ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Overweight teens lose weight for the right reasons, study shows
• Way to control internal clocks discovered
• Molecular mechanism behind health benefits of dietary restriction identified
• That smartphone is giving your thumbs superpowers
• Mechanics of cells' long-range communication modeled by researchers
• Bacteria could be rich source for making terpenes
• Armed virus shows promise as treatment for pancreatic cancer
• Nano Filter cleans dirty industry
• Hunt for Big Bang particles offering clues to the origin of the universe
• Breakthrough in Predictions of Pressure-Dependent Combustion Chemical Reactions
• Stress May Increase Desire for Reward but Not Pleasure, Research Finds
• Using targeted brain stimulation to change attention patterns for anxious individuals
• Oldest stone tool ever found in Turkey discovered
• In search of the origin of our brain
• Test predicts response to treatment for complication of leukemia stem cell treatment
• Trial confirms Ebola vaccine candidate safe, equally immunogenic in Africa
• Weight training appears key to controlling belly fat
• Genes show the way to better treatment of hepatitis A
• Newly discovered assassin bug was incognito, but now it's incognita
• Gecko grippers get a microgravity test flight
• Sun sizzles in high-energy X-rays
• Graphene 'cut and paste' with microwaves
• War veterans: Researchers point to impact of combined brain injury, PTSD
• Modern genetics confirm ancient relationship between fins and hands
• Cells 'feel' their surroundings using finger-like structures
• Tales from a Martian rock: New chemical analysis of ancient Martian meteorite provides clues to planet's history of habitability
• Hunter-gatherer past shows our fragile bones result from inactivity since invention of farming
• Universality of charge order in cuprate superconductors
• Piezoelectricity in a 2-D semiconductor: Piezoelectricity in molybdenum disulfide holds promise for future MEMS
• Light-emitting e-readers before bedtime can adversely impact sleep
• Ultrasounds dance the 'moonwalk' in new metamaterial
• Over two hundred interesting new species in 2014

Overweight teens lose weight for the right reasons, study shows Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST A new study looked at formerly obese or overweight teens who had lost weight and kept it off. Their motives were more intrinisic, such as being healthy and feeling good. Parents can help by being supportive during major life transitions, the researchers say.

Way to control internal clocks discovered Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST Researchers hypothesize that targeting components of the mammalian clock with small molecules like REV-ERB drugs may lead to new treatments for sleep disorders and anxiety disorders. It also is possible that REV-ERB drugs may be leveraged to help in the treatment of addiction.

Molecular mechanism behind health benefits of dietary restriction identified Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST A key molecular mechanism behind the health benefits of dietary restriction has been identified by researchers. Also known as calorie restriction, dietary restriction is best known for its ability to slow aging in laboratory animals. The findings here show that restricting two amino acids, methionine and cysteine, results in increased hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production and protection against ischemia reperfusion injury, damage to tissue that occurs following the interruption of blood flow as during organ transplantation and stroke.

That smartphone is giving your thumbs superpowers Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST When people spend time interacting with their smartphones via touchscreen, it actually changes the way their thumbs and brains work together, according to a new report. More touchscreen use in the recent past translates directly into greater brain activity when the thumbs and other fingertips are touched, the study shows.

Mechanics of cells' long-range communication modeled by researchers Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:42 AM PST Interdisciplinary research is showing how cells interact over long distances within fibrous tissue, like that associated with many diseases of the liver, lungs and other organs. By developing mathematical models of how the collagen matrix that connects cells in tissue stiffens, the researchers are providing insights into the pathology of fibrosis, cirrhosis of the liver and certain cancers.

Bacteria could be rich source for making terpenes Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:40 AM PST Bacteria could be a rich source of terpenes, the natural compounds common in plants and fungi that are used to make drugs, food additives, perfumes, and other products, a new study suggests. The work also suggests that there may be many new terpene products as yet undiscovered hiding in the genomes of bacteria.

Armed virus shows promise as treatment for pancreatic cancer Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:40 AM PST A new combination of two different approaches -- virotherapy and immunotherapy -- is showing 'great promise' as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, according to new research. The study investigated whether the effectiveness of the Vaccinia oncolytic virus -- a virus modified to selectively infect and kill cancer cells -- as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, would be improved by arming it with a gene which modulates the body's immune system.

Nano Filter cleans dirty industry Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:38 AM PST Prototypes of nano-cellulose based filters with high purification capacity towards environmentally hazardous contaminants from industrial effluents have been developed by researchers. The research has reached a breakthrough with the prototypes and will now be tested on a few industries in Europe.

Hunt for Big Bang particles offering clues to the origin of the universe Posted: 23 Dec 2014 08:38 AM PST Billions upon billions of neutrinos speed harmlessly through everyone's body every moment of the day, according to cosmologists. The bulk of these subatomic particles are believed to come straight from the Big Bang, rather than from the sun or other sources. Experimental confirmation of this belief could yield seminal insights into the early universe and the physics of neutrinos. But how do you interrogate something so elusive that it could zip through a barrier of iron a light-year thick as if it were empty space?

Breakthrough in Predictions of Pressure-Dependent Combustion Chemical Reactions Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:28 AM PST A method to successfully predict pressure-dependent chemical reaction rates has been demonstrated by scientists for the first time. It's an important breakthrough in combustion and atmospheric chemistry that is expected to benefit auto and engine manufacturers, oil and gas utilities and other industries that employ combustion models.

Stress May Increase Desire for Reward but Not Pleasure, Research Finds Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:28 AM PST Feeling stressed may prompt you to go to great lengths to satisfy an urge for a drink or sweets, but you're not likely to enjoy the indulgence any more than someone who is not stressed and has the same treat just for pleasure, according to new research.

Using targeted brain stimulation to change attention patterns for anxious individuals Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:41 AM PST Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a painless treatment strategy that uses weak electrical currents to deliver targeted stimulation to the brain via electrodes placed on the scalp. tDCS has shown promise in treating mood, anxiety, cognition, and some symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Oldest stone tool ever found in Turkey discovered Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:41 AM PST Scientists have discovered the oldest recorded stone tool ever to be found in Turkey, revealing that humans passed through the gateway from Asia to Europe much earlier than previously thought, approximately 1.2 million years ago. The chance find of a humanly-worked quartzite flake, in ancient deposits of the river Gediz, in western Turkey, provides a major new insight into when and how early humans dispersed out of Africa and Asia.

In search of the origin of our brain Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:41 AM PST While searching for the origin of our brain, biologists have gained new insights into the evolution of the central nervous system and its highly developed biological structures. Nerve cell centralization does begin in multicellular animals, researchers have confirmed.

Test predicts response to treatment for complication of leukemia stem cell treatment Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:40 AM PST A new test may reveal which patients will respond to treatment for graft versus host disease (GVHD), an often life-threatening complication of stem cell transplants (SCT) used to treat leukemia and other blood disorders, according to a study.

Trial confirms Ebola vaccine candidate safe, equally immunogenic in Africa Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:40 AM PST Two experimental DNA vaccines to prevent Ebola virus and the closely related Marburg virus are safe, and generated a similar immune response in healthy Ugandan adults as reported in healthy US adults earlier this year. The findings are from the first trial of filovirus vaccines in Africa.

Weight training appears key to controlling belly fat Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:39 AM PST Healthy men who did 20 minutes of daily weight training had less of an increase in age-related abdominal fat compared with men who spent the same amount of time doing aerobic activities, according to a new study. Combining weight training and aerobic activity led to the most optimal results. Aerobic exercise by itself was associated with less weight gain compared with weight training.

Genes show the way to better treatment of hepatitis A Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:39 AM PST One of the most common causes of hepatitis A (formerly known as infectious hepatitis) is a hepatitis C virus infection in the liver. The disease can be treated medically, but not all patients are cured by the treatment currently available. New research shows that the response to medical treatment depends on genetic factors.

Newly discovered assassin bug was incognito, but now it's incognita Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:39 AM PST A North American assassin bug that has remained hidden for over 100 years has been determined to be a new species. The new bug, Sinea incognita, is described in a new article.

Gecko grippers get a microgravity test flight Posted: 22 Dec 2014 05:54 PM PST There are no garbage trucks equipped to leave the atmosphere and pick up debris floating around Earth. But what if we could send a robot to do the job? Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are working on adhesive gripping tools that could grapple objects such as orbital debris or defunct satellites that would otherwise be hard to handle.

Sun sizzles in high-energy X-rays Posted: 22 Dec 2014 05:53 PM PST For the first time, a mission designed to set its eyes on black holes and other objects far from our solar system has turned its gaze back closer to home, capturing images of our sun. NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has taken its first picture of the sun, producing the most sensitive solar portrait ever taken in high-energy X-rays.

Graphene 'cut and paste' with microwaves Posted: 22 Dec 2014 02:04 PM PST Researchers have demonstrated a variety of transformations taking place on carbon surface under the influence of metal nanoparticles and microwaves.

War veterans: Researchers point to impact of combined brain injury, PTSD Posted: 22 Dec 2014 02:04 PM PST Researchers have exposed new information about the combined cognitive effects of mild traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder in war veterans. Results of a study suggest that veterans suffering from both conditions have poorer cognitive and psychological outcomes than veterans diagnosed with only one of the conditions. The research also raises the possibility that mTBI results in persistent but mild cognitive challenges for some veterans.

Modern genetics confirm ancient relationship between fins and hands Posted: 22 Dec 2014 01:54 PM PST Efforts to connect the evolutionary transition from fish fins to wrist and fingers with the genetic machinery for this adaptation have fallen short because they focused on the wrong fish. Now, researchers describe the genetic machinery for autopod assembly in a non-model fish, the spotted gar.

Cells 'feel' their surroundings using finger-like structures Posted: 22 Dec 2014 01:54 PM PST Cells have finger-like projections that they use to feel their surroundings. They can detect the chemical environment and they can 'feel' their physical surroundings using ultrasensitive sensors. New research shows how the finger-like structures, called filopodia, can extend themselves, contract and bend in dynamic movements.

Tales from a Martian rock: New chemical analysis of ancient Martian meteorite provides clues to planet's history of habitability Posted: 22 Dec 2014 01:50 PM PST A new analysis of a Martian rock that meteorite hunters plucked from an Antarctic ice field 30 years ago this month reveals a record of the planet's climate billions of years ago, back when water likely washed across its surface and any life that ever formed there might have emerged.

Hunter-gatherer past shows our fragile bones result from inactivity since invention of farming Posted: 22 Dec 2014 01:50 PM PST Latest analysis of prehistoric bones show there is no anatomical reason why a person born today could not develop the skeletal strength of a prehistoric forager or a modern orangutan. Findings support the idea that activity throughout life is the key to building bone strength and preventing osteoporosis risk in later years, say researchers.

Universality of charge order in cuprate superconductors Posted: 22 Dec 2014 10:15 AM PST Scientists have now identified charge order in HgBa2CuO4 , a pristine cuprate material. A further important result of the study is the finding that the charge order is closely related to quantum oscillations under a magnetic field. Finding a universal connection between the period of these quantum oscillations and the spatial period of the charge order is one of the achievements of the study.

Piezoelectricity in a 2-D semiconductor: Piezoelectricity in molybdenum disulfide holds promise for future MEMS Posted: 22 Dec 2014 10:13 AM PST Researchers have opened the door to low-power off/on switches in micro-electro-mechanical systems, MEMS, and nanoelectronic devices, as well as ultrasensitive bio-sensors, with the first observation of piezoelectricity in a free standing two-dimensional semiconductor.

Light-emitting e-readers before bedtime can adversely impact sleep Posted: 22 Dec 2014 10:13 AM PST Use of a light-emitting electronic device (LE-eBook) in the hours before bedtime can adversely impact overall health, alertness, and the circadian clock which synchronizes the daily rhythm of sleep to external environmental time cues, according to new research that compared the biological effects of reading an LE-eBook compared to a printed book.

Ultrasounds dance the 'moonwalk' in new metamaterial Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:17 AM PST Metamaterials have extraordinary properties when it comes to diverting and controlling waves, especially sound and light: for instance, they can make an object invisible, or increase the resolving power of a lens. Now, researchers have developed the first three-dimensional metamaterials by combining physico-chemical formulation and microfluidics technology. This is a new generation of soft metamaterials that are easier to shape.

Over two hundred interesting new species in 2014 Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:15 AM PST In 2014, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 221 new plant and animal species to our family tree. The new species include 110 ants, 16 beetles, three spiders, 28 fishes, 24 sea slugs, two marine worms, 9 barnacles, two octocorals, 25 plants, one waterbear, and one tiny mammal.

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