ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Biological Particles Trigger Ice Formation In High-altitude Clouds Posted: 18 May 2009 08:00 AM PDT Chemistry researchers have moved closer to what is considered the "holy grail" of climate change science, making the first-ever direct detection of biological particles within ice clouds. The team sampled water droplet and ice crystal residues at high speeds from an aircraft flying through clouds in the skies over Wyoming. Analysis of the ice crystals revealed that they were made up almost entirely of either dust or biological particles such as bacteria, fungal spores and plant material.

Cigarette Smoke Can Prevent Allergies, Study Suggests Posted: 18 May 2009 08:00 AM PDT Everyone knows that smoking can kill you, but new research suggests that it may help with your allergies. A study of mouse mast cells shows that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies by decreasing the reaction of immune cells to allergens.

Enriched Environment Improves Wound Healing In Rats Posted: 18 May 2009 08:00 AM PDT Improving the environment in which rats are reared can significantly strengthen the physiological process of wound healing, according to a new article. Researchers found that giving rats living in isolation the opportunity to build nests led to better healing of burn injuries than was seen in isolation-reared rats without nest-building materials.

Identification Of A Key Molecular Pathway Required For Brain Neural Circuit Formation Posted: 18 May 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have made a discovery which could help treat spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.

Biomass As A Source Of Raw Materials Posted: 18 May 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new catalytic process to convert components of bio-oil directly into alkanes and methanol.

Tasers: Medical Consequences Of Police Use Of Force During Restraint Examined Posted: 18 May 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists examined the medical records of nearly 900 patients subdued by the Seattle Police Department with a Taser over a six-year period.

Future Of Personalized Cancer Treatment: New System Delivers RNA Into Cells Posted: 18 May 2009 05:00 AM PDT In technology that promises to one day allow drug delivery to be tailored to an individual patient and a particular cancer tumor, researchers have developed an efficient system for delivering siRNA into primary cells.

Genetic Marker May Predict Early Onset Of Prostate Cancer Posted: 18 May 2009 05:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified a genetic marker that is associated with an earlier onset of prostate cancer in Caucasian men who have a family history of prostate cancer.

New Red Alga Discovered In Mediterranean Sea Posted: 18 May 2009 05:00 AM PDT Scientists have described a new species of red algae (Leptofauchea coralligena) in the western Mediterranean. This is the only species of the Leptofauchea genus currently known to be in the Mediterranean.

Golden Rice An Effective Source Of Vitamin A Posted: 18 May 2009 05:00 AM PDT The beta-carotene in so-called "golden rice" converts to vitamin A in humans, according to a new article.

Artificial Simulator Of The Nervous System Created For Research Into Diseases Posted: 18 May 2009 05:00 AM PDT Scientists have designed a computer which can simulate any part of the body's nervous system, including the retina, the cerebellum, the hearing centers and the nervous centers. This is free and open software.

Stress: Center-based Child Care And Insensitive Parenting May Have Lasting Effects Posted: 18 May 2009 05:00 AM PDT Researchers following about 1,000 children from 1 month through mid-adolescence have shown that children who, during their first three years, (a) had mothers who were more insensitive and/or (b) spent more time in center-based child care -- whether of high or low quality -- were more likely to have the atypical pattern of lower levels of cortisol just after awakening when they were 15 years of age, which could indicate higher levels of early stress.

Environmental Exposure To Particulates May Damage DNA In As Few As Three Days Posted: 18 May 2009 02:00 AM PDT Exposure to particulate matter has been recognized as a contributing factor to lung cancer development for some time, but a new study indicates inhalation of certain particulates can actually cause some genes to become reprogrammed, affecting both the development and the outcome of cancers and other diseases.

Key Proteins Needed For Ovulation Identified Posted: 18 May 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified in mice two proteins essential for ovulation to take place. The finding has implications for treating infertility resulting from a failure of ovulation to occur as well as for developing new means to prevent pregnancy by preventing the release of the egg.

Biological Diversity: Islands Beat Mainland Nine To One Posted: 18 May 2009 02:00 AM PDT Rare and unique ecological communities will be lost if oceanic islands aren't adequately considered in a global conservation plan, a new study has found. Although islands tend to harbor fewer species than continental lands of similar size, plants and animals found on islands often live only there, making protection of their isolated habitats our sole chance to preserve them.

Immune Exhaustion Driven By Antigen In Chronic Viral Infection Posted: 18 May 2009 02:00 AM PDT During a chronic viral infection, exhaustion depletes the ability of immune cells to respond to the infecting virus. Exhaustion occurs when large amounts of virus, or pieces of the virus (known as antigens), are seen by cells of the immune system over a prolonged period.

Electronic Patient-centered Approach To Capturing Data From Cancer Patients Improves Care And Research Posted: 18 May 2009 02:00 AM PDT Wireless, personal computers used by cancer patients to log their symptoms help improve the patients' care and further cancer research, according to a new study.

Children Who Are Depressed, Anxious Or Aggressive In First Grade Risk Being Victimized Later On Posted: 18 May 2009 02:00 AM PDT A longitudinal study of 400 Canadian school children shows that children entering first grade with signs of depression and anxiety or excessive aggression are at risk of being chronically victimized by their classmates by third grade. The study also shows that most children (73 percent) showed few symptoms of depression and anxiety over the three years.

World's Largest Leatherback Turtle Population Found Posted: 17 May 2009 11:00 PM PDT Scientists have identified a nesting population of leatherback sea turtles in Gabon, West Africa as the world's largest. The research involved country-wide land and aerial surveys that estimated a population of between 15,730 and 41,373 female turtles using the nesting beaches. The study highlights the importance of conservation work to manage key sites and protected areas in Gabon.

Early Use Of Antiretroviral Treatment Improves Survival Rate Of HIV Patients Posted: 17 May 2009 11:00 PM PDT Scientists have demonstrated that mortality rates of HIV patients can be almost halved when early antiretroviral (ARV) therapy is added to the treatment of AIDS-related opportunistic infections (OIs) such as pneumonia, meningitis or other serious bacterial infections. The researchers recommend changes in the treatment regimes for HIV patients worldwide.

New Testing Facility Is Helping Improve Land Mine Detection Equipment Posted: 17 May 2009 11:00 PM PDT Researchers have built a test facility to evaluate and enhance sensors designed to detect buried land mines. The unique automated system measures the response of individual electromagnetic induction sensors or arrays of sensors against land mines buried at many possible angles.

New Guideline For Low-back Pain Interventions, Surgery Posted: 17 May 2009 11:00 PM PDT The American Pain Society has issued a new clinical practice guideline for low-back pain that emphasizes noninvasive treatments over interventional procedures, and shared decision making between provider and patient. The guideline, based on a review of 3,348 abstracts and 161 clinical trials provides clinicians with eight recommendations to help determine the best way to treat patients with low-back pain.

DNA Gripped In Nanopores: Researchers Analyze Forces On DNA In Gel Posted: 17 May 2009 11:00 PM PDT Molecular biologists, including the forensic investigators on the popular TV show CSI, use gel electrophoresis to separate DNA fragments from each other in order to analyze the DNA. A team of researchers has now shown for the first time how the gel influences the movement of the DNA.

Preschoolers' Language Development Is Partly Tied To Their Classmates' Language Skills Posted: 17 May 2009 11:00 PM PDT A new study shows that children's abilities to both speak and understand words developed faster when they were with classmates with better language skills. The study involved 1,800 preschoolers in over 450 pre-kindergarten classrooms in 11 states and entailed "receptive language" and "expressive language" testing for each child at the start and end of pre-kindergarten. Findings for this study offer ideas for designing and structuring preschool classrooms.

Gene Transfer Technology May Lead To HIV Vaccine Posted: 16 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT Scientists may have broken the stubborn impasse that has frustrated the invention of an effective HIV vaccine, by using an approach that bypasses the usual path followed by vaccine developers. By using gene transfer technology that produces molecules that block infection, the scientists protected monkeys from infection by a virus closely related to HIV -- the simian immunodeficiency virus, or SIV -- that causes AIDS in rhesus monkeys.

Is Poisonous Pollen Enough To Put Bees Off Their Dinner? Posted: 16 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT Chemical weapons against uninvited dinner guests: Scientists test whether the pollen of certain flowers contains toxins that give bees an upset stomach and protects the plant from the diligent pollen gatherers.

Early Mobilization Of Patients In ICU Improves Outcomes Posted: 16 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT Aside from the obvious and immediate health problems that patients undergoing mechanical ventilation face, those who recover often do so with profound loss of strength and mobility that can impair their daily functioning and even lead to increased risk of morbidity and mortality down the line. Now research shows that functional status may be restored earlier to ICU patients by performing daily interruptions in sedation paired with mobilization and exercise, as led by physical and occupational therapists.

New Therapies Mean HIV Patients Gain Longer Lives, Face New Challenges Posted: 16 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT New HIV therapies have prolonged lives and improved health for patients with HIV, but the treatments have also brought the longer-term effects of the disease into sharper focus.

Infection Control 'Urgently Needed' To Curb Spread Of XDR-TB Among Health Care Workers Posted: 16 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT Health care workers in South Africa are at a significantly increased risk of developing drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, in a trend which threatens to further exacerbate the already beleaguered health care systems in sub-Saharan countries, according to results of a new study. Researchers say the results underscore the urgent need for stringent TB screening policies among health care workers in these areas.

New Sponge-like Material Can Remove Mercury From Water, Separate Hydrogen From Other Gases And Pull Sulfur Out Of Crude Oil Posted: 16 May 2009 09:00 PM PDT A new sponge-like material that is black, brittle and freeze-dried can pull off some pretty impressive feats. It can remove mercury from polluted water, easily separate hydrogen from other gases and is a more effective catalyst than the one currently used to pull sulfur out of crude oil. In fact, the material, a type of chalcogel, is twice as active as the conventional catalyst used in hydrodesulfurization.

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