ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Mysterious cosmic 'dark flow' tracked deeper into universe
• Brain mechanism may explain alcohol cravings that drive relapse
• Temporary hearing deprivation can lead to 'lazy ear'
• Obesity linked to poor colon cancer prognosis
• Conquering the chaos in modern, multiprocessor computers
• Students' perceptions of Earth's age influence acceptance of human evolution
• Development of more muscular trout could boost commercial aquaculture
• Experimental drug that mimics thryoid hormone safely lowers 'bad' cholesterol
• Boost for technology: Huge step toward mass production of coveted form of carbon
• Study finds elevated levels of cobalt and chromium in offspring of patients with metal-on-metal hip implants
• Mystery of symmetry in vertebrates revealed
• Game on? Video-game ownership may interfere with young boys' academic functioning
• Sequencing genome of entire family reveals parents give kids fewer gene mutations than was thought
• Gastric bypass surgery increases risk of kidney stones, study suggests
• Plotting and treachery in ant royal families
• Warfarin users appear more likely to develop brain bleeding following stroke treatment
• Physicists build basic quantum computing circuit
• Behavioral problems in childhood doubles the risk of chronic widespread pain in adult life
• Potential for using algae to produce human therapeutic proteins shown
• Mouse model reveals a cause of ADHD
• How sea turtle hatchlings use their flippers to move quickly on sand
• Emerging tick-borne disease
• New research advances voice security technology
• Link between brain chemical, cognitive decline in schizophrenia demonstrated
• Smell of salt air surprisingly detected a mile high and 900 miles inland
• Frequent napping linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes in older adults
• Impacts of changing climate on ocean biology
• Poorer breast cancer survival associated with micrometastases in axillary lymph nodes
• Students take aim at bear spray canisters
• Patient safety reporting and drug label accuracy missing vital information, expert says
• Galaxy study validates general relativity on cosmic scale, existence of dark matter
• Molecule tells key brain cells to grow up, get to work
• Study provides better understanding of how mosquitoes find a host
• Sonic hedgehog gene found in an unexpected place during limb development
• NoMix toilets get thumbs-up in seven European countries
• ATV and motocross sports: High velocity toys merit caution, experts say
• Discovery of 'fat' taste could hold the key to reducing obesity
• First inherited prostate cancer genetic mutation in African-American men identified
• Large mammals need protected areas, forest cover in India
• Osteoporosis drug improves healing after rotator cuff surgery
• Physicians click their way to better prescriptions
• Playing music on your clothing
• Discovery in legumes could reduce fertilizer use, aid environment
• Hormone thought to slow aging associated with increased risk of cancer death
• Papaya extract thwarts growth of cancer cells in lab tests
• Obese 3-year-olds show early warning signs for future heart disease
• Pottery leads to discovery of peace-seeking women in American Southwest
• Work, leisure attitudes of Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials compared

Mysterious cosmic 'dark flow' tracked deeper into universe Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Distant galaxy clusters mysteriously stream at a million miles per hour along a path roughly centered on the southern constellations Centaurus and Hydra. A new study tracks this collective motion -- dubbed the "dark flow" -- to twice the distance originally reported.

Brain mechanism may explain alcohol cravings that drive relapse Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST New research provides exciting insight into the molecular mechanisms associated with addiction and relapse. The study uncovers a crucial mechanism that facilitates motivation for alcohol after extended abstinence and opens new avenues for potential therapeutic intervention.

Temporary hearing deprivation can lead to 'lazy ear' Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Scientists have gained new insight into why a relatively short-term hearing deprivation during childhood may lead to persistent hearing deficits, long after hearing is restored to normal. The research reveals that, much like the visual cortex, development of the auditory cortex is quite vulnerable if it does not receive appropriate stimulation at just the right time.

Obesity linked to poor colon cancer prognosis Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Obese patients with colon cancer are at greater risk for death or recurrent disease compared to those who are within a normal weight range, according to a new study.

Conquering the chaos in modern, multiprocessor computers Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST A group of computer scientists have found a way to tame multiprocessor computers, which behave in wildly unpredictable ways even as the systems become widespread in the industry.

Students' perceptions of Earth's age influence acceptance of human evolution Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST High school and college students who understand the geological age of the Earth (4.5 billion years) are much more likely to understand and accept human evolution, according to a new study. A 2009 Gallup poll reported that 16 percent of biology teachers believe God created humans in their present form at some time during the last 10,000 years.

Development of more muscular trout could boost commercial aquaculture Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST A 10-year effort by a scientist to develop transgenic rainbow trout with enhanced muscle growth has yielded fish with what have been described as six-pack abs and muscular shoulders that could provide a boost to the commercial aquaculture industry.

Experimental drug that mimics thryoid hormone safely lowers 'bad' cholesterol Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST People whose "bad" cholesterol and risk of future heart disease stay too high despite cholesterol-lowering statin therapy can safely lower it by adding a drug that mimics the action of thyroid hormone.

Boost for technology: Huge step toward mass production of coveted form of carbon Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Scientists have leaped over a major hurdle in efforts to begin commercial production of a form of carbon that could rival silicon in its potential for revolutionizing electronics devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones. Called graphene, the material consists of a layer of graphite 50,000 times thinner than a human hair with unique electronic properties.

Study finds elevated levels of cobalt and chromium in offspring of patients with metal-on-metal hip implants Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Hip replacement patients with metal-on-metal implants (both the socket and hip ball are metal) pass metal ions to their infants during pregnancy, according to a new study.

Mystery of symmetry in vertebrates revealed Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Some of our organs, such as the liver and the heart, are lateralized. As our bodies develop they mostly display bilateral symmetry across the vertebral column. A new molecular pathway, which plays a role in this symmetry in vertebrates, has recently been discovered.

Game on? Video-game ownership may interfere with young boys' academic functioning Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST According to new findings, owning a video-game system may hamper academic development in some children. Boys who received a video-game system immediately had significantly lower reading and writing scores after four months than boys receiving a video-game system at the end of the experiment. Further analysis revealed that the time spent playing video games may link the relationship between owning a video-game system and reading and writing scores.

Sequencing genome of entire family reveals parents give kids fewer gene mutations than was thought Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Researchers have sequenced for the first time the entire genome of a family, enabling them to accurately estimate the average rate at which parents pass genetic mutations to their offspring and also identify precise locations where parental chromosomes exchange information that creates new combinations of genetic traits in their children.

Gastric bypass surgery increases risk of kidney stones, study suggests Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery experience changes in their urine composition that increase their risk of developing kidney stones, research suggests.

Plotting and treachery in ant royal families Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Social insects -- ants in particular -- are usually thought of as selfless entities willing to sacrifice everything for their comrades. However, new research suggests that ant queens are also prepared to compromise the welfare of the entire colony in order to retain the throne.

Warfarin users appear more likely to develop brain bleeding following stroke treatment Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Patients already taking warfarin who develop an acute stroke appear more likely to experience a brain hemorrhage following treatment with an intravenous clot-dissolving medication, even if their blood clotting function appears normal, according to a new study.

Physicists build basic quantum computing circuit Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Exerting delicate control over a pair of atoms within a mere seven-millionths-of-a-second window of opportunity, physicists created an atomic circuit that may help quantum computing become a reality.

Behavioral problems in childhood doubles the risk of chronic widespread pain in adult life Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Bad behavior in childhood is associated with long-term, chronic widespread pain in adult life, according to the findings of a study following nearly 20,000 people from birth in 1958 to the present day. The research found that children with severe behavior disturbances had approximately double the risk of chronic widespread pain by the time they reached the age of 45 than children who did not have behavior problems.

Potential for using algae to produce human therapeutic proteins shown Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST Pharmaceutical companies could substantially reduce the expense of costly treatments for cancer and other diseases produced from mammalian or bacterial cells by growing these human therapeutic proteins in algae -- rapidly growing aquatic plant cells that have recently gained attention for their ability to produce biofuels.

Mouse model reveals a cause of ADHD Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST Although it's typically considered an adolescent curse, ADHD actually affects about five percent of adults as well. New research in a mouse model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder suggests that the root of the psychiatric disorder might be the over-activity of a protein that regulates dopaminergic pathways. The work suggests a path toward new treatments for symptoms including inattentiveness, over-activity and impulsivity.

How sea turtle hatchlings use their flippers to move quickly on sand Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST Researchers conducted the first field study showing how endangered loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings use their limbs to move quickly on a variety of terrains in order to reach the ocean.

Emerging tick-borne disease Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST A new assay allows scientists to discover whether ticks are carrying disease-causing bacteria and which animals provided their last blood meal. Assay results suggest three emerging diseases in the St. Louis area are carried by lone star ticks feeding on record-high populations of white tailed deer.

New research advances voice security technology Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST Most people are familiar with security technology that scans a person's handprint or eye for identification purposes. Now we are closer to practical technology that can test someone's voice to confirm their identity.

Link between brain chemical, cognitive decline in schizophrenia demonstrated Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST In one of the first such studies involving human patients with schizophrenia, researchers have provided evidence that deficits in a brain chemical may be responsible for some of the debilitating cognitive deficits -- poor attention, memory and problem-solving abilities -- that accompany the delusions and hallucinations that are the hallmarks of the disorder.

Smell of salt air surprisingly detected a mile high and 900 miles inland Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST In a surprise with implications for air quality, researchers have found that chemistry involving airborne chloride, thought to be restricted to sea spray, occurs at similar rates in air above Boulder, Colo., nearly 900 miles away from any ocean.

Frequent napping linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes in older adults Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST A study shows that frequent napping is associated with an elevated prevalence of type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in an older Chinese population.

Impacts of changing climate on ocean biology Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST A three-year field program now underway is measuring carbon distributions and primary productivity in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean to help scientists worldwide determine the impacts of a changing climate on ocean biology and biogeochemistry.

Poorer breast cancer survival associated with micrometastases in axillary lymph nodes Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST Metastases that were 2 millimeters or less in diameter ("micrometastases") in axillary lymph nodes detected on examination of a single section of the lymph nodes were associated with poorer disease-free and overall survival in breast cancer patients, according to a new study.

Students take aim at bear spray canisters Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST Visitors to national parks and forests are encouraged to use bear spray when they encounter grizzlies, but disposing of the bear spray canisters is a problem that students have addressed.

Patient safety reporting and drug label accuracy missing vital information, expert says Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST An expert calls for change in the way researchers and pharmaceutical companies collect and report adverse symptom information in clinical trials submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, and how the FDA represents this information on drug labels.

Galaxy study validates general relativity on cosmic scale, existence of dark matter Posted: 10 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST While general relativity describes well the behavior of the solar system, Einstein's theory of gravity and spacetime has not been tested on cosmological scales. Now, a team has analyzed data on 70,000 galaxies to show that the theory is so far the best description of the universe, at least out to 3.5 billion light years from Earth. Specifically, theories without dark matter do not fit the observations.

Molecule tells key brain cells to grow up, get to work Posted: 10 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST About four out of every 10 cells in the brain are so-called oligodendrocytes. These cells produce the all-important myelin that coats nerve tracts, ensuring fast, energy-efficient transmission of nerve impulses. Scientists have now identified a molecular master switch that catalyzes these cells' transition to mature, myelin-making mavens.

Study provides better understanding of how mosquitoes find a host Posted: 10 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST The potentially deadly yellow-fever-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito detects the specific chemical structure of a compound called octenol as one way to find a mammalian host for a blood meal.

Sonic hedgehog gene found in an unexpected place during limb development Posted: 10 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST Sonic hedgehog is at work in mice limb buds in what is known as the ectoderm, the cell layer that gives rise to skin, researchers discovered. Finding Sonic hedgehog here is akin to discovering that yeast has crept from the batter to the frosting, where it has the surprising effect of limiting how much the cake rises. In this case, instead of causing appendages to grow in mice, Sonic hedgehog prevents digits from developing.

NoMix toilets get thumbs-up in seven European countries Posted: 10 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST People in seven European countries have positive attitudes toward a new eco-friendly toilet that could substantially reduce pollution problems and conserve water and nutrients, scientists in Switzerland are reporting. Their article calls on authorities to give wider support for the innovative toilet technology.

ATV and motocross sports: High velocity toys merit caution, experts say Posted: 10 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST Over the years, all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motocross motorcycles have gained popularity and marketed as toys to consumers. These high-velocity machines can weigh between 300 and 600 pounds, and run on average between 25 and 60 miles per hour, while some even reach maximum speeds of 75 miles per hour. In 2008, nearly 28 percent of all ATV-related injuries were to children younger than 16. There were an estimated 135,000 injuries for riders of all ages for ATV use. A majority of ATV injuries happen from tipping, overturning or multiple riders.

Discovery of 'fat' taste could hold the key to reducing obesity Posted: 10 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST A newly discovered ability for people to taste fat could hold the key to reducing obesity, researchers believe. They also found that people with a high sensitivity to the taste of fat tended to eat less fatty foods and were less likely to be overweight

First inherited prostate cancer genetic mutation in African-American men identified Posted: 10 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Researchers have discovered, for the first time, a genetic mutation in African-American men with a family history of prostate cancer who are at increased risk for the disease. The team identified an inheritable genetic defect in the receptor for the male hormone, androgen (testosterone), that may contribute to the development of prostate cancer and its progression.

Large mammals need protected areas, forest cover in India Posted: 10 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST A study of extinction patterns of 25 large mammal species in India finds that improving existing protected areas, creating new areas, and interconnecting them will be necessary for many species to survive this century.

Osteoporosis drug improves healing after rotator cuff surgery Posted: 10 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Tears in the shoulder's rotator cuff, a common sports injury, are painful and restricting. New research shows an approved therapy for osteoporosis, Forteo, may speed healing and improve patient outcomes, according to a preliminary study.

Physicians click their way to better prescriptions Posted: 10 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Is it time for all community-based doctors to turn to e-prescribing to cut down on the number of medication errors? Electronic prescriptions can dramatically reduce prescribing errors -- up to seven-fold, according to a new study of the benefits of e-prescribing in primary care practices.

Playing music on your clothing Posted: 10 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST In the future it may be considerably easier for orchestras to tour. Jeannine Han, who is in the second year of her master's program in textiles and fashion design at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, Sweden, working together with technician Dan Riley, has developed clothing that plays music when touched.

Discovery in legumes could reduce fertilizer use, aid environment Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Escalating use of nitrogen fertilizer is increasing algal blooms and global warming, but a recent discovery by researchers could begin to reverse that. They have revealed a key step in how symbiotic bacteria living in legumes turn nitrogen into plant food, which could be used to improve the process in some plants, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.

Hormone thought to slow aging associated with increased risk of cancer death Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Older men with high levels of the hormone IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor 1) are at increased risk of cancer death, independent of age, lifestyle and cancer history, according to a new study.

Papaya extract thwarts growth of cancer cells in lab tests Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Papaya extract seems to have a toxic effect on cancer cells in culture, suggesting a potential treatment. Scientists documented for the first time that papaya leaf extract boosts the production of key signaling molecules called Th1-type cytokines. This regulation of the immune system, in addition to papaya's direct anti-tumor effect on various cancers, suggests possible therapeutic strategies that use the immune system to fight cancers.

Obese 3-year-olds show early warning signs for future heart disease Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST A new study finds that obese children as young as 3 years old have elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that in adults is considered an early warning sign for possible future heart disease.

Pottery leads to discovery of peace-seeking women in American Southwest Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST A researcher believes pottery found throughout the North American Southwest comes from a religion of peace-seeking women in the violent, 13th-century American Southwest. These women sought to find a way to integrate newly immigrating refugees and prevent the spread of warfare that decimated communities to the north.

Work, leisure attitudes of Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials compared Posted: 10 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Managing the young generation of workers -- sometimes called GenY, GenMe, or Millennials -- is a hot topic, covered in the popular press and discussed in numerous books and seminars. However, most of these discussions are based on perceptions and anecdote rather than hard data, partially because no one had established that GenY differed in work values from previous generations -- until now.

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