http://bigblog.com/biological_science.html The latest in Biological Science http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKL0860205820080708 BARCELONA (Reuters) - The same infrared technology that measures fat content in milk can more accurately predict which embryos have the best chance of resulting in a pregnancy, fertility experts said on Tuesday. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/08/2?gusrc=rss&feed=science This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Tuesday July 08 2008. It was last updated at 18:00 on July 08 2008. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=14932&channel=0&title=China+tackles+algae+in+Olympic+venue Want up to date environmental stories in your inbox? Sign up for Europe's most popular green news service http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=14935&channel=0&title=Waterford+to+get+biodiversity+park Want up to date environmental stories in your inbox? Sign up for Europe's most popular green news service http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113891.php email icon email to a friend printer icon printer friendly write icon view / write opinions rate icon rate article http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/esfh-cbf070708.php Barcelona, Spain: Children born after a frozen, thawed embryo has been replaced in the womb have higher birth weight than those born where fresh embryos were used, Danish scientists reported to the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Tuesday 8 July). The mothers had longer pregnancies, and the children did not show an increased risk of congenital malformations, said Dr. Anja Pinborg, from the Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90781/6444378.html Japanese chemists say they have created the world's first DNA molecule made almost entirely of artificial parts, which could lead to improvements in gene therapy, nano-sized computers and other high-tech advances. http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16517 Public sector IT news. Top stories: Local government | Central government | e-Gov strategy | EU strategy | Events diary http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/07/greenwatch_farmed_algae_threat.html Off the palm-fringed white beach of Butaritari, a remote Pacific atoll, corals are being covered and smothered to death by a bushy seaweed that is so tough even algae-grazing fish avoid it. This equatorial island of 4,000 people is the latest victim of a 30-year global effort to encourage poor people in the coastal areas of the tropics to grow seaweed that, while not edible, produces carrageenan, an increasingly sought-after binder and fat substitute used in the food industry, notably in ice cream. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/esfh-ebd070708.php Barcelona, Spain: A study of 70 singleton babies born after preimplantation genetic diagnosis and screening has shown that the procedure does not adversely affect their early growth and risk of congenital malformations. http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=453902&sid=env&ssid=364 Washington, July 08: Scientists at Harvard Medical School and Brandeis University say that they have identified what types of genes are necessary for brain development. http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/19850 Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, today announced the appointment of Professor Douglas Kell as Chief Executive and Deputy Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/07/08/scimammoth108.xml They lived in frozen wastelands with sparse food supplies, but Woolly mammoths had a dirty habit that may have helped them delay their eventual extinction they ate their own dung. http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=38478427 Genome Sequencer FLX System plus NimbleGen Sequence Capture Arrays Help Unravel the Cryptic Genetic Changes in Hematological Malignancies http://www.pharmalive.com/News/Index.cfm?articleid=554471 PENZBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 8, 2008 - The Cancer Genomics Group at Barts and The London Medical School is researching leukemia with the aquisition of the state-of-the-art Genome Sequencer FLX System paired with the Roche NimbleGen Sequence Capture arrays. Researchers, led by Professor Brian Young, will use the combined technology of 454 Sequencing and NimbleGen Sequence Capture Arrays to uncover the genetic changes that are involved in the development of leukemia. The new sequence information will be linked to an existing extensive clinical and cytogenetic database to investigate the relationship between genetic change and the clinical features of this devastating disease. The researchers expect that the new data could have implications for the future therapy and clinical outcome of hematological malignancies. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25576785 Syria returns stolen marble artifact to Iraq http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_re_us/stem_cell_ballot Ballot Question Committee said Monday it turned in more than 570,000 voter signatures backing the measure. More than 380,000 of them must be ruled valid for the proposal to reach voters. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/wfub-wfr070708.php WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/tju-jrs070708.php (PHILADELPHIA) Scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have made a key discovery about the mechanism of breast cancer metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads. Focusing on a gene dubbed "Dachshund," or DACH1, they are beginning to pinpoint new therapeutic targets to halt the spread of cancer. http://www.medinews.com/GMEDTS32olcgi/ts.cgi?tsurl=0.114.28885.0.0 A team comprised of academics and researchers from the drug discovery industry have succeeded in obtaining the high-resolution crystal structure of a beta-1-adrenergic receptor, the G-protein-coupled receptor that regulates heart rate and blood pressure and is targeted by drugs commonly referred to as beta-blockers. http://www.neurotodayonline.com/pt/re/neurotoday/fulltext.00132985-200807030-00007.htm;jsessionid=LzZbDyFyMRjQkQS5rSs1P3SK1wPYT1jLyyVh1xHMYLWdStLSssGd!-607823098!181195629!8091!-1 Investigators report that mutations in the gene that cause Rett syndrome both silence and activate gene expression. http://www.poweronline.com/article.mvc/US-Department-Of-Energy-Joint-Genome-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO Walnut Creek, CA - In the continuing effort to tap the vast, unexplored reaches of the earth's microbial and plant domains for bioenergy and environmental applications, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has announced its latest portfolio of DNA sequencing projects that it will undertake in the coming year. The 44 projects, culled from nearly 150 proposals received through the Community Sequencing Program (CSP), represent over 60 billion nucleotides of data to be generated through this biodiversity sampling campaignroughly the equivalent of 20 human genomes. http://english.eviewweek.com/Chemists-claim-1st-almost-all-artificial-DNA-molecule.shtml BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Japanese chemists say they have created the world's first DNA molecule made almost entirely of artificial parts, which could lead to improvements in gene therapy, nano-sized computers and other high-tech advances. http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKL0855145920080708 BARCELONA (Reuters) - Babies born from frozen embryos weigh more, have no greater risk of birth defects and are as healthy or healthier than those conceived using fresh ones, Danish researchers said on Tuesday. http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=38482184 Professors Randall Kerstetter, Joachim Messing and Todd Michael collecting duckweed samples from the Delaware and Raritan Canal in New Jersey.