| Scientists call for a shake-up in the way we record biodiversity Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:18 PM PST Gaps in our information about biodiversity means we are at risk of focussing our conservation efforts in the wrong places. |
| Mix and match MOF: New composite material that traps oxygen selectively could be useful for energy applications such as fuel cells Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST Inexpensive materials called MOFs pull gases out of air or other mixed gas streams, but fail to do so with oxygen. Now, a team has overcome this limitation by creating a composite of a MOF and a helper molecule in which the two work in concert to separate oxygen from other gases simply and cheaply. |
| Scientists discover a natural adhesive with biomedical applications Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST Chemists created a nonpermanent adhesive from a natural chemical reaction that can be used in the biomedical field. This discovery may benefit tissue repair or drug delivery. |
| NASA's first wide-field soft X-ray camera is a gift that keeps giving Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST NASA recently selected a miniaturized version of the original X-ray camera to fly as a CubeSat mission to study Earth's magnetic cusps -- regions in the magnetic cocoon around our planet near the poles where the magnetic field lines dip down toward the ground. |
| NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in thermal vacuum testing Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST The first US mission to collect a sample of an asteroid and return it to Earth for study is undergoing a major milestone in its environmental testing. |
| New breast cancer genetic mutation found in Chinese population and will help refine screening and target drug development Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST A genetic mutation that appears to be associated with a high breast cancer risk has been identified by researchers from Hong Kong. It is likely to be important enough to be included in genetic screening for people of Chinese origin with a family history of breast cancer, they say. |
| Physical activity does not influence breast density: Protective effect against breast cancer is due to other mechanisms Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST Researchers have found no link between physical activity and breast density, and believe that the protective effect of physical activity on breast cancer must be through other mechanisms. This finding is unexpected because it was believed that reducing BMI and fatty tissue would increase breast density. |
| Diabetes treatment can reduce mammographic density Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST A large study has found that the use of diabetes treatment decreases mammographic density, a strong risk factor for breast cancer, whereas taking insulin increases density. This is the first time that data on the effect of diabetes treatment and insulin use on breast cancer have been studied. |
| Fifteen shades of photoreceptor in a butterfly's eye Posted: 08 Mar 2016 06:17 PM PST The eyes of an Australasian butterfly contain a record fifteen classes of light-detecting photoreceptors, six more than any other insect and far more than necessary for color vision. |
| Economic dynamic between the two leading software delivery models Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:36 PM PST Cloud computing software has brought many changes to the business landscape and currently, the implementation of such a service is common. New research sheds light on the growing competition between two widely used software models – Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and Modified off-the- Shelf (MOTS) software. |
| ‘Keiser rigs’ stress materials to the max to improve products for power, propulsion Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:36 PM PST Environmental exposure chambers such as Keiser rigs, subject materials to corrosive gases, crushing pressures and calamitous heat. The extreme environments provide insight into conditions under which materials fail. |
| Measuring the rarity of a particle decay: Five hundred thousand times less likely than winning the lottery Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:34 PM PST Modern physics has developed a great number of theoretical approaches with which the world of elementary particles can be described. Now it's up to experiments to sort out which theories hold up against reality. One of these is the so-called MEG experiment. Physicists are searching for a particular, yet never-to-date observed decay of elementary particles known as muons. More precisely, they are quantifying how high the improbability of this decay is. According to their latest number, at most one out of 2.4 trillion muon decays will fit the MEG pattern. That makes such a decay around five hundred thousand times more improbable than hitting all six numbers in the Swiss lottery. |
| How an artificial protein rescues dying cells Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:34 PM PST Researchers discovered the unexpected way in which a synthetic protein called SynSerB promotes the growth of cells that lack the natural SerB gene, offering insight into how life can adapt to survive and potentially be reinvented. |
| Dust grains could be remnants of stellar explosions billions of years ago Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PST Microscopic dust particles have been found in meteoritic material on Earth, particles that were likely formed in stellar explosions that occurred long before the creation of our star, the sun. Whether some of these particles of stardust, known as 'pre-solar grains,' came from classical nova explosions is the focus of ongoing experimental nuclear physics research. |
| Welfare recipients seen as immoral for buying ethical products Posted: 08 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PST Shoppers making ethical purchases, such as buying organic food or environmentally friendly cars, are generally seen as more virtuous -- unless they're receiving government assistance. If ethical shopping is funded by welfare checks, those shoppers are judged as immoral for taking advantage of public generosity, according to a new study. |
| Researchers develop coatings to reduce ham mites, protect ozone layer Posted: 08 Mar 2016 11:09 AM PST Food scientists and a entomologist have developed coatings that protect age-cured hams from mites, reducing the need for a previous treatment that is harmful to the ozone layer. |
| Chew on this: Study of ancient teeth bites theory of early primate disappearance Posted: 08 Mar 2016 11:08 AM PST Fifty-six million years ago, just before earth's carbon dioxide levels and average temperatures soared, many species of primitive primates went extinct in North America for reasons unclear to scientists. Now, a study of fossilized molars appears to exonerate one potential culprit in the animals' demise: competition with primitive rodents for food. |
| Custom-fitted spine implants Posted: 08 Mar 2016 11:08 AM PST Advances in medical imaging and implant manufacturing are making it possible to tailor an implant to the patient receiving it, and using patient-specific rods in reconstructive surgery gives patients with spinal deformities implants designed to fit their anatomy perfectly. |
| High throughput computing helps LIGO confirm Einstein’s last unproven theory Posted: 08 Mar 2016 11:08 AM PST A few years ago, a global team of scientists parlayed decades of research into the discovery of the Higgs boson. A humble software program called HTCondor churned away in the background, helping analyze data gathered from billions of particle collisions. Cut to 2016, and HTCondor is on to a new collision: helping scientists detect gravitational waves caused 1.3 billion years ago by a collision between two black holes 30 times larger than our sun. |
| Antidepressants linked to tooth implant failure, new study finds Posted: 08 Mar 2016 11:08 AM PST Antidepressants, commonly used to treat anxiety, pain and other disorders, quadruple the risk of dental implant failure, according to a new pilot study. Each year of antidepressant use doubled the odds of failure. |
| Trouble sleeping? The size of your tongue, tonsils could be why Posted: 08 Mar 2016 11:08 AM PST Oversized tonsils and tongues place people at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep due to blocked upper airways, suggests a new report. |
| Time spent playing video games may have positive effects on young children Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:51 AM PST Video games are a favorite activity of children, yet its affect on their health is often perceived to be negative. A new study assessed the association between the amount of time spent playing video games and children's mental health and cognitive and social skills, and found that playing video games may have positive effects on young children. |
| How weight affects 'wait' Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:51 AM PST Overweight and obese children are at greater risk for pedestrian injury, new research shows. It's not because overweight and obese kids can't cross the street fast enough. Rather, in a study involving traffic simulations, researchers found that children with higher body mass indices were more impatient and impulsive than their peers; they waited less before crossing, allowed for a smaller buffer of time and distance between themselves and oncoming traffic, and were involved more collisions in the experimental settings. |
| Scientists find brain cells that know which end is up Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:51 AM PST People are intuitive physicists, knowing from birth how objects under the influence of gravity are likely to fall, topple or roll. In a new study, scientists have found the brain cells apparently responsible for this innate wisdom. |
| What tech usage rules would kids make for their parents? Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:51 AM PST A new study on family technology rules is among the first to explore children's expectations for parents' technology use -- revealing kids' feelings about fairness and 'oversharing' and the most effective types of household technology rules. |
| Predicting potential pharma side effects Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:49 AM PST A computer program that can predict whether or not a given pharmaceutical will have worrying side effects has been developed. Researchers have developed the 'in silico' testing system for drugs in the early stage of drug development. |
| Millennials more likely than older adults to donate clothing rather than trash it Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:49 AM PST A professor of textile and apparel management has found that younger adults from ages 18-34 are much less likely to throw old clothes and other textile waste into the garbage than older adults. |
| Researchers unlock mechanisms in brain that separate food consumption from cravings Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:49 AM PST Understanding non-homeostatic eating -- or eating that is driven more by palatability, habit and food cues -- and how it works in the brain may help neuroscientists determine how to control cravings, maintain healthier weights and promote healthier lifestyles. Scientists recently discovered the chemical circuits and mechanisms in the brain that separate food consumption from cravings. Knowing more about these mechanisms could help researchers develop drugs that reduce overeating. |
| Active social life associated with well-being in life Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:49 AM PST Staying active socially despite health-related challenges appears to help lessen the decline in well-being people often experience late in life, according to research. |
| Human influence on climate dates back to 1930s, new research finds Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:49 AM PST Humans have triggered the last 16 record-breaking hot years experienced on Earth (up to 2014), with our impact on the global climate going as far back as 1937, a new study finds. The study suggests that without human-induced climate change, recent hot summers and years would not have occurred. |
| Doctors aren't diagnosing or treating most cases of prediabetes, study finds Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:48 AM PST Less than one-quarter of patients who met the criteria for prediabetes received drug or lifestyle modification treatment from their primary care physician, according to researchers, who say the findings indicate physicians are missing opportunities for diabetes prevention. |
| HIV targets tissue macrophages, researchers demonstrates Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:47 AM PST HIV infects and reproduces in macrophages, large white blood cells found in the liver, brain and connective tissues of the body, new research demonstrates. This discovery has significant implications for HIV cure research. |
| Geochemists show experimental verification of principle of detailed balance Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:47 AM PST Geochemists have developed and demonstrated a technique for assessing the validity of a principle that has long been important in thermodynamics and chemical kinetics but has proven resistant to experimental verification. |
| Design research can improve patient experiences of radiotherapy Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:47 AM PST Patients risk experiencing anxiety and fear when health care does not meet individual patients' needs. New approaches to reduce anxiety for instance over radiotherapy are needed and design research is well-suited to meet these challenges, one expert says. |
| Bird communication: Chirping with syntax Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:47 AM PST People communicate meaning by combining words according to syntactic rules. But this ability is not limited solely to humans: A group of evolutionary biologists have discovered that Japanese great tits, like humans, have also evolved syntax. By combining their various calls using specific rules, these songbirds can communicate specific messages and engage in complex interactions. |
| Slower evolution and climate change drove ichthyosaurs to extinction Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:47 AM PST Ichthyosaurs -- shark-like marine reptiles from the time of dinosaurs -- were driven to extinction by intense climate change and their own failure to evolve quickly enough, according to new research by an international team of scientists. |
| Cardiovascular safety of obesity treatment naltrexone-bupropion uncertain Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:31 AM PST The cardiovascular safety of the obesity treatment naltrexone-bupropion remains uncertain because of the unanticipated early termination of a trial to determine its safety, according to a study. |
| Why Hurricane Irene fizzled as it neared New Jersey in 2011 Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:31 AM PST A dynamic process that cools the coastal ocean and can weaken hurricanes was discovered as Hurricane Irene made landfall in New Jersey, according to a new study. The study's findings could help reduce the uncertainty in hurricane intensity forecasts for hurricanes and typhoons that cross coastal ocean waters before striking populated shorelines. Hurricane track forecasts have steadily improved over the last two decades, but improvements in hurricane intensity forecasts have lagged. |
| Unique optical trapping system offers way to launch high-power laser light Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:30 AM PST The researchers created the optical trap by inserting the nanospike into the hollow core fiber and launching a high-power 1,064-nanometer laser beam into the single-mode fiber. When the laser light enters the tapered portion of the fiber it begins to spread out beyond the nanospike into the empty space inside the hollow core fiber. |
| Risk of being involved in an avalanche less for smaller groups of recreationists Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:30 AM PST As winter backcountry activities increase in popularity, avalanches are a very real risk for adventurers who choose to travel off the beaten path. A new study explored the risk of avalanche accidents with respect to group size for the first time and found that traveling in groups of four or more people carried a higher relative avalanche risk than for individuals or groups of two. |
| Brain activity of nematodes seeking food offers new view on sleep Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:30 AM PST If you have trouble sleeping, the neurons in your brain may be firing like those in roundworms randomly seeking food in the absence of clues, says a biologist. |
| Women suffer more neck pain than men Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:30 AM PST Women are 1.38 times more likely than men to report neck pain due to cervical degenerative disc disease, according to a new study. |
| How skin cancer starts: Skin cancer teams up with Sonic the Hedgehog Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:30 AM PST An international team of scientists studied what mutations are responsible for formation of the most common skin cancer type. |
| Electricity, heating most climate-friendly uses for natural gas Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST Researchers have determined the most climate-friendly use of natural gas is replacement of existing coal-fired power plants and fuel-oil furnaces rather than burning it in cars and buses. |
| Eastern US forests more vulnerable to drought than before 1800s Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST Over thousands of years, most forests in the eastern United States evolved with frequent fire, which promoted tree species and ecosystems that were both fire and drought resistant. In little more than a century, humans upset that balance, suggest researchers, who blame the change, in part, on the well-meaning efforts of Smokey Bear. |
| Green tea and iron, bad combination Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant, but experiments in a laboratory mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggest that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may actually lessen green tea's benefits. |
| First case of acute myelitis in a patient infected with Zika virus Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST A first case of acute myelitis following infection with Zika virus has been reported for the first time. A young patient in the acute phase of an infection by Zika virus presented motor deficiency in the four limbs, associated with very intense pain and acute urinary retention. |
| Do gun restrictions help reduce gun deaths? Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST Researchers looked at the associations between firearm-related laws and firearm homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries and deaths. The results indicate that gun violence tended to decline after countries passed new restrictions on gun purchasing and ownership. The paper is the first to explore the evidence from around the world on gun laws and gun violence to determine whether gun restrictions help reduce gun deaths. |
| New scanning technology benefits diabetic eye care in national telemedicine trial Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST Ultrawide field (UWF) scanning technology significantly improved the ability of experts at a remote central location to identify diabetic retinopathy in a patient, and to judge whether the eye disease warranted referring the patient to an ophthalmologist for further care, a national clinical trial suggests. |
| Browsing in public: System lets web users share aspects of their browsing history Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST A new system has been developed that allows Web users to share self-selected aspects of their online activity with their friends and the general public. The hope is to give users themselves, as well as academics and other scientists conducting research in the public interest, access to the same type of browsing data that big Web companies currently collect and mine to better target products to individual consumers. |
| For lupus patients, anti-inflammatory immune cells are maturing Into wrong cell type Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST One of the mysteries of lupus is why the immune cells that normally keep inflammation at bay can't seem to do their job. A study now suggests that for people with lupus, the B cells that regulate inflammation are getting signaled to become pro-inflammatory cells instead. The research also provides evidence that how a lupus patient responds to treatment is related to their levels of these cellular signals. |
| Inside the mouth of a hydra: Hydra rips its own skin apart just to open its mouth Posted: 08 Mar 2016 10:29 AM PST Hydra is a genus of tiny freshwater animals that catch and sting prey using a ring of tentacles. But before a hydra can eat, it has to rip its own skin apart just to open its mouth. Scientists now illustrate the biomechanics of this process for the first time and find that a hydra's cells stretch to split apart in a dramatic deformation. |
| Precision medicine: Can we afford it? Can we afford not to explore it? Posted: 08 Mar 2016 08:00 AM PST Imagine that the next time your doctor orders a round of tests, in addition to cholesterol and vitamin D, she also orders a genome sequence. It sounds like science fiction, but the day might come sooner than you think. |
| Mow less along highways, preserve pollinators, researchers say Posted: 08 Mar 2016 08:00 AM PST Researchers are studying how to preserve pollinators and wildflowers along the state's roadsides. The best-known pollinators are bees, but researchers are studying butterflies as roadside pollinators. Among their other benefits, butterflies serve as indicator organisms. |
| Want to avoid a cold? Try a tattoo or twenty, says researcher Posted: 08 Mar 2016 08:00 AM PST There's no known cure for the common cold, but receiving multiple tattoos can strengthen your immunological responses, potentially making you heartier in fighting off common infections, according to research. However, receiving a single tattoo can, at least temporarily, lower your resistance. |
| Plant photosynthesis inhibited by bacterial ancestor Posted: 08 Mar 2016 07:57 AM PST An ancient signaling pathway inherited from bacteria impacts plant growth and development, a new study has found. Chloroplast, the compartment responsible for plant photosynthesis, is a key component of this signaling pathway. Understanding how this signaling pathway functions would allow for development of strategies to protect crops against climatic change and to improve photosynthesis so as to generate biofuels and other valuable products. |
| Shark babies remain strong in future acidic oceans Posted: 08 Mar 2016 07:56 AM PST Biologists have found that certain baby sharks are able to cope with the level of ocean acidification predicted for the end of this century. |
| Miniaturized fuel cell makes drones fly more than one hour Posted: 08 Mar 2016 07:56 AM PST Drones are used for various applications such as aero picturing, disaster recovery, and delivering. Despite attracting attention as a new growth area, the biggest problem of drones is its small battery capacity and limited flight time of less than an hour. Scientists have now developed a miniaturized solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) to replace lithium-ion batteries in smartphones, laptops, drones, and other small electronic devices to solve this problem. |
| Global warming increases rain in world's driest areas Posted: 08 Mar 2016 07:56 AM PST Global warming will increase rainfall in some of the world's driest areas over land, with not only the wet getting wetter but the dry getting wetter as well. |
| Violin varnish: Key to a fiddle's tone Posted: 08 Mar 2016 07:56 AM PST Varnish does more than just provide a protective sheen to a violin. It influences the vibrations and impulses that the wood absorbs and therefore the quality of sound the instrument produces, says an expert. Researchers have demonstrated the importance of the properties of varnish, its chemical composition, thickness and penetration into wood. |
