ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Using carbon nanotubes in lithium batteries can dramatically improve energy capacity
• Oral bacteria may offer probiotic potential against upper respiratory infections
• Polar oceans key to temperature in the tropics
• Sequencing a single genome yields cause of inherited bone disorder
• Secret life of water at very low temperatures
• When do newborns first feel cold?
• New research sheds light on Antarctica's melting Pine Island Glacier
• Certain obese people are not at high risk of heart disease, diabetes, study finds
• VISTA views the Sculptor Galaxy
• Therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells
• Physical model describes structures of viral capsids
• Gabapentin opens window of communication
• Battle of the bugs leaves humans as collateral damage
• Cutting carbs is more effective than low-fat diet for insulin-resistant women, study finds
• Comprehensive look at human impacts on ocean chemistry
• Feared side effect of Alzheimer's drugs is unlikely, new model suggests
• Ultra-simple method for creating nanoscale gold coatings developed
• Brain MRI in children: 'Incidental' findings yield disclosure dilemmas for doctors, patients
• Canyon carved in just three days in Texas flood: Insight into ancient flood events on Earth and Mars
• Women who consume large amounts of tea have increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis, study finds
• Caribbean coral reef protection efforts miss the mark, research suggests
• Protein identified that modulates metabolic dysfunction in obesity
• In pursuit of the energy of life: Researchers decipher makeup of generators in cellular power plants
• Understanding genetic mixing through migration: A tool for clinicians as well as geneaologists
• Molecular discovery suggests new strategy to fight cancer drug resistance
• Bioengineers create simulator to test blood platelets in virtual heart attacks

Using carbon nanotubes in lithium batteries can dramatically improve energy capacity Posted: 21 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Batteries might gain a boost in power capacity as a result of a new finding. Researchers found that using carbon nanotubes for one of the battery's electrodes produced a significant increase -- up to tenfold -- in the amount of power it could deliver from a given weight of material, compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery. Such electrodes might find applications in small portable devices, and with further research might also lead to improved batteries for larger, more power-hungry applications.

Oral bacteria may offer probiotic potential against upper respiratory infections Posted: 21 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Bacteria in the mouth may offer probiotic potential against upper respiratory tract infections, say researchers.

Polar oceans key to temperature in the tropics Posted: 21 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have found that the ocean temperature at Earth's polar extremes has a significant impact thousands of miles away at the equator.

Sequencing a single genome yields cause of inherited bone disorder Posted: 21 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Combining new, whole-genome sequencing technology with classic genetic approaches to understanding inherited diseases, geneticists have discovered two gene mutations that cause metachondromatosis, a rare, heritable disorder that leads to bony growths, typically on hands and feet.

Secret life of water at very low temperatures Posted: 21 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT The secret life of water just got weirder. For years water has been known to exist in 15 phases -- not just the merry threesome of solid, liquid and gas from grade school science. Now, chemists have confirmed the coexistence of ice and liquid after water crystallizes at very low temperatures.

When do newborns first feel cold? Posted: 21 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Cold sensing neural circuits in newborn mice take around two weeks to become fully active, according to a new study. The finding adds to understanding of the cold sensing protein TRPM8.

New research sheds light on Antarctica's melting Pine Island Glacier Posted: 21 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Scientists are reporting new results from an investigation into Antarctica's potential contribution to sea level rise. Thinning ice in West Antarctica is currently contributing nearly 10 per cent of global sea level rise, and scientists have identified Pine Island Glacier as a major source.

Certain obese people are not at high risk of heart disease, diabetes, study finds Posted: 21 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Obese people without metabolic risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, do not have the elevated cardiovascular risk typical of obesity, but they represent only a small percentage of the obese population, according to a long-term study.

VISTA views the Sculptor Galaxy Posted: 21 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT A spectacular new image of the Sculptor Galaxy has been taken with the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile as part of one of its first major observational campaigns. By observing in infrared light VISTA's view is less affected by dust and reveals a myriad of cooler stars as well as a prominent bar of stars across the central region. The VISTA image provides much new information on the history and development of the galaxy.

Therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells Posted: 21 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Scientists recently investigated the expression of key members of the Nodal embryonic signaling pathway, critical to maintaining pluripotency, in hiPSC and hESC cell lines. Nodal is an important morphogen -- a soluble molecule that can regulate cell fate -- in embryological systems that requires tight regulatory control of its biological function.

Physical model describes structures of viral capsids Posted: 21 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT The genetic material of viruses is shielded by a protective protein covering called a capsid. Researchers in Spain have uncovered the strict selection rules that define capsid structure in spherical and bacilliform viruses.

Gabapentin opens window of communication Posted: 21 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT For patients with quadriplegia, mutism and lower cranial nerve paralysis (locked-in syndrome), their only means of interacting with others is through vertical gaze and upper eyelid movements, using eye-coded communication strategies.

Battle of the bugs leaves humans as collateral damage Posted: 21 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT It's a tragedy of war that innocent bystanders often get caught in the crossfire. But now scientists have shown how a battle for survival at a microscopic level could leave humans as the unlikely victims. The researchers have found a possible explanation for why some bacteria turn nasty, even at great risk to their own survival.

Cutting carbs is more effective than low-fat diet for insulin-resistant women, study finds Posted: 21 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Obese women with insulin resistance lose more weight after three months on a lower-carbohydrate diet than on a traditional low-fat diet with the same number of calories, according to a new study.

Comprehensive look at human impacts on ocean chemistry Posted: 21 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Numerous studies are documenting the growing effects of climate change, carbon dioxide, pollution and other human-related phenomena on the world's oceans. But most of those have studied single, isolated sources of pollution and other influences. Now, a marine geochemist has published a report that evaluates the total impact of such factors on the ocean and considers what the future might hold.

Feared side effect of Alzheimer's drugs is unlikely, new model suggests Posted: 21 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT The first trial of a new model for testing Alzheimer's treatments has reassured researchers that a promising class of drugs does not exacerbate the disease if treatment is interrupted.

Ultra-simple method for creating nanoscale gold coatings developed Posted: 21 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new, ultra-simple method for making layers of gold that measure only billionths of a meter thick. The process, which requires no sophisticated equipment and works on nearly any surface including silicon wafers, could have important implications for nanoelectronics and semiconductor manufacturing.

Brain MRI in children: 'Incidental' findings yield disclosure dilemmas for doctors, patients Posted: 21 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Pediatricians whose patients undergo "routine" brain MRIs need a plan to deal with findings that commonly reveal unexpected-but-benign anomalies that are unlikely to cause any problem, reports a research team.

Canyon carved in just three days in Texas flood: Insight into ancient flood events on Earth and Mars Posted: 20 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT In the summer of 2002, a week of heavy rains in Central Texas caused Canyon Lake -- the reservoir of the Canyon Dam -- to flood over its spillway and down the Guadalupe River Valley in a planned diversion to save the dam from catastrophic failure. The flood excavated a 2.2-kilometer-long, 7-meter-deep canyon in the bedrock. According to a new analysis, that canyon formed in just three days.

Women who consume large amounts of tea have increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis, study finds Posted: 20 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Women who drink tea have an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with those who drink none (p=0.04), according to results of a new study. Further results from the same study showed no correlation between the amount of coffee consumption and RA incidence (p=0.16).

Caribbean coral reef protection efforts miss the mark, research suggests Posted: 20 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Conservation efforts aimed at protecting endangered Caribbean corals may be overlooking regions where corals are best equipped to evolve in response to global warming and other climate challenges.

Protein identified that modulates metabolic dysfunction in obesity Posted: 20 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Researchers have discovered that Sfrp5, which refers to secreted frizzled-related protein 5, is an anti-inflammatory adipokine whose expression is disrupted in animal models of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The findings may provide a new way of targeting metabolic disease, specifically obesity.

In pursuit of the energy of life: Researchers decipher makeup of generators in cellular power plants Posted: 20 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Scientists in Germany have discovered a new mechanism which plays an essential role in the assembly and growth of mitochondria, the "power plants" of the cell.

Understanding genetic mixing through migration: A tool for clinicians as well as geneaologists Posted: 20 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Understanding the genetic ancestry of mixed populations, such as those found in North America, can not only help to detect their origins but also to understand the genetic basis of complex diseases, according to experts.

Molecular discovery suggests new strategy to fight cancer drug resistance Posted: 19 Jun 2010 09:00 PM PDT Scientists have found a way to disable a common protein that often thwarts chemotherapy treatment of several major forms of cancer. The researchers discovered, surprisingly, that they could exploit a small portion of this anti-death protein, called MCL-1, to make a molecular tool that specifically blocked MCL-1's "pro-survival" action, allowing standard cancer drugs to kill the tumor cells by apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

Bioengineers create simulator to test blood platelets in virtual heart attacks Posted: 19 Jun 2010 09:00 PM PDT Bioengineers have trained a computer neural network model to accurately predict how blood platelets would respond to complex conditions found during a heart attack or stroke.

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