Being Human

HANOVER, NH -- Dartmouth researchers have determined that movie characters who smoke, regardless of whether they are "good guys" or "bad guys," influence teens to try smoking. The study, published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics, is titled "Adolescent Smoking: Who Matters More, Good Guys or Bad Guys?"

Lars Jansen's work on the formation of the centromere, a key cellular structure in powering and controlling chromosome segregation and accurate cell division, has just earned him a paper in Nature Cell Biology and a prestigious EMBO installation grant, of 50,000 euro per year, for a maximum of five years.

Researchers from the Department of Science Education-Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim have managed to make out the "self-irrigating" mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert. This is the first example of a self-irrigating plant worldwide.

The joint research, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the UK MS Society as well as the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was conducted by scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and University of Cambridge and was published today (01 July) in the journal Genes and Development.

BOSTON (July 1, 2009, 7 a.m. ET) -- Tufts dental researchers conducted a three-year follow-up study that examined the stability of a treatment option for receding gums and found that complete root coverage -- the goal of the surgery -- had been maintained.

Our Milky Way galaxy only survived because it was already immersed in a large clump of dark matter which trapped gases inside it, scientists led by Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) found.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- An international team of researchers led by a UC Riverside astronomer has completed the largest ever survey designed to find very distant clusters of galaxies.

A new neuropsychological memory test is helping to uncover how Parkinson's disease can alter people's ability to learn about the consequences of the choices they make. The test was developed by Dr.

A new report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and published in the scientific journal Osteoporosis International1, shows that populations across the globe are suffering from the impact of low levels of vitamin D. The problem is widespread and on the increase, with potentially severe repercussions for overall health and fracture rates.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) released its recommendations today for setting health care priorities for research and funding by the U.S. government. Co-chairs of the committee, Harold C.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a difficult infection to treat and requires six months of multiple antibiotics to cure it. To combat the TB pandemic, a shorter and simpler drug treatment would be a huge advance since most TB occurs in resource-limited settings with poor public health infrastructures.

A team of Harvard scientists has taken an important first step toward the development of new treatments to help people with HIV battle Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- People are more likely to enroll in conservation programs if their neighbors do -- a tendency that should be exploited when it comes to protecting the environment, according to a pioneering study from Michigan State University.

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- A minimally invasive procedure to treat tendonitis in the rotator cuff of the shoulder provides immediate symptom relief to the patient, according to a study published in the July issue of Radiology.

LEBANON, N.H. -- A major new trial recently published in the journal Fertility and Sterility shows that for couples beginning infertility treatments, an accelerated path to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can offer a shorter time to pregnancy, cost savings of nearly $10,000, and a lowered risk of multiple births.

Advanced composite materials are playing a vital role in improved design and reduced operating costs for renewable energy technologies. Research presented today [Tuesday 30 June] will highlight how wind, marine and solar power could address these challenges within the renewable energy industry.

A spate of articles have been published recently concerning the effects of Green Tea on prostate cancer. The following discussion of the science, as well as the media response, is taken from my blog at Blue-Genes.net - please subscribe there, as I'm not sure whether I will continue to copy my posts here. N.B. the press release is also featured on Scienceblog here

Since NASA researchers began assembling the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in the 1990s, the worldwide network of ground-based aerosol sensors has grown to 400 sites across seven continents.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Composite materials such as fiberglass, which take on a mix of properties of their constituent compounds, have been around for decades. Now, an MIT materials scientist is taking composites to the nanoscale, where entirely new properties, not found in any of the original compounds, can emerge.

ATLANTA, June 29, 2009 — Despite challenging economic conditions, the GRA Venture Fund, LLC has raised $18,750,000 in its first closing. The Fund is a private investment fund that leverages dollars from the State of Georgia through a 3-to-1 match from private investors.