Early demo project identifies new brown dwarf

A new approach to finding undiscovered objects buried in immense astronomical databases has produced an early and unexpected payoff: a new instance of a hard-to-find type of star known as a brown dwarf.

Scientists working to create the National Virtual Observatory (NVO), an online portal for astronomical research unifying dozens of large astronomical databases, confirmed discovery of the new brown dwarf recently. The star emerge

St. Jude scientists say FKHR protein causes primitive cells called myoblasts to fuse, while deficiency of FKHR contributes to muscle cancer

Investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that a protein causing mature cells to commit suicide also helps primitive muscle cells called myoblasts fuse together, allowing them to develop into muscles. The finding of this unexpected new role for the protein, called FKHR, suggests that future research might offer cl

Prospects for surviving acute liver failure are very slim, and statistics place mortality as high as 90 percent. A liver transplant may be the only alternative before fatal complications set in, yet not enough donor organs are available to meet the demand.

But a new bio-artificial technology about to undergo clinical tests at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and several other centers nationally may help extend the lives of those awaiting a donor liver and may even allow the

Thanks to recent advances in parallel computing, an interdisciplinary team of scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara has discovered a peculiar and important aspect of how seismic waves are generated during an earthquake. The results are published in the March 7 edition of Science Magazine.

The team, whose work is supported by the Keck Foundation, was composed of physics graduate student Eric M. Dunham, professor of physics Jean M. Carlson, and postdoctoral researcher Pasca

Animal behaviorists have something new to crow about.

Researchers at the University of Washington have found a species of crow that distinctly alters its behavior when attempting to steal food from another crow, depending on whether or not the other bird is a relative.

The Northwestern crow (Corvus caurinus) uses a passive strategy when it attempts to take food from kin but becomes aggressive when it tries to steal a morsel from a non-related crow. This is believed to be the

Johns Hopkins researchers last year reported that an experimental treatment for severe ragweed allergy consisting of just six shots in six weeks dramatically reduced allergic symptoms such as runny nose, nasal congestion and sneezing, and nearly eliminated the need for relief medications like antihistamines and decongestants. Now, follow-up of patients who continued in the study for a second year, shows that the initial six-injection course of this treatment appears to be effective – and safe – for m