The EDGE: ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Friday, August 10, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Friday, August 10, 2012

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Blood test for Alzheimer's gaining ground (August 9, 2012) -- The possibility of an inexpensive, convenient test for Alzheimer's disease has been on the horizon for several years, but previous research leads have been hard to duplicate. Now in a new study, scientists have taken a step toward developing a blood test for Alzheimer's, finding a group of markers that hold up in statistical analyses in three independent groups of patients. ... > full story

Brain hubs boil when hoarders face pitching their own stuff (August 9, 2012) -- In patients with hoarding disorder, parts of a decision-making brain circuit under-activated when dealing with others' possessions, but over-activated when deciding whether to keep or discard their own things, a new study has found. ... > full story

Evidence further suggests extra-terrestrial origin of quasicrystals (August 9, 2012) -- Results from an expedition to far eastern Russia that set out to find the origin of naturally occurring quasicrystals have provided convincing evidence that they arrived on Earth from outer space. Scientists reveal that new, naturally occurring quasicrystal samples have been found in an environment that does not have the extreme terrestrial conditions needed to produce them, therefore strengthening the case that they were brought to Earth by a meteorite. ... > full story

Copper facilitates prion disease, scientists show (August 9, 2012) -- Many of us are familiar with prion disease from its most startling and unusual incarnations —- the outbreaks of “mad cow” disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) that created a crisis in the global beef industry. Or the strange story of Kuru, a fatal illness affecting a tribe in Papua New Guinea known for its cannibalism. Both are forms of prion disease, caused by the abnormal folding of a protein and resulting in progressive neurodegeneration and death. ... > full story

Tracking fruit flies to understand the function of the nervous system (August 9, 2012) -- Researchers at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany and the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain have designed open source software that allows tracking the position of Drosophila fruit flies as well as their larvae during behavioral experiments. The research appeared in two joint publications in the open access journal PLOS ONE. ... > full story

Psychotherapy is effective but underutilized, review shows (August 9, 2012) -- Psychotherapy is effective, helps reduce the overall need for health services and produces long-term health improvements, according to a new review. ... > full story

NASA's Curiosity beams back a color 360 of Mars' Gale Crater (August 9, 2012) -- The first images from Curiosity's color Mast Camera, or Mastcam, have been received by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The 130 low-resolution thumbnails, which were received Thursday morning, provide scientists and engineers of NASA's newest Mars rover their first color, horizon-to-horizon glimpse of Gale Crater. ... > full story

Gecko feet hold clues to creating bandages that stick when wet (August 9, 2012) -- A better understanding of geckos' gripping power in wet conditions may lead to improvements in bandages and sutures. ... > full story

Computer scientists reveal how aquatic Olympic gold is captured -- above and below the surface (August 9, 2012) -- Computer scientists have isolated the movements of Olympic swimmers and divers through a cutting-edge technique that reveals their motions above and below the water’s surface. ... > full story

Scientist discovers plate tectonics on Mars (August 9, 2012) -- For years, many scientists had thought that plate tectonics existed nowhere in our solar system but on Earth. Now, a researcher has discovered that the geological phenomenon, which involves the movement of huge crustal plates beneath a planet's surface, also exists on Mars. ... > full story

Thinking abstractly may help to boost self-control (August 9, 2012) -- Many of the long term goals people strive for -- like losing weight -- require us to use self-control and forgo immediate gratification. And yet denying our immediate desires in order to reap future benefits is often very hard for us to do. Psychologists now propose that the way people subjectively understand, or construe, events can influence self-control. ... > full story

New way to track formaldehyde (August 9, 2012) -- NASA researchers are helping to fill a big gap in scientists' understanding of how much urban pollution -- and more precisely formaldehyde -- ultimately winds up in Earth's upper atmosphere where it can wreak havoc on Earth's protective ozone layer. ... > full story

Searching salt for answers about life on Earth, Mars (August 9, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered that not only is there evidence of liquid water on Mars, but the planet is also rich with magnesium sulfate. One of the questions researchers are seeking to answer is whether microbial life on Earth can grow at high concentrations of magnesium sulfate. ... > full story

ChemCam sends digital ‘thumbs up’: Martian landing area could be a boon for scientific study (August 9, 2012) -- Members of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover ChemCam team got a digital thumbs up about the operational readiness of their instrument just hours after the rover landed on Martian soil late Sunday evening. ... > full story

First 360-degree panorama from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover (August 9, 2012) -- Remarkable image sets from NASA's Curiosity rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are continuing to develop the story of Curiosity's landing and first days on Mars. The images from Curiosity's just-activated navigation cameras, or Navcams, include the rover's first self-portrait, looking down at its deck from above. ... > full story

Freezing magnetic monopoles: How dipoles become monopoles and vice versa (August 9, 2012) -- Scientists have sharpened the theoretical framework under which monopoles can be studied. ... > full story

Why living in the moment is impossible: Decision-making memories stored in mysterious brain area known to be involved with vision (August 9, 2012) -- The sought-after equanimity of "living in the moment" may be impossible, according to neuroscientists who've pinpointed a brain area responsible for using past decisions and outcomes to guide future behavior. ... > full story

Researchers combine remote sensing technologies for highly detailed look at coastal change (August 9, 2012) -- Shifting sands and tides make it difficult to measure accurately the amount of beach that's available for recreation, development and conservation, but researchers have now combined several remote sensing technologies with historical data to create coastal maps with an unsurpassed level of accuracy. ... > full story

You snooze, you lose: Less sleep leads to more offspring in male pectoral sandpipers (August 9, 2012) -- During the breeding season, polygynous male pectoral sandpipers that sleep the least sire the most young. Biologists have now discovered this extraordinary relationship. During three weeks of intense competition under the constant daylight of the Arctic summer, males actively court females and compete with other males. The most sleepless males were found to be the most successful in producing young. ... > full story

1.5 million years of climate history revealed after scientists solve mystery of the deep (August 9, 2012) -- Scientists have announced a major breakthrough in understanding the Earth's climate machine by reconstructing highly accurate records of changes in ice volume and deep-ocean temperatures over the last 1.5 million years. ... > full story

Global water sustainability flows through natural and human challenges (August 9, 2012) -- Water's fate in China mirrors problems across the world: fouled, pushed far from its natural origins, squandered and exploited. Scientists look back at lessons learned in China and management strategies that hold solutions for China -- and across the world. ... > full story

Cheaper and cleaner catalyst for burning methane (August 9, 2012) -- Researchers have created a material that catalyzes the burning of methane 30 times better than do currently available catalysts. ... > full story

Neuroscientists find brain stem cells that may be responsible for higher functions, bigger brains (August 9, 2012) -- Scientists have identified a new stem cell population that may be responsible for giving birth to the neurons responsible for higher thinking. The finding also paves the way for scientists to produce these neurons in culture—a first step in developing better treatments for cognitive disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism, which result from disrupted connections among these brain cells. ... > full story

Human antibodies that protect against large variety of flu viruses described (August 9, 2012) -- Scientists have described three human antibodies that provide broad protection against Influenza B virus strains. The same team had previously reported finding broadly neutralizing antibodies against Influenza A strains. ... > full story

Hormone in fruit flies sheds light on diabetes cure, weight-loss drug for humans (August 9, 2012) -- Neurobiologists have examined how fruit flies (Drosophila) react when given a decreased diet. Since fruit flies and humans share 30% of the same genes and their brains are wired similarly, the findings could be key to developing new treatments for diabetes and aiding in all sorts of metabolic research, including weight-loss drugs. ... > full story

The making and unmaking of stem-like, aggressive breast cancer cells (August 9, 2012) -- Progestins regulate miRNA-29, returning hormone-dependent breast cancer cells to chemoresistant, aggressive, stem-cell-like state. ... > full story

Hormone acting drugs and uterine artery embolization offers nonsurgical treatment for uterine fibroids (August 9, 2012) -- Women with uterine fibroids larger than 10 cm have a new nonsurgical treatment choice –- hormone acting drugs followed by uterine artery embolization, a new study shows. The new treatment option can replace hysterectomy, which leaves women infertile. ... > full story

Neolithic man: The first lumberjack? (August 9, 2012) -- Scientists have unearthed evidence that sophisticated carpentry tools first appeared at the same time as increased agriculture and the establishment of permanent settlements during the Neolithic Age. ... > full story

Pine trees one of biggest contributors to air pollution: Pine gases chemically transformed by free radicals (August 9, 2012) -- Pine trees are one of the biggest contributors to air pollution. They give off gases that react with airborne chemicals creating tiny, invisible particles that muddy the air. Scientists have shown that particles formed by pine trees are much more dynamic than previously thought. The findings can help make climate and air quality prediction models more accurate, and inform regulatory agencies as they consider strategies for improving air quality. ... > full story

U.S. retirement expert: Medicare woes mostly rooted in myth (August 9, 2012) -- Various misconceptions surrounding the continued viability of Medicare can be debunked or discredited, according to an article by an expert on retirement benefits. ... > full story

89 million Americans medically uninsured during 2004 to 2007 (August 9, 2012) -- 89 million Americans were without health insurance for at least one month during the period from 2004 to 2007, and 23 million lost coverage more than once during that time, according to researchers. ... > full story

Solar power day and night: New storage systems control fluctuation of renewable energies (August 9, 2012) -- Energy storage systems are one of the key technologies for the energy turnaround. With their help, the fluctuating supply of electricity based on photovoltaics and wind power can be stored until the time of consumption. A number of pilot plants of solar cells, small wind power plants, lithium-ion batteries, and power electronics are now under construction to demonstrate how load peaks in the grid can be balanced and what regenerative power supply by an isolated network may look like in the future. ... > full story

Potential drug molecule shows enhanced anti-HIV activity (August 9, 2012) -- Researchers have shown that minimal modification of a synthetic peptide with anti-HIV activity results in a new compound with more than two orders of magnitude higher binding affinity to the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and greatly improved anti-HIV activity. This could be a step toward the design of new, more effective drugs against AIDS, inflammatory diseases, and some forms of cancer. ... > full story

Scientists use worms to unearth cancer drug targets (August 9, 2012) -- Through novel experiments involving small nematode worms, scientists have discovered several genes that may be potential targets for drug development in the ongoing war against cancer. Specifically, researchers hypothesize that inhibiting these genes could reverse certain key traits associated with cancer cells. ... > full story

Depression linked with increased risk of peripheral artery disease (August 9, 2012) -- Depression was linked with an increased risk of peripheral artery disease in a study of more than one thousand men and women with heart disease conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco. ... > full story

Earliest use of Mexican turkeys by ancient Maya (August 9, 2012) -- A new study shows the turkey, one of the most widely consumed birds worldwide, was domesticated more than 1,000 years earlier than previously believed. ... > full story

Delirium increases the risk of developing new dementia 8-fold in older patients (August 9, 2012) -- Older people who have experienced episodes of delirium are significantly more likely to develop dementia, according to new research. ... > full story

Crossing five or more time zones more than doubles illness risk for elite athletes (August 9, 2012) -- Elite athletes who cross more than five time zones to compete are around two to three times as likely to get ill as when they compete on their home turf, suggests new research. ... > full story

The difference between a mole and shrew is in their SOX (August 9, 2012) -- The family of small insectivores, Talpidae, includes the moles, shrew moles, and aquatic desmans. New research has found that the enlargement of moles' digging front paws, compared to their feet, is controlled by altered timing of expression of the gene SOX9. ... > full story

Tai Chi shown to improve COPD exercise capacity (August 9, 2012) -- Tai Chi can be used as an effective form of exercise therapy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to new findings. ... > full story

Natural birth -- but not C-section -- triggers brain-boosting proteins (August 9, 2012) -- 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. The study also found that this protein expression is impaired in the brains of offspring delivered by cesarean section. ... > full story

Clinical trial results support strategy for reversing type 1 diabetes: Treatment with generic vaccine kills autoimmune cells, temporarily restoring insulin production (August 9, 2012) -- 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. ... > full story

Doctors can now detect hard-to-diagnose prostate cancer (August 9, 2012) -- Researchers have successfully developed and tested a new prostate cancer screening method that uses the combined power of a novel drug therapy and changes in PSA levels over time to identify men with a high PSA who are more likely to have aggressive prostate cancer despite negative biopsies. ... > full story

New perspectives on the function of the Golgi apparatus (August 9, 2012) -- New perspectives have been reached on the function of the Golgi apparatus. Scientists explain a basic difference between plant and animal cells. ... > full story

And then there was light! Discovery of the world's first eyeless huntsman spider (August 9, 2012) -- A scientist has discovered the first eyeless huntsman spider in the world. With a leg span of only six centimetres and a body size of around twelve millimetres, the spider Sinopoda scurion is certainly not one of the largest representatives of the huntsman spiders, which include more than 1100 species. However, it is the first of its kind in the world without any eyes. ... > full story

Plenty of dark matter near the Sun (August 9, 2012) -- Astronomers have found large amounts of invisible "dark matter" near the Sun. Their results are inconsistent with the theory that the Milky Way Galaxy is surrounded by a massive "halo" of dark matter, but this is the first study of its kind to use a method rigorously tested against mock data from high quality simulations. The authors also find tantalizing hints of a new dark matter component in our Galaxy. ... > full story

Student scores improve if teachers given incentives upfront (August 9, 2012) -- A bonus payment to teachers can improve student academic performance — but only when it is given upfront, on the condition that part of the money must be returned if student performance fails to improve, new research shows. ... > full story

One week of therapy may help reorganize brain, reduce stuttering (August 9, 2012) -- Just one week of speech therapy may reorganize the brain, helping to reduce stuttering, according to a new study. ... > full story

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