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	Researchers Launch Online Protein Folding Game NEW May 08, 2008 Multiplayer online gaming brings to mind fabulously successful titles, such as “World of Warcraft” and “Ultima.” On May 8, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers at the University of Washington are bringing the arcane world of protein folding to the online gaming arena with the launch of “Foldit,” a free game in which players around the world compete to design proteins. Scientists will test proteins designed by the game's players to see if they make viable candidate compounds for new drugs.	Scientific Frontline® RSS Feeds Scientific Frontline® The Comm Center The E.A.R.® World News Report SFL Gallery Cassini Gallery Mars Gallery Missions Gallery Exploration Gallery Space Weather Alerts Stellar Nights® Events Directors Chair Scientific Frontline® Is supported in part by “Readers Like You”
	Dinosaur Bones Reveal Ancient Bug Bites NEW May 05, 2008 Paleontologists have long been perplexed by dinosaur fossils with missing pieces – sets of teeth without a jaw bone, bones that are pitted and grooved, even bones that are half gone. Now a Brigham Young University study identifies a culprit: ancient insects that munched on dinosaur bones.
	Ancient "Nutcracker Man" Challenges Ideas on Evolution of Human Diet Apr. 30, 2008 Tiny marks on the teeth of an ancient human ancestor known as the "Nutcracker Man" may upset current evolutionary understanding of early hominid diet. Using high-powered microscopes, researchers looked at rough geometric shapes on the teeth of several Nutcracker Man specimens and determined that their structure alone was not enough to predict diet.
	Hypersaline Hyperviscous Fluids Better Treatment for Severe Blood Loss Apr. 30, 2008 Intravenous administration of isotonic fluids is the standard emergency treatment in the U.S. for patients with severe blood loss, but UC San Diego bioengineering researchers have reported improved resuscitation with a radically different approach. Building on earlier studies in humans that have shown benefits of intravenous fluids that are eight times saltier than normal saline, the researchers combined hypertonic saline with viscosity enhancers that thicken blood.
	Scientists Determine Drug Target for the Most Potent Botulinum Neurotoxin Apr. 29, 2008 Botulinum neurotoxin -- responsible for the deadly food poisoning disease botulism and for the beneficial effects of smoothing out facial wrinkles - can also be used as a dreaded biological weapon. When ingested or inhaled, less than a billionth of an ounce can cause muscle paralysis and eventual death. Although experimental vaccines administered prior to exposure can inhibit the destructive action of this neurotoxin - the most deadly protein known to humans -- no effective pharmacological treatment exists.
	MIT-Led Teams Unravel Heparin Death Mystery Apr. 23, 2008 An international team of researchers led by MIT has explained how contaminated batches of the blood-thinner heparin were able to slip past traditional safety screens and kill dozens of patients recently in the United States and Germany. The team, led by Professor Ram Sasisekharan of MIT, identified the chemical structure of the contaminant, known as oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS). .
	Flu Tracked To Viral Reservoir In Tropics Apr. 22, 2008 Each winter, strains of influenza A virus infect North Americans, causing an average of 36,000 deaths. Now, researchers say the virus comes from a viral reservoir somewhere in the tropics, settling a key debate on the source of each season's infection. "We now know where the influenza A virus comes from every year," said Edward Holmes, professor of biology at Penn State. "And because we now know how the virus evolves, we have a much better chance of controlling it."
	Attraction at the Atomic Level Apr. 16, 2008 Countless romance novels begin with a hero and heroine who initially repel each other, only to find them thrown together in uncomfortable circumstances and ultimately rejoicing as their antagonism switches to ardor. Odd as it seems, this tried-and-true romantic formula may also describe the scintillating secret behind the science of superconductivity--the phenomenon that occurs when materials conduct electricity across huge distances without losing any energy due to resistance from the transporting medium.
	Gene Therapy Reduces Cocaine Use in Rats Apr. 16, 2008 Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have shown that increasing the brain level of receptors for dopamine, a pleasure-related chemical, can reduce use of cocaine by 75 percent in rats trained to self-administer it. Earlier research by this team had similar findings for alcohol intake. Treatments that increase levels of these chemicals - dopamine D2 receptors -- may prove useful in treating addiction, according to the authors.
	Microwave Treatments for Enlarged Prostate Cause Blood Pressure Surges Apr. 08, 2008 Many men who receive microwave therapy for enlarged prostates experience significant surges in blood pressure that could raise their risk of a heart attack or stroke, according to new research findings published recently in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The Mayo Clinic-led study of 185 consecutive patients who received transurethral microwave therapy at four medical centers found that 42 percent experienced systolic blood pressure surges of more than 30 mm Hg,
	New Drug Targets Three Kinds of Leukemia Apr. 07, 2008 Just three years after discovering a genetic mutation that causes a trio of leukemias, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have helped move a new leukemia drug into clinical trials. The Food and Drug Administration approved human clinical trials of the drug based on strong preclinical data and additional studies in mice showing that the drug eliminates clinical manifestation of the leukemias without any significant toxicity.
	Rare Genetic Mutations Protect Against Hypertension Apr. 06, 2008 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have found that rare mutations in three genes contribute to blood pressure variation in the general population. The scientists had previously shown that mutations in the three “salt handling” genes cause several rare diseases that are characterized by low blood pressure. By sequencing DNA samples obtained from 3,125 people who are participating in the Framingham Heart Study...
	Nuclear Scientists Eye Future Landfall on a Second “Island of Stability” Apr. 06, 2008 Modern-day scientific Magellans and Columbus’s, exploring the uncharted seas at the fringes of the Periodic Table of the Elements, have landed on one long-sought island — the fabled Island of Stability, home of a new genre of superheavy chemical elements sought for more than three decades.
	New Structure Shows Mobile RNA is Poised and Ready Apr. 04, 2008 A new picture of a genetic parasite isolated from a deep-sea bacterium is helping researchers see how certain specialized segments of RNA escape from their positions in the genome and invade new RNA or DNA. The mobility of these genetic elements, known as group II introns, has had a profound influence on evolution, promoting diversity among the world's most ancient organisms.
	Researchers, Led by Archaeologist, Find Pre-Clovis Human DNA Apr. 03, 2008 Human DNA from dried excrement recovered from Oregon's Paisley Caves is the oldest found yet in the New World -- dating to 14,300 years ago, some 1,200 years before Clovis culture -- and provides apparent genetic ties to Siberia or Asia, according to an international team of 13 scientists.
	For the Paper Trail of Life on Mars Or Other Planets, Find Cellulose Mar. 31, 2008 Looking for evidence of life on Mars or other planets? Finding cellulose microfibers would be the next best thing to a close encounter, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The new research also pushes back the earliest direct evidence of biological material on Earth by about 200 million years. Cellulose is the tough, resilient substance best-known as the major structural component of plant matter.
	Findings Reveal How Dengue Virus Matures, Becomes Infectious Mar. 27, 2008 The findings pertain to all viruses in the family of flaviviruses, which includes a number of dangerous insect-borne diseases such as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever and St. Louis encephalitis. Dengue is prevalent in Southeast Asia, Central America and South America. The virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, infects more than 50 million people annually, killing about 24,000 each year, primarily in tropical regions.
	New DVD From HHMI Details Fight Against HIV/AIDS Mar. 27, 2008 A new DVD from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) provides an in-depth look at the challenges facing physicians, scientists, and others on the front lines of the global AIDS epidemic. The free DVD, AIDS: Evolution of an Epidemic, features talks by and interviews with HHMI investigator Bruce D. Walker, a leading AIDS researcher and clinician at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and Bisola O. Ojikutu, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital...
	Identifying the Genes that Put the "Stem" in Cell Mar. 25, 2008 A team led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers has identified a network of hundreds of genes that keep embryonic stem cells in their characteristic malleable state, able to develop into any cell type when the time comes. The finding, based on studies of mouse cells, provides valuable insight into the way stem cells function, and could help researchers find ways to reprogram adult cells for therapeutic use.
	A Fly's Tiny Brain May Hold Huge Human Benefits Mar. 25, 2008 A University of Missouri researcher has found, through the study of Drosophila (a type of fruit fly), that by manipulating levels of certain compounds associated with the “circuitry” of the brain, key genes related to memory can be isolated and tested. The results of the study may benefit human patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease and could eventually lead to discoveries in the treatment of depression.
	Physicists Show Electrons Can Travel More Than 100 Times Faster in Graphene Mar. 24, 2008 University of Maryland physicists have shown that in graphene the intrinsic limit to the mobility, a measure of how well a material conducts electricity, is higher than any other known material at room temperature. Graphene, a single-atom-thick sheet of graphite, is a new material which combines aspects of semiconductors and metals.
	Building Enzymes from Scratch Mar. 19, 2008 Enzymes are nature's catalysts, and without them, vital biological tasks like converting sugar to energy or replicating DNA would take cells billions or even trillions of times longer than they do. Researchers have long sought to mimic nature's efficiency by creating custom enzymes that speed up sluggish industrial processes in the production of pharmaceuticals and fuels. The molecules' complexity, however, has hampered their efforts.
	Scrambled Entry Ticket May Fake Out Malaria Cell Gatekeeper Mar. 18, 2008 People can understand the meaning of sentences, even if the letters in the words are jumbled. Just try it: Hmunas uednrtsnad wirtetn lganague, eevn if the ltrtees are srcamelbd. New research shows that some cells may have the same ability. A cellular gatekeeper inside a malaria parasite doesn't care whether the amino acid letters on a protein's entry ticket are out of order, according to new research by Howard Hughes Medical Institute international scholar Geoffrey McFadden at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
	A Protein that Triggers Aggressive Breast Cancer Mar. 12, 2008 SATB1 is a nuclear protein well known for its crucial role in regulating gene expression during the differentiation and activation of T cells, making it a key player in the immune system. But SATB1 has now revealed a darker side: it is an essential contributing factor in the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.
	Structure Reveals How Cells 'Sugar-Coat' Proteins Mar. 11, 2008 Biologists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and the University of Wurzburg, Germany, have deciphered the structure of a large protein complex responsible for adding sugar molecules to newly formed proteins - a process essential to many proteins' functions. The structure offers insight into the molecular "sugar-coating" mechanism, and may help scientists better understand a variety of diseases that result when the process goes awry.
	Efficient Catalysts for Making Oxygen for 'Artificial Photosynthesis' Mar. 10, 2008 Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Institute for Molecular Science in Japan are trying to mimic part of the complex natural process of photosynthesis with the goal of making non-polluting fuels such as hydrogen, for example, for use in fuel cells.
	Newly Defined Signaling Pathway Could Mean Better Biofuel Sources Mar. 07, 2008 The pathway moves materials that determine cell shape and size through a system of signaling proteins, said Dan Szymanski, a plant geneticist and cellular biologist. By learning more about the growth and development process, it may be possible to engineer plants with improved properties such as cell walls that are more massive or are more easily fermented in the biofuel process.
	Nanoscale Tool Allows Scientists To Study Membrane Proteins One At A Time Mar. 06, 2008 In biology, as in construction, it’s all about having tools that fit the job. Researchers at Rockefeller University have now created a tiny tool, more than 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, capable of encasing single membrane proteins from living cells. The new system, which resembles a nanoscale sushi roll, will allow investigators to individually stimulate these key proteins with specific molecules and signals in order to precisely define the biological reactions that result.
	Memory on Trial Mar. 06, 2008 The U.S. legal system has long assumed that all testimony is not equally credible, that some witnesses are more reliable than others. In tough cases with child witnesses, it assumes adult witnesses to be more reliable. But what if the legal system had it wrong?
	Study shows blood stem cells originate, are nurtured in the placenta Mar. 05, 2008 The discovery may allow researchers to mimic the specific embryonic microenvironment necessary for the development of blood stem cells in cell cultures and grow them for use in treating diseases like leukemia and aplastic anemia, said Dr. Hanna Mikkola, a researcher with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and senior author of the study
	New Technique Takes A Big Step In Examination Of Small Structures Mar. 05, 2008 A team led by a Purdue University researcher has achieved images of a virus in detail two times greater than had previously been achieved. Wen Jiang, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Purdue, led a research team that used the emerging technique of single-particle electron cryomicroscopy to capture a three-dimensional image of a virus at a resolution of 4.5 angstroms. Approximately 1 million angstroms would equal the diameter of a human hair.
	MicroRNA-203 helps build skin’s protective barrier Mar. 03, 2008 Every minute, 30,000 of our outermost skin cells die so that we can live. When they do, new cells migrate from the inner layer of the skin to the surface of it, where they form a tough protective barrier. In a series of elegant experiments in mice, researchers at Rockefeller University have now discovered a tiny RNA molecule that helps create this barrier. The results not only yield new insight into how skin first evolved, but also suggest how healthy cells can turn cancerous.