news 2014

A systematic overview of more than 100 studies comparing organic and conventional farming finds that the crop yields of organic agriculture are higher than previously thought. The study, conducted by UC Berkeley researchers, also found that certain practices could further shrink the productivity gap between organic crops and conventional farming.

Reproductive strategies Study finds that the slower 'eusocial' system in nature offers high risks, high rewards I t's a cliché to say it takes a village to raise a child, but it's a cliché some creatures have taken to heart. A handful of animals, including ants, bees, termites, and some birds, are what scientists call "eusocial." That is, they live in tight-knit groups in which some individuals give up some of their reproductive capacity to care for the offspring of others.

Press release issued: 9 December 2014 With over 42 million horses and 95 per cent of the world's donkeys found in developing countries, new research could change the health and welfare of millions of working animals in some of the poorest parts of the world. The three research studies led by Dr Becky Whay , Reader in Animal Welfare and Behaviour in the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol, aim to build greater understanding and encourage collaboration in addressing the welfare problems of the world's working equids.

New Caledonian crows, well known for wielding tools such as sticks, prefer to hold a tool on the left or the right sides of their beaks, in much the same way that people are leftor right-handed. Now researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology suggest that those bill preferences enable each bird to keep the tip of its tool in view of the eye on the opposite side of its head.

Our structure (research) Impact of our research Postgraduate research 09 Dec 2014 New research from the British Election Study has revealed that contrary to the popular view, Ukip is no more successful at winning over the politically disengaged than the other parties. Professor Jane Green from The University of Manchester and a Co-Director of the BES, says only the Greens are set to gain more in 2015 from people who didn't vote in either the 2005 and 2010 elections.

Berkeley Lab experiment, scheduled to go aboard the International Space Station, will explore the effects of weightlessness and low-dose radiation. The crew of the International Space Station will soon be joined by 180 mice from Berkeley Lab. Their mission: help scientists learn how space travel affects the immune system, organ development, and reproduction across generations.

"We found that e-cigarettes appear to be less addictive than tobacco cigarettes in a large sample of long-term users," said Jonathan Foulds. HERSHEY, Pa. E-cigarettes appear to be less addictive than cigarettes for former smokers and this could help improve understanding of how various nicotine delivery devices lead to dependence, according to researchers.

In order to multiply, influenza viruses are dependent on cells of a human or animal body. They board those cells, for example all along the lung surface, and their genetic material migrates into the nucleus, where it is replicated. As a result, new viruses come to life. A team led by scientists from the Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (CiM), University of Münster, has now, for the first time, succeeded in visualizing structures of the viral genome inside of human cells by light microscopy.

One in four Connecticut high school students surveyed report having tried an e-cigarette, a Yale-led study has found. The Yale study provides one of the first comprehensive evaluations of e-cigarette use among Connecticut youth. "We were surprised so many kids were using these products," said Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, associate professor in psychiatry and lead author of the study, which appeared Dec.

Our structure (research) Impact of our research Postgraduate research 09 Dec 2014 The British Election Study is today launching a 12-minute film showcasing its essential task of throwing light on politics in a crucial period for British democracy. The film, T he British Election Study: Understanding British Democracy , features two of the nation's leading journalists Michael Crick and Alastair Stewart.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. When a large protein unfolds in transit through a cell, it slows down and can get stuck in traffic. Using a specialized microscope - a sort of cellular traffic camera - University of Illinois chemists now can watch the way the unfolded protein diffuses. Studying the relationship between protein folding and transport could provide great insight into protein-misfolding diseases such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's.

Off the West Coast of the United States, methane gas is trapped in frozen layers below the seafloor. New research from the University of Washington shows that water at intermediate depths is warming enough to cause these carbon deposits to melt, releasing methane into the sediments and surrounding water.

Scientists have discovered a mechanism in the brain that may drive our appetite for foods rich in glucose and could lead to treatments for obesity. Glucose is a component of carbohydrates, and the main energy source used by brain cells. By studying rats, a team at Imperial College London identified a mechanism that appears to sense how much glucose is reaching the brain, and prompts animals to seek more if it detects a shortfall.

Stem cells lacking the protein have an increased ability to replicate in the natural environment and following transplantation Peter Bracke UCLA scientists have for the first time identified a protein that plays a key role in regulating how blood stem cells replicate in humans. This discovery lays the groundwork for a better understanding of how this protein controls blood stem cell growth and regeneration, and could lead to the development of more effective therapies for a wide range of blood diseases and cancers.

Press release issued: 8 December 2014 Low doses of fluoxetine - better known as the anti-depressant Prozac - could hold the key to preventing PMS symptoms, an international team of researchers has found. Up to 80 per cent of women are thought to suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS), which can be a debilitating condition with symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, fatigue, sleep deprivation and increased sensitivity to pain.

The latest results of clinical trials of more than 125 patients testing an investigational personalized cellular therapy known as CTL019 will be presented by a University of Pennsylvania research team at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

If you want your child to tell the truth, it's best not to threaten to punish them if they lie. That's what researchers discovered through a simple experiment involving 372 children between the ages of 4 and 8. How the experiment was done The researchers, led by Prof. Victoria Talwar of McGill's Dept.

Scientists have taken an important step towards the possibility of creating synthetic life with the development of a form of artificial evolution in a simple chemistry set without DNA. A team from the University of Glasgow's School of Chemistry report in a new paper today (Monday 8 December) on how they have managed to create an evolving chemical system for the first time.

Related links: Dr Ingrid Young researcher profile Prof Paul Flowers researcher profile MRC/CSO SPHSU TasP research PrEP research New research findings recommend further measures should be put in place to make the best use of two new HIV prevention options. Research published by the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit offers new insights into the barriers to effective uptake and use of two new HIV prevention options that use antiretrovirals (ARVs), currently used in existing HIV treatment.

Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th century Polish astronomer and mathematician, wasn't the first to suggest that the Earth wasn't the center of the universe—the idea originated with the ancient Greeks—but he was the first to prove it with a mathematical theorem. By doing so he upended the notion that Earth is unique, giving rise to the idea that there might be life on other planets.