ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Better heat exchangers using garbage bags
• Helium ‘balloons’ offer new path to control complex materials
• Most of amateur athletes undergoing hypoxic training are not advised by specialists
• Solving Saturn’s 2-billion-year age problem
• Project to 3-D print houses begun
• 3-D heart printed using multiple imaging techniques
• High blood pressure linked to reduced Alzheimer's risk, meds may be reason
• Action spectrum of sun skin damage documented
• Inactivity reduces people's muscle strength
• Attractive female flies harmed by male sexual attention
• Darwinian fisheries: Shrinking fish sizes in exploited stocks
• Bronze Age humans' diet and arrival of new crops in Iberian Peninsula
• Key protein may affect risk of stroke
• Graphene: Magnetic sensor 100 times more sensitive than silicon equivalent
• Unexpectedly little black-hole monsters rapidly suck up surrounding matter
• More endangered pygmy sloths in Panama than previously estimated
• Want to be seen as more loving and a better cook?
• Exercising early in life yields rewards in adult years
• Spiral arms cradle baby terrestrial planets
• Researchers uncover epigenetic switches that turn stem cells into blood vessel cells
• Online computer game can help shed weight, reduce food intake
• Rapid Ebola diagnostic successful in field trial
• Rats 'dream' paths to a brighter future
• 'Hydrothermal siphon' drives water circulation through seafloor
• Emergency visits for childhood food allergy on rise in Illinois
• High-performance microscope displays pores in the cell nucleus with greater precision
• Tests vs. Fests: Students in 'learning celebrations' rather than exams scored higher and enjoyed themselves
• More transparency needed in science research, experts say
• The quantum spin Hall effect is a fundamental property of light
• These 'skins' are in: Students' designs give prosthetics a new look
• Development of new blood vessels not essential to growth of lymph node metastases
• Commenters exposed to prejudiced comments more likely to display prejudice themselves
• Digital messages on vehicle windshields make driving less safe

Better heat exchangers using garbage bags Posted: 26 Jun 2015 10:07 AM PDT Researchers are making better heat exchangers for industrial use using the same plastic as in garbage bags.

Helium ‘balloons’ offer new path to control complex materials Posted: 26 Jun 2015 07:56 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new method to manipulate a wide range of materials and their behavior using only a handful of helium ions.

Most of amateur athletes undergoing hypoxic training are not advised by specialists Posted: 26 Jun 2015 07:51 AM PDT Physical performance after periods of hypoxic training -- in low-oxygen conditions -- has become a matter of growing controversy within the scientific community. An international study compared professional and amateur athletes' knowledge and understanding of this type of training According to the results, just 25 percent of amateurs are assessed and monitored by specialists.

Solving Saturn’s 2-billion-year age problem Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:57 AM PDT Experiments at Sandia's Z machine have provided data may help explain why Saturn is two billion years younger than Jupiter on some computer simulations, supporting a prediction first made in 1935.

Project to 3-D print houses begun Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:56 AM PDT Scientists are developing a technology to make full-scale 3D prints of cellulose based material. It is not a matter of small prints – the objective is to make houses.

3-D heart printed using multiple imaging techniques Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:55 AM PDT Congenital heart experts have successfully integrated two common imaging techniques to produce a three-dimensional anatomic model of a patient's heart. This is the first time the integration of computed tomography (CT) and three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3DTEE) has been used in this way. A proof-of-concept study also opens the way for these techniques to be used in combination with a third tool -- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

High blood pressure linked to reduced Alzheimer's risk, meds may be reason Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:55 AM PDT People with a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure have a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests. However, authors conclude the connection may have more to do with anti-hypertension medication than high blood pressure itself.

Action spectrum of sun skin damage documented Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:55 AM PDT Scientists have documented for the first time the DNA damage that can occur to skin across the full range of ultraviolet radiation from the sun providing an invaluable tool for sun-protection and the manufacturers of sunscreen.

Inactivity reduces people's muscle strength Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:55 AM PDT It only takes two weeks of not using their legs for young people to lose a third of their muscular strength, leaving them on par with a person who is 40-50 years their senior, new research shows.

Attractive female flies harmed by male sexual attention Posted: 26 Jun 2015 06:55 AM PDT Too much male sexual attention harms attractive females, according to a new study on fruit flies. The study showed that male harassment of females hampered the species' ability to adapt to new environmental conditions.

Darwinian fisheries: Shrinking fish sizes in exploited stocks Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:42 AM PDT An experimental study with size-selectively harvested zebrafish that began in 2006 reveals that size-selective harvesting causes changes in key life-history traits, leading to low maximum body size and poor reproductive output.

Bronze Age humans' diet and arrival of new crops in Iberian Peninsula Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:41 AM PDT Researchers have studied human skeletal remains from the Cova do Santo collective burial cave in northwestern Spain. Remains found in the Sil river valley -- in the province of Ourense -- reveal a vegetable-based diet with little meat or fish.

Key protein may affect risk of stroke Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:41 AM PDT Studies on mice reveal that a special protein in the brain's tiniest blood vessels may affect the risk of stroke. Scientists are learning how the blood-brain barrier develops and what makes the capillaries in the brain different from small blood vessels in other organs.

Graphene: Magnetic sensor 100 times more sensitive than silicon equivalent Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:41 AM PDT Scientists have created a graphene-based magnetic sensor 100 times more sensitive than an equivalent device based on silicon.

Unexpectedly little black-hole monsters rapidly suck up surrounding matter Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:41 AM PDT Researchers have found evidence that enigmatic objects in nearby galaxies -- called ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) -- exhibit strong outflows that are created as matter falls onto their black holes at unexpectedly high rates. The strong outflows suggest that the black holes in these ULXs must be much smaller than expected. Curiously, these objects appear to be "cousins" of SS 433, one of the most exotic objects in our own Milky Way Galaxy. The team's observations help shed light on the nature of ULXs, and impact our understanding of how supermassive black holes in galactic centers are formed and how matter rapidly falls onto those black holes.

More endangered pygmy sloths in Panama than previously estimated Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:39 AM PDT Pygmy sloths wander inland in addition to inhabiting the mangrove fringes of their island refuge. A researchers now suggests that the population size of the pygmy sloth has been underestimated; a new, higher estimate for the number of sloths on Panama's Escudo de Veraguas Island points to how little is known about the species, and it underscores the need to conserve the sloths' isolated home.

Want to be seen as more loving and a better cook? Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:39 AM PDT Do you want to be seen as a better cook and a more loving parent? It's as easy as serving a vegetable at dinner, according to recent research. Families are most likely to consume vegetables at dinner time, yet only about 23% of dinners contain a full serving of vegetables, the study discovered.

Exercising early in life yields rewards in adult years Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:39 AM PDT What impact can exercise done early in life have on the propensity for exercising during the adult years? Researchers did experiments on mice in the lab to find out. They found that early-age exercise in mice has positive effects on adult levels of voluntary exercise in addition to reducing body mass -- results that may have relevance for the public policy debates concerning the importance of physical education for children.

Spiral arms cradle baby terrestrial planets Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:38 AM PDT New work offers a potential solution to a longstanding problem in the prevailing theory of how rocky planets formed in our own Solar System, as well as in others. The snag he's untangling: how dust grains in the matter orbiting a young protostar avoid getting dragged into the star before they accumulate into bodies large enough that their own gravity allows them to rapidly attract enough material to grow into planets.

Researchers uncover epigenetic switches that turn stem cells into blood vessel cells Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:38 AM PDT A molecular mechanism that directs embryonic stem cells to mature into endothelial cells -- the specialized cells that form blood vessels -- has been discovered by researchers. Understanding the processes initiated by this mechanism could help scientists more efficiently convert stem cells into endothelial cells for use in tissue repair, or for engineering blood vessels to bypass blockages in the heart.

Online computer game can help shed weight, reduce food intake Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:34 AM PDT A simple new computerized game could help people control their snacking impulses and lose weight. Psychologists report that participants lost an average of 0.7kg and consumed around 220 fewer calories a day whilst undergoing the week of training.

Rapid Ebola diagnostic successful in field trial Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:34 AM PDT A new test can accurately diagnose Ebola virus disease within minutes, providing clinicians with crucial information for treating patients and containing outbreaks.

Rats 'dream' paths to a brighter future Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:34 AM PDT When rats rest, their brains simulate journeys to a desired future such as a tasty treat. Researchers monitored brain activity in rats, first as the animals viewed food in a location they could not reach, then as they rested in a separate chamber, and finally as they were allowed to walk to the food. The activity of specialized brain cells involved in navigation suggested that during the rest the rats simulated walking to and from food that they had been unable to reach.

'Hydrothermal siphon' drives water circulation through seafloor Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:34 AM PDT Vast quantities of ocean water circulate through the seafloor, flowing through the volcanic rock of the upper oceanic crust. A new study explains what drives this global process and how the flow is sustained. About 25 percent of the heat that flows out of Earth's interior is transferred to the oceans through this process.

Emergency visits for childhood food allergy on rise in Illinois Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:34 AM PDT Emergency room visits and hospitalizations of children with severe, potentially life-threatening food allergy reactions increased nearly 30 percent in Illinois over five years, reports a new study. Hispanic children, who previously had the lowest cases of food allergies, had the biggest increase with a 44 percent rise. This study shows severe food allergies are beginning to impact children of all races and income. It is no longer primarily a disease of children who are white and/or from higher income families.

High-performance microscope displays pores in the cell nucleus with greater precision Posted: 26 Jun 2015 05:34 AM PDT The transportation of certain molecules into and out of the cell nucleus takes place via nuclear pores. For some time, detailed research has been conducted into how these pores embedded in the nuclear envelope are structured. Now, for the first time, biochemists have succeeded in elucidating the structure of the transportation channel inside the nuclear pores in high resolution using high-performance electron microscopes.

Tests vs. Fests: Students in 'learning celebrations' rather than exams scored higher and enjoyed themselves Posted: 25 Jun 2015 02:07 PM PDT A sociologist who reshaped "test day" in his class -- transforming it with balloons, streamers, treats and music -- found that students in "learning celebrations" scored higher than students who took standard-style exams in previous semesters.

More transparency needed in science research, experts say Posted: 25 Jun 2015 01:14 PM PDT While transparency, openness and reproducibility are readily recognized as vital features of science and embraced by scientists as a norm and value in their work, a growing body of evidence suggests that those qualities are not necessarily evident today. Scientists have now announced guidelines to further strengthen transparency and reproducibility practices in science research reporting.

The quantum spin Hall effect is a fundamental property of light Posted: 25 Jun 2015 11:48 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated that the quantum spin Hall effect -- an effect known to take place in solid state physics -- is also an intrinsic property of light.

These 'skins' are in: Students' designs give prosthetics a new look Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:13 AM PDT Students have produced "skins" or covers for prosthetic limbs.

Development of new blood vessels not essential to growth of lymph node metastases Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:11 AM PDT The growth of metastases in lymph nodes -- the most common site of cancer spread -- does not require the development of new blood vessels, researchers have discovered, potentially explaining why antiangiogenesis drugs have failed to prevent the development of new metastases.

Commenters exposed to prejudiced comments more likely to display prejudice themselves Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:11 AM PDT Comment sections on websites continue to be an environment for trolls to spew racist opinions. The impact of these hateful words shouldn't have an impact on how one views the news or others, but that may not be the case. A recent study found that exposure to prejudiced online comments can increase people's own prejudice, and increase the likelihood that they leave prejudiced comments themselves.

Digital messages on vehicle windshields make driving less safe Posted: 25 Jun 2015 10:11 AM PDT Augmented-reality head-up displays (AR-HUDs) that present digital images on windshields to alert drivers to everything from possible collisions to smart phone activity, are meant to make driving safer. But researchers say they are a threat to safety, as drivers frequently need to divide their attention to deal with this added visual information.

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