ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.
Eating berries may activate the brain's natural housekeeper for healthy aging (August 24, 2010) -- Scientists report the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Their study concludes that berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain's natural "housekeeper" mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline. ... > full story
Dogs may not be' man’s best friend' during hay fever season (August 24, 2010) -- Ragweed allergy season can be even more miserable for those with dog, cat or dust mite allergies, according to new research. These year-round allergies appear to "pre-prime" the immune system so symptoms hit harder, according to a new study. ... > full story
Scientists help explain graphene mystery (August 24, 2010) -- Nanoscale simulations and theoretical research are bringing scientists closer to realizing graphene's potential in electronic applications. ... > full story
Genetic variation linked to lupus in Asian men identified (August 24, 2010) -- Researchers have found that a variation in a gene on the sex chromosome X may enhance an immune response that leads to lupus in men. ... > full story
Plants give up some deep secrets of drought resistance (August 24, 2010) -- In a study that promises to fill in the fine details of the plant world's blueprint for surviving drought, a team of researchers has identified in living plants the set of proteins that help them withstand water stress. ... > full story
Organizations learn more from failure than success, study finds; Knowledge gained from failure lasts longer (August 24, 2010) -- While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail spectacularly often flourish more in the long run, according to a new study. ... > full story
Potential HIV drug keeps virus out of cells (August 24, 2010) -- Following up a pioneering 2007 proof-of-concept study, biochemists have developed a promising new anti-HIV drug candidate, PIE12-trimer, that prevents HIV from attacking human cells. ... > full story
Alcohol intake increases certain types of breast cancer, study finds (August 24, 2010) -- Alcohol increases the risk of lobular and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, but not necessarily invasive ductal carcinomas, according to a new study. ... > full story
Tropically speaking, NASA investigates precipitation shapes, sizes for severity (August 24, 2010) -- Rain drops are fat and snowflakes are fluffy, but why does it matter in terms of predicting severe storms? ... > full story
Decade-long trial confirms benefts of steroid withdrawal for transplant patients (August 24, 2010) -- An analysis of 10 years of data from local kidney transplant patients shows that patients removed from a corticosteroid regimen shortly after surgery have better graft survival rates, better survival rates and fewer cardiovascular events than patients kept on the traditional regimen of long-term steroids. ... > full story
New analysis weighs lost trade, costs to control invasive species against economic damages (August 24, 2010) -- Bugs, plants, animals and viruses travel the globe, invading new territory and wreaking havoc as they upset the balance of nature, destroy agriculture and damage human health. Biological alien invaders are often introduced via international trade, forcing policymakers to regulate the movement of goods to stop them. Economists now examine which trade measures make good economic sense -- from restrictions to full protection. ... > full story
'Media detective' tool empowers children to skirt alcohol and tobacco marketing messages (August 24, 2010) -- Playing "media detective" allows children to understand the intentions of marketers and the goals of advertising while empowering them to resist messages that encourage alcohol or tobacco use. ... > full story
Fermi detects gamma-rays from exploding nova (August 23, 2010) -- Using the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope satellite, astronomers have detected gamma rays from a nova for the first time. ... > full story
Diabetes can cause a sugar coating that smothers body's immune defences, researchers find (August 23, 2010) -- Researchers have found that unhealthy glucose levels in patients with diabetes can cause significantly more problems for the body than just the well-known symptoms of the disease. The raised glucose can also form what can be described as a sugar coating that can effectively smother the mechanisms our bodies use to detect and fight bacterial and fungal infections. ... > full story
Polyphenol antioxidants inhibit iron absorption (August 23, 2010) -- Health benefits from polyphenol antioxidants -- substances found in many fruits and vegetables -- may come at a cost to some people. Nutritional scientists found that eating certain polyphenols decreased the amount of iron the body absorbs, which can increase the risk of developing an iron deficiency. ... > full story
Function of proteins can enhance the progression of viruses and cancer cells (August 23, 2010) -- In a discovery that has implications for developing treatments against cancer and potentially deadly viruses, researchers have discovered the function of proteins that can enhance the progression of certain viruses and cancer cells. ... > full story
Drugging the undruggable: Advances toward next generation of disease fighters (August 23, 2010) -- After decades of dreaming the drug developer's impossible dream, scientists finally are reporting progress in making drugs that target the "untouchables" among the body's key players in health and disease. They are the hundreds of thousands of proteins that many scientists considered to be "undruggable," meaning that previous efforts to develop a drug against them had failed. ... > full story
'Hookups' can turn into meaningful relationships, study suggests (August 23, 2010) -- Relationships that start with a spark and not much else aren't necessarily doomed from the get-go, new research suggests. Couples who became sexually involved as friends or acquaintances and were open to a serious relationship ended up just as happy as those who dated and waited. ... > full story
Drink water to curb weight gain? Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method (August 23, 2010) -- Has the long-sought magic potion in society's "battle with the bulge" finally arrived? An appetite-control agent that requires no prescription, has no common side effects, and costs almost nothing? Scientists report results of a new clinical trial confirming that just two 8-ounce glasses of the stuff, taken before meals, enables people to shed pounds. The weight-loss elixir is ordinary water. ... > full story
Body clock drugs could ease psychiatric disorders and jet lag (August 23, 2010) -- Researchers have successfully used a drug to reset and restart the natural 24 hour body clock of mice in the lab. The ability to do this in a mammal opens up the possibility of dealing with a range of human difficulties including some psychiatric disorders, jet lag and the health impacts of shift work. ... > full story
What the locals ate 10,000 years ago (August 23, 2010) -- Archaeologists have found a Utah site occupied by humans 11,000 years ago. The researchers documented a variety of dishes the people dined on back then. Grind stones for milling small seeds appeared 10,000 years ago. ... > full story
Low bone mineral density common in children and teenagers with inflammatory bowel disease (August 23, 2010) -- New research from Sweden is the first in Scandinavia to study the occurrence of low bone mineral density in children and teenagers with inflammatory bowel disease. Half of the patients in the study showed signs of low bone mineral density. The results emphasise the importance of treating the underlying inflammatory bowel disease more effectively, and of measuring bone mineral density in this group of patients. ... > full story
New atom-scale products on horizon: Breakthrough discovery enables nanoscale manipulation of piezoelectric effect (August 23, 2010) -- The generation of an electric field by the compression and expansion of solid materials is known as the piezoelectric effect, and it has a wide range of applications ranging from everyday items such as watches, motion sensors and precise positioning systems. Researchers have now discovered how to control this effect in nanoscale semiconductors called "quantum dots," enabling the development of incredibly tiny new products. ... > full story
Maslow Updated: Reworking of the famous psychological pyramid of needs puts parenting at the top (August 23, 2010) -- Caring for your children, feeding them, nurturing them, educating them and making sure they get off on the right foot in life -- all of the things that make parenting successful -- may actually be deep rooted psychological urges that we fulfill as part of being human. ... > full story
200-fold boost in fuel cell efficiency advances 'personalized energy systems' (August 23, 2010) -- The era of personalized energy systems -- in which individual homes and small businesses produce their own energy for heating, cooling and powering cars -- took another step toward reality as scientists reported discovery of a powerful new catalyst that is a key element in such a system. The advance could help free homes and businesses from dependence on the electric company and the corner gasoline station. ... > full story
Cluster bomb for cancer care: Nano-vehicle delivers chemotherapy treatments on target (August 23, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a nano-sized vehicle that can deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into cancer cells while avoiding interaction with healthy cells. The vehicle is very similar to a 'cluster bomb' and can be used to treat many different types of tumors, including lung, blood, colon and brain cancers. ... > full story
NASA images show anatomy of Pakistan flood disaster (August 23, 2010) -- In late July 2010, flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains began across several regions of Pakistan. Tens of thousands of villages have been flooded, more than 1,500 people have been killed, and millions have been left homeless. The floodwaters are not expected to recede fully before late August. NASA's CloudSat satellite captured the genesis of the flooding event as it flew over the region on July 28, 2010. ... > full story
New technology may prolong the life of implanted devices, from pacemakers to chemotherapy ports (August 23, 2010) -- By creating a unique system of blood vessels that is engineered to interact with the tissue surrounding an implanted device, the longevity and function of these devices may be better preserved, according to a new study. ... > full story
Powerful new way to control magnetism: Colossal magnetoelectricity points the way to ultra-dense data storage (August 23, 2010) -- A new way to manipulate magnetic fields with electrical signals could lead to microelectronic advances comparable to those that made high density disk drives possible. ... > full story
Do-gooders get voted off island first: People don't really like unselfish colleagues, psychologists find (August 23, 2010) -- Psychologists have found that unselfish workers who are the first to throw their hat in the ring are also among those that coworkers most want to, in effect, vote off the island. ... > full story
Ancient microbes responsible for breathing life into ocean 'deserts' (August 23, 2010) -- Billions of years ago, Earth differed greatly from our modern environment -- the ancient atmosphere contained almost no oxygen. The life-supporting atmosphere we currently enjoy did not develop overnight. On the most basic level, biological activity in the ocean shaped the oxygen concentrations in the atmosphere. New research shows that "oxygen oases" in the surface ocean were sites of significant oxygen production long before the breathing gas began to accumulate in the atmosphere. ... > full story
Rheumatoid arthritis signaling protein reverses Alzheimer's disease in mouse model (August 23, 2010) -- A new study looks at what effect innate immunity gone bad in rheumatoid arthritis may play in protecting against Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found a signaling protein for RA reversed Alzheimer's in a mouse model. ... > full story
Titanium coating with protein 'flower bouquet' nanoclusters strengthens implant attachment (August 23, 2010) -- Researchers have developed an improved coating technique that could strengthen the connection between titanium joint-replacement implants and a patients' own bone. Implants coated with "flower bouquet" clusters of an engineered protein made 50 percent more contact with the surrounding bone than implants coated with protein pairs or individual strands. The cluster-coated implants were fixed in place more than twice as securely as uncoated plugs. ... > full story
HIV virus hides in the brain, Swedish study finds (August 23, 2010) -- Studies of the spinal fluid of patients given anti-HIV drugs have resulted in new findings suggesting that the brain can act as a hiding place for the HIV virus. Around 10 percent of patients showed traces of the virus in their spinal fluid but not in their blood -- a larger proportion than previously realized, reveals new research from Sweden. ... > full story
Making vehicles safer (August 23, 2010) -- A car's crash components can spell the difference between life and death. Their job is to absorb energy in a collision in order to protect the driver inside. Researchers have now found a way for the automotive industry to mass-produce a particularly safe class of materials known as thermoplastic fiber composite components. ... > full story
Young people identify with an online community almost as strongly as with their own family (August 23, 2010) -- Teenage online community users feel part of their online community almost as much as they feel part of their own family. An international study of the users of a teenage online community reveals that users identify more strongly with the online community than with their neighborhood or offline hobby group. ... > full story
Self-cleaning technology from Mars can keep terrestrial solar panels dust free (August 23, 2010) -- Find dusting those tables and dressers a chore or a bore? Dread washing the windows? Imagine keeping dust and grime off objects spread out over an area of 25 to 50 football fields. That's the problem facing companies that deploy large-scale solar power installations, and scientists have now developed a possible solution -- self-dusting solar panels -- based on technology developed for space missions to Mars. ... > full story
Ancient Chinese medicine may help chemotherapy patients (August 23, 2010) -- A centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine may reduce the intestinal side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients by stimulating gut cell division and reducing inflammation, a new study in mice suggests. ... > full story
New study finds new connection between yoga and mood (August 23, 2010) -- Researchers have found that yoga may be superior to other forms of exercise in its positive effect on mood and anxiety. The findings are the first to demonstrate an association between yoga postures, increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety. ... > full story
Study of cell division sheds light on special mechanism in egg cells (August 23, 2010) -- In a study of egg cells using time-lapse microscopy, researchers have discovered an unusual property of meiosis -- cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms. ... > full story
Worldwide shortage of isotopes for medical imaging could threaten quality of patient care (August 23, 2010) -- Twenty million medical scans and treatments are done each year that require radioactive isotopes and scientists today described a global shortage of these life-saving materials that could jeopardize patient care and drive-up health-care costs. ... > full story
Barbastelle bat uses a sneaky hunting strategy to catch its prey (August 23, 2010) -- Like a stealth fighter plane, the barbastelle bat uses a sneaky hunting strategy to catch its prey. Biologists combined three cutting-edge techniques to uncover the secret of this rare bat's success. ... > full story
Better way to grow stem cells developed (August 23, 2010) -- Chemical engineers, materials scientists and biologists have devised a synthetic surface that includes no foreign animal material and allows stem cells to stay alive and continue reproducing themselves for at least three months. It's also the first synthetic material that allows single cells to form colonies of identical cells, which is necessary to identify cells with desired traits and has been difficult to achieve with existing materials. ... > full story
Delaying fat digestion to curb appetite (August 23, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered an unexpected synergy that helps break down fat. The discovery provides a focus to find ways to slow down fat digestion, and ultimately to create food structures that induce satiety. ... > full story
Researchers advance understanding of enzyme that regulates DNA (August 23, 2010) -- Thanks to a single-molecule imaging technique, researchers have revealed the mechanisms of PcrA helicase, an important DNA-regulating enzyme. To prevent unwanted recombination of a damaged or degraded section of DNA, the enzyme binds at the point of the break, where the double- and single-stranded regions meet. Then, it uses its motor function to "reel in" the tail, like a fisherman pulling in a rope, knocking off recombination proteins along the way. ... > full story
Gene scan finds link across array of childhood brain disorders (August 23, 2010) -- Mutations in a single gene can cause several types of developmental brain abnormalities that experts have traditionally considered different disorders. Researchers have now found those mutations through whole exome sequencing -- a new gene scanning technology that cuts the cost and time of searching for rare mutations. ... > full story
Bottled tea beverages may contain fewer polyphenols than brewed tea (August 23, 2010) -- The first measurements of healthful antioxidant levels in commercial bottled tea beverages has concluded that health-conscious consumers may not be getting what they pay for: healthful doses of those antioxidants, or "poylphenols," that may ward off a range of diseases. ... > full story
Language as a window into sociability (August 23, 2010) -- People with Williams syndrome -- known for their indiscriminate friendliness and ease with strangers -- process spoken language differently from people with autism spectrum disorders -- characterized by social withdrawal and isolation -- researchers found. ... > full story
Copyright 1995-2010 © ScienceDaily LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of use.
|
 To update/change your profile click here  |
