Monday, September 28, 2009

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


HIV’s Ancestors May Have Plagued First Mammals

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT

The retroviruses which gave rise to HIV have been battling it out with mammal immune systems since mammals first evolved around 100 million years ago -- about 85 million years earlier than previously thought, scientists now believe.

Math Used As A Tool To Heal Toughest Of Wounds

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT

Scientists expect a new mathematical model of chronic wound healing could replace intuition with clear guidance on how to test treatment strategies in tackling a major public-health problem. The researchers are the first to publish a mathematical model of an ischemic wound -- a chronic wound that heals slowly or is in danger of never healing because it is fed by an inadequate blood supply.

Ants Vs. Worms: New Computer Security Mimics Nature

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT

In the never-ending battle to protect computer networks from intruders, researchers are working with security experts to develop a new defense modeled after one of nature's hardiest creatures -- the ant.

Revolutionary Drug Could Be New Hope For Adrenal Cancer Patients

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT

Medical researchers are starting a clinical trial for a drug designed to combat adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare but deadly cancer that attacks the adrenal glands. They hope the new compound, OSI-906, which is administered orally, will stop ACC tumor growth -- perhaps even promote tumor shrinkage -- without the toxic side effects of current chemotherapies. The trial will focus on patients with inoperable tumors who have relapsed or failed to respond to conventional therapies.

Room's Ambience Fingerprinted By Phone

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT

Your smart phone may soon be able to know not only that you're at the mall, but whether you're in the jewelry store or the shoe store.

Pulling Together Increases Your Pain Threshold

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT

A study of rowers has shown that members of a team who exercised together were able to tolerate twice as much pain as when they trained on their own.

Discovery Brings New Type Of Fast Computers Closer To Reality

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT

Physicists have successfully created speedy integrated circuits with particles called "excitons" that operate at commercially cold temperatures, bringing the possibility of a new type of extremely fast computer based on excitons closer to reality.

New Antibacterial Chemical Compound Discovered

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT

Scientists have identified a novel chemical compound that targets drug-resistant bacteria in a different way from existing antibiotics. The discovery could lead to new treatments to overcome antibiotic resistance in certain types of microorganisms.

New Nanochemistry Technique Encases Single Molecules In Microdroplets

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT

Inventing a useful new tool for creating chemical reactions between single molecules, scientists have employed microfluidics to make microdroplets that each contain a single molecules of interest. By combining this new microfluidic with techniques to merge multiple droplets, the research may ultimately lead to new information on the structure and function of important organic materials such as proteins, enzymes, and DNA.

Certain Cancers More Common Among HIV Patients Than Non-HIV Patients

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT

Researchers have found that non-AIDS-defining malignancies such as anal and lung cancer have become more prevalent among HIV-infected patients than non-HIV patients since the introduction of anti-retroviral therapies in the mid-1990s.

MESSENGER Spacecraft Prepares For Final Pass By Mercury

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT

NASA's Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft known as MESSENGER will fly by Mercury for the third and final time on Sept. 29. The spacecraft will pass less than 142 miles above the planet's rocky surface for a final gravity assist that will enable it to enter Mercury's orbit in 2011. Determining the composition of Mercury's surface is a major goal of the orbital phase of the mission. The spacecraft already has imaged more than 90 percent of the planet's surface. The spacecraft's team will activate instruments during this flyby to view specific features to uncover more information about the planet.

How Would Einstein Use E-mail? Letter Writers Of Yore Had Same Correspondence Patterns As E-mail Users Today

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 08:00 AM PDT

You're not as different from Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin after all, at least when it comes to patterns of correspondence. A new study of human behavior has determined that those who wrote letters using pen and paper -- long before electronic mail existed -- did so in a pattern similar to the way people use e-mail today. The probability model provides some insight into how people make choices.

New Species Discovered In The Greater Mekong At Risk Of Extinction Due To Climate Change

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT

A bird-eating fanged frog, a gecko that looks like it's from another planet, and a bird which would rather walk than fly -- these are among the 163 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong region last year that are now at risk of extinction due to climate change, says a new report.

Smoking And Heart Disease Risks Can Cut Life Span By 10 Years

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT

Middle aged men who smoke, have high blood pressure and raised cholesterol levels can expect a 10--15 year shorter life expectancy from age 50 compared with men without these risk factors.

NASA Goddard Shoots The Moon To Track Lunar Spacecraft

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT

Twenty-eight times per second, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center fire a laser that travels about 250,000 miles to hit the minivan-sized Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft moving at nearly 3,600 miles per hour as it orbits the moon.

Genetic Cause Of Previously Undefined Primary Immune Deficiency Disease identified

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT

Researchers have identified a genetic mutation that accounts for a perplexing condition found in people with an inherited immunodeficiency. The disorder, called combined immunodeficiency, is characterized by a constellation of severe health problems, including persistent bacterial and viral skin infections, severe eczema, acute allergies and asthma and cancer.

Mobile Microbloggers Struggle To Make Their Postings Interesting, Study Finds

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT

A study shows that mobile microbloggers struggle hard is to make postings interesting enough to keep audience coming back and commenting. The analysis shows that microbloggers sometimes put in teasers to postings and highlight interesting aspects of their everyday experiences, inviting others to comment.

Attention Makes Sensory Signals Stand Out Amidst Background Noise In Brain

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT

The brain never sits idle. Whether we are awake or asleep, watch TV or close our eyes, waves of spontaneous nerve signals wash through our brains. Researchers studying visual attention have discovered a novel mechanism that explains how incoming sensory signals make themselves heard amidst the constant background rumblings so they can be reliably processed and passed on.

Global Increase In Atmospheric Methane Likely Caused By Unusual Arctic Warmth, Tropical Wetness

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT

Unusually high temperatures in the Arctic and heavy rains in the tropics likely drove a global increase in atmospheric methane in 2007 and 2008 after a decade of near-zero growth, according to a new study. Methane is the second most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, albeit a distant second.

Relationship Between Androgen Deficiency And Cardiovascular Disease Proposed

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT

Researchers believe that androgen deficiency might be the underlying cause for a variety of common clinical conditions, including diabetes, erectile dysfunction, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.

Infant Development: Do Infants Only Start To Crawl Once They Can See Looming Danger?

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT

Do infants only start to crawl once they are physically able to see danger coming? According to one researcher, infants' ability to see whether an object is approaching on a direct collision course, and when it is likely to collide, develops around the time they become more mobile.

Pregnancy And Birth: Safe For Women With Kidney Transplants

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT

Women who have had a kidney transplant and have good kidney function can get pregnant and give birth without jeopardizing their health or the health of their transplant. Having children does not affect patients' kidney function or their life-span compared with transplanted women who do not have children, according to a matching cohort study.

New Method For Improving The Functional Characteristics Of Enzymes

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT

Scientists develop a new method for improving the functional characteristics of enzymes. The method has potential for wide application in the chemical, medicinal and food industries.

Switch Program Increases Kids' Healthy Eating, Reduces Screen Time

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 02:00 AM PDT

The Switch program -- "Switch what you Do, View, and Chew" -- has been shown to be capable of promoting children's fruit and vegetable consumption and lowering 'screen time'. Researchers tested the program and report that it offers promise for use in youth obesity prevention.

Two Proteins Enable Skin Cells To Regenerate

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT

Never mind facial masks and exfoliating scrubs, skin takes care of itself. Stem cells located within the skin actively generate differentiating cells that can ultimately form either the body surface or the hairs that emanate from it. In addition, these stem cells are able to replenish themselves, continually rejuvenating skin and hair. Now, researchers have identified two proteins that enable these skin stem cells to undertake this continuous process of self-renewal.

C. Difficile Hypervirulence Genes Identified

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT

Five genetic regions have been identified that are unique to the most virulent strain of Clostridium difficile, the hospital superbug. Researchers studied the genome of the bacterium, looking for genes relating to motility, antibiotic resistance and toxicity.

Carbon Nanostructure Research May Lead To Revolutionary New Devices

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT

Research into carbon nanostructures may some day be used in electronic, thermal, mechanical and sensing devices for the Air Force.

Does Helicobacter Pylori Eradication Therapy Prevent Gastric Cancer?

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT

A research team from Japan investigated whether eradication of H. pylori in peptic ulcer patients prevented gastric cancer. They found that eradication did not significantly reduce the incidence of cancer in their patients, who had a mean age of 52.9 years at registration, after a mean follow-up period of 5.6 years.

On The Road To Secure Car-to-car Communications

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT

A new research project works out how to keep car-to-car data transmissions private and secure from malicious hackers.

Major Disasters Tax Surgical Staff But May Reduce Costs For Routine Operations

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT

New research offers important insights into the long-term impact of a major disaster on routine surgical services in a hospital. In the study, researchers showed that although Hurricane Katrina resulted in a significant loss of surgical staff and an increase in the number of uninsured patients undergoing operations, greater cost efficiencies were achieved.

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