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Friday, August 29, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Three-quarters of depressed cancer patients do not receive treatment for depression; new approach could transform care

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 05:36 PM PDT

Three papers reveal that around three-quarters of cancer patients who have major depression are not currently receiving treatment for depression, and that a new integrated treatment program is strikingly more effective at reducing depression and improving quality of life than current care.

Inside the Teenage Brain: New Studies Explain Risky Behavior

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 05:35 PM PDT

It's common knowledge that teenage boys seem predisposed to risky behaviors. Now, a series of new studies is shedding light on specific brain mechanisms that help to explain what might be going on inside juvenile male brains.

Why some liquids are 'fragile' and others are 'strong'

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT

Only recently has it become possible to accurately 'see' the structure of a liquid. Using X-rays and a high-tech apparatus that holds liquids without a container, a physicist has compared the behavior of glass-forming liquids as they approach the glass transition. The results are the strongest demonstration yet that bulk properties like viscosity are linked to microscopic ones like structure.

Social class makes a difference in how children tackle classroom problems

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT

Social class can account for differences in how parents coach their children to manage classroom challenges, a study shows. Such differences can affect a child's education by reproducing inequalities in the classroom. With the widening gaps in educational outcomes between social classes, the researcher suggested that this study could help schools become more aware of these differences and make moves to reduce the inequalities.

Nanodiamonds are forever: Did comet collision leave layer of nanodiamonds across Earth?

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT

A comet collision with Earth caused abrupt environmental stress and degradation that contributed to the extinction of most large animal species then inhabiting the Americas, a group of scientists suggests. The catastrophic impact and the subsequent climate change also led to the disappearance of the prehistoric Clovis culture, and to human population decline. Now focus has turned to the character and distribution of nanodiamonds, one type of material produced during such an extraterrestrial collision. The researchers found an abundance of these tiny diamonds distributed over 50 million square kilometers across the Northern Hemisphere.

Novel 'butterfly' molecule could build new sensors, photoenergy conversion devices

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT

Exciting new work has led to a novel molecular system that can take your temperature, emit white light, and convert photon energy directly to mechanical motions. And, the molecule looks like a butterfly.

A touching story: Ancient conversation between plants, fungi and bacteria

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 01:33 PM PDT

The mechanical force that a single fungal cell or bacterial colony exerts on a plant cell may seem vanishingly small, but it plays a heavy role in setting up some of the most fundamental symbiotic relationships in biology, according to a new study. It's known that disease-causing fungi build a structure to break through the plant cell wall, "but there is growing evidence that fungi and also bacteria in symbiotic associations use a mechanical stimulation to indicate their presence," says one researcher. "They are knocking on the door, but not breaking it down."

Cheetah menu: Wildlife instead of cattle

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:17 PM PDT

Cheetahs primarily prefer wildlife on their menu to cattle, scientists have confirmed. The cheetah is a vulnerable species that only exists on Namibia's commercial farmland in large populations. Here, local farmers see cheetahs as a potential threat for their cattle.

Malaria symptoms fade on repeat infections due to loss of immune cells

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:16 AM PDT

Children who repeatedly become infected with malaria often experience no clinical symptoms with these subsequent infections, and a team of scientists has discovered that this might be due at least in part to a depletion of specific types of immune cells. Additionally, researchers speculate that malaria infection, by reshaping immune responses, might influence susceptibility to, and protection from, other infectious diseases.

Xenon exposure shown to erase traumatic memories

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:16 AM PDT

Xenon gas, used in humans for anesthesia and diagnostic imaging, has the potential to be a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other memory-related disorders, researchers report. "We know from previous research that each time an emotional memory is recalled, the brain actually restores it as if it were a new memory. With this knowledge, we decided to see whether we could alter the process by introducing xenon gas immediately after a fear memory was reactivated," explained an author.

Alcohol-dependence gene linked to neurotransmitter

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT

Scientists have solved the mystery of why a specific signaling pathway can be associated with alcohol dependence. The new research shows the gene, Nf1, regulates gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that lowers anxiety and increases relaxation feelings.

Dosage of HIV drug may be ineffective for half of African-Americans

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT

Many African-Americans may not be getting effective doses of the HIV drug maraviroc because they are more likely than European-Americans to inherit functional copies of a protein that speeds the removal of the drug from the body.

Lifetime of fitness: Fountain of youth for bone, joint health?

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 09:26 AM PDT

Being physically active may significantly improve musculoskeletal and overall health, and minimize or delay the effects of aging. "An increasing amount of evidence demonstrates that we can modulate age-related decline in the musculoskeletal system," said the lead study author.. "A lot of the deterioration we see with aging can be attributed to a more sedentary lifestyle instead of aging itself."

Serotonin deficiency? Study throws into question long-held belief about depression

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

New evidence puts into doubt the long-standing belief that a deficiency in serotonin -- a chemical messenger in the brain -- plays a central role in depression. Scientists report that mice lacking the ability to make serotonin in their brains (and thus should have been 'depressed' by conventional wisdom) did not show depression-like symptoms.

How to prevent organic food fraud

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

A growing number of consumers are willing to pay a premium for fruits, vegetables and other foods labelled 'organic,' but whether they're getting what the label claims is another matter. Now scientists studying conventional and organic tomatoes are devising a new way to make sure farms are labeling their produce appropriately.

Potential therapy for the Sudan strain of Ebola could help contain some future outbreaks

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

Ebola is a rare, but deadly disease that exists as five strains, none of which have approved therapies. One of the most lethal strains is the Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV). Although not the strain currently devastating West Africa, SUDV has caused widespread illness, even as recently as 2012. Researchers now report a possible therapy that could someday help treat patients infected with SUDV.

Potential therapy for incurable Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease found

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

A potential new treatment approach for hereditary neurological disorder, the incurable Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, has been found by researchers. Patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A harbour an extra copy of the PMP22 gene which leads to the overproduction of the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), a key component of myelin.

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