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Monday, March 16, 2015

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Elderly aortic stenosis patients live longer with minimally invasive valve replacement
Test of new device that protects brain during heart-valve procedure
Folic acid supplementation among adults with hypertension reduces risk of stroke
Organisms can keep gene expression in check, biologist says
New technology may double radio frequency data capacity
New quality measures approved for childhood sleep apnea
New antibody therapy dramatically improves psoriasis symptoms in clinical trial
Chitin, a structural molecule associated with allergy response, is identified in vertebrates
Invasive species use landmarking to find love in a hopeless place
E-cigarettes can be regulated now without more research, expert says
Saving on oil well costs using everyday nails
Common weed revealed to diminish water pollution

Elderly aortic stenosis patients live longer with minimally invasive valve replacement

Posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:04 PM PDT

Elderly patients once considered too frail or tool sick for aortic valve replacement surgery are living longer, with better quality of life, following a minimally invasive surgery, compared to patients who did not undergo surgery, according a study.

Test of new device that protects brain during heart-valve procedure

Posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:04 PM PDT

In the first multicenter trial of its kind, researchers tested a new device that lowers the risk of stroke and cognitive decline in patients undergoing heart-valve replacement. "One of the major findings is, for the first time, we're showing that with protection, 55% more patients have completely clean brains -- with no ischemic brain lesions at all," said a researcher. Brain lesions increase risk of dementia and stroke two- to three-fold.

Folic acid supplementation among adults with hypertension reduces risk of stroke

Posted: 15 Mar 2015 02:04 PM PDT

In a study that included more than 20,000 adults in China with high blood pressure but without a history of stroke or heart attack, the combined use of the hypertension medication enalapril and folic acid, compared with enalapril alone, significantly reduced the risk of first stroke, according to a study.

Organisms can keep gene expression in check, biologist says

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:17 PM PDT

Researchers have learned how living beings can keep gene expression in check -- which might partly explain the uncontrolled gene expression found in many cancers. "Using yeast as a model organism, we studied the Tup1 protein, a negative regulator of gene expression," says a biologist, adding, "This protein binds to some genes and blocks their expression, helping to ensure genes that shouldn't be turned on remain inactive."

New technology may double radio frequency data capacity

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:16 PM PDT

Engineers have invented a technology--full-duplex radio integrated circuits--that can be implemented in nanoscale CMOS to enable simultaneous transmission and reception at the same frequency in a wireless radio. Up to now, this has been thought to be impossible: transmitters and receivers either work at different times or at the same time but at different frequencies.

New quality measures approved for childhood sleep apnea

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:16 PM PDT

A work group of physicians from leading academic medical centers across the United States has developed new quality measures for the detection and treatment of childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a potentially morbid, life-altering condition that affects hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents nationwide.

New antibody therapy dramatically improves psoriasis symptoms in clinical trial

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:16 PM PDT

Many patients suffering from psoriasis showed significant recovery after just a single dose of an experimental treatment with a human antibody that blocks an immune signaling protein crucial to the disease, researchers report. By the end of the trial nearly all of the 31 patients to receive treatment saw dramatic, if not complete, improvement in their symptoms.

Chitin, a structural molecule associated with allergy response, is identified in vertebrates

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:11 PM PDT

An unexpected discovery overturns a longstanding belief in the biological sciences. The research demonstrates that chitin, a molecule that was previously thought to be absent in vertebrates and that has been shown to trigger an allergy/immune reaction in mammals, is endogenously produced in fishes and amphibians.

Invasive species use landmarking to find love in a hopeless place

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 02:11 PM PDT

Tiny populations of invasive species such as Asian carp start their domination of new ecosystems by hanging out at local landmarks, according to a new study. Understanding how species use these local hotspots can play a key role in how officials approach population control for conserving endangered species and controlling invasive ones.

E-cigarettes can be regulated now without more research, expert says

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 06:45 AM PDT

A legal scholar and tobacco control expert says he has developed a research-based roadmap that allows for the immediate regulation of e-cigarettes, and that his proposal would minimize the threats e-cigarettes pose to public health while still enabling them potentially help reduce smoking.

Saving on oil well costs using everyday nails

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 06:34 AM PDT

Ordinary nails can reinforce oil wells. There's no quicker or cheaper way. Low oil prices make it even more important to reduce costs linked to the drilling and completion of oil wells. Recent experiments have shown that everyday nails can be used to provide an inexpensive way of stabilizing wells.

Common weed revealed to diminish water pollution

Posted: 13 Mar 2015 05:34 AM PDT

The plant Typha domingensis can be used in reducing bacterial contamination of water for agricultural use, scientists report. This plant helps to reduce, up to 98 percent, pollution by enterobacteria (usually found in the intestines of mammals) involved in the development of disease.