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As nanomachine design advances, researchers are moving from wondering if the nanomachine works to how long it will work—an important question as there are so many potential applications, e.g., for medical uses including drug delivery and early diagnosis. Columbia Engineering Professor Henry Hess observed a molecular shuttle powered by kinesin motor proteins and found it to degrade when operating, marking the first time degradation has been studied in detail in an active, autonomous nanomachine.

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Researchers have developed and tested a new technique known as ribose-seq that allows them to determine the full profile of ribonucleotides -- RNA fragments -- embedded in genomic DNA.

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Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately begin drinking water, even if they are fully hydrated. A second set of cells suppresses the urge to drink.

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Nature packs away carbon in chalk, shells and rocks made by marine organisms that crystallize calcium carbonate. Now, research suggests that the soft, organic scaffolds in which such crystals form guide crystallization by soaking up the calcium like an “ion sponge,” according to new work in Nature Materials. Understanding the process better may help researchers develop advanced materials for energy and environmental uses, such as for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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UALR will be the host site for an April conference created to bring together experts from all sectors to promote ideas, address fracturing efficiency, and discuss ways to mitigate the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing.

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A team of oncology and genetic researchers from Georgetown Lombardi and electrical and computer engineers and bioinformatics specialists from Virginia Tech collaborated in an effort designed to study the living cell as an information processing system.

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Infants show distinct, consistent patterns of brain activity in response to painful vaccinations, reports a study in the February issue of PAIN®, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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A new study by Kansas State University veterinary diagnosticians finds that pets with out-of-date rabies vaccinations are very unlikely to develop the fatal disease if given a rabies booster immediately after exposure to the virus.

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“Precision medicine” is becoming a national catchphrase after President Obama highlighted it in his State of the Union address. But what exactly is it? Richard Weinshilboum, M.D., acting director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, describes this new, rapidly advancing frontier in medicine and outlines 10 changes that would speed development and help more patients benefit from a personalized approach to health care:

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According to a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), large majorities of primary care physicians believe that advanced medical imaging, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), provides considerable value to patient care.

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Georgia Tech researchers, working with colleagues in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), have released a new version of a genome annotation system capable of analyzing more than 2,000 prokaryotic genomes per day, helping researchers accelerate prokaryotic genomics-based studies worldwide (the average was 20 a day).

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A unique new method to treat a specific group of patients who are at greater risk of rejecting a donor lung, allowing them to live longer after transplant without rejection, has been developed by the Toronto Lung Transplant Program at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network.

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Renowned Johns Hopkins Children’s Center pediatrician and former JAMA editor Catherine D. DeAngelis, M.D., M.P.H., will receive the 2015 Howland Medal of the American Pediatric Society, one of the highest awards in pediatric medicine, bestowed annually for distinguished service in the field as a whole

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The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) was recently recognized for outperforming its anticipated one-year survival rate for allogeneic transplant patients. The new performance results were calculated by the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) and published in the 2014 Transplant Center-Specific Survival Report. The annual report is designed to provide potential stem cell transplant recipients, their families, and the public with comparative survival rates among transplant centers. This is the second consecutive year the Fred Hutch Bone Marrow Transplant Program at SCCA has achieved higher than expected one-year survival rates, an accomplishment that only 12 other institutions have achieved.

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Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Therapy, A ProCure Center is proud to announce the additions of Patti Brooke and Jason Dixon to the Seattle team. Brooke joins the team as vice president of marketing and business development leading the Center’s strategic plan and ongoing marketing initiatives. Additionally, Dixon brings more than nine years of experience in the proton industry and will serve as the Center’s director of operations.

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A gut bacterium called Listeria, which is often found in soft cheese, is known to present a risk to pregnant women. Researchers now show how Listeria uses distinct tactics to breach the intestine and the placenta, using a protein called PI3-kinase.

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Researchers have identified a population of “progenitor” cells in the skin that are solely responsible for the generation and maintenance of touch-sensing Merkel cells.

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Leaks are not just problems for plumbers and politicians; researchers reveal how leaky transmembrane channels could cause disruptions in normal heart function. The study suggests that ion leaks in mutant sodium channels might contribute to an unusual set of cardiac arrhythmias.

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Scorpions can teach us a lot about the benefits of prolonging nerve impulses, and we might now be better students. The results of a new study could pave the way for easier identification of drugs that function similarly to scorpion venom, but with happier results for the recipient.

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Perhaps father does know best. Female college students who said their fathers were involved in their lives as teens reported engaging in less sex and using contraception more when they do have sex.