The EDGE: ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, August 20, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, August 20, 2012

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The wasp that never cries wolf (August 19, 2012) -- European paper wasps (Polistes dominula) advertise the size of their poison glands to potential predators. The brighter the color, the larger the poison gland. Aposematism is used by many different animals to warn potential predators that they are poisonous. Usually this takes the form of distinctive coloration or patterns which predators quickly learn to avoid. ... > full story

Meddling with male malaria mosquito 'mating plug' to control an epidemic (August 19, 2012) -- Using information about the unique mating practices of the male malaria mosquito - which, unlike any other insect, inserts a plug to seal its sperm inside the female - scientists are zeroing in on a birth-control drug for Anopheles mosquitoes, deadly carriers of the disease that threatens 3 billion people, has infected more than 215 million and kills 655,000 annually. ... > full story

Rover's laser instrument zaps first Martian rock (August 19, 2012) -- NASA's Mars rover Curiosity fired its laser for the first time on Mars, using the beam from a science instrument to interrogate a fist-size rock called "Coronation." The mission's Chemistry and Camera instrument, or ChemCam, hit the fist-sized rock with 30 pulses of its laser during a 10-second period. Each pulse delivers more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second. ... > full story

National education policy -- oh, how it's changed (August 19, 2012) -- The way legislators, experts and other opinion leaders discuss the role of parents and schools in reducing educational inequalities has changed dramatically since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act first passed in 1965. Parents were viewed as part of the problem then, with schools seen as the solution. In recent years, with No Child Left Behind and more school choice options, these roles have flipped. ... > full story

Middle-class children: Squeaky wheels in training (August 19, 2012) -- A new study found that working-class and middle-class parents often take very deliberate but different approaches to helping their children with their school experiences. Working-class parents, she found, coached their children on how to avoid problems, often through finding their own solution and by being deferential to authority figures. Middle-class parents were more likely to encourage their kids to ask questions or ask for help. ... > full story

Work has more benefits than just a paycheck for moms: Working moms are healthier than stay-at-home moms (August 19, 2012) -- Working moms striving to "have it all" now can add another perk to their list of benefits -- health. New research finds that moms who work full time are healthier at age 40 than stay-at-home moms, moms who work part time, or moms who have some work history, but are repeatedly unemployed. ... > full story

Researchers make quantum processor capable of factoring a composite number into prime factors (August 19, 2012) -- Computing prime factors may sound like an elementary math problem, but try it with a large number, say one that contains more than 600 digits, and the task becomes enormously challenging and impossibly time-consuming. Now, a group of researchers has designed and fabricated a quantum processor capable of factoring a composite number -- in this case the number 15 -- into its constituent prime factors, 3 and 5. Factoring very large numbers is at the heart of cybersecurity protocols, such as the most common form of encoding, known as RSA encryption. ... > full story

Massachusetts butterflies move north as climate warms (August 19, 2012) -- A new study shows that, over the past 19 years, a warming climate has been reshaping Massachusetts butterfly communities. Subtropical and warm-climate species -- many of which were rare or absent in Massachusetts as recently as the late 1980s -- show sharp increases in abundance. At the same time, more than three quarters of northerly species -- species with a range centered north of Boston -- are now declining in Massachusetts, many of them rapidly. ... > full story

Inspired by genetics, chemistry finally takes hold of its own code: Chemists can attain more complex supramolecular structures? (August 19, 2012) -- Nature proves every day that it is both complex and efficient. Organic chemists are envious of it; their conventional tools confine them to simpler achievements. These limitations could become a thing of the past. New research offers a new kind of code to chemists, allowing them to access new levels of complexity. ... > full story

'DNA wires' could help physicians diagnose disease (August 19, 2012) -- Scientists have found that Mother Nature uses DNA as a wire to detect the constantly occurring genetic damage and mistakes that can result in diseases like cancer. DNA wires are potentially useful in identifying people at risk for certain diseases. ... > full story

Improving water quality can help save coral reefs (August 19, 2012) -- Researcher have found that an imbalance of nutrients in reef waters can increase the bleaching susceptibility of reef corals. Corals are made up of many polyps that jointly form a layer of living tissue covering the calcareous skeletons. They depend on single-celled algae called zooxanthellae, which live within the coral polyps. The coral animal and the associated zooxanthellae depend on each other for survival in a symbiotic relationship, where the coral supplies the algae with nutrients and a place to live. In turn, the algae offer the coral some products of their photosynthesis, providing them with an important energy source. High water temperatures can block photosynthetic reactions in the algal cells causing a build-up of toxic oxygen compounds, which threaten the coral and can result in a loss of the zooxanthellae. ... > full story

A new route to dissipationless electronics (August 19, 2012) -- A team of researchers has demonstrated a new material that promises to eliminate loss in electrical power transmission. The surprise is that their methodology for solving this classic energy problem is based upon the first realization of a highly exotic type of magnetic semiconductor first theorized less than a decade ago - a magnetic topological insulator. ... > full story

Sociologist examines the challenges of women in professional football (August 19, 2012) -- Women playing full-contact tackle football face challenges beyond the playing field —- yet there’s little research about this niche in athletics. ... > full story

Relationship between marriage and alcohol examined (August 19, 2012) -- New research examining relationships and the use of alcohol finds that while a long-term marriage appears to curb men’s drinking, it’s associated with a slightly higher level of alcohol use among women. ... > full story

God as a drug: The rise of American megachurches (August 19, 2012) -- American megachurches use stagecraft, sensory pageantry, charismatic leadership and an upbeat, unchallenging vision of Christianity to provide their congregants with a powerful emotional religious experience, according to new research. ... > full story

Young adults from middle income families at higher risk for student loan debt than their poorer peers (August 19, 2012) -- Young adults from middle income families are more likely to rack up student loan debt—and in greater amounts—than students from both lower and higher income backgrounds, finds new research. ... > full story

Red wine compound could help seniors walk away from mobility problems (August 19, 2012) -- In a stride toward better health in later life, scientists have reported that resveratrol, the so-called “miracle molecule” found in red wine, might help improve mobility and prevent life-threatening falls among older people. ... > full story

Good mood foods: Some flavors in some foods resemble a prescription mood stabilizer (August 19, 2012) -- New evidence reveals the possibility of mood-enhancing effects associated with some flavors, stemming at least in part from natural ingredients bearing a striking chemical similarity to valproic acid, a widely used prescription mood-stabilizing drug, scientists have reported. This effect joins those previously reported for chocolate, teas and some other known comfort foods. ... > full story

New space-age insulating material for homes, clothing and other everyday uses (August 19, 2012) -- A major improvement in the world’s lightest solid material and best solid insulating material may put more of this space-age wonder into insulated clothing, refrigerators with thinner walls that hold more food, building insulation and other products. ... > full story

New technology combats global pandemic of drug counterfeiting (August 19, 2012) -- Drug counterfeiting is so common in some developing countries that patients with serious diseases in Southeast Asia and elsewhere have been more likely to get a fake drug than one with ingredients that really treat their illness, a scientist involved in combating the problem says. ... > full story

Simple new test to combat counterfeit drug problem in developing countries (August 19, 2012) -- In a thrust against the major problem of counterfeit medicines sold in developing countries, which causes thousands of illnesses and deaths annually, scientists have developed a simple, paper-strip test that people could use to identify counterfeit versions of one of the most-frequently faked medicines in the world. ... > full story

Artificial intelligence allows automated worm sorting (August 19, 2012) -- Scientists have demonstrated an automated system that uses artificial intelligence and cutting-edge image processing to rapidly examine large numbers of individual nematodes -- a species widely used in biological research. ... > full story

Hubble sees a lonely galactic island (August 18, 2012) -- In terms of intergalactic real estate, our solar system has a plum location as part of a big, spiral galaxy, the Milky Way. Numerous, less glamorous dwarf galaxies keep the Milky Way company. Many galaxies, however, are comparatively isolated, without close neighbors. One such example is the small galaxy known as DDO 190, snapped in a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. ... > full story

Study reveals new molecular target for melanoma treatment (August 17, 2012) -- A laboratory study demonstrates how a new targeted drug, Elesclomol, blocks oxidative phosphorylation, which appears to play essential role in melanoma that has not been well understood. Elesclomol was previously shown to have clinical benefit only in patients with normal serum lactate dehydrogenase, a laboratory test routinely used to assess activity of disease. ... > full story

Excessive summertime heat can shorten gestation time for beef cattle (August 17, 2012) -- New research indicates that excessively hot summertime temperatures can shorten the gestation length of beef cows, altering animal management requirements. ... > full story

As smart electric grid evolves, engineers show how to include solar technologies (August 17, 2012) -- Scientists have developed an economically feasible way to store solar energy in existing residential power networks. ... > full story

NASA Curiosity team pinpoints site for first drive on Mars (August 17, 2012) -- The scientists and engineers of NASA's Curiosity rover mission have selected the first driving destination for their one-ton, six-wheeled mobile Mars laboratory. The target area, named Glenelg, is a natural intersection of three kinds of terrain. The choice was described by Curiosity Principal Investigator John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology during a media teleconference on Aug. 17. ... > full story

Trust in management key to avoiding correctional staff burnout (August 17, 2012) -- Correctional facility employees who trust supervisors and management are less likely to experience job burnout, according to new research. ... > full story

'Organic' study of live pancreatic tissue yields new opportunities for diabetes research (August 17, 2012) -- An 'all-natural' method for studying pancreatic islets, the small tissues responsible for insulin production and regulation in the body, has recently been developed to try to track metabolic changes in living tissues in 'real time' and without additional chemicals or drugs. ... > full story

Brain's mysterious switchboard operator revealed (August 17, 2012) -- Researchers report that a mysterious region deep in the human brain could be where we sort through the onslaught of stimuli from the outside world and focus on the information most important to our behavior and survival. ... > full story

Bats evolved more than one way to drink nectar (August 17, 2012) -- A team of evolutionary biologists compared the anatomy and genes of bats to help solve a persistent question in evolution: Why do analyses of different features of an organism result in conflicting patterns of evolutionary relationships? ... > full story

Studies shed light on why species stay or go in response to climate change (August 17, 2012) -- Two new studies provide a clearer picture of why some species move -- and where they go -- in response to climate change. One found a dramatic decline in populations of a mountain ground squirrel, except where humans lived. Another paper finds that precipitation is an underappreciated driving force for species' response to climate change. ... > full story

Writing the book in DNA: Geneticist encodes his book in life's language (August 17, 2012) -- Using next-generation sequencing technology and a novel strategy to encode 1,000 times the largest data size previously achieved in DNA, a geneticist encodes his book in life's language. ... > full story

New 'microthrusters' could propel small satellites: As small as a penny, these thrusters run on jets of ion beams (August 17, 2012) -- A penny-sized rocket thruster may soon power the smallest satellites in space. The device bears little resemblance to today’s bulky satellite engines, which are laden with valves, pipes and heavy propellant tanks. ... > full story

Two new owl species discovered in the Philippines (August 17, 2012) -- Two new species of owls have been discovered in the Philippines. The first owl, the Camiguin Hawk-owl, is found only on the small island of Camiguin Sur, close to northern Mindanao. The second new discovery was the Cebu Hawk-owl. This bird was thought to be extinct, as the forests of Cebu have almost all been lost due to deforestation. ... > full story

Cholesterol test with only a photo of patient's hand (August 17, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a total cholesterol test that uses a digital camera to take a snapshot of the back of the patient's hand rather than a blood sample. The image obtained is cropped and compared with images in a database for known cholesterol levels. ... > full story

War is not necessarily the cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (August 17, 2012) -- Surprisingly, the majority of soldiers exhibiting symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome were suffering from poor mental health before they were posted to a war zone, new research suggests. ... > full story

Urine based 'potion' can act as CO<sub>2</sub> absorbent (August 17, 2012) -- Absorbing the large quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases present in cities would require millions of tons of some naturally occurring substance. Urine could be the reactive agent. As a resource available across all human societies, it is produced in large quantities and is close to the pollution hubs of large cities. ... > full story

West Nile on the rise again after a quiet decade (August 17, 2012) -- A University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey expert describes symptoms and ways to protect yourself from the West Nile virus. ... > full story

Computer-simulated knitting goes right down to the yarn (August 17, 2012) -- A new method for building computer-simulated knitted fabric out of an array of individual stitches has just been developed. The innovation creates a 3-D model of a single stitch and then combine multiple copies into a mesh, like tiles in a mosaic. ... > full story

Molecular 'movies' may accelerate anti-cancer drug discovery (August 17, 2012) -- Using advanced computer simulations, researchers have produced moving images of a protein complex that is an important target for anti-cancer drugs. ... > full story

Taking the edge off a pipe bomb -- literally (August 17, 2012) -- A new device for dismantling pipe bombs may look like a tinkerer's project, but it's sophisticated enough to do the job and preserve the forensic evidence. ... > full story

Iconic Darwin finch genome sequenced (August 17, 2012) -- Scientists have sequenced the genome of one of the iconic Galapagos finches first described by Charles Darwin. he genome of the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) is among the first of a planned 100 genomes of vertebrate species to be sequenced and released by an international collaboration. ... > full story

Aerospace materials used to build 'endless' pipeline (August 17, 2012) -- Carbon fiber fabric and lightweight honeycomb materials, plus a mobile manufacturing platform, make infinite pipeline technology cheaper and greener while boosting local economies. ... > full story

Spider version of Bigfoot emerges from caves in the Pacific Northwest (August 17, 2012) -- The forests of the coastal regions from California to British Columbia are renowned for their unique and ancient animals and plants, such as coast redwoods, tailed frogs, mountain beavers and the legendary Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch). Whereas Bigfoot is probably just fiction, a huge, newly discovered spider is very real. ... > full story

Flu vaccine research: Overcoming 'original sin' (August 17, 2012) -- Scientists studying flu vaccines have identified ways to overcome an obstacle called "original antigenic sin," which can impair immune responses to new flu strains. ... > full story

Wild pollinators support farm productivity and stabilize yield (August 17, 2012) -- Most people are not aware of the fact that 84% of the European crops are partially or entirely dependent on insect pollination. While managed honeybees pollinate certain crops, wild bees, flies and wasps cover a very broad spectrum of plants, and thus are considered the most important pollinators in Europe. ... > full story

Constructive conflict in the superconductor (August 17, 2012) -- Charge density waves improve our understanding of the zero-resistance transport of electricity and could explain an unusual interplay of superconducting and magnetic materials. ... > full story