ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Thursday, August 25, 2011 ~ techdeck

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Thursday, August 25, 2011

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Engineers discover nanoscale balancing act that mirrors forces at work in living systems (August 25, 2011) -- A delicate balance of atomic forces can be exploited to make nanoparticle superclusters that are uniform in size -- an attribute that's important for many nanotech applications but hard to accomplish, researchers say. The same type of forces are at work bringing the building blocks of viruses together, and the inorganic supercluster structures in this research are in many ways similar to viruses. ... > full story

Bone marrow transplantation may increase cancer resistance in patients, study suggests (August 25, 2011) -- Bone marrow transplantation with genetically modified cells may prolong the period of cancer-free survival, suggests a new study. ... > full story

Cod’s surprising immune system (August 25, 2011) -- Norwegian research has revealed that the immune system of cod is very different from other fish and from mammals -- a discovery that may shed light on the human immune system as well. ... > full story

Caffeine lowers risk of skin cancer: Coffee-based sunscreen might work best (August 25, 2011) -- Researchers strengthen their theory that caffeine guards against skin cancer. Based on research on mice, scientists believe that caffeine applied directly to the skin may ultimately be effective as a topical sunscreeen. ... > full story

NASA satellites detect pothole on road to higher seas (August 25, 2011) -- Like mercury in a thermometer, ocean waters expand as they warm. This, along with melting glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, drives sea levels higher over the long term. For the past 18 years, the U.S./French Jason-1, Jason-2 and Topex/Poseidon spacecraft have been monitoring the gradual rise of the world's ocean in response to global warming. While the rise of the global ocean has been remarkably steady for most of this time, every once in a while, sea level rise hits a speed bump. This past year, it's been more like a pothole: between last summer and this one, global sea level actually fell by about a quarter of an inch, or half a centimeter. ... > full story

Less depression for working moms who expect that they 'can't do it all' (August 25, 2011) -- Working mothers who expressed a supermom attitude that work and home lives can be blended with relative ease showed more depression symptoms than working moms who expected that they would have to forego some aspects of their career or parenting to achieve a work-life balance. ... > full story

Gene study sheds new light on origins of British men (August 25, 2011) -- New genetic evidence reveals that most British men are not descended from immigrant farmers who migrated east 5,000-10,000 years ago -- contrary to previous research. ... > full story

Children of depressed mothers have a different brain: MRI scans show their children have an enlarged amygdala (August 25, 2011) -- Scientists worked with 10-year-old children whose mothers exhibited symptoms of depression throughout their lives and discovered that the children's amygdala, a part of the brain linked to emotional responses, was enlarged. ... > full story

DNA cages 'can survive inside living cells' (August 25, 2011) -- Scientists have shown for the first time that molecular cages made from DNA can enter and survive inside living cells. ... > full story

Beta-blocker associated with better outcomes in treatment of infantile vascular tumors (August 25, 2011) -- Compared with oral corticosteroids, use of the beta-blocker propranolol for treatment of infantile hemangiomas was associated with higher rates of lesion clearance, fewer adverse effects, fewer surgical interventions after treatment, and lowers cost, according to a new report. ... > full story

Pacific walruses studied as sea ice melts (August 25, 2011) -- U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center researchers, in cooperation with the Native Village of Point Lay, will attempt to attach 35 satellite radio-tags to walruses on the northwestern Alaska coast in August as part of their ongoing study of how the Pacific walrus are responding to reduced sea ice conditions in late summer and fall. ... > full story

Anti-aging techniques not yet viewed as acceptable, study suggests (August 25, 2011) -- People who use more invasive anti-aging methods such as Botox injections or surgery are viewed more negatively than those who use milder techniques such as sun-avoidance and facial creams and younger adults are more negative about using anti-aging methods than older adults, a new study shows. ... > full story

Global warming may cause higher loss of biodiversity than previously thought (August 24, 2011) -- If global warming continues as expected, it is estimated that almost a third of all flora and fauna species worldwide could become extinct. Scientists have now discovered that the proportion of actual biodiversity loss should quite clearly be revised upwards: by 2080, more than 80 % of genetic diversity within species may disappear in certain groups of organisms. ... > full story

Why only some obese people develop chronic diseases: Disease-causing fat cells found in those with metabolic syndrome (August 24, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered biological indicators that help explain why some obese people develop chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and others do not. ... > full story

New Mars rover snapshots capture Endeavour crater vistas (August 24, 2011) -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has captured new images of intriguing Martian terrain from a small crater near the rim of the large Endeavour crater. The rover arrived at the 13-mile-diameter (21-kilometer-diameter) Endeavour on Aug. 9, after a journey of almost three years. ... > full story

Researchers identify protein essential in transmission of Ebola virus (August 24, 2011) -- Researchers have used a robotic method to screen tens of thousands of compounds and identified a novel small molecule derived from benzylpiperazine adamantyl diamide that inhibits EboV entry into cells by more than 99 percent. They used the inhibitor as a probe to investigate the EboV infection pathway and found that the target of the inhibitor is the cell protein Niemann-Pick C1. ... > full story

New theory may shed light on dynamics of large-polymer liquids (August 24, 2011) -- A new physics-based theory predicts why entangled polymers are confined to a tube-like region of space and how they respond to applied forces. This advance provides insight into behavior of both synthetic polymers used in plastics and bioploymers like the filaments that gives cells structure. ... > full story

Scientists identify point of entry for deadly Ebola virus (August 24, 2011) -- Using an unusual human cell line, researchers have performed a genetic screen and identified a protein used by the Ebola virus to gain entry into cells and begin replicating. The discovery may offer a new approach for the development of antiviral therapeutics. Ebola virus, the cause of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is one of the deadliest known viruses affecting humans. ... > full story

Mechanism links substance abuse with vulnerability to depression (August 24, 2011) -- A new study finds that repeated cocaine use increases the severity of depressive-like responses in a mouse model of depression and identifies a mechanism that underlies this cocaine-induced vulnerability. ... > full story

Climate cycles are driving wars: When El Nino warmth hits, tropical conflicts double (August 24, 2011) -- In the first study of its kind, researchers have linked a natural global climate cycle to periodic increases in warfare. The arrival of El Nino, which every three to seven years boosts temperatures and cuts rainfall, doubles the risk of civil wars across 90 affected tropical countries, and may help account for a fifth of worldwide conflicts during the past half-century, say the authors. ... > full story

Source of Haitian cholera outbreak uncovered (August 24, 2011) -- Employing technology that reads the entire DNA code, researchers have pinpointed the source of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed more than 6,000 people and sickened 300,000. Using whole genome sequencing, which spells out the billions of chemical bases in DNA, the team of researchers provided the strongest evidence yet that peacekeepers from Nepal, where cholera is widespread, brought the disease to Haiti. ... > full story

A better test for a potato pest (August 24, 2011) -- Scientist have created a new weapon in the war being waged against the potato cyst nematode -- a diagnostic test that identifies the type of nematode infesting a grower's field. ... > full story

Making mistakes while learning has memory benefits for older brains (August 24, 2011) -- Researchers have found the first evidence that older brains get more benefit than younger brains from learning information the hard way -- via trial-and-error learning. ... > full story

Discovery of a 160-million-year-old fossil represents a new milestone in early mammal evolution (August 24, 2011) -- A remarkably well-preserved fossil discovered in northeast China provides new information about the earliest ancestors of most of today's mammal species -- the placental mammals. This fossil represents a new milestone in mammal evolution that was reached 35 million years earlier than previously thought, filling an important gap in the fossil record and helping to calibrate modern, DNA-based methods of dating the evolution. ... > full story

'Time cells' bridge the gap in memories of event sequences (August 24, 2011) -- New research finds that there are neurons in the hippocampus that encode every sequential moment in a series of events that compose a discrete experience. ... > full story

Health risks with nanotechnology? Nanoparticles can hinder intracellular transport (August 24, 2011) -- Scientists have now shown that uptake and accumulation of nanoparticles in cells can disrupt important intracellular transport pathways. The researchers discovered that the nanoparticles interrupt the transport of vital substances in and out of a cell, causing undesirable changes in the cell's physiology and disrupting normal cell functioning. ... > full story

House dust mite test on wheezy toddlers predicts asthma in teen years (August 24, 2011) -- Wheezy toddlers who have a sensitivity to house dust mites are more at risk of developing asthma by the age of 12, a new study has shown. ... > full story

Simple security for wireless (August 24, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated the first wireless security scheme that can protect against "man-in-the-middle" attacks -- but doesn't require a password. ... > full story

Exercise can substitute effectively as second 'medication' for people with depression, study suggests (August 24, 2011) -- Exercise can be as effective as a second medication for as many as half of depressed patients whose condition have not been cured by a single antidepressant medication. ... > full story

NASA's WISE mission discovers coolest class of stars (August 24, 2011) -- Scientists using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have discovered the coldest class of star-like bodies, with temperatures as cool as the human body. Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success. When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see. WISE's infrared vision allowed the telescope to finally spot the faint glow of six Y dwarfs relatively close to our sun, within a distance of about 40 light-years. ... > full story

Extreme morning sickness could lead to lifelong emotional, behavioral disorders in kids (August 24, 2011) -- A new study suggests that an extreme form of pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting known as hyperemesis gravidarum -- which already takes a heavy toll on thousands of women each year and can lead to hospitalization and pregnancy termination -- is also linked to an increased risk of anxiety, bipolar disorder and depression in adulthood among individuals whose mothers had the condition. ... > full story

Scented laundry products emit hazardous chemicals through dryer vents (August 24, 2011) -- The researcher who used chemical sleuthing to uncover what's in scented products now has turned her attention to the air wafting from household laundry vents. Air from laundry machines using the top-selling scented liquid detergent and dryer sheet contains hazardous chemicals, including two that are classified as carcinogens. ... > full story

Gene silencing: Researchers have paved the way for functional analysis of non-protein-coding genes (August 24, 2011) -- Our genome contains numerous genes which do not code for the production of proteins. Many of them are transcribed particularly frequently in cancer cells. Scientists have now found a way to study the function of such genes. ... > full story

Scientists develop new approaches to predict the environmental safety of chemicals (August 24, 2011) -- Environmental researchers have proposed in a new study a different approach to predict the environmental safety of chemicals by using data from other similar chemicals. ... > full story

A lifetime of physical activity yields measurable benefits as we age (August 24, 2011) -- The benefits of physical activity accumulate across a lifetime, according to a new study. Researchers examined the associations of leisure time physical activity across adulthood with physical performance and strength in midlife in a group of British men and women followed since birth in March 1946. ... > full story

How many species on Earth? About 8.7 million, new estimate says (August 24, 2011) -- About 8.7 million (give or take 1.3 million) is the new, estimated total number of species on Earth -- the most precise calculation ever offered -- with 6.5 million species on land and 2.2 million in oceans. Announced by the Census of Marine Life, the figure is based on a new analytical technique. The number of species on Earth had been estimated previously at 3 million to 100 million. ... > full story

New heart scan may speed up diagnosis with less radiation (August 24, 2011) -- The next generation of computerized tomography (CT) scans appears faster and more accurate than current scans for measuring blood supply to the heart muscle. A small trial found the new scan provided images of the entire heart quicker, making it more convenient and safer for patients. ... > full story

Unexpected adhesion properties of graphene may lead to new nanotechnology devices (August 24, 2011) -- Graphene, considered the most exciting new material under study in the world of nanotechnology, just got even more interesting, according to a new study. ... > full story

Newfound hijacked proteins linked to salmonella virulence (August 24, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella have a sneaky way of making minor alterations to their genes to boost their chances for infection. ... > full story

Magnitude-5.8 earthquake strikes U.S. National Capital Area (August 24, 2011) -- A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the National Capital Area on Tuesday, August 23, at 1:51p.m. (EDT), causing moderate shaking and potentially significant damage, and was felt throughout Northern Virginia and neighboring areas. No casualties are expected. The earthquake occurred near Louisa and Mineral, Va., approximately 100 miles southwest of Washington, DC. It was a shallow earthquake, and shaking was recorded all along the Appalachians, from Georgia to New England. ... > full story

Afghan patients a common source of drug-resistant bacteria, study finds (August 24, 2011) -- Afghan patients treated at a US military hospital in Afghanistan often carry multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, according to a new report. The findings underscore the need for effective infection control measures at deployed hospitals where both soldiers and local patients are treated, the study's authors say. ... > full story

Human gait could soon power portable electronics (August 24, 2011) -- In a new paper, researchers describe a new energy-harvesting technology that promises to dramatically reduce our dependence on batteries and instead capture the energy of human motion to power portable electronics. ... > full story

Diet that combines cholesterol-lowering foods results in greater decrease in LDL than low-saturated fat diet, study finds (August 24, 2011) -- Persons with high cholesterol who received counseling regarding a diet that combined cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, nuts and plant sterols over six months experienced a greater reduction in their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels than individuals who received advice on a low-saturated fat diet, according to a new study. ... > full story

Fundamental discovery about neurons may radically alter current view of neurotransmission (August 24, 2011) -- A fundamental new discovery about how nerve cells in the brain store and release tiny sacs filled with chemicals may radically alter the way scientists think about neurotransmission -- the electrical signaling in the brain that enables everything from the way we move, to how we remember and sense the world. ... > full story

Prolonged breastfeeding does not protect against eczema, global study shows (August 24, 2011) -- The largest worldwide study on the association between breastfeeding, time of weaning and eczema in children has concluded that there is no clear evidence that exclusive breastfeeding for four months or longer protects against childhood eczema. The study concludes that children who were exclusively breastfed for four months or longer were as likely to develop eczema as children who were weaned earlier. ... > full story

Nanowires get into the groove (August 24, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that growing nanowires out, not up, can keep them in line. ... > full story

Ga ga for goo goo: Research explores the scientific basis for baby fever (August 24, 2011) -- Not only does the phenomena called baby fever exist, it is found in both men and women, according to researchers who have spent nearly 10 years researching baby fever: the physical and emotional desire to have a baby. ... > full story

Permafrost could release vast amounts of carbon and accelerate climate change by end of century (August 24, 2011) -- Billions of tons of carbon trapped in permafrost may be released into the atmosphere by the end of this century as the Earth's climate changes, further accelerating global warming, a new computer modeling study. The study also found that soil in high-latitude regions could shift from being a sink to a source of carbon dioxide by the end of the 21st century as the soil warms in response to climate change. ... > full story