ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

---

• New skeletons from the age of dinosaurs answer century-old questions about prehistoric reptile Typothorax
• Natural self-repair mechanisms that kick in after spinal cord injury identified
• Air traffic poised to become a major factor in global warming, scientists predict
• Surgery outperforms drug therapy in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, research finds
• Reforestation may lower the climate change mitigation potential of forests
• Genetic makeup of Hispanic/Latino Americans influenced by Native American, European and African-American ancestries
• Acupuncture's molecular effects pinned down: New insights spur effort to boost treatment's impact significantly
• Faulty gene stops cell 'antennae' from transmitting
• NASA's airborne infrared observatory sees 'first light'
• Circulating tumor cells correlate with poorer survival in pancreatic cancer patients
• NOAA expects busy Atlantic hurricane season
• Community conditions related to malnutrition deaths among older adults
• From butterflies' wings to bank notes: How nature's colors could cut bank fraud
• MRI research highlights high-risk atherosclerotic plaque hidden in the vessel wall
• Researchers develop test to identify 'best' sperm
• Predicting severity of breast cancer
• NOAA predicts below normal Eastern Pacific hurricane season
• New technology will make election voting more efficient
• How whales have changed over 35 million years
• Genes associated with throat cancer found through study of over 10,000 subjects
• Spawning habitat of bluefin tuna in Gulf of Mexico: Critical area intersects Deepwater Horizon oil spill
• Comparison of overall survival for non-small cell lung cancer patients
• NOAA expands fishing closed area in Gulf of Mexico; approximately 75 percent of Gulf still open for fishing
• Consent forms for research: Have they improved in 25 years?
• Liquid method: pure graphene production

New skeletons from the age of dinosaurs answer century-old questions about prehistoric reptile Typothorax Posted: 31 May 2010 08:00 AM PDT More than 100 years ago, paleontologist E. D. Cope of "Dinosaur Wars" fame found a few fragmentary bones of a reptile in the deserts of New Mexico. He named the reptile Typothorax. A century later, Typothorax -- which belongs to a group of reptiles called aetosaurs -- remained something of a mystery, known mainly from pieces of armor, a few limb bones, and some sections of tail. Now, thanks to two remarkably complete skeletons, paleontologists are finally revealing what Typothorax really looked like.

Natural self-repair mechanisms that kick in after spinal cord injury identified Posted: 31 May 2010 08:00 AM PDT University of Alberta researchers have identified one of the body's natural self-repair mechanisms that kick in after spinal cord injury which could lead to the development of more effective treatments.

Air traffic poised to become a major factor in global warming, scientists predict Posted: 31 May 2010 08:00 AM PDT The first new projections of future aircraft emissions in 10 years predict that carbon dioxide and other gases from air traffic will become a significant source of global warming as they double or triple by 2050.

Surgery outperforms drug therapy in treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, research finds Posted: 31 May 2010 08:00 AM PDT A 17-year-long community study looking at symptoms of enlarged prostate in over 2,000 men age 40 to 79 years suggests that surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia offers more relief from incontinence and obstruction symptoms than treatment from drug-based therapy, according to a new study.

Reforestation may lower the climate change mitigation potential of forests Posted: 31 May 2010 08:00 AM PDT Scientists in the U.S. and China have found that reforestation and afforestation -- the creation of new forests -- may lower the potential of forests for climate change lessening.

Genetic makeup of Hispanic/Latino Americans influenced by Native American, European and African-American ancestries Posted: 31 May 2010 08:00 AM PDT A new study finds that the imprint of European colonialism and imperialism is evident in the genetic makeup of today's Hispanic/Latino American populations. Scientists discovered that Europeans, Native Americans, as well as West Africans brought to the US and Latin America by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, have influenced the genes of the current Hispanic/Latino populations. However, a large variation in genes among individuals within each population were still found to exist.

Acupuncture's molecular effects pinned down: New insights spur effort to boost treatment's impact significantly Posted: 31 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT Scientists have identified the molecule adenosine as a central player in parlaying some of the effects of acupuncture in the body. Building on that knowledge, scientists were able to triple the beneficial effects of acupuncture in mice by adding a medication approved to treat leukemia in people.

Faulty gene stops cell 'antennae' from transmitting Posted: 31 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified the genetic cause of an inherited condition that causes severe fetal abnormalities. The work should allow couples at risk of conceiving babies with the profoundly disabling Meckel-Gruber and Joubert syndromes to be identified beforehand through genetic screening.

NASA's airborne infrared observatory sees 'first light' Posted: 31 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a joint program by NASA and the German Aerospace Center, achieved a major milestone May 26, with its first in-flight night observations.

Circulating tumor cells correlate with poorer survival in pancreatic cancer patients Posted: 31 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT Researchers have found that pancreatic cancer patients who have circulating tumor cells tend to have worse outcomes than patients without circulating tumor cells. Additionally, the team has uncovered evidence that not all circulating tumor cells are the same, and some may predict worse outcomes than others.

NOAA expects busy Atlantic hurricane season Posted: 31 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT An "active to extremely active" hurricane season is expected for the Atlantic Basin this year according to the seasonal outlook issued by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center -- a division of the National Weather Service. As with every hurricane season, this outlook underscores the importance of having a hurricane preparedness plan in place.

Community conditions related to malnutrition deaths among older adults Posted: 31 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT In a new study, researchers tackle a problem seldom acknowledged in the United States -- the incidence of malnutrition-related deaths among older adults.

From butterflies' wings to bank notes: How nature's colors could cut bank fraud Posted: 31 May 2010 02:00 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a way of mimicking the stunningly bright and beautiful colors found on the wings of tropical butterflies. The findings could have important applications in the security printing industry, helping to make bank notes and credit cards harder to forge.

MRI research highlights high-risk atherosclerotic plaque hidden in the vessel wall Posted: 31 May 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have shown that use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an animal model can noninvasively identify dangerous plaques. The findings offer possible applications in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with atherosclerosis.

Researchers develop test to identify 'best' sperm Posted: 31 May 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a method to select sperm with the highest DNA integrity in a bid to improve male fertility. The method is comparable to that of the egg's natural selection abilities, according to their study.

Predicting severity of breast cancer Posted: 31 May 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified a biomarker in patient blood which can predict the severity of breast cancer in patients and may enable clinicians to track patients throughout the course of their treatment.

NOAA predicts below normal Eastern Pacific hurricane season Posted: 31 May 2010 02:00 AM PDT NOAA's National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center has announced that projected climate conditions point to a below normal hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific this year. The outlook calls for a 75 percent probability of a below normal season, a 20 percent probability of a near normal season and a five percent probability of an above normal season.

New technology will make election voting more efficient Posted: 31 May 2010 02:00 AM PDT Did you stay up all night to hear your local result during the recent election? Time-consuming manual vote-counts and ballot boxes could soon be consigned to the history books, thanks to innovative new secure voting technology.

How whales have changed over 35 million years Posted: 30 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Evolutionary biologists have looked back 35 million years to provide the first test of why whales show such rich diversity. Species diversification and body size of whales were established early in their evolution.

Genes associated with throat cancer found through study of over 10,000 subjects Posted: 30 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Scientists from Singapore, China and USA have identified three new susceptibility genes in a genome-wide association study of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The study advances understanding of the important role of host genetic variation in influencing susceptibility to NPC.

Spawning habitat of bluefin tuna in Gulf of Mexico: Critical area intersects Deepwater Horizon oil spill Posted: 30 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Electronic tagging and fisheries catch data have revealed pronounced differences in preferred habitat of Atlantic bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico, despite their close ancestry, according to a new study. Bluefin tuna return to the same regions of the Gulf of Mexico during spring months to spawn. Yellowfin tuna are more widely distributed throughout the warm Gulf waters and occupy the region throughout the year.

Comparison of overall survival for non-small cell lung cancer patients Posted: 30 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Patients with early stages of NSCLC are typically treated with surgery, but those with stage IIIA present more of a challenge because they are such a diverse group. However, new research shows that patient's with stage IIIA NSCLC who receive surgery, lobectomy in particular, have increased overall survival compared to those who received chemoradiation alone -- those receiving lobectomy plus chemoradation had survival rates that were higher than previously reported as well.

NOAA expands fishing closed area in Gulf of Mexico; approximately 75 percent of Gulf still open for fishing Posted: 30 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT NOAA has extended the closed fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico to include a large area of oil sheen patches crossing the eastern edge of the current boundary, as well as an area currently outside the southern boundary which a small portion of the sheen is moving toward.

Consent forms for research: Have they improved in 25 years? Posted: 30 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Consent forms that people sign before participating in research are widely considered difficult to understand and sometimes inaccurate. Lack of clarity was implicated in a high-profile legal settlement in April between Arizona State University and a Native American tribe, which claimed that blood samples that its members provided for genetic research were used for purposes not stated in the consent form. Efforts have been made to improve the forms, but how effective are they?

Liquid method: pure graphene production Posted: 29 May 2010 09:00 PM PDT Researchers have unveiled a new method for producing bulk quantities of pure, one-atom-thick sheets of carbon called graphene. The research could lead to novel, flexible electronics, carbon composites and touch-screen displays.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Latest Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610