ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Preventing Forest Fires With Tree Power: Sensor System Runs On Electricity Generated By Trees Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers are working to find out whether energy from trees can power a network of sensors to prevent spreading forest fires.

Key Proteins Identified In The Quest For Male Contraceptive Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT In an advance toward a long-sought new male contraceptive, researchers in China have identified key proteins in men that suppress production of sperm and could become new targets for a future male birth control pill.

'Redesigned Hammer' That Forged Evolution Of Pregnancy In Mammals Found Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Researchers have shown that the origin and evolution of the placenta and uterus in mammals is associated with evolutionary changes in a single regulatory protein, according to new report.

Sinusitis Patients Have Pain Similar To The Elderly And People With Arthritis Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Many patients with sinusitis have aches and pains similar in severity to people in their 80s and those with arthritis or depression. The new study also finds that endoscopic sinus surgery to clear clogged sinuses can bring significant pain relief.

Abrupt Climate Change Focus Of U.S. National Laboratories Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Abrupt climate change is the focus of IMPACTS, a major new program bringing together six US Department of Energy national laboratories to investigate the instability of marine ice sheets, warming of the boreal forests and Arctic, megadroughts in the Southwestern United States, and methane release from frozen hydrates.

Fake Popup Warnings Fool Internet Users Even After Repeated Mistakes Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 PM CDT Most Internet users are unable to distinguish genuine popup warnings messages from false ones -- even after repeated mistakes. The fake ones were designed to trick users into downloading harmful software.

Smoothest Surface Ever Created: May Lead To World's First Atomic Microscope Posted: 23 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Physicists have created the "quantum stabilized atom mirror," the smoothest surface ever, according to an article in the journal Advanced Materials. The innovation is already being used in the design of the world's first atomic microscope.

Pollution, Everyday Allergens, May Be Sources Of Laryngitis Posted: 23 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Everyday exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, allergens, and air pollution may be the root of chronic cases of laryngitis.

Neighbors From Hell: Infanticide Rife In Guillemot Colony Posted: 23 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT One of Britain's best-known species of seabird is increasingly attacking and killing unattended chicks from neighboring nests due to food shortages.

Cells That Mediate Steroid-resistant Asthma Identified Posted: 23 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Researchers have identified cells that may play a key role in some forms of steroid-resistant asthma, a complication of the condition that makes treatment even more challenging.

Engineers Work To Clean And Improve Engine Performance Posted: 23 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT Iowa State University's Song-Charng Kong and his students are working to reduce emissions in diesel engines, develop a computer model of a gasoline engine and optimize new engine technologies. The results could be cleaner, more efficient engines in our cars and trucks.

Patients Stay With Phone Psychotherapy Longer Than Office Visits Posted: 23 Sep 2008 10:00 AM CDT The problem with psychotherapy is that nearly half the patients quit going to the therapist's office after a few sessions. But a new meta-analysis has found that when patients receive psychotherapy for depression over the phone, more than 90 percent continue with it. The study is the first national "snapshot" of telephone-administered therapy. This therapy, which appears to be as effective for reducing depression as face-to-face therapy, is becoming more prevalent.

Saturn's Rings May Be More Massive, Older, Than Previously Thought Posted: 23 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Saturn's rings may be more massive than previously thought, and potentially much older, according to calculations that simulate colliding particles in Saturn's rings and their erosion by meteorites. These results support the possibility that Saturn's rings formed billions of years ago, perhaps at the time when giant impacts excavated the great basins on the Moon. The findings also suggest that giant exoplanets may also commonly have rings.

New Approach To Treating Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infection Shows Promise Posted: 23 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Researchers have found a new method of fighting severe lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis.

ATV Guidelines Inadequate, Study Finds Posted: 23 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT National size guidelines for all-terrain vehicles (ATV) are inadequate to ensure the safety of young riders, according to preliminary results from a study by researchers at the University of Kentucky.

New Diagnostic Tool For Arthritis Could Stop Irreversible Damage Posted: 23 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT A new diagnostic tool for arthritis could stop irreversible damage from setting in.

New Bluetooth System Orients Blind And Sighted Pedestrians Posted: 23 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT A new Bluetooth system designed primarily for blind people places a layer of information technology over the real world to tell pedestrians about points of interest along their path as they pass them.

Exercise Effective In Helping Pregnant Women Kick The Habit Posted: 23 Sep 2008 07:00 AM CDT Exercise could be a useful tool in helping pregnant women to give up smoking, according to new research. Despite the warnings, 17% of women in the UK and 20% of women in the US still admit to smoking during pregnancy. This often leads to lower birth weight, higher infant mortality, and is linked to learning difficulties, problem behavior and asthma in childhood.

Deactivating Radioactive Waste In Hundreds, Not Millions, Of Years Posted: 23 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT It may be possible to dramatically reduce the radioactive waste isolation time -- from several million years to as little as 300 - 500 years. In order to decrease the isolation time for radioactive waste, first of all, the actinides - elements whose nuclei are heavier than uranium (i.e. curium, actinium) - must be removed from the waste by processing (transmutation) into short-lived nuclei.

New Insights Into How Cells Accessorize Their Proteins Posted: 23 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT Researchers have gained new insight into how the cell's vast array of proteins would instantly be reduced to a confusion of lethally malfunctioning molecules without a system for proteins to "accessorize" in order to regulate their function.

Shake, Rattle And Roll: James Webb Telescope Components Pass Tests Posted: 23 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT You might think that shaking and freezing a state-of-the-art, meticulously crafted machine is a bad idea. But when it comes to firing telescopes and their instruments into the frigid cold of space, the more you test your hardware, the better.

Cost-effectiveness Of Genetic Screening To Guide Initial HIV Treatment Evaluated Posted: 23 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT A major study from a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College and Massachusetts General Hospital has found that a recent change to HIV-treatment guidelines recommending genetic screening is cost-effective under certain conditions.

New Tool For 'Right First Time' Drug Manufacture Posted: 23 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT A technology which provides high quality images of the crystallization process marks the next step towards a "right first time" approach to drug manufacture, according to engineers.

Physicians Often Miss Opportunities To Show Empathy, Study Finds Posted: 23 Sep 2008 04:00 AM CDT In consultations with patients with lung cancer, physicians rarely responded empathically to the concerns of the patients about mortality, symptoms or treatment options, according to a new study. The study found that physicians missed many opportunities to recognize and possibly ease the concerns of their patients and routinely provided little emotional support.

Modest Carbon Dioxide Cutbacks May Be Too Little, Too Late For Coral Reefs Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT How much carbon dioxide is too much? According to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere need to be stabilized at levels low enough to "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." But scientists have come to realize that an even more acute danger than climate change is lurking in the world's oceans -- one that is likely to be triggered by CO2 levels that are modest by climate standards.

Heart Bypass Surgery: Deadly Delays Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Delaying elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery may be a significant risk factor for post-operative death. Research published in the open access journal BMC Health Services Research reveals that when patients received timely surgery, the risk of death was reduced by a third.

Future Looks Bright For Interferometry Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT The PRIMA instrument of the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer recently saw "first light" at its new home atop Cerro Paranal in Chile. When fully operational, PRIMA will boost the capabilities of the VLTI to see sources much fainter than any previous interferometers, and enable astrometric precision unmatched by any other existing astronomical facility. PRIMA will be a unique tool for the detection of exoplanets.

What's The Main Risk Factor Of Gallstone Disease? Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Gallstone disease is very common and costly. Preventive strategies are based on the knowledge of GD risk factors. This study reports the results of a multicenter project aimed at evaluating GD incidence and risk factors. 9611 subjects (5477 males, 4134 females, aged: 30-79 years) were evaluated; 4.4 percent had gallstones, 0.6 percent had been cholecystectomized; incidence rate was 0.67 percent per year. Increasing age and body mass index were identified as true risk factors for GD.

Virtual Colonoscopy As Good As Other Colon Cancer Screening Methods, Study Finds Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT CT colonography, known as virtual colonoscopy, is as accurate at screening for colorectal cancers and pre-cancerous polyps as conventional colonoscopy, the current screening standard, according to the National CT Colonography Trial, a nationwide multi-center study that included the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

Culture Shapes Young People’s Drinking Habits Posted: 23 Sep 2008 01:00 AM CDT Whether young people get drunk as a purposeful behavior or as an unintended consequence depends on what country they live in, according to new research on young people in seven countries. The research finds that young people's views on alcohol and drunkenness were influenced more by culture than by factors such as age and sex.

Mars Polar Cap Mystery Solved: Why Southern Ice Cap Is 'Misplaced' Posted: 22 Sep 2008 11:00 PM CDT Scientists are now able to better explain why Mars's residual southern ice cap is misplaced, thanks to data from ESA's Mars Express spacecraft -- the martian weather system is to blame. And so is the largest impact crater on Mars -- even though it is nowhere near the south pole.

Formula Discovered For Longer Plant Life Posted: 22 Sep 2008 11:00 PM CDT Molecular biologists have discovered how the growth of leaves and the aging process of plants are coordinated.

Political Attitudes Are Predicted By Physiological Traits, Research Finds Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT Is America's red-blue divide based on voters' physiology? A new paper in the journal Science explores the link. The study finds that those individuals with "measurably lower physical sensitivities to sudden noises and threatening visual images were more likely to support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, pacifism and gun control, whereas individuals displaying measurably higher physiological reactions to those same stimuli were more likely to favor defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq War."

Protein Identified That Plays Role In Blood Flow Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT Using atomic force microscopy -- a microscope with very high resolution -- and isolating blood vessels outside the body, researchers have identified a protein that plays an important role in the control of tissue blood flow and vascular resistance. This new knowledge brings researchers one step closer to understanding vascular diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and other vascular problems.

Solution To Global Fisheries Collapse? 'Catch Shares' Could Rescue Failing Fisheries, Protect The Ocean Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT A new study shows that an innovative yet contentious fisheries management strategy called "catch shares" can reverse fisheries collapse. Where traditional "open access" fisheries have converted to catch shares, both fishermen and the oceans have benefited. Catch shares guarantee each shareholder a fixed portion of a fishery's total allowable catch. Each share becomes more valuable when the fish population -- and thus the total allowable catch -- increases.

Different Stem Cell Types Defined By Exclusive Combinations Of Genes Working Together Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT In the new issue of Cell Stem Cell, scientists report that the same transcription factor, which is crucial for the survival of different stem cell types, can behave differently. This finding reveals important insights about how scientists may be able to manipulate and engineer different stem cells for the treatment of human degenerative disorders. Understanding the behavior of transcription factors, a class of gene regulators, helps pave the way for important advancements in stem cell technology and clinical research.

Site Used By Sodium To Control Sensitivity Of Certain Potassium Ion Channels Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT Researchers have uncovered how sodium is able to control specific potassium ion channels in cells, according to new study findings published online in Nature Chemical Biology.

Sexism Pays: Men Who Hold Traditional Views Of Women Earn More Than Men Who Don't, Study Shows Posted: 22 Sep 2008 10:00 PM CDT When it comes to sex roles in society, what you think may affect what you earn. A new study has found that men who believe in traditional roles for women earn more money than men who don't, and women with more egalitarian views don't make much more than women with a more traditional outlook.

New Pacific Iguana Discovered In Fiji Posted: 22 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT A new iguana has been discovered in the central regions of Fiji. The colorful new species, named Brachylophus bulabula, joins only two other living Pacific iguana species, one of which is critically endangered.

Scientists To Develop Blood Test For Alzheimer’s Posted: 22 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Researchers in the United Kingdom are joining forces to develop a simple blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease.

Revealing The Regulating Mechanism Behind Signal Transduction In The Brain Posted: 22 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Our brain consists of billions of cells that continually transmit signals to each other. This dynamic process works only when the brain cells make contact correctly, or, in other words, when there is a good "synapse." An essential element in this process is a controlled protein production along with the synapse. VIB researchers are now discovering how the Fragile X protein (FMRP) ensures that protein production is controlled at synapse and regulated by brain activity.

Unlocking The Secret Of The Kondo Effect Posted: 22 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT Scientists have forged a breakthrough in understanding an intriguing phenomenon in fundamental physics: the Kondo effect.

What You Smell As You Sleep Influences Your Dreams Posted: 22 Sep 2008 07:00 PM CDT What you smell as you sleep has the power to influence your dreams, says new research.

Walnut Trees Emit Aspirin-like Chemical To Deal With Stress Posted: 22 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT Walnut trees respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered.

Variant Of Vitamin D Receptor Gene Linked To Melanoma Risk Posted: 22 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT A new analysis indicates an association between a gene involved in vitamin D metabolism and skin cancer.

Expanding Cell Girth Indicates Seriousness Of Breast Cancer Posted: 22 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT How fat cells become after being exposed to a specialized electrical field is helping researchers determine whether cells are normal, cancerous or a stage of cancer already invading other parts of the body.

Healthy People With Elevated Levels Of Uric Acid Are At Risk Of Developing Kidney Disease Posted: 22 Sep 2008 04:00 PM CDT Elevated uric acid levels in the blood indicate an increased risk of new-onset kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that it may be appropriate to prescribe uric acid--lowering drugs, such as allopurinol and probenecid, to these otherwise healthy individuals.

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