ScienceDaily: Top News

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• New half-light half-matter quantum particles created
• For facial transplantation patients, blink assessment is essential
• Reprogramming stem cells may prevent cancer after radiation
• A qubit candidate shines brighter
• Protein identified as possible universal therapeutic target for many infections, including Ebola
• Binge drinking disrupts immune system in young adults, study finds
• Enzyme's alter ego helps activate the immune system
• What are mechanisms of zooxanthella expulsion from coral?
• Estrogen worsens allergic reactions in mice
• American cities are many times brighter at night than German counterparts
• What you tweet when you go party can be useful for improving urban planning
• Live adaptation of organ models in the OR
• Parasite Eggs From the Celtic Period Found in Basel
• Text messaging reminders increase second dose influenza vaccinations in children
• Rare cancer's genetic pathway identified by scientists
• Optogenetics captures neuronal transmission in live mammalian brain
• Study sheds light on what causes cells to divide
• Locking mechanism found for 'scissors' that cut DNA
• Young entrepreneurs innovate in green energy with an in situ organic waste digester

New half-light half-matter quantum particles created Posted: 29 Dec 2014 11:14 AM PST Prospects of developing computing and communication technologies based on quantum properties of light and matter may have taken a major step forward thanks to new research.

For facial transplantation patients, blink assessment is essential Posted: 29 Dec 2014 11:14 AM PST Face transplantation can dramatically enhance a patient's quality of life after severe facial trauma, but lack of attention to eyelid function and vision can leave patients with impaired vision, corneal exposure, eyelid retraction that occurs when the upper or lower eyelid pulls away from the eyeball, and other eyelid-related complications.

Reprogramming stem cells may prevent cancer after radiation Posted: 29 Dec 2014 11:14 AM PST Pre-programmed stem cell death allows cancer to grow after full-body irradiation, researchers report, and NOTCH signaling may restore stem cell function, protecting against cancer after radiation.

A qubit candidate shines brighter Posted: 29 Dec 2014 09:26 AM PST Scientists taken a major step forward in effectively enhancing the fluorescent light emission of diamond nitrogen vacancy centers – a key step to using the atom-sized defects in future quantum computers. The technique hinges on the very precise positioning of NV centers within a structure called a photonic cavity that can boost the light signal from the defect.

Protein identified as possible universal therapeutic target for many infections, including Ebola Posted: 29 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST A protein called GRP78 could be a universal therapeutic target for treating human diseases like brain cancer, Ebola, Influenza, Hepatitis and superbug bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, according to a study.

Binge drinking disrupts immune system in young adults, study finds Posted: 29 Dec 2014 06:26 AM PST Binge drinking in young, healthy adults significantly disrupts the immune system, according to a study. Drinkers generally understand how binge drinking alters behavior, researchers note, however, there is less awareness of alcohol's harmful effects in other areas, such as the immune system.

Enzyme's alter ego helps activate the immune system Posted: 29 Dec 2014 06:26 AM PST Already known to cut proteins, the enzyme SPPL3 turns out to have additional talents, according to a new study. In its newly discovered role, SPPL3 works without cutting proteins to activate T-cells, the immune system's foot soldiers. Because its structure is similar to that of presenilin enzymes, which have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease, the researchers believe their findings could shed more light on presenilin functions, in addition to providing new insight into how the immune system is controlled.

What are mechanisms of zooxanthella expulsion from coral? Posted: 29 Dec 2014 06:26 AM PST Coral bleaching, which often results in the mass mortality of corals and in the collapse of coral reef ecosystems, has become an important issue around the world, with the number of coral reefs decreasing annually. A research group has demonstrated that corals more actively digest and expel damaged symbiotic zooxanthellae under conditions of thermal stress, and that this is likely to be a mechanism that helps corals to cope with environmental change.

Estrogen worsens allergic reactions in mice Posted: 29 Dec 2014 06:25 AM PST Estradiol, a type of estrogen, enhances the levels and activity in mice of an enzyme that drives life-threatening allergic reactions, according to researchers. The study results may help explain why women frequently experience more severe allergic reactions compared to men. Furthermore, the results reaffirm the importance of accounting for gender in the design of animal experiments.

American cities are many times brighter at night than German counterparts Posted: 29 Dec 2014 05:17 AM PST German cities emit several times less light per capita than comparably sized American cities, according to recent research. The size of the gap grew with city size, as light per capita increased with city size in the USA but decreased with city size in Germany. The study also examined regional differences, and surprisingly found that light emission per capita was higher in cities in the former East of Germany than from those in the former West.

What you tweet when you go party can be useful for improving urban planning Posted: 29 Dec 2014 05:17 AM PST Millions of Twitter users are constantly reporting where they are and what they are doing. With this information, two Spanish computer science experts suggest using geolocalized tweets for urban planning and land use. They have already done it in Manhattan, Madrid and London and have been able to identify, for example, nightlife areas of these large cities. Every day millions of citizens around the world generate massive amounts of geolocalized content using mobile applications and social networks. Especially on Twitter, which could become a sensor of interactions between people and their environment and provide guidelines for planning life in the city.. A forgotten issue in urbanism is land use during the night time, with problems such as noise and dirt, which could be improved with this type of tool.

Live adaptation of organ models in the OR Posted: 29 Dec 2014 05:17 AM PST During minimally invasive operations, a surgeon has to trust the information displayed on the screen: A virtual 3D model of the respective organ shows where a tumor is located and where sensitive vessels can be found. Soft tissue, such as the tissue of the liver, however, deforms during breathing or when the scalpel is applied. Endoscopic cameras record in real time how the surface deforms, but do not show the deformation of deeper structures such as tumors. Young scientists have now developed a real-time capable computation method to adapt the virtual organ to the deformed surface profile.

Parasite Eggs From the Celtic Period Found in Basel Posted: 29 Dec 2014 05:17 AM PST Archaeologists have discovered eggs of intestinal parasites in samples from a former Celtic settlement and concluded that its population lived in poor sanitary conditions. Using special geoarchaelogical methods, they found three different types of parasites.

Text messaging reminders increase second dose influenza vaccinations in children Posted: 29 Dec 2014 05:16 AM PST Researchers studied the impact of text message reminders for the second dose of influenza vaccine required for many young children to protect them against the virus. The findings showed that sending the reminders increased receipt of the second dose of the vaccine and brought children in sooner to be vaccinated. When educational information on the importance of the second dose of influenza vaccine was embedded into the text messages there was an even greater effect.

Rare cancer's genetic pathway identified by scientists Posted: 25 Dec 2014 11:35 AM PST The 'mutational landscape' of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a rare, highly fatal form of liver cancer that disproportionately affects people in Asian countries, has been identified by an international team of researchers. The findings could potentially lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis and increased survival rates for patients with the disease, also known as intrahepatic bile duct cancer.

Optogenetics captures neuronal transmission in live mammalian brain Posted: 25 Dec 2014 11:35 AM PST Scientists have used a cutting-edge method to stimulate neurons with light. They have successfully recorded synaptic transmission between neurons in a live animal for the first time.

Study sheds light on what causes cells to divide Posted: 25 Dec 2014 11:35 AM PST When a rapidly-growing cell divides into two smaller cells, what triggers the split? Is it the size the growing cell eventually reaches? Or is the real trigger the time period over which the cell keeps growing ever larger? A novel study has finally provided an answer to this long unsolved conundrum. And it's not what many biologists expected.

Locking mechanism found for 'scissors' that cut DNA Posted: 25 Dec 2014 11:35 AM PST The mechanism that keeps an enzyme from becoming overzealous in its clipping of DNA has been discovered by researchers. Since controlled clipping is required for the production of specialized immune system proteins, an understanding of what keeps the enzyme in check should help explain why its mutant forms can lead to immunodeficiency and cancer.

Young entrepreneurs innovate in green energy with an in situ organic waste digester Posted: 24 Dec 2014 07:30 AM PST Young entrepreneurs have developed a bio-digestion plant capable of generating electricity from organic waste in the market of the Nopal Collection Center in Mexico City.

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