ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Monday, June 30, 2008
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Volcano 'Pollution' Solves Mercury Mystery (June 30, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered how volatile metals from volcanoes end up in polar ice cores. Researchers had suspected that mercury boils out of hot magma, the big surprise was just how much mercury escapes from volcanoes. Measurements made on just one part of the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua have shown that about 7 tons of natural volcanic mercury escapes into the atmosphere from this vent each year. ... > full story
Higher Temperatures Helped New Strain Of West Nile Virus Spread (June 30, 2008) -- Higher temperatures helped a new strain of West Nile virus invade and spread across North America. Researchers found that the new strain is more efficiently transmitted than the older strain, and the advantage of the new strain increases with higher temperatures. These findings help explain the spread of virus strain responsible for largest US epidemics. ... > full story
Total Ankle Replacement With No Metal (June 30, 2008) -- Patients suffering from severe arthritis now have an option for total ankle replacement that offers increased mobility and pain relief without permanent metal implants. This technique is the first in the U.S to offer arthritis sufferers a non-metal, biological ankle replacement. ... > full story
Promising Finding In Severe Lung Disease (June 30, 2008) -- Researchers have identified a novel function for an enzyme that plays a role in the tissue injury in acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as ARDS. ... > full story
Bacteria In Extremely Hostile Environments: New Protein Discovered That Repairs DNA Under Extreme Conditions (June 30, 2008) -- Mild environmental conditions are a prerequisite for life. Strong acids or dissolved metallic salts in high concentrations are detrimental to both humans and to simpler life forms, such as bacteria. Such conditions destroy proteins, ensuring that all biological functions in the cells come to a standstill. So what do we find at the limits of hostile conditions where we still find life? ... > full story
Using Mental Strategies Can Alter The Brain's Reward Circuitry (June 30, 2008) -- The cognitive strategies humans use to regulate emotions can determine both neurological and physiological responses to potential rewards, neuroscientists has discovered. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, shed light on how the regulation of emotions may influence decision making. ... > full story
Lyme Disease Bacterium Came From Europe Before Ice Age (June 30, 2008) -- The bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, originated in America, or so researchers thought. Now, however, scientists has shown that this bug in fact came from Europe, originating from before the Ice Age. ... > full story
A Simple Therapy For Brain Injury (June 30, 2008) -- Severe brain injury due to blunt force trauma could be reduced by application of a simple polymer, polyethylene glycol or PEG, mixed in sterile water and injected into the blood stream -- as reported in the Journal of Biological Engineering. ... > full story
Air Monitoring Helps Anticipate Possible Ecosystem Changes (June 30, 2008) -- When rain settles the atmosphere and brings air pollutants to the ground, it can have a lasting effect on ecosystems, sometimes hundreds of miles away. All ecosystems receive some atmospheric inputs, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. The plant and animal life dominant to that region thrives because it has adapted to a particular rate of those nutrients. When the nutrient load changes, it can change the competitive ability of a species and allow different ones to thrive where they once were not competitive. The effects extend from major animal life such as deer down to the smallest bacteria. ... > full story
First Pharmaceutical Drug To Improve Survival Amongst Patients With Advanced Hepatocarcinoma (June 30, 2008) -- New research has shown that Sorafenib, an orally administered pharmaceutical medicine, results in patients with primary hepatocarcinomas to live 40 percent more on average compared to those not taking the drug. ... > full story
New Probe May Help Untangle Cells' Signaling Pathways (June 30, 2008) -- Researchers have designed a new type of probe that can image thousands of interactions between proteins inside a living cell, giving them a tool to untangle the web of signaling pathways that control most of a cells' activities. ... > full story
Attitude Determines Student Success In Rural Schools, Study Finds (June 30, 2008) -- While most of the country focuses on ACT scores, student-teacher ratio and rigorous curriculum to increase student success, a recent study finds the commitment to excellence determines student achievement in rural schools. ... > full story
Cluster Satellites Listen To The Sounds Of Earth (June 29, 2008) -- The first thing an alien race is likely to hear from Earth is chirps and whistles, a bit like R2-D2, the robot from Star Wars. In reality, they are the sounds that accompany the aurora. Now ESA's Cluster mission is showing scientists how to understand this emission and, in the future, search for alien worlds by listening for their sounds. ... > full story
First Patients Implanted In Study Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation For Depression (June 29, 2008) -- St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced the first patient implants in a clinical study that is investigating whether deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy will help people who suffer from major depressive disorder, a severe form of depression. The patients, a 59-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man, were implanted with the St. Jude Medical Libra® Deep Brain Stimulation System, an investigational device. ... > full story
Cassini To Earth: 'Mission Accomplished, But New Questions Await!' (June 29, 2008) -- NASA's Cassini mission is closing one chapter of its journey at Saturn and embarking on a new one with a two-year mission that will address new questions and bring it closer to two of its most intriguing targets -- Titan and Enceladus. ... > full story
Discovery Of Lyme Disease Bug Clone May Explain Disease Spread (June 29, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered that a certain clone of Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, appears to be the most common strain causing Lyme disease in North America and Europe, and may account for the increase in cases for the past 20 years. ... > full story
The 21st Century Tomato (June 29, 2008) -- The revolution in genomics, with a wealth of data emerging from sequencing and simultaneous expression analysis of thousands of genes, has made it possible to study the numerous pathways and regulatory networks -- systems -- that operate to produce a desirable fruit. ... > full story
Mechanism And Function Of Humor Identified By New Evolutionary Theory (June 29, 2008) -- The pattern recognition theory of humor is an evolutionary and cognitive explanation of how and why any individual finds anything funny. Effectively it explains that humor occurs when the brain recognizes a pattern that surprises it. It also identifies implications of pattern recognition in childhood cognitive development, other species and artificial intelligence, and posits humor as a major driving force in the evolution of humankind's unique perceptual and intellectual abilities. ... > full story
In 'Novel Playground,' Metals Self-assemble Into Porous Nanostructures (June 29, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a method to self-assemble metals into complex nanostructures. Applications include making more efficient and cheaper catalysts for fuel cells and industrial processes and creating microstructured surfaces to make new types of conductors that would carry more information across microchips than conventional wires do. ... > full story
Customized 'Wimpy' Polioviruses Designed: A New Path To Vaccines? (June 29, 2008) -- A team of molecular biologists and computer scientists at Stony Brook University has designed and synthesized a new class of weakened polioviruses. They used their synthesizing method with computer software to systematically re-code the poliovirus genome. In doing so, the team is the first to demonstrate that a synthetic weakened virus can immunize an animal. These results show promise in the creation of new attenuated ('live virus') anti-viral vaccines and are reported in the journal Science. ... > full story
Phoenix Scrapes To Icy Soil In Wonderland (June 29, 2008) -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander scraped to icy soil in the "Wonderland" area on Thursday, June 26, confirming that surface soil, subsurface soil and icy soil can be sampled at a single trench. ... > full story
The Good And The Bad Of A Potential Alzheimer's Target (June 29, 2008) -- Research in fruit flies has shown that enhancing the production of a protein called neprilysin can reduce the formation of plaques and neuron death associated with Alzheimer's, at the expense of reducing the flies' lifespan. ... > full story
'Electron Trapping' May Impact Future Microelectronics Measurements (June 29, 2008) -- Using an ultra-fast method of measuring how a transistor switches from the "off" to the "on" state, researchers recently reported that they have uncovered an unusual phenomenon that may impact how manufacturers estimate the lifetime of future nanoscale electronics. ... > full story
Facebook Concepts Indicate Brains Of Alzheimer's Patients Aren't As Networked, Stanford Study Shows (June 29, 2008) -- Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine used concepts borrowed from the popular social networking site to analyze the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. They found that patients' brains were less well-connected than the brains of people without the disorder. ... > full story
A Quark Star? Super-luminous Stellar Explosion Observed (June 29, 2008) -- Astronomers recently announced that they have found a novel explanation for a rare type of super-luminous stellar explosion that may have produced a new type of object known as a quark star. ... > full story
Marijuana May Be Effective For Neuropathic Pain (June 29, 2008) -- The growing body of evidence that marijuana (cannabis) may be effective as a pain reliever has been expanded with publication of a new study in The Journal of Pain reporting that patients with nerve pain showed reduced pain intensity from smoking marijuana. Researchers examined whether marijuana produces analgesia for patients with neuropathic pain. Thirty-eight patients were examined. They were given either high-dose (7%), low-dose (3.5%) or placebo cannabis. ... > full story
Migrating Songbirds Learn Survival Tips On The Fly (June 29, 2008) -- Migrating songbirds take their survival cues from local winged residents when flying through unfamiliar territory. Observing local birds' 'mob' behavior helps migrants avoid predators, according to biologists. ... > full story
10 Percent Of Healthy People In Study Had Injury From 'Silent Strokes' (June 29, 2008) -- MRIs on healthy Framingham offspring found that about 10 percent had experienced a silent stroke. Silent stroke -- silent cerebral infarction -- is a risk factor for stroke and dementia. ... > full story
Genome Communication: Alleles Of Homologous Genes Can Silence One Another (June 29, 2008) -- The exact mechanisms of how genes talk to other genes and change their behavior are being investigated, and recent results suggest that these processes could be important in engineering plants responsive to a variety of environmental conditions. Scientists have studied paramutations in maize and other plants and have identified some of the genes and mechanisms that operate in this epigenetic process. ... > full story
Should Doctors Be Increasing Their Carbon Footprint By Flying To Medical Conferences? (June 29, 2008) -- Every year thousands of doctors and scientists fly to meetings all over the world, but with climate change accelerating, can this type of travel be justified, two doctors debate the issue in the British Medical Journal. ... > full story
Ancient Oak Trees Help Reduce Global Warming (June 28, 2008) -- The battle to reduce carbon emissions is at the heart of many eco-friendly efforts, and researchers have discovered that nature has been lending a hand. They have discovered that trees submerged in freshwater aquatic systems store carbon for thousands of years, a significantly longer period of time than trees that fall in a forest, thus keeping carbon out of the atmosphere. ... > full story
Device Blocking Stomach Nerve Signals Shows Promise In Obesity (June 28, 2008) -- A new implantable medical device shows promise as a reversible and less extreme alternative to existing bariatric surgeries, according to new findings. ... > full story
Blue Light Used To Harden Tooth Fillings Stunts Tumor Growth (June 28, 2008) -- A blue curing light used to harden dental fillings also may stunt tumor growth, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. ... > full story
Safer, More Efficient Medication For Hepatitis B Treatment Found (June 28, 2008) -- Patients with hepatitis B who did not respond to lamivudine therapy had a better virological response after switching to entecavir for a year. ... > full story
Algae From The Ocean May Offer A Sustainable Energy Source Of The Future (June 28, 2008) -- New research could help with the large-scale cultivation and manufacturing of oil-rich algae in oceans for biofuel. Algae are a diverse and simple group of organisms that live in or near water. Certain algal species are high in oil content that could be converted into such fuels as biodiesel, according researchers. Algae also have several environmentally-friendly advantages over corn or other plants used for biofuels, including not needing soil or fresh water to grow. ... > full story
Personalizing Medicine: New Research Shows Potential Of Targeted Therapies For Cancer (June 28, 2008) -- A new study shows the potential to pre-target the treatment of cancer cells -- bringing personalized medicine one step closer from the laboratory to patients. By combining new molecular imaging techniques with targeted therapy, pre-targeting offers cancer patients a more individualized treatment that can increase the effectiveness of therapies and minimize discomfort experienced during treatment. ... > full story
Quantum Computing Breakthrough Arises From Unknown Molecule (June 28, 2008) -- The odd behavior of a molecule in an experimental silicon computer chip has led to a discovery that opens the door to quantum computing in semiconductors. Researchers describe how they have created a new, hybrid molecule in which its quantum state can be intentionally manipulated -- a required step in the building of quantum computers. ... > full story
Starvation Hormone Makes For Small Mice, Study Finds (June 28, 2008) -- Chronically high levels of a recently discovered starvation hormone markedly stunt the growth of mice, reveals a new study. The liver-produced hormone known as FGF21 does so by causing the mice to become resistant to growth hormone. ... > full story
Hidden Facial Cheek Fat Compartments Are Key To Youthful Appearance (June 28, 2008) -- Rejuvenating newly identified fat compartments in the facial cheeks can help reduce the hollowed look of the face as it ages, according to new research by plastic surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical Center. ... > full story
Ronin An Alternate Control For Embryonic Stem Cells (June 28, 2008) -- Like the masterless samurai for whom it is named, the protein Ronin chooses an independent path, maintaining embryonic stem cells in their undifferentiated state and playing essential roles in genesis of embryos and their development, said researchers who reported on this novel cellular regulator in the journal Cell. ... > full story
Ancient Mexican Maize Varieties: Sequencing Of Ancient Corn Landraces To Ensure Genetic Diversity And Resources (June 28, 2008) -- Because of its importance as food, the need to improve yield, and the challenges presented by changing climate, the maize genome of the B73 cultivar is being sequenced. However, because maize has a complex genome and many varieties, the genome sequence from just one variety will not be adequate to represent the diversity of maize worldwide. Mexican scientists are also sequencing and analyzing the genomes of the ancient landraces to recapture the full genetic diversity of this complex and adaptable crop. ... > full story
Binge Drinking Due To 'Copying' Behavior (June 28, 2008) -- The rise in binge drinking in the young is a "fashion phenomenon" where drinkers are copying their associates' behavior, new research carried out in the UK has shown. Researchers say the findings have major implications for Government policy makers charged with tackling the problem, which has longer-term and costly health implications. ... > full story
What It's Like To Be A Bat: Vocal Sonar Does More Than Locate Objects; It Cues Memory And Assists Flight (June 28, 2008) -- Not many people think about what it's like to be a bat, but for those who do, it's enlightening and potentially groundbreaking for understanding aspects of the human brain and nervous system. ... > full story
How Neural Activity Spurs Blood Flow In The Brain (June 28, 2008) -- Neuroscientists have pinpointed exactly how neural activity boosts blood flow to the brain. The finding has important implications for our understanding of common brain imaging techniques such as fMRI, which uses blood flow in the brain as a proxy for neural activity. ... > full story
Overcrowding And Understaffing In Hospitals Increases Levels Of MRSA Infections (June 28, 2008) -- A review article authored by a University of Queensland academic has found overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals are two key factors in the transmission of MRSA infections worldwide. ... > full story
Sudden Hearing Loss Could Indicate Future Stroke (June 28, 2008) -- Patients hospitalized for sudden hearing loss were more likely to suffer a later stroke than some other patients. The findings haven't been duplicated in other research and should be interpreted cautiously. Researchers suggest patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss be evaluated for stroke risk factors. ... > full story
SEX4, Starch And Phosphorylation: Molecular Mechanisms Of Starch Breakdown In Plants (June 28, 2008) -- Mutational and structural analyses by Dr. Zeeman and his colleagues have revealed that starch degradation in Arabidopsis leaves at night differs significantly from the versions traditionally described in textbooks. ... > full story
The Validity Of Epo Testing For Athletes (June 28, 2008) -- Epo is a hormone sometimes misused by athletes to boost their endurance. Since the test to identify the drug's presence was introduced in 2000, 33 labs have been accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency to administer the procedure. A research team has examined test results at two WADA labs, and found the detection power at the labs was poor. ... > full story
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