Monday, October 06, 2008

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Earliest Animal Footprints Ever Found Show Animals Walking 30 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT

The fossilized trail of an aquatic creature suggests that animals walked using legs at least 30 million years earlier than had been thought. The tracks -- two parallel rows of small dots, each about 2 millimeters in diameter -- date back some 570 million years, to the Ediacaran period.

Disinfectants Can Make Bacteria Resistant To Treatment

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Chemicals used in the environment to kill bacteria could be making them stronger, according to a paper published in the journal Microbiology. Low levels of these chemicals, called biocides, can make the potentially lethal bacterium Staphylococcus aureus remove toxic chemicals from the cell even more efficiently, potentially making it resistant to being killed by some antibiotics.

Genetic Damage In Minibacteria In Aphids And Ants Repaired By Faulty Copying

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Aphids (plant lice) and ants carry minibacteria that produce essential amino acids and vitamins. These minibacteria have very limited genetic material and many broken genes. Now, researchers have found that repeated errors in the conversion of DNA to protein save the function of the damaged genes.

For Insulin Sensitive Overweight Patients, One Session Of Exercise Improves Metabolic Health, New Research Suggests

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Exercise decreases everyone's insulin resistance and therefore reduces the chances of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes. This study shows that even a single bout of exercise helps obese individuals increase their body's fat-burning rate and improve their metabolic health.

New Graphene-based Material Clarifies Graphite Oxide Chemistry

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT

A new "graphene-based" material that helps solve the structure of graphite oxide and could lead to other potential discoveries of the one-atom thick substance called graphene, which has applications in nanoelectronics, energy storage and production, and transportation such as airplanes and cars has been created by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin.

Television Viewing And Aggression: Some Alternative Perspectives

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Psychologists investigated the effect that exposure to violent TV programs has on negative behavior in children from different ethnic backgrounds. The results showed a positive relationship between the amount of violent TV watched and negative personality attributes among white males and females and African-American females.

Sun Is Not A Perfect Sphere, NASA Spacecraft Finds

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT

Scientists using NASA's RHESSI spacecraft have measured the roundness of the sun with unprecedented precision. They find that it is not a perfect sphere. During years of high solar activity the sun develops a thin "cantaloupe skin" that significantly increases its apparent oblateness: the sun's equatorial radius becomes slightly larger than its polar radius.

Galloping And Breathing At High Speed

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT

A team of researchers has been working to unlock the secrets of equines. Their findings may lead to better muscular horse health and a new approach to breathing devices for people.

CT Scans Change Treatment Plans In More Than A Quarter Of ER Patients With Suspected Appendicitis

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT

CT scans change the initial treatment plans of emergency physicians in over a quarter of patients with suspected appendicitis, according to a study performed at the University of Washington Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Wash.

Type Of Plankton -- Food Source For Many Fish -- Has Ability To Survive Climate Change

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT

Researchers have found that the main source of food for many fish -- including cod -- in the North Atlantic appears to adapt in order to survive climate change. Billions of Calanus finmarchicus, a plankton species, which are just a few millimeters in size, live in the waters of the North Atlantic where the research was carried out.

Thousands Of Deaf Patients Struggling To Access Basic Health Care

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 07:00 AM CDT

Thousands of Deaf patients are receiving inadequate healthcare because they are struggling to communicate with healthcare professions, say experts in a new study.

Gene Expression In Alligators Suggests Birds Have 'Thumbs'

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT

The latest breakthrough in a 120 year-old debate on the evolution of the bird wing was just published. Bird wings only have three fingers, having evolved from remote ancestors that, like humans and most reptiles, had five fingers. Biologists have typically used embryology to identify the evolutionary origin (homology) of structures; the three fingers of the bird wing develop from cartilage condensations that are found in the same positions in the embryo as fingers two, three and four of humans (the index, middle and ring fingers). However, the morphology of the fingers of early birds such as Archaeopteryx corresponds to that of fingers one, two and three in other reptiles (thumb, index and middle finger).

Asian-white Couples Face Distinct Pregnancy Risks, Study Finds

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Pregnant women who are part of an Asian-white couple face an increased risk of gestational diabetes as compared with couples in which both partners are white, according to a new study.

Toddlers' Focus On Mouths Rather Than On Eyes Is Predictor Of Autism Severity

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Scientists have found that 2-year-olds with autism looked significantly more at the mouths of others, and less at their eyes, than typically developing toddlers. This abnormality predicts the level of disability, according to a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Depression Linked To Higher Death Rates From All Causes Among Elderly With Diabetes

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT

In a large group of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, depression was linked with a higher death rate from all causes in a two-year study period.

100 Years Of Ammonia Synthesis: How A Single Patent Changed The World

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Now it is time to invent sustainable solutions to avoid environmental damage. As a result of the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen, billions of people have been fed, millions have died in armed conflict and a cascade of environmental changes has been set in motion, suggests a new article.

Physician's 'Dashboard' Takes A Measure Of Communication Skills

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 04:00 AM CDT

Much like a dashboard gives a good read on how your car is doing, researchers hope they'll soon give physicians a better idea of how they are doing with patients.

Singing To Females Makes Male Birds' Brains Happy

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT

The melodious singing of birds has been long appreciated by humans, and has often been thought to reflect a particularly positive emotional state of the singer. Researchers in Japan have now demonstrated that this can be true. When male birds sang to attract females, specific "reward" areas of their brain were strongly activated.

Longer-duration Psychotherapy Appears More Beneficial For Treatment Of Complex Mental Disorders

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT

Psychodynamic psychotherapy lasting for at least a year is effective and superior to shorter-term therapy for patients with complex mental disorders such as personality and chronic mental disorders, according to a meta-analysis published in the Oct. 1 issue of JAMA.

New Device Aims To Give Sleep Apnea Sufferers Relief And Rest

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT

Having a good night's sleep is proving elusive for six percent of the population. They have sleep apnea, which causes them to stop breathing in bouts throughout the night. Now, a researcher at Temple University School of Medicine is studying an experimental device to treat people with positional sleep apnea.

Walking Forum Report Shows Need To Expand Physical Activity In Schools

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT

With childhood obesity expanding to epidemic proportions in the United States, educators, researchers and health practitioners are actively seeking to identify effective means of addressing this public-health crisis.

Bring On The Pak Choi: Consumers Interested In Trying More Asian Vegetables

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT

Asian vegetables, a diverse group of specialty vegetables grown and consumed throughout Asia, are becoming an integral part of the American diet. To gauge their familiarity with a range of Asian vegetables, consumers were asked to complete a written survey as they entered two fruit and vegetable markets in Belleville, Ill., on busy Saturday mornings.

Mental Health Intervention Urged For Heart Patients

Posted: 06 Oct 2008 01:00 AM CDT

Heart patients are particularly vulnerable to depression and should be screened, and if necessary treated, to improve their recovery and overall health, according to a scientific advisory.

A Little Exercise Goes A Long Way For Severely Obese

Posted: 04 Oct 2008 11:00 PM CDT

A little exercise goes a long way toward helping severely obese individuals improve their quality of life and complete important daily tasks, according to researchers at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center.

Form Of Crohn's Disease Traced To Disabled Gut Cells

Posted: 04 Oct 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Scientists say that they have linked the health of specialized gut immune cells to a gene associated with Crohn's disease, an often debilitating and increasingly prevalent inflammatory bowel disorder.

Food For Thought: Regulating Energy Supply To The Brain During Fasting

Posted: 04 Oct 2008 11:00 PM CDT

If the current financial climate has taught us anything, it's that a system where over-borrowing goes unchecked eventually ends in disaster. It turns out this rule applies as much to our bodies as it does to economics. Instead of cash, our body deals in energy borrowed from muscle and given to the brain.

Mental Barriers Hamper Obese Women's Efforts To Get Exercise

Posted: 04 Oct 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Obese women face a significantly higher number of barriers to exercise than their normal weight counterparts.

Sensors Advance Lunar Landing Project

Posted: 04 Oct 2008 11:00 PM CDT

NASA is developing technologies that will allow lunar landers to automatically identify and navigate to the location of a safe landing site while detecting landing hazards during the final descent to the surface. This is important because future lunar missions will need this capability to be able to land safely near specific resources that are located in potentially hazardous terrain.

Children Aware Of White Male Monopoly On White House

Posted: 04 Oct 2008 11:00 PM CDT

Challenging the idea that children live in a color or gender blind world, a new study reveals most elementary-school-age children are aware there has been no female, African-American, or Hispanic President of the United States. And, many of the children attribute the lack of representation to discrimination.

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