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Pollen which is allergenic releases much greater amounts of nitric oxide and nitrite than a non-allergenic pollen

Hayfever is a major irritation for up to 20% of the population in most economically developed countries.

4 Apr 2007

Computer model behaves like humans on visual categorization task

Computers can usually out-compute the human brain, but there are some tasks, such as visual object recognition, that the brain performs easily yet are very challenging for computers.

4 Apr 2007

Communication between bacterial cells

To each other: by using signal substances they inform their neighbours as to whether or not it is worth switching certain genes on or off.

4 Apr 2007

Washington University study China's earliest modern human

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing have been studying a 40,000-year-old early modern human skeleton found in China and have determined that the "out of Africa" dispersal of modern humans may not have been as simple as once thought.

4 Apr 2007

Scientists take a close look at early events in immune response

A Sandia National Laboratories research team led by Anup Singh is taking a new approach to studying how immune cells respond to pathogens in the first few minutes and hours of exposure.

4 Apr 2007

Fungal compound galiellalactone may combat prostate cancer

Can a substance from a fungus that grows on decaying trees provide a cure for aggressive prostate cancer? This is the hope of researchers at Lund University in Sweden.

3 Apr 2007

Unusual protein helps cell bypass damage when making new DNA

Scientists have discovered how an unusual protein helps a cell bypass damage when making new DNA, thereby averting the cell's self-destruction.

3 Apr 2007

Polymers show promise for gene delivery

Virginia Tech polymer scientists have developed a new family of gene vectors , novel polymers that can ferry genetic material across the cell membrane so that it can be incorporated into the machinery of the cell.

3 Apr 2007

Halting neurogenesis improves working memory in mice

New research from Columbia University Medical Center may explain why people who are able to easily and accurately recall historical dates or long-ago events, may have a harder time with word recall or remembering the day's current events.

3 Apr 2007

New type of chemistry promises less expensive drugs

With a newly discovered method of assembling organic molecules, a team of Princeton University chemists may have found a way to sidestep many of the expensive and hazardous barriers that stand in the way of drug development.

3 Apr 2007

Body uses a 'dual key' system to secure immune system

"Dual key" activation, in which two people must act in concert to launch a weapon, is often installed to safeguard highly destructive arms.

2 Apr 2007

Environmental contamination could affect the evolution of wildlife through changes in mating behavior

Female rats avoid males whose great-grandfathers were exposed to a common fruit crop fungicide, preferring instead males whose ancestors were uncontaminated, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have discovered.

2 Apr 2007

Bacteria biosensor prototype

Common bacteria with an overt reaction to toxins that cause oxidative stress show promise as a biosensor to predict public health threats.

2 Apr 2007

Xenotransplantation - what are the barriers?

Given the huge shortage of donor organs, researchers have been trying to find ways to transplant animal organs across different species (known as "xenotransplantation"), with the eventual aim of transplanting animal organs into humans.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists invent way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light

Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light, offering the prospect of controlling the haywire neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists uncover bacterial cloaking

Scientists have uncovered the workings of a method bacteria responsible for diseases such as meningitis and blood disorders use to hide from the body's immune system.

2 Apr 2007

What forced early hominins onto two legs?

The next time you are struggling to carry your bags home from the supermarket just remember that this could, in fact, be the reason you are able to walk upright on two legs at all!

2 Apr 2007

New insight on tree frog adhesion

Tree frogs have the unique ability to stick to smooth surfaces even when they are tilted well beyond the vertical - some small tree frogs can even adhere when completely upside down.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists create small molecules to probe proteins deep inside cell membrane

Proteins, which form much of the molecular machinery required for life, are the targets of most drug molecules.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists identify how development of different species uses same genes with distinct features

Biologists at New York University have identified how different species use common genes to control their early development and alter how these genes are used to accommodate their own features.

2 Apr 2007