ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Friday, October 29, 2010

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Brain's journey from early Internet to modern-day fiber optics: Computer program shows how brain's complex fiber tracks mature (October 29, 2010) -- The brain's inner network becomes increasingly more efficient as humans mature. Now, for the first time without invasive measures, a new study has verified these gains with a powerful new computer program. ... > full story

Insulin-creating cell research may lead to better diabetes treatment (October 29, 2010) -- Beta cells, which make insulin in the human body, do not replicate after the age of 30, indicating that clinicians may be closer to better treating diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is caused by a loss of beta cells by auto-immunity while type 2 is due to a relative insufficiency of beta cells. Whether beta cells replicate after birth has remained an open issue, and is critically important for designing therapies for diabetes. By using radioactive carbon-14 produced by above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s and '60s, researchers have determined that the number of beta cells remains static after age 30. ... > full story

Dramatic climate change is unpredictable (October 29, 2010) -- The fear that global temperature can change very quickly and cause dramatic climate changes is great around the world. But what causes climate change and is it possible to predict future climate change? New research shows that it may be due to an accumulation of different chaotic influences and as a result would be difficult to predict. ... > full story

New strategy to kill bugs -- even those in hiding (October 29, 2010) -- New strategies to apply antibiotics more effectively to hibernating bugs have been developed by researchers in the UK. ... > full story

Making better biosensors with electron density waves (October 29, 2010) -- An emerging field with the tongue-twisting name of "optofluidic plasmonics" promises a new way to detect and analyze biological molecules for drug discovery, medical diagnostics, and the detection of biochemical weapons. Researchers have succeeded in merging a microfluidics system with plasmonics -- sometimes called "light on a wire" -- onto a single platform. Plasmonics is based on electron waves on a metal surface excited by incoming light waves. ... > full story

Emotion processing in brain is influenced by color of ambient light, study suggests (October 29, 2010) -- Researchers in Europe investigated the immediate effect of light, and of its color composition, on emotion brain processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results of their study show that the color of light influences the way the brain processes emotional stimuli. ... > full story

Wild Scottish sheep could help explain differences in immunity (October 29, 2010) -- Strong immunity may play a key role in determining long life, but may do so at the expense of reduced fertility, a new study has concluded. ... > full story

New approach for identifying genetic markers for common diseases (October 29, 2010) -- A group of researchers has published a paper that reviews new strategies for identifying collections of rare genetic variations that reveal whether people are predisposed to developing common conditions like diabetes and cancer. ... > full story

North Sea oil recovery using carbon dioxide is possible, but time is running out, expert says (October 29, 2010) -- Oil recovery using carbon dioxide could lead to a North Sea oil bonanza worth £150 billion (0 billion) -- but only if the current infrastructure is enhanced now, according to a new study by a world-leading energy expert. ... > full story

In a challenging infant heart defect, two-thirds may have high chance of survival (October 29, 2010) -- When prenatal diagnosis detects the severe heart defect hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) in a fetus, a comprehensive prenatal evaluation is important to provide parents an accurate prognosis. In HLHS, one of the heart's pumping chambers is severely underdeveloped. However, researchers say, in two-thirds of cases, reconstructive surgery affords the infant an excellent chance of early survival. ... > full story

Breakdown of correlated tunneling (October 29, 2010) -- Scientists have shown how quantum-mechanical tunneling through a barrier can be altered drastically due to the interplay of many particles in low dimensions. ... > full story

Payday proximity changes consumer motives and behavior (October 29, 2010) -- As any nine-to-fiver will testify, a new paycheck brings with it a familiar sense of freedom, albeit one that dwindles in lockstep with the balance in one's checking account. But it's not the checking account size that influences consumer behavior; rather, it's the time that has elapsed since payday, according to a new study. ... > full story

Precocious galaxy cluster identified by Chandra (October 28, 2010) -- NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has observed an unusual galaxy cluster that contains a bright core of relatively cool gas surrounding a quasar called 3C 186. This is the most distant such object yet observed, and could provide insight into the triggering of quasars and the growth of galaxy clusters. ... > full story

Potential new treatment for deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses; May also lead to new treatments for measles, mumps and influenza (October 28, 2010) -- Scientists have identified a potential new treatment for the Nipah and Hendra viruses, two lethal and emerging viruses for which there is currently no treatment or vaccine available. The approach could also lead to new therapies for measles, mumps and the flu. ... > full story

How cancer-related proteins lose inhibition: Finding may lead to better understanding and earlier detection of breast cancer (October 28, 2010) -- A new technique that searches blood for the tiniest remnants of broken down proteins has revealed new information about how cells crank up cancer activators plasmin and thrombin. The results improve researchers' understanding of the mechanics of breast cancer and point to where to look for possible indicators of early disease. The research shows previously unknown contributing factors to protease activation, which helps spread cancer. ... > full story

Kidney transplant numbers increase for elderly patients (October 28, 2010) -- Elderly patients with kidney failure get kidney transplants more often than they did a decade ago, according to a new study. The results suggest that the chances of receiving a kidney transplant are better than ever for an older patient who needs one. ... > full story

Everything evaporates, but how? (October 28, 2010) -- Evaporation is a common phenomenon in nature. For the last 130 years, it has seemed that its mechanism was understood well. However, computer simulations carried out by scientists in Poland show that the existing theoretical models were based on false assumptions. Thanks to the simulations, it was possible to learn the mechanisms of evaporation of drops into vacuum or into an environment filled with the vapor of a liquid under examination. However, the mechanism that plays a key role in the case of evaporation into a mixture of gases, for instance into air, is still unknown. ... > full story

Friends with cognitive benefits: Mental function improves after certain kinds of socializing (October 28, 2010) -- Talking with other people in a friendly way can make it easier to solve common problems, a new study shows. But conversations that are competitive in tone, rather than cooperative, have no cognitive benefits. ... > full story

Early sauropod dinosaur: First complete skeleton found (October 28, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered in China the first complete skeleton of a pivotal ancestor of Earth's largest land animals -- the sauropod dinosaurs. The new species, tentatively dubbed Yizhousaurus sunae, lived on the flood plains around Lufeng in the Yunnan Province of South China about 200 million years ago. The species helps explain how the iconic four-footed, long-necked sauropod dinosaurs evolved. ... > full story

Genetic variants may affect the risk of breast cancer in women with BRCA2 mutations (October 28, 2010) -- An international study has identified genetic variants in women with BRCA2 mutations that may increase or decrease their risk of developing breast cancer. ... > full story

Two-sided immune cell could be harnessed to shrink tumors (October 28, 2010) -- Researchers have found that a protein called inducible costimulator (ICOS) is necessary for the growth and function of human Th17 cells, while CD28, a transmembrane protein on CD4 cells, stops the ICOS signal. What's more, human Th17 stimulated with ICOS shrank human tumors implanted in a mouse model faster than those stimulated with CD28. ... > full story

Uncovering the cause of a common form of muscular dystrophy: Research team makes second critical advance (October 28, 2010) -- An international team of researchers has made a second critical advance in determining the cause of a common form of muscular dystrophy known as facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, or FSHD. ... > full story

Root of the matter: A new map shows life-saving forests' scarcity defies past estimates (October 28, 2010) -- Countless people clung to life in the branches of trees hemming the shorelines during the deadly 2004 tsunami that killed more than 230,000 coastal residents in Indonesia, India, Thailand and Sri Lanka. In the aftermath of the disaster, land change scientist Chandra Giri from the US Geological Survey decided to explore to what degree those unique trees -- which make up valuable forest ecosystems called mangroves -- safeguard lives, property and beaches during hurricanes, tsunamis and floods. ... > full story

Getting older leads to emotional stability and happiness, study shows (October 28, 2010) -- A study was carried out recently in an effort to answer questions asked by social scientists: Are American seniors who say they're happy simply part of an era that predisposed them to good cheer? Or do most people -- whether born and raised in boom times or busts -- have it within themselves to reach their golden years with a smile? ... > full story

Trapped Mars rover finds evidence of subsurface water (October 28, 2010) -- The ground where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit became stuck last year holds evidence that water, perhaps as snow melt, trickled into the subsurface fairly recently and on a continuing basis. ... > full story

Newly discovered regulatory mechanism essential for embryo development and may contribute to cancer (October 28, 2010) -- Researchers have identified a mechanism controlling the function of a protein that binds to DNA during embryonic development and may function to prevent abnormal tumor growth. When the protein, TCF3, is modified by a small molecule called a phosphate, it no longer binds DNA, changing the way the protein signals during development. ... > full story

Predicting smoggiest days: Experiments improve accuracy of ozone predictions in air-quality models (October 28, 2010) -- A research team has fully characterized a key chemical reaction that affects the formation of pollutants in smoggy air in the world's urban areas. When applied to Los Angeles, the laboratory results suggest that, on the most polluted days and in the most polluted parts of L.A., current models are underestimating ozone levels by 5 to 10 percent. ... > full story

Rictor protein offers scientists a new molecular target for cancer therapies (October 28, 2010) -- The discovery that a protein called Rictor plays a key role in destroying a close cousin of the AKT oncogene could provide scientists with a new molecular target for treating certain cancers, including breast cancer. ... > full story

Scientists 'cage' genetic off switches so they can be activated by UV light (October 28, 2010) -- Researchers have found a way to "cage" genetic off switches in such a way that they can be activated when exposed to UV light. Their technology gives scientists a more precise way to control and study gene function in localized areas of developing organisms. ... > full story

Facebook study finds race trumped by ethnic, social, geographic origins in forging friendships (October 28, 2010) -- Race may not be as important as previously thought in determining who buddies up with whom, suggests the UCLA-Harvard study of American college students on Facebook. Sociologists have long maintained that race is the strongest predictor of whether two Americans will socialize. But the study found that such factors as where you live, your country of origin and your social class can provide stronger grounds for forging friendships than a shared racial background. ... > full story

Modern humans emerged far earlier than previously thought, fossils from China suggest (October 28, 2010) -- An international team of researchers has discovered well-dated human fossils in southern China that markedly change anthropologists perceptions of the emergence of modern humans in the eastern Old World. ... > full story

B-complex vitamins may help slow progression of dementia (October 28, 2010) -- Large doses of B-complex vitamins could reduce the rate of brain shrinkage by half in elderly people with memory problems and slow the progression of dementia. ... > full story

Speed gun for Earth's insides to help measure mantle motion (October 28, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a seismological "speed gun" for the inside of Earth. Using this technique they will be able to measure the way the Earth's deep interior slowly moves around. This mantle motion is what controls the location of our continents and oceans, and where the tectonic plates collide to shake the surface we live on. ... > full story

Tumor suppressor acts as oncogene in some cancers, researchers find (October 28, 2010) -- Researchers have found that a molecule long believed to be a beneficial tumor suppressor -- and thus a potential cancer drug target -- appears to act as an oncogene in some lethal brain tumors. ... > full story

Smaller is better in the viscous zone (October 28, 2010) -- Being the right size and existing in the limbo between a solid and a liquid state appear to be the secrets to improving the efficiency of chemical catalysts that can create better nanoparticles or more efficient energy sources. ... > full story

Year-long opiate substitution for drug misusers has 85 percent chance of cutting deaths (October 28, 2010) -- Giving people opiate substitution treatment to help with their drug addiction can lead to a 85 percent plus chance of reducing mortality, according to a new study. ... > full story

Space buckyballs thrive, finds NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (October 28, 2010) -- Astronomers have discovered bucket loads of buckyballs in space. They used NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to find the little carbon spheres throughout our Milky Way galaxy -- in the space between stars and around three dying stars. What's more, Spitzer detected buckyballs around a fourth dying star in a nearby galaxy in staggering quantities -- the equivalent in mass to about 15 of our moons. ... > full story

New targeted lung cancer drug produces 'dramatic' symptom improvement; Early-stage trial shows promise against tumors driven by ALK gene alteration (October 28, 2010) -- A clinical trial of a new targeted drug has provided powerful evidence that it can halt or reverse the growth of lung tumors characterized by a specific genetic abnormality. The multi-institutional research team reports that daily doses of crizotinib shrank the tumors of more than half of a group patients whose tumors were driven by alterations in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene and suppressed tumor growth in another one-third of study participants. ... > full story

Archaeological sites threatened by rising seas: Scientists issue call to action (October 28, 2010) -- Should global warming cause sea levels to rise as predicted in coming decades, thousands of archaeological sites in coastal areas around the world will be lost to erosion. With no hope of saving all of these sites, archaeologists have issued a call to action for scientists to assess the sites most at risk. ... > full story

Pneumonia often misdiagnosed on patient readmissions, studies find (October 28, 2010) -- Patients were misdiagnosed with pneumonia at an alarming rate when they were readmitted to the hospital shortly after a previous hospitalization for the same illness, according to two new studies. ... > full story

Getting the big picture quickly: Software edits huge images in seconds instead of hours (October 28, 2010) -- Computer scientists developed software that quickly edits "extreme resolution imagery" -- huge photographs containing billions to hundreds of billions of pixels or dot-like picture elements. Until now, it took hours to process these "gigapixel" images. The new software needs only seconds to produce preview images useful to doctors, intelligence analysts, photographers, artists, engineers and others. ... > full story

Magnetic test reveals hyperactive brain network responsible for involuntary flashbacks (October 28, 2010) -- Scientists have found a correlation between increased circuit activity in the right side of the brain and the suffering of involuntary flashbacks by post-traumatic stress disorder sufferers. ... > full story

Into Africa? Fossils suggest earliest anthropoids colonized Africa (October 28, 2010) -- A new discovery suggests that anthropoids -- the primate group including humans, apes and monkeys -- "colonized" Africa, rather than evolving in Africa as has been widely accepted. What is exceptional about these new fossils is the diversity of species: three distinct families that lived in North Africa at approximately the same time. This suggests that anthropoids underwent diversification, through evolution, previous to the time of these new fossils, which date to 39 million years ago. ... > full story

Sodas, other sugary beverages linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome (October 28, 2010) -- A new study has found that regular consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a clear and consistently greater risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. ... > full story

Water could hold answer to graphene nanoelectronics (October 28, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a new method for using water to tune the band gap of the nanomaterial graphene, opening the door to new graphene-based transistors and nanoelectronics. By exposing a graphene film to humidity, researchers were able to create a band gap in graphene -- a critical prerequisite to creating graphene transistors. ... > full story

Vancomycin is the drug of choice for treating cellulitis, study suggests (October 28, 2010) -- Patients admitted to the hospital for the common bacterial skin infection cellulitis should be treated as a first line of defense with the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin rather than other antibiotics such as penicillin, according to researchers involved in a new study. ... > full story

Large-scale fish farm production offsets environmental gains, assessment finds (October 28, 2010) -- Industrial-scale aquaculture production magnifies environmental degradation, according to the first global assessment of the effects of marine finfish aquaculture (e.g., salmon, cod, turbot and grouper) released today. This is true even when farming operations implement the best current marine fish farming practices, according to the findings. ... > full story

Researchers find a 'liberal gene' (October 28, 2010) -- Liberals may owe their political outlook partly to their genetic make-up, according to new research. Ideology is affected not just by social factors, but also by a dopamine receptor gene called DRD4. The study's authors say this is the first research to identify a specific gene that predisposes people to certain political views. ... > full story

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