ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Laser instrument on NASA Mars rover tops 100,000 zaps
• Reducing salt is bad for glacial health, NASA finds
• History of American urban squirrel
• Frequent cell phone use linked to anxiety, lower grade, reduced happiness in students
• Counting the cost of infertility treatment
• Growing giants: Huge grains of copper promote better graphene growth
• Study finds parental stress linked to obesity in children
• Enzalutamide in prostate cancer: Hints of added benefit
• Scientists discover novel hormone essential for heart development
• Surprising discovery: Skin communicates with liver
• Promising results for Swedish cancer drug candidate
• Study delivers protein across blood-brain barrier to degrade Alzheimer's plaques
• Water pollution in Mozambique
• Squeezing transistors really hard generates energy savings
• Human stem cells predict efficacy of Alzheimer drugs
• Three-dimensional view helps laser in building new molecules
• Intricacy of Comet Lovejoy's tail captured
• Trucks a significant cause of severe accidents, study finds
• Predictor of prostate cancer outcomes identified
• Drug induces morphologic, molecular, clinical remissions in myelofibrosis
• Electrical brain stimulation may evoke a person's 'will to persevere'
• Scientists accelerate aging in stem cells to study age-related diseases like Parkinson's
• More logging, deforestation may better serve climate in some areas
• Researchers uncover why combination drug treatment ineffective in cancer clinical trials
• Interns should be more aware of their rights, according to a new guide
• Liver transplant survival rates lower in black than white pediatric patients
• Preference for oranges protects fruit flies from parasites
• Traumatic brain injury rehab outcomes studied
• Activating pathway could restart hair growth in dormant hair follicles
• Criteria shows one year death risk at time of hospital admission
• Cancer mutation likely trigger of scleroderma
• Emerging bird flu strain poorly adapted for infecting humans

Laser instrument on NASA Mars rover tops 100,000 zaps Posted: 06 Dec 2013 11:42 AM PST NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has passed the milestone of 100,000 shots fired by its laser. It uses the laser as one way to check which chemical elements are in rocks and soils.

Reducing salt is bad for glacial health, NASA finds Posted: 06 Dec 2013 11:36 AM PST A new NASA-led study has discovered an intriguing link between sea ice conditions and the melting rate of Totten Glacier, the glacier in East Antarctica that discharges the most ice into the ocean. The discovery, involving cold, extra salty water -- brine -- that forms within openings in sea ice, adds to our understanding of how ice sheets interact with the ocean, and may improve our ability to forecast and prepare for future sea level rise.

History of American urban squirrel Posted: 06 Dec 2013 10:24 AM PST A researcher has examined how squirrels found homes in American cities, and how the presence of the now-ubiquitous bushy-tailed critters altered people's conceptions of nature and community.

Frequent cell phone use linked to anxiety, lower grade, reduced happiness in students Posted: 06 Dec 2013 09:44 AM PST Results of the analysis showed that cell phone use by college students was negatively related to GPA and positively related to anxiety. Following this, GPA was positively related to happiness while anxiety was negatively related to happiness. Thus, for the population studied, high frequency cell phone users tended to have lower GPA, higher anxiety, and lower satisfaction with life (happiness) relative to their peers who used the cell phone less often.

Counting the cost of infertility treatment Posted: 06 Dec 2013 09:43 AM PST From drug therapy to IVF, out-of pocket costs can range from $900 to $19,000 per treatment cycle, report researchers.

Growing giants: Huge grains of copper promote better graphene growth Posted: 06 Dec 2013 08:17 AM PST To technology insiders, graphene is a certified big deal. The one-atom thick carbon-based material elicits rhapsodic descriptions as the strongest, thinnest material known. It also is light, flexible, and able to conduct electricity as well as copper. Graphene-based electronics promise advances such as faster internet speeds, cheaper solar cells, novel sensors, space suits spun from graphene yarn, and more. Now a research team may help bring graphene's promise closer to reality.

Study finds parental stress linked to obesity in children Posted: 06 Dec 2013 08:17 AM PST Parental stress is linked to weight gain in children, according to a new study.

Enzalutamide in prostate cancer: Hints of added benefit Posted: 06 Dec 2013 08:17 AM PST Enzalutamide can prolong survival in certain patients with prostate cancer, and delay occurrence of bone lesions. The new drug also offers advantages with regards to pain.

Scientists discover novel hormone essential for heart development Posted: 06 Dec 2013 07:16 AM PST Scientists have identified a gene encoding a hormone that could potentially be used as a therapeutic molecule to treat heart diseases. The hormone -- which they have chosen to name ELABELA -- is only 32 amino-acids long, making it amongst the tiniest proteins made by the human body.

Surprising discovery: Skin communicates with liver Posted: 06 Dec 2013 07:16 AM PST Researchers have discovered that the skin is capable of communicating with the liver. The discovery has surprised the scientists, and they say that it may help our understanding of how skin diseases can affect the rest of the body.

Promising results for Swedish cancer drug candidate Posted: 06 Dec 2013 07:16 AM PST A new study presents very promising results for the treatment of the cancer form multiple myeloma. The findings are so promising that the scientists are teaming up with Harvard to bring the drug to clinical trials on patients.

Study delivers protein across blood-brain barrier to degrade Alzheimer's plaques Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST Biologists substantially degraded Alzheimer's plaques in mice brains and human brain tissue by sending a fused protein across the blood-brain barrier. Their technique not only offers a potential strategy for treating the debilitating neurological disease, but also other diseases that affect the brain and eyes.

Water pollution in Mozambique Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST A PdD student has studied the incidence of cyanobacteria and the production of microcystins (toxic peptides) in three different drinking water systems in Mozambique and established methods for monitoring cyanotoxins in watercourses.

Squeezing transistors really hard generates energy savings Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST If silicon is squeezed, this affects the freedom of movement of the electrons in this material. This can promote or restrict the flow of electrical current. Compare it to a garden hose. When you stand on it, less water comes out. But strangely enough, the flow of electrons in silicon actually increases when the material is compressed.

Human stem cells predict efficacy of Alzheimer drugs Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:11 AM PST Why do certain Alzheimer medications work in animal models but not in clinical trials in humans? A research team has been able to show that results of established test methods with animal models and cell lines used up until now can hardly be translated to the processes in the human brain. Drug testing should therefore be conducted with human nerve cells, conclude the scientists.

Three-dimensional view helps laser in building new molecules Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:10 AM PST Scientists have developed a new feedback method for optimizing the laser pulse shapes used in the control of chemical reactions.

Intricacy of Comet Lovejoy's tail captured Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:09 AM PST An international team of astronomers has captured an image of the intricate flow of Comet Lovejoy's ion tail.

Trucks a significant cause of severe accidents, study finds Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:00 PM PST Trucks are responsible for 4,500 deaths per year in the United States. Truck crashes also cause huge losses in productivity, property and personal injury. New research just published details how trucks account for 8% of US highway traffic, yet are involved in 11% of fatal road crashes.

Predictor of prostate cancer outcomes identified Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:18 PM PST Researchers have identified a biomarker for a cellular switch that accurately predicts which prostate cancer patients are likely to have their cancer recur or spread.

Drug induces morphologic, molecular, clinical remissions in myelofibrosis Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:58 PM PST Imetelstat, a novel telomerase inhibiting drug, has been found to induce morphologic, molecular and clinical remissions in some patients with myelofibrosis a study has found.

Electrical brain stimulation may evoke a person's 'will to persevere' Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:18 AM PST What gives some people the ability to persevere through difficult situations that others may find insurmountable? The answer is no doubt a complicated one that may be beyond our full understanding, but new research provides some intriguing insights. The study pinpoints a region of the brain that, when stimulated, causes an individual to anticipate a challenge and possess a strong motivation to overcome it.

Scientists accelerate aging in stem cells to study age-related diseases like Parkinson's Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:16 AM PST A study has revealed a new method for converting induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into nerve cells that recapitulate features associated with aging as well as Parkinson's disease. The simple approach, which involves exposing iPSC-derived cells to a protein associated with premature aging called progerin, could enable scientists to use stem cells to model a range of late-onset disorders, opening new avenues for preventing and treating these devastating diseases.

More logging, deforestation may better serve climate in some areas Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:16 AM PST Replacing forests with snow-covered meadows may provide greater climatic and economic benefits than if trees are left standing in some regions, according to a study that for the first time puts a dollar value on snow's ability to reflect the sun's energy.

Researchers uncover why combination drug treatment ineffective in cancer clinical trials Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:16 AM PST Medical researchers have discovered that combination drug therapy didn't work well in clinical trials for cancer patients because one drug was making the other drug ineffective.

Interns should be more aware of their rights, according to a new guide Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:15 AM PST A series of guidelines hopes to shed light on the rights of employers who take on interns.

Liver transplant survival rates lower in black than white pediatric patients Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:15 AM PST Novel research reveals racial and socioeconomic disparities among pediatric liver transplant patients. Findings indicate that graft and patient survival was higher in white children than minorities. Studies show that over the last 30 years pediatric patient survival, at one year following liver transplant, is 90% compared to 70% prior to 1980. Experts suggest that as survival rates improve, understanding racial and socioeconomic differences in pediatric populations are important factors to consider.

Preference for oranges protects fruit flies from parasites Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:15 AM PST One single odorant receptor controls choice of citrus fruits as egg-laying substrate in Drosophila.

Traumatic brain injury rehab outcomes studied Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:14 AM PST For patients recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the rehabilitation process – compensating for changes in functioning, adaptation and even community reintegration – can be challenging. Unfortunately, not all rehab programs are created equal, and with the differences comes a difference in outcomes, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

Activating pathway could restart hair growth in dormant hair follicles Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:14 AM PST A new study identifies a molecular pathway that can be activated to prompt hair growth of dormant hair follicles, or blocked to prevent growth of unwanted hair.

Criteria shows one year death risk at time of hospital admission Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:13 AM PST A new tool allows doctors to recognize patients at highest mortality risk, matching treatments to values and health goals.

Cancer mutation likely trigger of scleroderma Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:13 AM PST Scientists have found evidence that cancer triggers the autoimmune disease scleroderma, which causes thickening and hardening of the skin and widespread organ damage.

Emerging bird flu strain poorly adapted for infecting humans Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:13 AM PST Avian influenza virus H7N9, which killed several dozen people in China earlier this year, has not yet acquired the changes needed to infect humans easily, according to a new study by scientists.

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