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Friday, July 18, 2014

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


One injection stops diabetes in its tracks: Treatment reverses symptoms of type 2 diabetes in mice without side effects

Posted: 16 Jul 2014 10:15 AM PDT

In mice with diet-induced diabetes -- the equivalent of type 2 diabetes in humans -- a single injection of the protein FGF1 is enough to restore blood sugar levels to a healthy range for more than two days. The discovery could lead to a new generation of safer, more effective diabetes drugs. The team found that sustained treatment with the protein doesn't merely keep blood sugar under control, but also reverses insulin insensitivity, the underlying physiological cause of diabetes. Equally exciting, the newly developed treatment doesn't result in side effects common to most current diabetes treatments.

Do women talk more than men? It's all about context

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:43 PM PDT

A new study has been able to tease out a more accurate picture of the talkative-woman stereotype we're so familiar with -- and they found that context plays a large role. Using so-​​called "sociometers" -- wearable devices roughly the size of smart­phones that col­lect real-​​time data about the user's social interactions -- the research team was able to tease out a more accu­rate pic­ture of the stereo­type.

Rainwater discovered at new depths, with high pressure and temperatures over 300 degrees Celsius

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 06:42 PM PDT

Researchers have found that rainwater can penetrate below the Earth's fractured upper crust, which could have major implications for our understanding of earthquakes and the generation of valuable mineral deposits. It had been thought that surface water could not penetrate the ductile crust - where temperatures of more than 300°C and high pressures cause rocks to flex and flow rather than fracture - but researchers have now found fluids derived from rainwater at these levels. Fluids in the Earth's crust can weaken rocks and may help to initiate earthquakes along locked fault lines.

New feathered predatory fossil sheds light on dinosaur flight

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 11:24 AM PDT

A new raptorial dinosaur fossil with exceptionally long feathers has provided exciting insights into dinosaur flight. A new article asserts that the fossil has a long feathered tail that scientists believe was instrumental for decreasing descent speed and assuring safe landings.

Smallest Swiss cross: Made of 20 single atoms

Posted: 15 Jul 2014 05:50 AM PDT

The manipulation of atoms has reached a new level: Physicists were able to place 20 single atoms on a fully insulated surface at room temperature to form the smallest "Swiss cross", thus taking a big step towards next generation atomic-scale storage devices.

Genetic recipe to turn stem cells to blood

Posted: 14 Jul 2014 07:01 AM PDT

The ability to reliably and safely make in the laboratory all of the different types of cells in human blood is one key step closer to reality. Stem cell researchers have discovered two genetic programs responsible for taking blank-slate stem cells and turning them into both red and the array of white cells that make up human blood.

Ocean's most abundant organisms have clear daily cycles

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 11:15 AM PDT

In every drop of ocean water, hundreds of types of bacteria can be found. Now scientists have discovered that communities of these ocean microbes have their own daily cycles -- not unlike the residents of a bustling city who tend to wake up, commute, work, and eat at the same times. What's more, it's not all about the sun. These bacteria have been observed turning on diel cycling genes at slightly different times -— suggesting a wave of transcriptional activity that passes through the microbial community each day.

Urban heat: Not a myth, and worst where it's wet

Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:01 AM PDT

A new quantifies for the first time the primary causes of the 'urban heat island' (UHI) effect, a common phenomenon that makes the world's urban areas significantly warmer than surrounding countryside and may increase health risks for city residents. In an analysis of 65 cities, researchers found that variation in how efficiently urban areas release heat back into the lower atmosphere is the dominant factor in the daytime UHI effect.

Woolly mammoth's secrets for shrugging off cold points toward new artificial blood for humans

Posted: 14 Sep 2011 08:58 AM PDT

The blood from woolly mammoths -- those extinct elephant-like creatures that roamed Earth in pre-historic times -- is helping scientists develop new blood products for modern medical procedures that involve reducing patients' body temperature.

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