ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• 'Trash Can' Nuclear Reactors Could Power Human Outpost On Moon Or Mars
• Potential Key To Curing Tuberculosis
• Sierra Nevada Birds Move In Response To Warmer, Wetter Climate
• Experimental Drug Lets B Cells Live And Lymphoma Cells Die
• New Electronic Concept: How Hybrid Motors Could Become Cheaper
• New Mathematical Model Suggests How The Brain Might Stay In Balance
• Loss Of Top Predators Causing Surge In Smaller Predators, Ecosystem Collapse
• New Approach To Targeting The Hidden Reservoir Of HIV
• Inventors Offer Ecofriendly Substitutes For Polystyrene
• Scientist Builds Imager That Identifies, Locates Individual Cancer Cells
• Chemistry Of Titan's Hazy Atmosphere Unraveled
• Difficulties With Daily Activities Associated With Progression To Dementia
• Fish-Killing Toxin Could Kill Cancer Cells
• Cholesterol Necessary For Brain Development, Study Finds
• Heart Of A Galaxy Emits Gamma Rays
• Chronic Pain Treatments Work Better Together, Says Anesthesiologist
• Researchers Determine Composition Of Centromeric Chromatin
• Medical Ethics Experts Identify, Address Key Issues In H1N1 Pandemic

'Trash Can' Nuclear Reactors Could Power Human Outpost On Moon Or Mars Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT NASA has made a series of critical strides toward the development of new nuclear reactors the size of a trash can that could power a human outpost on the moon or Mars. Three recent tests at different NASA centers and a national lab have successfully demonstrated key technologies required for compact fission-based nuclear power plants for human settlements on other worlds.

Potential Key To Curing Tuberculosis Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Researchers have identified an enzyme that helps make tuberculosis resistant to a human's natural defense system. They have also found a method to possibly neutralize that enzyme, which may someday lead to a cure for tuberculosis -- a contagious disease that kills 1.5 to 2 million people worldwide annually.

Sierra Nevada Birds Move In Response To Warmer, Wetter Climate Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT If the climate is not quite right, birds will up and move rather than stick around and sweat it out, according to a new study. The findings reveal that most of the bird species studied in California's Sierra Nevada mountains have adjusted to climate change over the last century by moving to sites with the temperature and precipitation conditions they favored.

Experimental Drug Lets B Cells Live And Lymphoma Cells Die Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT An investigative drug deprived non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells of their ability to survive too long and multiply too fast, according to an early study.

New Electronic Concept: How Hybrid Motors Could Become Cheaper Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Not all that long ago, hybrid vehicles were still really exotic. Now, you see them more and more frequently on our roads. However, hybrid cars are not mass-produced as their production costs are still relatively high. A researcher has now developed a new concept that integrates power electronic functions and an electric motor, which could reduce the costs of producing hybrid cars.

New Mathematical Model Suggests How The Brain Might Stay In Balance Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT The human brain is made up of 100 billion neurons -- live wires that must be kept in delicate balance to stabilize the world's most magnificent computing organ. Too much excitement and the network will slip into an apoplectic, uncomprehending chaos. Too much inhibition and it will flatline. A new mathematical model describes how the trillions of interconnections among neurons could maintain a stable but dynamic relationship that leaves the brain sensitive enough to respond to stimulation without veering into a blind seizure.

Loss Of Top Predators Causing Surge In Smaller Predators, Ecosystem Collapse Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT The catastrophic decline around the world of "apex" predators such as wolves, cougars, lions or sharks has led to a huge increase in smaller "mesopredators" that are causing major economic and ecological disruptions, a new study concludes.

New Approach To Targeting The Hidden Reservoir Of HIV Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT The drugs used to treat individuals infected with HIV-1 keep the virus under control but do not eliminate it from the body, some remains hidden in immune cells known as resting CD4+ T cells. However, researchers have now developed an in vitro system that faithfully mimics the situation in people and used it to identify a compound that can get at this hidden HIV-1 and eliminate it from the cells.

Inventors Offer Ecofriendly Substitutes For Polystyrene Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Rigid, custom-fit foam pieces like those that keep computer monitors firmly in place inside cardboard boxes during shipping could be made with eco-friendly starch from potatoes, wheat or corn, instead of from petroleum, according to a research plant physiologist. Opting for starch in place of petroleum-derived polystyrene would lessen America's dependence on petroleum.

Scientist Builds Imager That Identifies, Locates Individual Cancer Cells Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT A biomedical engineer has spent the last four years building a better imager for preclincal studies. He can now disassemble a specimen and reassemble it into a three-dimensional digital model that gives details down to single cells and their exact location.

Chemistry Of Titan's Hazy Atmosphere Unraveled Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT A team of University of Hawai'i at Manoa researchers led by Ralf Kaiser, physical chemist at UH Manoa, unraveled the chemical evolution of the orange-brownish colored atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, the only solar system body besides Venus and Earth with a solid surface and thick atmosphere.

Difficulties With Daily Activities Associated With Progression To Dementia Posted: 04 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Among individuals with mild cognitive impairment, often considered a transitional state between normal cognitive function and Alzheimer's dementia, those who have more difficulties performing routine activities appear more likely to progress quickly to dementia, according to a new report.

Fish-Killing Toxin Could Kill Cancer Cells Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT A powerful fish-killing toxin could have cancer-killing properties as well. The toxin, called euglenophycin, has a molecular structure similar to that of solenopsin, an alkaloid from fire ant venom known to inhibit tumor development.

Cholesterol Necessary For Brain Development, Study Finds Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT A derivative of cholesterol is necessary for the formation of brain cells, according to a new study. The results can help scientists to cultivate dopamine-producing cells outside the body.

Heart Of A Galaxy Emits Gamma Rays Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT The H.E.S.S. telescope system detects high-energy rays from the starburst region of a galactic system outside the Milky Way.

Chronic Pain Treatments Work Better Together, Says Anesthesiologist Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT People who suffer from debilitating neuropathic pain may get more relief and sleep better by combining two commonly-prescribed drugs.

Researchers Determine Composition Of Centromeric Chromatin Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have provided new evidence to clarify the structure of nucleosomes containing Cse4, a centromere-specific histone protein required for proper kinetochore function, which plays a critical role in the process of mitosis.

Medical Ethics Experts Identify, Address Key Issues In H1N1 Pandemic Posted: 04 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT The anticipated onset of a second wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic could present a host of thorny medical ethics issues best considered well in advance, according bioethicists.

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