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Saturday, August 9, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Photo editing algorithm changes weather, seasons automatically in your shots

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:40 AM PDT

A computer algorithm enables users to instantly change the weather, time of day, season, or other features in outdoor photos with simple text commands. Machine learning and a clever database make it possible.

Breakthroughs made in ovarian cancer research

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

New clues to early detection and personalized treatment of ovarian cancer have been made by researchers. Ovarian cancer is currently one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose early due to the lack of symptoms that are unique to the illness. Successful treatment is difficult at this late stage, resulting in high mortality rates.

Violent solar system history uncovered by WA meteorite

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

Planetary scientists have shed some light on the bombardment history of our solar system by studying a unique volcanic meteorite recovered in Western Australia. Captured on camera seven years ago falling on the WA side of the Nullarbor Plain, the Bunburra Rockhole Meterorite has unique characteristics that suggest it came from a large asteroid that has never before been identified.

How we form habits, change existing ones

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

About 40 percent of people's daily activities are performed each day in almost the same situations, studies show. Habits emerge through associative learning. 'We find patterns of behavior that allow us to reach goals. We repeat what works, and when actions are repeated in a stable context, we form associations between cues and response,' a researcher explains.

Northern Pacific's tropical anoxic zone might shrink from climate change

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

A commonly held belief that global warming will diminish oxygen concentrations in the ocean looks like it may not be entirely true. According to new research, just the opposite is likely the case in the eastern tropical northern Pacific, with its anoxic zone expected to shrink in coming decades because of climate change.

Mystery of brain cell growth unraveled by scientists

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered how a single protein can exert both a push and a pull force to nudge a neuron in the desired direction, helping neurons navigate to their assigned places in the developing brain.

Wiggly microRNA binding implies a more complex genome regulation

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT

Non-standard microRNA silencing interactions appear more prevalent in human biology than previously believed, suggesting more complex roles for microRNAs, and helping explain why it's been difficult to translate microRNAs into human therapy. "The findings may help explain why the microRNA field has run into difficulty when translating these powerful molecules into therapies for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes," explains the study's senior author.

Study measures steep coastal costs of China's GDP growth

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:17 AM PDT

Economic reforms declared in 1978 led to a surge of growth in China, but resulting increases in human impact activities are seriously degrading the nation's coastal ecosystems, according to a newly published analysis of economic and environmental data. Some activities may have reached a turning point, but others will need policy changes, the authors project.

What does 'diversity' mean to you? The answer may depend on your race

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:17 AM PDT

Researchers have studied how whites, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans evaluate diversity. The research included three studies, and participants were asked to rate the diversity of various groups of people that were presented as a team at work.

Lipids boost the brain, study finds

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:08 AM PDT

Consuming oils with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, in particular those containing omega-3s, is beneficial for the health. But the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly known. Researchers have investigated the effect of lipids bearing polyunsaturated chains when they are integrated into cell membranes. Their work shows that the presence of these lipids makes the membranes more malleable and therefore more sensitive to deformation and fission by proteins.

Hybrid-motor helps cells push their way through tissues

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Research has uncovered how two cellular motors, previously thought to compete with each other, can actually work together to help cells squeezing through a crowded mass of cells. The study provides fresh understanding of how cells can combine accurate steering with a brute force mechanism in order to push through our body, essential when cells of our immune defense need to reach sites of inflammation, but detrimental during tumor metastasis or parasitic infection.

Do women and men ride differently? Horses cannot tell the difference

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Scientists have analyzed how horses are affected by the sex of their riders. Various parameters of stress were determined in horses and their riders when they covered an obstacle course. The results were surprising: the level of stress on a horse is independent of whether a man or a woman is in the saddle. Furthermore, the stress responses of male and female riders are essentially the same.

Phthalate compounds contaminating your glass of wine

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Alcohol may be even more damaging to your health then you first thought, researchers report. Phthalate compounds are extremely widespread in our environment, and have major potential as hormone disruptors. The use of phthalates is regulated on an international level and includes those likely to come into contact with food and drink packaging. A study has analysed phthalate concentrations in a variety of French wines and spirits.

Work-related stress a risk factor for type 2 diabetes

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Workplace stress can have a range of adverse effects on health with an increased risk of cardio-vascular diseases in the first line. However, to date, convincing evidence for a strong association between work stress and incident Type 2 diabetes mellitus is missing. Researchers have now discovered that individuals who are under a high level of pressure at work face an about 45 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who are subjected to less stress at their workplace.

Still hot inside the Moon: Tidal heating in the deepest part of the lunar mantle

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Scientists have found that there is an extremely soft layer deep inside the Moon and that heat is effectively generated in the layer by the gravity of the Earth. These findings suggest that the interior of the Moon has not yet cooled and hardened, and also that it is still being warmed by the effect of the Earth on the Moon. This research provides a chance to reconsider how both the Earth and the Moon have been evolving since their births through mutual influence until now.

Best way to brush teeth? Even dentists, dental associations don't agree

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Advice on how we should brush our teeth from dental associations and toothpaste companies is 'unacceptably inconsistent', finds new research. "The public needs to have sound information on the best method to brush their teeth," says the senior author of the study. "If people hear one thing from a dental association, another from a toothbrush company and something else from their dentist, no wonder they are confused about how to brush. In this study we found an unacceptably inconsistent array of advice from different sources.

Stem cells show promise for stroke in pilot study

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT

A stroke therapy using stem cells extracted from patients' bone marrow has shown promising results in the first trial of its kind in humans. The therapy uses a type of cell called CD34+ cells, a set of stem cells in the bone marrow that give rise to blood cells and blood vessel lining cells. Rather than developing into brain cells themselves, the cells are thought to release chemicals that trigger the growth of new brain tissue and new blood vessels in the area damaged by stroke.

Few juvenile suspects exercise constitutional rights during interrogations

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:00 AM PDT

Even when not under arrest, juvenile suspects being interrogated for a crime may be strikingly unaware of their constitutional rights and confess without legal counsel or even a parent present, according to research.

Parents part of problem in distracted teen driving, study finds

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:00 AM PDT

Parents play a direct role in distracted teen driving, with more than half of teens talking on cellphones with their mother or father while driving, according to new research. "Teens said parents expect to be able to reach them, that parents get mad if they don't answer their phone and they have to tell parents where they are," said one investigator.

Musical training offsets some academic achievement gaps, research says

Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:00 AM PDT

Learning to play a musical instrument or to sing can help disadvantaged children strengthen their reading and language skills, according to research. The findings, which involved hundreds of kids participating in musical training programs, highlight the role learning music can have on the brains of youth in impoverished areas.

New Test Predicts Individual's Risk of Second Kidney Stone

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 03:03 PM PDT

A new tool uses 11 questions to accurately calculate the probability that a patient will have another symptomatic kidney stone at 2, 5, or 10 years after the first stone. Kidney stones are common and affect approximately 6% to 9% of the population. The greatest concern of patients who have experienced a kidney stone is whether this excruciating painful event will ever happen again. Certain dietary recommendations and medications can help prevent another kidney stone from forming, but these can be burdensome, expensive, or cause side effects.

Slowing brain functions linked to increased risk of stroke, death

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 01:36 PM PDT

Cognitive abilities such as memory and attention are not only important after a stroke but also before; according to researchers, declining memory and cognitive ability may increase the risk of stroke in adults over age 65. After stroke, cognitive function declined almost twice as fast. Stroke and cognitive decline increased the risk of death in older adults.

To eat or not to eat: New disposable biosensor may help physicians determine which patients can safely be fed following surgery

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 12:40 PM PDT

A disposal, plastic listening device that attaches to the abdomen may help doctors definitively determine which post-operative patients should be fed and which should not, an invention that may improve outcomes, decrease healthcare costs and shorten hospital stays, according to a study. The device could also be used to help diagnose irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, in addition to helping obese people learn by the sounds from their gut when they should or shouldn't eat to help them lose weight.

Wild sheep show benefits of putting up with parasites

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:59 AM PDT

In the first evidence that natural selection favors an individual's infection tolerance, researchers have found that an animal's ability to endure an internal parasite strongly influences its reproductive success. The finding could provide the groundwork for boosting the resilience of humans and livestock to infection.

Dynamics of microbes, nitrate revealed by study

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:57 AM PDT

Though we know that the environmental microbiome plays a key role in mediating the persistence of biologically usable nitrogen in the environment and that microbes can perform critically different chemistry in the process, the complexity of this environmental dynamic has prevented science from clearly defining the conditions steering microbial nitrogen mediation. A new set of controlled experiments using recently developed genomic technologies have provided conclusive evidence that three critical factors steer this hugely important environmental process.

Regulations needed to identify potentially invasive biofuel crops

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:56 AM PDT

If the hottest new plant grown as a biofuel crop is approved based solely on its greenhouse gas emission profile, its potential as the next invasive species may not be discovered until it's too late. In response to this need to prevent such invasions, researchers have developed both a set of regulatory definitions and provisions and a list of 49 low-risk biofuel plants from which growers can choose.

Newsroom journalists at increased risk of PTSD, depression from images of extreme violence

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:54 AM PDT

Journalists working with images of extreme violence submitted to newsrooms by the public are at increased risk of adverse psychological consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder. "Given that good journalism depends on healthy journalists, news organizations will need to look anew at what can be done to offset the risks inherent in viewing material. Reducing the frequency of exposure may be one way to go," authors say.

Mutations in gene essential for cell regulation cause kidney cancer in children

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:52 AM PDT

Mutations in a gene that helps regulate when genes are switched on and off in cells have been found to cause rare cases of Wilms tumor, the most common kidney cancer occurring in children. Wilms tumour affects around one in 10,000 children and usually develops before the age of five years. Treatment of Wilms tumour is very successful, with 90 per cent of children being cured.

Gut microbiome analysis improved noninvasive colorectal cancer screening

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:52 AM PDT

Analysis of the gut microbiome more successfully distinguished healthy individuals from those with precancerous adenomatous polyps and those with invasive colorectal cancer compared with assessment of clinical risk factors and fecal occult blood testing, according to data. "If our results are confirmed in larger groups of people, adding gut microbiome analysis to other fecal tests may provide an improved, noninvasive way to screen for colorectal cancer," researchers explained.

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