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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Spotting ultrafine loops in the sun's corona

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:32 PM PDT

A key to understanding the dynamics of the sun and what causes the great solar explosions there relies on deciphering how material, heat and energy swirl across the sun's surface and rise into the upper atmosphere, or corona. Scientists have for the first time observed a new facet of the system: Especially narrow loops of solar material scattered on the sun's surface, which are connected to higher lying, wider loops.

Group B streptococcal meningitis has long-term effects on children's developmental outcomes

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT

Nearly one-half of infants with GBS meningitis experience developmental delays. According to the CDC, 25 percent of pregnant women carry GBS. It is routine for these women to receive antibiotics during labor to protect the baby from infection occurring in the first days of life. There is no way to prevent late-onset GBS infections in infants.

Radiation exposure from medical imaging has increased even at HMOs

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT

Concern about overexposure to radiation due to excessive use of medical imaging has come to the fore in recent years. Now, a new study shows that medical imaging is increasing even in health maintenance organization systems (HMOs), which don't have a financial incentive to conduct them.

Alzheimer's risk gene disrupts brain function in healthy older women, but not men

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:29 PM PDT

Scientists have found that the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease disrupts brain function in healthy older women but has little impact on brain function in healthy, older men.

When being scared twice is enough to remember

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT

One of the brain's jobs is to help us figure out what's important enough to be remembered. Scientists have achieved some insight into how fleeting experiences become memories in the brain.

Engineers conceive disc replacement to treat chronic low back pain

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT

A new biomedical device to surgically treat chronic back pain – an artificial spinal disc that duplicates the natural motion of the spine – has been developed.

Protein residues kiss, don't tell: Genomes reveal contacts, scientists refine methods for protein-folding prediction

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT

Researchers have created a computational tool to help predict how proteins fold by finding amino acid pairs that are distant in sequence but change together. Protein interactions offer clues to the treatment of disease, including cancer.

How brain performs 'motor chunking' tasks

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT

You pick up your cell phone and dial the new number of a friend. Ten numbers. One. Number. At. A. Time. Because you haven't actually typed the number before, your brain handles each button press separately, as a sequence of distinct movements.

Woolly mammoth extinction has lessons for modern climate change

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Not long after the last ice age, the last woolly mammoths succumbed to a lethal combination of climate warming, encroaching humans and habitat change -- the same threats facing many species today.

Climate change to alter global fire risk

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT

Climate change is widely expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world, with some regions, such as the western United States, seeing more frequent fires within the next 30 years, according to a new analysis. The study used 16 different climate change models to generate what the researchers said is one of the most comprehensive projections to date of how climate change might affect global fire patterns.

Potential Iceland eruption could pump acid into European airspace

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT

A modern recurrence of an extraordinary type of volcanic eruption in Iceland could inject large quantities of hazardous gases into North Atlantic and European flight corridors, potentially for months at a time, a new study suggests. Using computer simulations, researchers are investigating the likely atmospheric effects if a "flood lava" eruption took place in Iceland today.

Illnesses in children's hospital prompts discovery of contaminated alcohol pads

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:47 AM PDT

A small cluster of unusual illnesses at a children's hospital prompted an investigation that swiftly identified alcohol prep pads contaminated with Bacillus cereus bacteria, according to a new report.

Community-acquired MRSA cases on the rise in New York City, study suggests

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:47 AM PDT

Hospitalization rates in New York City for patients with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment, more than tripled between 1997 and 2006, according to a new report.

Naturally occurring protein has role in chronic pain

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered how one of the body's own proteins is involved in generating chronic pain in rats. The results also suggest therapeutic interventions to alleviate long-lasting pain.

Quantum computers could help search engines keep up with the Internet's growth

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT

With the web constantly expanding, researchers have proposed – and demonstrated the feasibility – of using quantum computers to run Google's page ranking algorithm faster.

Tiny ‘speed bump’ device could sort cancer cells

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT

Engineers have found an easy way to sort microscopic particles and bits of biological matter, including circulating tumor cells.

Mosquitoes bred to be incapable of transmitting malaria

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT

Mosquitoes bred to be unable to infect people with the malaria parasite are an attractive approach to helping curb one of the world's most pressing public health issues, according to scientists.

Voicemail discovered in nature: Insects receive soil messages from the past

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT

Insects can use plants as "green phones" for communication with other bugs. A new study now shows that through those same plants insects are also able to leave "voicemail" messages in the soil. Herbivorous insects store their voicemails via their effects on soil fungi. Researchers discovered this unique messaging service in the ragwort plant.

Powerful new method to analyze genetic data

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a powerful visual analytical approach to explore genetic data, enabling scientists to identify novel patterns of information that could be crucial to human health.

Volcanic gases could deplete ozone layer

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT

Giant volcanic eruptions in Nicaragua over the past 70,000 years could have injected enough gases into the atmosphere to temporarily thin the ozone layer, according to new research. And, if it happened today, a similar explosive eruption could do the same, releasing more than twice the amount of ozone-depleting halogen gases currently in stratosphere due to humanmade emissions.

Avatars may help children with social anxiety overcome fears

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT

Researchers want to find out if practice conversations with avatars help children overcome social anxiety as much as the "gold standard" -- real conversations with socially comfortable peers. If successful, the study could provide a much more feasible way for clinicians around the country to help children overcome their fears.

Early gut bacteria regulate happiness

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:58 AM PDT

Scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin -- the 'happy hormone' -- are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life. The research shows that normal adult brain function depends on the presence of gut microbes during development. Serotonin, the major chemical involved in the regulation of mood and emotion, is altered in times of stress, anxiety and depression and most clinically effective antidepressant drugs work by targeting this neurochemical.

Research supports key element of football concussion lawsuit

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:54 AM PDT

Ongoing research into football players' brains bolsters one element of a lawsuit by former NFL players against the league: Repetitive blows increase the risk of long-term brain damage and cognitive decline.

A century of learning about the physiological demands of Antarctica

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:54 AM PDT

A century after British Naval Captain Robert F. Scott led a team of explorers on their quest to be the first to reach the South Pole, a new article examines what we have learned about the physiological stresses of severe exercise, malnutrition, hypothermia, high altitude, and sleep deprivation since then.

A 'dirt cheap' magnetic field sensor from 'plastic paint'

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:52 AM PDT

Physicists have developed an inexpensive, highly accurate magnetic field sensor for scientific and possibly consumer uses based on a "spintronic" organic thin-film semiconductor that basically is "plastic paint."

Groundbreaking discovery of the cellular origin of cervical cancer

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT

Scientists have identified a unique set of cells in the cervix that are the cause of human papillomavirus-related cervical cancers. Significantly, the team also showed that these cells do not regenerate when excised. These findings have immense clinical implications in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer.

Satellite sees smoke from Siberian fires reach the US coast

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT

Fires burning in Siberia recently sent smoke across the Pacific Ocean and into the US and Canada. Images of data taken by the nation's newest Earth-observing satellite tracked aerosols from the fires taking six days to reach America's shores.

Making music with real stars: Kepler Telescope star data creates musical melody

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT

Using star data from the Kepler Space Telescope, researchers have developed sounds that will be used in a song later this summer for a national recording artist.

Potential carbon capture role for new CO2-absorbing material

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT

A novel porous material that has unique carbon dioxide retention properties has just been developed.

Alcohol abuse may be cause, rather than effect of social isolation, poor grades among teens

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT

Rather than gaining "liquid courage" to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociological study.

Mosaicism in cancer: Genetic makeup of embryo may cause appearance of tumors in adult life

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT

New evidence shows that the genetic makeup of the embryo may cause the appearance of tumors in adult life. These results bear out the growing theory that some tumors may have an extremely early origin, tracing to the individual's embryonic development, while offering new clues to understand the genetic causes of certain kinds of cancer, and their prevention and treatment.

Why are some people greener than others?

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT

Differences in attitudes and cultural values could have far-reaching implications for the development of a sustainable global society, according to a new analysis.

Living microprocessor tunes in to feedback

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT

What keeps the machinery for chopping certain precursor RNA strands into functional pieces from cutting up the wrong kinds of RNA?

Losing money, emotions and evolution

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT

Mildly stressful situations can affect our perceptions in the same way as life-threatening ones.

Kill the messenger: Small molecule prevents cancer-causing message from entering cell nucleus

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT

A small molecule prevents a cancer-causing message from entering the cell nucleus.

A father's love is one of the greatest influences on personality development

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT

A father's love contributes as much -- and sometimes more -- to a child's development as does a mother's love. That is one of many findings in a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood.

Nature or nurture? It may depend on where you live

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT

The extent to which our development is affected by nature or nurture -- our genetic make-up or our environment -- may differ depending on where we live, according to new research.

New studies show connection between sleepiness and pro-athlete careers

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT

Two new studies have uncovered a link between a pro athlete's longevity and the degree of sleepiness that athlete experiences in the daytime. They show that less-sleepy football players remained with their drafting NFL teams after college, and that attrition rates for sleepier baseball players were higher than MLB averages. This information could be useful for managing player drafts or, if sleepiness causes are addressed, for managing player performance.

Radiation-resistant circuits from mechanical parts

Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:12 AM PDT

Engineers have designed microscopic mechanical devices that withstand intense radiation and heat, so they can be used in circuits for robots and computers exposed to radiation in space, damaged nuclear power plants or nuclear attack.

Epigenomes of newborns and centenarians differ: New clues to increasing life span

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT

An international study sheds important new light on how epigenetic marks degrade over time. Since epigenetic lesions are reversible, it would be possible to develop drugs that increase the life span, the research suggests.

How infection can lead to cancer

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT

One of the biggest risk factors for liver, colon or stomach cancer is chronic inflammation of those organs, often caused by viral or bacterial infections. A new study offers the most comprehensive look yet at how such infections provoke tissues into becoming cancerous.

Offspring of older fathers may live longer

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT

If your father and grandfather waited until they were older before reproducing, you might experience life-extending benefits. Biologists assume that a slow pace of aging requires that the body invest more resources in repairing cells and tissues. A new study suggests that our bodies might increase these investments to slow the pace of aging if our father and grandfather waited until they were older before having children.

Brain area identified that determines distance from which sound originates

Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT

Researchers have identified a portion of the brain responsible for determining how far away a sound originates, a process that does not rely solely on how loud the sound is.

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