More sun means fewer children, grandchildren, Norwegian study finds

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• Optimistic people have healthier hearts, study finds
• Toward quantum chips: Packing single-photon detectors on an optical chip is crucial for quantum-computational circuits
• Recreational fishing in the Mediterranean is more harmful than previously thought
• Salt tolerance gene in soybean found
• Breakthrough: Statin treatment reduces risk of cardiovascular disease in women
• Devil is in the detail: Evolution of color in plants and animals
• Ritual circumcision linked to increased risk of autism in young boys, research suggests
• Cancer biopsies do not promote cancer spread, research finds
• Skin cancer: New mechanism involved in tumor initiation, growth and progression
• Map of mysterious molecules in our galaxy sheds new light on century-old puzzle
• Bacteria could contribute to development of wound-induced skin cancer
• What can your online avatar say about your personality?
• Chitosan: Sustainable alternative for food packaging
• Tumor-blocking role found for cell regulation molecule
• Novel breast cancer gene found: BCL11A is active in difficult-to-treat triple-negative breast cancer
• Study supports link between injectable hormonal contraceptive and HIV risk
• Mental health workers don't recognize their own burnout
• Workers' feedback vital to reduce time wasted in meetings
• Flexible methane production from electricity and bio-mass
• Making synthetic materials more impervious: fewer plastic substances in food
• More sun means fewer children, grandchildren, Norwegian study finds
• From the lab to your digital device, quantum dots have made quantum leaps
• On a tropical island, fossils reveal past -- and possible future -- of polar ice

Optimistic people have healthier hearts, study finds Posted: 09 Jan 2015 09:35 AM PST Using the American Heart Association's criteria, a study of 5,000 adults found that the most optimistic people had twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health as their pessimistic counterparts.

Toward quantum chips: Packing single-photon detectors on an optical chip is crucial for quantum-computational circuits Posted: 09 Jan 2015 07:10 AM PST A team of researchers has built an array of light detectors sensitive enough to register the arrival of individual light particles, or photons, and mounted them on a silicon optical chip. Such arrays are crucial components of devices that use photons to perform quantum computations.

Recreational fishing in the Mediterranean is more harmful than previously thought Posted: 09 Jan 2015 07:10 AM PST A total of 10 percent of adults living in developed countries practice recreational fishing, which in the Mediterranean Sea represents around 10 percent of the total production of fisheries. Despite its importance, this fishing is not as controlled or studied as professional fishing. For the first time, a study examines this activity, whose effects are increasingly more similar to traditional fishing. For this reason, scientists demand greater control.

Salt tolerance gene in soybean found Posted: 09 Jan 2015 07:09 AM PST A collaborative research project has shown how soybeans can be bred to better tolerate soil salinity. The researchers have identified a specific gene in soybean that has great potential for soybean crop improvement.

Breakthrough: Statin treatment reduces risk of cardiovascular disease in women Posted: 09 Jan 2015 06:37 AM PST A large international study has shown conclusively that statin treatment reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in women. The research confirms that statins are beneficial not only to women who have already had a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke, but also in those who - whilst they have not yet developed cardiovascular disease -- are at an increased risk of such diseases.

Devil is in the detail: Evolution of color in plants and animals Posted: 09 Jan 2015 06:37 AM PST Researchers have looked at a species of fish to help unravel one of the biggest mysteries in evolutionary biology. "The importance of this work lies in the fundamental question: how and why do variants of the same animal exist in nature," researchers explain.

Ritual circumcision linked to increased risk of autism in young boys, research suggests Posted: 09 Jan 2015 06:37 AM PST Circumcised boys are more likely than intact boys to develop autism spectrum disorder before the age of 10, new research suggests. Painful experiences in neonates have been shown in animal and human studies to be associated with long-term alterations in pain perception, a characteristic often encountered among children with ASD.

Cancer biopsies do not promote cancer spread, research finds Posted: 09 Jan 2015 06:37 AM PST A study of more than 2,000 patients has dispelled the myth that cancer biopsies cause cancer to spread. The researchers show that patients who received a biopsy had a better outcome and longer survival than patients who did not have a biopsy.

Skin cancer: New mechanism involved in tumor initiation, growth and progression Posted: 09 Jan 2015 06:35 AM PST The mechanisms regulating the different functions of Twist1 controlling skin tumor initiation, cancer stem cell function and tumor progression have been identified by researchers.

Map of mysterious molecules in our galaxy sheds new light on century-old puzzle Posted: 09 Jan 2015 06:35 AM PST Astronomers have created a unique map of enigmatic molecules in our galaxy that are responsible for puzzling features in the light from stars.

Bacteria could contribute to development of wound-induced skin cancer Posted: 09 Jan 2015 05:47 AM PST A new mechanism by which skin damage triggers the formation of tumors has been discovered by researchers, which could have important therapeutic implications for patients suffering with chronic ulcers or skin blistering diseases.

What can your online avatar say about your personality? Posted: 09 Jan 2015 05:47 AM PST Researchers are looking to understand the potential impressions and their limitations of those we meet in a digital context. In a new study, the researchers specifically looked at what personality traits are conveyed by a user's avatar.

Chitosan: Sustainable alternative for food packaging Posted: 09 Jan 2015 05:46 AM PST A material known as chitosan, made from crustacean shells, has been used to substitute petroleum by-products in food packaging. The environment is seriously affected by the use of food packaing: plastic bottles and films are present everywhere in our civilization and take between 100 and 400 years to degrade. So the quest for alternative materials to plastics produced from petroleum is an environmental priority.

Tumor-blocking role found for cell regulation molecule Posted: 09 Jan 2015 05:46 AM PST The role of a protein in regulating tumor development has been studied by researchers who have found that it suppresses liver cancer growth in the lab. The investigation has focused on the role of a protein controlled by JNK and p38, known as ATF2, in tumor development.

Novel breast cancer gene found: BCL11A is active in difficult-to-treat triple-negative breast cancer Posted: 09 Jan 2015 05:46 AM PST A gene has been identified that is especially active in aggressive subtypes of breast cancer. The research suggests that an overactive BCL11A gene drives triple-negative breast cancer development and progression.

Study supports link between injectable hormonal contraceptive and HIV risk Posted: 09 Jan 2015 01:56 AM PST Women using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, commonly known as Depo-Provera or the birth control shot, have a moderately increased risk of becoming infected with HIV, a large meta-analysis of 12 studies involving more than 39,500 women has found. Other forms of hormonal contraception, including oral contraceptive pills, do not appear to increase this risk.

Mental health workers don't recognize their own burnout Posted: 09 Jan 2015 01:55 AM PST Some mental health workers find it difficult to recognize their own burnout and even when they do they struggle to admit it to others, research shows.

Workers' feedback vital to reduce time wasted in meetings Posted: 09 Jan 2015 01:55 AM PST Meetings in some organizations would be more cost effective and focused, taking less time, if employees had the opportunity to give feedback on how they are run and were involved in making improvements.

Flexible methane production from electricity and bio-mass Posted: 09 Jan 2015 01:55 AM PST Interlinkage of the power and gas grids is planned to make electricity supply sustainable and robust in the future. Fluctuating amounts of wind and solar power, for instance, might be stored in the form of the chemical energy carrier methane. Now researchers have now proved that this is technically feasible.

Making synthetic materials more impervious: fewer plastic substances in food Posted: 09 Jan 2015 01:55 AM PST Synthetic materials are convenient in many respects, but they have one disadvantage: they are permeable to gases. In order to make plastic more impervious, engineers apply wafer-thin layers on surfaces. This would not only increase the shelf life of food in plastic packaging, but would also prevent the migration of substances from the plastic into the food.

More sun means fewer children, grandchildren, Norwegian study finds Posted: 09 Jan 2015 01:55 AM PST A new study shows that increased UV radiation can have an effect on human fertility over generations. On average, the lifespan of children born in years that had a great deal of solar activity was 5.2 years shorter than other children. Children who were born in years with lots of sunshine and who survived were also more likely to have fewer children, who in turn gave birth to fewer children than others. This finding shows that increased UV radiation during years of high solar activity had an effect across generations.

From the lab to your digital device, quantum dots have made quantum leaps Posted: 09 Jan 2015 01:51 AM PST Quantum dots have not only found their way into tablets, computer screens, and TVs, they are also used in biological and medical imaging tools, and now researchers are exploring them for solar cell as well as brain imaging applications.

On a tropical island, fossils reveal past -- and possible future -- of polar ice Posted: 08 Jan 2015 01:24 PM PST The balmy islands of Seychelles couldn't feel farther from Antarctica, but their fossil corals could reveal much about the fate of polar ice sheets. About 125,000 years ago, the average global temperature was only slightly warmer, but sea levels rose high enough to submerge the locations of many of today's coastal cities. Understanding what caused seas to rise then could shed light on how to protect those cities today.