ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Scavenging energy waste to turn water into hydrogen fuel
• Scientists identify microRNA as possible cause of chemotherapy resistance
• Proposed mission would return sample from asteroid 'time capsule'
• Contraceptive pill not associated with increased long-term risk of death, study finds
• High-tech armrest: Computer-controlled hand and arm support devise developed for doctors, artists
• R-rated movies increase likelihood of underage children trying alcohol
• Cassini data show ice and rock mixture inside Saturn's moon Titan
• Seaweed extract may hold promise for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment
• How electricity moves through cells: Finding has implications for improving energy efficiency
• Research points to way to improve heart treatment
• More maize ethanol may boost greenhouse gas emissions
• After a fight with a partner, brain activity predicts emotional resiliency
• Scientists discover 600 million-year-old origins of vision
• Immune cells that fight parasites may promote allergies and asthma
• Why female moths are big and beautiful
• Finding Charcot-Marie-Tooth gene ends a quest and begins new era of personalized genomic medicine
• Research streamlines data processing to solve problems more efficiently
• Pediatric sports injuries: the silent epidemic
• Aquatic 'dead zones' contributing to climate change
• End to lice? Effectiveness of new oral treatment demonstrated
• Computer system helps reduce adverse drug side effects and interactions in ICU patients
• Neutropenia: Research findings expected to ease treatment of low neutrophil counts in cancer patients
• Khirbet Qeiyafa identified as biblical 'Neta'im'
• Men, not ladies, first: We're still sexist in writing
• New study debunks myths about vulnerability of Amazon rain forests to drought
• Advance in understanding body’s natural defenses
• Malaria in pregnant women: Step towards a new vaccine
• Breast cancer drug fulvestrant appears more effective in the presence of CK8 and CK18
• Production of chemicals from wood waste made more environmentally-friendly and cheaper
• How a romantic breakup affects self-concept
• Shocking recipe for making killer electrons
• Novel stroke treatment passes safety stage of clinical trial
• If bonobo Kanzi can point as humans do, what other similarities can rearing reveal?
• Fewer platelets could be used for some cancer and bone-marrow transplantation patients
• Inventing new oat and barley breads
• Youth baseball throwing arm injuries are rising dramatically
• Scientists solve puzzle of chickens that are half male and half female
• Years of smoking associated with lower Parkinson's risk, not number of cigarettes per day
• Physicists take atoms for a quantum walk
• Movement disorder symptoms are lessened by an antibiotic: Treating worms with ampicillin helps restore normal movement
• World crude oil production may peak a decade earlier than some predict
• Massage eases anxiety, but no better than simple relaxation does
• Traces of the past: Computer algorithm able to 'read' memories
• Mother's flu during pregnancy may increase baby's risk of schizophrenia
• Atmospheric nanoparticles impact health, weather professor says
• Scientists make important discovery in gene regulation
• Can we detect quantum behavior in viruses?
• Male batterers consistently overestimate rates of violence toward partners, study finds

Scavenging energy waste to turn water into hydrogen fuel Posted: 12 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Materials scientists have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel.

Scientists identify microRNA as possible cause of chemotherapy resistance Posted: 12 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Scientists may have uncovered a mechanism for resistance to paclitaxel in ovarian cancer, microRNA-31, suggesting a possible therapeutic target for overcoming chemotherapy resistance.

Proposed mission would return sample from asteroid 'time capsule' Posted: 12 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Meet asteroid 1999 RQ36, a chunk of rock and dust about 1,900 feet in diameter that could tell us how the solar system was born, and perhaps, shed light on how life began. It also might hit us someday.

Contraceptive pill not associated with increased long-term risk of death, study finds Posted: 12 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Women in the UK who have ever used the oral contraceptive pill are less likely to die from any cause, including all cancers and heart disease, compared with never users, according to new research.

High-tech armrest: Computer-controlled hand and arm support devise developed for doctors, artists Posted: 12 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST Engineers developed a computer-controlled, motorized hand and arm support that will let doctors, artists and others precisely control scalpels, brushes and tools over a wider area than otherwise possible, and with less fatigue.

R-rated movies increase likelihood of underage children trying alcohol Posted: 12 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST R-rated movies portray violence and other behaviors deemed inappropriate for children under 17 year of age. A new study finds one more reason why parents should not let their kids watch those movies: adolescents who watch R-rated movies are more likely to try alcohol at a young age.

Cassini data show ice and rock mixture inside Saturn's moon Titan Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST By precisely tracking NASA's Cassini spacecraft on its low swoops over Saturn's moon Titan, scientists have determined the distribution of materials in the moon's interior. The subtle gravitational tugs they measured suggest the interior has been too cold and sluggish to split completely into separate layers of ice and rock.

Seaweed extract may hold promise for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Seaweed extract may eventually emerge as a lymphoma treatment, according to laboratory research. Seaweeds containing fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide similar to heparin in chemical structure, have been reported to have anti-tumor activity in mice and some cell lines.

How electricity moves through cells: Finding has implications for improving energy efficiency Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Researchers have created a molecular image of a system that moves electrons between proteins in cells. The achievement is a breakthrough for biology and could provide insights to minimize energy loss in other systems, from nanoscale devices to moving electricity around the country.

Research points to way to improve heart treatment Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Current drugs used to treat heart failure and irregular heartbeat have limited effectiveness and have side effects. New basic science findings suggest a way that treatments could potentially be refined so that they work better and target only key heart-related mechanisms.

More maize ethanol may boost greenhouse gas emissions Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Mandated increases in the production of maize-derived ethanol will lead to land-use changes that boost carbon dioxide emissions enough to make the fuel a worse environmental option than burning gasoline, according to a new analysis.

After a fight with a partner, brain activity predicts emotional resiliency Posted: 12 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PST Neural activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex can predict whether an individual will still be upset on the day after a conflict with his or her partner, according to new research. The findings point to the brain region's role in emotion regulation, and suggest that greater activity in this area might lead to improvement in day-to-day mood.

Scientists discover 600 million-year-old origins of vision Posted: 12 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST By studying the hydra, a member of an ancient group of sea creatures that is still flourishing, scientists have made a discovery in understanding the origins of human vision.

Immune cells that fight parasites may promote allergies and asthma Posted: 12 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Millions of people in both the developing and developed world may benefit from new immune-system research findings that identify a cell population that fights off parasitic infections but also causes allergies and asthma.

Why female moths are big and beautiful Posted: 12 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST In most animal species, males and females show obvious differences in body size. But how can this be, given that both sexes share the same genes governing their growth? Entomologists studied this conundrum in moths and found clues that had been overlooked by previous efforts to explain this mystery of nature.

Finding Charcot-Marie-Tooth gene ends a quest and begins new era of personalized genomic medicine Posted: 12 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Baylor College of Medicine's Dr. James Lupski came to the end of a personal quest earlier this year when the Baylor Human Genome Sequencing Center sequenced his complete genome and identified the gene involved in his own form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome, which affects the function of nerves in the body's limbs, hands and feet. At the same time, the finding opened a new door showing that genome information has clinical importance.

Research streamlines data processing to solve problems more efficiently Posted: 12 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Researchers have developed a new analytical method that opens the door to faster processing of large amounts of information, with applications in fields as diverse as the military, medical diagnostics and homeland security.

Pediatric sports injuries: the silent epidemic Posted: 12 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PST Two new studies focus on the dramatic rise of pediatric sports injuries in recent years. However, despite this alarming trend, awareness, education, warning signs and early treatment can make a significant difference and help keep these athletes in the game, according to the study experts.

Aquatic 'dead zones' contributing to climate change Posted: 12 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST The increased frequency and intensity of oxygen-deprived "dead zones" along the world's coasts can negatively impact environmental conditions in far more than local waters. Scientists explain that the increased amount of nitrous oxide produced in hypoxic waters can elevate concentrations in the atmosphere, further exacerbating the impacts of global warming and contributing to ozone "holes" that increase our exposure to harmful UV radiation.

End to lice? Effectiveness of new oral treatment demonstrated Posted: 12 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST French medical researchers have recently demonstrated the effectiveness of a new molecule in the fight against lice. Faced with the emergence of increasing resistance to conventional treatments by these parasites, this new medication represents a real therapeutic alternative which is effective in 95 percent of cases.

Computer system helps reduce adverse drug side effects and interactions in ICU patients Posted: 12 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST To get life-threatening diseases under control, patients in the intensive care unit usually are administered many medications at the same time. Even for experts, it is difficult to keep track of the variety of possible side effects and interactions. Researchers in Germany has now shown that physicians can reduce serious events resulting from drug interactions by about half with the help of the "AiDKlinik" drug information system.

Neutropenia: Research findings expected to ease treatment of low neutrophil counts in cancer patients Posted: 12 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST New research may change neutropenia treatment for all childhood cancer patients. Neutropenia is the dangerous drop in white blood cells that leaves cancer patients at increased risk for infections and can delay chemotherapy.

Khirbet Qeiyafa identified as biblical 'Neta'im' Posted: 12 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST Has another mystery in the history of Israel been solved? Researchers have identified Khirbet Qeiyafa as "Neta'im", which is mentioned in the Bible's book of Chronicles.

Men, not ladies, first: We're still sexist in writing Posted: 12 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PST Putting male names before female names in writing is a remnant of sexist thinking, new research suggests.

New study debunks myths about vulnerability of Amazon rain forests to drought Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST A new study has concluded that Amazon rain forests were remarkably unaffected in the face of once-in-a-century drought in 2005, neither dying nor thriving, contrary to a previously published report and claims by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Advance in understanding body’s natural defenses Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST Researchers in the UK have made a new advance in understanding how the body fights certain types of cancer and other disease such as Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Malaria in pregnant women: Step towards a new vaccine Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST By managing to express the protein that enables red blood cells infected with the malaria agent Plasmodium falciparum to bind to the placenta and by deciphering its molecular mechanisms, a team of researchers has taken an important first step in the development of a vaccine against pregnancy-associated malaria.

Breast cancer drug fulvestrant appears more effective in the presence of CK8 and CK18 Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST Women's responsiveness to the second-line breast cancer drug fulvestrant may depend on whether the cancer cells are expressing two key proteins, scientists report.

Production of chemicals from wood waste made more environmentally-friendly and cheaper Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST Researchers have discovered that the bacterium Cupriavidus basilensis breaks down harmful by-products which are produced when sugars are released from wood. They also managed to incorporate the degradation process in bacteria which are in common industrial use. This breakthrough does away with the need to resort to costly and environmentally unfriendly methods for removing by-products, thereby boosting the appeal of waste wood as a sustainable resource for biochemicals and biofuels.

How a romantic breakup affects self-concept Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PST When a romantic relationship ends, an individual's self-concept is vulnerable to change, according to new research.

Shocking recipe for making killer electrons Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 PM PST Take a bunch of fast-moving electrons, place them in orbit and then hit them with the shock waves from a solar storm. What do you get? Killer electrons. That's the shocking recipe revealed by ESA's Cluster mission.

Novel stroke treatment passes safety stage of clinical trial Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 PM PST A clinical research trial of a new treatment to restore brain cells damaged by stroke has passed an important safety stage, according to the neurologist who led the effort.

If bonobo Kanzi can point as humans do, what other similarities can rearing reveal? Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 PM PST You may have more in common with Kanzi, Panbanisha and Nyota, three language-competent bonobos living at Great Ape Trust, than you thought. And those similarities, right at your fingertip, might one day tell scientists more about the effect of culture on neurological disorders that limit human expression. A recently published pointing study supports the assertion that the success of language studies with bonobos is tied to rearing.

Fewer platelets could be used for some cancer and bone-marrow transplantation patients Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 PM PST Physicians may be able to safely lower the platelet dosage in transfusions for cancer and bone-marrow transplant patients without risking increased bleeding, according to new research.

Inventing new oat and barley breads Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 PM PST Scientists are working on a delicious new all-oat or all-barley bread.

Youth baseball throwing arm injuries are rising dramatically Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:00 PM PST Throwing arm injuries are on the rise in Little League and other youth baseball programs. After these injuries occur, many players are out for the season; others require surgery and must refrain from play for an even longer duration; still others sustain injuries so severe that they cause permanent damage and are unable to continue playing baseball. Three new studies address this critical issue, each offering new solutions to help prevent these injuries.

Scientists solve puzzle of chickens that are half male and half female Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST A puzzle that has baffled scientists for centuries -- why some birds appear to be male on one side of the body and female on the other -- has been solved by researchers. The research, which involved studying rare naturally occurring chickens with white (male) plumage on one side and brown (female) plumage on the other, sheds new light on the sexual development of birds.

Years of smoking associated with lower Parkinson's risk, not number of cigarettes per day Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST Researchers have new insight into the relationship between Parkinson's disease and smoking. Several studies have shown that smokers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease. A new study shows that smoking for a greater number of years may reduce the risk of the disease, but smoking a larger number of cigarettes per day may not reduce the risk.

Physicists take atoms for a quantum walk Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST A team of physicists has achieved a quantum walk in a quantum system with up to 23 steps. It is the first time that this quantum process using trapped ions has been demonstrated in detail. This latest advance promises to be important for the development of quantum computers in finding search quantum algorithms that outperform their classical counterparts as different directions could be chosen simultaneously.

Movement disorder symptoms are lessened by an antibiotic: Treating worms with ampicillin helps restore normal movement Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST Discovery of an antibiotic's capacity to improve cell function in laboratory tests is providing movement disorder researchers with leads to more desirable molecules with potentially similar traits, according to scientists.

World crude oil production may peak a decade earlier than some predict Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST In a finding that may speed efforts to conserve oil and intensify the search for alternative fuel sources, scientists in Kuwait predict that world conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014 -- almost a decade earlier than some other predictions.

Massage eases anxiety, but no better than simple relaxation does Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PST A randomized trial shows three months after 10 massages, patients' anxiety symptoms were halved -- an improvement like that previously reported with psychotherapy, medications, or both. But the trial also found massage no more effective than simple relaxation.

Traces of the past: Computer algorithm able to 'read' memories Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Computer programs have been able to predict which of three short films a person is thinking about, just by looking at their brain activity. The research provides further insight into how our memories are recorded.

Mother's flu during pregnancy may increase baby's risk of schizophrenia Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Rhesus monkey babies born to mothers who had the flu while pregnant had smaller brains and showed other brain changes similar to those observed in human patients with schizophrenia, a study has found.

Atmospheric nanoparticles impact health, weather professor says Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Nanoparticles are atmospheric materials so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye, but they can very visibly affect both weather patterns and human health all over the world -- and not in a good way, according to a new study.

Scientists make important discovery in gene regulation Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Scientists have a greater understanding of how our genes are controlled following a major research project. The findings of the study, which looked at how proteins work as teams to control genes in the cells, could also help to unravel the mechanisms of disease such as cancer.

Can we detect quantum behavior in viruses? Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Scientists are using the principles of an iconic quantum mechanics thought experiment -- Schrödinger's superpositioned cat -- to test for quantum properties in objects composed of as many as one billion atoms, possibly including the flu virus.

Male batterers consistently overestimate rates of violence toward partners, study finds Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PST Men who engaged in domestic violence consistently overestimated how common such behavior is by two or three times, and the more they overestimated it the more they engaged in abusing their partner in the previous 90 days.

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