ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Researchers demonstrate nanoscale X-ray imaging of bacterial cells
• Rapid flu testing
• New acoustic tools may reduce ship strikes on whales
• Cardiovascular devices often approved by FDA without high-quality studies, study suggests
• 'Spaghetti' Scaffolding Could Help Grow Skin In Labs
• Why powerful people -- many of whom take a moral high ground -- don't practice what they preach
• Transcription factors guide differences in human and chimp brain function
• New target for lymphoma therapy
• Dominant Chemical That Attracts Mosquitoes To Humans Identified
• Obesity May Hinder Optimal Control Of Blood Pressure And Cholesterol
• Heme channel found: shuttles vital but vulnerable heme molecule across biological membranes
• Fish with attitude: Some like it hot
• Evolution experiments with flowers
• Scientists discover a controller of brain circuitry
• Mobilizing the repair squad: Critical protein helps mend damaged DNA
• Aerobic Exercise No Big Stretch For Older Adults But Helps Elasticity Of Arteries
• Learning From Insects: The Race Is On For New 'Bio-Resources'
• Acupuncture reduces hot flashes, improves sex drive for breast cancer patients
• Born in beauty: Proplyds in the Orion Nebula
• Ginkgo biloba does not appear to slow rate of cognitive decline
• Nanoscale changes in collagen are a tipoff to bone health
• What Part Do Relapses Play In Severe Disability For People With MS?
• Mapping Nutrient Distributions Over The Atlantic Ocean
• Energy Gap Useful Tool For Successful Weight Loss Maintenance Strategy
• Brain scans show distinctive patterns in people with generalized anxiety disorder
• Common mechanism underlies many diseases of excitability
• Drought Resistance Explained: Protein Structure Reveals How Plants Respond To Water Shortages
• New Genetic Cause Of A Fatal Immune Disorder
• Perfectly Proportioned: Evenly Distributed Powder Density For Manufacturing Parts
• Couples Say Relationships Damaged By Stroke
• Lithium-air batteries could displace gasoline in future cars

Researchers demonstrate nanoscale X-ray imaging of bacterial cells Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:00 AM PST An ultra-high-resolution imaging technique using X-ray diffraction is a step closer to fulfilling its promise as a window on nanometer-scale structures in biological samples. Researchers report progress in applying an approach to "lensless" X-ray microscopy that they introduced one year ago, with the potential to yield insights for evolutionary biology and biotechnology. They have produced the first images, using this technique, of biological cells -- specifically the intriguing polyextremophile Deinococcus radiourans.

Rapid flu testing Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:00 AM PST Researchers have developed a rapid, automated system to differentiate strains of influenza.

New acoustic tools may reduce ship strikes on whales Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:00 AM PST Over the past decade, researchers have developed a variety of reliable real-time and archival instruments to study sounds made or heard by marine mammals and fish. These new sensors are now being used in research, management and conservation projects around the world with some very important practical results. Among them is improved monitoring of endangered North Atlantic right whales in an effort to reduce ship strikes, a leading cause of their deaths.

Cardiovascular devices often approved by FDA without high-quality studies, study suggests Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:00 AM PST Pre-market approval by the FDA of cardiovascular devices is often based on studies that lack adequate strength or may have been prone to bias, according to a new study. Researchers found that of nearly 80 high-risk devices, the majority received approval based on data from a single study.

'Spaghetti' Scaffolding Could Help Grow Skin In Labs Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:00 AM PST Scientists are developing new scaffolding technology which could be used to grow tissues such as skin, nerves and cartilage using 3D spaghetti-like structures.

Why powerful people -- many of whom take a moral high ground -- don't practice what they preach Posted: 30 Dec 2009 11:00 AM PST The past year has been marked by a series of moral transgressions by powerful figures in political, business and celebrity circles. New research explores why powerful people -- many of whom take a moral high ground -- don't practice what they preach.

Transcription factors guide differences in human and chimp brain function Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:00 AM PST Humans share at least 97 percent of their genes with chimpanzees, but, as a new study of transcription factors makes clear, what you have in your genome may be less important than how you use it.

New target for lymphoma therapy Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:00 AM PST Researchers have discovered how an oncogene gets activated in mature B cells, suggesting a new target for therapy in B cell lymphomas. The study marks the first time researchers have understood how the over-activation of c-myc can lead to blood-related cancers.

Dominant Chemical That Attracts Mosquitoes To Humans Identified Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:00 AM PST Scientists have identified the dominant odor naturally produced in humans and birds that attracts the blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, which transmits West Nile virus and other life-threatening diseases. The groundbreaking research explains why mosquitoes shifted hosts from birds to humans and paves the way for key developments in mosquito and disease control.

Obesity May Hinder Optimal Control Of Blood Pressure And Cholesterol Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:00 AM PST Obese patients taking medications to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol levels are less likely to reach recommended targets for these cardiovascular disease risk factors than their normal weight counterparts, according to new research.

Heme channel found: shuttles vital but vulnerable heme molecule across biological membranes Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:00 AM PST Heme, a crucial component of the biomachinery that squeezes energy out of food and stores it for later use, must be transported across membranes but without exposing its central iron atom to oxidation. New research shows how it is done.

Fish with attitude: Some like it hot Posted: 30 Dec 2009 08:00 AM PST Coral reef fish can undergo a personality change in warmer water, according to an intriguing new study suggesting that climate change may make some species more aggressive.

Evolution experiments with flowers Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST Evolution uses every chance it gets to try something new. Researchers have now investigated how petunia flowers are formed and discovered that nature is even more varied than the naked eye can spot. The genes involved in flower formation can function differently in different species. Evolution has discovered a system that works, but within that system it continues to innovate.

Scientists discover a controller of brain circuitry Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST By combining a research technique that dates back 136 years with modern molecular genetics, a neuroscientist has been able to see how a mammal's brain shrewdly revisits and reuses the same molecular cues to control the complex design of its circuits.

Mobilizing the repair squad: Critical protein helps mend damaged DNA Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers have now solved a crucial piece of the complex puzzle.

Aerobic Exercise No Big Stretch For Older Adults But Helps Elasticity Of Arteries Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST Just three months of physical activity reaps heart health benefits for older adults with type 2 diabetes by improving the elasticity in their arteries -- reducing risk of heart disease and stroke, researchers say.

Learning From Insects: The Race Is On For New 'Bio-Resources' Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST Unseen and unheard, insects are all around us. And with more than a million different species, each one perfectly adapted to its environment, no other form of animal life comes close to matching insects for diversity. Scientists now want to exploit this diversity to develop and test new medicines, new methods of pest control, new industrial enzymes and even bionic systems.

Acupuncture reduces hot flashes, improves sex drive for breast cancer patients Posted: 30 Dec 2009 05:00 AM PST Not only is acupuncture as effective as drug therapy at reducing hot flashes in breast cancer patients, it has the added benefit of potentially increasing a woman's sex drive and improving her sense of well-being, according to a new study.

Born in beauty: Proplyds in the Orion Nebula Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:00 AM PST A collection of 30 never-before-released images of embryonic planetary systems in the Orion Nebula are the highlight of the longest single Hubble Space Telescope project ever dedicated to the topic of star and planet formation. Also known as proplyds, or protoplanetary discs, these modest blobs surrounding baby stars are shedding light on the mechanism behind planet formation.

Ginkgo biloba does not appear to slow rate of cognitive decline Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:00 AM PST Older adults who used the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba for several years did not have a slower rate of cognitive decline compared to adults who received placebo, according to a new study.

Nanoscale changes in collagen are a tipoff to bone health Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:00 AM PST Using a technique that provides detailed images of nanoscale structures, researchers have discovered changes in the collagen component of bone that directly relate to bone health.

What Part Do Relapses Play In Severe Disability For People With MS? Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:00 AM PST People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have relapses within the first five years of onset appear to have more severe disability in the short term compared to people who do not have an early relapse, according to a new study. The study is one of the first to examine how MS relapses affect people during different time periods of the disease.

Mapping Nutrient Distributions Over The Atlantic Ocean Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:00 AM PST Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools -- dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a new study. The findings have important implications for understanding nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles and the biological carbon pump in the Atlantic Ocean.

Energy Gap Useful Tool For Successful Weight Loss Maintenance Strategy Posted: 30 Dec 2009 02:00 AM PST The term energy gap was coined to estimate the change in energy balance (intake and expenditure) behaviors required to achieve and sustain reduced body weight outcomes in individuals and populations. In a new commentary, researchers more precisely clarify the concept of the energy gap (or energy gaps) and discuss how the concept can be properly used as a tool to help understand and address obesity.

Brain scans show distinctive patterns in people with generalized anxiety disorder Posted: 29 Dec 2009 11:00 PM PST Scrambled connections between the part of the brain that processes fear and emotion and other brain regions could be the hallmark of a common anxiety disorder, according to a new study. The findings could help researchers identify biological differences between types of anxiety disorders as well as such disorders as depression.

Common mechanism underlies many diseases of excitability Posted: 29 Dec 2009 11:00 PM PST Inherited mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels are associated with many different human diseases, including genetic forms of epilepsy and chronic pain. New research has now determined the functional consequence of three such mutations. These results suggest that there might be a common mechanism underlying diseases caused by mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels.

Drought Resistance Explained: Protein Structure Reveals How Plants Respond To Water Shortages Posted: 29 Dec 2009 11:00 PM PST Scientists have discovered that the key to plants' responses to drought lies in the structure of a protein called PYR1 and how it interacts with the plant hormone abscisic acid. Their study could open up new approaches to increasing crops' resistance to water shortage.

New Genetic Cause Of A Fatal Immune Disorder Posted: 29 Dec 2009 11:00 PM PST Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) is an inherited, fatal, immune disorder. Disease-causing mutations have been identified in several genes. Now, researchers have added a new gene to this list by determining that two distinct mutations in the gene that generates syntaxin-binding protein 2 cause disease in a subset of patients with FHL.

Perfectly Proportioned: Evenly Distributed Powder Density For Manufacturing Parts Posted: 29 Dec 2009 11:00 PM PST The manufacture of parts by compaction and sintering involves filling a die with metal powder. Research scientists have simulated this process for the first time to achieve an evenly distributed powder density. This improves the cost-efficiency of sintering.

Couples Say Relationships Damaged By Stroke Posted: 29 Dec 2009 11:00 PM PST Suffering a stroke can lead to significant changes in how couples relate to each other on both a physical and emotional level, according to new University of Ulster research.

Lithium-air batteries could displace gasoline in future cars Posted: 29 Dec 2009 09:00 PM PST In excess of seven million barrels of gasoline are consumed by vehicles in the United States every day. As scientists race to find environmentally sound solutions to fuel the world's ever-growing transportation needs, battery researchers are exploring the promise of lithium-air battery technology.

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