Monthly Archives:: August 2012

Super-strong, high-tech material found to be toxic to aquatic animals

Posted by & filed under Geology.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have potential uses in everything from medicine to electronics to construction. However, CNTs are not without risks. A new study found that they can be toxic to aquatic animals. The researchers urge that care be taken to prevent the release of CNTs into the environment as the materials enter mass production.

Low-dose sedative alleviates autistic-like behavior in mice with Dravet syndrome mutation

Posted by & filed under Health Sciences.

A low dose of the sedative clonazepam alleviated autistic-like behavior in mice with a mutation that causes Dravet syndrome in humans. The mutation results in defective sodium ion channels. Affected brain cells cannot relay "hush" signals. An excess of excitatory signals results. Mice with this defect have seizures, impaired social interactions, learning difficulties, and freeze when confronting new mice or smells. Researchers overcame decreased sodium channel activity in mouse brain cells by increasing the strength of inhibitory signals with a common sedative.

Nematodes with pest-fighting potential identified

Posted by & filed under Biology, News.

Formosan subterranean termites could be in for a real headache. Scientists have identified species of roundworms, or "nematodes," that invade the termite brains and offer a potential bio-based approach to controlling them.

Intense prep for law school admission test alters brain structure

Posted by & filed under Health Sciences.

Intense prep courses for the Law School Admission Test are popular for good reason: They can improve scores significantly. Now neuroscientists have revealed the underlying impact of such preparation: The brain's neural connections change measurably, suggesting a bolstering of physical interconnections among reasoning areas of the brain. Diffusion tensor imaging scans of students before and after an intense three-month prep course showed increased connections between verbal and spatial reasoning areas of the brain.

Ancient fossils reveal how the mollusc got its teeth

Posted by & filed under Biology, News.

The radula sounds like something from a horror movie -- a conveyor belt lined with hundreds of rows of interlocking teeth. In fact, radulas are found in the mouths of most molluscs, from the giant squid to the garden snail. Now, a "prototype" radula found in 500-million-year-old fossils shows that the earliest radula was not a flesh-rasping terror, but a tool for humbly scooping food from the muddy sea floor.
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