Ascribe Higher Education News Service articles from March 2005

Ascribe Higher Education News Service archives from March 2005

CEO Skill and Excessive Pay: A Breakdown in Corporate Governance?
March 1, 2005... Byline: Stanford Graduate School of Business STANFORD, Calif., March 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- What do Disney, AT&T, PacifiCorp, Exxon, and Verizon have in common? Based on recent economic performance and what they pay their CEOs, a new...

Purdue University Researchers Use Enzyme to Clip 'DNA Wires'.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Purdue University have attached magnetic "nanoparticles" to DNA and then cut these "DNA wires" into pieces, offering the promise of creating...

Huge 2004 Stratospheric Ozone Loss Tied to Solar Storms, Arctic Winds.
March 1, 2005... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., March 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates that two natural atmospheric processes in 2004 caused the largest decline in upper...

New National Study of Young People on Their Media Use.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Kaiser Family Foundation MENLO PARK, Calif., March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Amid growing concern about media content and the rapid growth of new media, the Kaiser Family Foundation will release a new national survey of young people...

Future Diabetes Drugs May Target New Protein Interaction; Proteins Also Link Cellular Aging, Response to Calorie Restriction in Mammals.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn...

Mayo Clinic Study Sets Threshold for Valve Repair Surgery; Surgery Gives Normal Life Expectancy to Patients With Severe Mitral Regurgitation; Death Risk for Medically Treated Patients Is Five Times Greater.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Mayo Clinic ROCHESTER, Minn., March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- A Mayo Clinic study of 456 patients with mitral valve regurgitation that had not yet produced significant symptoms has established the first objective guidelines for when...

Most Advanced CT Scanner Improves Imaging of Heart, Avoids Need for Surgical Inspection; Newly Installed 64-CT Scanner Makes Diagnosis Faster, Easier to Perform.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins Medicine has installed the latest computed tomography (CT) imaging software and machinery, also known as a 64-slice computerized axial...

Wetlands Clean Water and May Control Neighborhood Flood Problems.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Constructed wetlands in planned communities can aid in surface water cleanup and flood prevention, according to Purdue University scientists who completed a...

Scientists Discover How Substitutions Are Made for Injured Genes Libraries.
March 2, 2005... Byline: American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science NEW YORK, March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- If there were no bench for second-string players on a football team, who would substitute for tired or injured team members? A team of...

A New 'Strategic Partner' in Cancer Development.
March 2, 2005... Byline: American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science NEW YORK, March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Cancer growth is a long, complex, multi-stage process involving a variety of different "players." This complexity is part of the...

Molecular Messengers and the Ability of Nerve Cells to Heal Themselves.
March 2, 2005... Byline: American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science NEW YORK, March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- Long distance messengers star in many heroic tales, perhaps the most famous being the one about the runner who carried the news about...

Johns Hopkins Convenes 'Consensus' Conference to Develop Blueprint for Nationwide Matching Program for Paired Kidney Exchange.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions CHICAGO, Ill., March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Kidney transplant experts from across the United States will convene here March 2 to March 5, 2005, to design a national paired kidney exchange program....

Inflammation Elevates Risk of Cardiac Death in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Mayo Clinic ROCHESTER, Minn., March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Mayo Clinic epidemiologists have found that the systemic inflammation characterizing rheumatoid arthritis may be to blame for the increased risk of cardiovascular death in...

Important Discovery About Second Most Fatal Cancer.
March 3, 2005... Byline: McGill University MONTREAL, March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- An international team of medical scientists has made an important advance in our understanding of the second most fatal form of cancer in the industrialized world. Professor...

Mayo Clinic Develops First Genomic-Based Test to Predict Stroke From Ruptured Brain Aneurysm.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Mayo Clinic ROCHESTER, Minn., March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a genetic marker that may pave the way for a fast, inexpensive blood test to predict one type of deadly stroke that strikes 30,000...

Pitt Researcher, Colleagues Create Self-Assembling Nanoparticle/Polymer Mixtures; Findings Represent Significant Advance Toward Manufacture of Nanodevices, Researchers Announce in Nature.
March 3, 2005... Byline: University of Pittsburgh PITTSBURGH, March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- A University of Pittsburgh researcher and her colleagues announced today in the journal Nature that they have created self-assembling mixtures of nanoparticles and...

Plutonium Decontamination Agent Characterized at Berkeley Advanced Light Source.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- In an on-going effort to design and synthesize chemical substances that can safely and effectively remove plutonium and other radioactive...

In Last Campaign 75 Million Americans Connected to Politics Online Through Getting News, Information on Web, Exchanging Political Emails, and Taking Direct Action, Such As Contributions, Volunteering Via Internet.
March 6, 2005... Byline: Pew Internet & American Life Project WASHINGTON, March 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- The internet became an essential part of American politics in 2004. Fully 75 million Americans -- 37 percent of the adult population and 61 percent of...

Bungled Insulin Production May Be a Culprit in Diabetes; Evidence of Incorrect Proinsulin Folding Seen for First Time in Normal and Diabetic Rat Cells; Research May Help Explain Why Pancreatic Beta Cells Die.
March 7, 2005... Byline: University of Michigan Health System ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Like pieces of origami that get mangled during folding, some insulin molecules get produced in bungled forms - as well as the correct form - inside...

Portable System Offers Dialysis Patients 'Liberating' Changes.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Indiana University School of Medicine INDIANAPOLIS, March 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- A suitcase-sized machine tested at the Indiana University School of Medicine is making life easier for some patients undergoing rigorous dialysis for...

Simulations Reveal Surprising News About Black Holes; Computer Reveals That Life Around Black Holes Is Turbulent, Violent.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, March 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- For more than 30 years, astrophysicists have believed that black holes can swallow nearby matter and release a tremendous amount of energy as a result. Until...

Beta-Blockers May Help Broader Group of Patients With Heart Problems; Researchers Find Drugs Boost Survival in Those With Congestive Heart Failure and Mitral Regurgitation With Normal Ejection Fraction.
March 7, 2005... Byline: USC Health Sciences ORLANDO, Fla., March 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Beta-blockers, medications that block the action of certain hormones on the heart, can benefit patients with certain serious heart problems such as diastolic heart...

The (South) Polar Express: Blazing a Trail Across Antarctica.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Technological University HOUGHTON, Mich., March 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Two centuries ago, it took Lewis and Clark three years to cross half of North America. It's taking Michigan Technological University's Russell Alger...

Norovirus Found to Cause Traveler's Diarrhea; Study of U.S. Travelers to Mexico and Guatemala Found 65 Percent Prevalence Rate.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Bloomberg School of Public Health BALTIMORE, March 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- A majority of traveler's diarrhea cases among U.S. travelers to Mexico and Guatemala were attributed to Norovirus, a common cause of nonbacterial...

University of Florida-Developed Detectors Help Guard Against Foam Flaws in Shuttle's Fuel Tank.
March 8, 2005... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- The engineers who built the massive external fuel tank that will power the shuttle Discovery into orbit this spring used sophisticated X-ray detectors developed...

News Tips From the 2005, 54th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology, March 6-9, Orlando, Fla.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Listed below are two newsworthy American College of Cardiology presentations by Johns Hopkins researchers. - - - - MODERN IMPLANTABLE HEART...

'Media Multi-tasking' Changing the Amount and Nature of Young People's Media Use; Bedrooms Have Become Multi-Media Centers; Kids Say Parents Don't Set or Enforce Rules on Media Use.
March 9, 2005... Byline: Kaiser Family Foundation WASHINGTON, March 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- Children and teens are spending an increasing amount of time using "new media" like computers, the Internet and video games, without cutting back on the time they...

University of Virginia Study Traces Transition From Student to Scientist.
March 9, 2005... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- A University of Virginia professor is tracking how a student makes the shift from being a consumer of knowledge to being a producer of knowledge - such as an...

UCLA Biochemists Report Discovery of Structure of Major Piece of Telomerase, an Enzyme That Plays a Key Role in Cancer.
March 9, 2005... Byline: UCLA LOS ANGELES, March 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- UCLA biochemists have determined the three-dimensional structure of a major domain of telomerase, the enzyme that helps maintain telomeres - small pieces of DNA on the ends of...

New Class of Tuberculosis-Fighting Antibiotics Suggested by Biochemical-Pathway Study.
March 10, 2005... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, March 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- A worldwide health problem, tuberculosis kills more people than any other bacterial infection. The World Health Organization estimates that two...

Earthquake Risk in Coal Country.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Seismological Society of America EL CERRITO, Calif., March 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, the premier scientific journal dedicated to earthquake research, has just published a trio of...

Richness of Ocean Life Reflected in a Test Tube, Scientists Say.
March 10, 2005... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Ecologists know that when it comes to habitats, size matters, and now a new study finds that contrary to earlier beliefs, that maxim holds true right down to...

CU-Boulder Researchers Pioneer New Technique to Free Seismologists From 'Tyranny of Earthquakes'.
March 10, 2005... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., March 10 (AScribe Newswire) -- Seismologists have long relied on earthquakes or expensive tools like explosives to help create images of Earth's interior, but a new method created by...

UGA Researcher's Technique Advances Science, Limits Animal Sacrifice.
March 11, 2005... Byline: University of Georgia ATHENS, Ga., Mar. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Science sometimes requires sacrifice: animal and plant subjects are routinely analyzed by scientists studying the ways in which they react with their environments. At...

Defenseless Plants Arm Themselves With Metals.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- A group of plants that uses metal to defend against infection may do so because the normal defense mechanism used by most other plants is blocked. Purdue...

In Solution, Tiny Magnetic Wires Scatter Light.
March 13, 2005... Byline: University of Wisconsin - Madison SAN DIEGO, March 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- Maneuvering external magnets, scientists can command the direction in which light bounces off tiny, magnetic wires that sway like matchsticks in thick,...

Fossil Records Show Biodiversity Comes and Goes.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BERKELEY, Calif., March 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- A detailed and extensive new analysis of the fossil records of marine animals over the past 542 million years has yielded a stunning surprise....

Treating Depression Helps Slow Physical Decline in Older Adults, Study Shows.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Indiana University School of Medicine INDIANAPOLIS, March 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- Successful treatment of depression not only improves older adults' emotional health, but also helps them perform daily activities such as remembering...

Newly Discovered Pathway Might Help in Design of Cancer Drugs.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, March 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins chemists have discovered a new way to sabotage DNA's ability to reproduce, a finding that could eventually lead to the development of new anti-cancer...

Mayo Clinic Discovers 'New Pathway' Against Pancreatic Cancer.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Mayo Clinic ROCHESTER, Minn., March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Pancreatic cancer kills 30,000 Americans every year. Not only is there no cure, but there are no effective treatments. That may change if a new finding by Mayo Clinic...

Epstein-Barr Virus Protein Crucial to Blood Cancers, Researchers Find.
March 15, 2005... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr...

Earlier Use of Prostate Cancer Vaccines Urged by Johons Hopkins Scientists.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Timing is everything when it comes to killing prostate cancer cells with specially tailored vaccines, say scientists testing the drugs in mice at the Johns...

Research Indicates No Relief for Drought, Fire Concerns.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Oregon State University CORVALLIS, Ore., March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- It does not appear there will be any major relief this spring or summer from the unusually dry weather that has recently hit the Pacific Northwest, according to...

Researchers Recognize 'Lower-Energy' Varieties of Coastal Islands.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Duke University BILOXI, Miss., March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- A different style of coastal barrier islands that forms under lower-energy conditions than classic ocean-facing barriers, such as North Carolina's Outer Banks, has been...

Surprisingly Complex Behaviors Appear to Be 'Hard-Wired' in the Primate Brain.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Vanderbilt University NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- When you grab a piece of food and put it in your mouth, when you smile in response to the smile of a passerby or squint and grimace in anger, the complex...

'Few-Walled' Carbon Nanotubes Said Cheap and Efficient Option for Certain Applications.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Duke University SAN DIEGO, March 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- North Carolina scientists have found that "thinnest" is not necessarily "best" in rating structure and function of carbon nanotubes, the molecule-sized cylinders that show...

Duke Chemists Isolating Individual Molecules of Toxic Protein in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Duke University SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- To understand the formation of the brain-clogging deposits that cause such disorders as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, Duke University chemists have figured...

Controversy Surrounding Alternative Theory to Evolution to be Debated.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Dickinson College CARLISLE, Pa., March 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Over three quarters of a century ago, creationists challenged Darwin's theory of evolution in the courts of Tennessee. Now, another theory is making waves, and it is...

Public-Private Consortium to Create Comprehensive Tools for Uncovering Functions of Human, Mouse Genes; $18 Million Project Will Develop, Share Gene-Inhibitor Library to Accelerate Basic Research and Drug Discovery Worldwide.
March 16, 2005... Byline: The Whitehead Institute CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Eleven leading biomedical organizations announced today the formation of a unique $18 million, three-year public-private consortium to create a comprehensive...

UC Davis Researchers Discover New Link Between C-Reactive Protein, and Heart Disease and Stroke.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Univ. of California, Davis, Medical Center SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- The cells that line the arteries are able to produce C-reactive protein, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health...

Artificial Antenna Helps 'Cockroach Robot' Scurry Along Walls; Student-Made Device Sends Obstacle Warnings to Mechanical Bug's Brain.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins University BALTIMORE, March 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Can a robot learn to navigate like a cockroach? To help researchers find out if a mechanical device can mimic the pesky insect's behavior, a Johns Hopkins...

Climate Change Inevitable in 21st Century; Sea Level Rise to Outpace Temperature Increase.
March 17, 2005... Byline: National Center for Atmospheric Research BOULDER, Colo., March 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- Even if all greenhouse gases had been stabilized in the year 2000, we would still be committed to a warmer Earth and greater sea level rise in...

University of Florida Researcher: Ideas About Fossil Horses Undergo Evolution in Thinking.
March 17, 2005... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be, says a University of Florida researcher whose findings show that the evolution of horses had more twists and...

54 Percent of Parents With Teenagers Use Internet Filters, Yet Both Teens and Parents Believe That Teens Do Things Online That Their Parents Would Not Like.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Pew Internet & American Life Project WASHINGTON, March 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- More than half of American families with teenagers use filters to limit access to potentially harmful online content -- a 65 percent increase from the...

Study Shows How Animals Sense When Food Lacks Amino Acids.
March 17, 2005... Byline: University of California, Davis DAVIS, Calif., March 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- The biochemical mechanism that enables animals -- likely including humans -- to recognize when their diet is deficient in an essential amino acid has...

New Book by Purdue Professor Finds More to Capoeira Than Meets the Eye: Historic African-Brazilian Fusion of Martial Arts, Sport, Dance Engages Mind, Body, Spirit.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- A Purdue University Spanish professor says the best way to understand the African-Brazilian influenced Capoeira is by comparing its deceptive elements to what...

NASA Researchers Use Imaging Radar to Detect Coastal Pollution.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., March 17 (AScribe Newswire) -- A NASA-funded study of marine pollution in Southern California concluded space-based synthetic aperture radar can be a vital observational tool for assessing...

Vanderbilt University Researchers Find Drug-Resistant Bacteria MRSA a Growing Threat.
March 18, 2005... Byline: Vanderbilt Medical Center NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Infectious diseases researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are noticing a significant increase in the number of infections due to...

University of Virginia Study Traces Transition From Student to Scientist.
March 18, 2005... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- A University of Virginia professor is tracking how a student makes the shift from being a consumer of knowledge to being a producer of knowledge - such as...

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Taps 43 of the Nation's Most Promising Scientists.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Howard Hughes Medical Institute CHEVY CHASE, Md., March 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute today announced the selection of 43 of the nation's most promising biomedical scientists as new HHMI...

Project to Create Vocabulary for RNA Researchers Worldwide.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Bowling Green State University BOWLING GREEN, Ohio, March 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- Research into ribonucleic acids (RNA) - the building blocks of life - is exploding as scientists worldwide discover the roles of RNA in genetics,...

Increasing Charge Mobility in Single Molecular Organic Crystals; Studies May Help Identify Best Materials for Variety of Future Electronics Applications.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- Flexible displays that can be folded up in your pocket? More accurate biological and chemical sensors? Biocompatible electronics? In research that...

DNA 'Packaging' Linked With Cancer.
March 21, 2005... Byline: University of Illinois at Chicago CHICAGO, March 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- New laboratory findings at the University of Illinois at Chicago suggest that what lies outside cancer cells is at least as important as the genes inside in...

Researchers at University of Virginia Health System Discover How Body Regulates Most Abundant Type of White Blood Cell.
March 22, 2005... Byline: University of Virginia Health System CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Every day, the human body manufactures and destroys about 100 billion neutrophils - the most common type of white blood cell and one of the...

Joslin Diabetes Center Scientists Find Genetic Defects in Immunological Tolerance; Defects Give Immune System Green Light to Attack Pancreas.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Joslin Diabetes Center BOSTON, March 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have found genetic regions that, when defective, allow the immune system to attack the pancreas - the first in a series of missteps...

Revealing a Secret in Plain Sight: Air Makes Liquids Go Splash.
March 22, 2005... Byline: University of Chicago CHICAGO, March 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- University of Chicago physicists have learned how to eliminate what scientists formerly regarded as the inevitable splashing that occurs after a liquid crashes onto a...

NASA's Spitzer Marks Beginning of New Age of Planetary Science.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., March 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope captured the light, for the first time, from two known planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. The findings mark the...

Plants Defy Mendel's Inheritance Laws, May Prompt Textbook Changes.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Contrary to inheritance laws the scientific world has accepted for more than 100 years, some plants revert to normal traits carried by their grandparents,...

Mystery Minerals Formed in Fireball From Colliding Asteroid That Destroyed the Dinosaurs.
March 23, 2005... Byline: University of Chicago CHICAGO, March 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Chicago have explained how a globe-encircling residue formed in the aftermath of the asteroid...

It's All in the Mix: Right Blend of Microbes and Plants Can Clean Up Toxic Spills.
March 23, 2005... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- Superfund sites are infamous for their hazardous, stubborn chemical wastes, but one cleanup solution may be to put the right mix of plants and microbes...

Trio of Leukemias Shares Single Mutation; Internet Aided in Identifying Large Number of Patients for Study.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Howard Hughes Medical Institute CHEVY CHASE, Md., March 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- Three leukemias that affect as many as 100,000 people in the United States are all caused by acquired mutations that alter a specific enzyme...

University of Florida Science Discovery Raises Questions About Origin of African Mammals.
March 24, 2005... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- "Into Africa" rather than "Out of Africa" could well be the better description of how certain mammals originated and spread across the world, according to a...

Researchers Trace Evolution to Relatively Simple Genetic Changes; Fish Shed Heavy Armor in Favor of Lighter Gear.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Howard Hughes Medical Institute CHEVY CHASE, Md., March 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- In a stunning example of evolution at work, scientists have now found that changes in a single gene can produce major changes in the skeletal armor of...

Yeast Finding Links Processes in Heart Disease and Cancer.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- By studying a little-known yeast too primitive to get diseases, Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered a surprising link between two processes at play...

Underwater Robot Launched From Bermuda to Cross Gulf Stream.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WOODS HOLE, Mass., March 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- A small autonomous underwater vehicle, or AUV, named Spray was launched yesterday about 12 miles southeast of Bermuda. The...

Deep-Sea Tremors May Provide Early Warning System for Larger Earthquakes.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WOODS HOLE, Mass., March 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- Predicting when large earthquakes might occur may be a step closer to reality, thanks to a new study of undersea earthquakes in the eastern...

Some Brain Cells 'Change Channels' to Fine-Tune the Message.
March 25, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins researchers have identified the proteins that allow specific brain cells to "change channels," a rare ability that tweaks what can come into...

Johns Hopkins Begins Human Trials With Donor Adult Stem Cells to Repair Muscle Damaged From Heart Attack; Randomized Phase I Study Limited to 48 Patients to Determine Safety.
March 25, 2005... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Johns Hopkins have begun what is believed to be the first clinical trial in the United States of adult mesenchymal stem cells to repair...

Patient at University of Virginia Health System Receives First FDA-Approved Graft for Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms.
March 25, 2005... Byline: University of Virginia Health System CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- In a two-hour procedure at the University of Virginia Health System, a 72-year-old retired mail carrier from Etowah, N.C., became the first...

Poplar Trees Redirect Resources in Response to Simulated Attack; Use of 'Functional Imaging' to Track Plant Nutrients Has Many Potential Applications.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Brookhaven National Laboratory UPTON, N.Y., March 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have applied some of the same techniques used in medical imaging to track the...

'You Can't Buy Conservation,' Suggests Survey of Africa's Rain Forest Parks.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., March 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- Economic assistance to areas surrounding Africa's rain forest parks does not, as currently applied, contribute to their health, suggests an extensive survey of park...

If History Is a Guide, Telecom Mergers Will Mean Higher Phone Rates for Consumers Across the Board.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Consumer Action SAN FRANCISCO, March 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- As mega-mergers promise to change the face of the telecommunications industry, Consumer Action's 2005 Telephone Rates Survey, released today, finds that big players --...

Changes in Earth's Tilt Control When Glacial Cycles End; Tilt Is a 100,000-Year Planetary Pacemaker.
March 29, 2005... Byline: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WOODS HOLE, Mass., March 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists have long debated what causes glacial/interglacial cycles, which have occurred most recently at intervals of about 100,000 years. A...

New Findings About Protection Against Pneumococcal Disease; Findings Hoped to Spur Development of Improved Vaccine.
March 29, 2005... Byline: Children's Hospital Boston BOSTON, March 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- Since 2000, U.S. infants have been routinely immunized against pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) infection. Now, Boston researchers have made a surprising...