Nanobacteria (NB), a novel self-replicating, mineralizing agent, has been identified by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists as a potential culprit in kidney stone formation among astronauts. With the potential for future exploratory space missions to the moon and Mars, longer missions, and exposure to the elements of outer space, health is a major concern for astronauts.

Sound science and ground-breaking research provide the foundation for World Wildlife Fund's conservation successes. But it is WWF's innovative application of everyday technology that is yielding results for tigers on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. WWF scientists are using camera traps to help conduct presence/absence surveys that will provide a range map for tigers in Sumatra's lowland rainforest. The cameras will also help provide a density estimate of tigers in various habitat types and determine whether there are adequate prey species for tigers to subsist. The results could have significant implications for species and forest preservation here and around the world.

For all its promise, the prospect of using nanoparticles in biomedical applications and consumer products has raised concerns about possible harmful effects of the miniscule materials. Scientists at the University of Michigan are addressing those concerns by investigating how certain kinds of nanoparticles damage cell membranes---enough to cause cell death in some cases---and how the damage can be prevented.

That's important because traditional laboratory methods used to grow these cells are costly and don't produce cells fast enough to respond to increasing demands for human embryonic stem cells, said Shang-Tian Yang, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University.

Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute have found evidence in laboratory studies that the immune system may be able to recognize methamphetamine and boost tolerance to the drug through an unusual vaccine-like mechanism. Their finding, if confirmed in human studies, could help explain why chronic users go on long binges with the illicit drug, also known as speed. The study could lead to new treatments for the drug's addiction, they say.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein known to be expressed in a number of EBV-associated cancers. Their findings demonstrate a new mechanism by which EBV transforms human B cells from the immune system into cancerous cells, which can lead to development of B-cell lymphomas.

The anthrax attacks in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 in the USA have illustrated the high potential of anthrax for misuse in bio-terrorism. Dissemination of anthrax by letters led to the death of 5 people and chemotherapeutic treatment of 30,000 individuals.

In people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may prevent most excess cases of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a new study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Experiments with liposomes – cell-like "water balloons" composed of artificially created phospholipid bilayers similar to natural cell membranes – have revealed unexpected behavior in the presence of electrical fields that may provide a paradigm-shifting change in science's understanding of biomembrane function in operating living systems.

Developing chemical sensors that can be placed in the bloodstream or under the skin to continuously monitor oxygen, acidity (pH), or glucose levels is a major challenge for analytical chemists and biomedical engineers. The problem is, the body responds to these foreign objects in ways that interfere with their ability to accurately measure blood chemistry. In the bloodstream, clots form on the surface of implanted sensors or blood vessels contract around them. Sensors implanted under the skin may become walled off by cells that flock to the site as part of the inflammatory response.