainable. "When I was young, you used to be able to find the fungi everywhere near my home, but now you can spend a whole day on the slopes and you are lucky to find ten," said Tashi Duzhu near Longbao. "There are too many people doing it now. Every year, there are more and more." The high-altitude harvest is gruelling. Collectors spend 12 hours a day scouring the hillsides for the slim, 2cm stem-like protuberances that stick out of the earth. In extreme cases, scarcity has led to gun and knife battles over prime fungal turf. In July 2007 eight people were shot to death and 50 wounded in one such conflict. "There are fights every year and occasionally people are killed," said Tsamba Chunpin, another picker. Last week, scientists and senior officials from the national and local government state joined a caterpillar fungus conference in the provincial capital Xining to consider how to harvest the crop sustainably despite growing pressure from consumers. "China has conducted research on environmental management, artificial cultivation, and product development," said Gao Hongbin, deputy minister of agriculture. "With scientific management and strict regulation, we can maintain the continued increase in the incomes of local farmers." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:00 pm Japan's Solar Sail Photographed in OrbitIf seeing is believing, this picture comes as sweet relief to a satellite operations team in Japan that has been overseeing the flight of an experimental solar sailing spacecraft. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, captured the image ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 10:49 pm Sea creatures flee oil spill, gather near shore (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Jun 2010 | 10:18 pm Gene Therapy for HIV Inches Forward (HealthDay)HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers report they've moved a step closer to treating HIV patients with gene therapy that could potentially one day keep the AIDS-causing virus at bay.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Jun 2010 | 9:49 pm How are Craters Formed?Crater formation is a a mysterious science, and one we won't get a good handle on until man returns to the pripristine craters of thelunar landscape.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 8:39 pm SpaceX Nails Huge Commercial Launch ContractFresh off the successful debut flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, Space Exploration Technologies nailed a contract worth nearly $500 million to launch a network of communication satellites for Iridium.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 5:39 pm If You Live Green, Why Not Die Green?When it comes to green funerals, cremation actually has some serious environmental downsides. Now funerary experts are developing new techniques to bring humans closer to the Earth once we've left it. A warning: reading about them isn't for the faint ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 5:33 pm Bones of first king of England's sister found in cathedralBones offer insight into the royal life of Eadgyth, who was married off to a German king in 929 by her brother Athelstan She ate lots of fish, rode frequently, may have suffered from a disease or an eating disorder at 10 and regularly moved around the chalky uplands of southern England, presumably as she followed her regal father around his kingdom. Analysis of remains found in a German cathedral have not only confirm they belonged to the granddaughter of the English king Alfred the Great but also given an insight into the life and times of a Saxon princess. Eadgyth (roughly pronounced Edith) was packed off by her brother as a diplomatic gift to Otto, the king of Saxony, more than 1,000 years ago. She died aged 36 and her remains were thought to have been lost forever until body parts were found wrapped in silk in a lead coffin two years ago. Earlier this year the skeletal fragments were brought back to Britain, and experts at Bristol University will today spell out why they are sure the remains are those of Eadgyth and what they know of her life. Mark Horton, an archaeology professor at Bristol, said it was "incredibly exciting" to confirm that the bones were the princess's and to find out more about her life. "This period was when England was really formed," he said. "We don't know much about these dark age queens and princesses. This has created a connection with one of them." Eadgyth was born in Wessex in 910 into one of the most powerful families in England. She was daughter of Edward the Elder, and half-sister to Athelstan, the first king of all England. In 929 Athelstan sent her and her sister, Adiva, off to Otto and invited him to take his pick, sealing an alliance between two of the rising stars of the Saxon world. Eadgyth was chosen and the couple had at least two children before she died in 946. Chroniclers of the time paid tribute to her beauty and recorded how devoted Otto was to her. She was also praised for her good works. Eadgyth was buried in a monastery, but her bones were moved several times before being interred in an elaborate tomb in Magdeburg Cathedral in Saxony-Anhalt in 1510. It had been assumed that the bones had vanished and the tomb was empty, but in 2008 German archaeologists opened it and found it contained a lead box holding skeletal remains. The challenge for the archaeologists was to show that the remains, which had been moved so often, and could easily have been substituted by others, were those of Eadgyth. A study of the bones at the University of Mainz confirmed that the remains belonged to a single female, who died between 30 and 40. One of the femur heads suggested the individual was a frequent horse rider, hinting at her nobility. Analysis of the bones suggested she enjoyed a high-protein diet, including a large quantity of fish, which again suggested she was an aristocrat. It proved impossible to extract DNA from the remains – and the problem then, anyway, would have been fbut finding a sample of a descendant to try to match them to. Unfortunately vital parts were missing, including hands, feet and much of the skull. But crucial scientific evidence came from the study of the teeth preserved in the upper jaw. A technique measuring the strontium and oxygen isotopes mineralised in the teeth as they are formed was used. The value of these isotopes depends on the local environment and its underlying geology – this valuable data is effectively "locked into" the teeth. Studying tiny samples of enamel allowed scientists to work out that she must have spent time in Wessex's chalky uplands. Horton said it had been possible to map almost month by month where the woman had lived as a child and were able to check this against what is known about Eadgyth's youth. But the findings added detail to what was known. He said: "Eadgyth seems to have spent the first eight years of her life in southern England, but changed her domicile frequently, matching quite variable strontium ratios in her teeth. Only from the age of nine, the isotope values remain constant. "Eadgyth must have moved around the kingdom following her father, King Edward the Elder during his reign. When her mother was divorced in 919 – Eadgyth was between nine and ten at that point –both were banished to a monastery, maybe Winchester or Wilton in Salisbury." Trauma was also indicated in her skeleton around this same age, suggesting a dramatic change in her circumstances. She may at this time have suffered a disease or eating disorder, said the scientists. More tests will be carried out on the material found in the coffin but the princess will be laid to rest later this year when the bones are reburied in Magdeburg Cathedral. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 16 Jun 2010 | 5:01 pm How to improve the IPCCCode of conduct and rapid communication are key, scientists tell review panel.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/today/~4/gy6ygb9CZ6Y" height="1" width="1"/>Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 4:24 pm Triple-punch gene therapy targets HIVStem-cell transplant passes safety trial.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 4:10 pm Iridium to launch on Falcon 9The Iridium telecoms giant will use the new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch its fleet of replacement satellites.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:10 pm Metrics: A profusion of measuresScientific performance indicators are proliferating — leading researchers to ask afresh what they are measuring and why. Richard Van Noorden surveys the rapidly evolving ecosystem.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm Gene linked to autoimmune diseasesRare variants of a single gene seem to make patients more susceptible to multiple diseases.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm CorrectionSource: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm Metrics: Do metrics matter?Many researchers believe that quantitative metrics determine who gets hired and who gets promoted at their institutions. With an exclusive poll and interviews, probes to what extent metrics are really used that way.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm Dogfighting DNA Database Helps Nab CriminalsIt’s rare to catch a dog fighter in the middle of an actual fight, so when investigators are trying to convict suspected dog fighters, they need all the evidence they can get. That’s where DNA and -- even better -- ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:50 pm Cleared forests lead to rise in malaria in BrazilWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Clearing forests in the Amazon helps mosquitoes thrive and can send malaria rates soaring, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:31 pm Amazing Starling Flocks Are Flying Avalanches
To watch the uncanny synchronization of a starling flock in flight is to wonder if the birds aren’t actually a single entity, governed by something beyond the usual rules of biology. New research suggests that’s true. Mathematical analysis of flock dynamics show how each starling’s movement is influenced by every other starling, and vice versa. It doesn’t matter how large a flock is, or if two birds are on opposite sides. It’s as if every individual is connected to the same network. That phenomenon is known as scale-free correlation, and transcends biology. The closest fit to equations describing starling flock patterns come from the literature of “criticality,” of crystal formation and avalanches — systems poised on the brink, capable of near-instantaneous transformation.
Parisi’s team recorded starling flocks on the outskirts of Rome. Some had just over 100 birds, and others more than 4,000. Regardless of size, the correlations of a bird’s orientation and velocity with the other birds’ orientation and velocity didn’t vary. If any one bird turned and changed speed, so would all the others. In particle physics, synchronized orientation is found in systems with “low noise,” in which signals are transmitted without degrading. But low noise isn’t enough to produce synchronized speeds, which are found in critical systems. The researchers give the example of ferromagnetism, where particles in a magnet exhibit perfect interconnection at a precise, “critical” temperature. “More analysis is necessary to prove this definitively, but our results suggest” that starling flocks are a critical system, said study co-author Irene Giardina, also a University of Rome physicist. According to the researchers, the “most surprising and exotic feature” of the flocks was their near-instantaneous signal-processing speed. “How starlings achieve such a strong correlation remains a mystery to us,” they wrote. Images: 1. Flickr/Eduardo. 2. Snapshot measurements of starling-flock orientation and velocity./PNAS. See Also: Citation: “Scale-free correlations in starling flocks.” By Giorgio Parisi, Andrea Cavagna, Alessio Cimarelli, Irene Giardina, Raffaele Santagati, Fabio Stefanini, Massimiliano Viale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes; Wired Science on Twitter. Brandon is currently working on a book about ecological tipping points.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:17 pm Modern Agricultural Slows Global WarmingScientists determined that the "Green Revolution" was greener than previously thought, preventing hundreds of billions of tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:08 pm News briefing: 11–17 June 2010The week in science.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 2:00 pm City to pass phone radiation lawSan Francisco is set to be the first US city to require mobile phone retailers to post radiation levels next to handsets they sell.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:57 pm Icy world measured in star passAstronomers work out the size of a distant icy object by watching it pass in front of a bright star.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:49 pm Wicked Lasers 'Lightsaber' Can Burn Eyes and SkinAn ultra-powerful handheld laser that looks like a lightsaber from Star Wars can cause permanent eye damage.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:49 pm Air Pollution Can Make You Snore, Disrupt SleepEveryone knows air pollution is bad for us. But we might be losing sleep over it, literally, and suffering serious health problems as a result.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:11 pm US biotech firms line up for tax creditsApplication process begins for cash to beat the downturn.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm Airport Scanners Take on MummiesScientists experiment with using airport body scanners for a less controversial purpose: screening ancient mummies.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 12:30 pm World view: Talking the talkWithout effective public engagement, there will be no synthetic biology in Europe, says Colin Macilwain.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 12:00 pm Strange Martian Spirals ExplainedFor 40 years researchers have puzzled over a strange pattern of ice spirals and chasms around the Martian north pole. New data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter solves the mystery.Source: Science@NASA Headline News | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:49 am Invasive Species Thrive on Antarctic IslandsInvasive species becoming more established on islands around Antarctica.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:41 am Whale poo helps oceans absorb CO2Southern Ocean sperm whales help the oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - through their faeces.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:38 am Jaroslav Stark obituaryMathematician and a pioneer in the field of systems biology Jaroslav Stark, who has died from a brain tumour aged 49, was one of the first mathematicians in the UK to obtain a doctorate for research into chaos theory. He became a key figure in cross-disciplinary research, pioneering the use of mathematics to study biological systems. From 2007 he was the director of the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology at Imperial College (CISBIC), in London, attracting major funding to bring together mathematicians and biologists. Due to his enthusiasm, clever use of images, clarity of thought and clear prose, the developmental biologists and immunologists with whom he worked could quickly grasp the implications of his mathematics. This allowed mathematicians and biologists to generate mathematical models which made it possible to understand complex biological problems. Jaroslav was born in Pardubice, to the east of Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia. His mother, Olga, was a paediatrician and his father, also Jaroslav, an eminent paediatric heart surgeon. His family moved to London after the Russian invasion in 1968. He read mathematics at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he gained a first-class degree in 1982 and a year later, a distinction at Part III, the Cambridge equivalent of a master's degree (only harder). Jaroslav then moved to the mathematics institute at Warwick University to undertake postgraduate research with Sir Christopher Zeeman and Robert Mackay. Mackay had just returned from Princeton University, New Jersey, and together with David Rand was making Warwick an international centre for research in dynamical systems and chaos theory. In his thesis, Jaroslav devised a computer proof of the non-existence of certain barriers to transport in area-preserving maps – a breakthrough that enabled a significant improvement on previous results. After postdoctoral positions at Warwick and Imperial, Jaroslav spent four years in industry, continuing his research at GEC before returning to academia as a lecturer at University College London in 1993. Here he continued to work with mathematicians and engineers to understand real-world implications and applications of chaos, including how to manipulate data to detect chaos. He was made a professor in 1999 and became increasingly involved in research council policy and funding. With another friend, Colin Sparrow, he revamped and was joint editor of the journal which is now called Dynamical Systems. It was hard to be with Jaroslav without being drawn into a fierce debate. Once, while we were working together, Sparrow popped his head round the door to "check that we were OK". Neither of us knew how to respond. We had been so engrossed in our stream of ideas (some good, some bad) that we had not realised that our conversation had become loud enough to convince others that we were about to come to blows. Jaroslav's loud enthusiasm went hand in hand with a capacity to engage with people and ideas. It is not surprising that he wrote papers with many of the people he loved best, including his father, with whom he published papers on performance monitoring in heart surgery. He met Kate Hardy, a developmental biologist, at Cambridge and they married in 1987, soon developing mathematical models to go alongside her biological theory and experiments. Their collaboration came at an opportune moment. Systems biology, the biology of the 21st century, which brings a quantitative mathematical approach to the description of biochemical processes, was in its infancy, and Jaroslav and Kate were ideally placed to use their expertise to increase our understanding of the processes at the heart of developmental biology. They started with models of ovulation – a fascinating story of how many eggs mature but only one is released at ovulation, and how this mechanism can be disturbed as a result of age or common hormone disorders. This melding of biological experiment and mathematical modelling quickly gathered pace, drawing in scientists such as Robert Winston. By 2003 Jaroslav had moved to a chair at Imperial College, and in 2007 became director of CISBIC. Jaroslav and Kate's son, Daniel, was born in 1996 and this introduced a new and rich dimension to his life. Together they enjoyed sharing walks, skiing, photography, music and holidays. In 2009 he published papers on strange attractors (types of chaotic dynamical systems), spatial structure in tissues and organs, and models of red blood-cell production and consequences for malaria. This range reflected his broad interests, and the way these interests were mediated through friendships. Throughout his career, Jaroslav served on scientific advisory boards nationally and internationally, helping to shape the cross-disciplinary landscape of research in Britain. He is survived by Kate, Daniel and his father. • Jaroslav Stark, applied mathematician, born 17 June 1960; died 6 June 2010 guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:06 am Rare Gene Glitch a Clue to Genomics Mystery
The discovery of links between rare gene mutations and autoimmune disease could help solve one of modern medicine’s major dilemmas. Common diseases have largely resisted genomic analysis, leaving scientists unable to explain genetic underpinnings of diseases that clearly have a hereditary component. These analyses have focused on mutations that are relatively widespread and easy to see. It took new tools to notice mutations like those just found in the SIAE gene, which cause immune cells to go haywire during autoimmune disease. They were detected by ultra high-resolution analysis of a sort rarely used in genomics. The findings’ implications extend beyond autoimmunity, and into the fundamental nature of complex disease. “I think the hard-core genetic effects will come out of systematic studies of rare variants,” said Harvard University geneticist Shiv Pillai. “It’s probably not going to be everything, but it will be the major contribution. Rare variants will give you a much stronger link to disease.”
Pillai’s team’s findings, published June 16 in Nature, could hardly have been predicted a decade ago. Completion of the human genome’s sequence seemed to herald a new age in which scientists would soon use genetic tools to explain and cure killer diseases. But the blueprint of life proved difficult to read. While a few diseases, such as sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis, are caused by easily detectable problems in single genes, scientists have had no such luck with Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other common killers. Genome-wide association studies — or GWAS, the gold standard of modern genomics, which compare thousands of genes in thousands of people – have helped provide targets for researchers and jump-started the investigation of disease mechanisms, but their predictive value is limited. For most complex diseases, known gene links account for about 5 percent of heritability measured in population-based studies. Genetics are involved, but we don’t know how. Geneticists call this gap the “missing heritability,” and a top candidate for its location is in rare gene variants that may be, when their total numbers are combined, quite frequent but individually are so rare as to escape detection. The SIAE mutations identified by Pillai’s team are the most powerful rare variants to date, and may anticipate the future of genetics. “We’ve done one gene. There are 20,000 genes. The methods are now coming together to sequence all these,” said Pillai. Rare variants are likely important in complex disease, and “we won’t learn about these until we sequence every single gene,” he said. Earlier research had identified the role of SIAE in making an enzyme critical for regulating B cells, which manufacture antibodies used by the body to identify harmful bacteria and viruses. An SIAE-deficient mouse strain engineered by Ajit Varki, a University of California, San Diego geneticist and co-author of the latest study, developed a syndrome similar to lupus. Intrigued by SIAE’s importance, the researchers studied the SIAE gene in 923 people with common autoimmune disorders — Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis – and 648 unafflicted people. In GWAS and most genome studies, researchers focus on a few DNA blocks in target genes. Concentrating on “hotspots” saves time and money, and narrows down an otherwise vast range variation. By contrast, Pillai’s team analyzed every single DNA unit of every SIAE gene. They found 12 previously unidentified mutations. In the autoimmune disease group, 24 people had one of these mutations, compared to just two people in the control group. The mutations still accounted for only a fraction of autoimmune disease risk, but that risk “increases greatly with any one of these variations,” said Pillai. The SIAE gene alone doesn’t cause disease, but likely works in tandem with other, as-yet-unidentified rare variants, said Pillai. If enough are combined, they produce a predisposition that’s later triggered by some environmental insult. When the mutations were recreated in laboratory cell cultures, the researchers confirmed that the SIAE variants produced altered forms of their enzymes. The findings “demonstrate the important point that many diseases are determined by a lot of different rare variants,” said Jackson Laboratory geneticist Elissa Chesler, who was not involved in the study. Traditional approaches to studying the genome “may never account for the variability of that,” she said. In addition to rare variants, other factors likely contribute to the missing heritability. Epigenetic fluctuations — genes turning on and off at different times — appear to play a role in many diseases. So could duplicate copies of genes. Other cellular characteristics, such as abnormally folded chromosomes, may be involved. But rare variants are the prime suspect. And though the task of conducting high-resolution studies of all 20,000 genes in thousands of people is daunting, the falling costs and rising speeds of DNA sequencing should make it possible in coming years. “This paper is an example of what can be done,” said Chesler. Image: Detail from a page of the printed genome./Wellcome Trust. See Also:
Citation: “Functionally defective germline variants of sialic acid acetylesterase in autoimmunity.” By Ira Surolia, Stephan P. Pirnie, Vasant Chellappa, Kendra N. Taylor, Annaiah Cariappa, Jesse Moya, Haoyuan Liu, Daphne W. Bell, David R. Driscoll, Sven Diederichs, Khaleda Haider, Ilka Netravali, Sheila Le, Roberto Elia, Ethan Dow, Annette Lee, Jan Freudenberg, Philip L. De Jager, Yves Chretien, Ajit Varki, Marcy E. MacDonald, Tammy Gillis, Timothy W. Behrens, Donald Bloch, Deborah Collier, Joshua Korzenik, Daniel K. Podolsky, David Hafler, Mandakolathur Murali, Bruce Sands, John H. Stone, Peter K. Gregersen & Shiv Pillai. Nature, Vol. 465 No. 7300, June 16, 2010. Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes; Wired Science on Twitter. Brandon is currently working on a book about ecological tipping points.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:00 am Rare Mutations May Cause Common DiseasesRare mutations could be behind many common diseases, from autoimmune disorders to cancer to heart disease.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:00 am Russia woos lost scientistsMinister of education and science discusses plans for rebuilding the country's research base.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 16 Jun 2010 | 11:00 am Obese Have Worse Sex LivesIn case you need one more reason to hit the gym today, here it is.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 10:45 am Why Some People Crave More SaltSome people experience the taste of salt more intensely than others, and this taste difference might be due, at least in part, to hereditary factors, a new study suggests.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Jun 2010 | 10:11 am Jaguars' Hunting Patterns RevealedBrazilian jaguars tagged with GPS collars revealed the elusive species’ hunting circuits and kill rates.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Jun 2010 | 9:30 am Man's Voice Reveals His Fighting AbilityIn the animal kingdom, a male's vocalizations are sometimes are tied to physical strength. Human men turn out to fit that phenomenon perfectly.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 16 Jun 2010 | 9:30 am Kids Learn Gender Stereotypes at HomeMothers and fathers play differently with children, perhaps passing on stereotypes of gender.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Jun 2010 | 9:13 am Hubble Finds Jupiter’s Missing Stripe
New Hubble images reveal what happened to one of Jupiter’s main cloud belts: It’s hiding behind ammonia clouds. “Weather forecast for Jupiter’s Southern Equatorial Belt: cloudy with a chance of ammonia,” planetary scientist Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado said in a press release Wednesday. The gas giant’s characteristic band of dark clouds started fading late last year and had vanished completely by early May, 2010. Images taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 on June 7 — just over three days after an unknown object smacked into the planet — found a layer of white ammonia ice crystal clouds. The ammonia clouds float at a higher altitude than the missing brown clouds, obscuring them from view. The images show a preview of what’s to come for the dark stripe, too. A chain of dark spots along the boundary of Jupiter’s south tropical zone peek through the white cloud layer as the ammonia thins and dissipates. “The Hubble images tell us these spots are holes resulting from localized downdrafts. We often see these types of holes when a change is about to occur,” said planetary scientist Amy Simon-Miller of NASA. The clouds blocking the famous equatorial stripe should clear out similarly in a couple of months, the team predicts. “The Southern Equatorial Belt last faded in the early 1970s. We haven’t been able to study this phenomenon at this level of detail before,” Simon-Miller added. “The changes of the last few years are adding to an extraordinary database on dramatic cloud changes on Jupiter.”
The images also provided clues to the identity of the mystery object that hit Jupiter on June 3. A lack of dark debris at the impact site, which would have been kicked up by the object exploding beneath the clouds, suggests that the object was relatively small and burned up in Jupiter’s atmosphere like a meteor. “Hubble was only one of several observatories that looked for signs of Jupiter’s impact scar, with more results on their way,” planetary scientist Leigh Fletcher of the University of Oxford noted on Twitter. “Gemini, Keck, VLT and IRTF were all racing to find signs of the impact within hours of the event taking place.” Images: 1) NASA, ESA and Z. Levay (STScI), 2) NASA, ESA, UC Berkeley, STScI, Jupiter Impact Science Team. See Also:
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Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Jun 2010 | 9:03 am Live Q&A: Fred Pearce on the hacked climate science emailsFred Pearce will be online between 12-1pm on Thursday 17 June to answer questions on his new book about the climate emails This Thursday, renowned journalist Fred Pearce publishes his definitive account of the story of the emails between climate scientists that were exposed online last year. To mark the new book, The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth About Global Warming, Pearce will be online to answer your questions from 12-1pm on Thursday 17 June. The book's genesis was in a unique mutualisation experiment we ran in February, inviting protagonists in the story to reply online. This is your chance to ask any questions about the story of the climate emails, from how the science community handled the incident, to public belief in climate change and the imminent findings of the independent investigation by the University of East Anglia, whose Climatic Research Unit was at the heart of the furore. Post your questions below and Pearce will do his best to answer as many as possible between 12 and 1pm on Thursday. Please only post questions related to the hacked climate emails – anything else will be marked off-topic. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 16 Jun 2010 | 8:54 am What lies beneath?Ian Vince has learned to peel back the surface of Britain to reveal the geological forces that shaped the landscape Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 16 Jun 2010 | 7:58 am Alps to Become More Dangerous in Warming WorldFloods, avalanches may occur more in Alps due to climate change.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Jun 2010 | 7:41 am New crew heads to space stationThree new crew-members have launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Jun 2010 | 6:44 am Mini-camera pictures solar sailA small free-floating camera returns images of Japan's solar sail, Ikaros, in flight.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Jun 2010 | 5:51 am Water CO2 calculator goes onlineA website that allows people to calculate how much CO2 is being emitted as a result of their water use goes online.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Jun 2010 | 4:13 am
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In starlings, “being critical is a way for the system to be always ready to optimally respond to an external perturbation, such as predator attack,” wrote researchers led by University of Rome theoretical physicist Giorgio Parisi in a June 14 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper.
