ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, May 30, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, May 30, 2011

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Ocean acidification will likely reduce diversity, resiliency in coral reef ecosystems (May 30, 2011) -- Ocean acidification, along with increased ocean temperatures, will likely severely reduce the diversity and resilience of coral reef ecosystems within this century, new research suggests. ... > full story

Why does flu trigger asthma? (May 30, 2011) -- When children with asthma get the flu, they often land in the hospital gasping for air. Researchers have found a previously unknown biological pathway explaining why influenza induces asthma attacks. Studies in a mouse model reveal that influenza activates a newly recognized group of immune cells called natural helper cells -- presenting a completely new set of drug targets for asthma. ... > full story

What is a laboratory mouse? (May 30, 2011) -- Scientists have created a genome-wide, high-resolution map of most of the inbred mouse strains used today. Their conclusion: Most of the mice in use today represent only limited genetic diversity, which could be significantly expanded with the addition of more wild mouse populations. ... > full story

Translating stem cell research into therapies (May 30, 2011) -- A new article provides comprehensive insight into the current status of neural stem cell research and the sometimes labyrinthine pathways leading to stem cell-based therapies. ... > full story

Method for detecting toxic substances in leather and footwear developed (May 30, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new analytical method that improves detection of the allergen dimethyl fumarate (DMFu) in leather and footwear. ... > full story

Social life and mobility are keys to quality of life in old age (May 30, 2011) -- Resourcefulness, staying active and a busy social life play vital roles in helping people cope with the challenges of old age, researchers have found. Maintaining social relationships and mobility in old age are so important for general well-being that some elderly people will go to extreme lengths to keep active, according to the study. The research has led to a new method of measuring quality of life in older age being unvelied, replacing previous questionnaires which relied on expert or top down opinions and measures such as income rather than the views of older people themselves. ... > full story

Biological circuits for synthetic biology (May 29, 2011) -- Using the tools of synthetic biology, researchers have engineered the first RNA-based regulatory system that can independently control the transcription activities of multiple targets in a single cell. This is a significant advance for the design and construction of programmable genetic networks. ... > full story

Iron-ferrying protein may be 'universal Achilles heel' for parasitic worms (May 29, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a tiny protein without which the soil and lab-dwelling worm C. elegans can't deliver iron-rich heme taken in from their diets to the rest of their bodies or to their developing embryos. The finding offers important insight into the transport of the essential ingredient in worms and other animals, including humans. ... > full story

Reindeer see a weird and wonderful world of ultraviolet light (May 29, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that the ultraviolet (UV) light that causes the temporary but painful condition of snow blindness in humans is life-saving for reindeer in the Arctic. ... > full story

Combo method reveals cells' signal systems (May 29, 2011) -- Our understanding of what differentiates cancer cells from normal cells is limited by a lack of methods for studying the complex signal systems of individual cells. By combing two different methods, researchers have now provided the research world with a tool for studying signal paths on several levels at the same time. ... > full story

New software tool helps evaluate natural cooling options for buildings (May 29, 2011) -- A new, free software tool could prove to be a breath of fresh air for architects and designers of ventilation systems for "green" commercial buildings. ... > full story

Does liposuction get rid of that forever? More like a year, study suggests (May 29, 2011) -- Liposuction has become one of the most popular plastic surgeries in the United States. It has been around since 1974 and there are now more than 450,000 operations a year. But does the fat come back? A recent study has found that the fat eventually returns within one year, and is redistributed to other areas of the body, especially the upper abdomen. ... > full story

Teasing apart galaxy collisions: Spitzer photo atlas of galactic 'train wrecks' (May 29, 2011) -- Five billion years from now, our Milky Way galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy. This will mark a moment of both destruction and creation. The galaxies will lose their separate identities as they merge into one. At the same time, cosmic clouds of gas and dust will smash together, triggering the birth of new stars. To understand our past and imagine our future, we must understand what happens when galaxies collide. ... > full story

Common test could help predict early death in diabetes, study shows (May 29, 2011) -- A common test may be useful in predicting early death in individuals with diabetes. ... > full story

Stars help researchers track space junk (May 29, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a method to track the movement of geostationary objects using the position of the stars, which could help to monitor space debris. The technique can be used with small telescopes and in places that are not very dark. ... > full story

Dangerous side effect of common drug combination -- Paxil and Pravachol -- discovered by data mining (May 29, 2011) -- A widely used combination of two common medications may cause unexpected increases in blood glucose levels, according to a new study. Researchers were surprised at the finding because neither of the two drugs -- one, an antidepressant marketed as Paxil, and the other, a cholesterol-lowering medication called Pravachol -- has a similar effect alone. ... > full story

Mapping ocean surface currents: West coast radar network is world's largest (May 29, 2011) -- A network of high-frequency radar systems designed for mapping ocean surface currents now provides detail of coastal ocean dynamics along the US West Coast never before available. ... > full story

All in your head? Substantial recovery rate with placebo effect in headache treatment, analysis finds (May 29, 2011) -- Headache is a very common complaint, with over 90% of all persons experiencing a headache at some time in their lives. In an analysis by Dutch researchers of 119 clinical trials, the "no treatment" and placebo groups had a high overall recovery rate of 36%. Control groups in pharmacological trials showed a higher response rate than the behavioral (non-pharmacological) trials (38.5% vs. 15.0%). ... > full story

Scientists argue against conclusion that bacteria consumed Deepwater Horizon methane (May 29, 2011) -- New research casts doubt on a widely publicized study that concluded that a bacterial bloom in the Gulf of Mexico consumed the methane discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well. ... > full story

What doesn't kill the brain makes it stronger (May 29, 2011) -- Scientists say that a newly discovered "survival protein" protects the brain against the effects of stroke in rodent brain tissue by interfering with a particular kind of cell death that's also implicated in complications from diabetes and heart attack. ... > full story

Long warm-ups for track and field can sabotage race performance (May 29, 2011) -- Low intensity warm-ups enhance athletic performance. ... > full story

Hormone level predicts end of fertility (May 29, 2011) -- The age-specific blood levels of the Anti-Müllerian hormone can predict when women will reach menopause. This makes family planning easier, say fertility researchers. ... > full story

Better passwords get with the beat (May 29, 2011) -- No password is 100 percent secure. There are always ways and means for those with malicious intent to hack, crack or socially engineer access to a password. Indeed, there are more and more websites and databases compromised on a seemingly daily basis. A new approach to verifying passwords that also takes into account the speed with which a user types in their login and the gaps between characters would render a stolen password useless. ... > full story

Changes in brain circuitry play role in moral sensitivity as people grow up (May 29, 2011) -- Moral responses to similar situations change as people age, says a study that combined brain scanning, eye-tracking and behavioral measures to understand how the brain responds to morally laden scenarios. Preschool children and adults distinguish between damage done either intentionally or accidentally when assessing whether a perpetrator had done something wrong. Adults are much less likely than children to think someone should be punished for damaging an object, especially if the action was accidental. ... > full story

Significant role played by oceans in ancient global cooling (May 28, 2011) -- Thirty-eight million years ago, tropical jungles thrived in what are now the cornfields of the American Midwest and furry marsupials wandered temperate forests in what is now the frozen Antarctic. A debate has long been raging in the scientific community on what changes in our global climate system led to such a major shift from the more tropical, greenhouse climate of the Eocene to the modern and much cooler climates of today. Researchers have now found some of the strongest evidence to date that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) played a key role in the major shift in the global climate that began approximately 38 million years ago. ... > full story

Cystic fibrosis-associated bacteria could help fight back against antibiotic resistance (May 28, 2011) -- A bacteria which infects people with cystic fibrosis could help combat other antibiotic-resistant microbes, according to new research. Scientists have discovered antibiotics from Burkholderia are effective against MRSA and even other cystic fibrosis infecting bacteria. ... > full story

Better viewing through fluorescent nanotubes when peering into innards of a mouse (May 28, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a way to see deeper -- and more clearly -- into bodily organs of laboratory mice used in studies of medications. Fluorescent carbon nanotubes, injected into the mice, provide clearer images. ... > full story

New drug treatment extends lives of men with prostate cancer (May 28, 2011) -- A drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of prostate cancer is proving to give some patients the gift of time. A new study shows abiraterone acetate extends the lives of men with the most advanced form of the disease by about four months. ... > full story

New hope of detecting gravitational waves: Final piece of Einstein's jigsaw puzzle (May 28, 2011) -- Direct evidence of the existence of gravitational waves is something that has long eluded researchers. However, new research has suggested that adding just one of the proposed detectors in Japan, Australia and India will drastically increase the expected rate of detection. ... > full story

More money, better health? (May 28, 2011) -- In the past, studies have shown little to no relation between how much money you spend and how healthy you are. But a new study has discovered a positive correlation between how much money elderly Medicare beneficiaries spend and their health outcomes. ... > full story

Chameleon magnets: Ability to switch magnets 'on' or 'off' could revolutionize computing (May 28, 2011) -- What causes a magnet to be a magnet, and how can we control a magnet's behavior? These are the questions that researchers have been exploring over many years. ... > full story

New treatment dissolves blood clots in brain tissue (May 28, 2011) -- A new treatment that treats a subset of stroke patients by combining minimally invasive surgery, an imaging technique likened to "GPS for the brain," and the clot-busting drug t-PA appears to be safe and effective, according to new research. ... > full story

Climate change and marine mammals: Winners and losers (May 28, 2011) -- Current hotspots of marine mammal diversity are concentrated in the temperate waters of the southern hemisphere, and the number of cetacean and pinniped species will likely remain highest in these areas in the coming 40 years -- regardless of climate change. However, on the level of individual species the picture may be different: Whereas about half the species of marine mammals will experience some loss in their habitat, distributional ranges of the other half may increase by up to 40 percent. ... > full story

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis receive less protection from pandemic influenza with H1N1 vaccine, study shows (May 28, 2011) -- Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis taking disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, showed significantly less protection from pandemic influenza after receiving the H1N1 vaccine compared to healthy individuals, according to new data. ... > full story

Human impacts of rising oceans will extend well beyond coasts (May 28, 2011) -- Estimates that are based on current, static population data can greatly misrepresent the true extent -- and the pronounced variability -- of the human toll of climate change, researchers say. ... > full story

Not all citizens' votes created equal, and study says it shows in funding (May 28, 2011) -- Some votes count for more than others in many democracies, and a multi-nation study shows that some states and provinces benefit significantly in federal funding as a result. ... > full story

Students struggling with math may have a neurocognitive disorder called dyscalculia: Disorder affects roughly as many people as dyslexia (May 28, 2011) -- Students who struggle to learn mathematics may have a neurocognitive disorder that inhibits the acquisition of basic numerical and arithmetic concepts, according to a new article. Specialized teaching for individuals with dyscalculia, the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia, should be made widely available in mainstream education, according to a new review. ... > full story

Simple sugar, lactate, is like 'candy for cancer cells': Cancer cells accelerate aging and inflammation in the body to drive tumor growth (May 28, 2011) -- Researchers have shed new light on the longstanding conundrum about what makes a tumor grow -- and how to make it stop. Interestingly, cancer cells accelerate the aging of nearby connective tissue cells to cause inflammation, which ultimately provides "fuel" for the tumor to grow and even metastasize. ... > full story

Physicists explain the long, useful lifetime of carbon-14 (May 28, 2011) -- Physicists have discovered the reasons behind the unexpectedly slow decay of carbon-14. That slow decay makes it possible for scientists to use carbon dating techniques to accurately date the relics of history. Understanding the decay of carbon-14 could also help researchers unravel other mysteries of matter. ... > full story

Siginificant benefits of yoga in people with rheumatoid arthritis, study shows (May 28, 2011) -- Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who practice yoga showed statistically significant improvements in disease activity, according to a small study. ... > full story

What fish is on your plate? How new technologies can tackle fishing fraud (May 28, 2011) -- Low-cost catfish fillets sold as expensive sole fillets or cod caught in the North Sea but declared as originating from the Baltic Sea are both examples of types of fraud in the fisheries sector. A new report shows how molecular technologies - based on genetics, genomics, chemistry and forensics - can provide clear answers to questions such as "what species does this fish product come from....where was this fish caught....is it wild or farmed?" ... > full story

Elderly drivers support competency tests, study shows (May 28, 2011) -- Researchers studying driving habits and accident rates among the elderly found that a majority support age-based competency tests. ... > full story

Astronomers unveil most complete 3-D map of local universe (May 27, 2011) -- Astronomers have unveiled the most complete 3-D map of the local universe (out to a distance of 380 million light-years) ever created. Taking more than 10 years to complete, the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) also is notable for extending closer to the Galactic plane than previous surveys -- a region that's generally obscured by dust. ... > full story

Super-sticky 'ultra-bad' cholesterol revealed in people at high risk of heart disease (May 27, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered why a newly found form of cholesterol seems to be 'ultra-bad', leading to increased risk of heart disease. The discovery could lead to new treatments to prevent heart disease particularly in people with type 2 diabetes and the elderly. ... > full story

Bleach in the Icelandic Volcanic Cloud (May 27, 2011) -- Chlorine in the ash plume of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull attacked atmospheric trace gases. One year after the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland brought European air traffic to a standstill its ash plume revealed a surprising scientific finding: Researchers found that the ash plume contained not only the common volcanic gas sulfur dioxide, but also free chlorine radicals. Chlorine radicals are extremely reactive and even small amounts can have a profound impact on local atmospheric chemistry. The findings give solid evidence of volcanic plume chlorine radical chemistry and allowed calculations of chlorine radical concentrations. ... > full story

Key molecule for stem cell pluripotency discovered (May 27, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered what enables embryonic stem cells to differentiate into diverse cell types and thus to be pluripotent. This pluripotency depends on a molecule -- E-cadherin -- hitherto primarily known for its role in mediating cell-cell adhesion. If E-cadherin is absent, the stem cells lose their pluripotency. The molecule also plays a crucial role in the reprogramming of body cells into pluripotent stem cells. ... > full story

New procedure to make brain surgery safer (May 27, 2011) -- To increase patient safety in clinical practice and minimize risks and damage that may arise during surgery, computer support and digital medical imaging are key technologies. Before brain operations, neurosurgeons can now evaluate patient-specific surgical risks, achieve increased safety, and avoid unacceptable risks. ... > full story

Does our personality affect our level of attractiveness? (May 27, 2011) -- Part of what determines how much success you will have in the dating world is whether you have a good sense of whether people find you attractive. ... > full story

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