ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Sweet Molecule Could Lead Us To Alien Life Posted: 26 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST Scientists have detected an organic sugar molecule that is directly linked to the origin of life, in a region of our galaxy where habitable planets could exist.

Key Advance Toward Treatment For Most Common Adult Form Of Muscular Dystrophy Posted: 26 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST Using a drug-discovery technique in which molecules compete against each other for access to the target, scientists have identified several compounds that, in the laboratory, block the unwanted coupling of two molecules that is at the root of muscular dystrophy.

Space Waste: Handling Garbage When Your Dumpster Is 100 Million Miles Away? Posted: 26 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST In space, no one takes out the trash. Garbage can pile up, spoil and become a health hazard for astronauts in the cramped living quarters of a space station.

'Let The Sunshine In' To Protect Your Heart This Winter Posted: 26 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST The temperature might not be the only thing plummeting this winter. Many people also will experience a decrease in their vitamin D levels, which can play a role in heart disease, according to a new article.

Nontoxic Nanoparticle Can Deliver And Track Drugs, According To New Research Posted: 26 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST A nontoxic nanoparticle is proving to be an all-around effective delivery system for both therapeutic drugs and the fluorescent dyes that can track their delivery.

Household Exposure To Toxic Chemicals Lurks Unrecognized, Researchers Find Posted: 26 Nov 2008 08:00 AM PST Many women are surprised to learn the extent of personal, in-home contamination caused by exposure to everyday consumer products, according to a team of researchers. The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, is one of the first accounts of participants' responses to learning personal exposure data, research critical to environmental science and public health.

Hubble Resolves Puzzle About Loner Starburst Galaxy Posted: 26 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Astronomers have long puzzled over why a small, nearby, isolated galaxy is pumping out new stars faster than any galaxy in our local neighborhood. Now NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has helped astronomers solve the mystery of the loner starburst galaxy, called NGC 1569, by showing that it is one and a half times farther away than astronomers thought.

Some Cancers Found By Mammograms Would Have Naturally Regressed, Study Suggests Posted: 26 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Breast cancer rates increased significantly in four Norwegian counties after women there began undergoing mammography every two years, according to a new report. Rates among regularly screened women remained higher than rates among women of the same age who were screened only once after six years, suggesting that some of the cancers detected by mammography may have spontaneously regressed had they not been discovered and treated.

New Tool Trains Athlete Brains To React 53 Percent Faster Posted: 26 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Researchers have discovered how to train the brain of athletes to improve their overall athletic performance.

Breast Cancer Common Among Women With Family History But Without BRCA1 Or BRCA2 Posted: 26 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST New data assesses breast cancer risk among women with a strong family history of breast cancer, but without a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. This may facilitate earlier detection and prevention among high-risk women.

Nanocoatings Boost Industrial Energy Efficiency Posted: 26 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Reducing friction in industrial machinery can save substantial amounts of energy and researchers are working to develop nanoscale coatings for machine parts that not only reduce friction but extend tool life as well. Estimated energy savings from the innovation could reach 31 trillion BTUs annually by the year 2030.

Study Reveals Smoking's Effect On Nurses' Health, Death Rates Posted: 26 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST A new UCLA School of Nursing study is the first to reveal the devastating consequences of smoking on the nursing profession. The findings describe smoking trends among nurses and emphasize the importance of supporting smoking cessation programs for U.S. nurses.

Jurassic Turtles Could Swim Posted: 26 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Around 164 million years ago the earliest aquatic turtles lived in lakes and lagoons on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, according to new research.

14 Drugs Identified As Most Urgently Needing Study For Off-label Use Posted: 26 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Physicians and policy-makers know that drugs are frequently prescribed to treat certain diseases despite a lack of FDA approval, a practice known as off-label prescribing. Now researchers have developed a list of 14 widely prescribed medications most urgently in need of additional study to determine how effective and safe they are for their off-label uses. Antidepressants and antipsychotics are the most prominent classes of drugs on the list.

NASA Plans Test Of 'Electronic Nose' On International Space Station Posted: 26 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST NASA astronauts on Space Shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission will install an instrument on the International Space Station that can "smell" dangerous chemicals in the air. Designed to help protect crew members' health and safety, the experimental "ENose" will monitor the space station's environment for chemicals such as ammonia, mercury, methanol and formaldehyde.

Vitamin D Can Alter Color Cancer Cells In Many Ways, Through One Pathway Posted: 26 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST A colon cancer cell isn't a lost cause. Vitamin D can tame the rogue cell by adjusting everything from its gene expression to its cytoskeleton. Scientists now show that one pathway governs the vitamin's diverse effects. The results help clarify the actions of a molecule that is undergoing clinical trials as a cancer therapy.

Acid Soils In Slovakia Tell Somber Tale Posted: 26 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Increasing levels of nitrogen deposition associated with industry and agriculture can drive soils toward a toxic level of acidification, according to a study published in Nature Geoscience.

Two Antidepressants Taken During Pregnancy Linked To Heart Anomalies In Babies Posted: 26 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Women who took the antidepressant fluoxetine during the first three months of pregnancy gave birth to four times as many babies with heart problems as women who did not and the levels were three times higher in women taking paroxetine.

Ocean Growing More Acidic Faster Than Once Thought; Increasing Acidity Threatens Sea Life Posted: 25 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST Scientists have documented that the ocean is growing more acidic faster than previously thought. In addition, they have found that the increasing acidity correlates with increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The increasingly acidic water harms certain sea animals and could reduce the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide.

Controlling Bad Cholesterol: Finding May Herald Scientific Breakthrough Posted: 25 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST A new study shows for the very first time that the degradation by PCSK9 of the LDLR receptor, which is responsible for removing the bad cholesterol from the bloodstream, may be inhibited by a third protein, annexin A2.

Grow Old In Good Health: Vast Disparity Between European Countries Posted: 25 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST Although life expectancy is constantly growing in the countries of the EU, living longer isn't always the same as living well, and knowing to what age someone will live in good health remains a different question altogether.

Chemotherapy Plus Targeted Therapies Shows Improved Survival In Advance-stage Lung Cancer Patients Posted: 25 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST The combination of traditional chemotherapy agents with targeted therapies called monoclonal antibodies showed no safety concerns and improved survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer according to a study presented at the 2008 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology, sponsored by ASTRO, ASCO, IASLC and the University of Chicago.

New Catalysts Promise Faster, Cleaner And More Efficient Research Platform Posted: 25 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST A new class of catalysts provides a highly selective, efficient and environmentally friendly new platform for research in medicine, biology and materials science.

Television: Not The Only Channel To Early Sex Posted: 25 Nov 2008 11:00 PM PST A new study says a combination of factors must be targeted to reduce sexual activity in teenagers. In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 750,000 pregnancies and almost half of new cases of sexually transmitted infections were among adolescents.

Getting Warmer? Prehistoric Climate Can Help Forecast Future Changes Posted: 25 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST New data on a prehistoric warm period allow for more accurate predictions of future climate and improved understanding of today's warming. Past warm periods provide real data on climate change and are natural laboratories for understanding the global climate system. Scientists examined fossils from 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago, known as the mid-Pliocene warm period.

Novel Approach For Suppressing Prostate Cancer Development Posted: 25 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST Researchers have found that inactivating a specific biomarker for aggressive prostate cancer blocks the development of prostate cancer in animal models.

Why Poppies Have One Flower Per Stalk and Tomatoes Have Many Posted: 25 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST Why do poppies and sunflowers grow as a single flower per stalk while each stem of a tomato plant has several branches, each carrying flowers? Botanists have identified a genetic mechanism that determines the pattern of flower growth in the Solanaceae family of plants that includes tomato, potato, pepper, eggplant, tobacco, petunia and deadly nightshades.

Hypertension Develops Early, Silently, In African-American Men Posted: 25 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST Young and healthy African-American men were found to silently develop hypertension earlier than their white counterparts, and this rise in blood pressure may go undetected unless young African-American men are screened by measuring central blood pressure, not brachial pressure, according to a new study.

Chinese Forest Project Could Reduce Number Of Environmental Disasters Posted: 25 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST The "Green Great Wall," a forest shelterbelt project in northern China running nearly parallel to the Great Wall, is likely to improve climatic and hydrological conditions in the area when completed, according to a new study.

Developing A Neighborhood Watch For The Internet Posted: 25 Nov 2008 08:00 PM PST Internet network performance problems are not only annoying to users -- they are costly to businesses and network operators. But since the Internet has no built-in monitoring system, network problems often go unnoticed. To help fix this problem, researchers have developed a new way to detect and report such problems in real time. Network Early Warning System focuses only on problems that affect end-users and does so without requiring any extra network-measurement traffic.

'Gray's Paradox' Solved: Researchers Discover Secret Of Speedy Dolphins Posted: 25 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST In 1936, zoologist Sir James Gray observed dolphins swimming faster than 20 mph, but his studies had concluded that the muscles of dolphins simply weren't strong enough to support that speed. The conundrum came to be known as "Gray's Paradox." For decades the puzzle prompted much speculation and conjecture in the scientific community. But now, armed with cutting-edge flow measurement technology, researchers have tackled the problem and conclusively solved Gray's Paradox.

Overuse Of Narcotics And Barbiturates May Make Migraine Attacks More Frequent Posted: 25 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST Scientists have determined that certain commonly-prescribed medications may have the unintended consequence of increasing the frequency of migraine attacks.

E. Coli Bacteria Transferring Between Humans And Mountain Gorillas Posted: 25 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST A new study finds that mountain gorillas are at increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal microbes, such as E. coli, from humans. The study examines the exchange of digestive system bacteria between humans, mountain gorillas and domestic animals with overlapping habitats.

Inherited Genetic Cause, Possible Treatment Found For Complex Lung Disorder Posted: 25 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST A tale of two sisters has helped researchers solve a medical mystery and discover a familial genetic mutation that causes an inherited form of the lung disease pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. The researchers also point to the possibility of an inhaled therapy to overcome a chain of molecular events that lead to PAP.

Pinning Down The Fleeting Internet: Web Crawler Archives Historical Data For Easy Searching Posted: 25 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST Researchers are grabbing hold of the fleeting Web and storing historical Web sites that users can easily search using an intuitive application called Zoetrope.

Study Shows How Social Support May Protect Brain During Stroke Posted: 25 Nov 2008 05:00 PM PST New research in mice suggests that high levels of social support may provide some protection against strokes by reducing the amount of damaging inflammation in the brain. Researchers found that male mice that lived with a female partner before and after a stroke had a much higher survival rate compared to those mice that lived alone.

Feed A Cold, Feed A Fever: Calorie Cut Makes It Harder To Fight Flu, Animal Study Shows Posted: 25 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST Dieters or those who consume fewer calories during flu season could have a harder time fighting off the flu virus, according to a nutritional immunology professor. Researchers have shown that mice with a calorie-restricted diet were more likely to die during the first few days of infection than mice with a normal diet.

Robotic Lizards Help Prove Long-standing Signaling Theory Posted: 25 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST Like teachers who rap a ruler before announcing homework in noisy classrooms, Puerto Rican anole lizards perform eye-catching pushups before beginning head-bobbing displays that advertise their territory and status, according to a new study. The study is the first to show that animals in noisy environments can use visual displays to grab their neighbors' attention before initiating a more information-rich performance.

New Research Helps Explain Genetics Of Parkinson's Disease Posted: 25 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST A new study suggests that Parkin, the product of the Parkinson's disease-related gene Park2, prompts neuronal survival by clearing the cell of its damaged mitochondria.

RFID Chips: A Privacy And Security Pandora's Box? Posted: 25 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST A research article published in the current issue of the International Journal of Intellectual Property Management suggests that Big Brother could be opening a privacy and security Pandora's Box if human rights, particularly regarding data protection are not addressed in the design of new RFID applications.

Football Helmet Shields Can Protect Against A Kick In The Face, Study Suggests Posted: 25 Nov 2008 02:00 PM PST Researchers have determined that the two most popular brands of football helmet faceshields can withstand a hit equivalent to a kick in the face and provide that protection without disrupting players' vision. The eye specialists used an air cannon to hurl baseballs at the plastic faceshields. The impact was designed to mimic the force of a kick to the face, considered the riskiest way to sustain an eye injury in football.

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