Extinct Human Genome Reconstructed

February 11, 2010

Reconstruction of the prehistoric man Inuk. Drawing: Nuka Godfredtsen

(ChattahBox) – University of Copenhagen Press Release: Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have become the first to reconstruct the nuclear genome of an extinct human being. It is the first time an ancient genome has been reconstructed in detail. The innovative technique can be applied to museum materials and ancient remains found in nature and can help reconstructing human phenotypic traits of extinct cultures from where only limited remains have been recovered. It also allows for finding those contemporary populations most closely related to extinct cultures revealing ancient human expansions and migrations. Finally, the discovery improves our understanding of heredity and the disease risk passed down from our ancestors. The spectacular results of the research are being published in the upcoming issue of Nature.

Professor Eske Willerslev and his PhD student Morten Rasmussen, from Centre of Excellence in GeoGenetics at the Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, led the international team of scientists responsible for the findings. Read more

Scientists Find ‘Money Loss’ Fear Button In Brain

February 9, 2010

California (ChattahBox) – Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have isolated an area of the brain that seems to be responsible for the human fear of losing money.

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Iranian Museum Snubs British Museum Over Persian Treasure Loan

February 8, 2010

Iran (ChattahBox) – An Iranian museum has lashed out and cut all ties with The British Museum after they delayed the loan of a precious artifact.

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First human genetic variant linked to biological aging found

February 8, 2010

(ChattahBox) – Scientists announced they have found for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The team analyzed more than 500,000 genetic variations across the entire human genome to identify the variants which are located near a gene called TERC.

British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology at the University of Leicester Professor Nilesh Samani, of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, who co-led the project explained that there are two forms of ageing – chronological ageing i.e. how old you are in years and biological ageing whereby the cells of some individuals are older (or younger) than suggested by their actual age.
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Some Patients in Vegetative State Can Communicate

February 4, 2010

(ChattahBox) – An estimated 9,000 to 37,000 people in the United States are in a persistently vegetative or minimally conscious state; defined as patients with severe brain damage who were in a coma, but then progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness.  In a study certain to rekindle debate over switch off life support machines for those with grievous brain injuries, researchers report that five out of 54 patients thought to be in a persistent vegetative state showed brain activity indicating awareness, intent and, in at least one case, a wish to communicate.
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Pig lungs for human transplants overcome big hurdle

February 3, 2010

(ChattahBox) -  With wait times for lung transplants often stretching over a year or more an alternative may be on the horizon soon.  Scientists in Melbourne, Australia, were able to keep pig lungs alive and “breathing” while human blood flowed in them, using a ventilator and pump. Previous attempts to combine unmodified pig lungs and human blood ended abruptly two years ago when blood clots began forming almost immediately, causing the organs to become so blocked no blood could pass through. Read more

‘Primordial Soup’ Theory Rejected In New Study

February 2, 2010

UK (ChattahBox) – A research group from University College London has spoken out against the ‘primordial soup’ theory of early life, and instead insisted that it was gases and the vented heat from the Earth that create life.

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Scientists Claims Small Group Barring Stem Cell Publications

February 2, 2010

(ChattahBox) – Two well respected scientists have spoken out against editors and groups that they say are holding back publication of relevant research in the stem cell field.

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Da Vinci’s Remains To Be Retrieved To Solve Mona Lisa Mystery

January 28, 2010

Italy (ChattahBox) – Researchers have gotten preliminary permission to dig up the remains of Leonardo Da Vinci to finally solve the rumor about the Mona Lisa being a self portrait.

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Programming Note for January 20, 2010

January 19, 2010

(ChattahBox) – We will be moving the site to a more powerful server tomorrow, Wednesday morning US EST, on January 20, 2010.  In the meantime we will not be able to do further updates until the switch is made but things should be back to normal in a few hours or so and we hope the migration will help ensure ChattahBox.com will have minimal downtime in the future.

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