Monday, November 16, 2015

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Using light to treat Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 15 Nov 2015 04:24 PM PST

Medical application of photoactive chemicals offers a promising therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases.

Honesty varies significantly between countries

Posted: 15 Nov 2015 04:22 PM PST

Researchers have found that people's honesty varies significantly between countries.

Child with drug-resistant TB successfully treated at American hospital

Posted: 15 Nov 2015 04:21 PM PST

Specialists report they have successfully treated and put in remission a 2-year-old, now age 5, with a highly virulent form of tuberculosis known as XDR TB, or extensively drug-resistant TB.

Programmable electronic glasses provide children effective, digital lazy eye treatment

Posted: 14 Nov 2015 03:52 PM PST

Programmable digital glasses for lazy eye work as well as eye patching, study shows, improving vision by about 2 lines on the reading chart after 3 months. First new effective lazy eye treatment in 50 years.

Prostate cancer screening under age of 55 may be of limited value

Posted: 14 Nov 2015 03:50 PM PST

Mass prostate cancer (PSA) screening before the age of 55 may not have any benefit over screening starting after the age of 55, according to a new 20 year analysis of 6822 patients.

Falls and brawls top list of causes for eye injuries in United States

Posted: 14 Nov 2015 03:50 PM PST

Fighting and assault caused nearly 8,000 eye injuries treated in hospitals from 2002-2011, while falling led causes of ocular trauma with more than 8,500 incidents reported.

Loss of diversity near melting coastal glaciers

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 03:13 PM PST

Melting glaciers are causing a loss of species diversity among benthos in the coastal waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, impacting an entire seafloor ecosystem. This has been verified in the course of repeated research dives, the results of which were recently published by experts from Argentina, Germany and Great Britain.

Network analysis shows systemic risk in mineral markets

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 03:13 PM PST

A shortage of a rare mineral could spur global market instabilities, according to a new analysis of international commodity trade networks.

New brain imaging technique identifies previously undetected epileptic seizure sites

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:47 AM PST

Researchers have developed a brain imaging technique for patients whose epilepsy does not respond to drug treatment and are not candidates for seizure-relieving surgeries. The imaging technique, known as glutamate chemical exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST), images changes in glutamate levels in brain structures that identify the location of seizures not detected with conventional MRI.

Meeting transportation needs will improve lives of those with ASD, their families

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 11:45 AM PST

An integrated approach to providing access to reliable and safe transportation is needed for adults on the autism spectrum and their families, according to a new study that offers recommendations for removing barriers to better mobility.

Really, what is the internet of things?

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 08:24 AM PST

The Internet of Things, IoT, the cloud, big data...buzzwords for the modern age. But, asks one researcher: Is the IoT actually anything new and how does it work? Scientists now offer some answers and a high-level view of the IoT from the perspective of its architecture.

Researchers design, patent graphene biosensors

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 08:24 AM PST

Graphene is the first truly two-dimensional crystal, which was obtained experimentally and investigated regarding its unique chemical and physical properties. In 2010, two researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for ground-breaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene." There has now been a considerable increase in the number of research studies aimed at finding commercial applications for graphene and other two-dimensional materials.

Super environmentally friendly: the 'fool’s gold battery'

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 08:01 AM PST

High-performance lithium ion batteries face a major problem: Lithium will eventually start to run out as batteries are deployed in electric cars and stationary storage units. Researchers have now discovered an alternative: the "fool's gold battery". It consists of iron, sulfur, sodium and magnesium – all elements that are in plentiful supply. This means that giant storage batteries could be built on the cheap and used stationary in buildings or next to power plants, for instance.

Invention of forge-proof ID to revolutionize security

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 08:01 AM PST

Scientists have discovered a way to authenticate or identify any object by generating an unbreakable ID based on atoms. 

Lasers could rapidly make materials hotter than the Sun

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:59 AM PST

Lasers could heat materials to temperatures hotter than the centre of the Sun in only 20 quadrillionths of a second, according to new research.

Invasive freshwater species in Europe’s lakes and rivers: How do they come in?

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:59 AM PST

A new article has identified escape from aquaculture facilities, releases in the wild due to pet/aquarium trade and stocking activities as the main pathways of alien species introduction in European lakes and rivers. Germany, the UK and Italy are the main entry gateways. The authors recommend tightened controls, and improved prevention and management measures in order to halt the increasing trend of freshwater alien species introductions in Europe.

The dinosaur ankle re-evolved amphibian-like development in birds

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:59 AM PST

In the 19th century, Darwin's most vocal scientific advocate was Thomas Henry Huxley, who is also remembered as a pioneer of the hypotheses that birds are living dinosaurs. He noticed several similarities of the skeleton of living birds and extinct dinosaurs, among them, a pointed portion of the anklebone projecting upwards onto the shank bone (aka drumstick). This "ascending process" is well known to specialists as a unique trait of dinosaurs. However, until the late 20th century, many scientists were doubtful about the dinosaur-bird link. Some pointed out that the ascending process in most birds was a projection of the neighbouring heel bone, rather than the anklebone. If so, it would not be comparable, and would not support the dinosaur-bird link. 

Breakthrough in the treatment of HIV by successfully developing a prototype vaccine vector

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:59 AM PST

Scientists have developed a prototype HIV vaccine vector using a similar approach to that used for a vaccination for Ebola and Malaria.

Disparities in colorectal cancer death rates take a large economic toll

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST

Disparities in colorectal cancer death rates take a large toll on the national economy, with poorer, less-educated communities bearing the greatest burden, according to new data.

Receiving curative lung cancer surgery varies by state

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST

The likelihood of receiving curative-intent surgery for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer varies substantially from state to state, according to new data.

Healthy diet may reduce risk of ovarian cancer in African-American women

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST

A healthy diet may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in African-American women, according to new data.

Predicting breast cancer risk in Hispanic women

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:56 AM PST

The first breast cancer risk-prediction model based entirely on data from Hispanic women, including whether a woman was born in or outside of the United States, provided a more accurate assessment of Hispanic women's risk of developing breast cancer compared with existing models based on data from non-Hispanic women.

FDA approves adjuvant yervoy in melanoma

Posted: 13 Nov 2015 07:53 AM PST

Based on the results of EORTC trial 18071, the FDA expanded the approval of Yervoy (ipilimumab) in melanoma to include adjuvant treatment of patients with stage 3 melanoma at high risk of recurrence following complete resection.