Eureka Alert

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science graduate student Sean Bignami received a Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation scholarship for his studies of how the changing chemistry of marine waters as a result of ocean acidification might affect the early development of large marine fish.

(New York University) Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences evaluate some current methods to sequence individual genomes -- a study that serves as a "stress test" of the efficacy of these practices.

(AHAF-American Health Assistance Foundation) Two separate research findings have the potential to give us a much more sophisticated understanding of what goes wrong in Alzheimer's disease and what can be done to prevent or repair damage in the brain.

(Emory University) Sequencing a patient's entire genome to discover the source of his or her disease is not routine, but geneticists are getting close. A case report shows how researchers can combine a simple blood test with an "executive summary" scan of the genome to diagnose a severe glycosylation disorder.

(Salk Institute) One of the big mysteries in biology is why cells age. Now scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that they have discovered a weakness in a component of brain cells that may explain how the aging process occurs in the brain.

(SAGE Publications) According to a new study, those starting new weight loss programs may be surprised to find out that both location and level of experience may influence their success. A recent article published in the Journal of Black Psychology (a journal from the Association of Black Psychologists, published by SAGE) finds that African-American women beginning a new group weight loss program are more successful if they are less experienced with weight management and if the program meets in a church.

(Canale Communications) Tocagen Inc. today announced the publication of data showing the company's investigational treatment for high grade glioma eradicates brain tumors and provides a dramatic survival benefit in mouse models of glioblastoma. Almost all mice receiving the top dose of Toca 511 followed by 5-FC were still alive at 180 days, which was the termination date for the experiment, whereas all control mice died by day 43. The article was published today in the February issue of the Neuro-Oncology journal.

(Canadian Science Publishing (NRC Research Press)) Could the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and protect against carcinogens? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that rats given regular multivitamin and mineral supplements showed a significantly lower risk of developing colon cancer when they were exposed to carcinogens.

(University of California - Riverside) The University of California, Riverside has awarded nine first-year graduate students an annual stipend of $30,000 for two years to increase underrepresented minority students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at the doctoral level. In addition to the stipend that covers living expenses, each student's graduate tuition and fees are fully covered. Because of the fellowships, the nine students will be fully engaged in research from the outset.

(Iowa State University) Eve Syrkin Wurtele decided the best way to get the attention of the science-deprived, gamer generation is to take the information out of a text book and put it in a medium that kids crave - video games.So she and her team developed Meta!Blast, which won honorable mention in the 2011 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is featured in the Feb. 3 issue of the journal Science.

(Trinity College Dublin) The project will use state-of-the-art genetic tools to build up a DNA data matrix of domestic animals over the last 10,000 years.

(American Institute of Biological Sciences) The American Institute of Biological Sciences has selected two graduate students to receive the 2012 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award. Lida Beninson is a Ph.D. candidate in Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder. Andrew Reinmann is a Ph.D. candidate in Biology at Boston University.

(National Science Foundation) Biologists who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas have uncovered a seldom-observed interaction between evolutionary processes.Jason Kolbe, a biologist at the University of Rhode Island -- along with colleagues at Duke University, Harvard University and the University of California, Davis -- found that the lizards' genetic and morphological traits were determined by both natural selection and a phenomenon called the founder effect.

(Penn State) A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene.

(American Association for Cancer Research) Findings suggest the effects of food may be more complex. Adverse effect observed in younger women.

(University of Cincinnati) Around 250 million years ago, most life on Earth was wiped out in an extinction known as the "Great Dying." A team led by University of Cincinnati geologist Thomas J. Algeo finds that the end came slowly from thousands of centuries of volcanic activity.

(European Molecular Biology Laboratory) Genetic switches called enhancers and the molecules that activate them can be used to draw a cell's family tree, EMBL scientists have found.

(University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna) The problem of parasitism occurs at all levels right down to the DNA scale. Genomes may contain up to 80 percent "foreign" DNA but details of the mechanisms by which this enters the host genome and how hosts attempt to combat its spread are still the subject of conjecture. Important new information comes from the group of Christian Schlötterer at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna. The findings are published in the prestigious journal PLoS Genetics.

(Institute of Physics) Free-flowing cancer cells have been mapped with unprecedented accuracy in the bloodstream of patients with prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer, using a brand new approach, in an attempt to assess and control the disease as it spreads in real time through the body, and solve the problem of predicting response and resistance to therapies.

(International Osteoporosis Foundation) A new international study announced today by the University of Zurich hopes to provide definitive evidence that three effective, affordable and safe measures can be taken to significantly reduce the burden of chronic diseases in the elderly. The DO-HEALTH study will be Europe's largest healthy aging study. It expects to provide solid evidence for the efficacy and safety of three simple preventive interventions: Vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids and a simple home exercise program.