ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, October 26, 2010
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As Arctic warms, increased shipping likely to accelerate climate change (October 26, 2010) -- As the ice-capped Arctic Ocean warms, ship traffic will increase at the top of the world. And if the sea ice continues to decline, a new route connecting international trading partners may emerge -- but not without significant repercussions to climate, according to a US and Canadian research team. ... > full story
Chemotherapy plus radiation prevents bladder cancer recurrences, study finds (October 26, 2010) -- Adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer allows 67 percent of people to be free of disease in their bladders two years after treatment. This compares to 54 percent of people who receive radiation alone, according to the largest randomized study of its kind. ... > full story
Unexpected findings of lead exposure may lead to treating blindness (October 26, 2010) -- Some unexpected effects of lead exposure that may one day help prevent and reverse blindness have been uncovered. A new study suggests that lead, or a new drug that acts like lead, could transform human embryonic retinal stem cells into neurons that would be transplanted into patients to treat retinal degenerations. ... > full story
Stop the bleeding: New way to restore numbers of key blood-clotting cells (October 26, 2010) -- Platelets are cells in the blood that have a key role in stopping bleeding. Thrombocytopenia is the medical term used to describe the presence of abnormally low numbers of platelets in the blood. Platelet transfusion is used to treat several causes of thrombocytopenia, but there is a shortage of donors. However, researchers have now identified a potential new approach to platelet replacement therapy that circumvents the problem of donor shortage. ... > full story
Vaccines could help what's ailing fish (October 26, 2010) -- U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists are developing vaccines to help protect healthy farm-raised catfish against key diseases. ... > full story
Peace of mind closes health gap for less-educated, study finds (October 26, 2010) -- Psychological well-being is powerful enough to counteract the pull of socioeconomic status on the long-term health of the disadvantaged, according to a new study. ... > full story
Haiti earthquake caused by unknown fault; Blamed fault ready to produce large earthquake (October 26, 2010) -- Researchers found a previously unmapped fault was responsible for the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti and that the originally blamed fault remains ready to produce a large earthquake. The team determined the earthquake's origin is a fault they have named the Leogane fault. The newly discovered fault runs almost parallel to the Enriquillo fault, which was originally thought to be the source of the earthquake. ... > full story
Radiation therapy improves painful condition associated with multiple sclerosis, study finds (October 26, 2010) -- Stereotactic radiation is an effective, long-term treatment for trigeminal neuralgia: a painful condition that occurs with increased frequency in patients with multiple sclerosis. Radiation is noninvasive and has less negative side effects than other treatments, according to the longest follow-up in a study of its kind. ... > full story
Molecular guardian of cell's RNA identified (October 26, 2010) -- When most genes are transcribed, the nascent RNAs produced are not quite ready to be translated into proteins -- they have to be spliced first, where non-coding sequences are removed and the remaining coding sequences are joined to form a final mRNA. U1, a splicing component, has a second, equally important role in gene expression: To enable sequences to be read out into their transcripts in their entirety, rather than prematurely stopped. ... > full story
Pathway drives spread of pediatric bone cancer (October 26, 2010) -- Researchers have identified an important signaling pathway that, when blocked, significantly decreases the spread of pediatric bone cancer. ... > full story
Energy saving lamp is eco-winner: Swiss researcher evaluates environmental friendliness of light sources (October 26, 2010) -- In a new study, Swiss researchers have investigated the ecobalances of various household light sources. In doing so, not only did they take into account energy consumption, but also the manufacture and disposal processes. They also evaluated usage with different electrical power mixes. The clear winner is the compact fluorescent lamp, commonly known as the energy saving lamp. ... > full story
Growing crops in the city: Urban agriculture aims at helping Seattle's at-risk youth (October 26, 2010) -- A recent case study examines the challenges one organization faced in maintaining an urban market garden. Seattle Youth Garden Works has employed young homeless individuals or those involved in the juvenile justice system. SYGW offers teens and young adults the opportunity to work, develop social skills, and eventually find stable employment or return to school. ... > full story
Why does lack of sleep affect us differently? Study hints it may be in our genes (October 25, 2010) -- Ever wonder why some people breeze along on four hours of sleep when others can barely function? It may be in our genes, according to new research. ... > full story
Listeria clever at finding its way into bloodstream, causing sickness (October 25, 2010) -- Pathogenic listeria tricks intestinal cells into helping it pass through those cells to make people ill, and, if that doesn't work, the bacteria simply goes around the cells, according to a new study. ... > full story
Pre-Columbian societies in Amazon may have been much larger and more advanced than thought (October 25, 2010) -- The pre-Columbian Indian societies that once lived in the Amazon rainforests may have been much larger and more advanced than researchers previously realized. Together with Brazilian colleagues, archaeologists from Sweden have found the remains of approximately 90 settlements in an area South of the city of Santarém, in the Brazilian part of the Amazon. ... > full story
Statin use associated with statistically significant reduction in colorectal cancer (October 25, 2010) -- A systematic review of the medical literature supports the hypothesis that statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs used to prevent cardiac problems, are associated with reduced risk of colon and rectal cancers. A comprehensive analysis included 22 scientific studies with more than 2.5 million combined participants. ... > full story
Scientists examine energy trends of communications equipment (October 25, 2010) -- A team of scientists has examined the energy consumption trends of communications equipment in use today and determined that gains in energy efficiency are not keeping pace with traffic growth. One consequence is that energy is going to become an increasingly important problem for communication networks. ... > full story
'Unplugged' experiment detaches students from the media (October 25, 2010) -- Twenty-four hours without media. No internet, no mobiles, no TV... The biggest global media experiment. Ever. First year students at Bournemouth University in the UK have been sacrificing their TVs, mobile phones, the internet and all other gadgets for 24 hours as they take part in a groundbreaking global media experiment called 'Unplugged'. ... > full story
Global warming to bring more intense storms to Northern Hemisphere in winter and Southern Hemisphere year round (October 25, 2010) -- Weather systems in the Southern and Northern hemispheres will respond differently to global warming, according to an atmospheric scientist's analysis that suggests the warming of the planet will affect the availability of energy to fuel extratropical storms, or large-scale weather systems that occur at Earth's middle latitudes. The resulting changes will depend on the hemisphere and season, the study found. ... > full story
Aspirin use associated with lower risk of cancer death for men with prostate cancer (October 25, 2010) -- Men with prostate cancer who take anticoagulants like aspirin in addition to radiation therapy or surgery may be able to cut their risk of dying of the disease by more than half, according to a large study. The study involved more than 5,000 men with localized cancer whose disease had not spread beyond the prostate gland. ... > full story
Exercising in the heat may improve athletic performance in cool and hot conditions, study suggests (October 25, 2010) -- Turning up the heat might be the best thing for athletes competing in cool weather, according to a new study by human physiology researchers. ... > full story
Genetic markers offer new clues about how malaria mosquitoes evade eradication (October 25, 2010) -- An international team of researchers reports the development and first use of a high-resolution microarray that features 400,000 genetic markers for the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, providing a vastly clearer picture of how the insect adapts to human interventions. The SNP array offers a powerful new tool to international efforts to eradicate the disease-carrying mosquito. ... > full story
Fighting wrinkles with lasers scientifically unraveled (October 25, 2010) -- Laser pulses enable skin rejuvenation, as research in the Netherlands has shown. Laser treatment introduces heat into the skin. Under the influence of heat shocks of 45°C, skin cells produce more collagen. This is the protein that gives the skin its firmness and elasticity. ... > full story
Common anxiety disorders make it tougher to quit cigarettes (October 25, 2010) -- Researchers may have pinpointed a reason many smokers struggle to quit. ... > full story
Beauty from the bottom up: Flamingos add natural 'make-up' to their feathers to attract mates (October 25, 2010) -- Flamingos apply natural make-up to their feathers to stand out and attract mates, according to a new study by scientists in Spain. Their research is the first to demonstrate that birds transfer the color pigments from the secretions of their uropygial gland (situated near the base of the tail) for cosmetic reasons. ... > full story
Increasing the efficiency of stem cells (October 25, 2010) -- A new technique for increasing the survival rates of human embryonic stem cells promises to revolutionize their use in drug discovery and therapy. ... > full story
Daily vibration may help aging bones stay healthy (October 25, 2010) -- A daily dose of whole body vibration may help reduce the usual bone density loss that occurs with age, researchers report. Twelve weeks of daily, 30-minute sessions in 18-month old male mice -- which equate to 55- to 65-year-old humans -- appear to forestall the expected annual loss that can result in fractures, disability and death. ... > full story
Obese children show signs of heart disease typically seen in middle-aged adults, researcher says (October 25, 2010) -- The blood vessels of obese children have stiffness normally seen in much older adults with cardiovascular disease, a Canadian researcher says. The clock is ticking and the shape of the 13 year-old-heart is changing -- for the worse, he argues. ... > full story
New concept in microscopy: Self-reconstructing laser beams (October 25, 2010) -- Researchers are developing a microscope with illuminating beams that actively refocus in a light-scattering medium. The new method not only provides novel insights into the physics of complex light scattering, but it also enables, for example, to look about 50 percent deeper into human skin tissue than with conventional laser beams. ... > full story
Plagiarism sleuths tackle full-text biomedical articles (October 25, 2010) -- In scientific publishing, how much reuse of text is too much? Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and collaborators have shown that a computer-based text-searching tool is capable of unearthing questionable publication practices from thousands of full-text papers in the biomedical literature. ... > full story
Tiny brained bees solve a complex mathematical problem (October 25, 2010) -- Bumblebees can find the solution to a complex mathematical problem which keeps computers busy for days. Scientists in the UK have discovered that bees learn to fly the shortest possible route between flowers even if they discover the flowers in a different order. Bees are effectively solving the 'Traveling Salesman Problem', and these are the first animals found to do this. ... > full story
Allergies and wheezing illnesses in childhood may be determined in the womb (October 25, 2010) -- A child's chances of developing allergies or wheezing is related to how he or she grew at vital stages in the womb, according to scientists. ... > full story
Crossing blood-brain barrier: New hope for new class of Alzheimer's disease drugs (October 25, 2010) -- Finding a drug that can cross the blood-brain barrier is the bane of drug development for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders of the brain. A new study has found and tested in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease a class of drug that is able to enter the brain, where it stabilizes degenerating neurons and improves memory and learning. ... > full story
Marathons damage the hearts of less fit runners for up to three months, MRI data suggest (October 25, 2010) -- Is running a marathon good for you or can it damage the heart? A team of researchers and runners from the Heart and Stroke Foundation have come up with a practical way of answering the question. They used data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to find out what is really going on in the marathoner's heart as the kilometers pile up. ... > full story
Sterilizing with fluorescent lights: New surface may kill antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria with fluorescent light (October 25, 2010) -- Scientists in New Mexico are working on a new type of antimicrobial surface that won't harm people or animals but is inhospitable to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- the bacterial cause of an estimated 19,000 deaths and -4 billion in health-care costs per year in the US. ... > full story
Black truffles challenge convention wisdom, exhibiting sexual reproduction between opposite mating types (October 25, 2010) -- They are one of the most highly prized delicacies in the culinary world, and now scientists have discovered that black truffles -- unlike many other fungi that reproduce themselves -- rely on sexual reproduction between opposite mating types. The research represents a breakthrough in the understanding of truffle cultivation and distribution. ... > full story
Falling in love only takes about a fifth of a second, research reveals (October 25, 2010) -- Falling in love can elicit not only the same euphoric feeling as using cocaine, but also affects intellectual areas of the brain. Falling in love only takes about a fifth of a second. The findings raise the question: "Does the heart fall in love, or the brain?" ... > full story
Synthetic FlexBone could help speed bone transplant recovery (October 25, 2010) -- With a failure rate as high as 50 percent, bone tissue grafts pose a significant obstacle to orthopedic surgeons attempting to repair complex fractures. Current synthetic substitutes rarely possess the bone-like properties needed for successful grafting and are often difficult for surgeons to manipulate in the operating room. In response to these challenges, researchers have developed a synthetic bone material called FlexBone. ... > full story
Computational model of swimming fish could inspire design of robots or medical prosthetics (October 25, 2010) -- Scientists have developed a computational model of a swimming fish that is the first to address the interaction of internal and external forces on locomotion. The research team simulated how the fish's body bends, depending on the forces from the fluid moving around it as well as the muscles inside. Understanding these interactions will help design medical prosthetics for humans that work with the body's natural mechanics. ... > full story
Proteins regulating water retention in salt-sensitive hypertension identified (October 25, 2010) -- Two proteins in the brain act as valves to turn the hormone that regulates water retention in the body on and off, researchers have discovered. Their findings may lead to advances in treatment for diseases like high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and cirrhosis of the liver. ... > full story
Photovoltaic medicine: Miniature solar cells might make chemotherapy less toxic (October 25, 2010) -- Micro-scaled photovoltaic devices may one day be used to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs directly to tumors, rendering chemotherapy less toxic to surrounding tissue. ... > full story
Kryptonite superglue improving the quality of life in heart patients recovering from surgery (October 25, 2010) -- New research shows that a surgical procedure using a cutting-edge super glue pioneered a year ago by Canadian researchers can improve the recovery of heart patients recovering from open-chest surgery. ... > full story
Chain reactions identified within the brain (October 25, 2010) -- As anyone who as ever picked up a guitar or a tennis racket knows, precise timing is often an essential part of performing complex tasks. Now, by studying the brain circuits that control bird song, researchers have identified a "chain reaction" of brain activity that appears to control the timing of song. ... > full story
Gene therapy can reverse pulmonary hypertension, study suggests (October 25, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered what could be the first truly effective breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension, a devastating, life-threatening condition which results in an enlargement of the heart. ... > full story
Egg meets sperm: The female side of the story (October 25, 2010) -- Researchers can now describe the 3-D structure of a complete egg receptor that binds sperm at the beginning of fertilization. The results will lead to better understanding of infertility and may enable entirely new types of contraceptives. ... > full story
Discovery may help scientists boost broccoli’s cancer-fighting power (October 25, 2010) -- A new study has shown for the first time that sulforaphane, the powerful cancer-fighting agent in broccoli, can be released from its parent compound by bacteria in the lower gut and absorbed into the body. This discovery raises the possibility that scientists will be able to enhance the activity of these bacteria in the colon, increasing broccoli's cancer-preventive power. ... > full story
Plant-based plastics not necessarily greener than oil-based relatives, researchers find (October 25, 2010) -- Researchers analyzed plant and petroleum-derived plastics and found that biopolymers may not necessarily be better for the environment than petroleum-based plastics. While biopolymers are the more eco-friendly material, traditional plastics can be less environmentally taxing to produce. ... > full story
Eye test for neurological diseases in livestock developed (October 25, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that the eyes of sheep infected with scrapie return an intense, almost-white glow when they're hit with blue light. That finding suggests technologies can be developed to quickly and non-invasively test for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, progressive and fatal neurological diseases such as mad cow disease. ... > full story
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