ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Long-held Assumptions Of Flightless Bird Evolution Challenged By New Research Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Large flightless birds of the southern continents -- African ostriches, Australian emus and cassowaries, South American rheas and the New Zealand kiwi -- do not share a common flightless ancestor as once believed.

Chandelier Cells Unveil Human Cognition Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT What is it that distinguishes humans from other mammals? The answer to this question lies in the neocortex -- the part of the brain responsible for sensory perceptions, conscious thought and language. Humans have a considerably larger neocortex than other mammals, making it an ideal subject for the research of higher cognition. Scientists now reveal new insights into the mysteries of neocortex organization and function.

How New Helium Ion Microscope Measures Up Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Researchers are probing the newest microscope technology to further improve measurement accuracy at the nanoscale -- a critical capability for setting standards and improving production in the semiconductor and nanomanufacturing industries.

Arteries From Distinct Regions Of The Body Have Unique Immune Functions Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Arteries play an active role in the immune system by sensing infection and injury. They collect information about invaders through dendritic cells embedded in their walls. Arteries supplying blood to distinct parts of the body specialize in recognizing different bacterial signals.

Action As A Goal May Be Too Broad, New Research Suggests Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT A series of experiments suggest that society's emphasis on action over inaction may lead to unforeseen consequences. The findings could help understand how common words used in everyday life may influence conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder.

Old Before Their Time? Aging Rate In Flies Twice As Fast In Wild Than In Laboratory Posted: 06 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Conventional wisdom suggests that stress accelerates aging -- but is it really true? Evolutionary studies of aging use short-lived animals under laboratory conditions -- constant temperature and humidity, no parasites, superabundant food. Researchers identified individual stilt-legged flies in their harsh natural environments while simultaneously monitoring their cousins in the lab. In males, the rate of aging was as least two times greater in the wild. For both sexes, life in the wild was dramatically shorter. More study of how environment affects gene expression is needed.

Unsuccessful Drug Against Anxiety Opens A Novel Gateway For The Treatment Of Cancer Posted: 06 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT An unsatisfying drug for anxiety reveals to scientists a promising novel anti-cancer drug target. Cancer cells have multiple ways to avoid apoptosis, programmed cell death the means by which organisms deal with defective cells. One defense is to produce quantities of phosphatic acid, a phospholipid constituent of cellular membranes.

Giant Furnace Opens To Reveal 'Perfect' LSST Mirror Blank Posted: 06 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT The single-piece primary and tertiary mirror blank cast for the LSST is "perfect", say project astronomers and engineers. The LSST, or Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a large survey telescope being built in northern Chile, requires three large mirrors to give crisp images over a record large field of view. The two largest of these mirrors are concentric and fit neatly onto a single mirror blank.

Virology: How Does Herpes Simplex Virus Cause Inflammation Of The Brain? Posted: 06 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Worldwide, about 80% of young adults are infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The most common symptom of infection is a cold sore, but in some individuals the virus can also cause life-threatening inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); 70% of individuals who do not get treatment for this condition die.

Disruption-free Videos Posted: 06 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Standardized video coding techniques still have their snags – digitally transmitted images are not always disruption-free. An extension of the H.264/AVC coding format allows to protect the most important data packets to ensure they arrive safely at the receiver.

Should Nurses Replace GPs As Frontline Providers Of Primary Care? Posted: 06 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Should nurses be the frontline providers of primary care, taking the place of general practitioners as the first point of patient contact? Two experts debate the issue. Nurses can deliver as high quality care as general practitioners in most areas of general practice including preventive health care, the management of long term conditions, and first contact care for people with minor illness, according to one expert.

Glaciers In The Pyrenees Will Disappear In Less Than 50 Years, Study Finds Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Much has been said about the situation of the glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, but little is known about those in the high mountain areas of the Iberian Peninsular. A Spanish research study has revealed, for the first time, that now only the Pyrenees has active glaciers. Furthermore, the steady increase in temperature, a total of 0.9°C since 1890, indicates that Pyrenean glaciers will disappear before 2050, according to experts.

Living Donor Liver Transplants May Drastically Decrease Mortality From Liver Failure Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Patients with acute liver failure could be saved by a transplant from a living donor, according to a new study. The recent experience of US patients shows that recipient mortality rates and donor morbidity rates are acceptable.

Honest Lovers? Fallow Buck Groans Reveal Their Status And Size During The Rut Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have show for the first time that sexually selected vocalizations can signal social dominance in mammals other than primates, and reveal that the independent acoustic components -- fundamental frequency (pitch) and formant frequencies -- encode information on dominance status and body size, respectively.

Nutritional Research Vindicates Diet Programs Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Popular slimming programs do result in reduced energy intake while providing enough nutrients. A new scientific analysis provides comprehensive dietary data about Slim Fast, Atkins, Weight Watchers and Rosemary Conley's "Eat Yourself Slim" Diet & Fitness Plan.

Digitizing Archives From The 17th Century Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT A researcher on a short trip to a foreign country, with little money, but a digital camera in hand has devised a novel approach to digitizing foreign archives that could speed up research.

Infant Abductions Increase In Private And Public Places Posted: 06 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT A new study, based on 23 years of data collection, showed that while the number of abductions in hospital settings dramatically declined, those from private homes and public places have increased in incidence. Among private home and public place abductions, there has also been an increase in violence and lower infant recovery rates.

New Virtual Telescope Zooms In On Milky Way's Super-massive Black Hole Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Astronomers have obtained the closest views ever of what is believed to be a super-massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The astronomers linked together radio dishes in Hawaii, Arizona and California to create a virtual telescope more than 2,800 miles across that is capable of seeing details more than 1,000 times finer than the Hubble Space Telescope.

Massive Cancer Gene Search Finds Potential New Targets In Brain Tumors Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT An array of broken, missing and overactive genes have been identified in a genetic survey of glioblastoma, the most common and deadly form of adult brain cancer, report scientists. The large-scale combing of the brain cancer genome confirms the key roles of some previously known mutated genes and implicates a variety of other genetic changes that may be targets for future therapies.

MIT Probe Could Aid Quantum Computing Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT MIT researchers may have found a way to overcome a key barrier to the advent of super-fast quantum computers, which could be powerful tools for applications such as code breaking.

How To Spot A Heart Attack Soon After It Occurs Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT The sooner an individual who has had a heart attack is treated, the better their chance of survival and the less permanent damage is done to their heart. A recent paper details a new method for early detection of a heart attack that researchers used to observe changes in the blood of individuals who had had a heart attack as soon as 10 minutes after the event.

Ebola Cell-invasion Strategy Uncovered Posted: 05 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Researchers have discovered a key biochemical link in the process by which the Ebola Zaire virus infects cells -- a critical step to finding a way to treat the deadly disease produced by the virus.

Theory Of Sun's Role In Formation Of Solar System Questioned Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT A strange mix of oxygen found in a stony meteorite that exploded over Pueblito de Allende, Mexico nearly 40 years ago has puzzled scientists ever since. Small flecks of minerals lodged in the stone and thought to date from the beginning of the solar system have a pattern of oxygen types, or isotopes, that differs from those found in all known planetary rocks, including those from Earth, its Moon and meteorites from Mars.

Link Between Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes And Neurodegeneration Found Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus can contribute to mild neurodegeneration with features common with Alzheimer's disease -- the first study to show that obesity can cause neurodegeneration.

Designer Wine? Characterization Of Grapevine Transposons May Aid Development Of New Grape Varieties Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT A new study presents a genome-wide characterization of grapevine transposons. This work shows that transposons have captured and amplified gene sequences in grapevines, which could have had an impact on gene evolution and their regulation.

Low-birth-weight Children Should Have Their Blood Pressure Checked, Researchers Find Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT Blood pressure in low-birth-weight children younger than 3 years of age not only can be measured but should be, researchers have found.

Scientists Peel Away Mystery Behind Gold's Catalytic Prowess Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT Using the world's most powerful microscopes for chemical analysis, scientists have pinpointed where the conversion of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide occurs when gold is supported on iron oxide. CO oxidation is critical to firefighters and others who wear protect masks when entering a burning building. Bilayer clusters of atoms less than a nanometer in dimension are found to be responsible for a vital oxidation reaction.

Hallucinations In The Flash Of An Eye Posted: 05 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT Specific brain regions show increased activity during hallucinations. Researchers introduce a new experimental approach to studying hallucinations as they occur.

Yale Researchers Find 'Junk DNA' May Have Triggered Key Evolutionary Changes In Human Thumb And Foot Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Out of the 3 billion genetic letters that spell out the human genome, Yale scientists have found a handful that may have contributed to the evolutionary changes in human limbs that enabled us to manipulate tools and walk upright.

Infectious, Test Tube-produced Prions Can Jump The 'Species Barrier' Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers have shown that they can create entirely new strains of infectious proteins known as prions in the laboratory by simply mixing infectious prions from one species with the normal prion proteins of another species.

How Salmonella Bacteria Contaminate Salad Leaves Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT How does Salmonella bacteria cause food poisoning by attaching to salad leaves? A new study shows how some Salmonella bacteria use the long stringy appendages they normally use to help them "swim" and move about to attach themselves to salad leaves and other vegetables, causing contamination and a health risk.

Promising Method For Reducing MRSA Infections In Hospitals Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers report that switching between two antibiotics, linezolid and vancomycin, every three months in the surgical ICU decreased the MRSA infection rate from 1.9 to 1.4 patients per 100 admissions. In-hospital mortality from surgical ICU-acquired MRSA infections fell from 3.8 patients per year to none.

Thinking People Eat Too Much: Intellectual Work Found To Induce Excessive Calorie Intake Posted: 05 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Scientists have demonstrated that intellectual work induces a substantial increase in calorie intake. The details of this discovery could go some way to explaining the current obesity epidemic.

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