ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Physicists Measure Elusive 'Persistent Current' That Flows Forever
• Blood Counts Are Clues To Human Disease
• Rockets Can Run On Toffee, Engineer Demonstrates
• Air Quality Improvements Over The Last Decade May Be A Factor In Fewer Ear Infections
• Toward Better Solar Cells: Chemists Gain Control Of Light-harvesting Paths
• In Amoeba World, Cheating Doesn't Pay
• New Strategy For Mending Broken Hearts?
• Mechanism That Helps Bacteria Avoid Destruction In Cells Identified
• New Findings About Brain Proteins Suggest Possible Way To Fight Alzheimer's
• Researchers Report Benefits Of New Standard Treatment Study For Rare Pediatric Brain Cancer
• Electrostatic Surface Cleaning
• Continuing Racial Differences In HIV Prevalence In U.S.
• Banded Rocks Reveal Early Earth Conditions, Changes
• Key Mechanism In Brain Development Pinpointed, Raising Question About Use Of Antiseizure Drug
• Enzyme May Be A Key To Alzheimer's-related Cell Death
• For Kidney Disease Patients, Staying Active Might Mean Staying Alive
• Satellite Data Instrumental In Combating Desertification
• Simple Tool Can Boost Motivation, Improve Health In Older Adults
• Going Green On Hold: Human Activities Can Affect 'Blue Haze,' World's Weather
• Computer Simulations Validate Treatment Targets For Lung Cancer
• Physicians Bust Myths About Insulin
• Countries Slow To Use Lifesaving Diarrhea Treatments For Children
• Eco-friendly Defence Against Erosion In Arctic Regions
• Heart Study Shows Many Suffer Poor Quality Of Life
• Ironing Out Genetic Cause Of Hemoglobin Problems
• World Will Miss 2010 Target To Stem Biodiversity Loss, Experts Say

Physicists Measure Elusive 'Persistent Current' That Flows Forever Posted: 12 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Physicists have made the first definitive measurements of "persistent current," a small but perpetual electric current that flows naturally through tiny rings of metal wire even without an external power source.

Blood Counts Are Clues To Human Disease Posted: 12 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT New research examines that most important and diverse of tissues -- blood -- for genetic markers important in health. Scientists have found 15 new genetic variants associated with diseases including anemia, infection and blood cancers. Among these, they show that one variant associated with heart disease arose and spread in European peoples only 3,400 years ago. Further characterization of the regions uncovered could improve our understanding of how blood cell development is linked with human diseases.

Rockets Can Run On Toffee, Engineer Demonstrates Posted: 12 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT An engineer in the UK has helped to demonstrate that rockets can run on toffee.

Air Quality Improvements Over The Last Decade May Be A Factor In Fewer Ear Infections Posted: 12 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Strides in improving the nation's air quality over the past 10 years may be a factor in fewer cases of ear infections in children, according to new research.

Toward Better Solar Cells: Chemists Gain Control Of Light-harvesting Paths Posted: 12 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Chemists have pioneered a method to tease out promising molecular structures for capturing energy, a step that could speed the development of more efficient, cheaper solar cells.

In Amoeba World, Cheating Doesn't Pay Posted: 12 Oct 2009 08:00 AM PDT Researchers are peeling back the layers of strategy that determine how colonies of social amoebas resist the efforts of cheaters to alter the balance of power.

New Strategy For Mending Broken Hearts? Posted: 12 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT By mimicking the way embryonic stem cells develop into heart muscle in a lab, bioengineers believe they have taken an important first step toward growing a living "heart patch" to repair heart tissue damaged by disease.

Mechanism That Helps Bacteria Avoid Destruction In Cells Identified Posted: 12 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT Infectious diseases currently cause about one-third of all human deaths worldwide, more than all forms of cancer combined. Advances in cell biology and microbial genetics have greatly enhanced understanding of the cause and mechanisms of infectious diseases. Researchers have now found a way in which intracellular pathogens exploit the biological attributes of their hosts in order to escape destruction.

New Findings About Brain Proteins Suggest Possible Way To Fight Alzheimer's Posted: 12 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT The action of a small protein that is a major villain in Alzheimer's disease can be counterbalanced with another brain protein, researchers have found in an animal study.

Researchers Report Benefits Of New Standard Treatment Study For Rare Pediatric Brain Cancer Posted: 12 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT Researchers are addressing the treatment of a rare pediatric brain tumor. New findings suggest a new standard protocol could improve survival nearly two-fold for pediatric patients with choroid plexus tumors.

Electrostatic Surface Cleaning Posted: 12 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT The smallest particles often make a huge difference. If they accumulate on the surface of a product during manufacturing, the quality of the goods may be impaired. A new method removes even the smallest particles safely and effectively.

Continuing Racial Differences In HIV Prevalence In U.S. Posted: 12 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT HIV prevalence among African Americans is ten times greater than the prevalence among whites. This racial disparity in HIV prevalence has persisted in the face of both governmental and private actions, involving many billions of dollars, to combat HIV. In a new study, researchers examine factors responsible for the stark racial disparities in HIV infection in the U.S. and the now concentrated epidemic among African Americans.

Banded Rocks Reveal Early Earth Conditions, Changes Posted: 12 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT The strikingly banded rocks scattered across the upper Midwestern United States and elsewhere throughout the world are actually ambassadors from the past, offering clues to the environment of the early Earth more than two billion years ago.

Key Mechanism In Brain Development Pinpointed, Raising Question About Use Of Antiseizure Drug Posted: 12 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified a key molecular player in guiding the formation of synapses -- the all-important connections between nerve cells -- in the brain. This discovery, based on experiments in cell culture and in mice, could advance scientists' understanding of how young children's brains develop as well as point to new approaches toward countering brain disorders in adults.

Enzyme May Be A Key To Alzheimer's-related Cell Death Posted: 12 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT A researcher has discovered that the amount of an enzyme present in neurons can affect the mechanism thought to cause cell death in Alzheimer's disease patients and may have applications for other diseases such as stroke and heart attack.

For Kidney Disease Patients, Staying Active Might Mean Staying Alive Posted: 12 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Getting off the couch could lead to a longer life for kidney disease patients, according to a new study. The findings indicate that, as in the general population, exercise has significant health benefits for individuals with kidney dysfunction.

Satellite Data Instrumental In Combating Desertification Posted: 12 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT With land degradation in dryland regions continuing to worsen, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification has agreed on scientist-recommended indicators for monitoring and assessing desertification that signatory countries must report on.

Simple Tool Can Boost Motivation, Improve Health In Older Adults Posted: 12 Oct 2009 02:00 AM PDT Researchers have identified a tool -- the "getting-out-of-bed measure" -- to assess motivation and life outlook in older adults. The study shows that the tool has the potential to be an easy-to-use measure to bolster motivation and thus improve health behaviors and outcomes in the growing population of older adults.

Going Green On Hold: Human Activities Can Affect 'Blue Haze,' World's Weather Posted: 11 Oct 2009 11:00 PM PDT "Blue haze," a common occurrence that appears over heavily forested areas around the world, is formed by natural emissions of chemicals, but human activities can worsen it to the point of affecting the world's weather and even cause potential climate problems, according to a new study.

Computer Simulations Validate Treatment Targets For Lung Cancer Posted: 11 Oct 2009 11:00 PM PDT Using computer modeling, researchers have discovered lung cancer "pathways" that could become targets for new drugs.

Physicians Bust Myths About Insulin Posted: 11 Oct 2009 11:00 PM PDT People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often resist taking insulin because they fear gaining weight, developing low blood sugar and seeing their quality of life decline. A study suggests that those fears are largely unfounded and that patients and physicians should consider insulin as a front-line defense, as opposed to a treatment of last resort for non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

Countries Slow To Use Lifesaving Diarrhea Treatments For Children Posted: 11 Oct 2009 11:00 PM PDT Despite evidence that low-cost diarrhea treatments such as lower osmolarity oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc supplements could drastically reduce the number of deaths among children, little progress has been made in implementing these life-saving techniques.

Eco-friendly Defence Against Erosion In Arctic Regions Posted: 11 Oct 2009 11:00 PM PDT Coastal roads and harbors are traditionally protected from sea erosion by giant blocks of rock or geosynthetic bags filled with material, all locally sourced where possible. In the Arctic and other cold northern regions, where good quality material is often scarce, the prohibitive economic and environmental cost of importing suitable matter has led to a demand for solutions that make use of whatever low quality soil or other material is available.

Heart Study Shows Many Suffer Poor Quality Of Life Posted: 11 Oct 2009 11:00 PM PDT The world's largest quality of life study of chronic angina patients has revealed that almost one in three experience frequent chest pain, which affects their daily life.

Ironing Out Genetic Cause Of Hemoglobin Problems Posted: 10 Oct 2009 09:00 PM PDT A gene with a significant effect on regulating hemoglobin in the body has been identified as part of a genome-wide association study, which looked at the link between genes and hemoglobin level in 16,000 people. The research shows a strong association between a gene known as TMPRSS6 and the regulation of hemoglobin.

World Will Miss 2010 Target To Stem Biodiversity Loss, Experts Say Posted: 10 Oct 2009 09:00 PM PDT The world will miss its agreed target to stem biodiversity loss by next year, according to experts convening in Cape Town for a landmark conference devoted to biodiversity science. Growing water needs and mismanagement are leading to 'catastrophic decline' in freshwater biodiversity, according to experts.

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