ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Bully galaxy rules the neighborhood
• Omega 3 curbs precancerous growths in those prone to bowel cancer, study suggests
• Tryptophan-enriched diet reduces pig aggression
• Children with insomnia may have impaired heart rate variability
• Plant's ability to identify, block invading bacteria examined
• Frequency and cost of copying college homework revealed
• Evolution of fairness and punishment
• Variability as well as high blood pressure holds high risk of stroke
• Barnacles prefer upwelling currents, enriching food chains in the Galapagos
• Children and teens less likely than young adults to die of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• First parasitic nematodes reported in biofuel crops
• Broad application of bipolar diagnosis in children may do more harm than good
• Brain scans could be marketing tool of the future
• Test of implantable cardioverter defibrillator linked to cognitive problems
• Wide variety of genetic splicing in embryonic stem cells identified
• Examining alcohol use disorders through gene networks instead of individual genes
• UK scientists devise worldwide food alert system
• Older non-smokers gain most from tobacco ban, study suggests
• Evidence indicates humans' early tree-dwelling ancestors were also bipedal
• Imaging fat layer around heart can help predict disease
• Microbe detective seeks out germs
• Machinery of immune protection against inflammatory diseases like colitis detailed
• Breakthrough for the quantum simulator: When ultra-cold atoms can be anything
• Sleep deprivation influences drug use in teens' social networks, study finds
• Acne drug prevents HIV breakout
• Freezing out breast cancer
• Silver proves its mettle for nanotech applications
• Vitamin D levels have different effects on atherosclerosis in blacks and whites, study finds
• Perils of plastics? Survey of risks to human health and the environment
• Failed college dreams don't spell depression, study finds
• Rapid response oceanographic expedition dispatched to Chile earthquake site
• Feedback loop explains inflammatory effect on intestinal lining
• Grass, fungus combination affects ecology
• Do financial interests result in positive results in scientific research?

Bully galaxy rules the neighborhood Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT In general, galaxies can be thought of as "social" -- hanging out in groups and frequently interacting. However, a new Hubble Space Telescope image highlights how some galaxies appear to be hungry loners. These cosmic oddities have set astronomers on the "case of the missing neighbor galaxies."

Omega 3 curbs precancerous growths in those prone to bowel cancer, study suggests Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT A purified form of an omega 3 cuts the number and size of precancerous bowel growths (polyps) in people whose genetic makeup predisposes them to bowel cancer, finds new research.

Tryptophan-enriched diet reduces pig aggression Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Feeding the amino acid tryptophan to young female pigs as part of their regular diet makes them less aggressive and easier to manage, according to a new study.

Children with insomnia may have impaired heart rate variability Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Children with insomnia and shorter sleep duration had impaired modulation of heart rhythm during sleep, researchers report.

Plant's ability to identify, block invading bacteria examined Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Understanding how plants defend themselves from bacterial infections may help researchers understand how people and other animals could be better protected from such pathogens. That's the idea behind a study to observe a specific bacteria that infects tomatoes but normally does not bother the common laboratory plant arabidopsis.

Frequency and cost of copying college homework revealed Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT The history of students who copy homework from classmates may be as old as school itself. But in today's age of lecture-hall laptops and online coursework, how prevalent and damaging to the education of students has such academic dishonesty become? According to new research, it turns out that unnoticed student cheating is a significant cause of course failure nationally.

Evolution of fairness and punishment Posted: 21 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT A new study suggests that the cooperative nature of each society is at least partly dependent upon historical forces -- such as religious beliefs and the growth of market transactions.

Variability as well as high blood pressure holds high risk of stroke Posted: 21 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Three new articles show that it is variability in patients' blood pressure that predicts the risk of a stroke most powerfully and not a high average or usual blood pressure level.

Barnacles prefer upwelling currents, enriching food chains in the Galapagos Posted: 21 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT The barnacle, a key thread in the marine food web, was thought to be missing along rocky coasts dominated by upwelling. Now a research team has found the opposite to be true: Barnacle populations thrive in vertical upwelling zones in moderately deep waters in the Galapagos Islands.

Children and teens less likely than young adults to die of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Posted: 21 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Young adults diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma appear to have a higher risk of dying from the disease than do children and teens.

First parasitic nematodes reported in biofuel crops Posted: 21 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers in Illinois have discovered widespread occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes in the first reported nematode survey of Miscanthus and switchgrass plants used for biofuels.

Broad application of bipolar diagnosis in children may do more harm than good Posted: 21 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Troubled children diagnosed with bipolar disorder may fare better with a different diagnosis, according to new research. The researchers support an emerging approach, which gives many of those children a new diagnosis called severe mood dysregulation or temper dysregulation disorder with dysphoria.

Brain scans could be marketing tool of the future Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Using advanced tools to see the human brain at work, a new generation of marketing experts may be able to test a product's appeal while it is still being designed, according to a new analysis.

Test of implantable cardioverter defibrillator linked to cognitive problems Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT A standard test of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is linked to significant thought-processing problems that improve for most patients within a year after the device is inserted, according to new research.

Wide variety of genetic splicing in embryonic stem cells identified Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Like tuning in to an elusive radio frequency in a busy city, human embryonic stem cells must sort through a seemingly endless number of options to settle on the specific genetic message, or station, that instructs them to become more-specialized cells in the body. Now researchers have shown that this tuning process is accomplished in part by restricting the number of messages, called transcripts, produced from each gene.

Examining alcohol use disorders through gene networks instead of individual genes Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Multiple genetic, environmental and behavioral factors contribute to alcohol use disorders (AUDs). A person's level of response (LR) to alcohol can indicate a person's risk for developing AUDs. A new study has looked at "gene networks" instead of individual genes to confirm the influence of glutamate receptor signaling genes on a person's LR.

UK scientists devise worldwide food alert system Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Countries producing food containing harmful bacteria and toxins could be named and shamed more quickly using a worldwide alert system devised by a team of scientists from the UK.

Older non-smokers gain most from tobacco ban, study suggests Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Older people who have never smoked benefit most from smoking bans, a study suggests.

Evidence indicates humans' early tree-dwelling ancestors were also bipedal Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Experiments by anthropologists show that fossil footprints made 3.6 million years ago are the earliest direct evidence of early hominids using the kind of efficient, upright posture and gait now seen in modern humans.

Imaging fat layer around heart can help predict disease Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Imaging epicardial adipose tissue, or the layer of fat around the heart, can provide extra information compared with standard diagnostic techniques such as coronary artery calcium scoring. The size of the layer of fat around the heart can be measured by X-ray imaging techniques such as CT or MRI.

Microbe detective seeks out germs Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Microorganisms are everywhere and most of them are harmless, but they can do a lot of damage in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals or in tissue transplants. With the aid of a new device, germs can be detected in artificial cartilage within a few hours.

Machinery of immune protection against inflammatory diseases like colitis detailed Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Scientists report a protein made by a gene already associated with a handful of human inflammatory immune diseases plays a pivotal role in protecting the intestinal tract from colitis.

Breakthrough for the quantum simulator: When ultra-cold atoms can be anything Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT For the first time, physicists have succeeded in describing a quantum simulator realizable with current technology. The scientists have shown that the level of control needed for such a simulator can be achieved using ultra-cold atoms in a highly excited Rydberg states.

Sleep deprivation influences drug use in teens' social networks, study finds Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Recent studies have shown that behaviors such as happiness, obesity, smoking and altruism are "contagious" within adult social networks. In other words, your behavior not only influences your friends, but also their friends and so on. Researchers have taken this a step farther and found that the spread of one behavior in social networks influences the spread of another behavior -- adolescent drug use.

Acne drug prevents HIV breakout Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating.

Freezing out breast cancer Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Interventional radiologists have opened the door to an encouraging potential future treatment for the nearly 200,000 women who are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States each year: image-guided, multiprobe cryotherapy. In the first reported study, researchers were able to successfully freeze breast cancer in patients who refused surgery; the women did not have to undergo surgery after treatment to ensure that tumors had been killed.

Silver proves its mettle for nanotech applications Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have introduced a new method to deterministically and precisely position silver nanoparticles onto self-assembling DNA scaffolds.

Vitamin D levels have different effects on atherosclerosis in blacks and whites, study finds Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Vitamin D is quickly becoming the "go-to" remedy for treating a wide range of illnesses, from osteoporosis to atherosclerosis. However, new evidence suggests that supplementing vitamin D in those with low levels may have different effects based on patient race and, in black individuals, the supplement could actually do harm.

Perils of plastics? Survey of risks to human health and the environment Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have undertaken a survey of existing scientific literature concerning the hazards of plastics to human health and to the ecosystems we depend on.

Failed college dreams don't spell depression, study finds Posted: 20 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT High school seniors, take note: a wise person once said, "It is better to shoot for the stars and miss than aim at the gutter and hit it." That's right on, says a sociology professor who just completed a study to determine whether unrealized educational expectations are associated with depression among adults.

Rapid response oceanographic expedition dispatched to Chile earthquake site Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Scientists are undertaking an expedition to explore the rupture site of the 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake.

Feedback loop explains inflammatory effect on intestinal lining Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Signals released by immune cells during a bout of inflammatory bowel disease interfere with intestinal cells' ability to regenerate. Yet people with inflammatory bowel diseases have a higher risk of developing colon cancer: a hyper-activation of growth in those same intestinal cells. Researchers have identified a feedback loop involving a growth-regulating circuit in intestinal cells, which helps explain these apparently contradictory observations. Interfering with one component of the feedback loop -- a protein called "dickkopf 1" -- may aid in controlling inflammatory bowel diseases.

Grass, fungus combination affects ecology Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Fescue grass covers an area equivalent to 12 million football fields in the US, and a new study by ecologists shows that the grass and a symbiotic fungus can affect local ecosystems in significant ways. Study results show that the genetic identity of an invisible fungus living symbiotically in fescue can alter the surrounding composition and diversity of the plant community.

Do financial interests result in positive results in scientific research? Posted: 20 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Virtually all of the scientific authors who provided positive results for the anti-diabetic drug rosiglitazone had financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies, according to new research.

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