ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Microbes produce fuels directly from biomass
• Blocking key protein in mice helps them resist viral infection
• New insights into allergy-related disorders in children
• Insulin research points way to better diabetes treatments
• Plasma experiments aboard International Space Station yielding better picture of liquids and solids
• His or hers jealousy? New explanation for sex differences in jealousy
• Gecko's lessons transfer well: Dry printing of nanotube patterns to any surface could revolutionize microelectronics
• Scientists find survival factor for keeping nerve cells healthy
• Could generating energy from waste be the answer?
• New therapeutic approach identified for kidney disease associated with lupus
• Ecologists outline necessary actions for mitigating and adapting to a changing climate
• New studies highlight needs of boys in K-12, higher education
• Jupiter's moons: Explanation for the differences between Ganymede and Callisto
• New class of brain-protecting drugs emerging
• Rapamycin may be potential treatment for kidney disease
• New tools and systems may help patients, primary care clinicians manage obesity
• Illuminating protein networks in one step
• How categories and environment create satisfied and well-informed consumers

Microbes produce fuels directly from biomass Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers have developed a microbe that can produce an advanced biofuel fuel directly from biomass. Deploying the tools of synthetic biology, the researchers engineered a strain of E. coli bacteria to produce biodiesel and other important chemicals derived from fatty acids.

Blocking key protein in mice helps them resist viral infection Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers have discovered a potential new way to stimulate the immune system to prevent or clear a viral infection. By blocking the action of a key protein in the mouse immune system, they were able to boost immune "memory" in those mice -- work that may one day help doctors increase the effectiveness of human vaccines designed to prevent viral infections.

New insights into allergy-related disorders in children Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Allergies and asthma are a continuing health problem in most developed countries, but just how do these ailments develop over the course of a childhood? In a population-based study designed to help answer this question, researchers in Norway found that 40 per cent -- or two of five -- of nearly 5,000 two-year-olds had at least one reported allergy-related disorder.

Insulin research points way to better diabetes treatments Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST New research significantly improves our understanding of how insulin interacts with cells in the human body with implications for the treatments of diabetes.

Plasma experiments aboard International Space Station yielding better picture of liquids and solids Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST A series of experiments studying complex plasmas is taking place on board the international space station ISS. Physicists from Germany will use these experiments to study fundamental structure forming processes to better understand what happens in liquids and solids.

His or hers jealousy? New explanation for sex differences in jealousy Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Research has documented that most men become much more jealous about sexual infidelity than they do about emotional infidelity. Women are the opposite, and this is true all over the world.

Gecko's lessons transfer well: Dry printing of nanotube patterns to any surface could revolutionize microelectronics Posted: 31 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Scientists have come up with a way to transfer forests of strongly aligned, single-walled carbon nanotubes from one surface to another -- any surface -- in a matter of minutes. The template used to grow the nanotubes, with its catalyst particles still intact, can be used repeatedly to grow more nanotubes, almost like inking a rubber stamp.

Scientists find survival factor for keeping nerve cells healthy Posted: 31 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Scientists have discovered a novel survival factor whose rapid transport along nerve cells is crucial for keeping them alive. The same factor seems likely to be needed to keep our nerves healthy as we age.

Could generating energy from waste be the answer? Posted: 31 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Scientists are helping to find answers to one of the most difficult problems facing the world today: generating energy without accelerating climate change or harming food production. Researchers are investigating biofuels generated from wastes. These are seen by many as the 'green alternative' to using fossil fuels.

New therapeutic approach identified for kidney disease associated with lupus Posted: 31 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Researchers have identified a new disease mechanism and therapeutic approach for a type of advanced kidney disease that is a common cause of complications in patients with lupus.

Ecologists outline necessary actions for mitigating and adapting to a changing climate Posted: 31 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Global warming may impair the ability of ecosystems to perform vital services -- such as providing food, clean water and carbon sequestration -- says the nation's largest organization of ecological scientists. In a statement released Jan. 26, the Ecological Society of America outlines strategies that focus on restoring and maintaining natural ecosystem functions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

New studies highlight needs of boys in K-12, higher education Posted: 31 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Boys face high rates of a variety of mental health issues, in addition to lagging behind girls in academic performance and college attendance, according to two new studies. The studies note that boys have higher rates of suicide, conduct disorders, emotional disturbance, premature death and juvenile delinquency than their female peers, as well as lower grades, test scores and college attendance rates.

Jupiter's moons: Explanation for the differences between Ganymede and Callisto Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Differences in the number and speed of cometary impacts onto Jupiter's large moons Ganymede and Callisto some 3.8 billion years ago can explain their vastly different surfaces and interior states, according to new research.

New class of brain-protecting drugs emerging Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST The compound 7,8-dihydroxyflavone mimics BDNF, one of the brain's own growth factors, and can protect brain cells against damage in animal models of seizure, stroke and Parkinson's disease. 7,8-dihydroxyflavone is a member of a family of antioxidant compounds naturally found in foods ranging from cherries to soybeans.

Rapamycin may be potential treatment for kidney disease Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST New research points to the drug rapamycin as a potential treatment for kidney disease. The study builds on past research and shows that studies performed on mice are more likely to translate to humans than previously thought.

New tools and systems may help patients, primary care clinicians manage obesity Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Using combined and intensive treatments and restructuring care to treat obesity like other chronic diseases may help primary care clinicians and patients better address the condition, according to several new studies.

Illuminating protein networks in one step Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST A newly developed assay is capable of examining hundreds of proteins at once and enabling new experiments that could dramatically change our understanding of cancer and other diseases. The new micro-western arrays combine the specificity of the popular "Western blot" protein assay with the large scale of DNA microarrays.

How categories and environment create satisfied and well-informed consumers Posted: 31 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Expert consumers like to be surprised by unusual product presentation, while novices crave familiarity, so claims a new study.

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ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Levitating magnet may yield new approach to clean energy
• Spongiform brain diseases are caused by aberrant protein, new research shows
• NASA's Mars Rover Spirit Starts a New Chapter
• Physical activity associated with healthier aging: Links between exercise and cognitive function, bone density and overall health
• Upper atmosphere influences weather near Earth's surface
• Doctors cut back hours when risk of malpractice suit rises, study shows
• Black hole hunters set new distance record
• Making Old Stem Cells Act Young Again
• Bill and Melinda Gates Pledge $10 Billion in Call for Decade of Vaccines
• Doctors develop life-saving, low-cost ventilators for emergency, rural and military use
• First study to show that seismic imaging detects ocean's internal tides
• Can blocking a frown keep bad feelings at bay?
• Smokers at risk from their own 'second-hand' smoke
• Promising new neuroimaging techniques for early detection of Alzheimer's disease
• NASA Airborne Radar Studies Haiti Earthquake Faults
• Genital herpes virus reactivates widely throughout genital tract
• Phage Therapy May Reduce Salmonella Infection in Pigs
• Does slum tourism make us better people?
• Dinosaur discovery helps solve piece of evolutionary puzzle
• Grandpa's broken hip may mean weaker bones for his grandsons
• Antibiotic found to protect hearing in mice
• Scientists show how molecular switch helps pancreatic cancer beat drugs
• Signing contracts on the telephone
• Combined approach may be better way to treat autism
• Experiments meet requirements for fusion ignition; new physics effect achieves symmetrical target compression
• Alzheimer's disease imaged long before symptoms appear
• Cancer researchers perform complete genomic sequencing of brain cancer cell line
• Breakthrough could lead to new treatment for malaria
• Self-healing polymer 'starfish' prolong lifetime of automotive oils
• Losing sleep, losing brain?
• Astronomers discover cool stars in nearby space

Levitating magnet may yield new approach to clean energy Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST A new experiment that reproduces the magnetic fields of the Earth and other planets has yielded its first significant results. The findings confirm that its unique approach has some potential to be developed as a new way of creating a power-producing plant based on nuclear fusion -- the process that generates the sun's prodigious output of energy.

Spongiform brain diseases are caused by aberrant protein, new research shows Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Scientists have determined how a normal protein can be converted into a prion, an infectious agent that causes fatal brain diseases in humans and mammals. The finding, in mice, is expected to advance the understanding of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs, a family of neurodegenerative diseases that include Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, kuru and fatal familial insomnia in humans, scrapie in sheep, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle, also known as "mad cow disease."

NASA's Mars Rover Spirit Starts a New Chapter Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST After six years of unprecedented exploration of the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit no longer will be a fully mobile robot. NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap have been unsuccessful.

Physical activity associated with healthier aging: Links between exercise and cognitive function, bone density and overall health Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Physical activity appears to be associated with a reduced risk or slower progression of several age-related conditions as well as improvements in overall health in older age, according to several new studies.

Upper atmosphere influences weather near Earth's surface Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST To what extent does what's happening in the stratosphere, tens of kilometers above Earth, influence the weather in the troposphere, the layer of atmosphere that touches Earth? Researchers performed a series of forecast experiments using a general circulation model to study the role of the stratosphere in influencing tropospheric weather following sudden stratospheric warming events.

Doctors cut back hours when risk of malpractice suit rises, study shows Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST A new study shows doctors work 1.7 hours less per week when medical liability risk increases by 10 percent. Such a decline in hours is the equivalent of one of every 35 physicians retiring without a replacement. Doctors age 55 and older and those with their own practice are more influenced by liability risk.

Black hole hunters set new distance record Posted: 30 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have detected, in another galaxy, a stellar-mass black hole much farther away than any other previously known. With a mass above fifteen times that of the Sun, this is also the second most massive stellar-mass black hole ever found. It is entwined with a star that will soon become a black hole itself.

Making Old Stem Cells Act Young Again Posted: 30 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST In virtually every part of the body, stem cells stand ready to replenish mature cells lost to wounds, disease, and everyday wear and tear. But like other cells, stem cells eventually lose their normal functions as they age, leaving the body less able to repair itself.

Bill and Melinda Gates Pledge $10 Billion in Call for Decade of Vaccines Posted: 30 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Bill and Melinda Gates announced that their foundation will commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world's poorest countries. The Gateses said that increased investment in vaccines by governments and the private sector could help developing countries dramatically reduce child mortality by the end of the decade, and they called for others to help fill critical financing gaps in both research funding and childhood immunization programs.

Doctors develop life-saving, low-cost ventilators for emergency, rural and military use Posted: 30 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Anesthetists have designed three prototype low-cost ventilators that could provide vital support during major health care emergencies involving large numbers of patients, such as pandemics, and where resources are limited, such as in developing countries, remote locations or by the military. The team says it is possible to make simple ventilators that could be mass-produced for crises where there is an overwhelming demand for mechanical ventilation and a limited oxygen supply.

First study to show that seismic imaging detects ocean's internal tides Posted: 30 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Internal tides, waves below the ocean's surface that propagate at tidal frequencies, play an important role in ocean mixing but can be difficult to detect and study. Researchers find they can detect these waves with seismic imaging.

Can blocking a frown keep bad feelings at bay? Posted: 30 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Your facial expression may tell the world what you are thinking or feeling. But it also affects your ability to understand written language related to emotions, according to new research.

Smokers at risk from their own 'second-hand' smoke Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST It is well known that smokers damage their health by directly inhaling cigarette smoke. Now, research has shown that they are at additional risk from breathing environmental tobacco smoke, contrary to the prevailing assumption that such risks would be negligible in comparison to those incurred by actually smoking.

Promising new neuroimaging techniques for early detection of Alzheimer's disease Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Researchers have discovered that two drugs, the benzimidazole derivatives lanzoprazole and astemizole, may be suitable for use as PET (positron emission tomography) radiotracers and enable imaging for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

NASA Airborne Radar Studies Haiti Earthquake Faults Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST After six years of unprecedented exploration of the Red Planet, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit no longer will be a fully mobile robot. NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap have been unsuccessful.

Genital herpes virus reactivates widely throughout genital tract Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Genital herpes caused by a reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is generally treated as a lesion in one specific area of the genital region. A new study, however, finds that the virus can frequently reactivate throughout the genital tract, an important new concept that could help guide both HSV-2 treatment and prevention.

Phage Therapy May Reduce Salmonella Infection in Pigs Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST An anti-salmonella phage cocktail administered to healthy pigs may limit transmission of the bacteria from infected pigs during transport to processing facilities and ultimately minimize the cases of human salmonella food-borne illness.

Does slum tourism make us better people? Posted: 30 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Slum tourism is a growth industry with more and more wealthy travelers opting to visit the poorest parts of the world. What is it that is prompting slum tourism? Is it a new trend? What impact does slum tourism have on the people who opt for this kind of 'holiday'? Do they become better people as a result and does the experience prompt a call to action for social change?

Dinosaur discovery helps solve piece of evolutionary puzzle Posted: 29 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST An expedition to the Gobi Desert has enabled researchers to solve the puzzle of how one group of dinosaurs came to look like birds independent of birds. Until now, there was no direct evidence that dinosaurs of the Alvarezsauridae family lived during the Late Jurassic, approximately 160 million years ago. The newly discovered species of dinosaur was named Haplocheirus sollers (meaning simple, skillful hand).

Grandpa's broken hip may mean weaker bones for his grandsons Posted: 29 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST If your grandfather has had a hip fracture, you too could be at risk. Researchers in Sweden, have been able to show, for the first time, a link between hip fractures in elderly men and impaired bone health in their grandsons.

Antibiotic found to protect hearing in mice Posted: 29 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST A type of antibiotic that can cause hearing loss in people has been found to paradoxically protect the ears when given in extended low doses in very young mice. The surprise finding came from researchers who looked to see if loud noise and the antibiotic kanamycin together would produce a bigger hearing loss than either factor by itself.

Scientists show how molecular switch helps pancreatic cancer beat drugs Posted: 29 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST Researchers have found one reason that pancreatic cancer tumors are so difficult to treat with drugs. They have shown how a molecular switch steps up pancreatic cancer cell survival as well as resistance to a standard chemotherapy drug, and have identified alternate routes cancer cells take to avoid the effects of the therapy.

Signing contracts on the telephone Posted: 29 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST Researchers have developed a digital signature for Internet telephony that allows the legally binding archiving of calls.

Combined approach may be better way to treat autism Posted: 29 Jan 2010 05:00 PM PST Children with autism would likely receive better treatment if supporters of the two major teaching methods stopped bickering over theory and focused on a combined approach, a psychologist argues in a new article.

Experiments meet requirements for fusion ignition; new physics effect achieves symmetrical target compression Posted: 29 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST The first experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) have demonstrated a unique physics effect that bodes well for NIF's success in generating a self-sustaining nuclear fusion reaction. In inertial confinement fusion experiments on NIF, the energy of 192 powerful laser beams is fired into a pencil-eraser-sized cylinder called a hohlraum, which contains a tiny spherical target filled with deuterium and tritium, two isotopes of hydrogen. Rocket-like compression of the fuel capsule forces the hydrogen nuclei to combine, or fuse, releasing many times more energy than the laser energy that was required to spark the reaction.

Alzheimer's disease imaged long before symptoms appear Posted: 29 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers were able to predict a brain's progression to Alzheimer's by measuring subtle changes in brain structure over time, changes that occur long before the symptoms of AD can be seen. With an earlier diagnosis, earlier intervention would be possible.

Cancer researchers perform complete genomic sequencing of brain cancer cell line Posted: 29 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers have performed the first complete genomic sequencing of a brain cancer cell line, a discovery that may lead to personalized treatments based on the unique biological signature of an individual's cancer and a finding that may unveil new molecular targets for which more effective and less toxic drugs can be developed.

Breakthrough could lead to new treatment for malaria Posted: 29 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Malaria causes more than two million deaths each year, but an expert multinational team battling the global spread of drug-resistant parasites has made a breakthrough in the search for better treatment. Better understanding of the make-up of these parasites and the way they reproduce has enabled scientists to identify a plan of attack for the development of urgently needed new treatments.

Self-healing polymer 'starfish' prolong lifetime of automotive oils Posted: 29 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers have created self-healing polymers that could extend the lifetime of automotive oils. These polymers are suitable to add to lubricants and could maintain the physical properties of engine oils for longer, they claim helping engine efficiency. Biological materials, such as skin, self heal following damage giving inspiration for these new materials.

Losing sleep, losing brain? Posted: 29 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Chronic and severely stressful situations, like those connected to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, have been associated with smaller volumes in "stress sensitive" brain regions, such as the cingulate region of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory formation.

Astronomers discover cool stars in nearby space Posted: 29 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Astronomers have discovered what may be the coolest sub-stellar body ever found outside our own solar system.

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