ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Between ear and brain, an orderly orchestra of synapses
• New plant and fungus species discovered
• Molecular matchmaking for drug discovery
• Venus' transit and the search for other worlds
• Noninvasive genetic test for Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome highly accurate
• Nuclear weapon simulations show performance in molecular detail
• Mothers' teen cannabinoid exposure may increase response of offspring to opiate drugs
• New Firefly technology lights up more precise kidney sparing surgery
• Precise measurement of radiation damage on materials
• Latin American and Asian cities lead way in planning for global warming
• Overfed fruit flies develop insulin resistance; Represent new tool to study human diabetes
• Milk ingredient does a waistline good
• How immune system, inflammation may play role in Lou Gehrig's disease
• Keeping up with embryogenesis: New microscope tracks cells as they move and divide
• Air pollution linked to chronic heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes linked to increased blood cancer risk
• Weak bridges identified in Texas
• How estrogens persist in dairy wastewater
• Anxious girls' brains work harder
• Divided public: Climate survey shows skepticism and alarm rising over the past decade
• Bigger refuges needed to delay pest resistance to biotech corn
• Protein knots gain new evolutionary significance
• Faster, more sensitive photodetector created by tricking graphene
• Splitting the unsplittable: Physicists split an atom using quantum mechanics precision
• Exceptional rise in ancient sea levels revealed
• Retreating glaciers are a threat to biodiversity
• Rattlesnakes strike again, bites more toxic
• Higher taxes, smoke-free policies are reducing smoking in moms-to-be
• Chiral asymmetry can emerge from maximal symmetry
• Understanding Atlantic and Pacific jet stream fluctuations
• Magnetic stimulation to improve visual perception
• How religion promotes confidence about paternity
• Energy-dense biofuel from cellulose close to being economical
• Brain scans support Freud: Guilt plays key role in depression
• Depression treatment can prevent adolescent drug abuse

Between ear and brain, an orderly orchestra of synapses Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:52 PM PDT A new study finds that the ear delivers sound information to the brain in a surprisingly organized fashion.

New plant and fungus species discovered Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:20 PM PDT In a single year, scientists at The New York Botanical Garden have discovered and described 81 new species of plants and fungi from around the world. Combining work in the field, laboratory research, and painstaking study in plant collections, scientists in 2011 correctly identified the palm species that Vietnamese villagers weave into hats, discovered more than a dozen new lichen species in America's most visited national park, and identified new species in a wide variety of plant families.

Molecular matchmaking for drug discovery Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:20 PM PDT Computational drug discovery allows researchers to target a small group of possible molecules for therapeutic use, saving significant time and money. Scientists have now reported on advances in image reconstruction that allow his group to detect the secondary structures of proteins from single particle cryo-electron microscopy.

Venus' transit and the search for other worlds Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:10 PM PDT It's the final opportunity of the century to witness the rare astronomical reunion of the sun, Venus and Earth. On Tuesday, June 5 or 6, 2012, depending on your location, Venus will make its presence in the solar system visible from Earth's day side. Using special eye safety precautions, viewers may see Venus as a small dot slowly drifting across the golden disk of the sun.

Noninvasive genetic test for Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome highly accurate Posted: 05 Jun 2012 12:59 PM PDT Current screening strategies for Down syndrome, caused by fetal trisomy 21, and Edwards syndrome, caused by fetal trisomy 18, have false positive rates of 2-3 percent, and false negative rates of 5 percent or higher. Positive screening results must be confirmed by amniocentesis or CVS, carrying a fetal loss rate of approximately 1 in 300 procedures. Now an international, multicenter cohort study finds that a genetic test to screen for trisomy 21 or 18 from a maternal blood sample is almost 100 percent accurate.

Nuclear weapon simulations show performance in molecular detail Posted: 05 Jun 2012 12:59 PM PDT US researchers are perfecting simulations that show a nuclear weapon's performance in precise molecular detail, tools that are becoming critical for national defense because international treaties forbid the detonation of nuclear test weapons.

Mothers' teen cannabinoid exposure may increase response of offspring to opiate drugs Posted: 05 Jun 2012 12:59 PM PDT A study in rats suggests that mothers who use marijuana during their teen years -- then stop -- may put their eventual offspring at risk of increased sensitivity to opiates.

New Firefly technology lights up more precise kidney sparing surgery Posted: 05 Jun 2012 11:34 AM PDT During kidney surgery, Firefly fluorescence used with the da Vinci robot lights up in "firefly green" the blood supply to the kidney and helps differentiate cancerous from healthy tissue. More patients can keep the healthy part of their kidney rather than losing the entire organ.

Precise measurement of radiation damage on materials Posted: 05 Jun 2012 11:34 AM PDT Researchers have for the first time simulated and quantified the early stages of radiation damage that will occur in a given material.

Latin American and Asian cities lead way in planning for global warming Posted: 05 Jun 2012 10:07 AM PDT The cities that are most active in preparing for climate change are not necessarily the biggest or wealthiest. Instead, they are often places buffeted by natural disasters and increasing changes in temperature or rainfall.

Overfed fruit flies develop insulin resistance; Represent new tool to study human diabetes Posted: 05 Jun 2012 10:07 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that adult fruit flies fed either high-carb or high-protein diets develop metabolic abnormalities, including insulin resistance, which is a hallmark of type 2 human diabetes. Fruit fly D. melanogaster has been used successfully to investigate multiple human diseases. The new study demonstrates that diet profoundly influences fruit fly physiology and health and that insulin-resistant flies provide a new research tool for investigating the molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance.

Milk ingredient does a waistline good Posted: 05 Jun 2012 10:07 AM PDT A natural ingredient found in milk can protect against obesity even as mice continue to enjoy diets that are high in fat. The researchers liken this milk ingredient to a new kind of vitamin.

How immune system, inflammation may play role in Lou Gehrig's disease Posted: 05 Jun 2012 09:17 AM PDT In an early study, researchers found that the immune cells of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, may play a role in damaging the neurons in the spinal cord. ALS is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.

Keeping up with embryogenesis: New microscope tracks cells as they move and divide Posted: 05 Jun 2012 09:17 AM PDT The transformation of a fertilized egg into a functioning animal requires thousands of cell divisions and intricate rearrangements of those cells. That process is captured with unprecedented speed and precision by a new imaging technology that lets users track each cell in an embryo as it takes shape over hours or days.

Air pollution linked to chronic heart disease Posted: 05 Jun 2012 09:17 AM PDT Cardiac patients living in high pollution areas were found to be over 40 percent more likely to have a second heart attack when compared to patients living in low pollution areas, according to a new study.

Type 2 diabetes linked to increased blood cancer risk Posted: 05 Jun 2012 09:16 AM PDT A new meta-analysis reveals patients with type 2 diabetes have a 20 percent increased risk of developing blood cancers.

Weak bridges identified in Texas Posted: 05 Jun 2012 08:37 AM PDT More than a dozen Gulf Coast bridges in or near Galveston, Texas, would likely suffer severe damage if subjected to a hurricane with a similar landfall as Hurricane Ike but with 30 percent stronger winds, according to researchers.

How estrogens persist in dairy wastewater Posted: 05 Jun 2012 08:37 AM PDT Wastewater from large dairy farms contains significant concentrations of estrogenic hormones that can persist for months or even years, researchers report in a new study. In the absence of oxygen, the estrogens rapidly convert from one form to another; This stalls their biodegradation and complicates efforts to detect them, the researchers found.

Anxious girls' brains work harder Posted: 05 Jun 2012 08:37 AM PDT In a discovery that could help in the identification and treatment of anxiety disorders, scientists say the brains of anxious girls work much harder than those of boys.

Divided public: Climate survey shows skepticism and alarm rising over the past decade Posted: 05 Jun 2012 08:36 AM PDT Two analyses highlight the growing polarization of public attitudes toward climate change, as well as the role "psychological distance" plays in levels of concern.

Bigger refuges needed to delay pest resistance to biotech corn Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT To slow resistance of western corn rootworm beetles to genetically protected crops, much larger "refuge" acreages of conventional crops have to be planted, two experts – including one from the University of Arizona – warn in a paper published in the Journal of Economic Ecology.

Protein knots gain new evolutionary significance Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT A new study suggests that protein knots, a structure whose formation remains a mystery, may have specific functional advantages that depend on the nature of the protein's architecture.

Faster, more sensitive photodetector created by tricking graphene Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT Researchers have developed a highly sensitive detector of infrared light that can be used in applications ranging from detection of chemical and biochemical weapons from a distance and better airport body scanners to chemical analysis in the laboratory and studying the structure of the universe through new telescopes.

Splitting the unsplittable: Physicists split an atom using quantum mechanics precision Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT Researchers have just shown how a single atom can be split into its two halves, pulled apart and put back together again. While the word "atom" literally means "indivisible," the laws of quantum mechanics allow dividing atoms -- similarly to light rays -- and reuniting them. The researchers want to build quantum mechanics bridges by letting the atom touch adjacent atoms while it is being pulled apart so that it works like a bridge span between two pillars.

Exceptional rise in ancient sea levels revealed Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT Since the end of the last ice age 21,000 years ago, our planet has seen ocean levels rise by 120 meters to reach their current levels. This increase has not been constant, rather punctuated by rapid accelerations, linked to massive outburst floods from the ice caps. The largest increase, known by paleoclimatologists as 'Melt-Water Pulse 1A', proved to be enigmatic in many respects. A study recently revealed the mysteries of this event, without doubt one of the most important in the last deglaciation.

Retreating glaciers are a threat to biodiversity Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:27 AM PDT The projected disappearance of small glaciers worldwide threatens to eliminate the water supply for numerous towns in valleys, such as the Ecuadorian capital Quito, fed by the rivers that flow down from the surrounding mountains. But retreating ice is also a threat to freshwater fauna. According to a new study the local and regional diversity of mountain aquatic fauna will be reduced considerably if predictions are realized.

Rattlesnakes strike again, bites more toxic Posted: 05 Jun 2012 07:26 AM PDT Each year, approximately 8,000 Americans are bitten by venomous snakes. On average, 800 or so bites occur annually in California, home to an abundance of snake species, but only one family is native and venomous: rattlesnakes. In San Diego County, the number of rattlesnake bites is increasing as well as the toxicity of the attack.

Higher taxes, smoke-free policies are reducing smoking in moms-to-be Posted: 05 Jun 2012 04:55 AM PDT It's estimated that almost 23 percent of women enter pregnancy as smokers and more than half continue to smoke during pregnancy, leading to excess health-care costs at delivery and beyond. In one of the first studies to assess smoking bans and taxes on cigarettes, along with the level of tobacco control spending, researchers have found that state tobacco control policies can be effective in curbing smoking during pregnancy, and in preventing a return to smoking within four months on average, after delivery.

Chiral asymmetry can emerge from maximal symmetry Posted: 05 Jun 2012 04:52 AM PDT Maximally symmetric systems of particles can spontaneously produce two different patterns, which are mirror images of each other, new research shows. The research group is working towards a mathematical design of self-assembling nanomaterials.

Understanding Atlantic and Pacific jet stream fluctuations Posted: 05 Jun 2012 04:52 AM PDT A recent study demonstrates the link between observed fluctuations of atmospheric jet streams and the theoretical concepts that describe why jet streams exist. Atmospheric jet streams are fast-flowing currents of air found approximately 10 km above sea level in the extratropical regions of both hemispheres. Because these jets influence regional weather patterns, there is great interest in understanding the factors that control their path, their strength and variations in both.

Magnetic stimulation to improve visual perception Posted: 05 Jun 2012 04:51 AM PDT Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an international team has succeeded in enhancing the visual abilities of a group of healthy subjects. Following stimulation of an area of the brain's right hemisphere involved in perceptual awareness and in orienting spatial attention, the subjects appeared more likely to perceive a target appearing on a screen.

How religion promotes confidence about paternity Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:20 PM PDT Religious practices that strongly control female sexuality are more successful at promoting certainty about paternity, according to a new study.

Energy-dense biofuel from cellulose close to being economical Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:19 PM PDT A new process for creating biofuels has shown potential to be cost-effective for production scale, opening the door for moving beyond the laboratory setting.

Brain scans support Freud: Guilt plays key role in depression Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:18 PM PDT Scientists have shown that the brains of people with depression respond differently to feelings of guilt -- even after their symptoms have subsided.

Depression treatment can prevent adolescent drug abuse Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:57 PM PDT Treating adolescents for major depression can also reduce their chances of abusing drugs later on, a secondary benefit found in a five-year study of nearly 200 youths at 11 sites across the United States.

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