Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have identified in the most aggressive forms of cancer a gene known to >regulate embryonic stem cell self-renewal, beginning a creative search for a drug that can block its activity.
California bill posed to lift restrictions on egg donation
California is set to pass a bill that would allow payments over and above 'direct expenses' to be made to women who donate >eggs for research . The bill promises to increase the supply of eggs to scientists studying reproduction, but will not eliminate restrictions on research supported by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in San Francisco, a major funder of stem-cell research in the state.
New particle hints at four-quark matter
We know that all nuclear matter is made up of quarks, and we have a pretty good understanding of how two quarks interact at close range. But our quark theory cannot tell us which >quark combinations will result in a bound particle or a stable nuclei. All we can go on is experience, and experience has shown that particles with four quarks do not exist. But the situation may have changed with the possible discovery of a new particle containing at least four quarks.
New language discovery reveals linguistic insights
A new language has been discovered in a remote Indigenous community in >northern Australia that is generated from a unique combination of elements from other languages. Light Warlpiri has been documented by University of Michigan linguist Carmel O'Shannessy, in a study on "The role of multiple sources in the formation of an innovative auxiliary category in Light Warlpiri, a new Australian mixed language," to be published in the June, 2013 issue of the scholarly journal Language.
Computer-aided design of zeolite templates
Taking a page from computer-aided drug designers, Rice Univ. researchers have developed a >computational method that chemists can use to tailor the properties of zeolites, one of the world’s most-used industrial minerals.
Obese black hole galaxies may help explain how quasars form
Gluttonous black holes in the center of some galaxies could be precursors to the brightest objects in the known universe.
A recently proposed type of galaxy with an overwhelmingly large black hole in its center could give astronomers a better understanding of the formation of quasars — bright objects in galaxies with >supermassive black holes . The centers of these obese black-hole galaxies (OBGs) could harbor black holes so massive that radiation from where the black hole accretes would overwhelm that of the stars within its galaxy.
Compiled by Vasudevan Mukunth
