ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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Expanding croplands chipping away at world's carbon stocks (November 2, 2010) -- Nature's capacity to store carbon, the element at the heart of global climate woes, is steadily eroding as the world's farmers expand croplands at the expense of native ecosystem such as forests. A group of universities is releasing a study on the topic. ... > full story
Arthritis drugs could help prevent memory loss after surgery, study suggests (November 2, 2010) -- Anti-inflammatory drugs currently used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis may also help prevent cognitive problems after surgery, according to a new study. ... > full story
Pivoting hooks of graphene’s chemical cousin could revolutionize work of electron microscopes (November 2, 2010) -- The single layer material graphene was the subject of a Nobel prize this year, and now scientists have found molecular hooks on the surface of its close chemical cousin, graphene oxide, that could provide massive benefits to researchers using transmission electron microscopes. These hooks could even be used in building molecular scale mechanisms. ... > full story
Race may influence uterine cancer recurrence, despite treatment (November 2, 2010) -- African Americans are more likely to have their uterine cancer return despite undergoing a total hysterectomy and/or radiation therapy, according to researchers. ... > full story
If GMO genes escape, how will the hybrids do? Fitness and growth of sorghum, shattercane, and its wild-crop hybrid in Nebraska (November 2, 2010) -- Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may raise concerns of genes escaping from crops and having unknown effects on natural, wild species. But what is the real risk that traits associated with GMOs will actually migrate to and persist in their wild relatives? Interest in plant ecology, crop production and weed management led researchers to investigate how gene flow from a cultivated crop to a weedy relative would influence the ecological fitness of a cropwild hybrid offspring. ... > full story
Toothache more common among minority and special needs children, study finds (November 2, 2010) -- Poor, minority and special needs children are more likely to be affected by toothache, according to new study. ... > full story
Frontal lobe of the brain is key to automatic responses to various stimuli, say scientists (November 2, 2010) -- Some people may excel at riding a bike, tying a tie, or playing the piano, but those same people may find it difficult to explain or teach those skills to someone else. These motor skills are learned in one part of the brain, whereas classroom instruction and information read in a book are acquired in another area of the brain, according to researchers. ... > full story
New drug may provide more cost-effective stroke prevention than warfarin, study shows (November 2, 2010) -- A newly approved drug may be a cost-effective way to prevent stroke in patients with an irregular heart rhythm -- and may also offer patients better health outcomes than the commonly prescribed, but potentially risky, blood thinner warfarin. ... > full story
New way of removing excess nitrogen from the environment (November 2, 2010) -- Excess nitrogen from agricultural and urban lands is contaminating groundwater, streams, lakes and estuaries, where it causes harmful algal blooms and contributes to fish kills. Cost-effective approaches to removing this nitrogen from croplands and urban stormwater runoff before it reaches sensitive water bodies have been elusive. But simple and inexpensive technologies are on the horizon. A recent scientific workshop on denitrification brought together ecologists, engineers and policy experts to find answers. ... > full story
Mandatory curbs on food salt content 20 times more effective than voluntary curbs, study finds (November 2, 2010) -- Imposing statutory limits on the salt content of processed foods could be 20 times more effective than voluntary curbs by industry, new research finds. ... > full story
Computer scientist, student design software to combat hacking using keystroke anti-spoofing technique (November 2, 2010) -- One of the serious threats to a user's computer is a software program that might cause unwanted keystroke sequences in order to hack someone's identity. This form of attack is increasing, infecting enterprise and personal computers. A keystroke anti-spoofing technique has received an IEEE Computer Society best paper award and will soon be a part of a new PC security product. ... > full story
Non-medical prescription drug use more common among rural teens than city dwellers (November 2, 2010) -- Rural teens appear more likely than their urban peers to use prescription drugs for non-medical purposes, according to a new study. ... > full story
Cassini sees Saturn rings oscillate like mini-galaxy (November 1, 2010) -- Scientists believe they finally understand why one of the most dynamic regions in Saturn's rings has such an irregular and varying shape, thanks to images captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. And the answer is this: The rings are behaving like a miniature version of our own Milky Way galaxy. ... > full story
Mortality rates from liver diseases underestimated, researchers say (November 1, 2010) -- Mortality related to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis are ranked as the 12th most common cause of death in adults in the US. Using a modified definition that includes diseases such as viral hepatitis, liver cancer and obesity-related fatty liver disease (liver diseases), researchers have found that liver-related mortality is as high as fourth for some age groups, and eighth overall. ... > full story
Anger makes people want things more (November 1, 2010) -- Anger is an interesting emotion for psychologists. On the one hand, it's negative, but then it also has some of the features of positive emotions. Researchers have found that associating an object with anger actually makes people want the object -- a kind of motivation that's normally associated with positive emotions. ... > full story
Elderly women at higher risk for unnecessary urinary catheterization, study reports (November 1, 2010) -- Elderly women are at high risk for inappropriate urinary catheter utilization in emergency departments, according to a new study. ... > full story
Lead poisoning maps in Rhode Island reveal huge disparities, guide cleanup (November 1, 2010) -- Rhode Islanders under six years of age who lived in the state's lowest income areas or in neighborhoods with lots of pre-1950 housing faced a threat of lead poisoning several times higher than average, according to a new study of data from 1993 through 2005. Mapping cases of lead poisoning is helping to focus cleanup efforts on areas where the problem is worst. ... > full story
'Training away stereotypes': People trained to think in opposition to stereotypes are more receptive to advertising starring minority actors (November 1, 2010) -- It may seem difficult to change stereotypical thinking. Perceptions can be very important in forming an individual's attitudes. Now, researchers have found that people conditioned to think in opposition to racial stereotypes are more receptive to people from minority groups starring in commercial advertising. ... > full story
Study of babies’ brain scans sheds new light on the brain’s unconscious activity and how it develops (November 1, 2010) -- Full-term babies are born with a key collection of networks already formed in their brains, according to new research that challenges some previous theories about the brain's activity and how the brain develops. Researchers used functional MRI scanning to look at 'resting state' networks in the brains of 70 babies, born at between 29 and 43 weeks of development. They found that these networks were at an adult-equivalent level by the time the babies reached the normal time of birth. ... > full story
Inhaled steroids increase diabetes risk, study suggests (November 1, 2010) -- Patients taking inhaled corticosteroids are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and more so with higher doses, say researchers. The risk is of special concern for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and much less significant for asthmatics. ... > full story
'Cloud seeding' not effective at producing rain as once thought, new research shows (November 1, 2010) -- Recent research in Israel reveals that the common practice of cloud seeding with materials such as silver iodide and frozen carbon dioxide may not be as effective as it had been hoped. In the most comprehensive reassessment of the effects of cloud seeding over the past fifty years, new findings have dispelled the notion that seeding is an effective mechanism for precipitation enhancement. ... > full story
One egg yolk worse than some fast-food meals when it comes to cholesterol, Canadian physicians say (November 1, 2010) -- Three leading physicians in Canada have published a review warning about the danger of dietary cholesterol for those at risk of a heart attack or stroke. And they say one of the worst offenders is the egg yolk which, depending on size, can contain 215 to 275 mg of cholesterol. Some fast-food meals can contain as much as 150 mg of cholesterol. ... > full story
Microfluidics-imaging platform detects cancer growth signaling in minute biopsy samples (November 1, 2010) -- Researchers have developed an in vitro method to assess kinase activity in minute patient samples. The method involves an integrated microfluidics and imaging platform that can reproducibly measure kinase enzymatic activity from as few as 3,000 cells. The new method will enable faster and more efficient screening and analysis for improved diagnostics of rare cell populations. ... > full story
Males more considerate than imagined -- at least, in nematode worms (November 1, 2010) -- Male worms plug females after copulation as a form of 'gift', rather than to prevent them from mating again, as had previously been thought. Researchers found that plugged females mated just as often and were just as attractive as those who were unplugged, and that plugging ultimately improved female fitness. ... > full story
Alcohol 'most harmful drug', according to multicriteria analysis (November 1, 2010) -- A new system that ranks drugs on the basis of harm caused to both the user and others places alcohol as the most harmful drug, above heroin and crack. ... > full story
Common stomach bacteria may fight off inflammatory bowel disease caused by Salmonella (November 1, 2010) -- Helicobacter pylori, a common stomach bacterium, reduced the severity of inflammation of the colon caused by Salmonella in mice, according to new research. ... > full story
Mystery of 'alien pod' solved: Colony of freshwater bryozoans (November 1, 2010) -- Researchers in Virginia have identified an "alien pod" discovered in a local freshwater lake as a very large colony of freshwater bryozoans -- aka "moss animals." ... > full story
Lymphoma and leukemia discovery may improve therapy (November 1, 2010) -- Scientists have identified a mechanism regulating activation-induced deaminase, which could be important for the therapy of some types of lymphoma and leukemia. ... > full story
Microreactor speeds nanotech particle production by 500 times (November 1, 2010) -- Engineers have discovered a new method to speed the production rate of nanoparticles by 500 times, an advance that could play an important role in making nanotechnology products more commercially practical. ... > full story
In the job hunt, people do lie, but honesty pays off, study finds (November 1, 2010) -- Honesty pays off, according to a new study of job seekers. When job applicants were warned that a pre-employment test could detect fake responses, they gave more honest answers -- a result that could improve their chances of being hired. ... > full story
New strain of 'high-runner' rats uniquely resistant to disease (November 1, 2010) -- Everybody knows that if you're physically fit, you're less likely to get a wide range of diseases. What most people don't know is that some people are "naturally" in better shape than others, and this variation in conditioning makes it difficult to test for disease risk and drug effectiveness in animal models. A new research paper started out as a study to explain the strong statistical link between low aerobic exercise capacity and common diseases, but ultimately led to an animal model that breaks through the limitations of current systems that target single disease pathways. ... > full story
Pregnant women who eat peanuts may put infants at increased risk for peanut allergy, study finds (November 1, 2010) -- Researchers have found that allergic infants may be at increased risk of peanut allergy if their mothers ingested peanuts during pregnancy. ... > full story
Triple-mode transistors show potential: Researchers introduce graphene-based amplifiers (November 1, 2010) -- Research that capitalizes on the wide-ranging capabilities of graphene could lead to circuit applications that are far more compact and versatile than what is now feasible with silicon-based technologies. ... > full story
Study finds fat hormone's long-sought link to heart protection (November 1, 2010) -- One of the many advantages of maintaining a normal body weight is having healthy fat, which in turn supports a healthy heart. Fat tissue is increasingly seen as more than just a storage depot -- it's also an active secretory organ that normally produces high levels of a cardioprotective hormone called adiponectin. How adiponectin protects the hearts of healthy people has long been a mystery, and now researchers reveal that the protein T-cadherin is the receptor that anchors adiponectin to heart cells. ... > full story
New portable radiation detector can assess safety of potentially contaminated areas (November 1, 2010) -- The UK's National Physical Laboratory has developed a new portable radiation detector that can assess the safety of potentially contaminated areas far quicker than current methods. The prototype was inspired by the aftermath of the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London 2006. ... > full story
Extravorts are more vulnerable to effects of sleep deprivation after social interaction, study finds (November 1, 2010) -- A new study finds that vulnerability to sleep deprivation is influenced by the interaction between waking social activity and individual personality traits. Results show that extroverts who were exposed to 12 hours of social interaction were more vulnerable to subsequent sleep deprivation than those who were exposed to an identical period of isolated activity. Speed on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) for extroverts in the socially enriched group was significantly slower at 4 a.m., 6 a.m. and noon compared with speed for extroverts in the socially impoverished condition. Introverts' speed on the PVT was relatively unaffected by prior social exposure. ... > full story
Tracks of a running bipedal baby brontosaur? Baby sauropod footprints discovered in Colorado (November 1, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered infant dinosaur footprints in the foothills west of Denver, Colorado, near the town of Morrison. Dating from the Late Jurassic, some 148 million years ago, these tracks were made before the Rocky Mountains rose, when the area was a broad savanna full of dinosaurs. ... > full story
Antibiotics have long-term impacts on gut flora (November 1, 2010) -- Short courses of antibiotics can leave normal gut bacteria harbouring antibiotic resistance genes for up to two years after treatment, say scientists in a new study. The researchers believe that this reservoir increases the chances of resistance genes being surrendered to pathogenic bacteria, aiding their survival and suggesting that the long-term effects of antibiotic therapy are more significant than previously thought. ... > full story
Discus fish parent young like mammalian mothers (November 1, 2010) -- Most fish abandon their young at hatching, but not discus fish. Researchers have discovered that discus fish parent like mammalian mothers. Not only do the parents feed their young from mucus secreted on their surfaces, but the nutritional and immunological content of the mucus changes as the young develop, much like mammalian milk. ... > full story
Narcotics and diagnostics overused in treatment of chronic neck pain, study finds (November 1, 2010) -- In a new study, researchers report that narcotics and diagnostic testing are overused in treating chronic neck pain. Their findings indicate clinicians may overlook more effective treatments for neck pain, such as therapeutic exercise. According to reviews cited in the study, evidence to support the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise in treating chronic neck pain is good, yet only 53% of subjects were prescribed such exercise. This information was based upon reported data from a representative sample of North Carolina residents. ... > full story
Conserving resources: Producing circuit boards with plasma (November 1, 2010) -- There is a large growth market for flexible circuits, RFID antennas and biosensors on films. Researchers in Germany are presenting a new technology: they can now apply conductive metal circuits to plastic substrates in a process that is energy- and material-conserving and thus more sustainable. ... > full story
Big brothers more likely to bully siblings than big sisters are, Italian study finds (November 1, 2010) -- Older brothers are more likely to bully siblings than older sisters, according to new research from Italy. ... > full story
Did Neanderthals make jewellery after all? (November 1, 2010) -- The theory that later Neanderthals might have been sufficiently advanced to fashion jewelery and tools similar to those of incoming modern humans has suffered a setback. A new radiocarbon dating study has found that an archaeological site that uniquely links Neanderthal remains to sophisticated tools and jewelery may be partially mixed. ... > full story
Discovery may help identify the healthiest embryos in IVF treatment (November 1, 2010) -- Australian scientists have developed a potentially groundbreaking new measure of the health of an embryo and the likelihood of a successful pregnancy in IVF treatment. ... > full story
Speed installation of system to monitor vital signs of global ocean, scientists urge (November 1, 2010) -- As oceans grow saltier, hotter, more acidic and less diverse biologically, world governments urgently need to help complete a full global ocean observing system, the value of which to society would dwarf the investment required, according to scientists. ... > full story
Size of protein aggregates, not abundance, drives spread of prion-based disease (November 1, 2010) -- In a study that challenges the conventional wisdom about infections caused by proteins called prions, researchers report that the size of protein structures, rather than their abundance, determines their transmission among cells. ... > full story
Scientists prepare for confined field trials of life-saving drought-tolerant transgenic maize (November 1, 2010) -- Crop specialists in Kenya and Uganda have laid the groundwork for confined field trials to commence later this year for new varieties of maize genetically modified to survive recurrent droughts that threaten over 300 million Africans for whom maize is life. ... > full story
Great apes might be misunderstood (November 1, 2010) -- Great apes might be much more similar to us – and just as smart – than science has led us to believe. A new study will examine the extent to which common designs of comparative psychology research, which rates humans as more advanced than apes, are fatally flawed. ... > full story
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