ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• How the butterflies got their spots
• New malaria vaccine is safe and protective in children, scientists find
• Toward safer plastics that lock in potentially harmful plasticizers
• How progesterone prevents preterm birth
• Secrets to superb malting barleys explored
• Moms' depression in pregnancy tied to antisocial behavior in teens
• Quantum computing leap forward: altering a lone electron without disturbing its neighbors
• World's first in-depth study of the malaria parasite genome
• Leaves whisper their properties through ultrasound
• Blacks with MS have more severe symptoms, decline faster than whites, new study shows
• Sweet! Sugar plays key role in cell division
• Length of time in institutional care may influence children's learning
• Where did today's spiral galaxies come from?
• HPV vaccines may reduce a wide range of genital diseases
• Craters young and old in southern highlands of Mars
• Screening for short cervix could improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce preterm birth
• Super material will make lighting cheaper and fully recyclable
• Youth who self-identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual at higher suicide risk, say researchers

How the butterflies got their spots Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST How two butterfly species have evolved exactly the same striking wing color and pattern has intrigued biologists since Darwin's day. Now, scientists have found "hot spots" in the butterflies' genes that they believe will explain one of the most extraordinary examples of mimicry in the natural world.

New malaria vaccine is safe and protective in children, scientists find Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST A new vaccine to prevent the deadly malaria infection has shown promise to protect the most vulnerable patients -- young children -- against the disease, according to an international team of researchers. The vaccine seems to replicate in children the natural protective immunity that adults develop after years of intense exposure to malaria. A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds, according to the WHO.

Toward safer plastics that lock in potentially harmful plasticizers Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Scientists have published the first report on a new way of preventing potentially harmful plasticizers -- the source of long-standing human health concerns -- from migrating from one of the most widely used groups of plastics.

How progesterone prevents preterm birth Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers believe they may have discovered how the hormone progesterone acts to prevent preterm birth.

Secrets to superb malting barleys explored Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Agricultural scientists are discovering more about what goes on inside malting barley grains as they germinate, or sprout, in the malt house.

Moms' depression in pregnancy tied to antisocial behavior in teens Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers studying 120 British youth from inner-city areas found that mothers who became depressed when pregnant were four times as likely to have children who were violent at 16. This was true for both boys and girls. The mothers' depression, in turn, was predicted by their own aggressive and disruptive behavior as teens.

Quantum computing leap forward: altering a lone electron without disturbing its neighbors Posted: 06 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST A major hurdle in the ambitious quest to design and construct a radically new kind of quantum computer has been finding a way to manipulate the single electrons that very likely will constitute the new machines' processing components or "qubits." Now, a physicist has discovered how to do just that -- demonstrating a method that alters the properties of a lone electron without disturbing the trillions of electrons in its immediate surroundings. The feat is essential to the development of future varieties of superfast computers with near-limitless capacities for data.

World's first in-depth study of the malaria parasite genome Posted: 06 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Groundbreaking research could lead to the development of more potent drugs or a vaccine for malaria. Scientists have scored a world first in successfully using transcriptional profiling to uncover hitherto unknown gene expression (activity) patterns in malaria.

Leaves whisper their properties through ultrasound Posted: 06 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST The water content of leaves, their thickness, their density and other properties can now be determined without even having to touch them. Researchers in Spain have presented an innovative technique that enables plant leaves to be studied using ultrasound in a quick, simple and noninvasive fashion.

Blacks with MS have more severe symptoms, decline faster than whites, new study shows Posted: 06 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Fewer African Americans than Caucasians develop multiple sclerosis, statistics show, but their disease progresses more rapidly, and they don't respond as well to therapies, a new study by neurology researchers has found.

Sweet! Sugar plays key role in cell division Posted: 06 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Using an elaborate sleuthing system they developed to probe how cells manage their own division, scientists have discovered that common but hard-to-see sugar switches are partly in control.

Length of time in institutional care may influence children's learning Posted: 06 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST A new study shows that children adopted early from foster care didn't differ from children who were raised in their birth families but that children adopted from institutional care performed worse than those raised in families on tests measuring visual memory and attention, learning visual information, and impulse control. Findings suggest that children make tremendous advances in cognitive functioning once they reach their adoptive families but the impact of early deprivation is difficult to reverse completely.

Where did today's spiral galaxies come from? Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Using data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have created a demographic census of galaxy types and shapes from a time before the Earth and the sun existed, to the present day. The results show that more than half of the present-day spiral galaxies had peculiar shapes only six billion years ago, which, if confirmed, highlights the importance of collisions and mergers in the recent past of many galaxies. It also provides clues for the unique status of our own galaxy.

HPV vaccines may reduce a wide range of genital diseases Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST High-coverage human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among adolescents and young women may result in a rapid reduction of genital warts, cervical cell abnormalities, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, researchers report in a new study. Some of these genital abnormalities are precursors of cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers.

Craters young and old in southern highlands of Mars Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST The Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera has imaged craters both young and old in a new view of the southern highlands of Mars.

Screening for short cervix could improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce preterm birth Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Using ultrasound to screen all pregnant women for signs of a shortening cervix improves pregnancy outcomes and is a cost-effective way to reduce preterm birth, researchers report in a new study.

Super material will make lighting cheaper and fully recyclable Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST With the use of the new super material graphene, Swedish and American researchers have succeeded in producing a new type of lighting component. It is inexpensive to produce and can be fully recycled.

Youth who self-identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual at higher suicide risk, say researchers Posted: 06 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Mental health professionals have long-known that gay, lesbian and bisexual teens face significantly elevated risks of mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts. However, a group of researchers has now come to the conclusion that self-identity is the crucial risk-factor, rather than actual sexual behaviors.

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