While investigating a fungus known to cause an infection in people with AIDS, two grantees of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), unexpectedly discovered a potential strategy for treating metastatic melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.
Biovail Corporation (NYSE:BVF)(TSX:BVF) today announced that it will no longer maintain a U.S.-based sales organization, and that it intends to enter into supply-and-distribution agreements with strategic partners to target physicians groups in the United States. As a result of this decision, the Company has enhanced the operational efficiency of its business model.
Research reported in the Plant Cell reveals important aspects of plant metabolism associated with grain filling and kernel yield in maize. The scientific breakthrough of this research is its indication that two closely related isoforms of the cytosolic enzyme glutamine synthetase determine two major and distinct yield components in maize, kernel size and kernel number. The results point to a dominant role of nitrogen retranslocation rather than carbon allocation during grain filling.
Brain wave changes in adolescence are related to age, but not sexual maturation, occur earlier in girls than boys and may be associated with one of the brain’s major reorganization projects: synaptic pruning, a new study finds. During adolescence, the brain reorganizes and eliminates many synaptic connections, making the brain’s information processing more efficient and powerful while consuming less energy.
The largest, most comprehensive survey of public perceptions of nanotechnology products finds US consumers are willing to use specific nano-containing products — even if there are health and safety risks — when the potential benefits are high. The study also finds US consumers rate nanotechnology as less risky than everyday technologies like herbicides, chemical disinfectants, handguns and food preservatives. The findings appear in December’s issue of Nature Nanotechnology.
Research by scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University has warned that coral reef shark populations on the Great Barrier Reef are in the midst of a catastrophic collapse.
A high-flying K-12 education effort by the University of Colorado at Boulder will feature two science investigations launching on a NASA space shuttle this week and continuing on for extended stays aboard the International Space Station.
Why and how do males and females of the same species often look so different? Armin Mocsek (Indiana University) has shown that in a certain group of insects, sex-differences in appearance are not the product of growing structures in a sex-specific manner, as previously assumed, but rather are generated by the sex-specific loss, or removal, of structures initially grown alike by both males and females.
Max Planck researchers in Halle observe self-organization of atoms in circular atomic pens.
The chemical compound for the abortion pill has been found to prevent the growth of mammary tumors caused by the mutant gene responsible for a majority of breast and ovarian cancers, according to UC Irvine scientists.