ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• How well do scientists understand how changes in Earth's orbit affect long-term natural climate trends?
• Scientists discover new treatment for chronic pain condition
• First measurement of energy released from a virus during infection
• Cholesterol's link to heart disease gets clearer and more complicated
• Helmets reduce the risk of head injuries among skiers and snowboarders by 35 percent
• Brain dopamine receptor density correlates with social status
• NASA, GM take giant leap in robotic technology
• Link between birth defect gastroschisis and the agricultural chemical atrazine found
• Melt from Alaskan glaciers largely overestimated in previous studies, glaciologists show
• New research on Type 2 diabetes could benefit young adults with condition
• Instruments to study space weather set for NASA launch
• High sensitivity to stress isn't always bad for children
• Scientists demonstrate world's fastest graphene transistor; holds promise for improving performance of transistors
• New compound could become important new antidepressant
• First discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant
• Biologists determine microRNA activity is suppressed in mouse ovum
• Sunny Record: Breakthrough for Hybrid Solar Cells
• Early abuse tied to more depression in children

How well do scientists understand how changes in Earth's orbit affect long-term natural climate trends? Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST The notion that scientists understand how changes in Earth's orbit affect climate well enough for estimating long-term natural climate trends that underlie any anthropogenic climate change is challenged by new research findings.

Scientists discover new treatment for chronic pain condition Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Scientists have discovered that treating the immune system of patients with complex regional pain syndrome leads to a significant reduction in pain.

First measurement of energy released from a virus during infection Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST For the first time, scientists have directly measured the energy associated with the expulsion of viral DNA, a pivotal discovery toward fully understanding the physical mechanisms that control viral infection and designing drugs to interfere with the process.

Cholesterol's link to heart disease gets clearer and more complicated Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST By considering molecular-level events on a broader scale, researchers now have a clearer, if more complicated, picture of how one class of immune cells goes wrong when loaded with cholesterol. The findings show that, when it comes to the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease, it's not about any one bad actor -- it's about a network gone awry.

Helmets reduce the risk of head injuries among skiers and snowboarders by 35 percent Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Helmets reduce the risk of head injury among skiers and snowboarders by 35 percent with no evidence of an increased risk of neck injury, a new study finds.

Brain dopamine receptor density correlates with social status Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST People have typically viewed the benefits that accrue with social status primarily from the perspective of external rewards. A new study suggests that there are internal rewards as well. Researchers found that increased social status and increased social support correlated with the density of dopamine D2/D3 receptors in the striatum, a region of the brain that plays a central role in reward and motivation, where dopamine plays a critical role in both of these behavioral processes.

NASA, GM take giant leap in robotic technology Posted: 07 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM are working together to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people. Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help GM build safer cars and plants.

Link between birth defect gastroschisis and the agricultural chemical atrazine found Posted: 07 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST New findings demonstrate a link between the birth defect gastroschisis and the agricultural chemical atrazine. Gastroschisis is a type of inherited congenital abdominal wall defect in which the intestines, and sometimes other organs, develop outside the fetal abdomen through an opening in the abdominal wall. The incidence of gastroschisis is on the rise, increasing two to four times in the last 30 years.

Melt from Alaskan glaciers largely overestimated in previous studies, glaciologists show Posted: 07 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Glaciologists have shown that previous studies have largely overestimated mass loss from Alaskan glaciers over the past 40 years. Recent data from the SPOT 5 and ASTER satellites have enabled researchers to extensively map mass loss in these glaciers, which contributed 0.12 mm/year to sea-level rise between 1962 and 2006, rather than 0.17 mm/year as previously estimated.

New research on Type 2 diabetes could benefit young adults with condition Posted: 07 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Researchers have demonstrated new mechanisms in muscle cells that may explain severe insulin resistance and a reduced response to aerobic exercise in young obese patients with type 2 diabetes. These findings may contribute to the development of more specific treatments for young people with type 2 diabetes.

Instruments to study space weather set for NASA launch Posted: 07 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST A $32 million instrument package set for launch Feb. 9 by NASA should help scientists better understand the violent effects of the sun on near-Earth space weather that can affect satellites, power grids, ground communications systems and even astronauts and aircraft crews.

High sensitivity to stress isn't always bad for children Posted: 07 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Researchers looked at 338 kindergarteners, as well as their teachers and families, to determine how family adversity and biological reactivity contribute to healthy development. They found that children who had significantly stronger biological reactions to a series of mildly stressful tasks designed to look like challenges in their daily lives were more affected by their family contexts, both bad and good.

Scientists demonstrate world's fastest graphene transistor; holds promise for improving performance of transistors Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST IBM researchers have demonstrated a radio-frequency graphene transistor with the highest cut-off frequency achieved so far for any graphene device -- 100 billion cycles/second (100 GigaHertz). The high frequency record was achieved using wafer-scale, epitaxially grown graphene using processing technology compatible to that used in advanced silicon device fabrication.

New compound could become important new antidepressant Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Chemists have discovered and synthesized a new compound that in laboratory and animal tests appears to be similar to, but may have advantages over one of the most important antidepressant medications in the world.

First discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST In a finding that overturns conventional wisdom, scientists are reporting the first discovery of the female sex hormone progesterone in a plant. Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make progesterone. A steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries, progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy.

Biologists determine microRNA activity is suppressed in mouse ovum Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Scientists studying RNA activity, the so-called dark matter of the biological world, may have found the first event in reprogramming a differentiated oocyte into pluripotent blastomeres of the embryo.

Sunny Record: Breakthrough for Hybrid Solar Cells Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Scientists in Germany have succeeded in developing a method for treating the surface of nanoparticles which greatly improves the efficiency of organic solar cells. The researchers were able to attain an efficiency of 2 percent by using so-called quantum dots composed of cadmium selenide. These measurements, well above the previous efficiency ratings of 1 to 1.8 percent, were confirmed.

Early abuse tied to more depression in children Posted: 07 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST A study of 500 low-income children ages 7 to 13, about half of whom had been abused and/or neglected, aimed to find out whether abuse early in life and feelings of depression affected cortisol ("stress hormone") levels. Study results suggest that there are different subtypes of depression, with atypical cortisol regulation occurring among children who were abused before age 5.

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