ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Wednesday, August 18, 2010

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Can cloned plants live forever? (August 18, 2010) -- Despite the many cosmetic products, surgical treatments, food supplements, and drugs designed specifically to reverse the biological effects of aging in humans, long-lived aspen clones aren't so lucky. Researchers have shown that as long-lived male aspen clones age, their sexual performance declines. ... > full story

Accomplice in breast cancer discovered (August 18, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered an accomplice in breast cancer -- a master control switch with the power to set off a cascade of reactions orchestrated by a cancer-causing gene (or oncogene) named Wnt1. ... > full story

Elementary particles star in new 'dance movie' (August 18, 2010) -- Scientists in Germany have directly measured the spatial positions of electrons and protons during a chemical reaction using ultrashort X-ray flashes. ... > full story

Studying yeast to better understand male infertility (August 18, 2010) -- Men and yeast have something in common: they use the same molecular process to ensure the integrity of their gene pool during reproduction, according to researchers in France. The scientists are studying yeast in order to shed light on the numerous cases of male infertility related to the malfunction of this process during spermatogenesis ... > full story

Powering Australia with waves (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers have provide new estimates of the wave-energy potential of Australia's near-shore regions. They also calculate how much of Australia's energy needs could be obtained from wave energy alone. ... > full story

Skin condition associated with depression, anxiety and suicidal feelings (August 18, 2010) -- Individuals with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality, according to a new study. ... > full story

Evolution may have pushed humans toward greater risk for type 1 diabetes (August 18, 2010) -- Gene variants associated with an increased risk for type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis may confer previously unknown benefits to their human carriers, say researchers. As a result, the human race may have been evolving in the recent past to be more susceptible, rather than less, to some complex diseases, they conclude. ... > full story

B vitamins and the aging brain examined (August 18, 2010) -- Nutritionist are taking a closer look at the role the B vitamins may play in preventing decline in brain function. ... > full story

Secrets of a vanished English landscape: Geologists examine 5,000-year-old 'fossilized' landscape (August 18, 2010) -- A team of scientists in the UK has published new research on a fossilized landscape, providing insights into how an ancient environment functioned. ... > full story

Genetic link to advanced fatty liver disease confirmed by new studies (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers have found that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who carry an allele of the PNPLA3 gene have an increased risk of developing advanced disease, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Another study validates these findings and further concludes that in pediatric patients, the same allele is associated with earlier disease presentation. ... > full story

How to reduce UK transport carbon emissions by 76 per cent by 2050 (August 18, 2010) -- Researchers in the UK have achieved a significant breakthrough in climate change policy by showing how to make drastic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from transport. The study goes beyond the science and paints a picture of what a low carbon transport future would look like. What emerges is vision of a less stressful, quieter, healthier, more resilient and confident society. ... > full story

Postnatal depression can be prevented by health visitors, study finds (August 18, 2010) -- Training health visitors to assess and psychologically support mothers after childbirth can prevent the development of depression over the following year, shows a new analysis of data from a full scale clinical trial in adults. ... > full story

Moderate chocolate consumption linked to lower risks of heart failure, study finds (August 17, 2010) -- Middle-aged and elderly Swedish women who regularly ate a small amount of chocolate had lower risks of heart failure risks, according to a new study. ... > full story

Saving the brain's white matter with mutated mice (August 17, 2010) -- Scientists are developing laboratory mice which carry the Vanishing White Matter (VWM) mutation. This important new development allows for new research on VWM diseases such as multiple sclerosis, leading to a deeper understanding of the condition. ... > full story

Single cell injections (August 17, 2010) -- Bubbles created with pairs of laser pulses lead to needle-sharp jets that can inject material into a single cell. ... > full story

Prevalence of hearing loss among US adolescents has increased significantly (August 17, 2010) -- Data from two nationally representative surveys indicates that the prevalence of hearing loss among US adolescents increased by about 30 percent from 1988-1994 to 2005-2006, with 1 in 5 adolescents having hearing loss in 2005-2006, according to a new study. ... > full story

New insights could mean better fish feeds (August 17, 2010) -- A better understanding of what happens in a fish's body when it eats could lead to the production of better fish feeds. Researchers in Sweden are hoping to contribute to more energy-efficient aquaculture. In the long term, this could increase the supply of farmed fish and so provide more food for the Earth's burgeoning population. ... > full story

High stress levels may delay women getting pregnant, study suggests (August 17, 2010) -- Healthy women trying for a baby may have reduced chances of becoming pregnant in any month if they are stressed, the results of a study suggest. ... > full story

Warmest year-to-date global temperature on record (August 17, 2010) -- The combined global land and ocean surface temperature made this July the second warmest on record, behind 1998, and the warmest averaged January-July on record. The global average land surface temperature for July and January-July was warmest on record. The global ocean surface temperature for July was the fifth warmest, and for January-July 2010 was the second warmest on record, behind 1998. ... > full story

Sports brain trauma may cause disease mimicking ALS, researchers find (August 17, 2010) -- New research provides the first pathological evidence that repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports is associated with motor neuron disease, a neurological condition that affects voluntary muscle movements. The most common form of motor neuron disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease. ... > full story

Raising mountains on Saturn's moon Titan (August 17, 2010) -- Saturn's moon Titan ripples with mountains, and scientists have been trying to figure out how they form. The best explanation, it turns out, is that Titan is shrinking as it cools, wrinkling up the moon's surface like a raisin. ... > full story

Two types of bone marrow stem cells could work together to advance regenerative medicine (August 17, 2010) -- A unique "partnership" between two types of bone marrow stem cells could lead to advances in regenerative medicine. ... > full story

Data storage: World record data density for ferroelectric recording (August 17, 2010) -- Scientists in Japan have recorded data at a density of 4 trillion bits per square inch, a world record for the experimental "ferroelectric" data storage method. This density is about eight times the density of today's most advanced magnetic hard-disk drives. ... > full story

Marriage and committed romance reduce stress-related hormone production (August 17, 2010) -- Being married has often been associated with improving people's health, but a new study suggests that having that long-term bond also alters hormones in a way that reduces stress. Unmarried people in a committed, romantic relationship show the same reduced responses to stress as do married people. ... > full story

Possible discovery of earliest animal life pushes back fossil record (August 17, 2010) -- In findings that push back the clock on the scientific world's thinking about when animal life appeared on Earth, scientists may have discovered the oldest fossils of animal bodies, suggesting that primitive sponge-like creatures were living in ocean reefs about 650 million years ago. The shelly fossils, found beneath a 635 million-year-old glacial deposit in South Australia, represent the earliest evidence of animal body forms in the current fossil record by at least 70 million years. ... > full story

New drugs to treat chronic pain without numbing may be possible (August 17, 2010) -- Researchers have made a discovery that could lead to a brand new class of drugs to treat chronic pain caused by inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and back pain without numbing the whole body. ... > full story

New system developed to test and evaluate high-energy laser weapons (August 17, 2010) -- Researchers can now measure a laser's power and spatial energy distribution at once by directing the beam onto a reusable glass target board. The new system will accelerate high-energy laser development and reduce the time required to make them operational for national security purposes. ... > full story

Lung stem cells vital to lung repair associated with poor cancer prognosis when found in tumor (August 17, 2010) -- Adult stem cells that are vital for airway repair in the lung but that persist in areas where pre-cancerous lesions are found are associated with a poor prognosis in patients who develop cancer, even those with early stage disease, researchers have found. ... > full story

Major hurdle cleared for organic solar cells (August 17, 2010) -- The basis for solar energy is absorbing light and then effectively disassociating electrical charges. Researchers report that conjugated polymers are excellent materials for such a system, thanks to their light absorption and conduction properties. ... > full story

Heavy drug-use among bad boys curbed by parental monitoring and peers (August 17, 2010) -- Aggressive and hyperactive boys with low parental monitoring are more likely to befriend deviant peers and become heavy drug users as teens, according to a new study. Yet the investigation found that 'bad boys' can be protected from heavy substance use as teenagers if they are highly monitored and befriend 'good boys' as children. ... > full story

'Mitochondrial Eve': Mother of all humans lived 200,000 years ago (August 17, 2010) -- The most robust statistical examination to date of our species' genetic links to "mitochondrial Eve" -- the maternal ancestor of all living humans -- confirms that she lived about 200,000 years ago. The study was based on a side-by-side comparison of 10 human genetic models that each aim to determine when Eve lived using a very different set of assumptions about the way humans migrated, expanded and spread across Earth. ... > full story

Nearly one million children in U.S. potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD, study finds (August 17, 2010) -- Nearly one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest -- and most immature -- in their kindergarten class, according to new research. ... > full story

Sundews just want to be loved (August 17, 2010) -- Why do some insect-eating plants like sundews keep their flowers so far away from their traps? New research suggests that it isn't a clever trick to keep pollinators safe, it's about getting pollinated. ... > full story

New screen offers hope for copper deficiency sufferers (August 17, 2010) -- Copper deficiency diseases can be crippling, with symptoms ranging from neurodegeneration to skin pigmentation disorders, but virtually nothing is known about how our bodies use this essential nutrient. Scientists have developed a ground-breaking new screening technique to identify key genes in copper deficiency diseases. They identified mutations in a major cellular mechanism that could explain why some people are more vulnerable to copper deficiency than others. ... > full story

Many Americans are still clueless on how to save energy (August 17, 2010) -- Many Americans believe they can save energy with small behavior changes that actually achieve very little, and severely underestimate the major effects of switching to efficient, currently available technologies, says a new survey of Americans in 34 states. The study quizzed people on what they perceived as the most effective way to save energy. ... > full story

Preschoolers use statistics to understand others (August 17, 2010) -- Children are natural psychologists. By the time they're in preschool, they understand that other people have desires, preferences, beliefs and emotions. But how they learn this isn't clear. A new study finds that children figure out another person's preferences by using a topic you'd think they don't encounter until college: statistics. ... > full story

Bacteria can have a 'sense of smell' (August 17, 2010) -- Bacteria are well-known to be the cause of some of the most repugnant smells on earth, but now scientists have revealed this lowest of life forms actually has a sense of smell of its own. A team of marine microbiologists has discovered that bacteria have a molecular "nose". ... > full story

'Smart' adult stem cells repair hearts (August 17, 2010) -- Researchers have demonstrated that rationally "guided" human adult stem cells can effectively heal, repair and regenerate damaged heart tissue. ... > full story

Ozone and nicotine a bad combination for asthma (August 17, 2010) -- Researchers have demonstrated that ozone can react with the nicotine in secondhand tobacco smoke to form ultrafine particles that may become a bigger threat to asthma sufferers than nicotine itself. ... > full story

SPF on your plate: Researcher connects the Mediterranean diet with skin cancer prevention (August 17, 2010) -- New research shows that a diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, like the diet eaten in Mediterranean regions where melanoma rates are extremely low, can help protect us from skin cancer. A researcher in Israel has a simple prescription: "go Greek" with foods such as olive oil, fish, yogurt and colorful fruits and vegetables to fight the oxidizing effect of the sun. ... > full story

Tantalizing clues as to why matter prevails in the universe: Surprisingly large matter/antimatter asymmetry discovered (August 17, 2010) -- Decays of B mesons in recent experiments at Fermilab result in excess matter over antimatter that exceeds expectations, based on the Standard Model of particle physics. ... > full story

Presidential election outcomes directly influence suicide rates, study finds (August 17, 2010) -- Change and hope were central themes to the November 2008 US presidential election. A new longitudinal study published in the September issue of Social Science Quarterly analyzes suicide rates at a state level from 1981-2005 and determines that presidential election outcomes directly influence suicide rates among voters. ... > full story

MRSA-killing paint created (August 17, 2010) -- Building on an enzyme found in nature, researchers have created a nanoscale coating for surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces which safely eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections. ... > full story

UV-B treatment may improve psoriasis and vitamin D levels (August 17, 2010) -- Treatment with narrow-band UV-B rays may increase serum levels of vitamin D in the wintertime while clearing psoriasis, according to a new study. ... > full story

Gallbladder cancer may be linked to estrogens, study finds (August 17, 2010) -- A very aggressive disease with a poor prognosis, gallbladder cancer may be connected to higher exposure to estrogens, according to researchers. They show, for the first time, that the absence of liver X beta receptors in a complex interplay with estrogens, induces gallbladder cancer exclusively in female mice and that the elimination of estrogens prevents the development of tumors in this animal model. ... > full story

Reminding health-care staff to remove catheters reduces infections by half (August 17, 2010) -- Urinary catheters are often left in place longer than needed, and new research shows that reminder systems that encourage hospital staff to remove catheters promptly can reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 52 percent. ... > full story

Measuring salt shine to improve climate understanding (August 17, 2010) -- From Aug. 14-25, 2010, scientists from around the world will gather in Southern Turkey to measure the spectral reflectance of a few square kilometers of salt. These measurements will have a major impact on the future of satellite based Earth observation, and will ultimately improve our understanding of the Earth's climate. ... > full story

Growing up without sibs doesn't hurt social skills, study finds (August 17, 2010) -- Growing up without siblings doesn't seem to be a disadvantage for teenagers when it comes to social skills, new research suggests. A study of more than 13,000 middle and high school students across the country found that "only children" were selected as friends by their schoolmates just as often as were peers who grew up with brothers and sisters. ... > full story

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