ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• New treatment for African sleeping sickness comes closer
• Carbon storage recovers faster than plant biodiversity in re-growing tropical forests
• Bringing out the best in X-ray crystallography data
• Calculating the Risk: Child Sexual Assault
• Effects of chronic stress can be traced to your genes
• Stressed-out trees boost sugary rewards to ant defenders
• Interactive computer program helps patients talk with physician about depression
• Breakthrough could lead to new treatment for heart attack
• Gene is linked to deadly runaway fungal infection
• Report shows extent to which social background matters for academic success
• Early bird catches the worm - for dinner
• Spider's super-thin ribbons key to silk tech
• Clues to how existing heart drugs work
• Staying alive in the high and dry
• Intestinal bacteria linked to rheumatoid arthritis
• New research on little-understood brain disease
• Clay may have been birthplace of life on Earth, new study suggests
• 'Pocket' project aims to develop TB sensor that fits in pocket
• Exercise program in senior centers helps decrease pain, improve mobility of participants
• Experts recommend universal diabetes testing for pregnant women at first prenatal visit
• NASA researchers to flying insects: 'Bug off! '
• Wind tunnel testing used to understand the unsteady side of aerodynamics
• New aluminum alloy stores hydrogen: Versatile, lightweight material opens the door to fuel cells of the future
• Tool to help GIs manage Hep C patients
• Torture permanently damages normal perception of pain
• The next big thing in the energy sector: Photovoltaic generated DC electricity
• New findings could overcome stumbling blocks to tissue cryopreservation
• Scientists use light to uncover the cause of sickle cell disease
• Structured play trumps age for future school success
• NASA Kepler results usher in a new era of astronomy
• Galaxy growth examined like rings of a tree
• Understanding what makes a thin film solar cell efficient
• Transgender patients have special needs in the ER
• Chemists develop new way to kill cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy drug
• New cancer targeting technique to improve cancer drugs
• Holograms offer hope in fight against malaria
• Drug combination therapy causes cancer cells to 'eat themselves'
• Play promotes emotional healing in children battling serious illnesses
• Muggings more than double in London after dark
• Machines learn to detect breast cancer
• An app to help ex-drug, alcohol abusers
• How pigeons may smell their way home
• A single-atom light switch: New switch is powerful tool for quantum information and quantum communication
• Centuries-old elephant imposter unmasked
• Emissions pricing revenues could overcompensate profit losses of fossil fuel owners
• Motion of the ocean: Predicting the big swells
• Gambling addicts present brain function abnormalities that affect their decision-making capacity
• Hurricane Sandy's impact measured by millions of Flickr pictures
• Do you want the good news or the bad news first?
• Aortic valve replacement that doesn’t require open heart surgery
• Repetition in music pulls us in, together
• Knife-wielding robot trains for grocery checkout job using new coactive learning technique
• Higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke in 'food desert'
• Access to health care increases prescription opioids, associated abuse
• Microbes in the gut help determine risk of tumors
• Considerable gender, racial, sexuality differences in attitudes toward bisexuality
• Pleasure, pain brain signals disrupted in fibromyalgia patients
• Bad boys: Research predicts whether boys will grow out of it or not
• The prevalence of colds and pneumonia in cows can be controlled
• Astronomy: White dwarfs hide information on dark forces

New treatment for African sleeping sickness comes closer Posted: 05 Nov 2013 04:46 PM PST Researchers have identified drugs targeting infections of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei and are thereby well on the way to find a cure against African sleeping sickness.

Carbon storage recovers faster than plant biodiversity in re-growing tropical forests Posted: 05 Nov 2013 04:46 PM PST A new study of re-growing tropical forests has concluded that plant biodiversity takes longer to recover than carbon storage following major disturbances such as clearance for farming.

Bringing out the best in X-ray crystallography data Posted: 05 Nov 2013 02:15 PM PST Combining components of Rosetta and PHENIX, two successful software programs for creating 3-D structural models of proteins and other biomolecules, researchers have created a new method for refining those models and making the best of available experimental data.

Calculating the Risk: Child Sexual Assault Posted: 05 Nov 2013 02:13 PM PST Affluent girls residing in two-parent homes are much less likely to be sexually assaulted than other female youth, according to a new study.

Effects of chronic stress can be traced to your genes Posted: 05 Nov 2013 02:13 PM PST New research suggests that if you're working for a really bad boss over a long period of time, that experience may play out at the level of gene expression in your immune system.

Stressed-out trees boost sugary rewards to ant defenders Posted: 05 Nov 2013 02:13 PM PST When water is scarce, Ecuador laurel trees ramp up their investment in a syrupy treat that sends resident ant defenders into overdrive, protecting the trees from defoliation by leaf-munching pests.

Interactive computer program helps patients talk with physician about depression Posted: 05 Nov 2013 01:22 PM PST Patients who used an interactive computer program about depression while waiting to see their primary-care doctor were nearly twice as likely to ask about the condition and significantly more likely to receive a recommendation for antidepressant drugs or a mental-health referral from their physician, according to a new study.

Breakthrough could lead to new treatment for heart attack Posted: 05 Nov 2013 01:05 PM PST The stop and start of blood flow to the heart during and after a heart attack causes severe damage to heart cells, reducing their capacity to function and potentially causing their death. But a recent study suggests that it is possible to limit the extent of that damage using a drug. The findings have significant potential for translation into heart attack patients in a clinical setting.

Gene is linked to deadly runaway fungal infection Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:32 PM PST For most people, a fungal infection like athlete's foot means a simple trip to the drugstore and a reminder to bring shower shoes to the gym. But in very rare cases, fungal infections can spread below the skin's surface and onto the lymph nodes, bones, digestive tract or even the brain. Researchers have now discovered a genetic deficiency that allows the fungus to spread in this way, which explains why treatments sometimes do not work.

Report shows extent to which social background matters for academic success Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:29 PM PST Children of similar intelligence have very different levels of educational attainment depending on their social backgrounds, says a large-scale study. The research team studied cohorts of children born in Britain and Sweden from the 1940s to the 1970s. They found that bright children from advantaged social backgrounds were twice as likely to achieve A-levels as similarly able children from the least advantaged social backgrounds.

Early bird catches the worm - for dinner Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:27 PM PST Birds, such as great and blue tits, scout for food in the morning but only return to eat it in late afternoon to maximize their chances of evading predators in the day without starving to death overnight.

Spider's super-thin ribbons key to silk tech Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:26 PM PST The silk of a spider feared for its venomous bite could be the key to creating new super-sticky films and wafer-thin electronics and sensors for medical implants that are highly compatible with the human body.

Clues to how existing heart drugs work Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:16 PM PST Some of the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of heart failure are beta-blockers and nitrates, which help to relax blood vessels and decrease the heart's workload. The drugs were thought to produce those effects through distinct molecular pathways, but according to a new study led by scientists, both types of drugs may help the failing heart by counteracting the effects of an enzyme known as GRK2.

Staying alive in the high and dry Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:16 PM PST New research published this week sheds light on how desert plants gain nutrients they desperately need -- even in the driest circumstances.

Intestinal bacteria linked to rheumatoid arthritis Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:20 AM PST Researchers have linked a species of intestinal bacteria known as Prevotella copri to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, the first demonstration in humans that the chronic inflammatory joint disease may be mediated in part by specific intestinal bacteria. The new findings add to the growing evidence that the trillions of microbes in our body play an important role in regulating our health.

New research on little-understood brain disease Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:20 AM PST Three recent papers on aging explore the neuropathology behind a little-understood brain disease, hippocampal sclerosis (known to scientists and clinicians as HS-AGING). HS-AGING, much like Alzheimer's disease, causes symptoms of dementia -- cognitive decline and impaired memory -- in aged persons. Although Alzheimer's disease is probably the most recognized cause of dementia, HS-AGING also causes serious cognitive impairment in older adults.

Clay may have been birthplace of life on Earth, new study suggests Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:20 AM PST Clay -- a seemingly infertile blend of minerals -- might have been the birthplace of life on Earth. Or at least of the complex biochemicals that make life possible, biological engineers report.

'Pocket' project aims to develop TB sensor that fits in pocket Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:19 AM PST Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year there are worldwide 8.8 million new active TB cases and nearly 2 million TB deaths - 5000 every day - mostly in the poorest communities of the developing world. TB has also become the leading cause of death among people with HIV. While most cases of TB occur in developing countries, it is also reemerging as a threat in major urban populations in Europe, due to global travel.

Exercise program in senior centers helps decrease pain, improve mobility of participants Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:19 AM PST A new study shows the benefits of an exercise program offered in senior centers in New York City's Chinatown and in Flushing, Queens.

Experts recommend universal diabetes testing for pregnant women at first prenatal visit Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:19 AM PST The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) to help health care professionals provide the best care to pregnant women who have diabetes.

NASA researchers to flying insects: 'Bug off! ' Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:27 AM PST When flying insects get in the way of an airplane's wing during takeoff or landing, it's not just the bugs that suffer. Those little blasts of bug guts disrupt the laminar -- or smooth -- flow of air over the airplane's wings, creating more drag on the airplane and contributing to increased fuel consumption. That's why a group of researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center -- the "bug team" -- recently ran several flight tests of coatings that may one day reduce the amount of bug contamination on the wings of commercial aircraft.

Wind tunnel testing used to understand the unsteady side of aerodynamics Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:24 AM PST Think about a time you've been a passenger in a car and stuck your hand out the window. As your speed increases, so do the vibrations in your hand. Trying to keep those fingers steady as the wind whips around them at 75 mph gets pretty tricky, right?

New aluminum alloy stores hydrogen: Versatile, lightweight material opens the door to fuel cells of the future Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:14 AM PST We use aluminum to make planes lightweight, store sodas in recyclable containers, keep the walls of our homes energy efficient and ensure that the Thanksgiving turkey is cooked to perfection. Now there may soon be a new application for the versatile metal: hydrogen storage for fuel cells.

Tool to help GIs manage Hep C patients Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:14 AM PST The American Gastroenterological Association Clinical Decision Tool for the Screening and Evaluation of Hepatitis C (HCV) will help gastroenterologists in the early management of HCV-positive patients, according to new research published. Chronic HCV has a significant impact on the adult population and is a disease for which much progress has been made in its treatment.

Torture permanently damages normal perception of pain Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:14 AM PST Held alone in tiny, filthy spaces for weeks or months, sometimes handcuffed and blindfolded, prisoners of war suffer severe beatings, burns, electric shocks, starvation, and worse. New research shows that ex-prisoners of war continue to suffer from dysfunctional pain perception and regulation, likely as a result of their torture.

The next big thing in the energy sector: Photovoltaic generated DC electricity Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:14 AM PST A viable solution for sustainable energy transmission is the onsite generation of electricity using the photovoltaic method of converting solar energy directly into electrical energy.

New findings could overcome stumbling blocks to tissue cryopreservation Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:14 AM PST Developing an efficient way to freeze and store living tissues could transform many aspects of medical care and research. Ice crystallization often occurs within cells during such cryopreservation procedures, leading to cell death. Researchers have now gained new information about the processes that are responsible for promoting the freezing of cells within tissues. This knowledge may ultimately lead to novel approaches for preventing tissue injury during cryopreservation.

Scientists use light to uncover the cause of sickle cell disease Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:14 AM PST In sickle cell disease, hemoglobin -- the oxygen-carrying component of blood -- forms fibers that stiffen red blood cells and cause life-threatening symptoms. Using light-scattering techniques to study the detailed thermodynamics of this process, researchers have determined the strength of the forces that hold these fibers intact. The information could be used to design therapies that interfere with the sickling process.

Structured play trumps age for future school success Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:13 AM PST A psychology researcher has backed the English government's stance on maintaining Britain's school starting age saying structured play, not formal learning, is the key to success for the under fives.

NASA Kepler results usher in a new era of astronomy Posted: 05 Nov 2013 08:45 AM PST Scientists from around the world are gathered this week at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., for the second Kepler Science Conference, where they will discuss the latest findings resulting from the analysis of Kepler Space Telescope data. Included in these findings is the discovery of 833 new candidate planets, which was announced Nov. 4 by the Kepler team. Ten of these candidates are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in their sun's habitable zone, which is defined as the range of distance from a star where the surface temperature of an orbiting planet may be suitable for liquid water.

Galaxy growth examined like rings of a tree Posted: 05 Nov 2013 08:38 AM PST Galaxies outlive trees by billions of years, making their growth impossible to see. But like biologists reading tree rings, astronomers can read the rings in a galaxy's disk to unravel its past. Using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), scientists have acquired more evidence for the "inside-out" theory of galaxy growth, showing that bursts of star formation in central regions were followed one to two billion years later by star birth in the outer fringes.

Understanding what makes a thin film solar cell efficient Posted: 05 Nov 2013 08:26 AM PST Scientists have developed a new technique for manufacturing high-efficiency, flexible, thin film solar cells from CIGS (copper indium gallium di-selenide) semiconductors. This has enabled them to achieve an efficiency of 20.4 percent for the conversion of sunlight into electrical energy. As the solar cells are deposited onto plastic foils, they could be produced on an industrial scale using cost-effective roll-to-roll manufacturing.

Transgender patients have special needs in the ER Posted: 05 Nov 2013 08:26 AM PST While approximately one-third of transgender (trans) patients needed emergency care in the previous year, only 71 percent of those with self-reported need indicated they were able to obtain care, which researchers theorize may be due to "perceptions and previous experiences of trans-related discrimination or poor care." These results are from a Canadian study, the first to analyze emergency department avoidance, use and experience by trans people.

Chemists develop new way to kill cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy drug Posted: 05 Nov 2013 08:25 AM PST Chemists develop new way to kill cancer cells resistant to the chemotherapy drug cisplatin.

New cancer targeting technique to improve cancer drugs Posted: 05 Nov 2013 08:25 AM PST Cancer drugs work because they're toxic, but that's also why they afflict healthy cells, producing side effects that can compromise their efficacy. Researchers may have found a way to get the drugs to selectively target only the cancer cells.

Holograms offer hope in fight against malaria Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST Scientists have developed a 3D filming technique that could help inform research to stem the spread of malaria.

Drug combination therapy causes cancer cells to 'eat themselves' Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST Results from a recent preclinical study have shown that a new drug combination therapy effectively killed colon, liver, lung, kidney, breast and brain cancer cells while having little effect on noncancerous cells. The results lay the foundation for researchers to plan a future phase 1 clinical trial to test the safety of the therapy in a small group of patients.

Play promotes emotional healing in children battling serious illnesses Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST Playing out medical experiences can help chronically ill children, as well as their siblings, express fears and foster hope for recovery.

Muggings more than double in London after dark Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST Muggers in London strike around two and half times more often during hours of darkness then in daylight, a new study shows.

Machines learn to detect breast cancer Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST Software that can recognize patterns in data is commonly used by scientists and economics. Now, researchers in the US have applied similar algorithms to help them more accurately diagnose breast cancer.

An app to help ex-drug, alcohol abusers Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:35 AM PST Ex-drug and alcohol abusers who have completed their treatment need a simple support system and daily motivation. Now they are getting both – in a handy pocket format.

How pigeons may smell their way home Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:35 AM PST Homing pigeons are extraordinary navigators, but how they manage to find their way back to their lofts is still debated. To navigate, birds require a 'map' (to tell them home is south, for example) and a 'compass' (to tell them where south is), with the sun and the Earth's magnetic field being the preferred compass systems. A new paper provides evidence that the information pigeons use as a map is in fact available in the atmosphere: odors and winds allow them to find their way home.

A single-atom light switch: New switch is powerful tool for quantum information and quantum communication Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:35 AM PST With just a single atom, light can be switched between two fiber optic cables. Such a switch enables quantum phenomena to be used for information and communication technology.

Centuries-old elephant imposter unmasked Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:32 AM PST Through state-of-the-art ancient DNA and protein research and an extensive investigation of historical literature, researchers have determined a 300-year-old type specimen for Asian elephants is actually an African elephant.

Emissions pricing revenues could overcompensate profit losses of fossil fuel owners Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:32 AM PST Revenues from global carbon emission pricing could exceed the losses fossil fuel owners suffer from this policy. Stabilizing global warming at around 2 degrees Celsius by cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil fuels would mean to leave much of coal, gas and oil unused underground.

Motion of the ocean: Predicting the big swells Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:32 AM PST New research will help you every morning with the surf report. It is estimated that 75 per cent of waves across the world are not actually generated by local winds. Instead, they are driven by distant storms which propagate as swell.

Gambling addicts present brain function abnormalities that affect their decision-making capacity Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:31 AM PST Researchers have analyzed similarities and differences in psychological profile and brain function when comparing cocaine addicts and gambling addicts. The study reveals that gambling addicts present brain function abnormalities affecting their decision-making capacity.

Hurricane Sandy's impact measured by millions of Flickr pictures Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:31 AM PST A new study has discovered a striking connection between the number of pictures of Hurricane Sandy posted on Flickr and the atmospheric pressure in New Jersey as the hurricane crashed through the US state in 2012.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:31 AM PST There's good news and there's bad news. Which do you want to hear first? That depends on whether you are the giver or receiver of bad news, and if the news-giver wants the receiver to act on the information.

Aortic valve replacement that doesn’t require open heart surgery Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:31 AM PST Researchers are reporting positive results from a landmark clinical trial of an investigational aortic valve that is deployed with a catheter, without open heart surgery.

Repetition in music pulls us in, together Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:31 AM PST A researcher explores the psychology of repetition in music, across time, style and cultures.

Knife-wielding robot trains for grocery checkout job using new coactive learning technique Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:15 AM PST Engineers have taught a robot to work in a mock-supermarket checkout line, modifying a Baxter robot from Rethink Robotics in Boston to "coactively learn" from humans and make adjustments while an action is in progress.

Higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke in 'food desert' Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:15 AM PST A study has examined the health impact of developing a grocery store in a low-income urban neighborhood on the east side of Indianapolis. Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the Marion County Public Health Department found that residents of the community have much higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke than in other areas of Marion County.

Access to health care increases prescription opioids, associated abuse Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:15 AM PST Researchers say one way to gauge the extent of prescription opioid pain reliever abuse in any Indiana county is to count the number of health care providers, particularly dentists and pharmacists. Their research found that access to health care increases the availability of prescription opioids, which is associated with higher rates of opioid abuse and associated consequences.

Microbes in the gut help determine risk of tumors Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:15 AM PST Transferring the gut microbes from a mouse with colon tumors to germ-free mice makes those mice prone to getting tumors as well, according to the results of a study. The work has implications for human health because it indicates the risk of colorectal cancer may well have a microbial component.

Considerable gender, racial, sexuality differences in attitudes toward bisexuality Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:15 AM PST Men who identify themselves as heterosexual are three times more likely to categorize bisexuality as "not a legitimate sexual orientation," an attitude that can encourage negative health outcomes in people who identify as bisexual.

Pleasure, pain brain signals disrupted in fibromyalgia patients Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:15 AM PST New research indicates that a disruption of brain signals for reward and punishment contributes to increased pain sensitivity, known as hyperalgesia, in fibromyalgia patients. Results suggest that this altered brain processing might contribute to widespread pain and lack of response to opioid therapy in patients with fibromyalgia.

Bad boys: Research predicts whether boys will grow out of it or not Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:15 AM PST Using the hi-tech tools of a new field called neurogenetics and a few simple questions for parents, a researcher is beginning to understand which boys are simply being boys and which may be headed for trouble.

The prevalence of colds and pneumonia in cows can be controlled Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:14 AM PST Respiratory diseases in cattle are a great threat to animal welfare and lead to financial losses in the cattle industry. The bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) is one of the main causes of respiratory disease in cattle. A study of the prevalence and infection distribution of the virus shows that it is possible to control the virus, even though it occurs very frequently.

Astronomy: White dwarfs hide information on dark forces Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:14 AM PST Researchers have ruled out a multitude of possible parameters for dark photons - a type of dark matter and energy - with the help of white dwarfs. In some aspects, the shining of these dying stars gives more information on dark forces than is provided by Earth-based laboratories.

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