ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

NASA's Phoenix Lander Sees, Feels Martian Whirlwinds In Action Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has photographed several dust devils dancing across the arctic plain this week and sensed a dip in air pressure as one passed near the lander. These dust-lofting whirlwinds had been expected in the area, but none had been detected in earlier Phoenix images.

Scientists Watch As Listener's Brain Predicts Speaker's Words Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Scientists have shown for the first time that our brains automatically consider many possible words and their meanings before we've even heard the final sound of the word.

Brightest Stellar Explosion Heralds New Type Of Long-distance Astronomy Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Some 7.5 billion years ago, a supernova heralding the birth of a black hole went off halfway across the universe, sending a pencil-beam flash of light toward Earth that was briefly visible to the naked eye on March 19. UC Berkeley's Joshua Bloom and colleagues, who analyzed data from PAIRITEL and Gemini South to characterize the gamma-ray burst, see such bursts as a way to probe the early universe.

World-first To Predict Premature Births Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Australian researchers and a pathology company have joined forces to develop a world-first computerized system which may reveal a way to predict premature birth with greater accuracy.

Future Nanoelectronics May Face Obstacles Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Combining ordinary electronics with light has been a potential way to create minimal computer circuits with super fast information transfer. Researchers are now showing that there is a limit. When the size of the components approaches the nanometer level, all information will disappear before it has time to be transferred.

The 'Satellite Navigation' In Our Brains Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Our brains contain their own navigation system much like satellite navigation, with in-built maps, grids and compasses, according to new research by neuroscientists.

Superconductivity Can Induce Magnetism Posted: 15 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT When an electrical current passes through a wire it emanates heat -- a principle that's found in toasters and incandescent light bulbs. Some materials, at low temperatures, violate this law and carry current without any heat loss. But this seemingly trivial property, superconductivity, is now at the forefront of our understanding of physics. Scientists now show that, contrary to previous belief, superconductivity can induce magnetism, which has raised a new quantum conundrum.

New Cancer-causing Gene In Many Colon Cancers Identified Posted: 15 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Demonstrating that despite the large number of cancer-causing genes already identified, many more remain to be found, scientists have linked a previously unsuspected gene, CDK8, to colon cancer. CDK8 influences transcription factors, making it an attractive target for drug therapies, as affecting the gene may potentially disrupt the cancer process and disable tumor cells.

Automated Bus Uses Magnets To Steer Through City Streets Posted: 15 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT The thought of a bus moving along city streets while its driver has both hands off the wheel is alarming. But a special bus steers not by a driver, but by a magnetic guidance system developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, with remarkable precision.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Women Experience More Pain Than Men Do, Study Suggests Posted: 15 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Rheumatoid arthritis is often a more painful experience for women than it is for men, even though the visible symptoms are the same. Scientists are now saying that doctors should take more account of these subjective differences when assessing the need for medication.

Nanoscale Silver: No Silver Lining? Posted: 15 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report.

Better Health Through Your Cell Phone Posted: 15 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers have advanced a novel lens-free imaging technique on the path to use in medical diagnostic applications that promise to improve global health related disease monitoring, such as malaria and HIV. The on-chip imaging platform is capable of quickly and accurately counting targeted cell types in a mixed cell solution. Eventually, the platform will be scaled down to the point that it can be integrated within a regular wireless cell phone.

Quantum Insights Could Lead To Better Detectors Posted: 15 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT A bizarre but well-established aspect of quantum physics could open up a new era of electronic detectors and imaging systems that would be far more efficient than any now in existence, according to new insights by an MIT leader in the field.

Faster, Cheaper Way Of Analyzing The Human Genome Developed Posted: 15 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT A faster and less expensive way for scientists to find which genes might affect human health has been developed. Using barcodes, not unlike what shoppers find in grocery stores, researchers found a way to index portions of the nearly 3-billion-base human genetic code, making it easier for scientists to zero in on the regions most likely to show variations in genetic traits.

Scientists Point To Forests For Carbon Storage Solutions Posted: 15 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Scientists who have determined how much carbon is stored annually in upper Midwest forests hope their findings will be used to accelerate global discussion about the strategy of managing forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions. In an era of competing land use demands, the researchers argue that forests help stabilize the climate and are abundant sources of other ecological goods and services -- such as cleansed air, fertile soil and filtered water.

Newly Found Gene Variants Account For Kidney Diseases Among African-Americans, Studies Show Posted: 15 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT For the first time, researchers have identified variations in a single gene that are strongly associated with kidney diseases disproportionately affecting African-Americans.

Hotline To The Cowshed Posted: 15 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT A wireless measuring system, consisting of sensors and transmission units, helps to keep livestock healthier with a minimum use of resources.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Common Among Injured Patients Posted: 15 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Suffering serious injury can have long-lasting implications for a patient's mental health, according to the largest-ever US study evaluating the impact of traumatic injury. Researchers found that post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were common among patients assessed one year after suffering serious injury. Injured patients diagnosed with PTSD or depression were also six times more likely to not return to work in the year following injury.

How Corals Adapt To Day And Night Posted: 15 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Researchers have uncovered a gene in corals that responds to day/night cycles, which provides some tantalizing clues into how symbiotic corals work together with their plankton partners.

New Pathway For Malaria Infection Discovered Posted: 15 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Scientists are describing the discovery and in vivo validation of scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI), a major regulator of cholesterol uptake by the liver, as a critical host factor for malaria infection. The new research findings are the first to describe a molecular link between cholesterol metabolism and malaria infection, and the new data could lead to new approaches for the treatment of malaria including use of RNAi therapeutics.

Gap Junction Protein Vital To Successful Pregnancy, Researchers Find Posted: 15 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Researchers studying a critical stage of pregnancy -- implantation of the embryo in the uterus -- have found a protein that is vital to the growth of new blood vessels that sustain the embryo. Without this protein, which is produced in higher quantities in the presence of estrogen, the embryo is unlikely to survive.

Colorectal Cancer Screening Should Start At Age 50, Study Confirms Posted: 15 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Colorectal adenomas, the precursor polyps in virtually all colorectal cancers, occur infrequently in younger adults, but the rate sharply increases after age 50. Additionally, African Americans have a higher rate of proximal, or right-sided, polyps, and may have a worse prognosis for survival if the polyps become cancerous. Therefore, the results of this study further emphasize the importance of colonoscopies, which view the entire colon, for the prevention of colorectal cancer beginning at age 50.

Saltwater Solution To Save Crops Posted: 15 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Technology under development could offer new hope to farmers in drought-affected and marginal areas by enabling crops to grow using salty groundwater.

Women Who Binge Drink At Greater Risk Of Unsafe Sex And Sexually Transmitted Disease Posted: 15 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Binge drinking (5 or more alcoholic beverages at one time) is associated with risky sexual behaviors. A new study examined this association by gender at a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. Binge drinking increased the risk of unsafe sexual behaviors and having an STD for women patients.

Giant Honeybees Use Shimmering 'Mexican Waves' To Repel Predatory Wasps Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Researchers report the finding that shimmering -- a remarkable capacity of rapid communication in giant honeybees -- acts as a defensive mechanism, which repels predatory hornets, forcing them to hunt free-flying bees, further afield, rather than foraging bees directly from the honeybee nest.

Monitoring Immune Responses In Disease Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT A new method enables the detection of multiple parameters of single human cells. A new report demonstrates the characterization of specific blood cells from an individual with type 1 diabetes, providing information about the role these cells might play in the development of the disease and during therapy.

Zebra Finches Vary Immune Response According To Age, Sex And Costs Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Individual zebra finches vary their immune response to balance the costs, depending on sex, age and the environment. When changing from nest-bound juveniles to adults, female immune responses matured slowly while males who were molting into colorful plumage showed dramatic variation. Adult males showed little variation. When females laid eggs with high-quality resources, immune responses similar to nonbreeding females and for males. However, when laying eggs on reduced resources, females reduced their immune response.

Chest Surgeons Propose Measures For Indicating Quality Of Lung Surgery Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Even though 30,000 patients in the United States undergo lung surgery each year, no standard criteria exist to measure the quality of their care. In the current issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Mayo Clinic surgeons have proposed a system of lung surgery quality indicators for surgeons and the public as a method to demonstrate best practices for obtaining positive patient outcomes.

Viability Of Hydrogen Transportation Markets: Chicken Or Egg? Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Hydrogen may well be the new gasoline. But where's the nearest "gas" station where you can pull up and refuel your energy-efficient vehicle? Will hydrogen stations be strategically convenient -- located on street corners and travel-stop locations around the globe? In a new study, RIT professor James Winebrake and Patrick Meyer consider the number of barriers to overcome before the hydrogen-fuel infrastructure becomes efficient, affordable and publicly accepted.

Mobile Phones Help Secondary Pupils Posted: 15 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Ask a teacher to name the most irritating invention of recent years and they will often nominate the mobile phone. However, some education researchers believe it is time that phone bans were reassessed — because mobile phones can be a powerful learning aid, they say.

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