ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Diets low in polyunsaturated fatty acids may be a problem for youngsters
• Research points to promising treatment for macular degeneration
• Measles cases on the rise in US, experts encourage vaccine
• Software may be able to take over from hardware in managing caches
• Machine learning used to boil down the stories that wearable cameras are telling
• Scientists achieve highest open-circuit voltage for quantum dot solar cells
• The '50-50' chip: Memory device of the future? Material built from aluminum and antimony shows promise for next-generation data-storage devices
• To touch the microcosmos: New haptic microscope technique allows researchers to 'feel' microworld
• 'Terminator' polymer: Self-healing polymer that spontaneously and independently repairs itself
• Unexpected interaction between ocean currents and bacteria may weaken ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide
• Simple textiles can be used with catalysts to enable complex chemical reactions
• Surgery proving effective with epilepsy patients
• Tuna closely related to some of the strangest fish in the sea
• Dating of beads sets new timeline for early humans
• Low omega-3 could explain why some children struggle with reading
• Pinpointing when the First Dynasty of Kings ruled Egypt
• New technique in RNA interference cuts time and cost in genetic screens
• Carbon farming schemes should consider multiple cobenefits
• Model organism gone wild
• Molecular mirror images assigned: Safer drugs thanks to a new solution to a 150-year-old chemistry problem?
• Tiny plankton could have big impact on climate: CO2-hungry microbes might short-circuit the marine foodweb
• SARS virus treatments could hold the key for treatment of MERS-CoV outbreak
• Potential new drug target for cystic fibrosis
• Electric transport with wind in its sails
• Using technology to reduce hospital admissions for COPD patients
• Algae and bacteria in sea ice are important for the carbon budgets of frozen oceans
• Toward a truly white organic LED: Physicists develop polymer with tunable colors
• 30 percent lower risk of dying for diabetics with bypass surgery
• Link between rates of gun ownership and homicides
• High blood pressure reading in kids linked to triple risk for condition as adults
• Toxic methylmercury-producing microbes more widespread than realized
• Structures needed for equitable access to DNA identification after disaster
• Twister history: Model to correct tornado records for better risk assessment
• A microbe's trick for staying young

Diets low in polyunsaturated fatty acids may be a problem for youngsters Posted: 13 Sep 2013 09:42 AM PDT In the first study to closely examine the polyunsaturated fatty acid intake among US children under the age of five, researchers have found what might be a troubling deficit in the diet of many youngsters.

Research points to promising treatment for macular degeneration Posted: 13 Sep 2013 09:39 AM PDT In the hunt for a better treatment for macular degeneration, studies using mice and a class of drugs known as MDM2 inhibitors proved highly effective at regressing the abnormal blood vessels responsible for the vision loss associated with the disease.

Measles cases on the rise in US, experts encourage vaccine Posted: 13 Sep 2013 09:39 AM PDT Believed to be eradicated from the United States in 2000, measles have been brought into the country and can infect those who are not vaccinated.

Software may be able to take over from hardware in managing caches Posted: 13 Sep 2013 08:40 AM PDT It may be time to let software, rather than hardware, manage the high-speed on-chip memory banks known as "caches."

Machine learning used to boil down the stories that wearable cameras are telling Posted: 13 Sep 2013 08:40 AM PDT Computers will someday soon automatically provide short video digests of a day in your life, your family vacation or an eight-hour police patrol, say computer scientists. Researchers are working to develop tools to help make sense of the vast quantities of video that are going to be produced by wearable camera technology like Google Glass and Looxcie.

Scientists achieve highest open-circuit voltage for quantum dot solar cells Posted: 13 Sep 2013 08:40 AM PDT Using colloidal lead sulfide nanocrystal quantum dot substances, researchers have achieved the highest recorded open-circuit voltages for quantum dot solar cells to date.

The '50-50' chip: Memory device of the future? Material built from aluminum and antimony shows promise for next-generation data-storage devices Posted: 13 Sep 2013 08:33 AM PDT A new, environmentally-friendly electronic alloy consisting of 50 aluminum atoms bound to 50 atoms of antimony may be promising for building next-generation "phase-change" memory devices, which may be the data-storage technology of the future.

To touch the microcosmos: New haptic microscope technique allows researchers to 'feel' microworld Posted: 13 Sep 2013 08:33 AM PDT What if you could reach through a microscope to touch and feel the microscopic structures under the lens? In a breakthrough that may usher in a new era in the exploration of the worlds that are a million times smaller than human beings, researchers have unveiled a new technique that allows microscope users to manipulate samples using a technology known as "haptic optical tweezers."

'Terminator' polymer: Self-healing polymer that spontaneously and independently repairs itself Posted: 13 Sep 2013 07:18 AM PDT Scientists have reported the first self-healing polymer that spontaneously and independently repairs itself without any intervention. The researchers have dubbed the material a "Terminator" polymer in tribute to the shape-shifting, molten T-100 terminator robot from the Terminator 2 film.

Unexpected interaction between ocean currents and bacteria may weaken ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide Posted: 13 Sep 2013 07:18 AM PDT For the first time, researchers have successfully demonstrated an interaction between ocean currents and bacteria: The unexpected interaction leads to the production of vast amounts of nitrogen gas in the Pacific Ocean. This takes place in one of the largest oxygen free water masses in the world -- and these zones are expanding. This can ultimately weaken the ocean's ability to absorb CO2.

Simple textiles can be used with catalysts to enable complex chemical reactions Posted: 13 Sep 2013 07:15 AM PDT In future, it will be much easier to produce some active pharmaceutical substances and chemical compounds than was the case to date. Chemists have immobilized various catalysts on nylon in a very simple way. Catalysts mediate between the reagents in a chemical reaction and control the process leading to the desired end product. When textile material is used as a support for the chemical auxiliaries, the reaction can proceed on a large surface thereby increasing its efficiency. One of the catalysts that the researchers used in this way plays an important role in the synthesis of a pharmaceutical agent which could only be used previously in dissolved form, making the production process very complicated and expensive. Immobilising this catalyst on fabric simplifies production considerably. This process may be expected to yield similar advantages for other chemical processes.

Surgery proving effective with epilepsy patients Posted: 13 Sep 2013 07:14 AM PDT Neurosurgeons have found MRI-guided laser ablation to be an effective therapy for certain epilepsy patients.

Tuna closely related to some of the strangest fish in the sea Posted: 13 Sep 2013 06:39 AM PDT Some of the strangest fish in the sea are closely related to dinner table favorites the tunas and mackerels, an international team of scientists has found.

Dating of beads sets new timeline for early humans Posted: 13 Sep 2013 06:33 AM PDT Scientists have new dating evidence indicating when the earliest fully modern humans arrived in the Near East, the region known as the Middle East. They have obtained the radiocarbon dates of marine shell beads found at Ksar Akil, a key archaeological site in Lebanon, which allowed them to calculate that the oldest human fossil from the same sequence of archaeological layers is 42,400-41,700 years old. This is significant because the age of the earliest fossils, directly and indirectly dated, of modern humans found in Europe is roughly similar. This latest discovery throws up intriguing new possibilities about the routes taken by the earliest modern humans out of Africa.

Low omega-3 could explain why some children struggle with reading Posted: 13 Sep 2013 06:24 AM PDT A new study has shown that a representative sample of UK schoolchildren aged seven to nine years had low levels of key omega-3 fatty acids in their blood. Furthermore, the study found that children's blood levels of the long-chain omega-3 DHA (the form found in most abundance in the brain) 'significantly predicted' how well they were able to concentrate and learn.

Pinpointing when the First Dynasty of Kings ruled Egypt Posted: 13 Sep 2013 06:16 AM PDT For the first time, a team of scientists and archaeologists has been able to set a robust timeline for the first eight dynastic rulers of Egypt. Until now there have been no verifiable chronological records for this period or the process leading up to the formation of the Egyptian state. The chronology of Early Egypt between 4500 and 2800 BC has been reset by building mathematical models that combine new radiocarbon dates with established archaeological evidence.

New technique in RNA interference cuts time and cost in genetic screens Posted: 13 Sep 2013 06:06 AM PDT There is a new contender in the field of gene discovery, and it's giving knockout mice a run for their money. Researchers have shown that a new technique using RNA interference is able to find genes that cause epidermal tumor growth in months rather than the decades it may take using traditional methods employing specially bred, genetically altered mice.

Carbon farming schemes should consider multiple cobenefits Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:58 AM PDT Carbon farming schemes will have harmful effects, such as impairing ecosystem services, reducing biodiversity, and reducing food supply, unless resulting revegetation decisions take into account the full range of cobenefits and disbenefits expected from various types of planting. In particular, the views of local inhabitants as well as landowners should be considered in order to maximize the probability of long-term success.

Model organism gone wild Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:58 AM PDT Some wild clones of social amoebas farm the bacteria they eat, but this is a losing strategy if nonfarming amoebas can steal the farmers' crops. To make the strategy work, the farmers also carry bacteria that secrete chemicals that poison free riders. The work suggest farming is complex evolutionary adaptation that requires additional strategies, such as recruiting third parties, to effectively defend and privatize the crops.

Molecular mirror images assigned: Safer drugs thanks to a new solution to a 150-year-old chemistry problem? Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:58 AM PDT Just like gloves, molecules come in so-called left-handed and right-handed versions. Until now, however, it could be determined only with great difficulty whether a certain molecule is right-handed or left-handed. Scientists now report a new solution to this 150-year old problem. In medicine, this would be a big step forward because, for example, the unwanted side effects of drugs could be avoided.

Tiny plankton could have big impact on climate: CO2-hungry microbes might short-circuit the marine foodweb Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:57 AM PDT As the climate changes and oceans' acidity increases, tiny plankton seem set to succeed. Marine scientists have found that the smallest plankton groups thrive under elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. This could cause an imbalance in the food web as well as decrease ocean CO2 uptake, an important regulator of global climate.

SARS virus treatments could hold the key for treatment of MERS-CoV outbreak Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:57 AM PDT A new type of coronavirus, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, MERS-CoV, was first found a year ago in a patient who died. It took several months before it was discovered that a new virus had emerged. New cases have been reported from across the Middle Easst and Europe, and approximately 50% of patients have died from it. The new virus is closely related to the SARS coronavirus, and itt is therefore likely that treatments that worked on the SARS corona virus will also work at the MERS corona virus.

Potential new drug target for cystic fibrosis Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:57 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a promising potential drug target for cystic fibrosis. Their work uncovers a large set of genes not previously linked to the disease, demonstrating how a new screening technique can help identify new drug targets.

Electric transport with wind in its sails Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:57 AM PDT Researchers are aiming to remove the electric car market's biggest problem – the fear of not reaching the next charging station. Simpler charging is on its way, and the cost-effectiveness of electric goods vehicles and electric buses is being tested on Norwegian roads.

Using technology to reduce hospital admissions for COPD patients Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:57 AM PDT Patients with COPD can use tablet computers to report their daily condition, allowing hospitals to pick up early symptoms, take action and thereby reduce admissions.

Algae and bacteria in sea ice are important for the carbon budgets of frozen oceans Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:57 AM PDT Underneath the pristine snow cover of the Arctic and Antarctic pack ice, there is a community of microscopic algae and bacteria that thrive within the ice itself. These ice-organisms are adapted to growing on the ice surfaces and within a labyrinth of channels and pores that permeate the ice floes. Their presence may affect how carbon travels to the ocean floor and even the weather.

Toward a truly white organic LED: Physicists develop polymer with tunable colors Posted: 13 Sep 2013 05:54 AM PDT By inserting platinum atoms into an organic semiconductor, physicists were able to "tune" the plastic-like polymer to emit light of different colors – a step toward more efficient, less expensive and truly white organic LEDs for light bulbs of the future.

30 percent lower risk of dying for diabetics with bypass surgery Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:33 PM PDT People with diabetes have a 30 percent less chance of dying if they undergo coronary artery bypass surgery rather than opening the artery through angioplasty and inserting a stent, a new study has found.

Link between rates of gun ownership and homicides Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:33 PM PDT US states with higher estimated rates of gun ownership experience a higher number of firearms-related homicides.

High blood pressure reading in kids linked to triple risk for condition as adults Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:30 PM PDT Kids with at least one high blood pressure reading are about three times more likely to develop the condition as adults.

Toxic methylmercury-producing microbes more widespread than realized Posted: 12 Sep 2013 12:55 PM PDT Microbes that live in rice paddies, northern peat bogs and other previously unexpected environments are among the bacteria that can generate highly toxic methylmercury, researchers have learned.

Structures needed for equitable access to DNA identification after disaster Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:36 AM PDT Ethics, policy and human rights experts argue that international structures are needed to promote more equal access to forensic identification technologies, ensure their fair and efficient use, and provide uniform protections to participants following large-scale conflict and disaster.

Twister history: Model to correct tornado records for better risk assessment Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT In the wake of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma, researchers have developed a new statistical model that will help determine whether the risk of tornadoes is increasing and whether they are getting stronger.

A microbe's trick for staying young Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:20 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a microbe that stays forever young by rejuvenating every time it reproduces.

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