ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

---

• Deep-reef coral hates the light, prefers the shade
• Plastic fantastic: The future of biodegradables
• Musical aptitude relates to reading ability
• Google Earth typhoid maps reveal secrets of disease outbreaks
• White children far more likely to receive CT scans than Hispanic, African-American children
• New role for RNA interference during chromosomal replication discovered
• Largest ever genetic study of liver function could point the way to new treatments
• Precise gene therapy without a needle
• Could a computer one day rewire itself? New nanomaterial 'steers' electric currents in multiple dimensions
• Faulty molecular switch can cause infertility or miscarriage
• Promising new approach to treating debilitating nervous system disease
• Sports-related knee injuries in children have increased dramatically over the past decade
• Children dependent on life support vulnerable to loss of electrical power
• American Academy of Pediatrics expands ages for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in children
• Minority children less likely to wear a car seatbelt, putting them at greater risk of severe injury
• Delayed pediatric appendicitis treatment linked to complications, and even death

Deep-reef coral hates the light, prefers the shade Posted: 16 Oct 2011 06:20 PM PDT Bird's nest coral is common throughout the Indo-Pacific and is able to live across a range of depths. New research used genetic and photosynthetic analysis to demonstrate that the genetic differences between both bird's nest corals and their algal symbionts, which provide energy for the corals to survive, reflect adaptations to the different environmental conditions encountered at different depths.

Plastic fantastic: The future of biodegradables Posted: 16 Oct 2011 06:20 PM PDT Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a thermoplastic polyester which occurs naturally in bacteria as Ralstonia eutropha and Bacillus megaterium. Even though PHB is biodegradable and is not dependent on fossil resources, this bioplastic has been traditionally too expensive to produce to replace petroleum-based plastics. New research describes an alternative method of producing PHB in microalgae.

Musical aptitude relates to reading ability Posted: 16 Oct 2011 06:20 PM PDT Auditory working memory and attention, for example the ability to hear and then remember instructions while completing a task, are a necessary part of musical ability. But musical ability is also related to verbal memory and literacy in childhood. New research shows how auditory working memory and musical aptitude are intrinsically related to reading ability, and provides a biological basis for this link.

Google Earth typhoid maps reveal secrets of disease outbreaks Posted: 16 Oct 2011 06:20 PM PDT In the mid-nineteenth century, John Snow mapped cases of cholera in Soho, London, and traced the source of the outbreak to a contaminated water pump. Now, in a twenty-first century equivalent, scientists working in Kathmandu, Nepal, have combined the latest in gene sequencing technology and global positioning system case localization to map the spread of typhoid and trace its source.

White children far more likely to receive CT scans than Hispanic, African-American children Posted: 16 Oct 2011 06:20 PM PDT White children are far more likely to receive cranial computed tomography scans in an emergency department following minor head trauma than are African-American or Hispanic children, a new study has found.

New role for RNA interference during chromosomal replication discovered Posted: 16 Oct 2011 10:20 AM PDT Scientists have described a new role for RNAi during chromosomal replication. They have now shown that RNAi allows the DNA replication fork to progress smoothly without resulting in DNA damage.

Largest ever genetic study of liver function could point the way to new treatments Posted: 16 Oct 2011 10:20 AM PDT Researchers have identified a large number of areas in the human genetic code that are involved in regulating the way in which the liver functions, in a new study of over 61,000 people. The work identifies 42 genetic regions associated with liver function, 32 of which had not been linked to liver function before.

Precise gene therapy without a needle Posted: 16 Oct 2011 10:20 AM PDT For the first time, researchers have found a way to inject a precise dose of a gene therapy agent directly into a single living cell without a needle. The technique uses electricity to "shoot" bits of therapeutic biomolecules through a tiny channel and into a cell in a fraction of a second.

Could a computer one day rewire itself? New nanomaterial 'steers' electric currents in multiple dimensions Posted: 16 Oct 2011 10:20 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new nanomaterial that can "steer" electrical currents. The development could lead to a computer that can simply reconfigure its internal wiring and become an entirely different device, based on changing needs. The material combines different aspects of silicon- and polymer-based electronics to create a new classification of electronic materials: nanoparticle-based electronics.

Faulty molecular switch can cause infertility or miscarriage Posted: 16 Oct 2011 10:20 AM PDT Scientists have discovered an enzyme that acts as a 'fertility switch'. High levels of the protein are associated with infertility, while low levels make a woman more likely to have a miscarriage, the research has shown.

Promising new approach to treating debilitating nervous system disease Posted: 16 Oct 2011 10:20 AM PDT A groundbreaking study suggests what could become the first effective treatment for a debilitating and fatal disease of the central nervous system called SCA1.

Sports-related knee injuries in children have increased dramatically over the past decade Posted: 16 Oct 2011 09:17 AM PDT Knee injuries in children with tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus have increased dramatically over the past 12 years, say orthopedic surgeons.

Children dependent on life support vulnerable to loss of electrical power Posted: 16 Oct 2011 09:17 AM PDT Children dependent on electrically powered medical devices for life support and maintenance are vulnerable to an unexpected loss of power -- and their parents are ill-prepared to deal with it, according to new research.

American Academy of Pediatrics expands ages for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in children Posted: 16 Oct 2011 09:17 AM PDT Updated guidelines offer new information on diagnosing and treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in younger children and in adolescents.

Minority children less likely to wear a car seatbelt, putting them at greater risk of severe injury Posted: 15 Oct 2011 06:40 AM PDT Less than half of pediatric car passengers suffering injuries from motor vehicle crashes were restrained, with the lowest rates among blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans, according to a new research.

Delayed pediatric appendicitis treatment linked to complications, and even death Posted: 15 Oct 2011 06:40 AM PDT An in-hospital delay of appendicitis treatment beyond two days was linked to an increased likelihood of complications, including perforation and abscess formation; longer hospitalization; increased costs; and more rarely, death, according new research.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Latest Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610