The family dog may not only be a friendly companion but also a reflection of community health.
Students at The University of Findlay are helping Michael Edelbrock, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, study canine cells using a process originally developed using human cells and perfected by Alexander Vaglenov, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences. Continue Reading »
Without a diversion from the Mississippi River or the introduction of other sources of fresh water in the near future, the Maurepas Swamp in southeast Louisiana will continue on a clear path toward becoming marsh and open water, a new study by Southeastern Louisiana University biologists and other scientists confirms.
Writing in the Journal of Coastal Research, Gary P. Shaffer, Southeastern professor of biological sciences, notes that the Maurepas Swamp complex, the second largest coastal forest in Louisiana, has been radically reduced over the years due to excessive logging, development, changing water levels, nutrient deprivation and saltwater intrusion. The paper was co-authored with several other scientists from Southeastern and LSU. Continue Reading »
A new non-neurotoxic treatment for head lice has been found to have an average of 91.2% treatment success rate after one week, and to be safe in humans from six months of age and up. This is the finding of a study recently published in Pediatric Dermatology.
Benzyl Alcohol Lotion 5% (known as UlesfiaTM) works by suffocating lice, a method which has been attempted by treating with household items such as mayonnaise, olive oil and petroleum jelly. Studies have shown that overnight treatments with these home remedies may initially appear to kill lice, but later a “resurrection effect” occurs after rinsing, because lice can resist asphyxiation. Continue Reading »
New research from scientists in Liverpool has revealed the relationship between agility and vision in mammals. The study, published in the Journal of Anatomy, sampled 51 species to compare the relationship between agility and vision between frontal eyed species, such as cats, to lateral-eyed mammals, such as rabbits, to establish if the positioning of the eyes resulted in limitations to speed and agility. Continue Reading »
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is showing an extraordinary range of benefits from the network of protected marine reserves introduced there five years ago, according to a comprehensive new study published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences.
The scientific team, a ‘who’s-who’ of Australian coral reef scientists, describe the findings as “a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves.” Continue Reading »
Animals have been found to have infected humans sometime in the past with the common respiratory disease Chlamydia pneumoniae, according to Queensland University of Technology infectious disease expert Professor Peter Timms.
Unlike the sexually-transmitted form of chlamydia, Chlamydia pneumoniae is a major bacterial germ that causes widespread respiratory disease in humans. Continue Reading »
By unraveling the mysteries that exist within the molecular composition of mosquitoes, a team of Kansas State University researchers is trying to discover how the insects survive a parasite that causes malaria in humans.
Kristin Michel, K-State assistant professor in the Division of Biology, has been leading studies involving Anopheles gambiae s.s. mosquitoes, which are the main contributing species to malaria transmission in Africa. Michel’s research team’s recent project involved characterizing genes specific to hemocytes, which are mosquito blood cells. The researchers were able to identify genes in the blood cells whose expression changed with malaria infection. Continue Reading »
The old balkanized approach to ocean management, in which different resources and activities are governed by different laws and administered by different agencies, has failed to protect ocean ecosystems or reduce conflicts between ocean users, a panel of international scientists says, and should be replaced with a more balanced approach using marine spatial planning. Continue Reading »
Math-based computer models are a powerful tool for discovering the details of complex living systems. John Tyson, professor of biology at Virginia Tech, is creating such models to discover how cells process information and make decisions.
“Cells receive information in the form of chemical signals, physical attachments to other cells, or radiation damage, for instance,” Tyson said. “On the basis of this information, the cells must make the correct response, such as to grow and divide, or to stop growing and repair damage, or to commit suicide.” Continue Reading »
Cultural views of evolution can have important ethical implications, says a Duke University expert on theological and biomedical ethics. Because the popular imagination filters science through cultural assumptions about race, cultural history should be an essential part of biomedical conversations.
Amy Laura Hall, associate professor of Christian ethics at Duke University, argues that many popularized ideas about evolution assume that some human groups are more evolved than other human groups. Continue Reading »