ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Multiple similarities discovered between cancer cells and induced pluripotent stem cells
• New method monitors semiconductor etching as it happens -- with light
• Study points to potential for improvement in the care, quality of life of epilepsy patients
• Probing the mysteries of cracks and stresses
• Songs in the key of sea
• Venice Lagoon research indicates rapid climate change in coastal regions
• Immunologists find a molecule that puts the brakes on inflammation
• Hospital observation units could save the health care system $3.1 billion
• The nuanced relationship between language and different types of perception
• When your eyes tell your hands what to think: You're far less in control of your brain than you think
• Exposure to herbicide may increase risk of rare disorder
• MRSA research identifies new class of anti-bacterial drugs, shows how 'superbug' DNA may help scientists predict transmission routes
• Nanoparticles glow through thick layer of tissue
• Social bullying prevalent in children's television
• Identification of microbes in healthy lungs sheds light on cystic fibrosis
• Bioengineers introduce 'Bi-Fi' -- The biological 'Internet'
• Electrons confined inside nano-pyramids
• New study identifies large gaps in lifetime earnings of specialist and primary-care physicians
• Bioengineers design rapid diagnostic tests inspired by nature
• Predatory bacterial crowdsourcing: Scientists ID simple formula that allows bacteria to engulf food in waves
• Ancient stinging nettles reveal Bronze Age trade connections
• Catalysis: Optimizing water splitting
• Learning to live on Mars: Fatigue management program for controlling space-age jetlag
• Making headway on beta-blockers and sleep
• Eating cherries lowers risk of gout attacks by 35%, study suggests
• Local funding supports open access sequencing of the Puerto Rican parrot genome
• New material, graphene, may soon replace silicon for technology industry, experts say
• Research could lead to a better understanding of flesh-eating disease
• Nanosciences: All systems go at the biofactory
• Saturn’s moon Titan shows surprising seasonal changes
• Loop the loop, DNA style: One- or two-way transcription depends on gene loops
• Mars weather report: Gale crater set for summer heat wave?
• Mars: Curiosity's DAN instrument suggests Gale Crater drier than expected
• Major genetic discovery explains 10 percent of aortic valve disease
• Fall calls bats to hibernate, scientists to study them
• Progesterone test can predict viability of pregnancy, study finds

Multiple similarities discovered between cancer cells and induced pluripotent stem cells Posted: 28 Sep 2012 11:11 AM PDT Investigators have found new evidence that a promising type of stem cell now being considered for a variety of disease therapies is very similar to the type of cells that give rise to cancer.

New method monitors semiconductor etching as it happens -- with light Posted: 28 Sep 2012 11:10 AM PDT Researchers have a new low-cost method to carve delicate features onto semiconductor wafers using light -- and watch as it happens. The technique can monitor a semiconductor's surface as it is etched, in real time, with nanometer resolution. This allows the researchers to create complex patterns quickly and easily, and adjust them as needed.

Study points to potential for improvement in the care, quality of life of epilepsy patients Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:54 AM PDT Routine screening for psychiatric, cognitive and social problems could enhance the quality of care and quality of life for children and adults with epilepsy, according to a new study.

Probing the mysteries of cracks and stresses Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:54 AM PDT Diving into a pool from a few feet up allows you to enter the water smoothly and painlessly, but jumping from a bridge can lead to a fatal impact. The water is the same in each case, so why is the effect of hitting its surface so different? This seemingly basic question is at the heart of complex research by a team that studied how materials react to stresses, including impacts. The findings could ultimately help explain phenomena as varied as the breakdown of concrete under sudden stress and the effects of corrosion on various metal surfaces.

Songs in the key of sea Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:53 AM PDT Scientists have used special algorithms to create musical patterns from data collected from microbes in the western English Channel.

Venice Lagoon research indicates rapid climate change in coastal regions Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:53 AM PDT New research has revealed that the sea surface temperature in coastal regions is rising as much as ten times faster than the global average of 0.13 degrees per decade.

Immunologists find a molecule that puts the brakes on inflammation Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:53 AM PDT We couldn't live without our immune systems, always tuned to detect and eradicate invading pathogens and particles. But sometimes the immune response goes overboard, triggering autoimmune diseases like lupus, asthma or inflammatory bowel disease. A new study has now identified a crucial signaling molecule involved in counterbalancing the immune system attack.

Hospital observation units could save the health care system $3.1 billion Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:53 AM PDT Researchers estimate that maximizing the potential of an observation unit in a hospital could result in $4.6 million in savings annually for the hospital and $3.1 billion in overall savings for the health care system in the United States.

The nuanced relationship between language and different types of perception Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:53 AM PDT New research examines the nuanced relationship between language and different types of perception.

When your eyes tell your hands what to think: You're far less in control of your brain than you think Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:52 AM PDT You've probably never given much thought that picking up your cup of coffee presents your brain with a set of complex decisions -- how to aim your hand, grasp the handle and raise the cup to your mouth without spilling the contents on your lap. A new study shows that, not only does your brain handle such complex decisions for you, it also hides information from you about how those decisions are made.

Exposure to herbicide may increase risk of rare disorder Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:52 AM PDT A common herbicide used in the United States may be linked to an increased risk of a congenital abnormality of the nasal cavity known as choanal atresia, say researchers.

MRSA research identifies new class of anti-bacterial drugs, shows how 'superbug' DNA may help scientists predict transmission routes Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:51 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a new class of treatment against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as well as evidence of a growing need to quickly genotype individual strains of the organism most commonly referred to as the "superbug."

Nanoparticles glow through thick layer of tissue Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:51 AM PDT Novel, biocompatible nanoparticles glow through more than 3 centimeters of biological tissue, demonstrating the promise of nanotechnology in biomedical imaging.

Social bullying prevalent in children's television Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:38 AM PDT A new research study has found that social bullying is just as prevalent in children's television as depictions of physical aggression.

Identification of microbes in healthy lungs sheds light on cystic fibrosis Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:38 AM PDT Healthy people's lungs are home to a diverse community of microbes that differs markedly from the bacteria found in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients.

Bioengineers introduce 'Bi-Fi' -- The biological 'Internet' Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:38 AM PDT Bioengineers have created a biological mechanism to send genetic messages from cell to cell -- something they've nicknamed the biological Internet, or "Bi-Fi."

Electrons confined inside nano-pyramids Posted: 28 Sep 2012 07:37 AM PDT Quantum dots are nanostructures of semiconducting materials that behave a lot like single atoms and are very easy to produce. Given their special properties, researchers see huge potential for quantum dots in technological applications. Before this can happen, however, we need a better understanding of how the electrons "trapped" inside them behave. Physicists have recently observed how electrons in individual quantum dots absorb energy and emit it again as light.

New study identifies large gaps in lifetime earnings of specialist and primary-care physicians Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:37 AM PDT A national study has found that earnings over the course of the careers of primary-care physicians averaged as much as $2.8 million less than the earnings of their specialist colleagues, potentially making primary care a less attractive choice for medical school graduates and exacerbating the already significant shortage of medical generalists.

Bioengineers design rapid diagnostic tests inspired by nature Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:37 AM PDT By mimicking nature's own sensing mechanisms, bioengineers have designed inexpensive medical diagnostic tests that take only a few minutes to perform. Their findings may aid efforts to build point-of-care devices for quick medical diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases, allergies, autoimmune diseases, and a number of other diseases. The new technology could dramatically impact world health, according to the research team.

Predatory bacterial crowdsourcing: Scientists ID simple formula that allows bacteria to engulf food in waves Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:37 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the mechanism that allows one of the world's smallest predators -- the soil bacteria Myxococcus xanthus -- to form collective waves that spread and engulf bacterial prey. The study finds that the same mechanism helps M. xanthus spread quickly and stay atop prey until it is devoured.

Ancient stinging nettles reveal Bronze Age trade connections Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:37 AM PDT A piece of nettle cloth retrieved from Denmark's richest known Bronze Age burial mound Lusehøj may actually derive from Austria, new findings suggest. The cloth thus tells a surprising story about long-distance Bronze Age trade connections around 800 BC.

Catalysis: Optimizing water splitting Posted: 28 Sep 2012 06:33 AM PDT Computer simulations of a metal–sulfide alloy unlock the secrets to designing solar-powered catalysts that generate hydrogen fuel from water.

Learning to live on Mars: Fatigue management program for controlling space-age jetlag Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:56 AM PDT The Martian day, which is about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day, can cause havoc with the internal 24-hour body clock. However, researchers have developed and tested a fatigue management program which is successful at controlling this space-age jetlag.

Making headway on beta-blockers and sleep Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:56 AM PDT Researchers have found that melatonin supplementation significantly improved sleep in hypertensive patients taking beta-blockers.

Eating cherries lowers risk of gout attacks by 35%, study suggests Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:53 AM PDT A new study found that patients with gout who consumed cherries over a two-day period showed a 35% lower risk of gout attacks compared to those who did not eat the fruit. New findings also suggest that risk of gout flares was 75% lower when cherry intake was combined with the uric-acid reducing drug, allopurinol, than in periods without exposure to cherries or treatment.

Local funding supports open access sequencing of the Puerto Rican parrot genome Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:53 AM PDT The critically endangered Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata) is the only surviving parrot species native to the United States. A genomic sequencing project, funded by community donations, has just been completed, the first sequence of A. vittata, the first of the large Neotropical Amazona birds to be studied at the genomic level.

New material, graphene, may soon replace silicon for technology industry, experts say Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:53 AM PDT Researchers have now developed a method for producing semiconductors from graphene. There are hopes that this new ultra-thin material will revolutionize the technology industry within about 5 years.

Research could lead to a better understanding of flesh-eating disease Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:53 AM PDT Scientists are carrying out research on bacteriophage that play a role in flesh-eating disease.

Nanosciences: All systems go at the biofactory Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:52 AM PDT In order to assemble novel biomolecular machines, individual protein molecules must be installed at their site of operation with nanometer precision. Researchers have now found a way to do just that.

Saturn’s moon Titan shows surprising seasonal changes Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:52 AM PDT Detailed observations of Saturn's moon Titan have now spanned 30 years, covering an entire solar orbit for this distant world. Researchers have now analyzed data gathered over this time and has found that the changing seasons of Titan affect it more than previously thought.

Loop the loop, DNA style: One- or two-way transcription depends on gene loops Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:52 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that, by forming or undoing gene loops, cells manipulate the path of the transcription machinery – which reads out instructions from DNA – controlling whether it moves along the genetic material in one direction or two.

Mars weather report: Gale crater set for summer heat wave? Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:52 AM PDT Preliminary weather reports from the Curiosity's Remote Environment Monitoring Station (REMS) are showing some surprisingly mild temperatures during the day. Average daytime air temperatures have reached a peak of 6 degrees Celsius at 2pm local time.  A Martian day – known as a Sol – is slightly longer than Earths at 24 hours and 39 minutes.

Mars: Curiosity's DAN instrument suggests Gale Crater drier than expected Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:52 AM PDT Preliminary data from the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory indicate that the Gale Crater landing site might be drier than expected. The Curiosity rover is designed to carry out research into whether Mars was ever able to support life, and a key element of this search is the hunt for water. Although Mars has many features on its surface that suggest a distant past in which the planet had abundant liquid water in the form of rivers and lakes, the only water known to be abundant on Mars today is frozen, embedded in the soil, and in large ice caps at both poles.

Major genetic discovery explains 10 percent of aortic valve disease Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:52 AM PDT Researchers have identified genetic origins in 10% of an important form of congenital heart diseases by studying the genetic variability within families.

Fall calls bats to hibernate, scientists to study them Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:49 AM PDT Bats are an important weapon in the battle against insect pests, but a deadly fungal disease is killing more and more of them. They flock to mines and caves in the fall, where scientists study them while they hibernate. New research helps track their origins, which could lead to better prevention and control of White Nose Syndrome.

Progesterone test can predict viability of pregnancy, study finds Posted: 27 Sep 2012 03:59 PM PDT Measuring progesterone levels in women with pain or bleeding during early pregnancy is a useful way to help discriminate between a viable and a non-viable pregnancy, finds a new study.

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