A scavenging immune system cell that helps limbs regrow in salamanders brings hope that humans will one day be able to mimic the animal’s amazing regenerative powers, say Australian researchers. The findings by Dr James Godwin, of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University, and colleagues, are published in today’s issue of the Proceedings…
Researchers have pinpointed a catalytic trigger for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease – when the fundamental structure of a protein molecule changes to cause a chain reaction that leads to the death of neurons in the brain. For the first time, scientists at Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry have been able to map in detail the…
Researchers in Denmark believe that they are on the brink of a breakthrough in finding a cure for HIV “within months”. The Aarhus University Hospital, in Aarhus, Denmark is conducting clinical trials which will test a “novel strategy” where the HIV virus is stripped from human DNA and then destroyed permanently by the body’s immune system. The…
Unleaded, diesel or biofuel? This could become the choice at the pump now we can make biofuels that are identical to the petrol we put in our cars, planes and trucks. Until now, biofuels have been made up of hydrocarbon chains of the wrong size and shape to be truly compatible with most modern engines…
Chances are you owe your life to the horseshoe crab. In the 1950s, scientists discovered that LAL (Limulus amoebocyte lysate), a clotting agent found in the critter’s powder-blue blood, binds to fungi and endotoxins, coagulating into a thick gel around such invaders. The result: a simple, surefire way to detect impurities in pharmaceutical drugs and medical…
Activists occupied an animal facility at the University of Milan, Italy, at the weekend, releasing mice and rabbits and mixing up cage labels to confuse experimental protocols. Researchers at the university say that it will take years to recover their work. Many of the animals at the facility are genetic models for psychiatric disorders such…
TORONTO — Patching has long been used to treat a lazy eye in children, although the therapy has limited success and doesn’t work at all in adults with the condition formally known as amblyopia. Now researchers at McGill University in Montreal are testing an innovative means of improving visual function in adults with lazy eye…
This artist’s concept provided by NASA April 18, 2013, depicts NASA’s Kepler misssion’s smallest habitable zone planet (AFP Photo / NASA) NASA’s Kepler space telescope has discovered three planets that may be able to support life, while one of them is the most earth-like world spotted to date, scientists say. Two exoplanets have been discovered…
So-net Entertainment, a Sony-backed Japan ISP, has launched a fiber-based Internet service that reaches download speeds of 2 Gbps, making it the fastest home internet in the world. The Nuro, as the service is called, is available to homes and small businesses in Tokyo and six surrounding prefectures, Computerworld reports. The upload speed is a little slower…
Your Creature Feature of the Day – Kat Axolotl The Axolotl is a Mexican neotenic mole salamander. The term “neotenic” refers to the fact that these salamanders reach sexual maturity without undergoing metamorphosis, as most other salamanders do. They are unable to transform due to a lack of thyroid stimulating hormone. These happy-faced little creatures…
The man arrested today in connection to the shooting of two women at a suburban Virginia mall may have announced his crime minutes in advance on the 4chan message board. “Sure op. show us what you look like? Name? Address?” an anonymous poster replied 5 minutes after the posting. Minutes later, another anonymous poster chimed…
Compared to lean beef, horse meat appears to have some nutritional advantages. Image courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar. There’s been much hoopla this week over the ethical and cultural implications of eating, you guessed it, horse meat. The discussion was sparked by the Summit of the Horse, a conference that convened the past 4 days in Las Vegas….
Do you travel very often to client place and use different computers? If yes, then make sure your USB drive is loaded with some common tools that can make your life much easier. I have compiled a list of 50 portable tools that you can carry on your USB or flash drive. 1. Foxit PDF Reader –…
BLACKSBURG, Va., April 4, 2013 – A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world. “Our new process could help end our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Y.H. Percival…
Arctic ice loss adds heat to the ocean and atmosphere which shifts the position of the jet stream, which affects weather in the northern hemisphere. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Climate scientists have linked the massive snowstorms and bitter springweather now being experienced across Britain and large parts of Europe and North America to the dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice….
