ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Running hot and cold in the deep sea: Scientists explore rare environment
• The cutting edge: Exploring the efficiency of bladed tooth shape
• New approach for treating genetic muscle wasting disease shows promise in mice
• Responding to the radiation threat
• Basque roots revealed through DNA analysis
• Specific antibodies halt Alzheimer's disease in mice
• New advances in science of carbon accounting
• Listening to the 9. 0-magnitude Japanese earthquake: Seismic waves converted to audio to study quake's traits
• Potentially game-changing advances in energy materials
• Using a gun in bear encounters doesn't make you safer
• Scientists revolutionize electron microscope: New method could create highest resolution images ever
• Galaxy cluster hidden in plain view
• Looking at the man in the moon: Astronomers explain why the man in the moon faces Earth
• Scientists pinpoint how vitamin D may help clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's
• Influencing stem cell fate: New screening method helps scientists identify key information rapidly
• Most weight loss supplements are not effective
• New brain imaging and computer modeling predicts autistic brain activity and behavior
• Unnecessary induction of labor increases risk of cesarean section and other complications, study suggests
• Gene therapy approach to grow blood vessels in ischemic limbs
• Carp dominate crayfish in invasive species battleground
• Exercise and caffeine change your DNA in the same way, study suggests
• With extra gene, mice are footloose and cancer free
• How protein machinery binds and wraps DNA to start replication
• How world's smallest DNA virus evolved in rare parakeets
• Blood pressure drug effective for treating PTSD-related nightmares, study suggests
• Microneedle vaccine patch boosts flu protection through robust skin cell immune response
• New H5N1 viruses: How to balance risk of escape with benefits of research?
• Hiding behavior of the scrub jay: More stress than smarts?
• Weekend smoking can damage your memory, study suggests
• New insight into how 'chemical switch' that increases risk of stroke and heart disease risk is turned on
• More effective method of imaging proteins

Running hot and cold in the deep sea: Scientists explore rare environment Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:57 PM PST It's extremely rare to find hot hydrothermal vents and cold methane seeps intersecting in one place, but that's what researchers found and explored during an expedition in 2010. A description of the scientists' findings, including a large number of mysterious, undescribed species, has just been published.

The cutting edge: Exploring the efficiency of bladed tooth shape Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:56 PM PST Using a combination of guillotine-based experiments and cutting-edge computer modeling, researchers have explored the most efficient ways for teeth to slice food. Their results show just how precisely the shape of an animal's teeth is optimized to suit the type of food it eats.

New approach for treating genetic muscle wasting disease shows promise in mice Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:56 PM PST Scientists have discovered that a drug called fasudil can extend the average lifespan of mice with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) from 30.5 days to more than 300 days, and increase the size of muscle fibers. SMA is the leading inherited cause of death in infants and toddlers, affecting approximately 25,000 people in Canada and the United States.

Responding to the radiation threat Posted: 06 Mar 2012 03:12 PM PST Researchers are developing a promising treatment for safely decontaminating humans exposed to radioactive actinides from a major radiation exposure event, such as a nuclear reactor accident or a "dirty bomb" terrorist attack. The treatment, which can be administered as a pill that can result in the excretion of approximately 90-percent of the actinide contaminants within 24 hours, has been advanced through the initial pre-clinical phases.

Basque roots revealed through DNA analysis Posted: 06 Mar 2012 03:12 PM PST The Genographic Project has announced the most comprehensive analysis to date of Basque genetic patterns, showing that Basque genetic uniqueness predates the arrival of agriculture in the Iberian Peninsula some 7,000 years ago. Through detailed DNA analysis of samples from the French and Spanish Basque regions, the team found that Basques share unique genetic patterns that distinguish them from the surrounding non-Basque populations.

Specific antibodies halt Alzheimer's disease in mice Posted: 06 Mar 2012 03:11 PM PST Antibodies that block the process of synapse disintegration in Alzheimer's disease have been identified, raising hopes for a treatment to combat early cognitive decline in the disease.

New advances in science of carbon accounting Posted: 06 Mar 2012 11:25 AM PST Determining with precision the carbon balance of North America is complicated, but researchers have devised a method that considerably advances the science.

Listening to the 9. 0-magnitude Japanese earthquake: Seismic waves converted to audio to study quake's traits Posted: 06 Mar 2012 11:25 AM PST A professor has converted the seismic waves from last year's historic Japanese earthquake into audio files. The results allow experts and general audiences to "hear" what the quake sounded like as it moved through the earth and around the globe.

Potentially game-changing advances in energy materials Posted: 06 Mar 2012 11:25 AM PST Specific advances in materials and manufacturing can deliver significant energy, environmental, and economic impacts to U.S. businesses in as soon as two to ten years, according to a new study.

Using a gun in bear encounters doesn't make you safer Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:19 AM PST Carrying a gun in bear country doesn't mean you're more protected in the event of a bear encounter, according to new research. Firing a gun is no more effective in keeping people from injury or death during bear attacks than not using a firearm, new research shows.

Scientists revolutionize electron microscope: New method could create highest resolution images ever Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:18 AM PST Researchers have revolutionized the electron microscope by developing a new method which could create the highest resolution images ever seen.

Galaxy cluster hidden in plain view Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:18 AM PST A team of astronomers has discovered the most distant cluster of red galaxies ever observed using FourStar, a new and powerful near-infrared camera on the 6.5m Magellan Baade Telescope. The galaxy cluster is located 10.5 billion light years away in the direction of the constellation Leo. It is made up of 30 galaxies packed closely together, forming the earliest known "galaxy city" in the universe.

Looking at the man in the moon: Astronomers explain why the man in the moon faces Earth Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:18 AM PST Many of us see a man in the moon -- a human face smiling down at us from the lunar surface. The "face," of course, is just an illusion, shaped by the dark splotches of lunar maria (smooth plains formed from the lava of ancient volcanic eruptions). Like a loyal friend, the man is always there, constantly gazing at us as the moon revolves around Earth. But why did the moon settle into an orbit with the man facing Earth? Researchers explain.

Scientists pinpoint how vitamin D may help clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:18 AM PST Researchers have identified the intracellular mechanisms regulated by vitamin D3 that may help the body clear the brain of amyloid beta, the main component of plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. The early findings show that vitamin D3 may activate key genes and cellular signaling networks to help stimulate the immune system to clear the amyloid-beta protein.

Influencing stem cell fate: New screening method helps scientists identify key information rapidly Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:16 AM PST Scientists have developed a powerful analytical method that they have used to direct stem cell differentiation. Out of millions of possibilities, they rapidly identified the chemical and physical structures that can cue stem cells to become osteocytes, cells found in mature bone. Researchers can use the method, called nanocombinatorics, to build enormous libraries of physical structures varying in size from a few nanometers to many micrometers for addressing problems within and outside biology.

Most weight loss supplements are not effective Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:16 AM PST Scientists have reviewed the body of evidence around weight loss supplements and has bad news for those trying to find a magic pill to lose weight and keep it off -- it doesn't exist.

New brain imaging and computer modeling predicts autistic brain activity and behavior Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:16 AM PST New research provides an explanation for some of autism's mysteries and gives scientists clear targets for developing intervention and treatment therapies. Scientists used brain imaging and computer modeling to show how the brain's white matter tracts -- the cabling that connects separated brain areas -- are altered in autism and how these alterations can affect brain function and behavior.

Unnecessary induction of labor increases risk of cesarean section and other complications, study suggests Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PST A new study reveals that induction of labor at term in the absence of maternal or fetal indications increases the risk of cesarean section and other postpartum complications for the woman, as well as neonatal complications.

Gene therapy approach to grow blood vessels in ischemic limbs Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:14 AM PST Scientists can offer new hope that people with atherosclerotic disease may one day be able to avoid limb amputation related to ischemia. New research suggests that the delivery of genes for two molecules naturally produced by the body, called "PDGF-BB" and "VEGF" may successfully cause the body to grow new blood vessels that can save ischemic limbs.

Carp dominate crayfish in invasive species battleground Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:13 AM PST Common carp and Louisiana red swamp crayfish are some of the most invasive species on the planet yet how they interact has been poorly understood until now. Scientists investigated their relationship in the waters of Kenya's Lake Naivasha over eight years.

Exercise and caffeine change your DNA in the same way, study suggests Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:12 AM PST When healthy but inactive men and women exercise for a matter of minutes, it produces a rather immediate change to their DNA. Perhaps even more tantalizing, the study suggests that the caffeine in your morning coffee might also influence muscle in essentially the same way.

With extra gene, mice are footloose and cancer free Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:12 AM PST In a perfect world, we could eat to our heart's content without sacrificing our health and good looks, and now it appears that maybe we can. Mice with an extra dose of a known anti-cancer gene lose weight even as their appetites grow. Not only that, but according to new research, the animals also live longer, and that isn't just because they aren't getting cancer, either.

How protein machinery binds and wraps DNA to start replication Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:12 AM PST Scientists have deciphered molecular-level details of the complex choreography by which intricate cellular proteins recognize and bind to DNA to start the DNA replication process. The research may point to ways to block unwanted cell division.

How world's smallest DNA virus evolved in rare parakeets Posted: 06 Mar 2012 10:11 AM PST Scientists have gained new insight into a rare virus that is threatening to wipe out the Mauritius parakeet -- one of the world's most endangered species of parrot.

Blood pressure drug effective for treating PTSD-related nightmares, study suggests Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:30 AM PST The blood pressure drug prazosin appears to be an effective treatment to curb post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related nightmares.

Microneedle vaccine patch boosts flu protection through robust skin cell immune response Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:30 AM PST Recent research found that microneedle vaccine patches are more effective at delivering protection against influenza virus in mice than subcutaneous or intramuscular inoculation. A new, detailed analysis of the early immune responses helps explain why the skin is such fertile ground for vaccination with these tiny, virtually painless microneedles.

New H5N1 viruses: How to balance risk of escape with benefits of research? Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:30 AM PST In the controversy surrounding the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses, scientists and policy makers are struggling with one question in particular: what level of biosafety is best for studying these potentially lethal strains of influenza? Experts now argue their different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses.

Hiding behavior of the scrub jay: More stress than smarts? Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:29 AM PST The fact that scrub jays continually move their food from one hiding place to another (known as recaching) does not necessarily imply subtle social intelligence on their part – it could simply be due to stress.

Weekend smoking can damage your memory, study suggests Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:29 AM PST People who smoke only at weekends cause as much damage to their memory as those who smoke on a daily basis, according to new research.

New insight into how 'chemical switch' that increases risk of stroke and heart disease risk is turned on Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:29 AM PST Scientists investigating a 'biochemical switch' linked to strokes and heart disease claim to have made an advance in understanding how it is 'turned on'.

More effective method of imaging proteins Posted: 06 Mar 2012 04:29 AM PST Scientists have found a more effective way of imaging proteins. The next step is to film how proteins work – at molecular level.

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