Propeller.com Stories submitted by GregD

Bone drugs seen helping fight cancer spread

GregD — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:06:28 EDT

A drug prescribed to prevent fractures in breast cancer patients whose tumors have spread may actually help slow the cancer itself, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: zometa fractures breast cancer

Key molecule discovered in Venus's atmosphere

GregD — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:27:58 EDT

Venus Express has detected the molecule hydroxyl on another planet for the first time. This detection gives scientists an important new tool to unlock the workings of Venus's dense atmosphere.

Channel: Science Tags: hydroxl venus hydrogen oxygen

Team gets inside a long-suspected HIV hideout in humans

GregD — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:25:01 EDT

Scientists have broken inside a cell long suspected of harboring HIV during drug treatment and determined it is indeed a reservoir of the virus in humans, where it remains highly infectious.

Channel: Science Tags: HIV byu brigham young follicular dendritic cells fdcs

Molecular 'clock' could predict risk for developing breast cancer

GregD — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:22:54 EDT

A chemical reaction in genes that control breast cancer provides a molecular clock that could one day help researchers more accurately determine a woman's risk for developing breast cancer and provide a new approach for treatment, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: breast cancer genes ut southwestern medical center

Argonne scientists use lasers to align molecules

GregD — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:44:01 EDT

Protein crystallographers have only scratched the surface of the human proteins important for drug interactions because of difficulties crystallizing the molecules for synchrotron X-ray diffraction....

Channel: Science Tags: argonne national laboratory lasers molecules

Lab-on-a-Chip Made of Paper

GregD — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:41:55 EDT

By taking advantage of the natural movement of liquid through paper, researchers at Harvard's Whitesides Research Group may have found a way to make microfluidics technology much cheaper. The result could be disposable diagnostic tests simple and abundant enough for use in the developing world.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: harvard whitesides research group microfluidics paper liquid

Hospitals' care standards 'vary'

GregD — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:51:41 EDT

Most patients staying overnight in hospital are happy with their care, but this masks problems in key areas and variations in standards, a survey says.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: hospitals england standards of care

A startup can detect tiny traces of cancer markers in blood samples.

GregD — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:25:58 EDT

One of the loftier dreams of personalized medicine is to detect and eliminate tumors before they become life threatening--before they are even visible on medical images. Now a Cambridge, MA, startup called Quanterix is developing an extremely sensitive protein-detection technology that can count single molecules...

Channel: Science Tags: blood samples cancer detection molecular

Norway island stores wind power for still days

GregD — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:23:19 EDT

How to keep the lights on when all is still and the local windmill won't budge? A small Norwegian island testing a way to store wind-generated energy for calm days may have found the answer.

Channel: Science Tags: wind power still days utsira norway

Calories count, but what about fat, sugar and carbs?

GregD — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:14:24 EDT

Kevin Kopjak doesn't care much about carbs, fat, sodium or high fructose corn syrup. He generally reads only two things on a nutrition label: the portion size and the calories. He says the strategy has helped him lose and keep off 100 pounds.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: counting calories fat sugar carbs

Would you allow your child to participate in medical research?

GregD — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:43:14 EDT

Advances in medicine -- new treatments, cures, vaccines and medicines -- are driven by research involving humans. But when it comes to medical research that requires children to be involved, researchers often struggle to find participants.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: children medical studies research

Suspected cause of type 1 diabetes caught "red-handed" for the first time

GregD — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:15:18 EDT

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis working with diabetic mice have examined in unprecedented detail the immune cells long thought to be responsible for type 1 diabetes.

Channel: Science Tags: diabetes type 1 washington university school of medicine

Human ageing gene found in flies

GregD — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:13:49 EDT

Working at the University of Oxford and The Open University, Dr Lynne Cox and Dr Robert Saunders have discovered a gene in fruit flies that means flies can now be used to study the effects ageing has on DNA.

Channel: Science Tags: aging ageing fruit flies dna

A New Approach to Treating Alzheimer's

GregD — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:10:32 EDT

Earlier this year, neurosurgeon Andres Lozano published a startling finding. He was testing deep-brain stimulation, in which electrical current is delivered directly to the brain, as a treatment for obesity. The patient's weight showed little change, but his memory improved significantly.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: alzheimers treatment brain stimulation

Newer Prostate Cancer Treatment Similar to Traditional Surgery

GregD — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:27:32 EDT

According to a new study, many patients are getting a newer, minimally invasive surgery, because they think it is better than conventional surgery, even though there is little data on actual differences in outcomes between the two.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: prostate cancer surgery

A crash course in true political science

GregD — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:32:05 EDT

Daniel Suson has a doctorate in astrophysics and has worked on the superconducting super collider and a forthcoming NASA probe. Now he's heading back to school to take on an even trickier task -- getting elected to public office.

Channel: Politics Tags: science scientists evidence public office

European Space Agency recruiting young blood

GregD — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:30:24 EDT

The ESA is looking to rejuvenate its aging corps by choosing at least four new astronauts to fly on missions to the space station or the Moon

Channel: Science Tags: esa young blood astronauts moon space station

Why Do People Sleepwalk?

GregD — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:09:52 EDT

If you've been recently rescued from sleepwalking, here's a possible reason why you went zombie - lack of sleep.

Channel: Science Tags: sleepwalking sleep walking lack of sleep

New discovery on role of vital protein that fights meningitis

GregD — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:54:54 EDT

A University of Leicester researcher has discovered how a protein in the blood -- linked to defence against meningitis - plays a more vital role than previously understood in the body's immune defence system.

Channel: Science Tags: proteins meningitis blood university of leicester

Building the Zero-Emissions City

GregD — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:32:54 EDT

Last week, in the harsh desert climate of Abu Dhabi, construction started on a city that will house 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses but use extremely little energy, and what it does use will come from renewable sources.

Channel: Science Tags: masdar initiative zero emissions abu dhabi renewable energy

Mind Control by Cell Phone

GregD — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:30:54 EDT

Electromagnetic signals from cell phones can change your brainwaves and behavior. But don't break out the aluminum foil head shield just yet.

Channel: Science Tags: cell phones brainwaves electromagnetic

Scientists map the genetic makeup of the platypus

GregD — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:26:43 EDT

Scientists said they have mapped the genetic makeup of the platypus -- one of nature's strangest animals with a bill like a duck's, a mammal's fur and snake-like venom.

Channel: Science Tags: platypus genomes genetics

Diet pills may harm brain development

GregD — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:22:36 EDT

A drug from a new class of weight-loss treatments disrupted wiring needed for brain development in young mice, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, raising concerns about using such medications in children.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: weight loss pills diet pills brain development children

New Orleans mayor pushing residents to leave FEMA trailers

GregD — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:41:21 EDT

Lingering fears about formaldehyde fumes inside federally issued trailers and the impending hurricane season have Mayor Ray Nagin pushing to empty thousands of the structures, intended as temporary housing after Katrina.

Channel: News Tags: fema trailers new orleans formaldehyde

Why I hope the search for extraterrestrial life finds nothing.

GregD — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:21:36 EDT

Such a discovery would be of tremendous scientific significance. What could be more fascinating than discovering life that had evolved entirely independently of life here on Earth? Many people would also find it heartening to learn that we are not entirely alone in this vast, cold cosmos. But I hope that our Mars probes discover nothing.

Channel: Science Tags: et extraterrestrial mars space universe

Regenerating the Trachea

GregD — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:58:19 EDT

MIT tissue engineers have successfully healed airway injuries in rabbits using a technique they believe could apply to the trachea and other parts of the human body.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: trachea mit tissue engineers

Transplant mishap, an MS breakthrough

GregD — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:55:21 EDT

AN experiment that went wrong may provide a new way to treat multiple sclerosis, a Canadian researcher has claimed. Patients who got bone marrow stem-cell transplants - similar to those given to leukemia patients -- have enjoyed a mysterious remission of their disease.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: bone marrow stem cells multiple sclerosis leukemia

Are There Missing Pieces to the Human Genome Project?

GregD — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:01:19 EDT

A new study finds up to 250 regions where the reference genome sequenced over 13 years may be missing information

Channel: Science Tags: sequencing human genome project genomes missing information

Is this the rice super-gene?

GregD — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:59:56 EDT

Researchers in China have pinpointed an elusive gene that plays a linchpin role in determining the harvest potential of rice, according to a study released on Sunday by the journal Nature Genetics.

Channel: Science Tags: rice super gene china

Black Hole Rips Apart Screaming Star

GregD — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:56:54 EDT

In a distant galaxy, a star orbiting a massive central black hole strays too close to the insatiable giant and is torn apart. But before it can be devoured, the star lets out one last scream in a flare of light that slowly echoes across the galaxy. Astronomers on Earth pick up this faint call and use it to map the nucleus of the galaxy from which it emanated.

Channel: Science Tags: black hole space screaming star

Does your brain have a mind of its own?

GregD — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:45:10 EDT

Human beings are, to put it gently, in a unique position in the animal world. We're the only species smart enough to plan systematically for the future -- yet we remain dumb enough to ditch even our most carefully made plans in favor of short-term gratification.

Channel: Science Tags: brain humans instant gratification

DNA test to take less than 45 mins?

GregD — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:51:24 EDT

A University of Virginia forensic chemist has developed a method for handling rape evidence that reduces part of the DNA analysis time from 24 hours to as little as 30 to 45 minutes. The method also improves the sperm cell recovery rate by 100 percent.

Channel: Science Tags: dna test university of virginia forensic chemist rape evidence

Science Project Yields Surprising Data About a Siberian Lake

GregD — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:49:44 EDT

In 1945, when Stalin ruled the Soviet Union, Mikhail M. Kozhov began keeping track of what was happening under the surface of Lake Baikal, the ancient Siberian lake that is the deepest and largest body of fresh water on earth.

Channel: Science Tags: siberia lake lake baikal mikhail kozhov propeller eco news

Redefining Disease, Genes and All

GregD — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:43:07 EDT

Duchenne muscular dystrophy may not seem to have much in common with heart attacks. One is a rare inherited disease that primarily strikes boys. The other is a common cause of death in both men and women. To Atul J. Butte, they are surprisingly similar.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: duchenne muscular dystrophy heart attack

ESA contributes to ocean carbon cycle research

GregD — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:42:13 EDT

The Earth's oceans play a vital role in the carbon cycle, making it imperative that we understand marine biological activity enough to predict how our planet will react to the extra 25 000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the atmosphere annually.

Channel: Science Tags: ESA carbon marine biology carbon dioxide

Idaho team readies artificial beak for wounded bald eagle

GregD — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:41:05 EDT

She has been named Beauty, though this eagle is anything but. Part of Beauty's beak was shot off several years ago, leaving her with a stump that is useless for hunting food. A team of volunteers is working to attach an artificial beak to the disfigured bird, in an effort to keep her alive.

Channel: Science Tags: eagle artificial beak beauty

Nixing immaturity in red blood cells

GregD — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:26:07 EDT

A process of self-digestion called autophagy prompts the maturation of red blood cells. Without a protein called Nix, the cells would not effectively rid themselves of organelles called mitochondria and consequently become short-lived, leading to anemia, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature.

Channel: Science Tags: red blood cells autophagy self digestion nix baylor college of medicine

Turning fungus into fuel

GregD — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:24:20 EDT

A spidery fungus with a voracious appetite for military uniforms and canvas tents could hold the key to improvements in the production of biofuels, a team of government, academic and industry researchers announced.

Channel: Science Tags: fungus fuel T. reesei

Danger may be the spice that makes fugu so tasty

GregD — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:36:37 EDT

Poison has been as integral to fugu, the funny-looking, potentially deadly puffer fish prized by Japanese gourmets, as the savor of its pricey meat. So consider fugu, but poison-free.

Channel: Food Tags: fugu puffer fish japan

Peanut allergy solution due in 5 years

GregD — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:36:54 EDT

A form of immunotherapy that could get rid of a person's allergy to peanuts is likely within five years, a US expert says.

Channel: Health & Fitness Tags: peanuts allergies vaccine