Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues)

Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues) from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, scientists understand pretty well how life evolves, by mechanisms based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for survival of the fittest. However, Darwin’s 1859 classic, On the Origin of Species, somewhat ironically doesn’t answer that very question – how species actually originated. And to this day, how that first tiny pool of chemicals twitched to life remains a puzzle.

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Key to 'curing' obesity may lie in worms that destroy their own fat

Key to 'curing' obesity may lie in worms that destroy their own fat from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- A previously unknown mutation discovered in a common roundworm holds the promise of new treatments for obesity in humans, McGill University researchers say. Their study was published Dec. 3 in the journal Nature, and was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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Model unravels rules that govern how genes are switched on and off

Model unravels rules that govern how genes are switched on and off from PhysOrg.com

For years, scientists have struggled to decipher the genetic instruction book that details where and when the 20,000 genes in a human cell will be turned on or off. Different genes operate in each cell type at different times, and this careful orchestration is what ultimately distinguishes a brain cell from a liver or skin cell.

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New insights on fusion power

New insights on fusion power from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research carried out at MIT’s Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away.

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Persistent pollutant may promote obesity

Persistent pollutant may promote obesity from PhysOrg.com

Tributyltin, a ubiquitous pollutant that has a potent effect on gene activity, could be promoting obesity, according to an article in the December issue of BioScience. The chemical is used in antifouling paints for boats, as a wood and textile preservative, and as a pesticide on high-value food crops, among many other applications.

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'The photon force is with us': Harnessing light to drive nanomachines

'The photon force is with us': Harnessing light to drive nanomachines from PhysOrg.com

Science fiction writers have long envisioned sailing a spacecraft by the optical force of the sun's light. But, the forces of sunlight are too weak to fill even the oversized sails that have been tried. Now a team led by researchers at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science has shown that the force of light indeed can be harnessed to drive machines — when the process is scaled to nano-proportions.

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Researchers identify a potentially universal mechanism of aging

Researchers identify a potentially universal mechanism of aging from PhysOrg.com

Like our current financial crisis, the aging process might also be a product excessive deregulation. Researchers have discovered that DNA damage decreases a cell's ability to regulate which genes are turned on and off in particular settings. This mechanism, which applies both to fungus and to us, might represent a universal culprit for aging.

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How Time-Traveling Could Affect Quantum Computing

How Time-Traveling Could Affect Quantum Computing from PhysOrg.com

(PhysOrg.com) -- If space-time were constructed in such a way that you could travel back in time, it would create some pretty strange effects. One of these oddities, as many people know, is the “grandfather paradox.” Here, a person travels back in time to kill their grandfather before the person’s father is born, thus preventing their own birth.

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New laser method reproduces art masterworks to protein patterns

New laser method reproduces art masterworks to protein patterns from PhysOrg.com

Canadian researchers have created a new protein patterning technique that's enabled them to reproduce complex cellular environments and a miniature version of a masterpiece painting. According to a new study published in the journal Lab on a Chip, scientists from Université de Montréal, the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, McGill University and the Montreal Neurological Institute have developed a laser technology that can mimic the protein patterns that surround cells in vivo and that could lead to great advances in neuroscience.

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U.S. military researchers grow new limbs, organs

From OttowaCitizen.com:

American military researchers say they have unlocked the secret to regrowing limbs and recreating organs in humans who have sustained major injuries.

Using "nanoscaffolding," the researchers have regrown a man's fingertip and the internal organs of several test subjects.

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