“Internationally known scholar named Excellence Chair in Prion Biology - High Plains Journal” plus 3 more |
- Internationally known scholar named Excellence Chair in Prion Biology - High Plains Journal
- BIA withdraws Desert Rock biology study - Durango Herald
- Holiday trees show up with live 'ornaments' - Hawk Eye
- Cutting down glucose extends healthy cells’ lifespan - Thaindian.com
| Internationally known scholar named Excellence Chair in Prion Biology - High Plains Journal Posted: 19 Dec 2009 12:26 AM PST AdvertisementInternationally known scholar named Excellence Chair in Prion BiologyWyoming A renowned scholar, with the research background to lead the University of Wyoming's studies of chronic wasting disease and related animal and human disorders, is the newest endowed chair at UW. Hermann Schatzl is the Wyoming Excellence Chair in Prion Biology. He will come to UW in January and will have a split appointment in the UW College of Agriculture and Natural Resources departments of Veterinary Sciences and Molecular Biology. He is professor of clinical virology and head of the Clinical Virology Section at Technical University of Munich in Germany. The 2006 Wyoming State Legislature established the Excellence in Higher Education Endowment, which included a $70 million endowment to create at UW senior faculty positions for highly distinguished scholars and educators. The legislation creating the endowment states the endowed positions must expand university instruction and research in disciplines related to economic and social challenges facing Wyoming. The UW Wyoming Excellence chairs are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their fields. "Professor Schatzl is exactly the kind of internationally known scholar we had hoped we could attract to UW with funding and support from the Wyoming Excellence Endowment," said Nicole Ballenger, UW associate provost. "With¬ Schatzl here, UW has the potential to be an international center of excellence in prion disease biology, a frontier area of science and one that is extremely relevant to the state." Schatzl's specialty is in the study of prions, the proteins that underlie chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk. This is the same class of protein that also causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy of cattle and scrapie in sheep. "His scholarly reputation in the field of prion diseases will provide a solid foundation for ongoing and future research at UW to better understand these invariably fatal neurological diseases that affect humans as well as animals," said Professor Don Montgomery, head of the Department of Veterinary Sciences. "Much is unknown concerning the prion diseases. Schatzl's research will lead to a basic understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the prion diseases, some important to the state of Wyoming including scrapie and CWD." Schatzl's research in the field of infectious neurodegenerative diseases is recognized internationally, specifically, diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies of humans and animals caused by abnormal prion proteins. These diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, fatal familial insomnia, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease and transmissible mink encephalopathy. Between 1983-1989, Schatzl studied medicine at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. He received his medical degree (1991) from the Department of Virology at the Max von Pettenkofer Institute for Microbiology and Hygiene, Munich. Schatzl pursued post-doctoral studies (1993-1995) in the laboratory of Nobel Prize Laureate Stanley Prusiner, known for his seminal work on abnormal prion proteins and the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. He has received grant support of more than EU 8 million, has published in many international scientific publications and books and has two patents related to his research work. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| BIA withdraws Desert Rock biology study - Durango Herald Posted: 18 Dec 2009 11:15 PM PST Agency cites 'significant concerns' about environmental impactAssociated Press Writer ALBUQUERQUE - The Bureau of Indian Affairs has withdrawn its biological assessment for a proposed power plant in northwestern New Mexico, saying it has "significant concerns" about the impact of mercury and selenium on two endangered fish species in the San Juan River. Desert Rock would add more pollution to a river system already polluted beyond thresholds for selenium and mercury. - Mike Eisenfeld, San Juan Citizens AllianceBIA Director Jerry Gidner, in a letter Thursday to Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Regional Director Benjamin Tuggle, said the decision will allow more time for coordination between Tuggle's staff, the BIA and the Environmental Protection Agency. It was the second review of federal decisions for the $3 billion coal-fired Desert Rock Energy Project on the Navajo Nation. In September, the Environmental Appeals Board in part granted a request by regional EPA officials who wanted to review parts of an air permit issued last year. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. also said he wanted the project to add equipment designed to capture carbon emissions from Desert Rock. Gidner's letter said adding such a component would require additional analysis and possibly a supplement to the biological assessment. The Navajo Nation's Dine Power Authority and Houston-based Sithe Global LLC, who have partnered to build the 1,500-megawatt power plant about 25 miles southwest of Farmington, have said Desert Rock would be one of the cleanest coal-burning plants in the nation. Messages were left after hours seeking comment from the Navajo Nation and Desert Rock officials. They also have said it would generate more than $50 million in annual revenues and create jobs on a reservation where more than half the people are unemployed. Environmentalists, the state of New Mexico and some Navajos have voiced concerns about the project, saying a third coal-fired plant in the Four Corners region would compromise air quality, human health and the environment. Mike Eisenfeld of one opponent group, San Juan Citizens Alliance, said a more in-depth biological assessment "would only delay the inevitable conclusion that Desert Rock should never be built." "Desert Rock would add more pollution to a river system already polluted beyond thresholds for selenium and mercury," he said. New Mexico Environment Secretary Ron Curry said the state is confident the BIA and EPA will agree there should be no new coal plants "without the latest and greatest environmental controls, including limits on greenhouse gas emissions." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Holiday trees show up with live 'ornaments' - Hawk Eye Posted: 19 Dec 2009 08:33 AM PST published online: 12/19/2009By MARY PEMBERTONThe Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Forget the plastic icicles, brightly colored balls and tinsel. Some Christmas trees for sale in the Anchorage area are adorned with something truly different this holiday season -- live Pacific Chorus frogs. While the small frogs are very cute, measuring an inch or two with lovely moss-colored green sides and black spots, state officials are asking residents to practice some tough love. If you find a Christmas tree frog, kill it. So far, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, has received reports of two amphibious hitchhikers. One of them was hiding out on a holiday tree from Washington state that was sold this week at an Anchorage nursery. The frog ended up in the biology department at the University of Alaska Anchorage. "They identified it as a Pacific Chorus frog," said Tracey Gotthardt, a zoologist with the university's Alaska Natural Heritage Program. The frogs are found from British Columbia to southern Baja California, but are not native to Alaska. "No one is in panic mode over this, but we are taking it seriously," said Jennifer Yuhas, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That's because the cute frogs -- whose joyful chorus is often used for movie soundtracks -- could be carrying some ugly viruses and funguses, including chytrid fungus that is devastating amphibians. "Our immediate concern is that if a frog does hop out of a tree and they decide to keep it as a pet over the winter, they must keep it forever. We don't want them being released into the wild," Gotthardt said.
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Cutting down glucose extends healthy cells’ lifespan - Thaindian.com Posted: 19 Dec 2009 04:08 AM PST Washington, Dec 19 (IANS) Restricting consumption of glucose, the most common dietary sugar, can extend the life of healthy human lung cells and speed the death of pre-cancerous cells in the vital organ. "These results further verify the potential health benefits of controlling calorie intake," Tollefsbol said. "Our research indicates that calorie reduction extends the lifespan of healthy human cells and aids the body's natural ability to kill off cancer-forming cells." The UAB team conducted its tests by growing both healthy human lung cells and pre-cancerous lung cells in laboratory flasks. The flasks were provided either normal levels of glucose or significantly reduced amounts of the sugar compound, and the cells then were allowed to grow for a period of weeks. "The pattern that was revealed to us showed that restricted glucose levels led the healthy cells to grow longer than is typical and caused the precancerous cells to die off in large numbers," Tollefsbol said, according to an UAB release. The study has been published online in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB Journal). Related Stories
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Biology - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment