ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Exotic quantum spin-liquid simulated: A starting point for superconductivity?
• New, inexpensive way to predict Alzheimer's disease
• NASA sensors providing rapid estimates of Iceland volcano emissions
• Source of recurrent yeast infections in autoimmune syndrome pinpointed
• ODD solution to bomb scares: Optical Dynamic Detection provides better way to detect explosives
• Social influence plays role in surging autism diagnoses, study finds
• Gene that changes the brain’s response to stress identified
• Cancer drug effectiveness substantially advanced: Co-administered peptide directs medicines deep into tumor tissue
• Simple test can detect signs of suicidal thoughts in people taking antidepressants
• Hepatitis C infection doubles risk for kidney cancer, study finds
• Chemical compound effective in destroying antibiotic-resistant biofilms
• Empathy and violence have similar circuits in the brain, research suggests
• Hawaiian submarine canyons are hotspots of biodiversity and biomass for seafloor animal communities
• Powerful new method allows scientists to probe gene activation
• Researchers identify secrets to happiness, depression among oldest of old
• Therapeutic effect of fermented milk on chronic gastritis
• New medications faster: Harvesting biomolecules more quickly and reliably
• Poor sleep for obese adolescents
• Scientists track variant of gene-regulating protein in embryonic stem cells

Exotic quantum spin-liquid simulated: A starting point for superconductivity? Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 PM PDT An exotic state of matter that physicists call a "quantum spin-liquid" can be realized by electrons in a honeycomb crystal structure, researchers in Germany report.

New, inexpensive way to predict Alzheimer's disease Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 PM PDT Your brain's capacity for information is a reliable predictor of Alzheimer's disease and can be cheaply and easily tested, according to scientists.

NASA sensors providing rapid estimates of Iceland volcano emissions Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 PM PDT A NASA research team is using the latest advances in satellite artificial intelligence to speed up estimates of the heat and volume of lava escaping from an erupting volcano in Iceland.

Source of recurrent yeast infections in autoimmune syndrome pinpointed Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 PM PDT Infectious diseases are not always caused by infection. Researchers have revealed that patients who suffer from a rare autoimmune disorder that makes them vulnerable to yeast infections produce antibodies that target and destroy immune-fighting proteins that would otherwise keep yeast in check.

ODD solution to bomb scares: Optical Dynamic Detection provides better way to detect explosives Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 PM PDT The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate may have a better solution to detecting just what's in that suspicious package.

Social influence plays role in surging autism diagnoses, study finds Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 PM PDT Researchers find that children living near a child who has been previously diagnosed with autism have a much higher chance of being diagnosed themselves in the following year. The increased likelihood of being diagnosed is not due to environmental factors or contagious agents, the study found. Rather, it is due mainly to parents learning about autism from other parents who have a child diagnosed with the disorder.

Gene that changes the brain’s response to stress identified Posted: 11 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Stress can literally warp your brain, reshaping some brain structures that help cope with life's pressures. In the short term, the stress response can be helpful -- i.e., fight or flight -- but over time it leads to a wear and tear that can cause disease in both the brain and other parts of the body. Digging deeper into what underlies these potentially harmful changes, new research has identified a key protein involved in remodeling the brain under stress.

Cancer drug effectiveness substantially advanced: Co-administered peptide directs medicines deep into tumor tissue Posted: 11 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have shown that a peptide (a chain of amino acids) called iRGD helps co-administered drugs penetrate deeply into tumor tissue. The peptide has been shown to substantially increase treatment efficacy against human breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers in mice, achieving the same therapeutic effect as a normal dose with one-third as much of the drug.

Simple test can detect signs of suicidal thoughts in people taking antidepressants Posted: 11 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have developed a non-invasive biomarker, or indicator, using a non-invasive measurement of electrical activity in the brain, to associate a sharp reduction of activity in a specific brain region within 48 hours of beginning pharmaceutical treatment in people who proved susceptible to developing thoughts of suicide.

Hepatitis C infection doubles risk for kidney cancer, study finds Posted: 11 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Physicians have found that infection with the hepatitis C virus increases the risk for developing kidney cancer.

Chemical compound effective in destroying antibiotic-resistant biofilms Posted: 11 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers have found a chemical compound that, when used in conjunction with conventional antibiotics, is effective in destroying biofilms produced by antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria such as the Staphylococcus strain MRSA and Acinetobacter. The compound also re-sensitizes those bacteria to antibiotics.

Empathy and violence have similar circuits in the brain, research suggests Posted: 11 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers in Spain have investigated the brain structures involved with empathy -- in other words, the ability to put oneself in another person's position -- and carried out a scientific review of them. They conclude that the brain circuits responsible for empathy are in part the same as those involved with violence.

Hawaiian submarine canyons are hotspots of biodiversity and biomass for seafloor animal communities Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 AM PDT Underwater canyons have long been considered important habitats for marine life, but until recently, only canyons on continental margins had been intensively studied. Researchers have now conducted the first extensive study of canyons in the oceanic Hawaiian Archipelago and found that these submarine canyons support especially abundant and unique communities of megafauna including 41 species not observed in other habitats in the Hawaiian Islands.

Powerful new method allows scientists to probe gene activation Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have developed a powerful new method to investigate the discrete steps necessary to turn on individual genes and examine how the process goes wrong in cancer and other diseases. The finding allows scientists to investigate the unfolding of DNA, a process required for gene activation.

Researchers identify secrets to happiness, depression among oldest of old Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have helped identify what predicts happiness and long life in centenarians, as well as what causes depression in 80-somethings and above.

Therapeutic effect of fermented milk on chronic gastritis Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 AM PDT A research team from Argentina investigated the potential therapeutic effect of exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing Streptococcus thermophilus CRL 1190 fermented milk on chronic gastritis in mice. They found that both fermented milk and EPS were able to modulate the gastric inflammatory response and to increase the thickness of the gastric mucus gel layer, which could be used in novel functional foods as an alternative natural therapy for chronic gastritis induced by acetyl-salicylic acid.

New medications faster: Harvesting biomolecules more quickly and reliably Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 AM PDT Before a new medication arrives on the market, it must be tested on animal models and in humans. In order to conduct these tests, a substantial amount of the therapeutically effective substances are needed -- such as proteins or nucleic acids, for example. Researchers in Germany are now presenting several processes with which biomolecules can be harvested quickly, robustly, reliably and with versatility.

Poor sleep for obese adolescents Posted: 11 Apr 2010 02:00 AM PDT Obese adolescents go to bed later and sleep less than their lighter contemporaries. Researchers explored the sleep patterns of 9-18 year old Australians on different days of the week. The poor sleep among obese students was particularly evident on Sundays -- the night before school resumed after a weekend off.

Scientists track variant of gene-regulating protein in embryonic stem cells Posted: 09 Apr 2010 09:00 PM PDT The journey from embryonic stem cell to a fully developed liver, heart or muscle cell requires not only the right genes, but genes that are turned on and off at the right time -- a job that is handled in part by DNA-packaging proteins known as histones. But it turns out that not all histones are created equally. New research shows that minute variations between histones play an important role in determining how and when genes are read.

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