ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Plant diversity is key to maintaining productive vegetation
• Ultrasound idea: Prototype bioreactor evaluates engineered tissue while creating it
• Lightning signature could help reveal the solar system's origins
• Fabrication method can affect the use of block copolymer thin films
• First light: Researchers develop new way to generate superluminal pulses
• Low oxygen levels could drive cancer growth, research suggests
• Environmental toxicants causing ovarian disease across generations
• Simulating reality: Less memory required on quantum computer than on classical computer, study shows
• Next-generation nanoelectronics: A decade of progress, coming advances
• 'Smart doorknobs' and gesture-controlled smartphones: Revolutionary technology enables objects to know your touch
• Rapid Sierra Nevada uplift tracked by scientists
• Thanks for the (computer) memory: More room for data in 'phase-change' material
• Early North Americans lived with extinct giant beasts, study shows
• Scientists core into California's Clear Lake to explore past climate change
• Fast, low-power, all-optical switch
• A needle in a haystack: How does a broken DNA molecule get repaired?
• Life-size 3-D hologram-like telepods may revolutionize videoconferencing in the future
• Flying 3-D eye-bots
• Stalagmite research suggests Earth has two modes of responding to change
• Genetic pathway of rare facial malformation in children pinpointed
• Atomic-scale visualization of electron pairing in iron superconductors
• Biased evidence? Researchers challenge post-marketing drug trial practices
• Naturally blond hair in Solomon Islanders rooted in native gene
• Evolution of sex differences: Battles of sexes shown to spur adaptive sex differences
• Possible protective blood factors against type 2 diabetes identified
• First gene linked to missing spleen in newborns
• Rats recall past to make daily decisions
• Mars: Evidence of water flows at ancient impact crater endeavour
• Increasing speed of Greenland glaciers gives new insight for rising sea level
• Genetic pathway impacting the spread of cancer cells discovered
• Insect glands may illuminate human fertilization process
• How mitochondrial genes are passed from mother to child
• Double duty: Versatile immune cells play dual roles in human skin
• Aged hematopoietic stem cells rejuvenated to be functionally younger
• Waking chick embryos before they are born
• Scientists show how a gene duplication helped our brains become 'human'
• Dynamic changes in gene regulation in human stem cells revealed
• Stem cells poised to self-destruct for the good of the embryo
• Better housing conditions for zebrafish could improve research results
• New technique generates predictable complex, wavy shapes: May explain brain folds and be useful for drug delivery
• 'Battle of the sexes' offers evolutionary insights: Role of genital spines in reproductive success of fruit flies
• Earth history and evolution: Cypress tree distribution reflects the breakup of Pangaea
• Research explores the positives of bipolar disorder
• Presence of fetal cells in women lowers risk of breast cancer but raises risk of colon cancer
• Regular jogging shows dramatic increase in life expectancy
• Mitigating disasters by hunting down Dragon Kings: Forecasting natural or economic disasters by identifying statistical anomalies
• Of Mice and Men: Characterization of a new autism gene
• Bacteria discovery could lead to antibiotics alternatives
• Four white dwarf stars caught in the act of consuming 'Earth-like' exoplanets
• Some women may be genetically predisposed to smoking-related hot flashes
• Pleasure eating triggers body's reward system and may stimulate overeating

Plant diversity is key to maintaining productive vegetation Posted: 03 May 2012 05:05 PM PDT Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, results of a new study show.

Ultrasound idea: Prototype bioreactor evaluates engineered tissue while creating it Posted: 03 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Researchers have developed a prototype bioreactor that both stimulates and evaluates tissue as it grows, mimicking natural processes while eliminating the need to stop periodically to cut up samples for analysis.

Lightning signature could help reveal the solar system's origins Posted: 03 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Every second, lightning flashes some 50 times on Earth. Together these discharges coalesce and get stronger, creating electromagnetic waves circling around Earth, to create a beating pulse between the ground and the lower ionosphere, about 60 miles up in the atmosphere. This electromagnetic signature, known as Schumann Resonance, had only been observed from Earth's surface until, in 2011, scientists discovered they could also detect it using NASA's Vector Electric Field Instrument (VEFI) aboard the U.S. Air Force's Communications/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite. In a new paper, researchers describe how this new technique could be used to study other planets in the solar system as well, and even shed light on how the solar system formed.

Fabrication method can affect the use of block copolymer thin films Posted: 03 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Thin polymer films can have different properties depending on the method by which they are made. The results suggest that deeper work is necessary to explore the best way of creating these films, which are used in applications ranging from high-tech mirrors to organic electronic devices.

First light: Researchers develop new way to generate superluminal pulses Posted: 03 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel way of producing light pulses that are "superluminal" -- in some sense they travel faster than the speed of light. The new method could be used to improve the timing of communications signals and to investigate the propagation of quantum correlations.

Low oxygen levels could drive cancer growth, research suggests Posted: 03 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Low oxygen levels in cells may be a primary cause of uncontrollable tumor growth in some cancers, according to a new study. The authors' findings run counter to widely accepted beliefs that genetic mutations are responsible for cancer growth.

Environmental toxicants causing ovarian disease across generations Posted: 03 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Researchers have found that ovarian disease can result from exposures to a wide range of environmental chemicals and be inherited by future generations. Reproductive biologists looked at how a fungicide, pesticide, plastic, dioxin and hydrocarbon mixtures affected a gestating rat's progeny for multiple generations. They saw subsequent generations inherit ovarian disease by "epigenetic transgenerational inheritance."

Simulating reality: Less memory required on quantum computer than on classical computer, study shows Posted: 03 May 2012 01:31 PM PDT Simulations of reality would require less memory on a quantum computer than on a classical computer, new research has shown. The study demonstrates a new way in which computers based on quantum physics could beat the performance of classical computers.

Next-generation nanoelectronics: A decade of progress, coming advances Posted: 03 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT Nano-electromechanical switch technology could change the future of electronics. In two recent articles, researchers have explored the progress and future applications of the burgeoning technology.

'Smart doorknobs' and gesture-controlled smartphones: Revolutionary technology enables objects to know your touch Posted: 03 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT A doorknob that knows whether to lock or unlock based on how it is grasped, a smartphone that silences itself if the user holds a finger to her lips and a chair that adjusts room lighting based on recognizing if a user is reclining or leaning forward are among the many possible applications of Touché, a new sensing technique.

Rapid Sierra Nevada uplift tracked by scientists Posted: 03 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT From the highest peak in the continental United States, Mt. Whitney at 14,000 feet in elevation, to the 10,000-foot-peaks near Lake Tahoe, scientific evidence shows the entire Sierra Nevada mountain range is rising at the relatively fast rate of 1 to 2 millimeters every year.

Thanks for the (computer) memory: More room for data in 'phase-change' material Posted: 03 May 2012 12:40 PM PDT Engineers have discovered previously unknown properties of a common computer memory material, paving the way for new memory drives, movie discs and computer systems that absorb data more quickly, last longer and allow far more capacity than current data storage media.

Early North Americans lived with extinct giant beasts, study shows Posted: 03 May 2012 12:39 PM PDT A new study that determined the age of skeletal remains provides evidence humans reached the Western Hemisphere during the last ice age and lived alongside giant extinct mammals. The study addresses the century-long debate among scientists about whether human and mammal remains found at Vero Beach in the early 1900s date to the same time period. Using rare earth element analysis to measure the concentration of naturally occurring metals absorbed during fossilization, researchers show modern humans in North America co-existed with large extinct mammals about 13,000 years ago, including mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths.

Scientists core into California's Clear Lake to explore past climate change Posted: 03 May 2012 11:27 AM PDT One of the oldest lakes in the world, Clear Lake in northern California has deep sediments that contain a record of the climate and local plants and animals going back perhaps 500,000 years. Scientists are drilling cores from the sediments to explore 130,000 years of this history and fine-tune models for predicting the fate of today's flora and fauna in the face of global warming and pressure from a growing human population.

Fast, low-power, all-optical switch Posted: 03 May 2012 11:27 AM PDT A new solid-state device uses one beam of light to switch another beam of light from one direction to another. It uses one-fifth the power -- only 90 atto-joules -- than the previous all-optical switch.

A needle in a haystack: How does a broken DNA molecule get repaired? Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a key element in the mechanism of DNA repair. Using a smart new dual-molecule technique, the group has now found out how the DNA molecule is able to perform this search and recognition process in such an efficient way.

Life-size 3-D hologram-like telepods may revolutionize videoconferencing in the future Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT Imagine a Star Trek-like human-scale 3-D videoconferencing pod that allows people in different locations to video conference as if they are standing in front of each other. "Why Skype when you can talk to a life-size 3-D holographic image of another person?" says one of the inventors.

Flying 3-D eye-bots Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT They can be deployed as additional surveillance resources during major events, or as high-resolution 3-D street imaging systems. Intelligent swarms of aerial drones are a universally useful tool for police, crisis managers and urban planners. Special 3-D sensors ensure flawless aerobatics and prevent collisions.

Stalagmite research suggests Earth has two modes of responding to change Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT By analyzing stalagmites, a team of researchers has determined that the climate signature in the tropics through four glacial cycles looks different in some ways and similar in others when compared to the climate signature at high latitudes. The results suggest that Earth's climate system might have two modes of responding to significant changes.

Genetic pathway of rare facial malformation in children pinpointed Posted: 03 May 2012 11:26 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a pair of defective genes that cause a rare congenital malformation syndrome that can make it impossible for the child to breathe or eat properly without reparative surgery.

Atomic-scale visualization of electron pairing in iron superconductors Posted: 03 May 2012 11:25 AM PDT By measuring how strongly electrons are bound together to form Cooper pairs in an iron-based superconductor, scientists provide direct evidence supporting theories in which magnetism holds the key to this material's ability to carry current with no resistance.

Biased evidence? Researchers challenge post-marketing drug trial practices Posted: 03 May 2012 11:25 AM PDT Bioethicists argue that current research ethics frameworks do not flag drug trials that, while not putting patients at risk, produce biased evidence. As an example, they point to phase IV research -- when pharmaceutical companies test drugs and devices that have been approved for marketing.

Naturally blond hair in Solomon Islanders rooted in native gene Posted: 03 May 2012 11:25 AM PDT The common occurrence of blond hair among the dark-skinned indigenous people of the Solomon Islands is due to a homegrown genetic variant distinct from the gene that leads to blond hair in Europeans, according to a new study.

Evolution of sex differences: Battles of sexes shown to spur adaptive sex differences Posted: 03 May 2012 11:25 AM PDT Male water striders benefit by mating frequently, females by mating infrequently: both have developed traits to give them the upper hand. The researchers modified a gene involved in the development of antennae in male water striders and found that as the antennae became more elaborate, mating success increased. The study is unusual in that it describes a direct linkage between known forces of selection, evolutionary change morphology, and its underlying genetic basis.

Possible protective blood factors against type 2 diabetes identified Posted: 03 May 2012 11:24 AM PDT Researchers have shown that levels of certain related proteins found in blood are associated with a greatly reduced risk for developing type 2 diabetes up to a decade or more later. The findings could open a new front in the war against diabetes.

First gene linked to missing spleen in newborns Posted: 03 May 2012 11:24 AM PDT New discovery of a genetic mutation in congenital asplenia may lead to genetic prenatal screening in patients with the rare, but deadly, disorder.

Rats recall past to make daily decisions Posted: 03 May 2012 11:24 AM PDT Scientists have identified patterns of brain activity in the rat brain that play a role in the formation and recall of memories and decision-making. The discovery, which builds on the team's previous findings, offers a path for studying learning, decision-making and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Mars: Evidence of water flows at ancient impact crater endeavour Posted: 03 May 2012 11:24 AM PDT Evidence of ancient water at a Martian crater is the latest in a long series of discoveries by a surprisingly long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The latest discovery was made at the rim of the Endeavour Crater, a large ancient impact crater on Mars measuring 14 miles in diameter.

Increasing speed of Greenland glaciers gives new insight for rising sea level Posted: 03 May 2012 11:24 AM PDT Changes in the speed that ice travels in more than 200 outlet glaciers indicates that Greenland's contribution to rising sea level in the 21st century might be significantly less than the upper limits some scientists thought possible, a new study shows.

Genetic pathway impacting the spread of cancer cells discovered Posted: 03 May 2012 09:58 AM PDT Scientists have identified a new genetic pathway influencing the spread of cancer cells. According to new results, a hormone called transforming growth factor beta is impacting the regulation of cell division. The discovery of this mechanism could lead to new avenues for treatment.

Insect glands may illuminate human fertilization process Posted: 03 May 2012 09:58 AM PDT Insect glands are responsible for producing a host of secretions that allow bees to sting and ants to lay down trails. New research focuses on secretions from glands in the reproductive tract that help sperm survive and guide the sperm on the trip to fertilize an egg. The gene that controls the development of these glands in fruit flies provides important information about gland development in all insects, as well as potential clues to similar human reproductive glands.

How mitochondrial genes are passed from mother to child Posted: 03 May 2012 09:58 AM PDT This finding helps answer some long-standing questions about how mitochondria-linked gene mutations are inherited. Gene mutations in cell mitochondria can cause several diseases, including forms of cancer, diabetes, infertility and neurodegenerative diseases. With this new information, we now better understand how and when these mutations are passed to children to improve diagnosis and prevention.

Double duty: Versatile immune cells play dual roles in human skin Posted: 03 May 2012 09:58 AM PDT A new study helps to resolve an ongoing controversy about whether Langerhans cells (LCs) in human skin function to suppress the immune response and promote tolerance to normal human skin and its "friendly" microbial flora or mobilize a lethal attack against harmful foreign invaders. The research reveals that, depending on the situation, these versatile immune cells can perform either function.

Aged hematopoietic stem cells rejuvenated to be functionally younger Posted: 03 May 2012 09:58 AM PDT Researchers have rejuvenated aged hematopoietic stem cells to be functionally younger, offering intriguing clues into how medicine might one day fend off some of the ailments of old age. The study brings new perspective to what has been a life science controversy -- countering what used to be broad consensus that the aging of hematopoietic stem cells was locked in by nature and not reversible by therapeutic intervention.

Waking chick embryos before they are born Posted: 03 May 2012 09:58 AM PDT Under some conditions, the brains of embryonic chicks appear to be awake well before those chicks are ready to hatch out of their eggs. That's according to an imaging study in which researchers woke chick embryos inside their eggs by playing loud, meaningful sounds to them. Playing meaningless sounds to the embryos wasn't enough to rouse their brains.

Scientists show how a gene duplication helped our brains become 'human' Posted: 03 May 2012 09:57 AM PDT Scientists have shown that an extra copy of a brain-development gene, which appeared in our ancestors' genomes about 2.4 million years ago, allowed maturing neurons to migrate farther and develop more connections.

Dynamic changes in gene regulation in human stem cells revealed Posted: 03 May 2012 09:57 AM PDT A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California (UC) San Diego has discovered a new type of dynamic change in human stem cells.

Stem cells poised to self-destruct for the good of the embryo Posted: 03 May 2012 09:56 AM PDT Embryonic stem cells are primed to kill themselves if damage to their DNA makes them a threat to the developing embryo. Researchers can reveal how they do it.

Better housing conditions for zebrafish could improve research results Posted: 03 May 2012 09:05 AM PDT Zebrafish behavior and the reliability of scientific results could be impacted if the environment zebrafish live in is altered, according to scientists.

New technique generates predictable complex, wavy shapes: May explain brain folds and be useful for drug delivery Posted: 03 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT A new technique predictably generates complex, wavy shapes and may help improve drug delivery and explain natural patterns from brain folds to bell peppers.

'Battle of the sexes' offers evolutionary insights: Role of genital spines in reproductive success of fruit flies Posted: 03 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT The phrase "battle of the sexes" is taking on new meaning in research that has implications for our understanding of evolution. In a new paper, scientists examine the role of genital spines in the reproductive success of a species of fruit fly. Their investigation identifies the specific type of advantage these spines bestow in the competition to reproduce.

Earth history and evolution: Cypress tree distribution reflects the breakup of Pangaea Posted: 03 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT In classical mythology, the cypress tree is associated with death, the underworld and eternity. Indeed, the family to which cypresses belong, is an ancient lineage of conifers, and a new study of their evolution affords a unique insight into a turbulent era in the Earth's history.

Research explores the positives of bipolar disorder Posted: 03 May 2012 08:59 AM PDT The problems of living with bipolar disorder have been well documented, but a new study has captured the views of those who also report highly-valued, positive experiences of living with the condition.

Presence of fetal cells in women lowers risk of breast cancer but raises risk of colon cancer Posted: 03 May 2012 08:58 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have found what could be a causative link between the concentration of circulating Y-chromosome fetal cells in women who gave birth to children of either sex and their risk of later developing breast cancer and colon cancer. The findings show that the presence of fetal cells is a double-edged sword: Women with the lowest concentration of fetal cells were 70 percent less likely to have breast cancer, while women with the highest concentration of fetal cells had a four-fold increased risk for colon cancer when compared with healthy controls.

Regular jogging shows dramatic increase in life expectancy Posted: 03 May 2012 07:43 AM PDT Undertaking regular jogging increases the life expectancy of men by 6.2 years and women by 5.6 years, reveals the latest data.  Reviewing the evidence of whether jogging is healthy or hazardous, researchers said that  between one and two-and-a-half hours of jogging  per week at a "slow or average" pace delivers  optimum benefits for longevity.

Mitigating disasters by hunting down Dragon Kings: Forecasting natural or economic disasters by identifying statistical anomalies Posted: 03 May 2012 07:43 AM PDT Professional Dragon King hunters are exploring the ways in which natural or economic disasters can be predicted by identifying statistical anomalies.

Of Mice and Men: Characterization of a new autism gene Posted: 03 May 2012 07:43 AM PDT Malfunctioning single proteins can cause disruptions in neuronal junctions leading to autistic forms of behavior. A new study comes to this conclusion after examining genetically altered mice.

Bacteria discovery could lead to antibiotics alternatives Posted: 03 May 2012 07:41 AM PDT Scientists have discovered an Achilles heel within our cells that bacteria are able to exploit to cause and spread infection.

Four white dwarf stars caught in the act of consuming 'Earth-like' exoplanets Posted: 03 May 2012 07:41 AM PDT Astrophysicists have pinpointed four white dwarfs surrounded by dust from shattered planetary bodies which once bore striking similarities to the composition of Earth.

Some women may be genetically predisposed to smoking-related hot flashes Posted: 03 May 2012 07:34 AM PDT Women who smoke and carry specific variations in the genes that impact their metabolism are at higher risk of developing hot flashes in comparison with smokers who do not carry these gene variants, according to a recent study.

Pleasure eating triggers body's reward system and may stimulate overeating Posted: 03 May 2012 07:34 AM PDT When eating is motivated by pleasure, rather than hunger, endogenous rewarding chemical signals are activated which can lead to overeating, according to a recent study. The phenomenon ultimately affects body mass and may be a factor in the continuing rise of obesity.

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