ScienceDaily: Top News

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• NASA's Swift satellite discovers a new black hole in Milky Way galaxy
• HIV drug shows efficacy in treating mouse models of HER2+ breast cancer, study suggests
• Mechanism of opiate addiction is completely different from other drugs
• Tau drug heads into phase 3 trials in frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's
• Mice with Lou Gehrig's disease not quite what the doctors ordered
• Hubble sees cosmic riches
• Training computers to understand the human brain
• Weather-making high-pressure systems predicted to intensify
• Testing can be useful for students and teachers
• Scratching the surface: Engineers examine UV effects on skin mechanics
• 'Disgusted' rats teaching scientists about nausea, work may lead to new cancer treatments
• What number is halfway between 1 and 9? Is it 5 -- or 3?
• Trauma switch identified: Mechanism protects our brains from turning stress and trauma into post-traumatic stress disorder
• Methadone reduces the risk of HIV transmission, study suggests
• Non-native plants show a greater response than native wildflowers to climate change
• Urban coyotes could be setting the stage for larger carnivores -- wolves, bears and mountain lions -- to move into cities
• How order arises from the random motion of particles in the cosmos
• Diabetes discovery: Two genes increase risk of developing diabetes-associated kidney disease
• Freezing water droplets form sharp ice peaks
• More efficient all-organic catalysts in fuel cells
• Pacemaker could help more heart failure patients
• Mass of dark matter revealed by precise measurements of the galaxy
• Experts challenge super food claims: Healthy-giving properties of broccoli, blueberries, may not make it past the gut
• Climate change: Aging of organic aerosols is caused by OH radicals
• Asteroid fragments could hint at the origin of the solar system
• Mathematics sheds light on what delays in getting pregnant mean for prospects of having a baby
• Climate sceptics more prominent in UK and US media

NASA's Swift satellite discovers a new black hole in Milky Way galaxy Posted: 05 Oct 2012 01:28 PM PDT NASA's Swift satellite recently detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The outburst, produced by a rare X-ray nova, announced the presence of a previously unknown stellar-mass black hole.

HIV drug shows efficacy in treating mouse models of HER2+ breast cancer, study suggests Posted: 05 Oct 2012 01:28 PM PDT The HIV protease inhibitor, Nelfinavir, can be used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer in the same capacity and dosage regimen that it is used to treat HIV, according to a new study.

Mechanism of opiate addiction is completely different from other drugs Posted: 05 Oct 2012 10:46 AM PDT Chronic morphine exposure has the opposite effect on the brain compared to cocaine in mice, providing new insight into the basis of opiate addiction, according to researchers. They found that a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is increased in cocaine addiction, is inhibited in opioid addiction.

Tau drug heads into phase 3 trials in frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's Posted: 05 Oct 2012 10:46 AM PDT A small company with roots in Singapore and Scotland plans to test a relatively unknown compound in clinical trials for a type of dementia that strongly affects behavior.

Mice with Lou Gehrig's disease not quite what the doctors ordered Posted: 05 Oct 2012 10:46 AM PDT You've heard the tale before: Scientists can treat diseases like Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's in mice, but when those same drugs get to human trials, they fail. Can researchers come up with mice that better mimic the patient? In the case of Lou Gehrig's, some of the latest mice have a problem: they die not because of their spinal nerve disease, but due to blockage of their gut.

Hubble sees cosmic riches Posted: 05 Oct 2012 10:44 AM PDT A dazzling new image shows the globular cluster Messier 69, or M 69 for short, as viewed through the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Globular clusters are dense collections of old stars. In this picture, foreground stars look big and golden when set against the backdrop of the thousands of white, silvery stars that make up M 69.

Training computers to understand the human brain Posted: 05 Oct 2012 10:43 AM PDT Researchers use fMRI datasets to train a computer to predict the semantic category of an image originally viewed by five different people.

Weather-making high-pressure systems predicted to intensify Posted: 05 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT High-pressure systems over oceans, which largely determine the tracks of tropical cyclones and hydrological extremes in much of the northern hemisphere, are likely to intensify this century, according to a new study.

Testing can be useful for students and teachers Posted: 05 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT While testing can be useful as an assessment tool, researchers suggests that the actual process of taking a test can also help us to learn and retain new information over the long term and apply it across different contexts. New research explores the nuanced interactions between testing, memory, and learning and suggests possible applications for testing in educational settings.

Scratching the surface: Engineers examine UV effects on skin mechanics Posted: 05 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT Using mechanical stress testing methods common in materials science, researchers found that UV rays also change the way the outermost skin cells hold together and respond to strain.

'Disgusted' rats teaching scientists about nausea, work may lead to new cancer treatments Posted: 05 Oct 2012 09:38 AM PDT Nausea is a common and distressing side effect of many drugs and treatments. Unlike vomiting, nausea is not well understood, but new research may soon change that. Researchers believe they've found the mechanism in the brain that is responsible for the sensation of nausea -- with the help of some "disgusted" rats.

What number is halfway between 1 and 9? Is it 5 -- or 3? Posted: 05 Oct 2012 09:38 AM PDT A new information-theoretical model of human sensory perception and memory sheds light on some peculiarities of the nervous system.

Trauma switch identified: Mechanism protects our brains from turning stress and trauma into post-traumatic stress disorder Posted: 05 Oct 2012 07:33 AM PDT Researchers have for the first time identified the mechanism that protects us from developing uncontrollable fear.

Methadone reduces the risk of HIV transmission, study suggests Posted: 05 Oct 2012 07:32 AM PDT Methadone reduces the risk of HIV transmission in people who inject drugs.

Non-native plants show a greater response than native wildflowers to climate change Posted: 05 Oct 2012 07:09 AM PDT Warming temperatures in Ohio are a key driver behind changes in the state's landscape, and non-native plant species appear to be responding more strongly than native wildflowers to the changing climate, new research suggests.

Urban coyotes could be setting the stage for larger carnivores -- wolves, bears and mountain lions -- to move into cities Posted: 05 Oct 2012 07:09 AM PDT Coyotes are the largest of the mammalian carnivores to have made their way to, and thrived in, urban settings. A researcher estimates that about 2,000 coyotes live in the Chicago metro area. The coyote is "the test case for other animals," he says, such as wolves, bears and mountain lions.

How order arises from the random motion of particles in the cosmos Posted: 05 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT One of the unsolved mysteries of contemporary science is how highly organized structures can emerge from the random motion of particles. This applies to many situations ranging from astrophysical objects that extend over millions of light years to the birth of life on Earth.

Diabetes discovery: Two genes increase risk of developing diabetes-associated kidney disease Posted: 05 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT An international group of researchers has discovered two genes that increase the risk of developing diabetes-associated kidney disease.

Freezing water droplets form sharp ice peaks Posted: 05 Oct 2012 06:29 AM PDT Photos reveal how water droplets placed on a cold surface freeze to a sharp point that sprouts a "forest" of tree-like ice crystals.

More efficient all-organic catalysts in fuel cells Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:25 AM PDT Organic catalysts are a breakthrough in the quest for inexpensive and efficient materials for environmentally friendly production of energy in fuel cells. A new study provides better knowledge about key processes in producing these catalysts.

Pacemaker could help more heart failure patients Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:25 AM PDT A new study demonstrates that a change in the ECG wave called the QRS prolongation is associated with a higher rate of heart-failure mortality. According to the team that carried out the study the discovery suggests that more heart-failure cases than the most serious could be helped by pacemakers.

Mass of dark matter revealed by precise measurements of the galaxy Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:25 AM PDT Astronomers have succeeded in precisely determining the astronomical yardstick for the Galaxy based upon precise distance measurements from advanced radio telescopes. The new findings are that the distance from the sun to the Galactic center is 26,100 light-years, and that the Galactic rotation velocity in the solar system is 240km/s.

Experts challenge super food claims: Healthy-giving properties of broccoli, blueberries, may not make it past the gut Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:25 AM PDT They have been the mainstay of the health industry for the best part of a decade, but now researchers are using an approach that allows them to delve deeper into the effectiveness of health-promoting 'super foods' and their elixir-giving ilk. While there's no doubt foods such as broccoli, blueberries and whole grains contain polyphenols - compounds that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties - the academic experts contend that little of these health-giving properties actually make it past the gut.

Climate change: Aging of organic aerosols is caused by OH radicals Posted: 05 Oct 2012 05:25 AM PDT Atmospheric aerosol particles have a significant effect on climate. Researchers have now discovered that a chemical process in the atmosphere called aging determines to a major extent the concentration and the characteristics of aerosol particles. To date, this aspect has not been accounted for in regional and global climate models.

Asteroid fragments could hint at the origin of the solar system Posted: 04 Oct 2012 05:10 PM PDT Scientists are analyzing minute asteroid fragments which could shed light on the origin and evolution of the solar system.

Mathematics sheds light on what delays in getting pregnant mean for prospects of having a baby Posted: 04 Oct 2012 05:09 PM PDT A new mathematical method can help to predict a couple's chances of becoming pregnant, according to how long they have been trying.

Climate sceptics more prominent in UK and US media Posted: 04 Oct 2012 05:09 PM PDT Climate sceptics are being given a more prominent, and sometimes uncontested, voice in UK and US newspapers in contrast to other countries around the world, new research suggests.

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