ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Thursday, July 10, 2008
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Ocean Wind Power Maps Reveal Possible Wind Energy Sources (July 10, 2008) -- Efforts to harness the energy potential of Earth's ocean winds could soon gain an important new tool: global satellite maps from NASA. Scientists have been creating maps using nearly a decade of data from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite that reveal ocean areas where winds could produce wind energy. The new maps have many potential uses including planning the location of offshore wind farms to convert wind energy into electric energy. ... > full story
Lowering Blood Cholesterol With Fish Oil And Red Yeast Rice Instead Of Statins (July 10, 2008) -- Researchers have examined whether an alternative approach to treating high blood cholesterol may provide an effective treatment option for patients who are unable or unwilling to take statins. The researchers noted that there was a reduction in LDL cholesterol levels in both the statin group and the fish oil alternative treatment group. Members of the alternative therapy group also had a substantial reduction in triglycerides, another form of fat found in the blood, and lost more weight. ... > full story
Smithsonian Coral Biodiversity Survey Of Panama's Pearl Islands (July 10, 2008) -- A comprehensive survey of coral biodiversity in Panama's Las Perlas Archipelago has resulted in clear conservation recommendations for a new coastal management plan. ... > full story
How Can We Overcome The Barriers To Treating Drug-resistant TB? (July 10, 2008) -- Almost 1 in 20 cases of tuberculosis worldwide is resistant to multiple drugs (known as multidrug-resistant TB or MDR-TB) and the World Health Organization has called for a massive scale up in public health efforts to tackle these cases. Now a group of MDR-TB experts outlines its recommendations on conducting research that would help in the scale up. ... > full story
Avatars As Communicators Of Emotions (July 10, 2008) -- Current interactive systems enable users to communicate with computers in many ways, but not taking into account emotional communication. A Ph.D. thesis puts forward the use of avatars or virtual Internet personages as an efficient form of non-verbal communication, principally focusing on emotional aspects. ... > full story
Long-term Care Fraught With Uncertainties For Elderly Baby Boomers (July 10, 2008) -- The continued decline of the nursing home -- once the mainstay care for the frail elderly -- and an upsurge in popularity of assisted living will lead to many dramatic changes in long-term care. ... > full story
Swerve Left To Avoid That Satellite: The Growing Issue Of Space Debris (July 10, 2008) -- Think you have trouble getting rid of the clutter in your living room? After more than 50 years of launching rockets and satellites into space, the human race now has to deal with the clutter left behind -- or is it "above"? Dead satellites, spent rocket stages, paint flakes, and coolant from nuclear-powered satellites continue to orbit the Earth at ultrahigh velocities. ... > full story
Liver Protein Associated With Type 2 Diabetes In Older Adults (July 10, 2008) -- The presence of a protein expressed by the liver which inhibits insulin action may identify individuals more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. ... > full story
Carbon Dioxide Increase In Atmosphere Augments Tolerance Of Barley To Salinity (July 10, 2008) -- In future, climate change will bring an increase in salty surfaces on the Earth and in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, this higher carbon dioxide has some positive effects on the physiology of barley plants and increases its tolerance to salinity. ... > full story
Birth Attendant And Maternal Hand-washing Associated With Reduced Newborn Death Rate (July 10, 2008) -- Washing hands with soap and water before delivering a newborn infant is associated with a lower rate of neonatal deaths in developing countries, according to a report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. ... > full story
College Students Design Future Aircraft In NASA Competition (July 10, 2008) -- Sixty-one students from 14 colleges and universities around the globe have imagined what the next generation of airliners and cargo planes may look like. ... > full story
Low Back Pain Recovery Slow; And Worse For Those On Compensation (July 10, 2008) -- Contrary to current guidelines and common belief, new research has shown that recovery from low back pain is much slower than previously thought and even slower again for those with a compensable injury. ... > full story
Human Embryonic Stem Cells Developed From Four-cell Embryo; World First May Lessen Ethical Concerns (July 9, 2008) -- For the first time in the world scientists have succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cells from a single cell, or blastomere, of a 4-cell stage embryo. The scientists said that their research meant that it might be possible in the future to produce hESC lines at an earlier stage without destroying the embryo. ... > full story
Protein On 'Speed' Linked To ADHD (July 9, 2008) -- A genetic change in the dopamine transporter, discovered in two brothers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, makes it behave as if amphetamine is present and "run backward," Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators report. The researchers propose that because the altered transporter pushes dopamine out into the synapse, it alters dopamine signaling and contributes to the symptoms of ADHD. They further find that both Ritalin and Adderall, two ADHD medications, block the backward-running transporter. ... > full story
Scientists Integrate Data In Three Dimensions To Study Climate Effects On Young Fish (July 9, 2008) -- From the surface, the two areas of ocean off the coasts of northern New Jersey and Long Island, New York look the same. But to scientists, the four-square-mile patches could not be more different as they view real-time underwater images and environmental data to try to figure out what lives there and how climate change is affecting marine life, especially very young fish. ... > full story
In Spain, 6 Of Every 100 Patients Die In Hospital Due To Adverse Drug Reaction, Study Suggests (July 9, 2008) -- A new study in Spain determined that six of every 100 patients who die in hospital do so as a consequence of an adverse drug reaction or, in other words, a fatal reaction to medicines. A adverse drug reaction to medicines (ADR) has been defined as any harmful and unwanted effect of a drug, at doses used for prophylaxis, diagnose or treatment. ... > full story
Crop Management: How Many On-the-go Crop And Soil Sensors Do Growers Need? (July 9, 2008) -- The use of on-the-go crop and soil sensors has greatly increased the precision with which farmers can manage their crops. Recent research in Agronomy Journal questions whether more precise management is necessarily more efficient. The researchers found that sensor grid size can be increased from the current smallest size of .5 square meters to 5.1 square meters. This tenfold increase in grid size could have significant cost savings for farmers using precision management techniques. ... > full story
Higher Education Associated With Greater Gains In Mortality Reduction From Common Cancers (July 9, 2008) -- Deaths due to the four most common cancers have dropped substantially in the US from 1993 to 2001 in working-aged individuals. However, not all Americans are equally likely to benefit from those gains. More educated individuals had mortality reductions in nearly all four cancers, while less educated individuals had a mortality reduction in only one cancer type. ... > full story
Do We Think That Machines Can Think? (July 9, 2008) -- When our PC goes on strike again we tend to curse it as if it was a human. The question is why and under what circumstances do we attribute human-like properties to machines and how are such processes manifest on a cortical level. ... > full story
Obese Men Have Less Semen, More Sperm Abnormalities (July 9, 2008) -- Obese men should consider losing weight if they want to have children. New research has shown that men with a higher body mass index had lower volumes of seminal fluid and a higher proportion of abnormal sperm. ... > full story
Better Technology For Developing Plastic Solar Cells And Plastic Electronic Devices Created (July 9, 2008) -- A new way to help technologists develop efficient and inexpensive plastic electronic devices, such as plastic solar cells and a new type of transistor has been developed. As the probe bobs up and down the force required to keep it oscillating at a steady rate changes measurably, which tells the scientists about the nature of the scanned surface. By using different vibration frequencies, it is possible obtain nanoscale measurements on materials. ... > full story
Vaginal Microbicides May Prevent More Infections In Men Than Women (July 9, 2008) -- Vaginal microbicides currently in clinical trials may be the only weapon that will protect women against infection from HIV. Yet, under likely circumstances, these microbicides may be of more benefit to men than women, according to a new UCLA AIDS Institute study. ... > full story
Surveying German Subs Sunk Off North Carolina During World War II (July 9, 2008) -- NOAA will lead a research expedition July 7-26 to study the wrecks of three German submarines sunk by US forces in 1942 off the coast of North Carolina during the Battle of the Atlantic. During the expedition, researchers will survey and photograph visible sections of the three submarines, U-352, U-85 and U-701 using non-invasive methods. The survey team will also study marine life found at the sites. ... > full story
Brain Chemical Shown To Induce Both Desire And Dread (July 9, 2008) -- The chemical dopamine induces both desire and dread, according to new animal research in the Journal of Neuroscience. Although dopamine is well known to motivate animals and people to seek positive rewards, the study indicates that it also can promote negative feelings like fear. The finding may help explain why dopamine dysfunction is implicated not only in drug addiction, which involves excessive desire, but in schizophrenia and some phobias, which involve excessive fear. ... > full story
Aerosol Toxins From Red Tides May Cause Long-term Health Threat (July 9, 2008) -- An algal toxin commonly inhaled in sea spray, attacks and damages DNA in the lungs of laboratory rats. The findings document how the body's way of disposing the toxin inadvertently converts it to a molecule that damages DNA. Human inhalation of brevetoxins produced by the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, is an increasing public health concern. ... > full story
Trans-fatty Acids Do Not Appear To Increase The Risk Of Diabetes (July 9, 2008) -- Dietary research in rats suggests that trans-fats do not increase the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes, which may ease at least one area of health concern for these compounds. ... > full story
Novel Ways To Boost Vaccination Or Natural Defenses (July 9, 2008) -- Our bodies rely on the production of potent, or 'high affinity,' antibodies to fight infection. The process is very complex, yet scientists have discovered that it hinges on a single molecule, a growth factor, without which it cannot function. ... > full story
Disruption Of Blood Sugar Levels After Heart Surgery Is Common (July 9, 2008) -- Inadequate blood sugar control in patients having heart surgery is associated with a four fold increase in post-surgery death and major complications -- and the blood sugar disturbances occur in patients with and without diabetes. ... > full story
Half Of US Coral Reefs In 'Poor' Or 'Fair' Condition, NOAA Report States (July 9, 2008) -- Nearly half of U.S. coral reef ecosystems are considered to be in "poor" or "fair" condition according to a new NOAA analysis of the health of coral reefs under US jurisdiction. The NOAA report says that the nation's coral reef ecosystems, particularly those adjacent to populated areas, continue to face intense human-derived threats and while remote reefs are subject to threats such as marine debris, illegal fishing and climate change. ... > full story
Ending Moderate Drinking Tied To Depression (July 9, 2008) -- Scientific evidence has long suggested that moderate drinking offers some protection against heart disease, certain types of stroke and some forms of cancer. But new research shows that stopping drinking -- including at moderate levels -- may lead to health problems including depression and a reduced capacity of the brain to produce new neurons, a process called neurogenesis. ... > full story
Big Brains Arose Twice In Higher Primates (July 9, 2008) -- After taking a fresh look at an old fossil, researchers determined that the brains of the ancestors of modern neotropical primates were as small as those of their early fossil simian counterparts in the Old World. This means one of the hallmarks of primate biology, increased brain size, arose independently in isolated groups -- the platyrrhines of the Americas and the catarrhines of Africa and Eurasia. ... > full story
Young Women's Breast Cancers Have More Aggressive Genes, Worse Prognosis (July 9, 2008) -- Young women's breast cancers tend to be more aggressive and less responsive to treatment than the cancers that arise in older women, and researchers may have discovered part of the reason why: young women's breast cancers share unique genomic traits that the cancers in older women do not exhibit. ... > full story
Summer Arctic Sea Ice Expected To Be Among Lowest On Record (July 9, 2008) -- The ice cover in the Arctic Ocean at the end of summer 2008 will lie, with almost 100 per cent probability, below that of the year 2005 -- the year with the second lowest sea ice extent ever measured. Chances of an equally low value as in 2007 lie around eight per cent. Climate scientists come to this conclusion in a recent model calculation. ... > full story
Types Of Genes Necessary For Brain Development Discovered (July 9, 2008) -- Researchers have successfully completed a full-genome RNAi screen in neurons, showing what types of genes are necessary for brain development. ... > full story
Some Plants Can Adapt To Widespread Climate Change (July 9, 2008) -- While many plant species move to a new location or go extinct as a result of climate change, grasslands clinging to a steep, rocky dale-side in Northern England seem to defy the odds and adapt to long-term changes in temperature and rainfall, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The 13-year experiment involved subjecting 30 small grassland plots to microclimate manipulation. ... > full story
Male Cyclists Risk Sexual Problems If They Don't Choose The Right Bike (July 9, 2008) -- Cycling may seem like a healthy and environmentally friendly pastime, but men who choose the wrong bike could be heading for a range of sexual and health problems, including erection difficulties. And as the Tour de France gets into gear, there's also stark warnings for professional cyclists. ... > full story
Fossil Feathers Preserve Evidence Of Color, Say Scientists (July 9, 2008) -- The traces of organic material found in fossil feathers are remnants of pigments that once gave birds their color, according to Yale scientists whose paper in Biology Letters opens up the potential to depict the original coloration of fossilized birds and their ancestors, the dinosaurs. ... > full story
Cocktail Therapy For Alzheimer's Disease? Works for Gerbils (July 9, 2008) -- A dietary cocktail that includes a type of omega-3 fatty acid can improve memory and learning in gerbils, according to a new study that points to a possible beverage-based treatment for Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. ... > full story
Boosting Survival Of Insulin-cell Transplants For Type 1 Diabetes (July 9, 2008) -- Researchers in Japan are reporting a discovery that could improve the effectiveness and expand the use of transplants of insulin-producing cells to treat diabetes. Insulin-dependent, or Type 1, diabetes affects about 800,000 people in the United States. ... > full story
New Ovarian Stimulation Technique Offers More Cancer Patients The Chance To Preserve Their Fertility (July 9, 2008) -- Researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible to stimulate a woman's ovaries to produce eggs for collection during the final phase of the menstrual cycle. The finding offers the chance for more women who have been diagnosed with cancer to restore their fertility following chemotherapy or radiotherapy -- cancer treatments that can seriously damage the ovaries, often permanently. ... > full story
New Logic: The Attraction Of Magnetic Computation (July 9, 2008) -- Researchers have demonstrated functional components that exploit the magnetic properties of electrons to perform logic operations. Compatible with existing microtechnology, the new approach heralds the next era of faster, smaller and more efficient electronics. ... > full story
Sex Really Does Get Better With Age (Just Ask A 70 Year Old) (July 9, 2008) -- An increasing number of 70 year olds are having good sex and more often, and women in this age group are particularly satisfied with their sex lives, according to a new study. Knowledge about sexual behavior in older people (70 year olds) is limited and mainly focuses on sexual problems, less is known about "normal" sexual behavior in this age group. ... > full story
New Coral Reefs Teeming With Marine Life Discovered In Brazil (July 9, 2008) -- New coral reef system discovered in Brazil doubles the size of Southern Atlantic Ocean's largest and most diverse reef system. ... > full story
Pandemic Mutations In Bird Flu Revealed (July 9, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered how bird flu adapts in patients, offering a new way to monitor the disease and prevent a pandemic, according to research in the Journal of General Virology. ... > full story
Want To Fly? Don't Copy The Birds And The Bees (July 9, 2008) -- There is little comparison between the appearance of any winged creatures and that of modern helicopters or jets, despite similar flight patterns. In an era in which engineers are increasingly exploiting designs from nature, understanding this paradox is becoming ever more important. Researchers have studied the reasons behind these differences in aerodynamics and concluded that scientists should, in this instance, be more hesitant before imitating nature. ... > full story
Aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Mantle Cell Lymphoma) On The Rise (July 9, 2008) -- A new study indicates that the incidence of mantle cell lymphoma, an aggressive type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is on the rise, most frequently striking men, Caucasians and older individuals. ... > full story
Tuberculosis May Have Migrated From Humans To Cattle, Not The Reverse (July 9, 2008) -- Among those trying to decipher the origins and trajectory of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for TB, are three Arizona State University researchers who are trying to establish a credible evolutionary timeline for TB. Their research suggests that the disease migrated from humans to cattle -- not the reverse, as has long been assumed. ... > full story
Does Gene Variant Make Women More Prone To Alcoholism? (July 9, 2008) -- A particular gene variant might make women more susceptible to alcoholism. According to new research, a gene in the endorphin metabolism is altered in a typical fashion more often in women alcoholics than in healthy women. ... > full story
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