Monday, June 30, 2008

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Canine Tooth Strength Provides Clues To Behavior Of Early Human Ancestors

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Measuring and testing the teeth of living primates could provide a window into the behavior of the earliest human ancestors, based on their fossilized remains. New research takes us one step closer to understanding the relationship between canine teeth, body size and the lives of primates.

Inadequate Sleep May Exacerbate Cellular Aging In The Elderly, Animal Study Suggests

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Researchers have shown that the unfolded protein response, which is a reaction to stress induced by sleep deprivation, is impaired in the brains of old mice. The findings suggest that inadequate sleep in the elderly could exacerbate an already-impaired protective response.

Fisheries, Not Whales, To Blame For Shortage Of Fish

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT

The argument that increasing whale populations are behind declining fish stocks is completely without scientific foundation, leading researchers and conservation organizations said as the International Whaling Commission opened its 60th meeting in Santiago, Chile.

Complexity Of Crohn's Disease Revealed As 'Gene' Count Tops 30

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT

New research has trebled the number of genetic regions known to be implicated in Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, to over thirty. The research, published in the journal Nature Genetics, has identified a number of potential new targets for drug development as well as providing surprising new links between the condition and other common diseases including asthma.

Researchers Peer Into Water In Carbon Nanotubes

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Researchers have identified a signature for water inside single-walled carbon nanotubes, helping them understand how water is structured and how it moves within these tiny channels.

Study: Media Bias Can Net Mistakes At The Ballot Box

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT

The media slant political news to the left or right to increase ratings and profits, spinning up an information vacuum that can lead to mistakes at the ballot box, a new study by three University of Illinois economists says.

Maize (Corn) May Have Been Domesticated In Mexico As Early As 10,000 Years Ago

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT

Now, in addition to more traditional macrobotanical and archeological remains, scientists are using new genetic and microbotanical techniques to distinguish domesticated maize from its wild relatives as well as to identify ancient sites of maize agriculture. Paleobotanical evidence pushes back the time of domestication.

Pigs Prefer Three Square Meals A Day

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT

Pigs raised in conventional indoor pens have different feeding patterns from those raised under more natural conditions. New research shows that while pigs in the wild spend much time searching for food and eat little and often, the preferred feeding regime for conventional raised pigs is three meals a day.

Calcium Alone Does Not Reduce Hip Fracture Risk

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT

People, especially the elderly, may reach for calcium supplements in hopes of protecting themselves against bone fractures in case of a fall. But a recent analysis of several studies found no reduction in risk of hip fracture with calcium supplementation.

Census Of Marine Life Lists 122,500 Known Species, Over Halfway To Complete Inventory By Oct. 2010

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT

Census of Marine Life-affiliated scientists consolidating world databases of ocean organisms have demoted to alias status almost one-third of all names culled so far from 34 regional and highly specialized inventories. Experts will complete the World Register of Marine Species by October 2010 as part of the first Census of Marine Life.

Volcano 'Pollution' Solves Mercury Mystery

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Scientists have discovered how volatile metals from volcanoes end up in polar ice cores. Researchers had suspected that mercury boils out of hot magma, the big surprise was just how much mercury escapes from volcanoes. Measurements made on just one part of the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua have shown that about 7 tons of natural volcanic mercury escapes into the atmosphere from this vent each year.

Higher Temperatures Helped New Strain Of West Nile Virus Spread

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Higher temperatures helped a new strain of West Nile virus invade and spread across North America. Researchers found that the new strain is more efficiently transmitted than the older strain, and the advantage of the new strain increases with higher temperatures. These findings help explain the spread of virus strain responsible for largest US epidemics.

Total Ankle Replacement With No Metal

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Patients suffering from severe arthritis now have an option for total ankle replacement that offers increased mobility and pain relief without permanent metal implants. This technique is the first in the U.S to offer arthritis sufferers a non-metal, biological ankle replacement.

Promising Finding In Severe Lung Disease

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Researchers have identified a novel function for an enzyme that plays a role in the tissue injury in acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as ARDS.

Bacteria In Extremely Hostile Environments: New Protein Discovered That Repairs DNA Under Extreme Conditions

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Mild environmental conditions are a prerequisite for life. Strong acids or dissolved metallic salts in high concentrations are detrimental to both humans and to simpler life forms, such as bacteria. Such conditions destroy proteins, ensuring that all biological functions in the cells come to a standstill. So what do we find at the limits of hostile conditions where we still find life?

Using Mental Strategies Can Alter The Brain's Reward Circuitry

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT

The cognitive strategies humans use to regulate emotions can determine both neurological and physiological responses to potential rewards, neuroscientists has discovered. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, shed light on how the regulation of emotions may influence decision making.

Lyme Disease Bacterium Came From Europe Before Ice Age

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT

The bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, originated in America, or so researchers thought. Now, however, scientists has shown that this bug in fact came from Europe, originating from before the Ice Age.

A Simple Therapy For Brain Injury

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT

Severe brain injury due to blunt force trauma could be reduced by application of a simple polymer, polyethylene glycol or PEG, mixed in sterile water and injected into the blood stream -- as reported in the Journal of Biological Engineering.

Air Monitoring Helps Anticipate Possible Ecosystem Changes

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT

When rain settles the atmosphere and brings air pollutants to the ground, it can have a lasting effect on ecosystems, sometimes hundreds of miles away. All ecosystems receive some atmospheric inputs, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. The plant and animal life dominant to that region thrives because it has adapted to a particular rate of those nutrients. When the nutrient load changes, it can change the competitive ability of a species and allow different ones to thrive where they once were not competitive. The effects extend from major animal life such as deer down to the smallest bacteria.

First Pharmaceutical Drug To Improve Survival Amongst Patients With Advanced Hepatocarcinoma

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT

New research has shown that Sorafenib, an orally administered pharmaceutical medicine, results in patients with primary hepatocarcinomas to live 40 percent more on average compared to those not taking the drug.

New Probe May Help Untangle Cells' Signaling Pathways

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT

Researchers have designed a new type of probe that can image thousands of interactions between proteins inside a living cell, giving them a tool to untangle the web of signaling pathways that control most of a cells' activities.

Attitude Determines Student Success In Rural Schools, Study Finds

Posted: 30 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT

While most of the country focuses on ACT scores, student-teacher ratio and rigorous curriculum to increase student success, a recent study finds the commitment to excellence determines student achievement in rural schools.

Bee Disease A Mystery

Posted: 28 Jun 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Scientists are one step closer to understanding the recent demise of billions of honey bees after making an important discovery about the transmission of a common bee virus. Deformed wing virus is passed between adult bees and to their developing brood by a parasitic mite called Varroa destructor when it feeds. However, new research suggests that the virus does not replicate in Varroa, highlighting the need for further investigation.

Heavy Birthweight Babies Twice As Likely To Develop Rheumatoid Arthritis

Posted: 28 Jun 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Heavy birthweight female babies are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis in adulthood as their average birthweight peers, suggests new research.

Doubling Of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Over-45s In Under A Decade

Posted: 28 Jun 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Rates of sexually transmitted infections have doubled among the over-45s in less than a decade, reveals new research in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Whales Set To Chase Shrinking Feed Zones

Posted: 28 Jun 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Endangered migratory whales will be faced with shrinking crucial Antarctic foraging zones which will contain less food and will be further away, a new analysis of the impacts of climate change on Southern Ocean whales has found.

New Efficiency Benchmark For Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Posted: 28 Jun 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Scientists have achieved a record light conversion efficiency of 8.2 percent in solvent-free dye-sensitized solar cells. This breakthrough in efficiency without the use of volatile organic solvents will make it possible to pursue large scale, outdoor practical application of lightweight, inexpensive, flexible dye-sensitized solar films that are stable over long periods of light and heat exposure.

Protecting Romaine Lettuce From Pathogens

Posted: 28 Jun 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Knowing the preferences of foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 is essential to a successful counterattack on these microbes. That's why microbiologists are scrutinizing the little-understood ability of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica to contaminate romaine lettuce.

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