ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

---

• Juggling Enhances Connections In The Brain
• Gene Linked With Human Kidney Aging
• Being A Standout Has Its Benefits, Study Shows
• Fabled 'Vegetable Lamb' Plant Contains Potential Treatment For Osteoporosis
• Quantum Computer Chips Now One Step Closer To Reality
• Increasing Severity Of Bicycle Injuries Leads To Concerns About Cycling Infrastructure
• Seeing Blue: Fish Vision Discovery Makes Waves In Evolutionary Biology
• Link Between Genetic Defect And Brain Changes In Schizophrenia Demonstrated
• Bioengineering Of Nerve-muscle Connection Could Improve Hand Use For Wounded Soldiers
• Gentle Touch May Aid Multiple Sclerosis Patients
• Composted Dairy Manure In Foliage Plant Production
• Differing Long-term Effects Of Hand-held Cellphone Bans On Driver Hand-held Cellphone Use
• Chemical Imaging Of Deep-sea Microorganisms May Help Explain Lingering Nitrogen Mystery
• Arthritis: Copper Bracelets, Magnetic Wrist Straps Useless? Trial Raises Doubts Over Alternative Pain Therapy
• How Salmonella Bacteria Cause Diarrhea In Their Host
• Outfoxing Pox: Developing A New Class Of Vaccine Candidates
• Galactic Magnetic Fields May Control Boundaries Of Our Solar System
• For SAD Sufferers, Cognitive Behavior Better Than Light Therapy At Preventing Recurrence, Study Suggests
• World's Oldest Submerged Town Dates Back 5,000 Years
• Be Overweight And Live Longer, German Study Suggests
• Super Sticky Barnacle Glue Cures Like Blood Clots
• Food-energy Cellular Connection Revealed: Metabolic Master Switch Sets Biological Clock In Body Tissues
• Nanotech Protection: Current Safety Equipment May Not Be Adequate
• Fear Of Being Laughed At Crosses Cultural Boundaries
• Scientists Remove Amyloid Plaques From Brains Of Live Animals With Alzheimer's Disease
• Skin's Pigment Cells Can Be Formed From Completely Different Cells Than Previously Thought
• New Concept May Enhance Earth-Mars Communication
• No Need For Needles: Botox Sponge Treats Intrinsic Rhinitis
• Thermometer For The Earth
• Older Adults Want Robots That Do More Than Vacuum, Researchers Find

Juggling Enhances Connections In The Brain Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Learning to juggle leads to changes in the white matter of the brain, a new study has shown. 'We tend to think of the brain as being static, or even beginning to degenerate, once we reach adulthood,' says the researcher who led the work. 'In fact we find the structure of the brain is ripe for change. We've shown that it is possible for the brain to condition its own wiring system to operate more efficiently.'

Gene Linked With Human Kidney Aging Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT A gene has been associated with human kidney aging, according to researchers. Their approach, which combines sequential transcriptional profiling and eQTL mapping, can be applied to any phenotype of interest to help find other genetic associations.

Being A Standout Has Its Benefits, Study Shows Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Standing out in a crowd is better than blending in, at least if you're a paper wasp in a colony where fights between nest-mates determine social status.

Fabled 'Vegetable Lamb' Plant Contains Potential Treatment For Osteoporosis Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT The "vegetable lamb" plant -- once believed to bear fruit that ripened into a living baby sheep -- produces substances that show promise in laboratory experiments as new treatments for osteoporosis, the bone-thinning disease.

Quantum Computer Chips Now One Step Closer To Reality Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT In the quest for smaller, faster computer chips, researchers are increasingly turning to quantum mechanics -- the exotic physics of the small. The problem: the manufacturing techniques required to make quantum devices have been equally exotic. That is, until now.

Increasing Severity Of Bicycle Injuries Leads To Concerns About Cycling Infrastructure Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Record-high gasoline prices, the slowdown in the economy, and increasing environmental sensitivity are leading more people to bike to work or for play. But an adequate infrastructure may not be in place to protect cyclists from serious injury according to surgeons who recently presented a new study on the issue.

Seeing Blue: Fish Vision Discovery Makes Waves In Evolutionary Biology Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified the first fish known to have switched from ultraviolet vision to violet vision, or the ability to see blue light. The discovery is also the first example of an animal deleting a molecule to change its visual spectrum. The findings on scabbardfish link molecular evolution to functional changes and the possible environmental factors driving them.

Link Between Genetic Defect And Brain Changes In Schizophrenia Demonstrated Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have found that the 22q11 gene deletion -- a mutation that confers the highest known genetic risk for schizophrenia -- is associated with changes in the development of the brain that ultimately affect how its circuit elements are assembled.

Bioengineering Of Nerve-muscle Connection Could Improve Hand Use For Wounded Soldiers Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Prosthetic hand devices used by wounded soldiers have limited motor control and no sensory feedback. But a bioengineered interface, made of muscle cells and a nano-sized polymer, could go a long way in creating prostheses that move like a normal hand. Animal studies show the interface may possibly restore a sense of touch.

Gentle Touch May Aid Multiple Sclerosis Patients Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Physical therapists studying persons with multiple sclerosis found that excessive force often used for gripping can be eased by gently touching the hand or arm in use, raising the possibility of new therapy approaches.

Composted Dairy Manure In Foliage Plant Production Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Peat has been used in container plant production since the 1960s. Highly porous and able to hold water, peat makes an ideal rooting and growing medium. But harvesting peat (and draining valuable peatlands in the process) releases carbon stored in peat into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Researchers have worked for years to find alternative organic materials that can be used as partial or complete substitutes for peat and are now testing composted dairy manure.

Differing Long-term Effects Of Hand-held Cellphone Bans On Driver Hand-held Cellphone Use Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Phoning while driving and texting behind the wheel are in the news. This is the highway safety issue of the moment, the subject of cartoons and, on a more serious side, the focus of legislation. A key question is whether such laws succeed in changing patterns of driver cellphone use.

Chemical Imaging Of Deep-sea Microorganisms May Help Explain Lingering Nitrogen Mystery Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified an unexpected metabolic ability within a symbiotic community of microorganisms that may help solve a lingering mystery about the world's nitrogen cycling budget.

Arthritis: Copper Bracelets, Magnetic Wrist Straps Useless? Trial Raises Doubts Over Alternative Pain Therapy Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps are ineffective in relieving arthritis pain, according to a new study. Researchers conducted the first randomized placebo-controlled trial on the use of both copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps for pain management in osteoarthritis -- the most common form of the condition.

How Salmonella Bacteria Cause Diarrhea In Their Host Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Salmonella bacteria are cunning when it comes to triggering diarrhea in their host. Researchers have succeeded in explaining a molecular mechanism that enables the bacteria to activate their host cell's non-specific immune response, thus making the host ill. A single virulence factor is sufficient to allow the bacteria to trigger disease.

Outfoxing Pox: Developing A New Class Of Vaccine Candidates Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Scientists have taken a fresh look at cowpox. Their findings demonstrate that this ancient pathogen still has much to teach us, and may hasten development of novel vaccines against smallpox and other pox-like diseases.

Galactic Magnetic Fields May Control Boundaries Of Our Solar System Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Galactic magnetic fields had a far greater impact on Earth's history than previously conceived, and the future of our planet and others may depend, in part, on how the galactic magnetic fields change with time.

For SAD Sufferers, Cognitive Behavior Better Than Light Therapy At Preventing Recurrence, Study Suggests Posted: 17 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT A new research study examined the long-term effects of different treatments for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of severe depression that occurs annually in the fall and winter seasons. Of those treated with cognitive behavior therapy, only 7 percent had a recurrence compared to 36.7 percent of people treated with light therapy.

World's Oldest Submerged Town Dates Back 5,000 Years Posted: 16 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT Archaeologists surveying the world's oldest submerged town have found ceramics dating back to the Final Neolithic. Their discovery suggests that Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece, was occupied some 5,000 years ago -- at least 1,200 years earlier than originally thought.

Be Overweight And Live Longer, German Study Suggests Posted: 16 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT Contrary to what was previously assumed, being overweight is not increasing the overall death rate in the German population, according to new research.

Super Sticky Barnacle Glue Cures Like Blood Clots Posted: 16 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT Barnacles are a major problem for the shipping industry. Working out how they stick to boat hulls is of major economic importance. Researchers have now discovered that barnacle glue cures in the same way that blood clots.

Food-energy Cellular Connection Revealed: Metabolic Master Switch Sets Biological Clock In Body Tissues Posted: 16 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT Our body's activity levels fall and rise to the beat of our internal drums -- the 24-hour cycles that govern fundamental physiological functions, from sleeping and feeding patterns to the energy available to our cells. Whereas the master clock in the brain is set by light, the pacemakers in peripheral organs are set by food availability. The underlying molecular mechanism was unknown. Now, researchers are shedding light on the long missing connection: A metabolic master switch, which, when thrown, allows nutrients to directly alter the rhythm of peripheral clocks.

Nanotech Protection: Current Safety Equipment May Not Be Adequate Posted: 16 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT Canadian engineers suggest that research is needed into the risks associated with the growing field of nanotechnology manufacture so that appropriate protective equipment can be developed urgently.

Fear Of Being Laughed At Crosses Cultural Boundaries Posted: 16 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT Laughter is an emotional expression that is innate in human beings. This means laughing at others is also believed to be a universal phenomenon. However, the fear of being laughed at causes some people enormous problems in their social lives. This is known as gelotophobia, a disorder that affects people in all cultures alike.

Scientists Remove Amyloid Plaques From Brains Of Live Animals With Alzheimer's Disease Posted: 16 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT A breakthrough discovery in mice may lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease that actually removes amyloid plaques -- considered a hallmark of the disease -- from patients' brains. This discovery is based on the unexpected finding that when the brain's immune cells (microglia) are activated by the interleukin-6 protein (IL-6), they actually remove plaques instead of causing them or making them worse.

Skin's Pigment Cells Can Be Formed From Completely Different Cells Than Previously Thought Posted: 16 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT The skin's pigment cells can be formed from completely different cells than has hitherto been thought, a new study from Sweden shows. The results also mean the discovery of a new kind of stem cell.

New Concept May Enhance Earth-Mars Communication Posted: 16 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Direct communication between Earth and Mars can be strongly disturbed and even blocked by the Sun for weeks at a time, cutting off any future human mission to the Red Planet. An European Space Agency engineer working with engineers in the UK may have found a solution using a new type of orbit combined with continuous-thrust ion propulsion.

No Need For Needles: Botox Sponge Treats Intrinsic Rhinitis Posted: 16 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Injecting botulinum toxin (botox) to treat intrinsic or allergic rhinitis may be a thing of the past as researchers have now shown that sponges soaked in botox are equally effective in treating the condition. The research offers a potential needle-free treatment to the millions of people who suffer from rhinitis.

Thermometer For The Earth Posted: 16 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT An "optical soil dipstick" will help scientists, urban planners and farmers understand the changing health of the soil, as well as the soil's agricultural potential and other environmental concerns.

Older Adults Want Robots That Do More Than Vacuum, Researchers Find Posted: 16 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT Researchers have discovered that, contrary to previous assumptions, older adults are more amenable than younger ones to having a robot "perform critical monitoring tasks that would require little interaction between the robot and the human."

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Latest Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610