Curated News: PNAS

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Released: 15-Nov-2017 2:45 PM EST
Does this One Gene Fuel Obesity?
University of North Carolina Health Care System

New research from the Research Triangle suggests that variants in a gene called ankyrin-B – carried by millions of Americans – could cause people to put on pounds through no fault of their own.

   
Released: 14-Nov-2017 10:05 AM EST
Twisting Molecule Wrings More Power from Solar Cells
Department of Energy, Office of Science

Readily rotating molecules let electrons last, resulting in higher solar cell efficiency.

Released: 13-Nov-2017 5:05 PM EST
Investment Portfolio Theory Helps Scientists Predict Animal Population Growth
Stony Brook University

A study published in PNAS details a new “landscape portfolio” theory that is based on Markowitz’s “portfolio theory” in economics, melded with ecological landscape theory to predict population growth of living things.

8-Nov-2017 2:25 PM EST
How Much Will We Pay for Something? Depends on the Value of What We’ve Just Encountered
New York University

The value of the products we encounter influences how much we’ll subsequently pay for other items, new neuroscience research has found. The results point to a previously undetected factor that affects consumer behavior.

   
Released: 9-Nov-2017 9:30 AM EST
Wolters Kluwer New Quizzing Tool Delivers Personalized Learning for Millennials and Next Generation Medical Students and Residents
Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott

Wolters Kluwer Health unveiled a quizzing engine that delivers personalized learning and on-the-go insights to support how, when and where today’s medical students want to learn. The powerful quizzing tool allows students to track progress, view results and build customized quizzes to focus their training on specific subjects, topics or areas of weakness. It’s an important addition to contemporary medical education, which supports mobile access and tailors content to ensure medical students and residents more easily learn and retain information that prepares them for clinical practice.

   
Released: 8-Nov-2017 3:25 PM EST
Scientists Find Missing Clue to How HIV Hacks Cells to Propagate Itself
University of Chicago

Computer modeling has helped a team of scientists, including several scholars from the University of Chicago, to decode previously unknown details about the "budding" process by which HIV forces cells to spread the virus to other cells. The findings, published Nov. 7 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may offer a new avenue for drugs to combat the virus.

   
2-Nov-2017 11:05 AM EDT
Cool Idea: Magma Held in ‘Cold Storage’ Before Giant Volcano Eruption
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Long Valley, California, has long defined the “super-eruption.” About 765,000 years ago, a pool of molten rock exploded into the sky. Within one nightmarish week, 760 cubic kilometers of lava and ash spewed out in the kind of volcanic cataclysm we hope never to witness. A new study shows that the giant body of magma — molten rock — at Long Valley was much cooler before the eruption than previously thought.

6-Nov-2017 3:05 PM EST
Lipids Influence How Sick You Get From a Bacterial Infection
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Researchers from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maastricht deomonstrated their ability to use mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) in tracking disease progression, opening avenues for future research into the applicability of MSI for disease studies and the development of therapeutics that target lipids to treat infection.

Released: 2-Nov-2017 7:05 PM EDT
Scientists Decipher Mechanisms Underlying the Biology of Aging
University of California San Diego

Scientists have helped decipher the dynamics that control how our cells age, and with it implications for extending human longevity. The group used cutting-edge computational and experimental approaches to discover new details about chromatin silencing. The bottom line: balance is the key to aging.

26-Oct-2017 3:45 PM EDT
Spider Silk Could Be Used to Power Microphones in Hearing AIDS, Cell Phones
Binghamton University, State University of New York

Would you want a spider web inside your ear? Probably not. But if you’re able to put aside the creepy factor, new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York shows that fine fibers like spider silk actually improve the quality of microphones for hearing aids.

Released: 24-Oct-2017 12:05 PM EDT
No Magic Wand Required: Scientists Propose Way to Turn Any Cell Into Any Other Kind of Cell
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

In fairy tales, all it takes to transform a frog into a prince or a mouse into a horse is the wave of a magic wand. But in the real world, transforming one living cell into another - for instance a skin cell into a nerve cell - isn’t so easy. Now, scientists lay out a possible way to do it directly.

Released: 24-Oct-2017 8:05 AM EDT
The Sound of Silence
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Sound waves could be the future of biomedical research, diagnosing and treatment, says Peng Li, a chemistry professor at West Virginia University. Li is a data analyst for an ongoing research study using an acoustic device to separate extracellular vesicles for a deeper look at their properties.

Released: 23-Oct-2017 3:05 PM EDT
Cryo-EM Reveals Ignition Mechanism for DNA Replication
Van Andel Institute

An international team of scientists, led by structural biologists at Van Andel Research Institute, has shed new light on a critical step in DNA replication, offering fresh insights into a fundamental process of life and driver of many different diseases, including cancer.

Released: 17-Oct-2017 2:05 PM EDT
Does Faculty Productivity Really Decline with Age?
University of Colorado Boulder

Conventional wisdom holds that a faculty member's research career peaks at about five years, followed by a steady decline in productivity. But new research shows this stereotype is "remarkably inaccurate."

16-Oct-2017 10:00 AM EDT
Risk of Caesarean Section Is Heritable
University of Vienna

Women born by Caesarean section due to a fetopelvic disproportion (FDP) are more than twice as likely to develop FDP when giving birth than women born naturally. This is the conclusion of a study by a team of evolutionary biologists at the University of Vienna headed by Philipp Mitteroecker. Using a mathematical model, the team was able to explain the paradoxical phenomenon that natural selection did not lead to the reduction in the rates of obstructed labour. Empirical data also support that the regular use of C-sections has already triggered an evolutionary increase of FPD rates.

   
Released: 13-Oct-2017 9:20 AM EDT
Model Predicts How E. coli Bacteria Adapt Under Stress
University of California San Diego

Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a genome-scale model that can accurately predict how E. coli bacteria respond to temperature changes and genetic mutations. The work sheds light on how cells adapt under environmental stress and has applications in precision medicine, where adaptive cell modeling could provide patient-specific treatments for bacterial infections.

   
Released: 12-Oct-2017 4:05 PM EDT
Converting Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide Using Water, Electricity
University of Illinois Chicago

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis have determined how electrocatalysts can convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide using water and electricity. The discovery can lead to the development of efficient electrocatalysts for large scale production of synthesis gas — a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

Released: 12-Oct-2017 11:05 AM EDT
Discovering the Genetic Timekeepers in Bioenergy Crops
Department of Energy, Office of Science

A new class of plant-specific genes required for flowering control in temperate grasses is found.

Released: 11-Oct-2017 8:05 AM EDT
A Complex Little Alga that Lives by the Sea
Department of Energy, Office of Science

The genetic material of Porphyra umbilicalis reveals the mechanisms by which it thrives in the stressful intertidal zone at the edge of the ocean.

6-Oct-2017 3:30 PM EDT
Alzheimer’s Gene Poses Both Risk — and Benefits
Washington University in St. Louis

Scientists drilling down to the molecular roots of Alzheimer’s disease have encountered a good news/bad news scenario. The bad news is that in the early stages of the disease, high-risk TREM2 variants can hobble the immune system’s ability to protect the brain from amyloid beta. The good news, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is that later in the disease, the absence of TREM2 protein seems to protect the brain from damage.

Released: 4-Oct-2017 4:05 PM EDT
Speeding Materials Discovery Puts Solar Fuels on the Fast Track to Commercial Viability
Department of Energy, Office of Science

In just two years, a process that was developed by Molecular Foundry staff and users has nearly doubled the number of materials with the potential for using sunlight to produce fuel.

Released: 26-Sep-2017 4:50 PM EDT
Using Spare Parts Might “Jump-Start” Protein Design
Weizmann Institute of Science

Weizmann Institute scientists find that including “non-ideal” components in the design may be key to functional artificial proteins

Released: 26-Sep-2017 12:05 PM EDT
Amount of Water in Stem Cells Can Determine Its Fate as Fat or Bone
University at Buffalo

Adding or removing water from a stem cell can change the destiny of the cell to either pre-fat cells or pre-bone cells, researchers have discovered in a new study published in PNAS.

21-Sep-2017 3:00 PM EDT
UC San Diego Researchers Explain the Mechanism of Asexual Reproduction in Freshwater Flatworms
University of California San Diego

Scientists have nailed the biomechanics of a centuries-long puzzle on how freshwater flatworms reproduce. Asexual flatworms called planarians tear themselves into two pieces that go on to form two new worms. Researchers are now able to predict where planarian fission occurs based on its anatomy.

Released: 22-Sep-2017 3:15 PM EDT
Researchers Describe Mechanism That Underlies Age-Associated Bone Loss
University of Alabama at Birmingham

A major health problem in older people is age-associated osteoporosis — the thinning of bone and the loss of bone density that increases the risk of fractures. Researchers have now detailed an underlying mechanism leading to that osteoporosis.

15-Sep-2017 3:40 PM EDT
Catching a Diversity of Fish Species — Instead of Specializing — Means More Stable Income for Fishers
University of Washington

A team of scientists analyzed nearly 30 years of revenue and permitting records for individuals fishing in Alaskan waters and tracked how their fishing choices, in terms of permits purchased and species caught, influenced their year-to-year income volatility.

Released: 18-Sep-2017 8:00 AM EDT
Genetically Altered Mice Bear Some Hallmarks of Human Bipolar Behavior
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins researchers report they have genetically engineered mice that display many of the behavioral hallmarks of human bipolar disorder, and that the abnormal behaviors the rodents show can be reversed using well-established drug treatments for bipolar disorder, such as lithium.

Released: 12-Sep-2017 12:05 PM EDT
“Superbug” Bacteria Gang Up on US, Fueled by Antibiotic Use, Nursing Home Study Suggests
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

What’s worse than getting exposed to a kind of bacteria that modern antibiotics can’t kill? Getting exposed to more than one – because they may work together to cause an infection, new research suggests. It’s time to think about such bacteria as members of an antibiotic-resistant ecosystem in healthcare environments – not as single species.

Released: 12-Sep-2017 10:05 AM EDT
SLU Researcher Discovers How Hibernating Ribosomes Wake Up
Saint Louis University Medical Center

Saint Louis University scientist Mee-Ngan F. Yap, Ph.D.,has uncovered the way a bacterial ribosome moves from an inactive to an active form, and how that "wake up call" is key to its survival.

Released: 5-Sep-2017 12:05 PM EDT
Mystery Solved: How Thyroid Hormone Prods Red Blood Cell Production
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

For more than a century, the link between thyroid hormone and red blood cell production has remained elusive. Now, Whitehead scientists have teased about the mechanism that connects them, which could help scientists identify new therapies for specific types of anemia.

Released: 5-Sep-2017 8:55 AM EDT
Vitamin B12 Fuels Microbial Growth
Department of Energy, Office of Science

Scarce compound, vitamin B12, is key for cellular metabolism and may help shape microbial communities that affect environmental cycles and bioenergy production.

Released: 30-Aug-2017 4:05 PM EDT
Protecting the Guardians
Harvard Medical School

A study led by scientists at Harvard Medical School reveals that a gene that has a protective influence against diabetes is powerfully shaped by the trillions of intestinal bacteria collectively known as the gut microbiota.

25-Aug-2017 1:50 PM EDT
Coral Skeletons May Resist the Effects of Acidifying Oceans
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Coral skeletons are the building blocks of diverse coral reef ecosystems, which has led to increasing concern over how these key species will cope with warming and acidifying oceans that threaten their stability. New research provides evidence that at least one species of coral build their hard, calcium carbonate skeletons faster, and in bigger pieces, than previously thought.

Released: 22-Aug-2017 2:20 PM EDT
Research: City’s Infrastructure, Not Population, Plays Greater Role in Ecological Impact
Northern Arizona University

The ecological footprint of a city spreads far beyond its city limits, resulting in local and total extinction of hundreds of aquatic species in North America. Recent research quantifies the adverse effects while looking ahead to how cities can help.

Released: 15-Aug-2017 1:10 PM EDT
Lake Trout Adjust Their Behaviour in the Face of a Changing Climate, New Study
University of Manitoba

Canadian scientists have discovered that certain lake predators are altering their behaviour due to climate change, revealing what the future may hold for these fish and their food.

2-Aug-2017 2:05 PM EDT
New Look at Archaic DNA Rewrites Human Evolution Story
University of Utah

A U-led team developed a method for analyzing DNA sequence data to reconstruct early history of archaic human populations, revealing an evolutionary story that contradicts conventional wisdom about modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans. The Neanderthal-Denisovan lineage nearly went extinct after separating from modern humans. Just 300 generations later, Neanderthals and Denisovans diverged around 744,000 years ago. The global Neanderthal population grew to tens of thousands of individuals living in fragmented, isolated populations.

Released: 2-Aug-2017 2:35 PM EDT
Marriage of Microscopy Techniques Reveals 3D Structure of Critical Protein Complex
Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have solved the three-dimensional structure of a complex that is essential for the correct sorting of chromosomes into eggs and sperm during reproductive cell division or meiosis.

Released: 2-Aug-2017 8:05 AM EDT
Fish Out of Water: Loss of 350 Miles of Great Plains Streams Causing Changes in Aquatic Food Web
Kansas State University

A decrease in Great Plains streams, fed by decreasing ground water, is changing fish assembles according to research published Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Released: 1-Aug-2017 9:05 AM EDT
Investigators Use Light to Kill Microbial ‘Vampires’
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

If S. aureus is going to drink our blood like a vampire, let's kill it with sunlight

28-Jul-2017 5:00 PM EDT
A Semiconductor That Can Beat the Heat
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A newly discovered collective rattling effect in a type of crystalline semiconductor blocks most heat transfer while preserving high electrical conductivity – a rare pairing that scientists say could reduce heat buildup in electronic devices and turbine engines, among other possible applications.

Released: 27-Jul-2017 10:30 AM EDT
Shedding Light Deeper Into the Human Brain
Texas A&M University

Dr. Vladislav Yakovlev, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been developing a more efficient way of propagating light through an opaque medium. Propagation of light refers to the way that light travels from one point to another, in this case, through a medium, such as human tissue.

Released: 18-Jul-2017 12:05 PM EDT
Cornell Researchers Uncover Fresh Role for Nitric Oxide
Cornell University

Cornell University chemists have uncovered a fresh role for nitric oxide that could send biochemical textbooks back for revision.

Released: 17-Jul-2017 8:00 AM EDT
Immune System Found to Control Eye Tissue Renewal in Zebrafish
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine report evidence that zebrafishes’ natural ability to regenerate their eyes’ retinal tissue can be accelerated by controlling the fishes’ immune systems. Because evolution likely conserved this mechanism of regenerative potential in other animals, the new findings may one day advance efforts to combat degenerative eye disease damage in humans.

   
28-Jun-2017 12:05 PM EDT
What's in a Name? Big Data Approach Reveals Distinctive Patterns in Higher Education Systems
University of Chicago Medical Center

Using lists of names collected from publicly available websites, two University of Chicago researchers have revealed distinctive patterns in higher education systems, ranging from ethnic representation, to gender imbalance in the sciences, to nepotism in Italian universities.

28-Jun-2017 2:00 PM EDT
How Babies’ Environments Lead to Poor Health Later
Northwestern University

New Northwestern University research underscores how environmental conditions early in development can cause inflammation in adulthood -- an important risk factor for a wide range of diseases of aging, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and dementia.

28-Jun-2017 4:50 PM EDT
Utah Is Home to Earliest Use of a Wild Potato in North America
University of Utah

Researchers have discovered the earliest evidence of wild potato use in North America. This is the first archaeological study to identify a spud-bearing species native to the southwestern United States, the Four Corners potato (S. jamesii), as an important part of ancient human diets.

Released: 29-Jun-2017 11:05 AM EDT
New System Makes Fast, Customized Antibiotic Treatments Possible
American Technion Society

Using nanotechnology, image processing tools and statistical analysis, Technion researchers have developed a system that enables faster diagnostics, earlier and more effective treatment of infectious bacteria, and improved patient recovery times.

   
Released: 28-Jun-2017 3:05 PM EDT
Novel Molecular Dynamics Captures Atomic-level Detail of CRISPR-Cas9 Activity
University of California San Diego

A team led by UC San Diego researchers has identified, for the first time, the myriad structural changes that activate and drive CRISPR-Cas9, the innovative gene-splicing technology that’s transforming the field of genetic engineering.

Released: 27-Jun-2017 4:55 PM EDT
Researchers Define Structure of Key Enzyme Implicated in Cancer, Neurological Disease
Stony Brook University

A Stony Brook University-led team of researchers has determined the structure of a key enzyme involved with cell growth regulation in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Released: 27-Jun-2017 2:05 PM EDT
Harnessing Cancer’s Methylation Footprint for More Precise Diagnosis and Prognosis
UC San Diego Health

In a new study, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Xijing Hospital and Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center in China, report that DNA methylation can provide effective markers for at least four major cancers, not only correctly differentiating malignant tissues from normal, but also providing information on prognosis and survival.



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