ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Black Holes Are The Rhythm At The Heart Of Galaxies Posted: 19 Nov 2008 11:00 AM PST The powerful black holes at the center of massive galaxies and galaxy clusters act as hearts to the systems, pumping energy out at regular intervals to regulate the growth of the black holes themselves, as well as star formation, according to new data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

Broccoli May Lower Lung Cancer Risk In Smokers Posted: 19 Nov 2008 11:00 AM PST The cancer preventive properties of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables appear to work specifically in smokers, according to new research.

NASA Tests First Deep-Space Internet Posted: 19 Nov 2008 11:00 AM PST NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. Engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about more than 32 million kilometers (20 million miles) from Earth.

New Equation Provides More Accurate Estimates Of Kidney Function Posted: 19 Nov 2008 11:00 AM PST A newly developed equation produces more accurate estimates of the glomerular filtration rate, a key indicator of kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease, according to new research.

What The Social Lives Of Brewer’s Yeast Say About Evolution Posted: 19 Nov 2008 11:00 AM PST An ingenious social behavior that mobilizes yeast cells to cooperate in protecting each other from stress, antibiotics and other dangers is driven by the activity of a single gene, scientists report in the journal Cell. The cooperating cells use the same gene, dubbed FLO1, as a marker for detecting "cheaters:" cells that try to profit from the group's protection without investing in the group's welfare.

The Psychology Of Deja Vu Posted: 19 Nov 2008 11:00 AM PST All of us have experienced being in a new place and feeling certain that we have been there before. A new report published in Current Directions in Psychological Science describes recent findings about deja vu, including the many similarities that exist between déjà vu and our understanding of human recognition memory.

Long-lost 'Furby-like' Primate Discovered In Indonesia Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST Anthropologists have discovered a group of primates not seen alive in 85 years. The pygmy tarsiers, furry Furby-like, or gremlin-looking, creatures about the size of a small mouse and weighing less than two ounces, have not been observed since they were last collected for a museum in 1921.

Ginkgo Biloba Does Not Reduce Dementia Risk, Study Shows Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST The medicinal herb Ginkgo biloba does not reduce the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease development in either the healthy elderly or those with mild cognitive impairment, according to a large multicenter trial.

Light Inside Sponges: Sponges Invented (and Employed) The First Fiber Optics Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST Fiber optics as light conductors are obviously not just a recent invention. Sponges (Porifera), the phylogenetically oldest, multicellular organisms (Metazoa) are able to transduce light inside their bodies by employing amorphous, siliceous structures. Already more than ten years ago, the finding of photosynthetically active organisms inside sponges raised the question, how they could survive there in an otherwise presumably dark space. As early as that time, marine biologists have hypothesized, that light might be transferred inside the sponge body.

ECG Tests No Better Than Routine Clinical Assessment At Predicting Future Heart Disease, Study Finds Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST ECG tests commonly given to people with suspected angina to predict the likelihood future of heart disease have limited accuracy, according to a new study.

Student Achieves Control Of Collagen Nanofibers To Manufacture Synthetic Knee Cartilage Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST An engineering student reports on the manufacturing of synthetic cartilage similar to human cartilage, for medical use. Protection of the knee for disabled people with prostheses may be one of the first applications.

Necessary Lattes? People Short On Self-control Categorize More Items As Necessities Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST Why do so many of us give up on those New Year's resolutions to lose weight or curb luxury spending? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says it has to do with the way our goals intersect with our natures.

New Planet Discovered Orbiting Dangerously Close To Giant Star Posted: 19 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Astronomers have discovered a new planet that is closely orbiting a red-giant star, HD 102272, which is much older than our own Sun. The planet has a mass that is nearly six times that of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The research sheds light on the ways in which aging stars can influence nearby planets.

Patient's Own Stem Cells Can Be Used To Treat Heart Failure Posted: 19 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Researchers are enrolling people in a new clinical trial that uses a patient's own stem cells to treat ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure. The one-year Cardiac Repair Cell Treatment of Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy study will look at the safety of injecting Cardiac Repair Cells and their ability to improve heart function.

How Cockroaches Keep Their Predators 'Guessing' Posted: 19 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST When cockroaches flee their predators, they choose, seemingly at random, amongst one of a handful of preferred escape routes, according to a new report.

What Makes An Axon An Axon? Posted: 19 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Inside every axon is a dendrite waiting to get out. Scientists converted mature axons into dendrites by banishing a protein crucial for neuron development. The results suggest that this transformation could occur after nerve cell damage.

New System Proposed To Optimize Combined Energy Use Posted: 19 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Engineers in Spain have developed an algorithm that can optimize hybrid electricity generation systems through combined use of renewable energies, such as photovoltaic and wind power, and non-renewables, such as diesel. Their study envisions storing the energy in batteries or hydrogen tanks.

Sleep Helps People Learn Complicated Tasks Posted: 19 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Sleep helps the mind learn complicated tasks and helps people recover learning they otherwise thought they had forgotten. Using a test that involved learning to play video games, researchers showed for the first time that people who had "forgotten" how to perform a complex task 12 hours after training found that those abilities were restored after a night's sleep.

Funerary Monument Reveals Iron Age Belief That The Soul Lived In The Stone Posted: 19 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Archaeologists in southeastern Turkey have discovered an Iron Age chiseled stone slab that provides the first written evidence in the region that people believed the soul was separate from the body.

Antibiotics Can Cause Pervasive, Persistent Changes To Microbiota In Human Gut Posted: 19 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Using a novel technique developed at the Marine Biological Laboratory to identify different types of bacteria, scientists have completed the most precise survey to date of how microbial communities in the human gut respond to antibiotic treatment.

Battling Bacteria In The Blood: Mathematical Models Help In Tackling Deadly Infections Posted: 19 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST It's a leading cause of death, but no one knows for sure how and why it happens. It's a major source of health care costs, adding days or weeks to the hospital stays of millions of people. But no one fully understands how best to fight it. Now, new research is tackling the problem at its most basic level, in hopes of finding new and more effective ways to treat bacteremia and sepsis.

Low-dose Aspirin Does Not Appear To Reduce Risk Of CV Events In Patients With Diabetes Posted: 19 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Low-dose aspirin as primary prevention did not appear to significantly reduce the risk of a combined end point of coronary, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular events in patients with type-2 diabetes, according to a new study. However, aspirin did significantly reduce the combination of fatal coronary and fatal cerebrovascular events.

Step Toward Disease-resistant Crops, Sustainability Posted: 19 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST A five-year study that could help increase disease resistance, stress tolerance and plant yields is under way. The $4 million project uses a new technique called "mutant-assisted gene identification and characterization," or MAGIC, to identify potentially useful gene combinations in crop species.

Alcohol Sponsorship Linked To Hazardous Drinking In Sportspeople Posted: 19 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST A new study provides the first evidence of a link between alcohol-industry sponsorship and hazardous drinking among sportspeople.

Comet Particles Provide Glimpse Of Solar System's Birth Spasms Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST Scientists are tracking the violent convulsions in the giant cloud of gas and dust that gave birth to the solar system 4.5 billion years ago via a few tiny particles from comet Wild 2.

Cell Pathway Driving A Deadly Sub-type Of Breast Cancer Discovered Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST An intra-cellular pathway not previously linked to breast cancer is driving a sub-type of the disease that is highly lethal and disproportionately over-represented in African-American women.

Pollinator Decline Not Reducing Crop Yields Just Yet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST The well-documented worldwide decline in the number of bees and other pollinators is not, at this stage, limiting global crop yields, according to an article in Current Biology.

Heart Failure Hospitalization Rates Rise Among Nation's Seniors Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST The number of patients over age 65 hospitalized for heart failure increased by 131 percent between 1980 and 2006. Women had a much higher annual increase than men. Among the three major forms of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and stroke being the other two), only heart failure has shown a significant increase in hospitalization rates.

Improved Spectrometer Based On Nonlinear Optics Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST Scientists have created a new highly sensitive infrared spectrometer. The device converts light from the infrared part of the spectrum to the visible part, where the availability of superior optical detectors results in strongly improved sensing capabilities.

How Often Will You Use That Treadmill? Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST Why not buy that treadmill? You'll be exercising every day, right? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines why our expectations of our behavior so often don't match reality.

Clue To Stopping Breast-cancer Metastasis Discovered Posted: 18 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST If scientists knew exactly what a breast cancer cell needs to spread, then they could stop the most deadly part of the disease: metastasis. New research takes a step in that direction.

Study Helps Identify Beachgoers At Increased Risk Of Skin Cancer Posted: 18 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST Identifying the sun-protection practices and risk profiles of beachgoers may help determine those who would benefit from targeted interventions intended to reduce the risk of skin cancer, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology.

Calcium May Only Protect Against Colorectal Cancer In Presence Of Magnesium Posted: 18 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST An understanding of the relationship between calcium and magnesium may lead to new avenues of personalized prevention for colorectal cancer.

Next-generation Particle Accelerator -- ALICE -- Accelerates To 4-Million-Volt Milestone Posted: 18 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST A major milestone has been achieved in the completion of the UK's next-generation particle accelerator, ALICE, which is set to produce an intense beam of light that will revolutionize the way in which accelerator based light source research facilities will be designed in the future.

Hazardous Alternatives To Alcohol Beverages Are Still Widely Available In Russia Posted: 18 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST Non-beverage alcohols are manufactured liquids that contain alcohol but are not intended for consumption, such as medicinal tinctures, aftershave, alcohol-based anti-freeze, antiseptics, and eau-de-colognes. A survey of 17 Russian cities has found that these products are widely available, highly concentrated, and cheaper than standard Russian vodka.

Astronomers Detect Matter Torn Apart By Black Hole Posted: 18 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST Astronomers have used two different telescopes simultaneously to study the violent flares from the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way. They have detected outbursts from this region, known as Sagittarius A*, which reveal material being stretched out as it orbits in the intense gravity close to the central black hole.

Biomedical Engineers' Detective Work Reveals Antibiotic Mechanism Posted: 18 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST Biomedical researchers used a series of genetic clues to uncover how certain antibiotics kill bacteria. They focused on finding the precise trigger that caused over-production of hydroxyl radical molecules and how misfolded proteins get delivered to the cell membrane, which with other steps contributes to cell death.

Nations Around World Mark 10th Anniversary Of International Space Station Posted: 18 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST Nations around the world will join together to mark a milestone in space exploration this week, celebrating the 10th birthday of a unique research laboratory, the International Space Station. Now the largest spacecraft ever built, the orbital assembly of the space station began with the launch from Kazakhstan of its first bus-sized component, Zarya, on Nov. 20, 1998. The launch began an international construction project of unprecedented complexity and sophistication.

Why HIV Treatment Makes People So Susceptible To Heart Disease And Diabetes Posted: 18 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST Clinicians have known for some time that people treated for HIV also become much more susceptible to diabetes and heart disease. A study by scientists in Australia has now shown some of the reasons why -- enabling better patient management and monitoring.

'Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon' Game Provides Clue To Efficiency Of Complex Networks Posted: 18 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST As the global population continues to grow exponentially, our social connections to one another remain relatively small, as if we're all protagonists in the Kevin Bacon game inspired by "Six Degrees of Separation," a Broadway play and Hollywood feature that were popular in the 1990s.

Thank Journalist, Rather Than Pilgrims, For Thanksgiving Feast Posted: 18 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST Historians explain that the current version of Thanksgiving was created by a journalistic crusader, and would have been unrecognizable to the Pilgrims it supposedly honors.

Australian First: Kangaroo Genome Mapped Posted: 18 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST Australian researchers have launched the world first detailed map of the kangaroo genome, completing the first phase of the kangaroo genomics project.

Two Cancer Drugs Prevent, Reverse Type 1 Diabetes, Animal Study Shows Posted: 18 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST Two common cancer drugs have been shown to both prevent and reverse type 1 diabetes in a mouse model of the disease, according to new research. The drugs -- imatinib (marketed as Gleevec) and sunitinib (marketed as Sutent) -- were found to put type 1 diabetes into remission in 80 percent of the test mice and work permanently in 80 percent of those that go into remission.

Technology Gives 3-D View Of Human Coronary Arteries Posted: 18 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST For the first time researchers are getting a detailed look at the interior of human coronary arteries, using an optical imaging technique developed at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. In their report in the journal JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, the research team describes how optical frequency-domain imaging gives 3-D, microscopic views of significant segments of patients' coronary arteries, visualizing areas of inflammation and plaque deposits.

New Clue Emerges For Cellular Damage In Huntington's Disease Posted: 18 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST Huntington's disease is caused by a single mutated gene that creates proteins with abnormally long repeats of the amino acid glutamine. These proteins misfold and clump together, damaging and eventually killing neurons. Yet the steps that trigger cell death have not been clarified. This study reports one early trigger: The misfolded proteins interfere with the cell's ability to move proteins marked for degradation out of the endoplasmic reticulum (a cell compartment that folds and processes proteins).

Mathematics Students Make Prime Discovery Posted: 18 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST Mathematics students have made a significant new discovery in the mathematical field of number theory. They have discovered the first known example of a 3 by 3 by 3 generalized arithmetic progression (GAP).

Scientists Self-censor In Response To Political Controversy, Survey Finds Posted: 18 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST A survey of scientists whose studies became the focus of a public debate about NIH grant funding has found that many of them engaged in self-censorship as a result of the controversy.

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