Almost every week we hear of a new genome sequence being completed, yet turning sequence information into knowledge about what individual genes do is very difficult. An article published in Journal of Biology this week will simplify this task, as it describes a new online tool that dramatically improves predictions of how individual genes are regulated. Dr. Wyeth Wasserman and his team have created this powerful new two-step method for identifying which regulators of gene expression, called

There are many mysterious objects seen in the night sky which are not really well understood. For example, astronomers are puzzled by the “jets” emerging from planetary nebulae. However, the S-shaped jet from Henize 3-1475 is the most perplexing of all.

“Jets” are long outflows of fast-moving gas found near many objects in the Universe, such as around young stars, or coming from black holes, neutron stars, and planetary nebulae, for example. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has imaged th

ESA telemedicine technology enables specialist physicians to perform detailed patient consultations from hundreds of kilometres away.

High-resolution video images and data signals sent via satellite links have already made ’’teleconsulting’’ a routine procedure in one part of Europe. The Agency’’s involvement with satellite telemedicine began back in 1996, when ESA provided a satellite communication system to link Italian hospitals with a field hospital in Sarajevo in Bosnia, enablin

Feeding birds display similar habits to human consumers shopping for food, according to research published in the current edition of the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

A two-year study has discovered it is possible to influence hummingbirds’ choice of food by changing the options available to them, in the same way supermarkets can manipulate customers’ preferences by clever positioning of products.

The study is published in the current edition of Proceedings of the Royal Society

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have designed a new way to make vaccines against drugs of abuse that could become a valuable tool for treating addiction by helping the body clear the drug from the bloodstream.

The latest vaccine they created using this approach induces the body to clear nicotine.

“These new vaccines greatly suppress the reinforcing aspects of the drug,” says principal investigator Kim D. Janda, Ph.D. “Blocking it before it gets to the brain–th

U-M study finds no relationship between backpack use, pain

Backpacks have gotten a bad rap. For years, specialists have urged school children to lighten their loads, wear their backpacks on both shoulders and avoid lugging around those heavy school bags whenever possible.

But new research from a University of Michigan Health System physiatrist indicates backpacks don’t cause the stress and strain on young backs that they’ve been linked to.

“There is no go