ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Discovery of essential genes for drug-resistant bacteria reveals new, high-value drug targets
• NASA Mars rover Opportunity reveals geological mystery: Spherical objects unlike previously found 'blueberries'
• 'Memristors' based on transparent electronics offer technology of the future
• Probing matters of the heart: Stem cell differentiation study sheds light on genetic basis of heart disease
• First planets found around sun-like stars in a cluster
• Getting (drugs) under your skin: Using ultrasound waves, researchers boost skin's permeability to drugs
• X-rays reveal the self-defence mechanisms of bacteria
• Researchers find our inner reptile hearts
• How common gene mutation affects kids with autism spectrum disorders
• Surgery has a more profound effect than anesthesia on brain pathology and cognition in Alzheimer's animal model
• Majority of U.S. schools not ready for next pandemic, researchers say
• X-rays unravel mysterious degradation of Van Gogh painting: Protective varnish caused discoloration
• Obesity more common among rural residents than urban counterparts, study finds
• Pinball as a model for dealing with grief
• Second-hand smoking affects neurodevelopment in babies
• Disorder of neuronal circuits in autism is reversible, new study suggests
• Huntington’s gene mutation carriers learn faster
• Teamwork in the tropics: Pollinators and frugivores are less choosy at the equator
• Protein linked to hunger also implicated in alcoholism
• Roman military camp dating back to the conquest of Gaul throws light on a part of world history
• Low cost design makes ultrasound imaging affordable to the world
• UK model to better predict extreme winters in Europe
• Insulin: Charting the SH2 pool
• Negative cross-resistance helps scientists outmaneuver herbicide-resistant weeds

Discovery of essential genes for drug-resistant bacteria reveals new, high-value drug targets Posted: 14 Sep 2012 04:16 PM PDT Biomedical scientists collaborating on translational research are reporting the discovery of a novel, and heretofore unrecognized, set of genes essential for the growth of potentially lethal, drug-resistant bacteria.

NASA Mars rover Opportunity reveals geological mystery: Spherical objects unlike previously found 'blueberries' Posted: 14 Sep 2012 12:40 PM PDT NASA's long-lived rover Opportunity has returned an image of the Martian surface that is puzzling researchers. Spherical objects concentrated at an outcrop Opportunity reached last week differ in several ways from iron-rich spherules nicknamed "blueberries" the rover found at its landing site in early 2004 and at many other locations to date.

'Memristors' based on transparent electronics offer technology of the future Posted: 14 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT Transparent electronics may find one of their newest applications as a next-generation replacement for some uses of non-volatile flash memory, a multi-billion dollar technology nearing its limit of small size and information storage capacity. The solution: memristors.

Probing matters of the heart: Stem cell differentiation study sheds light on genetic basis of heart disease Posted: 14 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT Biologists have outlined how the interaction of genes, proteins that bind DNA, and molecules that modify those genes and proteins, direct the development of stem cells into mature heart cells.

First planets found around sun-like stars in a cluster Posted: 14 Sep 2012 10:34 AM PDT Astronomers have, for the first time, spotted planets orbiting sun-like stars in a crowded cluster of stars. The findings offer the best evidence yet that planets can sprout up in dense stellar environments. Although the newfound planets are not habitable, their skies would be starrier than what we see from Earth.

Getting (drugs) under your skin: Using ultrasound waves, researchers boost skin's permeability to drugs Posted: 14 Sep 2012 10:31 AM PDT Using ultrasound waves, engineers have found a way to enhance the permeability of skin to drugs, making transdermal drug delivery more efficient.

X-rays reveal the self-defence mechanisms of bacteria Posted: 14 Sep 2012 10:20 AM PDT A research group in Denmark has gained unique insight into how bacteria control the amount of toxin in their cells. The new findings can eventually lead to the development of novel forms of treatment for bacterial infections.

Researchers find our inner reptile hearts Posted: 14 Sep 2012 10:20 AM PDT Researchers have finally succeeded in showing that the spongy tissue in reptile hearts is the forerunner of the complex hearts of both birds and mammals. The new knowledge provides a deeper understanding of the complex conductive tissue of the human heart, which is of key importance in many heart conditions.

How common gene mutation affects kids with autism spectrum disorders Posted: 14 Sep 2012 10:14 AM PDT In children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a common gene mutation has been found to impact the network of connections between different areas of the brain involved in social behavior, such as recognizing the emotions shown on people's faces.

Surgery has a more profound effect than anesthesia on brain pathology and cognition in Alzheimer's animal model Posted: 14 Sep 2012 09:38 AM PDT A syndrome called "post-operative cognitive decline" has been coined to refer to the commonly reported loss of cognitive abilities, usually in older adults, in the days to weeks after surgery. In fact, some patients time the onset of their Alzheimer's disease symptoms from a surgical procedure. Exactly how the trio of anesthesia, surgery, and dementia interact is clinically inconclusive, yet of great concern to patients, their families and physicians. A new study using a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease shows that surgery itself, rather than anesthesia, has the more profound impact on a dementia-vulnerable brain.

Majority of U.S. schools not ready for next pandemic, researchers say Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:20 AM PDT A new study finds many U.S. schools are not prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or pandemics.

X-rays unravel mysterious degradation of Van Gogh painting: Protective varnish caused discoloration Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:09 AM PDT Synchrotron X-ray analysis has identified why parts of a Van Gogh painting changed color over time: a supposedly protective varnish applied after the master's death has made some bright yellow flowers turn to orange-grey. The origin is a degradation process at the interface between paint and varnish. After this discovery, conservators in many museums have to newly address the question of restoring Van Gogh paintings.

Obesity more common among rural residents than urban counterparts, study finds Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:09 AM PDT There may be two significant reasons why rural residents are more likely to be overweight: Cultural diet and physical isolation.

Pinball as a model for dealing with grief Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:07 AM PDT The process of grieving can be compared to the workings of a pinball machine, where mourners' movement between different stages of grief such as shock and depression may be unpredictable, according to new research.

Second-hand smoking affects neurodevelopment in babies Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:06 AM PDT A new study shows that newborns that have been exposed to nicotine from both active and passive smoking mothers show poor physiological, sensory, motor and attention responses.

Disorder of neuronal circuits in autism is reversible, new study suggests Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:06 AM PDT People with autism suffer from a pervasive developmental disorder of the brain that becomes evident in early childhood. Medical researchers have identified a specific dysfunction in neuronal circuits that is caused by autism. They have also reversed these neuronal changes in an animal model. These findings are an important step in drug development for the treatment for autism.

Huntington’s gene mutation carriers learn faster Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:06 AM PDT People who bear the genetic mutation for Huntington's disease learn faster than healthy people. The more pronounced the mutation was, the more quickly they learned.

Teamwork in the tropics: Pollinators and frugivores are less choosy at the equator Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:06 AM PDT The bright crimson Andean cock-of-the-rock eats the fruits of over 100 plant species and disperses their seeds. It is in good company, since other seed-dispersing birds and pollinating insects in the tropics are also – contrary to prior doctrine – less specialized on individual plant species than their temperate counterparts.

Protein linked to hunger also implicated in alcoholism Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:06 AM PDT Researchers have found new links between a protein that controls our urge to eat and brain cells involved in the development of alcoholism. The discovery points to new possibilities for designing drugs to treat alcoholism and other addictions.

Roman military camp dating back to the conquest of Gaul throws light on a part of world history Posted: 14 Sep 2012 05:06 AM PDT In the vicinity of Hermeskeil, a small town some 30 kilometers southeast of the city of Trier in the Hunsrueck region in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, archaeologists have confirmed the location of the oldest Roman military fortification known in Germany to date. These findings shed new light on the Roman conquest of Gaul. The camp was presumably built during Julius Caesars' Gallic War in the late 50s B.C.

Low cost design makes ultrasound imaging affordable to the world Posted: 13 Sep 2012 05:39 PM PDT An underwater sonar technology expert has invented the first ultra low-cost, portable ultrasound scanner that can be plugged into any computer with a USB port and could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children around the world.

UK model to better predict extreme winters in Europe Posted: 13 Sep 2012 05:36 PM PDT Severe UK winters, like the 'big freeze' of 2009/10, can now be better forecast months in advance using the Met Office's latest model, new research suggests.

Insulin: Charting the SH2 pool Posted: 13 Sep 2012 05:36 PM PDT New research describes a large set of interactions (interactome) which maps the range of phosphotyrosine (pTyr)-dependent interactions with SH2 domains underlying insulin (Ins), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways.

Negative cross-resistance helps scientists outmaneuver herbicide-resistant weeds Posted: 13 Sep 2012 05:34 PM PDT Kochia, a weed that is rapidly becoming more abundant across southern Canadian prairies and the Great Plains of the United States, can reduce crop yields by up to 60 percent. Fighting this weed has become difficult because more than 90 percent of kochia populations are now resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides. The phenomenon of negative cross-resistance, however, may offer another path to defeating the spread of this weed.

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