ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, March 2, 2010
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Exotic magnetar has extremely strong magnetic fields (March 2, 2010) -- Astronomers have observed an uncommon neutron star. Classified as magnetar, its nature is as peculiar as its official name: SGR 0418+5729. The observations reached an unprecedented depth at optical wavelengths for this kind of sources, helping in constraining the physical properties of this celestial body characterized by extremely strong magnetic fields. ... > full story
Researchers fishing for cancer cure discover active DHA derivatives (March 2, 2010) -- The next treatment for cancer might come from fish says new research. In the study, scientists show that the omega-3 fatty acid, "docosahexaenoic acid" or "DHA," and its derivatives in the body kill neuroblastoma cancer cells. This discovery could lead to new treatments for a wide range of cancers, including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, colon, breast and prostate cancers, among others. ... > full story
Forage plant wards off ruminant gastrointestinal nematode (March 2, 2010) -- A common pasture plant could help foraging ruminants ward off damaging gastrointestinal nematodes that can cause illness and death, scientists report. ... > full story
Protecting consumers with food allergies should improve with new international guidelines (March 2, 2010) -- New international guidelines should better protect consumers from allergens in food by promoting the harmonized, accurate and reliable testing of potentially lethal food allergens by analytical laboratories worldwide. ... > full story
Understanding global climate change through new breakthroughs in polar research (March 2, 2010) -- Scientists have investigated the distribution and abundance of Antarctica's vast marine biodiversity with the Census of Antarctic Marine Life. ... > full story
Computer games can teach schools some lessons (March 2, 2010) -- If schools adopted some of the strategies that video games use, they could educate children more effectively, according to experts. ... > full story
'Biological clock' could be a key to better health, longer life (March 2, 2010) -- If you aren't getting a good, consistent and regular night's sleep, a new study suggests it could reduce your ability to handle oxidative stress, cause impacts to your health, increase motor and neurological deterioration, speed aging and ultimately cut short your life. That is, if your "biological clock" genes work the same way as those of a fruit fly. And they probably do. ... > full story
New subtype of breast cancer responds to targeted drug (March 2, 2010) -- A newly identified cancer biomarker could define a new subtype of breast cancer as well as offer a potential way to treat it, say researchers. ... > full story
Most maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa could be avoided (March 2, 2010) -- More than 500,000 women die each year worldwide due to complications arising from pregnancy and childbirth. Half of these women live in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers say these women are not dying as a result of any illness, but rather from a lack of basic healthcare measures. ... > full story
Second protective role for tumor-suppressor: DNA damage sensor also responds to oxidative harm outside nucleus (March 2, 2010) -- ATM, a protein that reacts to DNA damage by ordering repairs or the suicide of the defective cell, plays a similar, previously unknown role in response to oxidative damage outside of the nucleus, researchers report. ... > full story
Can mobile phones help people 'EatWell?' (March 2, 2010) -- Most people know the rules of healthy eating, but most of us might eat a little healthier if we were reminded. Now a researcher is testing using a mobile phone to help community members steer themselves away from that chocolate cake and toward the fruits and veggies. ... > full story
Home palliative sedation checklist may ease concerns (March 2, 2010) -- Can patients near death safely receive sedation at home, fully respecting their own and their families' wishes? This practice, which is on the rise, is coming under increasing scrutiny and debate by palliative care researchers and practitioners. Now palliative care specialists from a team based in Spain have documented their experiences and data, and developed a standard checklist to help other clinicians. ... > full story
Tiny shelled creatures shed light on extinction and recovery 65 million years ago (March 1, 2010) -- An asteroid strike may not only account for the demise of ocean and land life 65 million years ago, but the fireball's path and the resulting dust, darkness and toxic metal contamination may explain the geographic unevenness of extinctions and recovery, according to geoscientists. ... > full story
Brain holds early signs of glaucoma (March 1, 2010) -- Researchers are now a step closer to deciphering a leading cause of blindness in the United States -- glaucoma. They found that the first sign of injury in glaucoma actually occurs in the brain. The findings show that glaucoma is very much like other neurodegenerative central nervous system diseases. ... > full story
Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos (March 1, 2010) -- ESA's Mars Express will skim the surface of Mars' largest moon Phobos on March 3. Passing by at an altitude of 67 km, precise radio tracking will allow researchers to peer inside the mysterious moon. ... > full story
Gene may be among most influential factors in Down syndrome (March 1, 2010) -- Research undertaken in recent years on Down syndrome has focused on the DYRK1A gene. The super-expression of this gene affects transmission in the neurons, according to a new study. ... > full story
Diffusion of a soluble protein through a sensory cilium (March 1, 2010) -- Scientists have, for the first time, measured the diffusion coefficient of a protein in a primary cilium and in other major compartments of a highly polarized cell. ... > full story
Childhood obesity prevention should begin early in life, possibly before birth (March 1, 2010) -- Risk factors for childhood obesity may be evident before birth and are more likely to occur in African-American and Hispanic children than in Caucasian children. Researchers studied 1,826 mother-child pairs from pregnancy through the child's first five years of life. ... > full story
Pesticide atrazine can turn male frogs into females (March 1, 2010) -- The herbicide atrazine, one of the world's most widely used pesticides, wreaks havoc with the sex lives of adult male frogs, emasculating three-quarters of them and turning one in 10 into females, according to a new study. These changes occur at atrazine levels below what the EPA considers safe for drinking water. The changes skew sex ratios in the frog population and could be a major cause of amphibian decline worldwide. ... > full story
New ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's, findings suggest (March 1, 2010) -- Researchers have found a new mechanism by which a key protein associated with Alzheimer's disease can spread within the human brain. The study provideas a new explanation of how the protein tau, a normal human protein that becomes toxic in Alzheimer's patients, can appear in their cerebrospinal fluid. ... > full story
Physicist writes a better formula to predict baseball success (March 1, 2010) -- A physicist has developed a new formula to predict baseball success. The basic formula, which has been tweaked over the years, uses the number of runs scored per game (RPG) and runs given up per game to estimate a team's winning percentage. ... > full story
Dietary factors influence ovarian cancer survival rates (March 1, 2010) -- Often diagnosed in late stages, ovarian cancer has an asymptomatic onset and a relatively low five-year survival rate of about 45 percent. Consequently investigation linked to survivorship is critical. Researchers have now evaluated possible diet associations with ovarian cancer survival. They determined that there is a strong relationship between healthy eating and prolonged survival. ... > full story
Simple math explains dramatic beak shape variation in Darwin's finches (March 1, 2010) -- In a new study, researchers demonstrate that simple changes in beak length and depth can explain the important morphological diversity of all beak shapes within Darwin's famous finches. Broadly, the work suggests that a few, simple mathematical rules may be responsible for complicated biological adaptations. ... > full story
Darkness increases dishonest behavior, study shows (March 1, 2010) -- New research shows that darkness may induce a psychological feeling of illusory anonymity, just as children playing "hide and seek" will close their eyes and believe that other cannot see them, the experience of darkness, even one as subtle as wearing a pair of sunglasses, triggers the belief that we are warded from others' attention and inspections. ... > full story
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly (March 1, 2010) -- DNA from a rare, ancient polar bear fossil is yielding information about the response of the species to the devastation wrought by past climate changes. Analyses of the fossil's DNA reveals key pieces of the evolutionary history of both polar bears and brown bears. The fossil's DNA is, by far, the oldest mammal mitochondrial genome to be sequenced -- about twice the age of the oldest genome sequence from a woolly mammoth. ... > full story
Late baby teeth may mean more orthodontic visits: Genes associated with early tooth development identified (March 1, 2010) -- Several genes affect tooth development in the first year of life, according to a new study. The research shows that the teeth of babies with certain genetic variants tend to appear later and that these children have a lower number of teeth by age one. Additionally, those children whose teeth develop later are more likely to need orthodontic treatment. ... > full story
Chile quake occurred in zone of 'increased stress' (March 1, 2010) -- The massive, 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile Feb. 27 occurred in an offshore zone that was under increased stress caused by a 1960 quake of magnitude 9.5, according to geologists. ... > full story
Notch-blocking drugs kill brain cancer stem cells, yet multiple therapies may be needed (March 1, 2010) -- Working with mice, scientists who tested drugs intended to halt growth of brain cancer stem cells -- a small population of cells within tumors that perpetuate cancer growth -- conclude that blocking these cells may be somewhat effective, but more than one targeted drug attack may be needed to get the job done. ... > full story
Widening the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (March 1, 2010) -- The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has been dominated for its first half century by a hunt for unusual radio signals. But bold new innovations are required if we are ever to hear from our cosmic neighbors, says a leading expert. ... > full story
File-sharing software potential threat to health privacy (March 1, 2010) -- The personal health and financial information stored in thousands of North American home computers may be vulnerable to theft through file-sharing software, according to a new study. ... > full story
Astronomically large lenses measure the age and size of the universe (March 1, 2010) -- Using entire galaxies as lenses to look at other galaxies, researchers have a newly precise way to measure the size and age of the universe and how rapidly it is expanding. The measurement determines a value for the Hubble constant, which indicates the size of the universe, and confirms the age of the universe as 13.75 billion years old, within 170 million years. The results also confirm the strength of dark energy, responsible for accelerating the expansion of the universe. ... > full story
Regular analgesic use increases hearing loss in men, study finds (March 1, 2010) -- Researchers have determined that regular use of aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increases the risk of hearing loss in men, particularly in younger men, below age 60. ... > full story
Beewolves protect their offspring with antibiotics; digger wasp larvae use bacteria against infections (March 1, 2010) -- Beewolves house beneficial bacteria on their cocoons that guarantee protection against harmful microorganisms. Scientists have discovered that bacteria of the genus Streptomyces produce a cocktail of nine different antibiotics and thereby fend off invading pathogens. Using imaging techniques based on mass spectrometry, the antibiotics could be displayed on the cocoon's surface. Moreover, it was shown that the use of different kinds of antibiotics provides effective protection against infection with a multitude of different pathogenic microorganisms. ... > full story
Key player found for a cancer typical in Down syndrome (March 1, 2010) -- Between 5 and 10 percent of babies with Down syndrome develop a transient form of leukemia that usually resolves on its own. However, for reasons that haven't been clear, 20 to 30 percent of these babies progress to a more serious leukemia known as Down syndrome acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL), which affects the blood progenitor cells that form red blood cells and platelets. Now, researchers have found a gene regulator they believe to be a key player in DS-AMKL, advancing understanding of how the disease develops and how to treat it. ... > full story
New Energy Harvesting Network means batteries not included (March 1, 2010) -- A new Energy Harvesting Network being launched could mean virtually unlimited power supplies for industry. The network will bring together UK academic and industrial researchers and end-users of energy harvesting (EH) technology. ... > full story
Fish can recognize a face based on UV pattern alone (March 1, 2010) -- Two species of damselfish may look identical -- not to mention drab -- to the human eye. But that's because, in comparison to the fish, all of us are essentially colorblind. A new study reveals that the fish can easily tell one species from another based entirely on the shape of the ultraviolet patterns on their faces. ... > full story
By tracking water molecules, physicists hope to unlock secrets of life (March 1, 2010) -- The key to life as we know it is water, a tiny molecule with some highly unusual properties, such as the ability to retain large amounts of heat and to lose, instead of gain, density as it solidifies. It behaves so differently from other liquids, in fact, that by some measures it shouldn't even exist. Now scientists have made a batch of new discoveries about the ubiquitous liquid, suggesting that an individual water molecule's interactions with its neighbors could someday be manipulated to solve some of the world's thorniest problems -- from agriculture to cancer. ... > full story
Gene therapy reverses effects of lethal childhood muscle disorder in mice (March 1, 2010) -- Reversing a protein deficiency through gene therapy can correct motor function, restore nerve signals and improve survival in mice that serve as a model for the lethal childhood disorder spinal muscular atrophy, new research shows. This muscle-wasting disease results when a child's motor neurons -- nerve cells that send signals from the spinal cord to muscles -- produce insufficient amounts of what is called survival motor neuron protein, or SMN. ... > full story
Butterfly vision, wing colors linked (March 1, 2010) -- Butterfly experts have suspected for more than 150 years that vision plays a key role in explaining wing color diversity. Now, for the first time, research shows the truth in this theory -- at least in nine Heliconius species. ... > full story
Word learning better in deaf children who receive cochlear implants by age 13 months (March 1, 2010) -- Researcher report that deaf children's word-learning skill is strongly affected by early auditory experience, whether that experience was through normal means or with a cochlear implant. Children who received an implant by age 13 months performed similarly to normal-hearing counterparts while children who received a cochlear implant later performed, on average, more poorly than their normal-hearing peers. ... > full story
Scientists crash test DNA’s replication machinery (March 1, 2010) -- Enzymes that travel along DNA to copy or transcribe it -- the crucial processes underlying cell replication and protein production -- aren't coordinated by a central dispatcher. In fact, they often collide. Now, researchers have discovered that when DNA-copying machines run head-on into proteins performing less critical tasks, they kick the obstacles aside and continue on their way. ... > full story
New smoking cessation therapy proves promising (March 1, 2010) -- A novel technology for delivering nicotine to the lungs may soon give smokers a new way to kick the habit. When compared to the nicotine vapor delivery system used in the Nicotrol/Nicorette inhaler, the new technology proved more effective at delivering nicotine to the blood stream. As a result, it provides immediate relief of withdrawal symptoms, according to researchers ... > full story
Tree-dwelling mammals climb to the heights of longevity (March 1, 2010) -- The squirrels littering your lawn with acorns as they bound overhead will live to plague your yard longer than the ones that aerate it with their burrows, according to a new study. Researchers found that tree-dwelling mammals live longer than those who live on the ground. Humans are an exception, but tree-dwelling ancestors may explain that. ... > full story
'Milk drops' under the tongue appear to treat milk allergies (March 1, 2010) -- Placing small amounts of milk protein under the tongues of children who are allergic to milk can help them overcome their allergies, according to the findings of a small study. ... > full story
Cancer, aging: Key interaction that controls telomeres discovered (March 1, 2010) -- In the dominoes that make up human cells, researchers have traced another step of the process that stops cells from becoming cancerous. ... > full story
Robot-assisted option offers advantages for kidney surgery, comparison shows (March 1, 2010) -- A comparison of two types of minimally invasive surgery to repair kidney blockages that prevent urine from draining normally to the bladder found that robot-assisted surgery was faster and resulted in less blood loss and shorter hospital stays. ... > full story
Mountaintop mining poisons fish (March 1, 2010) -- Dead and deformed fish indicate selenium pollution from mountaintop coal mining is causing permanent damage to the environment and poses serious health risks, says a biologist. ... > full story
Biggest Marathon, Half-Marathon Training Mistakes (March 1, 2010) -- Half marathons and marathons can be over in a matter of hours, but runners, both newbies and elite, often spend months training for the 13.1- and 26.2-mile races. Experts describe four common mistakes runners make when preparing for these major races. ... > full story
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