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Saturday, December 10, 2011

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Pig-induced pluripotent stem cells may be safer than previously thought

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 02:19 PM PST

Pig stem cell research conducted by two animal scientists reveals a better way to determine the safety of future stem cell therapies than rodent-based models.

Scientists assess radioactivity in the ocean from Japan nuclear power facility

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 02:19 PM PST

With current news of additional radioactive leaks from the Fukushima nuclear power plants, the impact on the ocean of releases of radioactivity from the plants remains unclear.

Expanding dead zones are shrinking tropical blue marlin habitat

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 12:02 PM PST

Scientists sound an alarm that expanding ocean dead zones are shrinking the habitat for high value fish such as marlins, other billfish and tunas in the tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean. Without taking this phenomena into account, scientific fish stock assessments could provide false signals that stocks are healthy, when in fact they are not, thus allowing overfishing that further depletes these fish stocks.

Babies track word patterns long before word-learning starts

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 12:01 PM PST

During the first year of life, when babies spend so much time listening to language, they're actually tracking word patterns that will support their process of word- learning that occurs between the ages of about 18 months and two years.

Anti-stress peptide may block alcohol dependence

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 12:01 PM PST

New research underlines the power of an endogenous anti-stress peptide in the brain to prevent and even reverse some of the cellular effects of acute alcohol and alcohol dependence in animal models. The work could lead to the development of novel drugs to treat alcoholism.

Beating superbugs with a high-tech cleanser

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 09:32 AM PST

Scientists have developed an efficient, cost-effective liquid solution that fights antibiotic-resistant bacteria on hospital surfaces and keeps patients safe from life-threatening infections. It's easy to prepare, easy to apply, non-toxic -- and it will cost just a few dollars per quart.

2010 spike in Greenland ice loss lifted bedrock, GPS reveals

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 09:32 AM PST

An unusually hot melting season in 2010 accelerated ice loss in southern Greenland by 100 billion tons – and large portions of the island's bedrock rose an additional quarter of an inch in response. That's the finding from a network of nearly 50 GPS stations planted along the Greenland coast to measure the bedrock's natural response to the ever-diminishing weight of ice above it.

Oxytocin helps people feel more extroverted: Study finds people more sociable, open, trusting after taking oxytocin

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 09:32 AM PST

New research has found an intranasal form of oxytocin can improve self-perception and make introverted individuals feel like socialites.

Slow road to stability for emulsions

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 09:31 AM PST

Physical equilibrium, assumed to be almost instant, may take months or years for particles in oil-water mixtures. By studying the behavior of tiny particles at an interface between oil and water, researchers have discovered that stabilized emulsions may take longer to reach equilibrium than previously thought.

Alzheimer's antibodies developed

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 07:57 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new method to design antibodies aimed at combating disease. The surprisingly simple process was used to make antibodies that neutralize the harmful protein particles that are believed to lead to Alzheimer's disease.

Novel therapeutic approach for liver cancer identified

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 07:57 AM PST

Cancer of the liver – rare in the United States but the third-leading cause of cancer death worldwide – can result from environmental exposures or infections like chronic hepatitis, but the link is poorly understood.

New disinfection technique could revolutionize hospital room cleaning

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 07:57 AM PST

A Queen's University infectious disease expert has collaborated in the development of a disinfection system that may change the way hospital rooms all over the world are cleaned as well as stop bed bug outbreaks in hotels and apartments.

The physics behind great white shark attacks on seals

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 07:53 AM PST

A new study examines the complex and dynamic interactions between white sharks and Cape fur seals in False Bay, South Africa; Offers new insights on physical and biological factors underlying predator-prey interactions in marine environment.

Carving at the nanoscale

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:20 AM PST

Researchers have successfully demonstrated a new method for producing a wide variety of complex hollow nanoparticles. The work applies well known processes of corrosion in a novel manner to produce highly complex cage-like nanoscale structures with potential applications in fields from medicine to industrial processing.

Stress in early pregnancy can lead to shorter pregnancies and fewer baby boys

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 05:17 PM PST

Stress in the second and third months of pregnancy can shorten pregnancies, increase the risk of pre-term births and may affect the ratio of boys to girls being born, leading to a decline in male babies. These are the conclusions of a study that investigated the effect on pregnant women of the stress caused by the 2005 Tarapaca earthquake in Chile.

Landsat satellites track Yellowstone's underground heat

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 02:57 PM PST

Yellowstone National Park sits on top of a vast, ancient, and still active volcano. Heat pours off its underground magma chamber, and is the fuel for Yellowstone's famous features -- more than 10,000 hot springs, mud pots, terraces and geysers, including Old Faithful.

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