ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Asteroid Impact Helps Trace Meteorite Origins Posted: 26 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT The car-sized asteroid that exploded above the Nubian Desert last October was the first instance of an asteroid spotted in space before falling to Earth. Researchers rushed to collect the resulting meteorite debris, and a new study reports on this first-ever opportunity to calibrate telescopic observations of a known asteroid with laboratory analyses of its fragments.

Fructose Metabolism By The Brain Increases Food Intake And Obesity, Review Suggests Posted: 26 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have built on the suggested link between the consumption of fructose and increased food intake, which may contribute to a high incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Fast Magnetic Fix For Sepsis? Micromagnetic-microfluidic Device Could Quickly Pull Pathogens From The Bloodstream Posted: 26 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT An innovative new device uses magnetism to quickly pull disease pathogens out of an infected bloodstream. The device could become a first-line defense for blood infections like sepsis, which causes over 200,000 deaths in the US per year.

Monoclonal Antibodies Primed To Become Potent Immune Weapons Against Cancer Posted: 26 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT New research suggests that monoclonal antibody therapy of cancer can be improved to be much more powerful than it is today.

Periodic Table's Blank Spaces Filled In By Solving A Subatomic Shell Game Posted: 26 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Physicists have filled in some longtime blank spaces on the periodic table, calculating electron affinities of the lanthanides, a series of 15 elements known as rare earths.

Neuroscientists Identify Physiological Link Between Trial And Error And Learning Posted: 26 Mar 2009 08:00 AM PDT Learning through trial and error often requires subjects to establish new physiological links by using information about trial outcome to strengthen correct responses or modify incorrect responses. New findings establish a physiological measure linking trial outcome and learning.

Gene Exchange Common Among Sex-manipulating Bacteria Posted: 26 Mar 2009 05:00 AM PDT Certain bacteria have learned to manipulate the proportion of females and males in insect populations. Now researchers have mapped the entire genome of a bacterium that infects a close relative of the fruit fly. The findings reveal extremely high frequencies of gene exchange within this group of bacteria. In the future sex-manipulating bacteria may be used as environmentally friendly pesticides against harmful insects.

Anesthesia Exposure Linked To Learning Disabilities In Children Posted: 26 Mar 2009 05:00 AM PDT Researchers have found that children who require multiple surgeries under anesthesia during their first three years of life are at higher risk of developing learning disabilities later.

When Intestinal Bacteria Go Surfing: Molecular Signal Pathway In Diarrhea Illnesses Identified Posted: 26 Mar 2009 05:00 AM PDT The bacterium Escherichia coli is part of the healthy human intestinal flora. However, E. coli also has pathogenic relatives that trigger diarrhea illnesses: enterohemorrhagic E.coli bacteria. During the course of an infection they infest the intestinal mucosa, causing injury in the process, in contrast to benign bacteria.

Genetic Link To Blood Cancers Revealed Posted: 26 Mar 2009 05:00 AM PDT A new study has shown that susceptibility to a series of blood cancers, known as myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs), is linked to a particular area of the patient's DNA, which is prone to developing mutations.

Bees Prefer Shortest Distance Between Two Flowers Posted: 26 Mar 2009 05:00 AM PDT Honeybees and bumble bees are predictable in the way they move among flowers, typically moving directly from one to another in the same row of plants. The bees' flight paths affect their ability to hunt for pollen and generate "gene flow," fertilization and seed production that results when pollen moves from one plant to another. The study of gene flow has increased due to the introduction of genetically modified organisms into the environment.

Synthetic Biology: The Next Biotech Revolution Is Brewing Posted: 26 Mar 2009 05:00 AM PDT The safety of early applications of synthetic biology may be adequately addressed by the existing regulatory framework for biotechnology, especially in contained laboratories and manufacturing facilities. But further advances in this emerging field are likely to create significant challenges for US government oversight, according to a new report. Synthetic biology promises major advances in areas such as biofuels, specialty chemicals, and agriculture and drug products.

Forget It! A Biochemical Pathway For Blocking Your Worst Fears? Posted: 26 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT A receptor for glutamate, the most prominent neurotransmitter in the brain, plays a key role in the process of "unlearning," report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Their findings could eventually help scientists develop new drug therapies to treat a variety of disorders, including phobias and anxiety disorders, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder.

Therapeutic Cloning Gets A Boost With New Research Findings Posted: 26 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT New research offers the first direct demonstration that cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer does not lead to an increase in the frequency of point mutations.

Chemists Create More Efficient Palladium Fuel Cell Catalysts Posted: 26 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT Chemists have overcome a challenge to fuel cell reactions using palladium catalysts. The scientists produced palladium nanoparticles with about 40 percent greater active surface area than commercially available palladium particles, and the nanoparticles remain intact four times longer.

Heart Bypass Surgery Better Than Angioplasty For Certain Patients, Study Shows Posted: 26 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT Results of a new study that involved data from almost 8,000 patients show that for patients suffering from multi-vessel coronary artery disease who have diabetes and for patients older than 65, coronary artery bypass graft may be a better treatment choice than percutaneous coronary intervention (commonly known as coronary angioplasty), the technique of using balloons or stents to widen obstructed blood vessels. In patients 55 years and younger, PCI may be the best choice.

How Salmonella Survives In Environment Posted: 26 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated how a single-celled organism, living freely in the environment, could be a source of Salmonella transmission to animals and humans.

Design Revolution: How Manufacturers Could Reduce Costs By Simply Designing For Reliability Posted: 26 Mar 2009 02:00 AM PDT A revolutionary approach to the design of consumer products -- from automobiles to plasma TVs -- could cut manufacturers' warranty costs significantly. Writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, US researchers explain how manufacturers should simply design for reliability.

New Anti-cancer Drug: 200 Times More Active In Killing Tumor Cells Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 PM PDT A team of researchers from the US, Europe, Taiwan and Japan has engineered a new anti-cancer agent that is about 200 times more active in killing tumor cells than similar drugs used in recent clinical trials.

Early Brain Marker For Familial Form Of Depression: Structural Changes In Brain's Cortex Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 PM PDT Findings from one of the largest-ever imaging studies of depression indicate that a structural difference in the brain -- a thinning of the right hemisphere -- appears to be linked to a higher risk for depression, according to new research.

Software Fits Flexible Components Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 PM PDT Can the newly designed dashboard be easily installed? What paths should the assembly robot take so that the cables do not hit against the car body? A new software program simulates assembly paths and also factors in the pliability of components.

Paradigm Shift In Immune Response Regulation Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 PM PDT Over the past decade various pieces of the puzzle how signal transmission controls immunity have been coming together. Now, scientists report a paradigm shift in the regulation of immune response. Their results show that interaction with a linear ubiquitin chain is crucial for nuclear factor kappa B activation. Their findings may also contribute towards structure-based drug design to target the defective NF-kappa-B pathway in diseases such as cancer, inflammation and immunodeficiency.

Climate Change Found To Have Paradoxical Effects In Coastal Wetlands Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 PM PDT Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide is largely responsible for recent global warming and the rise in sea levels. However scientists have found that this same increase in carbon dioxide may ironically counterbalance some of its negative effects on one of the planet's most valuable ecosystems -- wetlands.

E-waste Reduced By Fees At Time Of Purchase, According To Study Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 PM PDT The large amount of waste that follows the sale of computers and electronics is reduced when states charge consumers a fee at the time of sale, according to a new study.

Deep-sea Rocks Point To Early Oxygen On Earth Posted: 25 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT Red jasper cored from layers 3.46 billion years old suggests that not only did the oceans contain abundant oxygen then, but that the atmosphere was as oxygen rich as it is today, according to geologists.

Abnormal EKG Can Predict Death In Stroke Patients Posted: 25 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT People who suffer an ischemic stroke and also have an abnormality in the heart's electrical cycle are at a higher risk of death within 90 days than people who do not have abnormal electrical activity at the time of emergency treatment, according to new research.

Atomic Fountain Clocks Are Becoming Still More Stable Posted: 25 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT Atomic fountain clocks are at present the most accurate clocks in the world: Caesium fountain clocks furnish the second accurate to 15 places after the decimal point. Until they reach this accuracy, caesium fountain clocks, however, need a certain measurement time.

Right Warfarin Dose Determined By Three Genes Posted: 25 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT Researchers have now found all the genes the determine the dosage of the blood-thinning drug warfarin.

Cloud Computing Helps Scientists Run High Energy Physics Experiments Posted: 25 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT A novel system is enabling high energy physicists at CERN in Switzerland, to make production runs that integrate their existing pool of distributed computers with dynamic resources in "science clouds."

Naltrexone Can Help Heavy Social Drinkers Quit Smoking Posted: 25 Mar 2009 08:00 PM PDT Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist approved in 1994 by the US Food and Drug Administration for alcohol-dependence treatment, can reduce relapse rates among AD patients. Research on naltrexone's effectiveness on nicotine dependence is less clear, although researchers believe it may be helpful for specific smoker subgroups. A new study has found that naltrexone can help non-AD smokers who drink heavily on a social basis.

New Possibilities For Hydrogen-producing Algae Posted: 25 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT Photosynthesis produces the food that we eat and the oxygen that we breathe -- could it also help satisfy our future energy needs by producing clean-burning hydrogen? Researchers studying a hydrogen-producing, single-celled green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, have unmasked a previously unknown fermentation pathway that may open up possibilities for increasing hydrogen production.

Social Isolation Makes Strokes More Deadly, Study Finds Posted: 25 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT New research in mice suggests that social isolation may promote more damaging inflammation in the brain during a stroke. Researchers found that all the male mice that lived with a female partner survived seven days after a stroke, but only 40 percent of socially isolated animals lived that long.

Touch Helps Make The Connection Between Sight And Hearing Posted: 25 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT The sense of touch allows us to make a better connection between sight and hearing and therefore helps adults to learn to read. These results should improve learning methods, both for children learning to read and adults learning foreign languages.

'Less Is More' When It Comes To Treating High Blood Pressure Posted: 25 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT A newly published study found patients actually have more control of their high blood pressure (hypertension) when treated with less medication. The study recommends a simplified and more effective method of treating hypertension using low doses of single pill combinations, rather than multiple pills.

Licorice Compound Offers New Cancer Prevention Strategy Posted: 25 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT A chemical component of licorice may offer a new approach to preventing colorectal cancer without the adverse side effects of other preventive therapies, researchers report.

The Brain Maintains Language Skills In Spite Of Alcohol Damage By Drawing From Other Regions Posted: 25 Mar 2009 05:00 PM PDT Researchers know that alcoholism can damage the brain's frontal lobes and cerebellum, regions involved in language processing. Nonetheless, alcoholics' language skills appear to be relatively spared from alcohol's damaging effects. New findings suggest the brain maintains language skills by drawing upon other systems that would normally be used to perform other tasks simultaneously.

Why We Have Difficulty Recognizing Faces In Photo Negatives Posted: 25 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Humans excel at recognizing faces, but how we do this has been an abiding mystery in neuroscience and psychology. In an effort to explain our success in this area, researchers are taking a closer look at how and why we fail. A new study looks at a particularly striking instance of failure: our impaired ability to recognize faces in photographic negatives.

Epigenetic Mark Guides Stem Cells Toward Their Destiny Posted: 25 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have uncovered a gene control mechanism that guides the development and differentiation of epidermal skin stem cells in mouse embryos, and shown that this mechanism tempers the development of the skin barrier. The findings provide insights that could lead to therapeutic advance in treating prematurely born infants who have not yet fully formed the skin.

Wild Bees Can Be Effective Pollinators Posted: 25 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT A three-year study of 15 southwestern Michigan blueberry farms found 112 wild bee species which were active during the blueberry blooming period. Many of these species visit more flowers per minute and deposit more pollen per visit than honey bees, and they are not affected by colony collapse disorder.

Increased Risk Of Injury Even After First Alcoholic Drink Posted: 25 Mar 2009 02:00 PM PDT Most alcohol-related damage occurs after moderate consumption, according to new research. Physical injury related to alcohol consumption causes substantial costs to society. But while the link between severe intoxication, road accidents and violence is well-known, the consequences of "normal" drinking are much less researched.

Super-sized Supernova: Scientists Observe Largest Exploding Star Yet Seen Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 AM PDT In the first observation if its kind, scientists have watched what happens when a star the size of 50 suns explodes. As they continued to track the spectacular event, they found that most of the star's mass collapsed in on itself, resulting in a large black hole.

Discovery May Result In New Test To Determine Predisposition To Cancer Posted: 25 Mar 2009 11:00 AM PDT Researchers have developed an assay that may be used to help identify new genes that can predict a predisposition to cancer.

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