ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Friday, June 11, 2010
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Many famous comets originally formed in other solar systems (June 11, 2010) -- Many of the most well known comets, including Halley, Hale-Bopp and, most recently, McNaught, may have been born in orbit around other stars, according to a new theory by an international team of astronomers. ... > full story
Gamma interferon a wake-up call for stem cell response to infection (June 11, 2010) -- Most of the time, the body's blood-forming stem cells remain dormant, with just a few producing blood cells and maintaining a balance among the different types. However, invading bacteria can be a call-to-arms, awaking the sleeping stem cells and prompting them to produce immune system cells. The "bugler" that awakes them is gamma interferon, a front-line protein defender against bacterial infection, researchers have found. ... > full story
Insight into structure of HIV protein could aid drug design (June 11, 2010) -- Researchers have created a three-dimensional picture of an important protein that is involved in how HIV -- the virus responsible for AIDS -- is produced inside human cells. The picture may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV from reproducing. ... > full story
How to overcome resistance to one group of breast cancer drugs (June 11, 2010) -- New research has identified a mechanism by which human breast cancer cells can develop resistance to one group of drugs used to treat breast cancer, suggesting new approaches to treating the disease. ... > full story
Rare lady beetles prefer traditional diet (June 11, 2010) -- Experts watched helplessly as a colony of rare, captive lady beetles was lost in 2008, then teetered on the edge of disaster again in 2009. ... > full story
Smoke-free air laws effective at protecting children from secondhand smoke (June 11, 2010) -- Researchers have found that children and adolescents living in non-smoking homes in counties with laws promoting smoke-free public places have significantly lower levels of a common biomarker of secondhand smoke exposure than those living in counties with no smoke-free laws. ... > full story
'Dark Pulse Laser' produces bursts of ... almost nothing (June 11, 2010) -- In an advance that sounds almost Zen, researchers have demonstrated a new type of pulsed laser that excels at not producing light. ... > full story
New function discovered in cancer-prevention protein: p53 is activated to control the creation of ova and spermatozoa (June 11, 2010) -- The protein p53 is very important in protecting against cancer, preventing cancer-causing mutations from accumulating. In a new study, researchers have discovered that this protein plays an unexpected physiological role: it also becomes activated during the formation process of ova and spermatozoids. The discovery could open the door to new approaches and ways of studying the disease. ... > full story
Predicting amount of oil in contaminated soils: Scientists develop faster method for testing soils around oil spills (June 11, 2010) -- A team of scientists has demonstrated a new method for testing soils for oil contamination that is faster than traditional testing methods. ... > full story
Propofol poses low risk in pediatric imaging studies, but risk increases with anesthesia duration, study finds (June 11, 2010) -- A new study finds that propofol, a well-known anesthesia medication, has a low occurrence of adverse events for children undergoing research-driven imaging studies. The study showed a low incidence of adverse events and no long-term complications when propofol was used to sedate children for imaging studies that require them to be still for long periods of time. ... > full story
New boreal forest biomass maps produced from radar satellite data (June 11, 2010) -- Having a large-scale boreal forest biomass inventory would allow scientists to understand better the carbon cycle and to predict more accurately Earth's future climate. However, obtaining these maps has been wrought with difficulty -- until now. ... > full story
First-time parents' daily sleep duration predicts their relationship satisfaction (June 11, 2010) -- Self-reported relationship satisfaction among new parents was strongly associated with objective total sleep time measured by actigraphy. This association was stronger than the association between subjectively reported sleep and relationship satisfaction. Mothers significantly underestimated fathers' self-reported relationship satisfaction; fathers underestimated mothers' subjective sleep quality. Participants were 22 couples who were first-time parents; their average age was 27.6 years. Data were collected from each couple an average of seven weeks after the birth of their child. ... > full story
Sharks can really sniff out their prey, and this is how they do it (June 10, 2010) -- It's no secret that sharks have a keen sense of smell and a remarkable ability to follow their noses through the ocean, right to their next meal. Now, researchers have figured out how the sharks manage to keep themselves on course. ... > full story
Common gene variants appear to increase risk of vitamin D deficiency (June 10, 2010) -- Scientists have identified four common gene variants that are associated with blood levels of vitamin D and with an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. ... > full story
Absence of organic compounds on surface of Mars explained by new theory (June 10, 2010) -- The ongoing search for evidence of past or present life on Mars includes efforts to identify organic compounds such as proteins in Martian soil, but their absence to date remains a mystery. A new theory to explain what happens to these carbon-based molecules is presented in a new article. ... > full story
Gout drug benefits kidney disease patients, analysis finds (June 10, 2010) -- A drug commonly used to treat gout may help maintain kidney disease patients' health, according to a new analysis. The research is the first to show that allopurinol treatment in patients with chronic kidney disease decreases inflammation, slows the progression of kidney disease, and reduces patients' risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event or being hospitalized. ... > full story
Model explains rapid transition toward division of labor in biological evolution (June 10, 2010) -- The transition from colonies of individual cells to multicellular organisms can be achieved relatively rapidly, within one million generations, according to a new mathematical model that simplifies our understanding of this process. ... > full story
Children's testimony may be influenced by co-witnesses (June 10, 2010) -- When children report about an event they can be highly accurate. But if they talk to other witnesses, children's testimony may become tainted. Researchers have examined children's vulnerability to co-witness influence, and present a new method that can help child witnesses to provide more detailed witness reports. ... > full story
Exoplanet caught on the move (June 10, 2010) -- For the first time, astronomers have been able to directly follow the motion of an exoplanet as it moves from one side of its host star to the other. The planet has the smallest orbit so far of all directly imaged exoplanets, lying almost as close to its parent star as Saturn is to the Sun. Scientists believe that it may have formed in a similar way to the giant planets in the Solar System. ... > full story
Diabetes may double cancer risk in women (June 10, 2010) -- A new study finds that type 2 adult-onset diabetes has a surprisingly positive effect on reducing the rate of prostate cancer in men, but may double the risk of female genital and other cancers. The new study is not the first to report such a risk, but it's one of the largest to confirm these findings, and it's the first to determine the statistical differences in cancer risks for men and women. ... > full story
Collagen manufactured from transgenic tobacco plants (June 10, 2010) -- A scientist has succeeded in producing a replica of human collagen from tobacco plants -- an achievement with tremendous commercial implications for use in a variety of human medical procedures. ... > full story
Biologists isolate genes that regulate the sleep-feeding conflict: New insights into how brain chooses between critical survival behaviors (June 10, 2010) -- A team of biologists has isolated genes that regulate the sleep-feeding conflict. The study offers new insights into how the brain chooses between behaviors that are critical for survival. ... > full story
Waste steel in the Gulf of Mexico (June 10, 2010) -- The huge tonnages of waste steel from decommissioned offshore oil and gas structures represents a serious problem for operators looking to recoup losses and avoid environmental harm. A way to calculate the weight of the problem has been developed by US researchers. ... > full story
Teen automobile crash rates are higher when school starts earlier (June 10, 2010) -- In 2008 the teen crash rate was about 41 percent higher in Virginia Beach, Va., where high school classes began at 7:20 a.m., than in adjacent Chesapeake, Va., where classes started more than an hour later at 8:40 a.m. There were 65.4 automobile crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers in Virginia Beach, and 46.2 crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers in Chesapeake. The two adjoining cities have similar demographics, including racial composition and per capita income. ... > full story
Brain stimulation with ultrasound may enhance cognitive function (June 10, 2010) -- The ability to diagnose and treat brain dysfunction without surgery, may rely on a new method of noninvasive brain stimulation using pulsed ultrasound developed by a team of scientists. The approach shows that pulsed ultrasound stimulates action potentials in intact motor cortex in mice and elicits motor responses comparable to those only previously achieved with implanted electrodes. ... > full story
Improving recovery from spinal cord injury (June 10, 2010) -- Once damaged, nerves in the spinal cord normally cannot grow back and the only drug approved for treating these injuries does not enable nerve regrowth. Medical researchers now show that treating injured rat spinal cords with an enzyme, sialidase, improves nerve regrowth, motor recovery and nervous system function. ... > full story
Could string theory explain similarities between utracold gases and quark gluon plasma? (June 10, 2010) -- For a few millionths of a second after the Big Bang, the universe consisted of a hot soup of elementary particles called quarks and gluons. A few microseconds later, those particles began cooling to form protons and neutrons, the building blocks of matter. Could string theory explain similarities between utracold gases and quark gluon plasma? ... > full story
Compound enhances cancer-killing properties of agent in trials (June 10, 2010) -- Adding a second agent may make a new, experimental anti-cancer drug effective against a wide range of cancers, researchers have found. ... > full story
New method manipulates particles for sensors, crime scene testing (June 10, 2010) -- Researchers have developed a potential new tool for medical diagnostics, testing food and water for contamination, and crime-scene forensics. The technique uses a combination of light and electric fields to position droplets and tiny particles, such as bacteria, viruses and DNA, which are contained inside the drops. ... > full story
Do toddlers pick up gender roles during play? (June 10, 2010) -- The differences in mothers' and fathers' interactions with their children, particularly in play situations, may influence toddlers' associations of specific behaviors with male and female genders. According to a new study, context, gender of the parent and gender of the child combine in a complex pattern to shape parent-child interaction. ... > full story
World's oldest leather shoe found in Armenia (June 10, 2010) -- A perfectly preserved shoe -- 1,000 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 400 years older than Stonehenge in the UK -- has been discovered in a cave in Armenia by an international team of archaeologists. ... > full story
New evidence that drinking coffee may reduce the risk of diabetes (June 10, 2010) -- Scientists are reporting new evidence that drinking coffee may help prevent diabetes and that caffeine may be the ingredient largely responsible for this effect. ... > full story
Oil from Gulf spill could have powered 38,000 cars (and more) for a year, researcher says (June 10, 2010) -- As of June 9, 2010, if all the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico had been used for fuel, it could have powered 38,000 cars, and 3,400 trucks, and 1,800 ships for a full year, according to a researcher who has launched a website that reports the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in terms of lost uses of the lost fuel on a daily basis. ... > full story
Shortcut through eyelid gives surgeons less-invasive approach to fix brain fluid leaks (June 10, 2010) -- Surgeons have safely and effectively operated inside the brains of a dozen patients by making a small entry incision through the natural creases of an eyelid to reach the skull and deep brain. ... > full story
A cooler Pacific may have severely affected medieval Europe, North America (June 10, 2010) -- A new study has found a connection between La Nina-like sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific and droughts in western Europe and in what later became the southwestern United States and Mexico. ... > full story
Personality predicts political preferences (June 10, 2010) -- There is a strong relationship between a voter's politics and his personality, according to new research. ... > full story
Crocodile and hippopotamus served as 'brain food' for early human ancestors (June 10, 2010) -- Fish really is "brain food." And it seems that even pre-humans living as far back as 2 million years ago somehow knew it. ... > full story
Mechanism links abnormal blood clots with Alzheimer's disease (June 10, 2010) -- New research suggests that abnormalities in the process of blood clot formation may contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The study advances our understanding of the link between vascular pathology and AD and proposes a new therapeutic strategy aimed at slowing cognitive decline. ... > full story
Two brain circuits involved with habitual learning (June 10, 2010) -- Driving to and from work is a habit for most commuters -- we do it without really thinking. But before our commutes became routine, we had to learn our way through trial-and-error exploration. A new study has found that there are two brain circuits involved with this kind of learning and that the patterns of activity in these circuits evolve as our behaviors become more habitual. ... > full story
Long sleep duration linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in older adults (June 10, 2010) -- Participants reporting a daily sleep duration of eight hours or more including naps were 15 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome. This relationship remained unchanged after full adjustment for potential confounders. Participants who reported a short sleep duration of less than six hours initially were 14 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome; this association disappeared after controlling for potential confounders. Participants were 29,310 people 50 years of age or older in Guangzhou, China. ... > full story
Protecting privacy: Make the data 'fade away' like footsteps in the sand (June 10, 2010) -- However well we protect our data, sooner or later we run the risk of information we want to keep private ending up in the public domain. So how can we see information fade away over time? If we could let details gradually disappear from view this would drastically reduce privacy-related problems while ensuring that the information still retains its usefulness to some extent. ... > full story
Sleep colors your view of the world: Study suggests sleep may restore color perception (June 10, 2010) -- Prior wakefulness caused the color gray to be classified as having a slightly but significantly greenish tint. Overnight sleep restored perception to achromatic equilibrium so that gray was perceived as gray. The study involved five people who viewed a full-field, homogenous stimulus of either slightly reddish or greenish hue. The observers had to judge whether the stimulus was greener or redder than their internal perception of neutral gray. ... > full story
World's largest DNA scan reveals rare variants that disrupt gene activity in autistic children (June 10, 2010) -- The largest DNA scan for familial autism found rare genetic changes occurring nearly 20 percent more in autistic children than healthy children. Not always found in autistic children's parents, these variants suggest that tiny genetic errors occur during formation of the parents' eggs and sperm, which are copied during creation of the child's DNA. The findings may reveal clues to where genes go awry and increase autism risk, offering hope for common treatments. ... > full story
Drug that restricts blood supply to prostate tumors delays disease progression (June 10, 2010) -- A blood vessel-blocking drug called tasquinimod slowed the rate of disease progression in a clinical trial of 200 prostate cancer patients, according to researchers. ... > full story
Tracking coral larvae to understand Hawai'i reef health (June 10, 2010) -- Scientists will use satellite-tracked drifters to track the coral larvae's dispersal along O'ahu's south shore in an effort to better understand why certain reefs in Maunalua Bay are doing well and others are doing poorly. ... > full story
Reducing the toxicity of lithium (June 10, 2010) -- Lithium is the most effective treatment for bipolar disorder. However, its use is limited because of neurological side effects and a risk for overdose-induced toxicity. Researchers have now delineated a molecular pathway by which chronic administration of therapeutic doses of lithium has negative effects in mice and hope that these data might provide new ideas for combination therapies that diminish the toxicities of lithium. ... > full story
New software to measure emotional reactions to Web (June 10, 2010) -- A group of Canadian scientists is developing software that can actually measure emotional responses to the Web. ... > full story
Sleep may help you become a 'Guitar Hero' (June 10, 2010) -- The improvement in performance accuracy on "Guitar Hero III" was greater after a night of sleep than after a similar length of daytime wakefulness. At acquisition participants played about 61 percent of the notes correctly. Performance accuracy improved to 63 percent in the wake condition and 68 percent in the sleep condition. The study involved 15 college students -- 13 women and two men -- with a mean age of 20 years. ... > full story
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