ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Asthma rate and costs from traffic pollution higher: Much higher than past traditional risk assessments have indicated
• Scientists create first free-standing 3-D cloak
• Prenatal testosterone linked to increased risk of language delay for male infants, study shows
• Morgellons: Unexplained skin condition is non-infectious, not linked to environmental cause: CDC report
• Engineered bacteria effectively target tumors, enabling tumor imaging potential in mice
• Working too much is correlated with two-fold increase in likelihood of depression
• Coastal storms have long-reaching effects, study says
• Will you have a heart attack or stroke?
• Mild cognitive impairment is common, affects men most, study finds
• High animal fat diet increases gestational diabetes risk, study finds
• Photo from NASA Mars orbiter shows wind's handiwork
• Giant asteroid Vesta likely cold and dark enough for ice
• Adolescents with autism spend free time using solitary, screen-based media
• Limiting protein or certain amino acids before surgery may reduce risk of surgical complications
• Injecting sulfate particles into stratosphere won't fully offset climate change
• Chemists synthesize artificial cell membrane
• Scientists create first atomic X-ray laser
• Attack or retreat? Circuit links hunger and pursuit in sea slug brain
• World's most powerful X-ray laser creates 2-million-degree matter
• Dawn of social networks: Ancestors may have formed ties with both kin and non-kin based on shared attributes
• Appetite accomplice: Ghrelin receptor alters dopamine signaling
• Mechanism sheds light on how the brain adapts to stress
• Scientists identify protein that contributes to symptoms of Parkinson's disease
• New fluorescent dyes highlight neuronal activity
• Environment that nurtures blood-forming stem cells' growth identified
• Alzheimer's neurons from pluripotent stem cells: First-ever feat provides new method to understand cause of disease, develop drugs
• Researchers discover method to unravel malaria's genetic secrets
• Could Alzheimer's disease be diagnosed with a simple blood test?
• Protein in brain could be a key target in controlling Alzheimer’s
• Scorpions inspire scientists in making tougher surfaces for machinery
• Avastin, Sutent increase breast cancer stem cells, study suggests
• Cassini sees the two faces of Titan's dunes
• Under the electron microscope: 3-D image of an individual protein showing structure
• More than 7,500-year-old fish traps found in Russia
• In schizophrenia research, a path to the brain through the nose
• Where there's a worm there's a whale: First distribution model of marine parasites provides revealing insights
• Turtles' mating habits protect against effects of climate change

Asthma rate and costs from traffic pollution higher: Much higher than past traditional risk assessments have indicated Posted: 25 Jan 2012 05:27 PM PST A team of resource economist researchers has revised the cost burden sharply upward for childhood asthma and for the first time include the number of cases attributable to air pollution, in a new study.

Scientists create first free-standing 3-D cloak Posted: 25 Jan 2012 04:55 PM PST Researchers in the US have, for the first time, cloaked a three-dimensional object standing in free space, bringing the much-talked-about invisibility cloak one step closer to reality.

Prenatal testosterone linked to increased risk of language delay for male infants, study shows Posted: 25 Jan 2012 04:55 PM PST New research by Australian scientists reveals that males who are exposed to high levels of testosterone before birth are twice as likely to experience delays in language development compared to females. The research, published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, focused on umbilical cord blood to explore the presence of testosterone when the language-related regions of a fetus' brain are undergoing a critical period of growth.

Morgellons: Unexplained skin condition is non-infectious, not linked to environmental cause: CDC report Posted: 25 Jan 2012 02:23 PM PST The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has completed a comprehensive study of an unexplained skin condition commonly referred to as Morgellons.

Engineered bacteria effectively target tumors, enabling tumor imaging potential in mice Posted: 25 Jan 2012 02:23 PM PST Tumor-targeted bioluminescent bacteria have been shown for the first time to provide accurate 3-D images of tumors in mice, further advancing the potential for targeted cancer drug delivery.

Working too much is correlated with two-fold increase in likelihood of depression Posted: 25 Jan 2012 02:23 PM PST The odds of a major depressive episode are more than double for those working 11 or more hours a day compared to those working seven to eight hours a day.

Coastal storms have long-reaching effects, study says Posted: 25 Jan 2012 02:23 PM PST Coastal storms are known to cause serious damage along the shoreline, but they also cause significant disruption of the deep-sea ecosystem as well.

Will you have a heart attack or stroke? Posted: 25 Jan 2012 02:23 PM PST Your risk of having a heart attack or stroke may be worse than you think. Currently, risk is assessed by projecting 10 years ahead. New research shows a young or middle-aged adult at low risk in the short term may be at high risk in the long term, if they have only one risk factor. This is the first study to examine the lifetime risk of heart disease in white and black men and women.

Mild cognitive impairment is common, affects men most, study finds Posted: 25 Jan 2012 01:34 PM PST Researchers report that more than 6 percent of Americans age 70 to 89 develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) every year. Also, the condition appears to affect men and those who only have a high school education more than women and those who have completed some higher education. People with MCI are at the stage between suffering the normal forgetfulness associated with aging and developing dementia, such as that caused by Alzheimer's disease.

High animal fat diet increases gestational diabetes risk, study finds Posted: 25 Jan 2012 01:34 PM PST Women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes than women whose diets were lower in animal fat and cholesterol, according to researchers.

Photo from NASA Mars orbiter shows wind's handiwork Posted: 25 Jan 2012 01:06 PM PST Some images of stark Martian landscapes provide visual appeal beyond their science value, including a recent scene of wind-sculpted features from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Giant asteroid Vesta likely cold and dark enough for ice Posted: 25 Jan 2012 01:05 PM PST Though generally thought to be quite dry, roughly half of the giant asteroid Vesta is expected to be so cold and to receive so little sunlight that water ice could have survived there for billions of years, according to the first published models of Vesta's average global temperatures and illumination by the sun.

Adolescents with autism spend free time using solitary, screen-based media Posted: 25 Jan 2012 11:31 AM PST Children with autism spectrum disorders tend to be fascinated by screen-based technology. A new study found that adolescents with autism (64.2 percent) spend most of their free time using solitary, or non-social, screen-based media (television and video games) while only 13.2 percent spend time on socially interactive media (e-mail, Internet chatting).

Limiting protein or certain amino acids before surgery may reduce risk of surgical complications Posted: 25 Jan 2012 11:31 AM PST Limiting certain essential nutrients for several days before surgery -- either protein or amino acids -- may reduce the risk of serious surgical complications such as heart attack or stroke, according to a new study.

Injecting sulfate particles into stratosphere won't fully offset climate change Posted: 25 Jan 2012 11:22 AM PST New research demonstrates that one suggested method of geoengineering the atmosphere to deal with climate change, injecting sulfate particles into the stratosphere, probably would have limited success.

Chemists synthesize artificial cell membrane Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:28 AM PST Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required for life. Instead of complex enzymes embedded in membranes, they used a simple metal ion as the catalyst. By assembling an essential component of earthly life with no biological precursors, they hope to illuminate life's origins.

Scientists create first atomic X-ray laser Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:28 AM PST Scientists have created the shortest, purest X-ray laser pulses ever achieved, fulfilling a 45-year-old prediction and opening the door to a new range of scientific discovery. The researchers aimed SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source at a capsule of neon gas, setting off an avalanche of X-ray emissions to create the world's first "atomic X-ray laser."

Attack or retreat? Circuit links hunger and pursuit in sea slug brain Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:28 AM PST If you were a blind, cannibalistic sea slug, living among others just like you, nearly every encounter with another creature would require a simple cost/benefit calculation: Should I eat that -- or flee? In a new study, researchers report that these responses are linked to a simple circuit in the brain of the sea slug Pleurobranchaea.

World's most powerful X-ray laser creates 2-million-degree matter Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST Researchers working at the US Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have used the world's most powerful X-ray laser to create and probe a 2-million-degree piece of matter in a controlled way for the first time. This feat takes scientists a significant step forward in understanding the most extreme matter found in the hearts of stars and giant planets, and could help experiments aimed at recreating the nuclear fusion process that powers the sun.

Dawn of social networks: Ancestors may have formed ties with both kin and non-kin based on shared attributes Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST Ancient humans may not have had the luxury of updating their Facebook status, but social networks were nevertheless an essential component of their lives, a new study suggests. The study's findings describe elements of social network structures that may have been present early in human history, suggesting how our ancestors may have formed ties with both kin and non-kin based on shared attributes, including the tendency to cooperate. According to the paper, social networks likely contributed to the evolution of cooperation.

Appetite accomplice: Ghrelin receptor alters dopamine signaling Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST New research reveals a fascinating and unexpected molecular partnership within the brain neurons that regulate appetite. The study resolves a paradox regarding a receptor without its hormone and may lead to more specific therapeutic interventions for obesity and disorders of dopamine signaling.

Mechanism sheds light on how the brain adapts to stress Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST Scientists now have a better understanding of the way that stress impacts the brain. New research reveals pioneering evidence for a new mechanism of stress adaptation and may eventually lead to a better understanding of why prolonged and repeated exposure to stress can lead to anxiety disorders and depression.

Scientists identify protein that contributes to symptoms of Parkinson's disease Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST Scientists have identified a protein that exacerbates symptoms of Parkinson's disease -- a discovery that could one day lead to new treatments for people who suffer from this devastating neurodegenerative illness.

New fluorescent dyes highlight neuronal activity Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:10 AM PST Researchers have created a new generation of fast-acting fluorescent dyes that optically highlight electrical activity in neuronal membranes. The ability to visualize these small, fast-changing voltage differences between the interior and exterior of neurons -- known as transmembrane potential -- is considered a powerful method for deciphering how brain cells function and interact.

Environment that nurtures blood-forming stem cells' growth identified Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:10 AM PST Scientists have identified the environment in which blood-forming stem cells survive and thrive within the body, an important step toward increasing the safety and effectiveness of bone-marrow transplantation.

Alzheimer's neurons from pluripotent stem cells: First-ever feat provides new method to understand cause of disease, develop drugs Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:10 AM PST Scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary Alzheimer's disease (AD), using induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with the much-dreaded neurodegenerative disorder.

Researchers discover method to unravel malaria's genetic secrets Posted: 25 Jan 2012 08:31 AM PST Researchers have devised a technique to overcome a genetic oddity of Plasmodium falciparum, the major cause of human malaria, which has stymied research into the organism's genes. The technique opens the door to genetic discovery for the entire organism, which should foster a greater understanding of the parasite, and facilitate discovery of new medications for a disease that infects 200 million people and kills nearly 700,000 every year.

Could Alzheimer's disease be diagnosed with a simple blood test? Posted: 25 Jan 2012 08:27 AM PST A pilot study suggests infrared analysis of white blood cells is a promising strategy for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Protein in brain could be a key target in controlling Alzheimer’s Posted: 25 Jan 2012 08:26 AM PST A protein recently discovered in the brain could play a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Scorpions inspire scientists in making tougher surfaces for machinery Posted: 25 Jan 2012 07:19 AM PST Taking inspiration from the yellow fattail scorpion, which uses a bionic shield to protect itself against scratches from desert sandstorms, scientists have developed a new way to protect the moving parts of machinery from wear and tear.

Avastin, Sutent increase breast cancer stem cells, study suggests Posted: 25 Jan 2012 07:13 AM PST Cancer treatments designed to block the growth of blood vessels were found to increase the number of cancer stem cells in breast tumors in mice, suggesting a possible explanation for why these drugs don't lead to longer survival, according to a new study.

Cassini sees the two faces of Titan's dunes Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:35 AM PST A new analysis of radar data from NASA's Cassini mission, in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, has revealed regional variations among sand dunes on Saturn's moon Titan. The result gives new clues about the moon's climatic and geological history.

Under the electron microscope: 3-D image of an individual protein showing structure Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:13 AM PST Scientists are reporting the first 3-D images of an individual protein ever obtained with enough clarity to determine its structure.

More than 7,500-year-old fish traps found in Russia Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:13 AM PST Archeologists have documented a series of more than 7,500-year-old fish seines (nets) and traps near Moscow. The equipment found, among the oldest in Europe, displays a great technical complexity. The survey will allow us to understand the role of fishing among the European settlements by early Holocene (10,000 years ago), especially in those areas where inhabitants did not practice agriculture until nearly the Iron Age.

In schizophrenia research, a path to the brain through the nose Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:11 AM PST A significant obstacle to progress in understanding psychiatric disorders is the difficulty in obtaining living brain tissue for study so that disease processes can be studied directly. Recent advances in basic cellular neuroscience now suggest that, for some purposes, cultured neural stem cells may be studied in order to research psychiatric disease mechanisms. But where can one obtain these cells outside of the brain?

Where there's a worm there's a whale: First distribution model of marine parasites provides revealing insights Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:10 AM PST Each year around 20,000 people are infected by nematodes of the genus Anisakis and suffer from illnesses ranging from gastrointestinal diseases to serious allergic reactions as a result. For the first time, parasitologists have gathered data on the occurrence of the parasitic worm and have modeled the worldwide distribution of individual species in the ocean. The resulting maps not only enable statements to be made on the occurrence and migration behavior of certain hosts of the parasites, such as Baleen or toothed whales,  but also provide conclusions on the risk of human infection.

Turtles' mating habits protect against effects of climate change Posted: 24 Jan 2012 05:01 PM PST The mating habits of marine turtles may help to protect them against the effects of climate change. The study shows how the mating patterns of a population of endangered green turtles may be helping them deal with the fact that global warming is leading to a disproportionate number of females being born.

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