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Friday, June 28, 2013

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Telomere length influences cancer cell differentiation

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:06 PM PDT

Researchers have discovered that forced elongation of telomeres (extensions on the end of chromosomes) promotes the differentiation of cancer cells, probably reducing malignancy, which is strongly associated with a loss of cell differentiation.

Protein in blood exerts natural anti-cancer protection

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:03 PM PDT

Researchers have discovered that decorin, a naturally occurring protein that circulates in the blood, acts as a potent inhibitor of tumor growth modulating the tumor microenvironment.

Gold standard dialysis procedure may not be so golden for elderly patients

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:03 PM PDT

Elderly patients with kidney failure may not gain the same benefits from what's considered the gold standard for accessing the blood for dialysis compared with younger patients, according to a new study. The findings suggest that vascular access procedures should be tailored to individual dialysis patients in the elderly population.

Molecule drives aggressive breast cancer

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:03 PM PDT

Recent studies have shown a gene known to coordinate initial development of the eye (EYA1) is a powerful breast tumor promoter in mice. The gene EYA1 was also shown to be overexpressed in a genetic breast cancer subtype called luminal B.

Surgeons report melanoma recurs after 10 years in more than 6 percent of patients

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Recurrence of melanoma skin cancer 10 or more years after initial treatment is more common than previously thought, occurring in more than one in 20 patients. However, according to a new study, these patients tend to live longer after their cancer returns than patients whose melanoma recurs in the first three years.

Gas-giant exoplanets cling close to their parent stars

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Gemini Observatory's Planet-Finding Campaign finds that, around many types of stars, distant gas-giant planets are rare and prefer to cling close to their parent stars. The impact on theories of planetary formation could be significant.

Early brain stimulation may help stroke survivors recover language function

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Non-invasive brain stimulation may help stroke survivors recover language function. Survivors treated with the technique regained more language function than those who did not get treatment.

Large dead zone forming in the Gulf

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 01:13 PM PDT

Ocean experts had predicted a large "dead zone" area in the Gulf of Mexico this year, and according to the results from a researcher just back from studying the region, those predictions appear to be right on target.

Ritalin shows promise in treating addiction

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:16 PM PDT

ADHD drug helps improve brain functional connectivity in cocaine addiction, according to a new study.

Radiation from airport scanners: The dose we actually get is low

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:16 PM PDT

A new report has found that people absorb less radiation from airport X-ray backscatter scanner than they do while standing in line waiting for the scan itself.

Could a diet high in fish and flax help prevent broken hips?

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:16 PM PDT

Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood may reduce the risk for hip fractures in postmenopausal women, recent research suggests.

Aerial mosquito spraying study finds no immediate public health risks

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

In what researchers say is the first public health study of the aerial mosquito spraying method to prevent West Nile virus, a new study analyzed emergency department records from Sacramento area hospitals during and immediately after aerial sprayings in the summer of 2005.

Protein is involved with colon cancer cell's ability to invade other cells

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Understanding how the protein km23-1 enables in the spread of colon cancer may lead to new treatments for the disease, according to researchers.

New maps depict impact of HIV in America

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

New interactive online maps that show the latest HIV prevalence data for 20 US cities by ZIP code or census tract. AIDSVu also includes new city snapshots displaying HIV prevalence alongside various social determinants of health -- such as poverty, lack of health insurance and educational attainment.

Low self-control promotes selfless behavior in close relationships

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

When faced with the choice of sacrificing time and energy for a loved one or taking the self-centered route, people's first impulse is to think of others, according to new research.

Biochemists identify protease substrates important for bacterial growth and development

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Scientists describe using a combination of biochemistry and mass spectrometry to "trap" scores of new candidate substrates of the protease ClpXP to reveal how protein degradation is critical to cell cycle progression and bacterial development. The new understanding could lead to identifying new antibiotic targets.

Scientists discover thriving colonies of microbes in ocean 'plastisphere'

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered a diverse multitude of microbes colonizing and thriving on flecks of plastic that have polluted the oceans -- a vast new human-made flotilla of microbial communities that they have dubbed the "plastisphere."

Helping SAD sufferers sleep soundly

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:25 AM PDT

Researchers report that individuals with seasonal affective disorder -- a winter depression that leads to loss of motivation and interest in daily activities -- have misconceptions about their sleep habits similar to those of insomniacs.

After Great Dane success, cancer doc eyes brain tumors

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

A success story with a 12 year old Great Dane, sets the stage for a trial in human glioblastoma of the vaccine that led to the dog's dramatic and prolonged improvement.

Breakthrough in Internet bandwidth: New fiber optic technology could ease Internet congestion, video streaming

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

A team of engineers has devised a new fiber optic technology that promises to increase bandwidth dramatically.

Researchers reformulate the model of mitochondrial function

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

New findings will mean rewriting the biochemistry textbooks. The study redefines the functioning of mitochondria and explains how cells generate energy from nutrients.

Brain's 'garbage truck' may hold key to treating Alzheimer's and other disorders

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

Scientists point to a newly discovered system by which the brain removes waste as a potentially powerful new tool to treat neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease. In fact, scientists believe that some of these conditions may arise when the system is not doing its job properly.

Key step in protein synthesis revealed

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

Scientists have trapped the ribosome, a protein-building molecular machine essential to all life, in a key transitional state that has long eluded researchers. Now, for the first time, scientists can see how the ribosome performs the precise mechanical movements needed to translate genetic code into proteins without making mistakes.

A second amyloid may play a role in Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:18 AM PDT

A protein secreted with insulin travels through the bloodstream and accumulates in the brains of individuals with type 2 diabetes and dementia, in the same manner as the amyloid beta (Αβ) plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's disease, a study by researchers with the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Center has found.

Algae shows promise as pollution-fighter, fuel-maker

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:17 AM PDT

A hardy algae species is showing promise in both reducing power plant pollution and making biofuel, based on new research.

Potential boost for world's food supply: Resistance gene found against Ug99 wheat stem rust pathogen

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:17 AM PDT

The world's food supply got a little more plentiful thanks to a scientific breakthrough. Scientists have identified a gene that gives wheat plants resistance to one of the most deadly races of the wheat stem rust pathogen, called Ug99.

Prevailing view of how the brain is wired overturned?

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:17 AM PDT

A series of studies topples convention by showing that sensory information travels to two places at once: not only to the brain's mid-layer (where most axons lead), but also directly to its deeper layers.

Global warming may affect soil microbe survival, with unknown consequences on soil fertility and erosion

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:17 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered for the first time that temperature determines where key soil microbes can thrive -- microbes that are critical to forming topsoil crusts in arid lands. And of concern, the scientists predict that in as little as 50 years, global warming may push some of these microbes out of their present stronghold with unknown consequences to soil fertility and erosion.

NASA's Voyager 1 explores final frontier of our 'solar bubble'

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:08 AM PDT

Data from Voyager 1, now more than 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) from the sun, suggest the spacecraft is closer to becoming the first human-made object to reach interstellar space.

New flame trench will support new era at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:53 AM PDT

For the first time since NASA's Apollo-era rockets and space shuttles lifted off on missions from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the launch pads is undergoing extensive upgrades to support the agency's 21st century space launch complex.

High-resolution mapping technique uncovers underlying circuit architecture of the brain

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Using an innovative brain-tracing technique, scientists have found a way to untangle neural networks and create a high-resolution map of the brain's underlying molecular circuitry. Their findings offer new insight into how specific brain regions connect to each other, while also revealing clues as to what may happen, neuron by neuron, when these connections are disrupted.

Stress: It should never be ignored, experts say

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Work pressure, tension at home, financial difficulties... the list of causes of stress grows longer every day. There have been several studies in the past showing that stress can have negative effects on health (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure and more). According to a new study people under stress have twice the risk of a heart attack, compared with others.

A look inside children's minds

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Ever wondered what's going on inside young children's brains when they're looking at things? Researchers have used optical neuroimaging for the first time on 3-and 4-year-olds to determine which areas of the brain are activated in "visual working memory."

Inside the minds of murderers: Impulsive murderers much more mentally impaired than those who kill strategically

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

The minds of murderers who kill impulsively, often out of rage, and those who carefully carry out premeditated crimes differ markedly both psychologically and intellectually, according to a new study.

Type 1 diabetes: Can insulin-producing cells be regenerated?

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Scientists have published new results concerning type I diabetes. Researchers have shown that in mice, the pancreas contains cells capable of being converted into insulin-producing cells, something that can be done at any age.

'Shields to maximum, Mr. Scott': Simulating orbital debris impacts on spacecraft and fragment impacts on body armor

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Running hundreds of simulations on TACC supercomputers, University of Texas mechanical engineering professor Eric Fahrenthold assisted NASA in the development of ballistic limit curves that predict whether a shield will be perforated when hit by a projectile of a given size and speed. The framework they developed also allows them to study the impact of projectiles on body armor materials and to predict the response of different fabric weaves upon impact.

Research raises concerns over smoke detectors' effectiveness in waking children

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Standard domestic smoke detectors may not always wake children in the event of a fire, according to new research.

Exotic alloys for potential energy applications

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:09 AM PDT

"Thermoelectric materials," used in wine refrigerators and spacecraft, promise to help deliver greener energy in the future.

New low-cost, transparent electrodes

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:09 AM PDT

A durable, multilayered thin film is a possible replacement for expensive indium-based electrodes in devices such as liquid crystal displays and solar cells.

Mapping out how to save species

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:09 AM PDT

Using colorful world maps, a new study maps out priority areas for protection to save species and preserve biodiversity. The scale is 100 times finer than previous assessments.

'Big givers' get punished for being nonconformists

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:56 AM PDT

People punish generous group members by rejecting them socially -- even when the generosity benefits everyone -- because the "big givers" are nonconformists, according to a new study.

Factory insurance would fight blight

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Automakers and other private firms should be required by law to carry insurance policies to pay for tearing down their factories and buildings, recommends a hard-hitting study.

Organic electronics: Imaging defects in solar cells

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a new method for visualizing material defects in thin-film solar cells.

Seniors are not just wrinkly adults

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Emergency patients over the age of 74 have significantly different and more complex health and social needs than their younger counterparts, even after controlling for illness severity, which has important implications about aging populations and emergency departments of the future. The results of the most extensive international study of the characteristics and outcomes of older emergency patients to be reported to date have just been published.

Food contaminants worsen metabolic problems in obese mice

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Certain food contaminants are suspected of triggering metabolic disorders, or of worsening them, particularly when they accompany a high-fat diet.

Chemists work to desalinate the ocean for drinking water, one nanoliter at a time

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

By creating a small electrical field that removes salts from seawater, chemists have introduced a new method for the desalination of seawater that consumes less energy and is dramatically simpler than conventional techniques. The new method requires so little energy that it can run on a store-bought battery.

Turning off cells in habit-associated brain region prevents rats from learning to run maze on autopilot

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:55 AM PDT

Neuroscientists have now shown that they can prevent habits from taking root. Our daily routines can become so ingrained that we perform them automatically, such as taking the same route to work every day. Some behaviors, such as smoking or biting your fingernails, become so habitual that we can't stop even if we want to.

A telescope for your eye: New contact lens design may improve sight of patients with macular degeneration

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT

Contact lenses correct eyesight but do nothing to improve blurry vision of those suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness among older adults in the western world. Now a team of researchers has created a slim, telescopic contact lens that can switch between normal and magnified vision. With refinements, the system could offer AMD patients a relatively unobtrusive way to enhance their vision.

Pneumonia revealed in a cough: Coughs give vital clues to the presence or absence of pneumonia in children

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT

A new method, which analyzes the sounds in a child's cough, could soon be used in poor, remote regions to diagnose childhood pneumonia reliably. According to researchers, this simple technique of recording coughs with a microphone on the patient's bedside table, has the potential to revolutionize the management of childhood pneumonia.

Sea lampreys turning up the heat

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT

Scientists found that male sea lampreys have a secondary sex characteristic that creates heat when they get near a female lamprey, something the females find hard to say no to.

Polymer coatings a key step toward oral delivery of protein-based drugs

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:53 AM PDT

In a new study, a "bioadhesive" coating significantly improved the intestinal absorption into the bloodstream of nanoparticles that someday could carry protein drugs such as insulin. Such a step is necessary for drugs taken by mouth, rather than injected directly into the blood.

Gene deletion affects early language and brain white matter

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:51 AM PDT

A chromosomal deletion is associated with changes in the brain's white matter and delayed language acquisition in youngsters from Southeast Asia or with ancestral connections to the region, said an international consortium led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. However, many such children who can be described as late-talkers may overcome early speech and language difficulties as they grow.

Imagination can change what we hear and see

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:51 AM PDT

Our imagination may affect how we experience the world more than we perhaps think. What we imagine hearing or seeing "in our head" can change our actual perception. The study sheds new light on a classic question in psychology and neuroscience -- about how our brains combine information from the different senses.

Scientists discern signatures of old versus young stem cells

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:51 AM PDT

A chemical code scrawled on histones -- the protein husks that coat DNA in every animal or plant cell -- determines which genes in that cell are turned on and which are turned off. Now, researchers have taken a new step in the deciphering of that histone code.

Social networks shape monkey 'culture' too

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:51 AM PDT

Of course Twitter and Facebook are all the rage, but the power of social networks didn't start just in the digital age. A new study on squirrel monkeys finds that monkeys with the strongest social networks catch on fastest to the latest in foraging crazes. They are monkey trendsters.

Making hydrogenation greener: Using iron as catalyst for widely used chemical process, replacing heavy metals

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:45 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered a way to make the widely used chemical process of hydrogenation more environmentally friendly -- and less expensive.

Bringing long-term intensive care within hospital walls shows promise for cost savings and improved patient care

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:45 AM PDT

A new study shows that hospitals with specialized units combining the compassionate care of hospice and the level of care offered in medical-surgical units may provide efficient, cost effective assistance to patients with advanced chronic illness or terminal disease.

What makes a video go viral? More than just good content

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:45 AM PDT

If you want your homegrown video to go viral, you'd better have more than just good content. Find someone to endorse it, the more well known the better.

Researchers Discover Species-Recognition System in Fruit Flies

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:45 AM PDT

A team of researchers has discovered a sensory system in the foreleg of the fruit fly that tells male flies whether a potential mate is from a different species. The work addresses a central problem in evolution that is poorly understood: how animals of one species know not to mate with animals of other species.

Research in fruit flies provides new insight into Barrett's esophagus

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:45 AM PDT

Research focused on the regulation of the adult stem cells that line the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila suggests new models for the study of Barrett's esophagus. Barrett's esophagus is a condition in which the cells of the lower esophagus transform into stomach-like cells. In most cases this transformation has been thought to occur directly from chronic acid indigestion. A new study suggests a change in stem cell function for this transformation.

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