Gene scan helps identify cause of inherited blindness

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have scanned the entire genome of mice for genes that help build photoreceptors, the light-sensing cells of the eye.

Subseafloor observatories installed to run dynamic experiments

Marine geologists have returned from two months at sea off British Columbia, Canada, where they installed two observatories in the ocean floor to run innovative experiments at the bottom of the sea.

Researchers find diet-induced obesity accelerates leukemia

The first study to demonstrate that obesity can directly accelerate the progression of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been conducted at The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and will be published in Cancer Prevention Research, on October 5, 2010. Obesity has been associated with an increased incidence of many cancers, including leukemia, but it has been unknown ...

Choice of career is a major risk factor for persistent neurodermatitis

A child who can't stop scratching himself may well be suffering from atopic dermatitis, also known as neurodermatitis. Extreme irritability of the skin with a concomitant urge to scratch is typical of the disorder. The condition often appears during the first year of life and is on the increase in industrialized countries. The patient's skin becomes hypersensitive and reacts strongly to even ...

Master Gardener: Eek, termites!

Q: Right after it rained there were all these insects flying around and the wings must have been dropping off because I was finding them on the ground.

LEDs illuminate eye for ocular disease screening

A new imaging system using six different wavelengths to illuminate the interior of the eyeball (ocular fundus) may pave the way for doctors to easily screen patients for common diseases of the eye, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. The system is described in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments.