ScienceDaily: Latest Science News |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 PM CDT Ice age climate change and ancient flooding -- but not barriers created by rivers -- may have promoted the evolution of new insect species in the Amazon region of South America, a new study suggests. The Amazon basin is home to the richest diversity of life on earth, yet the reasons why this came to be are not well understood.  |
| Gallbladder Removed Through Uterus Without External Incisions Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 PM CDT In April of last year, surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center made headlines by removing a women's gallbladder through her uterus using a flexible endoscope, aided by several external incisions for added visibility. Now, they have performed the same procedure without a single external incision in what surgeons report may be the first surgery of its kind in the United States.  |
| How Secure Is Your Network? New Program Points Out Vulnerabilities, Calculates Risk Of Attack Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 PM CDT To help IT managers safeguard valuable information most efficiently, computer scientists are applying security metrics to computer network pathways to assign a probable risk of attack, calculating the most vulnerable points of attack.  |
| Robotic Surgery Provides Reduced Pain and Quicker Recovery for Kidney Cancer Patients Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 PM CDT Clinical research is helping bring the advantages of robotic surgery, including reduced pain and quicker recovery, to kidney cancer patients.  |
| New Biomass Technology Dramatically Increases Ethanol Yield From Grasses And Yard Waste Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 PM CDT University of Georgia researchers have developed a new technology that promises to dramatically increase the yield of ethanol from readily available nonfood crops, such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrass -- and even yard waste.  |
| South African Epidemic Of Schoolboy Sexual Abuse Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 PM CDT By the age of 18 years, two in every five South African schoolboys report being forced to have sex, mostly by female perpetrators. A new study, reported in BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal for Equity in Health, reveals the shocking truth about endemic sexual abuse of male children that has been suspected but until now only poorly documented.  |
| Unexpected Key To Flowering Plants' Diversity Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 PM CDT New research may help explain the amazing diversity in the world's flowering plants, a question that has puzzled scientists from the time of Darwin to today. The findings, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the ability of flowering plants -- known as angiosperms -- to quickly and efficiently move sperm from pollen to egg through a part of the plant was the key to their evolutionary diversity.  |
| Study Provides Clues To Preventing And Treating Cancer Spread Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 PM CDT Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that normal cells, possibly fibrocytes, may travel to distant organs to create pre-metastic niches for the spread of cancer.  |
| Organic Pest Control: Mustard -- Hot Stuff For Natural Pest Control Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 PM CDT Researchers, growers and Industry specialists from 22 countries are sharing the latest research into the use of Brassica species, such as mustard, radish, or rapeseed, to manage soil-borne pests and weeds -- a technique known as biofumigation.  |
| Inheritance Of Hormonal Disorder Marked By Excessive Insulin In Daughters Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 PM CDT Elevated levels of insulin could be an early sign that girls whose mothers suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome -- or PCOS -- may also be susceptible to the disease, according to gynecologists who have found evidence of insulin resistance in young children.  |
| Snapshot Of Past Climate Reveals No Ice In Antarctica Millions Of Years Ago Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 PM CDT A snapshot of New Zealand's climate 40 million years ago reveals a greenhouse Earth, with warmer seas and little or no ice in Antarctica, according to research published in the journal Geology.  |
| Deaths From Combining Rx Drugs, Street Drugs And/Or Alcohol Skyrocket By More Than 3,000 Percent Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 PM CDT Asking patients to monitor their own medications can be fatal, as exemplified by the recent death of actor Heath Ledger.  |
| Golden Scales: Nanoscale Mass Sensor Can Be Used To Weigh Individual Atoms And Molecules Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 PM CDT There's a new "gold standard" in the sensitivity of weighing scales. Using the same technology with which they created the world's first fully functional nanotube radio, Berkeley Lab researchers have fashioned a nanoelectromechanical system that can function as a scale sensitive enough to measure the weight of a single atom of gold. This NEMS scale could prove especially useful for measuring the mass of proteins and other molecules which don't fare well in mass spectrometry.  |
| Exposure To Bad Air Raises Blood Pressure, Study Shows Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 PM CDT The air people breathe while walking in the park, working in the garden or shopping downtown may be unhealthy enough to seriously spike their blood pressure, a new study suggests. Cardiovascular researchers now report a direct link between air pollution and its impact on high blood pressure, or hypertension. If the results from these animal studies hold up, this could be important for human health.  |
| Uncertain Future For Elephants Of Thailand Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 PM CDT Worries over the future of Thailand' s famous elephants have emerged following an investigation by a University of Manchester team.  |
| Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Allowed More Chemotherapy To Reach Brain Tumors In Laboratory Study Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 PM CDT In a study using laboratory animals, researchers found that medications commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction opened a mechanism called the blood-brain tumor barrier and increased delivery of cancer-fighting drugs to malignant brain tumors.  |
| Structure Of Hepatitis B Mapped By Spraying Virus Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 PM CDT Using a newly developed method, Utrecht University researchers have mapped the structure and composition of the hepatitis B virus. The researchers were able to map the structure by spraying the virus. Their research brings us a step closer to understanding and combating hepatitis B infection. The method can also be used to analyse other viruses.  |
| Study Examines Prevalence Of Hearing Loss In The US Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 PM CDT Hearing loss may be more prevalent in American adults than previously reported, according to a study in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.  |
| Bioengineers Develop 'Microscope On A Chip' Posted: 29 Jul 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have turned science fiction into reality with their development of a super-compact high-resolution microscope, small enough to fit on a finger tip. This "microscopic microscope" operates without lenses but has the magnifying power of a top-quality optical microscope, can be used in the field to analyze blood samples for malaria or check water supplies for giardia and other pathogens, and can be mass-produced for around $10.  |
| Researchers Tap Into A New And Potentially Better Source Of Platelets For Transfusion Posted: 29 Jul 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers may be one step closer to improving treatments for bleeding disorders. They have devised a way to maximize the numbers and function of clot-forming blood cells from mice.  |
| Garden Microbe Foils E. Coli O157:H7 In Laboratory Tests Posted: 29 Jul 2008 10:00 AM CDT A microbe that may be living peaceably on the beans and cucumbers in backyard gardens might someday be recruited to foil foodborne pathogens. Geneticists looked at the pathogen-fighting abilities of the farm- and garden-friendly microbe, Enterobacter asburiae, in studies begun in 2002.  |
| Researchers Analyze How New Anti-MRSA Antibiotics Function Posted: 29 Jul 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers provide important insights into promising new antibiotics aimed at combating MRSA. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major global health threat that kills approximately 20,000 people in the U.S. alone each year.  |
| Computers Lead To Safer Blood Transfusions, Chemotherapy Posted: 29 Jul 2008 10:00 AM CDT Computer scientists are analyzing medical procedures, including blood transfusions and chemotherapy treatments, with the goal of improving patient safety. The team is also analyzing the flow of patients in emergency rooms to reduce waiting time.  |
| Hypnosis Shown To Reduce Symptoms Of Dementia Posted: 29 Jul 2008 10:00 AM CDT Scientists have found that hypnosis can slow down the impacts of dementia and improve quality of life for those living with the condition.  |
| Piecing Together An Extinct Lemur, Large As A Big Baboon Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have used computed tomography technology to virtually glue newly-discovered skull fragments of a rare extinct lemur back into its partial skull, discovered over a century ago. The skull fragments are separated by thousands of miles, with the partial skull in Vienna and the pieces of frontal bone in the United States. The result of the digital manipulation is a nearly complete skull, which is one of only two known skulls for its species.  |
| Pre-eclampsia May Be Autoimmune Disease Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 AM CDT Biochemists at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston say they are the first to provide pre-clinical evidence that pregnancy-induced high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia may be an autoimmune disease. Their research could provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities for this intractable disease.  |
| Microbiologists Studying Little-known But Largely Useful Microbes Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 AM CDT Microbiologists are studying how interactions on a microscopic scale could change how we think of energy production, climate change and even soil contamination. "Microbes play significant roles in the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the phosphorous cycle, and we don't fully understand how," one of the researchers said.  |
| Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Are Lower Incidence, Progression Of Alzheimer's Disease Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have, for the first time, found that angiotensin receptor blockers -- a particular class of anti-hypertensive medicines -- are associated with a striking decrease in the occurrence and progression of dementia.  |
| Possible To Reduce Emissions By 30 Percent By 2025, Model Shows Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 AM CDT Scientists modeled emissions for Minnesota and found that it is possible to reduce emissions by 30 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050 and possibly exceed those numbers if a combination of strategies are implemented, including reducing fuel consumption, increasing fuel efficiencies and fuel carbon content and by using new methods for designing communities. However, the researchers point out that the methods could be applied nationally.  |
| Current Exercise Recommendations May Not Be Sufficient For Overweight Women To Sustain Weight Loss Posted: 29 Jul 2008 07:00 AM CDT In addition to limiting calories, overweight and obese women may need to exercise 55 minutes a day for five days per week to sustain a weight loss of 10 percent over two years, according to a report in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.  |
| Study Suggests 86 Percent Of Americans Could Be Overweight Or Obese By 2030 Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 AM CDT Most adults in the US will be overweight or obese by 2030, with related health care spending projected to be as much as $956.9 billion, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  |
| Sharp Rise In Skin Infections In U.S., MRSA Suspected Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 AM CDT A national analysis of U.S. physician office and emergency department records shows that the types of skin infections caused by community-acquired MRSA doubled in the eight-year study period, with the highest rates seen among children and in urban emergency rooms.  |
| Slippery Customer: A Greener Antiwear Additive For Engine Oils Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 AM CDT Titanium, a protean element with applications from pigments to aerospace alloys, could get a new role as an environmentally friendly additive for automotive oil.  |
| Dietary Factors Appear To Be Associated With Diabetes Risk Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 AM CDT Drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages or eating fewer fruits and vegetables both may be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas eating a low-fat diet does not appear to be associated with any change in diabetes risk, according to three reports in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.  |
| No-tillage Plus: Cover Crops Offer A Model For Sustainability In Tropical Soils Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 AM CDT Tropical soils often behave differently than temperate soils when being farmed. In tropical regions, soils lose nutrients quickly when cultivated. With food shortages looming and soil quality declining rapidly, new farming techniques are needed to make tropical and sub-tropical farming more productive and sustainable. New research from Agronomy Journal shows that no-till management combined with a winter cover crop is most effective in retaining nutrients in tropical soils.  |
| Eating Disorder Symptoms More Common Among Female Athletes And Exercisers Posted: 29 Jul 2008 04:00 AM CDT A recent study reveals that university undergraduate women who actively participate in sports and exercise-related activities tend to have higher rates of attitudes and behaviors related to eating disorders compared to those who do not regularly exercise.  |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 AM CDT If you're fishing for ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, you might start with the seafood-rich diet typically served up in Japan. The research, published in the Aug. 5, 2008, issue of Journal of the American College of Cardiology, suggests that protection comes from omega-3 fatty acids found in abundance in oily fish.  |
| Structure Of Heart Can Be Changed Through Exercise Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 AM CDT Just like any other muscle, the structure of the heart can be changed through exercise. However, this adaptation process takes longer than it takes the muscle to revert to its original conditions. Researchers have studied this process in well trained hearts during their investigations to identify pathologies.  |
| Cold Temperature Is Key To Quality Of Bagged Salads Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 AM CDT Scientists have found that proper storage temperatures are essential to minimize bacterial growth and adaptability inside sealed, bagged salads. They have been studying the safety of new technologies that extend the shelf life of bagged salad greens.  |
| Europe’s Next-generation Broadband Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 AM CDT An enormous research effort by Europe's leading broadband players has helped accelerate dramatically the rollout of next-generation broadband services reaching speeds in the 10s of Mbit/s in many European countries. That is just the start.  |
| Women's Access To Credit Affects Efficiency In Rural Households Posted: 29 Jul 2008 01:00 AM CDT Rural households in which women are not able to meet their needs for capital do not produce as much as they could, according to new research.  |
| Birdsong Not Just For The Birds: Bio-acoustic Method Also Hears Nature’s Cry For Help Posted: 28 Jul 2008 10:00 PM CDT Computer scientists have developed a kind of 'Big Brother' for birds. This has nothing to do with entertainment, but a lot to do with the protection of nature. The new type of voice detector involved can reliably recognize the characteristic birdsong of different species of birds, thereby facilitating surveys of the bird population.  |
| Foods High In Conjugated Linoleic Acids Can Enrich Breast Milk Posted: 28 Jul 2008 10:00 PM CDT Have a cookie before breast-feeding, mom? Eating special cookies enriched with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) can increase the level of these potentially healthful fatty acids in breast milk, reports a recent study in the journal Nutrition Research.  |
| Breast Cancer Detection: A Simpler Alternative To Mammograms? Posted: 28 Jul 2008 10:00 PM CDT Whether a painless, portable device that uses electrical current rather than X-ray to look for breast cancer could be an alternative to traditional mammograms is under study. New research will compare traditional mammograms to impedence scanning, a technique based on evidence that electrical current passes through cancerous tissue differently than through normal tissue.  |
| No Justification For Denying Obese Patients Knee Replacements, Experts Argue Posted: 28 Jul 2008 10:00 PM CDT There is no justification for denying obese patients knee replacement surgery: they benefit almost as much as anyone else from the procedure, concludes a small study.  |
| Posted: 28 Jul 2008 10:00 PM CDT The first scanning tunneling spectroscopy of graphene flakes equipped with a "gate" electrode has found an unexpected gap-like feature in the energy spectrum of electrons tunneling into graphene's single layer of atoms. Scientists who performed the research believe the peculiar feature arises from the interaction of the tunneling electrons with phonons, the quantized vibrations of the 2-D graphene crystal.  |
| International Monetary Fund Loans Linked To Higher Death Rates From Tuberculosis Posted: 28 Jul 2008 10:00 PM CDT International Monetary Fund loans were associated with a 16.6 percent rise in death rates from tuberculosis in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern European countries between 1992 and 2002. The study also found that IMF loans were linked with a 13.9 percent increase in the number of new cases of TB per year and a 13.2 percent increase per year in the total number of people with the disease.  |
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