Quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGN) are likely powered by matter accretion onto a super-massive black hole located at their center. Before being swallowed by the black hole, matter spirals towards the center, while forming an accretion disc. Unfortunately, such a disc is too small so that one can in general solve it with present day telescopes. But the technique of radio interferometry with very long base (VLBI, with base length of the size of the earth’s radius) make it possible somehow. I

Scientists find key embryonic stem cell gene

Scientists have identified a gene that is required during early mammalian embryogenesis to maintain cellular pluripotency – the ability of an embryonic cell to develop into virtually any cell type of the adult animal. This discovery by Dr. Robin Lovell-Badge and colleagues at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research (London, UK) that the Sox2 gene is necessary to sustain the developmental plasticity of embryonic cells sheds new light

An experimental drug designed to cut off a tumor’s blood supply showed promising results in patients with advanced colorectal cancer when paired with standard chemotherapy, according to a UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center study published in the Jan. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The results of this and subsequent studies of the experimental drug Avastin could change the way oncologists treat patients with this devastating form of cancer, said Dr. Fairooz Kabbinavar, a Jonsson C

For newly diagnosed multiple myeloma; Previously scorned thalidomide gives new option for patients with difficult-to-treat cancer

A recent study conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center shows that patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, were more likely to achieve remission when treated with a combination of drugs that included thalidomide, a medicine that had previously been shelved for causing birth defects.

Donna Weber, M.D., a

A beer a day may help keep heart attacks away, according to a group of Israeli researchers. In preliminary clinical studies of a group of men with coronary artery disease, the researchers showed that drinking one beer (12 ounces) a day for a month produced changes in blood chemistry that are associated with a reduced risk of heart attack.

Their study adds to growing evidence that moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of heart disease, the number one killer in the United States. T

When members of two species compete directly with each other, scientists believe the one that rolls with the evolutionary punches and adapts most quickly has the upper hand. But new evidence suggests that in relationships that benefit both species, the one that evolves more slowly has the advantage.

“The idea that has been dominant for the last couple of decades is that when two species co-evolve, they try to outrun each other,” said Carl Bergstrom, a University of Washington assistant zoolo