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History / Archeology - Life Sciences - 07.12.2017
New insights into life and death of Jumbo the elephant revealed in BBC One documentary
New insights into the life and mysterious death of Jumbo the elephant - a celebrity animal superstar whose story is said to have inspired the film 'Dumbo' - will be revealed in a BBC One documentary hosted by Sir David Attenborough and featuring a University of Nottingham archaeologist on Sunday 10 December.

Life Sciences - Health - 07.12.2017
Boosting the antibiotic arsenal
Boosting the antibiotic arsenal
MIT researchers have discovered a way to make bacteria more vulnerable to a class of antibiotics known as quinolones, which include ciprofloxacin and are often used to treat infections such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . The new strategy overcomes a key limitation of these drugs, which is that they often fail against infections that feature a very high density of bacteria.

Life Sciences - 07.12.2017
To analyse animal hierarchies
To analyse animal hierarchies
Using a computer model, Imperial researchers have come up with a better way to determine the dynamics of groups where dominance plays a role. Dominance hierarchies, where some individuals within a group monopolize resources and mating opportunities, are common throughout the animal kingdom. However, the 'steepness' of the hierarchy is different between species.

Health - Life Sciences - 07.12.2017
Genetics study adds further evidence that education reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease
Genetics study adds further evidence that education reduces risk of Alzheimer’s disease
The theory that education protects against Alzheimer's disease has been given further weight by new research from the University of Cambridge, funded by the European Union. The study is published today in The BMJ . Many studies have shown that certain risk factors are more common in people with Alzheimer's disease, but determining whether these factors actually cause Alzheimer's is more difficult Hugh Markus Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia.

Health - Life Sciences - 07.12.2017
Population of Americans with Alzheimer's will more than double by 2060, UCLA study shows
Population of Americans with Alzheimer’s will more than double by 2060, UCLA study shows
About 15 million Americans will have either Alzheimer's dementia or mild cognitive impairment by 2060, up from approximately 6.08 million this year, according to a new study by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. The findings highlight the need to develop measures that could slow the progression of the disease in people who have indications of neuropathological changes that could eventually lead to Alzheimer's dementia, said Ron Brookmeyer, professor of biostatistics at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the study's lead author.

Life Sciences - Physics - 06.12.2017
DNA origami surpasses important thresholds
DNA origami surpasses important thresholds
Research news It is the double strands of our genes that make them so strong. Using a technique known as DNA origami, biophysicist Hendrik Dietz has been building nanometer-scale objects for several years at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Now Dietz and his team have not only broken out of the nanometer realm to build larger objects, but have also cut the production costs a thousand-fold.

Life Sciences - Health - 06.12.2017
Healthy mitochondria could stop Alzheimer's
Healthy mitochondria could stop Alzheimer's
Using a bioinformatics and experimental approach, scientists at EPFL have found that rendering mitochondria resistant to damage can halt diseases caused by amyloid toxicity, such as Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and neurodegeneration worldwide. A major hallmark of the disease is the accumulation of toxic plaques in the brain, formed by the abnormal aggregation of a protein called beta-amyloid inside neurons.

Life Sciences - Physics - 06.12.2017
The World's Smallest Mona Lisa
The World’s Smallest Mona Lisa
In 2006, Caltech's Paul Rothemund (BS '94)-now research professor of bioengineering, computing and mathematical sciences, and computation and neural systems-developed a method to fold a long strand of DNA into a prescribed shape. The technique, dubbed DNA origami, enabled scientists to create self-assembling DNA structures that could carry any specified pattern, such as a 100-nanometer-wide smiley face.

Health - Life Sciences - 06.12.2017
New Penn Method of Stabilizing Peptides Opens the Door to Better Therapeutic and Imaging Techniques
New Penn Method of Stabilizing Peptides Opens the Door to Better Therapeutic and Imaging Techniques
For many people with advanced Type 2 diabetes, taking insulin is a regular part of their routine, helping them control their blood sugar by signaling the metabolism of glucose. But recently, researchers have been investigating GLP-1, a peptide that gets activated when people eat, triggering insulin through a more natural pathway.

Life Sciences - Health - 06.12.2017
Viruses share genes with organisms across the tree of life
Viruses share genes with organisms across the tree of life
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study finds that viruses share some genes exclusively with cells that are not their hosts. The study, reported in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, adds to the evidence that viruses swap genes with a variety of cellular organisms and are agents of diversity, researchers say.

Life Sciences - Health - 06.12.2017
How Tiny Tetherballs Can Lead to New Antibiotics
In the SLAY method, each bacterium is genetically engineered to produce a molecule on its cell surface that is part peptide and part tether-like a playground tetherball. This arrangement allows the peptides to mimic free-floating drugs in the human body. Ashley Tucker/University of Texas at Austin AUSTIN, Texas - Biologists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a method for rapidly screening hundreds of thousands of potential drugs for fighting infections, an innovation that holds promise for combating the growing scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Health - Life Sciences - 05.12.2017
Birth control for parasites: researchers reveal new vaccine target for malaria
Birth control for parasites: researchers reveal new vaccine target for malaria
Scientists have identified a protein involved in the life cycle of the malarial parasite, paving the way for a new vaccine to reduce disease spread. Malaria, a disease caused by the transfer of the Plasmodium parasite from certain mosquitos to humans, is responsible for 429,000 deaths every year according to the World Health Organisation.

Health - Life Sciences - 05.12.2017
Link between Legionnaires’ disease and CT watersheds
Researchers seeking to pinpoint the cause of a rise in Legionnaires' disease over the past decade in Connecticut discovered a link between those living near some of the state's rivers and within specific watersheds. An analysis of 17 years of data by lead author Kelsie Cassell, M.P.H. '17 and a post graduate research assistant at the Yale School of Public Health, found that elevated rainfall and greater stream flow were associated with an increased incidence of the disease.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 05.12.2017
Living cell membranes can self-sort their components by 'demixing'
Living cell membranes can self-sort their components by ’demixing’
Cells - the building blocks of our bodies - are encapsulated by membranes. The same goes for the specialized compartments within our cells. These membranes are extremely thin, oily films, containing proteins and fatty molecules called lipids. For decades, scientists have argued about how cell membranes organize and maintain distinct regions enriched in particular protein and lipid types.

Life Sciences - Health - 05.12.2017
Seeing Isn't Believing: Penn Biologists Show How to Shut Off Hunger 'Alarm System'
Seeing Isn’t Believing: Penn Biologists Show How to Shut Off Hunger ’Alarm System’
Imagine you're in a restaurant, hungry, anxious and a bit irritable awaiting your food order to arrive at the table. The server exits the kitchen with a tray full of steaming plates and a flood of relief washes over you. But the server ferries the food right past you to another table, and the unpleasant sensation of hunger returns - at least until you take the first bite of your very own meal.

Life Sciences - Health - 05.12.2017
Advances in Technology Provide Clearer Insight Into Brain’s Visual System
Carnegie Mellon University engineers and cognitive neuroscientists have demonstrated that a new high-density EEG can capture the brain's neural activity at a higher spatial resolution than ever before. This next generation brain-interface technology is the first non-invasive, high-resolution system of its kind, providing higher density and coverage than any existing system.

Life Sciences - Health - 05.12.2017
Engineers 3-D print a
Engineers 3-D print a "living tattoo"
MIT engineers have devised a 3-D printing technique that uses a new kind of ink made from genetically programmed living cells. The cells are engineered to light up in response to a variety of stimuli. When mixed with a slurry of hydrogel and nutrients, the cells can be printed, layer by layer, to form three-dimensional, interactive structures and devices.

Life Sciences - Health - 05.12.2017
Most people in favour of screening for spinal muscular atrophy
o Spinal muscular atrophy is a leading genetic cause of infant death worldwide o Approximately 1 in 40 of the general population are genetic carriers of SMA o Currently no screening programme for SMA in UK Research from the University of Warwick indicates that most people are in favour of newborn screening for the potentially deadly condition spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Health - Life Sciences - 05.12.2017
New TB drugs possible with understanding of old antibiotic
Tuberculosis could be fought more effectively with future drugs - thanks to new research into an old antibiotic by University of Warwick and Francis Crick Institute Deeper understanding of how simple but effective drug D-cycloserine attacks bacteria opens up possibility of development of new, desperately needed antibiotic drugs Bacterial infections are becoming increasingly resistant to drugs - new drugs needed to curb this deadly global crisis

Health - Life Sciences - 05.12.2017
Shut-off switch for lymphoma
Shut-off switch for lymphoma
Research news A safety switch that automatically stops the device for example before it overheats are built into many electrical appliances. The body's cells are also equipped with this kind of "emergency stop" functions. They make sure that a defective cell doesn't grow uncontrollably, becoming a tumor cell.