ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Black hole blows big bubble
• Genetically reprogrammed HSV given systemically shrinks distant sarcomas
• No substantial quality difference between organically and conventionally produced eggs, study finds
• Amid the murk of 'gut flora,' vitamin D receptor emerges as a key player
• Pinpoint precision: Delivering a biochemical payload to one cell
• Delayed school start time associated with improvements in adolescent behaviors
• Dig discovers ancient Britons were earliest North Europeans
• Biologists identify a new clue into cellular aging
• Fouls go left: Soccer referees may be biased based on play's direction of motion
• Cholesterol's other way out
• New computer program accurately simulates protein folding dramatically faster than previous methods
• Therapist competence matters -- and more for some patients than others
• Newborn stars discovered in dark cosmic cloud
• Previously unknown natural mechanism controls cocaine use
• Turning back the cellular clock: Method developed for tracking adult stem cells as they regress
• Knee arthritis? Flexible options can help keep you active
• Energy yield of ‘cheap’ solar panels raised from 7 to 9 percent
• Predicting relationship breakups with a word-association task
• Revolutionary medical dressing uses nanotechnology to fight infection
• Genetic ancestry data improve diagnosis in asthma and lung disease
• Robots preclude neck incision for thyroid surgery
• Women with gestational diabetes: Common glucose test also accurately predicts adult-onset diabetes, study finds
• Transformation optics make a U-turn for the better
• Muted emotions misleading in Alzheimer's disease, study suggests
• Inactivity 'no contributor' to childhood obesity epidemic, new report suggests
• Hospital hyperglycemia may predict future diabetes
• Map of herpes virus protein suggests a new drug therapy
• First transoral and transvaginal gallbladder removals performed as part of US multicenter human trial
• Road surface purifies air by removing nitrogen oxides, researchers in the Netherlands find
• Ticking biological clock increases women's libido, new research shows
• How active immune tolerance makes pregnancy possible
• Link between brain activity and Parkinson's disease symptoms: New strategy for treating movement disorders identified
• Optical tweezers use holographic technology to manipulate 300 nanoparticles at a time
• New method for identifying the causes of X-linked genetic disorders
• Reversible watermarking for digital images
• Suicide attempt method affects prognosis, study finds
• High blood levels of vitamin E reduces risk of Alzheimer's, Swedish study finds
• Cell development: How do plants and animals end up with right number of cells in all the right places?
• New target for treatment of advanced prostate cancer
• Shocking results from diamond anvil cell experiments
• Virtual food causes stress in patients affected by eating disorders
• Thousands of undiscovered plant species face extinction worldwide
• Cancer deaths continue to drop
• Multicolor quantum dots aid in cancer biopsy diagnosis
• Autism-related study discovers how drug interferes with neuronal cell function
• Gender gap persists at highest levels of math and science testing, 30-year study finds
• Bilingualism associated with brain reorganization involving better efficiency in executive functions, research finds

Black hole blows big bubble Posted: 08 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT Combining observations made with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope, astronomers have uncovered the most powerful pair of jets ever seen from a stellar black hole. This object, also known as a microquasar, blows a huge bubble of hot gas, 1000 light-years across, twice as large and tens of times more powerful than other known microquasars.

Genetically reprogrammed HSV given systemically shrinks distant sarcomas Posted: 08 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT Scientists have used a genetically reprogrammed herpes virus and an anti-vascular drug to shrink spreading distant sarcomas designed to model metastatic disease in mice -- still an elusive goal when treating humans with cancer, according to new research. The study results are even more significant because the oncolytic herpes virus was given to the mice systemically to attack tumors via the blood stream instead of being injected directly into tumors

No substantial quality difference between organically and conventionally produced eggs, study finds Posted: 08 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT There's no substantial quality difference between organically and conventionally produced eggs. That's one of a number of findings in a new agricultural study examining various aspects of egg quality.

Amid the murk of 'gut flora,' vitamin D receptor emerges as a key player Posted: 08 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT Within the human digestive tract is a teeming mass of hundreds of types of bacteria, a potpourri of microbes numbering in the trillions that help us digest food and keep bad bacteria in check. Scientists have found that the vitamin D receptor is a key player amid the gut bacteria -- what scientists refer to as the "gut flora."

Pinpoint precision: Delivering a biochemical payload to one cell Posted: 08 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT Researchers use precise electrical "tweezers" to place nanowires on predetermined spots on single cells. The technique eventually could produce new ways to deliver medication.

Delayed school start time associated with improvements in adolescent behaviors Posted: 08 Jul 2010 11:00 AM PDT A short delay in school start time appears to be associated with significant improvements in adolescent alertness, mood and health, according to a new study.

Dig discovers ancient Britons were earliest North Europeans Posted: 08 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Archeologists have unearthed the earliest evidence of human occupation in Britain. Their findings demonstrate that ancient humans occupied Britain over 800,000 years ago, marking the first known settlement in northern Europe -- far earlier than previously thought.

Biologists identify a new clue into cellular aging Posted: 08 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT The ability to combat some age-related diseases may rest with scientists unlocking clues about the molecular and cellular processes governing aging. The underlying theory is that if the healthy portion of an individual's life span can be extended, it may delay the onset of certain age-related diseases. In the search to understand these molecular processes, researchers have uncovered an important new DAF-16 isoform that helps to regulate longevity.

Fouls go left: Soccer referees may be biased based on play's direction of motion Posted: 08 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Soccer referees may have an unconscious bias towards calling fouls based on a play's direction of motion, according to a new study. Researchers found that soccer experts made more foul calls when action moved right-to-left, or leftward, compared to left-to-right or rightward action, suggesting that two referees watching the same play from different vantage points may be inclined to make a different call.

Cholesterol's other way out Posted: 08 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Many of us are simply overloaded with cholesterol, and now a report brings what might be good news: There is more than one way to get rid of that cholesterol, which can otherwise lead to atherosclerosis and heart disease.

New computer program accurately simulates protein folding dramatically faster than previous methods Posted: 08 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT A new computer program accurately simulates protein folding dramatically faster than previous methods. It will allow scientists to peer deeper into the roots of diseases caused by proteins that fold incorrectly.

Therapist competence matters -- and more for some patients than others Posted: 08 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT While studies have shown that cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for depression, it has still not been clear the role therapists' training and expertise plays in making treatment successful. A new study finds that depressed patients show more symptom improvement when their therapists more competently follow the guidelines for delivering cognitive therapy.

Newborn stars discovered in dark cosmic cloud Posted: 08 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT A wave of massive star formation appears to have begun within a mysterious dark cloud in the Milky Way. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed a secluded birthplace for stars within a wispy, dark cloud in a region of the galaxy named M17. The new research could shed light on the question of how and when massive stars form.

Previously unknown natural mechanism controls cocaine use Posted: 08 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Scientists have found that a particular type of genetic material plays a key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction and may offer an entirely new direction for the development of anti-addiction therapies.

Turning back the cellular clock: Method developed for tracking adult stem cells as they regress Posted: 08 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have succeeded in tracking the progression of reprogrammed stem cells through live imaging to learn more about how they are reprogrammed, and how the new cells evolve over time. This will allow researchers to develop techniques and choose the right cells for replacement therapy and give invaluable insight into how these cells will eventually react in the human body.

Knee arthritis? Flexible options can help keep you active Posted: 08 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Middle-aged men and women with osteoarthritis of the knee now have more options than ever before for treatments that may allow them to remain active in the sports they love, according to a new review.

Energy yield of ‘cheap’ solar panels raised from 7 to 9 percent Posted: 08 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Researchers have shown how the energy yield of relatively cheap solar panels, made of amorphous silicon, can be considerably raised: from around 7 percent to 9 percent.

Predicting relationship breakups with a word-association task Posted: 08 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Here's a way to tell a romantic relationship is going to fall apart: find out what people really think about their partners. The researchers in a new study used a so-called implicit task, which shows how people automatically respond to words -- in this case, whether they find it easier to link words referring to their partner to words with pleasant or unpleasant meanings.

Revolutionary medical dressing uses nanotechnology to fight infection Posted: 08 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers are using nanotechnology to develop a medical dressing which will detect and treat infection in wounds. Scientists in the UK are working together with teams across Europe and Australia to create an advanced wound dressing. The dressing will work by releasing antibiotics from nanocapsules triggered by the presence of disease-causing pathogenic bacteria, which will target treatment before the infection takes hold.

Genetic ancestry data improve diagnosis in asthma and lung disease Posted: 08 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Americans with lung disease may face a far greater level of lung damage than either they or their doctor suspect, depending on their individual genetic heritage, according to a new study. The research implications range from diagnosing the severity of asthma, to disability decisions or eligibility for lung transplants, researchers say.

Robots preclude neck incision for thyroid surgery Posted: 08 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Robots that revolutionized gynecologic and urologic surgery in the past decade now offer the option of removing at least a portion of their diseased thyroid gland without the hallmark neck incision, researchers said.

Women with gestational diabetes: Common glucose test also accurately predicts adult-onset diabetes, study finds Posted: 08 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT New research shows that pregnant women who "fail" the common glucose challenge test, a series of four blood tests conducted over a single four-hour period, have a higher chance of developing adult onset diabetes later in life.

Transformation optics make a U-turn for the better Posted: 08 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have combined the scientific fields of transformation optics and plasmonics to demonstrate that with only moderate modifications of the dielectric component of a metamaterial, the physical space through which light travels can be altered with promising results, such as the creation of a 180 degree bend that won't alter the energy or properties of a light beam as it makes the U-turn, or a plasmonic version of a Luneburg lens.

Muted emotions misleading in Alzheimer's disease, study suggests Posted: 08 Jul 2010 02:00 AM PDT A new study suggests that when Alzheimer's patients are asked to place an emotional value on pictures, they measure the pleasant images as less pleasant and the negative scenes as less negative compared with a control group of normal elderly people. This emotional flatness could be incorrectly interpreted as a symptom of depression.

Inactivity 'no contributor' to childhood obesity epidemic, new report suggests Posted: 07 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT A new report from the EarlyBird Diabetes Study suggests that physical activity has little if any role to play in the obesity epidemic among children. Obesity is the key factor behind diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Hospital hyperglycemia may predict future diabetes Posted: 07 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT Hyperglycemia during critical illness may be used as a warning of future diabetes. Researchers have found a significant association between acute illness complicated with hyperglycemia and the future development of type II diabetes or glucose intolerance.

Map of herpes virus protein suggests a new drug therapy Posted: 07 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT New research reveals the unusual structure of a key protein complex that allows a herpes virus to invade cells. This close-up of the herpes virus's "cell-entry machinery" sheds light on how herpes viruses work and provides a promising new target for antiviral drugs.

First transoral and transvaginal gallbladder removals performed as part of US multicenter human trial Posted: 07 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT The first transoral and transvaginal cholecystectomies (gallbladder removal) using Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) have been completed in a multicenter human trial in the United States. NOTES is performed by using the patient's natural openings for surgery. These human trials are the first in the world comparing oral and transvaginal NOTES to traditional laparoscopy.

Road surface purifies air by removing nitrogen oxides, researchers in the Netherlands find Posted: 07 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT Road surfaces can make a big contribution to local air purity. This conclusion can be drawn from the first test results on a road surface of air-purifying concrete. This material reduces the concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 25 to 45 per cent.

Ticking biological clock increases women's libido, new research shows Posted: 07 Jul 2010 11:00 PM PDT As more women wait until their 30s and 40s to have children, they are more willing to engage in a variety of sexual activities to capitalize on their remaining childbearing years.

How active immune tolerance makes pregnancy possible Posted: 07 Jul 2010 08:00 PM PDT How a pregnant body tolerates a fetus that is biologically distinct from its mother has long been a mystery. Now, a pair of scientists have shown that females actively produce a particular type of immune cell in response to specific fetal antigens -- immune-stimulating proteins -- and that this response allows pregnancy to continue without the fetus being rejected by the mother's body.

Link between brain activity and Parkinson's disease symptoms: New strategy for treating movement disorders identified Posted: 07 Jul 2010 08:00 PM PDT Scientists have shown how key circuits in the brain control movement. The research not only establishes the function of these circuits, but offers promise for treating movement related disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.

Optical tweezers use holographic technology to manipulate 300 nanoparticles at a time Posted: 07 Jul 2010 08:00 PM PDT A new tool, holographic optical tweezers, use holographic technology to manipulate up to 300 nanoparticles at a time, such as beads of glass or polymer, that are too small and delicate to be handled with traditional laboratory instruments. The technology, also known as "optical tweezers," could form the basis for tomorrow's ultra-fast, light-powered communication devices and quantum computers.

New method for identifying the causes of X-linked genetic disorders Posted: 07 Jul 2010 08:00 PM PDT Scientists have identified previously unknown potential disease genes in humans and mice. Genes on the X chromosome, which regulate embryonic development, are the focus of the current study. Men have only one X chromosome, and therefore mutations on this chromosome disproportionately affect males, frequently leading to serious diseases such as hemophilia, muscular dystrophy and mental retardation.

Reversible watermarking for digital images Posted: 07 Jul 2010 08:00 PM PDT Every picture tells a story, but how do you know that a digital photo has not been manipulated to change the tale being told? A new approach to adding an encrypted watermark to digital images allows the an image to be validated against a pass key, according to new research.

Suicide attempt method affects prognosis, study finds Posted: 07 Jul 2010 08:00 PM PDT The method used for a suicide attempt is highly significant for the risk of subsequent successful suicide, reveals a long-term study. The results may be of help in acute risk assessment following a suicide attempt.

High blood levels of vitamin E reduces risk of Alzheimer's, Swedish study finds Posted: 07 Jul 2010 05:00 PM PDT High levels of several vitamin E components in the blood are associated with a decreased risk for Alzheimer's disease in advanced age, suggesting that vitamin E may help prevent cognitive deterioration in elderly people, according to a new Swedish study.

Cell development: How do plants and animals end up with right number of cells in all the right places? Posted: 07 Jul 2010 05:00 PM PDT How do plants and animals end up with right number of cells in all the right places? For the first time, scientists have gained insight into how this process is coordinated in plants.

New target for treatment of advanced prostate cancer Posted: 07 Jul 2010 05:00 PM PDT A recent study provides demonstrates that expression of one of a group of genes found only in humans and non-human primates can promote androgen receptor activity in concert with other proteins called coregulators.

Shocking results from diamond anvil cell experiments Posted: 07 Jul 2010 05:00 PM PDT Physicists are using an ultra-fast laser-based technique they dubbed "nanoshocks" for something entirely different. In fact, the "nanoshocks" have such a small spatial scale that scientists can use them to study shock behavior in tiny samples such as thin films or other systems with microscopic dimensions (a few tens of micrometers). In particular they have used the technique to shock materials under high static pressure in a diamond anvil cell.

Virtual food causes stress in patients affected by eating disorders Posted: 07 Jul 2010 05:00 PM PDT Food presented in a virtual reality environment causes the same emotional responses as real food. Researchers compared the responses of people with anorexia and bulimia, and a control group, to the virtual and real-life snacks, suggesting that virtual food can be used for the evaluation and treatment of eating disorders.

Thousands of undiscovered plant species face extinction worldwide Posted: 07 Jul 2010 02:00 PM PDT Faced with threats such as habitat loss and climate change, thousands of rare flowering plant species worldwide may become extinct before scientists can even discover them, according to a paper published today by a trio of American and British researchers in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Cancer deaths continue to drop Posted: 07 Jul 2010 02:00 PM PDT The continued drop in overall cancer mortality rates over the last 20 years has averted more than 767,000 cancer deaths, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.

Multicolor quantum dots aid in cancer biopsy diagnosis Posted: 07 Jul 2010 02:00 PM PDT The tunable fluorescent nanoparticles known as quantum dots make ideal tools for distinguishing and identifying rare cancer cells in tissue biopsies. Researchers have learned how multicolor quantum dots linked to antibodies can distinguish the Reed-Sternberg cells that are characteristic of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Autism-related study discovers how drug interferes with neuronal cell function Posted: 07 Jul 2010 02:00 PM PDT A new study has shown for the first time how the drug misoprostol, linked to neurodevelopmental defects associated with autism, interferes with neuronal cell function. It is an important finding because misoprostol is similar in structure to naturally occurring prostaglandins, the key signaling molecules produced by fatty acids in the brain. The study examined mouse neuronal cells to see how the drug interferes at a molecular level with prostaglandins.

Gender gap persists at highest levels of math and science testing, 30-year study finds Posted: 07 Jul 2010 02:00 PM PDT A study that examined 30 years of standardized test data from the very highest-scoring seventh graders has found that performance differences between boys and girls have narrowed considerably, but boys still outnumber girls by more than about 3-to-1 at extremely high levels of math ability and scientific reasoning.

Bilingualism associated with brain reorganization involving better efficiency in executive functions, research finds Posted: 07 Jul 2010 02:00 PM PDT Researchers in Spain report that bilinguals are faster and more efficient in certain tasks in which executive functions are used due to a different form of cerebral control.

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