ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Oil-dwelling bacteria are social creatures in Earth's deep biosphere
• Current practices in reporting on behavioural genetics can mislead the public
• Earth's most abundant mineral finally has a name
• Patient awakes from post-traumatic minimally conscious state after administration of depressant drug
• Are you genetically predisposed to antisocial behaviour?
• Taming the Inflammatory Response in Kidney Dialysis
• A new trout species described from the Alakır Stream in Antalya, Turkey
• Bacterial biofilms are associated with colon cancer, imaging technique reveals
• More-flexible digital communication
• Is an understanding of dark matter around the corner? Experimentalists unsure
• Obese children's brains more responsive to sugar
• Controversial nitrite hypothesis confirmed
• Link between low blood glucose, cardiovascular events revealed
• Willow trees are cost-efficient cleaners of contaminated soil
• Real data rather than theory used to measure the cosmos
• Poor diet links obese mothers, stunted children
• Nuclear fragments could help uncover the origins of life-supporting planets
• Toxic nectar affects the behavior of insect pollinators
• Preventing biodiversity loss due to ash dieback disease
• Infertility is a warning: Poor semen quality linked to hypertension, other health problems
• Nanoshaping method points to future manufacturing technology
• Parkinson's disease: Study focuses on regulation of dopamine levels
• Drug may help prevent bone fractures in patients on dialysis
• Boosting healthy cells during chemo
• Important gene interaction defined that drives aggressive brain cancer
• New insights into origins of agriculture could help shape future of food
• Timing of test, surgery, insurance examined in sleep-disordered breathing cases; public insurance holders wait longer
• Memory lapses among highly educated may signal higher stroke risk
• Weighing in on the Role of Mindfulness in Slimming Down
• Basic rules for construction with a type of origami
• Blood lipid metabolites allow early identification of cardiovascular disease
• As gay marriage gains voter acceptance, study illuminates a possible reason
• A key human gene modifies the immune response to flu vaccine
• Reasons for malaria's drug resistance discovered
• Cause of malaria drug resistance in Southeast Asia identified
• Mental illness is the wrong scapegoat after mass shootings, experts say

Oil-dwelling bacteria are social creatures in Earth's deep biosphere Posted: 12 Dec 2014 12:03 PM PST Oil reservoirs are scattered deep inside the Earth like far-flung islands in the ocean, so their inhabitants might be expected to be very different, but a new study shows these underground microbes are social creatures that have exchanged genes for eons.

Current practices in reporting on behavioural genetics can mislead the public Posted: 12 Dec 2014 12:02 PM PST "Media reports about behavioural genetics unintentionally induce unfounded beliefs, therefore going against the educational purpose of scientific reporting," writes a researcher following his study of 1,500 Americans. Public misunderstanding is not the only thing to blame for this misinterpretation. "Generally, science reporters' first goal is to inform the public about scientific developments. However, this practice is not disinterested; some news is purposely written in a manner intended to catch the public's attention with startling results in order to increase or to maintain market shares," the researcher explained.

Earth's most abundant mineral finally has a name Posted: 12 Dec 2014 12:01 PM PST An ancient meteorite and high-energy X-rays have helped scientists conclude a half century of effort to find, identify and characterize a mineral that makes up 38 percent of the Earth.

Patient awakes from post-traumatic minimally conscious state after administration of depressant drug Posted: 12 Dec 2014 09:24 AM PST A patient who had suffered a traumatic brain injury unexpectedly recovered full consciousness after the administration of midazolam, a mild depressant drug of the GABA A agonists family. This resulted in the first recorded case of an "awakening" from a minimally-conscious state (MCS) using this therapy. Although similar awakenings have been reported using other drugs, this dramatic result was unanticipated.

Are you genetically predisposed to antisocial behaviour? Posted: 12 Dec 2014 09:24 AM PST Both positive and negative experiences influence how genetic variants affect the brain and thereby behavior, according to a new study. "Evidence is accumulating to show that the effects of variants of many genes that are common in the population depend on environmental factors. Further, these genetic variants affect each other," explained one researcher.

Taming the Inflammatory Response in Kidney Dialysis Posted: 12 Dec 2014 09:23 AM PST Frequent kidney dialysis can cause systemic inflammation, leading to complications such as cardiovascular disease and anemia by triggering the complement cascade, part of the innate immune system. Complement is inadvertently activated by modern polymer-based dialysis blood filters. New work has found an effective way to avoid these problems by temporarily suppressing complement during dialysis.

A new trout species described from the Alakır Stream in Antalya, Turkey Posted: 12 Dec 2014 08:16 AM PST A new fish species, Salmo kottelati, has been described from the Alak1r Stream draining to Mediterranean Sea in Anatolia. The new species is currently only known from this specific locality. It belongs to the Salmonidae family, which includes salmons, trouts, chars, graylings and whitefishes.

Bacterial biofilms are associated with colon cancer, imaging technique reveals Posted: 12 Dec 2014 08:16 AM PST An imaging technology reveals that bacterial biofilms are associated with colon cancer, researchers report. The discovery draws on a novel way to "see" microbial community structure. Called combinatorial imaging, it could potentially be used to clinically diagnose pre-cancerous and cancerous conditions in the ascending colon.

More-flexible digital communication Posted: 12 Dec 2014 07:18 AM PST Communication protocols for digital devices are very efficient but also very brittle: They require information to be specified in a precise order with a precise number of bits. If sender and receiver -- say, a computer and a printer -- are off by even a single bit relative to each other, communication between them breaks down entirely. Humans are much more flexible. Two strangers may come to a conversation with wildly differing vocabularies and frames of reference, but they will quickly assess the extent of their mutual understanding and tailor their speech accordingly.

Is an understanding of dark matter around the corner? Experimentalists unsure Posted: 12 Dec 2014 07:16 AM PST Scientists working on the three newest dark matter experiments are hopeful that we'll soon understand a quarter of the universe -- but they're making no promises.

Obese children's brains more responsive to sugar Posted: 12 Dec 2014 06:17 AM PST The brains of obese children literally light up differently when tasting sugar, a new study has found. This elevated sense of "food reward" -- which involves being motivated by food and deriving a good feeling from it -- could mean some children have brain circuitries that predispose them to crave more sugar throughout life, researchers say.

Controversial nitrite hypothesis confirmed Posted: 12 Dec 2014 05:51 AM PST Understanding how nitrite can improve conditions such as hypertension, heart attack and stroke has been the object of worldwide research studies. New research has potentially moved the science one step closer to this goal.

Link between low blood glucose, cardiovascular events revealed Posted: 12 Dec 2014 05:50 AM PST A link between hypoglycaemia and increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in patients with diabetes has been confirmed by researchers. The findings could lead to changes in the way some patients' treatment is managed.

Willow trees are cost-efficient cleaners of contaminated soil Posted: 12 Dec 2014 05:49 AM PST Using broad-leaved trees such as willow trees in the phytoremediation of contaminated soils constitutes a cost-efficient method for restoring mining areas and landfills, according to new research. The project studied willow tree growth in contaminated soils in Finland and Russia.

Real data rather than theory used to measure the cosmos Posted: 12 Dec 2014 05:49 AM PST For the first time researchers have measured large distances in the Universe using data, rather than calculations related to general relativity.

Poor diet links obese mothers, stunted children Posted: 11 Dec 2014 06:00 PM PST Malnutrition is a major cause of stunted growth in children, but new research on mothers and children in Egypt suggests that the problem is not just about quantity of food but also quality.

Nuclear fragments could help uncover the origins of life-supporting planets Posted: 11 Dec 2014 06:00 PM PST New research describes how recreating isotopes that occur when a star explodes, can help physicists understand where life-supporting elements may be found in space.

Toxic nectar affects the behavior of insect pollinators Posted: 11 Dec 2014 06:00 PM PST Natural toxins in nectar and pollen can poison insects and affect their memory, behavior and reproductive success, researchers have found. Toxins in lupin pollen cause bumble bees to produce fewer offspring while chemicals found in rhododendron nectar are toxic to honeybees but not bumble bees, toxic effects that could be contributing to the worrying decline in pollinator species.

Preventing biodiversity loss due to ash dieback disease Posted: 11 Dec 2014 06:00 PM PST A new study of woodlands across the UK reveals that, as Chalara ash dieback disease progresses, encouraging the growth of other broadleaved trees as alternatives to ash could protect the almost 1000 species of plants and animals which usually use ash trees for food and habitat.

Infertility is a warning: Poor semen quality linked to hypertension, other health problems Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:18 PM PST A study of men who were evaluated for the cause of their infertility finds previously unknown relationships between deficiencies in their semen and other, seemingly unrelated health problems.

Nanoshaping method points to future manufacturing technology Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:05 PM PST A new method that creates large-area patterns of 3-D nanoshapes from metal sheets represents a potential manufacturing system to inexpensively mass produce innovations such as 'plasmonic metamaterials' for advanced technologies.

Parkinson's disease: Study focuses on regulation of dopamine levels Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:05 PM PST A mechanism regulating dopamine levels in the brain has been revealed by a study on a mouse model of late onset Parkinson's disease. Using gene expression profiling, a method to measure the activity of thousands of genes, researchers investigated dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, which are nerve cells that use dopamine to send signals to other nerve cells. These neurons are known to degenerate in Parkinson's disease.

Drug may help prevent bone fractures in patients on dialysis Posted: 11 Dec 2014 03:02 PM PST In patients on dialysis, cinacalcet reduced the rate of bone fracture by 16% to 29%, after accounting for patient characteristics and other factors, researchers report. Patients with kidney failure who are undergoing dialysis have an increased risk of bone fractures, and the risk of dying after a hip fracture in such a patient is double that of the general population. Unfortunately, none of the approved drugs for fracture prevention in osteoporosis in the general population are approved for use in patients on dialysis, and some are actually contraindicated.

Boosting healthy cells during chemo Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:25 PM PST Scientists are closer to discovering a possible way to boost healthy cell production in cancer patients as they receive chemotherapy. By adding thymine -- a natural building block found in DNA -- into normal cells, they found it stimulated gene production and caused them to multiply.

Important gene interaction defined that drives aggressive brain cancer Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:25 PM PST Targeted therapies are a growing and groundbreaking field in cancer care in which drugs or other substances are designed to interfere with genes or molecules that control the growth and survival of cancer cells. Now, scientists have identified a novel interaction between a microRNA and a gene that could lead to new therapies for the most common and deadly form of brain tumor, malignant glioma.

New insights into origins of agriculture could help shape future of food Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:24 PM PST Agricultural decisions made by our ancestors more than 10,000 years ago could hold the key to food security in the future, according to new research. Scientists, looking at why the first arable farmers chose to domesticate some cereal crops and not others, studied those that originated in the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land in western Asia from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Timing of test, surgery, insurance examined in sleep-disordered breathing cases; public insurance holders wait longer Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:24 PM PST Children with public insurance waited longer after initial evaluation for sleep-disordered breathing to undergo polysomnography (PSG, the gold standard diagnostic test) and also waited longer after PSG to have surgery to treat the condition with adenotonsillectomy compared with children who were privately insured, according to a report.

Memory lapses among highly educated may signal higher stroke risk Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:24 PM PST People with a high level of education who complain about memory lapses have a higher risk of stroke. Researchers suggest such people should be considered for screening for stroke risk.

Weighing in on the Role of Mindfulness in Slimming Down Posted: 11 Dec 2014 01:22 PM PST If dieting is on your New Year agenda, it might pay to be mindful of a study suggesting there is little hard evidence that mindfulness leads to weight loss. Researchers reviewed 19 previous studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based programs for weight loss. Thirteen of the studies documented weight loss among participants who practiced mindfulness, but all lacked either a measure of the change in mindfulness or a statistical analysis of the relationship between being mindful and dropping pounds. In many cases, the studies lacked both.

Basic rules for construction with a type of origami Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:26 AM PST Origami is capable of turning a simple sheet of paper into a pretty paper crane, but the principles behind it can be applied to making a microfluidic device or for storing a satellite's solar panel in a rocket's cargo bay. Researchers are turning kirigami, a related art form that allows the paper to be cut, into a technique that can be applied equally to structures on those vastly divergent length scales.

Blood lipid metabolites allow early identification of cardiovascular disease Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:21 AM PST New circulating metabolites might allow early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. Scientists have identified novel lipid-derived molecules associated with future coronary heart disease events. The study has examined the metabolic profile of blood samples from more than 3,600 individuals that have been followed-up for up to 10 years.

As gay marriage gains voter acceptance, study illuminates a possible reason Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:21 AM PST Conventional wisdom holds that changing the views of voters on divisive issues is difficult if not impossible -- and that when change does occur, it is almost always temporary. But political scientists have demonstrated that a single conversation can go a long way toward building lasting support for a controversial social issue.

A key human gene modifies the immune response to flu vaccine Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:21 AM PST How much protection the annual flu shot provides depends on how well the vaccine (which is designed based on a 'best guess' for next season's flu strain) matches the actually circulating virus. However, it also depends on the strength of the immune response elicited by the vaccine. A study reports that genetic variants in a gene called IL-28B influence influenza vaccine responses.

Reasons for malaria's drug resistance discovered Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:20 AM PST Scientists have discovered, in a breakthrough study, exactly how the malaria parasite is developing resistance towards the most important front-line drugs used to treat the disease. Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasite which affects over 60 million people worldwide and in serious cases, can be fatal. There is currently no viable vaccine for malaria while antimalarial drugs and prophylaxis are losing its efficacy with increasing drug resistance.

Cause of malaria drug resistance in Southeast Asia identified Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:20 AM PST Malaria drug resistance in Southeast Asia is caused by a single mutated gene in the disease-causing parasite, a study has found. This finding provides public health officials around the world with a way to look for pockets of emerging resistance and potentially eliminate them before they spread, researchers say.

Mental illness is the wrong scapegoat after mass shootings, experts say Posted: 11 Dec 2014 11:20 AM PST In the shadow of the two year anniversary of one of the worst mass shootings in American history, at Sandy Hook Elementary School, an extensive new study challenges common assumptions about gun violence and mental illness that often emerge in the aftermath of mass shootings. When a mass shooting occurs there seems to be a familiar narrative that untreated mental illness is the primary cause for the terrifying act. But a new study finds that an isolated focus on mental illness is misguided. There are 32,000 gun deaths in the United States on average every year and people are far more likely to be shot by relatives, friends or acquaintances than they are by lone violent psychopaths, according to the researchers.

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