ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Evidence of Viking/Norse metalworking in Arctic Canada
• Reshaping the horse through millennia
• Massive study provides first detailed look at how Greenland's ice is vanishing
• New algorithm a Christmas gift to 3-D printing, and the environment
• Far from powerless: Ant larvae cannibalize eggs, are influenced by relatedness, sex
• Patients don't understand risks of unnecessary antibiotics, study shows
• Two drugs before surgery help women with triple-negative breast cancer, research shows
• Hazy road to Mecca
• Proteins drive cancer cells to change states
• Virtual bodyswapping diminishes people's negative biases about others
• Lead islands in a sea of graphene magnetize the material of the future
• Therapeutic strategy may treat childhood neurological disorder
• Linguistic methods uncover sophisticated meanings, monkey dialects
• Squid supplies blueprint for printable thermoplastics
• If cells can't move, cancer can't grow
• Occasional heroin use may worsen HIV infection
• Stunning zinc fireworks when egg meets sperm
• Climate policy pledges are an important step forward but fall short of 2°C
• Neuronal circuits filter out distractions in brain
• Promising new method for rapidly screening cancer drugs
• Algorithm identifies networks of genetic changes across cancers
• Scientists observe the Earth grow a new layer under an Icelandic volcano
• Migrating 'supraglacial' lakes could trigger future Greenland ice loss
• Climate change could leave cities more in the dark
• War metaphors for cancer hurt certain prevention behaviors
• Discovery may hold clues to treatments that slow aging, prevent age-related chronic disease
• Molecular 'hats' allow in vivo activation of disguised signaling peptides
• Past global warming similar to today's: Size, duration were like modern climate shift, but in two pulses
• 2011 Japan earthquake: Fault had been relieving stress at accelerating rate for years
• Attitudes to climate change depend on people's sense of belonging to the planet
• Neurons listen to glia cells
• Scientists' unique system of oral vaccine delivery to address global health threats
• Do you speak cow? Researchers listen in on 'conversations' between calves and their mothers
• Show us how you play and it may tell us who you are
• Fraud-proof credit cards possible with quantum physics
• Nuclear should be in the energy mix for biodiversity
• Signaling mechanism could be target for survival, growth of tumor cells in brain cancer
• Cell biologists discover on-off switch for key stem cell gene
• Baby cells learn to communicate using the lsd1 gene
• 'Genome editing' could correct genetic mutations for future generations
• People with low numeracy feel negative about taking part in bowel cancer screening
• Teen use of e-cigarettes growing; Hawaii use rates higher than in mainland
• A two-minute delay in cutting the umbilical cord leads to a better developent of newborns during their first days of life
• New floor covering can lead to breathing problems in babies
• Barbary macaques form male bonds, study reveals
• Skipping meals increases children's obesity, cardio metabolic risk
• Stretched-out solid exoplanets
• Hox cluster found in Crown of Thorns starfish a surprise
• Simple Steps Can Safeguard Against Ebola Transmission through Organ Donation
• Control of shape of light particles opens the way to 'quantum internet'
• Immune cells in brain respond to fat in diet, causing mice to eat

Evidence of Viking/Norse metalworking in Arctic Canada Posted: 15 Dec 2014 12:48 PM PST A small stone container found by archaeologists a half-century ago has now been recognized as further evidence of a Viking or Medieval Norse presence in Arctic Canada during the centuries around 1000 A.D.

Reshaping the horse through millennia Posted: 15 Dec 2014 12:46 PM PST Whole genome sequencing of modern and ancient horses unveils the genes that have been selected by humans in the process of domestication through the last 5,500 years, but also reveals the cost of this domestication. An international research group reports that a significant part of the genetic variation in modern domesticated horses could be attributed to interbreeding with the descendants of a now extinct population of wild horses. This population was distinct from the only surviving wild horse population.

Massive study provides first detailed look at how Greenland's ice is vanishing Posted: 15 Dec 2014 12:45 PM PST Scientists used NASA satellite and aerial data to reconstruct how the ice sheet changed at nearly 100,000 locations over many years.

New algorithm a Christmas gift to 3-D printing, and the environment Posted: 15 Dec 2014 11:09 AM PST A computer science professor reveals how to print a 3-D Christmas tree efficiently and with zero material waste, using the world's first algorithm for automatically decomposing a 3-D object into what are called pyramidal parts.

Far from powerless: Ant larvae cannibalize eggs, are influenced by relatedness, sex Posted: 15 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST By exploring the evolutionary causes and consequences of selfish larvae behavior, a new study sheds new light on the evolutionary constraints of competition in social insect colonies, and demonstrates how in complex societies, even the youngest individuals are potential players in social conflict.

Patients don't understand risks of unnecessary antibiotics, study shows Posted: 15 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST Communication material is not effective in educating patients on proper antibiotic use, a new study has found. Over prescription of antibiotics is a major factor driving one of the biggest public health concerns today: antibiotic resistance. In a first-of-its-kind study, the research suggests that public health educational materials may not address the misconceptions that shape why patients expect antibiotics, driving doctors to prescribe them more.

Two drugs before surgery help women with triple-negative breast cancer, research shows Posted: 15 Dec 2014 11:08 AM PST A breast cancer specialist and clinical researcher shows that adding either the chemotherapy drug carboplatin or the blood vessel-targeting drug bevacizumab to the standard treatment of chemotherapy before surgery helped women who have the basal-like subtype of triple-negative breast cancer.

Hazy road to Mecca Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:30 AM PST Dangerously high levels of air pollutants are being released in Mecca during the hajj, the annual holy pilgrimage in which millions of Muslims on foot and in vehicles converge on the Saudi Arabian city, according to new findings.

Proteins drive cancer cells to change states Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:30 AM PST A family of RNA-binding proteins has been implicated in the regulation of cancer, particularly in a subtype of breast cancer, researchers report. These proteins, known as Musashi proteins, can force cells into a state associated with increased proliferation.

Virtual bodyswapping diminishes people's negative biases about others Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:30 AM PST Researchers explain how they have used the brain's ability to bring together information from different senses to make white people feel that they were inhabiting black bodies and adults feel like they had children's bodies. The results of such virtual bodyswapping experiments are remarkable and have important implications for approaching phenomena such as race and gender discrimination.

Lead islands in a sea of graphene magnetize the material of the future Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:29 AM PST Researchers have discovered that if lead atoms are intercalated on a graphene sheet, a powerful magnetic field is generated by the interaction of the electrons' spin with their orbital movement. This property could have implications in spintronics, an emerging technology to create advanced computational systems. Graphene is considered the material of the future due to its extraordinary optical and electronic mechanical properties, especially because it conducts electrons very quickly. However, it does not have magnetic properties, and thus no method has been found to manipulate these electrons or any of their properties to use it in new magnetoelectronic devices.

Therapeutic strategy may treat childhood neurological disorder Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:29 AM PST A possible therapy to treat neurofibromatosis type 1 or NF1, a childhood neurological disease characterized by learning deficits and autism, has been discovered by scientists. "Children with neurofibromatosis have a high incidence of intellectual deficits and autism, syndromes that have been linked to the cerebellum and cortex," said the lead investigator. "Our findings in these mouse models suggest that despite embryonic loss of the gene, therapies after birth may be able to reverse some aspects of the disease."

Linguistic methods uncover sophisticated meanings, monkey dialects Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:48 AM PST The same species of monkeys located in separate geographic regions use their alarm calls differently to warn of approaching predators, a linguistic analysis by a team of scientists reveals. The study reveals that monkey calls have a more sophisticated structure than was commonly thought.

Squid supplies blueprint for printable thermoplastics Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:45 AM PST Squid, what is it good for? You can eat it and you can make ink or dye from it, and now a team of researchers is using it to make a thermoplastic that can be used in 3-D printing.

If cells can't move, cancer can't grow Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:45 AM PST By blocking a widespread enzyme, researchers have shown they can slow down the movement of cells and potentially stop tumors from spreading and growing.

Occasional heroin use may worsen HIV infection Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:45 AM PST Occasional heroin use by HIV-positive patients may be particularly harmful to the immune system and worsens HIV disease, compared to persistent or no heroin use, an international team of researchers reports.

Stunning zinc fireworks when egg meets sperm Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:45 AM PST Sparks literally fly when a sperm and an egg hit it off. The fertilized mammalian egg releases from its surface billions of zinc atoms in 'zinc sparks,' one wave after another, scientists have found. Using cutting-edge technology they developed, the researchers are the first to capture images of these molecular fireworks and pinpoint the zinc sparks' origin: tiny zinc-rich packages just below the egg's surface. The findings should be useful in improving in vitro fertilization methods.

Climate policy pledges are an important step forward but fall short of 2°C Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST Pledges to reduce emissions in China, Europe and the US provide an important step forward for climate change action, but a more comprehensive effort is needed to stabilize the climate below critical thresholds. Climate finance can cover investment gaps and alleviate distributional tensions, a new study shows. The study looks into several key negotiation issues on the road from the climate summit in Lima to the one in Paris 2015.

Neuronal circuits filter out distractions in brain Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST Scientists have hypothesized for decades about how the brain filters out distractions, but it has been challenging to find evidence to support the theories. Now, researchers have identified a neural circuit in the mouse brain that controls attention and sensory processing, providing insight into how the brain filters out distractions. The work has implications for devastating psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia that are characterized at least in part by significant attention deficits.

Promising new method for rapidly screening cancer drugs Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST Traditional genomic, proteomic and other screening methods currently used to characterize drug mechanisms are time-consuming and require special equipment, but now researchers offer a multi-channel sensor method using gold nanoparticles that can accurately profile various anti-cancer drugs and their mechanisms in minutes.

Algorithm identifies networks of genetic changes across cancers Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST Using a computer algorithm that can sift through mounds of genetic data, researchers have identified several networks of genes that, when hit by a mutation, could play a role in the development of multiple types of cancer. The researchers hope the new genetic insights might aid in the development of new drugs and treatment approaches for cancer.

Scientists observe the Earth grow a new layer under an Icelandic volcano Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:41 AM PST New research into an Icelandic eruption has shed light on how the Earth's crust forms, according to a new article.

Migrating 'supraglacial' lakes could trigger future Greenland ice loss Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:40 AM PST Predictions of Greenland ice loss and its impact on rising sea levels may have been greatly underestimated. Supraglacial lakes are darker than ice, so they absorb more of the Sun's heat, which leads to increased melting. When the lakes reach a critical size, they drain through ice fractures, allowing water to reach the ice sheet base which causes it to slide more quickly into the oceans. These changes can also trigger further melting.

Climate change could leave cities more in the dark Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:39 AM PST Cities like Miami are all too familiar with hurricane-related power outages. But a new analysis finds climate change will give other major metro areas a lot to worry about in future storms.

War metaphors for cancer hurt certain prevention behaviors Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:39 AM PST It's not unusual for people to use war metaphors such as "fight" and "battle" when trying to motivate patients with cancer. "Hearing metaphoric utterances is enough to change the way we think about a concept," said the study's lead investigator. "When we hear the phrase 'win the battle against cancer,' it forces us to think of cancer as if it's an enemy that we are at war with."

Discovery may hold clues to treatments that slow aging, prevent age-related chronic disease Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:39 AM PST A microscopic worm (C. elegans) has been used to identify a new path that could lead to drugs to slow aging and the chronic diseases that often accompany it—and might even lead to better cosmetics.

Molecular 'hats' allow in vivo activation of disguised signaling peptides Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:39 AM PST When someone you know is wearing an unfamiliar hat, you might not recognize them. Researchers are using just such a disguise to sneak biomaterials containing peptide signaling molecules into living animals.

Past global warming similar to today's: Size, duration were like modern climate shift, but in two pulses Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:39 AM PST The rate at which carbon emissions warmed Earth's climate almost 56 million years ago resembles modern, human-caused global warming much more than previously believed, but involved two pulses of carbon to the atmosphere, researchers have found.

2011 Japan earthquake: Fault had been relieving stress at accelerating rate for years Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:17 AM PST Scientists have found evidence that sections of the fault responsible for the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake that devastated northern Japan in 2011 were relieving seismic stress at a gradually accelerating rate for years before the quake.

Attitudes to climate change depend on people's sense of belonging to the planet Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:16 AM PST People who have a stronger sense of place at the global than the national level are more likely to accept that climate change is caused by human activities. research has demonstrated.

Neurons listen to glia cells Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:16 AM PST A new signal pathway in the brain has been discovered that plays an important role in learning and the processing of sensory input. It was already known that distinct glial cells receive information from neurons. However, it was unknown that these same glial cells also transmit information to neurons.

Scientists' unique system of oral vaccine delivery to address global health threats Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:16 AM PST Scientists have succeeded in describing and validating a unique system of oral vaccine delivery using a common bacteria found in the mouth. According to the World Health Organization, nine million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2013, the latest year in which data is available, and 1.5 million people died from the disease. It is second only to HIV/AIDS in prevalence.

Do you speak cow? Researchers listen in on 'conversations' between calves and their mothers Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:16 AM PST Researchers have been eavesdropping on 'conversations' between calves and their mothers — measuring the process of how cows communicate using detailed acoustic analysis for the first time.

Show us how you play and it may tell us who you are Posted: 15 Dec 2014 06:43 AM PST The way in which toys are handled and combined with one another during object play can tell use a lot about the cognitive underpinnings of the actors. An international team of scientists studied parrot species, as well as crow species, with the same set of toys and found out that the birds willingly brought objects into complex spatial relationships: behaviors that occur in only a few species of primates.

Fraud-proof credit cards possible with quantum physics Posted: 15 Dec 2014 06:43 AM PST Though corporations and individuals work to improve safeguards, it has become increasingly difficult to protect financial data and personal information from criminal activity. Fortunately, new insights into quantum physics may soon offer a solution.

Nuclear should be in the energy mix for biodiversity Posted: 15 Dec 2014 06:41 AM PST Leading conservation scientists from around the world have called for a substantial role for nuclear power in future energy-generating scenarios in order to mitigate climate change and protect biodiversity.

Signaling mechanism could be target for survival, growth of tumor cells in brain cancer Posted: 15 Dec 2014 06:41 AM PST Neurology researchers have identified an important cell signaling mechanism that plays an important role in brain cancer and may provide a new therapeutic target. The researchers found that this mechanism -- a type of signaling termed constitutive or non-canonical epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling -- is highly active in glioblastomas, the most common type of adult brain cancer and a devastating disease with a poor prognosis.

Cell biologists discover on-off switch for key stem cell gene Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:49 AM PST A new study by cell and systems biologists investigating stem cells in mice shows, for the first time, a relationship between the Sox2 gene which is critical for early development, and a region elsewhere on the genome that effectively regulates its activity. The discovery could mean a significant advance in the emerging field of human regenerative medicine, as the Sox2 gene is essential for maintaining embryonic stem cells that can develop into any cell type of a mature animal.

Baby cells learn to communicate using the lsd1 gene Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:49 AM PST Infant cells have to go through a developmental process that involves specific genes before they can take part in the group interactions that underlie normal cellular development and keep our tissues functioning smoothly, research shows. The existence of a childhood state where cells cannot communicate fully has potentially important implications for our understanding of how gene activity on chromosomes changes both during normal development and in cancerous cells.

'Genome editing' could correct genetic mutations for future generations Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:49 AM PST A technique for 'editing' the genome in sperm-producing adult stem cells has been demonstrated by researchers, a result with powerful potential for basic research and for gene therapy. The study involved spermatogonial stem cells, which are the foundation for the production of sperm and are the only adult stem cells that contribute genetic information to the next generation. Repairing flaws in the cells could thus prevent mutations from being passed to future generations, researchers say.

People with low numeracy feel negative about taking part in bowel cancer screening Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:49 AM PST People who have problems with numbers may be more likely to feel negative about bowel cancer screening. Those with low numeracy skills were more likely to have a defensive attitude to cancer information, researchers say, such as saying they did not need screening because their bowel movements were regular, they ate healthily, or their GP had not told them that the test was important.

Teen use of e-cigarettes growing; Hawaii use rates higher than in mainland Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:49 AM PST E-cigarette use among teenagers is growing in the US, and Hawaii teens take up e-cigarette use at higher rates than their mainland counterparts, a new study has found. The findings come as e-cigarettes grow in popularity and the Food and Drug Administration is considering how to regulate their sale. Some public health officials are concerned that e-cigarettes may be recruiting a new generation of young cigarette smokers who otherwise might not take up smoking at all, and the study's results bolster this position.

A two-minute delay in cutting the umbilical cord leads to a better developent of newborns during their first days of life Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:46 AM PST Delaying the cutting of the umbilical cord in newborns by two minutes leads to a better development of the baby during the first days of life, research shows. The study reveals that the time in cutting the umbilical cord (also called umbilical cord clampling) influences the resistance to oxidative stress in newborns.

New floor covering can lead to breathing problems in babies Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:44 AM PST New flooring in the living environment of pregnant women significantly increases the risk of infants to suffer from respiratory diseases in their first year of life. This is the result of a study that demonstrates that exposure to volatile organic compounds in the months before and after birth induces breathing problems in early childhood. The scientists therefore recommend that redecoration should be avoided during pregnancy or in the first year of children's life.

Barbary macaques form male bonds, study reveals Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:44 AM PST Male Barbary macaques form social bonds similar to human friendships to protect against disease and death, an international study has revealed. This study shows that changes in everyday stressors such as the amount of aggression received or cold weather can cause long-term elevated glucocorticoid levels in wild male Barbary macaques, but keeping a few close male associates will avoid that.

Skipping meals increases children's obesity, cardio metabolic risk Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:44 AM PST Children who skip main meals are more likely to have excess body fat and an increased cardiometabolic risk already at the age of 6 to 8 years, according to a study. A higher consumption of sugary drinks, red meat and low-fat margarine and a lower consumption of vegetable oil are also related to a higher cardiometabolic risk. "The more of these factors are present, the higher the risk," says a researcher.

Stretched-out solid exoplanets Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:44 AM PST Astronomers could soon be able to find rocky planets stretched out by the gravity of the stars they orbit. Since the first discovery in 1993, more than 1800 planets have been found in orbit around stars other than our Sun. These 'exoplanets' are incredibly diverse, with some gaseous like Jupiter and some mostly rocky like the Earth. The worlds also orbit their stars at very different distances, from less than a million km to nearly 100 billion km away.

Hox cluster found in Crown of Thorns starfish a surprise Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:44 AM PST New research reports an intact Hox cluster in the Crown of Thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci. This surprising result contrasts with the relatively disorganized Hox cluster found in sea urchins, which are also echinoderms, classification of animals including starfish, sea lilies, and sea cucumbers. "The translocation of the Hox cluster in echinoderms has been a major red herring for understanding their evolution. It's really good to have some hard data showing that some echinoderms exhibit some oddities that are not representative of all echinoderms," says one expert.

Simple Steps Can Safeguard Against Ebola Transmission through Organ Donation Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:44 AM PST While serious infections can be transmitted from donated organs, the risk of passing Ebola virus disease from an organ donor to a recipient is extremely small. Experts explain how simple assessments of donors can help ensure that the organ supply is safe, while having little impact on the donor pool.

Control of shape of light particles opens the way to 'quantum internet' Posted: 15 Dec 2014 05:44 AM PST In the same way as we now connect computers in networks through optical signals, it could also be possible to connect future quantum computers in a 'quantum internet'. The optical signals would then consist of individual light particles or photons. One prerequisite for a working quantum internet is control of the shape of these photons. Researchers have now succeeded for the first time in getting this control within the required short time.

Immune cells in brain respond to fat in diet, causing mice to eat Posted: 12 Dec 2014 04:02 PM PST Immune cells perform a previously unsuspected role in the brain that may contribute to obesity, according to a new study. When researchers fed mice a diet high in saturated milk fats, microglia, a type of immune cell, underwent a population explosion in the brain region called the hypothalamus, which is responsible for feeding behavior, they report.

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