ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Gene affecting the ability to sleep discovered in fruit flies
• Babies' colic linked to mothers' migraines
• 300-million-year-old forest discovered preserved in volanic ash
• Telomere failure, telomerase activation drive prostate cancer progression
• Blocking telomerase kills cancer cells but provokes resistance, progression
• Sheep in Wolf-Rayet's clothing: New image of planetary nebula Hen 3-1333
• Preparations continue for launching engine icing research
• High definition polarization vision discovered in cuttlefish
• Conservation risk highest off coasts of Canada, Mexico, Peru and New Zealand
• Water management and climate change in ancient Maya city
• New species of bat, Hipposideros griffini, discovered in Vietnam
• NASA spacecraft reveals recent geological activity on the moon
• Traitorous immune cells promote sudden ovarian cancer progression
• World's longest kidney transplant chain completed
• Bird stewards increase the effectiveness of protected beaches
• Pulsars: The universe's gift to physics
• Studying the evolution of life's building blocks
• New treatment for traumatic brain injury shows promise in animals
• Rainforest plant combats multi-resistant bacterial strains
• Home visits for asthma: A win for both patients and payers
• Never forget your keys, phone or lipstick ever again
• Neurodegenerative diseases: Ring-like structure found in 'elongator' protein complex
• Global permafrost zones in high-resolution images on Google Earth
• Which anti-HIV drug combinations work best and why?
• 'Duet of one' possible with hand-controlled voice synthesizer
• Building blocks of early Earth survived collision that created moon

Gene affecting the ability to sleep discovered in fruit flies Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:10 PM PST On the surface, it's simple: when night falls, our bodies get sleepy. But behind the scenes, a series of complex molecular events, controlled by our genes, is hard at work to make us groggy. Now, research suggests that a newly identified gene known as insomniac may play a role in keeping us asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in fruit flies researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism by which sleep is regulated.

Babies' colic linked to mothers' migraines Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:30 PM PST A study of mothers and their young babies by neurologists has shown that mothers who suffer migraine headaches are more than twice as likely to have babies with colic than mothers without a history of migraines.

300-million-year-old forest discovered preserved in volanic ash Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:13 PM PST Pompeii-like, a 300-million-year-old tropical forest was preserved in ash when a volcano erupted in what is today northern China. Paleobotanists have reconstructed this fossilized forest, lending insight into the ecology and climate of its time.

Telomere failure, telomerase activation drive prostate cancer progression Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:12 PM PST Genomic instability caused by an erosion of the protective caps on chromosomes, followed by activation of an enzyme that reinforces those caps, allows malignant cells to evade destruction and acquire more deadly characteristics, researchers report.

Blocking telomerase kills cancer cells but provokes resistance, progression Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:12 PM PST Inhibiting telomerase, an enzyme that rescues malignant cells from destruction by extending the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, kills tumor cells but also triggers resistance pathways that allow cancer to survive and spread, scientists report.

Sheep in Wolf-Rayet's clothing: New image of planetary nebula Hen 3-1333 Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:44 AM PST It's well known that the universe is changeable: even the stars that appear static and predictable every night are subject to change. A new image from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows planetary nebula Hen 3-1333. Planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets -- they actually represent the death throes of mid-sized stars like the sun. As they puff out their outer layers, large, irregular globes of glowing gas expand around them, which appeared planet-like through the small telescopes that were used by their first discoverers.

Preparations continue for launching engine icing research Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:41 AM PST NASA scientists are making progress in their preparations to mount a detailed research campaign aimed at solving a modern-day aviation mystery involving the unlikely combination of fire and ice inside a running jet engine.

High definition polarization vision discovered in cuttlefish Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST Cuttlefish have the most acute polarization vision yet found in any animal, researchers have discovered by showing them movies on a modified LCD computer screen to test their eyesight.

Conservation risk highest off coasts of Canada, Mexico, Peru and New Zealand Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST Researchers have identified conservation "hot spots" around the world where the temptation to profit from overfishing outweighs the appetite for conservation.

Water management and climate change in ancient Maya city Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:25 AM PST There are new findings from inside a cave and a key cultural and religious center for the ancient Maya.

New species of bat, Hipposideros griffini, discovered in Vietnam Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:24 AM PST A distinctive echolocation frequency led to the discovery of a new species of bat within the genus Hipposideros. Although this bat is similar to the species Hipposideros armiger, differences in acoustics, size, and DNA between these bats led to the identification of the new species. This new member of the bat community, which has been found in two locations in Vietnam, has been given the scientific name Hipposideros griffini.

NASA spacecraft reveals recent geological activity on the moon Posted: 20 Feb 2012 10:50 AM PST New images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the moon's crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists propose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered recent compared to the moon's age of more than 4.5 billion years.

Traitorous immune cells promote sudden ovarian cancer progression Posted: 20 Feb 2012 07:21 AM PST In a new mouse model that mimics the tumor microenvironment of ovarian cancer, scientists have demonstrated that ovarian tumors don't necessarily break "free" of the immune system, rather dendritic cells of the immune system seem to actively support the tumor's escape. The researchers show that it might be possible to restore the immune system by targeting a patient's own dendritic cells.

World's longest kidney transplant chain completed Posted: 20 Feb 2012 07:21 AM PST The world's longest living-donor kidney transplant chain has just been completed. The chain involved 30 donors, 30 recipients and 17 hospitals throughout the U.S.

Bird stewards increase the effectiveness of protected beaches Posted: 20 Feb 2012 07:21 AM PST Bird stewards – individuals who police protected beaches and educate the public about the birds who inhabit it – greatly increase the effectiveness of protected beaches, a new survey finds.

Pulsars: The universe's gift to physics Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:08 AM PST Pulsars, which already have produced two Nobel Prizes, are providing scientists with unique insights on topics from particle physics to General Relativity.

Studying the evolution of life's building blocks Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:08 AM PST Studying the origin of life at its building blocks offers a unique perspective on evolution, says a researcher.

New treatment for traumatic brain injury shows promise in animals Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:06 AM PST A new drug is showing promise in shielding against the harmful effects of traumatic brain injury in rats, according to a new study.

Rainforest plant combats multi-resistant bacterial strains Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:06 AM PST Aggressive infections in hospitals are an increasing health problem worldwide. The development of bacterial resistance is alarming. Now a young Danish scientist has found a natural substance in a Chilean rainforest plant that effectively supports the effect of traditional treatment with antibiotics.

Home visits for asthma: A win for both patients and payers Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:06 AM PST Nearly one in 10 children have asthma, according to government statistics, and in low-income parts of Boston, nearly 16 percent of children are affected. A new program demonstrates the potential to dramatically reduce hospitalization and emergency department visits for asthma -- improving patient outcomes and saving $1.46 per dollar spent through reduced hospital utilization.

Never forget your keys, phone or lipstick ever again Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:58 AM PST RFID tags are becoming ubiquitous, shops, warehouses, libraries and others use them for stock and inventory control and to reduce the risk of theft. Now, a team in Dubai has developed the concept of an IPURSE, a mobile platform that keeps track of tiny RFID tags you stick to or insert into your personal possessions, mobile phone, camera, laptop, keys other gadgets and even mundane objects such as notebooks and cosmetics.

Neurodegenerative diseases: Ring-like structure found in 'elongator' protein complex Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:58 AM PST A ring-like structure found in a protein complex called 'Elongator' provides new clues to its tasks inside the cell and to its role in neurodegenerative diseases. It is the first three-dimensional structure of part of this complex.

Global permafrost zones in high-resolution images on Google Earth Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:58 AM PST Thawing permafrost will have far-reaching ramifications for populated areas, infrastructure and ecosystems. A geographer in Switzerland reveals where it is important to confront the issue based on new permafrost maps – the most precise global maps around. They depict the global distribution of permafrost in high-resolution images and are available on Google Earth.

Which anti-HIV drug combinations work best and why? Posted: 19 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST Using a mathematical formula that carefully measures the degree to which HIV infection of immune system cells is stalled by antiretroviral therapy, AIDS experts have calculated precisely how well dozens of such anti-HIV drugs work, alone or in any of 857 likely combinations, in suppressing the virus. Results of the team's latest research reveal how some combinations work better than others at impeding viral replication, and keeping the disease in check.

'Duet of one' possible with hand-controlled voice synthesizer Posted: 19 Feb 2012 10:53 AM PST New technology makes it possible for a person to speak or sing just by using their hands to control a speech synthesizer. The new gesture-to-voice-synthesizer technology mirrors processes that human use when they control their own vocal apparatus.

Building blocks of early Earth survived collision that created moon Posted: 18 Feb 2012 10:45 AM PST Unexpected new findings by geochemists show that some portions of the Earth's mantle (the rocky layer between Earth's metallic core and crust) formed when the planet was much smaller than it is now, and that some of this early-formed mantle survived Earth's turbulent formation, including a collision with another planet-sized body that many scientists believe led to the creation of the moon.

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