ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• NASA's Landsat satellites see Texas crop circles
• Nanotechnology-related safety and ethics problem emerging
• Big girls don’t cry: Overweight teens who are satisfied with their bodies are less depressed, less prone to unhealthy behaviors
• DNA fingerprinting enters 21st century
• Wearable electronics:Transparent, lightweight, flexible conductor could revolutionize electronics industry
• Maintain your brain: The secrets to aging success
• Hubble images searchlight beams from a preplanetary nebula
• Cassini finds Saturn moon has planet-like qualities
• Golden potential for gold thin films
• Slow-growing babies more likely in normal-weight women; Less common in obese pregnancies
• 100 days and counting to NASA's Curiosity Mars rover landing
• Treating brain cancer with novel viral vector
• New drug to tackle body fat problems
• Fruit flies provide new knowledge about uninhibited cell growth
• Researchers combat global disease with a cell phone, Google Maps and a lot of ingenuity
• Sperm viability greatly reduced in offspring of animals treated with common antibiotic tetracycline
• Novel regulatory molecules called mirror-microRNAs control multiple aspects of brain function
• Contributing to the nuclear fusion project
• Polluting China for the sake of economic growth
• When to have kids: A complex question for hazel dormice
• Bejeweled: Nanotech gets boost from nanowire decorations
• New form of intellectual disability discovered
• Scientists provide first large-scale estimate of reef shark losses in the Pacific Ocean
• Importance of short-wavelength excitation in environmental vibrations due to urban rail traffic
• Genetic mutation in African malaria parasite shown to give resistance to best drugs
• Novel genetic loci identified for high-frequency hearing loss
• Purple sea urchin metamorphosis controlled by histamine
• Handheld probe shows great promise for oral cancer detection
• Atomic clock comparison via data highways
• Anti-reflective coatings: Beauty is in the moth's eyes
• New particle discovered at CERN

NASA's Landsat satellites see Texas crop circles Posted: 27 Apr 2012 09:02 PM PDT A water-rich polka dot pattern takes over the traditional rectangular patchwork of fields in a series of 40 years of Landsat images. In the dry Texas panhandle near the town of Dalhart, this transformation is due to center-pivot irrigation, a farming method that improves water distribution to fields. It was invented by farmer Frank Zybach in 1949.

Nanotechnology-related safety and ethics problem emerging Posted: 27 Apr 2012 09:02 PM PDT A scientist provides an example of a nanotechnology-related safety and ethics problem that is unfolding right now.

Big girls don’t cry: Overweight teens who are satisfied with their bodies are less depressed, less prone to unhealthy behaviors Posted: 27 Apr 2012 09:01 PM PDT A new study finds overweight teens who are satisfied with their bodies are less depressed, less prone to unhealthy behaviors.

DNA fingerprinting enters 21st century Posted: 27 Apr 2012 01:34 PM PDT Researchers have created a three-step algorithm, lobSTR, that in one day accurately and simultaneously profiles more than 100,000 short tandem repeats in one human genome sequence -- a feat that previous systems could never complete.

Wearable electronics:Transparent, lightweight, flexible conductor could revolutionize electronics industry Posted: 27 Apr 2012 01:34 PM PDT The most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity has just been invented. Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionize the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players.

Maintain your brain: The secrets to aging success Posted: 27 Apr 2012 01:33 PM PDT Aging may seem unavoidable, but that's not necessarily so when it comes to the brain. So say researchers based on counterintuitive evidence that it is what you do in old age that matters when it comes to maintaining a youthful brain rather than what you did earlier in life.

Hubble images searchlight beams from a preplanetary nebula Posted: 27 Apr 2012 11:26 AM PDT The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been at the cutting edge of research into what happens to stars like our sun at the ends of their lives. One stage that stars pass through as they run out of nuclear fuel is called the preplanetary or protoplanetary nebula stage. A new Hubble image of the Egg Nebula shows one of the best views to date of this brief but dramatic phase in a star's life.

Cassini finds Saturn moon has planet-like qualities Posted: 27 Apr 2012 11:22 AM PDT Data from NASA's Cassini mission reveal Saturn's moon Phoebe has more planet-like qualities than previously thought. Scientists had their first close-up look at Phoebe when Cassini began exploring the Saturn system in 2004. Using data from multiple spacecraft instruments and a computer model of the moon's chemistry, geophysics and geology, scientists found Phoebe was a so-called planetesimal, or remnant planetary building block.

Golden potential for gold thin films Posted: 27 Apr 2012 11:21 AM PDT Researchers have directed the first self-assembly of nanoparticles into multi-layered thin films of gold that are device-ready for potential applications in computer memory storage, energy harvesting, energy storage, remote-sensing, catalysis, light management and plasmonics.

Slow-growing babies more likely in normal-weight women; Less common in obese pregnancies Posted: 27 Apr 2012 11:21 AM PDT A new study found that the incidence of fetal growth restriction, or the poor growth of a baby while in the mother's womb, was lower in obese women when compared to non-obese women. Researchers conducted the study because a wealth of data shows that obese women are at greater risk of fetal death or stillbirth. They wanted to determine if fetal growth restriction – which increases the likelihood of stillbirth – might play a role.

100 days and counting to NASA's Curiosity Mars rover landing Posted: 27 Apr 2012 11:20 AM PDT At 10:31 p.m. PDT on April 27, (1:31 p.m. EDT), NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, carrying the one-ton Curiosity rover, will be within 100 days from its appointment with the Martian surface. At that moment, the mission has about 119 million miles (191 million kilometers) to go and is closing at a speed of 13,000 mph (21,000 kilometers per hour).

Treating brain cancer with novel viral vector Posted: 27 Apr 2012 10:32 AM PDT Physicians are now treating patients with recurrent brain cancer by directly injecting an investigational viral vector into their tumor.

New drug to tackle body fat problems Posted: 27 Apr 2012 08:46 AM PDT Medical researchers have defined the structure of a key part of the human obesity receptor -- an essential factor in the regulation of body fat -- which could help provide new treatments for the complications of obesity and anorexia.

Fruit flies provide new knowledge about uninhibited cell growth Posted: 27 Apr 2012 08:45 AM PDT Scientists show that a specific type of carbohydrate plays an important role in the intercellular signaling that controls the growth and development of the nervous system. In particular, defects in that carbohydrate may result in the uninhibited cell growth that characterizes the genetic disease neurofibromatosis and certain types of cancer.

Researchers combat global disease with a cell phone, Google Maps and a lot of ingenuity Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:02 AM PDT Researchers have developed a compact and cost-effective RDT reader platform to combine digital reading of all existing rapid-diagnostic-tests. The team's new reader is installed on a cell phone that can work with various lateral flow immuno-chromatographic assays and similar tests to sense the presence of a target analyte in samples.

Sperm viability greatly reduced in offspring of animals treated with common antibiotic tetracycline Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:02 AM PDT Scientists report that male pseudoscorpions treated with the antibiotic tetracycline suffer significantly reduced sperm viability and pass this toxic effect on to their untreated sons. They suggest that a similar effect could occur in humans and other species.

Novel regulatory molecules called mirror-microRNAs control multiple aspects of brain function Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT Our genes control many aspects of who we are -- from the color of our hair to our vulnerability to certain diseases -- but how are the genes, and consequently the proteins they make themselves controlled? Researchers have discovered a new group of molecules which control some of the fundamental processes behind memory function and may hold the key to developing new therapies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.

Contributing to the nuclear fusion project Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT Many regard nuclear fusion as the main energy source of the future. Among others, the ITER project is seeking to turn this venture into reality and is making use of the Tokamak reactor for this purpose. Reactors of this type have a number of control problems, and to solve them the electronics engineers have come up with some tools.

Polluting China for the sake of economic growth Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT China's economic growth will continue to be energy-intensive and highly polluting for the foreseeable future with emissions and efficiency far below capital growth on the agenda, according to a new study.

When to have kids: A complex question for hazel dormice Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT Unlike many of their rodent cousins, common dormice hibernate. Their life history strategies have now been investigated, with surprising results: Common dormice give birth to young either as early as possible after waking up from hibernation or as late as possible, just in time to get the young fit for hibernation.

Bejeweled: Nanotech gets boost from nanowire decorations Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT Engineers have found a novel method for "decorating" nanowires with chains of tiny particles to increase their electrical and catalytic performance. The new technique is simpler, faster and more effective than earlier methods and could lead to better batteries, solar cells and catalysts.

New form of intellectual disability discovered Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a gene for a new form of intellectual disability, as well as how it likely affects cognitive development by disrupting neuron functioning.

Scientists provide first large-scale estimate of reef shark losses in the Pacific Ocean Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT First study to provide estimates of reef shark losses in the Pacific Ocean are sobering. Researchers noted the enormous detrimental effect that humans have on reef sharks.

Importance of short-wavelength excitation in environmental vibrations due to urban rail traffic Posted: 27 Apr 2012 07:01 AM PDT An inversion study will be published in Science China: Technological Sciences. The study will examine the excitation source function of environmental vibration due to urban rail traffic, which may be deemed a novel approach. Observation data indicate that uneven wheel–rail contact in the short wavelength range is the main generation mechanism of ground vibration.

Genetic mutation in African malaria parasite shown to give resistance to best drugs Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:59 AM PDT Scientists have identified genetic mutations in the deadliest malaria parasite in Africa that are giving it resistance to one of the most powerful anti-malarial drugs. The researchers say their findings are a further warning that the best weapons against malaria could become obsolete.

Novel genetic loci identified for high-frequency hearing loss Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:59 AM PDT The genetics responsible for frequency-specific hearing loss have remained elusive until recently, when genetic loci were found that affected high-frequency hearing. Now, a study reports, for the first time, genetic loci with effects that are limited to specific portions of the hearing frequency map, particularly those that are most affected in aging-related hearing loss.

Purple sea urchin metamorphosis controlled by histamine Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:59 AM PDT Now that hay fever season has started, sufferers are well aware of the effect of histamines. However it is easy to forget that histamine is also a neurotransmitter involved in controlling memories, regulating sleep, and controlling secretion of gastric acid. New research shows that for the purple sea urchin histamine is also responsible for controlling metamorphosis from a free swimming larval form to the spiny adult living on the sea floor.

Handheld probe shows great promise for oral cancer detection Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:59 AM PDT Researchers have created a portable, miniature microscope in the hope of reducing the time taken to diagnose oral cancer. The probe, which is around 20 cm long and 1 cm wide at its tip, could be used by doctors to diagnose oral cancer in real-time or as a surgical guidance tool; dentists could also use it to screen for early-stage cancer cells.

Atomic clock comparison via data highways Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:59 AM PDT In the future, optical fibers could connect all optical atomic clocks within Europe -- a milestone for various users of optical frequencies in research and industry.

Anti-reflective coatings: Beauty is in the moth's eyes Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT If you wear glasses, you are probably reading this article by looking through a tiny, transparent layer of nanomaterial. Anti-reflective coatings (ARCs), based on nanomaterials that reduce the amount of reflected light, are used in most optical devices, including glasses, photo lenses, TV screens, solar cells, LED lights and many others.

New particle discovered at CERN Posted: 27 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT Physicists have discovered a previously unknown particle composed of three quarks in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator. A new baryon could thus be detected for the first time at the LHC. The baryon known as Xi_b^* confirms fundamental assumptions of physics regarding the binding of quarks.

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