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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Antibodies to immune cells protect eyes in Pseudomonas infection

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:44 PM PDT

Contact lenses, particularly the extended wear variety, render wearers vulnerable to eye infections from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These infections can cause severe damage, including blindness. Treating the eye with antibodies to the inflammatory immune compound interleukin-17 (IL-17) reduced eye damage and the number of bacteria in a mouse model.

Specific bacterial species may initiate, maintain Crohn’s

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 04:42 PM PDT

Patients newly diagnosed with pediatric Crohn's disease had significantly different levels of certain types of bacteria in their intestinal tracts than age-matched controls, according to new research. The work may ultimately lead to treatment involving manipulation of the intestinal bacteria.

Breakthrough technique images breast tumors in 3-D with great clarity, reduced radiation

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:27 PM PDT

Scientists are able to use a new technique to produce three-dimensional images of breast tissue that are two-to-three times sharper than current hospital CT scanners, and with a lower dose of X-ray radiation than from a mammogram. With higher quality images, breast tumors may be detected earlier and with much greater accuracy for the nearly one in eight women diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime in the United States.

How highway bridges sing -- or groan -- in the rain to reveal their health: Just a drop of water can indicate the stability of a bridge

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:27 PM PDT

Engineers have found that by listening to how a highway bridge sings in the rain they can determine serious flaws in the structure. Employing a method called impact-echo testing, experts can diagnose the health of a bridge's deck based on the acoustic footprint produced by a little bit of water. Specifically, the sound created when a droplet makes impact can reveal hidden dangers in the bridge.

Parenting and temperament in childhood predict later political ideology

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT

Political mindsets are the product of an individual's upbringing, life experiences, and environment. But are there specific experiences that lead a person to choose one political ideology over another? New research suggests that parenting practices and childhood temperament may play an influential role in shaping political ideology later in life.

Additive restores antibiotic effectiveness against MRSA

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT

Researchers have increased the potency of a compound that reactivates antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, an antibiotic-resistant form of Staphylococcus that is notoriously difficult to treat. Their improved compound removes the bacteria's antibiotic resistance and allows the antibiotic to once again become effective at normal dosage levels.

Climate variability and conflict risk in East Africa measured by researchers

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT

While a new study shows the risk of human conflict in East Africa increases somewhat with hotter temperatures and drops a bit with higher precipitation, it concludes that socioeconomic, political and geographic factors play a much more substantial role than climate change.

Exercise the body to keep the brain healthy, study suggests

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT

People who exercise later in life may better protect their brain from age-related changes than those who do not, a study suggests.

Technology brings new life to the study of diseases in old bones

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT

A new study has demonstrated that new technology that can analyze millions of gene sequences in a matter of seconds is an effective way to quickly and accurately identify diseases in skeletons.

Complete mitochondrial genome sequences of ancient New Zealanders

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT

Scientists have sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes for members of what was likely to be one of the first groups of Polynesians to settle New Zealand and have revealed a surprising degree of genetic variation among these pioneering voyagers.

Discoveries hold promise for treatment of Hepatitis B virus

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT

A research team has discovered two prime targets of the Hepatitis B virus in liver cells, findings that could lead to treatment of liver disease in some of the 400 million people worldwide currently infected with the virus.

Study of patients ages 90 and older links poor physical performance, increased odds of dementia

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT

Poor physical performance on activities including walking was associated with increased odds of dementia in a study of individuals 90 years and older.

Eating more legumes may improve glycemic control, lower estimated heart disease risk

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT

Eating more legumes (such as beans, chickpeas or lentils) as part of a low-glycemic index diet appears to improve glycemic control and reduce estimated coronary heart disease risk in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Nearly half of U.S. adults with high blood pressure have it under control

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM PDT

Nearly half of US adults with high blood pressure reported theirs was under control by 2010. The increase in blood pressure control may be due to more use of multiple drug combinations. Older people, blacks and people with diabetes and chronic kidney disease have higher rates of high blood pressure and Mexican-Americans are least likely to take blood pressure medications.

Aggressive brain tumors can originate from a range of nervous system cells

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:23 PM PDT

Scientists have long believed that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of primary brain tumor, begins in glial cells that make up supportive tissue in the brain or in neural stem cells. However, researchers have now found that the tumors can originate from other types of differentiated cells in the nervous system, including cortical neurons.

Probiotics are secret weapon for fighting symptoms of the common cold in college students, study suggests

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:23 PM PDT

Probiotic supplementation can reduce the severity and duration of colds and upper-respiratory infections in college students, researchers have found.

Increased risk of suicidal thoughts among adolescents appears related to recent victimization

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:23 PM PDT

An increased risk of suicidal ideation -- thoughts of harming or killing oneself -- in adolescents appears to be associated with recent victimization, such as by peers, sexual assault, and maltreatment, according to new research.

Exercise may trump mental activity in protecting against brain shrinkage

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:23 PM PDT

Exercising regularly in old age may better protect against brain shrinkage than engaging in mental or social activities, according to a new study. Research suggests that brain shrinkage may lead to problems with memory and thinking.

New self-healing coating for aluminum developed to replace cancer-causing product

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT

Engineers have developed a new environmentally-friendly coating for aluminum to replace the carcinogenic chromate coatings used in aerospace applications. The chromate conversion coatings have been used for more than 50 years to protect aluminum from corrosion.

Milky Way's black hole getting ready for snack

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT

Get ready for a fascinating eating experience in the center of our galaxy. The event involves a black hole that may devour much of an approaching cloud of dust and gas known as G2. A supercomputer simulation prepared by physicists suggests that some of G2 will survive, although its surviving mass will be torn apart, leaving it with a different shape and questionable fate.

Fuller picture of human expansion from Africa

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT

A comprehensive analysis of the anthropological and genetic history of humans' expansion out of Africa could lead to medical advances.

Exercise and complete decongestive therapy best ways to manage lymphedema, expert says

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:54 AM PDT

Many breast cancer survivors suffer from lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes body limbs to swell from fluid buildup, as a result of lymph node removal and radiation therapy. A cure for lymphedema does not exist, so individuals with the condition must find ways to manage the symptoms throughout their lifetimes. Now, a lymphedema expert has found that full-body exercise and complete decongestive therapy are the best ways for patients to minimize their symptoms and maintain their quality of life.

TV, devices in kids' bedrooms linked to poor sleep, obesity

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT

Electronic devices in kids' bedrooms at night can lead to sleeplessness and can raise their risk of obesity, according to new research.

Can your body sense future events without any external clue?

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT

Wouldn't it be amazing if our bodies prepared us for future events that could be very important to us, even if there's no clue about what those events will be? "Presentiment," as in "sensing the future," without any external clues may exist, according to new research that analyzes the results of 26 studies published between 1978 and 2010.

Evolution of new genes captured

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT

Like job-seekers searching for a new position, living things sometimes have to pick up a new skill if they are going to succeed. Researchers have shown for the first time how living organisms do this.

State-of-the-art beams from table-top accelerators

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT

"Table-top accelerators" – laser plasma accelerators (LPAs) that propel electron pulses to high energies within a few centimeters – promise far less expensive future accelerators with far less environmental impact than today's conventional machines. Scientists have devised novel methods to test the quality of uniquely challenging LPA beams.

Scattered X-rays reveal diseased tissue

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT

Severe lung diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide. To date they have been difficult to diagnose at an early stage. Scientists have now developed an X-ray technology to do just that. Now they are working on bringing the procedure into medical practice.

American Academy of Pediatrics weighs in for first time on organic foods for children

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT

To offer guidance to parents -- and the pediatricians caring for their children's health -- the American Academy of Pediatrics has conducted an extensive analysis of scientific evidence surrounding organic produce, dairy products and meat.

Rapid changes in the Earth's core: The magnetic field and gravity from a satellite perspective

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:52 AM PDT

Annual to decadal changes in Earth's magnetic field in a region that stretches from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean have a close relationship with variations of gravity in this area. From this it can be concluded that outer core processes are reflected in gravity data.

Changes in sleep architecture increase hunger, eating

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:51 AM PDT

A new study offers possible explanation for the association between sleep problems and obesity.

Clue to cause of Alzheimer's dementia found in brain samples

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:51 AM PDT

Researchers have found a key difference in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease and those who are cognitively normal but still have brain plaques that characterize this type of dementia.

Better way to shed water: Lubricated, nanotextured surfaces boost performance of condensers in power and desalination plants

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:22 AM PDT

Condensers are a crucial part of today's power generation systems: About 80 percent of all the world's powerplants use them to turn steam back to water after it comes out of the turbines that turn generators. They are also a key element in desalination plants, a fast-growing contributor to the world's supply of fresh water. Now, a new surface architecture holds the promise of significantly boosting the performance of such condensers.

Split-personality elliptical galaxy holds a hidden spiral

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:22 AM PDT

Most big galaxies fit into one of two camps: pinwheel-shaped spiral galaxies and blobby elliptical galaxies. Spirals like the Milky Way are hip and happening places, with plenty of gas and dust to birth new stars. Ellipticals are like cosmic retirement villages, full of aging residents in the form of red giant stars. Now, astronomers have discovered that one well-known elliptical has a split personality. Centaurus A is hiding a gassy spiral in its center.

Beetles use dung balls to stay cool

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:20 AM PDT

Dung beetles roll their feasts of dung away to avoid the hoards of other hungry competitors at the dung pile. But now a team of researchers from South Africa and Sweden have discovered that they also use their balls in another, rather clever way. The moist balls keep the beetles cool even as they push a weight up to 50 times heavier than their own bodies across the hot sand.

A whale with a distinctly human-like voice

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:20 AM PDT

For the first time, researchers have been able to show by acoustic analysis that whales -- or at least one very special white whale -- can imitate the voices of humans. That's a surprise, because whales typically produce sounds in a manner that is wholly different from humans.

Healthy behaviors in midlife significantly increase odds of successful aging

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:20 AM PDT

Engaging in a combination of healthy behaviors, such as not smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, exercise, and eating fruits and vegetables daily makes it significantly more likely people will stay healthy as they age.

Mortality rates significantly higher if both mother and newborn admitted to ICU

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:20 AM PDT

When mothers and newborns are both admitted to intensive care units they are significantly more likely to die than when neither is admitted to an ICU, new research has found.

Greater parental stress linked to children's obesity, fast food use, reduced activity

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:17 AM PDT

Parents with a higher number of stressors in their lives are more likely to have obese children, according to a new study. Children also ate fast food more often if their parents perceived themselves as stressed.

Breast cancer cells enticed to spread by 'tumorous environment' as well as genetic changes

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:17 AM PDT

A new study suggests that the lethal spread of breast cancer is as dependent on a tumor's protein-rich environment as on genetic changes inside tumor cells.

Fewer patient deaths after surgery in hospitals known for good nursing care

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:17 AM PDT

Patients treated in magnet hospitals (specially designated for their nursing excellence) had 14 percent lower odds of death than patients in non-magnet hospitals, according to a new study with nearly 100,000 U.S. nurses.

New glow for electron microscopy: Protein-labeling technique allows high-resolution visualization of molecules inside cells

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

The glowing green molecule known as green fluorescent protein (GFP) has revolutionized molecular biology. When GFP is attached to a particular protein inside a cell, scientists can easily identify and locate it using fluorescence microscopy. However, GFP can't be used with electron microscopy, which offers much higher resolution than fluorescence microscopy. Chemists have now designed a GFP equivalent for electron microscopy -- a tag that allows scientists to label and visualize proteins with unprecedented clarity.

Protein discovery may lead to new treatment to prevent smoking relapse

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

Scientists have identified a potential new approach to preventing smoking relapse, which occurs frequently in smokers who attempt to quit, despite current treatments.

Kittens: Their microbiomes are what they eat

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

For animals as well as people, diet affects what grows in the gut. The gut microbial colonies, also known as the gut microbiome, begin to form at birth. Their composition affects how the immune system develops and is linked to the later onset of metabolic diseases such as obesity. Common wisdom is that cats, by nature carnivorous, are healthiest when fed high-protein diets. Researchers wanted to find out if this is true.

Immune cells make flexible choices

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

Scientists reveal how, out of quadrillions of possible T lymphocyte receptors, the genetic balance is tilted toward those for common pathogens.

Stem cell bodyguards: Rare immune cells keep blood stem cells youthful

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered rare immune cells that keep blood stem cells in a youthful state; these may lead to better cancer treatments.

3-D structure of an unmodified G protein-coupled receptor in its natural habitat

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

Scientists have determined the three-dimensional structure of a complete, unmodified G-protein-coupled receptor in its native environment: embedded in a membrane in physiological conditions.

How bacteria living in toxic environments identify and expel arsenic

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT

Scientists reveal how bacteria living in arsenic-rich environments identify and expel the poison.

Immune cells of the blood might replace dysfunctional brain cells

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:34 AM PDT

Blood-circulating immune cells can take over the essential immune surveillance of the brain. A new study might indicate new ways of dealing with diseases of the nervous system.

Rainbow trout: Survival of the shyest?

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:29 AM PDT

A fish's personality can influence how it responds to, and learns from threats, according to a new study. The work, looking at how personality influences a fish's memory of a predator threat, shows that bold trout forget predator odor, and hence potentially predator threat, quicker than shy trout.

One-third of parents concerned about losing jobs, pay when they stay home with sick kids

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:28 AM PDT

In a new poll, one-third of parents of young children report they are concerned about losing jobs or pay when they stay home to care for sick children who can't attend child care.

Water could flow on Mars, model suggests; Scientists look at melting and evaporation of frozen brines

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:28 AM PDT

Researchers have created a model that might explain how water could produce the flow patterns seen by a spacecraft orbiting Mars.

'Blue' light could help teenagers combat stress

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:28 AM PDT

A new study shows that exposure to morning short-wavelength "blue" light has the potential to help sleep-deprived adolescents prepare for the challenges of the day and deal with stress, more so than dim light.

Combined pesticide exposure affects bumblebee colony success

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 06:31 AM PDT

Individual worker behavior and colony success are both affected when bees are exposed to a combination of pesticides, according to new research.

New Understanding of Antarctica's 'weight loss': Sea level is rising with little apparent contribution from Antarctica

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 06:31 AM PDT

Scientists have found that the present sea level rise is happening with apparently very little contribution from Antarctica as a whole. The large amount of water flowing away from West Antarctica through ice-melt has been partly cancelled out by the volume of water falling onto the continent in the form of snow, suggesting some past studies have overestimated Antarctica's contribution to fast-rising sea levels.

New test may uncover deadly hypertension disease in pregnancy

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 06:31 AM PDT

Researchers have identified biomarkers that may yield a new diagnostic test for pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening disease affecting five percent of pregnant women worldwide.

Gastric bypass surgery just as effective in teenagers as in adults, study suggests

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Teenagers with severe obesity can benefit from gastric bypass surgery just as much as adults, research suggests. A new study found that 81 teenagers lost an average of 96.8 pounds following surgery, significantly improving their health and quality of life.

Link found between Alzheimer's disease and protein regulation in the brain -- hope for new treatments

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 06:28 AM PDT

A link has been discovered between Alzheimer's disease and the activity level of protein eIF2alpha. One of the researchers said, "Altering the performance of this protein via drug via drug therapy could constitute a treatment for Alzheimer's."

Statins may reduce risk of esophageal cancer

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 05:14 AM PDT

Statins, a cholesterol lowering drug may lower the risk of esophageal cancer, especially in patients with Barrett's esophagus, researchers report.

Changing epidemiology of clostridium difficile

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 05:13 AM PDT

A stay in the hospital may not be the only way to acquire Clostridium difficile diarrhea – but the potentially life-threatening infection may be associated with a number of health complications in hospitalized children, according to the findings from two new studies. In a separate case report, fecal microbiota transplantation in a 20-month old with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) suggests the therapeutic potential fecal bacteriotherapy in pediatric patients who fail standard therapy for CDI.

Marijuana use may cause severe cyclic nausea, vomiting, a little-known, but costly effect

Posted: 22 Oct 2012 05:13 AM PDT

Marijuana use —- both natural and synthetic —- may cause cannabinoid hyperemesis (CH) a little-known but costly effect that researchers suggest is a serious burden to the health care system as it often leads to expensive diagnostic tests and ineffective treatments in an effort to find the cause of a patient's symptoms and provide relief, according to two separate case reports. Cannabinoid hyperemesis is characterized by a history of chronic cannabis use followed by a cyclic pattern of nausea, vomiting and colicky abdominal pain. Interestingly, compulsive hot baths or showers temporarily relieve symptoms, another characteristic which aids clinicians in diagnosis.

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