ScienceDaily: Top News

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• New 'biopsy in a blood test' to detect cancer
• How to tell apart the forgetful from those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease
• Football findings suggest concussions caused by series of hits
• Scientists coax shy microorganisms to stand out in a crowd
• Google Earth ocean terrain receives major update
• New technique successfully dissolves blood clots in brain and lowers risk of brain damage after stroke, study suggests
• Untangling the mysteries of Alzheimer's
• DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomy 18 and trisomy 13
• Elevated glucose associated with undetected heart damage
• Unraveling a butterfly's aerial antics could help builders of bug-size flying robots
• New way to study ground fractures
• Stellar astrophysics: The discovery of deceleration
• New super-Earth detected within the habitable zone of a nearby cool star
• Yellow Biotechnology: Using plants to silence insect genes in a high-throughput manner
• Why red wine can be healthy: Probable mechanism underlying resveratrol activity uncovered
• Castaway lizards provide insight into elusive evolutionary process, founder effects
• Coffee consumption reduces fibrosis risk in those with fatty liver disease, study suggests
• Hubble zooms in on a magnified galaxy
• Erratic heart rhythm may account for some unexplained strokes
• Do black holes help stars form?
• Human immune cells react sensitively to 'stress'
• Young children exposed to anesthesia multiple times show elevated rates of ADHD
• Rearranging the cell's skeleton: Small molecules at the cell’s membrane enable cell movement
• Prolific plant hunters provide insight in strategy for collecting undiscovered plant species
• Same genes linked to early- and late-onset Alzheimer's
• Stem cells could drive hepatitis research forward
• Potatoes lower blood pressure in people with obesity and hypertension without increasing weight
• Breakthrough in understanding ultrafast magnetism

New 'biopsy in a blood test' to detect cancer Posted: 02 Feb 2012 05:17 PM PST Scientists and cancer physicians have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of an advanced blood test for detecting and analyzing circulating tumor cells -- breakaway cells from patients' solid tumors -- from cancer patients. The findings show that the highly sensitive blood analysis provides information that may soon be comparable to that from some types of surgical biopsies.

How to tell apart the forgetful from those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 02 Feb 2012 05:16 PM PST It can be difficult to distinguish between people with normal age-associated memory loss and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). However people with aMCI are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), and identification of these people would mean that they could begin treatment as early as possible. New research shows that specific questions, included as part of a questionnaire designed to help diagnose AD, are also able to discriminate between normal memory loss and aMCI.

Football findings suggest concussions caused by series of hits Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:48 PM PST A two-year study of high school football players suggests that concussions are likely caused by many hits over time and not from a single blow to the head, as commonly believed.

Scientists coax shy microorganisms to stand out in a crowd Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:48 PM PST Scientists have advanced a method that allowed them to single out a marine microorganism and map its genome even though the organism made up less than 10 percent of a water sample teeming with many millions of individuals from dozens of identifiable groups of microbes.

Google Earth ocean terrain receives major update Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:48 PM PST Internet information giant Google updated ocean data in its Google Earth application this week, reflecting new bathymetry.

New technique successfully dissolves blood clots in brain and lowers risk of brain damage after stroke, study suggests Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:45 PM PST Neurologists report success with a new means of getting rid of potentially lethal blood clots in the brain safely without cutting through easily damaged brain tissue or removing large pieces of skull.

Untangling the mysteries of Alzheimer's Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:17 PM PST Researchers have found new evidence that confirms the significance of a protein that neuroscientists call tau to the development of Alzheimer's disease. While earlier studies have focused on tau's aggregation into twisted structures known as "neurofibrillary tangles," the new work emphasizes intermediary steps between single protein units and the much larger tangles – small assemblages of two, three, four or more proteins, which the investigators believe are the most toxic entities in Alzheimer's.

DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:17 PM PST A recent study shows that a new DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomies 18 and 13.

Elevated glucose associated with undetected heart damage Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:17 PM PST A new study suggests that hyperglycemia injures the heart, even in patients without a history of heart disease or diabetes. The high-sensitivity test they used detected levels of cTnT tenfold lower than those found in patients diagnosed with a heart attack.

Unraveling a butterfly's aerial antics could help builders of bug-size flying robots Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:16 PM PST By figuring out how butterflies flutter among flowers with amazing grace and agility, researchers hope to help build small airborne robots that can mimic those maneuvers.

New way to study ground fractures Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:16 PM PST Geophysics researchers have created a new way to study fractures by producing elastic waves, or vibrations, through using high-intensity light focused directly on the fracture itself.

Stellar astrophysics: The discovery of deceleration Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:14 PM PST Pulsars are among the most exotic celestial bodies known. They have diameters of about 20 kilometres, but at the same time roughly the mass of our sun. A sugar-cube sized piece of its ultra-compact matter on Earth would weigh hundreds of millions of tons. A sub-class of them, known as millisecond pulsars, spin up to several hundred times per second around their own axes. Previous studies reached the paradoxical conclusion that some millisecond pulsars are older than the universe itself.

New super-Earth detected within the habitable zone of a nearby cool star Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:14 PM PST Sientists have discovered a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a nearby star. The star is a member of a triple star system and has a different makeup than our Sun, being relatively lacking in metallic elements. This discovery demonstrates that habitable planets could form in a greater variety of environments than previously believed.

Yellow Biotechnology: Using plants to silence insect genes in a high-throughput manner Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:12 PM PST Scientists are now using a procedure which brings forward ecological research on insects: They study gene functions in moth larvae by manipulating genes using the RNA interference technology (RNAi). RNAi is induced by feeding larvae with plants that have been treated with viral vectors. This method called "plant virus based dsRNA producing system" increases sample throughput compared to the use of genetically transformed plants.

Why red wine can be healthy: Probable mechanism underlying resveratrol activity uncovered Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:11 PM PST Researchers have identified how resveratrol, a naturally occurring chemical found in red wine and other plant products, may confer its health benefits. The authors present evidence that resveratrol does not directly activate sirtuin 1, a protein associated with aging. Rather, the authors found that resveratrol inhibits certain types of proteins known as phosphodiesterases (PDEs), enzymes that help regulate cell energy.

Castaway lizards provide insight into elusive evolutionary process, founder effects Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:11 PM PST A biologist who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas has shed light on the interaction between evolutionary processes that are seldom observed. He found that the lizards' genetic and morphological traits were determined by both natural selection and a phenomenon called founder effects, which occur when species colonize new territory.

Coffee consumption reduces fibrosis risk in those with fatty liver disease, study suggests Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:10 PM PST Caffeine consumption has long been associated with decreased risk of liver disease and reduced fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. Now, new research confirms that coffee caffeine consumption reduces the risk of advanced fibrosis in those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. New findings show that increased coffee intake, specifically among patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, decreases risk of hepatic fibrosis.

Hubble zooms in on a magnified galaxy Posted: 02 Feb 2012 12:08 PM PST Astronomers aimed Hubble at one of the most striking examples of gravitational lensing, a nearly 90-degree arc of light in the galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623. Hubble's view of the distant background galaxy, which lies nearly 10 billion light-years away, is significantly more detailed than could ever be achieved without the help of the gravitational lens.

Erratic heart rhythm may account for some unexplained strokes Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:46 AM PST Occasional erratic heart rhythms appear to cause about one-fifth of strokes for which a cause is not readily established.

Do black holes help stars form? Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST The center of just about every galaxy is thought to host a black hole, some with masses of thousands of millions of Suns and consequently strong gravitational pulls that disrupt material around them. They had been thought to hinder the birth of stars, but now astronomers studying the nearby galaxy Centaurus A have found quite the opposite: a black hole that seems to be helping stars to form.

Human immune cells react sensitively to 'stress' Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:38 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that certain cells circulating in human blood -- so-called monocytes -- are extremely sensitive to reactive oxygen species (ROS). They were also able to clarify the reason for this: ROS are aggressive forms of oxygen that are generated during states of "oxidative stress" and play a significant role in various diseases.

Young children exposed to anesthesia multiple times show elevated rates of ADHD Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:22 AM PST Researchers have found that multiple exposures to anesthesia at a young age are associated with higher rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Rearranging the cell's skeleton: Small molecules at the cell’s membrane enable cell movement Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:22 AM PST Cell biologists have identified key steps in how certain molecules alter a cell's skeletal shape and drive the cell's movement.

Prolific plant hunters provide insight in strategy for collecting undiscovered plant species Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:14 PM PST Today's alarmingly high rate of plant extinction necessitates an increased understanding of the world's biodiversity. An estimated 15 to 30 percent of the world's flowering plants have yet to be discovered, making efficiency an integral function of future botanical research.

Same genes linked to early- and late-onset Alzheimer's Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:32 PM PST The same gene mutations linked to inherited, early-onset Alzheimer's disease have been found in people with the more common late-onset form of the illness. The discovery may lead doctors and researchers to change the way Alzheimer's disease is classified.

Stem cells could drive hepatitis research forward Posted: 01 Feb 2012 09:07 AM PST Researchers have produced liver-like cells from induced pluripotent stem cells. By creating liver-like cells, scientists can study why people respond differently to Hepatitis C.

Potatoes lower blood pressure in people with obesity and hypertension without increasing weight Posted: 01 Feb 2012 09:07 AM PST The first study to check the effects of eating potatoes on blood pressure in humans has concluded that two small helpings of purple potatoes a day decreases blood pressure by about four percent without causing weight gain. The researchers say that decrease, although seemingly small, is sufficient to potentially reduce the risk of several forms of heart disease.

Breakthrough in understanding ultrafast magnetism Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:29 AM PST Scientists from The Netherlands, Sweden and Ukraine claim a breakthrough in the theory of ultrafast magnetic phenomena.

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