ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Has Earth's sixth mass extinction already arrived?
• Jekyll and Hyde: Cells' executioner can also stave off death
• Reviving 100-year-old resting spores of diatoms
• Decline in cerebral palsy diagnoses in premature infants suggests improvements in perinatal care
• Invasive species widespread, but not more than at home range
• Mean girls and queen bees: Females threatened by social exclusion will reject others first
• Mutations found in human induced pluripotent stem cells
• Prostate cancer: Targeted therapy shrank tumors up to 74 percent in cells in mice
• Clean fuel worsens climate impacts for some vehicle engines
• To bring effective therapies to patients quicker, use the team approach
• Simulating breaking waves
• Certain parts of the brain activated in people who heard tailored health messages and quit smoking
• Does Guinness beer taste better in Ireland?
• Food Science Challenges for NASA Missions to Mars
• Deforestation's impact on Mount Kilimanjaro calculated
• Interactive game helps autistic children recognize emotions, study suggests
• New camera makes seeing the 'invisible' possible
• Every five minutes someone dies from a blood clot or deep vein thrombosis
• A misunderstanding leads to method for making nanowells
• Exercise can curb marijuana use and cravings, study finds
• One in four U.S. adults had high blood pressure in 2008
• Cadmium in children’s jewelry: 100 times recommended maximum exposure if mouthed or swallowed

Has Earth's sixth mass extinction already arrived? Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:00 AM PST Researchers have delved into the fossil record to compare past animal extinctions, in particular the five "mass extinctions" that occurred within the past 540 million years, with today's extinctions. They find that, while the rate of extinctions today is higher than during past mass extinctions, we haven't yet lost too many animal species. Efforts to conserve threatened species could avoid the tipping point toward a sixth mass extinction.

Jekyll and Hyde: Cells' executioner can also stave off death Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:00 AM PST An enzyme viewed as an executioner, because it can push cells to commit suicide, may actually short circuit a second form of cell death, researchers have discovered. The finding could shift drug discovery efforts, by leading scientists to rethink how proposed anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs that target the enzyme, called caspase 8, are supposed to work.

Reviving 100-year-old resting spores of diatoms Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:00 AM PST Diatoms account for a large proportion of the phytoplankton found in the water, and live both in the open sea and in freshwater lakes. By reviving 100-year-old spores that had laid buried and inactive in bottom sediment, researchers have shown that diatoms are also genetically stable and survival artists.

Decline in cerebral palsy diagnoses in premature infants suggests improvements in perinatal care Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:00 AM PST Cerebral palsy is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects motor function, more often in children born prematurely. Because cerebral palsy is a result of brain injury received shortly before, during, or soon after birth, the number of infants being diagnosed with the condition is a good indicator of the quality of perinatal and neonatal care. Rates of cerebral palsy have declined dramatically in the past 15 years.

Invasive species widespread, but not more than at home range Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:00 AM PST Invasive plant species have long had a reputation as being bad for a new ecosystem when they are introduced. As it turns out, they aren't any more abundant away from home than they are at home.

Mean girls and queen bees: Females threatened by social exclusion will reject others first Posted: 05 Mar 2011 11:00 AM PST Many studies have suggested that males tend to be more physically and verbally aggressive than females. According to a new study, it may not be the case that women are less competitive than men -- they may just be using a different strategy to come out ahead. Specifically, women may rely more on indirect forms of aggression, such as social exclusion.

Mutations found in human induced pluripotent stem cells Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:00 AM PST Ordinary human cells reprogrammed as induced pluripotent stem cells may revolutionize personalized medicine by creating new and diverse therapies unique to individual patients. But important and unanswered questions have persisted about the safety of these cells, in particular whether their genetic material is altered during the reprogramming process. A new study finds that the genetic material of reprogrammed cells may in fact be compromised, and suggests that extensive genetic screening of hiPSCs become standard practice.

Prostate cancer: Targeted therapy shrank tumors up to 74 percent in cells in mice Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:00 AM PST Researchers have identified a potential target to treat an aggressive type of prostate cancer. The target, a gene called SPINK1, could be to prostate cancer what HER2 has become for breast cancer.

Clean fuel worsens climate impacts for some vehicle engines Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:00 AM PST A pioneering program by one of the world's largest cities to switch its vehicle fleet to clean fuel has not significantly improved harmful vehicle emissions in more than 5,000 vehicles -- and worsened some vehicles' climate impacts -- a new study finds.

To bring effective therapies to patients quicker, use the team approach Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:00 AM PST The current clinical trial process in the US is on shaky ground. In this era of personalized medicine, patient populations for new therapies grow smaller and smaller. Coupled with skyrocketing costs and expanding regulatory requirements, the completion of trials is extremely difficult. Researchers propose a new model to ensure effective treatments become available more quickly and at a lower cost -- collaborative clinical trials, in which companies team up and share costs to test new therapies.

Simulating breaking waves Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:00 AM PST The SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) wave prediction model predicts the distribution of wave heights close to the shore. It was recently expanded to include the SWASH (Simulating WAves till SHore) model, which enables the modeling of wave behavior right up to the shore, including how they break and overflow.

Certain parts of the brain activated in people who heard tailored health messages and quit smoking Posted: 05 Mar 2011 05:00 AM PST People who demonstrated a stronger brain response to certain brain regions when receiving individually tailored smoking cessation messages were more likely to quit smoking four months after, a new study found.

Does Guinness beer taste better in Ireland? Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST Does Guinness beer taste better in Ireland than other parts of the world? Over a period of one year, four researchers traveled to 14 countries and visited 71 Guinness serving establishments in 33 cities to collect data for 103 tastings.

Food Science Challenges for NASA Missions to Mars Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST Space food for astronauts tastes better and is now healthier than ever before due to significant food science developments. However, a new study highlights the challenges that need to be addressed so that astronauts can travel to Mars and beyond.

Deforestation's impact on Mount Kilimanjaro calculated Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST The impact that local deforestation might have on the snowcap and glaciers atop Mount Kilimanjaro are being calculated using regional climate models and data from NASA satellites.

Interactive game helps autistic children recognize emotions, study suggests Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST Children with autism spectrum disorders are better able to recognize faces, facial expressions and emotions with the help of an interactive computer program called FaceSay, according to newly published research.

New camera makes seeing the 'invisible' possible Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST The science similar to the type used in airport body scanners could soon be used to detect everything from defects in aerospace vehicles or concrete bridges to skin cancer, thanks to new research.

Every five minutes someone dies from a blood clot or deep vein thrombosis Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST Each year between 100,000-180,000 Americans die as the result of pulmonary embolism, a complication from blood clots in the lungs. The Vascular Disease Foundation urges Americans, especially women, to learn about the risks of venous blood clots to help prevent these deaths. While men and women are at equal risk, the risk for deep vein thrombosis, or blood clots, varies depending on where a woman is in her lifecycle, her hormone levels, and if she has a family history of clotting disorders.

A misunderstanding leads to method for making nanowells Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST A safe, simple, and cheap method of creating perfectly etched micron and smaller size wells in a variety of substrates has been developed. Similar patterned surfaces are currently made using complex and expensive photolithography methods and etch processes under clean room conditions and used in the fabrication of many optical, electrical, and mechanical devices.

Exercise can curb marijuana use and cravings, study finds Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST Researchers are studying heavy users of marijuana to help understand what exercise does for the brain, contributing to a field of research that uses exercise as a modality for prevention and treatment. Participants saw a significant decrease in their cravings and daily use after just a few sessions of running on the treadmill, according to a new study.

One in four U.S. adults had high blood pressure in 2008 Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST More than 59 million Americans age 18 and older were diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2008, according to new research.

Cadmium in children’s jewelry: 100 times recommended maximum exposure if mouthed or swallowed Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST Young children who mouth or swallow jewelry containing cadmium may be exposed to as much as 100 times the recommended maximum exposure limit for the toxic metal, according to new research. The study measured bioavailability, or how much cadmium leached out of the jewelry. The research also found that damaged pieces of jewelry in some cases leached up to 30 times more cadmium than undamaged pieces.

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