64 posts · 28,230 views
WiSci is a blog that aims to provide interesting, informative posts about discoveries, debates, and dilemmas within the life sciences. This blog, formerly known as Beyond the Bench, attempts to reach any reader who has an interest in science and provide him or her with an accessible gateway into professionally published science content, whether by analyzing a journal article, interviewing a book author, or pointing out pieces written on other blogs.
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- July 7, 2010
- 04:07 PM
- 930 views
Body Image Distortion: as nature intended?
by agoldstein in WiSci
According to research by Matthew Longo and other neuroscientists at the University College London, you might not be as fat as your brain thinks you are.... Read more »
Longo, M., & Haggard, P. (2010) An implicit body representation underlying human position sense. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(26), 11727-11732. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1003483107
Liechty, J. (2010) Body Image Distortion and Three Types of Weight Loss Behaviors Among Nonoverweight Girls in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.01.004
- April 27, 2010
- 04:21 PM
- 894 views
Meet Lactococcus lactis: Wisconsin’s State Microbe
by agoldstein in WiSci
L. lactis, a microbe crucial to cheese production, was recently nominated to become Wisconsin's state microbe. In addition to cheese production, it also is used for vaccine delivery, particularly to prevent strep throat.... Read more »
Mannam, P., Jones, K., & Geller, B. (2004) Mucosal Vaccine Made from Live, Recombinant Lactococcus lactis Protects Mice against Pharyngeal Infection with Streptococcus pyogenes. Infection and Immunity, 72(6), 3444-3450. DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.6.3444-3450.2004
Villena, J., Medina, M., Raya, R., & Alvarez, S. (2008) Oral immunization with recombinant Lactococcus lactis confers protection against respiratory pneumococcal infection. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 54(10), 845-853. DOI: 10.1139/W08-077
Xin, K. (2003) Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of orally administered recombinant Lactococcus lactis expressing surface-bound HIV Env. Blood, 102(1), 223-228. DOI: 10.1182/blood-2003-01-0110
Huibregtse, I., Marietta, E., Rashtak, S., Koning, F., Rottiers, P., David, C., van Deventer, S., & Murray, J. (2009) Induction of Antigen-Specific Tolerance by Oral Administration of Lactococcus lactis Delivered Immunodominant DQ8-Restricted Gliadin Peptide in Sensitized Nonobese Diabetic Ab Dq8 Transgenic Mice. The Journal of Immunology, 183(4), 2390-2396. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.0802891
- April 6, 2010
- 11:13 AM
- 873 views
Immortal Jellyfish
by agoldstein in WiSci
The turritopsis nutricula species of jellyfish may, in fact, be the only immortal creature in the world.... Read more »
Gray, D. (2003) Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence. Science of Aging Knowledge Environment, 2003(44), 30-30. DOI: 10.1126/sageke.2003.44.pe30
Piraino, S., Boero, F., Aeschbach, B., & Schmid, V. (1996) Reversing the Life Cycle: Medusae Transforming into Polyps and Cell Transdifferentiation in Turritopsis nutricula (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa). Biological Bulletin, 190(3), 302. DOI: 10.2307/1543022
Miglietta, M., & Lessios, H. (2008) A silent invasion. Biological Invasions, 11(4), 825-834. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-008-9296-0
- March 23, 2010
- 01:35 PM
- 846 views
Bhut Jolokia: World’s Hottest Chili Goes to War
by agoldstein in WiSci
Bhut jolokia is now confirmed to be the world’s spiciest chili and is being used to create natural, nontoxic weapons.... Read more »
Liu Y, & Nair MG. (2010) Capsaicinoids in the hottest pepper Bhut Jolokia and its antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities. Natural product communications, 5(1), 91-4. PMID: 20184029
- September 8, 2010
- 03:23 PM
- 840 views
Finding the Gene for Migraines
by agoldstein in WiSci
Migraine headaches affect 1 in 6 women and 1 in 12 men, and can be triggered by any number of seemingly innocuous events, from eating cheese, to taking birth control pills, to exercising. In 2009, people worldwide spent $2.6 billion on preventative drugs, trying treatments from beta-blockers to anticonvulsants.1 Yet, despite being considered the most expensive brain disorder in the European Union and United States, the source of migraines has remained elusive . . . until now.... Read more »
Silberstein, S. (2008) Treatment recommendations for migraine. Nature Clinical Practice Neurology, 4(9), 482-489. DOI: 10.1038/ncpneuro0861
Anttila, V., Stefansson, H., Kallela, M., Todt, U., Terwindt, G., Calafato, M., Nyholt, D., Dimas, A., Freilinger, T., Müller-Myhsok, B.... (2010) Genome-wide association study of migraine implicates a common susceptibility variant on 8q22.1. Nature Genetics. DOI: 10.1038/ng.652
Pow DV, & Cook DG. (2009) Neuronal expression of splice variants of "glial" glutamate transporters in brains afflicted by Alzheimer's disease: unmasking an intrinsic neuronal property. Neurochemical research, 34(10), 1748-57. PMID: 19319679
Hassel, B., Tessler, S., Faull, R., & Emson, P. (2007) Glutamate Uptake is Reduced in Prefrontal Cortex in Huntington’s Disease. Neurochemical Research, 33(2), 232-237. DOI: 10.1007/s11064-007-9463-1
Boston-Howes, W. (2006) Caspase-3 Cleaves and Inactivates the Glutamate Transporter EAAT2. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 281(20), 14076-14084. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M600653200
- March 8, 2011
- 11:01 AM
- 829 views
Bittersweet Adaptation: How Genes For Survival May Be Giving Us Diabetes
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
The famous phrase has it that evolution is a process of the “survival of the fittest.” However, it should be noted that this doesn’t imply some great evolutionary gymnasium, with species pumping and sculpting themselves into the most sexually appealing shapes of the day. Rather, the phrase means something more like “the survival of the [...]... Read more »
Kavaler, S., Morinaga, H., Jih, A., Fan, W., Hedlund, M., Varki, A., & Kim, J. (2011) Pancreatic -cell failure in obese mice with human-like CMP-Neu5Ac hydroxylase deficiency. The FASEB Journal. DOI: 10.1096/fj.10-175281
Chang, C., Cai, J., Cheng, P., Chueh, H., & Hsu, S. (2011) Identification of Metabolic Modifiers That Underlie Phenotypic Variations in Energy-Balance Regulation. Diabetes, 60(3), 726-734. DOI: 10.2337/db10-1331
Corona, E., Dudley, J., & Butte, A. (2010) Extreme Evolutionary Disparities Seen in Positive Selection across Seven Complex Diseases. PLoS ONE, 5(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012236
- February 24, 2011
- 10:11 AM
- 816 views
Curing Cancer with Dwarfism, Down syndrome, and Vegetables
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
With the world abuzz about dwarfism preventing cancer, we wondered: what other sorts of genetic tinkering can, unexpectedly, prevent or cure cancer? Dwarfism Laron syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes dwarfism. Individuals with Laron syndrome possess a mutation on the GHR gene, rendering the gene defective and body insensitive to human growth hormone—hence stunted [...]... Read more »
Guevara-Aguirre, J., Balasubramanian, P., Guevara-Aguirre, M., Wei, M., Madia, F., Cheng, C., Hwang, D., Martin-Montalvo, A., Saavedra, J., Ingles, S.... (2011) Growth Hormone Receptor Deficiency Is Associated with a Major Reduction in Pro-Aging Signaling, Cancer, and Diabetes in Humans. Science Translational Medicine, 3(70), 70-70. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3001845
Baek, K., Zaslavsky, A., Lynch, R., Britt, C., Okada, Y., Siarey, R., Lensch, M., Park, I., Yoon, S., Minami, T.... (2009) Down's syndrome suppression of tumour growth and the role of the calcineurin inhibitor DSCR1. Nature, 459(7250), 1126-1130. DOI: 10.1038/nature08062
Wang, X., Di Pasqua, A., Govind, S., McCracken, E., Hong, C., Mi, L., Mao, Y., Wu, J., Tomita, Y., Woodrick, J.... (2011) Selective Depletion of Mutant p53 by Cancer Chemopreventive Isothiocyanates and Their Structure−Activity Relationships. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 54(3), 809-816. DOI: 10.1021/jm101199t
- June 23, 2010
- 02:00 PM
- 768 views
Recycling Plastic into Fabric: Re-Wear Your Bottles
by agoldstein in WiSci
Literally wearing a plastic bottle sounds ludicrous, but turning that bottle into soft, comfortable fabric is the newest recycling fad. This year’s Brazil and USA World Cup soccer teams are wearing 100% recycled polyester jerseys, manufactured by Nike, while Reebok plans to collect bottles at NFL and NHL games, which the company will then turn into shirts to sell back to fans.... Read more »
Hopewell, J., Dvorak, R., & Kosior, E. (2009) Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2115-2126. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0311
- March 2, 2011
- 08:10 AM
- 762 views
Weed Biology and Climate Change
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
Homeowners detest dandelions, and hikers abhor poison ivy. However, as pesky and unwanted as they often are, weeds’ stubborn resilience makes them well worth studying, especially as climate change affects plant life around the world. To find out more, we interviewed Dr. Lewis Ziska and Dr. Jeffrey Dukes, two editors who worked on the recently [...]... Read more »
James I.L. Morison, Michael D. Morecroft, Lewis H. Ziska, & James A. Bunce. (2007) Chapter 2. Plant Responses to Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Plant Growth and Climate Change. DOI: 10.1002/9780470988695.ch2
David M. Richardson, & Jeffrey S. Dukes. (2010) 26. Responses of Invasive Species to a Changing Climate and Atmosphere. Fifty Years of Invasion Ecology: The Legacy of Charles Elton. info:/10.1002/9781444329988.ch26
Keeling, C. (1960) The Concentration and Isotopic Abundances of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere. Tellus, 12(2), 200-203. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1960.tb01300.x
- May 10, 2010
- 08:12 AM
- 759 views
WE CARE: Providing Portable Power Through Solar Suitcases
by agoldstein in WiSci
After witnessing a C-section performed by flashlight in Nigeria, Laura Stachel, an OB-GYN doctor at UC Berkley founded WE CARE (Women’s Emergency Communication and Reliable Electricity) Solar. To bring power to needy hospitals around the globe, she developed the solar suitcase: a portable solar electric system, used to power overhead LED lights and charge walkie-talkies, cell phones, and LED headlamp batteries.... Read more »
Fadare, D. (2009) Modelling of solar energy potential in Nigeria using an artificial neural network model. Applied Energy, 86(9), 1410-1422. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.12.005
- March 10, 2010
- 10:24 AM
- 739 views
Gills: How Fish Avoid the “Pruney Fingers” Effect
by agoldstein in WiSci
Gills may not have originated for breathing purposes, as has been assumed.... Read more »
Fu, C., Wilson, J., Rombough, P., & Brauner, C. (2010) Ions first: Na uptake shifts from the skin to the gills before O2 uptake in developing rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1545
Kirk, R., & Lewis, J. (1993) An evaluation of pollutant induced changes in the gills of rainbow trout using scanning electron microscopy. Environmental Technology, 14(6), 577-585. DOI: 10.1080/09593339309385326
- March 23, 2011
- 08:58 AM
- 716 views
Molecular Gastronomy: Modernist Cuisine Brings the Lab to the Kitchen
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
Forget microwaves and frying pans. In six volumes and 2,438 pages, the new cookbook Modernist Cuisine trades traditional appliances for cutting-edge machinery more commonly found in science laboratories than household kitchens. Modernist Cuisine was born in 2004, when in billionaire mathematician and physicist Nathan Myhrvold began explaining sous vide cuisine in eGullet’s online forums. At [...]... Read more »
This, H. (2005) Molecular gastronomy. Nature Materials, 4(1), 5-7. DOI: 10.1038/nmat1303
- May 17, 2010
- 02:06 PM
- 701 views
Scientists discover the gene responsible for head regrowth: Smed-βcatenin-1
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
Although the hydra may only be known as a Greek myth, head regrowth is actually not as fantastical as it may seem.
According Greek mythology, the hydra was a nine-headed serpent slain by Hercules. What made the feat challenging was that every time Hercules cut off one of the serpent’s heads, two new heads replaced [...]... Read more »
Petersen, C., & Reddien, P. (2008) Smed- catenin-1 Is Required for Anteroposterior Blastema Polarity in Planarian Regeneration. Science, 319(5861), 327-330. DOI: 10.1126/science.1149943
Felix DA, & Aboobaker AA. (2010) The TALE class homeobox gene Smed-prep defines the anterior compartment for head regeneration. PLoS genetics, 6(4). PMID: 20422023
- February 9, 2011
- 03:04 PM
- 699 views
Stopping HIV in the Macrophage
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
HIV is an elusive virus. Affecting more than 30 million people worldwide, the virus thrives in the human immune system by adapting in a number of ways, which makes effective treatments and an eventual cure exceedingly difficult. However, scientists at the University of Rochester and Emory University recently unveiled one of the mechanisms by which [...]... Read more »
Kennedy EM, Gavegnano C, Nguyen L, Slater R, Lucas A, Fromentin E, Schinazi RF, & Kim B. (2010) Ribonucleoside triphosphates as substrate of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase in human macrophages. The Journal of biological chemistry, 285(50), 39380-91. PMID: 20924117
Benaroch, P., Billard, E., Gaudin, R., Schindler, M., & Jouve, M. (2010) HIV-1 assembly in macrophages. Retrovirology, 7(1), 29. DOI: 10.1186/1742-4690-7-29
- June 7, 2010
- 03:48 PM
- 685 views
High fructose corn syrup leads to obesity
by agoldstein in WiSci
Sugar is sugar and calories are calories . . . or so we’ve always believed. Research from Princeton Neuroscience Institute, however, suggests otherwise.... Read more »
Bocarsly, M., Powell, E., Avena, N., & Hoebel, B. (2010) High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristics of obesity in rats: Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2010.02.012
Gotto AM Jr. (1998) Triglyceride: the forgotten risk factor. Circulation, 97(11), 1027-8. PMID: 9531247
- May 3, 2010
- 02:00 PM
- 657 views
Three-Parent Babies to Prevent Mitochondrial Diseases
by agoldstein in WiSci
Two moms and a dad could give babies the right combination of DNA to prevent mitochondrial diseases such as blindness, deafness, dementia, and diabetes.... Read more »
Tachibana, M., Sparman, M., Sritanaudomchai, H., Ma, H., Clepper, L., Woodward, J., Li, Y., Ramsey, C., Kolotushkina, O., & Mitalipov, S. (2009) Mitochondrial gene replacement in primate offspring and embryonic stem cells. Nature, 461(7262), 367-372. DOI: 10.1038/nature08368
Craven, L., Tuppen, H., Greggains, G., Harbottle, S., Murphy, J., Cree, L., Murdoch, A., Chinnery, P., Taylor, R., Lightowlers, R.... (2010) Pronuclear transfer in human embryos to prevent transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature08958
TANAKA, A. (2009) Metaphase II karyoplast transfer from human in-vitro matured oocytes to enuclueated mature oocytes. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 19(4), 514-520. DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2009.06.004
- April 19, 2011
- 08:45 AM
- 652 views
Diagnosing Elderly Drivers and Psychiatric Patients
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
With the exception of new teenage drivers, elderly drivers have the highest rate of accidents per miles driven. Furthermore, older drivers are more likely than younger ones to be involved in multi-vehicle crashes, particularly at intersections.1 In some cases, these trends have been thought to be the result of visual impairments caused by bodily aging.2 [...]... Read more »
Owsley, C. (1998) Visual Processing Impairment and Risk of Motor Vehicle Crash Among Older Adults. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 279(14), 1083-1088. DOI: 10.1001/jama.279.14.1083
Tadin D, Silvanto J, Pascual-Leone A, & Battelli L. (2011) Improved motion perception and impaired spatial suppression following disruption of cortical area MT/V5. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 31(4), 1279-83. PMID: 21273412
- October 26, 2010
- 11:13 AM
- 628 views
Worldwide Drought: Current Conditions and Future Predictions
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
From rising temperatures to rising seas, the consequences of global warming are here now, and predictions for the future are dire. In his review “Drought under global warming,” UCAR author Aiguo Dai indicates that yet another consequence is already affecting our planet and, over time, will almost certainly become more severe: worldwide drought. Wait, drought [...]... Read more »
Dai, A., Trenberth, K., & Qian, T. (2004) A Global Dataset of Palmer Drought Severity Index for 1870–2002: Relationship with Soil Moisture and Effects of Surface Warming. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 5(6), 1117. DOI: 10.1175/JHM-386.1
Dai, A., Qian, T., Trenberth, K., & Milliman, J. (2009) Changes in Continental Freshwater Discharge from 1948 to 2004. Journal of Climate, 22(10), 2773-2792. DOI: 10.1175/2008JCLI2592.1
Dai, A. (2010) Drought under global warming: a review. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. DOI: 10.1002/wcc.81
- December 13, 2010
- 10:12 AM
- 582 views
The Vitamin D Controversy
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
Vitamin D could quite possibly be one of the most controversial supplements of the decade. Deficiency can cause rickets (in children) or osteoporosis, and experts such as Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University assert that the average modern-world citizen doesn’t get enough.1 Alternatively, other researchers such as Dr. Clifford Rosen of the Maine Medical Center [...]... Read more »
Holick MF. (2010) Vitamin D: Evolutionary, Physiological and Health Perspectives. Current drug targets. PMID: 20795941
Sullivan SS, Rosen CJ, Halteman WA, Chen TC, . (2005) Adolescent Girls in Maine Are at Risk for Vitamin D Insufficiency. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(6), 971-974. DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2005.03.002
Ross AC, Manson JE, Abrams SA, Aloia JF, Brannon PM, Clinton SK, Durazo-Arvizu RA, Gallagher JC, Gallo RL, Jones G.... (2010) The 2011 Report on Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D from the Institute of Medicine: What Clinicians Need to Know. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. PMID: 21118827
- January 6, 2011
- 03:35 PM
- 580 views
Video Games Enhance Visual Attention
by A. Goldstein in WiSci
Video games might cause aggressive behavior,1 and they may contribute to childhood obesity,2 but recent research by Daphne Bavelier and her colleagues at the University of Rochester suggests that playing video games can have at least one benefit: they enhance visual attention. Visual attention is the mental mechanism we use to select relevant visual information [...]... Read more »
Anderson, C., & Carnagey, N. (2009) Causal effects of violent sports video games on aggression: Is it competitiveness or violent content?. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), 731-739. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.04.019
Vandewater EA, Shim MS, & Caplovitz AG. (2004) Linking obesity and activity level with children's television and video game use. Journal of adolescence, 27(1), 71-85. PMID: 15013261
Hubert-Wallander, B., Green, C., & Bavelier, D. (2010) Stretching the limits of visual attention: the case of action video games. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. DOI: 10.1002/wcs.116
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