ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Sunday, December 25, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Sunday, December 25, 2011

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Computer assisted design (CAD) for RNA: Researchers develop CAD-type tools for engineering RNA control systems (December 24, 2011) -- Researchers have developed computer assisted design-type tools for engineering RNA components to control genetic expression in microbes. This holds enormous potential for microbial-based production of advanced biofuels, biodegradable plastics, therapeutic drugs and a host of other goods now derived from petrochemicals. ... > full story

High intestinal microbial diversity safeguards against allergies, study suggests (December 24, 2011) -- High diversity and a variety of bacteria in the gut protect children against allergies as opposed to some individual bacterial genera. These are the findings of a comprehensive study of intestinal microflora (gut flora) in allergic and healthy children. ... > full story

How the brain cell works: A dive into its inner network (December 24, 2011) -- Scientists are developing the first systematic survey of protein interactions within brain cells. The team is aiming to reconstruct genome-wide in situ protein-protein interaction networks within the neurons of a multicellular organism. ... > full story

Detailed molecular 'signature' for Tankyrase determined (December 24, 2011) -- Researchers have uncovered the detailed architecture of a crucial component of Tankyrase, a protein linked to the bone development disorder cherubism and involved in a myriad of cellular processes. The discovery is the first structural insight into precisely how the enzyme correctly identifies its targets, or substrates. The work provides researchers with a greater understanding of Tankyrase's cellular control processes, and may also lead to the development of new designer drugs to treat cancer. ... > full story

NASA's Cassini delivers holiday treats from Saturn (December 24, 2011) -- No team of reindeer, but radio signals flying clear across the solar system from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have delivered a holiday package of glorious images. The pictures, from Cassini's imaging team, show Saturn's largest, most colorful ornament, Titan, and other icy baubles in orbit around this splendid planet. ... > full story

Increased arm swing asymmetry is early sign of Parkinson's disease (December 24, 2011) -- People with Parkinson's disease swing their arms asymmetrically -- one arm swings less than the other -- when walking. This unusual movement is easily detected early when drugs and other interventions may help slow the disease, according to researchers who used inexpensive accelerometers on the arms of Parkinson's disease patients to measure arm swing. ... > full story

New sensor to detect lung cancer from exhaled breath (December 24, 2011) -- Scientists are developing biosensors capable of detecting the presence of tumor markers of lung cancer in exhaled breath. This is possible because of the changes produced within the organism of an ill person, changes reflected in the exhaled breath of the patient and which enable determining the presence of this type of marker during the initial stages of the disease. ... > full story

Crucial advances in 'brain reading' demonstrated (December 23, 2011) -- A new study demonstrates several crucial advances in "brain reading" or "brain decoding" using computerized machine learning methods. Researchers classified data taken from people being scanned while watching videos meant to induce nicotine cravings and detected whether people were watching and resisting cravings, indulging in them, or watching videos that were unrelated to smoking or cravings. ... > full story

Multiple sclerosis linked to different area of brain (December 23, 2011) -- Radiology researchers have found evidence that multiple sclerosis affects an area of the brain that controls cognitive, sensory and motor functioning apart from the disabling damage caused by the disease's visible lesions. ... > full story

WISE presents a cosmic wreath (December 23, 2011) -- Just in time for the holidays, astronomers have come across a new image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, that some say resembles a wreath. You might even think of the red dust cloud as a cheery red bow, and the bluish-white stars as silver bells. This star-forming nebula is named Barnard 3. Baby stars are being born throughout the dusty region, while the "silver bell" stars are located both in front of, and behind, the nebula. ... > full story

Researchers use light to measure cancer cells' response to treatment (December 23, 2011) -- Many cancer therapies target specific proteins that proliferate on the outside of some cancer cells, but the therapies are imperfect and the cancer does not always respond. Researchers have now demonstrated a new way to optically test cultured cancer cells' response to a particular cancer drug. ... > full story

New method for watching proteins fold (December 23, 2011) -- A protein's function depends on both the chains of molecules it is made of and the way those chains are folded. And while figuring out the former is relatively easy, the latter represents a huge challenge with serious implications because many diseases are the result of misfolded proteins. Now, a team of chemists has devised a way to watch proteins fold in "real-time," which could lead to a better understanding of protein folding and misfolding in general. ... > full story