Latest Biology News from Bio-Medicine.Org

Reflective film can boost profits for apple growers

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:54 MST

LLEIDA, SPAINIn a research report published in a recent issue of HortTechnology , scientists Ignasi Iglesias and Sim Alegre examined the effects of covering orchard floors with reflective films on fruit color, fruit quality, canopy light distribution, orchard temperature, and profitability. The experiments were performed using Extenday and Solarmate films installed 5 weeks before commerci...

Laser etching safe alternative for labeling grapefruit

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:46 MST

LAKE ALFRED, FLLaser labeling of fruit and vegetables is a new, patented technology in which a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam is used to label, or "etch" information on produce, thereby eliminating the need for common sticker-type labels. The technology has been licensed for use on a variety of fruits and vegetables and is being used in New Zealand, Australia, and Pacific Rim countri...

MSU researcher: Obesity significantly cuts odds of successful pregnancy

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:41 MST

EAST LANSING, Mich. Obese women are as much as 28 percent less likely to become pregnant and have a successful pregnancy, according to research that earned a Michigan State University professor a national award. The findings by Barbara Luke, a researcher in the MSU College of Human Medicine's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, focused on data of nearly 50,000 w...

New theory on fairness in economics targets CEO pay

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:38 MST

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Chief executives in 35 of the top Fortune 500 companies were overpaid by about 129 times their "ideal salaries" in 2008, according to a new type of theoretical analysis proposed by a Purdue University researcher to determine fair CEO compensation. "One of the most pressing economic and corporate governance issues of the day is how to determine fair pay pac...

UCLA researchers reconstitute enzyme that synthesizes cholesterol drug lovastatin

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:32 MST

Researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have for the first time successfully reconstituted in the laboratory the enzyme responsible for producing the blockbuster cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin. The research, published Oct. 23 in the journal Science , could potentially lead to the development of other compounds with similarly beneficial ef...

Sustainably grown garlic

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:29 MST

FORT COLLINS, COConsumer interest in new and diverse types of garlic is on the rise. Fueled by factors including the growth of the "local foods" movement, interest in world cuisines, and widespread reports touting its numerous health benefits, demand for high-quality, locally grown garlic is increasing throughout the U.S. While most grocery stores in carry the familiar white, "softneck...

UIC receives $1 million grant to study 'fat taxes,' diet, obesity

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:22 MST

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have received $1 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study the relationship between "fat taxes" and food consumption, diet quality and obesity. The funding for the two-year project was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The study will link state tax rates associated wit...

For African violets, 'hands off' means healthier

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:10:18 MST

STILLWATER, OKAfrican violets have a mixed reputation. Their delicate, colorful flowers and furry, soft leaves make them a favorite among home gardeners and growers. But the striking plants are often regarded as temperamental: a precise recipe of light, moisture, warm temperatures, high humidity, and fertilizer is required to encourage african violets to grow and flower. A recently pub...

EmSense Raises $9 Million Series C Round of Financing

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:35:36 MST

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3 /- EmSense Corporation, the company that created the first scalable physiological and brainwave measurement technology, today announced the completion of a $9 Million Series C round of funding, led by an investment from Technology Partners with existing investor the Foundry Group also participating. This funding will allow EmSense to continue its gl...

Study sheds light on evolution of human complexity

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:06:40 MST

HOUSTON -- (Nov. 3, 2009) -- A painstaking analysis of thousands of genes and the proteins they encode shows that human beings are biologically complex, at least in part, because of the way humans evolved to cope with redundancies arising from duplicate genes. "We have found a specific evolutionary mechanism to account for a portion of the intricate biological complexity of our species," s...

Sun or shade: Pecan leaves' photosynthetic light response evaluated

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:06:36 MST

COLLEGE STATION, TXPecan, the most valuable nut tree native to North America, is native from northern Illinois and southeastern Iowa to the Gulf Coast of the United States, where it grows abundantly along the Mississippi River, the rivers of central and eastern Oklahoma, and Texas. Popularity and consumer demand for pecans has increased the cultivation of pecan trees to other areas, while...

Not just bleach: Hydrogen peroxide may tell time for living cells

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:06:26 MST

If a circadian rhythm is like an orchestra the united expression of the rhythms of millions of cells a common chemical may serve as the conductor, or at least as the baton. The chemical is hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), the active ingredient in color safe bleach. Produced in all animal cells, hydrogen peroxide may act as a signal for the active and resting phases of living things, new res...

Ecology in organic ag: Combining farming, science

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:56:03 MST

MADISON, WI, OCTOBER 27, 2009 Agriculture is going through a profound revolution -- one that rivals the industrial revolution of the 19th century and the green revolution of the 20th century, so says the authors of a new book, Organic Farming: The Ecological System , which combines farmer experience and wisdom with the best that science has to offer. The book's chapters can help consumers...

High-throughput genotyping, protein purification featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:23:38 MST

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Nov. 2, 2009) -- The introduction of high-throughput laboratory methods has greatly increased the pace of research into the genetics of complex diseases. Instead of focusing only on one or a few coding variants in a small sample of individuals, the ability to accurately and efficiently genotype many individuals and to cover more of the variation within indivi...

UM scientists create fruit fly model to help unravel genetics of human diabetes

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:23:34 MST

College Park, Md -- As rates of obesity, diabetes, and related disorders have reached epidemic proportions in the US in recent years, scientists are working from many angles to pinpoint the causes and contributing factors involved in this public health crisis. While sedentary lifestyles and diets high in sugar and fat contribute significantly to the rise in diabetes rates, genetic fac...

LSU ichthyologist lands major grant to study fish family history

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:23:28 MST

BATON ROUGE Prosanta Chakrabarty has been curator of ichthyology, or fishes, at the LSU Museum of Natural Sciences for a little more than one year, and he's already landed two major catches: a large grant from the National Science Foundation, or NSF, and the discovery of two new species of fish found in Louisiana. The two new species were discovered when Chakrabarty and a Taiwanese colle...

'Engineering Careers for the Next Generation,' Nov. 18

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:23:24 MST

HOBOKEN, N.J. In the fast-changing world of globalization with its fast-evolving technologies, the nature and responsibilities of an engineer's role are constantly reshaping. For engineers on the cusp of graduation, preparing for this can be a daunting task. Engineers increasingly work in very non-traditional team structures represented by different disciplines and expertise. Rapidly changin...

Lifestyle changes may stave off diabetes for a decade

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:23:18 MST

Sustaining modest weight loss for 10 years, or taking an anti-diabetic drug over that time, can prevent or lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk for developing the disease, according to the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS), a long-term follow-up to a landmark 2001 diabetes prevention study. Jill Crandall, M.D., associate professor of clinical med...

Rice U. lab leads hunt for new zeolites

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:15:15 MST

In all the world, there are about 200 types of zeolite, a compound of silicon, aluminum and oxygen that gives civilization such things as laundry detergent, kitty litter and gasoline. But thanks to computations by Rice University professor Michael Deem and his colleagues, it appears there are -- or could be -- more types of zeolites than once thought. A lot more. A project that go...

Innovative R&D prioritization tool earns Baxter the 2009 INFORMS Decision Analysis Award

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:35:34 MST

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) today announced that Baxter Healthcare is the winner of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society Practice Award. The 2009 award was presented for "SPRINT: A Decision Analysis Based System for Prioritizing R&D Investments at Baxter Healthcare," by Phil Beccue of Baxter Healthcare and Chris Dalton of Syncopation Software...