Category Archives: News & Archives

Scientists curb growth of cancer cells by blocking access to key nutrients

Salk researchers have discovered how to curb the growth of cancer cells by blocking the cells' access to certain nutrients. The approach, detailed in a new paper published today in Nature, took advantage of knowledge on how healthy cells use a 24-hour cycle to regulate the production of nutrients and was tested on glioblastoma brain tumors…

The Hole in Earth’s Ozone Layer Is Healing

Efforts to heal the hole in Earth's ozone layer over Antarctica appear to be paying off, according to a new, first-of-its-kind study that looked directly at ozone-destroying chemicals in the atmosphere. Earth's ozone layer protects the planet's surface from some of the sun's more harmful rays that can cause cancer and cataracts in humans, and…

New drug capsule may allow weekly HIV treatment

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed a capsule that can deliver a week's worth of HIV drugs in a single dose. This advance could make it much easier for patients to adhere to the strict schedule of dosing required for the drug cocktails used to fight the virus, the researchers say.…

Women today tend to live longer than men almost everywhere worldwide -- in some countries by more than a decade. Now, three centuries of historical records show that women don't just outlive men in normal times: They're more likely to survive even in the worst of circumstances, such as famines and epidemics, researchers report. Most…

Climate change drives collapse in marine food webs

A new study has found that levels of commercial fish stocks could be harmed as rising sea temperatures affect their source of food. University of Adelaide scientists have demonstrated how climate change can drive the collapse of marine "food webs." Published in the open access journal PLOS Biology, the study's lead author PhD student, Hadayet Ullah…

CRISPR treatment prevents hearing loss in mice

Using molecular scissors wrapped in a greasy delivery package, researchers have disrupted a gene variant that leads to deafness in mice. A single treatment involving injection of a genome editing cocktail prevented progressive hearing loss in young animals that would have otherwise gone deaf, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator David Liu and colleagues report…

Origins of photosynthesis in plants dated to 1.25 billion years ago

The world's oldest algae fossils are a billion years old, according to a new analysis by earth scientists at McGill University. Based on this finding, the researchers also estimate that the basis for photosynthesis in today's plants was set in place 1.25 billion years ago. The study, published in the journal Geology, could resolve a long-standing…

Humidity may prove breaking point for some areas as temperatures rise, says study

Climate scientists say that killer heat waves will become increasingly prevalent in many regions as climate warms. However, most projections leave out a major factor that could worsen things: humidity, which can greatly magnify the effects of heat alone. Now, a new global study projects that in coming decades the effects of high humidity in…

New software can verify someone’s identity by their DNA in minutes

In the science-fiction movie Gattaca, visitors only clear security if a blood test and readout of their genetic profile matches the sample on file. Now, cheap DNA sequencers and custom software could make real-time DNA-authentication a reality. Researchers at Columbia University and the New York Genome Center have developed a method to quickly and accurately…

Antibiotics resistance: Researchers succeed to block genes of resistance

Antibiotics are commonly used around the world to cure diseases caused by bacteria. But as the World Health Organization and other international bodies have pointed out, the global increase of antibiotic resistance is a rapidly worsening problem. And since antibiotics are also an essential part of modern medicine, as prophylactic treatment during surgeries and cancer…