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Protein protects lung cancer cells from efforts to fix or kill them

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A protein that helps lung cancer cells thrive appears to do so by blocking healthy cells’ ability to fix themselves when radiation or chemicals such as nicotine damage their DNA, according to a University of Florida study to be published Friday (Feb. 29) in the journal Molecular Cell.

Filed under Research, Health on Thursday, February 28, 2008.

First global malaria map in decades shows reduced risk

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — About 35 percent of the world’s population is at risk of contracting deadly malaria, but many people are at a lower risk than previously thought, raising hope that the disease could be seriously reduced or eliminated in parts of the world.

Filed under Health, Sciences on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

Out-of-whack protein may boost Parkinson’s

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A single change in a protein may play a role in whether someone develops Parkinson’s disease, say University of Florida Genetics Institute researchers writing in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Filed under Research, Health, Aging on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

Property tax and economic stimulus plans boost consumer confidence

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Passage of the national economic stimulus package and state property tax amendment helped boost Florida’s consumer confidence by four points to 74 in February after last month’s decline to its lowest level in 16 years, a new University of Florida study reports.

Filed under Research, Business, Florida on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

Advertisers, neuroscientists trace source of emotions in brain

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — First came direct marketing, then focus groups. Now, advertisers, with the help of neuroscientists, are closing in on the holy grail: mind reading.

Filed under Research, Business, Sciences on Tuesday, February 19, 2008.

Engineering students: Airbrush not just for artists

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The airbrush, that tool behind tattoos and T-shirts, may have an unexpected future — in technology.

Filed under Research, Technology, Engineering on Thursday, February 14, 2008.

Humans inhabited New World’s doorstep for 20,000 years

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The human journey from Asia to the New World was interrupted by a 20,000-year layover in Beringia, a once-habitable region that today lies submerged under the icy waters of the Bering Strait.

Filed under Research, Health, Sciences on Wednesday, February 13, 2008.

Human deaths from shark attacks hit 20-year low last year

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Fatal shark attacks worldwide dipped to their lowest levels in two decades in 2007 with the sole casualty involving a swimmer vacationing in the South Pacific, according to the latest statistics from the University of Florida.

Filed under Research, Natural History, Florida, Sciences on Tuesday, February 12, 2008.

Mummy lice found in Peru may give new clues about human migration

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Lice from 1,000-year-old mummies in Peru may unravel important clues about a different sort of passage: the migration patterns of America’s earliest humans, a new University of Florida study suggests.

Filed under Research, Natural History, Sciences on Thursday, February 7, 2008.

Scientists rebuild ancient proteins to reveal primordial Earth’s temperature

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Using the genetic equivalent of an ancient thermometer, a team of scientists has determined that the Earth endured a massive cooling period between 500 million and 3.5 billion years ago.

Filed under Research, Health, Sciences on Wednesday, February 6, 2008.