Ancient Odor-detecting Mechanism In Insects Discovered:
In work to be published in the January 9 issue of Cell, the team reports the discovery of a new family of receptors in the fly nose, a finding that not only fills in a missing piece in the organizational logic of the insect olfactory system but also unearths one of the most ancient mechanisms that organisms have evolved to smell.
Evolution In Action: Our Antibodies Take 'Evolutionary Leaps' To Fight Microbes:
With cold and flu season in full swing, the fact that viruses and bacteria rapidly evolve is apparent with every sneeze, sniffle, and cough. A new report explains for the first time how humans keep up with microbes by rearranging the genes that make antibodies to foreign invaders. This research fills a significant gap in our understanding of how the immune system helps us survive.
Obesity Starts In The Head? Six Newly Discovered Genes For Obesity Have A Neural Effect:
Obesity is known to increase the risk of chronic disorders, such as diabetes (type 2). An international team of scientists with German participation through the Helmholtz Zentrum München identified six new obesity genes. Gene expression analyses have shown that all six genes are active in brain cells.
NO Help: Nitric Oxide Monitoring Does Not Help Most Children With Asthma:
The level of nitric oxide (NO) in an asthmatic's exhaled breath can portend worsening asthma symptoms, and may even signify an imminent attack linked to underlying airway inflammation. This has made the monitoring of NO levels, particularly in children, of significant interest as a potential way to help clinicians fine-tune medications and improve treatment outcomes.
Mountaineers Measure Lowest Human Blood Oxygen Levels On Record:
The lowest ever levels of oxygen in humans have been reported in climbers on an expedition led by UCL (University College London) doctors. The world-first measurements of blood oxygen levels in climbers near the top of Mount Everest could eventually help critical care doctors to re-evaluate treatment strategies in some long-term patients with similarly low levels of blood oxygen.
Restoring Trust Harder When It Is Broken Early In Relationship:
In relationships built on trust, a bad first impression can be harder to overcome than a betrayal that occurs after ties are established, a new study suggests.
Mothers Pass On Disease Clues To Offspring:
When there is a threat of disease during pregnancy, mothers produce less aggressive sons with more efficient immune systems, researchers at The University of Nottingham have discovered. The study provides the first evidence for a transgenerational effect on immune response based on environmental cues -- with maternal perception of disease risk in the immediate environment potentially determining offspring disease resistance and social dominance.
Half Of World's Population Could Face Climate-induced Food Crisis By 2100:
Rapidly warming climate is likely to seriously alter crop yields in the tropics and subtropics by the end of this century and, without adaptation, will leave half the world's population facing serious food shortages, new research shows.
Solution To Darwin's Dilemma Of 1859:
A solution to the puzzle which has come to be known as 'Darwin's Dilemma' has been uncovered by scientists at the University of Oxford, in a paper to be published in the Journal of the Geological Society. 'To the question of why we do not find rich fossiliferous deposits belonging to these...periods prior to the Cambrian system, I can give no satisfactory answer'.
These words, written by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species in 1859, summarise what has come to be known as 'Darwin's Dilemma' - the lack of fossils in sediment from the Precambrian (c. 4500 - 542 Mya). If Darwin's theory of natural selection was right, life evolved gradually over millions of years. However, the Cambrian period, which began around 542 million years ago, seemed to herald a sudden rapid increase in species diversity, an event which has come to be known as the 'Cambrian explosion'.
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