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Metal Discovered To Become Transparent Under High Pressure Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a transparent form of the element sodium (Na). They were able to demonstrate that sodium defies normal physical expectations by going transparent under pressure.

Twin Nanoparticle Shown Effective At Targeting, Killing Breast Cancer Cells Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Chemists have developed a novel way to treat a class of breast cancer cells. They have created a twin nanoparticle that specifically targets the Her-2 tumor cell and unloads a cancer-fighting drug directly into it. The result: Greater success at eliminating the cancer while minimizing an anti-cancer drug's side effects.

Silica Algae Reveal How Ecosystems React To Climate Changes Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT New research examines how rapid climate changes during the most recent ice age affected ecosystems in an area in continental Europe.

Protein Helps Immune Cells To Divide And Conquer Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Researchers have identified a key protein that is required for immune cells called B lymphocytes to divide and replicate themselves. The rapid generation of large numbers of these immune cells is critical to the body's antibody defense mechanism.

Climate Change Reduces Nutritional Value Of Algae Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Micro-algae are growing faster under the influence of climate change. However, the composition of the algae is changing, as a result of which their nutritional value for other aquatic life is decreasing. And because algae are at the bottom of the food chain, climate change is exerting an effect on underwater life.

Can Mental Training Games Help Prevent Alzheimer's? Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Loss of thinking power is a fear shared by many aging baby boomers. That fear has resulted in a budding industry for brain training products – exercises such as Brain Age, Mindfit and My Brain Trainer – which in 2007 generated $80 million in the United States alone. The premise of brain training is simple: participants must complete a series of daily exercises such as mental calculation, memorization and enigmas to help increase cognitive ability in an effort to avoid certain neurodegenerative diseases.

Traffic Exposure May Trigger Heart Attacks Posted: 14 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Patients who suffer a heart attack are likely to have been exposed to traffic, especially in the hour before the onset of symptoms. In women, elderly males, patients who were unemployed, and those with a history of angina, the effect was larger.

Rearrangements Of Multifunctional Genes Cause Cancer In Children And Young People Posted: 14 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have shown that three genes that lie behind a number of malignant tumor diseases are normally involved in several fundamental processes in the cell. This may be the reason that the tumors arise early in life and principally affect children and young people.

Lobster Traps Going High Tech Posted: 14 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT New England lobstermen have gone high tech by adding low-cost instruments to their lobster pots that record bottom temperature and provide data that could help ocean circulation modelers better understand processes in the Gulf of Maine, such as how lobster larvae and other planktonic animals and plants, including those that cause harmful algal blooms, drift and settle. This information may also help determine how ocean currents disperse pollutants, invasive species, and food for whales in portions of the Gulf of Maine.

Critical Growth Factor That Stimulates Sperm Stem Cells To Thrive Identified Posted: 14 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified for the first time a specific "niche factor" in the mouse testes called colony stimulating factor 1, Csf1, that has a direct effect on sperm stem cell self-renewal.

New Nanoporous Material Has Highest Surface Area Yet Posted: 14 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have developed a nanoporous material with a surface area significantly higher than that of any other porous material reported to date.

Traffic Markings May Be Brighter On The Other Side Posted: 14 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Painted road markings, such as the lines separating traffic lanes, are significantly better at reflecting headlights in the direction that the paint was applied. This finding will help determine how states comply with new federal safety regulations and save big money on painting their roadways.

First High-resolution Images Of Bone, Tooth And Shell Formation Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have for the first time made high-resolution images of the earliest stages of bone formation. They used the world's most advanced electron microscope to make three-dimensional images of the nano-particles at the heart of the process. The results provide improved understanding of bone, tooth and shell formation. For industrial applications, they promise better materials and processes based on nature itself.

New Therapy Protects Lungs From Runaway Inflammation Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT A novel anti-inflammatory therapy prevents acute lung injury in mice exposed to an inflammation-causing toxin. The new therapy may offer a way to protect the lungs from the "runaway inflammation" that can accompany bacterial or viral pneumonia.

New 'Smart' Homes For Dementia Sufferers Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT Within five years innovative "smart" sensing systems that will help the UK's 700,000 dementia sufferers live independently at home could be available commercially.

The Making Of An Intestinal Stem Cell Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have found the factor that makes the difference between a stem cell in the intestine and any other cell. The discovery is an essential step toward understanding the biology of the stem cells, which are responsible for replenishing all other cells in the most rapidly self-renewing tissue in mammals. It may also have implications for colon cancer, according to the researchers.

Molecule Tracking Reveals Mechanism Of Chromosome Separation In Dividing Cells Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT In examining how a cell evenly separates its genetic material before dividing, scientists looked closely at a nano-scale apparatus, the kinetochore, located on each chromosome to learn how it makes strong but dynamic attachment to fibers that lengthen and shorten to move chromosomes.

Over Half Of Kids Born Very Early Need Extra Help At Mainstream Schools Posted: 14 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT Children born extremely prematurely are at high risk of developing learning difficulties by the time they reach the age of 11. A new study showed almost two thirds of children born extremely prematurely require additional support at school.

Freezing Prostate Cancer Does A Man's Body Good Posted: 13 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT The so-called "male lumpectomy" -- a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment for prostate cancer -- is as effective as surgery in destroying diseased tumors and can be considered a first-line treatment for patients of all risk levels and particularly those who have failed radiation, according to new studies.

Drink Green Tea For Healthy Teeth And Gums Posted: 13 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT A new study shows that drinking green tea may help reduce periodontal disease.

Pulmonary Hypertension In Children May Result From Reduced Activity Of Gene Regulator Posted: 13 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT Too little activity by gene regulators called PPARs appears to be a major player in the irreversible lung damage that can occur in children with heart defects, researchers say.

Protein Structure Determined In Living Cells, In Bacterium E. Coli Posted: 13 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT The function of a protein is determined both by its structure and by its interaction partners in the cell. Until now, proteins had to be isolated for analyzing them. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, scientists have now, for the first time, solved the structure of a protein within a living cell, the bacterium Escherichia coli.

Few Physicians Support Private Banking Of Umbilical Cord Blood Posted: 13 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT A survey of physicians has found broad support for the position that parents should not bank their newborns' umbilical cord blood in a private blood bank unless another member of the family is at risk for a blood disease that will require a stem cell transplant.

Wind Shifts May Stir Carbon Dioxide From Antarctic Depths, Amplifying Global Warming Posted: 13 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT Natural releases of carbon dioxide from the Southern Ocean due to shifting wind patterns could have amplified global warming at the end of the last ice age -- and could be repeated as man-made warming proceeds, a new article in the journal Science suggests.

Simple Balance Test May Predict Cognitive Decline In Alzheimer's Disease Posted: 13 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT A simple balance test may predict cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease, according to a new study.

Gooda, Gouda! Solving The 800-year-old Secret Of A Big Cheese Posted: 13 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT Almost 800 years after farmers in the village of Gouda in Holland first brought a creamy new cheese to market, scientists in Germany say they have cracked the secret of Gouda's good taste. They have identified the key protein subunits, or peptides, responsible for the complex, long-lasting flavor of the popular cheese.

How Mosquitoes Could Teach Us A Trick In The Fight Against Malaria Posted: 13 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT The means by which most deadly malaria parasites are detected and killed by the mosquitoes that carry them is revealed for the first time in research published in Science. The discovery could help researchers find a way to block transmission of the disease from mosquitoes to humans.

Solar Water Heating Pays For Itself Five Times Over Posted: 13 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT An analysis of the engineering and economics for a solar water-heating system shows it to have a payback period of just two years. Researchers report on the success of the 1000-liter system operating at a university hostel.

Fridges And Washing Machines Liberated Women, Study Suggests Posted: 13 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT The advent of modern appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators had a profound impact on 20th Century society, according to a new study. Plug-in conveniences transformed women's lives and enabled them to enter the workforce.

Preserved Shark Fossil Adds Evidence To Great White's Origins Posted: 13 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT A new study could help resolve a long-standing debate in shark paleontology: From which line of species did the modern great white shark evolve?

Smokers' COPD Risk Is Genetic Posted: 13 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT It's well known that puffing on cigarettes can eventually leave you out of puff. But why do a quarter of long-term smokers develop serious breathing problems, when others do not? New research has found that the answers may lie in a smoker's genetics, which affect their chances of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in later life.

Dust Deposited In Oceans May Carry Elements Toxic To Marine Algae Posted: 13 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Dust blown off the continents and deposited in the open ocean is an important source of nutrients for marine phytoplankton, the tiny algae that are the foundation of the ocean food web. But new findings show that some sources of dust also carry toxic elements that can kill marine phytoplankton.

New List Of HIV Mutations Vital To Tracking AIDS Epidemic Posted: 13 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have compiled a list of 93 common mutations of the AIDS virus associated with drug resistance that will be used to track future resistance trends throughout the world.

Hot Electrons In Carbon: Graphite Behaves Like Semiconductor Posted: 13 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have found that graphite behaves like a semiconductor in ultrafast time scales. The results are of fundamental importance for future electronic devices based on carbon, in which high electrical fields or frequencies are processed.

Teen Conflicts Linked To Potential Risk For Adult Cardiovascular Disease Posted: 13 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Researchers say that even stressful times from the teenage years extracts a physical toll that could have later implications for health during adulthood.

'Peking Man' Older Than Thought; Somehow Adapted To Cold Posted: 13 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT A new dating method has found that "Peking Man" is around 200,000 years older than previously thought, suggesting he somehow adapted to the cold of a mild glacial period.

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