ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Bone cancer, from the lab to the clinic
• NASA sees the sun having a solar blast
• NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory catches 'surfer' waves on the sun
• Universal flu vaccine clinical trials show promise
• 'Wrong'-time eating reduces fertility in fruit flies: Study points to fertility-metabolism connection
• New bee viruses identified: Finding offers baseline to study colony collapse
• Finnish twin study yields new information on how fat cells cope with obesity
• Mapping anemia risk in preschool-age children in West Africa
• Drug shows promise in prostate cancer spread to bone
• GPS stations can detect clandestine nuclear tests
• Bursitis a common cause of painful hips, knees, heels and elbows: Most conditions can be managed with simple, nonsurgical techniques
• Desktop genome analyzer and browser lets biologists easily analyze and process high-throughput data
• Development of a FRET sensor for real-time imaging of intracellular redox dynamics
• Dangerous and under the radar: New study examines ways to protect sex workers
• Health care providers need training to recognize signs of domestic violence, says nursing expert
• Native ants use chemical weapons to turn back invading Argentine ants
• Stranding records are faithful reflection of live whale and dolphin populations, study suggests
• Your attention please: 'Rewarding' objects can't be ignored
• Insulin action on brain's reward circuitry linked to obesity
• Apple ingredient keeps muscles strong: Component of apple peels found to help prevent muscle weakening in mice
• Current carbon dioxide emission higher than it was just before ancient episode of severe global warming
• Using magnets to help prevent heart attacks: Magnetic field can reduce blood viscosity, physicist discovers
• Engineers look to the birds for the future of unmanned aerial vehicles
• Bacteria on old-growth trees may help forests grow
• New method to make sodium ion-based battery cells could lead to better, cheaper batteries for the electrical grid
• Air quality worsened by paved surfaces: Widespread urban development alters weather patterns
• Protein folding made easy
• Red-light cameras critical to public safety, traffic researcher finds
• Excessive pregnancy weight gain raises the risk of having a fat baby
• Older age does not cause testosterone levels to decline in healthy men
• Fetal exposure to BPA changes development of uterus in primates, study suggests
• Glaciations may have larger influence on biodiversity than current climate, dung beetle study finds
• Climate change poses greater risk to tourism than terrorism does, experts argue
• New technique doubles breast size using patient's own fat
• Will European eel survive its management?
• European project applies the social networking principle to scientific research
• Dolphins use double sonar: Researchers discover that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously
• Women warriors show resilience similar to men, psychological study shows
• Breast cancer research: Mammary gland development of blueberry-fed lab animals studied
• Link between phosphate intake and heart disease demonstrated in new study
• Coffee drinking improves hepatitis C treatment response, study suggests
• Teens with type 2 diabetes already show possible signs of impaired heart function
• People judge therapists by their offices, study shows
• Overweight more harmful to the liver than alcohol in middle-aged men, Swedish study reveals
• Birth-control pill does not lead to weight gain, Swedish research finds
• Black, white and stinky: Explaining bold coloration in skunks
• Wild winds: Changes in weather patterns creating more severe storms
• What top predators can tell us about ocean ecosystems
• Barefoot running: To ditch the shoes or not?
• Huge ancient language dictionary finished after 90 years
• Breakthrough method of stem cell expansion
• New bonefish spawning location discovered offshore
• ‘Sleep on it’ is sound, science-based advice, study suggests
• Potential treatment for deadly E. coli disease: Australian researchers produce 'designer' probiotic
• Bankruptcy rates among cancer patients increase along with survival time, study finds
• Prolonging life carries more weight in doctors recommendations, study finds
• Many patients with advanced cancers get treatments that won't help, study finds
• New data still have scientists in dark over dark matter
• What mom thinks matters when it comes to mental illness, study finds
• Biochemical weakness of malaria parasite discovered; Vaccine to be developed

Bone cancer, from the lab to the clinic Posted: 07 Jun 2011 05:14 PM PDT A new study into osteosarcoma -- cancer of the bone -- will use advances in genomic research to identify new genes that give rise to the cancer and to create personalized blood tests for children and young adults. The hope is that the project will improve monitoring in patients with cancer and guide the best drug treatment for the cancer in each patient.

NASA sees the sun having a solar blast Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT The Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare, an S1-class (minor) radiation storm and a spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME) on June 7, 2011 from sunspot complex 1226-1227. The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory catches 'surfer' waves on the sun Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT Scientists have spotted the iconic surfer's wave rolling through the atmosphere of the sun. The waves hold clues as to how energy moves through that atmosphere, known as the corona. Since scientists know how these kinds of waves -- initiated by a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability if you're being technical -- disperse energy in the water, they can use this information to better understand the corona. This in turn, may help solve an enduring mystery of why the corona is thousands of times hotter than originally expected.

Universal flu vaccine clinical trials show promise Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT A universal influenza vaccine targeting a protein common to all strains of influenza A has safely produced an immune response in humans. If proven effective, the vaccine could eliminate the practice of creating a new flu vaccine annually to match predicted strains, with major implications for global health.

'Wrong'-time eating reduces fertility in fruit flies: Study points to fertility-metabolism connection Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT Researchers manipulated circadian rhythms in fruit flies and measured the affect on egg-laying capacity. But they stress what's true in flies grown in a lab does not necessarily hold for humans, and any potential link between diet and reproduction would have to be independently tested. "I would say that eating at the wrong time of the day has deleterious consequences for physiology," says lead author Amita Sehgal.

New bee viruses identified: Finding offers baseline to study colony collapse Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT A 10-month study of healthy honey bees by California scientists has identified four new viruses that infect bees, while revealing that each of the viruses or bacteria previously linked to colony collapse is present in healthy hives as well.

Finnish twin study yields new information on how fat cells cope with obesity Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT The mechanisms by which obesity leads towards metabolic comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, are poorly understood and of great public health interest. A study led by researchers in Finland suggests that adaptation of fat cell membranes to obesity may play a key role in the early stages of inflammatory disorders.

Mapping anemia risk in preschool-age children in West Africa Posted: 07 Jun 2011 02:18 PM PDT In a new article, experts in Australia describe how they used national cross-sectional household-based demographic health surveys to map the distribution of anemia risk in preschool-age children in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali.

Drug shows promise in prostate cancer spread to bone Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:42 PM PDT A new drug to treat prostate cancer shows early promise, particularly against tumors that have spread to the bone, a multi-site study shows.

GPS stations can detect clandestine nuclear tests Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:42 PM PDT At the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization meeting, American researchers are unveiling a new tool for detecting illegal nuclear explosions: the Earth's global positioning system (GPS). Even underground nuclear tests leave their mark on the part of the upper atmosphere known as the ionosphere, the researchers discovered, when they examined GPS data recorded the same day as a North Korean nuclear test in 2009.

Bursitis a common cause of painful hips, knees, heels and elbows: Most conditions can be managed with simple, nonsurgical techniques Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:42 PM PDT A new literature review examines a common condition called bursitis, often causing pain on movement. Orthopedic surgeons offer treatment options.

Desktop genome analyzer and browser lets biologists easily analyze and process high-throughput data Posted: 07 Jun 2011 01:42 PM PDT Scientists have developed a desktop genome analyzer and browser that allows biologists to rapidly and easily analyze and process their high-throughput data.

Development of a FRET sensor for real-time imaging of intracellular redox dynamics Posted: 07 Jun 2011 12:27 PM PDT A multidisciplinary research team reports a FRET-based biosensor with defined sensitivity and dynamic range for imaging changes in the intracellular redox environment that appear to dictate cell fate. The FRET-based biosensors are a significant advance for routinely measuring oxidative stress in real-time. The sensor is most useful for monitoring intraorganellar glutathione potentials in the relatively high oxidative environments of ER, Golgi and lysosomes.

Dangerous and under the radar: New study examines ways to protect sex workers Posted: 07 Jun 2011 12:26 PM PDT Sex work is unprotected, increasingly dangerous and needs to be decriminalized, according to a new report published in the Canadian Review of Sociology. The study calls for sweeping changes to sex work performed on and off the streets.

Health care providers need training to recognize signs of domestic violence, says nursing expert Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:17 AM PDT Despite billions of dollars spent on health care each year, the United States ranks 27th out of 33 developed countries for life expectancy at birth. Leading causes of infant mortality are complications related to pre-term birth or low birth weight-outcomes that have been linked with domestic violence. An expert says a key factor in addressing this issue is preventing violence against mothers and children.

Native ants use chemical weapons to turn back invading Argentine ants Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:17 AM PDT University sophomores studying ants in a summer course discovered that the local ants were using poison to kill invading Argentine ants. The discovery provides new insight into the war between the local "winter ants" and the South American invaders who have shown up everywhere from California to South Africa.

Stranding records are faithful reflection of live whale and dolphin populations, study suggests Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:17 AM PDT Whales are the Earth's largest creatures, yet they are incredibly hard to study in the open ocean. For decades scientists have used boats, aircraft and even high cliffs to conduct visual surveys and gather data on whale and dolphin populations. Now, a paleobiologist has revealed a second, equally valuable resource for information on cetaceans -- the record of dead whales and dolphins stranded and washed ashore on beaches around the world.

Your attention please: 'Rewarding' objects can't be ignored Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:17 AM PDT You can be distracted by something totally worthless if that something was once associated with a reward, scientists have found. The results of their research have implications for understanding how the brain responds to rewards, which may contribute to more effective treatments for drug addiction, obesity and ADHD.

Insulin action on brain's reward circuitry linked to obesity Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:17 AM PDT Researchers have what they say is some of the first solid proof that insulin has direct effects on the reward circuitry of the brain. Mice whose reward centers can no longer respond to insulin eat more and become obese, they show.

Apple ingredient keeps muscles strong: Component of apple peels found to help prevent muscle weakening in mice Posted: 07 Jun 2011 10:17 AM PDT In search of a way to prevent the muscle wasting that comes with illness and aging, researchers have landed a natural compound that might just do the trick. The findings identify a component of apple peels as a promising new drug candidate for the widespread and debilitating condition that affects nearly everyone at one time or another.

Current carbon dioxide emission higher than it was just before ancient episode of severe global warming Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:15 AM PDT The present rate of greenhouse carbon dioxide emissions through fossil fuel burning is higher than that associated with an ancient episode of severe global warming, according to new research.

Using magnets to help prevent heart attacks: Magnetic field can reduce blood viscosity, physicist discovers Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:15 AM PDT Blood viscosity can be reduced 20-30 percent by subjecting it to a small magnetic field, lowering potential damage to blood vessels and the risk of heart attack, according to a new study.

Engineers look to the birds for the future of unmanned aerial vehicles Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT Engineers are mimicking the movement of bird wings to help improve the maneuverability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs are often used for surveillance of a fixed target in military and civilian applications. A fixed wing aircraft capable of spot landing on a perch (top of a pole, building, fence, etc.) would be an ideal solution capable of efficient cruising and versatile landing for longer surveillance missions.

Bacteria on old-growth trees may help forests grow Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT The growth and development of many forests is thought to be limited by the availability of nitrogen. By collecting mosses on the forest floor and then at 15 and 30 meters up into the forest canopy, researchers were able to show both that the cyanobacteria are more abundant in mosses high above the ground, and that they "fix" twice as much nitrogen as those associated with mosses on the forest floor.

New method to make sodium ion-based battery cells could lead to better, cheaper batteries for the electrical grid Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT By adding the right amount of heat, researchers have developed a method that improves the electrical capacity and recharging lifetime of sodium ion rechargeable batteries, which could be a cheaper alternative for large-scale uses such as storing energy on the electrical grid. Researchers have used nanomaterials to make electrodes that can work with sodium.

Air quality worsened by paved surfaces: Widespread urban development alters weather patterns Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT New research focusing on the Houston area suggests that widespread urban development alters wind patterns in a way that can make it easier for pollutants to build up during warm summer weather instead of being blown out to sea. The international study could have implications for the air quality of fast-growing coastal cities in the United States and other midlatitude regions overseas. The reason: the proliferation of strip malls, subdivisions, and other paved areas may interfere with breezes needed to clear away smog and other pollution.

Protein folding made easy Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT Computational methods of modeling protein folding have existed for a couple of decades. But they required hundreds of thousands of CPU hours to compute the folding dynamics of 40 amino acids proteins. Now, researchers have developed algorithms able to predict correctly in 10 minutes on a single laptop, a coarse-grained representation of the folding pathways of a protein with 60 amino acids.

Red-light cameras critical to public safety, traffic researcher finds Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT As automated traffic monitoring systems such as red light cameras keep a law enforcement "eye" on the streets across the country, many drivers accuse city governments of installing the monitors as a way to generate revenue. New research says the safety benefits of automated traffic monitoring systems far outweigh the potential for abuse.

Excessive pregnancy weight gain raises the risk of having a fat baby Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT Women who gain too much weight during pregnancy tend to have newborns with a high amount of body fat, regardless of the mother's weight before pregnancy, a new study finds.

Older age does not cause testosterone levels to decline in healthy men Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT A decline in testosterone levels as men grow older is likely the result -- not the cause -- of deteriorating general health, say Australian scientists, whose new study finds that age, in itself, has no effect on testosterone level in healthy older men.

Fetal exposure to BPA changes development of uterus in primates, study suggests Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:11 AM PDT Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in the food and medical industries, causes changes in female primates' uterus development, new research suggests.

Glaciations may have larger influence on biodiversity than current climate, dung beetle study finds Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:10 AM PDT An investigation by Spanish researchers reveals that the large impacts occurred during the last ice age maintain their effects on the current distribution of dung beetles of the scarab family (Scarabaeidae). The presence of these beetles in Europe seems to be more influenced by the climate of that glaciation than by the present one.

Climate change poses greater risk to tourism than terrorism does, experts argue Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:10 AM PDT Climate change poses a greater risk to travelers and the tourism industry than the threat of terrorism, according to a new article. The authors explain how in recent years the proliferation of terrorist atrocities has had a negative impact on the tourism industry. However, the reality is that the potential risk to the general holidaying public is much less than the potentially apocalyptic scenarios described by "tabloid" media outlets, whereas the risks associated with environmental mismanagement and global warming could be far greater.

New technique doubles breast size using patient's own fat Posted: 07 Jun 2011 09:05 AM PDT A plastic surgery procedure in which the patient's own fat is transplanted to the breasts -- used along with treatment to expand the breast tissue before surgery -- can achieve up to a twofold increase in breast size, according to a new study.

Will European eel survive its management? Posted: 07 Jun 2011 08:23 AM PDT The European eel is on the way to disappearing for good. The species is critically endangered, and there are strong scientific arguments for suspending all fishing. Despite this situation, Swedish eel fishery is allowed to continue. Analysis of the eel management plan identifies clear shortcomings. It is unlikely that Sweden will meet the target that has been set for silver eels capable of migrating back to the Sargasso Sea so that they can contribute to regeneration.

European project applies the social networking principle to scientific research Posted: 07 Jun 2011 08:23 AM PDT This project promotes the preservation, retrieval and reuse of scientific workflows

Dolphins use double sonar: Researchers discover that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously Posted: 07 Jun 2011 08:23 AM PDT Dolphins and porpoises use echolocation for hunting and orientation. By sending out high-frequency sound, known as ultrasound, dolphins can use the echoes to determine what type of object the sound beam has hit. Researchers from Sweden and the U.S. have now discovered that dolphins can generate two sound beam projections simultaneously.

Women warriors show resilience similar to men, psychological study shows Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:53 AM PDT Women service members who experience combat are apparently as resilient as the men they serve alongside, according to a new psychological study. Men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008 experienced very similar levels of combat-related stress and post-deployment mental health impacts during the first year following return from deployment, researchers report.

Breast cancer research: Mammary gland development of blueberry-fed lab animals studied Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:52 AM PDT Recent studies of mammary gland development in laboratory rats fed blueberries or other foods of interest may aid breast cancer research.

Link between phosphate intake and heart disease demonstrated in new study Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:52 AM PDT Lowering phosphate intake in humans can reduce heart disease, according to research by experts in the UK. The study demonstrates the connection between a high phosphate diet and atherosclerosis -- a leading cause of heart disease, the researchers say.

Coffee drinking improves hepatitis C treatment response, study suggests Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:52 AM PDT Advanced hepatitis C patients with chronic liver disease may benefit from drinking coffee during treatment, according to a new study. Patients who received peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment and who drank three or more cups of coffee per day were two times more likely to respond to treatment than non-drinkers.

Teens with type 2 diabetes already show possible signs of impaired heart function Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:52 AM PDT Heart function may be affected in people with type 2 diabetes as early as adolescence, according to a new study.

People judge therapists by their offices, study shows Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:52 AM PDT People may judge the quality and qualifications of psychotherapists simply by what their offices look like, a new study suggests. After only viewing photos of offices, study participants gave higher marks to psychotherapists whose offices were neat and orderly, decorated with soft touches like pillows and throw rugs, and which featured personal touches like diplomas and framed photos.

Overweight more harmful to the liver than alcohol in middle-aged men, Swedish study reveals Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:49 AM PDT Overweight carries a greatly increased risk of cirrhosis of the liver in men, reveals a new study from Sweden.

Birth-control pill does not lead to weight gain, Swedish research finds Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:49 AM PDT Many young women do not want to start taking the contraceptive pill because they are worried that they will put on weight, or come off it because they think that they have gained weight because of it. However, new research from Sweden has demonstrated that the combined contraceptive pill does not cause weight increase.

Black, white and stinky: Explaining bold coloration in skunks Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:30 AM PDT Biologists can now explain why some species such as skunks use bold coloration to warn predators either that they risk being sprayed with stinky gas or getting into a vicious fight, while other species don't.

Wild winds: Changes in weather patterns creating more severe storms Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:26 AM PDT A climate expert attributes the increase in the number and severity of tornadoes and severe storms in 2011 to a change in weather patterns.

What top predators can tell us about ocean ecosystems Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:19 AM PDT It just takes a pinch. But from a sample of animal fat, a researcher can determine what predators at the top of the food chain are eating, and by extension, how their diet has changed due to changes in ecosystems.

Barefoot running: To ditch the shoes or not? Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:07 AM PDT A hot issue among runners is whether running in bare feet reduces or increases the risk of injury. Experts say for some runners it could do both. The reason it could do both has to do with whether you grew up running in standard athletic shoes. The feet of runners land differently, depending on whether one is running in bare feet or in athletic shoes with a big cushion under the heel.

Huge ancient language dictionary finished after 90 years Posted: 07 Jun 2011 07:01 AM PDT An ambitious project to identify, explain and provide citations for the words written in cuneiform on clay tablets and carved in stone by Babylonians, Assyrians and others in Mesopotamia between 2500 B.C. and A.D. 100 has been completed after 90 years of labor.

Breakthrough method of stem cell expansion Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:56 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a laboratory method to expand adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) using the SALL4 gene. They have used this method to produce a more than 10,000-fold increase in HSCs derived from normal human bone marrow. Their findings define a new mechanism of stem cell self-renewal, providing a means to produce large numbers of HSCs that could be used to treat hematological malignancies and other blood disorders.

New bonefish spawning location discovered offshore Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:53 AM PDT Though bonefish are one of the most sought-after tropical sport fish in the world, drawing thousands of anglers to Caribbean waters every season, until recently the only information scientists had about their spawning habits were anecdotes and fish tales.

‘Sleep on it’ is sound, science-based advice, study suggests Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:48 AM PDT In recent years, much sleep research has focused on memory, but now results of a new study suggest another key effect of sleep is facilitating and enhancing complex cognitive skills such as decision-making.

Potential treatment for deadly E. coli disease: Australian researchers produce 'designer' probiotic Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:45 AM PDT A potential life-saving treatment for severe E. coli food poisoning outbreaks -- developed more than a decade ago -- hasn't gone forward into clinical trials because of lack of commercial interest, Australian researchers say. They have produced a "designer" probiotic bacterium which binds and neutralises the toxin produced by E. coli, which causes life-threatening attack on the kidneys and blood vessels.

Bankruptcy rates among cancer patients increase along with survival time, study finds Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:45 AM PDT An analysis linking federal bankruptcy court records to cancer registry data from nearly 232,000 adult cancer cases in western Washington during a 14-year period has found a hidden cost to survival: Insolvency rates increase along with the length of survival.

Prolonging life carries more weight in doctors recommendations, study finds Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:45 AM PDT Doctors are more apt to recommend a more costly therapy to patients if it were determined to prolong the patient's life rather than just improve quality, according to a recent study.

Many patients with advanced cancers get treatments that won't help, study finds Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:45 AM PDT A study of more than 1,000 patients with colon cancer that had spread to distant sites found that one in eight was treated with at least one drug regimen that was not recommended. Those patients were exposed to significant risk without proven benefits, at an estimated cost -- just for the drugs -- of more than $2 million.

New data still have scientists in dark over dark matter Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:45 AM PDT A dark-matter experiment deep in the Soudan mine of Minnesota now has detected a seasonal signal variation similar to one an Italian experiment has been reporting for more than a decade. The new seasonal variation, is exactly what theoreticians had predicted if dark matter turned out to be what physicists call weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). WIMPS might have caused the signal variation, but it also might be a random fluctuation, a false reading sparked by the experimental apparatus itself or even some exotic new phenomenon in atomic physics.

What mom thinks matters when it comes to mental illness, study finds Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:45 AM PDT A new study shows that while family members often provide critical support, they also can sometimes be the source of stigmatizing attitudes that impede the recovery of mentally ill relatives.

Biochemical weakness of malaria parasite discovered; Vaccine to be developed Posted: 07 Jun 2011 06:45 AM PDT Every year, 10,000 pregnant women and up to 200,000 newborn babies are killed by the malaria parasite. Doctors all around the globe have for years been looking in vain for a medical protection, and now researchers in Denmark have found the biochemically weakness of the lethal malaria parasite, and will now start developing a vaccine to combat pregnancy related malaria.

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