Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for June 14, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Pterosaur-inspired aircraft makes sharper turns- Lighten up: Polaritons with tunable photon-exciton coherence
- Under pressure, sodium and hydrogen could undergo a metamorphosis, emerging as a superconductor
- How to choose a catalyst: Predicting which materials will perform best in fuel cells and metal air batteries
- What's down with the Sun? Major drop in solar activity predicted
- Memory training video games can increase brain power
- 'Smart cars' that are actually, well, smart
- Improving catalysis
- Molecular mechanism for some anti-arrhythmia drugs discovered
- What gamers want: Researchers develop tool to predict player behavior
- Fear boosts activation of young, immature brain cells
- Major flooding on the Mississippi River likely to cause large Gulf of Mexico dead zone
- New insights on how solar minimums affect Earth
- Making quantum cryptography truly secure
- Stress may lead to better bird parenting
Space & Earth news
Upper stage engine ready for testing at NASA's Stennis Space Center
NASA's new J-2X rocket engine, which could power the upper stage of the nation's future heavy-lift launch vehicle, is ready for its first round of testing. The fully assembled engine was installed Saturday in the A-2 Test Stand at the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
How is the Arctic Ocean changing?
On coming Wednesday, 15 June, the research vessel Polarstern of the German Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association will set off on its 26th arctic expedition. Over 130 scientists from research institutions in six countries will take part in three legs of the voyage. First of all, at long-term stations oceanographers and biologists will investigate how oceanic currents as well as the animal and plant world are changing between Spitsbergen and Greenland. Beginning in August, physical, biological and chemical changes in the central Arctic will be recorded. RV Polarstern is expected back in Bremerhaven on 7 October.
New biofuel sustainability assessment tool and GHG calculator released
Various biofuels, first hailed as a way to a sustainable energy supply, have since fallen out of favor because of the overall negative impact they have on the environment, mainly due to the production of the biogenic fuels – as they should be more aptly termed. Now researchers at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have together with their colleagues at the Swiss Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) and the HTW Berlin, Germany, developed an online tool to assess the sustainability of biofuel production.
Phosphate sorption characteristics of European alpine soils
Soil chemistry plays an important role in the composition of surface waters. In areas with limited human activities, properties of catchment soils directly relate to the exported nutrients to surface waters. Phosphate sorption research is common in agricultural and forest soils, but data from alpine areas are limited.
Weather satellite need defended by climate experts
(AP) -- Business, academic and environmental leaders are stressing the importance of weather satellites in an era of tight federal budgets.
Chile volcano grounds more flights
(AP) -- The drifting plume of ash from Chile's erupting volcano forced new cancelations of dozens of flights on Monday in Argentina, Uruguay and other South American countries, even as airlines in Australia began trying to move a backlog of volcano-stranded passengers.
Curb soot and smog to keep Earth cool, says UN
Sharply reducing emissions of soot and smog could play a critical role in preventing Earth from overheating, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.
Meltzone 2011: CCNY expedition to track life and death of supraglacial lake
How do you observe signs of climate change in real time? Dr. Marco Tedesco, associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at The City College of New York, plans to be the first to catch sight of one dramatic indicator of a warming world on the Greenland ice sheet this summer, and through social media, people will be able to track his progress.
NASA sees Arabian Sea tropical depression 1A fading
The low pressure system called System 98A was renamed tropical depression 1A over the weekend, and its strengthening was short-lived, just as it appears on NASA satellite imagery.
Stunning imagery and movie released of a now gone Hurricane Adrian
Some satellite images are striking and memorable, while others are just interesting. On June 10, NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Hurricane Adrian from space and sent a stunning image to the science team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Meanwhile a GOES-11 Satellite animation shows how and when Adrian fizzled.
NASA's curiosity continues mobility checkouts
(PhysOrg.com) -- Spacecraft specialists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., have been putting the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, through various tests in preparation for shipment to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida this month.
Mini-submarines to gauge Lake Geneva pollution
Two mini-submarines that have filmed the wreckage of the doomed luxury cruise liner Titanic will dive into Lake Geneva to gauge its pollution levels, Swiss researchers said Tuesday.
New insights into the 'hidden' galaxies of the universe
A unique example of some of the lowest surface brightness galaxies in the universe have been found by an international team of astronomers lead by the Niels Bohr Institute. The galaxy has lower amounts of heavier elements than other known galaxies of this type. The discovery means that small low surface brightness galaxies may have more in common with the first galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang than previously thought. The results have been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
More flights halted by ash from Chilean volcano
(AP) -- The cloud of ash spewing from Chile's erupting volcano has grounded more flights in countries from Uruguay to Australia and is threatening to delay next month's start of the Copa America football tournament in Argentina.
STEREO sees complete far side of the Sun
(PhysOrg.com) -- The far side unveiled! This is the first complete image of the solar far side, the half of the sun invisible from Earth. Captured on June 1, 2011, the composite image was assembled from NASA's two Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. STEREO-Ahead's data is shown on the left half of image and STEREO-Behind's data on the right.
LRO takes extreme close-up of eclipse
(PhysOrg.com) -- Orbiting about 31 miles above the lunar surface, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft will get a "front-row seat" to the total lunar eclipse on June 15, says Noah Petro, Associate Project Scientist for LRO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Measuring the clumpiness of proto-planetary disks
(PhysOrg.com) -- The process of star formation, once thought to involve just the simple coalescence of material under the influence of gravity, actually entails a complex series of stages, with the youngest stars assembling circumstellar disks of material (possibly preplanetary in nature) for example. Understanding these early stages has been difficult for astronomers, in part because because they take place in nurseries heavily obscured by dust. Nevertheless, they are critically important to an understanding of how our young solar system and its planets were born and evolved.
Major flooding on the Mississippi River likely to cause large Gulf of Mexico dead zone
The Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone is predicted to be larger than average this year, due to extreme flooding of the Mississippi River this spring, according to an annual forecast by a team of NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Louisiana State University and the University of Michigan. The forecast is based on Mississippi River nutrient inputs compiled annually by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
New insights on how solar minimums affect Earth
(PhysOrg.com) -- Since 1611, humans have recorded the comings and goings of black spots on the sun. The number of these sunspots waxes and wanes over approximately an 11-year cycle -- more sunspots generally mean more activity and eruptions on the sun and vice versa. The number of sunspots can change from cycle to cycle, and 2008 saw the longest and weakest solar minimum since scientists have been monitoring the sun with space-based instruments.
What's down with the Sun? Major drop in solar activity predicted
(PhysOrg.com) -- A missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles say that our Sun is heading for a rest period even as it is acting up for the first time in years, according to scientists at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
Technology news
Steve Jobs comic book to hit in August
The life of Apple visionary Steve Jobs will be told in a comic book to be released in August by the studio that did the same with the story of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.
HP shuffles top executives in shake-up
(AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. is streamlining its executive ranks to improve its focus on customers rather than administration and put more operations directly under CEO Leo Apotheker's control.
A pillow fight on auto-pilot
The breezeway between McLaughlin and O’Brien halls looks like an electronic components store after an explosion. Color-coded wires, screwdrivers, white sprockets and power tools litter the floor—wherever there isn’t a student standing, squatting or lying.
Miniaturized power modules for aircraft bodies
Aircraft maintenance can be time consuming and expensive. It is much simpler if the airplane itself reports, where maintenance is required. The best solution is an approach for the sensor network, which even provides its own power supply and is therefore independent of electrical wiring – and this is what has now been developed by EADS EADS Deutschland GmbH (Germany), in cooperation with the Institute of Sensor and Actuator Systems at Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna). For each individual sensor, electricity is produced by a thermoelectric generator with a small water tank, storing thermal energy. The electricity is simply generated from the temperature difference between the icy cold air in high altitudes and the water –based heat storing unit (and vice versa). This novel approach for providing locally the energy for the operation of the sensor network could not only facilitate aircraft maintenance, but also increase comfort for travelers.
New research system uses social media and other tools to gather, analyze expert opinions
Researchers have developed a new method of eliciting and analyzing opinions from a large group of experts and laypeople to aid complex decision-making, adapting online and social media technologies to lower the cost of such activities while expanding the types of people who can be queried.
Juror faces jail for Facebook chat with defendant
(AP) -- A British juror will be sent to jail for discussing a drug and corruption trial with a defendant on Facebook, a judge said Tuesday.
Spanish website fighting domain name seizure
A popular Spanish website whose .com and .org domain names were seized by the US authorities for alleged copyright violations is challenging the move in a US court.
Hackers target Bethesda videogame studio
US videogame studio Bethesda Softworks on Monday said its websites were hit with a cyberattack over the weekend and warned that hackers may have stolen some user data.
Humor, satire at Webby Awards
Humor, online hits and social good blended at the Webby Awards -- the Internet industry's version of Hollywood's Oscars.
US shops see videogame sales drop in May
US videogame industry sales at real-world shops slumped in May on a light line-up of new titles and shifts to digital content offered for download on the Internet, according to NPD Group.
Facebook lost US users in May: website
Facebook is approaching 700 million members but its growth is slowing and it lost users in the United States and Canada last month, the Inside Facebook website said.
Google 'applying for China mapping licence'
Google and its joint venture partner in China have applied for a licence to operate an online mapping service in the world's biggest web market, a news report said on Tuesday.
New Internet domain suffixes seen as benefit
Small businesses trying to find new ways to market themselves online may soon tap new branding opportunities, if the organization that regulates Internet domain names expands its offering beyond the traditional dot-com suffix.
Turkey 'arrests 32' in raid on hacker group
Turkish police have arrested 32 people suspected of belonging to a cabal of hackers who sabatoged government websites to protest against Internet censorship, the Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday.
Five myths about diesel engines
(PhysOrg.com) -- Diesel engines, long confined to trucks and ships, are garnering more interest for their fuel efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide emissions, relative to gasoline engines. Argonne mechanical engineer Steve Ciatti takes a crack at some of the more persistent myths surrounding the technology.
Facebook helps itself by helping RockMelt browser
(AP) -- Facebook has updated its status to include a relationship with RockMelt, an upstart Web browser that revolves around Facebook's online hangout.
Forecast: Tough times ahead for daily deal sites
Over the next few years, it is likely that daily deal sites will have to settle for lower shares of revenues from businesses compared with their current levels, and it will be harder and more expensive for them to find viable candidates to fill their pipelines of daily deals, according to Utpal Dholakia, associate professor at management at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business. In his third study – the most exhaustive study done to date on the daily deals industry – Dholakia found that there is very little difference between companies in the ever-expanding competition for consumer dollars, and it will be difficult for any one site to stand out from the others.
Mitsubishi electric installs 6-Meter OLED globe at science museum (w/ video)
Mitsubishi Electric announced that it installed a six-meter organic light-emitting display (OLED) globe at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, Japan. The OLED "Geo-Cosmos" display was unveiled at the museum as the world's first large-scale spherical OLED screen on June 11.
Hackers breach US Senate website (Update)
A shadowy group of hackers behind a string of recent cyberattacks claimed on Monday to have breached the US Senate website and taken internal data.
Nissan may delay electric Leaf production in US
Nissan may be forced to delay US production of its electric Leaf and is falling short of this year's goals as a result of the devastating Japanese earthquake, a key executive said Monday.
Nokia says Apple to pay royalties, ending patent disputes
The world's leading mobile phone maker Nokia said Tuesday its competitor Apple had agreed to pay royalties for using Nokia technology in its devices, ending all of their ongoing patent disputes.
Google invests $280 million to spur home solar
(AP) -- Google is investing $280 million to help private homeowners put solar panels on their rooftops. It's Google's latest - and largest - investment in clean energy.
What gamers want: Researchers develop tool to predict player behavior
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new method that can accurately predict the behavior of players in online role-playing games. The tool could be used by the game industry to develop new game content, or to help steer players to the parts of a game they will enjoy most.
Airbus shows off a see-thru concept plane (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Airbus has begun to show off its version of the plane of the future. It is somewhere between cool and disturbing, depending on who you ask, but it definitely represents some interesting new technology that could make flying more energy efficient and a give you something a lot more interesting to look at then the in-flight movie.
Google cranks up search speeds with images, voice (Update)
Google on Tuesday ramped up Internet search speeds by letting people use speech or images to express what they want faster.
Sebastopol, California to get a 1Gbps Internet connection at $70 a month
(PhysOrg.com) -- The people of Sebastopol, California are in for a treat. Thanks to a collaboration between search giant Google and Sonic.net they will have the honor of being the first residential area in the United States that will have a 1Gbps Internet connection available. This is only the second location to get the benefit of a connection of this speed. The first US trials were done at Stanford University, where 850 faculty and staff homes on campus were enabled with the connection at a speed that would have seemed like a pipe dream even five years ago.
'Smart cars' that are actually, well, smart
Since 2000, there have been 110 million car accidents in the United States, more than 443,000 of which have been fatal — an average of 110 fatalities per day. These statistics make traffic accidents one of the leading causes of death in this country, as well as worldwide.
Pterosaur-inspired aircraft makes sharper turns
(PhysOrg.com) -- By morphing and repositioning a small aircraft's vertical tail to resemble the cranial crest of a pterosaur, researchers have shown that the aircraft's turn radius can be reduced by 14%. The ability to make sharper turns is especially important for small aircraft that operate in urban environments and in the presence of obstacles.
Medicine & Health news
Reducing the number of heart attack deaths at major sporting venues
The number of heart attack deaths at Europe's sporting venues is set to significantly reduce if recommendations published today are widely adopted. In a special article published online today by the European Heart Journal (EHJ), minimum standards of cardiovascular medical expertise, available equipment, and emergency planning are defined for stadiums and mass participation events, including marathons and cycle sportives. The recommendations have been developed in response to a 2010 review of cardiovascular safety at 190 major soccer arenas. This review determined that, without appropriate measures, there could be one death every five to ten matches at a typical 50,000-seater arena.
Doc's arthritis struggle shows illness' severity
(AP) -- Dr. Sue Zieman can almost set her watch by her disease: Twice a day, she gets a fever and the already arthritic joints in her arms and hands, legs and feet abruptly, painfully swell even more. During the evening flare, even the tendons in her feet puff up, rope-like worms just under her skin.
Donors promise $4 billion to global vaccines body
(AP) -- Donors promised to give a global vaccines body more than $4 billion to help it protect millions of children from diseases like measles, pneumonia and yellow fever.
East Africa and Middle East seek plan to keep animal diseases from disrupting livestock trade
With increased trade in livestock products offering a possible antidote to high food prices, livestock experts from the Middle East and 12 African countries are meeting this week in Dubai to develop a strategy that eliminates the need to impose devastating bans on livestock imports from the Horn of Africa, as prevention against the spread of Rift Valley fever. The strategy should expedite the flow of livestock products while increasing safety of the overall livestock trade in the region.
White adolescent girls may be losing sleep from the pressure to be thin
Sleep duration has a significant association with feelings of external pressure to obtain or maintain a thin body among adolescent girls, especially those who are white, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
Sleep problems may be a link between perceived racism and poor health
Perceived racial discrimination is associated with an increased risk of sleep disturbance, which may have a negative impact on mental and physical health, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
Sugar-binding protein may play a role in HIV infection
Specific types of "helper" T cells that are crucial to maintaining functioning immune systems contain an enzyme called PDI (protein disulfide isomerase).
Study finds relationship between chronic illness and depression
(Medical Xpress) -- New research from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine, shows that adults over the age of 50 with at least one chronic illness (such as migraine) are more likely to experience a major depressive episode, than those living without a chronic illness.
Author Terry Pratchett defends right-to-die film
(AP) -- Writer Terry Pratchett said Tuesday that watching a man being helped to die had reaffirmed his support for assisted suicide, while anti-euthanasia groups criticized the televised death as propaganda.
Self-identified social smokers less likely to try to quit
(Medical Xpress) -- Self-identified social smokers are less likely to try to quit and to avoid smoking for more than a month, according to a national study in the American Journal of Public Health conducted by professors at the University of California, Merced, and UC San Francisco.
Toward a more efficient therapy for a specific form of leukemia
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a particular form of leukemia or cancer of the bone marrow, which can be treated with targeted imatinib. However, in some cases this medicine has no effect. Researchers at the VIB Vesalius Research Centre, K.U. Leuven, under the direction of Peter Carmeliet, have investigated the role of placental growth factor (PlGF) in mice with CML. Blocking this growth factor increases the life expectancy of these mice, even in those resistant to imatinib.
ESC calls for research into vulnerable plaques
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology has published a position paper to raise the profile of vulnerable plaques and the need for greater use of therapies to promote plaque stabilisation. The position paper, published online today in Thrombosis and Haemostasis, is also calling for more research into the causes of plaque rupture, and for the development of better diagnostics and treatments.
Extreme exertion does not impair the quality of CPR given by lifeguards
Swim centre personnel and lifeguards have higher stamina and carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation more effectively than personnel in the emergency healthcare services, even though they have undergone extreme exertion. Their life-saving efforts may be crucial while waiting for an ambulance. This is the conclusion of research carried out at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Noninvasive liver tests may predict hepatitis C patient survival
Non-invasive tests for liver fibrosis, such as liver stiffness measurement or the FibroTest, can predict survival of patients with chronic hepatitis C, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
New toolkit will help identify early language issues
(Medical Xpress) -- A new assessment tool will help prevent multilingual children being wrongly diagnosed with speech and language problems.
Physician-rating websites are biased, study says
Patients posting their opinions about doctors on online ratings websites are much less likely to discuss physicians with low perceived quality and are more prone than offline populations to exaggerate their opinions, according to a paper being presented at a healthcare conference sponsored by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
Healing times for dental implants could be cut
The technology used to replace lost teeth with titanium dental implants could be improved. By studying the surface structure of dental implants not only at micro level but also at nano level, researchers at the University of Gothenburg; Sweden, have come up with a method that could shorten the healing time for patients.
Screening helps African-American students connect with school-based mental health services
Mental health screening has been demonstrated to successfully connect African-American middle school students from a predominantly low-income area with school-based mental health services, according to results of a new study led by the TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University. The study was published in a recent online early edition of the Community Mental Health Journal.
AARP reports on an Oregon creation to help patients with advanced illness: the Polst Program
An Oregon-pioneered program aimed at improving health care for those with advanced illness is now receiving national attention. AARP recently released a report about the Physicians Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, or POLST, program. The program was created to honor the treatment wishes of patients with advanced progressive illness or frailty.
Out of reach? Rural elders have highest rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease
Despite living in the countryside, where open space is plentiful and there is often significant agricultural production, California's more than half a million rural elders are far more likely to be overweight or obese, physically inactive and food insecure than their suburban counterparts, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Poorer outcomes linked with certain hormone for patients with early-stage chronic kidney disease
Patients in the early stages of chronic kidney disease who had elevated levels of the endocrine hormone fibroblast growth factor 23 (that regulates phosphorus metabolism) had an associated increased risk of end-stage renal disease and death, according to a study in the June 15 issue of JAMA.
New finding is potential predictor of deadly cancer common in Asia
In a study recently published in Cancer Research, Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers found a protein that could help predict the spread of the head and neck cancer nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); this protein could also serve as part of a treatment strategy to stop the spread of the disease.
Study uses planning prompts to enhance vaccination rates
(Medical Xpress) -- We all have good intentions, but sometimes we need a nudge to turn those intentions into actions. According to a new study, encouraging people to write down the date and time when they plan to get their flu shot increased the number of people who were vaccinated.
Sleep loss in early childhood may contribute to the development of ADHD symptoms
Short sleep duration may contribute to the development or worsening of hyperactivity and inattention during early childhood, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
The good life: Good sleepers have better quality of life and less depression
Getting six to nine hours of sleep per night is associated with higher ratings for quality of life and lower ratings for depression, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
Sleep can boost classroom performance of college students
Sleep can help college students retain and integrate new information to solve problems on a classroom exam, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia can reduce suicidal ideation
Treating sleep problems with cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia can reduce suicidal ideation, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
College students sleep longer but drink more and get lower grades when classes start later
Although a class schedule with later start times allows colleges students to get more sleep, it also gives them more time to stay out drinking at night. As a result, their grades are more likely to suffer, suggests a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 14, in Minneapolis, Minn., at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS).
Study presents new evidence of how physical activity benefits heart health in seniors
(Medical Xpress) -- Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found the strongest evidence to date that staying physically active helps improve the functioning of heart arteries in older Americans. The findings, published online June 13 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging, support the heart-health benefits of even moderate exercise, such as walking one hour per day.
International study shows Caesareans not as 'posh' as commonly believed
(Medical Xpress) -- A ground-breaking study of women who have given birth in New Zealand, Scotland and England, has found the strongest evidence yet that having caesarean sections does not always protect women from the common and often distressing after-effect of urinary or faecal incontinence.
New E. coli sicknesses declining
(AP) -- Germany's national disease control center says the number of new cases of E. coli illness being reported has slowed to a trickle.
Money can't buy happiness
Freedom and personal autonomy are more important to people's well-being than money, according to a meta-analysis of data from 63 countries published by the American Psychological Association.
Threat to United States from new European E. coli strain unclear
(Medical Xpress) -- Over the centuries, many unexpected things have come to the United States from Germany and caught on -- lager beer, sauerkraut, bratwurst and the Volkswagen Beetle are a few that come to mind -- but don't necessarily expect the novel strain of E. coli that is responsible for more than 2,800 cases of illness and 27 deaths in Germany to show up immediately in this country, advises a foodborne-disease expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
New rules to cut confusion on sunscreen claims
(AP) -- Help is on the way to consumers confused by the jumble of sun protection numbers and other claims on sunscreens.
Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets may reduce both tumor growth rates and cancer risk
Eating a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet may reduce the risk of cancer and slow the growth of tumors already present, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
New research provides clues on why hair turns gray
A new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center has shown that, for the first time, Wnt signaling, already known to control many biological processes, between hair follicles and melanocyte stem cells can dictate hair pigmentation. The study was published in the June 11, 2011 issue of the journal Cell.
Wired for sound: A small fish's brain illustrates how people and other vertebrates produce sounds
Cornell researchers have identified regions of a fish brain that reveal the basic circuitry for how humans and other vertebrates generate sound used for social communication.
Parkinson's patients sing in tune with creative arts therapy
Twice a month a jam session takes place on the third floor of Northwestern Memorial's Prentice Women's Hospital. A diverse group of men and women, ranging in age and ethnicity, gather in a circle with instruments in hand and sing together. This is no ordinary jam band; all its members have Parkinson's disease. They are participating in Creative Arts for Parkinson's, a music and drama therapy program offered through Northwestern's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center.
Researchers find potential therapeutic target for controlling obesity
A new study from Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that a cellular signaling pathway governs the differentiation of cells into fat tissue or smooth muscle, which lines the vascular system. Engaging this signaling pathway and its capacity to govern cell differentiation has important implications in preventing obesity and cardiovascular disease. The study is published in the June issue of Developmental Cell.
Ovarian cancer cells bully their way through tissue
A team led by Joan Brugge, the Louise Foote Pfeiffer Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, recently shed light on how ovarian cancer spreads. In a paper published in the July edition of the journal Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, Brugge and colleagues found that ovarian cancer cells act like bullies, using brute force to plow their way through tissue and colonize additional organs.
Food coloring and ADHD -- no known link, but wider safety issues remain: researcher
When University of Maryland psychologist Andrea Chronis-Tuscano testified before a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing last March, it changed her mind about possible risks of artificial food coloring for children, and drove her to look more closely at the products in her own pantry that she feeds her kids.
Ancestry plays vital role in nutrition and disease, study shows
Over the past decade, much progress has been made regarding the understanding and promise of personalized medicine. Scientists are just beginning to consider the impact of gene-diet interactions in different populations in regards to disease prevention and treatment.
Fluent English speakers translate into Chinese automatically
Over half the world's population speaks more than one language. But it's not clear how these languages interact in the brain. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that Chinese people who are fluent in English translate English words into Chinese automatically and quickly, without thinking about it.
Note to dads: Good parenting makes a difference
Father's Day this Sunday is a chance to recognize dads for putting up with all manner of nonsense that kids manage to cook up on the way to adulthood.
Prostate cancer gets around hormone therapy by activating a survival cell signaling pathway
Cancer is crafty. When one avenue driving its growth is blocked by drugs targeting that path, the malignancy often creates a detour, finding an alternative route to get around the roadblock.
Restoring trust vital in public acceptance of the use of residual newborn screening specimens
Government guidelines published today on the use of dried blood spots collected during mandatory newborn screening underemphasize the importance of getting the public on board with the practice, according to University of Michigan researcher.
Rating hospital quality means asking the right questions, experts say
With an increased emphasis on grading hospitals and a push to withhold payments from hospitals who don't meet certain standards, two Johns Hopkins researchers argue that more attention needs to be paid to the quality of the measurement tools used to praise and punish.
Study points to patient safety risks outside hospital walls
Ever since the Institute of Medicine issued its landmark report "To Err Is Human" in 1999, significant attention has been paid to improving patient safety in hospitals nationwide.
Blood pressure changes are age-related
The main causes of increases in blood pressure over a lifetime are modifiable and could be targeted to help prevent cardiovascular disease: although high blood pressure sometimes has no obvious symptoms, this condition, which affects about a third of the adult UK and US populations, can lead to life-threatening heart attacks and stroke, so reducing blood pressure is very important for health.
Lower risk of SIDS linked to breastfeeding
(Medical Xpress) -- In a new study published in Pediatrics, lead researcher Dr. Fern Hauck from the University School of Medicine analyzed previous sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, studies and agrees that breastfeeding greatly reduces the risk of SIDS death.
First mother-daughter womb transplant planned
The world's first mother-daughter uterus transplant could take place next year in Sweden, the head of an international research team in the western Swedish city of Gothenburg said Tuesday.
Researchers pinpoint role of key proteins in Crohn's Disease
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered the role the interactions between key proteins plays in the body’s response to Crohn’s Disease - a revelation that may lead to the development of new therapies for patients.
Sweet temptation: Brain signals amplify desire for sugary treats
(Medical Xpress) -- The next time you are craving sweets, blame it on your brain. The brain receiving amplified signals can trigger an intense desire to satisfy a sweet tooth with sugary foods, a new University of Michigan study shows.
The surprising connection between two types of perception
(Medical Xpress) -- The brain is constantly changing as it perceives the outside world, processing and learning about everything it encounters. In a new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, scientists find a surprising connection between two types of perception: If you’re looking at a group of objects and getting a general sense of them, it’s difficult for your brain to learn relationships between the objects.
New cell type offers new hope
(Medical Xpress) -- A team of Melbourne scientists has discovered a new type of cell in the immune system. Their findings could ultimately lead to the development of novel drugs that strengthen the immune response against particular types of infectious organisms.
Copper folds protein into precursors of Parkinson's plaques
Researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out how copper induces misfolding in the protein associated with Parkinson's disease, leading to creation of the fibrillar plaques which characterize the disease. This finding has implications for both the study of Parkinson's progression, as well as for future treatments.
Molecular mechanism for some anti-arrhythmia drugs discovered
University of British Columbia researchers – using an innovative, atom-by-atom substitution method – have uncovered the mechanism by which a particular class of drugs controls irregular heartbeats.
Fear boosts activation of young, immature brain cells
Fear burns memories into our brain, and new research by University of California, Berkeley, neuroscientists explains how.
Learning to count not as easy as 1, 2, 3: Working with larger numbers matters
Preschool children seem to grasp the true concept of counting only if they are taught to understand the number value of groups of objects greater than three, research at the University of Chicago shows.
Prolonged TV viewing linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease
Watching television is the most common daily activity apart from work and sleep in many parts of the world, but it is time for people to change their viewing habits. According to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, prolonged TV viewing was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.
Memory training video games can increase brain power
(Medical Xpress) -- In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Susanne Jaeggi from the University of Michigan looked at the use of specialized video games have the ability to help children solve problems easier.
Biology news
Wet spring seriously delays planting and harvesting for Pa. farmers
Spring was so wet this year in parts of Pennsylvania that eventual crop yields may be in jeopardy due to delayed planting, according to experts in Penn State's College of Agriculture Sciences.
E. coli bacteria more likely to develop resistance after exposure to low levels of antibiotics
E. coli bacteria exposed to three common antibiotics were more likely to develop antibiotic resistance following low-level antibiotic exposure than after exposure to high concentrations that would kill the bacteria or inhibit their growth, according to a timely article in Microbial Drug Resistance, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Scientists pitch in to help keep salad mixes safe to eat
It's no wonder that packaged salad mixes are a produce section favorite. They offer convenience, selection, and quality, and perhaps best of all, they free us from the chore of washing and chopping, slicing, or shredding salad greens.
Chillingham cattle cowed by climate change
Spring flowers are opening sooner and songbirds breeding earlier in the year, but scientists know little about how climate change is affecting phenology – the timing of key biological events – in UK mammals. Now, a new study on Northumberland's iconic Chillingham cattle published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology shows climate change is altering when these animals breed, and fewer calves are surviving as a result.
Scientists find deadly amphibian disease in the last disease-free region of central America
Smithsonian scientists have confirmed that chytridiomycosis, a rapidly spreading amphibian disease, has reached a site near Panama's Darien region. This was the last area in the entire mountainous neotropics to be free of the disease. This is troubling news for the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, a consortium of nine U.S. and Panamanian institutions that aims to rescue 20 species of frogs in imminent danger of extinction.
Led by China, fish farms 'soaring'
Nearly half of the fish eaten around the world now comes from farms instead of the wild, with more foresight needed in China and other producers to limit the ecological impact, a study said on Tuesday.
Unique gene combinations control tropical maize response to day lengths
Tropical maize proves to be a valuable genetic resource, containing genetics not found in USA Corn Belt maize. Most tropical maize varieties respond to the long summer day lengths that occur in U.S. growing regions by flowering late. This delayed flowering response results in poor yields, effectively trapping the useful genes and hindering their incorporation into maize hybrids adapted to the most productive corn growing regions.
New light shed on cell division
Genes control everything from eye color to disease susceptibility, and inheritance - the passing of the genes from generation to generation after they have been duplicated - depends on centromeres. Located in the little pinched waist of each chromosome, centromeres control the movements that separate sister chromosomes when cells divide ensuring that each daughter cell inherits a complete copy of each chromosome. It has long been known that centromeres are not formed solely from DNA; rather, centromere proteins (CENPs) facilitate the assembly of a centromere on each chromosome. Understanding how a protein structure can be copied with enough precision to be stable, generation after generation, has been a mystery.
New study supports Darwin's hypothesis on competition between species
A new study provides support for Darwin's hypothesis that the struggle for existence is stronger between more closely related species than those distantly related. While ecologists generally accept the premise, this new study contains the strongest direct experimental evidence yet to support its validity.
New microscope unlocks the cell's mysteries at the molecular level
(PhysOrg.com) -- Among science’s "final frontiers," one of the most difficult to cross has been looking into the molecular-level workings of living cells. Now, a University of Massachusetts Amherst physicist has built an instrument to do just that and is beginning to uncover secrets such as how enzymes regulate various cell functions.
Study shows genes may play a role in promiscuity
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent study, in what is likely to stir some controversy, researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Germany have shown that finches in the wild, normally a monogamous type of bird, tend to cheat on their "spouses" and what’s more, it appears to be an inherited trait; but that’s not the end of it, the researchers also suggest in their paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that such inherited traits may also exist in other species, including man.
Stress may lead to better bird parenting
Birds with high levels of stress hormones have the highest mating success and offer better parental care to their brood, according to new biology research at Queen's University.
Salivating over wheat plants may net Hessian flies big meal or death
The interaction between a Hessian fly's saliva and the wheat plant it is attacking may be the key to whether the pest eats like a king or dies like a starving pauper, according to a study done at Purdue University.
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