ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Why Sleep? Snoozing May Be Strategy To Increase Efficiency, Minimize Risk
• High Serum Insulin Levels And Risk Of Prostate Cancer
• Friendly Gut Bacteria Lend A Hand To Fight Infection, Study Suggests
• Fecal DNA Methylation Detects Gastric And Colorectal Cancers
• Nano-bio Material Kills Cancer Cells, Leaves Healthy Cells In Unharmed
• Young Women Consistently Exercise Less Than Young Men, Study Finds
• Ultrathin LEDs Create New Classes Of Lighting And Display Systems
• Chronic Kidney Disease Linked To Malfunctioning Mitochondria
• Parasites Persuade Immune Cells To Invite Them In For Dinner
• 'Housekeeping' Genes Play Important Role In Developmental Pathways Of Cells
• Epigenetics: Evolutionarily Preserved Mechanism Governs Use Of Genes
• How We Support Our False Beliefs
• Little Known Type Of Cholesterol -- Oxycholesterol -- May Pose The Greatest Heart Disease Risk
• Towards Malaria 'Vaccine': Discovery Opens The Door To Malaria-prevention Therapies
• New Images Capture Cell's Ribosomes At Work
• New Robot-assisted Surgical Method Found Successful For Treatment Of Thyroid Cancer
• Water Desalination Using Novel Method Of Reverse Osmosis Promises High Recovery Levels
• Off-label Use Often Not Evidence-Based: Physicians Lack Knowledge Of Off-label Drug Use And FDA Approval Status, Study Finds

Why Sleep? Snoozing May Be Strategy To Increase Efficiency, Minimize Risk Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT A sleep researcher argues that sleep's primary function is to increase the efficiency of behavior when animals are awake by regulating behavior's timing and duration.

High Serum Insulin Levels And Risk Of Prostate Cancer Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Elevated insulin levels in the normal range appear to be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to a new study.

Friendly Gut Bacteria Lend A Hand To Fight Infection, Study Suggests Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Immunology researchers have found that bacteria present in the human gut help initiate the body's defense mechanisms against Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis.

Fecal DNA Methylation Detects Gastric And Colorectal Cancers Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT A preliminary evaluation of methylation of two gene promoters in fecal DNA showed promise as a noninvasive method to detect colorectal and gastric cancers, according to a new study.

Nano-bio Material Kills Cancer Cells, Leaves Healthy Cells In Unharmed Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists have developed a way to target brain cancer cells using inorganic titanium dioxide nanoparticles bonded to soft biological material.

Young Women Consistently Exercise Less Than Young Men, Study Finds Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 PM PDT Despite mounting public health concerns about obesity and persistent social pressures dictating that slim is beautiful, young women in their 20s consistently exercise less than young men.

Ultrathin LEDs Create New Classes Of Lighting And Display Systems Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT A new process for creating ultrathin, ultrasmall inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and assembling them into large arrays offers new classes of lighting and display systems with interesting properties, such as see-through construction and mechanical flexibility, that would be impossible to achieve with existing technologies.

Chronic Kidney Disease Linked To Malfunctioning Mitochondria Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been linked to oxidative stress caused by dysregulation of the genes that control mitochondria. A study has revealed alterations in respiration gene expression in the white blood cells of CKD patients.

Parasites Persuade Immune Cells To Invite Them In For Dinner Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT The parasites that cause leishmaniasis use a quirky trick to convince the immune system to effectively invite them into cells for dinner, according to a new study. The researchers say their findings improve understanding of the way Leishmania parasites establish an infection and could aid the search for a vaccine against this neglected tropical disease.

'Housekeeping' Genes Play Important Role In Developmental Pathways Of Cells Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT A gene called HPRT plays an important role in setting the program by which primitive or precursor cells decide to become normal nerve cells in the human brain. This unconventional view of metabolic genes known as "housekeeping" genes is now reported in a new study.

Epigenetics: Evolutionarily Preserved Mechanism Governs Use Of Genes Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have found that the protein coding parts of a gene are packed in special nucleosomes. The same type of packaging is found in the roundworm C. elegans, which is a primeval relative of humans. The mechanism can thereby be traced back a billion years in time.

How We Support Our False Beliefs Posted: 23 Aug 2009 08:00 AM PDT In a new study, sociologists from four major research institutions focus on one of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election: the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Little Known Type Of Cholesterol -- Oxycholesterol -- May Pose The Greatest Heart Disease Risk Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers are reporting that a little known type of cholesterol, oxycholesterol, may be a bigger heart disease threat than other forms of cholesterol. The study could lead to new targets and treatments to prevent or reduce heart disease, the number one cause of death in the US.

Towards Malaria 'Vaccine': Discovery Opens The Door To Malaria-prevention Therapies Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Malaria kills anywhere from one to three million people around the world annually and affects the lives of up to 500 million more. Yet until now, scientists did not fully understand exactly how the process that caused the disease's severe hallmark fevers began. Now researchers believe they may have solved this mystery.

New Images Capture Cell's Ribosomes At Work Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have captured elusive nanoscale movements of ribosomes at work, shedding light on how these cellular factories take in genetic instructions and amino acids to churn out proteins. The achievement could eventually lead to significant advances in the fight against infectious diseases.

New Robot-assisted Surgical Method Found Successful For Treatment Of Thyroid Cancer Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Using a novel robot-assisted endoscopic technique, a team of surgeons in Korea has successfully treated 200 consecutive patients with thyroid cancer. The minimally invasive operation, which has several technical and cosmetic benefits that the traditional open operation does not offer, is described in a new study.

Water Desalination Using Novel Method Of Reverse Osmosis Promises High Recovery Levels Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers are developing technology to scale up a novel method for achieving very high recoveries in desalination by reverse osmosis to be used in a Jordanian desalinization plant.

Off-label Use Often Not Evidence-Based: Physicians Lack Knowledge Of Off-label Drug Use And FDA Approval Status, Study Finds Posted: 23 Aug 2009 02:00 AM PDT In a recent national survey, a substantial minority of physicians erroneously believed that certain off-label uses of prescription drugs were FDA approved. This mistaken belief encourages them to prescribe these drugs, despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting such use. Overall, physicians were able to correctly identify the FDA-approval status of just over half of the 22 drug-indication pairs (i.e., a particular drug prescribed for a particular condition) included in the survey.

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