Study upends ideas inferred from nonwoody plants — ScienceDaily

[ad_1] North Carolina State University researchers have uncovered how a complex network of transcription factors switch wood formation genes on and off. Understanding this transcriptional regulatory network has applications for modifying wood properties for timber, paper and biofuels, as well as making forest trees more disease- and pest-resistant. “We’re building a complete story, so to…

Sensory tests suggest ‘liking’ wines made with native grapes a learned response — ScienceDaily

[ad_1] Consumer preference or aversion to wines made from native grapes — such as Concord, Niagara and Catawba, which are grown in North America — may depend on early exposure to the fruits’ sweet, ultra “grapey” taste and aroma, according to researchers who conducted sensory tests with wine drinkers in Pennsylvania and California. That strong…

Culturally sensitive conservation approaches needed to protect Ethiopian church forests — ScienceDaily

[ad_1] Human disturbance reduces forest density, biomass, and richness of species in sacred church forests of northern Ethiopia, according to new research by Catherine L. Cardelús of Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, and colleagues. These findings appear in PLOS ONE. Due to land-use changes, such as roads and agriculture, forested area that once covered much…

Alternative to anti-inflammatory therapies reduces IBD symptoms in mice — ScienceDaily

[ad_1] People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) live with frequent, miserable episodes of abdominal pain, diarrhea and in severe cases, rectal bleeding. Standard treatments are aimed at directly suppressing inflammation, but many patients find little relief from such an approach. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a compound…

New insights into the geographical landscape of prehistoric central Tibet — ScienceDaily

[ad_1] A team of scientists from the UK and China have uncovered new evidence, using recently-discovered 25-million-year-old fossilised palm leaves, that Tibet’s geography was not as ‘high and dry’ as previously thought. The new research, co-authored by academics from the University of Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences, suggests that central Tibet must have been no…

Targeted inhibition of ActRII pathway improves cardiac function in animal models of heart failure — ScienceDaily

[ad_1] A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found that activity of an important signaling pathway increases with aging and with heart failure. In their report published in Science Translational Medicine, they describe evidence from both humans and animal models that increased activin type II receptor (ActRII) activity correlates with worsening heart…

New technique has the potential to improve the quality and speed of imaging — ScienceDaily

[ad_1] Generating comprehensive molecular images of organs and tumors in living organisms can be performed at ultra-fast speed using a new deep learning approach to image reconstruction developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research team’s new technique has the potential to vastly improve the quality and speed of imaging in live subjects and…