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Holographic Universe: Discovery Could Herald New Era In Fundamental Physics Posted: 04 Feb 2009 11:00 AM PST Scientists searching the depths of space to study gravitational wave may have stumbled on one of the most important discoveries in physics. At least one physicist is convinced that he has found proof in the data of the gravitational wave detector GEO600 of a holographic universe.

Artificial Light At Night: Higher Risk Of Prostate Cancer, Study Suggests Posted: 04 Feb 2009 11:00 AM PST Worldwide, countries with the highest levels of artificial light at night also have the highest rates of prostate cancer.

Improving Oil Extraction With New Mapping Technology Posted: 04 Feb 2009 11:00 AM PST Picture this: an accurate map of a large underground oil reservoir that can guide engineers' efforts to coax the oil from the vast rocky subsurface into wells where it can be pumped out for storage or transport. Researchers have developed technology that can generate such a map, which has the potential to significantly increase the amount of oil extracted from reservoirs.

Healthy Kidney Removed Through Donor's Vagina Posted: 04 Feb 2009 11:00 AM PST In what is believed to be a first-ever procedure, surgeons have successfully removed a healthy donor kidney through a small incision in the back of the donor's vagina.

Saving Gas: Pneumatic Hybrid Engine Is Much Cheaper Than Electric Hybrids And Almost As Economical Posted: 04 Feb 2009 11:00 AM PST A pneumatic hybrid engine could be used to power vehicles in the future. The benefit of this technology: it is much cheaper than today's electric hybrids and almost just as economical.

Differences In Recovered Memories Of Childhood Sexual Abuse Posted: 04 Feb 2009 11:00 AM PST When a child experiences a traumatic event it may not be until well into adulthood that they remember the incident. It's unknown how adults are able to retrieve long-forgotten memories of abuse and there has been some controversy as to the authenticity of these reports. A new study suggests that there are important differences between people who gradually recover memories of abuse during suggestive therapy sessions and those who recover memories of abuse more spontaneously.

COROT Discovers Smallest Transiting Exoplanet Ever Posted: 04 Feb 2009 08:00 AM PST COROT has found the smallest terrestrial planet ever detected outside the Solar System. The amazing planet is less than twice the size of Earth and orbits a Sun-like star. Its temperature is so high that it is possibly covered in lava or water vapor.

Multiple Sclerosis Therapy? Leprosy Medicine Holds Promise As Therapy For Autoimmune Diseases Posted: 04 Feb 2009 08:00 AM PST A century-old drug that failed in its original intent to treat tuberculosis but has worked well as an anti-leprosy medicine now holds new promise as a potential therapy for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.

Personal Touch In Farming: Giving A Cow A Name Boosts Her Milk Production Posted: 04 Feb 2009 08:00 AM PST Giving a cow a name helps to boost her milk production, scientists have found. Cows may feel happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one attention rather than treated as just a part of the herd, according to researchers.

Biochemical System Involved In Cancer And Degenerative Disease Disrupted Posted: 04 Feb 2009 08:00 AM PST Screening a chemical library of 200,000 compounds, researchers have identified two new classes that can be used to study and possibly manipulate a cellular pathway involved in many types of cancer and degenerative diseases.

High Pressure Yields Novel Single-element Boron 'Compound' Posted: 04 Feb 2009 08:00 AM PST Scientists have found the first case of an ionic crystal consisting of just one chemical element -- boron. This is the densest and hardest known phase of this element. The new phase turned out to be a key to understanding the phase diagram of boron -- the only element for which the phase diagram was unknown since its discovery 200 years ago.

Sociability Traced To Particular Region Of Brain Posted: 04 Feb 2009 08:00 AM PST People with a genetic condition called Williams syndrome are famously gregarious. Scientists, looking carefully at brain function in individuals with Williams syndrome, think they may know why this is so.

Removing Some Cloud Seeds Of Doubt: Long-term Cloud Seeding In Tasmania Shows Promising Increase In Rainfall Posted: 04 Feb 2009 05:00 AM PST A team of researchers at Monash University has released a new analysis of precipitation records from the long-term cloud seeding operation in Tasmania that shows a promising increase in rainfall during periods of seeding.

Animal Eggs Not Suitable Substitutes To Produce Stem Cells, Study Demonstrates Posted: 04 Feb 2009 05:00 AM PST Since the cloning of Dolly the Sheep over a decade ago, somatic cell nuclear transfer has been considered a promising way to generate human, patient-specific stem cells for therapeutic applications. The shortage of human donor eggs has led to efforts to substitute animal oocytes. However, a new study demonstrates that animal oocytes lack the capacity to fully reprogram adult human cells.

Plums Poised To Give Blueberries Run For The Money Posted: 04 Feb 2009 05:00 AM PST There's an emerging star in the super-food world. Plums are rolling down the food fashion runway sporting newly discovered high levels of healthy nutrients, say scientists at Texas AgriLife Research. Far from fruit snobbery, the plum is being ushered in after more than 100 varieties of plums, peaches and nectarines were found to match or exceed blueberries in antioxidants and phytonutrients associated with disease prevention.

Exercise Underutilized For Chronic Back And Neck Pain Posted: 04 Feb 2009 05:00 AM PST Exercise is commonly used to improve physical function, decrease symptoms and minimize disability caused by chronic low back or neck pain. Numerous randomized trials and clinical practice guidelines have supported this practice, and studies suggest that individually tailored, supervised exercise programs are associated with the best outcomes.

UV Light-enhanced Tooth Bleaching Dangerous To Eyes And Skin, Study Shows Posted: 04 Feb 2009 05:00 AM PST UV light-enhanced tooth bleaching is not only a con, but is dangerous to your eyes and skin, according to new research. The light treatment gives absolutely no benefit over bleaching without UV, and damages skin and eyes up to four times as much as sunbathing.

Ötzi’s Last Days: Glacier Man May Have Been Attacked Twice Posted: 04 Feb 2009 05:00 AM PST Another chapter in a murder case over 5000 years old. Scientists reconstructed the chronology of the injuries that Ötzi, the glacier man preserved as a frozen mummy, received in his last days. It turns out, for example, that he did in fact only survive the arrow wound in his back for a very short time -- a few minutes to a number of hours, but no more -- and also definitely received a blow to the back with a blunt object only shortly before his death. In contrast, the cut wound on his hand is some days older.

Why Don't More Animals Change Their Sex? Posted: 04 Feb 2009 02:00 AM PST Most animals, like humans, have separate sexes -- they are born, live out their lives and reproduce as one sex or the other. However, some animals live as one sex in part of their lifetime and then switch to the other sex, a phenomenon called sequential hermaphroditism. What remains a puzzle is why the phenomenon is so rare, since a detailed analysis shows the biological "costs" of changing sexes rarely outweigh the advantages.

Genes May Predict Vascular Malformation In Common Birthmarks Posted: 04 Feb 2009 02:00 AM PST A pair of studies may translate into rapid molecular tests to distinguish between hemangiomas and congenital blood or lymph vessel malformations in infants. Hemangiomas are common birthmarks consisting of benign tumors of blood vessels.

Glaciers Around The Globe Continue To Melt At High Rates Posted: 04 Feb 2009 02:00 AM PST Glaciers around the globe continue to melt at high rates. Tentative figures for the year 2007, of the World Glacier Monitoring Service indicate a further loss of average ice thickness of roughly 0.67 meter water equivalent (m w.e.). Some glaciers in the European Alps lost up to 2.5 m w.e.

Oncogene Inhibits Tumor Suppressor To Promote Cancer: Study Links B-RAF And LKB1 Posted: 04 Feb 2009 02:00 AM PST Scientists have uncovered an interesting connection between two important protein kinase signaling pathways that are associated with cancer. The research may direct new therapeutic strategies for multiple types of cancer.

Open Source Research Platform: Wireless At WARP Speed Posted: 04 Feb 2009 02:00 AM PST In less than two years, WARP -- a new open-source wireless research platform -- has found its way into laboratories at Nokia, MIT, Toyota, NASA, Ericsson and dozens of other organizations. WARP is already being used to test everything from "cognitive" wireless networks and low-cost wireless Internet in rural India to futuristic "unwired" spacecraft.

Bipolar Disorder Linked To Risk Of Early Death From Natural Causes Posted: 04 Feb 2009 02:00 AM PST People with bipolar disorder have a higher death rate from natural causes compared to people in the general population of the same age and gender but without mental illness.

'Longevity Gene' Common Among People Living To 100 Years Old And Beyond Posted: 03 Feb 2009 11:00 PM PST Kiel scientists show that 100-year-old Europeans carry a special sequence variation of the FOXO3A gene. A variation in the gene FOXO3A has a positive effect on the life expectancy of humans, and is found much more often in people living to 100 and beyond -- moreover, this appears to be true worldwide. Scientist have now confirmed this assumption by comparing DNA samples taken from 388 German centenarians with those from 731 younger people.

Novel Method Of Immunization Completely Eliminates Malaria Parasites Posted: 03 Feb 2009 11:00 PM PST A novel method of immunization completely eliminates the malaria parasites in both stages of the parasite's development, according to new research.

Wild Boar Given Plenty Of Food And Shelter Do Not Live As Long As Struggling Wild Boar Posted: 03 Feb 2009 11:00 PM PST Lack of shelter and the large amount of food available from crops in the mid-valley of the Ebro reflect primarily how human beings influence the landscape, and the demography and reproduction of wild boar. Wild boar living in the Ebro Valley with plenty of food and shelter do not survive for as long as those struggling to live in the Pyrenees.

Assessing The Real Risk Of Heart Disease In Young People With Low Short-term Risks Posted: 03 Feb 2009 11:00 PM PST Risk stratification has become central to strategies for the prevention of coronary heart disease. However, stratification using the conventional risk estimation models may not be accurately achieved in individuals without symptoms. A new study suggests that many younger individuals defined as low risk by conventional risk stratification methods may not remain at low risk throughout their lives.

Improved Test To Detect Steroid Abuse In Cattle Posted: 03 Feb 2009 11:00 PM PST Innovative new tests which can identify the illegal use of steroids in the European beef industry have been devised. The tests are cheaper, more accurate and more convenient in tracing the illegal drugs than conventional doping tests.

Intervention Method Reduces Binge Drinking Posted: 03 Feb 2009 11:00 PM PST Brief but personal intervention reduces drinking among risky college drinkers, according to new research. Motivational interviewing with feedback (MIF) significantly reduced drinking among a group of heavy-drinking college students.

Not Just Your Imagination: Brain Perceives Optical Illusions As Real Motion Posted: 03 Feb 2009 08:00 PM PST Ever get a little motion sick from an illusion graphic designed to look like it's moving? A new study suggests that these illusions do more than trick the eye; they may also convince the brain that the graphic is actually moving.

Worm Provides Clues About Preventing Damage Caused By Low-oxygen During Stroke, Heart Attack Posted: 03 Feb 2009 08:00 PM PST Neurobiologists have identified pathways that allow microscopic worms to survive in a low-oxygen, or hypoxic, environment. They believe the finding could have implications for conditions such as stroke, heart attack and cancer. Sensitivity to low oxygen helps determine how damaging those medical conditions can be.

Phytoplankton Cell Membranes Challenge Fundamentals Of Biochemistry Posted: 03 Feb 2009 08:00 PM PST Microscopic plants growing in the Sargasso Sea have come up with a completely unexpected way of building their cells.

Stat3 Signaling Tips The Balance Of Immunity In Favor Of Cancer Posted: 03 Feb 2009 08:00 PM PST New research reveals how a cancer-associated protein enables tumor cells to evade the immune system by both suppressing anti-tumor influences and promoting tumor-enhancing conditions, in essence turning the immune system to the dark side of the force. The study is published by Cell Press in the Feb. 3 issue of the journal Cancer Cell.

Data Mining Promises To Dig Up New Drugs Posted: 03 Feb 2009 08:00 PM PST A robot scientist that can make informed guesses about how effective different chemical compounds will be at fighting different diseases could revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry by developing more effective treatments more cheaply and quickly than current methods.

Mental Illness By Itself Does Not Predict Future Violent Behavior, Study Finds Posted: 03 Feb 2009 08:00 PM PST People with mental illness alone are no more likely than anyone else to commit acts of violence, a new study concludes. But mental illness combined with substance abuse or dependence elevates the risk for future violence.

Early Humans Had 'Jaws Of Steel' Posted: 03 Feb 2009 05:00 PM PST New research reveals nut-cracking abilities in our 2.5-million-year-old relatives that enabled them to alter their diet to adapt to changes in food sources in their environment. Computer simulation shows early humans had jaws to eat diet of hard seeds and nuts.

New Vaccine Developed For Preventing 'Uncommon Cold' Virus Posted: 03 Feb 2009 05:00 PM PST Common colds typically cause a week of sneezing, aches and pains and then fade away leaving only a sore nose and a few used sick days behind. But what if that cold turned out to be something more?

Mystery Of Twin Quasar Brightness Revealed Posted: 03 Feb 2009 05:00 PM PST Variations in the brightness of the Q0957+561 quasar, also known as the "twin quasar" due to its duplicated image on Earth, are intrinsic to the entity itself and not caused by the gravitational effects of possible planets or stars from a far away galaxy. This is the conclusion of a new study resolving a mystery that has intrigued astronomers for the past 30 years.

Controversial Medication May Decrease Spasms For Infants With Epilepsy Posted: 03 Feb 2009 05:00 PM PST The antiepileptic drug vigabatrin has been shown to be one of the best treatments against a special form of epilepsy in infants, called infantile spasm. However, its use has been limited in many countries because it has been shown to cause a permanent narrowing of visual fields in approximately 40 percent of adults who have been exposed at school age or later.

Cassini Thruster Swap Planned Posted: 03 Feb 2009 05:00 PM PST The Cassini spacecraft will swap to a backup set of propulsion thrusters in mid-March due to degradation in the performance of the current set of thrusters.

The Irony Of Harmony: Why Positive Interactions May Sometimes Be Negative Posted: 03 Feb 2009 05:00 PM PST By recognizing their inequalities, members of disadvantaged groups can mobilize and attempt to bring about social change. However, the results of a new study suggests that positive contact with majority groups may result in disadvantaged groups being less likely to support social change- with improved attitudes towards the advantaged groups and reduced attention to social inequality, the disadvantaged groups may become less motivated to promote change.

Insulin Is A Possible New Treatment For Alzheimer's Posted: 03 Feb 2009 02:00 PM PST Researchers report that insulin may slow or prevent the damage and memory loss caused by toxic proteins (called ADDLs) in Alzheimer's disease. Scientists treated hippocampal cells with insulin and an insulin-sensitizing drug. They discovered that damage to neurons exposed to ADDLs was blocked by insulin, which kept ADDLs from attaching to the cells. The findings provide additional evidence that Alzheimer's could be due to a novel third form of diabetes.

Stem Cell Transplant Reverses Early-stage Multiple Sclerosis Posted: 03 Feb 2009 02:00 PM PST Researchers appear to have reversed the neurological dysfunction of early-stage multiple sclerosis patients by transplanting their own immune stem cells into their bodies and thereby "resetting" their immune systems. This is the first time neurological disability has been reversed in MS. The patients' disease also stabilized.

Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Resumes Driving Posted: 03 Feb 2009 02:00 PM PST NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit resumed driving Saturday after engineers gained confidence from diagnostic activities earlier in the week evaluating how well the rover senses its orientation.

Gene Expression Signature Associated With Survival In Advanced Ovarian Cancer Posted: 03 Feb 2009 02:00 PM PST A new study identifies molecular pathways associated with outcomes in ovarian cancer. Currently, outcomes following diagnosis of ovarian cancer are very poor, with up to 65-70 percent of women dying within five years of diagnosis.

Newly Described Contaminant Sources In Katrina-flooded Homes Pose Health Risks Posted: 03 Feb 2009 02:00 PM PST Post-Katrina flooded homes may contain harmful levels of contaminants in addition to sediment deposits. Indoor gases, mold films, and aerosols may also have exposed residents, first responders and demolition crews to dangerous contaminant levels without the need for direct skin contact.

Driving Under The Influence (Of Stress): Regional Effects Of 9/11 Attacks On Driving Posted: 03 Feb 2009 02:00 PM PST A new study reveals that there was an increase in the rate of traffic fatalities in the three months following the 9/11 attacks, but only in the Northeast, the region closest to the terrorist attacks. The findings suggest that being close to the location of a traumatic event may increase psychological stress, which may, in turn, impair one's driving ability and thus lead to an increase in fatal traffic accidents.

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