ScienceDaily: Top News

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• New findings could help improve development of drugs for addiction
• Why can't the snakes cross the road, secret lives of baby snakes and other questions
• Bio-inspired design may lead to more energy efficient windows
• Pollutants from incense smoke cause human lung-cell inflammation
• Decoding material fluxes in the tropical ocean: Turbulent processes provide important contribution to oxygen supply
• Alcoholism could be linked to a hyper-active brain dopamine system
• How 'junk DNA' can control cell development
• Discovery of novel gene mutations in leukemia patients opens up personalized therapy options
• Climate science boost with tropical aerosols profile
• Novel 3-D simulation technology helps surgical residents train more effectively
• Sounding rocket to study active regions on the sun
• Necrostatin-1 counteracts aluminum's neurotoxic effects
• Baby owls sleep like baby humans: Owlets spend more time in REM sleep than adult owls
• 'Soft robotic' devices using water-based gels
• New drugs to find the right target to fight Alzheimer's disease
• Astronomers discovery a graveyard for comets
• Tired, moody and pregnant? Exercise may be the answer
• Study of gene expression has revealed first steps of evolution in gene regulation in mice
• Largest neuronal network simulation to date achieved using Japanese supercomputer
• Pregnancy in horses: Helping horses come to term
• Cobalt replacements make solar cells more sustainable
• Burnt sugar derivative reduces muscle wasting in fly and mouse muscular dystrophy
• Genetics: More than merely a mutated gene
• The four-point test to predict death risk from C. difficile
• Scientists uncover secrets of starfish’s bizarre feeding mechanism
• Simple ultrasound treatment may help protect the kidneys

New findings could help improve development of drugs for addiction Posted: 02 Aug 2013 10:23 AM PDT Scientists have described findings that could enable the development of more effective drugs for addiction with fewer side effects. The study showed in a combination of cell and animal studies that one active compound maintains a strong bias towards a single biological pathway, providing insight into what future drugs could look like.

Why can't the snakes cross the road, secret lives of baby snakes and other questions Posted: 02 Aug 2013 10:22 AM PDT Researchers are conducting some of the first ever scientific studies of neonate pine snakes, performing snake surgery for radio tracking and helping snakes survive road crossings through the busy New Jersey shore traffic.

Bio-inspired design may lead to more energy efficient windows Posted: 02 Aug 2013 10:22 AM PDT Scientists are turning to nature to find a way to make windows more energy efficient. In a recent article, researchers describe a novel process to cut down on heat loss during the winter and keep buildings cool during the summer. Their "bio-inspired approach to thermal control for cooling (or heating) building window surfaces" calls for attaching optically clear, flexible elastomer sheets, bonded to regular glass window panes.

Pollutants from incense smoke cause human lung-cell inflammation Posted: 02 Aug 2013 10:22 AM PDT Burning incense, a popular cultural practice in many parts of the world, generates indoor air pollutants that may cause inflammation in human lung cells, say researchers.

Decoding material fluxes in the tropical ocean: Turbulent processes provide important contribution to oxygen supply Posted: 02 Aug 2013 10:22 AM PDT How is vital oxygen supplied to the tropical ocean? New research by oceanographers in Germany shows that about one third of the oxygen supply in these areas is provided by turbulent processes, such as eddies or internal waves.

Alcoholism could be linked to a hyper-active brain dopamine system Posted: 02 Aug 2013 10:18 AM PDT Research suggests that people who are vulnerable to developing alcoholism exhibit a distinctive brain response when drinking alcohol, according to a new study. Compared to people at low risk for alcohol-use problems, those at high risk showed a greater dopamine response in a brain pathway that increases desire for rewards. These findings could help shed light on why some people are more at risk of suffering from alcoholism and could mark an important step toward the development of treatment options.

How 'junk DNA' can control cell development Posted: 02 Aug 2013 07:19 AM PDT Researchers have confirmed that, far from being "junk," the 97 percent of human DNA that does not encode instructions for making proteins can play a significant role in controlling cell development. And in doing so, the researchers have unraveled a previously unknown mechanism for regulating the activity of genes, increasing our understanding of the way cells develop and opening the way to new possibilities for therapy.

Discovery of novel gene mutations in leukemia patients opens up personalized therapy options Posted: 02 Aug 2013 07:17 AM PDT Specific mutations (N676K) in the FLT3 receptor can contribute to the development of acute myeloid leukemia. The FLT3 receptor regulates cell growth, while activating gene mutations promote the uncontrolled proliferation of white blood cells.

Climate science boost with tropical aerosols profile Posted: 02 Aug 2013 06:51 AM PDT The seasonal influence of aerosols on Australia's tropical climate can now be included in climate models following completion of the first long-term study of fine smoke particles generated by burning of the savanna open woodland and grassland.

Novel 3-D simulation technology helps surgical residents train more effectively Posted: 02 Aug 2013 06:51 AM PDT A novel interactive 3-dimensional simulation platform offers surgical residents a unique opportunity to hone their diagnostic and patient management skills, and then have those skills accurately evaluated according to a new study.

Sounding rocket to study active regions on the sun Posted: 02 Aug 2013 06:51 AM PDT At NASA's White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M., a sounding rocket is being readied for flight. Due to launch on Aug. 8, 2013, the VERIS rocket, short for Very high Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, will launch for a 15-minute trip carrying an instrument that can measure properties of the structures in the sun's upper atmosphere down to 145 miles across, some eight times clearer than any similar telescope currently in space.

Necrostatin-1 counteracts aluminum's neurotoxic effects Posted: 02 Aug 2013 06:48 AM PDT Researchers have linked aluminum accumulation in the brain as a possible contributing factor to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. A new study sheds light on the mechanism underlying aluminum-induced neuronal cell death and identifies necrostatin-1 as a substance which counteracts several of aluminum's neurotoxic effects.

Baby owls sleep like baby humans: Owlets spend more time in REM sleep than adult owls Posted: 02 Aug 2013 06:48 AM PDT Baby birds have sleep patterns similar to baby mammals, and their sleep changes in the same way when growing up. This is what a biologists found out working with barn owls in the wild. The team also discovered that this change in sleep was strongly correlated with the expression of a gene involved in producing dark, melanic feather spots, a trait known to covary with behavioral and physiological traits in adult owls. These findings raise the intriguing possibility that sleep-related developmental processes in the brain contribute to the link between melanism and other traits observed in adult barn owls and other animals.

'Soft robotic' devices using water-based gels Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:03 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new technique for creating devices out of a water-based hydrogel material that can be patterned, folded and used to manipulate objects. The technique holds promise for use in "soft robotics" and biomedical applications.

New drugs to find the right target to fight Alzheimer's disease Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:03 AM PDT The future is looking good for drugs designed to combat Alzheimer's disease. Scientists have unveiled how two classes of drug compounds currently in clinical trials work to fight the disease. Their research suggests that these compounds target the disease-causing peptides with high precision and with minimal side-effects.

Astronomers discovery a graveyard for comets Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:02 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered a graveyard of comets. The researchers describe how some of these objects, inactive for millions of years, have returned to life leading them to name the group the 'Lazarus comets'.

Tired, moody and pregnant? Exercise may be the answer Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:02 AM PDT Exercise may improve the mood of pregnant women and help to reduce levels of fatigue reports new research. The study examined whether a four week exercise intervention program would result in improvements in the psychological well-being of previously inactive pregnant women. The results were clear, with participants reporting significant improvements in their mood during the program. They also saw reduced levels of fatigue, suggesting that pregnant women should be encouraged to engage in regular exercise to improve both psychological and physical well-being.

Study of gene expression has revealed first steps of evolution in gene regulation in mice Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:02 AM PDT A study of gene expression has revealed the first steps of evolution in gene regulation in mice. The research has implications for the study of differences in gene regulation between people.

Largest neuronal network simulation to date achieved using Japanese supercomputer Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:02 AM PDT Scientists have carried out the largest general neuronal network simulation to date.

Pregnancy in horses: Helping horses come to term Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:02 AM PDT It is not only humans that sometimes experience difficulty having children. Horses too have a low birth rate, with many pregnancies failing within the first few weeks after conception. The reason is currently unknown but recent research suggests that a particular class of blood cells may be involved.

Cobalt replacements make solar cells more sustainable Posted: 02 Aug 2013 05:02 AM PDT Researchers have successfully replaced the rare element iodine in copper-based dye-sensitized solar cells by the more abundant element cobalt, taking a step forward in the development of environmentally friendly energy production. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) transform light to electricity. They consist of a semiconductor on which a dye is anchored. This colored complex absorbs light and through an electron transfer process produces electrical current. Electrolytes act as electron transport agents inside the DSCs.

Burnt sugar derivative reduces muscle wasting in fly and mouse muscular dystrophy Posted: 01 Aug 2013 08:31 PM PDT A trace substance in caramelized sugar, when purified and given in appropriate doses, improves muscle regeneration in an insect and mammal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The substance, THI, protects the body's levels of a cell signal important in cell differentiation, proliferation, and migration. Fruit flies and mice with the muscular dystrophy gene both showed improvements in movement, and other reductions of symptoms.

Genetics: More than merely a mutated gene Posted: 01 Aug 2013 08:31 PM PDT If two women have the same genetic mutation that puts them at higher-than-average risk for a disease such as breast cancer, why does only one develop the disease? Genetic scientists have begun to understand how the rest of the genome interacts with such mutations to cause the differences we see among individuals.

The four-point test to predict death risk from C. difficile Posted: 01 Aug 2013 08:31 PM PDT Researchers have developed a unique four-point test using easily measurable clinical variables which can be used to accurately predict the death risk to patients from C. diff. Accurate prediction means that those patients at risk can be managed accordingly by the clinical team.

Scientists uncover secrets of starfish’s bizarre feeding mechanism Posted: 01 Aug 2013 08:31 PM PDT Scientists have identified a molecule that enables starfish to carry out one of the most remarkable forms of feeding in the natural world. A starfish feeds by first extending its stomach out of its mouth and over the digestible parts of its prey, such as mussels and clams. The prey tissue is partially digested externally before the soup-like "chowder" produced is drawn back into its 10 digestive glands.

Simple ultrasound treatment may help protect the kidneys Posted: 01 Aug 2013 08:30 PM PDT Ultrasound treatments may prevent acute kidney injury that commonly arises after major surgery, according to a new study. The findings suggest that this simple and noninvasive therapy may be an effective precaution for patients at risk.

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