Researchers at Uppsala University and Harvard University have collaboratively developed a new theoretical model to explain how proteins can rapidly find specific DNA sequences, even though there are many obstacles in the way on the chromosomes. The findings are being published today in the scientific journal Nature Physics.

WASHINGTON, DC—Genetic researchers at Children's National Medical Center and the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry in Tokyo published the results of the first successful application of "multiple exon-skipping" to curb the devastating effects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in an animal larger than a mouse. Multiple exon-skipping employs multiple DNA-like molecules as a "DNA band-aids" to skip over the parts of the mutated gene that block the effective creation of proteins.

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) have found that a key enzyme involved in absorbing fat may also be a key to reducing it. The enzyme, acyl CoA: monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 or Mgat2 is found in the intestines and plays an important part in the uptake of dietary fat by catalyzing a critical step in making triglyceride, a kind of fat. Triglyceride accounts for nearly one-third of the fat eaten by people in developed countries.

PITTSBURGH—Using rigorous computer calculations, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington have established evidence that supercooled silicon experiences a liquid-liquid phase transition, where at a certain temperature two different states of liquid silicon exist. The two states each have unique properties that could be used to develop new silicon-based materials. Furthermore, the methods developed can be applied to gain a better understanding of other materials.

The findings will be presented Friday, March 20 at the American Physical Society's March Meeting in Pittsburgh. The results also were published as an Editor's Selection in the Feb. 20 issue of Physical Review Letters.

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) recently reported the detection of toxins with unprecedented speed, sensitivity, and simplicity. The approach can sense as few as a few hundred molecules in a drop of blood in less than 10 minutes, with only four simple steps from sample to answer.

MADISON, WI, March 16, 2009 -- Planting soybean on the optimum date produces maximum yield and profit without increasing production costs. Unfortunately, the optimum planting date is hard to indentify, because it varies from year to year, depending on the weather and how much it rains and when it rains.

"Planting date has been a favorite topic of researchers ever since soybean was introduced into the United States, so there is a large database of experiments in the literature. A combined analysis of this database will provide a clearer picture of the average response than any single experiment," explains Dr. Dennis Egli, University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found evidence that houseflies collected near broiler poultry operations may contribute to the dispersion of drug-resistant bacteria and thus increase the potential for human exposure to drug-resistant bacteria. The findings demonstrate another potential link between industrial food animal production and exposures to antibiotic resistant pathogens. Previous studies have linked antibiotic use in poultry production to antibiotic resistant bacteria in farm workers, consumer poultry products and the environment surrounding confined poultry operations, as well as releases from poultry transport.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Global warming is expected to cause the sea level along the northeastern U.S. coast to rise almost twice as fast as global sea levels during this century, putting New York City at greater risk for damage from hurricanes and winter storm surge, according to a new study led by a Florida State University researcher.

NEW YORK, March 15, 2009 – Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have shown for the first time that a tendency to develop some blood disorders may be inherited. Their research, published online today in Nature Genetics, identifies a common genetic sequence abnormality that enhances the likelihood of acquiring a mutation in a gene linked to certain blood diseases.