ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Peanut-shaped Stellar Explosion Spotted By Hubble Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers have taken the first optical images of a dramatic stellar outburst and discovered a peanut-shaped bubble expanding rapidly into space.

Too Much Sugar Is Bad, But Which Sugar Is Worse: Fructose Or Glucose? Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT In 2005, the average American consumed 64kg of added sugar, a sizeable proportion of which came through drinking soft drinks. Now, a 10-week study has provided evidence that human consumption of fructose-sweetened but not glucose-sweetened beverages can adversely affect both sensitivity to the hormone insulin and how the body handles fats, creating medical conditions that increase susceptibility to heart attack and stroke.

Beating The Back-up Blues: Research Advances 'Racetrack' Memory Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT That sinking feeling when your hard disk starts screeching and you haven't backed up your holiday photos is a step closer to becoming a thing of the past thanks to research into a new kind of computer memory.

Pregnancy Hormone HCG Protects Against Breast Cancer Even In Short-term Treatments Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone is what enables a full-term pregnancy to protect against breast cancer. Researchers have previously shown in rat models that hCG, when given during a 21-day period (the average period of rat gestation), can prevent breast cancer. Their current studies find an even shorter hCG regimen can prevent breast cancer in rats.

Solving The Chalk Mystery To Generate Billions In Additional Income For Oil Industry Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT A piece of chalk in a laboratory in Norway may be the key to unlock a great mystery. If the mystery is solved, it will generate billions in additional income for the oil industry. Geologists, petroleum engineers, rock mechanics, physicists, mathematicians and chemists are now switching between modeling and experimental testing at the chalk laboratory. They are about to uncover the mechanisms behind water weakening. The answer to this riddle is crucial knowledge for oil companies to be able to predict the reservoirs' behavior.

How Cigarettes Calm You Down Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT The calming neurological effects of nicotine have been demonstrated in a group of non-smokers during anger provocation. Researchers suggest that nicotine may alter the activity of brain areas that are involved in the inhibition of negative emotions such as anger.

The Story Of X: Evolution Of A Sex Chromosome Posted: 25 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT The sex chromosomes -- XX in women and XY in men -- date from the earliest mammals, but how did they evolve to look as they do today? While the male-determining Y has received lots of attention, a biologist has now focused on the X, and finds that it tells a fascinating story of adaptation to a shrinking Y. Such adaptation involves dosage compensation and de-masculinization -- loss of genes important only to males.

'Smart Bomb' Drug Delivery May Increase Effectiveness Posted: 25 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers may have found a way to combine imaging with chemotherapy in a single agent for the treatment of prostate cancer, according to new data.

Charged Dust From Inside Saturn's Moon Enceladus Posted: 25 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT A team of planetary scientists working on the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens mission has discovered tiny, charged icy particles in the plume from Saturn's moon Enceladus that offer a tantalising glimpse of the interior of this enigmatic world.

High Levels Of PEA-15 Shrink Breast Cancer Tumors Posted: 25 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT Overexpression of PEA-15, which binds and drags an oncoprotein out of the cell nucleus where it fuels cancer growth, steeply reduced breast cancer tumors in a preclinical experiment, researchers have found.

Cystic Fibrosis: Sugar On Bacteria Surface Serves As Base For Web Of Resistance Posted: 25 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT The bacteria responsible for chronic infections in cystic fibrosis patients use one of the sugars on the germs' surface to start building a structure that helps the microbes resist efforts to kill them, new research shows. Scientists have determined that the bacterial cell-surface sugar, a polysaccharide called Psl, is anchored on the surface of the bacterium as a helix, providing a structure that encourages cell-to-cell interaction.

Positive Body Image More Effective Than Exercise In Helping Young Women Lose Weight, Quit Smoking Posted: 25 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT College-age women that smoke report they keep up the habit largely to avoid gaining weight. But a new study shows that a smoking cessation program coupled with body image counseling is more effective than one with an exercise plan in terms of both curbing weight gain and higher rates of smoking cessation.

Dusty Galaxies From Early Universe In Throes Of Intense Burst Of Star Formation Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered more than a hundred dusty galaxies in the early Universe, each of which is in the throes of an intense burst of star formation. One of these galaxies is an example of a rare class of starburst, seen just one billion years after the Big Bang. The new results may present a direct challenge to our current ideas of how galaxies formed.

Molecular 'Key' To Successful Blood Stem Cell Transplants Discovered Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a "molecular key" that could help increase the success of blood stem cell transplants, a procedure currently used to treat diseases such as leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma and aplastic anemia.

Adding Walnuts To Good Diet May Help Older People Improve Motor And Behavioral Skills Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Adding a moderate, but not high, amount of walnuts to an otherwise healthy diet may help older individuals improve performance on tasks that require motor and behavioral skills, according to an animal model study. Walnuts contain polyphenols and other antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

Addition Of Dasatinib To Standard Chemo Cocktail May Enhance Effect In Certain Ovarian Cancers Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT The addition of a chemotherapeutic drug for leukemia to a standard regimen of two other chemotherapy drugs appears to enhance the response of certain ovarian cancers to treatment, according to a new study.

Detection Of Campylobacter In Air Samples May Offer New Monitoring System For Broiler Flocks Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT New research from Denmark suggests a promising method using air samples to continuously monitor broiler flocks for the presence of the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter.

Acupuncture Eases Radiation-induced Dry Mouth In Cancer Patients Posted: 25 Apr 2009 02:00 AM PDT Twice weekly acupuncture treatments relieve debilitating symptoms of xerostomia -- severe dry mouth -- among patients treated with radiation for head and neck cancer, researchers report.

Drinking Wine May Increase Survival Among Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Patients Posted: 24 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Pre-diagnostic wine consumption may reduce the risk of death and relapse among non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients, according to an epidemiology study.

Bacteria Tapped To Battle Crop-Damaging Roundworms Posted: 24 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Beneficial bacteria, aided by a "cocktail" of potent natural compounds, may offer a way to biologically control soybean cyst nematodes and other crop-damaging roundworms.

Human Lung Tumors Destroy Anti-cancer Hormone Vitamin D Posted: 24 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Human lung tumors have the ability to eliminate vitamin D, a hormone with anti-cancer activity, a new study suggests.

Insight Into Fish Disease To Help Protect Farmed Fish Stocks Posted: 24 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT Researchers in the U.K. have discovered that fish can harbor and spread proliferative kidney disease, a cause of major stock losses on fish farms, as well as being affected by the infection. This paves the way for research to develop effective ways to combat the disease.

Alarming Increase In Drug-affected Newborns Posted: 24 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT A new Australian study has found that the number of newborns suffering serious drug withdrawal symptoms is now more than 40 times higher than in 1980.

Commonly Used Ulcer Drugs May Offer Treatment Potential In Alzheimer's Disease Posted: 24 Apr 2009 05:00 PM PDT Scientists have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat ulcers have significant neuroprotective properties, which appear to be enhanced when used in combination with ibuprofen, a widely used anti-inflammatory drug.

Owls, Kestrels In Middle East: Flying Mouse-traps Control Pests Without Chemicals Posted: 24 Apr 2009 05:00 PM PDT Barn owls and common kestrels are being encouraged by farmers in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority 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.

Developmental Drug Helps Protect Against Radiation Damage Posted: 24 Apr 2009 05:00 PM PDT A drug currently under development protects cells from the damaging effects of radiation exposure, a new study suggests. JP4-039 targets the mitochondria, the energy-producing areas of all cells. For this study, cells treated immediately after irradiation with JP4-039 demonstrated significant radioprotection.

Chemists Make New Chiral Palladium Metal Posted: 24 Apr 2009 05:00 PM PDT Researchers in the Netherlands have succeeded in making the first ever piece of chiral palladium metal. The findings are significant because they lead to an entirely new class of materials. These are metallo-organics -- they combine the variety of organic molecules with the special properties of metals.

Herbal Remedy: Teens Often Use Cannabis For Relief, Not Recreation, Study Finds Posted: 24 Apr 2009 05:00 PM PDT When legal therapies let them down, some teens turn to cannabis. A new study suggests that around a third of teens who smoke cannabis on a regular basis use it as a medication, rather than as a means of getting high.

No 'Burp' Accelerating Climate Change? Wetlands Likely Source Of Methane From Ancient Warming Event Posted: 24 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT New analysis of Greenland ice could allay fears about a methane 'burp' accelerating current global warming trends. An expansion of wetlands and not a large-scale melting of frozen methane deposits is the likely cause of a spike in atmospheric methane gas that took place some 11,600 years ago, according to an international research team.

New Method Developed By Bioengineers Gives Regenerative Medicine A Boost Posted: 24 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Bioengineers have developed a breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling, which could help fuel personalized regenerative medicine and even lead to more efficient and cost-effective methods for studying certain diseases.

Benjamin Franklin Find: Researcher Discovers Trove Of Founding Father’s Letters Posted: 24 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have discovered letters by, to and about Benjamin Franklin that haven't been seen in more than 250 years. The 47 letters are in the hand of Franklin contemporary Thomas Birch and were tucked away in the British Library.

New Women's Imaging Technique Allows For A More Accurate Diagnosis Of Breast Cancer Posted: 24 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Breast elastography allows physicians to give a more accurate diagnosis of breast cancer, according to a study performed at Singapore General Hospital in Singapore. Breast elastography is a new technique which looks at the mechanical properties of tissues (relative stiffness) as opposed to conventional ultrasound which looks at the backscatter of transmitted ultrasound waves through tissues.

Estimating Crop Residue From Space Via Satellite Posted: 24 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT How much of America's croplands are being farmed using conservation tillage? Scientists are developing techniques to use satellites to answer that question.

Living Outside The Box: New Evidence Shows Going Abroad Linked To Creativity Posted: 24 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Living in another country can be a cherished experience, but new research suggests it might also help expand minds. This research is the first of its kind to look at the link between living abroad and creativity.

What Makes A Cow A Cow? Genome Sequence Sheds Light On Ruminant Evolution Posted: 24 Apr 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers report that they have sequenced the bovine genome, for the first time revealing the genetic features that distinguish cattle from humans and other mammals.

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