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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for March 25, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- New lens doubles the resolution of conventional microscopes- Size matters: Quantum dots could make solar panels more efficient
- Algae and bacteria hogged oxygen after ancient mass extinction, researchers say
- Stanford engineers put a damper on 'aeroelastic flutter'
- Protein biologists find new chink in staph's armor
- Serotonin plays active role in the sexual preference of mice
- Traits, genes associated with establishment of new populations revealed in butterfly study
- FDA clears first melanoma drug to extend life
- Study predicts large regional changes in farmland area
- Solar powered cell phone film - Bye, bye big batteries and so long outlets
- Magnetic fields in interstellar clouds
- Creating power from water
- Researchers devise new method of detecting botnets
- 'Can you hear me now?' Researchers detail how neurons decide how to transmit information
- Scientists plan to drill all the way down to the Earth's mantle
Space & Earth news
Close lunar orbit causes high waves in Honduras
(AP) -- The Honduran government says unusually high waves almost 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall have destroyed more than a dozen food stalls and homes and a lot of palm trees on the country's Pacific Coast.
Large-scale assessment of the Arctic Ocean: Significant increase in freshwater content since 1990s
The freshwater content of the upper Arctic Ocean has increased by about 20 percent since the 1990s. This corresponds to a rise of approx. 8,400 cubic kilometres and has the same magnitude as the volume of freshwater annually exported on average from this marine region in liquid or frozen form. This result is published by researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute in the journal Deep-Sea Research. The freshwater content in the layer of the Arctic Ocean near the surface controls whether heat from the ocean is emitted into the atmosphere or to ice. In addition, it has an impact on global ocean circulation.
Studying the roots of life
With a space telescope churning out discoveries of new planets, robots exploring Mars and other places, and researchers gaining understanding of extreme environments, the search for the roots of life on Earth and other planets is in a golden age, an authority in the field said Wednesday (March 23).
Hylas-1 ready for service
It’s all systems go for Hylas-1, the first satellite created specifically to deliver broadband access to European consumers. Since its launch in November, Hylas has performed well throughout its testing in orbit and is now ready for commercial service.
Students train like astronauts in Mission X challenge
Fourth-grade students in the College Station Independent School District (CSISD) in Texas have completed six weeks of a NASA health and fitness challenge known as "Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut."
Imagining Mars
(PhysOrg.com) -- This composite of three artists' renderings from 1975 was only wish fulfillment for an unnamed JPL artist; however, the landscape and the rendered shapes took into account what was known about Mars that year.
Comet-hunting spacecraft shuts down after 12 years
With the click of a mouse, Sandy Freund Kasper sent a command to NASA's comet-hunting Stardust space probe to burn all its fuel, starting a sequence that would shut the spacecraft down after a 12-year run.
First broad-scale maps of life on the sea-shelf
Marine scientists from five research agencies have pooled their skills and resources to compile a directory of life on Australia's continental shelf.
Scientists predict Arctic could be ice-free within decades
Bad news for what is now the beginning of the "melt season" in the Arctic. Right now, the sea ice extent maximum appears to be tied for the lowest ever measured by satellites as the spring begins, according to scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center. And because of the trend of how the amount of Arctic sea ice has been spiraling downward in the last decade, some scientists are predicting the Arctic Ocean may be ice free in the summers within the next several decades.
Earth Hour aims for hope in darkened world
Lights will go out around the world Saturday with hundreds of millions of people set to take part in the Earth Hour climate change campaign, which this year will also mark Japan's earthquake and tsunami.
Companion stars could cause unexpected X-rays
Many types of main sequence stars emit in the X-ray portion of the spectra. In massive stars, strong stellar winds ripping through the extended atmosphere of the star create X-ray photons. On lower mass stars, magnetic fields twisting through the photosphere heat it sufficiently to produce X-rays. But between these two mechanisms, in the late B to mid A classes of stars, neither of these mechanisms should be sufficient to produce X-rays. Yet when X-ray telescopes examined these stars, many were found to produce X-rays just the same.
Earth from Space: 'Black hole'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Holbox Island and the Yalahau Lagoon on the northeast corner of Mexico?s Yucatan Peninsula are featured in this satellite image.
Wind and waves growing across globe: study
(PhysOrg.com) -- Oceanic wind speeds and wave heights have increased significantly over the last quarter of a century according to a major new study undertaken by ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young.
Stranglers of the tropics -- and beyond
Kudzu, the plant scourge of the U.S. Southeast. The long tendrils of this woody vine, or liana, are on the move north with a warming climate.
Scientists plan to drill all the way down to the Earth's mantle
(PhysOrg.com) -- In what can only be described as a mammoth undertaking, scientists, led by British co-chiefs, Dr Damon Teagle of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, England and Dr Benoit Ildefonse from Montpellier University in France, have announced jointly in an article in Nature that they intend to drill a hole through the Earth’s crust and into the mantle; a feat never before accomplished, much less seriously attempted.
Study predicts large regional changes in farmland area
The effects of climate change and population growth on agricultural land area vary from region to region, according to a new study by University of Illinois researchers.
Magnetic fields in interstellar clouds
(PhysOrg.com) -- Magnetic fields play an important role in the formation and evolution of stars, as they stretch around a hot medium like a rubber band and help to determine the flow of material onto or away from the star.
Antarctic icebergs play a previously unknown role in global carbon cycle, climate
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a finding that has global implications for climate research, scientists have discovered that when icebergs cool and dilute the seas through which they pass for days, they also raise chlorophyll levels in the water that may in turn increase carbon dioxide absorption in the Southern Ocean.
Algae and bacteria hogged oxygen after ancient mass extinction, researchers say
(PhysOrg.com) -- After the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history -- 250 million years ago -- ocean algae and bacteria rebounded so fast that they consumed virtually all the oxygen in the sea, slowing the recovery of the rest of animals for several million years.
Technology news
Starz puts 90-day delay on Netflix for originals
(AP) -- Starz has become the latest pay TV channel to pull back from its embrace of subscription video provider Netflix Inc. and treat it more like a competitor.
Innovative microactuators: Compact 3.5 mm cubic rotary-linear piezoelectric actuator
(PhysOrg.com) -- Microactuators are critical components for industrial applications such as MEMS, micro-medical devices, and microrobotics. However, the fabrication of increasingly sophisticated, millimeter sized microactuators is complicated and proving to be a challenge.
Morocco: website gives new twist to 'arranged' marriages
Marriage in Morocco has an increasingly changing face these days as young men and women in search of lifetime partners head for the souk, in this case a "cyber" marriage souk.
School energy audits find millions in potential energy savings
A two-year energy audit of Hamilton schools has identified energy conservation measures that could reduce their energy costs by almost $2.4 million annually. The audit was conducted by engineering faculty and students at McMaster University.
Girl Scout cookies go high-tech: Smartphone sales
(AP) -- The Girl Scouts were selling their cookies the old-fashioned way, pulling a creaky-wheeled red wagon laden with Thin Mints and Samoas down a suburban street. But the affair took a decidedly 21st-century twist when, with a polite smile, one of the girls pulled out a smartphone and inquired: "Would you like to pay with a credit card?"
Australia extends deadline for broadband network
Australian senators have extended by two-and-a-half years the deadline for completion of the country's national broadband network in order to connect an extra million homes.
Talks between Baidu and Chinese writers collapse
Negotiations to resolve a copyright dispute between search engine giant Baidu and Chinese writers have broken down with the company now facing potential court action, state media reported Friday.
Silicon, nitride LEDs integrated onto a single chip for one-bit digital counters
Silicon-based semiconductor devices dominate the microelectronics industry and are used for the fabrication of high density integrated circuits comprising of memory and processing devices. However, silicon has an indirect band gap, which severely limits its use for fabricating photonic devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers.
EU fixes post-Japan nuclear safety overhaul
European leaders resolved Friday to revisit safety at nuclear reactors as emergency workers in Japan suffered radiation burns and rising global fears of food contamination hit home.
Stanford engineers put a damper on 'aeroelastic flutter'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone who has ever flown knows the feeling: an otherwise smooth flight gets a little choppy. If you are lucky, the plane skips a few times like a rock across a pond and then settles. For the not-so-lucky, the captain has turned on that seatbelt sign for a reason, but even the worst turbulence usually fades.
Solar powered cell phone film - Bye, bye big batteries and so long outlets
(PhysOrg.com) -- Few things in this world can be more annoying than running out of battery. It seems like your cell phone has made the application of Murphy's Law its raison d'etre. It dies right before you are expecting that important call from a client. It dies the day that your kids are sick. It always seems to die when you have just left the spot that had an easily accessible outlet.
Creating power from water
(PhysOrg.com) -- Creating power from water. I bet when I say that you picture a damn or a large turbine being pushed by hundreds of thousands of gallons of water, all rushing at tremendous speeds. It is a cool, and accurate, image of how most power comes from water. That is not to say that it is the only way that power can come from water.
Researchers devise new method of detecting botnets
(PhysOrg.com) -- With the threat of Botnets increasing, researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University have devised a new method to detect their activity.
Medicine & Health news
Higher prevalence of psychiatric symptoms found in children with epilepsy
A newly published report reveals that children with epilepsy are more likely to have psychiatric symptoms, with gender a determining factor in their development. Findings showed that girls had more emotional problems, while boys had more hyperactivity/inattention problems and issues regarding peer relationships. Details of this study in Norwegian children are now available online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy.
Over 100 villagers suffer lead poisoning in China
(AP) -- A state news agency says more than 100 villagers in eastern China have been poisoned by lead emissions from a battery plant built in a residential area.
Nearly 1 in 4 postmenopausal women with fractures is obese
Obesity is widely believed to be protective against fracture, although a recent study has documented a high prevalence of obesity in postmenopausal women with fragility fracture.
Young asthmatics are leaving emergency rooms missing critical documentation
It sounds unbelievably simple but it's true – a written action plan for asthma treatment, attached to the drug prescription, improves asthma control in children.
Pros and cons of a new chemical treatment to straighten hair
There was a time when it was common practice for women to stand over the ironing board to straighten their hair, which goes to say that some women will do whatever it takes to get rid of unwanted curls or frizz.
Health reform predicted to increase need for primary care providers
Expansion of health care coverage mandated by health reform will push demand for primary care providers sharply upward, and thousands of new physicians are necessary to accommodate the increase, a new study finds.
Passing the basic Air Force fitness exam: Could you do it?
Can you do 27 push-ups in 1 minute, 46 sit-ups in 1 minute and run 1.5 miles in under 14:22? If so, you can graduate from the United States Air Force Basic Mandatory Training.
Research finds 'dispense as written' prescriptions may add $7.7 billion to annual health care costs
Approximately five percent of prescriptions submitted by CVS Caremark Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) members in a 30-day period during 2009 included a "dispense as written" (DAW) designation. This practice – whereby doctors or patients demand the dispensing of a specific brand-name drug and not a generic alternative – costs the health care system up to $7.7 billion annually, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark. Moreover, these requests reduce the likelihood that patients actually fill new prescriptions for essential chronic conditions.
Researchers use sensor technology to improve athletic performance
(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Maine track and field coach has teamed up with exercise science and mechanical engineering researchers to improve the performance of his athletes.
Protective and mental health services critical for orphans worldwide
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study by Duke University researchers calls for increased support, protection and appropriate mental health services for orphaned and abandoned children on a global scale.
Great Depression did not significantly improve life expectancy in the US
A study published today provides a new perspective on the Great Depression of the 1930s. A widely held view is that there were remarkable improvements in life expectancy of over five years. Using data from urban populations, researchers found that it was actually associated with an increase in suicides but reduction in motor-vehicle accidents, a pattern consistent with the impacts of the current recession in Europe and the U.S. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, is published in today's issue of the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Largest study of high-deductible health plans finds savings, less preventive care
The largest-ever assessment of high-deductible health plans finds that while such plans significantly cut health spending, they also prompt patients to cut back on preventive health care, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The findings are published in the March edition of the American Journal of Managed Care.
Inadequate diet can lead to anemia in postmenopausal women
A new study published in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association indicates that inadequate nutrition is linked to a greater risk of anemia in postmenopausal women.
Strokes striking younger patients, but where do they turn?
When Kate Watts fell ill with pneumonia in both lungs last year, doctors at a hospital in Sebring, Fla., put her into a medically induced coma to help her recover.
HIV integration requires use of a host DNA-repair pathway
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, makes use of the base excision repair pathway when inserting its DNA into the host-cell genome, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Crippling the repair pathway prevents the virus from completing this critical step in the retrovirus's life cycle.
Research may lead to new treatments for Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders
A group of scientists at Marshall University is conducting research that may someday lead to new treatments for repair of the central nervous system.
Study finds promising clue to mechanism behind gene mutation that causes Parkinson's disease
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a way that mutations in a gene called LRRK2 may cause the most common inherited form of Parkinson's disease. The study, published online this month in the journal Public Library of Science, shows that upon specific modification called phosphorylation, LRRK2 protein binds to a family of proteins called 14-3-3, which has a regulatory function inside cells. When there is a mutation in LRRK2, 14-3-3 is impaired, leading to Parkinson's. This finding explains how mutations lead to the development of Parkinson's, providing a new diagnostic and drug target for the disease.
Brain tumor treatment successful in healing rare heart condition
Serendipity may have saved 32-year-old Jamie Arliss’ life. A rare tumor discovered in her heart had stumped cardiologists at the University of Rochester Medical Center. They wanted to remove the mass, but traditional techniques failed because of its size and location. A heart transplant was under consideration, that is, until a neurosurgeon suggested treating it like it was a brain tumor.
Study shows living at high altitude reduces risk of dying from heart disease
In one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in partnership with the Harvard School of Global Health have found that people living at higher altitudes have a lower chance of dying from ischemic heart disease and tend to live longer than others.
Researchers unlock new secret to how smells are detected
Researchers seeking to unravel the most ancient yet least understood of the five senses – smell – have discovered a previously unknown step in how odors are detected and processed by the brain.
Asthma drug could help control or treat Alzheimer's disease
A drug used to treat asthma has been shown to help reduce the formation of amyloid beta, a peptide in the brain that is implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Temple University's School of Medicine.
Tiny heart pump helps heart attack, heart failure patients
In 2008, physicians at the West Virginia University Heart Institute became the first in the state to use the Impella left ventricular assist device. Now, they are among the first in the nation to use it in heart attack and heart failure patients.
Early detection, intervention key to rehabilitating infant hearing loss
Delaying treatment may hinder speech and language development, University of Michigan audiologist cautions.
Study finds weight training safe for pregnant women
Despite decades of doctors' reluctance to recommend weight training to pregnant women, a new University of Georgia study has found that a supervised, low-to-moderate intensity program is safe and beneficial.
FDA approves new drug for advanced melanoma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the use of ipilimumab for the treatment of previously treated metastatic melanoma. It is the first drug approved for metastatic, or advanced, melanoma is more than a decade.
Neuroscience: Blue in the face
The way that humans perceive each other is strongly affected by the configuration, contour, and complexion of faces. Researchers from Toyohashi Tech report the importance of facial color on neural responses underlying perception.
UCLA's cancer 'roadmap' could help combat resistance to targeted drug therapies
(PhysOrg.com) -- New drugs that specifically target the mutated genes responsible for cancer growth have shown great success in extending the lives of patients, with far fewer side effects than conventional anti-cancer therapies. Unfortunately, many patients become resistant to these drugs due to secondary mutations.
Research offers clue to halt Huntington's disease
(PhysOrg.com) -- Surprising findings from a study into the brains of transgenic mice carrying the Huntington's disease mutation could pave the way for treatments which delay the onset and progression of this devastating genetic disease.
Motors on a mission
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study, Don Arnold and collaborators show that a microscopic motor drives axonal proteins to the right location in a neuron.
Ensembles of neurons in the brain's hippocampus inform about future as well as past experiences
When a mammal explores an unfamiliar environment, ensembles of ‘place’ cells in the hippocampus fire individually, recording specific locations in a cognitive map that aid future spatial navigation of the area. Once the relationship between place cell activity and location has been established, the activity of the cells can be used to predict the animal’s location within its environment. Activity patterns in the ensembles are later ‘replayed’ during rest and sleep, and neuroscientists believe this is important for consolidating the spatial memories of the new environment.
Neglectful and controlling parents linked to mental health problems in children
(PhysOrg.com) -- Children’s perception of how they are parented is a major predictor of whether they will develop mental health problems as teenager, according to research by the University and the Medical Research Council.
A common thread: No pain, no smell
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent study published in Nature by Jan Weiss and Frank Zufall of the University of Saarland, School of Medicine, a connection has been made between the inability to feel pain and anosmia - the inability to smell. The connection discovered involves the sodium ion channel called Nav1.7.
'Can you hear me now?' Researchers detail how neurons decide how to transmit information
There are billions of neurons in the brain and at any given time tens of thousands of these neurons might be trying to send signals to one another. Much like a person trying to be heard by his friend across a crowded room, neurons must figure out the best way to get their message heard above the din.
Serotonin plays active role in the sexual preference of mice
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent study published in Nature by Yan Liu and Yun'ai Jiang at Beijing's National Institute of Biological Sciences, the connection between serotonin and sexual preference in mice is presented. Liu and Jiang caution however that these results come from a study in mice and there has been no connection to homosexuality in humans.
FDA clears first melanoma drug to extend life
(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration has approved a breakthrough cancer medication from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. that researchers have heralded as the first drug to prolong the lives of patients with melanoma.
Biology news
Development of keeled flowers
A study using scanning electron microscopy has revealed that the keeled petals of Leguminosae and Polygalaceae are fundamentally different.
Rare Sumatran tiger killed by electric fence
An endangered Sumatran tiger has died after brushing against an electric fence set up by Indonesian farmers, in the second such incident this year, an official said Friday.
New analysis uses network theory to model speciation
The diversity of the biological world is astounding. How do new species arise? In the traditional view, most speciation events occur under special circumstances, when a physical barrier arises and divides a population into groups that can no longer interbreed. The populations diverge genetically and eventually can’t interbreed even if the barrier disappears.
Experimental work proves theory that circadian body clock requires delay to function properly
For more than 20 years, theoretical mathematical models have predicted that a delay built into a negative feedback system is at the heart of the molecular mechanism that governs circadian clocks in mammalian cells. Now, the first experimental proof of this theory has been provided by an international research team led by molecular biologists and information scientists from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe. The demonstration of the feedback delay should lead to a better understanding of how cellular clocks function, and therefore how mammals adjust to the regular daily and seasonal changes in their environment. The work could also open the way to the development of treatments for circadian disorders, such as seasonal affective disorder, jet lag and even bipolar disorder.
Finding the missing pieces
(PhysOrg.com) -- Missing pieces in the biodiversity puzzle make it impossible to accurately predict the effects of climate change on most plant species in the Amazon and other tropical areas, according to a new study by Associate Professor of Biology Miles Silman and postdoctoral associate Ken Feeley.
Is blood thicker than water?
In 1964 biologist William Hamilton introduced Inclusive Fitness Theory to predict and explain phenomena ranging from animal behavior to patterns of gene expression. With its many successes, the theory became a cornerstone for modern biology. In August, 2010, Harvard researchers challenged the theory in the prestigious journal, Nature. Now Nature has published sharp rebuttals from scores of scientists, including Edward Allen Herre and William Wcislo, staff scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Proteases inside the cell
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cardiff-led team has found a unique type of protein inside bacterial cells which could shed new light on organisms such as the disease-causing C. difficile.
Traits, genes associated with establishment of new populations revealed in butterfly study
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists has discovered that descendants of "exploratory" butterflies that colonized new habitats differ genetically from their more cautious cousins. The team, led by James Marden, a professor of biology at Penn State University, and Christopher Wheat, a post-doctoral scholar working at both Penn State and the University of Helsinki, has revealed some of the genetic bases for faster egg maturation, a higher rate of energy metabolism, and superior flight ability -- traits that provide an advantage to butterflies that stray from familiar territory to found new populations in previously unoccupied habitat patches. This research will be published in the print edition of the journal Molecular Ecology in May, and is available online now. The results have potentially broad importance because they show how natural selection may act in species that occupy spatially distinct habitat patches.
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