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Science Daily
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Current headlines from ScienceDaily: Latest Science News:
- Agriculture Linked To Frog Sexual Abnormalities
A farm irrigation canal would seem a healthier place for toads than a ditch by a supermarket parking lot. But scientists have found the opposite is true. In a study with wide implications for a longstanding debate over whether agricultural chemicals pose a threat to amphibians, zoologists have found that toads in suburban areas are less likely to suffer from reproductive system abnormalities than toads near farms -- where some individual animals had both testes and ovaries.
- Bone Marrow Alternative: Stem Cells From Umbilical Cord May Be Used To Treat Hepatic Diseases
Researchers from the Universities of Granada and León have shown that mononuclear blood cells from human umbilical cord can be an effective alternative to bone marrow. This work, to be published in the journal Cell Transplantation, could potentially mean a great advance in regenerative hepatic medicine.
- Mercury's Surface Dominated By Volcanism And Iron-deficiency
Multispectral data on the composition of rock untis of the surface of Mercury show a widespread role for volcanism and an apparent deficiency in iron in the rocks' minerals.
- Women Over 90 More Likely To Have Dementia Than Men
Women over 90 are significantly more likely to have dementia than men of the same age, according UC Irvine researchers involved with the 90+ Study, one of the nation's largest studies of dementia and other health factors in the fastest-growing age demographic.
- Undergraduates Forge New Area Of Bioinformatics
A group of undergraduate students have forged a new area of bioinformatics that may improve genomic and proteomic annotations and unlock a collection of stubborn biological mysteries. Their work will be published in the journal Genome Research.
- Scientists Set Out To Measure How We Perceive Naturalness
Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory are working towards producing the world's first model that will predict how we perceive naturalness. The results could help make synthetic products so good that they are interpreted by our senses as being fully equivalent to the "real thing," but with the benefits of reduced environmental impact and increased durability.
- Music Went With Cave Art In Prehistoric Caves
Thousands of years later, we can view stone-age art on cave walls, but we can't listen to the stone-age music that would have accompanied many of the pictures. Researchers report that the most acoustically resonant place in a cave -- where sounds linger or reverberate the most -- was also often the place where the pictures were densest. In many sites, flutes made of bone are to be found nearby.
- Seizures In Newborns Can Be Detected With Small, Portable Brain Activity Monitors
Compact, bedside brain-activity monitors detected most seizures in at-risk infants. That means the compact units could assist clinicians in monitoring for electrical seizures until confirmation with conventional EEG, the researchers assert in an article in Pediatrics.
- Puzzle In The Control Of Cell Division Unraveled
A puzzle in the control of cell division, one of the most fundamental processes in all biology, has been unraveled. Although the steps of cell division are familiar to all pupils studying biology in schools, the details of how cell division is controlled and errors avoided have still to be sorted out.
- Coronary Arterial Calcium Scans Help Detect Overall Death Risk In The Elderly
Measuring calcium deposits in the heart's arteries can help predict overall death risk in American adults, even when they are elderly, according to a new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
- Researchers Use Supercomputer To Track Pathways In Myoglobin
Myoglobin is responsible for oxygen storage in cells. But how does oxygen travel through the solid protein wall to be anchored by an iron atom deep within the protein? Scientists have now provided a computational solution to the decades-old puzzle.
- Weight Watchers Vs. Fitness Centers
The nationally known commercial weight loss program, Weight Watchers, was compared to gym membership programs to find out which method wins in the game of good health. Researchers examined the real-life experiences of participants to determine which program helps people lose pounds, reduce body fat and gain health benefits.
- Breast Cancer: How Tumor Cells Break Free And Form Metastases
When tumor cells acquire the capacity to move around and invade other tissues, there is a risk of metastases and cancer treatment becomes more difficult. Scientists have just discovered how breast cancer cells break the bonds that tether them to the tumor.
- How Cold Sore Virus Hides During Inactive Phase
Now that scientists have figured out how the virus that causes cold sores hides out, they may have a way to wake it up and kill it. Cold sores, painful, unsightly blemishes around the mouth, have so far evaded a cure or even prevention.
- First Underwater Neutrino Telescope Has Been Constructed
Construction of the first underwater neutrino telescope has just been completed. Since early June, the last two detection lines of Antares have been probing the bottom of the Mediterranean for neutrinos of cosmic origin. There are now 12 detection lines aimed at observing these elementary particles, which provide insight into the most violent phenomena in the Universe.
- Healthy Or Diseased? Analysis Of Body's Metabolism Sheds New Light On The Question
Scientists have shown that biological indicators for diseases caused or influenced by environmental factors can be detected by the systemic analysis of the body's metabolism (metabolomics). The procedure presented here is also suitable for pre-clinical drug testing and allows for the early detection of possible side effects of a new medication.
- Researchers Coat Titanium With Polymer To Improve Integration Of Joint Replacements
New research shows that coating a titanium implant with a new biologically inspired material enhances tissue healing, improves bone growth around the implant and strengthens the attachment and integration of the implant to the bone.
- Depression Ups Risk Of Complications Following Heart Attack, Study Suggests
People who suffer from severe depression following a heart attack might be more likely to experience cardiac complications while hospitalized, according to a new study. "There is good evidence that if a person has depression after a heart attack, they are more likely to die from cardiac causes in the following months and years," said the lead author and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "No one had yet studied whether depression impacts cardiac outcomes immediately after a heart attack -- the time we see the most complications."
- 'Mind's Eye' Influences Visual Perception
Letting your imagination run away with you may actually influence how you see the world. New research has found that mental imagery -- what we see with the "mind's eye" -- directly impacts our visual perception.
- Circulating Tumor Cells Can Reveal Genetic Signature Of Dangerous Lung Cancers
A microchip-based device that detects and analyzes tumor cells in the bloodstream can be used to determine the genetic signature of lung tumors, allowing identification of those appropriate for targeted treatment and monitoring genetic changes that occur during therapy.
- Patriotic New Lilacs Introduced In U.S.
The word evokes memories of promising spring days and visions of colorful, perfumed blooms. Lilacs have long been well-loved staples in America's yards and gardens, and have played a storied role in US history.
- Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Balanced Nutrition Saves Lives
Clinician-scientists are suggesting an immediate and important change to guidelines used in the care of patients with traumatic brain injury. The researchers say that following traumatic brain injury, patients should be given nutritional supplementation through a gastric feeding tube as soon as possible, which they say can improve their chances of survival by as much as four-fold.
- Some Fundamental Interactions Of Matter Found To Be Fundamentally Different Than Thought
When an atom collides with a molecule, traditional wisdom said the atom had to strike one end of the molecule hard to deliver energy to it. People thought a glancing blow from an atom would be useless in terms of energy transfer, but that turns out not to be the case. "We have a new understanding of how energy can be transferred in collisions at the molecular scale," said Richard Zare, of Stanford University.
- Experimental Philosophy Movement Explores Real-life Dilemmas
Imagine a business executive who thinks: "I know that this new policy will harm the environment, but I don't care at all about that -- I just want to increase profits." Is the business executive harming the environment intentionally? Faced with this question, 82 percent of people polled said yes.
- Einstein Was Right, Astrophysicists Say
Researchers have confirmed a long-held prediction of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, via observations of a binary-pulsar star system. Eclipses in a unique system of two dead stars, called pulsars, has shown that one of the pair is 'wobbling' in space - just like a spinning top. The effect, called precession, is precisely as predicted by Albert Einstein and is thus a new and exciting confirmation of his theory.
- Synthetic Molecules Emulate Enzyme Behavior For The First Time
When chemists want to produce a lot of a substance -- such as a newly designed drug -- they often turn to catalysts, molecules that speed chemical reactions. Many jobs require highly specialized catalysts, and finding one in just the right shape to connect with certain molecules can be difficult. Natural catalysts, such as enzymes in the human body that help us digest food, get around this problem by shape-shifting to suit the task at hand.
- China Earthquake Rare And Unexpected, Says New Study
A new analysis of the setting for last month's devastating earthquake in China by a team of geoscientists shows that the quake resulted from faults with little seismic activity, and that similar events in that area occur only once in every 2,000 to 10,000 years, on average.
- Invasive Treatment Appears Beneficial For Men And High-risk Women With Certain Coronary Syndromes
An analysis of previous studies indicates that among men and high-risk women with a certain type of heart attack or angina an invasive treatment strategy (such as cardiac catheterization) is associated with reduced risk of rehospitalization, heart attack or death, whereas low-risk women may have an increased risk of heart attack or death with this treatment.
- New Pathway For Methane Production In The Oceans Discovered
A new pathway for methane production has been uncovered in the oceans, and this has a significant potential impact for the study of greenhouse gas production on our planet. The article reveals that aerobic decomposition of an organic, phosphorus-containing compound, methylphosphonate, may be responsible for the supersaturation of methane in ocean surface waters.
- Attitudes Toward Consumption And Conservation Of Tigers In China
The potential market for tiger products in China is enormous, but a vast majority of the Chinese public would rather have wild tigers than tiger-bone wine, according to new research.
- MESSENGER Settles Old Debates And Makes New Discoveries At Mercury
Scientists have argued about the origins of Mercury's smooth plains and the source of its magnetic field for more than 30 years. Now, analyses of data from the January 2008 flyby of the planet by the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft have shown that volcanoes were involved in plains formation and suggest that its magnetic field is actively produced in the planet's core.
- In Vitro Fertilization: New Method Predicts Which Women WIll Get Pregnant
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a method that can predict with 70 percent accuracy whether a woman undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment will become pregnant. The researchers found that four factors - total number of embryos, number of eight-cell embryos, percentage of embryos that stopped dividing and would die, and the woman's follicle-stimulating hormone level, a measurement that estimates ovarian function - were most important in determining a woman's chance of becoming pregnant. The four together were 70 percent accurate in predicting whether the current IVF cycle would result in a pregnancy.
- Lasers, Software And The Devil's Slide
Running for more than 1,000 kilometers along picturesque coastline, California's Highway 1 is easy prey for many of the natural hazards plaguing the region, including landslides.
- Death, Division Or Cancer? Newly Discovered Checkpoint Process Holds The Line In Cell Division
Each day, a staggering number of cells perform a feat that still amazes researchers with its complexity: they divide to produce perfect replicas of each other. The process is called mitosis, and an inability to control it is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Researchers have discovered a novel biochemical activity involved in controlling cell division, which they've called the mitotic checkpoint factor 2. While the proteins involved in MCF2 remain to be determined, their findings offer insight into a fundamental question of biology, which may also help to increase the efficiency of cancer drugs like gemcitabine or paclitaxel.
- Geologists Push Back Date Basins Formed, Supporting Frozen Earth Theory
Even in geology, it's not often a date gets revised by 500 million years. But geologists now say they have found strong evidence that a half-dozen major basins in India were formed a billion or more years ago, making them at least 500 million years older than commonly thought.
- Newborns In ICUs Often Undergo Painful Procedures, Most Without Pain Medication
An examination of newborn intensive care finds that newborns undergo numerous procedures that are associated with pain and stress, and that many of these procedures are performed without medication or therapy to relieve pain.
- To Multiply, Ant Colonies Adapt To Environmental Conditions
By combining field work in Australia with mathematical modeling, scientists have shown that the quality and quantity of winged queens produced by colonies of the Rhytidoponera ant vary according to environmental conditions.
- Amorphous Materials: How Some Solids Flow Like Liquids
Scientists have provided the first proof that amorphous materials, also known as soft glasses, deform and flow through a collective movement of their particles. These materials (which include chocolate mousse, shaving cream, mayonnaise, metallic glasses, granular materials and mud) are amorphous solids, in other words, they are resistant like solids but, like liquids, lack a crystalline structure.
- How Effective Are Dental Referrals By Primary Care Physicians?
Young children from low-income families experience high levels of tooth decay and face many barriers to getting dental treatment and preventive services. Because these children usually visit their pediatrician or other primary care provider far more frequently than a dentist, the primary care medical setting is gaining popularity as a place to provide preventive dental services.
- Novel Hydrogel Systems For Dentin Regeneration
Dental caries, or tooth decay, continues to be the most prevalent infectious disease in the world, presenting significant public health challenges and socio-economic consequences.
- New Therapeutic Options For Diabetes-related Tissue Injury
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by altered glucose tolerance and impaired lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and is associated with a number of complications directly resulting from hyperglycemiainduced inflammation.
- Two-ton, 500 Million-year-old Fossil Of Stromatolite Discovered In Virginia, U.S.
Scientists have confirmed that an approximately 500 million-year-old stromatolite was recently discovered at the Boxley Blue Ridge Quarry near Roanoke, Virginia. This is the first-ever intact stromatolite head found in Virginia, and is one of the largest complete "heads" in the world, at over 5 feet in diameter and weighing over 2 tons. Stromatolites are among the earliest known life forms, and are important in helping scientists understand more about environments that existed in the past.
- Mother's Vitamin D Status During Pregnancy Will Affect Her Baby's Dental Health
Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay.
- Resveratrol, Found In Red Wine, Wards Off Effects Of Age On Heart, Bones, Eyes And Muscle
Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol, found in red wine and grape skin, slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age. This study is a follow-up to 2006 findings that resveratrol improves health and longevity of overweight, aged mice.
- New System Blocks HIV Transmission Via Breastfeeding
Researchers are developing a new technology that prevents the infection of HIV by breastfeeding.
- Researchers Are First To Simulate The Binding Of Molecules To A Protein
You may not know what it is, but you burn more than your body weight of it every day. Adenosine triphosphate, a tiny molecule that packs a powerful punch, is the primary energy source for most of your cellular functions. Now researchers have identified a key step in the cellular recycling of ATP that allows your body to produce enough of it to survive.
- Gender Differences And Heart Disease
Women may respond less favorably than men to cardiovascular disease drug-treatments for enlarged heart. For the first time, researchers have uncovered that women derive a lesser benefit than men from two common high-blood-pressure-lowering drugs — losartan and atenolol — for the reduction of left-ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The condition is a thickening and enlargement of muscle of the left ventricle of the heart and a marker for future heart disease.
- Phoenix To Bake Ice-Rich Sample Next Week
The next sample delivered to NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) will be ice-rich. A team of engineers and scientists assembled to assess TEGA after a short circuit was discovered in the instrument has concluded that another short circuit could occur when the oven is used again.
Headlines last updated at Jul 05, 2008 08:08:13am.
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