ScienceDaily: Top News

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• NASA mission returns first video from moon's far side
• Powering pacemakers with heartbeat vibrations
• Global experts question claims about jellyfish populations
• Yellow-cedar are dying in Alaska: Scientists now know why
• Self-assembling nanorods: Researchers obtain 1-, 2- and 3-D nanorod arrays and networks
• Sun delivered curveball of powerful radiation at Earth
• Need an excuse to book a massage? Massage reduces inflammation and promotes growth of new mitochondria following strenuous exercise
• Nano-oils keep the electronic devices really cool
• Scientists help define structure of exoplanets
• 'Life and activity monitor' provides portable, constant recording of vital signs
• Scientists confirm first 'frequency comb' to probe ultraviolet wavelengths
• Spider web's strength lies in more than its silk
• Bacterial plasmids -- the freeloading and the heavy-lifters -- balance the high price of disease
• New technology shows molecules and cells in action
• Societal control of sugar essential to ease public health burden, experts urge
• Chaos in the cell's command center
• Road runoff spurring spotted salamander evolution
• Tropical cyclones to cause greater damage, researchers predict
• Less summer Arctic sea ice cover means colder, snowier winters in Central Europe
• Why the brain is more reluctant to function as we age
• Available information on the free release of genetically modified insects into the wild is highly restricted
• Encouraging results with stem cell transplant for brain injury
• First plants caused ice ages, new research reveals
• Stellar nursery: A pocket of star formation
• Sleep apnea linked to silent strokes, small lesions in brain
• Clot-busting drugs appear safe for treating 'wake-up' stroke patients
• Severe, rapid memory loss linked to future, fatal strokes
• Genetic information migrates from plant to plant
• Men more likely to have an accurate memory of unpleasant experiences

NASA mission returns first video from moon's far side Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:21 PM PST A camera aboard one of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar spacecraft has returned its first unique view of the far side of the moon. MoonKAM, or Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students, will be used by students nationwide to select lunar images for study.

Powering pacemakers with heartbeat vibrations Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:14 PM PST Aerospace engineers have developed a prototype device that could power a pacemaker using a source that is surprisingly close to the heart of the matter: vibrations in the chest cavity that are due mainly to heartbeats.

Global experts question claims about jellyfish populations Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:12 PM PST Blooms, or proliferation, of jellyfish have shown a substantial, visible impact on coastal populations -- clogged nets for fishermen, stinging waters for tourists, even choked intake lines for power plants -- and recent media reports have created a perception that the world's oceans are experiencing increases in jellyfish due to human activities such as global warming and overharvesting of fish. Now, a new study questions claims that jellyfish are increasing worldwide and suggests claims are not supported with any hard evidence or scientific analyses to date.

Yellow-cedar are dying in Alaska: Scientists now know why Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:12 PM PST Yellow-cedar, a culturally and economically valuable tree in southeastern Alaska and adjacent parts of British Columbia, has been dying off across large expanses of these areas for the past 100 years. But no one could say why -- until now.

Self-assembling nanorods: Researchers obtain 1-, 2- and 3-D nanorod arrays and networks Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:24 AM PST Researchers have developed a relatively fast, easy and inexpensive technique for inducing nanorods to self-assemble into aligned and ordered macroscopic structures. This technique should enable more effective use of nanorods in solar cells, magnetic storage devices and sensors, and boost the electrical and mechanical properties of nanorod-polymer composites.

Sun delivered curveball of powerful radiation at Earth Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:24 AM PST A potent follow-up solar flare, which occurred Jan. 17, 2012, just days after the Sun launched the biggest coronal mass ejection seen in nearly a decade, delivered a powerful radiation punch to Earth's magnetic field despite the fact that it was aimed away from our planet.

Need an excuse to book a massage? Massage reduces inflammation and promotes growth of new mitochondria following strenuous exercise Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:17 AM PST About 18 million individuals undergo massage therapy annually in the U.S. Despite several reports that long-term massage therapy reduces chronic pain and improves range of motion in clinical trials, the biological effects of massage on skeletal tissue have remained unclear - until now.

Nano-oils keep the electronic devices really cool Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Scientists have created a nano-infused oil that could greatly enhance the ability of devices as large as electrical transformers and as small as microelectronic components to shed excess heat.

Scientists help define structure of exoplanets Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Using models similar to those used in weapons research, scientists may soon know more about exoplanets, those objects beyond the realm of our solar system. Astronomers have come up with new methods for deriving and testing the equation of state of matter in exoplanets and figured out the mass-radius and mass-pressure relations for materials relevant to planetary interiors.

'Life and activity monitor' provides portable, constant recording of vital signs Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Researchers have developed a type of wearable, non-invasive electronic device that can monitor vital signs such as heart rate and respiration at the same time it records a person's activity level, opening new opportunities for biomedical research, diagnostics and patient care.

Scientists confirm first 'frequency comb' to probe ultraviolet wavelengths Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Physicists have created the first "frequency comb" in the extreme ultraviolet band of the spectrum, high-energy light less than 100 nanometers in wavelength. Laser-generated frequency combs are the most accurate method available for precisely measuring frequencies, or colors, of light. The new tool can aid in the development of "nuclear clocks" based on ticks in the nuclei of atoms, and measurements of previously unexplored behavior in atoms and molecules.

Spider web's strength lies in more than its silk Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST A study that combines experimental observations of spider webs with complex computer simulations has shown that web durability depends not only on silk strength, but on how overall web design compensates for damage and the response of individual strands to continuously varying stresses.

Bacterial plasmids -- the freeloading and the heavy-lifters -- balance the high price of disease Posted: 01 Feb 2012 10:53 AM PST Studying self-replicating genetic units, called plasmids, found in one of the world's widest-ranging pathogenic soil bacteria -- the crown-gall-disease-causing microorganism Agrobacterium tumefaciens -- biologists are showing how freeloading, mutant derivatives of these plasmids benefit while the virulent, disease-causing plasmids do the heavy-lifting of initiating infection in plant hosts. The research confirms that the ability of bacteria to cause disease comes at a significant cost that is only counterbalanced by the benefits they experience from infected host organisms.

New technology shows molecules and cells in action Posted: 01 Feb 2012 10:53 AM PST A new affinity capture device provides a platform for viewing cancer cells and other macromolecules in dynamic, life-sustaining liquid environments.

Societal control of sugar essential to ease public health burden, experts urge Posted: 01 Feb 2012 10:53 AM PST Sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health, according to a team of researchers, who maintain in a new report that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Chaos in the cell's command center Posted: 01 Feb 2012 10:53 AM PST Researchers have determined the critical role one enzyme, lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), plays as mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) differentiate. This research may provide targets for developing drugs to push cells with dysfunctional gene expression programs back to a more normal, healthier state.

Road runoff spurring spotted salamander evolution Posted: 01 Feb 2012 09:07 AM PST Spotted salamanders exposed to contaminated roadside ponds are adapting to their toxic environments, according to new research. The study provides the first documented evidence that a vertebrate has adapted to the negative effects of roads apparently by evolving rapidly.

Tropical cyclones to cause greater damage, researchers predict Posted: 01 Feb 2012 07:52 AM PST Tropical cyclones will cause $109 billion in damages by 2100, according to researchers in a new paper. That figure represents an increased vulnerability from population and especially economic growth, as well as the effects of climate change. Greater vulnerability to cyclones is expected to increase global tropical damage to $56 billion by 2100 -- double the current damage -- from the current rate of $26 billion per year if the present climate remains stable.

Less summer Arctic sea ice cover means colder, snowier winters in Central Europe Posted: 01 Feb 2012 07:51 AM PST Even if the current weather situation may seem to go against it, the probability of cold winters with a lot of snow in Central Europe rises when the Arctic is covered by less sea ice in summer.

Why the brain is more reluctant to function as we age Posted: 01 Feb 2012 07:51 AM PST New findings reveal a novel mechanism through which the brain may become more reluctant to function as we grow older.

Available information on the free release of genetically modified insects into the wild is highly restricted Posted: 01 Feb 2012 07:46 AM PST Scientists analyzing the release of genetically modified insects into the environment have found that access to accurate scientific information can be misleading.

Encouraging results with stem cell transplant for brain injury Posted: 01 Feb 2012 07:45 AM PST Experiments in brain-injured rats show that stem cells injected via the carotid artery travel directly to the brain, where they greatly enhance functional recovery.

First plants caused ice ages, new research reveals Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:49 AM PST New research reveals how the arrival of the first plants 470 million years ago triggered a series of ice ages. The research reveals the effects that the first land plants had on the climate during the Ordovician Period, which ended 444 million years ago. During this period the climate gradually cooled, leading to a series of 'ice ages.' This global cooling was caused by a dramatic reduction in atmospheric carbon, which this research now suggests was triggered by the arrival of plants.

Stellar nursery: A pocket of star formation Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST A new view shows a stellar nursery called NGC 3324. It was taken using the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. The intense ultraviolet radiation from several of NGC 3324's hot young stars causes the gas cloud to glow with rich colors and has carved out a cavity in the surrounding gas and dust.

Sleep apnea linked to silent strokes, small lesions in brain Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST People with severe sleep apnea may have an increased risk of silent strokes and small lesions in the brain, according to a small study.

Clot-busting drugs appear safe for treating 'wake-up' stroke patients Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST Clot-busting drugs may be safe for patients who wake up experiencing stroke symptoms, according to preliminary research.

Severe, rapid memory loss linked to future, fatal strokes Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST Severe, rapid memory loss may be linked to -- and could predict -- a future deadly stroke, according to new research.

Genetic information migrates from plant to plant Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:31 AM PST To generate phylogenetic trees and investigate relationships between organisms, scientists usually look for similarities and differences in the DNA. Plant scientists were confounded by the fact that the DNA extracted from the plants' green chloroplasts sometimes showed the greatest similarities when related species grew in the same area. Scientists have now discovered that a transfer of entire chloroplasts, or at least their genomes, can occur in contact zones between plants. Inter-species crossing is not necessary. The new chloroplast genome can even be handed down to the next generation and, thereby, give a plant with new traits. These findings are of great importance to the understanding of evolution as well as the breeding of new plant varieties.

Men more likely to have an accurate memory of unpleasant experiences Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:27 AM PST Researchers reveal how pleasantness and emotional intensity affects memories. A woman's memory of an experience is less likely to be accurate than a man's if it was unpleasant and emotionally provocative, new research suggests.

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