Saturday, December 13, 2008

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Iron Age 'Sacrifice' Is Britain's Oldest Surviving Brain

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

The oldest surviving human brain in Britain, dating back at least 2000 years to the Iron Age, has been unearthed during excavations on the site of the University of York's campus expansion at Heslington East.

Amputees Can Experience Prosthetic Hand As Their Own

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Scientists have succeeded in inducing people with an amputated arm to experience a prosthetic rubber hand as belonging to their own body. The results can lead to the development of a new type of touch-sensitive prosthetic hands.

These Shells Don't Clam Up: Innovative Technique To Record Human Impact On Coastal Waters

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Using stable isotope techniques, scientists have demonstrated it is possible to identify and trace wastewater inputs to estuaries and coastal food webs by studying the organic matrix in the shell of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria.

Surge In Older Cancer Survivors Expected As Baby Boomers Age

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Given the high incidence and prevalence of cancer in older adults and the anticipated growth of this population over the next few decades, oncologists, geriatricians and primary care providers will be challenged to provide timely and appropriate post-treatment care to older cancer survivors. More post-treatment studies are needed to understand the mental, social and physical health issues among older cancer survivors, behavioral health experts say in special supplement to the journal Cancer.

Clear Computer Chip Fabricated

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

A group of scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has fabricated a working computer chip that is almost completely clear -- the first of its kind. The new technology is called transparent resistive random access memory.

Strategic Video Game Improves Critical Cognitive Skills In Older Adults

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

A desire to rule the world may be a good thing if you're over 60 and worried about losing your mental faculties. A new study found that adults in their 60s and 70s can improve a number of cognitive functions by playing a strategic video game that rewards nation-building and territorial expansion.

Supermassive Black Hole Dissected With Natural Magnifying Glasses: 1,000 Times Clearer Than Best Telescopes Can Do

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST

Combining a double natural "magnifying glass" with the power of ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have scrutinized the inner parts of the disc around a supermassive black hole 10 billion light-years away. They were able to study the disc with a level of detail a thousand times better than that of the best telescopes in the world, providing the first observational confirmation of the prevalent theoretical models of such discs.

Heart Regenerates After Infarction: First Trials With Mice

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST

Up until today, scientists assumed that the adult heart is unable to regenerate. Now, researchers from Germany have been able to show that this dogma no longer holds true. They demonstrated that the body's heart muscle stem cells generate new tissue and improve the pumping function of the heart considerably in adult mice, when they suppress the activity of a gene regulator known as beta-catenin in the nucleus of the heart cells.

Ecological Impact Of African Cities

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST

African cities are growing faster than anywhere else in the world. This is having a major impact, but few ecologists are studying the urban environment and effect of cities on rural areas. One of the most important ecological changes in Africa's history is being over-looked.

Potential Breakthrough For T-Cell Lymphoma Patients With Drug That Mimics Folic Acid

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST

Preliminary results of a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of pralatrexate, a drug that partially works by mimicking folic acid, showed a complete or partial response in 27 percent of patients with recurrent or resistant peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

Computer Quantifies Carbon Sequestration Of Urban Trees

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST

Scientists are providing online software that can show users how much carbon dioxide an urban tree in California has sequestered in its lifetime and the past year.

Women's Magazines Downplay Emotional Health Risks Of Cosmetic Surgery, Study Finds

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 11:00 AM PST

While the emotional health implications of cosmetic surgery are still up for scientific debate, articles in women's magazines such as the Oprah Magazine and Cosmopolitan portray cosmetic surgery as a physically risky, but overall worthwhile option for enhancing physical appearance and emotional health, a new study has found.

Wobbly Planets Could Reveal Earth-like Moons

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST

Moons outside our Solar System with the potential to support life have just become much easier to detect. Astronomers have found that such moons can be revealed by looking at wobbles in the velocity of the planets they orbit.

Gene Therapy Effective Treatment Against Gum Disease

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST

Scientists have shown that gene therapy can be used to successfully stop the development of periodontal disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults.

ESA Satellites Focusing On The Arctic

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST

The Arctic is undergoing rapid transformation due to climate change, pollution and human activity. ESA's ERS and Envisat satellites have been providing satellite data of the region for the last 17 years. These long term data sets in combination with ESA's future missions will be key in implementing the newly adopted European Commission policy called 'the European Union and the Arctic Region'.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Can Have Genetic Causes

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST

Irritations of the bowel can have genetic causes. The causes of what is known as irritable bowel syndrome, one of the most common disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, are unclear, making diagnosis and treatment extremely difficult.

Easier To Produce Drugs Using New Biosensor

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST

Scientists have developed a biosensor with an artificial membrane, which means that membrane-bound proteins can retain their natural structure and function. The method facilitates the study of the function of the proteins, which could be of major significance in the search for new drugs.

Death Rates In Hospital Highest For Infants, And Children Without Insurance

Posted: 13 Dec 2008 05:00 AM PST

The vast majority of children who die while hospitalized are newborns, according to a new nationwide study. Additionally, death rates are higher for hospitalized children without insurance compared to those with insurance researchers found.

In The Animal World, Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Shocking new research shows size isn't always an advantage in the animal world, shattering a widely-held belief that bigger is better.

Age-related Farsightedness May Affect More Than 1 Billion Worldwide

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

It is estimated that more than 1 billion individuals worldwide in 2005 had presbyopia, or age-related difficulty in seeing objects nearby, with an estimated 410 million with the condition unable to perform tasks requiring near vision, according to a new report.

2,000 Elephants Missing, Poaching Likely To Blame

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Elephants in Zakouma National Park, the last stronghold for the savanna elephants of Central Africa's Sahel region, now hover at about 1,000 animals, down from an estimated 3,000 in 2006. Ivory poachers using automatic weapons have decimated elephant populations -- particularly when herds venture seasonally outside of the park.

Double Threat: Deadly Lung Disease Also Linked To Heart Attacks

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are three times as likely to experience severe coronary events -- including heart attacks -- than people without the disease, according to a recent study that analyzed the risk of cardiovascular disease in nearly 1,000 patients with IPF and more than 3,500 matched controls.

Mystery Of Gravity Fingers Mathematically Explained

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Researchers recently found an elegant solution to a sticky scientific problem in basic fluid mechanics: why water doesn't soak into soil at an even rate, but instead forms what look like fingers of fluid flowing downward. Scientists call these rivulets "gravity fingers," and the explanation for their formation has to do with the surface tension where the water meets the soil. Accounting for this phenomenon mathematically will have wide-ranging impact on research in many fields.

Keeping The Weight Off: Which Obesity Treatment Is Most Successful?

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 05:00 PM PST

Severely obese patients who have lost significant amounts of weight by changing their diet and exercise habits may be as successful in keeping the weight off long-term as those individuals who lost weight after bariatric surgery.

Groundwater Springs Played Important Role In Shaping Mars, Perhaps Sheltering Primitive Life

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST

Data and images from Mars Express suggest that several Light Toned Deposits, some of the least understood features on Mars, were formed when large amounts of groundwater burst on to the surface. Scientists propose that groundwater had a greater role in shaping the martian surface than previously believed, and may have sheltered primitive life forms as the planet started drying up.

Alzheimer's Disease Screening Breakthrough Will Help Identify Potential Treatment Drugs

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST

Scientists have developed a new system to screen for compounds that can inhibit one of the processes that takes place during the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Pioneering Space Station Experiment Keeps Reactions In Suspense

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST

A revolutionary container-less chemical reactor has been installed on the International Space Station. The reactor, named Space-DRUMS, uses beams of sound to position chemicals in mid-air so they don't come into contact with the walls of the container.

Gene Packaging Tells Story Of Cancer Development

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST

To decipher how cancer develops, researchers must take a closer look at the packaging, a new study suggests.

'Impossible' Nanoscale Process Succeeds: Molecular Chain Reaction On Metal Surface Offers Potential For Information Storage

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST

People said it couldn't be done, but researchers have demonstrated a molecular chain reaction on a metal surface, a nanoscale process with sizable potential in areas from nanotechnology to developing information storage technology.

Harm-reduction Cigarettes Are More Toxic Than Traditional Cigarettes, UC Riverside Study Finds

Posted: 12 Dec 2008 02:00 PM PST

Smoke from harm-reduction cigarettes retains toxicity and researchers found that this toxicity can affect prenatal development. The smoke is toxic to pre-implantation embryos and can retard growth or kill embryonic cells at this stage of development. The researchers found, too, that mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke from these harm-reduction cigarettes are more potent than the corresponding smoke from traditional brands of cigarettes.

No comments: