Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for July 25, 2011:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Transparent batteries: seeing straight through to the future? (w/ video)- Physicists offer countermeasure to new quantum eavesdropping attack
- Graphene's 'quantum leap' takes electronics a step closer
- Unique volcanic complex discovered on Moon's far side
- Rare coupling of magnetic and electric properties in a single material
- Improving batteries' energy storage
- Interrupted sleep impairs memory in mice
- One electron could be key to furture drugs that repair sunburn
- Potential stroke treatment may extend time to prevent brain damage
- Pocket chemistry: DNA helps glucose meters measure more than sugar
- Soft spheres settle in somewhat surprising structure
- Minority rules: Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideas
- New 3-D photonic crystal has both electronic, optical properties
- Cloned trees raised in separate places react differently to drought
- Specialized regulatory T cell stifles antibody production centers
Space & Earth news
Feds say Yellowstone cleanup will take more people
(AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. will have to bring in more people to mop up oil from a broken pipeline beneath the Yellowstone River as receding floodwaters reveal new contamination, federal officials said Friday.
Impact statement on US oil pipeline due in August
The US State Department said Friday it expects by mid-August to release a final environmental impact statement on a proposed $13 billion oil pipeline that would stretch from Canada to Texas.
Researchers fight brutal drought with web-based tools for farmers
In the battle against the state’s prolonged and brutal drought, Texas Tech University agricultural researchers have released two new farmer-friendly computer tools that save scarce irrigation water and boost bottom lines for parched producers.
Cosmic bullseye: Auriga's wheel
One of the strangest types of galaxies are those known as ring galaxies. Examples of these include Hoag’s Object (shown above), the Cartwheel Galaxy, and AM 0644-741. These unusual shapes are cause by a galactic collision in which a smaller galaxy plunges nearly straight through the center of a larger galaxy. The gravitational disturbance caused a wave of star formation to ripple out from the center. In most cases, the intruder galaxy is long gone, but a serendipitous discovery as part of a larger survey recently turned up another of these objects, this time with the collisional partner still making its getaway.
SwRI suborbital payload specialists move to flight planning phase, release mission patch
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) announced in February that it had contracted multiple suborbital flights for its own astronaut payload specialists as part of a larger effort to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight. Preparations for these flights are proceeding and will be flown on a combination SwRI manifest of XCOR Lynx I and Virgin Galactic SpaceShip 2 vehicles. The Lynx I missions will reach altitudes of about 200,000 feet; the SpaceShip 2 missions will reach altitudes near 350,000 feet.
For the love of trees: Book tells all about forest hydrology, biogeochemistry
Delphis (Del) Levia, associate professor of geography at the University of Delaware, has always loved trees. Growing up on his parents' 93-acre farm in central Massachusetts, he and his brothers and sisters played in the woods all the time, under the towering American beech, sugar maple and oak trees.
MAVEN mission completes major milestone
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission reached a major milestone last week when it successfully completed its Mission Critical Design Review (CDR).
Moon glides by bright star, Mars next week before dawn
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Moon puts on a great show before dawn next week as it passes by a bright star and planet, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.
Northwest Forest Plan has unintended benefit - carbon sequestration
The Northwest Forest Plan enacted in 1993 was designed to conserve old-growth forests and protect species such as the northern spotted owl, but researchers conclude in a new study that it had another powerful and unintended consequence – increased carbon sequestration on public lands.
NASA catches 3 tropical cyclones at 1 time
It's not often that a satellite can capture an image of more than one tropical cyclone, but the GOES-13 satellite managed to get 3 tropical cyclones in two ocean basins in one image today. Bret and his "sister" Cindy are racing through the North Atlantic, while another area tries to develop far to their south. "Cousin" Dora is still a hurricane in the eastern Pacific.
Crowd welcomes home, thanks final shuttle crew
(AP) -- It may have been the final big official event of the last space shuttle mission, but a welcome-home and thank-you party for the crew of Atlantis Friday wasn't dwelling on any sad ending.
Russian space telescope unfurls giant antenna
A giant new Russian space telescope on Saturday unfurled its dish-like antenna which will observe radio waves from galaxies and black holes billions of light years away.
3Q: The next Mars rover's destination
When the next-generation Mars rover, dubbed Curiosity, touches down on martian soil next summer, its cameras will likely capture a scene similar to what the first explorers of the Grand Canyon witnessed: towering layers of rock and sediment rising up from a dusty valley.
Aura detects pollution in the Great Lakes region
(PhysOrg.com) -- Fires throughout Ontario are generating pollution that is showing up in data from NASA's Aura Satellite in the Great Lakes region.
Astronomy without a telescope - bubblology
One model of a hypothetical multiverse has, perhaps appropriately, some similarity to a glass of beer. Imagine an eternal false vacuum – that’s a bit like a fluid, though not all that much like a fluid – since it doesn’t have volume, in fact it doesn’t have any spatial dimensions. Then imagine that this eternal false vacuum expands.
Corn yields with perennial cover crop are equal to traditional farming
Soil quality, water quality, and possibly even farm profits will all benefit by using a perennial cover crop on corn fields that allows for similar yields to traditional farming methods, according to Iowa State University research.
Tropical Depression 10W bringing rain to the Philippines
The tenth tropical depression formed in the western North Pacific Ocean this past weekend, and brought rains to the central Philippines as seen on infrared imagery from a NASA satellite.
China attempts dive to 5,000m: state media
A Chinese submersible embarked on what the crew hoped would be the country's deepest manned dive ever Tuesday, state media reported, as it seeks to exploit the vast resources of the ocean floor.
Daunting space task -- send astronauts to asteroid
With the space shuttle now history, NASA's next great mission is so audacious, the agency's best minds are wrestling with how to pull it off: Send astronauts to an asteroid in less than 15 years.
Has warming put 'Dirty Dozen' pollutants back in the saddle?
"Dirty Dozen" chemicals, including the notoriously toxic DDT, are being freed from Arctic sea ice and snow through global warming, a study published on Sunday suggested.
Researchers confirm the discovery of a new planetary nebula
(PhysOrg.com) -- Macquarie University PhD student Dimitri Douchin, and his adviser Orsola De Marco have played a pivotal role in the latest discovery of a new planetary nebula.
Researchers provide detailed picture of ice loss following the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves
An international team of researchers has combined data from multiple sources to provide the clearest account yet of how much glacial ice surges into the sea following the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves.
Space station faces steady threat from orbiting space junk
Now that the space shuttle is retired, NASA and space agencies around the world will focus on the International Space Station for the rest of this decade - and cross their fingers that it lasts that long.
Alabama tornado team scours paths of killer storms
The Mobile Meteorological Measurement Vehicle - a worn-looking '90s-model Dodge Intrepid with classic rock on the radio, a tower of weather gauges attached to its roof and a laptop computer bolted to its dash - crested a rolling hill on its way to tiny Hackleburg, Ala.
Climate-change-induced wildfires may alter Yellowstone forests
Climate change in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem will increase the frequency of wildfires and alter the composition of the forests by 2050, according to a team of ecologists who modeled the effects of higher temperatures on fire occurrence.
Unique volcanic complex discovered on Moon's far side
(PhysOrg.com) -- Analysis of new images of a curious “hot spot” on the far side of the Moon reveal it to be a small volcanic province created by the upwelling of silicic magma. The unusual location of the province and the surprising composition of the lava that formed it offer tantalizing clues to the Moon’s thermal history.
Technology news
US tabloids less aggressive than British: experts
US tabloid newspapers including ones owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation are less aggressive than their British counterparts, partly due to readers' differing demands, experts say.
Hybrid vehicle team to test drive new efficient dual-fuel engine
An award-winning University of Wisconsin-Madison student hybrid vehicle will become a showcase for advanced fuel technology that harnesses the advantages of both diesel and gasoline.
'FaceGlat': Orthodoxy's kosher answer to Facebook
A new social networking site for ultra-Orthodox Jews takes customary segregation of the sexes online and also bars pictures or ads deemed immodest in ultra-Orthodox society.
Special committee defends Wall Street Journal
A special committee set up to ensure the editorial integrity of The Wall Street Journal following its 2007 purchase by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said Monday it found no evidence of wrongdoing at the newspaper.
Sandia's CANARY software protects water utilities from terrorist attacks and contaminants
Americans are used to drinking from the kitchen tap without fear of harm, even though water utilities might be vulnerable to terrorist attacks or natural contaminants.
Crash raises doubts about China's fast rail plans
(AP) -- Doubts about China's breakneck plans to expand high-speed rail across the country have been underscored by a bullet train wreck that killed at least 39 people.
Finland to boost web surveillance after Norway attacks
Finnish police said Monday they will monitor the Internet more rigorously for evidence of extremists plots following last week's twin massacres in neighbouring Norway.
China suspends 2 of 5 fake Apple stores in 1 city
(AP) -- Chinese officials found five fake Apple stores in a southwestern city and ordered two of them to suspend business while they're investigated, a local government website said Monday.
Credit card hacker sentenced to 10 years in prison
Rogelio Hackett, who stole more than half a million credit card numbers used to rack up nearly $40 million in illicit debt, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison and fined $100,000.
Judge nixes Winklevoss twin's Facebook lawsuit
A US judge on Friday blocked the latest courtroom campaign by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss to undo a deal they made to settle a squabble over who came up with the idea for Facebook.
IMF 'may never know' who mounted cyber attack
The International Monetary Fund said Friday it may be impossible to identify who mounted a cyber attack on its computer files in May, after a Bloomberg report suggested it was China.
Dow Jones editor reminds reporters of ethics code
Dow Jones editor-in-chief Robert Thomson, the American flagship of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, has reminded journalists that they must follow a code of ethics in a memo to all staff.
Japan goes digital after turning off analogue TV
Japan on Sunday shifted to digital terrestrial broadcasting, switching off its analogue television network in all areas except those worst hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the government said.
Japan to test-drill for seabed 'burning ice'
Japan will seek to extract natural gas from seabed deposits of methane hydrate, also known as "burning ice", in the world's first such offshore experiment, a news report said Monday.
Improving cell phones, one drop at a time
Once upon a time, when you dropped a radio, camera or phone and it broke, there was only one person to blame for its destruction: the klutz who dropped it. But now that these products have melded into one and shrunk to the size of a deck of cards, we expect our phone/television/camera/video recorder/music player/daily planner to endure a mere 3-foot fall.
Study exposes habit formation in smartphone users
Popular media has raised the issue of repetitive and obsessive use of smartphones. Data collected in Finland and in USA presents the first scientific evidence for what the authors dubbed "checking habits": repetitive checks of the menu screen, news, email, contacts, and social applications on the device. A typical checking lasts less than 30 seconds and involves opening the screen lock and accessing a single application.
Water purification unit generates its own energy
A new biological water purification facility developed by Siemens generates enough methane gas to power its own operations. It also produces much less sludge than conventional systems. The pilot facility for this process, which is located at a site run by Singapore’s Public Utilities Board, has been operating in an energy- neutral manner since June 2010. Now, the city state is building a much larger pilot facility – one that will process 300 times more effluent than its predecessor, or about as much sewage water as is produced by around 1,000 people.
Computer model optimizes wind farm
A new software from Siemens will improve wind farms’ energy yields and extend their service life. When the wind causes the huge rotors to turn, it generates turbulence, which interferes with the operation of the wind turbines in the rows to the rear. To address this problem, the new software program simulates the behavior of the entire wind farm and adjusts the individual turbines’ performance with one another. According to experts, this could increase the energy yield by several percent, as reported in the latest issue of the research magazine "Pictures of the Future". The same method could also be used to reduce the mechanical stress on the wind turbines, thus extending their service life. The software is currently undergoing endurance testing at Sweden’s Lillgrund wind farm.
Deutsche Bahn, RWE sign renewable electric contract
German national railway Deutsche Bahn (DB) and power company RWE signed on Monday a 15-year hydro-electric supply contract worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.9 billion).
Google plans social games debut
Google Inc. is planning to debut a platform for social games that would compete with offerings on Facebook.
Hackers attack Italian cyber police website
Hacker groups LulzSec and Anonymous announced on Monday that they had hacked into the website of Italy's cyber police and published classified information online in an attack dubbed "Operation Italy".
Senior US cybersecurity official resigns
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official responsible for defending US government networks against cyberattacks resigned on Monday.
Wolfram Research introduces new programmable document type
(PhysOrg.com) -- Wolfram Research, the same folks who brought us both Mathematica, and Wolfram Alpha (see here, here, and here), the search computation site, is now announcing via Conrad Wolfram’s blog, that it has designed a new document format that allows for simple programming on the creator end, and interactivity on the user end. Called, appropriately enough, the Computable Document Format (CDF), it takes PDF documents one step further by allowing data embedded in a document to be manipulated in real time.
'Anonymous' hackers access Austrian bank data
The Austrian branch of the hacker group Anonymous accessed the bank data of 96,000 people in an attack on the website of the country's GIS television licence agency, officials said on Monday.
RIM cutting 2,000 jobs, COO retiring
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) announced Monday it was cutting 2,000 jobs and that its ailing chief operating officer planned to retire.
Google buys computer vision startup 'PittPatt'
Google on Monday said it has bought a computer vision startup spun out of the robotics institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
Improving batteries' energy storage
MIT researchers have found a way to improve the energy density of a type of battery known as lithium-air (or lithium-oxygen) batteries, producing a device that could potentially pack several times more energy per pound than the lithium-ion batteries that now dominate the market for rechargeable devices in everything from cellphones to cars.
Transparent batteries: seeing straight through to the future? (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Stanford researchers have invented a transparent lithium-ion battery that is also highly flexible. It is comparable in cost to regular batteries on the market today, with great potential for applications in consumer electronics.
Medicine & Health news
Mismatch between cancer genetics counseling and testing guidelines and physician practices
A new analysis has found that many doctors report that they do not appropriately offer breast and ovarian cancer counseling and testing services to their female patients. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that efforts are needed to encourage these services for high-risk women and discourage them for average-risk women.
Hard fight ahead: Experts hope for rapid progress against Alzheimer's
Experts on Alzheimer’s disease expressed hope of rapid progress against the condition Friday (July 22) even as they acknowledged that there’s little medical science can do today to help patients.
Long-acting contraception methods reduce repeat abortions
Repeat abortions are significantly reduced if women use long-acting reversible contraceptive methods such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) after an abortion.
Computer program could 'revolutionize the world's health care'
Working with a number of partners, the academics have been awarded funds from a huge European research programme to create "virtual patients" – computational models of individual people – which could lead to everyone having their own individually-tailored health system based on their genetic and physiological make-up.
US cryonics founder dies, has body frozen
Robert Ettinger, founder of a movement that advocates storing bodies at ultra-low temperatures after death until new technology allows them to be revived, has died and his body frozen at the institute he founded, his family said Monday.
Oncologists publish HPV manual for physicians
A pair of oncologists in the Program in Women's Oncology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island recently co-authored a pocket-sized guide to the human papilloma virus (HPV) so physicians can make more accurate diagnosis and plan more effective treatment for women with the virus.
Harmful effects of hypothyroidism on maternal and fetal health drive new guidelines for managing thyroid disease in preg
Emerging data clarifying the risks of insufficient thyroid activity during pregnancy on the health of the mother and fetus, and on the future intellectual development of the child, have led to new clinical guidelines for diagnosing and managing thyroid disease during this critical period. The guidelines, developed by an American Thyroid Association (ATA) expert task force, are presented in Thyroid.
Diabetes mortality rates in status Aboriginal adults in Alberta concerning
Diabetes rate increases in status Aboriginal adults in Alberta appear to be slowing compared with the general population, although diabetes is more common in status Aboriginals and death rates for this group are significantly higher than the general population, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Death rates have in fact remained unchanged for status Aboriginals who do not have diabetes.
Comprehensive immigrant and refugee health guidelines new resource for physicians
The largest, most comprehensive evidence-based guidelines to immigrant health — designed to help Canadian physicians meet the unique needs of this group — are being published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Culprits and cures for obesity may reside in our gut
Obesity in the United States is reaching ever more alarming proportions, posing a severe menace to public health and exacerbating a crisis in health care costs both domestically and worldwide.
Eye anatomy at camp? Kids get taste of med careers
(AP) -- Again and again, 12-year-old Brianna Bowens cautiously pokes the human eyeball. On purpose.
Study examines screening for pancreatic cancer in high-risk populations
Researchers from New England report in a new study that using a tumor marker, serum CA 19-9, combined with an endoscopic ultrasound if the tumor marker is elevated, is more likely to detect stage 1 pancreatic cancer in a high-risk population than by using the standard means of detection. The study appears in the July issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).
Study finds important risk factors for death/transplantation in children with heart muscle disease
Researchers have identified important risk factors for death and transplantation in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease), according to results from a study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.
Test measuring blood glucose control may help predict risk of CVD events in patients with diabetes
Measuring hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ) levels in patients with diabetes is associated with improvement in models for predicting risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Internal Medicine.
Catching the West Nile virus in action
Since 1999, several outbreaks of West Nile Virus, which causes fever or severe neurological symptoms and is transmitted from birds to humans by blood-sucking mosquitoes, have been seen in the U.S., usually during the summer months. But researchers aren't certain how the virus migrated here -- and they don't know how, or where, it will appear next.
IV fluids may reduce severity of kidney failure in kids with E. coli infection
Infection with E. coli bacteria can wreak havoc in children, leading to bloody diarrhea, fever and kidney failure.
'30 days of hell' for US victim of German E. coli
(AP) -- In early May, John Meyer stayed at a lakeside hotel in Hamburg, Germany. He attended a business conference. He went sailing. And he became one of the few U.S. victims in one of the worst food poisoning outbreaks in recent world history.
Children eating more, and more frequently outside the home
As childhood obesity rises and the American diet shifts towards increasing consumption of foods eaten or prepared outside of the home, concerns about the nutritional quality and the total consumption of such foods are also increasing. According to a study conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and published in the August 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, eating location and food source significantly impact daily energy intake for children. Foods prepared away from home, including fast food eaten at home and store-prepared food eaten away from home, are fueling the increase in total calorie intake.
'Skipping' drug marks step forward for muscular dystrophy
An experimental drug designed to fit a DNA patch in a flawed gene has cleared an important hurdle in tests on boys struck by a tragic muscle-wasting disease, a British study on Monday says.
Swear words shed light on how language shapes thought
Why were people offended when BBC broadcaster James Naughtie mispronounced the surname of the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt? Why is it much easier for bilingual speakers to swear in their second language? Why are people offended by swear words – but not euphemisms?
Researchers identify drug target for atherosclerosis
(Medical Xpress) -- UC Davis researchers have made a significant step forward in the search for ways to reduce heart attack and stroke risk.
Survival of stage IV breast cancer patients improves with stem cell treatment, study finds
(Medical Xpress) -- A new long-term study of women with Stage IV breast cancer at the Stanford University School of Medicine is likely to revive a decade-old debate about high-dose chemotherapy as a treatment option. Specifically, researchers found that a greater proportion of patients who received the aggressive treatment 12 to 14 years ago, followed by a rescue with their own, specially purified blood stem cells that had been purged of cancer, survived compared with those who were rescued with unmanipulated blood grafts.
First targeted treatment success for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
(Medical Xpress) -- A team led by scientists at UCL, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and AVI BioPharma, have made an important breakthrough in the development of a treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
Weak synchronization in toddler brains may be a biological marker for autism
The biological causes of autism are still not understood. A diagnosis of autism is only possible after ages three or four; and the tests are subjective, based on behavioral symptoms. Now, in research that appeared in Neuron, scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, San Diego have found, for the first time, a method that can accurately identify a biological sign of autism in very young toddlers. By scanning the brain activity of sleeping children, the scientists discovered that the autistic brains exhibited significantly weaker synchronization between brain areas tied to language and communication, compared to that of non-autistic children.
Older people find it harder to see the wood for the trees
When looking at a picture of many trees, young people will tend to say: "This is a forest". However, the older we get, the more likely we are to notice a single tree before seeing the forest. This suggests that the speed at which the brain processes the bigger picture is slower in older people. In a new study published in the July-August issue of Elsevier´s Cortex, researchers have found that these age-related changes are correlated with a specific aspect of visual perception, known as Gestalt perception.
Universal donor immune cells
One of the latest attempts to boost the body's defenses against cancer is called adoptive cell transfer, in which patients receive a therapeutic injection of their own immune cells. This therapy, currently tested in early clinical trials for melanoma and neuroblastoma, has its limitations: Removing immune cells from a patient and growing them outside the body for future re-injection is extremely expensive and not always technically feasible.
Study: Doctors differ in how best to care for America's 12 million cancer survivors
There are major differences between oncologists and primary care physicians regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices required to care for American's 12 million cancer survivors. That is the key finding of the first nationally representative survey of doctors that reveals how these differences pose significant barriers to effective communication and coordination of care following initial cancer treatment.
Excluding children from discussions about their hospital care causes unnecessary distress
Children who are excluded from discussions about their hospital care often feel scared and angry that no-one is listening to them or telling them what is going on. That's why health professionals and parents need to do more to consult them and include them in decisions, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.
Drug prices to plummet in wave of expiring patents
The cost of prescription medicines used by millions of people every day is about to plummet. The next 14 months will bring generic versions of seven of the world's 20 best-selling drugs, including the top two: cholesterol fighter Lipitor and blood thinner Plavix.
How supplements could prevent hearing loss
(Medical Xpress) -- International researchers will gather in London this week to discuss their research on preventing hearing loss with dietary supplements.
Treating HIV sooner would save South African lives and money
If the South African government followed a recent recommendation by the World Health Organization to start antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected residents earlier in the progress of the disease, the policy shift would start saving the country money after 16 years and would extend thousands of lives for dozens of years, according to a new study.
Sexual anxiety, personality predictors of infidelity, study says
People with sexual performance anxiety are more likely to cheat on their partners. That's just one of the curious findings of a new study by a University of Guelph professor on the factors that predict infidelity.
Researchers identify risk factor pathways for PTSS in female and male veterans
Researchers affiliated with Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that risk factors for post-traumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operational Iraqi Freedom (OIF) male veterans were relatively similar to what was observed in a prior group of Vietnam veterans. The findings, which currently appear online in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, suggest there are key pathways through which risk factors contribute to PTSS across different male veteran cohorts. In addition, the researchers also identified a number of novel mechanisms of risk for OEF/OIF female veterans.
In pregnancy, diabetes-obesity combo a major red flag
Type 2 diabetes and obesity in pregnancy is a daunting duo, according to new research published this month in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. The study shows that both conditions independently contribute to higher risks, opening the door to a wide range of pregnancy, delivery and newborn complications.
Predictors of dying suddenly versus surviving heart attack identified
Is it possible to predict whether someone is likely to survive or die suddenly from a heart attack?
Pregnancy hormone has unprecedented, powerful effect on spinal muscular atrophy
Researchers in Ottawa report new hope for the treatment of infants born with serious genetic disorder.
Hiding vegetables in kids' foods can increase vegetable intake
Preschool children consumed nearly twice as many vegetables and 11 percent fewer calories over the course of a day when researchers Penn State added pureed vegetables to the children's favorite foods.
Exercise has numerous beneficial effects on brain health and cognition, review suggests
It's no secret that exercise has numerous beneficial effects on the body. However, a bevy of recent research suggests that these positive effects also extend to the brain, influencing cognition. In a new review article highlighting the results of more than a hundred recent human and animal studies on this topic, Michelle W. Voss, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her colleagues show that both aerobic exercise and strength training play a vital role in maintaining brain and cognitive health throughout life. However, they also suggest that many unanswered questions remain in the field of exercise neuroscience—including how various aspects of exercise influence brain physiology and function and how human and animal studies relate to each other—and issue the call for further research to fill in these gaps.
Heart disease prevention -- a good investment for individuals, communities
Preventing heart disease before it starts is a good long-term investment in the nation's health, according to a new policy statement from the American Heart Association.
Antibiotic appears more effective than cranberry capsules for preventing urinary tract infections
In premenopausal women who have repeated urinary tract infections (UTIs), the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) appeared more effective than cranberry capsules for preventing recurrent infections, at the risk of contributing to antibiotic resistance, according to a report in the July 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Studies evaluate programs to transition care of patients after hospital discharge
Programs designed to help transition care for hospitalized older patients to outside healthcare clinicians and settings are associated with reduced rates of hospital readmissions, according to two reports in the July 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Measles kill over 1000 DR Congo children since January: UN
A measles epidemic has killed 1,145 children in the Democratic Republic of Congo since January, the UN's Humanitarian Affairs mission in Kinshasa said Monday.
New target found for nitric oxide's attack on salmonella bacteria
A new target for nitric oxide has been revealed in studies of how it inhibits the growth of Salmonella. This bacterium is a common cause of food-poisoning.
Life scientists use novel technique to produce genetic map for African Americans
UCLA life scientists and colleagues have produced one of the first high-resolution genetic maps for African American populations. A genetic map reveals the precise locations across the genome where DNA from a person's father and mother have been stitched together through a biological process called "recombination." This process results in new genetic combinations that are then passed on to the person's children.
Bioengineers identify the cellular mechanisms of traumatic brain injury
Bioengineers at Harvard have identified, for the very first time, the mechanism for diffuse axonal injury and explained why cerebral vasospasm is more common in blast-induced brain injuries than in brain injuries typically suffered by civilians.
Two genetic variations predict second cancers after radiation for children with Hodgkin's lymphoma
A genome-wide association study published in the August issue of Nature Medicine has found two tiny genetic variations that can predict which patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma are most likely to develop radiation-induced second cancers years after treatment. Knowing in advance who is at risk could help physicians tailor treatment to reduce the risks for patients who are most susceptible to long-term damage.
Clinical trial of molecular therapy for muscular dystrophy yields significant positive results
A molecular technique originally developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has taken one step closer to becoming a treatment for the devastating genetic disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Artificial lung mimics real organ's design and efficiency
An artificial lung built by Cleveland researchers has reached efficiencies akin to the genuine organ, using air – not pure oxygen as current man-made lungs require - for the source of the essential element.
Study finds no link between statins and cancer risk
(Medical Xpress) -- A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports that, contrary to previous studies, the use of cholesterol reducing statin drugs does not increase the risk of patients developing cancer.
Anglo-French team discover elusive gene that makes platelets gray
Researchers have identified an elusive gene responsible for Gray Platelet Syndrome, an extremely rare blood disorder in which only about 50 known cases have been reported. As a result, it is hoped that future cases will be easier to diagnose with a DNA test.
Specialized regulatory T cell stifles antibody production centers
A regulatory T cell that expresses three specific genes shuts down the mass production of antibodies launched by the immune system to attack invaders, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported online in the journal Nature Medicine.
Scientists discover new pathway to potential therapies for advanced prostate cancer
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have narrowed the potential drug targets for advanced prostate cancer by demonstrating that late-stage tumors are driven by a different hormonal pathway than was thought previously.
Retinal cells thoughts to be the same are not: study
The old adage "Looks can be deceiving" certainly rings true when it comes to people. But it is also accurate when describing special light-sensing cells in the eye, according to a Johns Hopkins University biologist.
New study finds cancer-causing mineral in US road gravel
As school buses drive down the gravel roads in Dunn County, North Dakota, they stir up more than dirt. The clouds of dust left in their wake contain such high levels of the mineral erionite that those who breathe in the air every day are at an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, a type of cancer of the membranes around the lungs, new research shows. Erionite is a natural mineral fiber that shares similar physical similarities with asbestos. When it's disturbed by human activity, fibers can become airborne and lodge themselves in people's lungs. Over time, the embedded fibers can make cells of the lung grow abnormally, leading to mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer most often associated with the related mineral asbestos.
Brain differences between humans and chimpanzees linked to aging
Chimpanzees, the closest living relatives to humans, do not experience a decrease in brain volume as they age like humans do, according to a study by George Washington University researcher Chet Sherwood and his colleagues. There are many similarities between the species, but this discovery reveals an important distinction, demonstrating how humans are unique from other animals. The study "Aging of the Cerebral Cortex Differs Between Humans and Chimpanzees" is the first study of its kind in this field and will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on July 25, 2011.
Interrupted sleep impairs memory in mice
With the novel use of a technique that uses light to control brain cells, Stanford University researchers have shown that fragmented sleep causes memory impairment in mice.
Potential stroke treatment may extend time to prevent brain damage
A naturally occurring substance shrank the size of stroke-induced lesions in the brains of experimental mice — even when administered as much as 12 hours after the event, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown. The substance, alpha-B-crystallin, acts as a brake on the immune system, lowering levels of inflammatory molecules whose actions are responsible for substantial brain damage above and beyond that caused by the initial oxygen deprivation of a stroke.
Biology news
Improving wheat yields for global food security
With the world’s population set to reach 8.9 billion by 2050, CSIRO scientists are hunting down and exploiting a number of wheat’s key genetic traits in a bid to substantially boost its grain yield.
15 whales dead in northwest Scotland
Fifteen pilot whales have died in a mass stranding near the northwestern tip of Scotland, according to a rescue charity.
Beetles play an important role in reducing weeds
Researchers funded by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) have found that ground beetles reduce the amount of weed seeds in the soil. Weeds reduce crop yields and these findings support the need to conserve farmland biodiversity as it plays an important supporting role to herbicides in controlling weeds and improving food security.
A new target to inhibit malaria and toxoplasmosis infection
Maryse Lebrun, Research Director at Inserm, and her fellow researchers at the Laboratoire Dynamique des interactions membranaires normales et pathologiques (CNRS, France), have characterised a protein complex that allows the agents that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis to infect host cells. This is a highly original mechanism, since the parasite supplies both the receptor which it inserts into the host cell membrane and the ligand it exposes at its surface. The researchers have now shown the three-dimensional structure of this complex. The new data is published in Science on 22 July 2011. It paves the way for new drugs designed to inhibit the formation of the protein complex in question and block invasion by Plasmodium falciparum in red blood cells.
New gene discovered: Sheds light on the evolution of life on Earth
A chance discovery of a genetic mutation in wild barley that grows in Israel's Judean Desert, in the course of a doctoral study at the University of Haifa, has led to an international study deciphering evolution of life on land. The study has been published in the prestigious journal PNAS. "Life on Earth began in the water, and in order for plants to rise above water to live on land, they had to develop a cuticle membrane that would protect them from uncontrolled evaporation and dehydration. "In our study we discovered a completely new gene that along with other genes contributes to the formation of this cuticle," said Prof. Eviatar (Eibi) Nevo of the Institute of Evolution of the University of Haifa, who took part in the study.
Study on how bacteria move could help researchers develop anti-bacterial surfaces
Jacinta Conrad, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Houston, likens her research into how bacteria move to "tracking bright spots on a dark background."
Mitochondria share an ancestor with SAR11, a globally significant marine microbe
A recent study by researchers at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and the Oregon State University provides strong evidence that mitochondria share a common evolutionary ancestor with a lineage of marine bacteria known as SAR11, arguably the most abundant group of microorganisms on Earth.
Cellular stress can induce yeast to promote prion formation
It's a chicken and egg question. Where do the infectious protein particles called prions come from? Essentially clumps of misfolded proteins, prions cause neurodegenerative disorders, such as mad cow/Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, in humans and animals. Prions trigger the misfolding and aggregation of their properly folded protein counterparts, but they usually need some kind of "seed" to get started.
Epigenetic 'memory' key to nature versus nurture
Researchers at the John Innes Centre have made a discovery, reported this evening (July 24) in Nature, that explains how an organism can create a biological memory of some variable condition, such as quality of nutrition or temperature. The discovery explains the mechanism of this memory – a sort of biological switch – and how it can also be inherited by offspring.
Double jeopardy: Tuna and billfish
A new study by top global fisheries experts presents an alarming assessment of several economically important fish populations. The analysis of 61 species of "scombrids," which include tunas, bonitos, mackerels and Spanish mackerels, and billfishes, which include swordfish and marlins, classified seven as threatened with extinction and four as "near threatened" for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Species affected by climate change: to shift or not to shift?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Relocating species threatened by climate change is a radical and hotly debated strategy for maintaining biodiversity.
Hikers spread invasive plant seeds accidentally
Hikers may be inadvertently helping to spread invasive plants across the largest national park in Australia's New South Wales, a study has found.
Researchers develop new strategy to uncover structural variations of human genomes
The study on single-nucleotide resolution structural variations (SVs) of an Asian and African genome was published online in Nature Biotechnology. This study was performed by BGI (previously known as the Beijing Genomics Institute), the largest genomics organization in the world, and demonstrates that whole genome de novo assembly could serve as a new solution for developing a more comprehensive SV map of individuals.
Mandrill monkey creates tool for a pedicure (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent paper published in Behavioural Processes, scientists reveal a film of a mandrill monkey creating a tool from a stick in order to remove dirt from underneath its toenails. This new finding shows that monkeys may be more intelligent than scientists have previously believed.
Pacific Northwest trees struggle for water while standing in it
Contrary to expectations, researchers have discovered that the conifers of the Pacific Northwest, some of the tallest trees in the world, face their greatest water stress during the region's eternally wet winters, not the dog days of August when weeks can pass without rain.
Cloned trees raised in separate places react differently to drought
Nurture matters - in plants as well as people. Cloned trees raised in different places and environments react differently to drought conditions even though they're genetically identical, scientists have found.
Novel gene increases yeast's appetite for plant sugars
For thousands of years, bakers and brewers have relied on yeast to convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Yet, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers eager to harness this talent for brewing biofuels have found when it comes to churning through sugars, these budding microbes can be picky eaters.
One electron could be key to furture drugs that repair sunburn
Researchers who have been working for nearly a decade to piece together the process by which an enzyme repairs sun-damaged DNA have finally witnessed the entire process in full detail in the laboratory.
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