ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Brain system behind general intelligence discovered
• Dry winters linked to seasonal outbreaks of influenza
• Hazardous e-waste surging in developing countries
• Further doubt cast on virus link to chronic fatigue syndrome
• Biogas climate benefit greater than previously thought?
• Internal and environmental factors trigger unique brain activity in teens
• Mouse with human liver: New model for treatment of liver disease
• Typhoid fever bacteria collect on gallstones to perpetuate disease
• Missing 'ice arches' contributed to 2007 Arctic ice loss
• Canecutter's disease on the rise among travelers
• Earthquake engineers release report on damage in Haiti
• Children don't trust each other when learning the rules
• Is an animal's agility affected by the position of its eyes?
• New treatment to prevent cancer recurrence shows promise in study
• Secondary stroke prevention needs improvement
• Dust in Earth system can affect oceans, carbon cycle, temperatures, and health
• Flightless mosquitoes developed to help control dengue fever
• Researchers identify a potential therapeutic target for brain cancer
• Roots key to second Green Revolution
• Studies unclear on role of pre-surgery beta blockers
• Role of mass media in climate change skepticism
• Pets in airplane cabins: An unnecessary allergic hazard?
• Aphid's genome reflects its reproductive, symbiotic lifestyle
• Melanoma transcriptome reveals novel genomic alterations not seen before
• Unpacking condensins' function in embryonic stem cells
• Risks from low potassium in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease
• Business culture steers flow of ideas, study says
• Rates of childhood obesity, chronic health problems increase, but conditions may not persist
• Where did insects come from? New study establishes relationships among all arthropods
• Tumor mechanism identified
• Dolphins could be ideal model to study human cervical cancer, veterinarians say
• Contrast-enhanced MRI could play a key role in differentiating between common types of arthritis
• European Space Agency chooses three scientific missions for further study
• Few professionals keep current, Swedish study finds
• Olympic cross-country skiing: Going for the glide
• Link between marine algae and whale diversity over last 30 million years, study finds
• Mild traumatic brain injury, not so mild after all
• Damage to threatened Gulf of California habitats can be reversed
• High blood pressure a neglected disease, report declares
• New security threat against 'smart phone' users, researchers show
• Cyberbullying: A growing problem
• Nanotechnology sparks energy storage on paper and cloth
• Progesterone for traumatic brain injury tested in phase III clinical trial
• From uncharted region of human genome, clues emerge about origins of coronary artery disease
• Animals linked to human Chlamydia pneumoniae
• Physicists use ultra-fast lasers to open doors to new technologies unheard of just years ago

Brain system behind general intelligence discovered Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST Neuroscientists have mapped the brain structures that affect general intelligence. The study adds new insight to a highly controversial question: what is intelligence, and how can we measure it?

Dry winters linked to seasonal outbreaks of influenza Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST The seasonal increase of influenza has long baffled scientists, but a new study has found that seasonal changes of absolute humidity are the apparent underlying cause of these wintertime peaks. The study also found that the onset of outbreaks might be encouraged by anomalously dry weather conditions, at least in temperate regions.

Hazardous e-waste surging in developing countries Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST Unless action is stepped up to properly collect and recycle materials, many developing countries face the specter of fast-rising hazardous e-waste mountains this coming decade with serious consequences for the environment and public health, according to experts.

Further doubt cast on virus link to chronic fatigue syndrome Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST Researchers investigating UK samples have found no association between the controversial xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus and chronic fatigue syndrome. Their study calls into question a potential link described late last year by an American research team.

Biogas climate benefit greater than previously thought? Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST Biogas from refuse produces 95 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline, according to a new research report. With a few simple improvements to the biogas plants, the figure can rise to 120 per cent -- i.e. biogas becomes more than climate neutral. This can be compared with the standard figures used today, which indicate that biogas produces 80 per cent lower emissions than gasoline.

Internal and environmental factors trigger unique brain activity in teens Posted: 23 Feb 2010 11:00 AM PST While the otherworldly behavior of teenagers is well documented, researchers have taken a significant step toward finally unraveling the actual brain activity that can drive adolescents to engage in impulsive, self-indulgent, or self-destructive behavior.

Mouse with human liver: New model for treatment of liver disease Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST How do you study -- and try to cure in the laboratory -- an infection that only humans can get? A team of researchers does it by generating a mouse with an almost completely human liver. This "humanized" mouse is susceptible to human liver infections and responds to human drug treatments, providing a new way to test novel therapies for debilitating human liver diseases and other diseases with liver involvement such as malaria.

Typhoid fever bacteria collect on gallstones to perpetuate disease Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST A new study suggests that the bacteria that cause typhoid fever collect in tiny but persistent communities on gallstones, making the infection particularly hard to fight in so-called "carriers" -- people who have the disease but show no symptoms. Humans who harbor these bacterial communities in their gallbladders, even without symptoms, are able to infect others with active typhoid fever, especially in developing areas of the world with poor sanitation.

Missing 'ice arches' contributed to 2007 Arctic ice loss Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST In 2007, the Arctic lost a massive amount of thick, multiyear sea ice, contributing to that year's record-low extent of Arctic sea ice. A new NASA-led study has found that the record loss that year was due in part to the absence of "ice arches," naturally-forming, curved ice structures that span the openings between two land points. These arches block sea ice from being pushed by winds or currents through narrow passages and out of the Arctic basin.

Canecutter's disease on the rise among travelers Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Scientists have discovered the disease, known medically as leptospirosis, was traditionally a concern for males working in the agricultural and livestock industries, as it is contracted from contact with the urine of host animals.

Earthquake engineers release report on damage in Haiti Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Engineers sent to Haiti to evaluate the impact of the magnitude-7 earthquake report that they find no surface evidence of the fault, but widespread damage caused by poor building practices.

Children don't trust each other when learning the rules Posted: 23 Feb 2010 08:00 AM PST Children don't trust other children when it comes to learning a new game and will turn to adults for to learn the rules instead, according to a new psychology study.

Is an animal's agility affected by the position of its eyes? Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:00 AM PST New research has revealed the relationship between agility and vision in mammals. The study sampled 51 species to compare the relationship between agility and vision between frontal eyed species, such as cats, to lateral-eyed mammals such as rabbits, to establish if the positioning of the eyes resulted in limitations to speed and agility.

New treatment to prevent cancer recurrence shows promise in study Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:00 AM PST Glioblastoma is one of the most deadly human brain cancers. Radiation can temporarily shrink a tumor, but they nearly always recur within weeks or months and few patients survive longer than two years after diagnosis. Now scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying the tumor in mice have found a way to stop the cancer cells from growing back after radiation by blocking its access to oxygen and nutrients.

Secondary stroke prevention needs improvement Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:00 AM PST New research finds that one out of 12 people who have a stroke will likely soon have another stroke, and one out of four will likely die within one year.

Dust in Earth system can affect oceans, carbon cycle, temperatures, and health Posted: 23 Feb 2010 05:00 AM PST Dust is a powerful thing. Not the stuff that we wipe off the coffee table on a regular basis, but the tiny particles floating around in the Earth's atmosphere, which originate primarily from deserts in North Africa and the Middle East. It can affect the oceans, impact the carbon cycle and even have an effect on global temperature.

Flightless mosquitoes developed to help control dengue fever Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST A new strain of mosquitoes in which females cannot fly may help curb the transmission of dengue fever, according to scientists. Dengue fever causes severe flulike symptoms and is among the world's most pressing public health issues. There are 50 million to 100 million cases per year, and nearly 40 percent of the global population is at risk.

Researchers identify a potential therapeutic target for brain cancer Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Researchers report the identification of a protein that is highly expressed in a subgroup of glioblastoma brain tumor cells and show that depletion of this protein increases the survival of mice with these tumors.

Roots key to second Green Revolution Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Root systems are the basis of the second Green Revolution, and the focus on beans and corn that thrive in poor growing conditions will help some of the world's poorest farmers, according to a plant scientist.

Studies unclear on role of pre-surgery beta blockers Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST It's not unusual for patients to suffer a cardiac event before surgery, and in theory, beta blockers will reduce the risk by relieving stress on the heart. But the one-size-fits-all approach can harm some patients, and heart specialists report that clinical studies have been unclear about who should get perioperative beta blockers and at what dosage.

Role of mass media in climate change skepticism Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST Mass media have been a key vehicle by which climate change contrarianism has traveled, according to researchers.

Pets in airplane cabins: An unnecessary allergic hazard? Posted: 23 Feb 2010 02:00 AM PST The preferences of pet owners should not replace the well-being of their fellow passengers, say experts in a new editorial.

Aphid's genome reflects its reproductive, symbiotic lifestyle Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:00 PM PST Aphids could be considered the "mosquitoes" of the plant world, depending on the "blood" of plants to survive. They live in symbiosis with bacteria that pass from one generation to the next, producing essential amino acids. Aphids with the same genotype can be wingless or winged. In different seasons, they develop as asexual females who produce offspring with identical genes through parthenogenesis. When temperatures drop, they can give birth to males who then fertilize the eggs laid by females. The genome of the pea aphid, sequenced by the International Aphid Genomics Consortium, reflects these unusual characteristics and more.

Melanoma transcriptome reveals novel genomic alterations not seen before Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:00 PM PST Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, afflicts more than 50,000 people in the United States annually and the incidence rate continues to rise. In a new study, scientists have delved deeper than ever before into the RNA world of the melanoma tumor and identified genomic alterations that could play a role in the disease.

Unpacking condensins' function in embryonic stem cells Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:00 PM PST Regulatory proteins common to all eukaryotic cells can have additional, unique functions in embryonic stem cells, according to a new study. If cancer progenitor cells -- which function similarly to stem cells -- are shown to rely on these regulatory proteins in the same way, it may be possible to target them therapeutically without harming healthy neighboring cells.

Risks from low potassium in heart failure patients with chronic kidney disease Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:00 PM PST New research finds that low potassium levels produce an increased risk of death or hospitalization in patients with heart failure and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Researchers say that even a mild decrease in serum potassium level increased the risk of death in this patient group.

Business culture steers flow of ideas, study says Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:00 PM PST The business culture that companies emphasize has an effect on new product ideas that bubble back up from the workforce, a new study has found.

Rates of childhood obesity, chronic health problems increase, but conditions may not persist Posted: 22 Feb 2010 11:00 PM PST A new study confirms that rates of obesity and other chronic health problems have risen in American children in recent years, but it also shows that many children's conditions will improve or resolve over time.

Where did insects come from? New study establishes relationships among all arthropods Posted: 22 Feb 2010 08:00 PM PST Since the dawn of the biological sciences, humankind has struggled to comprehend the relationships among the major groups of "jointed-legged" animals -- the arthropods. Now, a team of researchers has finished a completely new analysis of the evolutionary relationships among the arthropods, answering many questions that defied previous attempts to unravel how these creatures were connected.

Tumor mechanism identified Posted: 22 Feb 2010 08:00 PM PST Researchers have for the first time identified a key mechanism that makes certain cells become tumorous in the brain. The resulting tumors occur most often spontaneously but can also occur in numbers as part of the inherited disease neurofibromatosis type 2.

Dolphins could be ideal model to study human cervical cancer, veterinarians say Posted: 22 Feb 2010 08:00 PM PST Dolphins are the only species besides humans known to harbor infections of multiple papillomavirus types, which are known to be linked with cervical cancer in women. As a result, dolphins may be the ideal model for the study of cervical cancer in women.

Contrast-enhanced MRI could play a key role in differentiating between common types of arthritis Posted: 22 Feb 2010 08:00 PM PST Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging may help physicians differentiate between rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis in the hand and wrist enabling more targeted therapies unique to each condition, according to a study. Contrast-enhanced MRI uses contrast media to improve the visibility of internal bodily structures.

European Space Agency chooses three scientific missions for further study Posted: 22 Feb 2010 08:00 PM PST Dark energy, habitable planets around other stars, and the mysterious nature of our own Sun, have been chosen by the European Space Agency as candidates for two medium-class missions to be launched no earlier than 2017.

Few professionals keep current, Swedish study finds Posted: 22 Feb 2010 08:00 PM PST Researchers have looked at how professionals in different occupational groups seek and use information and keep updated after finishing their education. The results show that teachers seek information they can use in their own teaching and that librarians focus on helping library users find information, while nurses just don't have the time.

Olympic cross-country skiing: Going for the glide Posted: 22 Feb 2010 08:00 PM PST Friction -- or the lack of it -- in cross-country skiing events at Winter Olympic games in Vancouver is a decisive factor in who wins the gold. Researchers explain the physics behind what makes the best glide.

Link between marine algae and whale diversity over last 30 million years, study finds Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST New research shows a strong link between the diversity of organisms at the bottom of the food chain and the diversity of mammals at the top. Throughout the last 30 million years, changes in the diversity of whale species living at any given time period correlates with the evolution and diversification of diatoms, tiny, abundant algae that live in the ocean.

Mild traumatic brain injury, not so mild after all Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST Scientists are gaining a better understanding of the molecular mechanism at play in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly called concussions. Although mTBI affects over one million people each year in the United States, it is generally ignored as a major health issue.

Damage to threatened Gulf of California habitats can be reversed Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST Once described by Jacques Cousteau as the "world's aquarium," the marine ecosystems of the Gulf of California are under threat. Destructive new fishing methods are depleting the sea's habitats, creating areas that are ghosts of their former existences.

High blood pressure a neglected disease, report declares Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST Public health officials and health care providers need to step up their efforts to reduce Americans' increasing rates of high blood pressure and better treat those with the condition, which triggers more than one-third of heart attacks and almost half of heart failures in the United States each year, says a new report.

New security threat against 'smart phone' users, researchers show Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST Computer scientists have shown how a familiar type of personal computer security threat can now attack new generations of smart mobile phones, with the potential to cause more serious consequences. The researchers demonstrated how such a software attack could cause a smart phone to eavesdrop on a meeting, track its owner's travels, or rapidly drain its battery to render the phone useless.

Cyberbullying: A growing problem Posted: 22 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST Around 10 percent of all adolescents in grades 7-9 are victims of internet bullying. "This type of bullying can be more serious than conventional bullying. At least with conventional bullying the victim is left alone on evenings and weekends," says on of the researchers.

Nanotechnology sparks energy storage on paper and cloth Posted: 22 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Engineers have manufactured new energy storage devices out of paper and cloth, with a range of potential applications. Their research also has shown that using silicon nanowires to replace carbon anodes in lithium ion batteries can significantly improve their performance.

Progesterone for traumatic brain injury tested in phase III clinical trial Posted: 22 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers at 17 medical centers soon will begin using the hormone progesterone to treat patients who experience traumatic brain injury (TBI). The treatment is part of an NIH-funded, randomized, double-blind Phase III clinical trial that will enroll approximately 1,140 people beginning in March, 2010. An earlier trial in 100 patients found that giving progesterone to trauma victims shortly after a brain injury appears to be safe and may reduce the risk of death and long-term disability.

From uncharted region of human genome, clues emerge about origins of coronary artery disease Posted: 22 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Scientists have learned how an interval of DNA in an unexplored region of the human genome increases the risk for coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Their research reinforces the tantalizing possibility that many more disease risks -- and potential therapies -- are hidden in the vast and uncharted part of the genome that doesn't contain instructions for making proteins.

Animals linked to human Chlamydia pneumoniae Posted: 22 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST Animals have infected humans with the common respiratory disease Chlamydia pneumoniae, according to researchers in Australia and the U.S. The Chlamydia pneumoniae bacteria is a common cause of pneumonia around the world. Infections acquired from wildlife, known as zoonotic infections, are a significant growing threats to global human health, as shown by the H1N1 influenza pandemic which originated from swines.

Physicists use ultra-fast lasers to open doors to new technologies unheard of just years ago Posted: 22 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST For nearly half a century, scientists have been trying to figure out how to build a cost-effective and reasonably sized X-ray laser that could, among other things, provide super high-resolution imaging. And for the past two decades,scientists have been inching closer to that goal.

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