ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, June 12, 2012
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Europeans to build world’s biggest eye on the sky: Largest optical/infrared telescope (June 11, 2012) -- The European Southern Observatory is to build the largest optical/infrared telescope in the world. At its meeting in Garching June 11, the ESO Council approved the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) Programme, pending confirmation of four so-called ad referendum votes. The E-ELT will start operations early in the next decade. ... > full story
NASA Mars rover team aims for landing closer to prime science site (June 11, 2012) -- NASA has narrowed the target for its most advanced Mars rover, Curiosity, which will land on the Red Planet in August. The car-sized rover will arrive closer to its ultimate destination for science operations, but also closer to the foot of a mountain slope that poses a landing hazard. ... > full story
NuSTAR to drop from plane and rocket into space (June 11, 2012) -- NASA's NuSTAR mission is scheduled to launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean on June 13, no earlier than 8:30 a.m. PDT (11:30 a.m. EDT). The observatory, which will hunt for black holes and other exotic objects using specialized X-ray eyes, will be launched from a Pegasus XL rocket carried by an Orbital Science Corporation L-1011 "Stargazer" plane. The plane will take off from Kwajalein Atoll an hour before launch, flying out over the Pacific Ocean. ... > full story
Black hole growth found to be out of sync (June 11, 2012) -- New evidence from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory challenges prevailing ideas about how black holes grow in the centers of galaxies. Astronomers long have thought that a supermassive black hole and the bulge of stars at the center of its host galaxy grow at the same rate -- the bigger the bulge, the bigger the black hole. However, a new study of Chandra data has revealed two nearby galaxies with supermassive black holes that are growing faster than the galaxies themselves. ... > full story
Highest-energy light from a solar flare ever detected (June 11, 2012) -- During a powerful solar blast on March 7, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected the highest-energy light ever associated with an eruption on the sun. The discovery heralds Fermi's new role as a solar observatory, a powerful new tool for understanding solar outbursts during the sun's maximum period of activity. ... > full story
Global warming threat seen in fertile soil of northeastern U.S. forests (June 11, 2012) -- Vast stores of carbon in U.S. forest soils could be released by rising global temperatures, according to a new study. Scientists found that heating soil in Wisconsin and North Carolina woodlands by 10 and 20 degrees increased the release of carbon dioxide by up to eight times. They showed for the first time that most carbon in topsoil is vulnerable to this warming effect. ... > full story
New evidence supports theory of extraterrestrial impact (June 11, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered melt-glass material in a thin layer of sedimentary rock in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Syria. According to the researchers, the material -- which dates back nearly 13,000 years -- was formed at temperatures of 1,700 to 2,200 degrees Celsius (3,100 to 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit), and is the result of a cosmic body impacting Earth. ... > full story
Workings behind promising inexpensive catalyst revealed (June 11, 2012) -- A newly developed carbon nanotube material could help lower the cost of fuel cells, catalytic converters and similar energy-related technologies by delivering a substitute for expensive platinum catalysts. ... > full story
Breast cancer risk can be lowered by avoiding unnecessary medical imaging (June 11, 2012) -- A new reviewed all the available scientific data compiled to date about potential environmental risks of breast cancer -- factors such as pesticides, beauty products, household chemicals, and the plastics used to make water bottles. ... > full story
Neighbor galaxies may have brushed closely, astronomers find (June 11, 2012) -- New observations confirm a tenuous "bridge" of hydrogen gas streaming between two prominent members of our Local Group of galaxies -- the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy. This indicates the two may have had a close encounter in the distant past. ... > full story
Helices of light: Dark helices with a bright future (June 11, 2012) -- Laser beams can be made to form dark as well as bright intensity helices, or corkscrews of light. Scientists have now shown that forming dark helices can have considerable advantages over employing their commonly considered bright cousins. ... > full story
Sick from your stomach: Bacterial changes may trigger diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (June 11, 2012) -- Larger-than-normal populations of specific gut bacteria may trigger the development of diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and possibly fuel disease progression in people genetically predisposed to this crippling and confounding condition, say the researchers. ... > full story
Never too late to quit: Quitting smoking reduces mortality, even in older patients (June 11, 2012) -- An analysis of available medical literature suggests smoking was linked to increased mortality in older patients and that smoking cessation was associated with reduced mortality at an older age. ... > full story
Keeping pace: Walking speed may signal thinking problems ahead (June 11, 2012) -- A new study shows that changes in walking speed in late life may signal the early stages of dementia known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). ... > full story
Untangling knots, slipknots in species separated by a billion years of evolution (June 11, 2012) -- A new study examines structures of proteins that not only twist and turn themselves into knots, but also form slipknots that, if anybody could actually see them, might look like shoelaces for cells. ... > full story
New molecules important for vision and brain function identified (June 11, 2012) -- In a pair of related studies, scientists have identified several proteins that help regulate cells' response to light -- and the development of night blindness, a rare disease that abolishes the ability to see in dim light. ... > full story
Kill the germs, spare the ears: Encouraging study shows how (June 11, 2012) -- The world needs new antibiotics to overcome the ever-increasing resistance of disease-causing bacteria – but it doesn’t need the side effect that comes with some of the most powerful ones now available: hearing loss. Researchers report they have developed a new approach to designing antibiotics that kill even “superbugs” but spare the inner ear. ... > full story
New spin on antifreeze: Researchers create ultra slippery anti-ice and anti-frost surfaces (June 11, 2012) -- Researchers have invented a way to keep any metal surface free of ice and frost. The treated surfaces quickly shed even tiny, incipient condensation droplets or frost simply through gravity. The technology prevents ice sheets from developing on surfaces -- and any ice that does form, slides off effortlessly. ... > full story
More than 635,000 Martian craters catalogued (June 11, 2012) -- How beat up is Mars from cosmic buckshot over the millenia? According to new research, there are a staggering 635,000 impact craters on Mars that are roughly a kilometer or more in diameter. ... > full story
Are feminism and attachment parenting practices compatible? (June 11, 2012) -- What kind of mothers do feminists make? According to a new study, feminist mothers endorse the importance of the time-intensive, hands-on parenting practices associated with attachment parenting -- a child-centric parenting technique in which children's needs are ideally met on the child's schedule rather than the parent's. ... > full story
Long-ignored enzyme turns out to be key to killing infectious bacteria (June 11, 2012) -- New research shows that an enzyme that has long been considered relatively useless to the immune response instead has an important role in setting up immune cells to kill infection-causing bacteria. ... > full story
Treating childhood anxiety with computers, not drugs (June 11, 2012) -- Psychologists have turned a common computer-based test for childhood anxiety into a form of therapeutic treatment. In its initial clinical trial, the new approach was as effective as medication and cognitive therapy for children, eliminating the need for medication or expensive in-person therapeutic treatment by professionals. ... > full story
Molecular imaging detects signs of Alzheimer's in healthy patients (June 11, 2012) -- An arsenal of new Alzheimer's research indicates that beta-amyloid plaque in the brain not only is involved in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease but may also precede even mild cognitive decline. These and other studies advance molecular imaging for the early detection of beta-amyloid, for which one product is now approved in the United States, as a major push forward in the race for better treatments. ... > full story
Clues found to way embryonic kidney maintains its fleeting stem cells (June 11, 2012) -- Studying mice and humans, researchers have identified two proteins that are required to maintain a supply of stem cells in the developing kidney. The work is a small step toward the future goal of growing kidney stem cells in the lab. ... > full story
Gene inactivation drives spread of melanoma (June 11, 2012) -- Scientists have demonstrated that inactivating a gene called LKB1 (or STK11) causes non-aggressive melanoma cells to become highly metastatic when tested in a variety of models using tumors from humans and mice. While scientists showed a role for LKB1 inactivation in lung cancer metastasis, the effects of LKB1 loss on melanoma spread is even more dramatic. ... > full story
New therapy extends life for prostate cancer patients (June 11, 2012) -- Prostate cancer patients with advanced tumors that have spread to bone have a poor chance of surviving. Patients with the disease may now live longer with a new line of radioisotope therapy, say researchers. ... > full story
New skin patch treatment kills most common form of skin cancer (June 11, 2012) -- A customized patch treatment for basal cell carcinoma completely destroys facial tumors without surgery or major radiation therapy in 80 percent of patients studied, say researchers. ... > full story
Molecular imaging finds link between low dopamine levels and aggression (June 11, 2012) -- Out of control competitive aggression could be a result of a lagging neurotransmitter called dopamine, say researchers. During a computer game against a putative cheating adversary, participants who had a lower capacity to synthesize this neurotransmitter in the brain were more distracted from their basic motivation to earn money and were more likely to act out with aggression. ... > full story
Beating hearts are finally still with 4D PET image reconstruction (June 11, 2012) -- A development in 4D image reconstruction compensates for blurring caused by the beating of the heart, say researchers. The new method provides sharper-than-ever images of cardiac function to help pinpoint heart defects for better diagnoses and treatment. ... > full story
Have no fear: Most cases of thyroid cancer do not affect survival (June 11, 2012) -- New research reveals that patients with differentiated thyroid cancer live as long as people in perfect health, unless they are in the minority and have reached the most advanced stages of disease. Survival did not vary based on age, sex, or even if patients' cancer had reached the beginning of stage IV. ... > full story
Computer model successfully predicts drug side effects (June 11, 2012) -- A new set of computer models has successfully predicted negative side effects in hundreds of current drugs, based on the similarity between their chemical structures and those molecules known to cause side effects, according to a new article. ... > full story
Normal gene hinders breast cancer chemotherapy (June 11, 2012) -- Presence of normal p53, a tumor suppressor gene, instead of a mutated version, makes breast cancer chemotherapy with doxorubicin less effective. ... > full story
Lessons from epigenome evolution (June 11, 2012) -- The sequencing of the human genome has provided a wealth of genetic information, yet the goal of understanding the function of every gene remains outstanding. New research suggests determining the purpose of genes through a new method they call "comparative epigenomics." ... > full story
Forgotten Annapolis immigration conflict uncovered (June 11, 2012) -- Archaeologists are uncovering a forgotten period of racial tension in Annapolis pitting Filipino immigrants against African-Americans. The surprisingly complex relations between the groups go back a century, occasionally marked by violence, but also by considerable social mixing and even intermarriage, the researchers say -- all propelled by changing racial practices at the Naval Academy. ... > full story
New stroke treatment could prevent and reduce brain damage (June 11, 2012) -- Researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of a potential new therapy for stroke patients. Created to target a specific enzyme known to affect important brain functions, the new compound is designed to stop the spread of brain bleeds and protect brain cells from further damage in the crucial hours after a stroke. ... > full story
Recreational fishing causes Cape Cod salt marsh die-off (June 11, 2012) -- As recreational fishing activity has reduced predators in many of Cape Cod's salt marsh ecosystems, Sesarma crabs have feasted on grasses, causing dramatic die-offs of the marshes, according to a new study. The researchers assessed the "trophic cascade" in several experiments that also ruled out alternative explanations for the problem. ... > full story
More people, more environmental stress (June 11, 2012) -- Scientists have taken a critical look at the various factors that have long been prime climate-change suspects. One in particular: the role of population growth. ... > full story
Scientists correct Amazon water level gauges from space (June 11, 2012) -- NASA's laser satellite, ICESat, has been used to make corrections to water level gauges that are critical in monitoring water flow in the Amazon, the world's largest river. The new study will improve our understanding of water flows and floodplain processes. ... > full story
Immune cells in the gut may improve control of HIV growth (June 11, 2012) -- A new study may help clarify why some people infected with HIV are better able to control the virus. It may also pinpoint a target for treatment during early HIV infection aimed at increasing the supply of certain immune cells in the gut. ... > full story
Painkiller abuse linked to depression, suicide in college students (June 11, 2012) -- Medical researchers have recently conducted and published a study that explores non-medical prescription drug use and depressive symptoms in college students. ... > full story
Humanoid soccer championship 2012 (June 11, 2012) -- In a number of recent Hollywood hit films, robots do all kinds of spectacular things, from battling it out in boxing rings to saving the world from alien invaders. Researchers are now helping to bring those futuristic visions a little closer to reality. ... > full story
Nanoparticles in polluted air, smoke & nanotechnology products have serious impact on health (June 11, 2012) -- New groundbreaking research has found that exposure to nanoparticles can have a serious impact on health, linking it to rheumatoid arthritis and the development of other serious autoimmune diseases. The findings have health and safety implications for the manufacture, use and ultimate disposal of nanotechnology products and materials. They also identified new cellular targets for the development of potential drug therapies in combating the development of autoimmune diseases. ... > full story
The doping-drug Epo has an impact in the brain (June 11, 2012) -- Sportsmen and women have been known to dope with the blood hormone Epo to enhance their performance. Researchers have now discovered, through animal testing, that Epo has a performance-enhancing effect in the brain shortly after an injection by improving oxygen transport in blood. As Epo also increases motivation, it could be useful in treating depression, experts say. ... > full story
Hope for new imaging isotope source (June 11, 2012) -- Scientists have made an important breakthrough in the race to find a viable replacement for supply of technetium-99m, an important isotope produced by Canada's Chalk River reactor. ... > full story
Unusual 'altruistic' stem cell behavior with possible link to cancer identified (June 11, 2012) -- Certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive. ... > full story
Fruit flies reveal mechanism behind ALS-like disease (June 11, 2012) -- Studying how nerve cells send and receive messages, scientists have discovered new ways that genetic mutations can disrupt functions in neurons and lead to neurodegenerative disease, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ... > full story
Theorem unifies superfluids and other weird materials (June 11, 2012) -- Despite physicists' fascination with the weird behavior of materials at extremely low temperatures -- 11 Nobel Prizes have been awarded in the area -- a unified explanation of materials like superfluids and Bose-Einstein condensates remained elusive. Now, physicists have demonstrated that counting the number of Nambu-Goldstone bosons in a material reveals the material's behavior at low temperatures, allowing the prediction of behavior and design of new materials with spooky properties. ... > full story
'Bad' dieting increases cardiovascular disease risk (June 11, 2012) -- A 25 year study is the first to show that a regional and national dietary intervention to reduce fat intake, decreased cholesterol levels, but a switch to the popular low carbohydrate diet was paralleled by in an increase in cholesterol levels. Over the 25 year period the population BMI continued to increase, regardless of either diet. ... > full story
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