ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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Soft drink consumption may markedly increase risk of pancreatic cancer (February 9, 2010) -- Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a new study. ... > full story
Enhancing arrest of cell growth to treat cancer in mice (February 9, 2010) -- New research has identified a new type of cellular senescence (i.e., irreversible arrest of cell growth) and determined a way to enhance it to suppress prostate tumor development and growth in mice. These data suggest that enhancing this process might provide a new approach for cancer prevention and therapy. ... > full story
How respiratory tubes and capillaries form in flies (February 9, 2010) -- Scientists in Spain report on the formation of the small-diameter respiratory tubes of the fly Drosophila -- a process that resembles the development of the finest blood vessels, the capillaries, in mammals. ... > full story
Rab25: a suppressor of tumor formation in intestines? (February 9, 2010) -- Colorectal adenocarcinoma accounts for the majority of cases of colorectal cancer. A series of genetic mutations in the cells lining the colon (intestinal epithelial cells) is thought to be the cause of colorectal adenocarcinoma. By studying mouse models of colon cancer and tissue from individuals with colorectal adenocarcinoma, researchers have now identified RAB25 as one gene that might be involved in the formation of colorectal adenocarcinomas. ... > full story
New method for measuring fluid flow in algae could herald revolution for fluid mechanics (February 9, 2010) -- Researchers in fluid dynamics have studied algae to illuminate fluid mechanics. One of the researchers said, "Nature has long inspired researchers in fluid mechanics to explore the mechanical strategies used by living creatures. Where better to look for innovative solutions to a technological challenge than to organisms that have had millions of years to devise strategies for related challenges?" ... > full story
Nicotine replacement therapy is over-promoted since most ex-smokers quit unassisted, experts argue (February 9, 2010) -- Health authorities should emphasize the positive message that the most successful method used by most ex-smokers is unassisted cessation, despite the promotion of cessation drugs by pharmaceutical companies and many tobacco control advocates, according to a new article. ... > full story
Evolution impacts environment: Fundamental shift in how biologists perceive relationship between evolution and ecology (February 9, 2010) -- The traditional view is that ecology shapes evolution. Some research has suggested, however, that evolutionary processes reciprocate by influencing ecology in turn. Now biologists present evidence that ecology and evolution are indeed reciprocally interacting processes, presenting a fundamental shift in our understanding of the relationship between evolution and ecology. The results represent a first significant step in showing that evolution cannot be ignored when studying ecological interactions. ... > full story
Mice shed new light on causes of childhood deafness (February 9, 2010) -- Mice with a genetic change that causes progressive hearing loss in children, also have hearing loss because sound waves are not processed properly. The ear's attempts to compensate for hearing loss may, ironically, cause further damage leading to complete hearing loss. These mice will allow detailed research into many forms of deafness, and bring closer the prospects of therapies to slow or halt hearing loss in both children and adults. ... > full story
'Boutique' fish farms created for Ugandans to combat Lake Victoria's depleted fish supplies (February 9, 2010) -- In a unique project to combat depleted fish supplies in Lake Victoria, researchers have established 'boutique' fish farms in small villages around the Lake's shore in Uganda. ... > full story
Complete chemokine profile of a cell (February 9, 2010) -- Chemokines are a large group of proteins whose predominant function is to direct cell migration. They regulate many physiological and pathophysiological processes, in particular in the immune system. Researchers have now developed a simple method to efficiently identify all the chemokines produced by a single cell type, something that has not been possible before. ... > full story
Method of the future uses single-cell imaging to identify gene interactions (February 9, 2010) -- Cellular imaging offers a wealth of data about how cells respond to stimuli, but harnessing this technique to study biological systems is a daunting challenge. Researchers have now developed a novel method of interpreting data from single-cell images to identify genetic interactions within biological networks, offering a glimpse into the future of high-throughput cell imaging analysis. ... > full story
More smokers than non-smokers accept HPV vaccination for their daughters (February 9, 2010) -- A parent's existing health habits or behaviors, like cigarette smoking, may influence the likelihood that they will have their daughters vaccinated against HPV. ... > full story
Small insect with a big heart: 'Giving' aphids endangered by their selflessness (February 8, 2010) -- One of the founding principles of Darwin's theory is that biological evolution has been shaped by the survival of the fittest. Things, however, are not always that simple as researchers have discovered while analyzing the social behavior of aphids. A few aphid species have "soldiers" who stop reproducing and instead contribute to the public good. Not only do they risk their lives to defend the nest from invaders, but they also mend and clean it. ... > full story
Double agent: Glial cells can protect or kill neurons, vision (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists have identified a double agent in the eye that, once triggered, can morph from neuron protector to neuron killer. The discovery has significant health implications since the neurons killed through this process results in vision loss and blindness. ... > full story
Better sign of blood vessel narrowing and early coronary artery disease (February 8, 2010) -- Cardiologists and heart imaging specialists at 15 medical centers in eight countries have enrolled the first dozen patients in a year-long investigation to learn whether the subtle squeezing of blood flow through the inner layers of the heart is better than traditional SPECT nuclear imaging tests and other diagnostic radiology procedures for accurately tracking the earliest signs of coronary artery clogs. ... > full story
Genes that regulate maternal inflammatory response, bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth related (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers have used haplotype tagging (hap-tag) single-nucleotide polymorphisms to study the relationship between genetic predispositions, an environmental factor -- bacterial vaginosis -- and preterm birth. ... > full story
Conservation from space: Landscape diversity helps to conserve insects (February 8, 2010) -- Rugged, hilly landscapes with a range of different habitat types can help maintain more stable butterfly populations and thus aid their conservation, according to new findings. This has implications for how we might design landscapes better to help conserve species. ... > full story
People out and about make cities secure (February 8, 2010) -- Young people who have experienced threats and violence feel more insecure than others in urban public spaces, especially when alone. ... > full story
Like escape artists, rotifers elude enemies by drying up and -- poof! -- they are gone with the wind (February 8, 2010) -- They haven't had sex in some 30 million years, but some very small invertebrates named bdelloid rotifers are still shocking biologists -- they should have gone extinct long ago. Researchers have discovered the secret to their evolutionary longevity: these rotifers are microscopic escape artists. When facing pathogens, they dry up and are promptly gone with the wind. ... > full story
Link between advanced maternal age and autism confirmed (February 8, 2010) -- Advanced maternal age is linked to a significantly elevated risk of having a child with autism, regardless of the father's age, according to an exhaustive study of all births in California during the 1990s. ... > full story
The Stars behind the Curtain (February 8, 2010) -- Astronomers have obtained a new image of the giant stellar nursery surrounding NGC 3603, in which stars are continuously being born. Embedded in this scenic nebula is one of the most luminous and most compact clusters of young, massive stars in our Milky Way, which therefore serves as an excellent “local” analogue of very active star-forming regions in other galaxies. The cluster also hosts the most massive star to be “weighed” so far. ... > full story
Test could predict which idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients will become severely ill (February 8, 2010) -- A simple blood test could predict which patients with the lung-scarring disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are soon to get far worse, an indicator that could one day influence their treatment, according to researchers. Their findings indicate that the body's immune cells attack healthy lung tissue, suggesting that IPF is in fact an immunologic disease. ... > full story
Agricultural scientists turn to a wild oat to combat crown rust (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists are tapping into the DNA of a wild oat, considered by some to be a noxious weed, to see if it can help combat crown rust, the most damaging fungal disease of oats worldwide. ... > full story
Month of birth determines who becomes a sports star (February 8, 2010) -- The month of your birth influences your chances of becoming a professional sportsperson, an Australian researcher has found. Scientists studied the seasonal patterns of population health and found the month you were born in could influence your future health and fitness. ... > full story
Bees recognize human faces using feature configuration (February 8, 2010) -- Bees can be trained to recognize human faces, so long as the insects are tricked into thinking that the faces are oddly shaped flowers, new research shows. The insects use the arrangement of facial features to recognize and distinguish one face from another. ... > full story
Industrial cleaner linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease (February 8, 2010) -- Workers exposed to tricholorethylene, a chemical once widely used to clean metal such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a new study. ... > full story
'Starving' fat suppresses appetite (February 8, 2010) -- Peptides that target blood vessels in fat and cause them to go into programmed cell death (termed apoptosis) could become a model for future weight-loss therapies, say researchers. ... > full story
Older female cancer survivors have added health issues compared to their counterparts (February 8, 2010) -- As cancer survivors live longer, questions arise about what kind of care long-term survivors require. A recently study found 245 older married women who survived cancer had more health problems as compared to a sample of 245 married women without cancer. ... > full story
Argonautes: A big turn-off for proteins (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists believe they may have figured out how genetic snippets called microRNAs are able to shut down the production of some proteins. ... > full story
Hackers at the movies (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers in Ireland have analyzed 50 non-documentary movies from the last four decades featuring hackers and come to some intriguing conclusions about the hacker stereotype with implications for policy makers and education. ... > full story
Scientists identify first genetic variant linked to biological aging in humans (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists announced they have identified for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The new discovery has important implications for the understanding of cancer and age-associated diseases. ... > full story
Transforming human fat into stem cells using virus-free technique (February 8, 2010) -- Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell's genome. ... > full story
Virology: Some viruses use fats to penetrate a cell (February 8, 2010) -- SV40 viruses use an amazing means of communication, in order to be able to penetrate into a cell: fats, whose structure must fit like a key in a lock. ... > full story
Promising results shown for kidney cancer drug (February 8, 2010) -- The drug pazopanib (Votrient) slowed the progression of advanced renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer, in patients by 54 percent, according to a new study. ... > full story
Carbonate veins reveal chemistry of ancient seawater (February 8, 2010) -- The chemical composition of our oceans is not constant but has varied significantly over geological time. In a new study, researchers describe a novel method for reconstructing past ocean chemistry using calcium carbonate veins that precipitate from seawater-derived fluids in rocks beneath the seafloor. ... > full story
Soft intelligence for hard decisions: Soft metrics improve homeland security and other critical decisions (February 8, 2010) -- An approach to decision making based on soft metrics could allow problems to be solved where no definitive "yes-no" answer is possible in fields as diverse as health care, defense, economics, engineering, public utilities and science. ... > full story
Did bacteria develop into more complex cells much earlier in evolution than thought? (February 8, 2010) -- Biochemists have described the process by which bacteria developed into more complex cells and found this crucial step happened much earlier in the evolutionary timeline than previously thought. ... > full story
Inhibiting serotonin in gut could cure osteoporosis (February 8, 2010) -- An investigational drug that inhibits serotonin in the gut, administered orally once daily, effectively cured osteoporosis in mice and rats, reports a new article. Serotonin in the gut has been shown in recent research to stall bone formation. The finding could lead to new therapies that build new bone; most osteoporosis drugs only prevent the breakdown of old bone. ... > full story
Cells send dirty laundry home to mom (February 8, 2010) -- Understanding how aged and damaged mother cells manage to form new and undamaged daughter cells is one of the toughest riddles of aging, but scientists now know how yeast cells do it. In a groundbreaking study, researchers in Sweden show how the daughter cell uses a mechanical "conveyor belt" to dump damaged proteins in the mother cell. ... > full story
Discovery may expand availability of bone marrow transplants by stopping fatal complications (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists explain how an anti-inflammatory agent called "ATL146e" may significantly improve the likelihood of success for bone marrow transplants by preventing or halting the progression of graft-versus-host disease, a complication of bone marrow transplants in which the donor marrow attacks the host. ... > full story
Biofilms: Discovery of a new mechanism of virus propagation (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers have shown for the first time that certain viruses are capable of forming complex biofilm-like assemblies, similar to bacterial biofilms. These extracellular infectious structures may protect viruses from the immune system and enable them to spread efficiently from cell to cell. "Viral biofilms" would appear to be a major mechanism of propagation for certain viruses. They are therefore emerging as new and particularly attractive therapeutic targets. ... > full story
Winning the war on weight (February 8, 2010) -- An Australian study into the health beliefs and behaviors of obese people has found that the more severely obese a person is, the less likely they feel they can reduce their weight. ... > full story
Growing cartilage: bioactive nanomaterial promotes growth of new cartilage (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers have designed a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage in vivo and without the use of expensive growth factors. The therapy is minimally invasive, utilizes bone marrow stem cells and produces natural cartilage. Unlike bone, cartilage does not grow back, and it cannot effectively be replaced. Countless people learn this all too well when they bring their bad knees, shoulders and elbows to an orthopedic surgeon. ... > full story
Road mapping could be key to curing TB (February 8, 2010) -- The complex chain of metabolic events in bacteria that lead to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis may be better understood using mathematical models, according to a new article. ... > full story
Targeting cancer stem cells in the lab (February 8, 2010) -- Understanding of the particular cancer cells within a tumour that drive its growth could now advance more rapidly, thanks to new research. Scientisist now show how a crucial class of cancer cell, called cancer stem cells, can be investigated in the lab in ways that should greatly speed their study, and allow the development of drugs targeted against them. ... > full story
Important advance in imaging of cell death (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists have made progress in using a synthetic probe to target dead and dying cells in mammary and prostate tumors in living animals. ... > full story
Novel theory for mammalian stem cell regulation (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers propose a model of mammalian adult stem cell regulation that may explain how the coexistence of two disparate stem cell states regulates both stem cell maintenance and simultaneously supports rapid tissue regeneration. ... > full story
Moms influence how children develop advanced cognitive functions (February 8, 2010) -- Executive functioning is a set of advanced cognitive functions -- such as the ability to control impulses, remember things, and show mental flexibility -- that help us plan and monitor what we do to reach goals. A new study of 80 infant-mother pairs finds that the ways moms act when they're playing and solving puzzles with their babies can explain some of the differences in children's development of executive functioning. ... > full story
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