Researchers in Egypt have developed a technique to compress DNA sequences of the kind used in medical research so that they take up a lot less space in a computer database but without loss of information. The approach is described in detail in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Bioinformatics Research and Applications. Molecular sequence databases, such as those at EMBL, GenBank, ...

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine researchers have identified the important role a protein plays in the body`s first line of defense in directing immune cells called neutrophils toward the site of infection or injury. Their results are described online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Neutrophils are white blood cells that are activated by chemical cues t...

In a development that could have significant ramifications for the nation`s health care system, Baby Boomers may well be entering their 60s suffering far more disabilities than their counterparts did in previous generations, according to a new UCLA study. The findings, researchers say, may be due in part to changing American demographics. ...

Novel nanomaterials developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are scheduled to blast off into orbit on November 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. The project, funded by the U.S. Air Force Multi University Research Initiative (MURI), seeks to test the performance of the new nanocomposites in orbit. Space Shuttle Atlantis will carry the samples to the International Space Station (ISS). The mater...

A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists. Though the studies have not been conducted to determine recommended consumption amounts, scientists say the compound, called trigonelline or "trig," may be a factor in estrogen-dependent breast cancer but beneficial against colon cancer development. ...

Sunspots, which rotate around the sun`s surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun`s rotation or to prepare long-range forecasts of Earth`s health. ...

New Mayo Clinic research studied the association between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and prostate size and found that routine annual evaluation of prostate growth is not necessarily a predictor for the development of prostate cancer. However the study suggests that if a man`s PSA level is rising quickly, a prostate biopsy is reasonable to determine if he has prostate cancer. These findi...

A study appearing in Science Translational Medicine puts scientists one step closer to clinical trials to test a gene delivery strategy to improve muscle mass and function in patients with certain degenerative muscle disorders. Severe weakness of the quadriceps is a defining feature of several neuromuscular disorders. Researchers at Nationwide Children`s Hospital have shown that a gene delivery st...

A team of mathematicians from the Engineering and Architecture Schools of the University of Seville has created a method to design underground lines whereby a city`s historical buildings are unaffected. The results of the study, which has just been published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society, offer possible solutions for the future underground line 2 in Seville. "The methodol...

Of the many characteristic traits a drug can have, one of the most desirable is the ability for a drug to be swallowed and absorbed into the bloodstream through the gut. Some drugs, like over-the-counter aspirin, lend themselves to this mode of delivery and are trivial to take. They can be pressed into a pill and swallowed. Other drugs cannot be swallowed and must be administered instead through m...