news 2014

Lee Siegel, University of Utah, 801-581-8993, 801-244-5399, lee.siegel [a] utah (p) edu or Jim Erickson, University of Michigan, 734-647-1842, ericksn [a] umich (p) edu ANN ARBOR-The rate at which carbon emissions warmed Earth's climate almost 56 million years ago resembles modern, human-caused global warming much more than previously believed but involved two pulses of carbon to the atmosphere, researchers at the University of Utah, the University of Michigan and three other universities found.

A new study from MIT implicates a family of RNA-binding proteins in the regulation of cancer, particularly in a subtype of breast cancer. These proteins, known as Musashi proteins, can force cells into a state associated with increased proliferation. Biologists have previously found that this kind of transformation, which often occurs in cancer cells as well as during embryonic development, is controlled by transcription factors - proteins that turn genes on and off.

15 December 2014 CryoSat has delivered this year's map of autumn sea-ice thickness in the Arctic, revealing a small decrease in ice volume. In a new phase for ESA's ice mission, the measurements can now also be used to help vessels navigate through the north coastal waters of Alaska, for example. Measurements made during October and November show that the volume of Arctic sea ice now stands at about 10 200 cubic km - a small drop compared to last year's 10 900 cubic km.

Using the latest microarray technologies, scientists will assess over 2000 microRNAs to understand the links to glaucoma Researchers at the University of Liverpool are using the latest technologies to identify the genes reponsible for glaucoma. The research, co-funded by Fight for Sight and The International Glaucoma Association, aims to uncover what role microRNAs play in regulating the eye's drainage system.

An Imperial mathematician has found a new way of formulating a 50 year old algorithm, used when describing the world using mathematical models. It is anticipated that the proposed technique, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), will pave the way for greatly accelerating the calculations involved when making predictions about the behaviour of complex systems in many different areas of science and engineering.

Oxford's Rugby Union Blues have thrashed Cambridge 43-6 to record the biggest win in the 133-year history of the Varsity match.

Imperial research investigating the effect of cigarette smoke on zebrafish is one of four pioneering projects that will study asthma in non-mammals Almost £400,000 has been awarded across four research projects working to better understand the basic biology of human asthma - without the use of traditional mammalian models.

Gunnar Öquist, Professor Emeritus in Plant Physiology at Umeå University, was honoured by the Danish National Research Foundation with the Royal Order of the Danneborg. He received the Order of Knight for his " invaluable contribution to Danish and international research including the Danish National Research Foundation ", the foundation stated in a press release on December 4th.

For the first time researchers have measured large distances in the Universe using data, rather than calculations related to general relativity. A research team from Imperial College London and the University of Barcelona has used data from astronomical surveys to measure a standard distance that is central to our understanding of the expansion of the universe.

Large numbers of kangaroos are threatening an endangered species and are eating some lizards out of house and home, new research has found. Australian National University (ANU) researcher Brett Howland has found large kangaroo numbers destroy the grassland habitats of reptiles. "When there are too many kangaroos, they over-graze grasslands until they are like a lawn, which leaves lizards with no shelter," said Mr Howland, from the Fenner School of Environment and Society.

A global fleet of composite planes could reduce carbon emissions by up to 15 per cent, but the lighter planes alone will not enable the aviation industry to meet its emissions targets, according to new research. The study, by the Universities of Sheffield, Cambridge and University College London, is the first to carry out a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of a composite plane, such as the Boeing Dreamliner 787 or Airbus 350, and extrapolate the results to the global fleet.

In a contribution to an extraordinary international scientific collaboration the University of Sydney found that genomic 'fossils' of past viral infections are up to thirteen times less common in birds than mammals. "We found that only five viral families have left a footprint in the bird genome (genetic material) during evolution.

The most ambitious genetic study ever undertaken on bird evolution has found that almost all modern birds diversified after the dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago. "The popular view until now has been that the extraordinary diversity of birds began during the dinosaur age but we found little support for this," said Associate Professor Simon Ho , from the University of Sydney who led a major component of the research looking at evolutionary timescale.

Crocodilians, including the Australian saltwater crocodile, mutate at about a quarter of the rate of birds, new research has revealed. The discovery is the result of genome sequencing three crocodilian species - the Australian saltwater crocodile, the American alligator and the Indian gharial - by an international collaboration of scientists, including six from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Veterinary Science.

Home > News > News releases > New insights into the origins of agriculture could help shape the future of food Expanding population is putting increasing demands on food production Study could lead to new crops becoming our staple foods in the future Agricultural decisions made by our ancestors more than 10,000 years ago could hold the key to food security in the future, according to new research by the University of Sheffield.

There's a new class of stem cell that's exciting researchers around the world - and it was discovered by an international team of almost 50 scientists on four continents, led by U of'T researchers. Headed by Professor Andras Nagy of obstetrics and gynaecology and the Institute of Medical Sciences, the team conducted the first high-resolution characterization of molecular events required for the formation of stem cells from specialized cells - a process called cellular reprogramming.

Conventional wisdom holds that changing the views of voters on divisive issues is difficult if not impossible — and that when change does occur, it is almost always temporary. But Michael LaCour, a UCLA doctoral candidate in political science, and Donald Green, a Columbia University political science professor, have demonstrated that a single conversation can go a long way toward building lasting support for a controversial social issue.

"There probably shouldn't be such wide variation in services for patients being treated for the same conditions," says the author of the research letter. In results they characterized as "very surprising," UCLA researchers found for the first time that higher-earning clinicians make more money by ordering more procedures and services per patient rather than by seeing more patients, which may not be in patients' best interest.

The entire semiconductor industry, not to mention Silicon Valley, is built on the propensity of electrons in silicon to get kicked out of their atomic shells and become free. These mobile electrons are routed and switched though transistors, carrying the digital information that characterizes our age.

Models show more precipitation will be rain instead of snow, which would increase flood risk and limit chance to capture water Alison Hewitt Courtesy C-CHANGE.LA Regional water managers said the study shows the need for increased investment in storm water capture infrastructure. A UCLA study published today provides the most detailed scientific projections to date of how climate change will affect rainfall and snowfall in Southern California through the end of the 21st century.