ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Humans have a mighty bite, new research shows
• High fructose, trans fats lead to significant liver disease, says study
• Striped mice -- the neighbors from hell
• Decay of baby teeth may be linked to obesity, poor food choices, study suggests
• Brain structure corresponds to personality
• Researchers create self-assembling nanodevices that move and change shape on demand
• New lung cancer drug shows dramatic results for shrinking tumors: Phase III clinical trial being offered
• Organic pesticides not always 'greener' choice, study finds
• Mothers' high blood sugar in pregnancy is linked to children's reduced insulin sensitivity
• Impacts of Chilean salmon farms on coastal ecosystem discovered accidentally
• Exercise may be an effective and nonpharmacologic treatment option for alcohol dependence
• Filtering donor blood reduces heart, lung complications
• Coffee may protect against head and neck cancers
• No link between early childhood cancers and living near mobile phone base station during pregnancy, says study
• Peruvian moth could devastate California’s avocados, entomologist warns
• Many clinicians maintain positive attitudes toward industry marketing activities
• Quantum gas in free fall: Bose-Einstein condensate at zero gravity
• Genetic septet in control of blood platelet clotting
• Enzyme trio for biosynthesis of hydrocarbon fuels
• Implementing comparative effectiveness research: Lessons from the mammography screening controversy
• American scientists help protect Guatemala's Lake Atitlan from harmful algae blooms
• Caring for an elderly, sick spouse sometimes has positive elements
• Growing brain is particularly flexible: How the brain changes during growth
• Insight into cells could lead to new approach to medicines
• Unusual rhino beetle behavior discovered: Invasive species severely impact small islands
• New design for motorcycle engines powered by compressed air
• Can a Victoria's Secret shopping bag make you feel glamorous?

Humans have a mighty bite, new research shows Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT The robust jaws and formidable teeth of some of our ancestors and ape cousins may suggest that humans are wimps when it comes to producing a powerful bite: but a new study has found the opposite is true. The surprise findings suggest that early modern humans did not necessarily need to use tools and cooking to process high-nutrient hard foods, such as nuts, but may have lost an ability to eat very tough items, such as tubers or leaves.

High fructose, trans fats lead to significant liver disease, says study Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that a diet with high levels of fructose -- levels equivalent to that in high fructose corn syrup -- and of trans fats not only increases obesity, but also leads to significant fatty liver disease with scar tissue.

Striped mice -- the neighbors from hell Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Fighting, paternity tests and infidelity. No, not a daytime talk show, but the results of new research examining why the fur will fly if a four-striped grass mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) wanders into his neighbor's territory. Researchers investigated aggression in the mammalian species, finding that breeding males are much more concerned with repelling their neighbors than with defending their partners from complete strangers.

Decay of baby teeth may be linked to obesity, poor food choices, study suggests Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Preschool children with tooth decay may be more likely to be overweight or obese than the general population and, regardless of weight, are more likely to consume too many calories, a new study indicates.

Brain structure corresponds to personality Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:00 AM PDT Personalities come in all kinds. Now psychological scientists have found that the size of different parts of people's brains correspond to their personalities.

Researchers create self-assembling nanodevices that move and change shape on demand Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT By emulating nature's design principles, researchers have created nanodevices made of DNA that self-assemble and can be programmed to move and change shape on demand. Double helices fold up into larger, rigid linear struts that connect by intervening single-stranded DNA. These single strands of DNA pull the struts up into a 3D form. The resulting nanodevices are light, flexible and strong "tensegrities," so-called because they balance tension and compression.

New lung cancer drug shows dramatic results for shrinking tumors: Phase III clinical trial being offered Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Patients with a specific kind of lung cancer may benefit from a Phase III clinical trial being offered. The new drug, crizotinib, under development by Pfizer, showed dramatic results in reducing lung cancer tumors in some patients during Phase I and II clinical trials.

Organic pesticides not always 'greener' choice, study finds Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT A new study reveals some organic pesticides can have a higher environmental impact than conventional pesticides. Researchers investigated the effectiveness and environmental impact of organic pesticides to those of conventional and novel reduced-risk synthetic products on soybean crops. The researchers found the organic pesticides required larger doses and were more harmful to pests that help protect the crop compared to the synthetic pesticides.

Mothers' high blood sugar in pregnancy is linked to children's reduced insulin sensitivity Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Children of mothers whose blood glucose (sugar) was high during pregnancy are more likely to have low insulin sensitivity -- a risk factor for type 2 diabetes -- even after taking into consideration the children's body weight, a new study shows.

Impacts of Chilean salmon farms on coastal ecosystem discovered accidentally Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Until recently, the disastrous scale of the threat posed by salmon farms to the fauna and National Park of the Aysén region of southern Chile was entirely unknown. The unexpected discovery was made by researchers who were studying acoustic communication among the native whales in the region. The researchers not only discovered that the salmon industry is rapidly spreading to the hitherto largely unspoiled south of the region; they also documented the previously unknown threat to the region's native sea lions.

Exercise may be an effective and nonpharmacologic treatment option for alcohol dependence Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:00 AM PDT Alcohol abuse is highly disruptive of circadian rhythms, which refers to the timing of daily rhythms. A new animal study has used hamsters to test for the influence of wheel-running on alcohol intake. Results indicate that exercise, perhaps through stimulation of brain reward pathways, may be able to reduce alcohol intake in humans.

Filtering donor blood reduces heart, lung complications Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have discovered yet another reason to filter the foreign white cells from donor blood: The resulting blood product is associated with dramatically fewer cardiopulmonary complications for patients who received a transfusion

Coffee may protect against head and neck cancers Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Data on the effects of coffee on cancer risk have been mixed. However, results of a recent study add to the brewing evidence that drinking coffee protects against cancer, this time against head and neck cancer.

No link between early childhood cancers and living near mobile phone base station during pregnancy, says study Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT A new study looking at the patterns of early childhood cancers across Great Britain has found no association between a mother living near to a mobile phone base station during her pregnancy and the risk of that child developing cancer before reaching the age of five.

Peruvian moth could devastate California’s avocados, entomologist warns Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Entomologist Mark Hoddle is in Peru to look for known avocado pests, in particular, the avocado seed moth, Stenoma catenifer, that could wreak havoc on California's avocados should the pest make its way to the state. This pest could also attack and survive on California bay laurel, a plant native to California that is closely related to the avocado. Peruvian avocados are already being imported into California.

Many clinicians maintain positive attitudes toward industry marketing activities Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:00 AM PDT Despite current policy trends, many clinicians continue to hold positive attitudes toward gifts from and marketing interactions with pharmaceutical and device companies, according to a new study.

Quantum gas in free fall: Bose-Einstein condensate at zero gravity Posted: 22 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Physicists have produced a Bose-Einstein condensate at zero gravity -- a step towards extremely sensitive quantum sensors for gravitation.

Genetic septet in control of blood platelet clotting Posted: 22 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT In what is believed to be the largest review of the human genetic code to determine why some people's blood platelets are more likely to clump faster than others, scientists have found a septet of overactive genes, which they say likely control that bodily function.

Enzyme trio for biosynthesis of hydrocarbon fuels Posted: 22 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Scientists have identified a trio of bacterial enzymes that can catalyze key steps in the conversion of plant sugars into hydrocarbon compounds for the production of green transportation fuels.

Implementing comparative effectiveness research: Lessons from the mammography screening controversy Posted: 22 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT The firestorm that followed the November 2009 release of guidelines that would have reduced use of screening mammograms in women aged 40 to 49 highlights challenges for implementing the findings of comparative effectiveness research (CER), according to a new analysis. Meeting such challenges -- which may become more common due to increased funding for CER -- requires better communication to the public and stakeholders about evidence and its connection to health care quality and efficiency, experts say.

American scientists help protect Guatemala's Lake Atitlan from harmful algae blooms Posted: 22 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT A team of US scientists has returned from a two-week expedition to Guatemala's tropical high-mountain Lake Atitlan, where they are working to find solutions to the algae blooms that have assailed the ecosystem and the drinking water source for local residents.

Caring for an elderly, sick spouse sometimes has positive elements Posted: 22 Jun 2010 11:00 PM PDT Although long-term care of sick or disabled loved ones is widely recognized as a threat to the caregiver's health and quality of life, a new study finds that in some contexts, helping valued loved ones may promote the well being of helpers.

Growing brain is particularly flexible: How the brain changes during growth Posted: 22 Jun 2010 08:00 PM PDT Science has long puzzled over why a baby's brain is particularly flexible and why it easily changes. Is it because babies have to learn a lot? Scientists have now put forward a new explanation: Maybe it is because the brain still has to grow.

Insight into cells could lead to new approach to medicines Posted: 22 Jun 2010 08:00 PM PDT A surprising discovery about the complex make-up of our cells could lead to the development of new types of medicines, a study suggests.

Unusual rhino beetle behavior discovered: Invasive species severely impact small islands Posted: 22 Jun 2010 08:00 PM PDT The coconut rhinoceros beetle continues to munch its way through the crowns of coconut trees on the northwest coast of Guam. Rhino hunters are ready to get tough with bio-control measures that will decrease the rhino beetle population.

New design for motorcycle engines powered by compressed air Posted: 22 Jun 2010 08:00 PM PDT Two scientists in India have conceptually designed a new, cleaner motorcycle engine that uses compressed air to turn a small air turbine, generating enough power to run a motorcycle for up to 40 minutes. Their design could be combined with a compressed air cylinder as a replacement for traditional internal combustion engines.

Can a Victoria's Secret shopping bag make you feel glamorous? Posted: 22 Jun 2010 08:00 PM PDT Certain brands have personalities that can actually change the way some people feel about themselves, according to a new study.

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