UCLA and Dartmouth scientists have identified a crucial enzyme in plant vitamin C synthesis, which could lead to enhanced crops. The discovery now makes clear the entire 10-step process by which plants convert glucose into vitamin C, an important antioxidant in nature.

"If we can find ways to enhance the activity of this enzyme, it may be possible to engineer plants to make more vitamin C and produce better crops," said Steven Clarke, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry, director of UCLA's Molecular Biology Institute and co-author of the research study, to be published as a 'Paper of the Week' in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and currently available online.

Professionally speaking, things in David Damanik's world don't line up – and he can prove it.

In new research, Damanik and colleague Serguei Tcheremchantsev offer a key proof in the study of quasicrystals, crystal-like materials whose atoms don't line up in neat, unbroken rows like the atoms found in crystals.

A data-driven computational approach developed by a University of Illinois statistician is revealing secrets about inner Earth and discovering unique gene expressions in fruit flies, zebra fish and other living organisms.

"Using mathematical concepts from inverse scattering and modern statistics, we let the data 'speak,' and automatically generate an appropriate model," said Ping Ma, a professor of statistics at the U. of I. and lead author of a paper describing the technique that has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

You may not be able to relive your youth, but part of your brain can. Johns Hopkins researchers have found that newly made nerves in an adult brain's learning center experience a one-month period when they are just as active as the nerves in a developing child. The study, appearing this week in Neuron, suggests that new adult nerves have a deeper role than simply replacing dead ones.

Shire plc announced today the positive results of studies of the investigational medication guanfacine extended release (GXR, previously referred to as SPD503), a selective alpha-2A-adrenoceptor agonist. These data from two short-term phase III placebo-controlled studies and two long-term phase III open-label studies, presented at the 2007 American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting, demonstrated that GXR significantly improved all core symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 to 17 years.

Shire plc announced that DAYTRANATM (methylphenidate transdermal system), the first and only non-oral medication approved for treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 to 12 years, provided significant improvement in symptom control and tolerability, according to results of a 12-month open-label study presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting in San Diego.