ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Japan quake may have slightly shortened Earth days, moved axis, theoretical calculations suggest
• Heavy drinking not linked to common type of gullet cancer, study suggests
• Impact of a bad job on mental health as harmful as no job at all
• 'Ivory wave' may be new legal high after 'miaow miaow' (mephedrone) ban
• NASA's Hubble rules out one alternative to dark energy
• Hawaii: New high-resolution carbon mapping techniques provide more accurate results
• Combining two peptide inhibitors might block tumor growth
• How the slime mold gets organized
• Newer doesn't mean better when it comes to type 2 diabetes drugs
• New research focuses on prion diseases
• Toxoplasmosis: The strain explains severity of infection
• Why people read magazines featuring envy-inspiring models
• Guided care reduces the use of health services by chronically ill older adults
• Rapid adoption of newer, more expensive prostate cancer treatments found, without proof of cost-effectiveness
• Use of $4 generic drug programs could save society billions of dollars, U.S. study shows
• Stroke incidence higher among patients with certain type of retinal vascular disease
• Omega-3 fatty acid intake linked with reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in women
• Vitamin D insufficiency high among patients with early Parkinson disease
• Stopping smoking shortly before surgery is not associated with increased postoperative complications
• Heavy drinking associated with increased risk of death from pancreatic cancer
• Benefits of bariatric surgery may outweigh risks for severely obese, study suggests
• Collaborative care shown to be successful for patients with opioid addictions
• Depression, age, other factors linked to dependence after stroke
• Painkiller prescribing varies dramatically among family physicians
• Tumor metastasis with a 'twist:' Protein is key to early embryonic development, but later promotes spread of cancer
• Trapping a rainbow: Researchers slow broadband light waves with nanoplasmonic structures
• 'Fly tree of life' mapped, adds big branch of evolutionary knowledge
• Neanderthals were nifty at controlling fire
• Climate-related disasters may provide opportunities for some rural poor, study suggests
• Seedless cherimoya, the next banana?
• Seedlings thrive with distant relatives, seeds with close family
• Antioxidants in pregnancy prevent obesity in animal offspring
• Gulf oil spill: Airborne chemistry measurements assess flow rate, fate of spilled gases and oil
• Native trout fare best when dams use natural stream flow management practices
• Extent and speed of lionfish spread unprecedented; Invasive marine fish may stress reefs
• Japanese nuclear plants damaged by earthquake, tsunami pose no risk to U.S., experts say
• New desalination process developed using carbon nanotubes
• Nanorods could greatly improve visual display of information
• Surgical technique helps adult male survivors of childhood cancer regain fertility
• Bilinguals see the world in a different way, study suggests
• Headway is being made fighting communicable diseases globally, research suggests
• Lung cancer metastasis: Researchers find key component -- and possible way to block it
• Why argue? Helping students see the point
• Key mutations act cooperatively to fuel aggressive brain tumor
• Early success of anti-HIV preventive oral drug regimen is promising, but questions remain
• Virtual assistance is confirmed as an effective tool in monitoring HIV patients
• Osteoblasts are bone idle without Frizzled-9
• Tumor suppressor blocks viral growth in natural HIV controllers
• Therapeutic target for liver cancer and predictive biomarker of response identified
• The impact of sex selection and abortion in China, India and South Korea
• Old-growth tree stumps tell the story of fire in the upper Midwest
• Solar power systems could lighten the load for British soldiers
• Used woodwind and brass musical instruments harbor harmful bacteria and fungi, study suggests
• Mini disks for data storage
• How pathogenic E. coli bacterium causes illness
• Orchid lures flies with scent of rotting flesh
• Arctic on the verge of record ozone loss
• Water for an integrative climate paradigm
• Neuro signals study gives new insight into brain disorders
• How common immune booster works: Research may lead to new and improved vaccines

Japan quake may have slightly shortened Earth days, moved axis, theoretical calculations suggest Posted: 14 Mar 2011 06:04 PM PDT The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan March 11, 2011 may have slightly shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis. Using a U.S. Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, a NASA research scientist applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake -- the fifth largest since 1900 -- affected Earth's rotation. The calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds.

Heavy drinking not linked to common type of gullet cancer, study suggests Posted: 14 Mar 2011 03:47 PM PDT Heavy drinking is not associated with one of the two most common types of gullet (esophageal) cancer, new research suggests.

Impact of a bad job on mental health as harmful as no job at all Posted: 14 Mar 2011 03:47 PM PDT The impact on mental health of a badly paid, poorly supported, or short term job can be as harmful as no job at all, new research indicates.

'Ivory wave' may be new legal high after 'miaow miaow' (mephedrone) ban Posted: 14 Mar 2011 03:47 PM PDT A new legal high has emerged that seems to be replacing the banned substance mephedrone or "miaow miaow," warns a critical care paramedic in a new article.

NASA's Hubble rules out one alternative to dark energy Posted: 14 Mar 2011 02:49 PM PDT Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have ruled out an alternate theory on the nature of dark energy after recalculating the expansion rate of the universe to unprecedented accuracy.

Hawaii: New high-resolution carbon mapping techniques provide more accurate results Posted: 14 Mar 2011 02:23 PM PDT Scientists have developed new, more accurate methods for mapping carbon in Hawaii's forests.

Combining two peptide inhibitors might block tumor growth Posted: 14 Mar 2011 02:23 PM PDT A new study suggests that combining two experimental anticancer peptide agents might simultaneously block formation of new tumor blood vessels while also inhibiting the growth of tumor cells. The findings suggest that the double hit can stifle tumor progression, avoid drug resistance and cause few side effects, say the researchers who developed the agents and evaluated their effectiveness in laboratory and animal tests.

How the slime mold gets organized Posted: 14 Mar 2011 02:23 PM PDT The so-called cellular slime mold, a unicellular organism that may transition into a multicellular organism under stress, has just been found to have a tissue structure that was previously thought to exist only in more sophisticated animals. What's more, two proteins that are needed by the slime mold to form this structure are similar to those that perform the same function in more sophistical animals.

Newer doesn't mean better when it comes to type 2 diabetes drugs Posted: 14 Mar 2011 02:23 PM PDT An inexpensive type 2 diabetes drug that has been around for more than 15 years works just as well and has fewer side effects than a half-dozen other, mostly newer and more expensive classes of medication used to control the chronic disease, new research suggests.

New research focuses on prion diseases Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:36 PM PDT New research may shed light on possible treatments for prion diseases.

Toxoplasmosis: The strain explains severity of infection Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:36 PM PDT Providing clues into why the severity of a common parasitic infection can vary greatly from person to person, a new study shows that each one of three strains of the cat-borne parasite Toxoplasma gondii sets off a unique reaction in the nerve cells it invades.

Why people read magazines featuring envy-inspiring models Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:35 PM PDT New research reveals why people read fitness and fashion magazines featuring photos of impossibly thin or muscular models -- models whose appearance highlight the readers' own flaws. Many previous studies have found that people who are unhappy with their physical appearance feel even more dissatisfied when they are shown photos of models who have "ideal" bodies.

Guided care reduces the use of health services by chronically ill older adults Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:35 PM PDT New report shows that older people who receive Guided Care, a new form of primary care, use fewer expensive health services compared to older people who receive regular primary care.

Rapid adoption of newer, more expensive prostate cancer treatments found, without proof of cost-effectiveness Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:35 PM PDT Newer, more expensive treatment options for prostate cancer were adopted rapidly and widely during 2002-2005 without proof of their cost-effectiveness, and may offer explanations for why health care spending accounts for 17 percent of the nation's GDP.

Use of $4 generic drug programs could save society billions of dollars, U.S. study shows Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT If all eligible patients filled their prescriptions through a $4 generic drug program, the societal savings could amount to nearly $6 billion, according to new U.S. study. It is the first to evaluate the potential national savings from a broad use of the discounted generic medication programs that are available at many retail stores' pharmacies.

Stroke incidence higher among patients with certain type of retinal vascular disease Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT Patients with a disease known as retinal vein occlusion (RVO) have a significantly higher incidence of stroke when compared with persons who do not have RVO, according to a new report.

Omega-3 fatty acid intake linked with reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in women Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT Regular consumption of fish and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing age-related macular degeneration in women, according to a new study.

Vitamin D insufficiency high among patients with early Parkinson disease Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT Patients with a recent onset of Parkinson disease have a high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, but vitamin D concentrations do not appear to decline during the progression of the disease, according to a new study.

Stopping smoking shortly before surgery is not associated with increased postoperative complications Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT A meta-analysis of nine previous studies found that quitting smoking shortly before surgery was not associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications, according to a new study.

Heavy drinking associated with increased risk of death from pancreatic cancer Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT Heavy alcohol consumption, specifically three or more glasses of liquor a day, is associated with an increased risk of death from pancreatic cancer, according to a new report.

Benefits of bariatric surgery may outweigh risks for severely obese, study suggests Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT Bariatric surgery is a viable option for patients who are severely obese and are safe surgical candidates who have failed medical therapy for losing weight. When indicated, bariatric surgery often leads to long-term weight loss and significantly improved health. While there are risks, bariatric surgery is considered a relatively safe procedure, especially in centers that perform many of the procedures.

Collaborative care shown to be successful for patients with opioid addictions Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT Researchers have found that for the majority of patients with opioid addiction, collaborative care with nurse care managers is a successful method of service delivery while effectively utilizing the time of physicians prescribing buprenorphine. The findings serve as a model of service delivery for facilitating access and improving outcomes in patients with opioid addiction.

Depression, age, other factors linked to dependence after stroke Posted: 14 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT People who have a stroke are more likely to be dependent if they are depressed, older or have other medical problems, according to a new study.

Painkiller prescribing varies dramatically among family physicians Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT Some physicians are prescribing opioids such as OxyContin 55 times as often as others, according to a new study. The study found most opioid-related deaths occur among patients treated by physicians who frequently prescribe opioids, suggesting doctors who prescribe a lot of opioids may not be doing so safely.

Tumor metastasis with a 'twist:' Protein is key to early embryonic development, but later promotes spread of cancer Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT In the early stages of human embryogenesis, a transcription factor called Twist1 plays a key regulatory role in how the embryo assumes form and function. Much later in life, however, researchers now say Twist1 can re-emerge, taking a darker and more deadly turn.

Trapping a rainbow: Researchers slow broadband light waves with nanoplasmonic structures Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT A research team has experimentally verified the "rainbow" trapping effect, demonstrating that plasmonic structures can slow down light waves over a broad range of wavelengths, a key for improving optical data processing.

'Fly tree of life' mapped, adds big branch of evolutionary knowledge Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT Calling it the "new periodic table for flies," researchers around the globe have mapped the evolutionary history of flies, providing a framework for further comparative studies on the insects that comprise more than 10 percent of all life on Earth.

Neanderthals were nifty at controlling fire Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT A new study shows clear evidence of the continuous control of fire by Neanderthals in Europe dating back roughly 400,000 years, yet another indication that they weren't dimwitted brutes as often portrayed. But Neanderthal predecessors pushed into cold regions of Europe at least 800,000 years ago without the use of fire.

Climate-related disasters may provide opportunities for some rural poor, study suggests Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT A new study in Honduras suggests that climate-related weather disasters may sometimes actually provide opportunities for the rural poor to improve their lives. Researchers found that that the poorest inhabitants of a small village in northeastern Honduras increased their land wealth and their share of earnings relative to more wealthy residents after Hurricane Mitch devastated their village in October 1998.

Seedless cherimoya, the next banana? Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT Mark Twain called it "the most delicious fruit known to man." But the cherimoya, or custard apple, and its close relations the sugar apple and soursop, also have lots of big, awkward seeds. Now new research by plant scientists in the United States and Spain could show how to make this and other fruits seedless.

Seedlings thrive with distant relatives, seeds with close family Posted: 14 Mar 2011 12:29 PM PDT A variety of angiosperm seedlings suffered from competition when planted with near relatives in home soils and fared best with distant relatives. But, seeds did just the opposite in a new study. And seedlings in potting soil also grew best with near relatives, begging the question why soils affect competition outcomes.

Antioxidants in pregnancy prevent obesity in animal offspring Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:34 AM PDT New biological research may be relevant to the effects of a mother's high-fat diet during pregnancy on the development of obesity in her children. An animal study suggests that a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet causes oxidative stress -- an excess of deleterious free radicals -- during pregnancy, predisposing the offspring to obesity and diabetes. Feeding rats antioxidants before and during pregnancy completely prevented obesity and glucose intolerance in their offspring.

Gulf oil spill: Airborne chemistry measurements assess flow rate, fate of spilled gases and oil Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:20 AM PDT Scientists have found a way to use air chemistry measurements taken hundreds of feet above last year's BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill to estimate how fast gases and oil were leaking from the reservoir thousands of feet underwater. The scientists also determined the fate of most of those gas and oil compounds using atmospheric chemistry data collected from the NOAA WP-3D research aircraft overflights in June.

Native trout fare best when dams use natural stream flow management practices Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:17 AM PDT Natural stream flow suits native trout populations best, according to a new study that is the first to examine the impacts of dam operations on threatened freshwater trout.

Extent and speed of lionfish spread unprecedented; Invasive marine fish may stress reefs Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:16 AM PDT The rapid spread of lionfishes along the U.S. eastern seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean is the first documented case of a non-native marine fish establishing a self-sustaining population in the region, according to recent studies.

Japanese nuclear plants damaged by earthquake, tsunami pose no risk to U.S., experts say Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:12 AM PDT Although the situation with damaged nuclear reactors in Japan is still uncertain, every hour without further incidents is good news, according to nuclear energy experts. And in any case, the events pose virtually no risk to people in the United States or Canada.

New desalination process developed using carbon nanotubes Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:06 AM PDT A faster, better and cheaper desalination process enhanced by carbon nanotubes has just been developed. The process creates a unique new architecture for the membrane distillation process by immobilizing carbon nanotubes in the membrane pores. Conventional approaches to desalination are thermal distillation and reverse osmosis.

Nanorods could greatly improve visual display of information Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:06 AM PDT Chemists have developed tiny, nanoscale-size rods of iron oxide particles in the lab that respond to an external magnetic field by aligning themselves parallel to one another like a set of tiny flashlights turned in one direction, and displaying a brilliant color. The research paves the way for fabricating magnetically responsive photonic structures with significantly reduced dimensions so that color manipulation with higher resolution can be realized.

Surgical technique helps adult male survivors of childhood cancer regain fertility Posted: 14 Mar 2011 11:06 AM PDT A new study has shown that a surgical technique called microdissection testicular sperm extraction can effectively locate and extract viable sperm in more than one-third of adult male childhood cancer survivors who were previously considered sterile due to prior chemotherapy treatment.

Bilinguals see the world in a different way, study suggests Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:25 AM PDT Scientists have found that regularly speaking in a second language makes you literally see the world in a different way. Color perception is an ideal way of testing bilingual concepts because there is a huge variation between where different languages place boundaries on the color spectrum.

Headway is being made fighting communicable diseases globally, research suggests Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:23 AM PDT Those working for healthier humans around the globe are making headway in fighting communicable diseases such as AIDS, malaria and diarrheal illness, according to new research.

Lung cancer metastasis: Researchers find key component -- and possible way to block it Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:23 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a new, key component in the spread of lung cancer as well as a likely way to block it with drugs now in clinical trial.

Why argue? Helping students see the point Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:23 AM PDT Read the comments on any website and you may despair at Americans' inability to argue well. Thankfully, educators now name argumentative reasoning as one of the basics students should leave school with.

Key mutations act cooperatively to fuel aggressive brain tumor Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:23 AM PDT Mutations in three pathways important for suppressing tumors cooperate to launch glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor that strikes children and adults. But new research shows those changes alone are not sufficient to cause cancer. Tumor formation requires additional mutations, some affecting different points in the same disrupted regulatory pathways.

Early success of anti-HIV preventive oral drug regimen is promising, but questions remain Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:22 AM PDT The first human studies of an oral drug regimen to prevent HIV infection in high-risk individuals yielded a promising near 50 percent reduction in HIV incidence, but a number of issues require additional research before oral pre-exposure prophylaxis can be implemented on a large scale, according to an article in AIDS Patient Care and STDs, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc.

Virtual assistance is confirmed as an effective tool in monitoring HIV patients Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:22 AM PDT A new telemedicine program in HIV patient care through the Internet has shows promising results. This project has become an effective tool to reinforce the doctor-patient relationship, decreasing by 50 percent the time the patient spends on travel and hospital visits.

Osteoblasts are bone idle without Frizzled-9 Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:22 AM PDT New research shows that the Wnt receptor Frizzled-9 (Fzd9) promotes bone formation, providing a potential new target for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Tumor suppressor blocks viral growth in natural HIV controllers Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:22 AM PDT Elevated levels of p21, a protein best known as a cancer fighter, may be involved in the ability of a few individuals to control HIV infection with their immune system alone. In a new study, researchers report that CD4 T cells from HIV controllers show highly increased expression of the p21 protein, and while capable of being infected by HIV, effectively suppress key aspects of the viral life cycle.

Therapeutic target for liver cancer and predictive biomarker of response identified Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:22 AM PDT Scientists have identified a strategy for targeted molecular therapy in liver cancer, which currently has limited treatment options and one of the worst one-year survival rates of any cancer type. The researchers' experiments reveal that up to 15 percent of liver tumors are "driven" by the hyperactivity of a gene called FGF19. Shutting down the activity of this gene with an antibody inhibited tumor growth.

The impact of sex selection and abortion in China, India and South Korea Posted: 14 Mar 2011 10:22 AM PDT In the next 20 years in large parts of China and India, there will be a 10 percent to 20 percent excess of young men because of sex selection and this imbalance will have societal repercussions, states a new analysis.

Old-growth tree stumps tell the story of fire in the upper Midwest Posted: 14 Mar 2011 08:12 AM PDT Researchers have constructed a 226-year history of fire in southern Illinois by looking at fire scars in tree stumps. Their study, the most in-depth fire history reported for the upper Midwest, reveals that changes in the frequency of fires dating back to the time of early European settlement permanently altered the ecology of the region.

Solar power systems could lighten the load for British soldiers Posted: 14 Mar 2011 08:12 AM PDT A revolutionary type of personal power pack now in development could help troops when they are engaged on the battlefield. With the aim of being up to 50 percent lighter than conventional chemical battery packs used by British infantry, the solar and thermoelectric-powered system could make an important contribution to future military operations.

Used woodwind and brass musical instruments harbor harmful bacteria and fungi, study suggests Posted: 14 Mar 2011 08:12 AM PDT Used woodwind and brass instruments were found to be heavily contaminated with a variety of bacteria and fungi, many of which are associated with minor to serious infectious and allergic diseases, according to a new study.

Mini disks for data storage Posted: 14 Mar 2011 08:12 AM PDT Slanted exterior edges on tiny magnetic disks could lead to a breakthrough in data processing. Materials researchers were able to create magnetic vortices with a diameter of only one third of a thousandth of a millimeter - structures which were impossible in the past. They could help to store larger amounts of data on increasingly smaller surfaces with as little energy as possible.

How pathogenic E. coli bacterium causes illness Posted: 14 Mar 2011 08:12 AM PDT Scientists have shown how the O157:H7 strain of Escherichia coli causes infection and thrives by manipulating the host immune response. The bacterium secretes a protein called NleH1 that directs the host immune enzyme IKK-beta to alter specific immune responses. This process not only helps the bacterium evade elimination by the immune system, it also works to prolong the survival of the infected host, enabling the bacterium to persist and ultimately spread to unaffected individuals.

Orchid lures flies with scent of rotting flesh Posted: 14 Mar 2011 08:12 AM PDT Sex and violence, or at least death, are the key to reproduction for the orchid Satyrium pumilum. The orchid lures flies into its flowers by mimicking the smell of rotting flesh. A new study compares the scent of the orchids with that of roadkill.

Arctic on the verge of record ozone loss Posted: 14 Mar 2011 07:08 AM PDT Unusually low temperatures in the Arctic ozone layer have recently initiated massive ozone depletion. The Arctic appears to be heading for a record loss of this trace gas that protects the Earth's surface against ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Water for an integrative climate paradigm Posted: 14 Mar 2011 07:08 AM PDT International climate negotiations are deadlocked between the affluent global North and "developing" South, between political left and right, and between believers and deniers. Now, experts argue that a more integrative analysis of climate should help resolve these conflicts.

Neuro signals study gives new insight into brain disorders Posted: 14 Mar 2011 07:08 AM PDT Research into how the brain transmits messages to other parts of the body could improve understanding of disorders such as epilepsy, dementia, multiple sclerosis and stroke. Scientists have identified a protein crucial for maintaining the health and function of the segment of nerve fibers that controls transmission of messages within the brain.

How common immune booster works: Research may lead to new and improved vaccines Posted: 14 Mar 2011 07:08 AM PDT Alum is an adjuvant (immune booster) used in many common vaccines, and researchers have now discovered how it works.

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