Scientists say they have pinpointed a gene in the brain that can calm nerve cells that become too jumpy, potentially paving the way for new therapies to treat autism and other neurological disorders. [More]
Scientists say they have pinpointed a gene in the brain that can calm nerve cells that become too jumpy, potentially paving the way for new therapies to treat autism and other neurological disorders. [More]
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
[More][The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
[More]Dear EarthTalk: There seems to be a large selection of soy and other non-dairy milks out there today, even right in the dairy sections of major supermarkets. Why should I opt for soymilk over cow’s milk and how do I get the calcium I would lose?-- Barbara Conant, Tacoma, Washington
[More]Dear EarthTalk: There seems to be a large selection of soy and other non-dairy milks out there today, even right in the dairy sections of major supermarkets. Why should I opt for soymilk over cow’s milk and how do I get the calcium I would lose?-- Barbara Conant, Tacoma, Washington
[More][The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
[More][The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
[More]When materials scientist Joseph Michael and his team at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., trained their high-powered electron microscope on anthrax spore samples the FBI had sent them in February 2002, they made two crucial discoveries: The first confirmed previous findings that the Bacillus anthracis spores mailed to U.S. Senate offices and various media outlets (shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks) contained silicon, a substance used to turn anthrax-causing spores into a biological weapon.
But it was Sandia's next discovery that marked a critical turning point in the feds's probe of the mysterious mailings, which killed five people, injured 17 and prompted thousands more who were potentially exposed to the deadly spores to take potent antibiotics--in particular, Ciprofloxacin (known to irritate the gastrointestinal tract and cause joint swelling). Using highly sensitive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), the researchers came to a startling realization: The silicon had grown organically inside the Bacillus anthracis samples, nothing had been added to weaponize the spores. "The silicon was not on the outside of the spore," says Michael, who headed up Sandia's investigation, "but rather incorporated on the inside."
[More]When materials scientist Joseph Michael and his team at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., trained their high-powered electron microscope on anthrax spore samples the FBI had sent them in February 2002, they made two crucial discoveries: The first confirmed previous findings that the Bacillus anthracis spores mailed to U.S. Senate offices and various media outlets (shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks) contained silicon, a substance used to turn anthrax-causing spores into a biological weapon.
But it was Sandia's next discovery that marked a critical turning point in the feds's probe of the mysterious mailings, which killed five people, injured 17 and prompted thousands more who were potentially exposed to the deadly spores to take potent antibiotics--in particular, Ciprofloxacin (known to irritate the gastrointestinal tract and cause joint swelling). Using highly sensitive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), the researchers came to a startling realization: The silicon had grown organically inside the Bacillus anthracis samples, nothing had been added to weaponize the spores. "The silicon was not on the outside of the spore," says Michael, who headed up Sandia's investigation, "but rather incorporated on the inside."
[More]Scientists have stumbled on a chemical in the body that could one day prevent or reverse diseases linked to obesity. [More]
Scientists have stumbled on a chemical in the body that could one day prevent or reverse diseases linked to obesity. [More]
Acting Surgeon General Steven Galson issued a "call to action" this week to make more Americans aware of deep-vein thrombosis, life-threatening blood clots that occur in the legs or pelvis. The condition affects 350,000 to 600,000 Americans every year. DVT and pulmonary embolism (lung blood clots; some originate in the legs) kill an estimated 100,000 people annually, according to Galson. [More]
Acting Surgeon General Steven Galson issued a "call to action" this week to make more Americans aware of deep-vein thrombosis, life-threatening blood clots that occur in the legs or pelvis. The condition affects 350,000 to 600,000 Americans every year. DVT and pulmonary embolism (lung blood clots; some originate in the legs) kill an estimated 100,000 people annually, according to Galson. [More]
It afflicts every creature on this planet, and everyone dreams of an antidote. But even after decades of research, aging largely remains a mystery. Now new research findings suggest there is a good reason for this impasse: scientists may have been thinking about the causes of aging all wrong. Instead of being the result of an accumulation of genetic and cellular damage, new evidence suggests that aging may occur when genetic programs for development go awry.
The idea that stress and reactive forms of oxygen--“free radicals” that are the normal by-products of metabolism--cause aging has dominated the field for 50 years. Studies on the worm Caenorhabditis elegans have shown that reducing exposure to reactive oxygen species increases life span, and worms that have been bred to live longer are also more resistant to stress. But few studies have definitively linked oxidative damage to altered cellular function.
[More]It afflicts every creature on this planet, and everyone dreams of an antidote. But even after decades of research, aging largely remains a mystery. Now new research findings suggest there is a good reason for this impasse: scientists may have been thinking about the causes of aging all wrong. Instead of being the result of an accumulation of genetic and cellular damage, new evidence suggests that aging may occur when genetic programs for development go awry.
The idea that stress and reactive forms of oxygen--“free radicals” that are the normal by-products of metabolism--cause aging has dominated the field for 50 years. Studies on the worm Caenorhabditis elegans have shown that reducing exposure to reactive oxygen species increases life span, and worms that have been bred to live longer are also more resistant to stress. But few studies have definitively linked oxidative damage to altered cellular function.
[More]In a finding that could help control harmful fungus, researchers have discovered a high-speed mechanism the germs use to project their spores into the air. Scientists from Miami University (M.U.) in Oxford, Ohio, and the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati report in the journal PLoS ONE that fungi may be one of the fastest land species, clocking speeds of up to 55 miles (88 kilometers) per hour and producing accelerations 180,000 times greater than gravity. [More]
In a finding that could help control harmful fungus, researchers have discovered a high-speed mechanism the germs use to project their spores into the air. Scientists from Miami University (M.U.) in Oxford, Ohio, and the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati report in the journal PLoS ONE that fungi may be one of the fastest land species, clocking speeds of up to 55 miles (88 kilometers) per hour and producing accelerations 180,000 times greater than gravity. [More]
Before Jonathan Kuniholm, a marine reservist, was shipped off to the war in Iraq, he and three friends formed a research and development firm they called Tackle Design. The four men had worked together in an industrial engineering class at North Carolina State University (N.C.S.U.), and, filled with youthful enthusiasm, they hoped their fledgling company could survive on jobs that were interesting and beneficial rather than simply moneymaking. They worked with inventors--making prototypes for a plastic lock to keep shoestrings tied and a fishing lure with an embedded LED--as well as with medical engineers from their alma mater, who were developing tools for minimally invasive robotic surgery.
Then, before business had a chance to get off the ground, Kuniholm was deployed. A few months later, on New Year’s Day 2005, he and about 35 other marines were ambushed near the Hadithah Dam along the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad. His platoon had been looking for insurgents who had fired at a Swift boat patrolling around the dam a few hours earlier. As the marines closed in on the suspected hotspot, an IED--improvised explosive device--hidden in a can of olive oil exploded. Shrapnel ripped through the platoon, and Kuniholm was blasted off his feet. Moments later, when he came to his senses, he discovered his M16 rifle had been blown in half and his right arm was nearly severed just below the elbow. Caught in a raging firefight, Kuniholm pulled himself out of harm’s way. His fellow marines called for air evacuation, and soon surgeons at a hospital near Baghdad were amputating his ravaged arm.
[More]Before Jonathan Kuniholm, a marine reservist, was shipped off to the war in Iraq, he and three friends formed a research and development firm they called Tackle Design. The four men had worked together in an industrial engineering class at North Carolina State University (N.C.S.U.), and, filled with youthful enthusiasm, they hoped their fledgling company could survive on jobs that were interesting and beneficial rather than simply moneymaking. They worked with inventors--making prototypes for a plastic lock to keep shoestrings tied and a fishing lure with an embedded LED--as well as with medical engineers from their alma mater, who were developing tools for minimally invasive robotic surgery.
Then, before business had a chance to get off the ground, Kuniholm was deployed. A few months later, on New Year’s Day 2005, he and about 35 other marines were ambushed near the Hadithah Dam along the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad. His platoon had been looking for insurgents who had fired at a Swift boat patrolling around the dam a few hours earlier. As the marines closed in on the suspected hotspot, an IED--improvised explosive device--hidden in a can of olive oil exploded. Shrapnel ripped through the platoon, and Kuniholm was blasted off his feet. Moments later, when he came to his senses, he discovered his M16 rifle had been blown in half and his right arm was nearly severed just below the elbow. Caught in a raging firefight, Kuniholm pulled himself out of harm’s way. His fellow marines called for air evacuation, and soon surgeons at a hospital near Baghdad were amputating his ravaged arm.
[More]New research shows that a controversial chemical in plastic baby and water bottles, cups and food containers may be linked to heart disease and diabetes, prompting new fears about the ingredient. [More]
New research shows that a controversial chemical in plastic baby and water bottles, cups and food containers may be linked to heart disease and diabetes, prompting new fears about the ingredient. [More]
Injecting stem cells into the brains of mice that recently suffered a stroke can reduce nerve cell (neuron) damage by up to 60 percent, according to new research. [More]
Injecting stem cells into the brains of mice that recently suffered a stroke can reduce nerve cell (neuron) damage by up to 60 percent, according to new research. [More]
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
[More][The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
[More]Asian women at risk for breast and ovarian cancers may not be getting the genetic screening that could save them. The reason: computer models commonly used to assess whether women should be tested for harmful genetic mutations may underestimate the risk in families of Asian descent, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. [More]
Asian women at risk for breast and ovarian cancers may not be getting the genetic screening that could save them. The reason: computer models commonly used to assess whether women should be tested for harmful genetic mutations may underestimate the risk in families of Asian descent, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. [More]
More than 15 million Americans drink too much, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. New research on rats may help them curb that addiction. [More]
More than 15 million Americans drink too much, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. New research on rats may help them curb that addiction. [More]
Not So Rapid Eye MovementThe bizarre metamorphosis that occurs in halibut and other flatfish had even Charles Darwin floundering for an explanation. At birth, these fish have one eye on each side of the skull, but as adults, both eyes reside on the same side. Certainly, for fish that spend their lives along the sea bottom, having both eyes topside confers a survival advantage. But there seemed to be no evolutionary reason to start down the gradual path toward such lopsidedness--any intermediate steps would not seem to be especially helpful. So some biologists theorized that the fish evolved from a single, sudden mutation.
[More]Not So Rapid Eye MovementThe bizarre metamorphosis that occurs in halibut and other flatfish had even Charles Darwin floundering for an explanation. At birth, these fish have one eye on each side of the skull, but as adults, both eyes reside on the same side. Certainly, for fish that spend their lives along the sea bottom, having both eyes topside confers a survival advantage. But there seemed to be no evolutionary reason to start down the gradual path toward such lopsidedness--any intermediate steps would not seem to be especially helpful. So some biologists theorized that the fish evolved from a single, sudden mutation.
[More]An alcohol-busting enzyme may help prevent heart attack damage, according to a new study in Science. Researchers report that aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), an enzyme important for processing alcohol in the human body, clears harmful toxins produced in cells when blood flow is blocked in the heart--and a new drug can switch it on. [More]
An alcohol-busting enzyme may help prevent heart attack damage, according to a new study in Science. Researchers report that aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), an enzyme important for processing alcohol in the human body, clears harmful toxins produced in cells when blood flow is blocked in the heart--and a new drug can switch it on. [More]
Dear EarthTalk: I’ve read that household cleaners contain cancer-causing toxic ingredients. What should I do, then, to keep my house clean but also safe for my kids? -- Christine Stewart, via e-mail
[More]Dear EarthTalk: I’ve read that household cleaners contain cancer-causing toxic ingredients. What should I do, then, to keep my house clean but also safe for my kids? -- Christine Stewart, via e-mail
[More]A chip off the old block, a kid inherits a multitude of his or her parents' traits, such as eye and hair color. But new evidence suggests that parents may also pass on a common virus to their offspring hereditarily. Researchers estimate that one of every 116 newborns may have human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infections that originated when the virus inserted its genetic material into that of their parents' DNA.
HHV-6 is the virus responsible for roseola--a mild childhood infection resulting in high fevers and occasionally associated with a rash. In rare cases the infection is accompanied by seizures as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal complications. By age three, nearly all children have acquired the virus, most likely passed through the saliva of caretakers or other kids. [More]
A chip off the old block, a kid inherits a multitude of his or her parents' traits, such as eye and hair color. But new evidence suggests that parents may also pass on a common virus to their offspring hereditarily. Researchers estimate that one of every 116 newborns may have human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infections that originated when the virus inserted its genetic material into that of their parents' DNA.
HHV-6 is the virus responsible for roseola--a mild childhood infection resulting in high fevers and occasionally associated with a rash. In rare cases the infection is accompanied by seizures as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal complications. By age three, nearly all children have acquired the virus, most likely passed through the saliva of caretakers or other kids. [More]
Dear EarthTalk: What’s the story with animal cloning? Is the meat industry really cloning animals now to “beef up” production? -- Frank DeFazio, Sudbury, MA
[More]Dear EarthTalk: What’s the story with animal cloning? Is the meat industry really cloning animals now to “beef up” production? -- Frank DeFazio, Sudbury, MA
[More]