Neuroscientists have forged an interesting partnership with some unlikely molecular characters to accelerate their fight against diseases of the brain and nervous system. Researchers have brought together the herpes virus and a molecule known as Sleeping Beauty to improve gene therapy, a technology which aims to manipulate genes to correct for molecular flaws that cause disease.

Detailed in a paper published online in Gene Therapy, the effort has allowed scientists shuttle into brain cells a relatively large gene that can remain on for an extended period of time.

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that calcium channels on the tongue are the targets of compounds that can enhance taste. In addition to molecules that directly trigger specific taste buds (salty, sweet etc.), there are other substances which have no flavor of their own but can enhance the flavors they are paired with (known as kokumi taste in Japanese cuisine). The results appear in the January 8 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Exploiting this enhancement could have practical uses in food modulation; for example, creating healthy foods that contain minimal sugar or salt but still elicit strong taste. At the moment, though, the mode of action for these substances is poorly understood.

 Adolescents with earlier bedtimes are significantly less likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts, suggesting that earlier bedtimes could have a protective effect by increasing the likelihood of getting enough sleep, reports a new study in the journal Sleep.

The results show that adolescents with parental set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24 percent more likely to suffer from depression (odds ratio = 1.24) and 20 percent more likely to have suicidal ideation (OR=1.20) than adolescents with parental set bedtimes of 10 p.m. or earlier.  This association was appreciably attenuated by self-reported sleep duration and the perception of getting enough sleep. 

A team of radiologists publishing in Autism Research says that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) process sound and language a fraction of a second slower than children without ASDs, and measuring magnetic signals that mark this delay may become a standardized way to diagnose autism.

The researchers used magnetoencephalography (MEG), which detects magnetic fields in the brain, similar to the way electroencephalography (EEG) detects electrical fields. Using a helmet that surrounds the child’s head, the team presents a series of recorded beeps, vowels and sentences. As the child’s brain responds to each sound, noninvasive detectors in the MEG machine analyze the brain’s changing magnetic fields.

Three weeks of speculations have come to an end. Since this morning Verlinde's paper is available on arXiv.

“Respected expert and director of the institute…”

These are the words you hear as you are being introduced at a black-tie speaking engagement. You are an inventor, scientist, or artist, and this flattering introduction is music to your ears; had you seen these words written in the paper you would have saved a copy to show Mom.

Finally, you are at the place every creative mind wishes to reach. The words wash back over you. “Respected”: The members of your community appreciate you. “Expert”: Your more than twenty years of dedication to the field have not gone unnoticed. “Director”: You have powerful tools and competent personnel to support your efforts. And “Institute”: Your work has attracted the funding of government, benefactors or investors.

Perhaps it's resolution-making hangover inherent in the start of a new calendar year and simultaneous beginning of another semester, but I've felt particularly optimistic about my future in graduate school recently. But, I'm going to choose to remain optimistic here and choose to believe that it's recent intellectual discussion - of the sort I honestly thought I'd be a part of when I got to graduate school (back when I was young and innocent - and thus could potentially recapture this enthusiasm when necessary by engaging in similar discussions. 

Here is a molecular biology discovery that we can chalk up to our increasing love of lean bacon:

"ZBED6, a Novel Transcription Factor Derived from a Domesticated DNA Transposon Regulates IGF2 Expression and Muscle Growth", in PLoS Biology.

If you're a bacon lover, you may not realize how much your culinary satisfaction is intertwined with genetics. The drive to breed leaner pigs has led to the search for genetic variants that affect muscle mass and fat deposition in pigs. Some years back, in order to find such genetic variants, a Swedish research group crossed European Wild Boars and Large White domestic pigs.

If the coming Olympic games handed out gold medals for news coverage of medical topics, the coveted podium in a winner-takes-all contest would likely be a lonely place. Not that there aren't worthy contestants, but like figure skating's Michelle Kwan in 1998 and 2002, the hopefuls need a few tweaks before they can triple-axel their way to success.

The latest and greatest miracles, break-throughs, and fads are trumpeted in the news, and the newsroom's dwindling coffers combined with a "have to beat the other guys to it" 24-hour news cycle means consumers are often shortchanged.

Archaeologists from the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa say they've  deciphered the earliest known Hebrew writing in existence, an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign). The discovery is significant because it means the Bible may be several centuries older than current estimates suggest, researchers say.

"It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current
research," says Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa who deciphered the inscription.