Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder that afflicts 17 million people in the United States and is the fourth leading cause of death. Over 2 million patients suffer from its most severe form – childhood diabetes – also known as Type 1, juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes. We now understand that childhood diabetes is an autoimmune illness, where the body’s own white blood cells, which normally fight infection, turn and act against the body. These white blood cells target a specific group of

A doctor gets a better view inside a patient by probing the body with CAT and MRI scanning equipment. Now, NASA meteorologists have done a kind of “full-body scan” of an evolving thunderstorm in the tropics, using advanced radar equipment to provide a remarkable picture of the storm’s anatomy. The observations are expected to help double-check satellite rainfall measurements, improve computer models of storms, and make the skies safer for airplanes to navigate.

David Atlas of NASA’s Goddar

NASA-funded scientists have recently learned that cloud-to-ground lightning frequently strikes the ground in two or more places and that the chances of being struck are about 45 percent higher than what people commonly assume.

Recently, William C. Valine and E. Philip Krider in the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona, co-authors of the study, took to the field using video and other technology to study lightning, which is one of the biggest weather-related killers i

Inexpensive and fast route to large-scale production, say scientists at The Scripps Research Institute

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have used algae to express an antibody that targets herpes virus, describing the work in an upcoming issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This antibody could potentially be an ingredient in an anti-herpes topical cream or other anti-herpes treatments, but more importantly the alg

Herpes viruses are notorious for their ability to hide from the immune system and establish lifelong infections. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered how one mouse herpes virus escapes detection. The study appears in the January issue of the journal Immunity.

“These findings not only provide a better understanding of viral infections,” says study leader Ted H. Hansen, Ph.D., professor of genetics, “they also offer novel insights into basic cel

Findings detailed in Jan. 16 issue of Nature; greenhouse gases implicated

A study by University of Massachusetts Amherst geoscientist Robert DeConto posits an alternative theory regarding why Antarctica suddenly became glaciated 34 million years ago. The study challenges previous thinking about why the ice sheet formed and holds ramifications for the next several hundred years as greenhouse gases continue to rise. DeConto, who collaborated with David Pollard of Pennsylvania State Univ