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Astrophysicists Map Milky Way's Four Spiral Arms Posted: 09 Jan 2009 11:00 AM PST A research team has developed the first complete map of the Milky Way galaxy's spiral arms. The map shows two prominent, symmetric spiral arms in the inner part of the galaxy. The arms extend into the outer galaxy where they branch into four spiral arms.

Structure Of Key Breast Cancer Target Enzyme Unraveled Posted: 09 Jan 2009 11:00 AM PST Most people know that breast cancer is the most common cancer among women affecting about 1 in 8 women in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. Seventy-five to 80 percent of all breast cancer tumors are estrogen-fed. A key estrogen-related breakthrough has been discovered by a scientist in Buffalo, NY which can be the basis for developing customized novel breast cancer drugs that cause minimal side effects.

Big, Old Mice Spread Deadly Hantavirus Posted: 09 Jan 2009 11:00 AM PST Researchers dusted wild deer mice with fluorescent pink, blue, green, yellow and orange talcum powders to show which rodents most often fought or mated with others and thus were most likely to spread deadly hantavirus. The study identified bigger, older mice as the culprits.

Physical Activity May Not Be Key To Obesity Epidemic Posted: 09 Jan 2009 11:00 AM PST A recent international study fails to support the common belief that the number of calories burned in physical activity is a key factor in rising rates of obesity.

Half Of World's Population Could Face Climate-induced Food Crisis By 2100 Posted: 09 Jan 2009 11:00 AM PST New research shows that rapidly warming climate is likely to seriously alter crop yields in the tropics and subtropics by the end of this century and, without adaptation, will leave half the world's population facing serious food shortages.

Smoking During Pregnancy Fosters Aggression In Children Posted: 09 Jan 2009 11:00 AM PST Women who smoke during pregnancy risk delivering aggressive kids according to a new Canada-Netherlands study published in the journal Development and Psychopathology. While previous studies have shown that smoking during gestation causes low birth weight, this research shows mothers who light up during pregnancy can predispose their offspring to an additional risk: violent behavior.

Mothers Pass On Disease Clues To Offspring Posted: 09 Jan 2009 08:00 AM PST When there is a threat of disease during pregnancy, mothers produce less aggressive sons with more efficient immune systems, researchers have discovered. The new study provides the first evidence for a transgenerational effect on immune response based on environmental cues -- with maternal perception of disease risk in the immediate environment potentially determining offspring disease resistance and social dominance.

Structure Mediating Spread Of Antibiotic Resistance Identified Posted: 09 Jan 2009 08:00 AM PST Scientists have identified the structure of a key component of the bacteria behind such diseases as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and Legionnaires' disease. The research sheds light on how antibiotic resistance genes spread from one bacterium to another. The research may help scientists develop novel treatments for these diseases and novel ways to curtail the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Brown Dwarfs Don't Hang Out With Stars Posted: 09 Jan 2009 08:00 AM PST Brown dwarfs, objects that are less massive than stars but larger than planets, just got more elusive, based on a study of 233 nearby multiple-star systems by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble found only two brown dwarfs as companions to normal stars. This means the so-called "brown dwarf desert" (the absence of brown dwarfs around solar-type stars) extends to the smallest stars in the universe.

Nicotine Gum Effective For Gradual Smoking Reduction And Cessation Posted: 09 Jan 2009 08:00 AM PST Nicotine gum has been in use for over 20 years to help smokers quit abruptly yet close to two-thirds of smokers report that they would prefer to quit gradually. Researchers have now found that smokers who are trying to quit gradually can also be helped by nicotine gum.

Floods To Become Commonplace By 2080 Posted: 09 Jan 2009 08:00 AM PST Storms across the UK are set to increase in intensity by up to 30 percent in the next 75 years, new research shows. Scientists predict that severe storms – the likes of which currently occur every five to 25 years across the UK – will become more common and more severe in a matter of decades.

Macbeth's Curse: Link Between Sleeplessness And Paranoia Identified Posted: 09 Jan 2009 08:00 AM PST A link between sleeplessness and paranoid thinking, a theme highlighted in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' has been identified. Researchers show that a potential consequence of insomnia is increased suspiciousness.

Jupiter-like Planets Could Form Around Twin Suns Posted: 09 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST Life on a planet ruled by two suns might be a little complicated. Two sunrises, two sunsets. Twice the radiation field. Astronomers suggest that planets may easily form around certain types of twin star systems. A disk of molecules discovered orbiting a pair of twin young suns in the constellation Sagittarius strongly suggests that many such binary systems also host planets.

Breast Cancer Gene Linked To Disease Spread Discovered Posted: 09 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST Researchers have identified a long-sought gene that is fatefully switched on in 30 to 40 percent of all breast cancer patients, spreading the disease, resisting traditional chemotherapies and eventually leading to death. In doing so, the scientists may have answered one of the biggest mysteries in cancer research.

Extreme Weather Boosts Antioxidant Levels In Soybean Seeds Posted: 09 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST Scientists have found that weather and climate play key roles in levels of a family of antioxidants tucked inside soybean seeds.

New Insight Into Effectiveness Of Procedure To Stop Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Posted: 09 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST Experts estimate that 20 percent of women experience excessive or prolonged menstrual bleeding at some time during their lives, particularly as they approach menopause. A new, less invasive procedure called global endometrial ablation preserves the uterus, while decreasing menstrual bleeding and shortening patients' recovery time.

Solution To Darwin's Dilemma Of 1859 Posted: 09 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST A solution to the puzzle which has come to be known as 'Darwin's Dilemma' has been uncovered. Darwin puzzled, 'To the question of why we do not find rich fossiliferous deposits belonging to these…periods prior to the Cambrian system, I can give no satisfactory answer'.

Seven Personality Types Who Are Most Likely To Help Sick-listed Employees Back To Work Posted: 09 Jan 2009 05:00 AM PST Scientists have studied which leadership qualities could help employees return from sick leave early. Being considerate, understanding and able to maintain contact with the sick-listed are the most important leadership qualities, according to the study.

Volcanoes Cool The Tropics, But Global Warming May Have Helped Override Some Recent Eruptions Posted: 09 Jan 2009 02:00 AM PST Climate researchers have shown that big volcanic eruptions over the past 450 years have temporarily cooled weather in the tropics but suggest that such effects may have been masked in the 20th century by rising global temperatures.

Scientists Can Now Differentiate Between Healthy Cells And Cancer Cells Posted: 09 Jan 2009 02:00 AM PST One of the current handicaps of cancer treatments is the difficulty of aiming these treatments at destroying malignant cells without killing healthy cells in the process. But a new study has provided insight into how scientists might develop therapies and drugs that more carefully target cancer, while sparing normal healthy cells.

Aquaculture's Growth Seen As Continuing Posted: 09 Jan 2009 02:00 AM PST An assessment concludes that despite well-publicized concerns about some harmful effects of aquaculture, the technique may, when practiced well, be no more harmful to biodiversity than other food production systems. Aquaculture production of aquatic animals now accounts for about a third of the total supply and will probably remain the most rapidly increasing food production system worldwide through 2025, according to the author.

'Relocation' Plan Of Metastatic Cancer Cells Uncovered Posted: 09 Jan 2009 02:00 AM PST Few things are as tiresome as house hunting and moving. Unfortunately, metastatic cancer cells have the relocation process down pat. Tripping nimbly from one abode to another, these migrating cancer cells often prove far more deadly than the original tumor. Although little has been known about how these rogue cells choose where to put down roots, researchers have now learned just how nefarious they are.

Deaths From Lung Cancer Could Be Reduced By Better Policies To Control Indoor Radon, Experts Urge Posted: 09 Jan 2009 02:00 AM PST About 1,100 people each year die in the UK from lung cancer related to indoor radon, but current government protection policies focus mainly on the small number of homes with high radon levels and neglect the 95 percent of radon-related deaths caused by lower levels of radon, according to a study.

Packing A Lunch For Preschoolers May Not Be A Good Idea Posted: 09 Jan 2009 02:00 AM PST Approximately 13 million children in the United States eat three or more meals and snacks each day at one of the country's 117,000 regulated child-care centers. Due to increasing cost of food preparation and storage, more and more of these centers are requiring parents to provide food for their children.

Computer Game 'Tetris' May Help Reduce Flashbacks To Traumatic Events Posted: 08 Jan 2009 11:00 PM PST Playing 'Tetris' after traumatic events could reduce the flashbacks experienced in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), preliminary research by Oxford University psychologists suggests.

Nerve Cells In The Brain And Spinal Cord Sense Pain Caused By Physical Insult Posted: 08 Jan 2009 11:00 PM PST Researchers have shown that the protein COX2 in mouse nerve cells in the central nervous system (CNS) is crucial for hypersensitivity to pain caused by the physical insult associated with inflammation, but not pain caused by the heat associated with inflammation. As pain caused by physical insult is a major symptom of postoperative and arthritic inflammation, it seems that COX2 in nerve cells in the CNS is central to the pain that accompanies these conditions.

Novel Glioblastoma Mouse Model Developed Posted: 08 Jan 2009 11:00 PM PST Researchers have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma -- the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans -- that closely resembles the development and progression of human brain tumors that arise naturally.

Inflammatory Factors And Diabetic Macular Edema Posted: 08 Jan 2009 11:00 PM PST With a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicting that diabetic retinopathy will triple from 5.5 million in 2005 to 16 million in 2050, improved treatments are urgently needed for this leading cause of blindness in working-age people. The CDC study is the latest indicator of a world-wide diabetes epidemic that is motivating ophthalmic research around the globe.

Models Simulate Nitrate Dynamics In A Watershed Posted: 08 Jan 2009 11:00 PM PST A new study details the first European application of two models that simulate the daily flow and dynamics of nitrogen in a watershed, which will help researchers prevent the over-enrichment of fresh, transitional, and marine waters with nitrogen, as well as understand the impacts of environmental change.

Caution Urged When Giving Kids Cold And Flu Medications Posted: 08 Jan 2009 11:00 PM PST It's cold and flu season, which means misery for kids and the parents trying to help them. But doctors are asking parents to resist the urge to give children under the age of 6 over-the-counter cough and cold medication.

U.S. Congressional Health-care Reform Proposals Would Offer Coverage To Many Without Insurance Posted: 08 Jan 2009 09:00 PM PST With health reform high on the agenda of the incoming Congress and president, a new analysis of legislative proposals -- including the plans of President-elect Barack Obama and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) -- shows that several proposals already put forth could substantially reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and would either reduce health-care spending or add only modestly to annual health-care expenditures.

Eating Habits And Exercise Behaviors In Children Can Deteriorate Early Posted: 08 Jan 2009 09:00 PM PST School-age children may develop eating habits and leisure-time patterns that may not meet current recommendations and contribute to childhood obesity. In a study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, researchers report that parents perceived that their pre-school children had relatively good eating habits and physical activity levels, but that parents of school-aged children (6 to 12 years) felt their children had less healthful diets and leisure-time activities.

Half-baked Asteroids Have Earth-like Crust Posted: 08 Jan 2009 08:00 PM PST Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space, and scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form in their crusts. But two newly discovered meteorites may rewrite the book on how some asteroids form and evolve.

Low-carb Diets Prove Better At Controlling Type 2 Diabetes Posted: 08 Jan 2009 08:00 PM PST In a six-month comparison of low-carb diets, one that encourages eating carbohydrates with the lowest-possible rating on the glycemic index leads to greater improvement in blood sugar control, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

Star Light, Star Bright, Its Explanation Is Out Of Sight Posted: 08 Jan 2009 08:00 PM PST A mysterious flash of light from somewhere near or far in the universe is still keeping astronomers in the dark long after it was first detected by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 2006. It might represent an entirely new class of stellar phenomena that has previously gone undetected in the universe, say researchers.

'On Switch' For Cell Death Signaling Mechanism Discovered Posted: 08 Jan 2009 08:00 PM PST Scientists have determined the structure of the interactions between proteins that form the heart of the death inducing signaling complex, which is responsible for triggering apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

Tilting At Wind Farms Posted: 08 Jan 2009 08:00 PM PST A way to make wind power smoother and more efficient that exploits the inertia of a wind turbine rotor could help solve the problem of wind speed variation, according to new research.

Test Will Catch Sports Cheats On New Endurance Drugs Posted: 08 Jan 2009 08:00 PM PST Avoiding detection just got harder for drug cheats who try to use a particular range of untested, but potentially enhancing, compounds. In the past, tests have been developed once a drug is known to be in circulation. Now a German research team has developed tests for a class of drugs that they believe could be used in the near future.

Ancient Odor-detecting Mechanism In Insects Discovered Posted: 08 Jan 2009 05:00 PM PST A newly discovered family of receptors in the fly nose fills in a missing piece of the insect olfactory system -- and also suggests a new role for a class of receptors long believed to be confined to the depths of the brain.

Obesity Starts In The Head? Six Newly Discovered Genes For Obesity Have A Neural Effect Posted: 08 Jan 2009 05:00 PM PST Obesity is known to increase the risk of chronic disorders, such as diabetes (type 2). Scientists have now identified six new obesity genes. Gene expression analyses have shown that all six genes are active in brain cells.

Chemopreventive Agents In Black Raspberries Identified Posted: 08 Jan 2009 05:00 PM PST Components of black raspberries have been found to have chemopreventive potential. Anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids in black raspberries, inhibited growth and stimulated apoptosis in the esophagus of rats treated with an esophageal carcinogen.

NO Help: Nitric Oxide Monitoring Does Not Help Most Children With Asthma Posted: 08 Jan 2009 05:00 PM PST A recent multi-center prospective study found that calibrating medications based on daily monitoring of the fractional exhaled nitric oxide and symptoms in asthmatic children showed no significant improvement over medicating based on daily symptom monitoring alone.

Mountaineers Measure Lowest Human Blood Oxygen Levels On Record Posted: 08 Jan 2009 05:00 PM PST The lowest ever levels of oxygen in humans have been reported in climbers on an expedition led by UCL doctors. The world-first measurements of blood oxygen levels in climbers near the top of Mount Everest, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, could eventually help critical care doctors to re-evaluate treatment strategies in some long-term patients with similarly low levels of blood oxygen.

Restoring Trust Harder When It Is Broken Early In Relationship Posted: 08 Jan 2009 05:00 PM PST In relationships built on trust, a bad first impression can be harder to overcome than a betrayal that occurs after ties are established, a new study suggests. While betraying trust is never good for a relationship, the results show that early violations can be particularly devastating, and plant seeds of doubt that may never go away.

Evolution In Action: Our Antibodies Take 'Evolutionary Leaps' To Fight Microbes Posted: 08 Jan 2009 02:00 PM PST With cold and flu season in full swing, the fact that viruses and bacteria rapidly evolve is apparent with every sneeze, sniffle and cough. A new report explains for the first time how humans keep up with microbes by rearranging the genes that make antibodies to foreign invaders. This research fills a significant gap in the understanding of how the immune system helps us survive.

Older Women Who Are More Physically Fit Have Better Cognitive Function Posted: 08 Jan 2009 02:00 PM PST Being physically fit helps the brain function at the top of its game, according to new research. People who are fit have been found it have better blood flow to their brain. New findings also show that better blood flow translates into improved cognition.

Across The Americas, Squash And Gourd Bees Are Superb Pollinators Posted: 08 Jan 2009 02:00 PM PST Acorn squash and other winter squashes at your local supermarket likely got their start months ago, when their colorful blossoms were pollinated by hardworking bees.

Prognostic Test for Breast Cancer May Not Detect All Tumor Types Posted: 08 Jan 2009 02:00 PM PST An antibody-based test that is used to detect circulating breast cancer cells and provide prognostic information for patients during treatment may not detect all subtypes of breast cancer.

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