A team led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists has identified and successfully tamed an overactive protein that plays a key role in cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disorder that interferes with the body's ability to transport chloride in and out of cells.

Scientists from NASA and other agencies have concluded that the ozone hole over the Antarctic will recover around 2068, nearly 20 years later than previously believed.

Using unique nanoparticles that convert laser light into useful information, Rice University scientists have created the world's first nano-sized pH meter.

Beetles from Uzbekistan are more prolific salt cedar eatersthan beetles from Greece. At least that's what Texas AgriculturalExperiment Station researchers hope.

An ancient avenue for producing cellular energy, the glycolytic pathway, could provide a surprisingly rich target for anti-cancer therapies.

In a country known more for conflict than conservation, a joint effort by the government of Afghanistan and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been launched to protect the region's unique wildlife and develop the country's first official system of protected areas.

Rockfish thrive with offshore platforms as their home base.While some observers consider offshore oil and gas platforms to be an eyesore on the horizon, new data shows they are performing a critical function for marine life.

Scientists are making headway in exploring the potential future use of stem cells to treat heart disease, according to a review article in the current issue of Nature (June 29, 2006).

Brittleness is often seen as a sign of fragility. But in the case of infectious proteins called prions, brittleness makes for a tougher, more menacing pathogen. Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher have discovered that brittle prion particles break more readily into new "seeds," which spread infection much more quickly.

Biotechnology company Biosignal Ltd and the Institute for Eye Research have received ethics approval for the first human clinical trial of an antibacterial extended-wear contact lens.

Two gene discoveries announced in separate reports in the June 30, 2006 issue of Cell highlight one way to speed through the human genome in search of those genes most important for spawning cancer. Both groups say that a critical element in the enterprise to efficiently characterize the "human cancer genome" --a comprehensive collection of the genetic alterations responsible for major cancers--is the strategic comparison of human tumors with those of mice.

Cold Spring Harbor, New York -- By generating tumors in laboratory mice that mimic human liver cancer and by comparing the DNA of mouse and human tumors, researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified two genes that are likely to play a role in the third leading cause of human cancer deaths. The study also establishes an efficient and adaptable method for exploring the biology of liver cancer, for validating potential therapeutic targets, and for testing new treatments. The findings are reported in tomorrow's issue of the journal Cell (June 30).

Carnegie Mellon University researchers Kris Noel Dahl and Mohammad F. Islam have made a new breakthrough for children suffering from an extremely rare disease that accelerates the aging process by about seven times the normal rate.