Science

Findings by Scripps Research Scientists Brighten Prospects of Stem Cell Therapy for Range of Diseases

LA JOLLA, CA – October 15, 2009 A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells. The research makes great strides in addressing a major practical challenge in the development of stem-cell-based medicine.

The findings were published in an advance, online issue of the journal Nature Methods on October 18, 2009.    » read more »

Scientists identify enzyme that could help grow biofuel crops in harsh environments

October 19, 2009 -- by J. Bryan Lowder -- UPTON, NY — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a novel enzyme responsible for the formation of suberin — the woody, waxy, cell-wall substance found in cork.

While effective at keeping wine inside a bottle, suberin’s most important function in plants is to control water and nutrient transportation and keep pathogens out. Adjusting the permeability of plant tissues by genetically manipulating the expression of this enzyme could lead to easier agricultural production of crops used for biofuels.    » read more »

Oct. 18, 2009 -- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has rescheduled to Tuesday, Oct. 20, the rollout of the Ares I-X rocket to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The first motion of the Ares I-X out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building is targeted for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The 4.2-mile journey is expected to last about seven hours. Media activities include a first motion photo opportunity and interviews with Ares I-X managers. In addition, a sunrise photo opportunity will be available at 7 a.m.

Live NASA Television coverage with commentary will start at 11:45 p.m., Oct. 19, and 7 a.m., Oct. 20. Video highlights of the move will air on NASA Television's Video File.    » read more »

By Edward W. Lempinen, AAAS

16 October 2009 -- SAN FRANCISCO -- Students usually arrive at San Diego's High Tech High with a commitment to education, but in Jay Vavra's 11th grade biology class, they get an immersion in sustainability that may be life-changing.

In many schools, their lessons would come from a textbook, supplemented by online materials. But for Vavra's class at the acclaimed charter school, they shape their own projects and then go out into the field to study ecosystems and the humans who inhabit them. When the projects are done, they come back and collaborate on books about their research.    » read more »

According to public health officials, low income countries carry more than 90% of the global disease burden and have less than 10% of funds from public and private sources to deal with them[1]

Basel, October 19, 2009 - Leading Dengue and TB scientists from the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) are meeting today at a symposium at NEHCRI (Novartis - Eijkman Institute - Hasanuddin University Clinical Research Initiative) in Makassar, Indonesia, to discuss the initiative's clinical research updates. NEHCRI is a unique collaboration comprised of a specialized network of institutes that are focused on drug discovery, capacity building and training local Indonesian scientists.    » read more »

Oct. 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft has made it possible for scientists to construct the first comprehensive sky map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way galaxy. The new view will change the way researchers view and study the interaction between our galaxy and sun.

The sky map was produced with data that two detectors on the spacecraft collected during six months of observations. The detectors measured and counted particles scientists refer to as energetic neutral atoms.    » read more »

15 October 2009 -- A French research team reports a new gene therapy approach tested in macaque monkeys that shows promise for treating Parkinson’s disease by restoring dopamine in the brain and preventing the jerky, involuntary movements that accompany long-term treatment of the disease.

The research is reported in the 14 October issue of Science Translational Medicine, the new journal from AAAS and Science that’s designed to help speed basic research-advances into clinics and hospitals worldwide.    » read more »

Summit one of most important life sciences conferences in world

October 15, 2009 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that Detroit will host the 2010 World Stem Cell Summit organized by the Genetics Policy Institute.

The conference will take place October 4-6, 2010, at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. It will be co-hosted by Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2009 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced more than $7 million in grants for research on the biology of plant processes and traits which can be used to breed crops with enhanced value and resilience to climate stress. The research will increase understanding of plant biology from the genome to the field, and provide a foundation for the development of plant varieties with increased yield, reduced production cost, and enhanced quality and nutritional value.    » read more »

Call for Stricter Guidelines

14 October 2009 -- In October 2006, the military affairs journal Jane's Intelligence Weekly reported that U.S. Army officials detected a “sudden decline” in the effectiveness of some its spy satellites throughout the fall as they passed over China.

Before receiving an explanation from the Chinese military, initial fears were that the country had intentionally aimed ground-based lasers at the U.S. satellites to temporally disrupt their ability to collect information, or worse, materially damage them.

Was this a hostile attempt by the Chinese to test its laser anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, obstructing U.S. military reconnaissance missions in Low Earth Orbit?    » read more »

Scientists will examine cloud computing as a cost-effective and energy-efficient computing paradigm to accelerate discoveries in biology, climate change and physics.

October 14, 2009 -- ARGONNE, IL, and BERKELEY, CA –- Cloud computing is gaining traction in the commercial world, but can such an approach also meet the computing and data storage demands of the nation’s scientific community?

A new program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will examine cloud computing as a cost-effective and energy-efficient computing paradigm for scientists to accelerate discoveries in a variety of disciplines, including analysis of scientific data sets in biology, climate change and physics.    » read more »

Advocates in the public and private sector, legislators, and educators to advise on statewide agenda for STEM education

BOSTON – Wednesday, October 14, 2009 – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today joined Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray and other elected officials and community leaders to sign an executive order establishing the Governor’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Advisory Council.

The new council will serve as a central advisory body, bringing together public and private sector stakeholders involved with STEM planning and programming, with the goal of increasing student interest in, and preparation for, careers in STEM.    » read more »

Statement by Alden Meyer, Union of Concerned Scientists

BANGKOK (October 9, 2009) — Two weeks of climate talks wrapped up today in Bangkok. Incremental progress was made on some of the less charged negotiating issues. But the talks fell short on the biggest issues, including developed countries' emissions reductions, commitments for the United States, and financing to help developing country adapt to climate change and reduce their own emissions.

Only one more five-day negotiating session remains, in Barcelona early next month, before nations assemble in Copenhagen in December for the high-stakes climate summit.

Below is a statement by Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - Congressman Brad Sherman announced that research institutes in the San Fernando Valley are receiving nearly four million dollars in combined grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the Stimulus Bill, provides an unprecedented level of funding to the NIH to help stimulate the US economy through the support and advancement of scientific research. The NIH targeted projects that were likely to stimulate the economy, create or retain jobs, and have the potential for making scientific progress in 2 years.    » read more »

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - 12 Oct 2009: IBM Research (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has received an "Advanced Sequencing Technology Award" from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, to design a silicon-based "DNA Transistor" that will advance genome sequencing technology and generate progress in health care diagnosis and practice.

As part of the "Revolutionary Genome Sequencing Technologies - The $1000 Genome", NHGRI selected the development of technologies aimed to sequence mammalian genomes for $1,000 or less. NHGRI leadership believes that inexpensive genomic sequencing will revolutionize health and medicine.    » read more »