ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Mother birds know best -- even before birth
• Immune cells use 'bungee of death' to kill dangerous cells, new research shows
• Plants can grow quickly or ward off hungry insects, but not both
• MRI finds tumors in second breast of women diagnosed with cancer in one breast, study suggests
• Exploring Echinacea's enigmatic origins
• Pursuit of status and affection drives bullies' behavior
• Prolonged climatic stress main reason for mass extinction 65 million years ago, paleontologist says
• Of mice and memory: 'Working memory' of mice can be improved
• Hidden habits and movements of insect pests revealed by DNA barcoding
• New alterations found in young adults with type 2 diabetes
• A more sensitive sensor
• Older adults remember the good times: Changes in brain connectivity with aging may enable older adults to remember positive events
• Behavior of single protein observed in unprecedented detail
• New gateway to treat leukemia and other cancers
• New Alzheimer's test offers better opportunities for early detection
• Weight-bearing exercise does not prevent increased bone turnover during weight loss
• Plant hormone increases cotton yields in drought conditions
• Sleep differences among ethnic groups revealed in new poll
• Playing 'Pong' with the blink of an eye
• Tumors hide out from the immune system by mimicking lymph nodes
• No 'simple theory of everything' inside the enigmatic E8, researcher says
• Beta-blockers help reduce metastasis and improve survival in breast cancer patients
• Green computing: New world record in energy-efficient data processing
• Spoiler alert: TV medical dramas 'rife' with bioethical issues and breaches of professional conduct
• Your fat may help you heal: Researcher extracts natural scaffold for tissue growth
• Rapid development of drug-resistant 2009 H1N1 influenza reported in two cases
• Scientists create rainbow of fluorescent probes
• How cells recognize viral toxins
• Search for Air France Flight 447 begun
• Feeling powerful leads to more optimistic and less accurate time predictions
• Dawn of the Anthropocene Epoch? Earth has entered new age of geological time, experts say
• Community-acquired MRSA becoming more common in pediatric ICU patients
• Snowblower on Enceladus: How moon's ice jets feed Saturn's E ring and cause some slight snowfall
• Insulin-like signal needed to keep stem cells alive in adult brain
• The sexual tug-of-war -- a genomic view
• In brain-injured children, early gesturing predicts language delays

Mother birds know best -- even before birth Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Mother birds communicate with their developing chicks before they even hatch by leaving them messages in the egg, new research has found.

Immune cells use 'bungee of death' to kill dangerous cells, new research shows Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Immune cells ensnare dangerous cells that are on the run with a bungee-like nanotube, according to new research. The study shows that natural killer cells use this bungee to destroy cells that could otherwise escape them.

Plants can grow quickly or ward off hungry insects, but not both Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT There's a war occurring each day in our backyards -- plant versus plant-eating insect versus insect-eating insect. Research suggests the outcome -- of interest to farmers -- is a stalemate.

MRI finds tumors in second breast of women diagnosed with cancer in one breast, study suggests Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Postmenopausal women, including those over 70 years old, who have been newly diagnosed with cancer in one breast have higher cancer detection rates when the other breast is scanned for tumors with MRI, compared to premenopausal women, say researchers.

Exploring Echinacea's enigmatic origins Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Agricultural cientists are helping to sort through the jumbled genetics of Echinacea, the coneflower known for its blossoms -- and its potential for treating infections, inflammation, and other human ailments.

Pursuit of status and affection drives bullies' behavior Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT A longitudinal study of almost 500 Dutch elementary-school children ages 9 to 12 finds that bullies generally choose to gain status by dominating their victims and that, at the same time, bullies try to reduce the chances that they'll end up on the outs with other classmates by choosing as victims children who are weak and not well-liked by others. The research team also found that gender plays a strong role in who victimizes whom.

Prolonged climatic stress main reason for mass extinction 65 million years ago, paleontologist says Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Long-term climate fluctuations were probably the main reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs and other creatures 65 million years ago, according to new research from a German paleontologist. The results challenge the almost 30-year-old theory that a meteorite impact at the Mexican Yucatan peninsula was the single cause for one of the five largest mass extinctions in Earth history.

Of mice and memory: 'Working memory' of mice can be improved Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Mice trained to improve their working memory become more intelligent, suggesting that similar improvements in working memory might help human beings enhance their brain power, according to new research.

Hidden habits and movements of insect pests revealed by DNA barcoding Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have found a faster way to study the spread and diet of insect pests. Using a technique called DNA barcoding, which involves the identification of species from a short DNA sequence, they studied populations of numerous moth and butterfly species across Papua New Guinea. DNA barcodes showed that migratory patterns and caterpillar diets are very dynamic.

New alterations found in young adults with type 2 diabetes Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Diet and aerobic exercise are highly effective for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but not for obese subjects that have developed the disease when very young. A new study demonstrates that obese subjects between 18 and 25 years of age carry mitochondrial proteins and genes that work abnormally and that these anomalies contribute to generating insulin resistance and a reduced response to physical exercise.

A more sensitive sensor Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have set out to make sensors for microelectromechanical systems significantly more sensitive and reliable than they are today, shrinking their work to nano-size to do it.

Older adults remember the good times: Changes in brain connectivity with aging may enable older adults to remember positive events Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Despite the aches and pains that occur in old age, many older adults maintain a positive outlook, remembering the positive experiences from their past.

Behavior of single protein observed in unprecedented detail Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Scrutinizing a single molecule for more than a few milliseconds used to require effectively "stapling" it down, inhibiting its normal behavior. Now, using a newly developed technique, chemists have for the first time confined a protein (one involved in photosynthesis), observed its behavior for more than a second and learned things about it that could influence solar energy technology and biofuels.

New gateway to treat leukemia and other cancers Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a previously hidden channel to attack leukemia and other cancer cells, according to a new study. The findings may change the way doctors treat cancer patients.

New Alzheimer's test offers better opportunities for early detection Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Early detection is key to more effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of cognitive impairment, and recent research shows that a new test is more than 95 percent effective in detecting cognitive abnormalities associated with these diseases.

Weight-bearing exercise does not prevent increased bone turnover during weight loss Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT During weight loss, bones are being remodeled -- breaking down old bone and forming new bone -- at an accelerated rate. As a result, bone density is reduced, causing increased fragility. In a new study researchers found that weight-bearing exercise, in this case, fast walking or jogging, did not prevent the increased bone turnover caused by weight loss.

Plant hormone increases cotton yields in drought conditions Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT A naturally occurring class of plant hormones called cytokinins has been found to help increase cotton yields during drought conditions.

Sleep differences among ethnic groups revealed in new poll Posted: 27 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT Significant differences have been found in the sleep habits and attitudes of Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics and whites.

Playing 'Pong' with the blink of an eye Posted: 26 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT University students in the UK have developed a computer game that is operated by eye movements, which could allow people with severe physical disabilities to become "gamers" for the first time.

Tumors hide out from the immune system by mimicking lymph nodes Posted: 26 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT A new mechanism explaining how tumors escape the body's natural immune surveillance has recently been discovered. The study shows how tumors can create a tolerant microenviroment and avoid attack by the immune system by mimicking key features of lymph nodes. The discovery underscores the role of the lymphatic system in cancer and may open up new possibilities for cancer treatment.

No 'simple theory of everything' inside the enigmatic E8, researcher says Posted: 26 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT The "exceptionally simple theory of everything," proposed by surfing physicist Garrett Lisi, does not hold water, according to some mathematicians. Centered on the elegant E8 structure, they use linear algebra and proving theorems to translate the physics into math, and show that Lisi's formulas don't work, while also demonstrating flaws in a class of related theories.

Beta-blockers help reduce metastasis and improve survival in breast cancer patients Posted: 26 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT Treatment with beta-blockers can help reduce the spread of cancer, says the first study in the world to have investigated their effect in breast cancer patients. Patients treated with beta-blockers showed a significant reduction in metastasis and better survival. The use of beta-blockers appears to slow down tumor growth and could also be used to target those patients who have an increased risk of developing secondary cancers.

Green computing: New world record in energy-efficient data processing Posted: 26 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT Scientists in Germany have developed a system that substantially reduces the energy consumption for processing huge amounts of data. They improved over the power efficiency of the former record holders by a factor of three to four.

Spoiler alert: TV medical dramas 'rife' with bioethical issues and breaches of professional conduct Posted: 26 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT Scientists analyzed depictions of bioethical issues and professionalism over a full season of two popular medical dramas -- "Grey's Anatomy" and "House, M.D." -- and found that the shows were "rife" with ethical dilemmas and actions that often ran afoul of professional codes of conduct.

Your fat may help you heal: Researcher extracts natural scaffold for tissue growth Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT A person's own fat cells may be the source of matrix material to grow new cells and, ultimately, new tissue for humans without risk of rejection.

Rapid development of drug-resistant 2009 H1N1 influenza reported in two cases Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Two people with compromised immune systems who became ill with 2009 H1N1 influenza developed drug-resistant strains of virus after less than two weeks on therapy, report doctors.

Scientists create rainbow of fluorescent probes Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Scientists are advancing the state-of-the-art in live cell fluorescent imaging by developing a new class of fluorescent probes that span the spectrum -- from violet to the near-infrared. The new technology, called fluoromodules, can be used to monitor biological activities of individual proteins in living cells in real time.

How cells recognize viral toxins Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT New research has identified how specific proteins on the surface of cells, known as class A scavenger receptors, bind to double-stranded RNA and bring it into the cell, jumpstarting the immune response to a virus.

Search for Air France Flight 447 begun Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT Researchers have begun a sea search operation to locate the deep-sea wreck site of Air France Flight 447 and to retrieve the flight recorders from the Airbus A 330.

Feeling powerful leads to more optimistic and less accurate time predictions Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:00 PM PDT When people feel powerful they become more optimistic and less accurate in predicting the completion time of forthcoming tasks. New research examined for the first time the planning behavior of powerful people and found that power drastically reduced the accuracy of forecasts with error rates soaring up to 70%.

Dawn of the Anthropocene Epoch? Earth has entered new age of geological time, experts say Posted: 26 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PDT A number of leading scientists suggest that Earth has entered a new age of geological time -- the Anthropocene Epoch. And the dawning of this new epoch, they say, may include the sixth largest mass extinction in Earth's history.

Community-acquired MRSA becoming more common in pediatric ICU patients Posted: 26 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PDT Once considered a hospital anomaly, community-acquired infections with drug-resistant strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus now turn up regularly among children hospitalized in the intensive-care unit, according to new research.

Snowblower on Enceladus: How moon's ice jets feed Saturn's E ring and cause some slight snowfall Posted: 26 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PDT Cassini's nose dives through Saturn's E ring have yielded insights on the give and take of ice particles between Enceladus and the ring. Some of the moon's jets are successful in shooting ice grains far enough to become part of the E ring. But even the ice grains that make it to the E ring tend to be recaptured by Enceladus within a few orbits as the moon moves around Saturn.

Insulin-like signal needed to keep stem cells alive in adult brain Posted: 26 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PDT Most parts of the fruit fly brain, as well as the human brain, are devoid of neural stem cells, which means that once a nerve cell dies, it can't be replaced. A new study in fruit flies shows one way to keep stem cells from dying as the brain matures. Whereas stem cells blocked from apoptosis persist, they suffer insulin withdrawal; revving up the insulin system gives healthy stem cells and generates normal-looking neurons.

The sexual tug-of-war -- a genomic view Posted: 26 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PDT The genes that are most beneficial to males are the most disadvantageous for females, and vice versa. However, this genetic conflict between the sexes is important in maintaining genetic variation within a species, researchers have shown in a study on fruit-flies.

In brain-injured children, early gesturing predicts language delays Posted: 26 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PDT A new study has found that gesturing at 18 months (but not early speech) predicted which children with pre- or perinatal brain lesions had vocabulary delays a year later. The results suggest that gesture may be a tool for diagnosing persistent language delay in such children. This research is important because about 1 in 4,000 infants has this type of brain injury, and intervention early in development may be critical to successful remediation of language delay.

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