Sunday, June 8, 2014

ScienceDaily: Living Well News

Multilingual or not, infants learn words best when it sounds like home
Soda consumers may be drinking more fructose than labels reveal
Vitamin D with calcium may prevent bone fractures for high-risk seniors
How UV rays may contribute to cataracts

Multilingual or not, infants learn words best when it sounds like home

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 06:41 AM PDT

Growing up in a multilingual home has many advantages, but many parents worry that exposure to multiple languages might delay language acquisition. New research could now lay some of these multilingual myths to rest, thanks to a revealing study that shows both monolingual and bilingual infants learn a new word best from someone with a language background that matches their own.

Soda consumers may be drinking more fructose than labels reveal

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 06:39 AM PDT

Soda consumers may be getting a much higher dose of the harmful sugar fructose than they have been led to believe, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed the chemical composition of 34 popular beverages, finding that beverages and juices made with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew and Sprite, all contain 50 percent more fructose than glucose, a blend that calls into question claims that sugar and HFCS are essentially the same.

Vitamin D with calcium may prevent bone fractures for high-risk seniors

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 01:19 PM PDT

For seniors over the age of 65, taking a daily supplement of vitamin D with calcium -— but not vitamin D alone -— can offer some protection against the risk of common bone fractures, according to an updated review. Broken bones of the hip, wrist, or spine due to osteoporosis or low bone mass affect about 52 million Americans. About one in two women and one in four men age 50 and older will break a bone due to their declining bone health.

How UV rays may contribute to cataracts

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 01:19 PM PDT

A new study offers an explanation for how years of chronic sunlight exposure can increase the risk of cataract, a clouding of the eye lens that typically occurs with aging. The study firms up a link between the sun's damaging rays and a process called oxidative stress.

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

New species of ancient chirping giant pill-millipedes from Madagascar already threatened
Fecal source tracking in Norwegian water catchments: New methods
Drastic cut in electricity bill for supermarket in Norway
Infection in malaria-transmitting mosquito discovered
For forests, an earlier spring than ever: climate change leads to increased growing season and allows forests to store more CO2
Climate change: Termites, fungi play more important role in decomposition than temperature
New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia

New species of ancient chirping giant pill-millipedes from Madagascar already threatened

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:20 AM PDT

An integrative inventory of chirping giant pill-millipede species in Madagascar revealed seven new species, many of them microendemics. These microendemics that can only be found in small forest fragments, less than a few hundred meters long and wide, are possibly threatened by rainforest destruction.

Fecal source tracking in Norwegian water catchments: New methods

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:15 AM PDT

A set of methods for the detection of fecal pollution in Norwegian watercourses has been tested and implemented. The methods, which combine microbial and molecular biological techniques, can give answers as to whether the contamination is a result of human or animal excreta. In addition, the methods provide grounds for assessing whether the water pollution poses a health risk or not.

Drastic cut in electricity bill for supermarket in Norway

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:15 AM PDT

A newly built mini-supermarket was opened last autumn in Norway by a government minister to the sound of a brass band. Throughout the winter, it used 30 per cent less electricity than four comparable stores in the capital of mid-Norway, where of course the outdoor temperature was the same for all of them.

Infection in malaria-transmitting mosquito discovered

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:11 AM PDT

The first evidence of an intercellular bacterial infection in natural populations of two species of Anopheles mosquitoes, the major vectors of malaria in Africa, has been found by scientists. The infection, called Wolbachia, has been shown in labs to reduce the incidence of pathogen infections in mosquitoes and has the potential to be used in controlling malaria-transmitting mosquito populations.

For forests, an earlier spring than ever: climate change leads to increased growing season and allows forests to store more CO2

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 03:36 PM PDT

Over the last two decades, spurred by higher temperatures caused by climate change, scientists say, forests throughout the Eastern US have experienced earlier springs and later autumns than ever before. Over the last two decades, spurred by higher temperatures caused by climate change, scientists say forests throughout the Eastern U.S. have experienced earlier springs and later autumns than ever before.

Climate change: Termites, fungi play more important role in decomposition than temperature

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 03:36 PM PDT

Climate change models could have a thing or two to learn from termites and fungi, according to a new study. For a long time scientists have believed that temperature is the dominant factor in determining the rate of wood decomposition worldwide. Decomposition matters because the speed at which woody material are broken down strongly influences the retention of carbon in forest ecosystems and can help to offset the loss of carbon to the atmosphere from other sources. That makes the decomposition rate a key factor in detecting potential changes to the climate.

New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 12:57 PM PDT

A new study describes how exposure to air pollution early in life produces harmful changes in the brains of mice, including an enlargement of part of the brain that is seen in humans who have autism and schizophrenia. The mice performed poorly in tests of short-term memory, learning ability, and impulsivity. Study authors say the findings are very suggestive that air pollution may play a role in autism, as well as in other neurodevelopmental disorders.

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

Complex neural circuitry keeps you from biting your tongue

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 01:21 PM PDT

Chewing requires a complex interplay in which the tongue pushes food into the teeth and then darts back to avoid being bitten. Researchers have used a sophisticated tracing technique to map the brain circuitry in mice that keeps mealtime relatively painless. The study could lend insight into a variety of human behaviors, from nighttime teeth grinding to smiling or complex vocalizations.

ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Health policy researchers lack confidence in social media for communicating scientific evidence
Biologists pave the way for improved epilepsy treatments
HIV transmission networks mapped to reduce infection rate
Fecal source tracking in Norwegian water catchments: New methods
Infection in malaria-transmitting mosquito discovered
New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia
Brain circuit problem likely sets stage for the 'voices' that are symptom of schizophrenia
On-off switch to burning stored fat found by scientists
A new model of liver regeneration: Switch causes mature liver cells to revert back to stem cell-like state

Health policy researchers lack confidence in social media for communicating scientific evidence

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 10:54 AM PDT

Though Twitter boats 645 million users across the world, only 14 percent of health policy researchers reported using Twitter – and approximately 20 percent used blogs and Facebook – to communicate their research findings over the past year, according to a new study. In contrast, sixty-five percent used traditional media channels, such as press releases or media interviews. While participants believed that social media can be an effective way to communicate research findings, many lacked the confidence to use it and felt their academic peers and institutions did not value it or respect it as much as traditional media and direct contact with policy makers.

Biologists pave the way for improved epilepsy treatments

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 09:04 AM PDT

Biologists leading an investigation into the cells that regulate proper brain function, have identified and located the key players whose actions contribute to afflictions such as epilepsy and schizophrenia. The discovery is a major step toward developing improved treatments for these and other neurological disorders.

HIV transmission networks mapped to reduce infection rate

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:18 AM PDT

The transmission network of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been mapped in San Diego. The mapping of HIV infections, which used genetic sequencing, allowed researchers to predictively model the likelihood of new HIV transmissions and identify persons at greatest risk for transmitting the virus.

Fecal source tracking in Norwegian water catchments: New methods

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:15 AM PDT

Infection in malaria-transmitting mosquito discovered

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:11 AM PDT

New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 12:57 PM PDT

Brain circuit problem likely sets stage for the 'voices' that are symptom of schizophrenia

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:19 AM PDT

Scientists have identified problems in a connection between brain structures that may predispose individuals to hearing the 'voices' that are a common symptom of schizophrenia. Researchers linked the problem to a gene deletion. This leads to changes in brain chemistry that reduce the flow of information between two brain structures involved in processing auditory information.

On-off switch to burning stored fat found by scientists

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:19 AM PDT

Scientists' discovery of how white fat cells are converted to beige, and the on-off switch for the process, could lead to novel diabetes and obesity drugs. "Understanding how beigeing is controlled is so very important because if we can improve energy expenditure, we can reduce obesity," the lead author said.

A new model of liver regeneration: Switch causes mature liver cells to revert back to stem cell-like state

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:17 AM PDT

Scientists have new evidence in mice that it may be possible to repair a chronically diseased liver by forcing mature liver cells to revert back to a stem cell-like state. The researchers happened upon this discovery while investigating whether a biochemical cascade called Hippo, which controls how big the liver grows, also affects cell fate. The unexpected answer is that switching off the Hippo-signaling pathway in mature liver cells generates very high rates of dedifferentiation. This means the cells turn back the clock to become stem-cell like again, thus allowing them to give rise to functional progenitor cells that can regenerate a diseased liver.

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

Magnetic moment of the proton measured with unprecedented precision
For forests, an earlier spring than ever: climate change leads to increased growing season and allows forests to store more CO2
New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia
Brain circuit problem likely sets stage for the 'voices' that are symptom of schizophrenia
A new model of liver regeneration: Switch causes mature liver cells to revert back to stem cell-like state
Complex neural circuitry keeps you from biting your tongue

Magnetic moment of the proton measured with unprecedented precision

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:19 AM PDT

Physicists succeeded in the first direct high-precision measurement of a fundamental property of the proton. Results will contribute to a better understanding of the matter/antimatter asymmetry.

For forests, an earlier spring than ever: climate change leads to increased growing season and allows forests to store more CO2

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 03:36 PM PDT

New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 12:57 PM PDT

Brain circuit problem likely sets stage for the 'voices' that are symptom of schizophrenia

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:19 AM PDT

A new model of liver regeneration: Switch causes mature liver cells to revert back to stem cell-like state

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:17 AM PDT

Complex neural circuitry keeps you from biting your tongue

Posted: 03 Jun 2014 01:21 PM PDT