ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

---

• Iron-based process promises greener, cheaper, safer drug, perfume production
• Methylation signaling controls cancer growth
• Study suggests why, in some species, mere presence of males shortens females' lifespan
• Memories 'geotagged' with spatial information
• Quantitative approaches provide new perspective on development of antibiotic resistance
• Researchers find missing component in effort to create primitive, synthetic cells
• Scientists stitch up photosynthetic megacomplex
• High cholesterol fuels growth, spread of breast cancer
• Follow your gut down the aisle, new study says
• Scientists achieve most detailed picture ever of key part of hepatitis C virus
• Fruit flies with better sex lives live longer
• Gene found responsible for susceptibility to panic disorder
• Preventing, remediating degradation of soils in Europe through land care
• Protecting vital crops in China
• Pushing limits of light microscopy
• Scientists seek other scientists for cosmology problem
• The heart's own stem cells play their part in regeneration
• Barcodes for trees: Researchers identify genetic fingerprints of endangered conifers
• Crossing continents — where we drive affects how we drive
• Researchers block replication of AIDS virus
• Mediterranean diet without breakfast best choice for diabetics
• Mobility explains association between social activity, mortality risk in older people
• Eat crow if you think I'm a bird-brain
• Medal model predicts Winter Olympics leaders
• Data mining social media opinions
• Mutations in mantled howler provoked by disturbances in habitat
• New simulatable model displaying exotic quantum phenomena
• Using moving cars to measure rainfall
• EU fishing fleets reap profits while taxpayers foot the bill
• Pre-existing diabetes in pregnancy increases risk of fetal, infant death
• Physicists study coldest objects in universe
• Economic development can only buy happiness up to a 'sweet spot' of $36,000 GDP per person
• Public health data to help fight deadly contagious diseases
• Simulating new treatment for retinal degeneration
• Untreated cancer pain a 'scandal of global proportions,' survey shows
• Are teens under pressure to be sexting?
• Improved safety measures by mental health providers help reduce suicide rates
• Are you carrying adrenal Cushing’s syndrome without knowing it?
• Good news on the Alzheimer's epidemic: Risk for older adults declining

Iron-based process promises greener, cheaper, safer drug, perfume production Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:14 AM PST Researchers have developed a series of techniques to create a variety of very active iron-based catalysts necessary to produce the alcohols and amines used in the drug and perfume industry. The new synthetic methods promise to be safer and more economical and environmentally friendly than traditional industrial processes.

Methylation signaling controls cancer growth Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:14 AM PST A study demonstrates a new mechanism involving a signaling protein and its receptor that may block the formation of new blood vessels and cancer growth.

Study suggests why, in some species, mere presence of males shortens females' lifespan Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:14 AM PST Researchers have discovered that males of the laboratory roundworm secrete signaling molecules that significantly shorten the lifespan of the opposite sex.

Memories 'geotagged' with spatial information Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:14 AM PST Using a video game in which people navigate through a town delivering objects, a team of neuroscientists has discovered how brain cells that encode spatial information form "geotags" for specific memories and are activated immediately before those memories are recalled. Their work shows how spatial information is incorporated into memories and why remembering an experience can bring to mind other events that happened in the same place.

Quantitative approaches provide new perspective on development of antibiotic resistance Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:14 AM PST Using quantitative models of bacterial growth, a team biophysicists has discovered the bizarre way by which antibiotic resistance allows bacteria to multiply in the presence of antibiotics, a growing health problem in hospitals and nursing homes across the United States.

Researchers find missing component in effort to create primitive, synthetic cells Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:14 AM PST A team of investigators working to create "protocells" -- primitive synthetic cells consisting of a nucleic acid strand encased within a membrane-bound compartment -- have found a solution to what could have been a critical problem, the potential incompatibility between a chemical requirement of RNA copying and the stability of the protocell membrane.

Scientists stitch up photosynthetic megacomplex Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST Scientists report on a new technique that allowed them to extract a photosynthetic megacomplex consisting of light antenna and two reaction centers from the membrane of a cynaobacterium. This is the first time an entire complex has been isolated and studied as a functioning whole.

High cholesterol fuels growth, spread of breast cancer Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST A byproduct of cholesterol functions like the hormone estrogen to fuel the growth and spread of the most common types of breast cancers, researchers report.

Follow your gut down the aisle, new study says Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST Although newlyweds may not be completely aware of it, they may know whether their march down the aisle will result in wedded bliss or an unhappy marriage, according to new study.

Scientists achieve most detailed picture ever of key part of hepatitis C virus Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST Scientists have determined the most detailed picture yet of a crucial part of the hepatitis C virus, which the virus uses to infect liver cells. The new data reveal unexpected structural features of this protein.

Fruit flies with better sex lives live longer Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:12 AM PST Sex may in fact be one of the secrets to good health, youth and a longer life – at least for fruit flies – suggests a new study. Sexually frustrated fruit flies in this lab lived shorter lives.

Gene found responsible for susceptibility to panic disorder Posted: 28 Nov 2013 10:39 AM PST A study published points, for the first time, to the gene trkC as a factor in susceptibility to a panic disorder. The researchers define the specific mechanism for the formation of fear memories which will help in the development of new pharmacological and cognitive treatments.

Preventing, remediating degradation of soils in Europe through land care Posted: 28 Nov 2013 10:39 AM PST A new research project focusing on preventing and remediating soil degradation in Europe is underway. The RECARE project is a joint initiative of 27 institutions and organizations in Europe.

Protecting vital crops in China Posted: 28 Nov 2013 10:39 AM PST Evidence of disease in oilseed rape crops across China and how it may spread has been mapped by researchers, providing new strategic information on crop protection to the Chinese government.

Pushing limits of light microscopy Posted: 28 Nov 2013 10:39 AM PST A team of researchers established a new microscopy technique which greatly enhances resolution in the third dimension. In a simple set-up, the scientists used the translation of position information of fluorescent markers into color information. Overcoming the need for scanning the depth of a sample, they were able to generate the precise 3D information at the same speed as it would take to acquire a 2D image.

Scientists seek other scientists for cosmology problem Posted: 28 Nov 2013 09:41 AM PST How do you measure something that is invisible? It's a challenging task, but astronomers have made progress on one front: the study of dark matter and dark energy, two of the most mysterious substances in our cosmos. Dark matter is intermixed with normal matter, but it gives off no light, making it impossible to see. Dark energy is even more slippery, yet scientists think it works against gravity to pull our universe apart at the seams. Now for the third time, an innovative competition has begun again with the goal of finding better tools for probing dark matter and dark energy.

The heart's own stem cells play their part in regeneration Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:39 AM PST Up until a few years ago, the common school of thought held that the mammalian heart had very little regenerative capacity. However, scientists now know that heart muscle cells constantly regenerate, albeit at a very low rate. Sca1 stem cells replace steadily aging heart muscle cells, new research shows.

Barcodes for trees: Researchers identify genetic fingerprints of endangered conifers Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:39 AM PST In the tropics and subtropics, many evergreen conifers are endangered. Biologists have collected the world's largest Podocarpaceae collection. They sequenced characteristic parts of the DNA of these conifers in order to generate a "DNA barcode" for each species. With the help of this genetic fingerprint, unknown individuals can be assigned to the respective Podocarpaceae species, which are often very similar in appearance.

Crossing continents — where we drive affects how we drive Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:39 AM PST According to the International Transport Forum, Malaysia has one of the highest death rates from road traffic accidents in the world. While the number of road deaths continues to rise in Malaysia the number in the United Kingdom is much lower and experiencing a downward trend.

Researchers block replication of AIDS virus Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:39 AM PST A multidisciplinary team of scientists from Spanish universities and research centers has managed to design small synthetic molecules capable of joining to the genetic material of the AIDS virus and blocking its replication.

Mediterranean diet without breakfast best choice for diabetics Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST For patients with diabetes, it is better to eat a single large meal than several smaller meals throughout the day. This is the result of a current dietary study.

Mobility explains association between social activity, mortality risk in older people Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST Social activity and health correlate in old age, but less is known about what explains this association. The results of a study showed that part of the association between social activity and mortality was mediated by mobility among older men and women. Of other potential mediators, having less depressive symptoms and better cognitive functioning are merely prerequisites for social activity.

Eat crow if you think I'm a bird-brain Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST Scientists have long suspected that corvids – the family of birds including ravens, crows and magpies – are highly intelligent. Now, neurobiologists have demonstrated how the brains of crows produce intelligent behavior when the birds have to make strategic decisions.

Medal model predicts Winter Olympics leaders Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST Sochi on the Black Sea coast in Russia will host the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014 which country will win what number of medals is open to debate. A study published suggests that the USA will win the most models followed by Germany and Canada and then Russia, with China arriving ninth.

Data mining social media opinions Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST A European collaboration has analyzed thousands of microblogging updates to help them develop an opinion detector for data mining the social media lode and extracting nuggets of information that could be gold dust for policy makers, marketing departments and others looking for emerging trends and attitudes.

Mutations in mantled howler provoked by disturbances in habitat Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST The disturbances of the habitat could be affecting the populations of the mantled howler, or golden-mantled howling monkey, (Alouatta palliate Mexicana) who in an extreme case could be developing mutations that make them less resistant to diseases and climate events.

New simulatable model displaying exotic quantum phenomena Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST Scientists have developed a new model for realizing the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect in lattice systems.

Using moving cars to measure rainfall Posted: 28 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST Drivers on a rainy day regulate the speed of their windshield wipers according to rain intensity: faster in heavy rain and slower in light rain. This simple observation has inspired researchers to come up with 'RainCars', an initiative that aims to use GPS-equipped moving cars as devices to measure rainfall.

EU fishing fleets reap profits while taxpayers foot the bill Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:54 PM PST The European Union's taxpayers are paving the way for fishing fleets to reel in valuable catch in developing countries while fishing companies pocket the profits, according to researchers.

Pre-existing diabetes in pregnancy increases risk of fetal, infant death Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:54 PM PST New research shows that pre-existing diabetes in pregnant women greatly increases the risk of death of their unborn fetus by around 4.5 times compared with pregnant women without diabetes, and also almost doubles the risk of death of infants after birth.

Physicists study coldest objects in universe Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:54 PM PST In a new study, a group of researchers has come up with a new way of measuring BECs by using a filter to cancel out the damage caused by the streams of light that are typically used to measure them. Some of these BECs are the coldest objects in the universe, and are so fragile that even a single photon can heat and destroy them.

Economic development can only buy happiness up to a 'sweet spot' of $36,000 GDP per person Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:54 PM PST Economists have shed light on the vexed question of whether economic development can buy happiness -- and it seems that life satisfaction actually dips among people living in the wealthiest countries.

Public health data to help fight deadly contagious diseases Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:54 PM PST In an unprecedented windfall for public access to health data, researchers have digitized all weekly surveillance reports for reportable diseases in the US going back 125 years. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the project's goal is to aid in the eradication of devastating diseases.

Simulating new treatment for retinal degeneration Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:53 PM PST For a few years, optogenetics has been seen as a very promising therapy for progressive blindness, for example when it is a result of retinal degeneration. In order to further develop this therapeutic approach, researchers have developed a computer model that simulates optogenetic vision.

Untreated cancer pain a 'scandal of global proportions,' survey shows Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:53 PM PST A new global study reveals a pandemic of intolerable pain affecting billions, caused by over-regulation of pain medicines.

Are teens under pressure to be sexting? Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:53 PM PST New research studying the pressures of sexting on adolescents has found that friends and romantic partners are the main source of social pressure, outweighing adolescents' own attitudes. This research examines the principal drivers of sexting, and suggests areas for educators to focus upon in order to highlight the potential risks involved in sexting.

Improved safety measures by mental health providers help reduce suicide rates Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:53 PM PST Mental health service providers looking after patients at risk of suicide need to reduce absconding on in-patient wards and boost specialist community services like crisis resolution to reduce deaths, a report shows. Improved treatments are also needed for patients who have mental health illness and drug or alcohol misuse (dual diagnosis) as well as for those with depression.

Are you carrying adrenal Cushing’s syndrome without knowing it? Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:53 PM PST Genetic research suggests that clinicians' understanding and treatment of a form of Cushing's syndrome affecting both adrenal glands will be fundamentally changed, and that moreover, it might be appropriate to begin screening for the genetic mutations that cause this form of the disease.

Good news on the Alzheimer's epidemic: Risk for older adults declining Posted: 27 Nov 2013 07:53 PM PST Improvements in education levels, health care and lifestyle credited for decline in dementia risk.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Latest Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610