Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for August 8, 2012:
Spotlight Stories Headlines
- Researchers explore Li-air battery reversibility on the nanoscale- Sets & the city: World Science Festival 2012, New York style (Part 2 of 2)
- Microsoft wants to send WebRTC standard to rehab
- Simple mathematical computations underlie brain circuits
- Fossils hint at distant cousins to our ancestors
- New phenomenon in nanodisk magnetic vortices
- Android extends dominance in smartphones worldwide
- With microchip real estate at a premium, engineers look for a wireless solution
- Early human ancestors had more variable diet: Dietary preferences of 3 groups of hominins reconstructed
- Study discovers new atmospheric compound tied to climate change, human health
- Hibernation altered by climate change takes a toll on Rocky Mountain animal species
- Asia, US plains facing water extraction crisis
- Two-drug combination has potential to fight cocaine addiction: study
- Hyenas that think outside the box solve problems faster
- Google to include people's Gmail in search results
Space & Earth news
2012 is hottest year on record for the Northeast
(Phys.org) -- For the Northeast, it has been the hottest year on record.
Perseid Meteors in 2012
This year’s Perseid meteor shower, already in progress, continues until about August 24th. The peak of activity is expected to occur around midday on August 12th, with a possible all-sky maximum of perhaps 50–100 meteors per hour visible during the nights of 11th/12th August either side of the shower maximum. However, a single observer may only see a fraction of this number, depending on the clarity of the sky and the fraction of the sky in view. Weather permitting, most people observing from a dark, clear observing site should expect to see around a dozen meteors per hour.
Australia creates world's first continental-scale mineral maps
(Phys.org) -- The world-first maps were generated from a ten-year archive of raw Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER) data collected by NASA and the Japanese Government’s Japan Space Systems.
Unusual weather events identified during the Black Saturday bushfires
(Phys.org) -- Research has revealed that the extremely hot, dry and windy conditions on Black Saturday combined with structures in the atmosphere called 'horizontal convective rolls' -similar to streamers of wind flowing through the air - which likely affected fire behaviour.
MSG-3, Europe's latest weather satellite, delivers first image
Today, the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) instrument on MSG-3 captured its first image of the Earth. This demonstrates that Europe’s latest geostationary weather satellite, launched on 5 July, is performing well and is on its way to taking over operational service after six months of commissioning.
Climate: US call for 'flexibility' on warming spurs row
The United States ran into crossfire on Wednesday after it called for "flexibility" in climate talks, even if this approach could not guarantee meeting the UN's target on global warming.
Mission Success for MSL Entry, Descent, & Landing Instrument (MEDLI)
Mission success for the MSL Entry, Descent, & Landing Instrument (MEDLI) Suite. When the Curiosity rover touched down on the red planet Aug. 6 at 12:32 p.m. CDT, NASA MEDLI researchers were already cheering. The instrumentation payload, carried in the entry vehicle's heatshield, included an intricate array of sophisticated engineering sensors designed to measure heat, pressure and other conditions impacting the heatshield during atmospheric entry and descent. The shield is jettisoned prior to landing.
NASA's Aqua satellite sees Tropical Storm Haikui make landfall in China
Typhoon Haikui weakened to a tropical storm just before landfall in China. Eight hours after landfall, NASA's Aqua satellite still showed a strong and organized tropical storm moving inland.
Turbulent forces within river plumes affect spread
When rivers drain into oceans through narrow mouths, hydraulic forces squeeze the river water into buoyant plumes that are clearly visible in satellite images. Worldwide, river plumes not only disperse freshwater, sediments, and nutrients but also spread pollutants and organisms from estuaries into the open ocean. In the United States the Columbia River, the largest river by volume draining into the Pacific Ocean from North America, generates a plume at its mouth that transports juvenile salmon and other fish into the ocean. Clearly, the behavior and spread of river plumes, such as the Columbia River plume, affect the nation’s fishing industry as well as the global economy.
A new global warming culprit: Dam drawdowns
Washington State University researchers have documented an underappreciated suite of players in global warming: dams, the water reservoirs behind them, and surges of greenhouse gases as water levels go up and down.
A Tree Stands in the Sierra Nevada
White fir, ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine. Sugar pine, incense cedar, red fir: These are conifers of the headwater ecosystems of California's Sierra Nevada.
Researchers discover new impact crater in the Arctic
(Phys.org) -- Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan and the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) have discovered a massive meteor impact from millions of years ago in Canada’s western Arctic.
Explore Gale Crater in your browser
(Phys.org) -- A large mosaic of THEMIS images showing Gale Crater, the landing site for Curiosity, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, is now available for would-be Martians to explore using their web browsers.
Mars crater where rover landed looks 'Earth-like' (Update 2)
(AP) — The ancient Martian crater where the Curiosity rover landed looks strikingly similar to California's Mojave Desert with its looming mountains and hanging haze, scientists said Wednesday.
Leveraging bacteria in drinking water to benefit consumers
Contrary to popular belief, purified drinking water from home faucets contains millions to hundreds of millions of widely differing bacteria per gallon, and scientists have discovered a plausible way to manipulate those populations of mostly beneficial microbes to potentially benefit consumers. Their study appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.
July in US was hottest ever in history books (Update)
(AP) — U.S. scientists say July was the hottest month ever recorded in the Lower 48 states, breaking a record set during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. They say climate change is a factor.
Astronomers release the largest ever 3-D map of the sky
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) has released the largest three-dimensional map of massive galaxies and distant black holes ever created. The new map pinpoints the locations and distances of over a million galaxies. It covers a total volume equivalent to that of a cube four billion light-years on a side.
Shuttle Endeavour arrives in California next month
(AP) — The space shuttle Endeavour will make its final journey next month — a piggyback ride to Southern California, where it will be prepared for a road trip to a new home in Los Angeles.
Neolithic tools provide clues for managing climate change
Coping with climate change presents a number of challenges, but we may be able to get some hints from our ancestors.
NASA sees heavy rainfall and high thunderstorms in Tropical Storm Ernesto
NASA's TRMM satellite has been measuring the heavy rainfall in Ernesto, and some of the rainfall totals may reach one foot in Central America. NASA's Aqua satellite spotted a large area of the strong thunderstorms generating that heavy rainfall, wrapped around the storm's center. Ernesto made landfall in the Yucatan and is currently tracking west over land.
Unusual reaction eschews high temperatures and water to lock carbon dioxide away
(Phys.org) -- When it comes to reducing the impact of the energy we use to cool our homes and power our computers, one option is to remove gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2), pump it into underground reservoirs, and have it become part of the mineral formations. If the CO2 doesn't react, it remains in a state that could be released by drilling or earthquakes, defeating the purpose of sequestering the carbon away from the atmosphere. Keeping the CO2 trapped by transforming into minerals, called carbonation reactions, take place much more readily at high temperatures. But, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory discovered a reaction that breaks the rules. At relatively low temperatures and while recycling the water it needs, this reaction transforms CO2 into the mineral magnesite.
Meteor smoke makes strange clouds
Anyone who's ever seen a noctilucent cloud or “NLC” would agree: They look alien. The electric-blue ripples and pale tendrils of NLCs reaching across the night sky resemble something from another world.
The first public data release from BOSS, the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
The Third Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) has issued Data Release 9 (DR9), the first public release of data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). In this release BOSS, the largest of SDSS-III's four surveys, provides spectra for 535,995 newly observed galaxies, 102,100 quasars, and 116,474 stars, plus new information about objects in previous Sloan surveys (SDSS-I and II).
Diversity keeps grasslands resilient to drought, climate change
For much of the year drought has been plaguing American grasslands. But a recent study found that grasses do not appear to be losing the turf war against climate when it comes to surviving with little precipitation.
Study discovers new atmospheric compound tied to climate change, human health
An international research team led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Helsinki has discovered a surprising new chemical compound in Earth's atmosphere that reacts with sulfur dioxide to form sulfuric acid, which is known to have significant impacts on climate and health.
Asia, US plains facing water extraction crisis
Heavily-populated regions of Asia, the arid Middle East and parts of the US corn belt are dangerously over-exploiting their underground water supplies, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Technology news
China tightens controls on rare earths production
(AP) — China's government has further tightened curbs on production of rare earths used in mobile phones and other high-tech products in a move that might inflame trade tensions with Washington and Europe.
Navy tests ocean drones off US coast
Just beneath the placid, sailboat-dotted surface of Narragansett Bay, torpedo-shaped vehicles spin and pivot to their own rhythm, carrying out missions programmed by their U.S. Navy masters.
Engineering team develops chip for Mars rover
(Phys.org) -- NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Rover Curiosity would have a hard time completing its mission if it were not for a successful partnership between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a professor-student team at University of Tennessee.
Engineer builds low-cost device to purify human waste, make compost and generate electricity
(Phys.org) -- Caitlyn Shea Butler, a civil engineering professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has designed and is now field-testing a new “green latrine” that purifies human waste, turning it into compost for farming and generating electricity.Her multipurpose invention is called a “Microbial Fuel Cell Latrine.”
New salt-based battery a leap for green energy
(Phys.org) -- Murdoch University researchers have come up with a potential solution to one of sustainable energy’s greatest challenges: power storage for use in non-generation times.
First-hand recollections of the first self-sustaining chain reaction
Just seventy years ago, nuclear power, which generates 20 percent of the electricity in the United States, was just a theory. Scientists weren’t entirely sure they could safely create a self-sustaining nuclear reaction, let alone build a nuclear reactor.
'Avatar' director launches China 3-D venture
"Avatar" director James Cameron's company is launching a joint venture in China to market its 3-D technical wizardry to the country's fast-developing film and television industries.
US boy, 16, is the fastest texter in America (Update)
(AP) — The reigning 16-year-old champion of cellphone texting has reclaimed the title of fastest texter in America.
HP to take record quarterly loss
(AP) — Hewlett-Packard Co. on Wednesday said that it will take a massive charge against its earnings for the latest quarter, leading to a record loss of nearly $9 billion.
Starbucks teams with Square for mobile payments
Starbucks is pouring $25 million into electronic payments start-up Square in a partnership that expands mobile payment options at the coffee chain, the companies announced Wednesday.
Kyocera develops world's fastest 300dpi inkjet printhead
Kyocera Corporation today announced that it has developed a new 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) inkjet printhead -- a key component for commercial inkjet printers -- which enables simultaneous two-color printing with just one printhead. With resolution of 300dpi, it offers the world's fastest printing speed of 152m/min. Samples of the new product will be available within the year.
New York police launch high-tech surveillance
New York police on Wednesday launched what officials say is a revolutionary camera surveillance system that will simultaneously scan the streets and call up data on suspects.
New US website lets 'crowd' fund college grad startups
A former Google executive on Wednesday opened an online venue where college graduates with dreams of starting companies can be matched with investors and mentors.
Google self-driving cars pass 300,000 mile mark
(Phys.org) -- Google has just released an update on its blog boasting about how its fleet of self-driving cars which the company has designed and is operating on public roads, have collectively racked up over 300,000 miles of driving operations, with nary a single accident, at least while being driven by the computer. In the same announcement the company acknowledges that its autonomous vehicles still have a long way to go before being sold as a consumer product.
New router enhances the precision of woodworking
Anyone who has tried to build a piece of furniture from scratch knows the frustration of painstakingly cutting pieces of wood, only to discover that they won’t fit together because the cutting was not quite accurate enough.
India can monitor BlackBerry without codes: report
India has found a way to monitor BlackBerry corporate emails without asking developer Research in Motion (RIM) to hand over encryption codes a report said Wednesday, which could help end a standoff with the Canadian company.
Google merges online and offline worlds in Maps
Google on Wednesday took another step in its quest to merge the Internet with the real world with Maps and put itself at the heart of mobile gadget lifestyles in the process.
With microchip real estate at a premium, engineers look for a wireless solution
"Location, location, location": That age-old key to successful real estate investing has also been the driving mantra in microchip architecture. But with space on the tiny silicon chips at a premium, as demand for faster, smaller technology increases, engineers at Drexel University could be adding "bandwidth" and "frequency" to the chip design paradigm by adding wireless antennas to the chips.
Android extends dominance in smartphones worldwide
Got an iPhone? You're in the minority. There were four Android phones for every iPhone shipped in the second quarter, research firm IDC said Wednesday. That's up from a ratio of 2.5 to 1 in the same period last year.
Google to include people's Gmail in search results
Google's Internet search engine is getting more personal by highlighting information drawn from its users' Gmail accounts on its main results page.
Microsoft wants to send WebRTC standard to rehab
(Phys.org) -- Microsoft is telling the W3C WebRTC working group that it has a better idea than the WebRTC standard which is still in progress and under revision. The goal has been to come up with a Web standard that will enable real-time audio and video conferencing on the Web without requiring any plugins. Now, though, Microsoft has submitted its own proposal for real-time communication to the WebRTC working group. The WebRTC specification is undergoing revision through this W3C WebRTC working group.
Medicine & Health news
Mexico destroys 8 mn chickens amid bird flu outbreak
Eight million chickens have so far been slaughtered in Mexico and 66 million more were vaccinated in a bid to contain a bird flu outbreak in the west of the country, authorities said Tuesday.
Veterinarians recommend equine vaccine for alpacas to thwart west nile virus
Colorado State University veterinarians are recommending the use of equine West Nile Virus vaccines to help prevent West Nile Virus disease in alpacas. While llamas seem to be fairly resistant to developing severe disease signs, West Nile infection in alpacas sometimes results in life threatening neurological disease (encephalitis) just as is seen in horses and humans.
Doctors want extra cash to work in the bush: study
City doctors would need a salary increase of up to $200,000 to entice them work in some country areas, a University of Melbourne study has determined.
Kid-friendly environment at visual center allows for better eye exam
When new patients are brought to the UCSF Visual Center for the Child, eye examinations begin even before they enter the doctor’s room.
The brains of people with schizophrenia are on 'red alert', study finds
New Australian research shows that the brains of people with schizophrenia may be under attack by the immune system, providing the strongest evidence to date of a link between immune function and schizophrenia.
Humble zebrafish helping researchers find new treatments for obesity and osteoporosis
The fate of people suffering with obesity or osteoporosis could lie in the hands of Deakin University researchers who are looking into the way fat and bone cells develop, with the assistance of the humble zebrafish.
Home monitoring of heart failure via web-enabled bathroom scales wins award funding
Can a retrofitted bathroom scale costing less than $100 save lives and improve the health of millions of Americans living with heart failure while cutting billions of dollars in annual health care spending?
The London riots, a psychiatrist's perspective
In August 2011, riots that started in London spread across England with widespread rioting, arson and looting, along with injuries to the public and police and the death of five people. In a new paper published in Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, Professor Carmine Pariante and Dr. Guiliano Aeillo from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London examine the events from a psychosocial point of view.
Brain surgeon works with cardiologist to repair cortland woman's heart
A Cortland woman with a genetic abnormality in her heart is back to her normal routine thanks to the seemingly unusual pairing of a brain surgeon and cardiologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Clinton grants S.Africa more control over AIDS programme
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday gave South Africa greater control over its AIDS programme, which Washington has spent $3.2 billion ramping up over the last eight years.
Benefit of PET and PET/CT in ovarian cancer is not proven
Due to the lack of studies, there is currently no proof that patients with ovarian cancer can benefit from positron emission tomography (PET) alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT). As regards diagnostic accuracy, in certain cases, recurrences can be detected earlier and more accurately with PET or PET/CT than with conventional imaging techniques. This is the conclusion of the final report by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in Cologne that was published on 23 May 2012.
A new model for predicting recovery after spinal cord injury
For more than 1 million people in the U.S. living with spinal cord injury, the frightening days and weeks following the injury are filled with uncertainty about their potential for recovery and future independence. A new model based on motor scores at admission and early imaging studies may allow clinicians to predict functional outcomes and guide decision-making for therapy and care-giving needs, as described in an article published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
Clinical trials start for stroke drug developed by Scripps Research, USC, and ZZ Biotech
Clinical trials start this week for a stroke drug initially created by a team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Southern California (USC), and further developed by biotech company ZZ Biotech.
Internists recommend principles on role of governments in regulating patient-physician relationship
The American College of Physicians (ACP) today released a paper, Statement of Principles on the Role of Governments in Regulating the Patient-Physician Relationship, which recommends principles for the role of federal and state governments in health care and the patient-physician relationship.
Iron, vitamins could affect physical fitness in adolescents
Adolescence is an important time not only for growing but for acquiring healthy habits that will last a lifetime, such as choosing foods rich in vitamins and minerals, and adopting a regular exercise regimen. Unfortunately, several studies have shown that adolescents' intake of important nutrients, as well as their performance on standard physical fitness tests, has fallen in recent years. Because nutrition and fitness are intertwined—for example, iron forms part of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to muscles, and antioxidants such as vitamin C aid in rebuilding damage after intense training—these two findings could be related. In a new study, researchers have found that adolescents' blood levels of various micronutrients are correlated with how well they performed in certain physical fitness tests. Though these results don't prove causality, they suggest a new relationship between different measures of adolescent health.
Balance and strength training can prevent falls in older people
Balance and strength training is known to reduce falls in older adults. However, less than 10% of older people routinely engage in strength training and it is likely that this is much lower for activities that challenge balance.
Families should not be allowed to veto dead relatives' organ donation wishes
It has recently been suggested that patients should be kept alive using elective ventilation to facilitate the harvesting of organs for donation. But David Shaw, Honorary Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen believes there is a much simpler way to increase the number of donated organs – by ensuring that doctors respect the wishes of the deceased and over-rule any veto.
Innovation crisis in drug research is a myth, warn experts
They say the real crisis stems from current incentives that reward companies for developing large numbers of new drugs with few clinical advantages over existing ones.
Plain packaging of cigarettes encourages young smokers to heed health warnings
New research published online in the scientific journal Addiction shows that plain packaging (requiring cigarettes to be packaged in standard packages without attractive designs and imagery) may help to draw the attention of some adolescent smokers to the health warnings on the package. If so, this may in turn deter young smokers from continuing to smoke.
No difference in death rates among patients exposed to common rheumatoid arthritis drugs
New research confirms no significant difference in the rates of death among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were exposed to one of several TNF inhibitors used to treat RA, adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel), and infliximab (Remicade). This population-based study of RA patients in Sweden—the first to compare mortality rates among patients treated with individual TNF inhibitors—is now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).
Brain activity may predict teens' heavy drinking
Heavy drinking is known to affect teenagers' developing brains, but certain patterns of brain activity may also help predict which kids are at risk of becoming problem drinkers, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Heavy teenage cannabis use linked with anxiety disorders
(Medical Xpress) -- Teenagers who smoke cannabis weekly or more are twice as likely as non-users to have an anxiety disorder in their late 20s, even if they stop using, a study of 2000 Victorian teenagers has found.
Study shows frequent massage sessions boost biological benefits
(Medical Xpress) -- Massage is purported to have an array of benefits, including alleviating symptoms of depression, anxiety, back pain, asthma, fatigue, and even HIV. A new study shows there are sustained, cumulative beneficial effects of repeated massage therapy. The effects persist for several days to a week, and differ depending on the frequency of sessions. Results of the study were reported on line in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
The brains of people with schizophrenia may attempt to heal from the disease
(Medical Xpress) -- New NeuRA research shows that the brains of people with schizophrenia may attempt to repair damage caused by the disease, in another example of the adult brain’s capacity to change and grow.
Doctors often don't disclose all possible risks to patients before treatment
Most informed consent disputes involve disagreements about who said what and when, not stand-offs over whether a particular risk ought to have been disclosed. But doctors may "routinely underestimate the importance of a small set of risks that vex patients" according to international experts writing in this week's PLOS Medicine.
Marin County's high breast cancer rate may be tied to genetics
(Medical Xpress) -- Marin County, California has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the world, a fact that scientists know has nothing to do with the land itself but with some other, unknown factor.
A molecule central to diabetes is uncovered
(Medical Xpress) -- At its most fundamental level, diabetes is a disease characterized by stress — microscopic stress that causes inflammation and the loss of insulin production in the pancreas, and system-wide stress due to the loss of that blood-sugar-regulating hormone.
Almost half of type 2 diabetes patients report acute and chronic pain
Almost half of adults with type 2 diabetes report acute and chronic pain, and close to one quarter report neuropathy, fatigue, depression, sleep disturbance and physical or emotional disability, according to a study of more than 13,000 adults conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, the University of California, San Francisco and the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. The researchers also found significant rates of shortness of breath, nausea and constipation.
Research makes significant cancer breakthrough
(Medical Xpress) -- A major breakthrough by scientists at Queen's University Belfast could lead to more effective treatments for throat and cervical cancer. The discovery could see the development of new therapies, which would target the non-cancerous cells surrounding a tumour, as well as treating the tumour itself.
Scientists discover the truth behind Colbert's 'truthiness'
Trusting research over their guts, scientists in New Zealand and Canada examined the phenomenon Stephen Colbert, comedian and news satirist, calls "truthiness"—the feeling that something is true. In four different experiments they discovered that people believe claims are true, regardless of whether they actually are true, when a decorative photograph appears alongside the claim. The work is published online in the Springer journal, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
Humanities mini-courses for doctors sharpen thinking and creativity
Mini-courses designed to increase creative stimulation and variety in physicians' daily routines can sharpen critical thinking skills, improve job satisfaction and encourage innovative thinking, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers who piloted a series of such courses.
One in three post-partum women suffers PTSD symptoms after giving birth
(Medical Xpress) -- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops in individuals who experience highly traumatizing situations such as terrorist attacks and car accidents, but symptoms can also come about after normal life events — including childbirth.
Topical treatment shows potential for infantile eczema
(HealthDay) -- Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 15(R/S)-methyl-lipoxin A4 (LXA4) is well tolerated and reduces the severity of infantile eczema, according to a study published online July 26 in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Can thinking that you are fat make you fat?
They're everywhere -- in magazines, on the Internet, on television—people with super-thin bodies who are presented as having the ideal body form. But despite the increasing pressure to be thin, more and more of us are overweight. Now, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found that normal weight teens who perceive themselves as fat are more likely to grow up to be fat.
'Exergames' not perfect, but can lead to more exercise
Active video games, also known as "exergames," are not the perfect solution to the nation's sedentary ways, but they can play a role in getting some people to be more active.
Yoga proves to reduce depression in pregnant women, boost maternal bonding
It's no secret that pregnancy hormones can dampen moods, but for some expectant moms, it's much worse: 1 in 5 experience major depression.
How heat helps to treat cancer
Research at Bangor University has identified a switch in cells that may help to kill tumors with heat. Prostate cancer and other localized tumors can be effectively treated by a combination of heat and an anti-cancer drug that damages the genes. Behind this novel therapy is the enigmatic ability of heat to switch off essential survival mechanisms in human cells. Although thermotherapy is now more widely used, the underlying principles are still unclear.
Psychologists compare learning achievement with and without stress
Stressed and non-stressed persons use different brain regions and different strategies when learning. This has been reported by the cognitive psychologists PD Dr. Lars Schwabe and Professor Oliver Wolf from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in the Journal of Neuroscience. Non-stressed individuals applied a deliberate learning strategy, while stressed subjects relied more on their gut feeling. "These results demonstrate for the first time that stress has an influence on which of the different memory systems the brain turns on," said Lars Schwabe.
New scientific method unmasks chronic infections
Chronic infections are a large and growing problem throughout the developed world, and intensive research is being conducted in ways to combat the recalcitrant bacteria. When bacteria aggregate into so-called biofilm, they become resistant to antibiotics. Until now scientists have only been able to speculate about what happens when bacteria overpower the immune system during a chronic infection.
Let's talk: The nature of the health care surrogate-clinician relationship
A new study from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine examines the relationship between family members who make decisions for hospitalized older adults with impaired cognition and the doctors, nurses and other clinicians who care for these patients.
Test vaccine successfully protects monkeys from Nipah virus
Researchers have successfully tested in monkeys a vaccine against Nipah virus, a human pathogen that emerged in 1998 during a large outbreak of infection and disease among pigs and pig farmers in Southeast Asia. This latest advance builds upon earlier work by the scientists, who found that the same vaccine can protect cats from Nipah virus and ferrets and horses from the closely related Hendra virus.
Why do older adults display more positive emotion? It might have to do with what they're looking at
Research has shown that older adults display more positive emotions and are quicker to regulate out of negative emotional states than younger adults. Given the declines in cognitive functioning and physical health that tend to come with age, we might expect that age would be associated with worse moods, not better ones.
Alcohol advertising standards violations most common in magazines with youthful audiences
The content of alcohol ads placed in magazines is more likely to be in violation of industry guidelines if the ad appears in a magazine with sizable youth readership, according to a new study from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the study is the first to measure the relationship of problematic content to youth exposure, and the first to examine risky behaviors depicted in alcohol advertising in the past decade.
New study finds clients want real love from sex workers
While it is commonly believed that men who pay for sex are attempting to avoid emotional commitment, a new study finds that men who become regular clients of sex workers often develop feelings of romance and love. This study is published in a recent edition of Men and Masculinities.
Boys appear to be more vulnerable than girls to the insecticide chlorpyrifos
A new study is the first to find a difference between how boys and girls respond to prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health found that, at age 7, boys had greater difficulty with working memory, a key component of IQ, than girls with similar exposures. On the plus side, having nurturing parents improved working memory, especially in boys, although it did not lessen the negative cognitive effects of exposure to the chemical.
Knockout finding reveals large number of genes that affect our bones
(Medical Xpress) -- Australian and UK scientists have shown that a large percentage of genes are likely to affect bone strength, potentially around 2,000 of the 21,000 genes in our bodies.
Study: One week of therapy may help reorganize brain, reduce stuttering
Just one week of speech therapy may reorganize the brain, helping to reduce stuttering, according to a study published in the August 8, 2012, online issue of Neurology.
Bortezomib beneficial in graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis
(HealthDay) -- Patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing an HLA-mismatched unrelated donor (MMUD) reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) may benefit from a prophylactic, short-course, bortezomib-based regimen to reduce the incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), according to research published online Aug. 6 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Measures for parental influence on physical activity lacking
(HealthDay) -- Accepted measures to address the role of parental influence on child physical activity (PA) are lacking, with current studies characterized by variation in conceptualization and measurement of parenting, use of non-validated instruments, and lack of comprehensive measures, according to a review published online July 30 in Obesity Reviews.
Chronic exposure to staph bacteria may be risk factor for lupus, study finds
Chronic exposure to even small amounts of staph bacteria could be a risk factor for the chronic inflammatory disease lupus, Mayo Clinic research shows. Staph, short for Staphylococcus aureus, is a germ commonly found on the skin or in the nose, sometimes causing infections. In the Mayo study, mice were exposed to low doses of a protein found in staph and developed a lupus-like disease, with kidney disease and autoantibodies like those found in the blood of lupus patients.
Adolescents in substance abuse programs report using other's med marijuana
A recent study by University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers shows that it is very common for adolescents in substance abuse treatment to use medical marijuana recommended to someone else (also known as "diverted" medical marijuana).
Clinical trial results support strategy for reversing type 1 diabetes
A phase I clinical trial has confirmed that use of a generic vaccine to raise levels of an immune system modulator can cause the death of autoimmune cells targeting the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas and temporarily restore insulin secretion in human patients with type 1 diabetes. Results of the study – led by Denise Faustman, MD, PhD, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Immunobiology Laboratory – are being published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, and a larger Phase II trial is currently underway.
Youths' well-being linked to how well they conform to gender norms
(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of their sexual orientation, teens who do not fit behavioral norms for their gender are not as happy as their gender-conforming peers, finds a new Cornell study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior (41:611-621).
Protein that boosts longevity may protect against diabetes
A protein that slows aging in mice and other animals also protects against the ravages of a high-fat diet, including diabetes, according to a new MIT study.
Study sheds light on underlying causes of impaired brain function in muscular dystrophy
University of Florida researchers have identified a gene responsible for brain-related symptoms of the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy.
Two-drug combination has potential to fight cocaine addiction: study
A fine-tuned combination of two existing pharmaceutical drugs has shown promise as a potential new therapy for people addicted to cocaine—a therapy that would reduce their craving for the drug and blunt their symptoms of withdrawal.
Natural birth -- but not C-section -- triggers brain-boosting proteins
Vaginal birth triggers the expression of a protein in the brains of newborns that improves brain development and function in adulthood, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers, who also found that this protein expression is impaired in the brains of offspring delivered by caesarean section (C-sections).
Simple mathematical computations underlie brain circuits
The brain has billions of neurons, arranged in complex circuits that allow us to perceive the world, control our movements and make decisions. Deciphering those circuits is critical to understanding how the brain works and what goes wrong in neurological disorders.
Biology news
Key component in tendon injury discovered
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found a mechanism in the leg that is crucial in preventing tendon injury in horses and human athletes.
Seeking hardier breeds for drought, climate change
(AP) — Cattle are being bred with genes from their African cousins who are accustomed to hot weather. New corn varieties are emerging with larger roots for gathering water in a drought. Someday, the plants may even be able to "resurrect" themselves after a long dry spell, recovering quickly when rain returns.
New non-toxic disinfectant could tackle hospital infections
A new disinfectant, Akwaton, that works at extremely low concentrations could be used in healthcare settings to help control persistent hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridium difficile. The study is reported online in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.
Cichlid fish: How does the swim bladder affect hearing?
In bony fish the swim bladder primarily serves for buoyancy Moreover, in many species it also possesses acoustic functions: it plays a role in sound production and improves hearing in numerous ways. Biologists around Friedrich Ladich from the University of Vienna investigated for the first time differences in the the morphology of the swim bladder in cichlid fishes and how it affects their hearing. Results were published in the renowned journal PLOS ONE.
A charismatic new lacewing from Malaysia discovered online by chance
Green lacewings are delicate green insects with large, lace-like wings that live in a wide variety of habitats, especially tropical forests. Adults mostly feed on flowers, but the larvae are ferocious predators of other insects, frequently carrying the dead carcasses of their prey on their backs after killing them using their enormous, sucking tube-like jaws.
Do beavers benefit Scottish wild salmon?
Reintroduced European beavers could have an overall positive impact on wild salmon populations in Scotland, according to a study by the University of Southampton.
Meerkats acquire novel behavior using nine different social and asocial mechanisms
A novel methodology shows that Wild meerkats engage in nine separate learning processes during foraging, and this method may provide general insight into learning mechanisms for groups of animals and culture development.
Great white work: Scientists renew the study of shark teeth
(Phys.org) -- The lasting legacy of the great white shark is sharp, strong and pointy: its teeth.
Molecular economics: New computer models calculate systems-wide costs of gene expression
(Phys.org) -- Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a method of modeling, simultaneously, an organism’s metabolism and its underlying gene expression. In the emerging field of systems biology, scientists model cellular behavior in order to understand how processes such as metabolism and gene expression relate to one another and bring about certain characteristics in the larger organism.
Researchers find Grey parrots able to use inferential reasoning
(Phys.org) -- A team of German and Austrian researchers has found that Grey parrots are capable of inferential reasoning on a level that is superior to virtually all other animals save great apes and humans. In lab experiments involving choosing which box contains food, the researchers describe, in their paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, how the birds were able to infer through auditory clues, which box contained a hidden food treat.
Hibernation altered by climate change takes a toll on Rocky Mountain animal species
Climate change is causing a late wake-up call from hibernation for a species of Rocky Mountain ground squirrel and the effect is deadly.
Hyenas that think outside the box solve problems faster
Innovative problem solving requires trying many different solutions. That's true for humans, and now Michigan State University researchers show that it's true for hyenas, too.
Snail believed extinct found in Cahaba River by student
A freshwater snail declared extinct in 2000 was recently rediscovered in the Cahaba River by a University of Alabama graduate student.
Drivers of marine biodiversity: Tiny, freeloading clams find the key to evolutionary success
What mechanisms control the generation and maintenance of biological diversity on the planet? It's a central question in evolutionary biology. For land-dwelling organisms such as insects and the flowers they pollinate, it's clear that interactions between species are one of the main drivers of the evolutionary change that leads to biological diversity.
Sets & the city: World Science Festival 2012, New York style (Part 2 of 2)
(Phys.org) -- New York City is the nexus of all things intellectual, cultural and academic. (Being a native New Yorker, I admit being somewhat biased.) Either way, one highlight in this complex and vibrant metropolis is the annual World Science Festival, founded in 2008. World Science Festival 2012 was a nearly week-long orchestration of myriad events focused on a wide range of topics embracing not just science, but also art, architecture, film, music, and technology.
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