Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for March 23, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- 20 petaflops: New supercomputer for Oak Ridge facility to regain speed lead over the Chinese- New method for preparation of high-energy carbon-carbon double bonds
- Religion on the verge of extinction in many countries: math study
- Researchers create self-strengthening nanocomposite
- Study examines how brain corrects perceptual errors
- Researchers sequence multiple myeloma genome in landmark study
- Researchers find similarities in brain activity for both habits and goals
- Molecular muscle: Small parts of a big protein play key roles in building tissues
- Earning its stripes: Zebrafish model of human melanoma reveals new cancer gene
- Arthritis drug could help beat melanoma skin cancer
- Scientists get glimpse of how the 'code' of life may have emerged
- Epigenomic findings illuminate veiled variants
- Tree resin the key evidence of current and historic insect invasions
- A more stealthy robot may be hearing you soon
- Hope on the horizon for victims of DDoS attacks
Space & Earth news
Space Image: Disappearing Act
(PhysOrg.com) -- This swirling landscape of stars is known as the North America Nebula. In visible light, the region resembles North America, but in this new infrared view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, the continent disappears.
Goddard annual Sun-Earth day has a tweeting twist
Every year, near the equinox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. hosts -- and encourages other museums and educators to host -- a solar extravaganza called Sun-Earth Day. The day is part of a year-long thematic event celebrating sun science. The theme this year is Ancient Mysteries; Future Discoveries.
NASA has a crush on you
It's almost one-million pounds of force on the "can," and they want to see it buckle.
Concrete answers needed for climate change effects
Understanding how climate change could impact on the deterioration of the basic building block of much of Australia's infrastructure – concrete – is crucial to ensuring major assets such as roads, ports and buildings continue to perform up to expectations, according to a CSIRO report.
Kepler returns after safe mode event
After a safe mode event that lasted 144 hours, NASA’s Kepler spacecraft returned to science data collection at 2:45 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 20.
French-Turkish researchers detect early quake signals
Franco-Turkish researchers have found that a deadly 1999 earthquake in Turkey was preceded by seismic signals, raising hopes of a predictive system for future tremors as Japan reels from its disaster.
Kenya biofuel project opposed
Environmental goups Wednesday protested an expansive project to grow jatropha in Kenya for biofuels, arguing that such production would emit more carbon than fossil fuels.
Juno marches on
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Juno spacecraft has completed its thermal vacuum chamber testing. The two-week-long test, which concluded on March 13, 2011, is the longest the spacecraft will undergo prior to launch.
Equipment to study Hayabusa's asteroid samples damaged in Japan earthquake
The large particle accelerator being used in to analyze the asteroid samples returned by the Hayabusa spacecraft was damaged by the March 11 earthquake in Japan, but the high energy accelerator at the KEK particle-physics laboratory will be repaired, according to this report on a Japanese website. An announcement on the KEK website said that all accelerators and experimental devices were stopped immediately “after the first shake” of the historic earthquake. “We have confirmed the radiation safety, and no hazard to the environment has been reported,” the announcement said. “Also there are no reports of casualties on both Tsukuba and Tokai campuses.” Tsukuba is in the mid-latitudes of Japan, about 50 km from Tokyo.
Seeing through the cracks
While rescue workers in Japan continue their search for missing persons amid the rubble in Sendai and beyond, geologists are sifting through seismic data and satellite images for hints to what caused one of the most catastrophic earthquakes in recorded history. For the past week, scientists around the world have posted charts and maps on blogs and websites to help describe the extent of the quake, and the vulnerabilities that possibly triggered the massive rupture.
Stuck pipe behind BP oil spill: study
A stuck pipe was to blame for last year's worst-ever oil spill as it impeded a system in place on the BP well to prevent pollution into the Gulf of Mexico, a study said.
New suit to be tested in Antarctica
University of North Dakota aerospace engineer and researcher Pablo de Leon is part of a unique mission to test a UND planetary exploration suit -- the NDX-1 -- at a remote military base in Antarctica. The team departed for the Antarctic base from an Argentine Air Force site earlier this week.
Ancient era of fast growth in supermassive black holes studied
(PhysOrg.com) -- In collaboration with an international team of astronomers, an assistant professor of physics at the University of North Texas has identified the earliest known epoch of fast growth of the supermassive black holes in outer space, coming a step closer to understanding the mysteries of the universe. UNT professor Dr. Ohad Shemmer said this discovery is a “missing link” between black holes observed in galaxies today and the first black holes formed due to the explosion of the first stars.
A very cool pair of brown dwarfs (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Observations with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, along with two other telescopes, have shown that there is a new candidate for the coldest known star: a brown dwarf in a double system with about the same temperature as a freshly made cup of tea — hot in human terms, but extraordinarily cold for the surface of a star. This object is cool enough to begin crossing the blurred line dividing small cold stars from big hot planets.
Are you a Martian? We all could be, scientists say -- and new instrument might provide proof
Are we all Martians? According to many planetary scientists, it's conceivable that all life on Earth is descended from organisms that originated on Mars and were carried here aboard meteorites. If that's the case, an instrument being developed by researchers at MIT and Harvard could provide the clinching evidence.
Super cold brown dwarf or is it a planet?
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a month that has already announced the discovery of a brown dwarf 75 light-years from Earth, NASA’s infrared Spitzer Space Telescope has found what could prove to be an even cooler, and closer, brown dwarf.
Cassini finds Saturn sends mixed signals
(PhysOrg.com) -- Like a petulant adolescent, Saturn is sending out mixed signals.
Experimental Scramjet aircraft set for test flight
The X-51A Waverider hypersonic scramjet project is set for its second test flight today, and the U.S. Air Force hopes it will demonstrate technology that can eventually be used for more efficient transport of payloads into orbit. The craft will be carried to 15,240 meters (50,000 ft.) by a B-52 from Edwards Air Force Base in California, and be dropped over the Pacific Ocean. A booster rocket will fire, getting the Waverider to Mach 4.5; then the scramjet will kick in, and designers hope it will reach Mach 6 or more.
Technology news
Google 'Gaga' over pop diva's visit
Pop diva Lady Gaga thrilled Google employees during a visit to the Internet giant's headquarters on Tuesday in which she answered questions from tech-savvy fans.
Wind tunnel begins operations
On hot days it is often very still in cities because the high density of buildings prevents the air from circulating freely. In the newly commissioned wind tunnel operated by Empa and the ETH Zurich wind effects and thermal situations in towns and cities can be simulated and various scenarios tested, with the aim of improving urban climate in a natural way.
Local college receives a piece of Sandia/California history
Las Positas College, located just a few short miles away from the Sandia/California campus, might be a close partner of Sandia's in the near future as the lab continues to pursue academic and industry collaborators on its new open campus. But even with an eye to the future, this same college now possesses a piece of the lab's history.
Better positioning with concept
Final burst for the European satellite navigation system Galileo – the first satellites are to be in position in the year 2012 and start their work. Fraunhofer Galileo Labs are showcasing the first applications that use new, improved possibilities provided by satellite navigation.
Ongo seeking full NY Times, adding partners
Online news service Ongo is hoping to provide its subscribers with full access to The New York Times and expanding its lineup of contributors, Ongo chief executive Alex Kazim said Wednesday.
Estonia sees rock as future of global energy
A huge excavator bites into the earth of an open-cast mine, as the operator skillfully mans the controls in a cabin four storeys from ground level.
USA Today rewrites strategy to cope with Internet
(AP) -- USA Today, a newspaper created nearly 30 years ago to appeal to people who grew up watching television, is revising its formula to try to counter the Internet's threat to its survival.
'What if?' scenario: Cyberwar between US and China in 2020
As Iran's nuclear plant attack and Chinese-based hackers attacking Morgan Stanley demonstrate how the Internet can wreak havoc on business and governments, a new paper by a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy hypothesizes what an all-out cyberwar between the U.S. and China might look like.
Best Buy to sell access to new wireless network
(AP) -- LightSquared, a company that's building a new nationwide wireless broadband network, says Best Buy will resell access to that network, starting with a trial early next year.
Engineers test smart traffic systems to reduce first responder deaths
Thugs and fires are obvious threats for police and firefighters, but traffic accidents also pose a serious danger for first responders.
Research finds music choices change when published
Revealing information on your music consumption publicly can change it.
New way to detect epileptic seizures
Researchers at Concordia University have pioneered a computer-based method to detect epileptic seizures as they occur – a new technique that may open a window on the brain's electrical activity. Their paper, "A Novel Morphology-Based Classifier for Automatic Detection of Epileptic Seizures," presented at the annual meeting of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, documents the very successful application of this new seizure-detection method.
Some readers will get around paywall: NY Times
The publisher of The New York Times said Wednesday that some people will manage to find ways around paying for the newspaper online but they will mostly be teenagers and the unemployed.
Yahoo! stays in search game with real-time results
Yahoo! on Wednesday began a US rollout of a feature that delivers real time Internet search results as quickly as people can time queries.
SAfrica's MTN launches mobile insurance program
(AP) -- A South African mobile phone giant has joined with an insurance company to launch a program in Ghana that will allow subscribers to pay for life insurance through their mobile phones, a company official said Wednesday.
Apple pulls 'gay cure' app from iTunes
A group that advocates "curing" gays of same-sex attractions said Wednesday that its iPhone application had been yanked from Apple's online iTunes shop.
Macintosh software vet leaves 'post-PC era' Apple
A senior executive behind Macintosh computer software is leaving Apple as the culture-changing company rushes into a "post PC Era" in which iPads and iPhones supplant desktop computers.
EU victim of eve-of-summit cyber attack: official
Cyber-attackers hacked into the European Commission on Wednesday, hours from a sensitive summit of EU leaders debating the military campaign in Libya, the euro debt crisis and nuclear safety, officials said.
Review: Foursquare a fun complement to city jaunts
(AP) -- At first, I didn't see the point of Foursquare, the mobile service that turns sharing your location with friends into a game of sorts. More than a year later, I still don't, but I'm hooked - much to the chagrin of my fiance, who prefers to spend his time on more noble pursuits such as "Angry Birds" and Facebook.
What's mine is virtually yours: Collaboration between mobile phone users can speed up communications
Applications on modern wireless devices make demands on data rate and connectivity far beyond anything experienced in the past. One way to meet these stringent requirements is to give the device multiple antennas or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. The problem of physically accommodating these additional antennas in the latest consumer products is investigated in new research from the University of Bristol.
Germany set to abandon nuclear power for good
(AP) -- Germany is determined to show the world how abandoning nuclear energy can be done.
Hope on the horizon for victims of DDoS attacks
(PhysOrg.com) -- Recently, Yuri Gushin and Alex Behar, security experts with Radware, an Israeli security firm, gave a presentation at the Black Hat conference in Barcelona, Spain, and as part of their program showed what they’ve been working on to assist big website portals in fighting back against Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS).
The Artega SE enters the electric sports car arena
(PhysOrg.com) -- When most of us think electric sports car, one name comes to mind, the Tesla Roadster, which has enjoyed some solo time in this category, but all reigns come to an end, and a German automaker, Artega, has set its cap at entering the category with its own electric sports car.
Medicine & Health news
Can non-medical factors trigger sick leave?
According to UK government statistics over 8 million working days per year are lost due to illness and about a third of these are due to minor ailments such as coughs, colds, sickness and diarrhea. Yet two individuals who are equally ill do not necessarily both report sick. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that conflicts and stress at work can trigger taking sick leave.
Cruise ship norovirus outbreak highlights how infections spread
Norovirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States and is estimated to cause nearly 21 million cases annually. It is highly transmissible through person-to-person contact and contaminated food, water, and environmental surfaces. The results of an investigation of a 2009 outbreak on a cruise ship shed light on how the infections can spread and the steps both passengers and crew can take to prevent them. The findings are published in a new study in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.
1 in every 5 Spaniards suffers from insomnia
Insomnia is common in Spain, and affects one person in every five. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona and the Stanford University School of Medicine (USA), which shows that 40% of survey respondents aged over 65 report interrupted sleep at night being the prime cause of this problem.
Statins make radiation more effective at curing prostate cancer
Men with high-risk prostate cancer who take statin drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol while receiving radiation therapy are less likely to have their cancer return than patients who do not take these medications, according to a study published in the March issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
Exposure to chemicals in environment associated with onset of early menopause
A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that higher levels of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) in the body are associated with increased odds of having experienced menopause in women between 42 and 64 years old. Women in this age group with high levels of PFCs also had significantly lower concentrations of estrogen when compared to women who had low levels of PFCs.
Culture, stigma affect mental health care for Latinos
Latinos benefit from antidepressants like everybody else — only they do not use them nearly as often. The trick is getting past some cultural barriers.
Stress wrongly blamed for breast cancer
Australian breast cancer survivors mistakenly see stress as the cause of their cancer while vastly underestimating the possibility that an unhealthy lifestyle may have been a contributing factor.
Do pre-conceived expectations impact doctor analysis of X-rays?
Scientists have long suspected that clinicians' ability to read X-rays can be skewed according to what they expect to find, but a University of Sydney study published this month in the international journal Radiology did not find evidence to support this theory.
Mars and Venus nightmares for men and women
The psychological differences between men and women are obvious even in terms of their nightmares, according to BSc student François Bilodeau. “Men often dream of accidents and chases, while women dream of being attacked and insects.”
Why salad helps you say yes to 'NO'
Disorders of the circulatory system- vascular diseases- are common in the developed world, and can lead to heart attacks, strokes and even death. However, treatments for these disorders, such as bypass surgery and angioplasty, themselves induce vascular injury, after which the cells of the blood vessel can over-proliferate in a way that limits blood flow.
Coronary artery calcium scans may help lower heart disease risk without increasing tests and costs
A new study of coronary artery calcium scanning – a simple, noninvasive test that gives patients baseline information about plaque in their coronary arteries—has shown that the scan helps them make heart-healthy lifestyle changes and lower their heart disease risk factors.
Vibration helps reduces pain in chronic sufferers, researchers find
Rubbing or massaging is often an instinctive response to pain. Now researchers have found that another kind of touch, vibration, can also help reduce certain types of pain by more than 40 percent. The researchers are encouraged by the prospect that vibration therapies could bring pill-free pain relief to chronic sufferers.
Do all student athletes need heart screenings?
Seemingly every year there are reports of a young, apparently healthy athlete dying on the court or playing field.
Long-term methadone treatment can affect the brain
Methadone has been used to treat heroin addicts for nearly 50 years. Yet we have surprisingly incomplete knowledge about possible harmful effects from prolonged use. New research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows that methadone affects the brain and impairs the attention of experimental animals.
First sex linked to better body image in men, not women
Having sex for the first time can improve or degrade your self-image depending on whether you are male or female, according to Penn State researchers. On average, college-age males become more satisfied with their appearance after first intercourse, whereas college-age females become slightly less satisfied.
Mother's obesity may lead to infertility in the next generation
Levels of the hormone ghrelin are low in obese women and a recent study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society, reports that mice whose mothers had low ghrelin levels were less fertile due to a defect in implantation.
Subjects at risk of Alzheimer's may now be able to delay the onset of their first symptoms
For elderly subjects at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, research shows that hope may lie in brain plasticity.
'Junk food' moms have 'junk food' babies
A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal suggests that pregnant mothers who eat high sugar and high fat diets have babies who are likely to become junk food junkies themselves. According to the report, which used rats, this happens because the high fat and high sugar diet leads to changes in the fetal brain's reward pathway, altering food preferences. Not only does this offer insight into the ever-increasing rate of human obesity, but it may also explain why some people easily resist fatty and sugary foods, while others seem hopelessly addicted.
Long-term study: Robot-assisted prostate surgery is safe
In the first study of its kind, urologists and biostatisticians at Henry Ford Hospital have found that robot-assisted surgery to remove cancerous prostate glands is safe over the long term, with a major complication rate of less than one percent.
During pregnancy, minority women have higher depression risk
A new study finds that African-American and Asian/Pacific Islander women have double the risk that others do of becoming depressed before giving birth, after adjusting for socioeconomic risk factors.
Plant oil may hold key to reducing obesity-related medical issues, researcher finds
Scientists have known for years that belly fat leads to serious medical problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found a plant oil that may be able to reduce belly fat in humans.
Real social costs of caring for cognitively impaired elders
The real social costs of cognitive impairments among the elderly are being greatly underestimated without counting care given to older Americans who have not yet reached the diagnostic threshold for dementia.
U.S. safe from Japan radiation, Berkeley lab expert says
Tom McKone, a senior staff scientist in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab’s) Environmental Energy Technologies Division, is an expert on health-risk assessments associated with exposure to environmental contaminants such as pesticides and radioactive material. He is also an expert in modeling the transport of chemicals across vast distances, and determining how this transport affects human health.
Trigger found for autoimmune heart attacks
People with type 1 diabetes, whose insulin-producing cells have been destroyed by the body's own immune system, are particularly vulnerable to a form of inflammatory heart disease (myocarditis) caused by a different autoimmune reaction. Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have revealed the exact target of this other onslaught, taking a large step toward potential diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the heart condition.
Investigations show that telomerase inhibitor PinX1 is a key tumor suppressor
It's been nearly 10 years since Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) scientists Kun Ping Lu, MD, PhD and Xiao Zhen Zhou, MD, discovered PinX1, the first potent endogenous protein shown to inhibit telomerase in mammals.
Prostate cancer spreads to bones by overtaking the home of blood stem cells
Like bad neighbors who decide to go wreck another community, prostate and breast cancer usually recur in the bone, according to a new University of Michigan study.
Mouse cancer genome unveils genetic errors in human cancers
Scientists who pioneered sequencing the genomes of cancer patients to find novel genetic changes at the root of the disease now have turned their attention to a laboratory workhorse -- a mouse.
Does belief in free will lead to action?
Free will may be an illusion. Yet we persist in believing we are the masters of our fates—and that belief affects how we act. Think you determine the course of your life and you're likely to work harder toward your goals and feel better about yourself too. Think you don't, and you're likelier to behave in ways that fulfill that prophesy.
New insight into how environmental enrichment enhances memory
It is well established that environmental enrichment, providing animals with rich sensory, motor, and social stimulation, produces both dramatic increases in the number of synapses in the brain and enhanced learning. However, causal relationships between synapse formation and improved memory have not been definitively established. Now, a new study published by Cell Press in the March 24 issue of the journal Neuron introduces a valuable model system for investigating the role of synapse turnover in learning and memory in adult animals and elucidates mechanisms that link loss of existing synapses and the establishment of new synapses with improved learning.
The evolution of brain wiring: Navigating to the neocortex
A new study is providing fascinating insight into how projections conveying sensory information in the brain are guided to their appropriate targets in different species. The research, published by Cell Press in the March 24 issue of the journal Neuron, reveals a surprising new evolutionary scenario that may help to explain how subtle changes in the migration of "guidepost" neurons underlie major differences in brain connectivity between mammals and nonmammalian vertebrates.
'Knowing it in your gut' is real
A lot of chatter goes on inside each one of us and not all of it happens between our ears.
Why some children are harmed by mother's alcohol, but others aren't
Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn't affect all fetuses equally. Why does one woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or learning problems -- known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- while another woman who also drinks has a child without these problems?
Study reveals how lung cancers evolve in response to targeted treatment
A detailed analysis of lung tumors that became resistant to targeted therapy drugs has revealed two previously unreported resistance mechanisms. In a report in the March 23 Science Translational Medicine, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center also describe how the cellular nature of some tumors actually changes in response to treatment and find that resistance-conferring mutations can disappear after treatment is discontinued. The findings support the importance of monitoring the molecular status of tumors throughout the treatment process.
Researchers find cardiac pacing helps epilepsy patients with ictal asystole
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that cardiac pacing may help epilepsy patients with seizure-related falls due to ictal asystole, an unusual condition in which the heart stops beating during an epileptic seizure. The study was recently published in the journal Epilepsia.
WHO urges stepped up battle against drug-resistant TB
The World Health Organisation on Wednesday urged donors to stamp out multidrug-resistant tuberculosis after the number of the hard-to-treat strains of the lung disease doubled in recent years.
New clues discovered regarding how immune cells operate
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Dundee have identified control mechanisms that allow certain white blood cells, which have a vital role in fighting viral infections and dealing with organ transplants, to carry out their work.
Physical activity decreases salt's effect on blood pressure
The more physically active you are, the less your blood pressure rises in response to a high-salt diet, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.
Obese and overweight women, children underestimate true weight
Overweight and obese mothers and their children think they weigh less than their actual weight, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.
Study finds no association between mercury exposure and risk of cardiovascular disease
Although research has shown that eating fish, which is rich in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, mixed evidence from prior studies has suggested that mercury exposure from fish consumption may be linked to higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. In a new, large-scale study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), researchers found no evidence that higher levels of mercury exposure were associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or total cardiovascular disease in two separate studies of U.S. adults. The study appears in the March 24, 2011, edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Lung cancer study finds mentholated cigarettes no more harmful than regular cigarettes
Smokers of mentholated cigarettes are no more likely to develop lung cancer than other smokers, according to a new, very large, prospective study of black and white smokers published online March 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. In fact, contrary to a popular hypothesis, menthol smokers in this study had a somewhat lower risk of developing and dying from lung cancer than non-menthol smokers.
Scientists identify gene responsible for severe skin condition
The drug, called carbamazepine, is commonly used to treat patients with epilepsy and other diseases such as depression and trigeminal neuralgia. Although successful in treating the majority of patients, carbamazepine can cause side-effects that range from a mild skin irritation to severe blistering of the whole body.
All-nighters can bring on euphoria, risky behavior
(PhysOrg.com) -- A sleepless night can make us cranky and moody. But a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.
Psychologists find the meaning of aggression
Bottling up emotions can make people more aggressive, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Minnesota that was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Army.
Italian for beginners: Four-month-olds can detect grammatical rules in new language
(PhysOrg.com) -- Infants are able to learn grammatical regularities in a novel language surprisingly early and at a remarkable speed. In a study at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, researchers working with Angela Friederici showed that the brains of babies were able to learn grammatical relationships between sentence elements in less than 15 minutes and reacted to errors that broke these rules. This was investigated by playing recordings of sentences in Italian to four month old German babies and taking EEG measurements. (Plos One, 22. 03. 2011)
Researchers find similarities in brain activity for both habits and goals
A team of researchers has found that pursuing carefully planned goals and engaging in more automatic habits shows overlapping neurological mechanisms. Because the findings, which appear in the latest issue of the journal Neuron, show a neurological linkage between goal-directed and habitual, and perhaps damaging, behaviors, they may offer a pathway for beginning to address addiction and similar maladies.
Earning its stripes: Zebrafish model of human melanoma reveals new cancer gene
The latest clues suggesting potential new ways to treat melanoma come from an unlikely source: fish.
Arthritis drug could help beat melanoma skin cancer
A breakthrough discovery by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Children's Hospital Boston promises an effective new treatment for one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
Epigenomic findings illuminate veiled variants
Genes make up only a tiny percentage of the human genome. The rest, which has remained measurable but mysterious, may hold vital clues about the genetic origins of disease. Using a new mapping strategy, a collaborative team led by researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and MIT has begun to assign meaning to the regions beyond our genes and has revealed how minute changes in these regions might be connected to common diseases. The researchers' findings appear in the March 23 advance online issue of Nature.
Bird embryo provides unique insights into development related to cancer, wound healing
Avian embryos could join the list of model organisms used to study a specific type of cell migration called epiboly, thanks to the results of a study published this month in the journal Developmental Dynamics. The new study provides insights into the mechanisms of epiboly, a developmental process involving mass movement of cells as a sheet, which is linked with medical conditions that include wound healing and cancer.
Drug prevents Type 2 diabetes in majority of high-risk individuals
A pill taken once a day in the morning prevented type 2 diabetes in more than 70 percent of individuals whose obesity, ethnicity and other markers put them at highest risk for the disease, U.S. scientists reported today.
Study examines how brain corrects perceptual errors
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research provides the first evidence that sensory recalibration — the brain's automatic correcting of errors in our sensory or perceptual systems — can occur instantly.
Researchers sequence multiple myeloma genome in landmark study
Using new genome sequencing technologies, researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center joined colleagues from 20 major North American research institutions to publish the first complete genomic portrait of multiple myeloma, a highly aggressive blood cancer. Findings from the study point to new directions for potential myeloma therapies, and begin to unlock the mysteries of what causes this devastating malignancy. The paper will be published in the March 24, 2011 issue of Nature.
Biology news
Envy holds back agricultural development
Agricultural innovation in developing countries can be hampered and discouraged by envy, according to research published today by academics at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Researchers collect 'signals intelligence' on insect pests
Using commercially available parts, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and colleagues have developed a new automated system for detecting insects based on the peculiar sounds the insects make while moving.
Snake venoms have not revealed all their secrets
For several decades, snake venoms have been used in pharmacology to make new drugs. But a French team of pharmacologists, clinicians, systematists and conservation biologists, headed by Nicolas Vidal of the Laboratory “Systématique, Adaptation, Evolution," have shown that such venoms are largely under-exploited. They decided to pool their efforts to make full use of these resources in pharmaceutical compounds and to safeguard threatened species. The results of this study are published this week in the journal Bioessays.
Research brings habitat models into the future
Time marches on, and thanks to Michigan State University research, models of wildlife habitat now can monitor changes over time more accurately and more easily.
Monitoring peccaries in Brazil benefits wildlife, local communities and food security
Veterinarians from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the State Institute of Animal Health (IAGRO) in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil have conducted one of the first health assessments of white-lipped peccaries (medium-sized pig-like animals) in Brazil's Pantanal. The study was an effort to gauge the impact of Leptospirosis—a zoonotic bacteria that affects a wide range of animals as well as humans—on wildlife and livestock.
UC Riverside geneticists to study how plants adapt to a changing environment
Transposable elements (TEs) – DNA sequences that move from one location in the genome to another – are abundant in plants and animals, evolve rapidly and promote the evolution of the genome. What role they play in how plants generate the diversity needed to adapt to a changing climate is the focus of a study at the University of California, Riverside being funded by a nearly $4.8 million five-year National Science Foundation grant.
Bacteria poison themselves from within
(PhysOrg.com) -- The research group led by Anton Meinhart at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg has shown that proteins from the zeta toxin group trigger a self-destructive mechanism in bacteria. The triggers for this bacterial suicide are toxin/antitoxin systems that play an important role in the hereditary transmission of resistance and virulence genes. The scientists have thus found a valuable new tool for the development of new broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Ticks are on the march in Britain
The prevalence of ticks attaching to dogs in Great Britain has been mapped by scientists as part of a national tick survey. The findings reveal that the number of dogs infested with the blood-sucking parasites was much higher than expected. The study also confirms that a European tick species now exists in Great Britain.
Traumatizing your DNA: Researcher warns that it isn't 'all in the genes'
When the Human Genome Project ended a decade ago, scientists thought that they'd closed the lid on all that's to be known about our genes. But what they really did was open a Pandora's Box, says theoretical evolutionary biologist Prof. Eva Jablonka of Tel Aviv University's Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas.
First French bulldog with sex reversal identified in Spain
Tana, a female French bulldog, was brought to a veterinary centre for her first vaccination. Specialists there were alerted by the size of her clitoris, which was "larger than normal", and they started to carry out tests. These revealed the first ever genetic alteration ever detected in the reproductive system of this breed – the female puppy had cryptorchid testicles (outside the scrotum).
Larger female hyenas produce more offspring
When it comes to producing more offspring, larger female hyenas outdo their smaller counterparts.
Tree resin the key evidence of current and historic insect invasions
A University of Alberta-led research team has discovered that insects that bore into trees as long ago 90 million years, or as recently as last summer, leave a calling card that's rich with information.
Extinction threat for 45 Australian species
Up to 45 rare species of wallaby, bandicoot and other Australian animals could become extinct within 20 years unless urgent action is taken to control introduced predators and other threats, scientists warned Wednesday.
Identifying the origin of the fly
(PhysOrg.com) -- Some may think that the mosquito and the house fly are worlds apart when it comes to common ancestry but new research published this week by an international team of scientists puts them much closer together in evolutionary history.
Neutron analysis yields insight into bacteria for solar energy
Structural studies of some of nature's most efficient light-harvesting systems are lighting the way for new generations of biologically inspired solar cell devices.
Systems biologists predict complicated behavior of cells in living animals
Biological systems, including cells, tissues and organs, can function properly only when their parts are working in harmony. These systems are often dauntingly complex: Inside a single cell, thousands of proteins interact with each other to determine how the cell will develop and respond to its environment.
Speedy toads advance theory of evolution
(PhysOrg.com) -- Speed and the mating habits of the Australian cane toad are set to expand the theory of evolution according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
Scientists get glimpse of how the 'code' of life may have emerged
A portion of the "code" of life has been unraveled by a UC Santa Barbara graduate student from the town of Jojutla, Mexico.
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