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How auxin regulates TIR1 in plants provides clues to new treatments for human diseases

For the first time, scientists from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Cambridge have determined how a plant hormone -- auxin -- interacts with its hormone receptor, called TIR1.

5 Apr 2007

Selective binding of gold nanoparticles to the ends of rod-shaped viruses

Nanotechnology appears to be an unstoppable trend and it requires defined nanoscale building blocks and patterns.

5 Apr 2007

New understanding of the motivations that underlie acts of altruism

Beyond the lineage of primates, according to scientific gospel, social behavior is dictated primarily by competition for resources such as food, territory and reproduction.

4 Apr 2007

Geometry of viruses

A mathematician at the University of York has been awarded a Research Leadership Award of more than ,700,000 by the Leverhulme Trust to study the geometry of viruses.

4 Apr 2007

New method for the synthesis of diaryl sulphide

Although today there exists a number of methods for the synthesis of organic molecules (the main components of certain medicines, foods, additives, paints, fabrics, liquid crystals, etc.), in most cases toxic reagents and solvents have to be used.

4 Apr 2007

Pollen which is allergenic releases much greater amounts of nitric oxide and nitrite than a non-allergenic pollen

Hayfever is a major irritation for up to 20% of the population in most economically developed countries.

4 Apr 2007

Computer model behaves like humans on visual categorization task

Computers can usually out-compute the human brain, but there are some tasks, such as visual object recognition, that the brain performs easily yet are very challenging for computers.

4 Apr 2007

Communication between bacterial cells

To each other: by using signal substances they inform their neighbours as to whether or not it is worth switching certain genes on or off.

4 Apr 2007

Washington University study China's earliest modern human

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing have been studying a 40,000-year-old early modern human skeleton found in China and have determined that the "out of Africa" dispersal of modern humans may not have been as simple as once thought.

4 Apr 2007

Scientists take a close look at early events in immune response

A Sandia National Laboratories research team led by Anup Singh is taking a new approach to studying how immune cells respond to pathogens in the first few minutes and hours of exposure.

4 Apr 2007

Fungal compound galiellalactone may combat prostate cancer

Can a substance from a fungus that grows on decaying trees provide a cure for aggressive prostate cancer? This is the hope of researchers at Lund University in Sweden.

3 Apr 2007

Unusual protein helps cell bypass damage when making new DNA

Scientists have discovered how an unusual protein helps a cell bypass damage when making new DNA, thereby averting the cell's self-destruction.

3 Apr 2007

Polymers show promise for gene delivery

Virginia Tech polymer scientists have developed a new family of gene vectors , novel polymers that can ferry genetic material across the cell membrane so that it can be incorporated into the machinery of the cell.

3 Apr 2007

Halting neurogenesis improves working memory in mice

New research from Columbia University Medical Center may explain why people who are able to easily and accurately recall historical dates or long-ago events, may have a harder time with word recall or remembering the day's current events.

3 Apr 2007

New type of chemistry promises less expensive drugs

With a newly discovered method of assembling organic molecules, a team of Princeton University chemists may have found a way to sidestep many of the expensive and hazardous barriers that stand in the way of drug development.

3 Apr 2007

Body uses a 'dual key' system to secure immune system

"Dual key" activation, in which two people must act in concert to launch a weapon, is often installed to safeguard highly destructive arms.

2 Apr 2007

Environmental contamination could affect the evolution of wildlife through changes in mating behavior

Female rats avoid males whose great-grandfathers were exposed to a common fruit crop fungicide, preferring instead males whose ancestors were uncontaminated, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have discovered.

2 Apr 2007

Bacteria biosensor prototype

Common bacteria with an overt reaction to toxins that cause oxidative stress show promise as a biosensor to predict public health threats.

2 Apr 2007

Xenotransplantation - what are the barriers?

Given the huge shortage of donor organs, researchers have been trying to find ways to transplant animal organs across different species (known as "xenotransplantation"), with the eventual aim of transplanting animal organs into humans.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists invent way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light

Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light, offering the prospect of controlling the haywire neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

2 Apr 2007