ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Spotting a trend in the genes: Three genes that cause cancer and disease in humans also 'paint' spots on butts of fruit flies
• NASA's Ironman-like exoskeleton could give astronauts, paraplegics improved mobility and strength
• Blood cells may offer telltale clues in cancer diagnosis
• Molecular basis of infection of tick-transmitted disease uncovered
• Scientists uncover diversion of Gulf Stream path in late 2011; Warmer waters flowed to shelfbreak south of New England
• 'Invisibility' could be a key to better electronics: Visual 'cloaking' technology enables more efficient transfer of electrons
• Neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
• The worst noises in the world: Why we recoil at unpleasant sounds
• Body's own recycling system: Researchers discover 'molecular emergency brake' in charge of regulating self-digestion
• Cells control energy metabolism via hedgehog signalling pathway
• X-raying stellar winds in a high-speed collision
• Prostate cancer: Curcumin curbs metastases, study shows
• Documented decrease in frequency of Hawaii's northeast trade winds
• New gene test flags risk of serious complications in sarcoidosis
• Tying our fate to molecular markings
• Fly genomes show natural selection and return to Africa
• Transplantation of embryonic neurons raises hope for treating brain diseases
• When galaxies eat galaxies: Gravity lenses suggest big collisions make galaxies denser
• Shape matters in DNA nanoparticle therapy: Particles could become a safer, more effective delivery vehicle for gene therapy
• Scientists identify trigger for explosive volcanic eruptions
• Old adage 'sleep on it' is true -- but only if it's a really difficult problem, study shows
• Reason discovered for the toxicity of indoor mould
• Exposure to traffic air pollution in infancy impairs lung function in children
• Expectant parents have different stress reactions to relationship conflict

Spotting a trend in the genes: Three genes that cause cancer and disease in humans also 'paint' spots on butts of fruit flies Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:37 AM PDT Spots on the butts of fruit flies are really, really small. But what a researcher and his graduate student are discovering about them could be gigantic. Researchers have discovered that three genes that cause cancer and disease in humans also "paint" the spots on the fly's body. This discovery could enable researchers to study how those genes work in fruit flies and apply that knowledge to treating cancer in people.

NASA's Ironman-like exoskeleton could give astronauts, paraplegics improved mobility and strength Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:19 AM PDT Marvel Comic's fictional superhero, Ironman, uses a powered armor suit that allows him superhuman strength. While NASA's X1 robotic exoskeleton can't do what you see in the movies, the latest robotic, space technology, spinoff derived from NASA's Robonaut 2 project may someday help astronauts stay healthier in space with the added benefit of assisting paraplegics in walking here on Earth.

Blood cells may offer telltale clues in cancer diagnosis Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:18 AM PDT Researchers are probing the potential use of blood cell variation as a diagnostic, predictive, and research tool in cancer biology.

Molecular basis of infection of tick-transmitted disease uncovered Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:15 AM PDT Researchers have identified the "keys" and "doors" of a bacterium responsible for a series of tick-transmitted diseases. These findings may point researchers toward the development of a single vaccine that protects against members of an entire family of bacteria that cause disease in humans, domestic animals and livestock.

Scientists uncover diversion of Gulf Stream path in late 2011; Warmer waters flowed to shelfbreak south of New England Posted: 12 Oct 2012 09:26 AM PDT The Gulf Stream made an unusual move well north of its normal path in late October and early November 2011, causing warmer-than-usual ocean temperatures along the New England continental shelf, according to physical oceanographers.

'Invisibility' could be a key to better electronics: Visual 'cloaking' technology enables more efficient transfer of electrons Posted: 12 Oct 2012 09:26 AM PDT A new approach that allows objects to become "invisible" has now been applied to an entirely different area: letting particles "hide" from passing electrons, which could lead to more efficient thermoelectric devices and new kinds of electronics.

Neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue may hold key to cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases Posted: 12 Oct 2012 09:21 AM PDT Scientists have taken the first steps to create neural-like stem cells from muscle tissue in animals.

The worst noises in the world: Why we recoil at unpleasant sounds Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:24 AM PDT Heightened activity between the emotional and auditory parts of the brain explains why the sound of chalk on a blackboard or a knife on a bottle is so unpleasant.

Body's own recycling system: Researchers discover 'molecular emergency brake' in charge of regulating self-digestion Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:24 AM PDT Times of distress literally eat away at the core of starving cells: They start to digest their own parts and recycle them for metabolic purposes. Researchers have discovered that a "molecular brake" is in charge of regulating autophagy to keep it from getting out of control.

Cells control energy metabolism via hedgehog signalling pathway Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:21 AM PDT Cancer, diabetes, and excess body weight have one thing in common: they alter cellular metabolism. Scientists have resolved a new molecular circuit controlling cellular metabolism. The previously unknown signalling pathway, acting downstream of the hedgehog protein enables muscle cells and brown fat cells to absorb sugars without relying on insulin. Substances that selectively activate the signalling pathway could thus be utilized in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. With their results, the researchers are also able to explain why various new anti-cancer agents have induced mysterious pronounced side effects in the clinics.

X-raying stellar winds in a high-speed collision Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:21 AM PDT Two massive stars racing in orbit around each other have had their colliding stellar winds X-rayed for the first time, thanks to the combined efforts of the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and NASA's Swift space telescopes.

Prostate cancer: Curcumin curbs metastases, study shows Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:21 AM PDT Powdered turmeric has been used for centuries to treat osteoarthritis and other illnesses. Its active ingredient, curcumin, inhibits inflammatory reactions. A new study now shows that it can also inhibit formation of metastases.

Documented decrease in frequency of Hawaii's northeast trade winds Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:26 AM PDT Scientists have observed a decrease in the frequency of northeast trade winds and an increase in eastern trade winds over the past nearly four decades, according to a recent study.

New gene test flags risk of serious complications in sarcoidosis Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:26 AM PDT Researchers have identified a genetic signature that distinguishes patients with complicated sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that can be fatal, from patients with a more benign form of the disease.

Tying our fate to molecular markings Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:26 AM PDT A physicist has helped discover that understanding how a chemical mark on our DNA affects gene expression could be as useful to scientists as fingerprints are to police at a crime scene. In a new study, researchers show that variable methylation is predictive of age, gender, stress, cancer and early-life socioeconomic status within a population.

Fly genomes show natural selection and return to Africa Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:26 AM PDT New studies of the genomes of almost 200 strains of Drosophila flies show natural selection and a "return to Africa" of the tiny flies, which likely migrated with ancestral humans tens of thousands of years ago.

Transplantation of embryonic neurons raises hope for treating brain diseases Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:21 AM PDT The unexpected survival of embryonic neurons transplanted into the brains of newborn mice in a series of experiments raises hope for the possibility of using neuronal transplantation to treat diseases like Alzheimer's, epilepsy, Huntington's, Parkinson's and schizophrenia.

When galaxies eat galaxies: Gravity lenses suggest big collisions make galaxies denser Posted: 12 Oct 2012 05:21 AM PDT Using gravitational "lenses" in space, astronomers have discovered that the centers of the biggest galaxies are growing denser -- evidence of repeated collisions and mergers by massive galaxies with 100 billion stars.

Shape matters in DNA nanoparticle therapy: Particles could become a safer, more effective delivery vehicle for gene therapy Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:48 AM PDT Researchers have discovered how to control the shape of nanoparticles that move DNA through the body and have shown that the shapes of these carriers may make a big difference in how well they work in treating cancer and other diseases. This study is also noteworthy because this gene therapy technique does not use a virus to carry DNA into cells.

Scientists identify trigger for explosive volcanic eruptions Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:47 AM PDT Scientists have identified a repeating trigger for the largest explosive volcanic eruptions on Earth. The Las Cañadas volcanic caldera on Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, has generated at least eight major eruptions during the last 700,000 years. These catastrophic events have resulted in eruption columns of over 25km high and expelled widespread pyroclastic material over 130km. By comparison, even the smallest of these eruptions expelled over 25 times more material than the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland.

Old adage 'sleep on it' is true -- but only if it's a really difficult problem, study shows Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:47 AM PDT A new study has found that sleeping on a problem really can help people to find a solution. The study tested whether sleep or time spent awake worked best in helping people find the solutions to a range of problem solving tasks.

Reason discovered for the toxicity of indoor mould Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:46 AM PDT A team of researchers from Finland has discovered how indoor mold makes people sick. The only remedy is to heal the living environment, they say.

Exposure to traffic air pollution in infancy impairs lung function in children Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:43 AM PDT Exposure to ambient air pollution from traffic during infancy is associated with lung function deficits in children up to eight years of age, particularly among children sensitized to common allergens, according to a new study.

Expectant parents have different stress reactions to relationship conflict Posted: 11 Oct 2012 04:52 PM PDT A new study on the physiological effects of stress has found that expectant parents respond differently to arguments depending on the presence of ongoing individual or relationship difficulties such as anxiety or chronic relationship conflict.

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