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Thursday, March 7, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Bats not bothered by forest fires, study finds

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST

A survey of bat activity in burned and unburned areas after a major wildfire in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains found no evidence of detrimental effects on bats one year after the fire. The findings suggest that bats are resilient to high-severity fire, and some species may even benefit from the effects of fire on the landscape.

Siberian fossil revealed to be one of the oldest known domestic dogs

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST

Analysis of DNA extracted from a fossil tooth recovered in southern Siberia confirms that the tooth belonged to one of the oldest known ancestors of the modern dog.

Human brain treats prosthetic devices as part of the body

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST

People with spinal cord injuries show a strong association of wheelchairs as part of their body, not an extension of immobile limbs. The human brain can learn to treat relevant prosthetics as a substitute for a non-working body part, according to new research.

Brain injury may be autoimmune phenomenon, like multiple sclerosis

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST

A new study suggests that brain injury from repeat blows to the head – observed among football players and soldiers – might not be a traumatic phenomenon, but an autoimmune phenomenon. It indicates that brain injury may be the result of an out-of-control immune response, much like multiple sclerosis. This is an entirely new way of thinking about how trauma could cause long term degeneration and opens the door to investigating a vaccine/drug to prevent head trauma.

New clues to causes of peripheral nerve damage

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:08 PM PST

Although peripheral neuropathies afflict some 20 million Americans, their underlying causes are not completely understood. Now, scientists have shown that damage to energy factories in Schwann cells, which grow alongside neurons and enable nerve signals to travel from the spinal cord to the tips of the fingers and toes, may play a central role.

Folate and vitamin B12 reduce disabling schizophrenia symptoms in some patients

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 01:22 PM PST

Adding the dietary supplements folate and vitamin B12 to treatment with antipsychotic medication improved a core symptom component of schizophrenia in a study of more than 100 patients. The study focused on negative symptoms of schizophrenia -- which include apathy, social withdrawal, and a lack of emotional expressiveness. While the level of improvement across all participants was modest, results were more significant in individuals carrying specific variants in genes involved with folate metabolism.

Origin of aggressive ovarian cancer discovered

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:44 AM PST

Researchers have discovered a likely origin of epithelial ovarian cancer (ovarian carcinoma), the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.

Hidden layer of genome unveils how plants may adapt to environments throughout the world

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:43 AM PST

Scientists have identified patterns of epigenomic diversity that not only allow plants to adapt to various environments, but could also benefit crop production and the study of human diseases.

How the body's energy molecule transmits three types of taste to the brain

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:43 AM PST

Scientists have discovered how ATP -- the body's main fuel source -- is released as the neurotransmitter from sweet, bitter, and umami, or savory, taste bud cells. The CALHM1 channel protein, which spans a taste bud cell's outer membrane to allow ions and molecules in and out, releases ATP to make a neural taste connection. The other two taste types, sour and salt, use different mechanisms.

Circuitry of cells involved in immunity, autoimmune diseases exposed: Connections point to interplay between salt and genetic factors

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST

New work expands the understanding of how Th17 cells develop, and how their growth influences the development of immune responses. By figuring out how these cells are "wired," the researchers make a surprising connection between autoimmunity and salt consumption, highlighting the interplay of genetics and environmental factors in disease susceptibility.

Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old mouse brain young

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST

The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse.

Use it or lose it: Molecular mechanism for why a stimulating environment protects against Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST

Researchers provide specific pre-clinical scientific evidence supporting the concept that prolonged and intensive stimulation by an enriched environment, especially regular exposure to new activities, may have beneficial effects in delaying one of the key negative factors in Alzheimer's disease.

Study pinpoints, prevents stress-induced drug relapse in rats

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST

Scientists have identified specific key steps in the chain of events that causes stress-related drug relapse. They identified the exact region of the brain where the events take place in rat models and showed that by blocking a step, they could prevent stress-related relapse to drug seeking.

Solving the 'Cocktail Party Problem': How we can focus on one speaker in noisy crowds

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST

In the din of a crowded room, paying attention to just one speaker's voice can be challenging. Research demonstrates how the brain homes in on one speaker to solve this "Cocktail Party Problem." Researchers discovered that brain waves are shaped so the brain can selectively track the sound patterns from the speaker of interest while excluding competing sounds from other speakers. The findings could have important implications for helping individuals with a range of deficits.

Universe measured more accurately than ever before: New results pin down distance to galaxy next door

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:40 AM PST

After nearly a decade of careful observations astronomers have measured the distance to our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, more accurately than ever before. This new measurement also improves our knowledge of the rate of expansion of the Universe — the Hubble Constant — and is a crucial step towards understanding the nature of the mysterious dark energy that is causing the expansion to accelerate.

How the brain suppresses pain during times of stress

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:40 AM PST

How does the brain suppress pain? For the first time, it has been shown that suppression of pain during times of fear involves complex interplay between marijuana-like chemicals and other neurotransmitters in a brain region called the amygdala.

Deadly fungus detected in Southeast Asia's amphibian trade

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST

Scientists have revealed in a new study, for the first time, the presence of the pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in amphibians sampled in Singapore. And the American bullfrog may be a central player in the spread of the disease.

Alzheimer's risk gene discovered by screening brain's connections: Signs of disease decades before illness strike

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST

Scientists have discovered a new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease by screening people's DNA and then using an advanced type of scan to visualize their brains' connections. The researchers discovered a common abnormality in our genetic code that increases the risk of Alzheimer's. To find the gene, they used a new imaging method that screens the brain's connections -- the wiring, or circuitry, that communicates information. Switching off such Alzheimer's risk genes (nine of them have been implicated over the last 20 years) could stop the disorder in its tracks or delay its onset by many years.

Probing extreme matter through observations of neutron stars

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST

Neutron stars, the ultra-dense cores left behind after massive stars collapse, contain the densest matter known in the Universe outside of a black hole. New results have provided one of the most reliable determinations yet of the relation between the radius of a neutron star and its mass. These results constrain how nuclear matter – protons and neutrons, and their constituent quarks – interact under the extreme conditions found in neutron stars.

One region, two functions: Multitasking key to overall brain function

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST

A region of the brain known to play a key role in visual and spatial processing has a parallel function: sorting visual information into categories. Different types of information can be simultaneously encoded within the posterior parietal cortex.

Portion of hippocampus found to play role in modulating anxiety

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST

Researchers have found the first evidence that selective activation of the dentate gyrus, a portion of the hippocampus, can reduce anxiety without affecting learning. The findings suggest that therapies that target this brain region could be used to treat certain anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder and PTSD, with minimal cognitive side effects.

Herschel space observatory to complete its mission soon

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:17 AM PST

The Herschel space observatory is expected to exhaust its supply of liquid helium coolant in the coming weeks, after spending more than three years studying the cool universe and surpassing the expectations of the international team of scientists involved.

Comet to make close flyby of Red Planet in October 2014

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:14 AM PST

Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will make a very close approach to Mars in October 2014.

New solution proposed to ensure biofuel plants don't become noxious weeds

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:42 AM PST

Scientist propose innovative solution to ensure lucrative biofuel plants such as arundo donax do not become invasive weeds that can destroy fragile ecosystems.

Schizophrenia: A disorder of neurodevelopment and accelerated aging?

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:42 AM PST

Many lines of evidence indicate that schizophrenia is a disorder of neurodevelopment. For example, genes implicated in the heritable risk for schizophrenia are also implicated in the development of nerve cells and their connections. Numerous findings in brain imaging studies describe the changes in brain structure and function associated with schizophrenia as emerging early in the course of the disorder. Some early brain imaging studies even found little or no evidence of progression of structural deficits. Yet, a new generation of studies now also describes degenerative processes in schizophrenia that resemble accelerated aging.

Robotic fish gain new sense: Navigate water currents and turbulence

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:42 AM PST

Scientists have developed robots with a new sense -- lateral line sensing. All fish have this sensing organ but so far it had no technological counterpart on human-made underwater vehicles.

Early evidence shows 'good' cholesterol could combat abdominal aortic aneurysm

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:41 AM PST

New research provides early evidence that 'good' cholesterol may possess anti-aneurysm forming properties. In laboratory-based investigations, scientists found that increased levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), the so-called good cholesterol, blocked the development of aneurysms – dangerous 'ballooning' in the wall of a blood vessel – in the body's largest artery, the aorta.

Family intervention improves mood symptoms in children and adolescents at risk for bipolar disorder

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:41 AM PST

Psychologists have found that children and adolescents with major depression or subthreshold forms of bipolar disorder - and who had at least one first-degree relative with bipolar disorder - responded better to a 12-session family-focused treatment than to a briefer educational treatment.

Curtains down for the black hole firewall paradox: Making gravity safe for Einstein again

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:41 AM PST

Scientists have revealed new insights into the life and death of black holes. Their findings dispel the so-called firewall paradox which shocked the physics community when it was announced in 2012 since its predictions about large black holes contradicted Einstein's crowning achievement -- the theory of general relativity. Those results suggested that anyone falling into a black hole would be burned up as they crossed its edge -- the so-called event horizon.

New opportunities for 3-D technology in medicine

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:39 AM PST

Until now, physicians have largely been skeptical of the advantages of 3-D technology. But this may be about to change: the findings of a new study show that even experienced surgeons stand to benefit from the third dimension.

Genomic screening to detect preventable rare diseases in healthy people?

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:38 AM PST

Millions of people unknowingly carry rare gene mutations that put them at high risk of developing preventable diseases such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and several catastrophic blood vessel disorders. Experts now propose that screening healthy adults for these and other specific, rare genetic disorders could potentially prevent these diseases.

Visceral fat causally linked to intestinal cancer

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:38 AM PST

Visceral fat, or fat stored deep in the abdominal cavity, is directly linked to an increased risk for colon cancer, according to new data from a mouse study.

Newly identified biomarkers may help predict progression of Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma

Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:38 AM PST

A series of microRNA expression signatures may help to define progression of the precancerous condition Barrett's esophagus into esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Females butterflies can smell if a male butterfly is inbred

Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:04 PM PST

The mating success of male butterflies is often lower if they are inbred. But how do female butterflies know which males to avoid? New research reveals that inbred male butterflies produce significantly less sex pheromones, making them less attractive to females.

Handedness in marsupials is dependent on gender, research shows

Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:03 PM PST

Boys are right-handed, girls are left ... Well at least this is true for sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and grey short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica). New research shows that handedness in marsupials is dependent on gender. This preference of one hand over another has developed despite the absence of a corpus collosum, the part of the brain which in placental mammals allows one half of the brain to communicate with the other.

Lizards facing mass extinction from climate change

Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:03 PM PST

Climate change could see dozens of lizard species becoming extinct within the next 50 years, according to new research. The often one-directional evolutionary adaptation of certain lizard species' reproductive modes could see multiple extinctions as the global temperature increases.

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