ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Research shows 'weak evidence' for the benefit of exercise referral schemes
• Decrease in observed rate of TB at a time of economic recession
• Most lupus nephritis patients with end-stage renal disease opt for hemodialysis therapy
• Process important to brain development studied in detail
• HIV study identifies key cellular defence mechanism
• Culprit identified: Fungus causes deadly bat disease
• Flash forward 100 years: Climate change scenarios in California's Bay-Delta
• Certain medications used for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis not associated with increased risk of hospitalization for serious infections
• Study identifies factors linked with better medication response for treatment of juvenile arthritis
• Engineers solve energy puzzle: How energy levels align in a critical group of advanced materials
• Metabolic protein plays unexpected role in tumor cell formation and growth
• Genome of 'orphan crop' pigeonpea cracked
• Not one, not two, not three, but four clones: First quantum cloning machine to produce four copies
• Voyager 2 to Switch to Backup Thruster Set
• Volunteers end simulated mission to Mars

Research shows 'weak evidence' for the benefit of exercise referral schemes Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:39 AM PST While it is acknowledged that physical activity promotion is a key public health message, a new study questions the effectiveness of current exercise referral schemes and whether improvements to existing schemes or better targeting should be sought.

Decrease in observed rate of TB at a time of economic recession Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:39 AM PST The incidence of tuberculosis in the US is reported as being on the decrease, however untreated infected people act as a reservoir for disease.

Most lupus nephritis patients with end-stage renal disease opt for hemodialysis therapy Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:39 AM PST Newly published research shows that more patients with end-stage renal disease caused by lupus nephritis choose hemodialysis as their initial kidney replacement therapy over peritoneal dialysis and preemptive kidney transplantation. Results of the study also found that African-Americans, Medicaid recipients, those without health insurance, and the unemployed had significantly reduced initiation of peritoneal dialysis.

Process important to brain development studied in detail Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:39 AM PST Knowledge about the development of the nervous system is of the greatest importance for us to understand the function of the brain and brain disorders. Researchers in Sweden have examined the key step when genes are read and found that genes that are active in the brain are transcribed with a special mechanism. The findings can be of importance in our understanding of the genetic causes of certain brain diseases.

HIV study identifies key cellular defence mechanism Posted: 07 Nov 2011 12:39 AM PST Scientists have moved a step closer to understanding how one of our body's own proteins helps stop the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in its tracks.

Culprit identified: Fungus causes deadly bat disease Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:28 PM PST Scientists have discovered that the fungus Geomyces destructans is the cause of deadly white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, according to new research. The study provides the first direct evidence that the fungus G. destructans causes WNS, a rapidly spreading disease in North American bats.

Flash forward 100 years: Climate change scenarios in California's Bay-Delta Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:26 PM PST Scientists investigated how California's interconnected San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Bay-Delta system) is expected to change from 2010 to 2099 in response to both fast and moderate climate warming scenarios. Results indicate that this area will feel impacts of global climate change in the next century with shifts in its biological communities, rising sea level, and modified water supplies.

Certain medications used for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis not associated with increased risk of hospitalization for serious infections Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:13 PM PST Although there has been concern about the safety of using the type of drugs known as tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, new research finds that overall, use of these medications is not associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for serious infections compared with the use of nonbiologic medications, according to a new study.

Study identifies factors linked with better medication response for treatment of juvenile arthritis Posted: 06 Nov 2011 04:06 PM PST Among patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who initiated treatment with the drug etanercept, one-third achieved an excellent response, and this response was associated with low measures of disability at study entry, younger age at the onset of JIA, and fewer disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs used before initiating etanercept, according to a new study.

Engineers solve energy puzzle: How energy levels align in a critical group of advanced materials Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:10 PM PST Materials science and engineering researchers have demonstrated for the first time the key mechanism behind how energy levels align in a critical group of advanced materials. This discovery is a significant breakthrough in the development of sustainable technologies such as dye-sensitized solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes.

Metabolic protein plays unexpected role in tumor cell formation and growth Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:10 PM PST The embryonic enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) has a well-established role in metabolism and is highly expressed in human cancers. Now, researchers report that PKM2 has important non-metabolic functions in cancer formation.

Genome of 'orphan crop' pigeonpea cracked Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:10 PM PST Once referred to as an "orphan crop" mainly grown by poor farmers, pigeonpea is now set to join the world's league of major food crops with the completion of its genome sequence.

Not one, not two, not three, but four clones: First quantum cloning machine to produce four copies Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:07 PM PST Scientists in China have produced a theory for a quantum cloning machine able to produce several copies of the state of a particle at atomic or sub-atomic scale, or quantum state. The advance could have implications for quantum information processing methods used, for example, in message encryption systems.

Voyager 2 to Switch to Backup Thruster Set Posted: 06 Nov 2011 11:27 AM PST NASA's Deep Space Network personnel sent commands to the Voyager 2 spacecraft Nov. 4 to switch to the backup set of thrusters that controls the roll of the spacecraft. Confirmation was received today that the spacecraft accepted the commands. The change will allow the 34-year-old spacecraft to reduce the amount of power it requires to operate and use previously unused thrusters as it continues its journey toward interstellar space, beyond our solar system.

Volunteers end simulated mission to Mars Posted: 06 Nov 2011 11:20 AM PST The record-breaking simulated mission to Mars has ended with smiling faces after 17 months. Mars500's six brave volunteers stepped out of their 'spacecraft' Nov. 4, 2011 to be welcomed by the waiting scientists -- happy that the venture had worked even better than expected. Mars500, the first full-length, high-fidelity simulation of a human mission to our neighbouring planet, started 520 days earlier, on 3 June 2010, at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

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