ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

---

• Thermal-powered, insect-like robot crawls into microrobot contenders' ring
• Revolutionary therapy slows tumor growth in advanced breast cancer, research reports
• Watch while an asteroid eats a star
• Doctors to treat septic patients with hypothermia
• More fish than thought may thrive in the ocean's depths, study suggests
• Memory links to 40 winks
• Bridge to the quantum world: Darwinian concept of natural selection figures into theory about core of physical reality
• Antioxidants do help arteries stay healthy
• Environmental toxins affect the body's hormone systems
• New key to corneal transplant success
• Breath of the Earth: Cycling carbon through terrestrial ecosystems
• Adolescent cyberbullies and their victims may have physical, mental health problems
• For female baboons, too, it's good to have friends
• Cognition and memory improve dramatically in mice when brain compound levels were decreased
• Benchtop biofuels: Fine-tuning growth conditions helps cyanobacteria flourish
• Low vitamin D linked to the metabolic syndrome in elderly people
• Optical imaging could create pathway for radiotracers, study finds
• Abused children appear likely to have mental disorders as young adults
• 'Digital embryo' gains wings: Now possible to film development of fruit fly and of zebrafish's eyes and brain
• Virgin olive oil and a Mediterranean diet fight heart disease by changing how our genes function
• Chromosomal abnormality found for inherited clubfoot
• New research model of human prostate cancer shows cancer development
• 3,200-year-old bronze tablet identified as battle chariot linchpin
• Kids now see fewer television ads for sweets and beverages, but more for fast food
• Planck unveils the Universe -- now and then
• Experimental nonsteroidal treatment of asthma shows promise
• Histone H1 regulates gene activity throughout the cell cycle
• Antagonizing atherosclerosis
• Simulation-based matchmaking for shape memory alloys
• Heart patients with anxiety disorder experience more cardiovascular events, deaths

Thermal-powered, insect-like robot crawls into microrobot contenders' ring Posted: 06 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT Engineers have built an insect-like robot with hundreds of tiny legs. Compared to other such microrobots, this new model excels in its ability to carry heavy loads -- more than seven times its own weight -- and move in any direction.

Revolutionary therapy slows tumor growth in advanced breast cancer, research reports Posted: 06 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT A novel therapy designed to attack tumors in patients with a genetic mutation in either BRCA1 or BRCA2, slowed tumor growth in 85 percent of advanced breast cancer patients treated in a small study, researchers report.

Watch while an asteroid eats a star Posted: 06 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT In a rare event on July 8, 2010, skywatchers will be able to see an asteroid briefly block out the light from a star as it passes in front. It may be the only asteroid 'occultation' this century observable with the naked eye.

Doctors to treat septic patients with hypothermia Posted: 06 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT Mild hypothermia can reduce the effects of sepsis on oxygen transport around the body and may be a valuable tool in the treatment of human sepsis patients. Sepsis is an inflammatory response to infection and will often result in septic shock, which is the biggest cause of death in intensive care units.

More fish than thought may thrive in the ocean's depths, study suggests Posted: 06 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT A study of the occurrence of fishes in the ocean's deepest reaches -- the hadal zone, below 6000 meters -- has provided evidence that some species of fishes are more numerous at such depths than experts had thought.

Memory links to 40 winks Posted: 06 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT When it comes to executing items on tomorrow's to-do list, it's best to think it over, then "sleep on it," say psychologists. The researchers have shown that sleep enhances our ability to remember to do something in the future, a skill known as prospective memory.

Bridge to the quantum world: Darwinian concept of natural selection figures into theory about core of physical reality Posted: 06 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Researchers propose an answer to one of the long-running questions in the study of quantum physics: the mystery of how the world of our sensory experience emerges from the cloudy realm of atoms.

Antioxidants do help arteries stay healthy Posted: 06 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Long-term supplementation with dietary antioxidants has beneficial effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers report these positive results in a randomized controlled trial of combined vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules.

Environmental toxins affect the body's hormone systems Posted: 06 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Individual variants of the environmental pollutants PCB and PFC can affect several of the body's hormone systems in a more complex way than previously supposed. Humans and animals are constantly exposed to these toxins through the food they eat and the air they breathe.

New key to corneal transplant success Posted: 06 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Although already one of medicine's most successful transplant procedures, doctors continue to seek ways to improve corneal transplants. Now, for the first time, a team of German and British researchers have confirmed that failure and rejection of transplanted corneas are more likely in patients whose eyes exhibit abnormal vessel growth, called corneal neovascularization, prior to surgery. The findings also suggest a new treatment approach that could improve transplant success rates.

Breath of the Earth: Cycling carbon through terrestrial ecosystems Posted: 06 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Two recent international studies are poised to change the way scientists view the crucial relationship between Earth's climate and the carbon cycle. These reports explore the global photosynthesis and respiration rates -- the planet's deep "breaths" of carbon dioxide, in and out -- and researchers say that the new findings will be used to update and improve upon traditional models that couple together climate and carbon.

Adolescent cyberbullies and their victims may have physical, mental health problems Posted: 06 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Adolescent victims and perpetrators of electronic bullying appear more likely to report having psychiatric and physical symptoms and problems, according to a new study.

For female baboons, too, it's good to have friends Posted: 06 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Female baboons that maintain closer ties with other members of their troop live substantially longer than do those whose social bonds are less stable, a recent study has found. The researchers say that the findings add to evidence in animals from mice to humans that social bonds have real adaptive value.

Cognition and memory improve dramatically in mice when brain compound levels were decreased Posted: 06 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have linked a brain compound called kynurenic acid to cognition, possibly opening doors for new ways to enhance memory function and treat catastrophic brain diseases, according to a new study. When researchers decreased the levels of kynurenic acid in the brains of mice, their cognition was shown to improve markedly, according to a new study.

Benchtop biofuels: Fine-tuning growth conditions helps cyanobacteria flourish Posted: 06 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Cyanobacteria are among the oldest living forms in nature, responsible for generating the atmospheric oxygen we breathe today. Now researchers are perfecting the means to culture these microbes -- potentially rich source of biofuels and biomaterials -- significantly greater abundance.

Low vitamin D linked to the metabolic syndrome in elderly people Posted: 06 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT A new study adds to the mounting evidence that older adults commonly have low vitamin D levels and that vitamin D inadequacy may be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, a condition that affects one in four adults.

Optical imaging could create pathway for radiotracers, study finds Posted: 06 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT A new study reports on investigative research of a novel optical imaging technique called "Cerenkov luminescence imaging." According to the authors, the technique could lead to the faster and more cost-effective development of radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other conditions.

Abused children appear likely to have mental disorders as young adults Posted: 06 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Abuse and neglect during childhood appear to be associated with increased rates of mood, anxiety and substance use disorders among young adults, according to a new study.

'Digital embryo' gains wings: Now possible to film development of fruit fly and of zebrafish's eyes and brain Posted: 06 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Scientists in Europe have captured fruit fly development on film, creating the Fly Digital Embryo. In a newly published study, they were also the first to clearly record how a zebrafish's eyes and mid-brain are formed.

Virgin olive oil and a Mediterranean diet fight heart disease by changing how our genes function Posted: 06 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Everyone knows olive oil and a Mediterranean diet are associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, but a new research report offers a surprising reason why: these foods change how genes associated with atherosclerosis function.

Chromosomal abnormality found for inherited clubfoot Posted: 06 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Although clubfoot is one of the most common congenital birth defects, few genetic causes have been found. Now, researchers have found what they believe to be the most common cause of inherited clubfoot yet discovered.

New research model of human prostate cancer shows cancer development Posted: 06 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Progress toward understanding the role of sex hormones in the growth of prostate cancer -- the most common cancer in US men -- has been hindered by the lack of a suitable laboratory research model. Now researchers say they have developed the first model of hormone-induced human prostate cancer initiation and progression.

3,200-year-old bronze tablet identified as battle chariot linchpin Posted: 06 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT A 3,200-year-old round bronze tablet with a carved face of a woman, found at the El-ahwat excavation site near Katzir in central Israel, is part of a linchpin that held the wheel of a battle chariot in place.

Kids now see fewer television ads for sweets and beverages, but more for fast food Posted: 06 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Children saw fewer television advertisements for certain foods, including those for sweets and beverages, in 2007 compared with 2003, according to a new study. However, children now see more fast-food ads, and racial gaps in exposure to all food advertising have increased.

Planck unveils the Universe -- now and then Posted: 05 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT The European Space Agency's Planck mission has delivered its first all-sky image. It not only provides new insight into the way stars and galaxies form but also tells us how the Universe itself came to life after the Big Bang.

Experimental nonsteroidal treatment of asthma shows promise Posted: 05 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT A new nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory therapy made from a human protein significantly decreases disease signs of asthma in mice, opening the possibility of a new asthma therapy for patients who do not respond to current steroid treatments.

Histone H1 regulates gene activity throughout the cell cycle Posted: 05 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT A protein that helps pack DNA into the cell nucleus has an important role in regulating gene activity, scientists report. The researchers found that the protein, histone H1, also takes part in the formation of ribosomes, the cellular workbenches on which all proteins are made.

Antagonizing atherosclerosis Posted: 05 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT Antibody-producing B cells promote atherosclerosis in mice, according to a new study. These findings came as a surprise, as prior studies had suggested that B cells help protect against the disease.

Simulation-based matchmaking for shape memory alloys Posted: 05 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT A new shape memory alloy with up to now unprecedented functional stability was developed by researchers in Germany, the U.S., and Japan. Based on a theoretical prediction, they used combinatorial materials science methods -- so-called materials libraries -- for a targeted search of optimized alloy compositions. The result consists of four components: titanium, nickel, copper and palladium. From the new material, the researchers expect a stable shape memory effect and improved lifetime -- for example, in for applications in medical devices such as stents.

Heart patients with anxiety disorder experience more cardiovascular events, deaths Posted: 05 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT Among patients with heart disease, anxiety disorders appear to be associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure and death, according to a new study.

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