ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Particle chameleon caught in the act of changing
• Bone marrow plays critical role in enhancing immune response to viruses, researchers find
• Revealing the ancient Chinese secret of sticky rice mortar
• Epilepsy surgery can have beneficial effect on memory, research suggests
• Student uses pedal power to create novel machine
• Will we succeed? The science of self-motivation
• Powerful genome barcoding system reveals large-scale variation in human DNA
• Animal study reveals new target for antidepressants
• Natural selection for moderate testosterone surprises scientists
• Inflammasome increases muscle damage in muscular dystrophy, study finds
• Faster computers with nanotechnology
• Alcohol-related traffic-risk behaviors among college students become worse at age 21
• New species of plant-eating dinosaur named for 'grinding mouth and wrinkle eye'
• New pathway to cheap insulin
• Scientists probe Earth's core
• New target may inhibit metastatic breast cancer
• Breakthrough in nano-optics: Researchers develop plasmonic amplifier
• Impulsivity-related problem drinking decreases greatly for 18- to 25-year-olds
• Scientists decipher structure of nature's 'light switch'
• Breakthrough in stem cell culturing
• Better animal-free test for chemicals that can cause contact dermatitis
• MicroRNA expression and turnover are regulated by neural activity in the retina and brain
• Classic grammar model can be used for computerized parsing
• Chances of surviving cardiac arrest depends on your neighborhood
• What happens when we get angry?
• Antidepressants in pregnancy increase risk of miscarriage, study finds
• Embryogenesis tool: Imaging probes attached to sugar molecules in the embryos of zebrafish
• Surgical procedure offers new option for pediatric patients with rare cancer in abdomen
• Warmer climate makes Baltic more salty, new research suggests
• Home, preschool and school coordination boosts achievement

Particle chameleon caught in the act of changing Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT Researchers on the OPERA experiment at the Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy have announced the first direct observation of a tau particle in a muon neutrino beam sent through the Earth from CERN, 730 kilometers away. This is a significant result, providing the final missing piece of a puzzle that has been challenging science since the 1960s, and giving tantalizing hints of new physics to come.

Bone marrow plays critical role in enhancing immune response to viruses, researchers find Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT Researchers for the first time have determined that bone marrow cells play a critical role in fighting respiratory viruses, making the bone marrow a potential therapeutic target, especially in people with compromised immune systems. They have found that during infections of the respiratory tract, cells produced by the bone marrow are instructed by proteins to migrate to the lungs to help fight infection.

Revealing the ancient Chinese secret of sticky rice mortar Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the secret behind an ancient Chinese mortar made from sticky rice, that delicious "sweet rice" that is a modern mainstay in Asian dishes. They also concluded that the mortar -- a paste used to bind and fill gaps between bricks, stone blocks and other construction materials -- remains the best available material for restoring ancient buildings.

Epilepsy surgery can have beneficial effect on memory, research suggests Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy run the risk of gradual deterioration in their cognitive abilities. Surgical treatment generally puts an end to seizures but can have a negative effect on memory. However, there is no further deterioration in memory, and some patients may even recover some of their memory capacity, new research from Sweden reveals.

Student uses pedal power to create novel machine Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT An innovative bicycle-powered water pump, created by a student in the UK, has proved a huge success and is now in regular production in Guatemala, transforming the lives of rural residents.

Will we succeed? The science of self-motivation Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT Can you help you? Recent research has shown that those who ask themselves whether they will perform a task generally do better than those who tell themselves that they will.

Powerful genome barcoding system reveals large-scale variation in human DNA Posted: 01 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Genetic variation on the order of thousands to hundreds of thousands of DNA's smallest pieces -- large swaths varying in length or location or even showing up in reverse order -- appeared 4,205 times in a comparison of DNA from just four people, according to a new study.

Animal study reveals new target for antidepressants Posted: 01 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Antidepressants such as Prozac are not instant mood-lifters. But researchers have found clues to the delayed response and common return of depressive symptoms when taking serotonin-related antidepressants. Rather than activating all of the brain's serotonin receptors, as current drugs do, their study suggests there's just one critical serotonin receptor important to relieving depression and anxiety. It opens the door to more effective treatment for the 20.9 million Americans with depressive disorders.

Natural selection for moderate testosterone surprises scientists Posted: 01 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT A field study of the relationship between testosterone and natural selection in an American songbird, the dark-eyed junco, has defied some expectations and confirmed others. Scientists report that extreme testosterone production -- high or low -- puts male dark-eyed junco at a disadvantage in both survival and reproduction outside their semi-monogamous breeding pairs.

Inflammasome increases muscle damage in muscular dystrophy, study finds Posted: 01 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT In a new study, researchers demonstrate that affected muscle may directly contribute to inflammation in muscular dystrophy.

Faster computers with nanotechnology Posted: 01 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT The silicon transistors in your computer may be replaced in ten years by transistors based on carbon nanotubes. This is what scientists in Sweden are hoping: they have developed a method to control the nanotubes during production.

Alcohol-related traffic-risk behaviors among college students become worse at age 21 Posted: 01 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Drinking and driving among college students continues to be a major public-health concern. A new study has examined how these behaviors may change as students move through their college years. Results showed that the prevalence and frequency of alcohol-related traffic-risk behaviors took a significant upturn when students turned 21 years old.

New species of plant-eating dinosaur named for 'grinding mouth and wrinkle eye' Posted: 01 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT A team of paleontologists has described a new species of herbivore dinosaur based upon an incomplete skeleton found in western New Mexico. The new species, Jeyawati rugoculus, thrived near the shore of a vast inland sea 91 million years ago.

New pathway to cheap insulin Posted: 01 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Researchers have now developed a new method to cheaply produce insulin for the treatment of diabetes.

Scientists probe Earth's core Posted: 01 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT By observing distant earthquakes, researchers have revealed new clues about the top of the Earth's core.

New target may inhibit metastatic breast cancer Posted: 01 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT New research implicate galectin-7 as a breast cancer differentiation marker.

Breakthrough in nano-optics: Researchers develop plasmonic amplifier Posted: 01 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated net optical amplification in a plasmonic waveguide. The results represent an important breakthrough in the field of plasmonics. Optical amplification is the only feasible strategy to make light travel over sizable distances when it is bound in a plasmonic mode. Achieving such a macroscopic propagation of surface plasma waves is critical for many applications of the emerging plasmonics technology, which range from compact communication devices and optical computing to the detection and characterization of cells, virus particles or even single molecules.

Impulsivity-related problem drinking decreases greatly for 18- to 25-year-olds Posted: 01 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Impulsivity normally decreases during emerging and young adulthood and is associated with reduced substance abuse. Not all individuals, however, "mature out" of impulsive behavior. A new study has found that 18-to-25-year-olds exhibited the largest declines in impulsivity as well as the sharpest decreases in alcohol consumption.

Scientists decipher structure of nature's 'light switch' Posted: 01 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Opening a window into the process by which plants turn on the greenery and unleash a floral profusion of color, scientists have deciphered the structure of a molecular "switch" much like the one plants use to sense light. Their findings help explain how the switch works and could be used to design new ways to modify plant growth.

Breakthrough in stem cell culturing Posted: 01 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been cultured under chemically controlled conditions without the use of animal substances, which is essential for future clinical uses. The method has been developed by researchers in Sweden.

Better animal-free test for chemicals that can cause contact dermatitis Posted: 01 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Scientists are reporting development of a fast, simple, inexpensive method for determining whether chemicals in consumer products and workplaces may cause skin allergies in people -- a method that does not involve use of animals.

MicroRNA expression and turnover are regulated by neural activity in the retina and brain Posted: 01 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Scientists in Switzerland have found that microRNAs, small RNA regulators of gene expression, are up- and down-regulated in the retina during light-dark adaptation and in response to synaptic stimulation in hippocampal and cortical neurons. This important discovery provides an unexpected function for microRNAs: it shows that they are able to regulate rapidly the expression of synaptic proteins, which are involved in synapse plasticity and memory formation.

Classic grammar model can be used for computerized parsing Posted: 01 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT A classic Nordic grammar model can be used for computerized grammatical analyses and technical applications of modern Swedish text, new research reveals. One such application enables queries answered by a digital text to be generated when it is opened, and then used to search for specific information in the text.

Chances of surviving cardiac arrest depends on your neighborhood Posted: 01 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT The odds of surviving cardiac arrest may depend on which part of town you call home and whether anyone in the neighborhood comes to your rescue by attempting to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), according to a new study.

What happens when we get angry? Posted: 31 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT When we get angry, the heart rate, arterial tension and testosterone production increases, cortisol (the stress hormone) decreases, and the left hemisphere of the brain becomes more stimulated. This is indicated by a new investigation that analyzes the changes in the brain's cardiovascular, hormonal and asymmetric activation response when we get angry.

Antidepressants in pregnancy increase risk of miscarriage, study finds Posted: 31 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT A new study found a 68 percent increase in the overall risk of miscarriage in pregnant women using antidepressants.

Embryogenesis tool: Imaging probes attached to sugar molecules in the embryos of zebrafish Posted: 31 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Researchers have successfully attached imaging probes to glycans -- the sugar molecules that are abundant on the surfaces of living cells -- in the embryos of zebrafish less than seven hours after fertilization. This new technique enables scientists to study the physiological changes cells undergo during embryogenesis without invading and doing damage to the embryos.

Surgical procedure offers new option for pediatric patients with rare cancer in abdomen Posted: 31 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT A study by a pediatric surgical oncologist shows that an adult surgery adapted for use in young patients increased the survival of children with rare tumors in the abdomen.

Warmer climate makes Baltic more salty, new research suggests Posted: 31 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Scientists have long believed that a warmer climate will increase river runoff to the Baltic Sea, thus making the inland sea less salty. However, a new extensive study by researchers in Sweden reveals that the effect will probably be the opposite: climate change will reduce river runoff and increase salinity in the Baltic Sea.

Home, preschool and school coordination boosts achievement Posted: 31 May 2010 11:00 PM PDT Children whose minds are stimulated in several early childhood settings -- home, preschool, and school -- have higher achievement in elementary school. Moreover, what matters is not whether children's learning is supported at home, or stimulated in preschool or in elementary school, but that all three of these occur.

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