Eureka Alert

(UT Southwestern Medical Center) Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in mice that the brain must create new nerve cells for either exercise or antidepressants to reduce depression-like behavior.

(Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions) Having discovered a genetic trigger for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in people over 50, researchers report that an experimental state-of-the-art therapy for treating eye disease could adversely affect the vision of some patients with the "wrong" genetic makeup.

(Iowa State University) Iowa State University researcher Robert Jernigan believes that his research shows proteins have controlled motions. Most biochemists traditionally believe proteins have many random, uncontrolled movements.

(US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station) Four land management agencies are proud to announce the First Southern Sierra Science Symposium, Sept. 4-5, in Visalia, California at the Visalia Convention Center, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. The theme for the symposium is "Agents of Change Affecting the Southern Sierra Ecosystems." This event will bring together premier scientists for what will be an outstanding educational and networking opportunity.

(Harvard University) What does Jack LaLanne have in common with a Jamaican lizard?Like the ageless fitness guru, the lizards greet each new day with vigorous push-ups. That's according to a new study showing that male Anolis lizards engage in impressive displays of reptilian strength -- push-ups, head bobs, and threatening extension of a colorful neck flap called a dewlap -- to defend their territory at dawn and dusk.

(University of York) Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and cancer.

(University of Washington) Rose Ann Cattolico is convinced algae can be a major source of environmentally friendly fuels for everything from lawn mowers to jet airplanes. Now an investment company that works with universities to commercialize early-stage technology invested in the University of Washington biology professor's work, forming a startup company called AXI.

(Indiana University) Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have developed Laboratree, a web-based solution to the complex problems of scientific collaboration. Laboratree will enable scientists to securely manage research papers and data, organize groups and projects, send group messages, author blogs, and customize personal and group profiles -- all online.

(ETH Zurich/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Reporting in Nature Genetics, and working in conjunction with Society in Science, the ETH Zurich-administered fund that is dedicated to exploring new avenues in the relationship between science and society, scientist Robert Hoffmann, has developed the first wiki where authorship really matters. The new wiki links every word to its corresponding author.

(Ohio State University) New research strongly suggests that a mix of preventative agents, such as those found in concentrated black raspberries, may more effectively inhibit cancer development than single agents aimed at shutting down a particular gene.Researchers examined the effect of freeze-dried black raspberries on genes altered by a chemical carcinogen in an animal model of esophageal cancer.

(Oklahoma State University) The National Science Foundation has approved a $1.3 million grant for researchers at Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma to discover new kinds of microorganisms in natural habitats. The five-year grant will enable scientists to detect, identify, and isolate unique microorganisms using state-of-the-art molecular biological procedures at a sulfur spring in southwestern Oklahoma.

(University of Calgary) A 75-million-year-old fossil of a pregnant turtle and a nest of fossilized eggs that were discovered in the badlands of southeastern Alberta by scientists and staff from the University of Calgary and the Royal TyrrellMuseum of Palaeontology are yielding new ideas on the evolution of egg-laying and reproduction in turtles and tortoises.

(UT Southwestern Medical Center) Increased connections among brain cells caused by excessive drug use may represent the body's defense mechanism to combat addiction and related behaviors, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

(Cell Press) A new study has unraveled some of the mysteries of the cocaine-addicted brain and may pave the way for the design of more effective treatments for drug addiction.

(Newcastle University) Newcastle University marine scientist Nicholas Graham heads up an international team calling for urgent action to save world's coral reefs.

(European Molecular Biology Organization) Juergen Tautz from the University of Wuerzburg will receive a special discretionary prize, as part of the 2008 EMBO Award for Communication in the Life Sciences. The European Molecular Biology Organization awards the prize annually to a practicing scientist in Europe for outstanding communication with the public. The additional award was made in recognition of Tautz's long-term public communication activity on a single organism using all available media.

(Wiley-Blackwell) Taking 1000 mg of a specific olive leaf extract (EFLA 943) can lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension (high blood pressure). These findings came from a "Twins" trial, in which different treatments were given to identical twins. By doing this, researchers could increase the power of their data by eliminating some of the uncertainties caused by genetic variations between individual people.

(Public Library of Science) Scientists have found novel patterns of ultrasonic vocalizations in a genetic mouse model of autism, adding a unique element to the available mouse behaviors that capture components of the human disease, and representing a new step towards identifying causes and better treatments.

(Public Library of Science) Conservation zones are in the wrong place to protect vulnerable coral reefs from the effects of global warming, an international team of scientists warned today.Now the team -- led jointly by Newcastle University and the Wildlife Conservation Society, New York -- say that urgent action is needed to prevent the collapse of this important marine ecosystem.

(BioMed Central) A new bioinformatics tool is capable of identifying and correcting abnormal, incomplete and mispredicted protein annotations in public databases. The MisPred tool, described today in the open access journal BMC Bioinformatics, currently uses five principles to identify suspect proteins that are likely to be abnormal or mispredicted.