Mammals might seem like better human stand-ins than a minnow’s striped cousin, but zebrafish resemble us in surprising and useful ways. But zebrafish also offer practical advantages over other model species: They’re cheap, hardy, breed like rabbits on Viagra, and their skin can be made transparent.
When cancer is detected, the interaction of two nanoparticles creates a bright yellow signal (photo by Fei Lu, Houston Methodist Research Institute).
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States each year, in part because around four-fifths of cases go undetected until they have reached an advanced stage. But a new, biomarker-based test could soon change all that — and offer a way to monitor treatment outcomes.
After 4 billion years, the dwarf planet Ceres is still carrying a surprising amount of water weight — as much as 30 percent.
The finding, which was published in the Jan. 6 edition of the journal Science, is consistent with earlier models, and provides valuable clues to how Ceres formed.
The Lucy spacecraft flies by a Jupiter Trojan asteroid. Illustration by Peter Rubin – SwRI and SSL)
NASA’s Discovery Program has selected two projects, both with Arizona ties, to delve into the ancient history of the solar system.
One craft, Psyche, will head to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The other, Lucy, will explore six asteroids that share an orbit with Jupiter. Scientists believe that the targets embody different aspects of early solar system history.
Spatial maps for (from top) the default mode network, frontoparietal network and motor network (image courtesy Gene Alexander of University of Arizona).
The book The Runner’s Brain told runners how their minds could change their running. Now a University of Arizona study says the reverse might be true as well.
Using functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI), they found significant differences in areas that are active when the brain is at rest. Possibly, such networks could play a key role in the effects of aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
