295 posts · 161,574 views
Phased presents science journalism written for a lay audience, intending to cover technical subjects in an accessible manner. It covers science directly from the technical literature, and a wide range of subject areas.
Michael Long
295 posts
Sort by: Latest Post, Most Popular
View by: Condensed, Full
- October 1, 2010
- 04:28 PM
- 378 views
Viagra: A Chemotherapy Adjunct
by Michael Long in Phased
Anindita Das, Rakesh Kukreja (Virginia Commonwealth University, United States) and coworkers have shown that Viagra enhances the efficacy of doxorubicin against prostate cancer, minimizes the damage done to healthy cells, and reduces the heart damage caused by doxorubicin, findings very likely to find their way into real-world clinical settings in the short-term. This news feature was written on October 1, 2010.... Read more »
Das, A., Durrant, D., Mitchell, C., Mayton, E., Hoke, N. N., Salloum, F. N., Park, M. A., Qureshi, I., Lee, R., Dent, P.... (2010) Sildenafil increases chemotherapeutic efficacy of doxorubicin in prostate cancer and ameliorates cardiac dysfunction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1006965107
- September 29, 2010
- 03:00 PM
- 553 views
How Do Orb-Weaving Spider Webs Effectively Capture Fast-Moving Prey?
by Michael Long in Phased
Ali Dhinojwala (University of Akron, United States) and coworkers have found that the adhesive of orb-weaving spider webs is a viscoelastic solid, with implications in how the webs effectively ensnare quickly-moving prey as well as the design of synthetic adhesives. This news feature was written on September 29, 2010.... Read more »
Sahni, V., Blackledge, T. A., & Dhinojwala, A. (2010) Viscoelastic solids explain spider web stickiness. Nature Communications, 1(2), 1-4. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1019
- September 28, 2010
- 05:30 PM
- 286 views
Minimally-Invasive Laser Surgery
by Michael Long in Phased
Dwayne Miller (University of Toronto, Canada) and coworkers have developed a picosecond infrared laser scalpel that reduces the scarring and adjacent tissue damage seen after conventional surgical incisions. This news feature was written on September 28, 2010.... Read more »
Amini-Nik, S., Kraemer, D., Cowan, M. L., Gunaratne, K., Nadesan, P., Alman, B. A., & Miller, R. J. D. (2010) Ultrafast Mid-IR Laser Scalpel: Protein Signals of the Fundamental Limits to Minimally Invasive Surgery. PLoS ONE, 5(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013053
- September 28, 2010
- 03:30 PM
- 540 views
Serotonin Modulates Prosocial Behavior via Harm Aversion
by Michael Long in Phased
Molly Crockett (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom) and coworkers present evidence that supports the harm aversion hypothesis, rather than the emotional regulation hypothesis, of serotonin's modulation of prosocial behavior. This news feature was written on September 28, 2010.... Read more »
Crockett, M. J., Clark, L., Hauser, M. D., & Robbins, T. W. (2010) Serotonin selectively influences moral judgment and behavior through effects on harm aversion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1009396107
- September 27, 2010
- 04:10 PM
- 538 views
Was Ice the Original "Cell" in Early Earth?
by Michael Long in Phased
The research of Philipp Holliger (Medical Research Council, United Kingdom) and coworkers suggests that ice may have helped the first RNA molecules to self-replicate and isolate themselves from the surrounding environment, thereby serving as the first primitive living "cell." This news feature was written on September 27, 2010.... Read more »
Attwater, J., Wochner, A., Pinheiro, V. B., Coulson, A., & Holliger, P. (2010) Ice as a protocellular medium for RNA replication. Nature Communications, 1(6), 1-8. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1076
- September 25, 2010
- 01:25 PM
- 634 views
Kinetic Traps of Single Biomolecule Refolding
by Michael Long in Phased
David Rueda (Wayne State University, United States) and coworkers have quantitated kinetic barriers to refolding in DNA and RNA, uncovering rare and transient events only addressable on the single molecule level. This news feature was written on September 25, 2010.... Read more »
Zhao, R., Marshall, M., Alemán, E. A., Lamichhane, R., Feig, A., & Rueda, D. (2010) Laser-Assisted Single-Molecule Refolding (LASR). Biophysical Journal, 99(6), 1925-1931. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2010.07.019
- September 23, 2010
- 11:35 AM
- 314 views
Can Orangutans Survive in Paper Plantations?
by Michael Long in Phased
Erik Meijaard (People and Nature Consulting International, and Australian National University) and coworkers have asked whether paper plantations can provide valuable habitat for orangutan conservation. This news feature was written on September 23, 2010.... Read more »
Meijaard, E., Albar, G., Nardiyono,, Rayadin, Y., Ancrenaz, M., & Spehar, S. (2010) Unexpected Ecological Resilience in Bornean Orangutans and Implications for Pulp and Paper Plantation Management. PLoS ONE, 5(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012813
- September 22, 2010
- 09:20 PM
- 422 views
Ladybug Nanophysiological Response to Flashing Light
by Michael Long in Phased
Igor Sokolov (Clarkson University, United States) and coworkers have used atomic force microscopy to probe ladybug response and adaptability to flashing lights, and have unexpectedly found that ladybugs are blind to emerald light. This news feature was written on September 22, 2010.... Read more »
Guz, N. V., Dokukin, M. E., & Sokolov, I. (2010) Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Nano-Physiological Response of Ladybird Beetles to Photostimuli. PLoS ONE, 5(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012834
- September 21, 2010
- 12:58 PM
- 538 views
Towards Practical Determination of Bloodstain Age
by Michael Long in Phased
Erin Hanson and Jack Ballantyne (National Center for Forensic Science and University of Central Florida, United States) have determined the age of bloodstains via hemoglobin oxidation chemistry and cheap, portable instrumentation. This news feature was written on September 21, 2010.... Read more »
Hanson, E. K., & Ballantyne, J. (2010) A Blue Spectral Shift of the Hemoglobin Soret Band Correlates with the Age (Time Since Deposition) of Dried Bloodstains. PLoS ONE, 5(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012830
- September 20, 2010
- 09:10 PM
- 341 views
An Antiviral Agent that Acts by Targeting Cholesterol Biosynthesis
by Michael Long in Phased
Nicole Zitzmann (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) and coworkers' research shows exceptional promise for dramatically improving treatment efficacy for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. This news feature was written on September 20, 2010.... Read more »
Pollock, S.;, Nichita, N. B.;, Böhmera, A.;, Radulescu. C.;, Dwek, R. A.;, & Zitzmann, N. (2010) Polyunsaturated liposomes are antiviral against hepatitis B and C viruses and HIV by decreasing cholesterol levels in infected cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. info:/10.1073/pnas.1009445107
- September 20, 2010
- 05:00 PM
- 397 views
Newborn Loggerhead Sea Turtles Exploit Surface Yield Stress to Walk Across Sand
by Michael Long in Phased
Daniel Goldman (Georgia Institute of Technology, United States) and coworkers' research will be useful for Loggerhead sea turtle conservation, as well as the design of robots that can walk across challenging surfaces. This news feature was written on September 20, 2010.... Read more »
Mazouchova, N., Gravish, N., Savu, A., & Goldman, D. I. (2010) Utilization of granular solidification during terrestrial locomotion of hatchling sea turtles. Biology Letters, 6(3), 398-401. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.1041
- September 18, 2010
- 02:27 PM
- 406 views
A Remarkably Tough and Stretchy Spider Silk
by Michael Long in Phased
Ingi Agnarsson (University of Puerto Rico, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and University of Akron) and coworkers' discovery will aid efforts aimed at synthesizing super tough and stretchy synthetic fibers. This news feature was written on September 18, 2010.... Read more »
Agnarsson, I., Kuntner, M., & Blackledge, T. A. (2010) Bioprospecting Finds the Toughest Biological Material: Extraordinary Silk from a Giant Riverine Orb Spider. PLoS ONE, 5(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011234
- September 17, 2010
- 06:35 PM
- 345 views
Towards New Pharmaceuticals via Cell Wall Disruption
by Michael Long in Phased
Maya Elbaz and Sigal Ben-Yehuda (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) have found a functional linkage between cell shape and genetic replication in Bacillus subtilis cells, with possible implications in drug discovery. This news feature was written on September 17, 2010.... Read more »
Elbaz, M., & Ben-Yehuda, S. (2010) The Metabolic Enzyme ManA Reveals a Link between Cell Wall Integrity and Chromosome Morphology. PLoS Genetics, 6(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001119
- September 17, 2010
- 02:30 PM
- 507 views
Oxygen-Deprived Microbial Growth on Formate: A Renewable Energy Source?
by Michael Long in Phased
Jung-Hyun Lee, Sung Gyun Kang (Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute, and University of Science and Technology, Korea) and coworkers have found a microorganism which grows at 80 degrees Celsius, and uses formate to synthesize both hydrogen and adenosine triphosphate (energy) molecules, in oxygen-deprived conditions. This news feature was written on September 17, 2010.... Read more »
Kim, Y. J., Lee, H. S., Kim, E. S., Bae, S. S., Lim, J. K., Matsumi, R., Lebedinsky, A. V., Sokolova, T. G., Kozhevnikova, D. A., Cha, S.-S.... (2010) Formate-driven growth coupled with H2 production. Nature, 467(7313), 352-355. DOI: 10.1038/nature09375
- September 16, 2010
- 12:05 PM
- 363 views
Uncovering Plagiarism in Biomedical Research
by Michael Long in Phased
Harold Garner (Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, United States) and coworkers have improved upon the eTBLAST tool for uncovering plagiarism in the technical science literature. This news feature was written on September 16, 2010.... Read more »
Sun, Z., Errami, M., Long, T., Renard, C., Choradia, N., & Garner, H. (2010) Systematic Characterizations of Text Similarity in Full Text Biomedical Publications. PLoS ONE, 5(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012704
- September 15, 2010
- 02:25 PM
- 356 views
Improving the Quality of Medical News Reporting
by Michael Long in Phased
David Henry (Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Canada) and coworkers demonstrate that specialist health reporters deliver superior medical news reporting, with implications for news outlets facing financial pressure and competition from alternative media. This news feature was written on September 15, 2010.... Read more »
Wilson, A., Robertson, J., McElduff, P., Jones, A., & Henry, D. (2010) Does It Matter Who Writes Medical News Stories?. PLoS Medicine, 7(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000323
- September 14, 2010
- 02:55 PM
- 394 views
How Ebola-Infected Cells Evade the Immune System
by Michael Long in Phased
Paul Bates (University of Pennsylvania, United States) and coworkers have shown that Ebola-infected cells express a glycoprotein on the cell surface that shields the cells from the cell-mediated immune system, a finding which is also relevant to HIV and certain cancers. This news feature was written on September 14, 2010.... Read more »
Francica, J. R., Varela-Rohena, A., Medvec, A., Plesa, G., Riley, J. L., & Bates, P. (2010) Steric Shielding of Surface Epitopes and Impaired Immune Recognition Induced by the Ebola Virus Glycoprotein. PLoS Pathogens, 6(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1001098
- September 13, 2010
- 03:43 PM
- 441 views
Wyeth's Ghostwriters Falsely Promoted Hormone Replacement Therapy
by Michael Long in Phased
Adriane Fugh-Berman (Georgetown University, United States) exposes the campaign of Wyeth and DesignWrite to falsely market hormone replacement therapy in non-symptomatic women, thereby profiting from a medical treatment which is not based on science. This news feature was written on September 13, 2010.... Read more »
Fugh-Berman, A. J. (2010) The Haunting of Medical Journals: How Ghostwriting Sold “HRT”. PLoS Medicine, 7(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000335
- September 12, 2010
- 08:10 PM
- 591 views
Did Comet Impacts Catalyze Amino Acid Production in Pre-Life Earth?
by Michael Long in Phased
Nir Goldman (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, United States) and coworkers' computer simulations suggest that the high temperatures and pressures of cometary impacts are sometimes within a range compatible with comets as a catalyst for amino acid synthesis in pre-life Earth. This news feature was written on September 12, 2010.... Read more »
Goldman, N., Reed, E. J., Fried, L. E., William Kuo, I.-F., & Maiti, A. (2010) Synthesis of glycine-containing complexes in impacts of comets on early Earth. Nature Chemistry. DOI: 10.1038/nchem.827
- September 12, 2010
- 03:55 PM
- 305 views
The Extent of Human Genetic Variation
by Michael Long in Phased
David Goldstein (Duke University, United States) and coworkers report steps towards unraveling the extent of human genetic variation, useful for directing medical effort towards genes critical to life. This news feature was written on September 12, 2010.... Read more »
Pelak, K., Shianna, K. V., Ge, D., Maia, J. M., Zhu, M., Smith, J. P., Cirulli, E. T., Fellay, J., Dickson, S. P., Gumbs, C. E.... (2010) The Characterization of Twenty Sequenced Human Genomes. PLoS Genetics, 6(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001111
topics
join us!
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
