ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
Red-eyed Treefrog Embryos Actively Avoid Asphyxiation Inside Their Eggs (November 9, 2008) -- Red-eyed treefrog embryos react to environmental oxygen concentration before they have blood or muscular movement. These initial responses to the environment may be critical to the frogs' long-term survival. ... > full story
Physicists Create BlackMax To Search For Extra Dimensions In The Universe (November 9, 2008) -- Theoretical and experimental physicists have designed a new black hole simulator called BlackMax to search for evidence that extra dimensions might exist in the universe. ... > full story
When It Comes To Sea Level Changing Glaciers, New NASA Technique Measures Up (November 10, 2008) -- Scientists have used satellite data to make the most precise measurements to date of changes in the mass of mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska, a region expected to be a significant contributor to global sea level rise over the next 50-100 years. ... > full story
New Small-scale Generator Produces Alternating Current By Stretching Zinc Oxide Wires (November 10, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a new type of small-scale electric power generator able to produce alternating current through the cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires encapsulated in a flexible plastic substrate with two ends bonded. ... > full story Researchers Discover New Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Disease, And A Way To Control It (November 10, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered that having high levels of particular protein puts patients at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The results of the study were so conclusive that the clinical trial had to be stopped before its scheduled completion date. ... > full story
Nanoparticles Research Aids Drug Development (November 10, 2008) -- Scientists have developed a new technology which can dramatically improve the effectiveness of antibacterial treatments. ... > full story
Half-broken Gene Is Enough To Cause Cancer (November 10, 2008) -- Tumor suppressor genes do not necessarily require both alleles to be knocked out before disease phenotypes are expressed. Only one allele of SMAD4 has to be damaged to put a person at risk of pancreatic and colorectal cancer. ... > full story
MP3 Headphones Interfere With Implantable Defibrillators, Pacemakers, Study Suggests (November 10, 2008) -- MP3 player headphones can cause potentially dangerous interactions with pacemakers and implantable defibrillators. For safe use, the headphones must be at least 1.2 inches (3 cm) from the implanted devices. Unrelated research did not find adverse reactions to pacemakers and defibrillators from iPods, Bluetooth headsets, iPhones, electric blankets, hand-held airport metal detectors or pills swallowed to perform video endoscopy. ... > full story
Computer Model Can Predict Human Behavior And Learning (November 10, 2008) -- A new computer model can predict how people will complete a controlled task and how the knowledge needed to complete that task develops over time. ... > full story
Simple Brain Mechanisms Explain Arbitrary Human Visual Decisions (November 10, 2008) -- Scientists report that a simple decision-making task does not involve the frontal lobes, where many of the higher aspects of human cognition, including self-awareness, are thought to originate. Instead, the regions that decide are the same brain regions that receive stimuli relevant to the decision and control the body's response to it. ... > full story
Flu Shots May Cut Risk Of Blood Clots Forming In Veins (November 10, 2008) -- Flu shots may reduce the risk of blood clots forming in veins by 26 percent. Flu shots may be more protective before age 52. ... > full story
Intelligent Walker Designed To Assist The Elderly And People Undergoing Medical Rehabilitation (November 10, 2008) -- Researchers have designed an intelligent walker (i-Walker) that goes a step beyond conventional walkers as it can communicate with the user, think for itself and react to the environment. The device can understand a set of voice commands and can be activated by means of simple verbal instructions given by the user (e.g., "take me to the kitchen"). To do this, it includes elements for independent movement and a personalized intelligent software agent. ... > full story
New Research Finds Markers For Esophageal Cancer Before It Develops (November 10, 2008) -- Researchers have identified genetic proteins, also known as biomarkers, capable of distinguishing changes at the microscopic level that can signal a precancerous condition in the esophagus. These markers may help identify patients who are likely to progress to esophageal cancer. ... > full story
Preventing Traffic Accidents Before They Happen? (November 10, 2008) -- A new automotive safety systems will alert drivers to potential hazards by using information from the car, other road users and the roadside infrastructure to predict and prevent traffic accidents. ... > full story
Racial Disparities Increasing For Cancers Unrelated To Smoking, Study Finds (November 10, 2008) -- A new American Cancer Society study finds that recent progress in closing the gap in overall cancer mortality between African-Americans and whites may be due primarily to smoking-related cancers, and that cancer mortality differences related to screening and treatment may still be increasing. ... > full story
Global Warming Predicted To Hasten Carbon Release From Peat Bogs (November 10, 2008) -- Billions of tons of carbon sequestered in the world's peat bogs could be released into the atmosphere in the coming decades as a result of global warming, according to a new analysis of the interplay between peat bogs, water tables, and climate change. ... > full story
Harnessing Nature’s Diagnostic Tools For Disease Prevention (November 10, 2008) -- The earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of effecting a cure. A revolutionary new hybrid technology offers the possibility of detecting this and other diseases right at inception. ... > full story
DNA Provides 'Smoking Gun' In The Case Of The Missing Songbirds (November 10, 2008) -- DNA evidence shows conclusively that males from a North American warbler species interbred with females from a related species and took over a large part of the other species' range. ... > full story
XDR-TB: Deadlier And More Mysterious Than Ever (November 10, 2008) -- New research has found that extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis is increasingly common and more deadly than previously known. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis is a growing public health threat that is only just beginning to be understood by medical and public health officials. ... > full story
Plant Virus Spreads By Making Life Easy For Crop Pests (November 10, 2008) -- In 752, Japanese Empress Koken wrote a short poem about the summertime yellowing of a field in what is thought to be the first account of a viral plant disease. More than 1,250 years later, scientists concluded that the virus Koken described was part of the particularly insidious geminivirus family that continues to decimate tomato, tobacco and cotton crops worldwide. ... > full story
Mental Health Linked To Stillbirth And Newborn Deaths (November 10, 2008) -- Women with a history of serious mental illness are much more likely to have babies that are stillborn or die within the first month of life, new research reveals. ... > full story
How Evolution Learns From Past Environments To Adapt To New Environments (November 10, 2008) -- The evolution of novel characteristics within organisms can be enhanced when environments change in a systematic manner, according to a new study. Researchers suggest that in environments that vary over time in a non-random way, evolution can learn the rules of the environment and develop organisms that can readily generate novel useful traits with only a few mutations. ... > full story
Better Treatments For Inherited Form Of Colon Cancer? (November 10, 2008) -- Researchers believe they may be one step closer to understanding how certain forms of colon cancer develop. ... > full story
Project Virtually Rebuilds Lost Architecture Of The Shakers (November 10, 2008) -- The Shakers, a religious group that built 19 communities in the United States during the 1800s, had a prolific and distinct architectural construction and design style. Much of that architecture has been lost; however, a new research project aims to rebuild it -- virtually. ... > full story
Diagnosis Of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Predicts High Risk And Rate Of Further Infection In Teenagers (November 10, 2008) -- A study among Baltimore inner-city teenage girls treated for pelvic inflammatory disease shows they are highly vulnerable to subsequent sexually transmitted infections -- sometimes within a few weeks or months of their treatment. ... > full story
New Technology Promises Cheap Satellite Triple-play (November 10, 2008) -- A new technology promises to dramatically lower the costs of satellite bandwidth, potentially bridging the digital divide and enabling satellites to deliver TV, internet and telephony services via satellite. The technical problems are solved, now the research team is working hard on the business case. ... > full story
Transplant Experts Discuss Organ Trafficking (November 10, 2008) -- With the number of patients in need of organ transplants on the rise, an increasing number of patients are turning to unconventional sources for organs. Individuals are willing to donate their kidneys for financial incentive, particularly in developing countries where the poverty rate is high, resulting in numerous reports of human trafficking as a source of organs. ... > full story
Research Sheds Light On Key Trigger Of Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation (November 10, 2008) -- Clusters of mouse embryonic stem cells called embryoid bodies more closely approximate true embryos in organization and structure than previously thought, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. ... > full story
New Hybrid Plants Could Prompt More Prodigious Pepper Production In Southwest (November 10, 2008) -- To help Southwestern US pepper producers perk up pepper production, scientists and agriculture experts are developing several new adapted pepper plant hybrids. ... > full story
Long-term Benefits Of Morphine Treatment In Infants Confirmed In Rodent Study (November 10, 2008) -- Scientists have demonstrate that administration of preemptive morphine prior to a painful procedure in infancy blocks the long-term negative consequences of pain in adult rodents. These studies have serious implications for the way anesthetics and analgesics are administered to neonates prior to surgery. ... > full story
Polarized Light Guides Cholera-carrying Midges That Contaminate Water Supplies (November 10, 2008) -- Midges harbor the lethal Vibrio cholerae bacteria that spreads cholera, contaminating water supplies with the infection when they lay their eggs. What guides the midges to select particular watercourses when laying their eggs? Scientists have found that the midges are attracted by polarized light reflections from water and suggest that polarized light could be used to control cholera transmission and reduce midge numbers. ... > full story
Emerging Carbon Finance Market Will Play Critical Role In Addressing Climate Change, Experts Say (November 10, 2008) -- Climate change is an unprecedented global problem and an emerging carbon finance market will play a critical role in addressing it, asserts a newly published Yale report. ... > full story
Genetic Study Provides New Insights Into Molecular Basis Of Language Development (November 9, 2008) -- Scientists have identified the first gene that is associated with a common childhood language disorder, known as specific language impairment (SLI). The gene -- CNTNAP2 -- has also been recently implicated in autism, and could represent a crucial genetic link between the two disorders. ... > full story
Smaller Mosquitoes Are More Likely To Be Infected With Viruses Causing Human Diseases (November 9, 2008) -- An entomologist says smaller mosquitoes are more likely to be infected with viruses that cause diseases in humans. ... > full story
Paper Mill Waste May Be Just Right For Reclaiming Mineland (November 9, 2008) -- Paper mill waste can safely be applied at a rate three times higher than the typical rate in Ohio, to reclaim soils of surface-coal mined areas. ... > full story
Consumers Not Ready For Tailor-made Nutrition? (November 9, 2008) -- In the near future it will be possible to customize the food we eat to individual needs, based on the genetic profile of the individual. Researchers suggest that the consumer market is not yet ready for this so-called nutrigenomics. They conclude that many obstacles must be overcome before products based on nutrigenomics become a reality. ... > full story
Carbon Dioxide Levels Already In Danger Zone, Revised Theory Shows (November 9, 2008) -- If climate disasters are to be averted, atmospheric carbon dioxide must be reduced below the levels that already exist today, according to a new study in Open Atmospheric Science Journal. ... > full story
Mitochondria Could Be Target For Therapeutic Strategy For Alzheimer's Disease Patients (November 9, 2008) -- A study in Nature Medicine describes the function and interaction of a critical molecule involved in cell death in Alzheimer's disease patients. These new findings reveal that blocking this molecule, called Cyclophilin D, and development of surrounding mitochondrial targets may be viable therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, according to Shi Du Yan, Ph.D., at Columbia University Medical Center, who led the multi-center research. ... > full story
Record High Performance With New Solar Cells (November 9, 2008) -- Researchers in China and Switzerland are reporting the highest efficiency ever for a promising new genre of solar cells, which many scientists think offer the best hope for making the sun a mainstay source of energy in the future. The photovoltaic cells, called dye-sensitized solar cells or Grätzel cells, could expand the use of solar energy for homes, businesses, and other practical applications, the scientists say. ... > full story
HPV Virus Helps Cervical And Head And Neck Cancers Resist Treatment And Grow And Spread (November 9, 2008) -- The human papillomavirus allows infected cervical and head and neck cancer cells to maintain internal molecular conditions that make the cancers resistant to therapy and more likely to grow and spread, resulting in a poor prognosis for patients. ... > full story
How Plant Cells Synthesize Pharmaceutical Compounds (November 9, 2008) -- A Finnish researcher's work on two plants -- tobacco and Egyptian henbane -- is yielding new information about the functions of genes involved with the biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites. The results can be used in developing production of valuable pharmaceuticals in plant cell cultures. ... > full story
Forgotten, But Not Gone: Leprosy Still Present In The US (November 9, 2008) -- Long believed to be a disease of biblical times, leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, continues to be seen in the United States. ... > full story
Playing A Game Shows How Personalities Evolved (November 9, 2008) -- Why do some of us always do the right thing while others only seem to be out for themselves? New research offers a new explanation as to why such a wide range of personality traits has evolved in humans and other social species. ... > full story
Friendly Bacteria Reduce Hospital Infections (November 9, 2008) -- A probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum 299, has been used to out-compete the dangerous bacteria that cause respiratory illness in ventilated patients. Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care describes how applying a bacterial solution in place of normal antiseptics is effective in preventing the most common cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia. ... > full story
New Role For Critical DNA Repair Molecule In Immune System (November 9, 2008) -- The human immune system is a brilliantly adaptable weapon against foreign invaders. But it all depends on the work of specialized cells called lymphocytes that have made a risky evolutionary gambit to mutate their own DNA. New research published in Nature shows for the first time that a molecule devoted to DNA repair plays a broader role in this genetic reshuffling -- called recombination -- than scientists had thought. ... > full story
Smokers See Decline In Ability To Smell, Rise In Laryngitis, And Upper Airway Issues (November 9, 2008) -- New research gives more reasons to kick smoking and smokeless tobacco products. New research shows that cigarette smoking is linked to upper airway symptoms ("smoker's nose") and the loss of smokers' ability to smell common odors. Most alarmingly second-hand smoke plays a role in the rise of cases of "environmental laryngitis." ... > full story
Stretching Silicon: A New Method To Measure How Strain Affects Semiconductors (November 9, 2008) -- Engineers and physicists have developed a method of measuring how strain affects thin films of silicon that could lay the foundation for faster flexible electronics. ... > full story
Students Eat More Whole Grains When It's Gradually Added To School Lunch (November 9, 2008) -- Elementary school students will eat more whole grains when healthier bread products are gradually introduced into their school lunches, a new study shows. ... > full story
