A protein in a pathogenic bacterium imitates a plant protein in order to disable programmed cell death (PCD) in its hosts. This discovery advances understanding of PCD, an important process in both plants and animals that enables organisms to defend against disease and to rid themselves of old or unneeded cells.
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Researchers have discovered that drugs, such as heart burn medications, which reduce gastric acidity, are potential risk factors for Clostridium difficile infection outside of hospitals. The new research to be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) tomorrow focuses on community-acquired C. difficile, and is a follow-up to previous work by the same group that demonstrated an increased risk from these medications in hospital settings.
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Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered how to block a molecular switch that triggers brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen during a stroke. The Hopkins study, conducted on mice, is believed to be the first to demonstrate that a protein on the surface of nerve cells called the EP1 receptor is the switch, and that a specific compound, known as ONO-8713, turns it off.
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A region of Mars that some planetary scientists believe was once a shallow lakebed and likely habitable for life may not have been so wet after all, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.
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Technology Review picks five important advances in nanotechnology and materials science in 2005 — and one policy issue that could decide the future of the entire field.
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Whether accidental or intentional, the National Security Agency’s use of “persistent” cookies, which can be used to track internet use, shows a sloppy disregard for basic privacy rules.
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We have cinema reports from spies in all over Europe. It looks Narnia is a roaring success around the world.
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A virtual pandemic hits New Mexico: Inside the Los Alamos weapons lab, massive computer simulations unleash disease and track its course, 6 billion people at a time. By Thomas Goetz of Wired magazine.
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Modern cartographers hit the road in gear-laden SUVs, searching out new streets and checking the accuracy of mapping databases. The miles they rack up may help get you to your next destination.
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A review of forecasts laid out by well-known technology pundits reveals a familiar mix of right and wrong guesses, along with extremely obvious ones. We look at prognostications in each category, along with overall performances of individual forecasters. By Joanna Glasner.
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