ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Monday, June 11, 2012
Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.
New insight into placental growth and healthy pregnancy (June 10, 2012) -- Scientists have gained a new understanding of how the growth of the placenta is regulated before birth, which has important implications for a healthy pregnancy. The research shows that the controlled release of a specific molecule, called miR-675, slows down growth of the placenta before birth. ... > full story
Undersea volcano gave off signals before eruption in 2011 (June 10, 2012) -- A team of scientists that last year created waves by correctly forecasting the 2011 eruption of Axial Seamount years in advance now says that the undersea volcano located some 250 miles off the Oregon coast gave off clear signals hours before its impending eruption. ... > full story
Researchers watch tiny living machines self-assemble (June 10, 2012) -- Enabling bioengineers to design new molecular machines for nanotechnology applications is one of the possible outcomes of a new study. Scientists have developed a new approach to visualize how proteins assemble, which may also significantly aid our understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which are caused by errors in assembly. ... > full story
New studies challenge established views about development of children raised by gay or lesbian parents (June 10, 2012) -- New Studies Challenge Established Views about the Development of(Children Raised by Gay or Lesbian Parents ... > full story
Four new gene loci predisposing people to the most common subtype of migraine (June 10, 2012) -- Scientists have identified four new gene loci predisposing people to the most common subtype of migraine, migraine without aura. About 2/3 of migraine sufferers belong to this group. ... > full story
Mapping volcanic heat on Jupiter's moon Io (June 10, 2012) -- A new study finds that the pattern of heat coming from volcanoes on Io's surface disposes of the generally-accepted model of internal heating. The heat pouring out of Io's hundreds of erupting volcanoes indicates a complex, multi-layer source. These results come from data collected by NASA spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. ... > full story
NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter puts itself into standby safe mode (June 10, 2012) -- NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter put itself into a precautionary standby status early Friday, June 8, Universal Time (Thursday evening, Pacific Time), when the spacecraft detected unexpected characteristics in movement of one of its reaction wheels. The spacecraft uses three of these wheels as the primary method for adjusting and maintaining its orientation. It carries a spare reaction wheel. ... > full story
Anthropologists finds high levels of omega-3 fatty acids in breast milk of Amerindian women (June 9, 2012) -- Anthropologists have found high levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids in the breast milk of economically impoverished Amerindian woman as compared to women in the United States. ... > full story
New anti-cancer vaccine developed and tested (June 9, 2012) -- Researchers have developed and tested in mice a synthetic vaccine and found it effective in killing human papillomavirus-derived cancer, a virus linked to cervical cancers among others. ... > full story
Hubble spots a bright spark in a nearby spiral galaxy (June 9, 2012) -- A new image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a detailed view of the spiral arms on one side of the galaxy Messier 99. Messier 99 is a so-called grand design spiral, with long, large and clearly defined spiral arms -- giving it a structure somewhat similar to the Milky Way. In recent years, a number of unexplained phenomena in Messier 99 have been studied by astronomers. Among these is the nature of one of the brighter stars visible in this image. ... > full story
Instrument integration begins at Goddard on MMS spacecraft (June 9, 2012) -- The decks have arrived. Engineers working on NASA'S Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission have started integrating instruments on the first of four instrument decks in a newly fabricated cleanroom at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The MMS mission consists of four identical spacecraft, and each instrument deck will have 25 sensors per spacecraft. ... > full story
Rocket sled tests are technology pathway to safely land humans, habitats and cargo on Mars (June 8, 2012) -- Traveling 300 million miles through deep space to reach the planet Mars is difficult; successfully landing there is even harder. The process of entering the Red Planet's atmosphere and slowing down to land has been described as "six minutes of terror." ... > full story
WISE finds few brown dwarfs close to home (June 8, 2012) -- Astronomers are getting to know the neighbors better. Our sun resides within a spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy about two-thirds of the way out from the center. It lives in a fairly calm, suburb-like area with an average number of stellar residents. Recently, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has been turning up a new crowd of stars close to home: the coldest of the brown dwarf family of "failed" stars. ... > full story
Overwhelming evidence of hidden heart disease in hypertensive African-Americans (June 8, 2012) -- A new study has found that an overwhelming majority of African-American patients with hypertension also suffered hidden heart disease caused by high blood pressure even though they displayed no symptoms. ... > full story
Microbes discovered in extreme environment on South American volcanoes (June 8, 2012) -- Scientists looking for organisms that eke out a living in some of the most inhospitable soils on Earth has found a hardy few living on volcanoes that reaching nearly 20,000 feet in height. ... > full story
Neutrinos sent from CERN to Gran Sasso respect the cosmic speed limit, experiments confirm (June 8, 2012) -- The latest results on the time of flight of neutrinos from CERN to the INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory have just been presented. Four experiments -- Borexino, ICARUS, LVD and OPERA -- all measure a neutrino time of flight consistent with the speed of light. This is at odds with a measurement that the OPERA collaboration put up for scrutiny last September, indicating that the original OPERA measurement can be attributed to a faulty element of the experiment's fibre optic timing system. ... > full story
More people staying connected on vacation (June 8, 2012) -- Scanning smartphones, tablets and laptops is as much a part of vacations as slathering on sunscreen, according to a new study. ... > full story
Engineered robot interacts with live fish (June 8, 2012) -- A bioinspired robot has provided the first experimental evidence that live zebrafish can be influenced by engineered robots. ... > full story
Parasitic plants steal genes from their hosts (June 8, 2012) -- The Malaysian parasitic plant Rafflesia cantleyi, with its 50cm diameter flowers, has 'stolen' genes from its host Tetrastigma rafflesiae. Analysis of these genes shows that their functions range from respiration to metabolism, and that some of them have even replaced the parasites own gene activity. ... > full story
U.S. Healthcare: 13. 7 million young adults stayed on or joined their parents' health plans in 2011 (June 8, 2012) -- In 2011, 13.7 million young adults ages 19 to 25 stayed on or joined their parents' health plans, including 6.6 million who would likely not have been able to do so before passage of the Affordable Care Act, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. ... > full story
Does cooperation require both reciprocity and alike neighbors? (June 8, 2012) -- Scientists have developed a new theoretical model on the evolution of cooperation. Evolution by definition is cold and merciless: it selects for success and weeds out failure. It seems only natural to expect that such a process would simply favour genes that help themselves and not others. Yet cooperative behaviour can be observed in many areas, and humans helping each other are a common phenomenon. Thus, one of the major questions in science today is how cooperative behaviour could evolve. ... > full story
Oceanic circulation: Heat loss strengthens the gyre circulation (June 8, 2012) -- A new study explains decadal variations in the oceanic circulation south of Greenland and Iceland. ... > full story
Environmental benefit of biofuels is overestimated, new study reveals (June 8, 2012) -- Two scientists are challenging the currently accepted norms of biofuel production. Calculations of greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions from bioenergy production are neglecting crucial information that has led to the overestimation of the benefits of biofuels compared to fossil fuels, a new analysis shows. ... > full story
Novel brain imaging technique explains why concussions affect people differently (June 8, 2012) -- Patients vary widely in their response to concussion, but scientists haven’t understood why. Now, using a new technique for analyzing data from brain imaging studies, researchers have found that concussion victims have unique spatial patterns of brain abnormalities that change over time. ... > full story
Should spinal manipulation for neck pain be abandoned? (June 7, 2012) -- The effectiveness of spinal manipulation divides medical opinion. Experts debate whether spinal manipulation for neck pain should be abandoned. ... > full story
Rubber wood, coconut shells and fabrics tested for use in hybrid composites (June 7, 2012) -- Opening a way to a new hybrid composite, researchers have tested hybrid composites made of rubberwood, coconut shell and textile fabrics (woven cotton and polyester fabrics). ... > full story
Information processing: Adding a touch of color (June 7, 2012) -- An innovative computer program brings color to grayscale images. ... > full story
Optical materials: Holey gold (June 7, 2012) -- Imaging nanoporous metals with beams of electrons provides deep insights into the unusual optical properties of these materials. ... > full story
Microscopy: A glance from the nanoworld (June 7, 2012) -- A new patterning technique produces a faithful reproduction of grayscale images down to the micrometer level. ... > full story
U.S. experienced second warmest May, warmest spring on record, NOAA reports (June 7, 2012) -- According to NOAA scientists, the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during May was 64.3°F, 3.3°F above the long-term average, making it the second warmest May on record. The month's high temperatures also contributed to the warmest spring, warmest year-to-date, and warmest 12-month period the nation has experienced since recordkeeping began in 1895. ... > full story
Australia has two distinct white shark populations (June 7, 2012) -- A new scientific study has identified two distinct populations of white shark at the east and west of Bass Strait in Australian waters, prompting researchers to suggest the huge fish may need regional conservation plans. ... > full story
Rain may not always be a welcome thing to waterbirds (June 7, 2012) -- Scientists have found that waterbird communities can be the "canary in the coal mine" when it comes to detecting the health of urban estuary ecosystems. Their research revealed that the types of waterbirds that inhabit urban estuaries are influenced not only by urban development, but also by a far more natural process -- rain. ... > full story
Food-trade network vulnerable to fast spread of contaminants (June 7, 2012) -- Physicists and food science experts have recently published a rigorous analysis of the international food-trade network that shows the network's vulnerability to the fast spread of contaminants as well as the correlation between known food poisoning outbreaks and the centrality of countries on the network. ... > full story
What does it mean to be cool? It may not be what you think (June 7, 2012) -- Do rebelliousness, emotional control, toughness and thrill-seeking still make up the essence of coolness? Can performers James Dean and Miles Davis still be considered the models of cool? Psychologists have found the characteristics associated with coolness today are markedly different than those that generated the concept of cool. ... > full story
Floating dock from Japan carries potential invasive species (June 7, 2012) -- When debris from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan began making its way toward the West Coast of the United States, there were fears of possible radiation and chemical contamination as well as costly cleanup. But a floating dock that unexpectedly washed ashore in Newport this week and has been traced back to the Japanese disaster has brought with it a completely different threat -- invasive species. ... > full story
Researchers identify changes in cholesterol metabolic pathways (June 7, 2012) -- A new study has identified molecular changes responsible for abnormal cholesterol production and metabolism in the livers of patients with a common liver condition, and these changes may explain the severity of a patient’s liver disease and risks to their heart health. ... > full story
Groundbreaking new graphene-based MRI contrast agent (June 7, 2012) -- Scientists have developed a new, highly efficacious, potentially safer and more cost effective nanoparticle-based MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) contrast agent for improved disease diagnosis and detection. ... > full story
Mapping genes: New risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases found (June 7, 2012) -- Using a new and powerful approach to understand the origins of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, researchers are building the case that these diseases are primarily caused by genes that are too active or not active enough, rather than by harmful gene mutations. ... > full story
Immune system 'circuitry' that kills malaria in mosquitoes identified (June 7, 2012) -- For the first time, researchers have determined the function of a series proteins within the mosquito that transduce a signal that enables the mosquito to fight off infection from the parasite that causes malaria in humans. Together, these proteins are known as immune deficiency (Imd) pathway signal transducing factors, are analogous to an electrical circuit. As each factor is switched on or off it triggers or inhibits the next, finally leading to the launch of an immune response against the malaria parasite. ... > full story
Previously held beliefs about the role of genetic mutations in colon cancer development challenged (June 7, 2012) -- In exploring the genetics of mitochondria – the powerhouse of the cell – researchers have stumbled upon a finding that challenges previously held beliefs about the role of mutations in cancer development. For the first time, researchers have found that the number of new mutations are significantly lower in cancers than in normal cells. ... > full story
NASA's Spitzer finds first objects burned furiously (June 7, 2012) -- The faint, lumpy glow given off by the very first objects in the universe may have been detected with the best precision yet, using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. These faint objects might be wildly massive stars or voracious black holes. They are too far away to be seen individually, but Spitzer has captured new, convincing evidence of what appears to be the collective pattern of their infrared light. The observations help confirm the first objects were numerous in quantity and furiously burned cosmic fuel. ... > full story
A super tiny giraffe (June 7, 2012) -- An engineering graduate student wins first place in 'Science as Art' competition for magnified image of nickel, aluminum and carbon that resembles a super tiny giraffe. ... > full story
'Nanocable' could be big boon for energy storage (June 7, 2012) -- Researchers have created a coaxial nanocable capacitor that outperforms previously reported microcapacitors. The three-layer, 100-nanometer-wide cable was produced with techniques pioneered in the nascent graphene field and could be used to build next-generation energy-storage systems. ... > full story
Slashing energy needs for next-generation memory (June 7, 2012) -- Researchers have unveiled a new data-encoding scheme that slashes more than 30 percent of the energy needed to write data onto memory cards that use "phase-change memory" -- a competitor to flash memory that has big backing from industry heavyweights. ... > full story
Scientists discover huge phytoplankton bloom in ice-covered waters (June 7, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath ice-covered Arctic waters. Until now, sea ice was thought to block sunlight and limit the growth of microscopic marine plants living under the ice. ... > full story
Quantum computers move closer to reality, thanks to highly enriched and highly purified silicon (June 7, 2012) -- Scientists have made the next step towards making quantum computing a reality -- through the unique properties of highly enriched and highly purified silicon. ... > full story
Molecular mechanism associated with human immune disorder, XLP disease, explained (June 7, 2012) -- Scientists have made an important breakthrough in the field of immunology. They have explained a poorly understood molecular mechanism associated with a human immune disorder known as XLP disease or Duncan's syndrome. ... > full story
Second-hand smoke affects bladder function in children, study suggests (June 7, 2012) -- Children with mothers who smoke are at even higher-risk for developing health disorders.Medical researchers have shown that second-hand cigarette smoke was associated with moderate to severe irritative bladder symptoms in children. ... > full story
| This message was sent to jmabs1@gmail.com from: ScienceDaily | 1 Research Court, Suite 450 | Rockville, MD 20850 | Email Marketing by  |
No comments:
Post a Comment