| A cancer's surprise origins caught in action Posted: 04 Feb 2016 03:00 PM PST Researchers have, for the first time, visualized the origins of cancer from the first affected cell and watched its spread in a live animal. Their work could change the way scientists understand melanoma and other cancers and could lead to new, early treatments before the cancer has taken hold. |
| Scientists find brain plasticity assorted into functional networks Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:56 PM PST Scientists had thought that most synapses of a similar type and in a similar location in the brain behaved in a similar fashion with respect to how experience induces plasticity. In this work, scientists found dramatic differences in the plasticity response, even between neighboring synapses in response to identical activity experiences. |
| Antibiotic's killer strategy revealed Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:56 PM PST Using a special profiling technique, researchers have determined the mechanism of action of a potent antibiotic, known as tropodithietic acid, leading them to uncover its hidden ability as a potential anticancer agent. |
| Battery technology could charge up water desalination Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:56 PM PST The technology that charges batteries for electronic devices could provide fresh water from salty seas, says a new study. Electricity running through a salt water-filled battery draws the salt ions out of the water. |
| Southwest sliding into a new normal: Drier conditions Posted: 04 Feb 2016 02:54 PM PST The weather patterns that typically bring moisture to the Southwest are becoming more rare, an indication that the region is sliding into the drier climate state predicted by global models, according to a new study. |
| Popular diet myths debunked Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:17 PM PST Thousands flock to the internet in search of ways to boost a healthy lifestyle. Many popular diet facts and trends are circulated so often in the media that it's hard to know which tips to trust and which ones should be tossed. Underneath popular opinion and platitudes, the truth about eating healthy may surprise you. A registered dietician separates myths from fact when it comes to your diet. |
| Can slow creep along thrust faults help forecast megaquakes? Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:16 PM PST In Japan and areas like the Pacific Northwest where megathrust earthquakes are common, scientists may be able to better forecast large quakes based on periodic increases and decreases in the rate of slow, quiet slipping along the fault. |
| A new-generation exoskeleton helps the paralyzed to walk Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:16 PM PST Until recently, being paralyzed from the waist down meant using a wheelchair to get around. And although daily life is more accessible to wheelchair users, they still face physical and social limitations. But researchers have been working to change that. |
| Alzheimer's insights in single cells Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:15 PM PST Study of plaque production holds promise of helping improve treatment for Alzheimer's, say investigators. Focusing on the form of the disease found in early onset Alzheimer's, in the 2 percent of patients who develop the progressive dementia before age 65, researcher now "can examine amyloid beta secretion at the single-cell level, and better understand the responses of individual cells to drugs." |
| Fast, accurate cystic fibrosis test developed Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:14 PM PST Researchers have developed a fast, inexpensive and highly accurate test to screen newborns for cystic fibrosis. The new method detects virtually all mutations in the CF gene, preventing missed diagnoses that delay babies' ability to begin receiving essential treatment. |
| C. diff study provides insight into antibiotic resistance and risks for infection Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:11 PM PST Exposure to specific antibiotics is linked to the development of certain strains of antibiotic-resistant C. difficile, one of the fastest growing bacteria superbugs, according to a new study. |
| Plastic debris crossing the Pacific can transport more species with the help of barnacles Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:11 PM PST The smooth surfaces of much of the plastic waste rapidly increasing in the ocean appear to provide poor habitat for animals -- that is, until barnacles step in. |
| Lithium battery catalyst found to harm key soil microorganism Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:11 PM PST The material at the heart of the lithium ion batteries that power electric vehicles, laptop computers and smartphones has been shown to impair a key soil bacterium. The study is an early signal that the growing use of the new nanoscale materials used in the rechargeable batteries that power portable electronics and electric and hybrid vehicles may have untold environmental consequences. |
| Bone loss associated with leukemia therapy occurs sooner than previously thought Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:11 PM PST Significant bone loss -- a side effect of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - occurs during the first month of treatment, far earlier than previously assumed, report investigators. |
| Walking on water: Researchers unravel science of skipping spheres Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:10 PM PST Skipping stones across the water surface can be tricky. So why is it so easy to get such impressive water-skipping performance from an elastic ball? Researchers say they have answers that may reveal a lot about water impact physics. |
| Researchers link compulsive Facebook checking to lack of sleep Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:10 PM PST If you find yourself toggling over to look at Facebook several dozen times a day, it's not necessarily because the experience of being on social media is so wonderful. It may be a sign that you're not getting enough sleep. |
| Scientists map movement of Greenland Ice during past 9,000 years Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:09 PM PST Scientists have created the first map that shows how the Greenland Ice Sheet has moved over time, revealing that ice in the interior is moving more slowly toward the edges than it has, on average, during the past 9,000 years. |
| Scientists guide gold nanoparticles to form 'diamond' superlattices Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:07 PM PST Using bundled strands of DNA to build Tinkertoy-like tetrahedral cages, scientists have devised a way to trap and arrange nanoparticles in a way that mimics the crystalline structure of diamond. The achievement of this complex yet elegant arrangement may open a path to new materials that take advantage of the optical and mechanical properties of this crystalline structure for applications such as optical transistors, color-changing materials, and lightweight yet tough materials. |
| Bee virus spread is humanmade, driven by European honeybee populations Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:06 PM PST The spread of a disease that is decimating global bee populations is humanmade, and driven by European honeybee populations, new research has concluded. |
| DNA evidence uncovers major upheaval in Europe near end of last Ice Age Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:06 PM PST DNA evidence lifted from the ancient bones and teeth of people who lived in Europe from the Late Pleistocene to the early Holocene -- spanning almost 30,000 years of European prehistory -- has offered some surprises, according to researchers. Perhaps most notably, the evidence shows a major shift in the population around 14,500 years ago, during a period of severe climatic instability. |
| Ancient wildebeest-like animal shared 'bizarre' feature with dinosaur Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:05 PM PST By poring over the fossilized skulls of ancient wildebeest-like animals (Rusingoryx atopocranion) unearthed on Kenya's Rusinga Island, researchers have discovered that the little-known hoofed mammals had a very unusual, trumpet-like nasal passage similar only to the nasal crests of lambeosaurine hadrosaur dinosaurs. The findings offer an example of convergent evolution between two very distantly related taxa and across tens of millions of years. |
| Bears' seasonal hibernation linked to changes in gut microbes Posted: 04 Feb 2016 12:05 PM PST Each year, as bears prepare to hibernate, they gorge themselves on food to pack on fat. And yet, despite the rapid weight gain, the animals somehow avoid the health consequences so often associated with obesity in humans. Now, researchers show that the bears' shifting metabolic status is associated with significant changes in their gut microbes. |
| Stopping tumor cells killing surrounding tissue may provide clue to fighting cancer Posted: 04 Feb 2016 09:20 AM PST Tumors kill off surrounding cells to make room to grow, according to new research. Although the study was carried out using fruit flies, its findings suggest that drugs to prevent, rather than encourage, cell death might be effective at fighting cancer -- contrary to how many of the current chemotherapy drugs work. |
| Been here before: How the brain builds place memories Posted: 04 Feb 2016 09:20 AM PST Neuroscientists have succeeded in activating dormant memory cells in rats. Using weak electrical impulses targeted at previously inactive cells in the hippocampus, the researchers induced the cells to recognize the exact place where the impulse had been first administered. The new study offers insight into the question of how memories are formed within our brains. |
| Functional MRI may help identify new, effective painkillers for chronic pain sufferers Posted: 04 Feb 2016 09:19 AM PST New research may allow new, more effective and safer pain medications to reach patients who suffer from chronic pain sooner. |
| Exceptionally hot and dry winter in northeast Brazil may be linked to outbreak of the zika virus Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:23 AM PST A preliminary study has found a linkage between the exceptionally hot and dry winter and spring recently experienced in northeast Brazil and the outbreak of the zika virus. |
| Psychological toll of Madoff fraud case went far beyond the victims, study finds Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:22 AM PST A new study explores where Bernie Madoff's fraud case left its deepest impact and on whom -- not just among his direct victims, but also on how others viewed the trustworthiness of financial markets. |
| Incarceration of a parent during childhood may later add to men's heart attack risk Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:22 AM PST Men who as children experienced a family member's incarceration are approximately twice as likely to have a heart attack in later adulthood in comparison with men who were not exposed to such a childhood trauma, according to a new study. |
| Turbulent times: When stars approach Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:20 AM PST Astrophysicists are using new methods to simulate the common-envelope phase of binary stars, discovering dynamic irregularities that may help to explain how supernovae evolve. |
| New non-invasive form of vagus nerve stimulation works to treat depression Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:17 AM PST Depression can be a devastating and unremitting problem. Researchers now report successful reduction of depressive symptoms in patients using a novel non-invasive method of vagus nerve stimulation, or VNS. |
| Study measures impact of removing Planned Parenthood from Texas women's health program Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:16 AM PST The public defunding of Planned Parenthood in Texas may have led to a decrease in highly effective forms of contraceptive services and an increase in Medicaid-paid childbirths among women who previously used injectable contraception, according to new study. |
| Do venture capitalists matter? Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:16 AM PST Venture capitalists do help startup firms by closely monitoring their development, say researchers, adding that the availability of direct airplane flights between the two parties helps improve that oversight. |
| Targeting the mind/body connection in stress Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:16 AM PST New research used cutting-edge brain imaging technologies to determine that the brain function responsible for regulating our stress response can also produce a personal profile of resilience to stress. These findings may lead to a future blood test that would facilitate early intervention in professions prone to high stress or trauma such as combat soldiers and policemen. |
| Bachelor's paradise: Female turtles outnumbering males due to warming temps Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:16 AM PST Rising global temperatures may skew gender imbalance among the marine turtle population, according to new research. The sex of marine hatchlings is influenced by incubating temperatures, and warmer temperatures produce a higher number of female hatchlings. |
| Metal oxide sandwiches: New option to manipulate properties of interfaces Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:14 AM PST Scientists have discovered a new option to control properties of the interface between the two layers, for instance the amount of charge transferred from one layer to the other or the emergence of ferromagnetism. Their insights might help to create new properties at the interface, not present in the primary materials, maybe even novel forms of High Tc superconductivity. |
| Tuning macrophages a 'breakthrough' in cancer immunotherapy Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:14 AM PST A research team describes 'tuning' macrophages from ones that repair wounds (and contribute to tumor growth) to ones that sterilize wounds (and contribute to the immune system's attack of tumor tissue). |
| The evolution of 'Dark-fly' Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:14 AM PST On Nov. 11, 1954, Syuiti Mori turned out the lights on a small group of fruit flies. More than 60 years later, the descendants of those flies have adapted to life without light. These flies -- a variety known as 'Dark-fly' -- outcompete their light-loving cousins when they live together in constant darkness, according to new research. Re-playing the evolution of Dark-fly identified the genomic regions that contribute to its success in the dark. |
| Diagnosis of rare bleeding disorder improved with super-resolution microscopy Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:14 AM PST Researchers have differentiated between patients with a rare bleeding disorder and healthy volunteers using super-resolution microscopy, providing an alternative method for accurately and cost-effectively diagnosing rare platelet diseases. |
| Scientists bridge different materials by design Posted: 04 Feb 2016 08:13 AM PST It is possible to design and construct interfaces between materials with different structures by making a bridge between them, scientists have demonstrated. |
| Discovery of the specific properties of graphite-based carbon materials Posted: 04 Feb 2016 06:50 AM PST Scientists have shown from detailed measurements that in atomically flat areas of a nitrogen-doped graphite surface in the absence of external magnetic fields, Landau levels manifest corresponding to super strong magnetic fields of approximately 100 tesla across bilayer graphene. |
| A violent wind blown from the heart of a galaxy tells the tale of a merger Posted: 04 Feb 2016 06:49 AM PST Astronomers have revealed the detailed structure of a massive ionized gas outflow streaming from the starburst galaxy NGC 6240. The light-collecting power and high spatial resolution of Subaru Telescope made it possible to study, for the first time, the complex structure of one of the largest known superwinds being driven by starbirth -- and star death. |
| How herpes virus tricks the immune system Posted: 04 Feb 2016 06:49 AM PST Scientists have captured atomic images of the virus that causes cold sores in action. Structural details reveal that the virus inserts itself into another protein, jamming an important immune system pathway that normally allows immune cells to recognize and destroy foreign invaders. |
| Chip enables navigation aids for the visually impaired Posted: 04 Feb 2016 06:49 AM PST A low-power chip for processing 3-D camera data has been developed that could help visually impaired people navigate their environments. The chip consumes only one-thousandth as much power as a conventional computer processor executing the same algorithms. |
| The seawater temperature distribution in tropics affects the rainfall in East Asia Posted: 04 Feb 2016 06:49 AM PST A wide swatch of Asia, from the tropics to the mid-latitudes, which has wet and dry seasons, is significantly affected by 'Asian monsoons.' The amount of rainfall in particular has a close relationship to agriculture and damage from flooding. |
| To prevent infection after C-section, chlorhexidine better than iodine Posted: 04 Feb 2016 06:49 AM PST Chlorhexidine-alcohol skin prep is superior to iodine-alcohol for preventing infection after C-section, according to a new study. Rather than prepping patients with iodine-alcohol -- a common antiseptic combination in C-sections -- the research indicates that chlorhexidine-alcohol is significantly more effective. The researchers argue that the evidence is strong enough to change standard skin-prep practices for C-sections. |
| Meditation eases pain, anxiety and fatigue during breast cancer biopsy Posted: 04 Feb 2016 06:49 AM PST Meditation eases anxiety, fatigue and pain for women undergoing breast cancer biopsies, according to researchers. They also found that music is effective, but to a lesser extent. |
| Connective tissue disease increases risk for cardiovascular problems Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:52 AM PST African-American patients with connective tissue diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis are twice as likely as white patients to suffer from atherosclerotic blood vessels, which increase the risk of a heart attack, stroke or death. |
| Light signals from living cells Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:51 AM PST A process has been uncovered by researchers that uses pressure to deliver chemical probes in a fine-tuned manner into living cells. |
| From genes to latrines: Vikings and their worms provide clues to emphysema Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:51 AM PST The key to an inherited deficiency, predisposing people to emphysema and other lung conditions, could lie in their Viking roots. Archaeological excavations of Viking latrine pits in Denmark have revealed that these populations suffered massive worm infestations. The way that their genes developed to protect their vital organs from disease caused by worms has become the inherited trait which can now lead to lung disease in smokers. |
| Syrian aid: Lack of evidence for 'interventions that work,' say researchers Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:51 AM PST The lack of an evidence base in the donor-funded response to Syrian migrant crisis means funds may be allocated to ineffective interventions, say researchers, who call on funders and policymakers in London for this week's Syrian Donor Conference to insist on evaluation as a condition of aid. |
| Diatoms sense the 'odor' of stones Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:51 AM PST Diatoms are unicellular algae that are native in many waters. They are a major component of marine phytoplankton and the food base for a large variety of marine organisms. In addition, they produce about one fifth of the oxygen in the atmosphere and are therefore a key factor for our global climate. However, these algae, which measure only a few micrometers, have yet another amazing ability: they can "smell" stones. |
| Modelling how the brain makes complex decisions Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:51 AM PST Researchers have constructed the first comprehensive model of how neurons in the brain behave when faced with a complex decision-making process, and how they adapt and learn from mistakes. |
| Researchers patent new methods that allow them to identify the cells causing metastasis in cancer Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:51 AM PST Researchers have patented a new method that allows to identify the cells causing metastasis in cancer, with a simple blood analysis. |
| The return of the flatworm Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:50 AM PST Where does the acoel flatworm belong in the tree of life? Biologists have discussed this question for the last 20 years. Now new research suggests that researchers have found the answer. |
| European soil threats: What, where and why? Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:50 AM PST Over sixty soil experts have gone together and provided an up to date overview of European soil threats. The extensive report, which among other things provides information on the geographical spread of eleven soil threats, also addresses what kind of effect these threats may have on soil functions and ecosystem services, and why they occur. |
| Mitochondria shown to trigger cell aging Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:49 AM PST Scientists have carried out an experiment which conclusively proves for the first time that mitochondria are major triggers of cell aging. This brings scientists a step closer to developing therapies to counteract the aging of cells, by targeting mitochondria. |
| Scientists overcome hurdles for champion racehorses Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:49 AM PST Scientists are a step closer to preventing the kind of injuries that affect aging race horses like champion hurdler Rock on Ruby, the winner of Coral Hurdle at Ascot in 2015. |
| Using steroids before late preterm delivery reduces neonatal respiratory problems Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:49 AM PST Using corticosteroids in mothers at risk for late preterm delivery reduced the incidence of severe respiratory complications in their babies, new research indicates. The new study enrolled more than 2,800 pregnant women deemed at high risk of delivery during the late preterm period (34-36 weeks of gestation). The women were randomized to receive two injections of the steroid betamethasone or a placebo, given 24 hours apart. |
| Association among childhood ADHD, sex and obesity Posted: 04 Feb 2016 05:49 AM PST The incidence of childhood and adult obesity has increased significantly over the past three decades. New research shows that there is an association between obesity development during adulthood and childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. |
| One of America's most-wanted careers could help fill health care gaps Posted: 04 Feb 2016 01:29 AM PST Clinics and hospitals across the country are adding physician's assistant (PA) positions to serve growing numbers of patients, and in underserved rural areas, practices are turning to PAs to help expand access to care. |
