UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

Hubble finds methane on extrasolar planet

PASADENA, Calif., March 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency said the Hubble Space Telescope has detected the first organic molecule found in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the event marks an important step in eventually identifying signs of life on planets outside our Solar System.

"This is a crucial stepping stone to eventually characterizing prebiotic molecules on planets where life could exist", said Mark Swain of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Swain led the team that made the discovery.

The methane signature was found in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet HD 189733b, although the researchers said the planet is too hot for life to exist as we know it.

Although methane has been detected on most of the planets in our own solar system, the scientists said the Hubble discovery is the first to detect any organic molecule on a world orbiting another star.

The finding, Swain said, also confirms the existence of water molecules in the planet's atmosphere.

The Hubble Space Telescope is jointly operated by NASA and the European Space Agency.

The discovery is detailed in the journal Nature.

Lithium chloride may help muscle disorder

IRVINE, Calif., March 20 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists have found lithium chloride, used to treat bipolar disorder, might also slow development of inclusion body myositis.

University of California-Irvine researchers found mice genetically engineered to have inclusion body myositis, or IBM -- a skeletal muscle disease that affects older people -- demonstrated markedly better motor function six months after receiving daily doses of lithium chloride, compared with non-treated mice.

The scientists found muscles in treated mice also had lower levels of a protein that the study linked with muscle inflammation associated with IBM.

"Lithium chloride is an approved drug for treating humans. We already know it is safe and can be used by people," said Professor Frank LaFerla, co-author of the study. "Given our findings, we believe a clinical trial that tests the effectiveness of lithium chloride on IBM patients should be conducted as soon as possible."

IBM is the most common skeletal muscle disorder among people older than 50, the researchers said, noting there is no cure or effective treatment for the disorder.

Results of the study, which included researchers Masashi Kitazawa and Dan Trinh, appear online in the journal Annals of Neurology.

Zirconia might help jet engine operation

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 20 (UPI) -- U.S. engineers are developing a technique to coat jet engine turbine blades with zirconium dioxide, known as zirconia, to combat high-temperature corrosion.

Ohio State University Professor Nitin Padture, who led the study, said the zirconia chemically converts sand and other corrosive particles that build up on the blades into a new, protective outer coating -- in effect allowing the blade to constantly renew itself.

He said the technology might enable manufacturers to use new kinds of heat-resistant materials in engine blades, so that jet engines will be able to run hotter and more efficiently.

Padture, who began the research while at the University of Connecticut, is working with the Inframat Corp., a nanotechnology company, to further develop the concept. The University of Connecticut has applied for a patent on the technology.

The research that included doctoral student Aysegul Aygun; former postdoctoral researcher Alexander Vasiliev, who is now at the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Xinqing Ma, a scientist at the Inframat Corp., appeared in a recent issue of the journal Acta Materialia.

Study may lead to new CF treatments.

TORONTO, March 20 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists said a study identifying several compounds that block activity of a key protein might lead to innovative cystic fibrosis therapies.

The University of Toronto researchers said their findings might also serve as a model for future therapies against the human immunodeficiency virus.

A team led by Professor Igor Stagljar identified compounds that block activity of the protein exoenzymeS. One compound, exosin, significantly inhibited infections in mammalian cells, showing promise for increasing the effectiveness of antibiotics in the treatment of chronic and acute bacterial respiratory infections in cystic fibrosis patients.

"These studies created a road map to the rational design of more potent, highly selective inhibitors against other similar toxins using a totally novel yeast-based approach," Stagljar said. "This innovative approach is an important advance, not only for the value it may have in cystic fibrosis treatment, but also because this technique could be used to design novel therapies for any bacterial pathogen as well as the HIV virus."

The scientists now plan to test the action of their inhibitors in an animal model of cystic fibrosis.

The research that included graduate student Anthony Arnoldo is detailed in the online edition of the journal PLoS Genetics.