Monday, 6 August 2012

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Car-size rover Curiosity lands on Mars: Two-year mission to investigate Red Planet begins

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 10:41 PM PDT

NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars at 1:31 a.m. EDT Monday (Aug. 6, 2012) to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack.

Curiosity rover just hours from Mars landing

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 01:48 PM PDT

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is healthy and right on course for a landing in several hours that will be one of the most difficult feats of robotic exploration ever attempted.

New technology eliminates plant toxins

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a method to hinder unwanted toxins from entering the edible parts of plants such as the oilseed rape, which will make it suitable for animal feed.

Heart muscle cell grafts suppress arrhythmias after heart attacks in animal study

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Researchers have made a major advance in efforts to regenerate damaged hearts. Grafts of human heart muscle cells reduced the incidence of irregular heart rhythms after heart attacks in animal studies. Grown from embryonic stem cells, the grafted cells couple electrically and contract in sync with the heart's own muscle. The results offer evidence that human heart muscle cell grafts meet physiological criteria for true heart regeneration.

White blood cells mediate insulin resistance: Neutrophils' role is a surprise and a potential new target for treating diabetes

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Researchers say neutrophils, an abundant type of white blood cell typically tasked with attacking bacteria and other foreign invaders, also plays an unexpected role in mediating insulin resistance -- the central characteristic of type 2 diabetes, which afflicts an estimated 26 million Americans.

Sequencing of malaria genomes reveals challenges, opportunities in battle against parasite

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Genetic variability revealed in malaria genomes newly sequenced by two multi-national research teams points to new challenges in efforts to eradicate the parasite, but also offers a better picture of its genetic composition, providing an initial roadmap in the development of vaccines to combat malaria.

Link between cell division and growth rate: Puzzling question of how cells know when to progress through the cell cycle answered

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT

It's a longstanding question in biology: How do cells know when to progress through the cell cycle? Researchers have now precisely measured the growth rates of single cells, allowing them to answer that fundamental question. They report that mammalian cells divide not when they reach a critical size, but when their growth rate hits a specific threshold.

New mechanism behind resistance to cancer treatment that could lead to better therapies

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Developing resistance to chemotherapy is a nearly universal, ultimately lethal consequence for cancer patients with solid tumors – such as those of the breast, prostate, lung and colon – that have metastasized, or spread, throughout the body. A team of scientists has discovered a key factor that drives this drug resistance – information that ultimately may be used to improve the effectiveness of therapy and buy precious time for patients with advanced cancer.

Aurka-to-p53 signaling: A link between stem cell regulation and cancer

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:08 AM PDT

Researchers have found a new role for an oncogenic signaling pathway in embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal and in reprogramming adult cells into an ESC-state, which will aid in the development of future cancer therapies.

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