ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Mars rock touched by NASA Curiosity has surprises
• Nurture trumps nature in study of oral bacteria in human twins, study finds
• Single gene variant in donors may affect survival of transplanted kidneys
• Safety results of intra-arterial stem cell clinical trial for stroke presented
• New studies could result in better treatments for epilepsy, behavioral disorders
• Enzyme triggers cell death in heart attack
• Animals' microbial communities linked to their behavior
• Anti-cancer drug fights immune reaction in some infants with Pompe disease
• More than just 'zoning out': Exploring the cognitive processes behind mind wandering
• Fusion energy: Mug handles could help hot plasma give lower-cost, controllable fusion energy
• Making Sudoku puzzles less puzzling
• Engineered flies spill secret of seizures
• Antibiotic resistance a growing concern with urinary tract infection
• Earth sunblock only needed if planet warms easily
• Hubble sees a planetary nebula in the making
• Developmental biologist proposes new theory of early animal evolution that challenges basic assumption of evolution
• Surprising solution to fly eye mystery
• Meteorite delivers Martian secrets
• Researchers ID unique geological 'sombrero' uplift in South America
• How bacteria communicate using quorum sensing: Could bacteria be manipulated to control infections?
• Using cell phone data to curb the spread of malaria
• New web-based model for sharing research datasets could have huge benefits
• Anesthetic combination provides a more rapid recovery after oral surgery
• Quantum effects observed in cold chemistry
• Unusual genetic structure confers major disease resistance trait in soybean
• Clues to cancer metastasis: Discovery points to potential therapies for bone metastasis
• Alzheimer's sufferers may function better with less visual clutter
• Organic solar cells with high electric potential for portable electronics
• Parental bonding makes for happy, stable child
• Arctic and Southern Oceans appear to determine the composition of microbial populations
• How nerve signals are sent around the body at varying speeds as electrical impulses
• Airborne superbugs elude hospital cleaning regimes
• Eco-friendly optics: Spider silk's talents harnessed for use in biosensors, lasers, microchips
• Researchers create 'nanoflowers' for energy storage, solar cells
• New insight into celiac disease
• Feeding the Schwanns: New technique could bring cell therapy for nerve damage a step closer
• Twenty-one genes tied to cholesterol levels identified
• Stopping the itch: New clues into how to treat eczema
• Diverse intestinal viruses may play a role in AIDS progression
• Bouncing on Saturn's moon Titan
• New model explains role of dopamine in immune regulation
• Plasma screens enhanced as disorder strikes: Study looks at ways to improve the quality of matter akin to that found in plasma screens
• Fisheries benefit from 400-year-old tradition
• New tool determines leukemia cells' 'readiness to die,' may guide clinical care
• Target for obesity drugs comes into focus
• Novel mechanisms underlying major childhood neuromuscular disease identified
• Brain scans predict children's reading ability
• Yellowstone wolf study reveals how to raise successful offspring
• Prospective Alzheimer's drug builds new brain cell connections, improves cognitive function of rats
• New cave-dwelling reef coral discovered in the Indo-Pacific
• Nearby super-Earth likely a diamond planet
• Soft-shelled turtles urinate through mouth
• Choreography of submerged whale lunges revealed
• Modern neutron techniques analyze Tudor firepower on the battleship Mary Rose
• Gene implicated in schizophrenia risk is also associated with risk for cannabis dependence
• DNA confirms genetically distinct lion population for Ethiopia
• Studying stars on Earth: Physicists simulate gigantic magnetic fields that occur on neutron stars
• Traditional courtyards: An example of eco-efficiency for architects
• Generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells
• Wild monkeys watch fights to exploit losers for grooming

Mars rock touched by NASA Curiosity has surprises Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:48 PM PDT The first Martian rock NASA's Curiosity rover has reached out to touch presents a more varied composition than expected from previous missions. The rock also resembles some unusual rocks from Earth's interior. The rover team used two instruments on Curiosity to study the chemical makeup of the football-size rock called "Jake Matijevic." The results support some surprising recent measurements and provide an example of why identifying rocks' composition is such a major emphasis of the mission. Rock compositions tell stories about unseen environments and planetary processes.

Nurture trumps nature in study of oral bacteria in human twins, study finds Posted: 11 Oct 2012 02:33 PM PDT A new long-term study of human twins indicates the makeup of the population of bacteria bathing in their saliva is driven more by environmental factors than heritability.

Single gene variant in donors may affect survival of transplanted kidneys Posted: 11 Oct 2012 02:30 PM PDT A single genetic variant in kidney donors' cells may help determine whether their transplanted organs will survive long term, according to a new study. The findings provide new information that might be used to improve transplant longevity by revealing that the genetic make-up of kidney transplant donors affects the survival of transplanted organs.

Safety results of intra-arterial stem cell clinical trial for stroke presented Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT Early results of a Phase II intra-arterial stem cell trial for ischemic stroke showed no adverse events associated with the first 10 patients, allowing investigators to expand the study to a targeted total of 100 patients.

New studies could result in better treatments for epilepsy, behavioral disorders Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT Three studies could result in new types of treatment for the disease and, as a bonus, for behavioral disorders as well.

Enzyme triggers cell death in heart attack Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT A new study shows that CaM kinase II enzyme activity triggers heart cell death by making the cells' energy-producing mitochondria leaky. Inhibiting the enzyme in mitochondria protected mice from heart cell death during heart attack and other forms of heart stress. The findings could lead to better therapies for common forms of heart disease.

Animals' microbial communities linked to their behavior Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT New research is revealing surprising connections between animal microbiomes -- the communities of microbes that live inside animals' bodies -- and animal behavior. A new article reviews recent developments in this emerging research area and offers questions for future investigation.

Anti-cancer drug fights immune reaction in some infants with Pompe disease Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT Adding a third anti-cancer agent to a current drug cocktail appears to have contributed to dramatic improvement in three infants with the most severe form of Pompe disease -- a rare, often-fatal genetic disorder characterized by low or no production of an enzyme crucial to survival.

More than just 'zoning out': Exploring the cognitive processes behind mind wandering Posted: 11 Oct 2012 01:21 PM PDT It happens innocently enough: One minute you're working on a report and the next minute you're thinking about how you need to do laundry. Mind wandering is frequent and common. And while it can be counterproductive, research suggests that mind wandering isn't necessarily a bad thing. New research explores mind wandering in various contexts, examining how it relates to cognitive processes involved in working memory and executive control.

Fusion energy: Mug handles could help hot plasma give lower-cost, controllable fusion energy Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:16 PM PDT New hardware lets engineers maintain the plasma used in fusion reactors in an energy-efficient, stable manner, making the system potentially attractive for use in fusion power plants.

Making Sudoku puzzles less puzzling Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:16 PM PDT For anyone who has ever struggled while attempting to solve a Sudoku puzzle, mathematicians are coming to the rescue. They can not only explain why some Sudoku puzzles are harder than others, they have also developed a mathematical algorithm that solves Sudoku puzzles very quickly, without any guessing or backtracking.

Engineered flies spill secret of seizures Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:16 PM PDT Scientists have observed the neurological mechanism behind temperature-dependent -- febrile -- seizures by genetically engineering fruit flies to harbor a mutation analogous to one that causes epileptic seizures in people. In addition to contributing the insight on epilepsy, their new study also highlights the first use of genetic engineering to swap a human genetic disease mutation into a directly analogous gene in a fly.

Antibiotic resistance a growing concern with urinary tract infection Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:14 PM PDT As a result of concerns about antibiotic resistance, doctors in the United States are increasingly prescribing newer, more costly and more powerful antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections, one of the most common illnesses in women. Often they are not necessary.

Earth sunblock only needed if planet warms easily Posted: 11 Oct 2012 12:14 PM PDT A new computer analysis of future climate change that considers emissions reductions together with sunlight reduction shows that such drastic steps to cool Earth would only be necessary if the planet heats up easily with added greenhouse gases.

Hubble sees a planetary nebula in the making Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:23 AM PDT The Universe is filled with mysterious objects. Many of them are as strange as they are beautiful. Among these, planetary nebulae are probably one of the most fascinating objects to behold in the night sky. No other type of object has such a large variety of shapes and structures. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided a striking image of Hen 3-1475, a planetary nebula in the making.

Developmental biologist proposes new theory of early animal evolution that challenges basic assumption of evolution Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT A developmental biologist whose life's work has supported the theory of evolution has developed a concept that dramatically alters one of its basic assumptions -- that survival is based on a change's functional advantage if it is to persist.

Surprising solution to fly eye mystery Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT Fly eyes have the fastest visual responses in the animal kingdom, but how they achieve this has long been an enigma. A new study shows that their rapid vision may be a result of their photoreceptors -- specialized cells found in the retina -- physically contracting in response to light.

Meteorite delivers Martian secrets Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT A meteorite that landed in the Moroccan desert 14 months ago is providing more information about Mars, the planet where it originated.

Researchers ID unique geological 'sombrero' uplift in South America Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT Scientists have identified a geological oddity in the central Andes region, home to the largest active magma body in Earth's continental crust. They found that magma is forming a big blob in the middle of the crust, pushing up Earth's surface across an area 100 kilometers wide, while the surrounding area sinks, leading to a unique geological phenomenon the researchers have described as the "sombrero uplift."

How bacteria communicate using quorum sensing: Could bacteria be manipulated to control infections? Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT Researchers have examined the relatively new field in microbiology known as quorum sensing, a type of bacterial communication. Scientists say this fundamental research takes them steps closer to a different antibiotic-independent way of managing infections, and could one day lead to the ability to manipulate bacterial conditions in order to cause cell populations of dangerous pathogens to collapse.

Using cell phone data to curb the spread of malaria Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT New research that combines cell phone data from 15 million people in Kenya with detailed information on the regional incidence of malaria has revealed how human travel patterns contribute to the disease's spread.

New web-based model for sharing research datasets could have huge benefits Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:14 AM PDT A group of researchers have proposed creating a new web-based data network to help researchers and policymakers worldwide turn existing knowledge into real-world applications and technologies and improve science and innovation policy.

Anesthetic combination provides a more rapid recovery after oral surgery Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:08 AM PDT The ideal sedative for oral surgery should make the patient comfortable during the surgery and should wear off quickly enough that the patient can leave the dental chair soon after the procedure. Finding the best plan of anesthetic treatment is essential to the success of dental procedures such as the extraction of wisdom teeth.

Quantum effects observed in cold chemistry Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:08 AM PDT Physicists have combined two low-temperature supersonic beams to produce chemical reactions in quantum conditions, near absolute zero. The method, a first, confirms longstanding theories.

Unusual genetic structure confers major disease resistance trait in soybean Posted: 11 Oct 2012 11:08 AM PDT Scientists have identified three neighboring genes that make soybeans resistant to the most damaging disease of soybean. The genes exist side-by-side on a stretch of chromosome, but only give resistance when that stretch is duplicated several times in the plant.

Clues to cancer metastasis: Discovery points to potential therapies for bone metastasis Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:50 AM PDT New research explains how mesenchymal stem cells help cancer cells to spread beyond primary tumor.

Alzheimer's sufferers may function better with less visual clutter Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:49 AM PDT Psychologists have shown that an individual's inability to recognize once-familiar faces and objects may have as much to do with difficulty perceiving their distinct features as it does with the capacity to recall from memory. A new study suggests that memory impairments for people diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's disease may in part be due to problems with determining the differences between similar objects. The research contributes to growing evidence that a part of the brain once believed to support memory exclusively -- the medial temporal lobe -- also plays a role in object perception.

Organic solar cells with high electric potential for portable electronics Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:47 AM PDT A new breakthrough in solar technology means portable electronic devices such as e-book readers could soon be re-charged on the move in low light levels and partial shading. Scientists have created an organic solar cell that generates a sufficiently high voltage to recharge a lithium-ion battery directly, without the need to connect multiple individual cells in series. Modules of these high voltage cells perform well in different light conditions including partial shade making them well matched to consumer electronic devices such as e-book readers, cameras and some mobile phones.

Parental bonding makes for happy, stable child Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:46 AM PDT Infants who have a close, intimate relationship with at least one parent are less likely to experience emotional or behavioral problems in childhood, according to a new study. The researchers found that a child can be close to either the mother or the father to reap the emotional dividend, and that closeness with both parents conferred no additional advantage.

Arctic and Southern Oceans appear to determine the composition of microbial populations Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:44 AM PDT Differing contributions of freshwater from glaciers and streams to the Arctic and Southern oceans appear to be responsible for the fact that the majority of microbial communities that thrive near the surface at the Poles share few common members, according to an international team of researchers.

How nerve signals are sent around the body at varying speeds as electrical impulses Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:44 AM PDT Scientists have proved a 60-year-old theory about how nerve signals are sent around the body at varying speeds as electrical impulses. Researchers tested how these signals are transmitted through nerve fibers, which enables us to move and recognize sensations such as touch and smell.

Airborne superbugs elude hospital cleaning regimes Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:44 AM PDT Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces far from infected patients' beds, according to researchers.

Eco-friendly optics: Spider silk's talents harnessed for use in biosensors, lasers, microchips Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT Spiders use their silk to catch lunch. Now physicists are using it to catch light. New research shows that natural silk could be an eco-friendly alternative to more traditional ways of manipulating light, such as through glass or plastic fiber optic cables.

Researchers create 'nanoflowers' for energy storage, solar cells Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT Researchers have created flower-like structures out of germanium sulfide (GeS) -- a semiconductor material -- that have extremely thin petals with an enormous surface area. The GeS flower holds promise for next-generation energy storage devices and solar cells.

New insight into celiac disease Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT For the first time, scientists have visualized an interaction between gluten and T-cells of the immune system, providing insight into how celiac disease, which affects approximately one in 133 people, is triggered.

Feeding the Schwanns: New technique could bring cell therapy for nerve damage a step closer Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:40 AM PDT A new way to grow cells vital for nerve repair could be a vital step for use in patients with severe nerve damage, including spinal injury.

Twenty-one genes tied to cholesterol levels identified Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT In the largest-ever genetic study of cholesterol and other blood lipids, scientists have identified 21 new gene variants associated with risks of heart disease and metabolic disorders. The findings expand the list of potential targets for drugs and other treatments for lipid-related cardiovascular disease.

Stopping the itch: New clues into how to treat eczema Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT More than 15 percent of children suffer with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory skin disease that in some cases can be debilitating and disfiguring. Researchers have discovered a potential new target for the condition, demonstrating that by blocking it, they can lessen the disease in mice.

Diverse intestinal viruses may play a role in AIDS progression Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT In monkeys and humans with AIDS, damage to the gastrointestinal tract is common. How this gastric damage occurs has remained a mystery, but now researchers provide new clues, implicating the presence of potentially pathogenic virus species other than the main virus that causes AIDS. The findings could provide an opportunity to explain and eventually intervene in the processes that lead to AIDS progression.

Bouncing on Saturn's moon Titan Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT ESA's Huygens probe bounced, slid and wobbled its way to rest in the 10 seconds after touching down on Saturn's moon, Titan, in January 2005, a new analysis reveals. The findings provide novel insight into the nature of the moon's surface.

New model explains role of dopamine in immune regulation Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with emotions, movement, and the brain's pleasure and reward system. Investigators now provide a broad overview of the direct and indirect role of dopamine in modulating the immune system and discuss how recent research has opened up new possibilities for treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis or even the autoimmune disorders.

Plasma screens enhanced as disorder strikes: Study looks at ways to improve the quality of matter akin to that found in plasma screens Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT A new study improves our understanding of plasma sources, a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionised and which are used for example in plasma display panels.

Fisheries benefit from 400-year-old tradition Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Coral reefs in Aceh, Indonesia are benefiting from a decidedly low-tech, traditional management system that dates back to the 17th century, new research shows.

New tool determines leukemia cells' 'readiness to die,' may guide clinical care Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Researchers have developed a method for determining how ready acute myeloid leukemia cells are to die, a finding that may enable oncologists to choose more effective treatments for their patients.

Target for obesity drugs comes into focus Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT Researchers have determined how the hormone leptin, an important regulator of metabolism and body weight, interacts with a key receptor in the brain.

Novel mechanisms underlying major childhood neuromuscular disease identified Posted: 11 Oct 2012 09:37 AM PDT A study suggests that spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic neuromuscular disease in infants and children, results primarily from motor circuit dysfunction, not motor neuron or muscle cell dysfunction, as is commonly thought. In a second study, the researchers identified the molecular pathway in SMA that leads to problems with motor function. Findings from the studies, conducted in fruit fly, zebrafish and mouse models of SMA, could lead to therapies for this debilitating and often fatal neuromuscular disease.

Brain scans predict children's reading ability Posted: 11 Oct 2012 07:22 AM PDT New research can identify the neural structures associated with poor reading skills in young children, and could lead to an early warning system for struggling students.

Yellowstone wolf study reveals how to raise successful offspring Posted: 11 Oct 2012 07:22 AM PDT What are the key ingredients to raising successful, self-sufficient offspring? A new life sciences study using 14 years of data of wolves in Yellowstone indicates cooperative group behavior is key.

Prospective Alzheimer's drug builds new brain cell connections, improves cognitive function of rats Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new drug candidate that dramatically improves the cognitive function of rats with Alzheimer's-like mental impairment. Their compound, which is intended to repair brain damage that has already occurred, is a significant departure from current Alzheimer's treatments, which either slow the process of cell death or inhibit cholinesterase, an enzyme believed to break down a key neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory development.

New cave-dwelling reef coral discovered in the Indo-Pacific Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT A new species of reef coral is discovered, which lives on the ceilings of dark caves. Its closest relatives are larger, have symbiotic algae in their soft tissue and need sunlight to grow. The new species lacks such algae and its tissue is colorless. When other reef coral species lose their algae, they may die, a recurring disease known as coral bleaching.

Nearby super-Earth likely a diamond planet Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT New research suggests that a rocky planet twice Earth's size orbiting a nearby star is a diamond planet. The planet -- called 55 Cancri e -- has a radius twice Earth's, and a mass eight times greater, making it a "super-Earth." It is one of five planets orbiting a sun-like star, 55 Cancri, that is located 40 light years from Earth yet visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Cancer. The planet orbits at hyper speed -- its year lasts just 18 hours, in contrast to Earth's 365 days. It is also blazingly hot, with a temperature of about 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers said, a far cry from a habitable world.

Soft-shelled turtles urinate through mouth Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT Turtles spend most of their lives in water, but why do these air breathing animals immerse their heads in puddles for hours at a time when their watery homes dry up? Researchers have discovered that the animals have to rinse their mouths with water in order to excrete urea: the animals are effectively urinating through their mouths.

Choreography of submerged whale lunges revealed Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:06 AM PDT Submerged for tens of minutes at a time, no one knew exactly how foraging whales execute foraging lunges through shoals of krill until a band of pioneers began attaching tags to whales. Now, researchers report how humpback whales throw their jaws wide and continue gliding as they lunge, before filtering away the water and swallowing their prey in one mighty gulp.

Modern neutron techniques analyze Tudor firepower on the battleship Mary Rose Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:55 AM PDT Scientists and archeologists harnessed modern technology to learn about the weapons and ammunition on board Tudor battleship Mary Rose, dramatically raised back to the surface 30 years ago.

Gene implicated in schizophrenia risk is also associated with risk for cannabis dependence Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:53 AM PDT New research implicates a new gene in the risk for cannabis dependence. This gene, NRG1, codes for the ErbB4 receptor, a protein implicated in synaptic development and function.

DNA confirms genetically distinct lion population for Ethiopia Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:53 AM PDT A team of international researchers has provided the first comprehensive DNA evidence that the Addis Ababa lion in Ethiopia is genetically unique and is urging immediate conservation action to preserve this vulnerable lion population.

Studying stars on Earth: Physicists simulate gigantic magnetic fields that occur on neutron stars Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:53 AM PDT Scientists have developed a method to simulate gigantic magnetic fields that normally occur on neutron stars only. The physicists show that when small particles in complex plasmas are set into rotation, they behave as if they were exposed to a huge magnetic field.

Traditional courtyards: An example of eco-efficiency for architects Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT Researchers in Spain have used mathematical tools to assess what has been known for centuries: the temperature inside the typical Mediterranean courtyard is cooler than that of the street. Though seemingly common sense, understanding such information in detail helps to save energy and money, which is the objective of eco-efficient buildings.

Generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT The generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells could allow the treatment of patients, which suffer from thyroid hormone deficiency due to defective function, or abnormal development of the thyroid gland. Researchers recently developed a protocol that allowed for the first time the efficient generation of functional thyroid tissue from stem cells in mice.

Wild monkeys watch fights to exploit losers for grooming Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:52 AM PDT Wild macaques who are bystanders to fights within their group exploit the losers for grooming favors, new research has shown. The findings reveal previously unknown details about the important function observing others' aggressive behavior serves in primate society, and may even help to explain why humans often hold a fascination with watching fights.

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