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ANN ARBOR-Cancer cells are wily, well-traveled adversaries, constantly side-stepping treatments to stop their spread. But for the first time, scientists at the University of Michigan have decoded the molecular chatter that ramps certain cancer cells into overdrive and can cause tumors to metastasize throughout the body.

Los Alamos scientists published an article in the scientific that could offer a big step on the path to renewable energy. This work describes a completely new approach, an alternative route to convert this class of molecules to hydrocarbons that uses much less energy and has a very high degree of conversion to provide pure products.

Quantum laws loom ever larger in physical world as new research finds quantum phenomena in effect on a molecular level The balance between the activation energy and the energy barrier that sticks the molecules to the surface is critical in determining which networks are able to form under different conditions.

24 Apr 2013 Scientists have discovered further evidence for the existence of new molecules in the atmosphere that have the potential to off-set global warming by reacting with airborne pollutants. Researchers from The University of Manchester, Bristol University, Southampton University and Sandia National Laboratories in California have detected the second simplest Criegee intermediate molecule - acetaldehyde oxide - and measured its reactivity.

Pluripotent stem cells can turn, or differentiate, into any cell type in the body, such as nerve, muscle or bone, but inevitably some of these stem cells fail to differentiate and end up mixed in with their newly differentiated daughter cells. Because these remaining pluripotent stem cells can subsequently develop into unintended cell types — bone cells among blood, for instance — or form tumors known as teratomas, identifying and separating them from their differentiated progeny is of utmost importance in keeping stem cell-based therapeutics safe.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. April 19, 2013—New work from Los Alamos National Laboratory shows promise for stemming the advance of tuberculosis (TB) by revealing how the bacterium interacts with its human hosts and thus providing a new pathway for early detection in patients. A recent publication from the Los Alamos Biosensor Team describes the association of a key tuberculosis virulence factor, lipoarabinomannan (LAM) with human high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in blood.

Scientists have revealed how a bacterial enzyme has evolved an energy-efficient method to move long distances along DNA. The findings present further insight into the coupling of chemical and mechanical energy by a class of enzymes called helicases, a widely-distributed group of proteins, which in human cells are implicated in some cancers.

Geology professor Dan Schulze calls this singular gem from the remote Guaniamo region of Venezuela the "Picasso" diamond. The blue luminescent, high-resolution image of a diamond formed over a billion years ago reminds him of some paintings from Picasso's Blue Period. Like a cubist masterpiece, its striking irregular and anomalous features carry timeless secrets and yield new perspectives on life and the Earth's early history.

Ultrafast high-resolution imaging in real time could be a reality with a new research discovery led by the University of Melbourne In work published in Nature , researchers from the University of Melbourne and the ARC Centre for Excellence in Coherent Xray Science have demonstrated that ultra short durations of electron bunches generated from laser-cooled atoms can be both very cold and ultra-fast.

16 April 2013 Exosomes are small, virus-like particles that can transport genetic material and signal substances between cells. Researchers at Lund University, Sweden, have made new findings about exosomes released from aggressive brain tumours, gliomas. These exosomes are shown to have an important function in brain tumour development, and could be utilised as biomarkers to assess tumour aggressiveness through a blood test.

Posted under: Engineering , Health and Medicine , News Releases , Research , Science , Technology Sometimes cost saving comes in nanoscale packages. A new procedure that thickens and thins fluid at the micron level could save consumers and manufacturers money, particularly for soap products that depend on certain molecules to effectively deal with grease and dirt.

A study involving scientists at the University of Liverpool has found the earliest use of ceramic pots was for cooking fish. In the first study to address the question of why humans made pots, scientists from the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan carried out chemical analysis of food residues in pottery up to 15,000 years old from the late glacial period.

The sense of smell remains a mystery in many respects. Fragrance companies, for instance, know it is crucial that chemical compounds in perfumes reach nostrils at different rates to create the desired sensory experience, but it is has been unclear why. Yale researchers decided to interrogate the common fruit fly for answers.

Pigments found in plants and purple bacteria employed to provide protection from sun damage do more than just that. Researchers from the University of Toronto and University of Glasgow have found that they also help to harvest light energy during photosynthesis. Carotenoids, the same pigments which give orange color to carrots and red to tomatoes, are often found together in plants with chlorophyll pigments that harvest solar energy.

Researchers at the University of Leeds may have solved a key puzzle about how objects from space could have kindled life on Earth. While it is generally accepted that some important ingredients for life came from meteorites bombarding the early Earth, scientists have not been able to explain how that inanimate rock transformed into the building blocks of life.

By introducing individual silicon atom 'defects' using a scanning tunnelling microscope, scientists at the London Centre for Nanotechnology have coupled single atoms to form quantum states. , the study demonstrates the viability of engineering atomic-scale quantum states on the surface of silicon - an important step toward the fabrication of devices at the single-atom limit.

Stephen J. Benkovic, Mark Hedglin, and other members of Professor Benkovic's research team have studied the importance of "clamp loader" enzymes and their activities during DNA replication. In this image, the clamp loader is represented, for illustrative purposes, by a hand, which is loading the sliding clamp ring onto DNA.

Worm research may help humans live longer Look what might help us live longer - worms! Researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) and Cornell have shown that roundworms can live up to 20 percent longer when bathed in their own secretions. The family of chemicals involved - ascarosides - also make these slippery, tiny worms more resistant to different types of stress.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have revealed the crystal structure of a bacterial enzyme that offers clues on how electrons in the body move from one protein molecule to another. The movement of electrons is called electron transfer (ET) and is essential for all living organisms, as it underpins processes such as respiration, photosynthesis, and detoxification.

Scientists have identified a key molecule responsible for triggering the chemical processes in our brain linked to our formation of memories. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Neural Circuits , reveal a new target for therapeutic interventions to reverse the devastating effects of memory loss.