ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

DNA Shows That Last Woolly Mammoths Had North American Roots Posted: 05 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT In a surprising reversal of conventional wisdom, a DNA-based study has revealed that the last of the woolly mammoths--which lived between 40,000 and 4,000 years ago--had roots that were exclusively North American.

No Connection Between Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Vaccine And Autism, Study Suggests Posted: 05 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT In a case-control study, the presence of measles virus RNA was no more likely in children with autism and GI disturbances than in children with only GI disturbances. Furthermore, GI symptom and autism onset were unrelated to MMR vaccine timing.

Children With TVs Or Computers In Their Room Sleep Less Posted: 05 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Middle school children who have a television or computer in their room sleep less during the school year, watch more TV, play more computer games and surf the net more than their peers who don't.

Innate Immune System Targets Asthma-linked Fungus For Destruction Posted: 05 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT A new study shows that the innate immune system of humans is capable of killing a fungus linked to airway inflammation, chronic rhinosinusitis and bronchial asthma. Researchers have revealed that eosinophils, a particular type of white blood cell, exert a strong immune response against the environmental fungus Alternaria alternata.

Biocontrol Insect Exacerbates Invasive Weed Posted: 05 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Biocontrol agents, such as insects, are often released outside of their native ranges to control invasive plants. But scientists in Montana have found that through complex community interactions among deer mice, native plants and seeds, the presence of an introduced fly may exacerbate the effects of the invasive plant it was meant to control.

Age-related Memory Loss Tied To Slip In Filtering Information Quickly Posted: 05 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Scientists have identified a way in which the brain's ability to process information diminishes with age, and shown that this break down contributes to the decreased ability to form memories that is associated with normal aging.

A Fine-tooth Comb To Measure The Accelerating Universe Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Astronomical instruments needed to answer crucial questions, such as the search for Earth-like planets or the way the Universe expands, have come a step closer with the first demonstration at the telescope of a new calibration system for precise spectrographs. The method uses a Nobel Prize-winning technology called a "laser frequency comb," and is published in Science.

New Drug Protects Against Second Heart Attack Or Stroke, Study Suggests Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Data from a Phase II study of an investigational drug designed to block formation of blood clots show potential for added protection against a second heart attack or stroke among patients who are already taking state-of-the-art prevention therapy, according to researchers.

Venus: Global Structure Of Winds And Clouds Have Been Mapped Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Venus is a planet similar in size to the Earth. Nevertheless, it is quite different in other aspects. On the one hand, it spins very slowly on its axis, taking 224 terrestrial days and, moreover, it does so in the opposite direction to that of our planet, i.e. from East to West. Its dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide with surface pressures 90 times that of Earth (equivalent to what we find at 1000 meters below the surface of our oceans), causes a runaway greenhouse effect that raises the surface temperatures up to 450ºC, to such as extent that metals like lead are in a liquid state on Venus.

Asymptomatic Carotid Plaque Healing Mechanisms Observed Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have observed a noninvasive MR imaging a healing mechanism for plaque rupture, a potentially life-threatening event in the cardiovascular system that can result in a fatal heart attack or debilitating stroke. The untimely death of well-known television journalist Tim Russert, was due to the sudden rupture of a vulnerable plaque in a critical location in a coronary artery.

DNA Editing Tool Flips Its Target Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Imagine having to copy an entire book by hand without missing a comma. Our cells face a similar task every time they divide. They must duplicate both their DNA and a subtle pattern of punctuation-like modifications on the DNA known as methylation. Scientists have caught in action one of the tools mammalian cells use to maintain their pattern of methylation. Visualized by X-ray crystallography, the SRA domain of the protein UHRF1 appears to act like a bookmark while enzymes are copying a molecule of DNA.

Spending Time In Intensive Care Unit Can Traumatize Kids Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Scientists have developed the Children's Critical Illness Impact Scale to measure psychological distress in children following hospital discharge. This is the first self-report scale ever created to measure the psychological impact of intensive care unit hospitalization on children.

Toxic Plastics: Bisphenol A Linked To Metabolic Syndrome In Human Tissue Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT New research implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics -- bisphenol A (BPA) -- as a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome and its consequences.

World Cancer Declaration Sets Ambitious Targets For 2020 Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT A summit of more than 60 high-level policymakers, leaders and health experts have adopted a global plan aimed at tackling the growing cancer crisis in developing countries. The plan, contained in the World Cancer Declaration, recommends a set of 11 cancer-busting targets for 2020 and outlines priority steps that need to be taken in order to meet them. It was presented Sunday at the close of the World Cancer Congress in Geneva.

Mom's Mood, Baby's Sleep: What's The Connection? Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT If there's one thing that everyone knows about newborn babies, it's that they don't sleep through the night, and neither do their parents. But in fact, those first six months of life are crucial to developing the regular sleeping and waking patterns, known as circadian rhythms, that a child will need for a healthy future. Some children may start life with the sleep odds stacked against them, though, say sleep experts who study the issue.

Gene Is Likely Cause Of Stroke-inducing Vascular Malformations Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Scientists have discovered that a gene controlling whether blood vessels differentiate into arteries or veins during embryonic development is linked to a vascular disorder in the brain that causes stroke.

Computerized Whiteboards Improve Classroom Learning, Study Suggests Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT The British government has invested more money in Interactive Whiteboards in its schools than any other government in the world. But is this huge investment worth it? Have the new data projection technologies allowed students to learn more effectively? This is the subject of recent research.

College Freshmen: Pain Killers And Stimulants Less Risky Than Cocaine; More Risky Than Marijuana Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT A new study in Prevention Science, finds that college freshmen believe that nonmedical use of prescription drugs like pain killers and stimulants is less risky than cocaine, but more risky than marijuana. Study also describes types of students who are most likely to engage in nonmedical use of prescription drugs.

Global Sea-rise Levels By 2100 May Be Lower Than Some Predict, Says New Study Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Despite projections by some scientists of global seas rising by 20 feet or more by the end of this century as a result of warming, a new study concludes that global sea rise of much more than 6 feet is a near physical impossibility.

New Stem Cell Tools To Aid Drug Development Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Scientists have designed, developed and tested new molecular tools for stem cell research to direct the formation of certain tissue types for use in drug development programs.

New Evidence On Folic Acid In Diet And Colon Cancer Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Researchers are reporting a new, more detailed explanation for the link between low folate intake and an increased risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Previous Claims Of SiRNA Therapeutic Effects Called Into Question By Report In Human Gene Therapy Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT The many recent reports documenting the therapeutic efficacy of short interfering RNAs in animal models of human disease may actually be describing non-specific therapeutic effects related to the ability of siRNA to activate an immune response, according to a paper in Human Gene Therapy.

25 Years Of Conventional Evaluation Of Data Analysis Proves Worthless In Practice Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT So-called 'intelligent' computer-based methods for classifying patient samples, for example, have been evaluated with the help of two methods that have completely dominated research for 25 years. Now Swedish researchers are revealing that this methodology is worthless when it comes to practical problems.

Australian Over-50s Walk Away Memory Problems In World-first Trial Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT An Australian study has found that walking for two and a half hours a week can significantly improve memory problems in the over-50s.

Technology Users Are Failing To Take Adequate Steps To Protect Their Digital Privacy Posted: 04 Sep 2008 11:00 PM CDT Technology users are failing to take adequate steps to protect their privacy in digital society. In the face of technology that will soon be able not only to track an individual's movements but predict them too, people are far too relaxed about protecting their privacy, according to one social psychologist.

What Is A Gene? Media Define the Concept In Many Different Ways Posted: 04 Sep 2008 11:00 PM CDT Even scientists define 'a gene' in different ways, so it comes as little surprise that the media also have various ways of framing the concept of a gene, according to a new study.

LHC Switch-on Fears Are Completely Unfounded Posted: 04 Sep 2008 11:00 PM CDT A new report provides the most comprehensive evidence available to confirm that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)'s switch-on, due on Wednesday next week, poses no threat to mankind. Nature's own cosmic rays regularly produce more powerful particle collisions than those planned within the LHC, which will enable nature's laws to be studied in controlled experiments.

Molecular Evolution Is Echoed In Bat Ears Posted: 04 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT Echolocation may have evolved more than once in bats, according to new research from the University of Bristol.

New Methods Identify And Manipulate 'Newborn' Cells In Animal Model Of Parkinson's Disease Posted: 04 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT Researchers in the United States and Sweden used an engineered virus to deliver a protein that glows green when exposed to blue light (green fluorescent protein) into newborn cells of the striatum in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

Natural Childbirth Makes Mothers More Responsive To Own Baby-cry Posted: 04 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT A new study has found that mothers who delivered vaginally compared to caesarean section delivery were significantly more responsive to the cry of their own baby, identified through MRI brain scans two to four weeks after delivery.

Hospitalized Patients With CKD Are At Increased Risk Of Being Harmed By Medical Errors, Study Finds Posted: 04 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT Hospitalized patients with chronic kidney disease are at higher risk for adverse consequences of medical care compared with those without the disease, according to a new study. The findings indicate that steps should be taken to reduce potentially preventable complications of medical care for CKD patients, a population that is frequently under-recognized in most health care settings.

Eyeball Reflexes: Security and Biometrics That Cannot Be Spoofed Posted: 04 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT Electronic fingerprinting, iris scans, and signature recognition software are all becoming commonplace biometrics for user authentication and security. However, they all suffer from one major drawback -- they can be spoofed by a sufficiently sophisticated intruder. Researchers now describe a new approach based on a person's reflexes that could never be copied, forged, or spoofed.

Racial Disparities Found In Radiation Therapy Rates For Breast Cancer Posted: 04 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT African-American women are less likely than white women to receive radiation therapy after a lumpectomy, the standard of care for early stage breast cancer, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

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