ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Wave of blue fluorescence reveals pathway of death in worms
• Genetic testing improved student learning in personalized medicine class
• Barriers to interventions to prevent malaria in pregnancy similar across sub-Saharan Africa
• How to make preclinical animal research more effective
• Clearest new pictures of immune cells
• US physicians put patients' best interests above concerns about health care costs
• Organ transplantation as source of fatal rabies virus case
• NASA's Spitzer observes gas emission from Comet ISON
• Choosing a wave could accelerate airplane maintenance
• When bar fights get mean, bystanders intervene
• Valley networks suggest ancient snowfall on Mars
• Pain of artificial legs could be eased by real-time monitoring
• Sleep deprivation linked to aging skin, study suggests
• Oxygen – key to most life – decelerates many cancer tumors when combined with radiation therapy
• Pathways activated in most K9 bone tumors not driving the worst bone tumors
• Purple bacteria on Earth could survive alien light
• Athletes need to be careful to monitor diet, weight to maintain muscle mass
• Optimists better at regulating stress
• Natural pest control protein effective against hookworm: A billion could benefit
• Vulnerabilities of the deadly Ebola virus identified
• Mechanism behind development of autoimmune hepatitis identified
• Harvesting electricity from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
• Rare bushcricket's chirp as loud as a power saw
• Perfecting digital imaging
• Scientific who's who of Bolivian mammals
• Faster, simpler diagnosis for fibromyalgia may be on the horizon
• Gene that may stop the spread of breast cancer identified
• Why are sea stars dying from New Jersey to Maine? Divers asked to report large groupings of starfish
• We don't like unfamiliar music, even though we claim we do
• Sequester has minimal impact on federal regulatory spending, new report finds
• Oldest European fort in the inland U.S. discovered in Appalachians
• No link between prenatal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors found
• New approach for studying deadly brain cancer
• Controlling genes with light: New technique can rapidly turn genes on and off, helping scientists better understand their function
• Brain picks out salient sounds from background noise by tracking frequency and time, study finds
• A new weapon against stroke
• Secrets of mussels' clinginess revealed
• Protons hop from one water molecule to another given suitable energy conditions
• Tropical ecosystems regulate variations in Earth's carbon dioxide levels
• New record for cosmic X-ray sightings: Exploring extreme universe with rich new resource
• Is a common food fungus worsening the AIDS epidemic?
• Going through the motions improves dance performance
• Environmental toxins enter the brain tissue of polar bears
• Major cities often safest places in the U.S.
• Devastating long-distance impact of earthquakes
• Non-toxic flame retardants

Wave of blue fluorescence reveals pathway of death in worms Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:12 PM PDT The final biological events in the life of a worm are described in a new article. The paper reveals how death spreads like a wave from cell to cell until the whole organism is deceased.

Genetic testing improved student learning in personalized medicine class Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:12 PM PDT Students who had their genome tested as part of a groundbreaking medical school course on personalized medicine improved their knowledge of the class materials by an average of 31 percent compared with those who didn't undergo the testing, according to a new study.

Barriers to interventions to prevent malaria in pregnancy similar across sub-Saharan Africa Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:12 PM PDT The main barriers to the access, delivery, and use of interventions that help to prevent malaria in pregnant women are relatively consistent across sub-Saharan African countries and may provide a helpful checklist to identify the factors influencing uptake of these important interventions, according to a new study.

How to make preclinical animal research more effective Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:11 PM PDT Only 11% of drugs that enter clinical trials in humans are ultimately found safe and effective enough to receive regulatory approval. One possible reason for this dismal success rate is flawed preclinical animal research. A number of recent initiatives seek to improve the design and execution of such experiments. Now, a new studyidentifies key procedures believed to address threats to the validity of preclinical findings.

Clearest new pictures of immune cells Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:11 PM PDT Scientists have revealed new images which provide the clearest picture yet of how white blood immune cells attack viral infections and tumors.

US physicians put patients' best interests above concerns about health care costs Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:06 PM PDT A new study of attitudes about health care costs reveals that an overwhelming majority of U.S. physicians feel a responsibility to address costs, but prioritize their obligations to patients' best interests over cost concerns.

Organ transplantation as source of fatal rabies virus case Posted: 23 Jul 2013 03:06 PM PDT An investigation into the source of a fatal case of raccoon rabies virus exposure indicates the individual received the virus via a kidney transplant 18 months earlier, findings suggesting that rabies transmitted by this route may have a long incubation period, and that although solid organ transplant transmission of infectious encephalitis is rare, further education to increase awareness is needed.

NASA's Spitzer observes gas emission from Comet ISON Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:57 PM PDT Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have observed what most likely are strong carbon dioxide emissions from Comet ISON ahead of its anticipated pass through the inner solar system later this year.

Choosing a wave could accelerate airplane maintenance Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT Ultrasonic waves can find bubbles and cracks in adhesive bonds holding airplane composite parts together, and now aerospace engineers can select the best frequencies to detect adhesive failures in hard-to-reach places more quickly.

When bar fights get mean, bystanders intervene Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT People are more likely to try to break up a bar fight when they believe the conflict is too violent, or has the potential to become more violent, according to researchers.

Valley networks suggest ancient snowfall on Mars Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT Researchers have shown that some Martian valleys appear to have been caused by runoff from orographic precipitation -- moisture carried part of the way up a mountain and deposited on the slopes. The findings help to answer the question of whether water flowing on ancient Mars bubbled up from the ground or fell down from the atmosphere.

Pain of artificial legs could be eased by real-time monitoring Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT Engineers have developed a device that tracks how much a person's limb swells and shrinks when inside a prosthetic socket. The data could help doctors and patients predict how and when their limbs will swell, which could be used to build smarter sockets.

Sleep deprivation linked to aging skin, study suggests Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:50 PM PDT In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, physician-scientists found that sleep quality impacts skin function and aging. The study, commissioned by Estée Lauder, demonstrated that poor sleepers had increased signs of skin aging and slower recovery from a variety of environmental stressors, such as disruption of the skin barrier or ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Poor sleepers also had worse assessment of their own skin and facial appearance.

Oxygen – key to most life – decelerates many cancer tumors when combined with radiation therapy Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:49 PM PDT A multidisciplinary team has found that measuring the oxygenation of tumors can be a valuable tool in guiding radiation therapy, opening the door for personalized therapies that keep tumors in check with oxygen enhancement.

Pathways activated in most K9 bone tumors not driving the worst bone tumors Posted: 23 Jul 2013 12:49 PM PDT A new study shows NOTCH signaling elevated in K9 osteosarcoma, but aspects of Notch signaling noticeably deactivated in the worst cancers.

Purple bacteria on Earth could survive alien light Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:45 AM PDT Purple bacteria contain pigments that allow them to use sunlight as their source of energy, hence their color. Physicists recently found that these organisms can also survive in the presence of extreme alien light. The findings show that the way in which light is received by the bacteria can dictate the difference between life and death.

Athletes need to be careful to monitor diet, weight to maintain muscle mass Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:45 AM PDT Athletes seeking a healthy performance weight should eat high fiber, low-fat food balanced with their training regimen in order to maintain muscle while still burning fat, according to a new article.

Optimists better at regulating stress Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:45 AM PDT It's no surprise that those who tend to see a rose's blooms before its thorns are also better at handling stress. But science has failed to reliably associate optimism with individuals' biological stress response -- until now.

Natural pest control protein effective against hookworm: A billion could benefit Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT A benign crystal protein, produced naturally by bacteria and used as an organic pesticide, could be a safe, inexpensive treatment for parasitic worms in humans and provide effective relief to over a billion people around the world.

Vulnerabilities of the deadly Ebola virus identified Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT Disabling a protein in Ebola virus cells can stop the virus from replicating and infecting the host, according to new research.

Mechanism behind development of autoimmune hepatitis identified Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT A gene mutation disrupts the activity of certain immune cells and causes the immune system to erroneously attack the liver, according to a new animal study.

Harvesting electricity from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT A new method for producing electricity from carbon dioxide could be the start of a classic trash-to-treasure story for the troublesome greenhouse gas, scientists are reporting. The method uses CO2 from electric power plant and other smokestacks as the raw material for making electricity.

Rare bushcricket's chirp as loud as a power saw Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:43 AM PDT A recently rediscovered species of bushcricket uses elastic energy and wing movement to reach high ultrasonic frequencies involving sound levels of about 110dB – comparable to that of a power saw.

Perfecting digital imaging Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:43 AM PDT Computer graphics and digital video lag behind reality; despite advances, the best software and video cameras still cannot seem to get computer-generated images and digital film to look exactly the way our eyes expect them to.

Scientific who's who of Bolivian mammals Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT Biologists have published a massive database of mammals occurring in Bolivia, shedding light on the poorly known yet vast wildlife diversity of this South American country.

Faster, simpler diagnosis for fibromyalgia may be on the horizon Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT Researchers have developed a reliable way to use a finger-stick blood sample to detect fibromyalgia syndrome, a complicated pain disorder that often is difficult to diagnose.

Gene that may stop the spread of breast cancer identified Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT In cancer, the spread of tumor cells from the primary site to other parts of the body is called metastasis and is a major cause of death, especially in patients with breast cancer. A new study shows that metastasis in breast cancer and the risk of death are reduced when the function of the gene HGMA2, is limited.

Why are sea stars dying from New Jersey to Maine? Divers asked to report large groupings of starfish Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT Marine biologists are working to identify the cause of a disease that is killing sea stars (starfish) from New Jersey to Maine.

We don't like unfamiliar music, even though we claim we do Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT Spotify. Pandora. iTunes. YouTube. We are constantly bombarded with a seemingly limitless amount of new music in our daily lives. But why do we keep coming back to that one song or album we couldn't get enough of in college? New research shows that although consumers say they prefer to listen to unfamiliar music, their choices actually belie that preference.

Sequester has minimal impact on federal regulatory spending, new report finds Posted: 23 Jul 2013 10:42 AM PDT Automatic federal budget cuts, known as the sequester, which began March 1, have had minimal impact on federal regulatory agencies, finds a new report on the U.S. budget for fiscal years 2013 and 2014.

Oldest European fort in the inland U.S. discovered in Appalachians Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT The remains of the earliest European fort in the interior of what is now the United States have been discovered by a team of archaeologists, providing new insight into the start of the U.S. colonial era and the all-too-human reasons spoiling Spanish dreams of gold and glory.

No link between prenatal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors found Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT The potential impact of exposure to low levels of mercury on the developing brain -- specifically by women consuming fish during pregnancy -- has long been the source of concern and some have argued that the chemical may be responsible for behavioral disorders such as autism. However, a new study that draws upon more than 30 years of research in the Republic of Seychelles reports that there is no association between pre-natal mercury exposure and autism-like behaviors.

New approach for studying deadly brain cancer Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT Human glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most common, aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer, is notoriously difficult to study. Now engineers have developed a three-dimensional hydrogel that more closely mimics conditions in the brain than other platforms used to study brain cancer.

Controlling genes with light: New technique can rapidly turn genes on and off, helping scientists better understand their function Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT New technology can rapidly start or halt the expression of any gene of interest simply by shining light on the cells.

Brain picks out salient sounds from background noise by tracking frequency and time, study finds Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:37 AM PDT New research reveals how our brains are able to pick out important sounds from the noisy world around us. The study could lead to new diagnostic tests for hearing disorders.

A new weapon against stroke Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:36 AM PDT Stem cell research for stroke has focused on developing therapeutic neurons -- the primary movers of electrical impulses in the brain -- to repair tissue damaged when oxygen to the brain is limited by a blood clot or break in a vessel. New research, however, shows that other cells may be better suited for the task.

Secrets of mussels' clinginess revealed Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:36 AM PDT Understanding the strength of the shellfish's underwater attachments could enable better glues and biomedical interfaces.

Protons hop from one water molecule to another given suitable energy conditions Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:36 AM PDT Protons, as positively charged hydrogen ions, move very rapidly in water from one water molecule to the next, which is why the conductivity of water is relatively high. The principle of proton conduction in water has been known for 200 years and is named the Grotthuss mechanism after its discoverer, Theodor Grotthuss.

Tropical ecosystems regulate variations in Earth's carbon dioxide levels Posted: 23 Jul 2013 07:35 AM PDT Rising temperatures, influenced by natural events such as El Niño, have a corresponding increase in the release of carbon dioxide from tropical forest ecosystems, according to a new study.

New record for cosmic X-ray sightings: Exploring extreme universe with rich new resource Posted: 23 Jul 2013 06:54 AM PDT Scientists have set a new record for cosmic X-ray sources ever sighted -- creating an unprecedented cosmic X-ray catalog that will provide a valuable resource allowing astronomers to explore the extreme Universe.

Is a common food fungus worsening the AIDS epidemic? Posted: 23 Jul 2013 06:52 AM PDT A type of fungus coating much of the stored corn, wheat, rice and nuts in developing countries may be quietly worsening the AIDS epidemic, according to a new article.

Going through the motions improves dance performance Posted: 23 Jul 2013 05:13 AM PDT Dance marking -- loosely practicing a ballet routine by "going through the motions" -- may improve the quality of dance performance by reducing the mental strain needed to perfect the movements, according to new research.

Environmental toxins enter the brain tissue of polar bears Posted: 23 Jul 2013 05:13 AM PDT Scientists from Denmark and Canada are worried by their new findings showing that several bioaccumulative perfluoroalkyl substancesare crossing the blood brain barrier of polar bears from Scoresby Sound, East Greenland. Meanwhile, the same group of scientists is beginning to see a decrease in concentrations of this group of contaminants in polar bears from the same region.

Major cities often safest places in the U.S. Posted: 23 Jul 2013 05:13 AM PDT Overturning a commonly-held belief that cities are inherently more dangerous than suburban and rural communities, researchers have found that risk of death from injuries is lowest on average in urban counties compared to suburban and rural counties across the US.

Devastating long-distance impact of earthquakes Posted: 23 Jul 2013 04:39 AM PDT In 2006 the island of Java, Indonesia was struck by a devastating earthquake followed by the onset of a mud eruption to the east, flooding villages over several square kilometers and that continues to erupt today. Until now, researchers believed the earthquake was too far from the mud volcano to trigger the eruption. Geophysicists have now use computer-based simulations to show that such triggering is possible over long distances.

Non-toxic flame retardants Posted: 23 Jul 2013 04:39 AM PDT Flame retardants are often extremely harmful to health. Despite this, they are found in many types of synthetic materials which would otherwise ignite quickly. Researchers have now succeeded in producing non-harmful flame retardants.

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