ScienceDaily: Latest Science News |
| Medical Micro-robots Made As Small As Bacteria Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT For the first time, researchers have built micro-robots as small as bacteria. Their purpose is to help cure human beings. |
| Lack Of Key Molecule Leads To Deafness Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Researchers have identified tiny molecules that may lead to big breakthroughs in the treatment of hearing loss and deafness. Despite modern medicine, one in 1,000 American babies are born deaf. The numbers increase markedly with age, with more than 50% of seniors in the United States experiencing some form of hearing loss. Scientists have now discovered that microRNAs, tiny molecules that regulate cell functions, help us hear. Found in "hair" cells of the ear, this discovery opens an entirely new window for possible treatments, and a cure for all types of deafness, age-related or genetic. |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Researchers in the United States and Japan have demonstrated lasers in which the direction of oscillation of the emitted radiation can be designed and controlled at will. |
| Fatty Liver Disease: The Next Big Thing Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT New research connects low aerobic capacity to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease -- and suggests that the resulting liver problems play a crucial step developing obesity-related illnesses. |
| Parasite Breaks Its Own DNA To Avoid Detection Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT The parasite that causes African sleeping sickness is like a thief donning a disguise. Every time the host's immune cells get close to destroying the parasite, it escapes detection by rearranging its DNA and changing its appearance. Now scientists reveal how the parasite initiates its getaway, by cleaving both strands of its DNA. |
| Animal Survival In Inherited Habitats Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Researchers are exploring how inheriting favorable or unfavorable habitat affects the overall rise and fall of animal populations. For some animal species, inheriting habitat may play as much of a role in survival as inheriting intelligence, fertility, camouflage or other genetically transferred characteristics. |
| From Fish To Landlubber: Fossils Suggest Earlier Land-water Transition Of Tetrapod Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT New evidence gleaned from CT scans of fossils locked inside rocks may flip the order in which two kinds of four-limbed animals with backbones were known to have moved from fish to landlubber. |
| Neurodegeneration Study Reveals Targets Of Destruction Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists are reporting the strongest evidence to date that neurodegenerative diseases target and progress along distinct neural networks that normally support healthy brain function. The discovery could lead to earlier diagnoses, novel treatment-monitoring strategies, and, possibly, recognition of a common disease process among all forms of neurodegeneration. |
| Medical Technology: 'SmartShunt' To Regulate Pressure In The Brain Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have simulated the motion of the cerebrospinal fluid in the human brain. They are using the results to develop a self-regulating system to treat hydrocephalus. |
| New Therapies Expected To Help Reduce Future Visual Burden Of Age-related Eye Disease Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT The prevalence of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration is projected to increase substantially by 2050, but the use of new therapies is expected to help mitigate its effects on vision, according to results of simulation modeling. |
| Nanoparticles Harnessed To Track Cancer-cell Changes Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT A new imaging technology could give scientists the ability to simultaneously measure as many as 100 or more distinct features in or on a single cell. In a disease such as cancer, that capability would provide a much better picture of what's going on in individual tumor cells. |
| We Seek New Targets During Visual Search, Not During Other Visual Behaviors Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT When we look at a scene in front of us, we need to focus on the important items and be able to ignore distracting elements. Studies have suggested that inhibition of return (in which our attention is less likely to return to objects we've already viewed) helps make visual search more efficient – when searching a scene to find an object, we have a bias toward inspecting new regions of a scene, and we avoid looking for the object in already searched areas. |
| Neurons That Control Sociability In Worms Defined Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Ants colonize. Fish shoal. Flamingos flock and caribou herd. Earth is populated by inherently social beings. Even lowly worms seek out the benefits of companionship. New research has dissected the social proclivities of a model worm, identifying a single type of neuron -- RMG -- that "decides" whether these worms will mingle with their fellows or keep to themselves. |
| New Anti-asthmatic And Anti-inflammatory Drugs Without Adverse Side Effects, Suggests Study Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Antedrug design is a new approach to creating safer drugs that attack a problem such as inflammation then quickly become inactive before they can cause damage. In a new study researchers synthesize a group of corticosteroids that have anti-asthmatic and anti-inflammatory properties but without adverse side effects. |
| Tracking Down The Effect Of Nanoparticles Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Cerium oxide is a ceramic nano-abrasive. Scientists have now examined, under conditions close to reality, what happens when it is breathed in and deposited on the lung surface. Initially, the result was rather reassuring. |
| Erectile Dysfunction Treatments Do Not Appear To Damage Vision Over Six Months Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Two medications used to treat erectile dysfunction in men (tadalafil and sildenafil) do not appear to have visual side effects when taken daily for six months, despite concerns about eye-related complications, according to a new report. |
| Next Generation Nanofilms Created Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT With the human genome in hand, biochemists have cataloged the 3-D structures of thousands of proteins isolated from living cells. But one important class of proteins -- those stuck in the cell membranes -- has proven difficult to extract and study in 3-D crystals. Now scientists have developed a way to train such molecules to line up neatly on the surface of water in thin, tissue-like layers called nanofilms. |
| How We Feel Linked To Both Our Culture And How We Behave Posted: 19 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Scientists have long been interested in the interplay of emotions and identity, and some have recently focused on cultural identity. One's heritage would seem to be especially stable and impervious to change, simply because it's been passed down generation after generation and is deeply ingrained in the collective psyche. But how deeply, exactly? |
| Scorpion Biodiversity Seen In 'Evolution Canyon' Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Scorpions possess resistance to high temperatures and the ability to conserve water for long periods of time, and as a result thrive in hot and arid parts of the world. But is this global distribution also seen at a more local level? Biologists now show that this is indeed the case, even when European-like and African-like habitats were separated by no more than 100 meters. |
| Genetic Switch Potential Key To New Class Of Antibiotics Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Researchers have determined the structure of a key genetic mechanism at work in bacteria, including some that are deadly to humans, in an important step toward the design of a new class of antibiotics. |
| New Insights Into Progressive Hearing Loss Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT In parallel studies in human and mouse, two groups of researchers have come to the same conclusion: that a new kind of gene is associated with progressive hearing loss. The new gene, a microRNA, is a snippet of genetic information that affects the working of sensory hair cells of the inner ear. The research provides important new genetic understanding of a condition that is common in humans but remains poorly understood. |
| Oral Rehydration Solution For Diarrhea: More Research Needed On New Formulations Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Newer polymer-based formulations of oral rehydration solution given to treat diarrhea may offer some benefits over older sugar-salt formulations. But, say researchers who carried out a review of the available evidence, more research is required to establish the best treatment option. |
| Smart Material Technology Adapted To Repairing Skeletal Malformations Succeeds Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Scientists are a step closer to the repair of skeletal malformations. New technology has been developed with limb lengthening treatment in mind, but it can be more widely applied to the repair of skeletal malformations. |
| Male Impotence Drugs Show Promise For Treating Female Sexual Disorders, Study Suggests Posted: 18 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT New studies indicate the three drugs used to treat male impotence also appear to work in females, albeit a little differently, and should give the scientific community pause to take a second look at their potential in the 40 percent of women who report sexual dysfunction, researchers say. |
| Newly Discovered Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Active In Human Pancreatic Cancers Posted: 17 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT Finally some promising news about pancreatic cancer, one of the most fatal cancers, due to the difficulties of early detection and the lack of effective therapies: Scientists have identified an epidermal growth factor receptor aberrantly active in approximately a third of the 250 human pancreatic cancers studied. |
| March 2009 Tenth Warmest On Record For Global Temperatures Posted: 17 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT The combined global land and ocean surface average temperature for March 2009 was the 10th warmest since records began in 1880, according to an analysis by NOAA. |
| Flying Mouse-traps Clean Up Fields Posted: 17 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT Barn olwls and common kestrels are being encouraged by farmers to control agricultural pests instead of using harmful chemicals. A pair of Barn Owls alone can eat over 2,000 rodents in a year, according to experts. |
| Unmanned Sailing Boat Can Reach Any Given Destination Completely Autonomously Posted: 17 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT Mechanical engineering students have developed an unmanned sailing boat that can reach any given destination completely autonomously. The Avalon robot sailing boat is due to set sail from Ireland in the fall and head for the Caribbean. |
| The Life That Escaped Darwin’s Notice Posted: 17 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT Darwin was a brilliant observer and described everything he could perceive with the naked eye. However, the micro-organisms from the beginning of evolution remained hidden from him. He came unsuspectingly close to them in his essay on reefs. |
| Kyoto Treaty Is ‘Failing The World’s Poor’, Say Scientists Posted: 17 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT Initiatives aimed at cutting emissions while encouraging economic development are failing the world's poorest countries, leading scientists from Oxford University are warning. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Latest Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Inbox too full?  Subscribe to the feed version of ScienceDaily: Latest Science News in a feed reader. | |
| If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News, c/o Google, 20 W Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment