ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Bacteria are more capable of complex decision-making than thought
• Childhood harms can lead to lung cancer
• Heat-resistant adhesive used in construction instead of bolts
• Complications common, often linked to trauma in children receiving cochlear implants
• Miniaturized mobile ozone detector works in air, water and near explosive gases
• Cochlear implants associated with improved voice control over time in children who are deaf
• Mice and humans with same anxiety-related gene abnormality behave similarly
• Fish oil given intravenously to patients in intensive care has many benefits, study finds
• Harnessing the divas of the nanoworld
• Synthetic, dissolving plates ease repairs of nasal septum defects
• Heightened earthquake risk in Indonesia
• Drowsiness, staring and other mental lapses may signal Alzheimer's disease
• Earthquake risk: Seismic gap south of Istanbul poses extreme danger
• Appendicitis may be related to viral infections
• Nocturnal vision of insects inspires automakers to develop improved night cameras
• Zambian study finds longer breastfeeding best for HIV-infected mothers
• Offshore wind power and wave energy devices create artificial reefs
• Higher opioid dose linked to overdose risk in chronic pain patients
• Deadly scorpion provides safe pesticide
• Atomic structure of a major cancer drug target cracked
• Promising candidates for malaria vaccine revealed
• Gene mutations in patients with Becker muscular dystrophy identified
• NASA's Rosetta 'Alice' spectrometer reveals Earth's ultraviolet fingerprint in Earth flyby
• More proof that withholding HIV treatments led to thousands of deaths in South Africa
• Dog genome researchers track paw prints of selective breeding
• Regenerative medicine and transplantations: How the immune system produces T cells
• First map of colon cancer in Spain is published
• Researchers tackle ductal carcinoma in situ and its many unanswered questions
• Smart embedded sensor systems for offshore wind turbines
• Cognitively impaired elderly women get unneeded screening mammography, study finds
• Artificial muscles restore ability to blink, save eyesight
• Loss of epigenetic regulators causes mental retardation
• Genetic analysis disputes increase in Antarctic minke whales
• Discovery points toward anti-inflammation treatment for blinding disease
• Why mice develop 'knots' while exploring a new environment
• Worrisome trends show eroding U.S. competitive advantage in world science and engineering environment

Bacteria are more capable of complex decision-making than thought Posted: 19 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST It's not thinking in the way humans, dogs or even birds think, but new findings show that bacteria are more capable of complex decision-making than previously known.

Childhood harms can lead to lung cancer Posted: 19 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST Adverse events in childhood have been linked to an increase in the likelihood of developing lung cancer in later life. Researchers describe how the link is partly explained by raised rates of cigarette smoking in victims of childhood trauma, but note that other factors may also be to blame.

Heat-resistant adhesive used in construction instead of bolts Posted: 19 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST The "Parasols" in Seville feature components that are designed to be glued instead of bolted together. To prevent the adhesive from melting, it needs to withstand temperatures of up to 60 degrees Celsius.

Complications common, often linked to trauma in children receiving cochlear implants Posted: 19 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST Some complications may occur in children receiving cochlear implants, and are highly correlated with trauma to the ear area and inner ear malformation, according to a new report.

Miniaturized mobile ozone detector works in air, water and near explosive gases Posted: 19 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST Researchers have developed a highly-sensitive, miniaturized mobile ozone sensor which can be used not only in air, but also in water and in the vicinity of explosive gases.

Cochlear implants associated with improved voice control over time in children who are deaf Posted: 19 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST Children with cochlear implants in both ears appear to have difficulty controlling the loudness and pitch of their voices, but these measures improve over time, according to a new report.

Mice and humans with same anxiety-related gene abnormality behave similarly Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Studying animals in behavioral experiments has been a cornerstone of psychological research, but whether the observations are relevant for human behavior has been unclear. Researchers have now identified an alteration to the DNA of a gene that imparts similar anxiety-related behavior in both humans and mice, demonstrating that laboratory animals can be accurately used to study these human behaviors.

Fish oil given intravenously to patients in intensive care has many benefits, study finds Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST A randomized controlled trial of fish oil given intravenously to patients in intensive care has found that it improves gas exchange, reduces inflammatory chemicals and results in a shorter length of hospital stay. Researchers investigated the effects of including fish oil in the normal nutrient solution for patients with sepsis, finding a significant series of benefits.

Harnessing the divas of the nanoworld Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Boron nitride nanotubes have been notoriously difficult to grow, requiring special instrumentation, dangerous chemistry, or temperatures of over 1,500 degrees Celsius to assemble. As it turns out, they just needed a little encouragement. Now, physicists have created virtual Persian carpets of the tiny fibers on substrates made from simple catalysts.

Synthetic, dissolving plates ease repairs of nasal septum defects Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Attaching cartilage to plates made of the resorbable material polydioxanone appears to facilitate corrective surgery on the nasal septum, the thin cartilage separating the two airways, according to a new report.

Heightened earthquake risk in Indonesia Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Geoscientists have issued a warning about heightened earthquake risk in Indonesia. The earthquake which rocked Padang, western Sumatra in September last year killing more than 1000 people was not the 'great earthquake' which earth scientists are waiting for. In fact, it may have made the next massive earthquake more likely.

Drowsiness, staring and other mental lapses may signal Alzheimer's disease Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:00 AM PST Cognitive fluctuations, or episodes when train of thought temporarily is lost, are more likely to occur in older persons who are developing Alzheimer's disease than in their healthy peers, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Cognitive fluctuations include excessive daytime sleepiness, staring into space and disorganized or illogical thinking.

Earthquake risk: Seismic gap south of Istanbul poses extreme danger Posted: 19 Jan 2010 05:00 AM PST The chain of earthquakes along the North Anatolian fault shows a gap south of Istanbul. The expected earthquakes in this region represent an extreme danger for the Turkish megacity. A new computer study now shows that the tensions in this part of the fault zone could trigger several earthquakes instead of one individual large quake event.

Appendicitis may be related to viral infections Posted: 19 Jan 2010 05:00 AM PST Researchers have evaluated data over a 36-year period from the National Hospital Discharge Survey and concluded that appendicitis may be caused by undetermined viral infection or infections.

Nocturnal vision of insects inspires automakers to develop improved night cameras Posted: 19 Jan 2010 05:00 AM PST The ability of animals to see in the dark has led to a collaborative project aimed at developing a new type of color camera that could help people drive cars more safely at night.

Zambian study finds longer breastfeeding best for HIV-infected mothers Posted: 19 Jan 2010 05:00 AM PST A new study from Zambia suggests that halting breastfeeding early causes more harm than good for children not infected with HIV who are born to HIV-positive mothers. Stopping breastfeeding before 18 months was associated with significant increases in mortality among these children, according to the study's findings.

Offshore wind power and wave energy devices create artificial reefs Posted: 19 Jan 2010 05:00 AM PST Offshore wind power and wave energy foundations can increase local abundances of fish and crabs. The reef-like constructions also favor blue mussels and barnacles. What's more, it is possible to increase or decrease the abundance of various species by altering the structural design of foundation.

Higher opioid dose linked to overdose risk in chronic pain patients Posted: 19 Jan 2010 05:00 AM PST More Americans are taking prescribed opioids like Oxycontin long-term for chronic noncancer pain. This study sheds light on the national epidemic of opioid overdose. It is the first to explore the risk of overdose in patients prescribed opioids for chronic noncancer pain in community practice. Researchers link the risk of opioid overdose to prescription use.

Deadly scorpion provides safe pesticide Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Scientists have isolated the genetic sequences for important neurotoxins in the scorpion venom and developed methods to produce and manipulate these toxins to restrict their toxicity to certain insects or mammals.

Atomic structure of a major cancer drug target cracked Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Researchers have determined the crystal structure of the ligand binding domain of a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor in complex with one of its ligands (VEGF-C). VEGFs and their receptors have been identified as major targets for drug development in cancer therapy and the VEGF receptor that the groups analyzed is currently the most important target of such drugs.

Promising candidates for malaria vaccine revealed Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Researchers have uncovered a group of proteins that could form the basis of an effective vaccine against malaria. These new findings support the development of a vaccine against the blood-stage of malaria.

Gene mutations in patients with Becker muscular dystrophy identified Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Researchers have identified a link between specific modifications of the dystrophin gene and the age of cardiac disease onset in patients with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). This information could help clinicians provide early cardiac intervention for BMD patients based on genetic testing results performed on a blood sample.

NASA's Rosetta 'Alice' spectrometer reveals Earth's ultraviolet fingerprint in Earth flyby Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST On Nov. 13, the European Space Agency's comet orbiter spacecraft, Rosetta, swooped by Earth for its third and final gravity assist on the way to humankind's first rendezvous to orbit and study a comet in more detail than has ever been attempted. One of the instruments aboard Rosetta is the NASA-funded ultraviolet spectrometer, Alice, which is designed to probe the composition of the comet's atmosphere and surface -- the first ultraviolet spectrometer ever to study a comet up close.

More proof that withholding HIV treatments led to thousands of deaths in South Africa Posted: 19 Jan 2010 02:00 AM PST Scientists have provided additional proof that withholding HIV treatments with proven benefits led to the death of 330,000 people in South Africa as the result of AIDS denialist policies.

Dog genome researchers track paw prints of selective breeding Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:00 PM PST Researchers gave identified 155 regions on the dog genome that appear to have been influenced by selective breeding. Although dogs have been domesticated for 14,000 years, their spectacular diversity originated over the past several centuries through intense artificial selection.

Regenerative medicine and transplantations: How the immune system produces T cells Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:00 PM PST Researchers have new insights into how our immune system produces T cells, a type of white blood cell that is an essential part of the body's immune surveillance system for fighting infection. The findings pave the way for a new means of making purified T cells, which gets over one of many hurdles faced in the use of T cells in regenerative medicine and transplantations, and in addition will open up new avenues of research and applications in drug and toxicity testing in industry.

First map of colon cancer in Spain is published Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:00 PM PST Many industrialized countries welcomed reduced rates of colon cancer in the second half of the twentieth century, but Spain remains the exception. The most startling phenomenon is the 'unstoppable increase' in the incidence in both men and women. From 1951 to 2000 mortality also increased in Spain. These are the conclusions of the first map of colon cancer in Spain.

Researchers tackle ductal carcinoma in situ and its many unanswered questions Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:00 PM PST In a new paper, researchers review available data on diagnosis and management of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and offer recommendations for the field. These include identification of better risk stratification methods, consideration of the elimination of the word "carcinoma" from the name, and further investigation into whether imaging technology and guidelines can be modified to focus on high-risk lesions.

Smart embedded sensor systems for offshore wind turbines Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:00 PM PST Smart embedded sensor systems will allow operators of offshore wind farms to check 'the health' of the wind turbines, while the operator is sitting in a warm and dry place on land and while the turbine blades are spinning merrily, far away at sea.

Cognitively impaired elderly women get unneeded screening mammography, study finds Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:00 PM PST A significant percentage of US women 70 years or older who were severely cognitively impaired received screening mammography that was unlikely to benefit them, according to a study of 2,131 elderly women.

Artificial muscles restore ability to blink, save eyesight Posted: 18 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Surgeons have demonstrated that artificial muscles can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis to blink, a development that could benefit the thousands of people each year who no longer are able to close their eyelids due to combat-related injuries, stroke, nerve injury or facial surgery.

Loss of epigenetic regulators causes mental retardation Posted: 18 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST Developing neurons don't just need the right genes to guide them as they grow, they need access to the right genes at the right times. The improper functioning of one specific protein complex that normally suppresses gene activation is responsible for a mental retardation-like syndrome in mice.

Genetic analysis disputes increase in Antarctic minke whales Posted: 18 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST A new genetic analysis of Antarctic minke whales concludes that population of these smaller baleen whales have not increased as a result of the intensive hunting of other larger whales -- countering arguments by advocates of commercial whaling who want to "cull" minke whales.

Discovery points toward anti-inflammation treatment for blinding disease Posted: 18 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST The discovery of an inflammatory mediator key to the blinding effects of diabetic retinopathy is pointing toward a potential new treatment.

Why mice develop 'knots' while exploring a new environment Posted: 18 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST During exploration of a new environment, mice establish "knots" -- preferred places visited sporadically and marked by the performance of twists and turns, according to a new study. The research provides evidence that the formation of these places is increased by stress, and suggests that the tortuous movements improve the interpretation of the visual scene, enhance the memory of the place and provide the mouse with multiple views that turn the established places into navigational landmarks.

Worrisome trends show eroding U.S. competitive advantage in world science and engineering environment Posted: 18 Jan 2010 02:00 PM PST The state of the science and engineering enterprise in America is strong, yet its lead is slipping, according to data released at the White House January 15. Science and Engineering Indicators provides information on the scope, quality and vitality of America's science and engineering enterprise.

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