A single protein plays a major role in deadly prion diseases by smashing up clusters of these infectious proteins, creating the "seeds" that allow fatal brain illnesses to quickly spread, new Brown University research shows.

A team of Canadian researchers, lead by Dr. Susan George and Dr. Brian O'Dowd at the Centre for Addiction and Mental health (CAMH), discovered a distinct dopamine signalling complex in the brain. Composed of two different types of dopamine receptors, this novel target may have a significant role in understanding and treating schizophrenia.

Researchers open the way for improved study of hepatitis C virus by devising a novel virus culture system that allows replication of patient-isolated virus in nontransformed hepatocytes, instead of culture-adapted virus strains in transformed cell lines. The related report by Lázaro et al, "Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes," appears in the February issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

A University of Florida-led study has determined that Titanis walleri, a prehistoric 7-foot-tall flightless "terror bird," arrived in North America from South America long before a land bridge connected the two continents.

A new survey by researchers at Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of more than 600 rivers and streams in the western United States found widespread mercury concentrations in fish.

Two scientists from the University of Copenhagen have demonstrated that the spinal cord use network mechanisms similar to those used in the brain. The discovery is featured in the current issue of Science.

Shown are scanning electron photomicrographs of two fossil embryo specimens from the 600-million-year-old Doushantuo Formation in South China. The soccer-ball-shaped specimen is interpreted as an early stage (blastula) embryo, and... A decade ago, Shuhai Xiao, associate professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech, and his colleagues discovered thousands of 600-million-year-old embryo microfossils in the Doushantuo Formation, a fossil site near Weng'an, South China. In 2000, Xiao's team reported the discovery of a tubular coral-like animal that might be a candidate for parenthood.

Richard Larock of Iowa State University displays some of the plastics he makes from corn, soybean and other bio-based oils. Richard Larock sorted through a pile of neatly labeled baggies filled with the plastics he makes from corn, soybean and other bio-based oils.

Xi He, M.D., Research Specialist II, and Linheng Li, Ph.D., Associate Investigator, are the first and last authors, respectively, on a new publication that clarifies how normal stem cells become cancer stem cells and how cancer stem cells can cause the formation of tumors.

Scientists at the University of York have won a grant of £110,000 to investigate potential uses of carbon monoxide in treating disease.