ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Risk factors predict childhood obesity, researchers find
• Decline in incidence of heart attacks appears associated with smoke-free workplace laws
• Smoke-free laws led quickly to fewer hospitalizations
• Migraine in children may affect school performance
• NASA examines Hurricane Sandy as it affects the Eastern U.S.
• More than good vibes: Researchers propose the science behind mindfulness
• Quick release bandage tape: No more tears from tears
• New study sheds light on how and when vision evolved
• Researchers engineer cartilage from pluripotent stem cells
• Common bond between school bullies and their targets: Alcohol abuse
• For many prostate cancer patients, web sites are too difficult to read
• Mummy unwrapping brought Egyptology to the public
• Genetic basis of cardiac, craniofacial birth defects identified
• Mass extinction study provides lessons for modern world
• Early autism intervention improves brain responses to social cues
• Huge deposit of Jurassic turtle remains found in China
• How to improve high-speed rail ties against freezing, thawing conditions
• Titan supercomputer debuts: Computer churns through more than 20,000 trillion calculations each second
• Scientists decode 'software' instructions of aggressive leukemia cells
• Neurotransmitters linked to mating behavior are shared by mammals and worms
• Prostate cancer prognosis hope
• Proton therapy treatment preserves quality of life for men with prostate cancer, studies suggest
• Hopping robots could conserve energy
• Stay-at-home transcription factor prevents neurodegeneration
• Insights into new therapy for rare form of cystic fibrosis
• Neutrons help explain why antibiotics prescribed for chemotherapy cause kidney failure
• Sudden cardiac death under age 40: Is exercise dangerous?
• Atrial fibrillation is a 'modifiable' risk factor for stroke
• US shale gas drives up coal exports
• How to make stem cells: Nuclear reprogramming moves a step forward
• Cocktail achieves superconducting boost: High-performance material uses iron and selenium
• Super-massive black hole inflates giant bubble
• Eye movements and the search for biomarkers for schizophrenia
• 'Beam me to my meeting:' Video conferencing much improved
• 'Curiosity' on Mars sits on rocks similar to those found in marshes in Mexico
• Infrared vision in a cichlid fish
• Complementary and alternative therapy improved lives of arthritis patients, study suggests
• River floods predicted using new technology
• Exercise makes middle-aged people smarter
• SpaceX Dragon returns from space station with NASA cargo
• NASA satellites see Sandy expand as storm intensifies

Risk factors predict childhood obesity, researchers find Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:52 PM PDT High birth weight, rapid weight gain and having an overweight mother who smokes can all increase the risk of a baby becoming obese later in childhood, research by experts has found.

Decline in incidence of heart attacks appears associated with smoke-free workplace laws Posted: 29 Oct 2012 02:09 PM PDT A decline in the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack) in one Minnesota county appears to be associated with the implementation of smoke-free workplace laws.

Smoke-free laws led quickly to fewer hospitalizations Posted: 29 Oct 2012 02:09 PM PDT Comprehensive smoke-free laws were associated with a rapid 15 percent decrease in hospitalizations for heart attacks, 16 percent for stroke and 24 percent for asthma and other respiratory hospitalizations. The most comprehensive laws -- those covering workplaces, restaurants and bars -- resulted in more health benefits.

Migraine in children may affect school performance Posted: 29 Oct 2012 02:08 PM PDT Children with migraine are more likely to have below average school performance than kids who do not have headaches, according to new research.

NASA examines Hurricane Sandy as it affects the Eastern U.S. Posted: 29 Oct 2012 01:38 PM PDT On Monday, Oct. 29, Hurricane Sandy was ravaging the Mid-Atlantic with heavy rains and tropical storm force winds as it closed in for landfall. Earlier, NASA's CloudSat satellite passed over Hurricane Sandy and its radar dissected the storm get a profile or sideways look at the storm. NASA's Aqua satellite provided an infrared view of the cloud tops and NOAA's GOES-13 satellite showed the extent of the storm. The National Hurricane Center reported at 11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 29 that Hurricane Sandy is "expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and coastal hurricane winds plus heavy Appalachian snows."

More than good vibes: Researchers propose the science behind mindfulness Posted: 29 Oct 2012 01:14 PM PDT Achieving mindfulness through meditation has helped people maintain a healthy mind by quelling negative emotions and thoughts, such as desire, anger and anxiety, and encouraging more positive dispositions such as compassion, empathy and forgiveness. Those who have reaped the benefits of mindfulness know that it works. But how exactly does it work?

Quick release bandage tape: No more tears from tears Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:43 PM PDT Scientists have invented a quick-release tape that has the strong adhesion properties of commercial medical tape, but without the ouch factor upon removal.

New study sheds light on how and when vision evolved Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:43 PM PDT Opsins, the light-sensitive proteins key to vision, may have evolved earlier and undergone fewer genetic changes than previously believed, according to a new study.

Researchers engineer cartilage from pluripotent stem cells Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:43 PM PDT Researchers have engineered cartilage from induced pluripotent stem cells that were successfully grown and sorted for use in tissue repair and studies into cartilage injury and osteoarthritis.

Common bond between school bullies and their targets: Alcohol abuse Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT A new study finds that both school bullies and their victims are likely to abuse alcohol after a bullying episode.

For many prostate cancer patients, web sites are too difficult to read Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT Ninety million American adults read below high school levels. But a study has found that only 4.8 percent of web sites describing prostate cancer were written below a high school reading level. The median reading level was 12th grade.

Mummy unwrapping brought Egyptology to the public Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT Public "unwrappings" of real mummified human remains performed by both showmen and scientists heightened the fascination, but also helped develop the growing science of Egyptology, says a historian.

Genetic basis of cardiac, craniofacial birth defects identified Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT Researchers have made important advances in the rapidly-expanding field of "regenerative medicine," outlining for the first time connections in genetic regulation that normally prevent birth defects in heart and facial muscles. This basic research will provide a road map to ultimately allow scientists to grow the cell types needed to repair such defects, from stem cells that can be generated from a person's own body.

Mass extinction study provides lessons for modern world Posted: 29 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT The Cretaceous Period of Earth history ended with a mass extinction that wiped out numerous species, most famously the dinosaurs. A new study now finds that the structure of North American ecosystems made the extinction worse than it might have been.

Early autism intervention improves brain responses to social cues Posted: 29 Oct 2012 10:18 AM PDT An autism intervention program that emphasizes social interactions and is designed for children as young as 12 months has been found to improve cognitive skills and brain responses to faces, considered a building block for social skills. The researchers say that the study is the first to demonstrate that an intensive behavioral intervention can change brain function in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders.

Huge deposit of Jurassic turtle remains found in China Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:12 AM PDT "Bones upon bones, we couldn't believe our eyes," says one paleontologist. He was describing the spectacular find of some 1800 fossilized mesa chelonia turtles from the Jurassic era in China's northwest province of Xinjiang.

How to improve high-speed rail ties against freezing, thawing conditions Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:12 AM PDT Engineers are helping high-speed rail systems handle the stress of freezing and thawing winter weather conditions.

Titan supercomputer debuts: Computer churns through more than 20,000 trillion calculations each second Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:35 AM PDT The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory has just launched a new era of scientific supercomputing with Titan, a system capable of churning through more than 20,000 trillion calculations each second -- or 20 petaflops -- by employing a family of processors called graphic processing units first created for computer gaming. Titan will be 10 times more powerful than ORNL's last world-leading system, Jaguar, while overcoming power and space limitations inherent in the previous generation of high-performance computers.

Scientists decode 'software' instructions of aggressive leukemia cells Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:35 AM PDT Scientists have decoded the key "software" instructions that drive three of the most virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They discovered ALL's "software" is encoded with epigenetic marks, chemical modifications of DNA and surrounding proteins, allowing the research team to identify new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Neurotransmitters linked to mating behavior are shared by mammals and worms Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:06 AM PDT When it comes to sex, animals of all shapes and sizes tend behave in predictable ways. There may be a chemical reason for that. New research has shown that chemicals in the brain -- neuropeptides known as vasopressin and oxytocin -- play a role in coordinating mating and reproductive behavior in animals ranging from humans to fish to invertebrates.

Prostate cancer prognosis hope Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:31 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a molecular 'tell' in laboratory experiments that could help doctors determine the severity of a patient's prostate cancer.

Proton therapy treatment preserves quality of life for men with prostate cancer, studies suggest Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:28 AM PDT Two new studies have found that proton therapy preserves the quality of life, specifically urinary and bowel function, in men treated with this targeted radiation modality for prostate cancer.

Hopping robots could conserve energy Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:28 AM PDT A new study shows that jumping can be more complicated than it might seem. In research that could extend the range of future rescue and exploration robots, scientists have found that hopping robots could dramatically reduce the amount of energy they use by adopting a unique two-part "stutter jump."

Stay-at-home transcription factor prevents neurodegeneration Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:27 AM PDT A new study shows how a transcription factor called STAT3 remains in the axon of nerve cells to help prevent neurodegeneration. The findings could pave the way for future drug therapies to slow nerve damage in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Insights into new therapy for rare form of cystic fibrosis Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:24 AM PDT Scientists have established that a drug recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare form of cystic fibrosis works in an unconventional way. Their results reveal new possibilities for treating various forms of cystic fibrosis.

Neutrons help explain why antibiotics prescribed for chemotherapy cause kidney failure Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:24 AM PDT Neutron scattering experiments have provided new insights into the origin of the side effects of an antifungal drug prescribed all over the world. The analysis follows 40 years of debate and could help drug developers reduce these harmful complications.

Sudden cardiac death under age 40: Is exercise dangerous? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:24 AM PDT New research dispels a myth that sudden cardiac death often takes place during rigorous physical activity. In fact, the majority of events occur at home.

Atrial fibrillation is a 'modifiable' risk factor for stroke Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:22 AM PDT There is good evidence that people with an irregular heart beat should have it checked by a doctor. The link between atrial fibrillation -- the most common disturbance of heart rhythm -- and risk of stroke is now beyond dispute, with studies indicating that diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of stroke five times. Similarly, one in five patients diagnosed with stroke are also found to have AF.

US shale gas drives up coal exports Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:22 AM PDT The US is burning less coal due to shale gas production, however millions of tons of unused coal are being exported to the UK, Europe and Asia. As a result, the emissions benefits of switching fuels are overstated. US CO2 emissions from domestic energy have declined by 8.6% since a peak in 2005, the equivalent of 1.4% per year. However, the researchers warn that more than half of the recent emissions reductions in the power sector may be displaced overseas by the trade in coal.

How to make stem cells: Nuclear reprogramming moves a step forward Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:22 AM PDT The idea of taking a mature cell and removing its identity (nuclear reprogramming) so that it can then become any kind of cell, holds great promise for repairing damaged tissue or replacing bone marrow after chemotherapy. New research shows that histone H3.3 deposited by the histone-interacting protein HIRA is a key step in reverting nuclei to a pluripotent type, capable of being any one of many cell types.

Cocktail achieves superconducting boost: High-performance material uses iron and selenium Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:18 AM PDT Physicists describe how they have synthesized a new material that belongs to the iron-selenide class of superconductors, called LixFe2Se2(NH3)y. This material displays promising superconducting transition temperatures of 44 Kelvins (K) at ambient pressure, thus improving upon traditional copper-based high-temperature superconductors.

Super-massive black hole inflates giant bubble Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:18 AM PDT Like symbiotic species, a galaxy and its central black hole lead intimately connected lives. The details of this relationship still pose many puzzles for astronomers.

Eye movements and the search for biomarkers for schizophrenia Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:18 AM PDT There is a long history of research on impaired eye movements associated with schizophrenia. Using a series of simple viewing tests, researchers explored the ability of these eye movement tests to distinguish people with and without the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Using their complete dataset, they were able to develop a model that could discriminate all schizophrenia cases from healthy control subjects with an impressive 98.3% accuracy.

'Beam me to my meeting:' Video conferencing much improved Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:18 AM PDT Forget about crackly lines or blurry webcams. Video conferencing has just got a whole lot better. By combining robotics, video and a host of other sensor and display technologies, scientists can now virtually 'beam' you to locations on the other side of the globe. It may sound like science fiction, but this new approach can make it feel like you are really 'there'.

'Curiosity' on Mars sits on rocks similar to those found in marshes in Mexico Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:18 AM PDT Millions of years ago fire and water forged the gypsum rocks locked in at Cuatro Ciénegas, a Mexican valley similar to the Martian crater where NASA's Rover Curiosity roams. A team of researchers have now analysed the bacterial communities that have survived in these inhospitable springs since the beginning of life on Earth "Cuatro Ciénegas is extraordinarily similar to Mars. As well as the Gale crater where Curiosity is currently located on its exploration of the red planet, this landscape is the home to gypsum formed by fire beneath the seabed," as explained by an evolutionary ecologist.

Infrared vision in a cichlid fish Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:13 AM PDT Biologists have discovered that the cichlid fish can see in the near infrared range; this was thought to be unlikely until now. Seeing in the infrared range is apparently helping fish to hunt in shallow African rivers.

Complementary and alternative therapy improved lives of arthritis patients, study suggests Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:13 AM PDT Nearly a quarter of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis used complementary and alternative therapy (CAT) to help manage their condition, according to a new study.

River floods predicted using new technology Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:13 AM PDT Scientists are now using high-tech solutions to provide real-time forecast of the dangers of river floods caused by climate change and human activities to help avoid disasters.

Exercise makes middle-aged people smarter Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:12 AM PDT Cognitive functions improve significantly after four months of high-intensity interval training program in middle-aged people with increased cardiovascular risk.

SpaceX Dragon returns from space station with NASA cargo Posted: 28 Oct 2012 08:11 AM PDT A Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 2:22 p.m. CDT Sunday a few hundred miles west of Baja California, Mexico. The splashdown successfully ended the first contracted cargo delivery flight contracted by NASA to resupply the International Space Station.

NASA satellites see Sandy expand as storm intensifies Posted: 28 Oct 2012 08:11 AM PDT Hurricane Sandy is a Category 1 hurricane on Oct. 28, according to the National Hurricane Center. Sandy has drawn energy from a cold front to become a huge storm covering a large area of the eastern United States. NASA satellite imagery provided a look at Sandy's 2,000-mile extent.

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