ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Fire Under Arctic Ice: Volcanoes Have Been Blowing Their Tops In The Deep Ocean Posted: 26 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers have uncovered evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions deep beneath the ice-covered surface of the Arctic Ocean. Such violent eruptions of splintered, fragmented rock -- known as pyroclastic deposits -- were not thought possible at great ocean depths because of the intense weight and pressure of water and because of the composition of seafloor magma and rock. The evidence of violent eruptions on Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic defies assumptions about seafloor pressure and volcanism.

Laser Surgery Probe Targets Individual Cancer Cells Posted: 26 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT Mechanical engineers have developed a laser "microscalpel" that destroys a single cell while leaving nearby cells intact, which could improve the precision of surgeries for cancer, epilepsy and other diseases.

Food Scientists Confirm Commercial Product Effectively Kills Bacteria In Vegetable Washwater Posted: 26 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT Research conducted by food science faculty at the University of Idaho and Washington State University indicate that a commercially available fruit and vegetable wash, when used in a food-manufacturing setting, can dramatically decrease the number of disease-causing organisms in produce-processing washwater. That could reduce by manyfold the potential for cross-contamination within the water by such "gram-negative" bacteria as Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7.

Different Type Of Colon Cancer Vaccine Reduces Disease Spread, Scientists Show Posted: 26 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT Taking advantage of the fact that the intestines have a separate immune system from the rest of the body, scientists have found a way to immunize mice against the development of metastasis. They have shown that mice immunized with an intestinal protein developed fewer lung and liver metastases after injection with colon cancer cells than did controls. The work may portend the development of a different kind of cancer vaccine that may help prevent recurrence.

Diversity Among Bird Populations Found To Reduce Threat Of West Nile Virus Posted: 26 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT A biologist and undergraduate student have discovered that what's good for an area's bird population is also good for people living nearby.

Women Have Not Adapted To Casual Sex, Research Shows Posted: 26 Jun 2008 10:00 AM CDT The sexual and feminist revolutions were supposed to free women to enjoy casual sex just as men always had. The negative feelings reported by women after one-night stands suggest that they are not well adapted to fleeting sexual encounters.

Evidence Of Massive Asteroid Impact On Mars Supported By Computer Simulations Posted: 26 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT The dramatic differences between the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars have puzzled scientists for 30 years. One of the proposed explanations -- a massive asteroid impact -- now has strong support from computer simulations carried out by two groups of researchers.

Second Genetic Risk Factor For Late-onset Alzheimer's Disease Found Posted: 26 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have discovered the second, strong genetic risk factor for developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease, according to a new report in the June 27 issue of the journal Cell.

New Invention Effectively Kills Foodborne Pathogens In Minutes Posted: 26 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have developed an effective technology for reducing contamination of dangerous bacteria on food. The new antimicrobial wash rapidly kills Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 on foods ranging from fragile lettuce to tomatoes, fruits, poultry products and meats. It is made from inexpensive and readily available ingredients that are recognized as safe by the US Food and Drug Administration.

New Glaucoma Procedure Aims To Prevent Further Eye Damage Posted: 26 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT Patients with glaucoma have a new treatment option known as the Trabectome. The minimally invasive procedure, which is available at Mayo Clinic and takes about 20 minutes, is designed to decrease pressure within the eye and stabilize the vision.

Idle Computers Offer Hope To Solve Cancer's Mysteries Through Grid Computing Project Posted: 26 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT A biomedical engineering professor is using a concept called "grid computing" to allow the average person to donate idle computer time in a global effort to fight cancer.

It's Email, But At A Snail's Pace Posted: 26 Jun 2008 07:00 AM CDT Bournemouth University researchers are using live snails to send emails as part of a 'slow art' project aimed at encouraging people to explore notions of time.

Neuroscientists Discover A Sense Of Adventure Posted: 26 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT Wellcome Trust scientists have identified a key region of the brain which encourages us to be adventurous. The region, located in a primitive area of the brain, is activated when we choose unfamiliar options, suggesting an evolutionary advantage for sampling the unknown. It may also explain why rebranding of familiar products encourages to pick them off the supermarket shelves.

New Study Opening New Route For Combating Viruses Posted: 26 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT A unique technique for analyzing the function of microRNAs has led to the discovery of a new mechanism by which viruses evade the human immune system. This discovery has important implications for human intervention in the battle between viruses and humans.

New Test For More Reliable Product Expiration Labels Posted: 26 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT Beer gets a "skunky" taste. Wine develops an unpleasant flavor termed "light-struck." And exposure to light causes off flavors, colors, and aromas in hundreds of other foods and beverages and decreases shelf life.

A Prickly Problem: Hedgehog Signaling In Heart's Blood Vessels Posted: 26 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT New data, generated by David Ornitz and colleagues, at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, have indicated a crucial role for signaling pathways that involve the protein sonic hedgehog in maintaining the blood vessels that supply the mouse heart and keep it beating.

Cooperative System Could Wipe Out Car Alarm Noise Posted: 26 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT The persistent, annoying blare of an ignored car alarm may become a sound of the past if a cooperative, mutable and silent network of monitors proposed by Penn State researchers is deployed in automobiles and parking lots.

Major Progress In Technology Needed For 25 Percent Renewable Energy Use To Be Affordable Posted: 26 Jun 2008 04:00 AM CDT Dramatic progress in renewable energy technology is needed if the United States desires to produce 25 percent of its electricity and motor vehicle fuel from renewable sources by 2025 without significantly increasing consumer costs, according to a new study.

Largest Crater In Solar System Revealed By NASA Spacecraft Posted: 26 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT New analysis of Mars' terrain using NASA spacecraft observations reveals what appears to be by far the largest impact crater ever found in the solar system.

Viruses Hitch A Ride In The Cell Posted: 26 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT Viruses can travel around cells they infect by hitching a ride on a microscopic transport system, according to new research. Cells are exposed to foreign DNA and RNA and it is understood that some of this genetic material can be integrated into the host genome. Using modern microscopic techniques, scientists have been able to see how virus DNA is transported in the cell.

Automated Microfluidic Device Reduces Time To Screen Small Organisms For Genetic Studies Posted: 26 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT Genetic studies on small organisms such as worms and flies can now be done more quickly using a new microfluidic device. The new "lab-on-a-chip" can automatically position, image, determine the phenotype of and sort small animals, such as the worm Caenorhabditis elegans that is commonly used for biological studies.

New Cardiovascular Score Developed To Improve Heart Attack And Stroke Detection Posted: 26 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT A new and more accurate method of assessing people at risk from cardiovascular disease is set to improve national diagnosis rates and identify those at risk among black and minority ethnic groups.

Cellular Annoyance: Annoying Mobile Communications Abroad Posted: 26 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT The results of a multinational survey to be published in the International Journal of Mobile Communications reveals some surprises about cell phone use that have implications for organizations that rely on mobile communications. The study was undertaken by Robert Nickerson and Brenda Mak of San Francisco State University working with Henri Isaac of the University Paris-Dauphine.

Hurried Doctor Visits May Leave Patients Feeling Forgetful Posted: 26 Jun 2008 01:00 AM CDT Have you ever been whisked through a doctor's visit, and afterward were unable to remember what the doctor said? A University of Rochester Medical Center study disclosed that doctors don't often take the steps necessary to help patients recall medical instructions.

How Ritalin Works In Brain To Boost Cognition, Focus Attention Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Stimulant medications such as Ritalin have been prescribed for decades to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and their popularity as "cognition enhancers" has recently surged among the healthy, as well.

Phoenix Mars Lander Puts Soil In Chemistry Lab, Team Discusses Next Steps Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander placed a sample of Martian soil in the spacecraft's wet chemistry laboratory June 25 for the first time. Results from that instrument, part of Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, are expected to provide the first measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of the planet's soil.

Athletes Susceptible To Antibiotic-resistant Staph Infections Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly referred to as MRSA, is a type of staph that causes infections resistant to a class of common antibiotics that includes methicillin, penicillin, amoxicillin and oxacillin. While MRSA infections were traditionally associated with extended hospital stays, they are now becoming more common in everyday life. In fact, this newer form of MRSA known as community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) can affect otherwise healthy individuals without any recent healthcare-related issues -- raising fears that the infection can strike anyone, anywhere or anytime.

New Process Brings Nanoparticles Into Focus Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Scientists can study the biological impacts of engineered nanomaterials on cells within the body with greater resolution than ever because of a procedure developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

How To Attract Young People To Engineering: 'Make A Difference' Message Is Key Posted: 25 Jun 2008 10:00 PM CDT Encouraging young people to make a difference in the world through an engineering career is more likely to attract them than emphasizing the challenge of math and science skills, says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering that identifies messages for improving public understanding of engineering.

Climate Change Could Severely Impact California's Unique Native Plants Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT California's endemic plants -- those found nowhere else in the world -- could disappear from their natural ranges as a result of global warming and associated changes in rainfall, according to a new study. In general, plants will move northward and towards the coast, and in southern California, upward into mountain refugia, highlighting the need to protect these refugia and corridors between them. One big question remains: Can plants migrate fast enough to escape warming's effects?

Automated MRI Technique Assists In Earlier Alzheimer's Diagnosis Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT An automated system for measuring brain tissue with magnetic resonance imaging can help physicians more accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an earlier stage according to a new study.

Eczema In Infancy May Be Linked To Cat Ownership In Those With A Specific Gene Mutation Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT A gene mutation and cat exposure at birth may increase a child's risk of developing eczema during their first year according to a study in PLoS Medicine. Researchers studied the association between mutations in the filaggrin gene and exposure to environmental factors with the development of eczema.

Severe Retinal Hemorrhaging Is Linked To Severe Motor Vehicle Crashes Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT The severity of retinal hemorrhaging for young children in motor vehicle crashes is closely correlated to the severity of the crash, according to a new study by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Retinal hemorrhages occur when the blood vessels lining the retina rupture, resulting in bleeding onto the surface of the retina.

Electromagnetic Interference From Some Identification Devices May Pose Hazards To Medical Equipment Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT The use of radio frequency identification devices appears to have the potential to cause critical care medical equipment to malfunction, according to a new study.

Kids Connect Alcohol Odors With Mom's Emotions Posted: 25 Jun 2008 07:00 PM CDT How children respond to the smell of alcoholic beverages is related to their mothers' reasons for drinking, according to a new study. When asked to choose between the odor of beer and an unpleasant odor, children of mothers classified as 'escape drinkers' were more likely than children of non-escape drinkers to choose the unpleasant odor. Young children dislike beer smell when moms drink to escape.

Extreme Weather Events Can Unleash A 'Perfect Storm' Of Infectious Diseases, Research Study Says Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Scientists have found the first clear example of how climate extremes, such as the increased frequency of droughts and floods expected with global warming, can create conditions in which diseases that are tolerated individually may converge and cause mass die-offs of livestock or wildlife.

Simple Ultrasound Exam May Predict Osteoporosis Risk Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT An ultrasound exam of the heel may be able to predict if a woman is at heightened risk for fractures due to osteoporosis, according to a new multicenter study.

Newly Identified Role For 'Power Plants' In Human Cells Could Lead To Targeted Therapies Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Scientists have determined that human cells are able to shift important gene products into their own mitochondria, considered the power plants of cells. The finding could eventually lead to therapies for dozens of diseases. The gene products, known as tRNAs, assemble amino acids for the production of proteins within mitochondria. If the mitochondrial tRNA genes are defective or missing, and proteins are not manufactured, the mitochondria are unable to generate adequate energy.

How An Anticancer Drug Dampens The Immune System Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Drugs known as HDAC inhibitors, which have antitumor activity and can be used to treat some forms of skin cancer and some types of leukemia, are also known to have anti-inflammatory properties, but the mechanisms by which they modulate the immune system have not been determined.

Moon-Bound NASA Spacecraft Passes Major Preflight Tests Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT Engineering teams are conducting final checkouts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, that will take a significant step forward in the search for water on the moon.

'Neglected Infections Of Poverty' In United States Disable Hundreds Of Thousands Of Americans Annually Posted: 25 Jun 2008 04:00 PM CDT A new analysis highlights that diseases very similar to those plaguing Africa, Asia, and Latin America are also occurring frequently among the poorest people in the United States, especially women and children. These diseases -- the "neglected infections of poverty" -- are caused by chronic and debilitating parasitic, bacterial, and congenital infections.

Our Genome Changes Over Lifetime, And May Explain Many 'Late-onset' Diseases Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers have found that epigenetic marks on DNA -- chemical marks other than the DNA sequence -- do indeed change over a person's lifetime, and that the degree of change is similar among family members. The team suggests that overall genome health is heritable and that epigenetic changes occurring over one's lifetime may explain why disease susceptibility increases with age.

Alzheimer's Disease As Case Of Brake Failure? Loss Of Protein Function In Neurons May Lead To Dementia Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers have discovered that a protein that suppresses cell division in brain cells effectively "puts the brakes" on the dementia that comes with Alzheimer's disease. When the brakes fail, dementia results. This discovery could open the door to new ways of treating Alzheimer's disease, which affects up to half the population over the age of 85.

Oral Cannabis Ineffective In Treating Acute Pain, Study Finds Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 PM CDT Oral cannabis (a form of medical marijuana) not only failed to alleviate certain types of pain in human volunteers but, surprisingly, it instead caused increased sensitivity to some forms of pain. Researchers evaluated the analgesic potency of orally administered cannabis extract that included its main psychoactive component, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Immune Cells Cause Inflammation By Destroying An Anti-inflammatory Protein Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 PM CDT Among the first cells of the immune system to respond to microorganisms that invade our body are neutrophils. Although neutrophils are considered the "good guys" in such circumstances, they also contribute to the noninfectious chronic inflammation that underlies various diseases, including autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

'Directed Thinking' Increases Time Spent Exercising Posted: 25 Jun 2008 01:00 PM CDT A new study shows how "directed thinking" led to an increase in exercise and fitness in sedentary college students.

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