| Streamlining mobile image processing Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:56 AM PST As smartphones become people's primary computers and their primary cameras, there is growing demand for mobile versions of image-processing applications. |
| Delaying umbilical cord clamping for preterm infants results in better motor development Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:47 AM PST |
| How DNA and a supercomputer can help sustain honey bee populations Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:45 AM PST To uncover what plants honey bees rely on, researchers are applying DNA metabarcoding to pollen analysis. A new method uses three loci to characterize pollen samples collected by honey bees. This multi-locus metabarcoding approach could serve as a valuable tool for research on the native bee species that comprise local bee communities, and teach us how to enhance landscapes to sustain robust honey bee populations. |
| Chemists turn bacterial molecules into potential drug molecules Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:45 AM PST Chemists explain how they have created molecules that mimic and dominate toxic ones secreted by bacteria. The implications for the study of biology and pharmacology are said to be enormous. |
| Irradiated anthrax can be sequenced quickly Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:45 AM PST These days, mail addressed to selected government offices gets irradiated, in order to kill any biological agents, notably anthrax spores. The downside of this is that viable spores have been needed to identify the anthrax strain, which can be critical to treating those infected. But now new research has shown that full sequences can quickly be determined from irradiated spores. |
| Parasitic fungi and the battle against coffee rust disease Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:45 AM PST Coffee rust has ravaged Latin American plantations for several years, leading to reductions in annual coffee production of up to 30 percent in some countries and threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers in the region. A new study suggests that the coffee plants themselves may hold biological weapons that could someday be harnessed in the fight against the coffee rust fungal pathogen. |
| 'Orphan gene' may have potential to boost protein value of crops, according to research Posted: 13 Nov 2015 09:02 AM PST A gene found only in a single plant species can increase protein content when introduced into staple crops, report scientists. The research has implications for a wide array of crops, especially for staples grown in the developing world, where sufficient sources of protein are sometimes limited. |
| Not so happy old age? Posted: 13 Nov 2015 08:56 AM PST The notion that older people are happier than younger people is being challenged following a recent study. In fact it suggests that people get more depressed from age 65 onwards. |
| Encouraging motivation to benefit others can lead to more effective teams Posted: 13 Nov 2015 08:25 AM PST When team members are motivated toward promoting the benefits of others, they are higher-performing and stay in their teams for a longer period, according to a new study. |
| Parkinson's disease: A new tool for healthcare professionals aims to improve diagnosis and advance treatment Posted: 13 Nov 2015 08:24 AM PST A group of experts has developed a new tool for healthcare professionals that they hope will mark a significant advancement in the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease, especially in its early stages. The results of their study could also have a major impact on the quality of research on Parkinson's disease. |
| 'You can always look better:' On norms and ideals in dental care Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:59 AM PST The dental care industry spends a lot of time on supporting young people as they get through their often long and difficult orthodontic treatment. A new study has looked at the importance of norms when young people are offered correction of their teeth and bite. |
| First gamma-ray pulsar detected in another galaxy Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:57 AM PST Researchers have discovered the first gamma-ray pulsar in a galaxy other than our own. The object sets a new record for the most luminous gamma-ray pulsar known. |
| New information about bacterial enzymes to help scientists develop more effective antibiotics, cancer drugs Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST New research now allows researchers to manipulate nature's biosynthetic machinery to produce more effective antibiotics and cancer-fighting drugs. |
| Houston-Galveston region could be better protected from impact of hurricanes and severe storms Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST New structural and nonstructural solutions could better protect the Houston-Galveston region from the impact of hurricanes and severe storms, according to a research paper by energy, engineering and environmental law experts. |
| Large study sums up health issues for new child refugees to U.S. Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST For refugee children newly arrived in the US, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, parasitic worms, high blood lead levels and anemia are among the top public health concerns covered by screening programs. In one of this nation's largest-ever epidemiological studies of refugee children, public health researchers describe the health profiles of children arriving here in the past decade as their families fled persecution. |
| Child abuse rises in connection with soldiers' deployments Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST Children under age two may be at heightened risk for abuse and neglect during the six months immediately following a parent's return from deployment in the US Army, and the risk may rise among Army families with soldiers who are deployed more than once, suggests new research. |
| Have an apple-shaped body? You may be more susceptible to binge eating Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:53 AM PST Women with apple-shaped bodies -- those who store more of their fat in their trunk and abdominal regions -- may be at particular risk for the development of eating episodes during which they experience a sense of 'loss of control,' according to a new study. |
| Rare facial paralysis gives researchers new insights into social interaction Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:53 AM PST Persons with facial paralysis or permanently disfigured faces often experience difficulties in their social interactions because they lack facial expressivity. A study of teenagers with the rare facial paralysis known as Möbius Syndrome shows that a course in alternative communication strategies such as gestures, body posture and prosody significantly improves interaction and rapport with conversation partners. |
| 3-D printed objects that kill microbes Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:52 AM PST Material scientists and orthodontists have made a 3D printing substrate which kills bacteria on contact. The first applications will be in dentistry, but other implants may follow. |
| Device-assisted feeding, poor growth in newborns with congenital heart disease may lead to poor neurodevelopment Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:15 AM PST Newborns with a congenital heart defect often need advanced medical care to survive, leaving them vulnerable to cognitive delays. Various factors contribute to these delays. But what role does proper growth and feeding mode at the beginning of life play? A research team has found that newborns (up to three months) with poor growth and CHD, who required device-assisted feeding, were at an increased risk for neurodevelopmental delays at six and twelve months. |
| 5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:13 AM PST Winds of over 2km per second have been discovered flowing around planet outside of the Earth's solar system, new research has found. |
| Genetic defect underlying a rare disease identified Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:13 AM PST The genetic cause has been identified for a rare disease characterized by life-threatening "liver crises" in early childhood and subsequent manifestation of neurological symptoms, such as neuropathy and ataxia (a movement disorder), when the patient reaches school age. In 2007 the same researchers published a mutation in the Scyl1 gene in a naturally occurring mouse mutant with similar symptoms. Using next-generation sequencing techniques, they have now succeeded in identifying the first cases of a corresponding condition in humans. |
| Experimental drug targeting Alzheimer's disease shows anti-aging effects Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST Scientists have discovered a molecule that slows the clock on key aspects of aging in animals. |
| Tracing activity of cancer-fighting tomato component Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST Years of research have demonstrated that lycopene, the bioactive red pigment found in tomatoes, reduces growth of prostate tumors in a variety of animal models. When consumed, lycopene undergoes a change in its chemical structure that potentially influences health, the scientists say. |
| Drug could limit spread of deadly brain tumors Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST In a significant breakthrough, researchers have identified a drug, propentofylline or PPF, that could help treat patients with deadly brain cancer. They report that PPF works to limit the spread of glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM -- the most common primary tumor of the brain and central nervous system -- by targeting a protein called TROY. |
| Eating sweets forms memories that may control eating habits Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST Eating sweet foods causes the brain to form a memory of a meal, according to researchers. |
| Breeding flexibility helps migratory songbirds adjust to climate warming Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST Phenological mismatches, or a mistiming between creatures and the prey and plants they eat, is one of the biggest known impacts of climate change on ecological systems. But a new study finds that one common migratory songbird has a natural flexibility in its breeding time that has helped stave off mismatches, at least for now. |
| 'Pale orange dot': Early Earth's haze may give clue to habitability elsewhere in space Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST An atmospheric haze around a faraway planet -- like the one which probably shrouded and cooled the young Earth -- could show that the world is potentially habitable, or even be a sign of life itself. |
| Engineers develop 'killer cells' to destroy cancer in lymph nodes Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST Biomedical engineers have developed specialized white blood cells -- dubbed 'super natural killer cells' -- that seek out cancer cells in lymph nodes with only one purpose: destroy them. This breakthrough halts the onset of metastasis, according to the research team. |
| Despite substantial progress, the world fell short of the maternal mortality target in the Millennium Development Goals, UN report shows Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:11 AM PST Despite reducing maternal mortality by an impressive 44 percent between 1990 and 2015, the world fell well short of the target of a 75 percent reduction that appeared in the Millennium Development Goals, shows a new report. |
| Modeling the promise, peril of gene drive Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:09 AM PST A new report builds on recent experimental work being carried out in gene drive using mathematical models to estimate how quickly such gene replacement can spread through a population, finding that genes can be fixed in a population quite quickly. |
| Scientists work with artists to learn more about the brain Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:09 AM PST Researchers have analyzed brain activity data collected from more than 400 people who viewed an exhibit at the Menil Collection, offering evidence that useable brain data can be collected outside of a controlled laboratory setting. They also reported the first real-world demonstration of what happens in the brain as people observe artwork. |
| Dietary potassium may help prevent kidney, heart problems in diabetics Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:09 AM PST Higher levels of urinary potassium excretion, which closely correlate with intake amounts, were linked with a slower decline of kidney function and a lower incidence of cardiovascular complications among patients with type 2 diabetes and normal kidney function. |
| Kidney failure and its treatment may impact cancer risk Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:09 AM PST Risk of kidney and thyroid cancers was especially high when kidney failure patients were on dialysis, researchers have discovered. Conversely, risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, melanoma, lung cancer, and certain skin cancers was highest following kidney transplantation, likely due to immunosuppressant medications. Kidney failure is on the rise and currently afflicts an estimated 2 million people worldwide. |
| Brain structure may be root of apathy Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:09 AM PST Scientists have found evidence of a biological basis for apathy in healthy people. Research could shed light on the way some people become pathologically apathetic, for example after a stroke or with Alzheimer's disease. |
| Isle of Skye fossil makes three species one Posted: 13 Nov 2015 02:09 AM PST The discovery of a tiny, 170-million-year-old fossil on the Isle of Skye, off the north-west coast of the UK, has led researchers to conclude that three previously recognized species are in fact just one. |
| Bitter taste sensitivity may predict surgical outcome in certain chronic rhinosinusitus patients Posted: 12 Nov 2015 02:11 PM PST Physicians may someday be able to use a simple taste test to predict which surgical intervention is best suited to help a subset of chronic rhinosinusitis patients, new research suggests. |
| Barriers to health care increase disease, death risk for rural elderly Posted: 12 Nov 2015 12:59 PM PST A new study of adults ages 85 or older has found that rural residents have significantly higher levels of chronic disease, take more medications, and die several years earlier than their urban counterparts. |
| Superconductor survives ultra-high magnetic field Posted: 12 Nov 2015 12:59 PM PST Physicists have discovered that transistors made of ultrathin layers molybdeendisulfide (MoS2) are not only superconducting at low temperatures but also stay superconducting in a high magnetic field. This is a unique phenomenon with exciting promises for the future. |
| Miniaturizable magnetic resonance Posted: 12 Nov 2015 12:04 PM PST A garnet crystal only one micrometer in diameter was instrumental in physicists creating a route to 'lab-on-a-chip' technology for magnetic resonance, a tool to simplify advanced magnetic analysis for device development and interdisciplinary science. |
