They're only 250 billionths of a meter in diameter. But fill them with the right chemistry and Iowa State scientists say the tiny nanospheres they've developed could revolutionize how biodiesel is produced.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have pinpointed defects in a critical cellular pathway that can lead to the death of dopamine-producing nerve cells and ultimately Parkinson's symptoms. Their studies have also identified a new way to rescue dying neurons in several animal models of Parkinson's disease.

The first field surveys of the Rubeho Mountains in Tanzania revealed over 160 animal species--including a new species of frog and eleven endemic species--according to an article published in the African Journal of Ecology this month. The findings elevate the importance of protecting this biologically-rich wilderness area and the broader Eastern Arc Mountain range from destructive activities underway such as clear-cutting for agriculture, logging and poaching.

An electronic device designed to "zap" away migraine pain before it starts may be the next form of relief for millions of people who suffer from the debilitating disease.

Healthy coral reefs of Madagascar's northeast coast have so far resisted the damaging effects of warmer ocean temperatures attributed to global climate change, say scientists who recently studied the region.

Sildenafil (Viagra) significantly improved the cardiovascular and exercise performance measures of trained cyclists at high altitude, mostly because the drug helped some participants improve a lot -- up to 45% -- while others showed little change. Sildenafil provided no benefit at sea level.

Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center have identified the mechanism by which minocycline, a medication currently being studied for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, protects brain and nerve cells from damage.

MIT cancer researchers have discovered a process that may explain how some tumor cells form, a discovery that could one day lead to new therapies that prevent defective cells from growing and spreading.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered that neurons in the brains of mice sprout robust new connections when the animals are adjusting to new experiences. The new connections alter the circuitry of the brain by changing communication between neurons.

Flu is already a big killer, responsible for more than 35,000 deaths in the United States alone each year. And wild birds infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu are gradually broadening the scope of that disease. This week in Rochester, scientists are discussing ways to better understand the flu and also how to prevent the possibility that terrorists could somehow modify flu as a bioweapon to make it even more lethal than it is already.

Researchers at Université de Montréal and the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) have successfully identified a defective immune cell population that determines susceptibility to candidiasis, a common and often debilitating infection in individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These findings, revealed using a model of candidiasis in transgenic mice expressing HIV developed by the same research group, represents a milestone in developing a treatment for the infection and, eventually, preventing it. They are described in an article of the July 1st issue of The Journal of Immunology.