Sunday, December 6, 2015

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


New Horizons returns first of the best images of Pluto

Posted: 05 Dec 2015 12:28 PM PST

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has sent back the first in a series of the sharpest views of Pluto it obtained during its July flyby -- and the best close-ups of Pluto that humans may see for decades.

Breast screening program found to be effective in preventing some invasive cancers

Posted: 05 Dec 2015 04:37 AM PST

Screening for and treatment of an early form of breast cancer has been found to prevent subsequent invasive cancer, according to new research.

One-step tumor detection from dynamic morphology tracking on aptamer grafted surface

Posted: 05 Dec 2015 04:37 AM PST

A team of researchers has demonstrated a novel cancer cell detection method based on real time cell behavior tracking on engineered surfaces.

Engraved schist slab may depict paleolithic campsites

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 03:38 PM PST

A 13,000-year-old engraving uncovered in Spain may depict a hunter-gatherer campsite, according to a new study.

How is a developing brain assembled?

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 03:36 PM PST

A new, open-source software that can help track the embryonic development and movement of neuronal cells throughout the body of the worm, is now available to scientists.

Microtubules act as cellular 'rheostat' to control insulin secretion

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 03:36 PM PST

Microtubules -- cellular 'highways' that deliver cargo to the cell membrane for secretion -- have a surprising role in pancreatic beta cells. Instead of facilitating glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, they limit it, a team of investigators report. The findings reveal that microtubules act as a cellular 'rheostat' to precisely control insulin secretion and suggest that disturbance of this control may contribute to beta cell dysfunction and type 2 diabetes.

How cells are foiled by a herpesvirus family member in the virus-host arms race

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 03:36 PM PST

Not every virus wants to go viral right away -- some want to wait for the perfect opportunity to attack. So the virus has to find a way to enter the cells of the human body without tripping the alarm. It's how viruses in the herpesvirus family, like human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), do their business. In a new study, researchers show that individual cells in the human body have an armament designed to prevent HCMV from achieving and maintaining this latency.

New way to make yeast hybrids may inspire new brews, biofuels

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 03:36 PM PST

Thanks to a new method for making interspecies yeast hybrids in the lab, the makers of beer, wine, biofuels and other products that depend on yeasts may soon have many more strains of the microorganism to work with.

New leads in the struggle against a formidable leukemia

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 10:55 AM PST

A coordinated push to decrypt a complex form of leukemia is delivering a trove of new drug candidates and treatment ideas, a dozen of which will be presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida (Dec. 5-8).

What your father ate before you were born could influence your health

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 10:55 AM PST

There is increasing evidence that parents' lifestyle and the environment they inhabit even long before they have children may influence the health of their offspring. A new study sheds light on how.

Cell suicide prevention squad

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 08:13 AM PST

Recent research has shown that the cells in our bodies teeter on the brink of death. They possess intricate molecular mechanisms that promote either suicide or survival. The concept is known as programmed cell death (PCD). Since the early 2000s, when PCD was confirmed, research has focused mainly on finding genes and proteins that trigger it. however, processes aiding cell survival have not been well understood.

Signaling pathway suppresses brain tumors

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 06:45 AM PST

Researchers have taken a close look at a signaling pathway present in most organisms and found that it suppresses the formation of specific types of brain tumor.

Towards a new era for terahertz detection and emission

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 06:43 AM PST

Researchers are aiming to develop technology that could replace the conventional X-ray sources in medicine or improve the detection of weapons and explosives.

Molecular processes for targeted dog cancer therapy investigated

Posted: 04 Dec 2015 06:43 AM PST

Dogs get cancer, just like humans. Scientists are now exploring the molecular basis of cancer progression in canine cell lines. Modern cancer therapy has been revolutionized with the introduction of new drugs, so-called 'targeted drugs', but the basis for the application of these new agents in cancer therapy is a deep understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the disease, even with pets. Now a research team has investigated the activation of genetic regulatory mechanisms in canine cells and found both matches as well as differences compared to humans.