ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Scientists to Jupiter's moon Io: Your volcanoes are in the wrong place
• Walking can lower risk of heart-related conditions as much as running
• Listening to the Big Bang -- in high fidelity
• An ancient biosonar sheds new light on the evolution of echolocation in toothed whales
• New measurement of crocodilian nerves could help scientists understand ancient animals
• Building better blood vessels could advance tissue engineering
• A 'light switch' in brain illuminates neural networks: Scientists can see cells communicate by flipping a neural light switch
• 3-D printer can build synthetic tissues
• New insight into photosynthesis: Carotenoids can capture blue/green light and pass energy on to chlorophylls
• Chemistry: Elusive mechanism of widely used click reaction revealed
• Discovery of 1,800-year-old 'Rosetta Stone' for tropical ice cores
• Trade emerging as a key driver of Brazilian deforestation
• Rocket powered by nuclear fusion could send humans to Mars
• Assessing insulin resistance can inform about breast cancer risk
• Adult stem cells isolated from human intestinal tissue
• Body representation differs in children and adults
• Bronze warship ram reveals secrets
• Weapons by which bacteria fight each other revealed: Could lead to new antibacterial drugs
• Catalyst for green chemistry: Amberlyst-15 can act as a catalyst for the acylation of phenols and alcohols
• Asian carp DNA not widespread in the Great Lakes
• A comet, not an asteroid, may have killed the dinosaurs, experts propose
• Online learning: It's different
• New camera system creates high-resolution 3-D images from up to a kilometer away
• Graduate glut spells underused skills and dissatisfaction for many
• Origin of life: Power behind primordial soup discovered
• Dwarf whale survived well into Ice Age
• National teen driving report in U.S. finds safety gains for teen passengers
• Genetic markers ID second Alzheimer's pathway
• Shutting down DNA construction: How senescence halts growth of potential cancers
• Obesity without the health problems? There could be a way
• Bumblebees use logic to find the best flowers
• Chemotherapy works in an unexpected way
• Protein maintains order in the nucleus
• Shift of language function to right hemisphere impedes post-stroke aphasia recovery
• Scientists have unravelled a mechanism critical for fungal virulence
• Hepatitis A virus discovered to cloak itself in membranes hijacked from infected cells
• Awake imaging device moves diagnostics field forward
• NASA flies radar south on wide-ranging expedition
• Used parachute on Mars flaps in the wind
• Hubble breaks record in search for farthest supernova
• Prostate cancer treatment study changing the way doctors practice
• Experts propose research priorities for making concrete 'greener'
• Don't call it vaporware: Scientists use cloud of atoms as optical memory device
• Climate change winners: Adélie penguin population expands as ice fields recede
• Could playing 'boys' games help girls in science and math?
• Turning tires into gas for energy and new, valuable materials
• Human infection with influenza A(H7N9) in China
• Highest efficiency in black solar cells ever: 18.7%
• Hallucinations of musical notation
• How rats see things
• Wild mice have natural protection against Lyme borreliosis
• A model predicts that the world's populations will stop growing in 2050
• The equine 'Adam' lived fairly recently: Close relationships among modern stallions
• Stem cells fill gaps in bones
• One extinct turtle less: Turtle species in the Seychelles never existed

Scientists to Jupiter's moon Io: Your volcanoes are in the wrong place Posted: 04 Apr 2013 02:02 PM PDT Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the Solar System, with hundreds of volcanoes, some erupting lava fountains up to 250 miles high. However, concentrations of volcanic activity are significantly displaced from where they are expected to be based on models that predict how the moon's interior is heated, according to researchers.

Walking can lower risk of heart-related conditions as much as running Posted: 04 Apr 2013 02:02 PM PDT Walking can lower the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes as much as running. The more people walked or ran each week, the more their health benefits increased.

Listening to the Big Bang -- in high fidelity Posted: 04 Apr 2013 02:01 PM PDT Physicist have updated the decade-old re-creation of the sound of the Big Bang that started the universe.

An ancient biosonar sheds new light on the evolution of echolocation in toothed whales Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:26 PM PDT Some 30 million years ago, Ganges river dolphins diverged from other toothed whales, making them one of the oldest species of aquatic mammals that use echolocation, or biosonar, to navigate and find food. This also makes them ideal subjects for scientists working to understand the evolution of echolocation among toothed whales.

New measurement of crocodilian nerves could help scientists understand ancient animals Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:26 PM PDT A new study has measured the nerves responsible for the super-sensitive skin on a crocodile's face, which will help biologists understand how today's animals, as well as dinosaurs and crocodiles that lived millions of years ago, interact with the environment around them.

Building better blood vessels could advance tissue engineering Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:19 PM PDT One of the major obstacles to growing new organs -- replacement hearts, lungs and kidneys -- is the difficulty researchers face in building blood vessels that keep the tissues alive, but new findings could help overcome this roadblock.

A 'light switch' in brain illuminates neural networks: Scientists can see cells communicate by flipping a neural light switch Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:25 AM PDT Researchers have combined a range of advanced techniques that enable them to identify which neurons communicate with each other at different times in the rat brain, and in doing so, create the animal's sense of location.

3-D printer can build synthetic tissues Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT A custom-built programmable 3-D printer can create materials with several of the properties of living tissues, scientists have demonstrated.

New insight into photosynthesis: Carotenoids can capture blue/green light and pass energy on to chlorophylls Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT Pigments found in plants and purple bacteria employed to provide protection from sun damage do more than just that. Researchers have found that they also help to harvest light energy during photosynthesis. Carotenoids, the same pigments which give orange color to carrots and red to tomatoes, are often found together in plants with chlorophyll pigments that harvest solar energy. Their main function is photoprotection when rays of light from the sun are the most intense. However, a new study shows how they capture blue/green light and pass the energy on to chlorophylls, which absorb red light.

Chemistry: Elusive mechanism of widely used click reaction revealed Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT Scientists have illuminated the mechanism at the heart of one of the most useful processes in modern chemistry. A reaction that is robust and easy to perform, it is widely employed to synthesize new pharmaceuticals, biological probes, new materials and other products.

Discovery of 1,800-year-old 'Rosetta Stone' for tropical ice cores Posted: 04 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT Scientists report a set of ice cores from Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru which can serve as a "Rosetta Stone" for studying other ice cores from around the world.

Trade emerging as a key driver of Brazilian deforestation Posted: 04 Apr 2013 10:52 AM PDT A new study found that trade and global consumption of Brazilian beef and soybeans is increasingly driving Brazilian deforestation. Consequently, current international efforts to protect rainforests (e.g., REDD) may be undermined by the increased trade and consumption.

Rocket powered by nuclear fusion could send humans to Mars Posted: 04 Apr 2013 10:52 AM PDT Scientists are building components of a fusion-powered rocket aimed to clear many of the hurdles that block deep space travel, including long times in transit, exorbitant costs and health risks.

Assessing insulin resistance can inform about breast cancer risk Posted: 04 Apr 2013 10:52 AM PDT The link between obesity and cancer seems now well established although the molecular mechanisms underlying this connection are still largely unexplored. Scientists have ow studied the correlation between breast cancer and insulin resistance — an obesity-related condition in which certain cells fail to respond to the glucose-lowering action of the insulin hormone.

Adult stem cells isolated from human intestinal tissue Posted: 04 Apr 2013 10:51 AM PDT For the first time, researchers have isolated adult stem cells from human intestinal tissue. The accomplishment provides a much-needed resource for scientists eager to uncover the true mechanisms of human stem cell biology.

Body representation differs in children and adults Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT Children's sense of having and owning a body differs from that of adults, indicating that our sense of physical self develops over time, according to a new study.

Bronze warship ram reveals secrets Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT The Belgammel Ram, a 20kg bronze battering ram artifact dating to between 100BC and 100AD has been extensively tested and analyzed to ascertain how it would have been made in ancient times. The development of new techniques and analyses will assist future research on similar artifacts.

Weapons by which bacteria fight each other revealed: Could lead to new antibacterial drugs Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT Biologists have discovered that bacteria can degrade the cell membrane of bacterial competitors with enzymes that do not harm their own membrane. This exciting finding opens the way for the development of new antibacterial drugs to fight bacteria using their own weapons.

Catalyst for green chemistry: Amberlyst-15 can act as a catalyst for the acylation of phenols and alcohols Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT Researchers offer a novel and highly sustainable method for the acylation of phenols and alcohols. They found that Amberlyst-15 is an active catalyst for the acylation of phenols and alcohols by means of acetic anhydride as an acylating agent at room temperature under heterogeneous conditions. The scientists confirmed that applications of this catalyst allow mild and highly selective transformations and synthesis in a facile and environmentally friendly manner.

Asian carp DNA not widespread in the Great Lakes Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT Scientists have shown that Asian carp DNA is not widespread in the Great Lakes.

A comet, not an asteroid, may have killed the dinosaurs, experts propose Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:24 AM PDT In a geological moment about 66 million years ago, something killed off almost all the dinosaurs and some 70 percent of all other species living on Earth. Only those dinosaurs related to birds appear to have survived. Most scientists agree that the culprit in this extinction was extraterrestrial, and the prevailing opinion has been that the party crasher was an asteroid. Not so, say two researchers who favor another explanation, asserting that a high-velocity comet led to the demise of the dinosaurs.

Online learning: It's different Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:22 AM PDT Researchers have found that, by interspersing online lectures with short tests, student mind wandering decreased by 50 percent, note-taking tripled and overall retention of the material improved.

New camera system creates high-resolution 3-D images from up to a kilometer away Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:22 AM PDT A new camera system provides high-resolution, 3-D information about objects that are typically difficult to image, from up to a kilometer away. The photo-counting depth imaging system is likely to be used for scanning static, human-made targets from afar, such as vehicles. It could also determine their speed and direction, or be used for remote examination of vegetation and the movement of rock faces, to assess potential hazards from as far as 10 km away.

Graduate glut spells underused skills and dissatisfaction for many Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:22 AM PDT Graduates are taking up jobs that don't fully use their skills and as a result are causing high turnover for employers, claims new research. The findings raise questions about today's high throughput in university education.

Origin of life: Power behind primordial soup discovered Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:22 AM PDT Researchers may have solved a key puzzle about how objects from space could have kindled life on Earth.

Dwarf whale survived well into Ice Age Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:21 AM PDT Research detailing the fossil of a dwarf baleen whale from Northern California reveals that it avoided extinction far longer than previously thought.

National teen driving report in U.S. finds safety gains for teen passengers Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:21 AM PDT A new report measured a 47 percent decline in teen driver-related fatalities since 2008. Still, as recent high-profile crashes illustrate, crashes remains the leading cause of death for US teens. Risky behaviors- like smartphone use while driving, driving after drinking, and low seat belt use- remain serious problems, and experts see specific opportunities to "apply the gas" to these common factors in crashes involving teen drivers.

Genetic markers ID second Alzheimer's pathway Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:21 AM PDT Researchers have identified a new set of genetic markers for Alzheimer's disease that point to a second pathway through which the disease develops.

Shutting down DNA construction: How senescence halts growth of potential cancers Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:21 AM PDT How does oncogene-induced senescence work? Imagine the cell as a construction site where work continues as long as bricks (nucleotides) are available. When an oncogene is damaged, it is like hiring excess workers and cancelling orders for bricks. When brick supplies run out, construction ends and the cell becomes senescent.

Obesity without the health problems? There could be a way Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:20 AM PDT Obesity is linked to the widespread epidemics of diabetes and heart disease that plague society, but a lesser-known fact is that the weight can also lead to autoimmune disease. Now, researchers have new information about how that damaging immune response happens and how it might be stopped.

Bumblebees use logic to find the best flowers Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:20 AM PDT Scientists have discovered why bees copy each other when looking for nectar -- and the answer is remarkably simple.

Chemotherapy works in an unexpected way Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:20 AM PDT New research shows that effective chemotherapies actually work by mobilizing the body's own immune cells to fight cancer. Researchers found that chemo-treated dying tumors secrete a factor that attracts certain immune cells, which then ingest tumor proteins and present them on their surfaces as alert signals that an invader is present. This new understanding of how chemotherapy works with our immune systems could prompt new tactics for treating cancer.

Protein maintains order in the nucleus Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:19 AM PDT Two meters of DNA are packed into the cell nucleus, presumably based on a strictly defined arrangement. Researchers have now succeeded in explaining a phenomenon, which was first observed 40 years ago. Researchers have identified a protein responsible for the correct arrangement of the chromosome centromeres in the nucleus.

Shift of language function to right hemisphere impedes post-stroke aphasia recovery Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:19 AM PDT In a study designed to differentiate why some stroke patients recover from aphasia and others do not, investigators have found that a compensatory reorganization of language function to right hemispheric brain regions bodes poorly for language recovery. Patients who recovered from aphasia showed a return to normal left-hemispheric language activation patterns.

Scientists have unravelled a mechanism critical for fungal virulence Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:19 AM PDT Metallothioneins, proteins able to capture metal ions, play a major role in the virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal pathogen which causes severe infections in immunodeficient and immunocompetent individuals (AIDS patients, transplant receivers, etc.)

Hepatitis A virus discovered to cloak itself in membranes hijacked from infected cells Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:18 AM PDT Viruses have historically been classified into one of two types – those with an outer lipid-containing envelope and those without an envelope. For the first time, researchers have discovered that hepatitis A virus, a common cause of enterically-transmitted hepatitis, takes on characteristics of both virus types depending on whether it is in a host or in the environment.

Awake imaging device moves diagnostics field forward Posted: 04 Apr 2013 09:18 AM PDT A new technology under development promises to provide clear images of the brains of children, the elderly and people with Parkinson's and other diseases without the use of uncomfortable or intrusive restraints.

NASA flies radar south on wide-ranging expedition Posted: 04 Apr 2013 07:59 AM PDT A versatile NASA airborne imaging radar system is showcasing its broad scientific prowess for studying our home planet during a month-long expedition over the Americas. The campaign is addressing a broad range of science questions, from the dynamics of Earth's crust and glaciers to the carbon cycle and the lives of ancient Peruvian civilizations. Flights are being conducted over Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru.

Used parachute on Mars flaps in the wind Posted: 04 Apr 2013 07:56 AM PDT Photos from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show how the parachute that helped NASA's Curiosity rover land on Mars last summer has subsequently changed its shape on the ground.

Hubble breaks record in search for farthest supernova Posted: 04 Apr 2013 07:45 AM PDT NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has found the farthest supernova so far of the type used to measure cosmic distances. Supernova UDS10Wil, nicknamed SN Wilson after American President Woodrow Wilson, exploded more than 10 billion years ago.

Prostate cancer treatment study changing the way doctors practice Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:28 AM PDT A new article recommends a dramatic shift in treating metastatic prostate cancer. Hormone therapy has been shown to extend the lives of patients, but it causes unpleasant side effects in men like moodiness, hot flashes, bone loss and sexual dysfunction. To relieve patients, doctors "pulsed" the therapy -- giving it for a time and then stopping until signs of prostate cancer activity reappear. The study shows that continuous therapy helps more.

Experts propose research priorities for making concrete 'greener' Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:28 AM PDT According to a new report, the potential engineering performance, energy-efficiency and environmental benefits of making concrete greener -- reducing its sizable carbon footprint without compromising performance -- is a challenge worth undertaking.

Don't call it vaporware: Scientists use cloud of atoms as optical memory device Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:28 AM PDT Talk about storing data in the cloud. Scientists have taken this to a whole new level by demonstrating that they can store visual images within quite an ethereal memory device -- a thin vapor of rubidium atoms. The effort may prove helpful in creating memory for quantum computers.

Climate change winners: Adélie penguin population expands as ice fields recede Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:28 AM PDT Adelie penguins may actually benefit from warmer global temperatures, the opposite of other polar species, according to a breakthrough study. The study provides key information affirming hypothetical projections about the continuing impact of environmental change.

Could playing 'boys' games help girls in science and math? Posted: 04 Apr 2013 06:26 AM PDT A new review finds that men still have better spatial ability than women and  this may be explained by gender-role identification.

Turning tires into gas for energy and new, valuable materials Posted: 04 Apr 2013 05:15 AM PDT Tire recycling represents an untapped opportunity, that may prove a success if processing costs do not become prohibitive.

Human infection with influenza A(H7N9) in China Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:35 AM PDT On April 3, 2013, the China Health and Family Planning Commission notified WHO of an additional four cases of human infection with influenza A(H7N9). The four patients are from Jiangsu province in eastern China. There is no link between the cases.

Highest efficiency in black solar cells ever: 18.7% Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:30 AM PDT Scientists report an efficiency of 18.7% for black silicon solar cells, the highest efficiency reported so far for a black silicon solar cell.

Hallucinations of musical notation Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:30 AM PDT A physician and neurologist has outlined case studies of hallucinations of musical notation, and commented on the neural basis of such hallucinations.

How rats see things Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT The image of an object, when projected into the eyes, may take on the most diverse shapes depending on the chosen point of view, as this can change its distance, perspective and so on, yet generally we have no difficulty in recognizing said object. Scientists have now shown that also rats possess such a sophisticated visual recognition ability, and that their brain employs complex strategies.

Wild mice have natural protection against Lyme borreliosis Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT Like humans, mice can become infected with Borrelia. However, not all mice that come into contact with these bacteria contract the dreaded Lyme disease: Animals with a particular gene variant are immune to the bacteria, as scientists demonstrate. Wild mice are the primary hosts for Borrelia, which are transmitted by ticks.

A model predicts that the world's populations will stop growing in 2050 Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT Global population data spanning the years from 1900 to 2010 have enabled a research team to predict that the number of people on Earth will stabilize around the middle of the century.

The equine 'Adam' lived fairly recently: Close relationships among modern stallions Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT The analysis of DNA inherited from a single parent has provided valuable insights into the history of human and animal populations. However, until recently we had insufficient information to be able to investigate the paternal lines of the domestic horse. This gap has now been filled with new information on the genetic variability in the horse Y chromosome. Researchers have shown how various breeds of the modern horse are interrelated.

Stem cells fill gaps in bones Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT For many patients the removal of several centimeters of bone from the lower leg following a serious injury or a tumor extraction is only the beginning of a long-lasting ordeal. Autologous stem cells have now been found to accelerate and boost the healing process. Surgeons have achieved promising results: without stem cells, it takes on average 49 days for one centimeter of bone to regrow; with stem cells, that period has been reduced to 37 days.

One extinct turtle less: Turtle species in the Seychelles never existed Posted: 04 Apr 2013 04:29 AM PDT The turtle species Pelusios seychellensis regarded hitherto as extinct never existed. Scientists discovered this based on genetic evidence.

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