ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Raining Pebbles: Rocky Exoplanet Has Bizarre Atmosphere, Simulation Suggests
• Prenatal Exposure To Flu Pandemic Increased Chances Of Heart Disease
• Despite Size, NFL Players Not More Likely To Develop Heart Disease, Even After Retirement
• Strep Throat Does Not Appear To Cause OCD, Tourette Syndrome
• New Way To Monitor Faults May Help Predict Earthquakes
• Increase In 'Academic Doping' Could Spark Routine Urine Tests For Exam Students
• Rediscovering The Dragon's Paradise Lost: Komodo Dragons Most Likely Evolved In Australia, Dispersed To Indonesia
• Calcium Scans May Be Effective Screening Tool For Heart Disease
• Mystery Solved: Marine Microbe Is Source Of Rare Nutrient
• New Knowledge About Bone Marrow Transplants Can Help Leukemia Patients
• Keyboards And Mice Can Harbor Hospital Infections
• Celebrities Spawn Copycat Suicides, Study Confirms
• Monkeys' Grooming Habits Provide New Clues To How We Socialize
• Recent, Vigorous Exercise Is Associated With Reduced Breast Cancer Risk
• How HIV Spread In Central And East Africa: Genetic, Geographic Data Deliver Clear Picture Of HIV Progress
• Progressive Infantile Scoliosis: Where Surgery Was The Standard, Casting May Be The Future
• What Could 4 Degree Warming Mean For The World?
• Computational Models Used To Study Fear; Could Help PTSD Victims
• Planet's Nitrogen Cycle Overturned By 'Tiny Ammonia Eater Of The Seas'
• New Markers Discovered For Early Detection Of Type 1 Diabetes
• 'Green' Research Results In New Geopolymer Concrete Technology
• Eat Soybeans To Prevent Diseases, New Research Suggests
• Tennessee Foresters Helping To Return Chestnuts To American Forests
• Fewer Than 50 Percent Of Men And Women With Depression See A Doctor For Treatment
• 'Ram Pressure' Stripping Galaxies, Hubble Space Telescope Scientists Find
• Metabolic Syndrome Linked To Liver Disease In Obese Teenaged Boys
• Unlocking The Mystery Of European Eel Migrations
• Vasculature Emerges As Potential Therapeutic Target In Treating ADPKD Liver Cysts
• Northwestern United States Could Face More Tamarisk -- Aggressive Invasive Plant -- By Century's End
• Study Highlights HIV/AIDS Challenge In American Prison System
• Protection Or Peril? Gun Possession Of Questionable Value In An Assault, Study Finds
• Radon: Second Leading Cause Of Lung Cancer, European Study Confirms
• Getting Plants To Rid Themselves Of Pesticide Residues
• Protein Inhibitor Helps Rid Brain Of Toxic Tau Protein
• Novel Chemistry For Ethylene And Tin
• Places To Play, But 'Stranger Danger' Fears Keep Inner-city Kids Home: Study
• San Andreas Affected By 2004 Sumatran Quake; Largest Quakes Can Weaken Fault Zones Worldwide
• Potential New Imaging Agent For Early Diagnosis Of Most Serious Skin Cancer
• Taking Sharper Aim At Stomach Ulcer Bacteria
• Radiological Treatment Method Spares Patients Surgery And Offers 89 Percent Cost Savings
• Physicists Create First Atomic-scale Map Of Quantum Dots
• Less Than Half Of U.S. Medical Students Understand Health Care System, Study Finds
• Clues To Reversing Aging Of Human Muscle Discovered
• Stem Cell Success Points To Way To Regenerate Parathyroid Glands
• World's Most Sensitive Astronomical Camera Developed
• Obesity In Mid-life Reduces The Chance Of Healthy Survival In Women
• James Webb Space Telescope Begins To Take Shape At Goddard
• Electronic Medical Records Could Be Used As A Predictor Of Domestic Abuse

Raining Pebbles: Rocky Exoplanet Has Bizarre Atmosphere, Simulation Suggests Posted: 01 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Tidally locked with its star and orbiting very close to it, the exoplanet Corot-7b is hot enough to melt rock on its star-facing side. Its atmosphere consists of the components of silicate rocks in gaseous form and, simulation suggests, periodically rains pebbles or grains of sand onto the molten surface below.

Prenatal Exposure To Flu Pandemic Increased Chances Of Heart Disease Posted: 01 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT People exposed to a H1NI strain of influenza A while in utero were significantly more likely to have cardiovascular disease later in life.

Despite Size, NFL Players Not More Likely To Develop Heart Disease, Even After Retirement Posted: 01 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Former professional football players with large bodies don't appear to have the same risk factors for heart disease as their non-athletic counterparts, researchers have found in studying a group of National Football League alumni.

Strep Throat Does Not Appear To Cause OCD, Tourette Syndrome Posted: 01 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT New research shows that streptococcal infection does not appear to cause or trigger Tourette syndrome or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Researchers found that people with OCD or Tourette syndrome and tics were no more likely to have had possible strep infections compared to people without these disorders at two years and five years.

New Way To Monitor Faults May Help Predict Earthquakes Posted: 01 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have found a way to monitor the strength of geologic faults deep in the Earth. This finding could prove to be a boon for earthquake prediction by pinpointing those faults that are likely to fail and produce earthquakes. Until now, scientists had no method for detecting changes in fault strength, which is not measurable at the Earth's surface.

Increase In 'Academic Doping' Could Spark Routine Urine Tests For Exam Students Posted: 01 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT The increasing use of smart drugs or "nootropics" -- to boost academic performance -- could mean that exam students will face routine doping tests in future, suggests a recent paper.

Rediscovering The Dragon's Paradise Lost: Komodo Dragons Most Likely Evolved In Australia, Dispersed To Indonesia Posted: 01 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT The world's largest living lizard species, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), is vulnerable to extinction and yet little is known about its natural history. New research by a team of palaeontologists and archaeologists from Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia, who studied fossil evidence from Australia, Timor, Flores, Java and India, shows that Komodo Dragons most likely evolved in Australia and dispersed westward to Indonesia.

Calcium Scans May Be Effective Screening Tool For Heart Disease Posted: 01 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT A simple, non-invasive test appears to be an effective screening tool for identifying patients with silent heart disease who are at risk for a heart attack or sudden death. Coronary artery calcium scans can be done without triggering excessive additional testing and costs, according to the multi-center study.

Mystery Solved: Marine Microbe Is Source Of Rare Nutrient Posted: 01 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT A new study of microscopic marine microbes, called phytoplankton, has solved a 10-year-old mystery about the source of an essential nutrient in the ocean.

New Knowledge About Bone Marrow Transplants Can Help Leukemia Patients Posted: 01 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT Acute lymphatic leukemia is the most common form of blood cancer in children. Even though chemotherapy is improving, the cancer often returns. New research shows that cancer cells that have been exposed to chemotherapy and survived are less vulnerable to chemotherapy, and more aggressive as well. But this research also yielded discoveries that should be able to enhance our treatment of the disease.

Keyboards And Mice Can Harbor Hospital Infections Posted: 01 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT Although hospital computer equipment can act as a reservoir for pathogenic organisms, including MRSA, researchers found that bacterial contamination rates from computer equipment were low, possibly as the result of good hand hygiene.

Celebrities Spawn Copycat Suicides, Study Confirms Posted: 01 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT Results of a new study warn against glamorizing celebrity suicides in the media. The study has found evidence that the increasing reach and influence of the media, combined with a growing number of people assigned celebrity status, could increase the probability of widespread suicide pandemics.

Monkeys' Grooming Habits Provide New Clues To How We Socialize Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT A study of female monkeys' grooming habits provides new clues about the way we humans socialize. New research reveals there is a link between the size of the brain, in particular the neocortex which is responsible for higher-level thinking, and the size and number of grooming clusters that monkeys belong to.

Recent, Vigorous Exercise Is Associated With Reduced Breast Cancer Risk Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Post-menopausal women who engage in moderate to vigorous exercise have a reduced risk of breast cancer. This comes from researchers who investigated the link between breast cancer and exercise.

How HIV Spread In Central And East Africa: Genetic, Geographic Data Deliver Clear Picture Of HIV Progress Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT A research team has explained why two subtypes of HIV-1 -- the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS -- held steady at relatively low levels for more than 50 years in west central Africa before erupting as an epidemic in east Africa in the 1970s.

Progressive Infantile Scoliosis: Where Surgery Was The Standard, Casting May Be The Future Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT New research may lead doctors to choose to tweak an old technology -- casting -- over using high-tech implantable devices for children with progressive infantile scoliosis. Casting has fewer, and less serious, potential complications, and it requires no surgery.

What Could 4 Degree Warming Mean For The World? Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT A leading U.K. climate scientist has presented new research findings on the increasing potential for a 4 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures if the current high emissions of greenhouse gases continue. "If greenhouse emissions are not cut soon, then we could see major climate changes within our own lifetimes," said Dr. Richard Betts, Head of Climate Impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre.

Computational Models Used To Study Fear; Could Help PTSD Victims Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have started using computational models of the brain, making it easier to study the brain's connections. An electrical and computer engineering doctoral student has discovered new evidence on how the brain reacts to fear, including important findings that could help victims of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Planet's Nitrogen Cycle Overturned By 'Tiny Ammonia Eater Of The Seas' Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Tiny organisms known as archaea play a central role in the planet's nitrogen cycle, according to new research. Experiments show that archaea appear play a key ecological role in both upper and deep ocean ecosystems. This could affect calculations made by global climate models.

New Markers Discovered For Early Detection Of Type 1 Diabetes Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Diabetes can be dangerous -- especially when the disease is not diagnosed in time. German scientists have identified new markers which enable an early diagnosis and prognosis of type 1 diabetes.

'Green' Research Results In New Geopolymer Concrete Technology Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Researchers in Louisiana are conducting innovative research on geopolymer concrete and providing ways to use a waste byproduct from coal fired power plants and help curb carbon dioxide emissions.

Eat Soybeans To Prevent Diseases, New Research Suggests Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Soybeans contain high levels of several health-beneficial compounds including tocopherols, which have antioxidant properties. These molecules can be used in the development of functional foods, which have specific health-beneficial properties and can be used in the treatment or prevention of diseases.

Tennessee Foresters Helping To Return Chestnuts To American Forests Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT The American chestnut was a dominant species in eastern US's forests before a blight wiped it out in the early 1900s. Today it's being returned to the landscape thanks in part to work by Tennessee forestry experts.

Fewer Than 50 Percent Of Men And Women With Depression See A Doctor For Treatment Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT Fewer than half of men and women in Ontario who may be suffering from depression see a doctor to treat their potentially debilitating condition, according to a new women's health study. What's more, many hospitalized for severe depression fail to see a doctor for follow-up care within 30 days of being discharged, and many head to hospital emergency departments for care.

'Ram Pressure' Stripping Galaxies, Hubble Space Telescope Scientists Find Posted: 30 Sep 2009 08:00 PM PDT A newly released set of Hubble Space Telescope images highlight the ongoing drama in two galaxies in the Virgo Cluster affected by a process known as "ram pressure stripping", which can result in peculiar-looking galaxies. An extremely hot X-ray emitting gas known as the intra-cluster medium lurks between galaxies within clusters. As galaxies move through this intra-cluster medium, strong winds rip through galaxies distorting their shape and even halting star formation.

Metabolic Syndrome Linked To Liver Disease In Obese Teenaged Boys Posted: 30 Sep 2009 08:00 PM PDT Researchers studying a large sample of adolescent American boys have found an association between metabolic syndrome, which is a complication of obesity, and elevated liver enzymes that mark potentially serious liver disease. Among non-Hispanic adolescent boys, this association occurred independent of obesity, suggesting the presence of further, unknown risk factors -- and possibly other treatments yet to be discovered for this type of liver disease.

Unlocking The Mystery Of European Eel Migrations Posted: 30 Sep 2009 08:00 PM PDT Scientist have revealed the first stage of the European eels mysterious migration to the Sargasso Sea by attaching pop up satellite tags to eels.

Vasculature Emerges As Potential Therapeutic Target In Treating ADPKD Liver Cysts Posted: 30 Sep 2009 08:00 PM PDT As part of an effort to develop effective medical therapies that block the progression of liver cyst growth in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, researchers have found that the liver cyst walls develop and maintain a vasculature as they grow out from the body of the liver and that factors released by epithelial cells that line the liver cyst wall lumen can drive the proliferation and development of vascular endothelial cells.

Northwestern United States Could Face More Tamarisk -- Aggressive Invasive Plant -- By Century's End Posted: 30 Sep 2009 08:00 PM PDT If future warming trends that scientists have projected are realized, one of the country's most aggressive exotic plants will have the potential to invade more US land area, according to a new study. The study found that tamarisk -- prevalent today in some parts of the region, but generally limited to warm and dry environments -- could expand its range into currently uninvaded areas.

Study Highlights HIV/AIDS Challenge In American Prison System Posted: 30 Sep 2009 08:00 PM PDT HIV/AIDS is up to five times more prevalent in American prisons than in the general population. Adherence to treatment programs can be strictly monitored in prison. However, once prisoners are released, medical monitoring becomes problematic. A new study suggests the majority (76 percent) of inmates take their antiretroviral treatment intermittently once they leave prison, representing a higher risk to the general population.

Protection Or Peril? Gun Possession Of Questionable Value In An Assault, Study Finds Posted: 30 Sep 2009 05:00 PM PDT In a first-of its-kind study, epidemiologists have found that, on average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun.

Radon: Second Leading Cause Of Lung Cancer, European Study Confirms Posted: 30 Sep 2009 05:00 PM PDT Exposure to radon gas in homes is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, according to a study carried out by researchers in Spain And Romania. The team has studied data on exposure to this element in a uranium mining area in Transylvania and in an area of granite in Torrelodones, Madrid.

Getting Plants To Rid Themselves Of Pesticide Residues Posted: 30 Sep 2009 05:00 PM PDT Scientists in China have discovered that a natural plant hormone, applied to crops, can help plants eliminate residues of certain pesticides.

Protein Inhibitor Helps Rid Brain Of Toxic Tau Protein Posted: 30 Sep 2009 05:00 PM PDT Inhibiting the protein Hsp70 rapidly reduces brain levels of tau, a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease when it accumulates as memory-choking tangles. One of the more effective Hsp70-inhibitor drugs was a derivative of methylthioninium chloride, or Rember, a new laboratory study by neuroscientists found.

Novel Chemistry For Ethylene And Tin Posted: 30 Sep 2009 05:00 PM PDT Chemists show that ethylene, a gas that is important both as a hormone that controls fruit ripening and as a raw material in industrial chemistry, can bind reversibly to tin atoms.

Places To Play, But 'Stranger Danger' Fears Keep Inner-city Kids Home: Study Posted: 30 Sep 2009 05:00 PM PDT Fear of dangerous strangers in inner-city neighborhoods is keeping kids and teens from using playgrounds and parks to be physically active.

San Andreas Affected By 2004 Sumatran Quake; Largest Quakes Can Weaken Fault Zones Worldwide Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:00 PM PDT Seismologists have found evidence that the massive 2004 earthquake that triggered killer tsunamis. Their study suggests the Earth's largest earthquakes can weaken the strength of fault zones worldwide and trigger periods of increased global seismic activity.

Potential New Imaging Agent For Early Diagnosis Of Most Serious Skin Cancer Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists in Australia are reporting development and testing in laboratory animals of a potential new material for diagnosing malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

Taking Sharper Aim At Stomach Ulcer Bacteria Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:00 PM PDT Scientists are reporting discovery of a much sought after crack in the armor of a common microbe that infects the stomachs of one-sixth of the world's population, causing stomach ulcers and other diseases. They identified a group of substances that block a key chemical pathway that the bacteria need for survival.

Radiological Treatment Method Spares Patients Surgery And Offers 89 Percent Cost Savings Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:00 PM PDT Pericardial effusion, the collection of fluid around the heart, typically occurs in patients following heart surgery and is usually treated using an invasive surgical drainage technique. However researchers have discovered that a minimally invasive procedure called CT-guided tube pericardiostomy is just as effective -- requiring no recovery time, fewer resources, and provides an 89 percent cost savings over the surgical drainage technique, according to a new study.

Physicists Create First Atomic-scale Map Of Quantum Dots Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:00 PM PDT Physicists have created the first atomic-scale maps of quantum dots, a major step toward the goal of producing "designer dots" that can be tailored for specific applications.

Less Than Half Of U.S. Medical Students Understand Health Care System, Study Finds Posted: 30 Sep 2009 02:00 PM PDT New findings indicate that less than half of medical students say they are adequately trained to navigate health care system. A research paper reports that medical students could benefit from intense curriculum that teaches more medical economics and better explains insurance strategies.

Clues To Reversing Aging Of Human Muscle Discovered Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself. The findings provide promising new targets for stemming the debilitating muscle atrophy that accompanies human aging.

Stem Cell Success Points To Way To Regenerate Parathyroid Glands Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT An early laboratory success is taking researchers a step closer to parathyroid gland transplants that could one day prevent a currently untreatable form of bone loss associated with thyroid surgery.

World's Most Sensitive Astronomical Camera Developed Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Physicists have developed the world's most sensitive astronomical camera. Marketed by Photon etc., a young Quebec firm, the camera will be used by the Mont-Megantic Observatory and NASA, which purchased the first unit.

Obesity In Mid-life Reduces The Chance Of Healthy Survival In Women Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT A new study has found that, among a large study population of women who lived until at least age 70, being overweight in mid-life was associated with having more health problems later in life.

James Webb Space Telescope Begins To Take Shape At Goddard Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is starting to come together. A major component of the telescope, the Integrated Science Instrument Module structure, recently arrived at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for testing in the Spacecraft Systems Development and Integration Facility.

Electronic Medical Records Could Be Used As A Predictor Of Domestic Abuse Posted: 30 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT Doctors could predict a patient's risk of receiving a domestic abuse diagnosis years in advance by using electronic medical records as an early warning system, according to new research.

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