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Friday, December 9, 2011

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


Intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets more successful than standard dieting, study finds

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 03:46 PM PST

An intermittent, low-carbohydrate diet was superior to a standard, daily calorie-restricted diet for reducing weight and lowering blood levels of insulin, a cancer-promoting hormone, according to recent findings.

For Midwesterners, more boxcars mean cleaner air

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 02:37 PM PST

Shifting a fraction of truck-borne freight onto trains would have an outsized impact on air quality in the Midwest, according to researchers.

NMR used to determine whether gold nanoparticles exhibit 'handedness'

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 02:37 PM PST

Scientists have successfully used NMR to analyze the structure of infinitesimal gold nanoparticles, which could advance the development and use of the tiny particles in drug development. Their approach offers a significant advantage over routine methods for analyzing gold nanoparticles because it can determine whether the nanoparticles exist in a both right-handed and left-handed configuration, a phenomenon called chirality.

Paleoclimate record points toward potential rapid climate changes

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST

New research into the Earth's paleoclimate history suggests the potential for rapid climate changes this century, including multiple meters of sea level rise, if global warming is not abated.

Premature babies harbor fewer, but more dangerous microbe types

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST

One of the most comprehensive studies to date of the microbes that are found in extremely low-birthweight infants found that hard-to-treat Candida fungus is often present, as well as some harmful bacteria and parasites.

More shrubbery in a warming world

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 12:20 PM PST

Scientists have used satellite data to confirm that more than 20 years of warming temperatures in northern Quebec, Canada, have resulted in an increase in the amount and extent of shrubs and grasses.

Atoms dressed with light show new interactions, could reveal way to observe enigmatic particle

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 12:20 PM PST

Physicists have found a way to manipulate atoms' internal states with lasers that dramatically influences their interactions in specific ways. Such light-tweaked atoms can be used as proxies to study important phenomena that would be difficult or impossible to study in other contexts.

77,000-year-old evidence for 'bedding' and use of medicinal plants uncovered at South African rock shelter

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 12:12 PM PST

An international team of researchers has discovered the earliest evidence for the intentional construction of plant "bedding." The 77,000-year-old evidence for preserved plant bedding and the use of insect-repelling plants was discovered in a rock shelter in South Africa.

Nighttime images help track disease from the sky

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:53 AM PST

Satellite images of nighttime lights normally used to spot where people live can help keep tabs on the diseases festering among them, too.

Catching terrorists: Backpacks, not the bombs inside, key to finding DNA

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:20 AM PST

Catching terrorists who detonate bombs may be easier by testing the containers that hide the bombs rather than the actual explosives, according to pioneering research.

Discovery on how sugars are moved throughout a plant

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:20 AM PST

Food prices are soaring at the same time as the Earth's population is nearing 9 billion. As a result the need for increased crop yields is extremely important. New research into the system by which sugars are moved throughout a plant -- from the leaves to the harvested portions and elsewhere -- could be crucial for addressing this problem.

Decisions, decisions: House-hunting honey bees work like complex brains

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:19 AM PST

Researchers have found a signal, overlooked until now, that plays a role when honey bees split off from their mother colony and go scouting for a new home. Called the "stop signal," it is a very short buzz delivered by a scout bee while butting her head against a dancing honey bee, and is similar to signals that occur between neurons in the brains of monkeys making decisions.

Helping your fellow rat: Rodents show empathy-driven behavior, evidence suggests

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:19 AM PST

The first evidence of empathy-driven helping behavior in rodents has been observed in laboratory rats that repeatedly free companions from a restraint, according to a new study by University of Chicago neuroscientists. The observation, published today in Science, places the origin of pro-social helping behavior earlier in the evolutionary tree than previously thought.

Breakthrough in regulating fat metabolism

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 09:57 AM PST

Scientists have made an important discovery about the mechanism controlling the body's 'fat switch', shedding new light on our understanding of how proteins regulate appetite control and insulin secretion.

Scientists capture single cancer molecules at work

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 09:57 AM PST

Researchers have revealed how a molecule called telomerase contributes to the control of the integrity of our genetic code, and when it is involved in the deregulation of the code, its important role in the development of cancer. Scientists explained how they were able to achieve their discovery by using cutting edge microscopy techniques to visualize telomerase molecules in real time in living cells.

Neuroscientists boost memory in mice using genetics and a new memory-enhancing drug

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 09:57 AM PST

When the activity of a molecule that is normally elevated during viral infections is inhibited in the brain, mice learn and remember better, researchers report.

Birds caught in the act of becoming a new species

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 09:14 AM PST

A study of South American songbirds has shown that these birds differ dramatically in color and song yet show very little genetic differences which indicates they are on the road to becoming a new species.

How people assign blame: Cohesive groups hold members less responsible for individual actions

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 09:14 AM PST

Researchers have shown that the more cohesive a group appears -- be it a corporation, political party, governmental entity, pro sports team or other organization -- the more likely it is that people will hold its members less responsible for their own individual actions. The study area raises questions about decision-making, blame, moral judgment and the effects of a strong brand image.

Law enforcement vital for great ape survival: Greatest decrease in African great ape populations in areas with no protection from poaching

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 07:12 AM PST

A recent study shows that, over the last two decades, areas with the greatest decrease in African great ape populations are those with no active protection from poaching by forest guards.

How Salmonella forms evil twins to evade the body's defenses

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 06:27 AM PST

To swim or not? The same biological control that determines which capability genetically identical Salmonella will have impacts the virulence of the food pathogen. Swimmers do better in the gut, but non-motile Salmonella avoid triggering killer cells. An unusual protein turns on or off the manufacture of swimming apparatus in each new bacterium.

Patterns seen in spider silk and melodies connected

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 06:26 AM PST

Using a new mathematical methodology, researchers have created a scientifically rigorous analogy showing the similarities between the physical structure of spider silk and the sonic structure of a musical composition, proving that the structure of each relates to its function in an equivalent way. The comparison begins with the primary building blocks of each item and explains that structural patterns are directly related to the functional properties of silk and a melodic riff.

Combination of everolimus and exemestane improves survival for women with metastatic breast cancer, results show

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 05:17 PM PST

In an international Phase III randomized study, everolimus, when combined with the hormonal therapy exemestane, has been shown to dramatically improve progression-free survival, according to research.

Evolution reveals missing link between DNA and protein shape

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 02:56 PM PST

Using evolutionary genetic information, an international team of researchers has taken major steps toward solving a classic problem of molecular biology: Predicting how a protein will fold in three dimensions.

'Brain tsunamis' are clue to helping victims of major head injuries

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 08:35 AM PST

Treating 'brain tsunamis' or 'killer waves' could stop many victims of major head injury from suffering additional brain damage, a study has found. Scientists have been investigating this phenomenon for decades, with the topic of spreading depolarizations now of keen interest to the U.S. military because head injuries have emerged as the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mother's touch may protect against drug cravings later

Posted: 06 Dec 2011 09:08 PM PST

An attentive, nurturing mother may be able to help her children better resist the temptations of drug use later in life, according to a study in rats conducted by researchers in the United States and Australia.

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