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Sunday, May 11, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Astronomers find sun's 'long-lost brother,' pave way for family reunion

Posted: 10 May 2014 12:17 PM PDT

Astronomers have identified the first "sibling" of the Sun -- a star that was almost certainly born from the same cloud of gas and dust as our star. The newly developed methods for locating the Sun's 'siblings' will help other astronomers find other "solar siblings," work that could lead to an understanding of how and where our Sun formed, and how our solar system became hospitable for life.

Hurricanes Katrina, Rita may have caused up to half of recorded stillbirths in worst hit areas

Posted: 08 May 2014 04:25 PM PDT

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may have been responsible for up to half of all recorded stillbirths in the worst hit areas, suggests research. Calculations indicate that the risk of a pregnancy ending in a stillbirth was 40% higher in parishes where 10-50% of housing stock had been damaged, and more than twice as high in areas where over 50% of the housing stock had taken a hit. After taking account of known risk factors, every 1% increase in the extent of damage to housing stock was associated with a corresponding 7% rise in the number of stillbirths.

Breastfeeding promotes growth of beneficial bacteria in gut

Posted: 07 May 2014 06:59 AM PDT

The nutritional factor that has the greatest impact on the development of a child's gut flora is whether the child is breastfed, according to a new study. The study shows that breastfeeding promotes the growth of beneficial lactic acid bacteria in the baby's gut flora, which are beneficial to the development of the child's immune system.

Detecting fetal chromosomal defects without risk

Posted: 06 May 2014 10:55 AM PDT

A team of scientists describe a new benchtop semiconductor sequencing procedure and newly developed bioinformatics software tools that are fast, accurate, portable, less expensive and can be completed without harm to mother or fetus. Current diagnoses often rely upon invasive tests that sample amniotic fluid or placental tissues for fetal DNA that can then be analyzed using a variety of complex and expensive methods. While highly reliable, these invasive tests may cause infections in the pregnant woman and pose as much as a 1 percent risk of miscarriage and fetal loss.

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