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September 4, 2012

Your World of Science News

Top Story

NASA confirms twin satellites' launch to radiation belts
A pair of satellites from Johns Hopkins University was launched by NASA on Thursday into the maelstrom of the Van Allen radiation belts. "Today, 11 years hard work was realized by the science team," said Nicola Fox, deputy project scientist at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins. "...The next big milestones are all of our scientific discoveries." The satellites are expected to study the behavior of the belts. CNET (8/30)

Science in the News

Researchers find ancient statuettes in Israel
Two ancient figurines, one showing a wild bovine and the other a ram, have been discovered from a highway that connects Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel. The figurines were dated to the Stone Age, between 9,000 to 9,500 years ago. One theory is that humans at the time used the figurines as talismans. Discovery (8/30)

Archaeologists uncover materials suggesting King Richard III's grave
Traces of the possible grave of King Richard III have been discovered under a parking lot in Leicester, England. Archaeologists from Leicester University confirmed Aug. 31 that they found fragments of glazed floor tile as well as medieval roof tile at the excavation site. The materials suggest that they are digging around the church called Greyfriars, where the king is believed to be buried. LiveScience.com (8/31)

Gravity monitoring helps researchers detect magma movements
Researchers have discovered that continuous monitoring of gravity caused by active volcanoes can help detect the movements of magma. They found a regular cycle of gravity fluctuations in Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii, suggesting magma is moving 0.6 miles below the surface. "Gravity measurements are one of many techniques that will help move us toward real predictions of eruptions, which comes from a better understanding of what's happening beneath our feet," said Michael Poland, a geophysicist from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the U.S. Geological Survey. Our Amazing Planet (8/30)

Researchers locate natural gas seeps off the coast of Md.
Researchers used clues from pictures taken in the early 1980s depicting evidence of natural gas seeps on the seafloor to determine its exact location off the coast of Maryland. They found bacteria that survive only in natural gas seeps and spotted gas bubbles from the sediment 1,360 feet beneath the ocean. Our Amazing Planet (8/31)

Study: Genetically engineered allergen-free plants are possible
A genetically engineered geranium shows promise in developing plants that are not capable of spreading allergens or reproducing with other plants, according to a study in the journal BMC Plant Biology. Researchers also altered the genetic structure of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, bacteria that causes the crown gall disease among plants, to boost the production of cytokinin, which could delay plant cells' aging. LiveScience.com (9/1)

Dubai project seeks to develop therapeutic protein-producing camels
Researchers at the Camel Reproduction Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, are working on genetically modified camels that produce milk with pharmaceutical proteins. The project aims to cut the prices of life-saving drugs, including insulin and hemophilia treatments, for Middle East and North Africa. "We are establishing camel cells modified with exogenous [foreign] DNA, for use in producing transgenic cloned animals, or GM camels," said Nisar Wani, head of the center's Reproductive Biology Laboratory. "Hopefully we will transfer camel transgenic embryos to surrogate mothers for the first time later this year." SciDev.net (9/3)

Human gene may improve stem cell transplant outcomes
Patients with acute myeloid leukemia faced a lower risk of relapse when allogeneic stem cell transplants contained an allele for the killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 2DS1, which plays a role in activation of natural killer cells, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. "An increased understanding of how KIR-HLA interactions dictate NK function could lead to more informed selection of stem-cell donors," researchers reported. MedPage Today(free registration) (8/30)

Neural stem cells help return sensation to patients with paralysis
Swiss researchers are testing the use of neural stem cells as treatment for patients with broken spines, and have administered the treatment to three patients with paralysis below the nipples. Six months after treatment, two of the three patients reported sensations of touch and heat between their chest and belly button, according to the findings presented at a spinal cord society meeting. Nine more patients are set to undergo the treatment. New Scientist (9/3)

Funding Watch

WIPO project enters first 3 research deals
The World Intellectual Property Organization Re:Search project said it has entered into its first research agreements. The project aims to advance research on neglected diseases, including Chagas' disease. Intellectual Property Watch (Switzerland) (8/29)

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