Johns Hopkins scientists report success in significantly suppressing levels of the “hunger hormone” ghrelin in pigs using a minimally invasive means of chemically vaporizing the main vessel carrying blood to the top section, or fundus, of the stomach. An estimated 90 percent of the body’s ghrelin originates in the fundus, which can’t make the hormone without a good blood supply.
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The superior colliculus has long been thought of as a rapid orienting center of the brain that allows the eyes and head to turn swiftly either toward or away from the sights and sounds in our environment. Now a team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has shown that the superior colliculus does more than send out motor control commands to eye and neck muscles. Two complementary studies, both led by Richard Krauzlis, Ph.D.
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Researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Research Institute of the Jewish General Hospital - along with colleagues at the University of Ottawa and the Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI) - report a significant breakthrough in the use of viruses to target and destroy cancer cells, a field known as oncolytic virotherapy. Their results were published in the September early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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A new study has documented large-scale infanticide at a major seabird colony. In common guillemots one parent normally stays with the chick to protect it while the mate goes out to collect food. However, if food is short, both parents may go off to forage leaving their chick alone at the nest-site. The main risk to such unattended chicks was thought to be predation.
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Leaders of The Fraternal Order of Eagles, the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa Foundation has announced a $25 million gift commitment from the Eagles that will fund diabetes research at the UI. In recognition of the generosity of the Eagles’ international membership, the UI will establish The Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center in the new University of Iowa Institute for Biomedical Discovery (UIIBD).
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New dinosaurs are found every week or so - but are all these new species valid or not? This is part of a wider question that is critical to all work on biodiversity and conservation as well - can we be sure we know what the species are that we must conserve? A new study shows
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The answer to why an early pregnancy seems to protect against breast cancer could rest with a decrease in stem cells found after animals have given birth, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Stem Cell. Women who have children young, at least before the age of 30, reduce their risk of developing breast cancer, said Dr. Yi Li, a professor in the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at BCM.
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It’s not easy to see a single molecule inside a living cell. Nevertheless, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are helping to develop a new technique that will enable them to create detailed high-resolution images, giving scientists an unprecedented look at the atomic structure of cellular molecules.
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By discovering the physical mechanism behind the rapid transport of water in carbon nanotubes, scientists at the University of Illinois have moved a step closer to ultra-efficient, next-generation nanofluidic devices for drug delivery, water purification and nano-manufacturing. “Extraordinarily fast transport of water in carbon nanotubes has generally been attributed to the smoothness of the nanotube walls and their hydrophobic, or water-hating surfaces,” said Narayana R.
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A team of researchers at Michigan Technological University is harnessing the computing muscle behind the leading video games to understand the most intricate of real-life systems. Led by Roshan D’Souza, the group has supercharged agent-based modeling, a powerful but computationally massive forecasting technique, by using graphic processing units (GPUs), which drive the spectacular imagery beloved of video gamers.
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