science wire

UCLA life scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions
UCLA life scientists provide important new details on how climate change will affect interactions between species in research published online May 21 in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

UC San Diego Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Grant For Groundbreaking Research in Global Heal
The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Getting to the bottom of the zombie ant phenomenon
The cadaver of a zombie ant clings to a leaf in the tropical understory. Emerging from its head are spores of the parasitic fungus that killed it.

U-M Water Center awards $570K in Great Lakes restoration grants
Jim Erickson, U-M News Service, (734) 647-1842, ericksn [a] umich (p) edu, Jennifer Read, U-M Water Center, (734) 769-8898, jenread [a] umichg (p) edu ANN ARBOR-The new University of Michiga

Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest
The Amazon rain forest, popularly known as the lungs of the planet, inhales carbon dioxide as it exudes oxygen. Plants use carbon dioxide from the air to grow parts that eventually fall to the ground to decompose or get washed away by the region's plentiful rainfall. Until recently people believed much of the rain forest's carbon floated down the Amazon River and ended up deep in the ocean.

Studying the unseen activity in bacteria chatter and a nation's bereavement
  Princeton University senior Sofia Quinodoz took on two theses that in essence pertain to unseen and not fully understood actions nonetheless felt by those they afflict.

New Doctor of Physical Therapy Learned Benefits of Program Long Before Graduation
Nashwa Khalil knew the benefits of physical therapy long before she enrolled in the doctor of physical therapy program at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Faculty Senate explores the future of the doctoral degree

Gene modification technology developed at University of Minnesota and Iowa State University receives patents
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (05/17/2013) —The USPTO has issued two patents for technology developed jointly by researchers at the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University that allows scientists to modify genes to create specific traits. The patents (US 8,440,431 and US 8,440,432) were issued on May 14, 2013 and are based on TAL effector nucleases that "read" DNA and make pinpoint cuts in targeted genes.

Invasive Crazy Ants Are Displacing Fire Ants, Researchers Find
AUSTIN, Texas — Invasive "crazy ants" are displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern United States, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

UC San Diego Creates Center for Brain Activity Mapping
Responding to President Barack Obama's "grand challenge" to chart the function of the human brain in unprecedented detail, the University of California, San Diego has established the Center for Brain Activity Mapping (CBAM).

Newly Described Type of Immune Cell and’T cells Share Similar Path to Maturity, According to New Penn Study
Labs around the world, and a core group at Penn, have been studying recently described populations of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs).

Brain rewires itself after damage or injury, life scientists discover
When the brain's primary "learning center" is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function, say life scientists from UCLA and Australia who have pinpointed the regions of the brain involved in creating those alternate pathways — often far from the damaged site.

Turning Up the Heat on Biofuels
The production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass would benefit on several levels if carried out at temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees Celsius.

Documents that Changed the World: ‘What is the Third Estate?’ 1789
Joe Janes reached back two centuries to a self-published pamphlet in pre-revolutionary France for the latest installment of his podcast series, “ Documents that Changed the World.” In

Dr. Roy Herbst has new post as the Ensign Professor of Medical Oncology
Dr. Roy S. Herbst, recently designated as the Ensign Professor of Medical Oncology, is nationally recognized for his leadership and expertise in lung cancer treatment and research.

Wireless signals could transform brain trauma diagnostics
New technology developed at the University of California, Berkeley, is using wireless signals to provide real-time, non-invasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding.

Faculty Q&A With Martin Chalfie
When he received his A.B. from Harvard in 1969, Martin Chalfie wasn't sure what he would do next. His worst grades had been in physics and chemistry, and a summer research project had failed, so science seemed out of reach. He had a series of short-term jobs and then spent two years teaching high school algebra, chemistry and social science in Connecticut.

Tumor-Activated Protein Promotes Cancer Spread
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center report that cancers physically alter cells in the lymphatic system - a network of vesse

Olympian Rosie McLennan talks brain and body symbiosis at U of T
The perfect coordination of mind and body is easy to take for granted. But it can mean the difference between safety and danger, success and failure – or silver and gold.

Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at 40
In the past 40 years, research conducted at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve has transformed fundamental ecology science.

Scientists sequence genome of ’sacred lotus,’ which likely holds anti-aging secrets
A team of 70 scientists from the U.S., China, Australia and Japan today reports having sequenced and annotated the genome of the "sacred lotus," which is believed to have a powerful genetic system that repairs genetic defects, and may hold secrets about aging successfully.

Advancing medical science at UAlberta
Federal, provincial funding for high-tech robotic arm and MRI scanners will further research that benefits people from head to toe.

Potential flu pandemic lurks
MIT study identifies influenza viruses circulating in pigs and birds that could pose a risk to humans. In the summer of 1968, a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong Kong. This strain, known as H3N2, spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people. A new study from MIT reveals that there are many strains of H3N2 circulating in birds and pigs that are genetically similar to the 1968 strain and have the potential to generate a pandemic if they leap to humans.

Chancellor Block comments on Laboratory of Neuro Imaging
UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) has been an international pioneer in enhancing the understanding of human brain structure and function, generating numerous breakthroughs with important appl

Two UCLA faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences
Two professors from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have been elected by their peers to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

DARPA awards $6 million to develop nanotech therapies for traumatic brain injuries
Led by Professor Michael J. Sailor, Ph.D., from the University of California San Diego, the award brings together a multi-disciplinary team of renowned experts in laboratory research, translati

An 18-year-old wunderkind named top graduating senior

XSEDE13 Conference to Devote Full Day to Biosciences
San Diego, SoCal Biotech Companies Invited to Attend July 24 Event A panel of distinguished experts will discuss the role of computation and data analytics in supporting discovery throughout the b

Bacteria organize according to ’rich-get-richer’ principle
Bacteria on a surface wander around and often organize into highly resilient communities known as biofilms.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute names three new campus investigators
Evolutionary biologist Nicole King has been interested in the natural world since she was a little girl mucking around in the creeks and swamps of Florida.

Early career award funds study of messenger RNA stability
In an effort to improve microorganisms that can sustainably produce fuels and chemicals, a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineer is using a U.S. Department of Energy award to study what — if anything — gets lost in the translation of genetic information.

Palumbo-Liu elected next Faculty Senate chair
David Palumbo-Liu , a professor of comparative literature, was recently elected chair of the 46th Faculty Senate , which will convene at the start of the 2013-14 academic year.

Pioneer bacteria lay down trails that draw new recruits
Bacteria may draw other bacteria to a site of infection by laying down trails of a "molecular glue" that lead free-swimming individuals to come together and organize into colonies. In the study, researchers were looking at how a species of bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa attach and move about on surfaces.

Research in the News: Real-time brain feedback can help people overcome anxiety
People provided with a real-time readout of activity in specific regions of their brains can learn to control that activity and lessen their anxiety, according to new findings published online in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

UCLA bioengineers simplify fluid flows by removing complex math
A research team led by UCLA bioengineers has developed a way to program and control the shape of fluids flowing through pipes or conduits without the need to solve complex and time-consuming fluid-motion equations.

Martin Chalfie and Wafaa El-Sadr Appointed University Professors
In recognition of their exceptional scholarly merit and distinguished service to Columbia, the University Board of Trustees has approved President Lee C. Bollinger 's appointment of two new University Professors: Martin Chalfie , the William R. Kenan Jr.

Food commercials excite teen brains
ANN ARBOR-Watching TV commercials of people munching on hot, crispy French fries or sugar-laden cereal resonates more with teens than advertisements about cell phone plans or the latest car.

Boosting ’cellular garbage disposal’ can delay the aging process, UCLA biologists report
UCLA life scientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans. The gene, called parkin, serves at least two vital functions: It marks damaged proteins so that cells can discard them before they become toxic, and it is believed to play a key role in the removal of damaged mitochondria from cells.

Research Makes Advance in Nanotech Gene Sequencing Technique
The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole. Now, a team led by University of Pennsylvania physicists has used solid-state nanopores to differentiate single-stranded DNA molecules containing sequences of a single repeating base.

Preventing Stroke
May 06, 2013 — Coral Gables — A $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will allow the Miller School of Medicine to launch the new Florida Puerto Rico Collaboration to Reduce Stroke Disparities.

New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes
Posted under: Engineering , Health and Medicine , News Releases , Research , Technology Take a swab of saliva from your mouth and within minutes your DNA could be ready for analysis and genome sequencing with the help of a new device. University of Washington engineers and NanoFacture , a Bellevue, Wash., company, have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.

Decline in snow cover spells trouble for many plants, animals
UW–Madison scientists say reptiles and amphibians such as this wood frog, which can survive being frozen solid over the winter, are put at risk by disruption of the microenvironment beneath the snow known as the subnivium.

Seahorse’s Armor Gives Engineers Insight Into Robotics Designs
The tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have found.

Individual brain cells track where we are and how we move
Using virtual reality, neurophysicists determine how environmental stimuli and brain rhythms generate our neuronal maps of the world Leaving the house in the morning may seem simple, but with every move we make, our brains are working feverishly to create maps of the outside world that allow us to navigate and to remember where we are.

Six Stanford faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences
The faculty members have been elected to receive one of the highest honors for an American scientist in recognition of their achievements in original research.

Robotic insects make first controlled flight
In culmination of a decade's work, RoboBees achieve vertical takeoff, hovering, and steering : Caroline Perry , (617) 496-1351 In the very early hours of the morning, in a Harvard robotics laboratory last summer, an insect took flight.

Adult cells transformed into early-stage nerve cells, bypassing the pluripotent stem cell stage
Su-Chun Zhang (center), professor of neuroscience in the School of Medicine and Public Health, talks with postdoctoral student Lin Yao in his research lab at the Waismam Center.

Three Yale faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Three Yale faculty members were among 105 new members and foreign associates elected April 30 to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, one of science's most prestigious honors.

U of M professor named to National Academy of Sciences
Sarah Hobbie is working to understand the Earth's broken carbon cycle and help individuals and municipalities reduce their urban pollution MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (05/01/2013) —Ecologis

UW flu expert elected to National Academy of Sciences
Yoshihiro Kawaoka talks with a group of media representatives during a tour of the Influenza Research Institute in February 2013.

Two Berkeley Lab Researchers Elected to National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences announced the election of two Berkeley Lab researchers to this year's class of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 14 countries.

Finding a gecko in the crowd
A combination of crowdsourcing and computer vision could identify individuals within endangered populations. Keeping track of individuals in an endangered population of animals is a cumbersome and time-consuming task. Conservationists physically tag animals in the wild to better follow them over time.

Research in the news: Illuminating the immune system
Two illuminating studies of the immune system have been published by leading researchers in the Department of Immunobiology of Yale School of Medicine. A team led by Ruslan Medzhitov, professor of immunobiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, found that the body's ability to tolerate infectious disease pathogens is as important as the immune system's ability to fight them.

Three UC San Diego Professors Elected to National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences today elected three professors at the University of California, San Diego to membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers.

Blood, sweat (but no tears) in Stanford HumBio class
Podcasts by students, followed by action videos, make exercise physiology real, very real.

Tactics of new Middle East virus suggest treating by altering lung cells’ response to infection
Posted under: Health and Medicine , News Releases , Research , Science , Technology A new virus that causes severe breathing distress and kidney failure elicits a distinctive airway cell response to allow it to multiply.  Scientists studying the Human Coronavirus-Erasmus Medical Center, which first appeared April 2012 in the Middle East, have discovered helpful details about its stronghold tactics.

Chromatography Goes Gold: Gold Nanoparticles and Monoliths Make a Perfect Match
For identifying and measuring the chemical constituents of a sample, or for purification purposes, one of the indispensable tools of chemistry is chromatography.

Deep in Texas, a plant-eating feathered dinosaur reemerges
A recently identified feathered dinosaur found deep in West Texas reinforces an emerging view that creatures like it were more diverse and widespread in North America than previously thought, according to a new study. The species - a turkey-sized herbivore called Leptorhynchos gaddisi - belongs to a broader group of bird-like dinosaurs characterized by toothless beaks and long, slender claws, said researchers, who analyzed fossils found near Big Bend National Park at a site dating to about 75 million years ago.

Blast concussions could cause pituitary deficiencies in war vets
Posted under: Health and Medicine , News Releases , Research , Science , UW and the Community Many veterans suffering from blast concussions may have hormone deficiencies that mimic some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder  and depression, according to researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington.

Link Between Inherited Endocrine Tumor Syndrome and Well Studied Cell Pathway
A mutation in a protein called menin causes a hereditary cancer syndrome called MEN1 (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1). Individuals with MEN1 are at a substantially increased risk of developing neuroendocrine tumors, including cancer of the pancreatic islet cells that secrete insulin. Yet knowing these connections and doing something to improve fighting the syndrome are two different things.

Imminent emergence of 17-year cicada creates buzz at Yale Peabody Museum
This spring will mark the return of the 17-year cicada, as nymphs of this common species emerge in late May - for the first time since 1996 - from colonies in forested regions in south-central Connecticut.

Changing cellulose-forming process may tap plants' biofuel potential
Lin Fang, graduate student in agricultural and biological engineering at Penn State, displays a purified microbial cellulose sample in her lab on the University Park campus. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Changing the way a plant forms cellulose may lead to more efficient, less expensive biofuel production, according to Penn State engineers.

Soon-to-be doctors to showcase their original research on May 7
Students pursuing an M.D. at Yale School of Medicine must fulfill a graduation requirement that is rare at the nation's medical schools: They must complete a dissertation based on original research that they have conducted with a full-time faculty mentor.

Decoding a deluge of data
Two University of Toronto research projects have won $1 million each in funding from the Government of Canada through Genome Canada and the Ontario Genomics Institute.

Language Crafters
Inventors of fantastic and alien tongues discuss art of constructing languages at 'Linguistics Goes to Hollywood' Nobody wore a ridged rubber forehead, or painted their skin Pandora blue.

Autism risk spotted at birth in abnormal placentas
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have figured out how to measure an infant's risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment for the developmental disorder. The findings are reported in the April 25 online issue of Biological Psychiatry.

How DNA barcoding could help endangered fish
A technique called DNA barcoding could provide a quick and affordable way to help manage endangered species in Atlantic Canada fisheries, a University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) researcher has found.

Stressed mother squirrels make faster-growing babies
When red squirrel mothers in the Yukon detect a lot of other red squirrels in their neighborhood they raise larger babies that will have a better chance of securing a territory and surviving the winter. The research shows that red squirrels are able to use cues in the environment to program the growth of their offspring.

Decoding turtle genome could help human health
A group of 50 researchers from around the globe, including Professor Leslie Buck from the University of Toronto and Daniel Warren from Saint Louis University (SLU) have spent the last several years sequencing and analyzing the genome of the western painted turtle.

UCLA receives major federal contract to study potential new autism drugs
UCLA has been awarded a $9 million contract by the National Institute of Mental Health for an ambitious effort to rapidly study promising new drugs that may help restore normal development and brain function in children with autism spectrum disorders. UCLA researchers will create and lead a network of U.S. academic centers that will carry out early "high risk/high reward" studies of experimental medications over a three-year period.

Yale undergrads uncover antifreeze secrets of a Siberian beetle
In 2011, Yale undergraduates asked a question: How does a Siberian beetle survive some of the cruelest winters on earth? Their answer appears on the cover of the April 26 issue of the Journal Biological Chemistry in the form of a peculiarly shaped protein with an ability to prevent ice from forming.

Business, human ecology schools open experimental, collaborative lab
Faculty and students from two UW-Madison schools are celebrating the opening of a new experimental lab — a collaboration between the School of Human Ecology and the Wisconsin School of Business to create a learning and research community within the university.

Gone, But Not Forgotten
An international team of neuroscientists has described for the first time in exhaustive detail the underlying neurobiology of an amnesiac who suffered from profound memory loss after damage to key portions of his brain.

Scientists Cage Dead Zebras in Africa to Understand the Spread of Anthrax
AUSTIN, Texas — Scavengers might not play as key a role in spreading anthrax through wildlife populations as previously assumed, according to findings from a small study conducted in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia. Wildlife managers currently spend large amounts of money and time to control anthrax outbreaks by preventing scavengers from feeding on infected carcasses.

Biological Activity Alters the Ability of Particles from Sea Spray to Seed Clouds
Ocean biology alters the chemical composition of sea spray in ways that influence its ability to form clouds over the ocean. That's the conclusion of a team of scientists using a new approach to study tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols that can influence climate by absorbing or reflecting sunlight and seeding clouds.

Stem cell transplant restores memory, learning in mice
For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember. A study at UW-Madison is the first to show that human stem cells can successfully implant themselves in the brain and then heal neurological deficits, says senior author Su-Chun Zhang , a professor of neuroscience and neurology.

New Computational Model Can Predict Breast Cancer Survival
Columbia Engineering researchers, led by Dimitris Anastassiou , Charles Batchelor Professor in Electrical Engineering and member of the Columbia Initiative in Systems Biology, have developed a new computational model that is highly predictive of breast cancer survival. The team, which won the Sage Bionetworks / DREAM Breast Cancer Prognosis Challenge for this work, published its results—"Development of a Prognostic Model for Breast Cancer Survival in an Open Challenge Environment"—in the April 17 issue of Science Translational Medicine .

Janet Rowley shares prestigious medical prize with cancer treatment pioneers
Janet Davison Rowley, the Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology and Human Genetics, is one of three physician-scientists who will receive the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for 2013.

Gifts to boost University of Chicago as hub for biomedical ’big data’
Two major gifts will build momentum behind the University of Chicago's leadership in biomedical computation by assembling experts in the field and furnishing them with the tools to use “big data” to understand disease and solve today' health-related challenges. These two gifts will fund related projects that are central to a much larger plan at UChicago that includes multiple data-driven discovery programs to improve health and medical care.

Innovative pediatrics project in personalized health
A research team from McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC) led by Dr.

Out why some stress is good for you
Overworked and stressed out? Look on the bright side. Some stress is good for you. "You always think about stress as a really bad thing, but it's not," said Daniela Kaufer, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Nanodiamonds could improve effectiveness of breast cancer treatment
Recently, doctors have begun to categorize breast cancers into four main groups according to the genetic makeup of the cancer cells. Which category a cancer falls into generally determines the best method of treatment. But cancers in one of the four groups — called "basal-like" or "triple-negative" breast cancer (TNBC) — have been particularly tricky to treat because they usually don't respond to the "receptor-targeted" treatments that are often effective in treating other types of breast cancer.

Psychology Professor Awarded Grant to Study Genetic Root of Psychotherapy Response for Depression
AUSTIN, Texas — Depression, anxiety and many other crippling psychiatric disorders can be treated effectively with psychotherapy.

Turbulent seas signal sea urchin larvae to settle down, Stanford scientist discovers
Sea urchins mature prematurely in swirling coastal waters to avoid missing their chance to find a home on rocky shores. The swirling waters of a rocky shore motivate sea urchin larvae to grow up and settle down. Scientists, including Stanford marine biologist Jason Hodin, discovered that young sea urchins will prematurely go through puberty and attach to coastal rocks to avoid being washed back out to sea permanently.

Nanosponges Soak Up Toxins Released by Bacterial Infections and Venom
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a "nanosponge" capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream - including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli , poisonous snakes and bees. These nanosponges, which thus far have been studied in mice, can neutralize "pore-forming toxins," which destroy cells by poking holes in their cell membranes.

Moving medical research from lab bench to bedside
UAlberta neuroscientists highlight discoveries on Alzheimer's and prosthetic limbs that hold promise for improving patient care. Covering the latest in neuroscience research from the brain to the fingertips, two University of Alberta medical researchers highlighted their work that is helping to close the gap between new discoveries and patient care.

William Newsome appointed to lead Stanford’s new interdisciplinary neuroscience institute
William Newsome, a professor of neurobiology, says Stanford's new institute will launch a "broad, sustained interdisciplinary attack on solving the problems of the brain." William T. Newsome,

Microbe shown to regulate its host’s biological clock
The Hawaiian bobtail squid seems to have its biological rhythms regulated by a symbiont bacterium, according to new UW-Madison research. Photo: William Ormerod/courtesy Margaret McFall-Ngai At a time when scientists are beginning to recognize the pervasive influence of microbes in a legion of plant and animal functions, new research shows a symbiotic bacterium setting the biological clock of its host animal.

New bird flu strain seen adapting to mammals, humans
Yoshihiro Kawaoka talks with a group of media representatives during a tour of the Influenza Research Institute on Feb.

Science, speculation and the spectre of genetics
Concerned about whether your genes could be patented? Worried about being left in the dust by genetically mutated colleagues or classmates? Losing sleep over what your genes may tell you about your susceptibility to sickness? A University of Alberta professor is championing the call for less fear-based hype and more evidence-based policy on the issue of genetics.

Space-age domes offer a window on ocean acidification
A row of space-age domes off the Washington coast may provide a peek at the future. Not the future of space travel, but of climate change and the effects of increasingly acidic oceans. A University of Washington class is using the nation's first controlled-ocean research tool to study the effects of increased acidity on marine ecosystems.

Blocking a key protein boosts immune system’s ability to clear chronic infection
UCLA scientists have shown that temporarily blocking a protein critical to immune response actually helps the body clear itself of chronic infection. Published in the April 12 edition of the journal Science, the finding suggests new approaches to treating persistent viral infections like HIV and hepatitis C. The research team studied type-1 interferons (IFN-1), proteins released by cells in response to disease-causing organisms.

Scientists map elusive 3-D structure of telomerase enzyme, key actor in cancer, aging
Like finally seeing all the gears of a watch and how they work together, researchers from UCLA and UC Berkeley have, for the first time ever, solved the puzzle of how the various components of an entire telomerase enzyme complex fit together and function in a three-dimensional structure.

Self-medication in animals much more widespread than believed
ANN ARBOR-It's been known for decades that animals such as chimpanzees seek out medicinal herbs to treat their diseases.

U-M professor: Implications loom large in human gene patent case before U.S. Supreme Court
MEDIA ADVISORY ANN ARBOR-A human gene patenting case before the U.S. Supreme Court next week could have major implications for biotechnology research and the public interest in the nation's patent system, according to a University of Michigan expert.

A New Protein Target for Controlling Diabetes
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown biological mechanism involved in the regulation of pancreatic islet beta cells, whose role is to produce and release insulin. The discovery suggests a new therapeutic target for treating dysfunctional beta cells and type 2 diabetes, a disease affecting more than 25 million Americans.

Tuberculosis fighter and promoter reveals what’s behind its split identity
Tumor necrosis factor - normally an infection-fighting substance produced by the body - can actually heighten susceptibility to tuberculosis if its levels are too high.

Drug discovery symposium tracks journey from laboratory to clinic
The myriad efforts to translate Yale research into new therapies will be featured at the third annual "Yale Talks About Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine" symposium to be held April 13 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at West Campus.

Launch of antimalarial drug a triumph for UC Berkeley, synthetic biology
Twelve years after a breakthrough discovery in his University of California, Berkeley, laboratory, professor of chemical engineering Jay Keasling is seeing his dream come true. On April 11, the pharmaceutical company Sanofi will launch the large-scale production of a partially synthetic version of artemisinin, a chemical critical to making today's front-line antimalaria drug, based on Keasling's discovery.

New way to clear cholesterol from the blood
ANN ARBOR-Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified a new potential therapeutic target for lowering cholesterol that could be an alternative or complementary therapy to statins.

Subconscious mental categories help brain sort through everyday experiences
Your brain knows it's time to cook when the stove is on, and the food and pots are out. When you rush away to calm a crying child, though, cooking is over and it's time to be a parent. Your brain processes and responds to these occurrences as distinct, unrelated events. But it remains unclear exactly how the brain breaks such experiences into "events," or the related groups that help us mentally organize the day's many situations.

Clinging to crevices, E. coli thrive
Harvard research reveals the role of the flagellum in helping biofilms colonize rough surfaces : Caroline Perry , (617) 496-1351 Rather than being repelled by nanostructured surfaces, as materials scientists have hoped, bacteria with many flagella seem to love them. (False-color scanning electron micrograph courtesy of Ronn Friedlander and Michael Bucaro.) New research from Harvard University helps to explain how waterborne bacteria can colonize rough surfaces-even those that have been designed to resist water.

Chemist Bozhi Tian selected as 2013 Searle Scholar
Bozhi Tian , assistant professor in chemistry, has been named a 2013 Searle Scholar and will receive $300,000 to support his research over the next three years.

Stanford seeks sea urchin’s secret to surviving ocean acidification
Ocean research reveals rapid evolutionary adaptations to a changing climate. Genetic variation is the key to this ability to deal with higher acidity. By Rob Jordan But little is known about marine species' capacity to adapt evolutionarily to this condition. The delicate embryos of marine species are especially susceptible.

Tracking Yellowstone Wolves
Huck Insitutes graduate student Emily Almberg harnesses the passion of the wolf-watching community with a citizen science website aimed at improving research and public awareness.

Autism in black and white: NIH grant helps scientist study disorder in African Americans
The National Institutes of Health has awarded Dr. Daniel Geschwind, director of the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment , a five-year, $10 million grant to continue his research on the genetic causes of autism spectrum disorders and to expand his investigations to include the genetics of autism in African Americans.

Research advances therapy to protect against dengue virus
Nearly half of the world's population is at risk of infection by the dengue virus, yet there is no specific treatment for the disease. Now a therapy to protect people from the virus could finally be a step closer, thanks to a team at MIT. In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the researchers, from MIT's Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research, present a novel approach to developing a dengue therapy using mutated antibodies.

Blavatnik Family Foundation to provide $10 million grant for immunobiology research at Yale
Scientists at Yale University will test a new theory of inflammation and chronic disease, thanks to a $10 million grant from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the charitable organization headed by American industrialist and philanthropist Len Blavatnik. The grant supports the work of immunobiologists Ruslan Medzhitov and Richard Flavell, who have posed a unifying theory to describe how inflammation can impact the body's homeostatic control mechanisms to trigger the onset of disease.

UW Carbone Cancer Rearchers Named to Pediatric Cancer Dream Team
Watch our compelling patient stories and physician bio videos on American Family Children's Hospital's YouTube channel. UW Carbone Cancer Rearchers Named to Pediatric Cancer Dream Team A "dream team" of pediatric cancer researchers at the UW Carbone Cancer Center is among scientists at seven North American cancer research centers awarded $14.5 million over four years to develop new therapies for high-risk childhood cancers.

Scientists design new adaptive material inspired by tears
Tunable material system is easily adaptable for diverse applications in fuel transport, textiles, and optical systems Imagine a tent that blocks light on a dry and sunny day, and becomes transparent and water-repellent on a dim, rainy day.

Lift weights to lower blood sugar? White muscle helps keep blood glucose levels under control
ANN ARBOR-Researchers in the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan have challenged a long-held belief that whitening of skeletal muscle in diabetes is harmful. In fact, the white muscle that increases with resistance training, age and diabetes helps keep blood sugar in check, the researchers showed.

Stanford’s Hank Greely presents the ethics of resurrecting extinct species
At some point, scientists may be able to bring back extinct animals, and perhaps early humans, raising questions of ethics and environmental disruption.

UW Day at the Capitol showcases research, innovation
Garrett Wink, 7, from DeForest, Wis., comes face to face with a taxidermic badger as Jamie Nack, a wildlife outreach specialist with UW-Madison's Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, displays a

World renowned brain cancer researcher to join UW Medicine
By Clare La Fond, UW Health Sciences/ UW Medicine, & Kristen Woodward, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Posted under: Administrative Affairs , For UW Employees , Health and Medicine , Re

Scientists engineer space-age molecules from nature’s blueprints
The enzyme needed to introduce the key micronutrient selenium into bacteria looks something like a space station with 10 different docking stations.

Book: Brain Imaging: What it Can (and Cannot) Tell Us About Consciousness
YaleNews features works recently or soon to be published by members of the University community. Descriptions are based on material provided by the publishers. Authors of new books may forward publishers' book descriptions to us by email.

DOE renews Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Switchgrass, shown here at UW's Arlington Research Station, can be grown and used for biofuels. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the University of Wisconsin-Madison $25 million per year to fund the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) for another five years.

Mapping the Mind
President Obama announces BRAIN Initiative in which UC San Diego, 'Mesa' colleagues and private-public partners will play key roles President Barack Obama is introduced by Dr.

Celebrating stem cell discoveries
Scientists and officials gathered at New Haven's Omni Hotel on June 2 for StemCONN 013, a symposium celebrating Connecticut's successful discoveries in stem cell research.

Two UAlberta researchers honoured with Killam Prize

Chancellor leads UCLA contingent to White House for announcement of BRAIN Initiative

Switching to a Power Stroke Enables a Tiny But Important Marine Crustacean to Survive
AUSTIN, Texas — Olympic swimmers aren't the only ones who change their strokes to escape competitors. To escape from the jaws and claws of predators in cold, viscous water, marine copepods switch from a wave-like swimming stroke to big power strokes, a behavior that has now been revealed thanks to 3-D high-speed digital holography.

Cells culled from adults may grow human bone
ANN ARBOR-Preparations are underway for the first known human trial to use embryonic-like stem cells collected from adult cells to grow bone.

Ten winning pictures at the intersection of art and science
Captured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), these are nanoflowers made of zinc oxide (ZnO), an important semiconductor in the electronics industry.

President Obama’s new $100 million brain research initiative taps several Stanford scientists
The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) project, which calls for initial federal funding of $100 million, will make use of several innovative technologies invented by Stanford scientists. President Barack Obama announced today a bold research initiative aimed at developing new technologies and methods for understanding the human brain.

Vinothan N. Manoharan promoted to full professor with tenure
Research aims to understand the physics of self-assembly, especially in biological systems Vinothan Manoharan , chemical engineer and expert in the physics of self-assembly, has been granted tenure at Harvard University. He holds a joint appointment at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and in the Department of Physics as Gordon McKay Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Physics.

Personalized Brain Mapping Technique Preserves Function Following Brain Tumor Surgery, Penn Review Reports
Neurosurgeons can visualize important pathways in the brain using an imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to better adapt brain tumor surgeries and preserve language, visual and motor function while removing cancerous tissue.

Soils in newly forested areas store substantial carbon that could help offset climate change
ANN ARBOR-Surface appearances can be so misleading: In most forests, the amount of carbon held in soils is substantially greater than the amount contained in the trees themselves. If you're a land manager trying to assess the potential of forests to offset carbon emissions and climate change by soaking up atmospheric carbon and storing it, what's going on beneath the surface is critical.

Sorting out the structure of a Parkinson’s protein
Computer modeling may resolve conflicting results and offer hints for new drug-design strategies. Clumps of proteins that accumulate in brain cells are a hallmark of neurological diseases such as dementia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Over the past several years, there has been much controversy over the structure of one of those proteins, known as alpha synuclein.

Head-on collisions between DNA-code reading machineries accelerate gene evolution
Posted under: Health and Medicine , News Releases , Research , Science , Technology Bacteria appear to speed up their evolution by positioning specific genes along the route of expected traffic jams in DNA encoding. Certain genes are in prime collision paths for the moving molecular machineries that read the DNA code, as University of Washington scientists explain in this week's edition of Nature .

Making Do with More: Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Engineer Plant Cell Walls to Boost Sugar Yields for Biofuels
When blessed with a resource in overwhelming abundance it's generally a good idea to make valuable use of that resource.

Biologist gets a squid’s eye view
Pursuing the misunderstood Humboldt squid, Hopkins Marine Station's William Gilly has strapped video cameras and electronic sensors to the animals, exhaustively analyzed their habitats, tracked them with sonar and raised their eggs.

Picking Apart Photosynthesis
Chemists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory believe they can now explain one of the remaining mysteries of photosynthesis, the chemical

Childhood asthma tied to combination of genes and wheezing illness
About 90 percent of children with two copies of a common genetic variation and who wheezed when they caught a cold early in life later developed asthma by age 6, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine . These children, all from families with a history of asthma or allergies, were nearly four times as likely to develop the disease as those who lacked the genetic variation and did not wheeze.

Pinning Down the Pain
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says a key protein in Schwann cells performs a critical, perhaps overarching, role in regulating the recovery of peripheral nerves after injury. The discovery has implications for improving the treatment of neuropathic pain, a complex and largely mysterious form of chronic pain that afflicts over 100 million Americans.

UC San Diego Cancer Scientists Named to First Class of AACR Fellows
Five University of California, San Diego scientists and professors are among the first class of the Fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, created to recognize researchers whose scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer. The entire class consists of 106 individuals, to celebrate the 106 year anniversary of AACR, the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research.

Sugar Triggers Plants to Mature to Adulthood, Penn Biologists Find
Like animals, plants go through several stages of development before they reach maturity. It has long been thought that some of the transitions between these stages are triggered by changes in the nutritional status of the plant. Now, based on experiments with the plant Arabidopsis thaliana , a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology has provided fresh insights into the role of sugar in "vegetative phase change," the transition from the juvenile form of a plant to the adult plant.

The Texas Longhorn Genome Decoded
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Longhorn cattle have a hybrid global ancestry, according to a study by University of Texas at Austin researchers published this week in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

Counting White Blood Cells at Home
White blood cells, or leukocytes, are the immune system's warriors. So when an infection or disease attacks the body, the system typically responds by sending more white blood cells into the fray. This means that checking the number of these cells is a relatively easy way to detect and monitor such conditions.

Endangered lemurs' complete genomes are sequenced and analyzed for conservation
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the first time, the complete genomes of three separate populations of aye-ayes - a type of lemur - have been sequenced and analyzed in an effort to help guide conservation efforts.

Hunger-spiking neurons could help control autoimmune diseases
Neurons that control hunger in the central nervous system also regulate immune cell functions, implicating eating behavior as a defense against infections and autoimmune disease development, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS).

Museum exhibit developed at SEAS puts evolution at visitors’ fingertips
Massively detailed, interactive Tree of Life visualization at Harvard Museum of Natural History illustrates the processes of evolution By Bonnie Lei '15 PRESS: Caroline Perry , (617) 496-1351 Photo by Michael S. Horn.

Engineer invents bionic eye to help the blind
Bioengineering professor Wentai Liu uses a toy eyeball to illustrate the electronic retinal implant that helps restore eyesight to the blind.

Laurie McCauley, expert in skeletal biology, appointed dean of the U-M School of Dentistry

Computer Simulations Yield Clues to How Cells Interact With Surroundings
Your cells are social butterflies. They constantly interact with their surroundings, taking in cues on when to divide and where to anchor themselves, among other critical tasks. This networking is driven in part by proteins called integrin, which reside in a cell's outer plasma membrane. Their job is to convert mechanical forces from outside the cell into internal chemical signals that tell the cell what to do.

Expanded Science Expeditions opens doors to UW-Madison research
Children look into microscopes and learn about stem-cell research at a hands-on exploration station at Science Expeditions in April 2011.

Some Alaskan trout use flexible guts for the ultimate binge diet
Imagine having a daylong Thanksgiving feast every day for a month, then, only pauper's rations the rest of the year.

Bell Museum names Artists in Residence
Artists will explore the application of art as a medium for interpreting science in the public realm MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (03/20/2013) —Three Twin Cities area artists and an artists collective have been awarded short-term residencies at the Bell Museum of Natural History.

Songbirds, Both Human and Avian, in Spotlight at Café Science
Every animal has its own specializations—hawks can spot their prey a mile away. Human beings, among other things, have the rare capacity to appreciate language and music.

Researchers create tomatoes that mimic actions of good cholesterol
Published in the April issue of the Journal of Lipid Research and featured on the cover, their early study found that mice that were fed these tomatoes in freeze-dried, ground form had less inflammation and plaque build-up in their arteries. "This is one of the first examples of a peptide that acts like the main protein in good cholesterol and can be delivered by simply eating the plant," said senior author Dr.

Two UC San Diego Researchers Receive New CIRM Grants
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine are principal investigators in two of nine new grants approved today by the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

David Henry Hwang Discusses Identity, Stereotypes and the Writing Life
Prize-winning playwright David Henry Hwang doesn't mind being labeled an Asian-American dramatist. “It's literally true,” he said during a recent visit to Columbia.

Symposium Honors Law Prof. Patricia Williams
After completing her 1991 autobiographical book The Alchemy of Race and Rights , Patricia J. Williams faced a dilemma.

Older small breed dogs get free heart checkup
Owners of older cocker spaniels, dachshunds, cavalier King Charles spaniels, Malteses, miniature poodles, Norfolk terriers and Yorkshire terriers are invited to Cornell March 22-23 to receive a free canine cardiology screening.

Triple copies of gene make maize tolerant to toxic soil
Rendering some of the world's toxic soils moot, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research and Cornell researchers are learning to grow stress-tolerant crops on formerly non-farmable land.

Four UChicago scholars receive early career fellowships from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Four University of Chicago scholars—Dorian Abbot, assistant professor of geophysical sciences, Emir Kamenica, associate professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Jacob Waldbauer, the Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Geophysical Sciences; and Wei Wei, assistant professor of neurobiology—have been named 2013 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows.

Cassava brief: the problem and the genomics approach
What keeps Mtakai Ngara and Teddy Amuge up at night? Thinking about cassava. These young, ambitious, researchers working at the International Institute for Tropical Africa (IITA) just outside Nairobi, Kenya are learning more about genomics to help breed more effective cassava to feed hungry mouths in their native Africa and further afield.

Long-term evolution is ’surprisingly predictable,’ Stanford experiment shows
Stanford Report, March 15, 2013 A protein-folding simulation shows that the debated theory of long-term evolution is not only possible, but that the outcomes are predictable. The Stanford experiment provides a framework for testing evolutionary outcomes in living organisms. Two birds are vying for food.

Outside the box: UCLA uses brain aneurysm treatment to stop irregular heart rhythms
For the first time, a UCLA team has used a technique normally employed in treating brain aneurysms to treat severe, life-threatening irregular heart rhythms in two patients.

Engineers develop high-resolution endoscope as thin as a human hair
Stanford Report, March 14, 2013 Engineers at Stanford have developed a prototype single-fiber endoscope that improves the resolution of these much-sought-after instruments fourfold over existing designs.

Devices no better than meds in recovery from clot-caused strokes
When someone has a stroke, time equals brain. The longer a stroke is left untreated, the more brain tissue is lost. Since the only proven treatment — a clot-busting drug — works in less than half of patients, stroke physicians had high hopes for a mechanical device that could travel through the blocked blood vessel to retrieve or break up the clot, restoring blood flow to the brain.

Innocence Project Northwest wins right of DNA testing for felons serving time in community
Felons who serve part of their prison sentence in the community may now have the right to publicly funded DNA testing, thanks to a court victory won by a student representing the University of Washington School of Law's Innocence Project Northwest.

Classes Without Quizzes offers a peek into everyday science
News Release Nationally recognized U of M experts will present mini-seminars designed for the general public, including students of all ages, Saturday, April 6.

Predictability: The Brass Ring For Synthetic Biology
Predictability is often used synonymously with "boring," as in that story or that outcome was soooo predictable . For practioners of synthetic biology seeking to engineer valuable new microbes, however, predictability is the brass ring that must be captured. Researchers with the multi-institutional partnership known as BIOFAB have become the first to grab at least a portion of this ring by unveiling a package of public domain DNA sequences and statistical models that greatly increase the reliability and precision by which biological systems can be engineered.

Penn Medicine: How the Body's Energy Molecule Transmits Three Types of Taste to the Brain
Saying that the sense of taste is complicated is an understatement, that it is little understood, even more so.

Breaking down the Parkinson’s pathway
New study is first to analyze how affected brain cells respond during different behavioral tasks. The key hallmark of Parkinson's disease is a slowdown of movement caused by a cutoff in the supply of dopamine to the brain region responsible for coordinating movement. While scientists have understood this general process for many years, the exact details of how this happens are still murky.

Researchers trick bacteria to deliver a safer vaccine
Vaccines that employ weakened but live pathogens to trigger immune responses have inherent safety issues but Yale researchers have developed a new trick to circumvent the problem - using bacteria's own cellular mistakes to deliver a safe vaccine.

Species hiding in plain view
ANN ARBOR-Cryptic comments seem to have an ambiguous, obscure or hidden meaning. In biology, cryptic species are outwardly indistinguishable groups whose differences are hidden inside their genes. Two University of Michigan marine biologists have identified three cryptic species of tiny clams, long believed to be members of the same species, which have been hiding in plain view along the rocky shores of southern Australia for millions of years.

UCLA Stroke Center awarded ’comprehensive stroke center’ certification
The UCLA Stroke Center has been certified as a comprehensive stroke center by the Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Scientist at Stanford joins call for major brain research project
Stanford Report, March 11, 2013 Stanford Karl Deisseroth joins a super-team of scientists to propose the Brain Activity Map, a collaborative initiative akin to the Human Genome Project, to better understand how the brain works. Neuroscience has come a long way since the Roman physician Galen prodded gladiators' head wounds and surmised that the brain, and not the heart, was the home of human intelligence.

Reversible assembly leads to tiny encrypted messages
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Hidden in a tiny tile of interwoven DNA is a message. The message is simple, but decoding it unlocks the secret of dynamic nanoscale assembly. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have devised a dynamic and reversible way to assemble nanoscale structures and used it to encrypt a Morse code message.

UCLA ready to take part in national brain activity-mapping initiative
"Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer's; developing drugs to regenerate damaged organs; devising new material to make batteries 10 times more powerful.

Molecular Key to Exhaustion Following Sleep Deprivation
It happens to everyone: You stay up late one night to finish an assignment, and the next day, you're exhausted.

Binge drinking and your brain: Raising risk of dependence
The brains of chronically heavy drinkers have twice the capacity of those of light drinkers to consume a chemical that may add to impairment and some other effects of alcohol, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found. This added capacity may also increase the vulnerability to alcohol dependence, according to the study, which appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

UC San Diego Biologists Produce Rainbow-Colored Algae
What can green algae do for science if they weren't, well, green? That's the question biologists at UC San Diego sought to answer when they engineered a green alga used commonly in laboratories, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, into a rainbow of different colors by producing six different colored fluorescent proteins in the algae cells.

Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Awards $1.6 Million to Young Investigator Suckjoon Jun
One of the newest faculty members at UC San Diego- Suckjoon Jun , an assistant professor of physics and molecular biology-has won a $1.6 million award from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Biology of Time Change
On March 10, clocks across the United States will be moved forward one hour, shifting an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.

World's leading lion researcher calls for a 'Marshall Plan' for African wildlife
News Release MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (03/07/2013) —African lions and villagers would benefit from fences to protect them from each other, according to a new study by University of Minnesota researcher Craig Packer published online by Ecology Letters on Tuesday, March 5.

New Cancer Council Combines Local Centers’ Strengths
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute come together in novel collaboration San Diego is a powerhouse for cancer re

Illuminating fractures: X-ray imaging sheds new light on damage in bone
From athletes to individuals suffering from osteoporosis, bone fractures are usually the result of tiny cracks accumulating over time - invisible rivulets of damage that, when coalesced, lead to that painful break.

Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old brain young
The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now Yale School of Medicine researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse.

Donald Rowley, pioneering immunologist, 1923-2013
Donald Rowley, a pioneer in discovering how the immune system functions and the inventor of the gel electrode, a crucial tool that monitors cardiac activity, died at his home Feb.

Why do we eat what we eat?
When it comes to food choice, Nadia Byrnes is something of a natural. "My friends always joke that when they need a new place to eat they don't Google it, they just ask me," says the Penn State doctoral student.

Stressed-out tadpoles grow larger tails to escape predators
ANN ARBOR-When people or animals are thrust into threatening situations such as combat or attack by a predator, stress hormones are released to help prepare the organism to defend itself or to rapidly escape from danger-the so-called fight-or-flight response. Now University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated for the first time that stress hormones are also responsible for altering the body shape of developing animals, in this case the humble tadpole, so they are better equipped to survive predator attacks.

Do We Owe Our Sense of Smell to Epigenetics?
Olfactory sensory neurons - nerve cells in the nose - directly sense molecules that convey scent, then send the signals to the brain.

Reducing effects of traumatic events
Reducing fear and stress following a traumatic event could be as simple as providing a protein synthesis blocker to the brain, report a team of researchers from McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, McGill University, and Massachusetts General Hospital in a paper published in the March 4 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

International Consortium Builds ’Google Map’ of Human Metabolism
Recon 2 is the most comprehensive virtual reconstruction of the human metabolic network to date, assemble by an international consortium of researchers, who liken it to a 'Google map' of metabolism. Image Credit: Anna Dröfn Daníelsdóttir, Freyr Jóhannsson, Soffía Jónsdóttir, Sindri Jarlsson, Jón Pétur Gunnarsson & Ronan M. T. Fleming from the University of Iceland.