CHEMICAL NEWS

• 'Superflares' from stars counted
  Nasa's Kepler space telescope provides new insight on the colossal explosions that can occur in the atmospheres of some stars.
• UK retains strict animal test law
  The UK says it will retain stricter animal testing standards than required by a new European Union Directive.
• Councils 'must lower emissions'
  Local authorities across the UK should have a statutory duty to combat climate change, government advisors recommend.
• Citizen science yields moth data
  About 13,000 moths are captured and recorded by citizen scientists in a project described as the largest of its kind.
• Whales can adjust their hearing
  Whales that use sound to navigate are able to adjust the sensitivity of their hearing to protect their ears from loud noises, say scientists.
• Apple trees in Highlands mapped
  The planting of apple trees could be on the rise in the Highlands, according to the maker of a new map.
• Robotic arm controlled by thought
  Two patients in the US paralysed from the neck down are able to control a robotic arm using their thoughts alone.
• Nuclear waste bunker considered
  A bunker used to store nuclear waste from all over Britain could be built in Kent, under plans being considered by a council.
• Tidal turbine 'performing well'
  A subsea turbine which uses tidal power to generate electricity has successfully completed initial tests off Orkney.
• Escapee penguin 'found' in Tokyo
  A young penguin which escaped from Tokyo's Sea Life Park has reportedly been spotted swimming in waters around the Japanese capital.
• UK climate fix balloon grounded
  A pioneering project to test a climate "technical fix" is postponed and maybe cancelled due to problems with patents and regulations.
• Action urged on city climate risk
  Urban areas need additional capacity to adapt to the range of threats posed by climate change, such as flooding and rising temperatures, studies show.
• Trawler catches 'biggest oyster'
  A Shetland trawler catches what experts believe could be the largest oyster ever found in the UK.
• Rio hotels agree summit price cut
  The Brazilian government reaches a deal with Rio de Janeiro hotel owners to cut spiralling room prices ahead of a major UN summit in the city.
• Subways share universal structure
  A study of the world's largest subway networks shows they share a number of mathematical features, irrespective of their age or location.
• Cutting pollution 'helps hearts'
  Cutting air pollution has an instant impact on heart health, experts believe, after reviewing studies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
• Milestone for wi-fi with 'T-rays'
  Researchers smash a record for wireless data transmission in the terahertz band, an uncharted part of the electro-magnetic spectrum.
• Chemicals 'damage male fertility'
  A study by Scottish researchers suggests chemicals routinely found in the environment could be damaging male fertility.
• Viruses used to power tiny device
  A US team of researchers develops a way to generate electricity using viruses.
• Amber preserves pollen carriers
  What may be the earliest direct example of insect pollination of plants has been identified by scientists in 100-million-year-old amber blocks from Spain.
• Cameron hears Green Deal concerns
  Downing Street is about to review the government's flagship Green Deal energy-saving programme after warnings that it is liable to fail.
• Elgin gas leak 'has been stopped'
  The gas leak from the Elgin platform in the North Sea has been stopped, oil firm Total says.
• Seabed test mimics carbon release
  Scientists begin a month-long experiment in Scottish waters to study the impact of a possible leak from an undersea carbon dioxide storage site.
• Fawns use predator 'escape plan'
  Survival of the fittest among baby deer
• Airlines report emissions to EU
  The vast majority of airlines are conforming to EU rules on reporting carbon dioxide emissions, despite a number of protests and lawsuits.
• Work on The Shaft to be sped up
  Plans are to be accelerated to deal with one of the most controversial areas of the Dounreay nuclear site.
• Nature protection 'must improve'
  Environmentalists say leaders at June's Rio+20 summit must urgently step up nature protection, as a report confirms a 30% fall in wildlife since 1970.
• Nature and culture loss 'linked'
  A study by US researchers highlights a link between the loss of biologically rich areas and a decline in linguistic and cultural diversity.
• Crows know familiar human voices
  Crows recognise and respond to familiar human voices and the calls of other bird species, according to researchers.
• VIDEO: Soyuz spaceship docks at ISS
  A Soyuz spacecraft has successfully docked with the International Space Station.
• VIDEO: Wildlife Trusts celebrates centenary
  The movement which started the Wildlife Trusts is celebrating its centenary year.
• VIDEO: A look at 'wind turbines' of the deep
  The latest device to harness the power of the tides is being tested in the stormy waters off Orkney in the far north of Scotland.
• VIDEO: Hopes for West Country mining
  Contracts giving a mining company ownership of land in Cornwall which it says it needs for new buildings have been signed.
• VIDEO: Norway tests carbon capture technology
  A hi-tech facility that could unlock the key to eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from power stations has just opened in Norway.
• VIDEO: Are billions exposed to unsafe water?
  The UN has greatly downplayed the scale of the global drinking water crisis, research carried out by the BBC suggests.
• AUDIO: Tweeting to a planet near you
  Why is an artist about to sent tweets into space? Nathaniel Stern, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin, and Anu Ojha, Director of the National Space Academy in Leicester, explain.
• VIDEO: Flying into the heart of a storm
  Scientists have flown through the heart of a turbulent weather system in a bid to understand the causes of heavy rainfall.
• Tidal power gets a stormy birth
  Scotland's latest bid for tidal power
• Wildlife Trusts celebrate 100 years
  The UK Wildlife Trusts celebrate their centenary
• Big Picture: The Centaur
  The best-yet view of the mysterious galaxy Centaurus A
• Insect clues crack murder probes
  The maggot expert who is being called in by murder police
• Inside the mind of the road racer
  The psychology of choosing to risk your life
• Sticking it where the Sun shines
  The Scottish scientists trying to put solar power stations in space
• Profile: Sea Shepherd Cpt Watson
  Paul Watson, recently arrested environmental campaigner

• Unhurtful Thoughts: A Preoccupied Brain Produces Pain-Killing Compounds
  

   

  [More]
• Apple to Use Only Green Power for Main Data Center
  

  By Poornima Gupta

  (Reuters) - Apple Inc plans to power its main U.S. [More]

• Job Killer? Try Bottom Line Booster: Workplace Safety Inspections Save Money, Jobs, Limbs
  

  Image courtesy of iStockphoto/lisafx

  Costly safety upgrades, nitpicky government inspection and resulting fines are often blamed as being bad for business. But a new study shows that when government job-safety inspectors make a surprise visit, they actually enable companies to save money and jobs for years to come.

  [More]
• Most Users Are App Freeloaders
  

  When's the last time you treated yourself to a new mobile app? OK, when's the last time you actually paid for an app? If you're like me, the answer was never. At least not until a few nights ago, when I sprang for an app called "Cholesterol Food Reference.” It lists different foods and their cholesterol content. Free apps are OK for following sports or movies, but this is a little more serious and, to me, worth the $2 asking price.

  [More]
• Mice Meal Times Influence Weight Gain
  

  Turns out you’re not just what you eat. You’re when you eat. Because a new study in mice suggests that, in the battle of the bulge, the timing of meals influences the piling on of pounds.

  [More]
• How to Build a Better Lithium Ion Battery
  

  DOWNERS GROVE TOWNSHIP, Ill. -- With current battery systems reaching their performance limits, researchers are scrutinizing every component of lithium-ion cells in order to develop energy storage mechanisms that can make electric vehicles better competitors to fossil-fueled engines.

  [More]
• The Backbone of the Electric System: A Legacy of Coal and the Challenge of Renewables
  

  Energy policy and clean energy may be political hot buttons this year, but the technological realities and challenges to achieving energy and environmental goals are seldom discussed. There is strong public sentiment that the U.S. should decrease our reliance on fossil fuels because of concerns about pollution, global warming, ecosystem damage, and energy security. Although a domestically abundant energy source, coal power is imputed as being a major contributor to smog, acid rain, and global warming . High-profile accidents associated with coal mining and coal ash management have further damaged coal s reputation. Grass-roots campaigns to replace coal as a major source of electricity claim that wind, solar, and geothermal power could replace retired coal capacity .

  In 2011, 42% of the electricity generated in the U.S. was from coal, according to the Energy Information Administration . Although coal generation for 2012 is projected to fall 15 percent , coal is still expected to represent a significant percent of the nation s generating capacity through 2035. Reducing reliance on coal faces challenges beyond policy and market economics. What are the technical constraints of the U.S. electric generating system, what role does coal power play, and how can we further incorporate renewable energy sources?

  [More]
• Annular Solar Eclipse Will Be Viewable in U.S. Sunday
  

  Sunday will come to a close with a spectacular solar eclipse across much of the United States with the Southwest enjoying the best view and weather.

  [More]
• Coyotes Are the New Top Dogs
  

  By Sharon Levy of Nature magazine

  [More]
• Skipping Science: An Experiment in Jump-Rope Lengths
  

  Key concepts [More]

• Approaching "Wall-E" with Honda's Uni-Cub personal mobility device
  

  Honda’s new mobility gadget has me worried.

  Yesterday Honda announced a new invention called the Uni-Cub . It s a cute, Wall-E inspired “personal mobility device” engineered to get people from here to there all without walking. Great! Convenience! It s a smaller Segway that one pops a squat on (not in that sense, at least not yet) and can be zipped around the office or down the street. With the Segway, one had to gasp! stand up while zipping around town looking silly. Not anymore. Now we ll be able to cruise around large indoor malls, Costcos, and other warehouse shopping experiences from the comfort of our bums (while still looking silly).

  [More]
• Denmark Aims Low with Green Energy Policy
  

  By Barbara Lewis

  SAMSO, Denmark (Reuters) - Over a beer or two, Danes like to tell a story that goes like this: One night the energy ministers of the countries around the North Sea got together to divide up its oil and gas wealth. [More]

• Contagious Yawning: Evidence of Empathy?
  

  When is a yawn just a yawn? When is a yawn more than a yawn? Contagious yawning – the increase in likelihood that you will yawn after watching or hearing someone else yawn – has been of particular interest to researchers in fields as varied as primatology, developmental psychology, and psychopathology.

  [More]
• Ancient Bacteria - the saga continues
  

  It’s been an interesting week for the story of ancient bacterial diseases. My post last Saturday discussed how the bacteria that cause leprosy and whooping cough might have been present in the early hominids. Lucas Brouwers (of Thoughtomics ) wrote about bacteria of livestock that developed during the early domestication of animals. While looking for a paper to write about this week I found one on stomach ulcers in early humans and then commenter G Robbins pointed me towards her paper on leprosy found in early human skeletons!

  So before I leave the ancient bacteria to go back to the modern ones I want to take one last look at the story of leprosy, and the exhumation of one of the earliest examples of the disease in action.

  [More]
• Crews Battle to Contain Raging Arizona Wildfires
  

  By Tim Gaynor

  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Crews with hand tools battled to contain wind-whipped Arizona wildfires on Wednesday that have raced across more than 30 square miles of parched ponderosa forest, brush and grassland, consuming several buildings and threatening a small town.

  The Sunflower Fire, the largest of at least four blazes in central and eastern Arizona, has burned nearly 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) in the Tonto National Forest, about 40 miles north of Phoenix, fire officials said.

  Days after the weekend eruption of the blaze, fire crews had managed to carve containment lines around just 10 percent of its perimeter.

  This week's conflagrations marked the first major wildfires of the year in Arizona, after a record 2011 fire season in which nearly 2,000 recorded blazes swallowed more than 1,500 square miles, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

  The fires left a translucent veil of gray-brown smoke over the northeast Phoenix valley, obscuring views of nearby highlands where the blazes were burning.

  About 350 residents of Crown King in central Arizona remained under evacuation orders after another blaze, the fast-moving Gladiator Fire, burned nearly 9 square miles (22 square kilometers) of ponderosa pine, brush and chaparral in the Prescott National Forest and destroyed several buildings.

  Fanned by strong winds and dry weather, the Gladiator Fire also threatened homes in the Horsethief Basin area, as well as U.S. [More]

• Rocky Mountain Cave Closure Sought over Bat Disease
  

  By Laura Zuckerman

  SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - The U.S. [More]

• Fugitive Penguin 337 Spotted Alive in Tokyo Bay
  

  By Ruairidh Villar

  TOKYO (Reuters) - After Penguin Number 337 made a daring bid for freedom from a Tokyo aquarium and vanished into the waters of Tokyo Bay two months ago, many feared the worst for the adventurous feathered fugitive.

  But the one-year-old Humboldt penguin has now popped up on video footage in a different part of the bay, frolicking in the water and apparently healthy.

  The penguin, still too young to determine whether it is male or female and thus known only by a number, scaled a rock wall four meters (13 ft) high and squeezed through a barbed wire fence to escape its harborside aquarium in March.

  "You can see it's got the same ring around its flipper and identical facial patterns," said Kazuhiro Sakamoto, deputy director of the Tokyo Sea Life Park, when shown footage of the tubby escapee taken by Japan's Coast Guard.

  "It didn't look like it has gotten thinner over the past two months, or been without food. [More]

• Pesky Primate Plans Projectile Pitches
  

  If you’ve ever spent time watching chimps at the zoo, you’ve probably wondered: what are they thinking? Well, the answer might be simple: could be they’re fixin’ to hurl a rock at your head.

  [More]
• Extreme Rain Doubled in Midwest in Past 50 Years
  

  By Deborah Zabarenko

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of extreme rainstorms - deluges that dump 3 inches or more in a day - doubled in the U.S. [More]

• Sanctuaries Established to Help Save Spectacular Kashmiri Goat
  

  Human greed is being blamed for the near-extinction of the spectacularly spiral-horned markhor ( Capra falconeri cashmiriensis ) in the northern Indian state Jammu and Kashmir. The critically endangered goat has faced years of population decline from illegal trophy hunting, competition with livestock for habitat and other man-made threats. The subspecies is now down to its last 300 to 400 individuals.

  There is some good news for the markhor, though. Four parks already maintain small, protected populations of the rare goats, and a fifth was announced on April 27 . Officials have yet to say how many markhor will be protected in the newly established, 66-square-kilometer Tatakuti Wildlife Sanctuary.

  [More]
• Paralyzed Woman Moves Robot with Her Mind
  Using an advanced brain-machine interface, quadriplegic Cathy Hutchinson can steer a robotic arm towards a bottle, pick it up, and drink her morning coffee. The interface is described in the journal Nature.
• Is Football to Blame for Players' Suicides?
  

  High-profile suicides of professional football players have mounted in the past several years Terry Long (2005), Andre Waters (2006), Dave Duerson (2011) and Ray Easterling (2012) all killed themselves following retirement and bouts with diagnoses likely related to the thousands of hits they fearlessly underwent as players. The conditions vary but have overlapping qualities: post-concussion syndrome, depression, other mood disorders, personality changes, memory problems and dementia. Now with the loss of Pro Bowler Junior Seau, dead at 43 earlier this month by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest, a suicide has occurred in a Hall of Fame-bound player who reportedly never exhibited emotional pain. His body will be examined for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition proposed to explain the football suicides and underlying mental illness.

  The issue of professional football’s responsibility for these conditions and player suicides is explored in Headstrong , a play running this month at the Ensemble Studio Theater in Manhattan. The theater has a long-standing sponsorship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to produce shows that deal with science. (Last year with this funding, EST mounted Photograph 51 , which explored the role of Rosalind Franklin in the discovery of the structure of DNA .)

  [More]
• Self-Worth Shattering: A Single Bomb Blast Can Saddle Soldiers with Debilitating Brain Trauma
  

  The stress and suffering of combat are known to leave a lasting impact on military veterans, in some cases triggering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) . Researchers have now found an even more serious and debilitating mental condition, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) , in veterans, particularly those injured by the concussive force of bomb blasts. [More]

• 'Superflares' Found to Erupt on Some Sun-Like Stars
  

  By Maggie McKee of Nature magazine

  Some middle-aged stars burn and rave like newborns, producing flares thousands of times as energetic as those we see on the Sun, according to the first large survey of these events.

  Solar flares occur when magnetic-field loops threading through sunspots get twisted and break, releasing massive amounts of radiation and accelerating charged particles into space. [More]

• Happy Mother s Day: To All the Allomothers
  

  The kiddo at about five months with my sister.

  Once a week I get four allergy shots and then sit in a small waiting room for thirty minutes to make sure I don t have any adverse reactions. Today, my husband came along to spend some time with me and make use of the free wi-fi. We chatted quietly while he did some service work and I finished up my grading.

  [More]
• Soot May Help Shift Tropics North
  

  Soot may be responsible for the tropics expanding north , according to an analysis involving multiple computer models of the climate. By absorbing sunlight and trapping extra heat in the atmosphere, the tiny, black particles may be helping the poleward march of tropical conditions.

  The research will be published in Nature on May 17. ( Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.)

  [More]
• China Is Developing a Grid Better for Coal Than Renewables
  

  China will fail to meet its carbon and energy intensity targets unless it makes dramatic changes to its electricity grid, a groundbreaking new report finds.

  [More]
• Animal Tracks: Music about Unusual Creatures Features Some Unusual Instruments [Video]
  

  The dugong, one of Michael Hearst's "unusual creatures." Credit: Julien Willem/Creative Commons

  Michael Hearst seems to enjoy making music with a purpose. About five years ago the Brooklyn, N.Y., musician made headlines with a pretty self-explanatory record called Songs for Ice Cream Trucks . Since then, he and his band One Ring Zero have released an album-long ode to the planets (including Pluto), as well as a record of recipes from Mario Batali, David Chang and other celebrity chefs set to music.

  [More]
• How Large Stars Die [Animation]
  

   

  [More]
• Verizon to Kill Unlimited Data Plans for Existing Subscribers
  

  (Credit:

  Roger Cheng/CNET)

  Verizon Wireless subscribers who have held onto their $30-a-month unlimited data plans will soon be forced to upgrade to a new tiered offering the company plans to launch this summer, according to the Web site Fierce Wireless .

  Speaking at the J.P. [More]

• Know Your Neurons: How to Classify Different Types of Neurons in the Brain's Forest
  

  Previously, on Know Your Neurons: Chapter 1: The Discovery and Naming of the Neuron

  [More]
• 10 Things Exome Sequencing Can t Do-but Why It s Still Powerful
  

  Sequencing of the exome the protein-encoding parts of all the genes is beginning to dominate the genetics journals as well as headlines, thanks to its ability to diagnose the formerly undiagnosable.

  The 2011 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting honored the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel s coverage of a 4-year-old whose intestinal disorder was finally diagnosed after sequencing his exome. Once investigators assigned a gene to his symptoms, a bone marrow transplant saved his life. And a just-published study compared the exomes of 12 children with combinations of developmental delay, intellectual disability, and birth defects at the Duke University genetics clinic to reference exomes, revealing 7 mutations, 2 in genes not known to be associated with disease.

  [More]
• Beep on the Cheap: A Hack to Cut Cell Phone Charges
  

  In this month's Scientific American column I drafted a "Cellular Bill of Rights." It documents all the ridiculous ways that cell phone carriers gouge, cheat and double-bill us.

  [More]
• Down with Double Data Fees!
  

  We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Lifestyle, establish Fairness, ensure blood pressure Tranquility, provide for the common Text Messager, promote less Outrage and secure Cell phone Service that’s anywhere near as good as it is in Other Countries, do ordain and establish this Cellular Bill of Rights.

  [More]
• Climate Change Blamed for Fall of Mayan Civilization
  Researchers in Mexico say the mighty Mayan civilization, which thrived in Central America for 2700 years, was likely brought down by a long period of drought.
• Track Record: Do Major Urban Subway Networks Evolve along Similar Patterns?
  

  No two subway systems have the same design. New York City’s haphazard rail system differs markedly from the highly organized Moscow Metro (above), or the tangled spaghetti of Tokyo ’s subway network. Each system’s design is the result of many factors, including local geography, the city’s layout and traffic distribution, politics, culture and degree of urban planning.

  [More]
• Whales Adjust Their Hearing Sensitivity
  

  Have you ever wanted to turn down the volume at a deafening concert or noisy bar? Envy the whale: a new study finds that toothed whales can reduce their own auditory sensitivity when they expect a loud sound. The work is presented at this week’s Acoustics 2012 meeting. [Paul E. Nachtigall and Alexander Ya Supin, " Immediate changes in whale hearing sensitivity "]

  [More]
• The Football Concussion Crisis, Part 1
  

  NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson joins former NBC anchor Stone Phillips and pathologist Bennet Omalu for a discussion of chronic traumatic encephalopathy among football players. [More]

• Out of the Mouth of Babes
  

  Extended breastfeeding is the norm in most human and primate societies. So why are we the weird ones?

  "Attachment (with respect to Martin Schoeller)" by Nathaniel Gold

  [More]
• The Mathematician's Obesity Fallacy
  

  As I write, this interview with mathematician Carson C. Chow is the number-one most-emailed story on the New York Times Web site. Chow, a researcher at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, had no experience in the health sciences before he came to study the problem of why so many Americans are overweight. “I didn’t even know what a calorie was,” he says.

  This kind of outsider’s perspective can be invaluable when attacking a problem as difficult and entrenched as the epidemic of obesity in the U.S. Chow relates the story of starting work at the institute a division of the National Institutes of Health and finding a mathematical model created by a colleague that could predict “how body composition changed in response to what you ate.” The problem, as Chow describes it, was that the model was complicated: “hundreds of equations,” he told the Times . “[We] began working together to boil it down to one simple equation. That’s what applied mathematicians do.”

  [More]
• Searching for the Onset of Autism
  

  Diffusion tensor image shows white matter pathways in infant at risk for autism. Warmer colors represent higher fractional anisotropy, a measure of white-matter organization. (Credit: Image created by Jason Wolff, University of North Carolina.)

  Early behavioral intervention has shown some promise as a way to help children with autism. But it s difficult to see the hallmarks of autism before two years of age with today s diagnostic criteria. Could we find other methods?

  [More]
• Car Commutes Can Counter Conditioning
  

  The average American car commuter spends a total of about 50 minutes each day getting to and from work. Some spend hours stuck in heavy traffic. Others may enjoy clear roads, but long drives from suburbs to the city.

  [More]
• Canceled: 'Artificial Volcano' Test for Geoengineering Climate
  

  By Daniel Cressey of Nature magazine

  A field trial for a novel UK geoengineering experiment has been cancelled amid questions about a pre-existing patent application for some of the technology involved.

  The Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (SPICE) project is a collaboration among several UK universities and Cambridge-based Marshall Aerospace to investigate the possibility of spraying particles into the stratosphere to mitigate global warming. [More]

• Do Psychedelics Expand the Mind by Reducing Brain Activity?
  

  What would you see if you could look inside a hallucinating brain? Despite decades of scientific investigation, we still lack a clear understanding of how hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline, and psilocybin (the main active ingredient in magic mushrooms) work in the brain. Modern science has demonstrated that hallucinogens activate receptors for serotonin, one of the brain’s key chemical messengers. Specifically, of the 15 different serotonin receptors, the 2A subtype (5-HT2A), seems to be the one that produces profound alterations of thought and perception. It is uncertain, however, why activation of the 5-HT2A receptor by hallucinogens produces psychedelic effects, but many scientists believe that the effects are linked to increases in brain activity. Although it is not known why this activation would lead to profound alterations of consciousness, one speculation is that an increase in the spontaneous firing of certain types of brain cells leads to altered sensory and perceptual processing, uncontrolled memory retrieval, and the projection of mental “noise” into the mind’s eye.

  [More]
• Native Buzz
  Learn more about the nesting preferences, diversity and distribution of indigenous solitary bees and wasps, share this information, and provide a forum for others interested in native beekeeping [More]
• If Salt Lake City's CO2 Emissions Can Be Monitored, Can China's?
  

  Negotiating an international agreement to fight climate change is hard enough. But for the past several years, scientists have warned that verifying whether countries meet their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions could be even harder.

  [More]
• Explore the Human Microbiome [Interactive]
  

  The body contains 10 times more bacteria, fungi and other micro-organisms than human cells. Most of these species are harmless--although they can still cause illness if they wind up in the wrong place. In addition, researchers are beginning to learn exactly how some microbial species in the body help digestion and contribute to regulation of appetite and the immune system .  

  [More]
• How Bacteria in Our Bodies Protect Our Health (preview)
  

  Biologists once thought that human beings were phys­iological islands, entirely capable of regulating their own internal workings. Our bodies made all the enzymes needed for breaking down food and using its nutrients to power and repair our tissues and organs. Signals from our own tissues dictated body states such as hunger or satiety. The specialized cells of our immune system taught themselves how to recognize and attack dangerous microbes--pathogens--while at the same time sparing our own tissues.

  [More]
• Your Microbiome Community Brings New Meaning to "We the People"
  

  “No man is an island, entire of itself,” wrote English poet John Donne. Nearly four centuries later science is gaining a fuller appreciation of just how literally true that is.

  [More]
• The World Is Living Beyond Its Resources
  

  By Tom Miles

  GENEVA (Reuters) - Biodiversity has decreased by an average of 28 percent globally since 1970 and the world would have to be 50 percent bigger to have enough land and forests to provide for current levels of consumption and carbon emissions, conservation group WWF said on Tuesday.

  Unless the world addresses the problem, by 2030 even two planet Earths would not be enough to sustain human activity, WWF said, launching its "Living Planet Report 2012", a biennial audit of the world's environment and biodiversity - the number of plant and animal species.

  Yet governments are not on track to reach an agreement at next month's sustainable development summit in Rio de Janeiro, WWF International's director general Jim Leape said.

  "I don't think anyone would dispute that we're nowhere near where we should be a month before the conference in terms of the progress of the negotiations and other preparations," Leape told reporters in Geneva.

  "I think all of us are concerned that countries negotiating in the U.N. [More]

• Giant galaxy-packed filament revealed
  Astronomers have discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. The filament is the first structure of its kind spied in a critical era of cosmic buildup when colossal collections of galaxies called superclusters began to take shape. The glowing galactic bridge offers astronomers a unique opportunity to explore how galaxies evolve and merge to form superclusters.
• Slew of rare DNA changes following population explosion may hold clues to common diseases
  Scientists have taken a first step toward understanding how rare genetic differences among people contribute to leading chronic illnesses. One-letter DNA code changes occur frequently in human genomes, but each variant is usually found in only a few individuals. This phenomenon is consistent with the population explosion of the past 5,000 years. Studying the evolution of rare genetic variants and their health impact is critical as low cost, rapid sequencing enters clinical use. Such information would help doctors interpret personal genomes.
• Religion is a potent force for cooperation and conflict, research shows
  Across history and cultures, religion increases trust within groups but also may increase conflict with other groups, according to a new analysis.
• Babies' susceptibility to colds linked to immune response at birth
  Innate differences in immunity can be detected at birth, according to new research. And babies with a better innate response to viruses have fewer respiratory illnesses in the first year of life.
• In chemical reactions, water adds speed without heat
  Scientists have discovered how adding trace amounts of water can tremendously speed up chemical reactions -— such as hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis —- in which hydrogen is one of the reactants, or starting materials.
• Forest diversity from Canada to the sub-tropics influenced by family proximity
  How species diversity is maintained is a fundamental question in biology. Biologists have shown for the first time that diversity is influenced on a spatial scale of unparalleled scope, in part, by how well tree seedlings survive under their own parents.
• Prosthetic retina offers simple solution for restoring sight
  A device which could restore sight to patients with one of the most common causes of blindness in the developed world is being developed.
• Suspicion resides in two regions of the brain
  Scientists have found that suspicion resides in two distinct regions of the brain: the amygdala, which plays a central role in processing fear and emotional memories, and the parahippocampal gyrus, which is associated with declarative memory and the recognition of scenes.
• New technique reveals unseen information in DNA code
  Scientists have used a new technique to map 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in DNA from human and mouse embryonic stem cells, revealing new information about their patterns of distribution. These studies have revealed that these DNA modifications play major roles in fundamental life processes such as cell differentiation, cancer and brain function.
• When you eat matters, not just what you eat
  When it comes to weight gain, when you eat might be at least as important as what you eat. When mice on a high-fat diet are restricted to eating for eight hours per day, they eat just as much as those who can eat around the clock, yet they are protected against obesity and other metabolic ills, the new study shows.
• Pain relief through distraction: It's not all in your head
  Mental distractions make pain easier to take, and those pain-relieving effects aren't just in your head, according to a new report.
• Untangling the development of breast cancer: Evolution of 21 breast cancers
  The team created a catalogue of all the mutations in the genomes of the 21 breast cancer genomes. They identified entirely new mutational processes that drive breast cancer development, including one remarkable process defined by localized regions of hypermutation found in most of the breast cancers. This phenomenon has never been seen before. They also found that, once many mutations have accumulated in a cell, the cell then diverges into different subgroups, one of which is destined to become the aggressive, dominant, breast cancer tumor. These findings have implications for our understanding of how breast cancers develop over the decades before diagnosis in adults.
• Extended daily fasting overrides harmful effects of a high-fat diet: Study may offer drug-free intervention to prevent obesity and diabetes
  It turns out that when we eat may be as important as what we eat. Scientists have found that regular eating times and extending the daily fasting period may override the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet and prevent obesity, diabetes and liver disease in mice.
• Training the brain could help reduce pain
  Training the brain to reduce pain could be a promising approach for treating phantom limb pain and complex regional pain syndrome, according to s neuroscience researcher.
• Risk Factor Management Helps Prevent Migraine Attacks
  The latest genetic and biological research shows that migraine is a neurological, not vascular, disorder and both acute and preventive treatments being developed target peripheral and central nervous systems, according to a prominent migraine expert.
• RNA modification influences thousands of genes: Revolutionizes understanding of gene expression
  Over the past decade, research in the field of epigenetics has revealed that chemically modified bases are abundant components of the human genome and has forced us to abandon the notion we've had since high school genetics that DNA consists of only four bases.
• Ancient giant turtle fossil was size of Smart car
  Picture a turtle the size of a Smart car, with a shell large enough to double as a kiddie pool. Paleontologists have found just such a specimen -- the fossilized remains of a 60-million-year-old South American giant that lived in what is now Colombia.
• Parents are happier people: Parents experience greater happiness and meaning in life than nonparents, psychologists find
  Contrary to recent scholarship and popular belief, parents experience greater levels of happiness and meaning in life than people without children, according to researchers. Parents also are happier during the day when they are caring for their children than during their other daily activities, the researchers found in a series of studies conducted in the United States and Canada.
• Fighting bacteria’s strength in numbers
  Scientists have opened the way for more accurate research into new ways to fight dangerous bacterial infections by proving a long-held theory about how bacteria communicate with each other.
• 1,000 years of climate data confirms Australia's warming
  In the first study of its kind in Australasia, scientists have used 27 natural climate records to create the first large-scale temperature reconstruction for the region over the last 1,000 years.
• Hormone-depleting drug shows promise against localized high-risk prostate tumors
  Researchers have demonstrated that a hormone-depleting drug approved for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer can help eliminate or nearly eliminate tumors in many patients with aggressive cancers that have yet to spread beyond the prostate, according to a new clinical study.
• Not all 'good cholesterol' is 'good': Raising HDL not a sure route to countering heart disease
  Medical researchers explored naturally occurring genetic variations in humans to test the connection between HDL levels and heart attack. By studying the genes of roughly 170,000 individuals, the team discovered that, when examined together, the 15 HDL-raising variants they tested do not reduce the risk of heart attack.
• Phase I study of temsirolimus, capecitabine appears safe; positive survival trend seen
  A Phase I clinical trial examining the safety of combining temsirolimus and capecitabine in advanced malignancies suggests the two agents can be given safely to patients. In addition researchers conducting the study in cancer patients whose tumors have resisted multiple treatments say the combination demonstrates "promising evidence" of disease control and should be studied in a Phase II trial.
• Study combines lapatinib with cetuximab to overcome resistance in EGFR-driven tumors, new research suggests
  Targeted therapies have been studied for years, but recent laboratory research is providing robust clues about drugs that might work better in combination, particularly in treating cancers that have become resistant to therapy. That kind of information is behind a novel clinical trial that combines cetuximab and lapatinib.
• Bats: A good immune system ensures success in reproduction
  Anyone who is healthy has more enthusiasm for reproduction. The same is true even for bats. Male bats with a good immune system are more successful in being selected by females during mate choice and reproduction than their ailing counterparts.
• The Rhine is five million years older than first thought: Age of the river corrected based on fossils
  Scientists have examined the age of the Rhine based on fossils. They have discovered that the river is five million years older than previously believed.
• Damaged connections in Phineas Gage's brain: Famous 1848 case of man who survived accident has modern parallel
  In 1848, Phineas Gage survived an accident that drove an iron rod through his head. Researchers, for the first time, used images of Gage’s skull combined with modern-day brain images to suggest there was extensive damage to the white matter “pathways” that connected various regions of his brain.
• Children with cancer have complete responses in a COG phase 1 trial: Pills zero in on abnormal genes that drive specific cancers
  A pill designed to zero in on abnormal genes that drive specific cancers has produced encouraging early results in children with an uncommon but aggressive type of lymphoma, as well as in children with a rare form of neuroblastoma.
• NASA survey counts potentially hazardous asteroids
  Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids. The results reveal new information about their total numbers, origins and the possible dangers they may pose.
• Biologists produce potential malarial vaccine from algae
  Biologists have succeeded in engineering algae to produce potential candidates for a vaccine that would prevent transmission of the parasite that causes malaria.
• Clergy can fight HIV on faith-friendly terms
  In the United States, where blacks bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, black religious institutions could help turn the tide. In a new study based on dozens of interviews and focus groups with 38 of Philadelphia's most influential black religious leaders, physicians and public health researchers find that traditional barriers to preaching about HIV prevention could give way to faith-friendly messages about getting tested and staying on treatment.
• Head impacts in contact sports may reduce learning in college athletes
  A new study suggests that head impacts experienced during contact sports such as football and hockey may worsen some college athletes’ ability to acquire new information.
• Trusting Tiger Woods: How do facial cues affect preference and trust?
  People respond to facial cues and this affects their level of trust, according to a new study that looks at the way consumers react to morphed photo images.
• You are what you eat: Why do male consumers avoid vegetarian options?
  Why are men generally more reluctant to try vegetarian products? According to a new study consumers are influenced by a strong association of meat with masculinity.
• When does planning interfere with achieving our goals?
  It seems really simple: If you want to achieve something, set a goal and then make specific plans to implement it. But according to a new study consumers get overwhelmed while juggling multiple goals.
• Children with rare, incurable brain disease improve after gene therapy
  Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease using gene transfer. The first-in-humans achievement may also be helpful for more common diseases such as Parkinson's.
• Nine new breast cancer risk genes: Landscape of cancer genes and mutational processes in breast cancer complicated
  Researchers have described nine new genes that drive the development of breast cancer. This takes the tally of all genes associated with breast cancer development to 40.
• Want to avoid erectile dysfunction following prostate cancer surgery? Find an experienced, gentle surgeon
  A new study suggests that men undergoing robotic-assisted surgery for prostate cancer should look for a doctor who has performed at least 1,000 surgeries and who actively seeks to improve and enhance his surgical skills to help ensure a successful post-surgery recovery of erectile function.
• Listening to chickens could improve poultry production
  Listening to squawks and other chicken "vocalizations" using digital signal processing techniques may help farmers better manage growing conditions, contributing to both healthier birds and more productive poultry operations.
• NASA lends Galaxy Evolution Explorer to Caltech
  NASA is lending the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, where the spacecraft will continue its exploration of the cosmos. In a first-of-a-kind move for NASA, a Space Act Agreement was signed May 14 so the university soon can resume spacecraft operations and data management for the mission using private funds.
• Can consumers 'fit in' yet remain unique?
  Most consumers want to fit in while still asserting their individuality -- and they balance these conflicting desires when choosing products, according to a new study.
• Potential new drugs for fox tapeworm infection in humans
  Scientists are reporting development and testing of a new series of drugs that could finally stop the fox tapeworm -- which causes a rare but life-threatening disease in humans -- dead in its tracks. The report shows that specific organometallic substances that help combat cancer are also the surprising best new hope for a treatment against tapeworm infection.
• Sumatra faces yet another risk: Major volcanic eruptions
  The early April earthquake of magnitude 8.6 that shook Sumatra was a grim reminder of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people in 2004 and 2005. Now a new study shows that the residents of that region are at risk from yet another potentially deadly natural phenomenon -- major volcanic eruptions.
• Three-telescope interferometry allows astrophysicists to observe how black holes are fueled
  By combining the light of three powerful infrared telescopes, scientists have observed the active accretion phase of a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy tens of millions of light years away, a method that has yielded an unprecedented amount of data for such observations. The resolution at which they were able to observe this highly luminescent active galactic nucleus has given them direct confirmation of how mass accretes onto black holes in centers of galaxies.
• Graphite enters different states of matter in ultrafast experiment
  For the first time, scientists have seen an X-ray-irradiated mineral go to two different states of matter in about 40 femtoseconds. Scientists heated graphite to induce a transition from solid to liquid and to warm-dense plasma.
• Alzheimer's gene causes brain's blood vessels to leak toxins and die
  ApoE4, a well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease triggers a cascade of signaling that ultimately results in leaky blood vessels in the brain, allowing toxic substances to pour into brain tissue in large amounts, scientists report.
• Colorful butterflies increase their odds of survival by sharing traits
  Bright black-and-red butterflies that flit across the sunlit edges of Amazonian rain forests are natural hedonists, and it does them good, according to new genetic data.
• Human genes transplanted into zebrafish: Helps identify genes related to autism, schizophrenia and obesity
  Researchers have transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to identify genes responsible for head size at birth. This finding also is related to some cases of autism and possibly schizophrenia and childhood obesity.
• New clues on how ApoE4 affects Alzheimer's risk
  Common variants of the ApoE gene are strongly associated with the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, but the gene's role in the disease has been unclear. Now, researchers have found that in mice, having the most risky variant of ApoE damages the blood vessels that feed the brain.
• Humanmade pollutants may be driving Earth's tropical belt expansion: May impact large-scale atmospheric circulation
  Black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone, both humanmade pollutants emitted predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere's low- to mid-latitudes, are most likely pushing the boundary of the tropics further poleward in that hemisphere, new research shows. While stratospheric ozone depletion has already been shown to be the primary driver of the expansion of the tropics in the Southern Hemisphere, the researchers are the first to report that black carbon and tropospheric ozone are the most likely primary drivers of the tropical expansion observed in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Paralyzed individuals use thought-controlled robotic arm to reach and grasp
  In an ongoing clinical trial, a paralyzed woman was able to reach for and sip from a drink on her own -- for the first time in nearly 15 years -- by using her thoughts to direct a robotic arm. The trial, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, is evaluating the safety and feasibility of an investigational device called the BrainGate neural interface system, which is intended to put robotics and other assistive technology under the brain's control.
• People with paralysis control robotic arms to reach and grasp using brain computer interface
  Two people with tetraplegia were able to reach for and grasp objects in three-dimensional space with robotic arms that they controlled directly with brain activity. They used the BrainGate neural interface system, an investigational device currently being studied under an IDE. One participant used the system to serve herself coffee for the first time since becoming paralyzed nearly 15 years ago.
• Internet usage patterns may signify depression
  In a new study analyzing Internet usage among college students, researchers have found that students who show signs of depression tend to use the Internet differently than those who show no symptoms of depression.
• Genome research reveals key behind one butterfly’s ability to mimic another
  Scientists have discovered promiscuous sharing of large regions of DNA code among species by sequencing the genome of a South American butterfly.
• Ancient tree-ring records from southwest U.S. suggest today's megafires are truly unusual
  Today's mega forest fires of the southwestern U.S. are truly unusual and exceptional in the long-term record, suggests an unprecedented study that examined 1,500 years of ancient tree ring and fire data from two distinct climate periods. Researchers constructed and analyzed a statistical model and found that today's dry, hot climate combined with the past century of human fire suppression is causing megafires.
• Baby galaxies grew up quickly
  Baby galaxies from the young universe more than 12 billion years ago evolved faster than previously thought, shows new research. This means that already in the early history of the universe, there was potential for planet formation and life.
• OMG! Texting ups truthfulness, new iPhone study suggests
  Text messaging is a surprisingly good way to get candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study.
• Common fungicide wreaks havoc on freshwater ecosystems
  A new study on chlorothalonil, one of the world's most common fungicides, shows it was lethal to a wide variety of freshwater organisms.
• Let's get moving: Unraveling how locomotion starts
  Scientists have shed new light on one of the great unanswered questions of neuroscience: How the brain initiates rhythmic movements like walking, running and swimming.
• Microscope looks into cells of living fish
  Microscopes provide valuable insights in the structure and dynamics of cells, in particular when the latter remain in their natural environment. However, this is very difficult especially for higher organisms. Researchers have now developed a new method to visualize cell structures of an eighth of a micrometer in size in living fish larvae.

• Cage, Book, and Prism
  The array of hydrogen bonds governing the extended structure of liquid water is so intricate that chemists have often sought to understand it by studying simpler clusters. Even so, it & [Read more]
• Water-Assisted Proton Diffusion
  Proton diffusion on metal oxide surfaces can play an important role in many catalytic processes. The presence of water is thought to accelerate proton diffusion. Merte et al. (p. 889) & [Read more]
• Mechanisms in Methanol Catalysis
  The industrial production of methanol from hydrogen and carbon monoxide depends on the use of copper and zinc oxide nanoparticles on alumina oxide supports. This catalyst is structure sensitive; its & [Read more]
• Radioactive Resonance
  Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and its spatially sensitive cousin, magnetic resonance imaging, have found widespread application in chemical and biological characterization studies. For the most part, these studies take & [Read more]
• Keep Your Distance
  Conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD), whereby the abundance of a species is limited by negative interactions between individuals of the same species, is thought to have an important influence on & [Read more]
• Bring In the Inspectors
  In order to assess the impact of occupational and health practices in the state of California, Levine et al. (p. 907) compared more than 400 uninspected firms with a matched & [Read more]
• Ultimate Blockade
  A Rydberg atom has an electron in a highly excited energy state, close to being set free, but not quite. Ensembles of such atoms interact strongly, sometimes leading to blockade & [Read more]
• Accounting for Lac
  When Escherichia coli expresses the lac operon, it needs to balance the potential increase in growth rate conferred through having the encoded proteins (which help it to take up and & [Read more]
• The Hibernating Ribosome
  When bacteria enter stationary phase, their ribosomes are inactivated. In Escherichia coli, ribosome modulation factor (RMF) causes dimerization of the 70S ribosome and the dimer is stabilized by, hibernation promotion & [Read more]
• An Aspirin a Day?
  The protein kinase AMPK (adenosine monophosphateactivated protein kinase) directly monitors cellular energy stores as reflected by changes in cellular concentrations of AMP, adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Through & [Read more]
• Suicidal B cells
  In response to an infection, immunological B cells undergo a maturation process that results in the production of immunoglobulin (Ig) that is better able to bind and clear the invading & [Read more]
• Deep Breathing
  Living microbes have been discovered many meters into marine sediments. On a cruise in the North Pacific Gyre, R�y et al. (p. 922) discovered that oxygen occurred for tens of & [Read more]
• Color and Movement
  From humans to insects, color and motion information are thought to be channeled through separate neural pathways for efficient visual processing, but it remains unclear if and how these pathways & [Read more]
• Distinguishing Epigenetic Marks
  Methylation of the cytosine base in eukaryotic DNA (5mC) is an important epigenetic mark involved in gene silencing and genome stability. Methylated cytosine can be enzymatically oxidized to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), & [Read more]

• Noteworthy Chemistry - May 17, 2012
  

  This week's topics:

  1. Ferroquine may overcome malaria drug resistance
  2. How warm and wet should a protein be to function?
  3. Use a porous organic cage for reversible water uptake
  4. Which amide is the best substrate for a Grignard reaction?
  5. Use emissive aggregates in bioelectronics and chemoionics
  6. Biology inspires stretchable, conductive nanowire coatings
  Read More
  

• CPRIT Leaders Defend $20 Million Incubator Grant
  Contrary to scientists' views, MD Anderson drug discovery institute is "not a research program"
• Barely Breathing Microbes Still Living in 86-Million-Year-Old Clay
  Organisms deep beneath the sea floor survive on miniscule amounts of oxygen
• A Texas Wrangle Over Cancer Research Funds
  Cancer institute leader steps down, says leaders are bypassing scientific review
• It's Official: Random Inspections Improve Workplace Safety
  New, more rigorous study counters notion that government regulations bankrupt companies
• FDA Panel Recommends Anti-HIV Drug for Prevention
  Should an anti-HIV drug receive approval as a preventive for uninfected people?
• ScienceShot: Every (Plant) Sperm Is Sacred
  Pollen grains steer clear of already-fertilized eggs
• Melanoma Drug Combo Packs a One-Two Punch
  Patients receiving two targeted drugs appear to develop resistance later
• British Team Cancels Geoengineering Experiment
  Patent poses appearance of conflict of interest
• Electrical Engineer to Head Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  New president assumes his post 2 July
• House Panel Gives Controversial Biodefense Lab a Boost
  Spending bill would also restore homeland security research funds
• Chile's Supreme Court Blocks Dam Project
  Ruling could require stricter reviews of major projects
• Paralyzed Patients Control Robotic Arm With Their Minds
  Implanted device enables humans to reach and grab with thoughts alone
• Afghanistan, Like Football, May Be Bad for the Brain
  Neurodegeneration seen previously in athletes now reported in military veterans
• ScienceShot: Suns Spew Superflares
  Kepler spacecraft finds hundreds of massive solar outbursts from stars like our own
• Live Chat: Why Do We Fight?
  Talk to experts about the roots of prejudice and warfare
• ScienceShot: Horses Know Their Neigh-Bors
  Steeds can recognize people by their voices alone
• ScienceShot: Jurassic Arthritis Was a Jawbreaker
  Fossil of an ocean-dwelling pliosaur reveals degenerative joint condition
• New Global Research Council Takes Off
  Funders from nearly 50 nations release statement on merit review
• Floundering? Hardly. U.S. Fisheries Continue to Improve
  NOAA's annual report shows a record number of rebuilt stocks
• Electronics Go Viral
  Researchers create electrical generator out of viruses

• Ecology: Different Dialects
  Acoustical analysis has revealed the presence of complex communication signals across a variety of animal species. Information may also be conveyed by the arrangement of sounds, known as syntax. Syntax & [Read more]
• Psychology: Evaluating Rituals
  Ritualsprotocols designed to make a problem go away or to bring about a favorable outcomeare widely used across cultures yet causally inexplicable within the mechanistic schema of the physical world. & [Read more]
• Cell Biology: Who Hid the Cyclin D2?
  During development of the cortex of the mammalian brain, radial glia divide asymmetrically to give rise to apical progenitor cells that continue to divide and cells that differentiate into neurons. & [Read more]
• Development: Stressful for the Long Haul
  Cold, dehydration, variation in food supplythese are all potential environmental stressors that organisms must face. Often, organisms have mechanisms that can accommodate such challenges, at least to a degree; however, & [Read more]
• Microbiology: Attack of the Killer Algae
  In the oceans, free-living dinoflagellates are one of the most diverse groups of simple eukaryotes: Some are photosynthetic, some are grazers and predators, some are both, and some become temporarily & [Read more]
• Physics: Watching Excitons Condense
  A fascinating property of the quantum world is that particles come equipped with a dual, wavelike nature, which becomes apparent at low temperatures and high densities. For a certain type & [Read more]
• Ocean Science: Where Carbonate Comes From
  Rhodolithsa type of marine red algae that resemble coralsconstitute one of the world's most voluminous shallow-water benthic communities. Though they can be found in many tropical locations worldwide, they may & [Read more]
• Chemistry: Tuning the Mix
  Metal organic framework materials hook together metal ions or clusters, using organic linkers to make crystalline compounds with two- or three-dimensional porosity. The zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) subset of this & [Read more]
• Immunology: Detecting Danger
  Besides responding to infections, the immune system can also recognize tissue injury in the absence of any infectious agents. Examples of this include antitumor immunity and responses to transplanted organs. & [Read more]