ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Friday, March 11, 2011
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New technology would dramatically extend battery life for mobile devices (March 11, 2011) -- Technophiles who have been dreaming of mobile devices that run longer on lighter, slimmer batteries may soon find their wish has been granted. Engineers have developed a form of ultra-low-power digital memory that is faster and uses 100 times less energy than similar available memory. The technology could give future portable devices much longer battery life between charges. The researchers use carbon nanotubes as electrodes and tiny amounts of phase-change material as the bit. ... > full story
Coffee drinking linked to reduced stroke risk in women (March 11, 2011) -- Drinking more than a cup of coffee per day was associated with a significantly lower risk of stroke in a study of Swedish women. Low or no coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of stroke in women. Researchers caution that it's too soon to change your coffee-drinking habits. ... > full story
Weed-eating fish 'key to reef survival' (March 11, 2011) -- Preserving an intact population of weed-eating fish may be vital to saving the world's coral reefs from being engulfed by weed as human and climate impacts grow. A study by researchers in Australia has found weed-eaters like parrotfish and surgeonfish can only keep coral reefs clear of weed up to a point. After the weeds reach a certain density, they take over and the coral is lost. ... > full story
New bowel cancer evidence calls for routine DNA repair test (March 11, 2011) -- Bowel cancer patients whose tumors contain defects in specific DNA repair systems are much less likely to experience tumor recurrence post surgery, results from a major clinical study have demonstrated. ... > full story
New robot system to test 10,000 chemicals for toxicity (March 11, 2011) -- Several federal agencies have unveiled a new high-speed robot screening system that will test 10,000 different chemicals for potential toxicity. The system marks the beginning of a new phase of an ongoing collaboration, referred to as Tox21, that is working to protect people's health by improving how chemicals are tested in this country. ... > full story
Laughter really is the best medicine (for leg ulcers) (March 11, 2011) -- Forget technology. The best prescription for patients with venous leg ulcers is good quality nursing care -- and the occasional belly laugh! ... > full story
A glove on your hand can change your mind (March 11, 2011) -- Unconsciously, right-handers associate good with the right side of space and bad with the left. But this association can be rapidly changed, according to a new study. Even a few minutes of using the left hand more fluently than the right can reverse right-handers’ judgments of good and bad, making them think that the left is the 'right side' of space. Conceptions of good and bad are rooted in people’s bodily experiences, and can change when patterns of bodily experience change. ... > full story
Engineered protein has potential for new anti-inflamatory treatment (March 11, 2011) -- Researchers have created a new protein molecule derived from the growth factor progranulin may provide the basis for new therapies in inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study. ... > full story
Half-time for Mars500: Simulated mission to the Red Planet (March 11, 2011) -- The Mars500 mission -- a simulated mission to the Red Planet -- has reached its half-way mark: After a 250-day virtual flight, the crew members recently landed on a virtual Mars and left the isolation container at the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in their space suits. ... > full story
Sildenafil reduces Raynaud's frequency in patients with systemic sclerosis, study finds (March 11, 2011) -- Researchers in Europe report that treatment with modified-release sildenafil significantly reduced the frequency of attacks of Raynaud’s phenomenon in patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc), also known as scleroderma. The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that sildenafil was well tolerated with only some subjects experiencing minor or moderate side effects. ... > full story
Scientists develop high-tech crop map (March 11, 2011) -- AgroAtlas is a new interactive website that shows the geographic distributions of 100 crops; 640 species of crop diseases, pests, and weeds; and 560 wild crop relatives growing in Russia and neighboring countries. Downloadable maps and geographic information system software are also available, allowing layering of data, such as that relating major wheat production areas to concentrations of Russian wheat aphids. ... > full story
Boy toddlers need extra help dealing with negative emotions, experts urge (March 11, 2011) -- The way you react to your two-year-old's temper tantrums or clinginess may lead to anxiety, withdrawal and behavior problems down the road, and the effect is more pronounced if the child is a boy who often displays such negative emotions as anger and social fearfulness, reports a new study. ... > full story
How do people respond to being touched by a robotic nurse? (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers have found people generally had a positive response toward being touched by a robotic nurse, but that their perception of the robot's intent made a significant difference. ... > full story
Synthetic compound may lead to drugs to fight pancreatic, lung cancer (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a chemical compound that may eventually lead to a drug that fights cancers that are dependent on a particular anti-viral enzyme for growth. ... > full story
Pollution forms an invisible barrier for marine life (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers in Hawaii have examined the genetic structure of a common, non-harvested sea star using a spatially explicit model to test whether the largest sewage discharge and urban runoff sources were affecting the genetic structure of this species. They found that these large pollution sources are not only increasing genetic differentiation between populations (presumably by limiting the dispersal of larvae between them) but also decreasing the genetic diversity of populations closest to them. ... > full story
New genetic deafness syndrome identified (March 10, 2011) -- Ten years ago, scientists seeking to understand how a certain type of feature on a cell called an L-type calcium channel worked created a knockout mouse missing both copies of the CACNA1D gene. The CACNA1D gene makes a protein that lets calcium flow into a cell, transmitting important instructions from other cells. The knockout mice lived a normal life span, but their hearts beat slowly and arrhythmically. They were also completely deaf. Researchers have now identified a mutation on the CACNA1D gene affecting two families in Pakistan. ... > full story
Aerosol plumes downwind of Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Insights from air pollution study have applications beyond Gulf (March 10, 2011) -- During a special airborne mission to study the air-quality impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill last June, researchers discovered an important new mechanism by which air pollution particles form. Although predicted four years ago, this discovery now confirms the importance of this pollution mechanism and could change the way urban air quality is understood and predicted. ... > full story
Abnormal neural activity recorded from the deep brain of Parkinson's disease and dystonia patients (March 10, 2011) -- Scientists have succeeded, for the first time, in recording cortically induced neural activity of the basal ganglia in patients with Parkinson's disease and dystonia during stereotaxic neurosurgery for the deep brain stimulation. ... > full story
Aging rates, gender gap in mortality similar across all primates (March 10, 2011) -- Humans aren't the only ones who grow old gracefully, says a new study of primate aging patterns. For a long time it was thought that humans, with our relatively long life spans and access to modern medicine, aged more slowly than other animals. Early comparisons with rats, mice, and other short-lived creatures confirmed the hunch. But now, the first-ever multi-species comparison of human aging patterns with those in chimps, gorillas, and other primates suggests the pace of human aging may not be so unique after all. ... > full story
Erectile dysfunction drug improves exercise tolerance in young people with congenital heart disease (March 10, 2011) -- Sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, has another possible use -- helping children and young adults with congenital heart disease to better tolerate exercise. Sildenafil significantly improved measures of exercise performance during stress testing in patients with single-ventricle heart disease, according to researchers. ... > full story
Banana peels get a second life as water purifier (March 10, 2011) -- To the surprisingly inventive uses for banana peels -- which include polishing silverware, leather shoes, and the leaves of house plants -- scientists have added purification of drinking water contaminated with potentially toxic metals. Minced banana peel performs better than an array of other purification materials, according to a new study. ... > full story
Vascular brain disorder often misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, study finds (March 10, 2011) -- A devastating vascular disorder of the brain called CADASIL, which strikes young adults and leads to early dementia, often is misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, researchers report. ... > full story
Defective plastics repair themselves (March 10, 2011) -- Indestructible things are a figment of the imagination of advertising. Even plastic components that have to stand up to major mechanical loads can break. The reason for this are microcracks that may be found in any component part. Researchers have now come up with elastic polymers that heal themselves to put an end to the growth of cracks. ... > full story
Work climate the main reason women leave engineering, survey suggests (March 10, 2011) -- After years of investing in strategies to encourage more women to pursue a rigorous engineering degree -- and succeeding -- US engineering firms are now facing a problem in retaining qualified women engineers. Why are so many women leaving the field -- or getting their degrees but never entering the field? The top reason isn't family, according to a new study, but an unfavorable work climate. ... > full story
New switching device could help build an ultrafast 'quantum Internet' (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new switching device that takes quantum communication to a new level. They can route quantum bits, or entangled particles of light, at very high speeds along a shared network of fiber-optic cable without losing the entanglement information embedded in the quantum bits. The switch could be used toward achieving two goals of the information technology world: a quantum Internet, where encrypted information would be completely secure, and networking superfast quantum computers. ... > full story
Scientists discover cause of rare skin cancer that heals itself (March 10, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered the gene behind a rare skin cancer which grows rapidly for a few weeks before healing spontaneously. ... > full story
'Love song' of the fly shows how nervous system initiates, controls and utilized behavior (March 10, 2011) -- Neurobiologists used the mating ritual of the fruit fly to study how the nervous system initiates, controls and utilizes behavior. Using newly developed thermogenetic methods, the researchers were able to initiate the courtship song of the male fly by "remote control", and study the involved neural networks. ... > full story
Alcohol has stronger impact on gastric bypass patients, study finds (March 10, 2011) -- Patients who have had a gastric bypass operation take longer to process alcohol, potentially leading some of them to overindulge when drinking, according to the results of a new study. ... > full story
American birds of prey at higher risk of poisoning from pest control chemicals (March 10, 2011) -- A new study using American kestrels, a surrogate test species for raptorial birds, suggests that they are at greater risk from poisoning from the rodenticide diphacinone than previous believed. The research considers the threat posed by diphacinone as its usage increases following restrictions on the use of similar pesticides. ... > full story
How do we combine faces and voices? (March 10, 2011) -- Faces and voices are known to be some of the key features that enable us to identify individual people, and they are rich in information such as gender, age, and body size, that lead to a unique identity for a person. A large body of neuropsychological and neuroimaging research has already determined the various brain regions responsible for face recognition and voice recognition separately, but exactly how our brain goes about combining the two different types of information (visual and auditory) is still unknown. Now a new study has revealed the brain networks involved in this "cross-modal" person recognition. ... > full story
Web-crawling the brain: 3-D nanoscale model of neural circuit created (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers have created a three-dimensional nanoscale model of a neural circuit using electron microscopy. As a result, the researchers can crawl these vast neural networks much as Google crawls web links. ... > full story
As we sleep, speedy brain waves boost our ability to learn (March 10, 2011) -- Scientists have long puzzled over the many hours we spend in light, dreamless slumber. But a new study suggests we're busy recharging our brain's learning capacity during this traditionally undervalued phase of sleep, which can take up half the night. ... > full story
How long does a tuning fork ring? (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers have solved a long-standing problem in the design of mechanical resonators: the numerical prediction of the design-limited damping. Their achievement has a broad impact on diverse fields. The new article describes both a numerical method to calculate the mechanical damping as well as a stringent test of its performance on a set of mechanical microstructures. ... > full story
Passive smoking increases risk of stillbirth and birth defects, study suggests (March 10, 2011) -- Pregnant non-smokers who breathe in the second-hand smoke of other people are at an increased risk of delivering stillborn babies or babies with defects, a new study has found. ... > full story
Voyager seeks the answer blowin' in the wind (March 10, 2011) -- In which direction is the sun's stream of charged particles banking when it nears the edge of the solar system? The answer, scientists know, is blowing in the wind. It's just a matter of getting NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft in the right orientation to detect it. ... > full story
Migrating moths and songbirds travel at similar rates (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers report the surprising finding that night-flying moths are able to match their songbird counterparts for travel speed and direction during their annual migrations, but they use quite different strategies to do so. ... > full story
Electromechanical circuit sets record beating microscopic 'drum' (March 10, 2011) -- Physicists have demonstrated an electromechanical circuit in which microwaves communicate with a vibrating mechanical component 1,000 times more vigorously than ever achieved before in similar experiments. The microscopic apparatus is a new tool for processing information and potentially could control the motion of a relatively large object at the smallest possible, or quantum, scale. ... > full story
An advance toward blood transfusions that require no typing (March 10, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting an "important step" toward development of a universal blood product that would eliminate the need to "type" blood to match donor and recipient before transfusions. The "immunocamouflage" technique hides blood cells from antibodies that could trigger a potentially fatal immune reaction that occurs when blood types do not match. ... > full story
Learning to see consciously: Scientists show how flexibly the brain processes images (March 10, 2011) -- Our brains process many more stimuli than we become aware of. Often images enter our brain without being noticed: visual information is being processed, but does not reach consciousness, that is, we do not have an impression of it. Then, what is the difference between conscious and unconscious perception, and can both forms of perception be changed through practice? ... > full story
Drug use increasingly associated with microbial infections (March 10, 2011) -- Illicit drug users are at increased risk of being exposed to microbial pathogens and are more susceptible to serious infections, say physicians in a new report. The review, which aims to improve the microbiological diagnosis of drug use-related infections, assesses the role of drug-related practices in the spread of a range of bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoal infections. ... > full story
Surprisingly few white sharks off California, first census finds (March 10, 2011) -- In the first census of its kind, researchers found that there are far fewer white sharks off central California than biologists had thought. ... > full story
A-ha! The neural mechanisms of insight (March 10, 2011) -- Although it is quite common for a brief, unique experience to become part of our long-term memory, the underlying brain mechanisms associated with this type of learning are not well understood. Now, a new brain-imaging study looks at the neural activity associated with a specific type of rapid learning, insight. ... > full story
Cell component involved in triggering cat allergy identified (March 10, 2011) -- New research could provide hope for any allergy sufferers who have ever had to choose between their health and their household pet. ... > full story
Cerebral spinal fluid guides stem cell development in the brain (March 10, 2011) -- New studies show that cerebral spinal fluid contains a potent mix of substances that nourishes and rejuvenates brain cells. ... > full story
New H1N1 mutation could allow virus to spread more easily (March 10, 2011) -- Researchers have identified a single mutation in the H1N1 genetic makeup that would allow it to be much more easily transmitted between people. The finding should give the World Health Organization, which tracks influenza evolution, something to watch out for, says the senior author of the paper. ... > full story
Aspirin's ability to protect against colorectal cancer may depend on inflammatory pathways (March 10, 2011) -- The reduced risk of colorectal cancer associated with taking aspirin or other NSAIDs may be confined to individuals already at risk because of elevations in a particular inflammatory factor in the blood. Researchers report finding that higher baseline levels of a novel inflammatory marker indicated increased risk of developing colorectal tumors and predicted who might benefit from taking aspirin or NSAIDs. ... > full story
How plants sort and eliminate genes over millennia (March 10, 2011) -- Hybrid plants with multiple genome copies show evidence of preferential treatment of the genes from one ancient parent over the genes of the other parent, even to the point where some of the unfavored genes eventually are deleted. ... > full story
Which side of the brain rotates a mental picture? (March 10, 2011) -- Consider the simple situation in which you are walking around the kitchen and decide to pick up your own cup of tea, which is identical to others lying on the table. Your brain chooses the correct cup of tea by using different types of information that you have stored about the position of the cup in relation to the kitchen table. The information can be represented in qualitative terms (left, right, above, below) or quantitative terms (distances and angles). Previous studies have claimed that the brain’s left hemisphere is critical for processing qualitative (technically ‘categorical’), information and the right for quantitative (‘metric’) processing. However, new neuropsychological findings show that this is not the case. ... > full story
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