ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• New target found for nitric oxide's attack on salmonella bacteria
• Northwest Forest Plan has unintended benefit – carbon sequestration
• NASA catches three tropical cyclones at one time
• Life scientists use novel technique to produce genetic map for African Americans
• Cellular stress can induce yeast to promote prion formation
• IV fluids may reduce severity of kidney failure in kids with E. coli infection
• Bioengineers identify the cellular mechanisms of traumatic brain injury; New hope for treatment of TBI in veterans wounded by explosions
• Shining a light on the elusive 'blackbody' of energy research: Designer material has potential applications for thermophotovoltaics
• Farthest, largest water mass in universe discovered
• Can feeling too good be bad? Positive emotion in bipolar disorder
• Earliest watery black hole discovered
• Nanoplasmonic 'whispering gallery' breaks emission time record in semiconductors
• Astronomers discover largest and most distant reservoir of water yet
• Deepwater Horizon crude less toxic to bird eggs after weathering at sea
• Fool's gold gives scientists priceless insight into Earth's evolution
• The origin of malaria: The hunt continues
• Tags for studying the spread of epidemics
• The origin of comet material formed at high temperatures
• Fault in immune memory causes atopic eczema and psoriasis
• Getting a grip on grasping
• A novel and potent antioxidant found in tomato plants, initial results suggest
• Patients who used mail-order pharmacy for new statin prescriptions achieved better cholesterol control, study finds
• Endangered river turtle's genes reveal ancient influence of Maya Indians
• World's largest sheep is an international traveler
• Signaling molecule identified as essential for maintaining a balanced immune response
• Misuse of pain medication is pathway to high-risk behaviors, study finds
• Winning the battle against the Asian tiger mosquito
• How to combat hospital-acquired infections and life-threatening toxins

New target found for nitric oxide's attack on salmonella bacteria Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT A new target for nitric oxide has been revealed in studies of how it inhibits the growth of salmonella, a bacteria that is a common cause of food poisoning. Naturally produced in the nose and gut, nitric oxide interferes at various points in the Krebs cycle, the part of cellular respiration that turns fuel into energy. Knowing how nitric oxide restricts pathogen metabolism may lead to new antimicrobials or drugs that promote the body's own natural defenses.

Northwest Forest Plan has unintended benefit – carbon sequestration Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT The Northwest Forest Plan enacted in 1993 was designed to conserve old-growth forests and protect species such as the northern spotted owl, but researchers conclude in a new study that it had another powerful and unintended consequence -- increased carbon sequestration on public lands.

NASA catches three tropical cyclones at one time Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT It's not often that a satellite can capture an image of more than one tropical cyclone, but the GOES-13 satellite managed to get 3 tropical cyclones in two ocean basins in one image today. Bret and his "sister" Cindy are racing through the North Atlantic, while another area tries to develop far to their south. "Cousin" Dora is still a hurricane in the eastern Pacific.

Life scientists use novel technique to produce genetic map for African Americans Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Scientists have produced one of the first high-resolution genetic maps for African-American populations. The new map will help disease geneticists who are working to map genetic diseases in African Americans. The map could help scientists learn the roots of diseases that occur in African Americans and to discover genes that play a key role in disease.

Cellular stress can induce yeast to promote prion formation Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Biochemists have identified a yeast protein called Lsb2 that can promote spontaneous prion formation. Prions can cause neurodegenerative disorders, such as mad cow/Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, in humans and animals.

IV fluids may reduce severity of kidney failure in kids with E. coli infection Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Infection with E. coli bacteria can wreak havoc in children, leading to bloody diarrhea, fever and kidney failure. But giving children intravenous fluids early in the course of an E. coli O157:H7 infection appears to lower the odds of developing severe kidney failure, according to new research.

Bioengineers identify the cellular mechanisms of traumatic brain injury; New hope for treatment of TBI in veterans wounded by explosions Posted: 22 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Bioengineers have identified, for the very first time, the mechanism for diffuse axonal injury and explained why cerebral vasospasm is more common in blast-induced brain injuries than in brain injuries typically suffered by civilians.

Shining a light on the elusive 'blackbody' of energy research: Designer material has potential applications for thermophotovoltaics Posted: 22 Jul 2011 12:26 PM PDT A designer metamaterial can engineer emitted "blackbody" radiation, a feat that transcends many of the limits governing natural materials and an advance that could potentially lead to the development of new thermophotovoltaic technologies, researchers report.

Farthest, largest water mass in universe discovered Posted: 22 Jul 2011 11:21 AM PDT An international team of astronomers has discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe.

Can feeling too good be bad? Positive emotion in bipolar disorder Posted: 22 Jul 2011 11:21 AM PDT Positive emotions like joy and compassion are good for your mental and physical health, and help foster creativity and friendship. But people with bipolar disorder seem to have too much of a good thing. A new article explores how positive emotion may become negative in bipolar disorder.

Earliest watery black hole discovered Posted: 22 Jul 2011 11:20 AM PDT A team of astronomers has found the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe -- discovered in the central regions of a distant quasar. Quasars contain massive black holes that are steadily consuming a surrounding disk of gas and dust; as it eats, the quasar spews out huge amounts of energy. The energy from this particular quasar was released some 12 billion years ago, only 1.6 billion years after the Big Bang.

Nanoplasmonic 'whispering gallery' breaks emission time record in semiconductors Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:28 AM PDT Renaissance architects demonstrated their understanding of geometry and physics when they built whispering galleries into their cathedrals. These circular chambers were designed to amplify and direct sound waves so that, when standing in the right spot, a whisper could be heard from across the room. Now, scientists have applied the same principle on the nanoscale to drastically reduce emission lifetime, a key property of semiconductors, which can lead to the development of new ultrafast photonic devices.

Astronomers discover largest and most distant reservoir of water yet Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:28 AM PDT Two teams of astronomers have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe. Looking from a distance of 30 billion trillion miles away into a quasar -- one of the brightest and most violent objects in the cosmos -- the researchers have found a mass of water vapor that's at least 140 trillion times that of all the water in the world's oceans combined.

Deepwater Horizon crude less toxic to bird eggs after weathering at sea Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:28 AM PDT After collecting weathered crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers have reported that only 8 to 9 percent coverage on the shells of fertilized mallard duck eggs resulted in a 50 percent mortality rate.

Fool's gold gives scientists priceless insight into Earth's evolution Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:28 AM PDT Fool's gold is providing scientists with valuable insights into a turning point in the Earth's evolution, which took place billions of years ago.

The origin of malaria: The hunt continues Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:03 AM PDT The agent of malaria has been found in the greater spot-nosed monkey, also known as putty-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus nictitans), a small African primate derived from a line different to that of humans, gorillas and chimpanzees. This discovery challenges current thinking on the origin of the parasite and introduces a key element in the fight against malaria: knowing how it has adapted to the human species will make it possible to target its weaknesses.

Tags for studying the spread of epidemics Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:02 AM PDT Participants in a congress were asked to wear a tag for two days in order to study their movements and interactions within a population. The data, collected by a French-Italian team, makes it possible to envisage the simulation of the spread of infection risks within a population, or even the optimization of the response to the expansion of an epidemic.

The origin of comet material formed at high temperatures Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:02 AM PDT Comets are icy bodies, yet they are made of materials formed at very high temperatures. Where do these materials come from? Researchers have now provided the physical explanation behind this phenomenon. They have demonstrated how these materials migrated from the hottest parts of the solar system to its outer regions before entering the composition of comets.

Fault in immune memory causes atopic eczema and psoriasis Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:02 AM PDT Scientists believe they have discovered the causes of atopic eczema and psoriasis.

Getting a grip on grasping Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:02 AM PDT Quickly grabbing a cup of coffee is an everyday action for most of us. For people with severe paralysis however, this task is unfeasible – yet not "unthinkable". Because of this, interfaces between the brain and a computer can in principle detect these "thoughts" and transform them into steering commands. Scientists in Germany now have found a way to distinguish between different types of grasping on the basis of the accompanying brain activity.

A novel and potent antioxidant found in tomato plants, initial results suggest Posted: 22 Jul 2011 10:02 AM PDT Researchers have identified a novel and potent natural antioxidant occurring in tomato plants. It is a phenolic substance that is synthesized by the tomato plant when it is subjected to biotic stress. Until now, it was completely unknown. Researchers point out that the antioxidant power of the new compound is much higher --14 times higher, to be precise-- than, for example, that of resveratrol.

Patients who used mail-order pharmacy for new statin prescriptions achieved better cholesterol control, study finds Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:21 AM PDT Kaiser Permanente Northern California patients who obtained new statin prescriptions via a mail-order pharmacy achieved better cholesterol control in the first 3-15 months following the initiation of therapy -- compared to those patients who only obtained their statin prescription from their local Kaiser Permanente Northern California pharmacy.

Endangered river turtle's genes reveal ancient influence of Maya Indians Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:21 AM PDT A genetic study focusing on the Central American river turtle recently turned up surprising results involved in the conservation of this critically endangered species. Small tissue samples collected from 238 wild turtles at 15 different locations across their range in Southern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala revealed a "surprising lack" of genetic structure.

World's largest sheep is an international traveler Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:21 AM PDT A genetic study of the world's largest sheep species has revealed that the big-horned animals travel extensively across the moutainous borders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China, according to wildlife researchers.

Signaling molecule identified as essential for maintaining a balanced immune response Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:20 AM PDT Researchers have identified a signaling molecule that functions like a factory supervisor to ensure that the right mix of specialized T cells is available to fight infections and guard against autoimmune disease.

Misuse of pain medication is pathway to high-risk behaviors, study finds Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:20 AM PDT A new study suggests that abuse of prescription painkillers may be an important gateway to the use of injected drugs such as heroin, among people with a history of using both types of drugs. Common factors identified in this group included a family history of drug misuse and receiving prescriptions for opioid drugs in the past.

Winning the battle against the Asian tiger mosquito Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:20 AM PDT The combination of three complementary measures to eradicate tiger mosquitoes -- avoid having stagnant water, using insecticides to eliminate larvae and adults, and removing rubbish -- reduces more than half the number of tiger mosquitoes, according to research coordinated by researchers in Spain.

How to combat hospital-acquired infections and life-threatening toxins Posted: 22 Jul 2011 08:20 AM PDT A team of scientists from Singapore has discovered the secret recipe for 'antidotes' that could neutralize the deadly plant toxin Ricin, widely feared for its bioterrorism potential, as well as the Pseudomonas exotoxin responsible for the tens of thousands of hospital-acquired infections in immune-compromised patients all over the world.

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