ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Better batteries from waste sulfur
• Bacterial security agents go rogue
• New insight into accelerating summer ice melt on the Antarctic Peninsula
• Nanosponges soak up toxins released by bacterial infections and venom
• Implantable, bioengineered rat kidney: Transplanted organ produces urine, but further refinement is needed
• Memory effect now also found in lithium-ion batteries
• Gene sequencing project finds new mutations to blame for a majority of brain tumor subtype
• Recent Antarctic climate, glacier changes at the 'upper bound' of normal
• Ordinary skin cells morphed into functional brain cells
• New gene variations associated with heart rate identified
• Cutting specific pollutants would slow sea level rise, research indicates
• Icy therapy spot treats cancer in the lung
• Freezing nerves knocks pain out cold

Better batteries from waste sulfur Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:34 PM PDT A new chemical process can transform waste sulfur into a lightweight plastic that may improve batteries for electric cars, reports a new study. Scientists have successfully used the new plastic to make lithium-sulfur batteries. The team's discovery could provide a new use for the sulfur left over when oil and natural gas are refined into cleaner-burning fuels. Other potential applications for the new plastic include optical uses.

Bacterial security agents go rogue Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:34 PM PDT CRISPR, a system of genes that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses, has been found to be involved in helping some bacteria evade the mammalian immune system. Scientists have shown that Francisella novicida, a close relative of the bacterium that causes tularemia, and another bacterium that causes meningitis, need parts of the CRISPR system to stay infectious.

New insight into accelerating summer ice melt on the Antarctic Peninsula Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:34 PM PDT A new 1,000-year Antarctic Peninsula climate reconstruction shows that summer ice melting has intensified almost 10-fold, and mostly since the mid-20th century. Summer ice melt affects the stability of Antarctic ice shelves and glaciers.

Nanosponges soak up toxins released by bacterial infections and venom Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:34 PM PDT Engineers have invented a "nanosponge" capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream -- including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli, poisonous snakes and bees.

Implantable, bioengineered rat kidney: Transplanted organ produces urine, but further refinement is needed Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:34 PM PDT Bioengineered rat kidneys successfully produced urine both in a laboratory apparatus and after being transplanted into living animals. The research team built functional replacement kidneys on the structure of donor organs from which living cells had been stripped, an approach previously used to create bioartificial hearts, lungs and livers.

Memory effect now also found in lithium-ion batteries Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:32 PM PDT Due to their high energy density, lithium-ion batteries are used in many commercial electronic appliances. They are also believed to exhibit no memory effect. That's how experts call a deviation in the voltage of the battery that can limit the usability of the stored energy as well as the ability to determine the state of charge of the battery reliably. Scientists have now however discovered a memory effect in a lithium-ion battery. This finding is particularly relevant for the use of lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicle market.

Gene sequencing project finds new mutations to blame for a majority of brain tumor subtype Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:31 PM PDT Scientists have advanced their understanding of the genetic defects underlying childhood low-grade gliomas and identifies promising new drug therapies.

Recent Antarctic climate, glacier changes at the 'upper bound' of normal Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:31 PM PDT In the last few decades, glaciers at the edge of the icy continent of Antarctica have been thinning, and research has shown the rate of thinning has accelerated and contributed significantly to sea level rise. New ice core research suggests that, while the changes are dramatic, they cannot be attributed with confidence to human-caused global warming.

Ordinary skin cells morphed into functional brain cells Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:31 PM PDT Researchers have discovered a technique that directly converts skin cells to the type of brain cells destroyed in patients with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other so-called myelin disorders.

New gene variations associated with heart rate identified Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:31 PM PDT Findings pinpoint 14 genetic targets in humans that may provide insight for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Cutting specific pollutants would slow sea level rise, research indicates Posted: 14 Apr 2013 04:31 PM PDT With coastal areas bracing for rising sea levels, new research indicates that cutting emissions of certain pollutants can greatly slow down sea level rise. Reductions in the four pollutants that cycle comparatively quickly through the atmosphere could forestall the rate of sea level rise by roughly 25 to 50 percent.

Icy therapy spot treats cancer in the lung Posted: 14 Apr 2013 09:11 AM PDT Frozen balls of ice can safely kill cancerous tumors that have spread to the lungs, according to the first prospective multicenter trial of cryoablation.

Freezing nerves knocks pain out cold Posted: 14 Apr 2013 09:11 AM PDT Using a tiny ball of ice, a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment called cryoneurolysis safely short circuits chronic pain caused by nerve damage, according to new data.

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