http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. How modern-day humans dispersed on the planet and the pace of civilization-changing technologies that accompanied their migrations are enduring mysteries. Scholars believe ancient peoples on Europe and Asia moved primarily along east-west routes, taking advantage of the relative sameness in climate, allowing technological advances to spread quickly. But what about in North and South America, with its long, north-south orientation and great variability in climate? How did people move and how quickly did societal innovations follow? http://phys.org/news235649357.html Other Sciences Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:09:57 EST news235649357 (PhysOrg.com) -- Language change among our prehistoric ancestors came about via the arrival of immigrant men - rather than women - into new settlements, according to new research. http://phys.org/news234774555.html Other Sciences Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:11:04 EST news234774555 Scientists on the Norwich Research Park, working with colleagues in China, have developed new techniques that will aid the application of genomics to breeding the improved varieties of crop needed to ensure food security in the future. By dissecting the complicated genome of oilseed rape they have been able to produce maps of the genome that are needed for predictive breeding. http://phys.org/news231310267.html Biology Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:30:01 EST news231310267 From identifying Osama bin Laden to proving someone guilty of rape or murder, DNA analysis has become an essential scientific tool for police and criminal justice. http://phys.org/news225945743.html Biology Mon, 30 May 2011 04:50:02 EST news225945743 In the future, when you walk into a doctor's surgery or hospital, you could be asked not just about your allergies and blood group, but also about your gut type. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and collaborators in the international MetaHIT consortium, have found that humans have 3 different gut types. The study, published today in Nature, also uncovers microbial genetic markers that are related to traits like age, gender and body-mass index. These bacterial genes could one day be used to help diagnose and predict outcomes for diseases like colo-rectal cancer, while information about a person's gut type could help inform treatment. http://phys.org/news222523896.html Medicine & Health Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:11:53 EST news222523896 Donna Vinson suddenly felt she "couldn't think well." She was far off from choosing the right words, even pointing to a garbage can once as she asked a family member to pass the potatoes. http://phys.org/news222363693.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:10:01 EST news222363693 Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among American men. Yet population-wide screening programs have not reduced the number of deaths from the disease. By focusing screening programs on the men who are at greatest risk for aggressive disease or diagnosis at a young age, researchers think they could improve mortality rates and personalize the screening approach. For that reason, scientists have been looking for genetic markers to help them identify exactly which men are at high risk and require regular screening. Now, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have found that two novel genetic markers are associated with earlier time to prostate cancer diagnosis among African American men––and the markers are in a part of the genome that has only recently come under scientific study. http://phys.org/news221126859.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:07:57 EST news221126859 Certain strains of the food pathogen Listeria are uniquely adapted to infect heart tissues and may put people at a higher risk from serious cardiac disease, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. Developing new diagnostic tests to identify these potentially fatal strains could protect those most at risk, such as those with heart valve replacements. http://phys.org/news215239249.html Biology Wed, 26 Jan 2011 04:41:05 EST news215239249 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research suggests groups of friends may have common genetic patterns. Social scientist Professor James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, came to this conclusion after looking at data from two long-running studies in the US, the Framingham Heart Study and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which contain genetic data and information on friends. http://phys.org/news214547460.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Jan 2011 06:50:01 EST news214547460 Scientists have taken a first step toward improving those problematic PSA tests for prostate cancer, by mixing in some genetic information that might help tell which men really need a biopsy. http://phys.org/news211648388.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:13:23 EST news211648388 An international team of researchers led by the Universities of Leicester and Cambridge in the UK has discovered genetic markers that identify people at risk of clot formation and heart attacks. http://phys.org/news211195671.html Medicine & Health Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:28:11 EST news211195671 Researchers at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute in Brisbane, Australia, have found that a form of spinal arthritis is genetically linked to Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The study will be published on December 2 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. http://phys.org/news210533364.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:29:56 EST news210533364 Obesity is highly heritable, but so far genetic association studies have only explained a small fraction of this heritability. Now, in a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, researchers have identified DNA variants in two nervous system genes that are associated with an excessively high BMI. http://phys.org/news210277909.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Nov 2010 18:32:03 EST news210277909 Could terrorists of the future use a swarm of tiny robots -- less an a quarter-inch high -- to attack their targets? Will new bio materials be able to target individuals carrying specific genetic markers? Could cyber-attackers melt down a nuclear facility with the press of a "return" key, or implant chips to control our minds? http://phys.org/news209221554.html Technology Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:06:09 EST news209221554 The types of gut bacteria that populate the guts of primates depend on the species of the host as well as where the host lives and what they eat. A study led by Howard Ochman at Yale University examines the gut microbial communities in great apes, showing that a host's species, rather than their diet, has the greatest effect on gut bacteria diversity. These findings will publish next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology. http://phys.org/news209152413.html Biology Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:54:05 EST news209152413 Equinome, a leading equine genomics company, has announced the publication of four scientific papers by Equinome and University College Dublin researchers which describe significant advances in the understanding of the genes that contribute to athletic performance in Thoroughbred horses. http://phys.org/news209038178.html Biology Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:10:28 EST news209038178 The development and first use of a high-density SNP array for the malaria vector mosquito have established 400,000 genetic markers capable of revealing new insights into how the insect adapts to outsmart insecticides and other preventive measures, according to findings published in the current edition of the journal Science. The SNP array's snapshot of the Anopheles gambiae genome can be used by scientists worldwide to advance public health efforts to contain and eliminate the deadly disease, according to Boston College biologist and senior author Marc A.T. Muskavitch. http://phys.org/news207231304.html Biology Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:15:40 EST news207231304 Scientists have developed a new test which can diagnose tuberculosis in one hour, potentially helping to curb the spread of the disease, a British health agency said in a study Wednesday. http://phys.org/news203746389.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:13:20 EST news203746389 How do female whale sharks meet their perfect mates and go on to produce offspring? While little is known about the reproductive behavior of these ocean-roaming giants, a newly published analysis led by University of Illinois at Chicago biologist Jennifer Schmidt reveals new details about the mating habits of this elusive, difficult-to-study fish. http://phys.org/news201890414.html Biology Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:00:42 EST news201890414 Like a stealth fighter plane, the barbastelle bat uses a sneaky hunting strategy to catch its prey. A team of researchers from the University of Bristol combined three cutting-edge techniques to uncover the secret of this rare bat's success. http://phys.org/news201425185.html Biology Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:00:04 EST news201425185 Scientists have identified a genetic variant which increases susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) in African populations using a technique known as a genome-wide association (GWA) study. This is the first novel disease variant to be identified using this technique in Africans and demonstrates that such studies are viable in African populations, which have a high degree of genetic diversity. http://phys.org/news200226895.html Medicine & Health Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:00:01 EST news200226895 Twenty-five years after publishing the mnemonic "ABCD" to facilitate the early diagnosis of melanoma, the group who came up with that moniker says early detection remains a key factor in lowering mortality from malignant melanoma. Darrell S. Rigel, M.D. and colleagues from the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at New York University School of Medicine say that, despite all of the advances in melanoma diagnosis, timely recognition, detection, and rapid treatment of melanoma remain critical. Their report appears online on CA First Look, and will appear in the September/October issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. http://phys.org/news199622622.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:30:02 EST news199622622 Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have developed a new tool for deciphering the genetics of a native prairie grass being widely studied for its potential as a biofuel. The genetic map of switchgrass, published by Christian Tobias, a molecular biologist at the ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., and his colleagues, is expected to speed up the search for genes that will make the perennial plant a more viable source of bioenergy. http://phys.org/news199466285.html Biology Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:18:12 EST news199466285 (AP) -- The journal Science is reporting that researchers who said they were closing in on determining the impact of family versus lifestyle in lifespan are reanalyzing their findings. http://phys.org/news199027227.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:20:41 EST news199027227 (PhysOrg.com) -- A personalized approach to smoking cessation therapy is quickly taking shape. New evidence from Duke University Medical Center and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests that combining information about a smoker's genetic makeup with his or her smoking habits can accurately predict which nicotine replacement therapy will work best. http://phys.org/news198241844.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:20:01 EST news198241844 Prostate cancer has become more common in younger men, and it's often more aggressive in these men. A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that a series of genetic mutations could help detect this early onset prostate cancer. http://phys.org/news195133260.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:30:23 EST news195133260 German scientists have succeeded to genetically modify Drosophila (fruit fly) larvae allowing them to smell blue light. The research team can activate single receptor neurons out of 28 olfactory neurons in the larvae for this sensory perception. Normally animals avoid light. However, blue light simulates in genetically modified larvae the smell of an odorant i.e. banana, marzipan or glue, odors which are all present in rotting fruit and attractive to fruit fly larvae. http://phys.org/news194080336.html Biology Wed, 26 May 2010 08:12:38 EST news194080336 Got diabetes? If so, you probably know that the adult-onset form of the disease can be triggered by, among other things, obesity and a fatty diet. You're also more likely to develop diabetes if other family members have it. But a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that you should also begin looking suspiciously at other aspects of your life — like your past exposure to certain pesticides or chemicals and even one form of vitamin E. http://phys.org/news193583309.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 May 2010 17:00:16 EST news193583309 (PhysOrg.com) -- Therapies to prevent or slow Alzheimer's disease - including mental stimulation, exercise, and dietary supplements - have not been demonstrated to work, according to an independent panel of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. http://phys.org/news193502489.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 May 2010 15:42:06 EST news193502489 A Virginia Tech animal scientist, who in 1957 began breeding lines of White Plymouth Rock chickens based on their juvenile body weight, has provided scientists around the world with a model for exploring the molecular basis of traits like growth and reproduction - traits that molded the red jungle fowl into a farm animal roughly 8,000 years ago. http://phys.org/news191069333.html Biology Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:20:01 EST news191069333