ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• New Way To Reproduce A Black Hole?
• Key Feature Of Immune System Survived In Humans, Other Primates For 60 Million Years
• Orchids And Fungi -- Partners For Life
• Iterative Reconstruction Technique Significantly Reduces Patient Radiation Dose During CT Scans
• Math Model Accurately Mimics Cell Division In Carbon-cycling Bacterium
• Unleashing The Power In Beer
• Artificial Life One Step Closer: Scientists Clone And Engineer Bacterial Genomes In Yeast And Transplant Genomes Back Into Bacterial Cells
• Open Wide And Say 'Zap': New Way To Clinically Assess Condition Of Tooth Enamel Using Lasers
• Higher Pathogen Loads In Collapsed Honeybee Colonies, Study Finds
• Computer System Improves Pain Therapy For Cancer Patients
• Raising The Alarm When DNA Goes Bad: 'Rapid Response Team' Monitors And Quickly Responds To DNA Damage
• New Pheromone Helps Female Flies Tell Suitors To 'Buzz Off'
• Aphids Saved From Gruesome Death By Virus-infected Bacteria
• New Metabolic Safeguards Against Tumor Cells
• Niche Differences In Biodiversity: Species' Differences Are Responsible For Their Coexistence
• Britain's First Swine-flu Trials Under Way
• Energy-Efficient Sewage Plants
• Negligible Impact On Public Safety From Shark Cage Diving Operations
• Evolution Of The Human Appendix: A Biological 'Remnant' No More
• Neural Networks Mapped In Dementia Patients
• Homes Pollute: Linked To 50 Percent More Water Pollution Than Previously Believed
• Overall Antibiotic Prescription Rates For Respiratory Tract Infections Decreasing
• Vanquishing Infinity: Old Methods Lead To New Approach To Finding Quantum Theory Of Gravity
• Living Longer And Happier

New Way To Reproduce A Black Hole? Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Despite their popularity in the science fiction genre, there is much to be learned about black holes. Researchers have proposed a new way of creating a reproduction black hole in the laboratory on a much-tinier scale than their celestial counterparts.

Key Feature Of Immune System Survived In Humans, Other Primates For 60 Million Years Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT A new study has concluded that one key part of the immune system, the ability of vitamin D to regulate anti-bactericidal proteins, is so important that is has been conserved through almost 60 million years of evolution and is shared only by primates, including humans -- but no other known animal species.

Orchids And Fungi -- Partners For Life Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Three Thai orchids have been found to rely on a wide range of fungi to help them take carbon out of the soil instead of producing their own organic carbon.

Iterative Reconstruction Technique Significantly Reduces Patient Radiation Dose During CT Scans Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Computed tomography (CT) scans are responsible for more than two thirds of the total radiation dose associated with medical imaging exams. However, a newly adapted low-dose technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction may enable radiologists to reduce patient radiation resulting from CT up to 65 percent, according to a new study.

Math Model Accurately Mimics Cell Division In Carbon-cycling Bacterium Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have developed a quantitative, mathematical model of DNA replication and cell division for the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus.

Unleashing The Power In Beer Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Brewing beer creates tons of leftover used grains. But that waste can be turned into fuel, as developers have shown.

Artificial Life One Step Closer: Scientists Clone And Engineer Bacterial Genomes In Yeast And Transplant Genomes Back Into Bacterial Cells Posted: 22 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have developed new methods in which an entire bacterial genome was cloned in a yeast cell by adding yeast centromeric plasmid sequence to the bacterial chromosome and modified it in yeast using yeast genetic systems. This modified bacterial chromosome was then isolated from yeast and transplanted into a related species of bacteria to create a new type of cell.

Open Wide And Say 'Zap': New Way To Clinically Assess Condition Of Tooth Enamel Using Lasers Posted: 22 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT A group of researchers in Australia and Taiwan has developed a new way to analyze the health of human teeth using lasers. By measuring how the surface of a tooth responds to laser-generated ultrasound, they can evaluate the mineral content of tooth enamel -- the semi-translucent outer layer of a tooth that protects the underlying dentin.

Higher Pathogen Loads In Collapsed Honeybee Colonies, Study Finds Posted: 22 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT Honeybees in colonies affected by colony collapse disorder (CCD) have higher levels of pathogens and are co-infected with a greater number of pathogens than their non-CCD counterparts, but no individual pathogen can be singled out as the cause of CCD, according to a study by an international team of researchers.

Computer System Improves Pain Therapy For Cancer Patients Posted: 22 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT Pain therapy for cancer patients -- whether inpatient or outpatient -- is often inadequate. At Heidelberg University Hospital, the use of an innovative electronic system -- combined with guidance by an experienced clinical pharmacist -- has been successfully tested. The treatment of the patients showed little variance from international guidelines on pain therapy. In addition, patients reported having less pain.

Raising The Alarm When DNA Goes Bad: 'Rapid Response Team' Monitors And Quickly Responds To DNA Damage Posted: 22 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have known for a long time that when DNA is damaged, a key enzyme sets off a cellular "alarm bell" to alert the cell to start the repair process, but until recently little was known about how the cell detects and responds to this alarm. In a new study, researchers have identified a whole family of proteins capable of a direct response to the alarm signal.

New Pheromone Helps Female Flies Tell Suitors To 'Buzz Off' Posted: 22 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT Using a new form of high-resolution laser mass spectrometry, researchers scanning the surface of fruit flies discovered a previously unidentified pheromone -- CH503 -- that contributes to the anti-aphrodisiac effects observed in female fruit flies after copulation.

Aphids Saved From Gruesome Death By Virus-infected Bacteria Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT The term "beneficial virus" sounds like an oxymoron. But pea aphids whose symbiotic bacteria have viral infections gain protection against parasitic wasps. Aphids without the infected bacteria were eaten alive from the inside out by wasp larvae. The research is the first demonstration that a virus that infects bacteria can help rather than harm the bacteria's animal host.

New Metabolic Safeguards Against Tumor Cells Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have found a new mechanism by which the body kills potential tumor cells. When cells separate from their normal environment -- a common event during tumor formation -- they develop certain metabolic disabilities that prevent them from becoming cancerous. While some tumor genes can help these cells escape such defects, the researchers also found that antioxidant treatment can restore normal metabolic activity in these detached, homeless cells, giving them a second chance to survive and potentially become cancerous.

Niche Differences In Biodiversity: Species' Differences Are Responsible For Their Coexistence Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Scientists have found strong evidence that niche differences are critical to biodiversity. The new study provides the first strong evidence that species' differences are responsible for their coexistence.

Britain's First Swine-flu Trials Under Way Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Britain's first swine flu vaccine trials are taking place at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Energy-Efficient Sewage Plants Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT High-rate digestion with microfiltration is state-of-the-art in large sewage plants. It effectively removes accumulated sludge and produces biogas to generate energy. A study now reveals that even small plants can benefit from this process.

Negligible Impact On Public Safety From Shark Cage Diving Operations Posted: 22 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT A study by five university researchers concludes that existing shark cage diving enterprises in Hawaii have a negligible effect on public safety.

Evolution Of The Human Appendix: A Biological 'Remnant' No More Posted: 21 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example.

Neural Networks Mapped In Dementia Patients Posted: 21 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Different types of dementia show dissimilar changes in brain activity. A network mapping technique has been applied to EEG data obtained from patients with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

Homes Pollute: Linked To 50 Percent More Water Pollution Than Previously Believed Posted: 21 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists are reporting some unsettling news about homes in the residential areas of California. The typical home there -- and probably elsewhere in the country -- is an alarming and probably underestimated source of water pollution, according to a new study.

Overall Antibiotic Prescription Rates For Respiratory Tract Infections Decreasing Posted: 21 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT From 1995 to 2006 the rate of antibiotic prescriptions for acute respiratory tract infections decreased significantly, attributable in part to a decline in ambulatory visits for ear infections in young children, according to a new study. But prescription rates for broad spectrum antibiotics, namely azithromycin and quinolones, increased substantially during the study period.

Vanquishing Infinity: Old Methods Lead To New Approach To Finding Quantum Theory Of Gravity Posted: 21 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of general relativity are both extremely accurate theories of how the universe works, but all attempts to combine the two into a unified theory have ended in failure. Now physicists have found a way to carry out a new set of gravity calculations with the help of an older theory that has been around since the 1980s.

Living Longer And Happier Posted: 21 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT A new study may shed light on how to increase the level and quality of activity in the elderly. Researchers found that gene therapy with a proven "longevity" gene energized mice during exercise, and might be applicable to humans in the future.

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