| Cassini closes in on Saturn's tumbling moon Hyperion Posted: 27 Aug 2011 04:18 PM PDT NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured new views of Saturn's oddly shaped moon Hyperion during its encounter with a cratered body on Aug. 25. Raw images were acquired as the spacecraft flew past the moon at a distance of about 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometers), making this the second closest encounter.  |
| NASA moon mission in final preparations for September launch Posted: 27 Aug 2011 04:16 PM PDT NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to study the moon is in final launch preparations for a scheduled Sept. 8 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GRAIL's twin spacecraft are tasked for a nine-month mission to explore Earth's nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail. They will determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and advance our understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.  |
| 65 million more obese adults in the US and 11 million more in the UK expected by 2030 Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:24 PM PDT The rising prevalence of obesity around the globe places an increasing burden on the health of populations, on health-care systems and on overall economies. Using a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences from rising obesity rates researchers forecast 65 million more obese adults in the US and 11 million more in the UK by 2030, leading to millions of additional cases of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.  |
| Rare immune cell is asset and liability in fighting infection Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:24 PM PDT The same trait that makes a rare immune cell invaluable in fighting some infections also can be exploited by other diseases to cause harm, two new studies show.  |
| When it comes to pursuing your goals, let you unconscious be your guide Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:24 PM PDT A new study says when it comes to goal setting, your unconscious mind can be a great motivator.  |
| Lower socioeconomic status linked with heart disease despite improvements in other risk factor Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:20 PM PDT People with lower socioeconomic status are much more likely to develop heart disease than those who are wealthier or better educated, according to a recent study.  |
| Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidaemias Posted: 26 Aug 2011 08:15 AM PDT Clinicians should aim for comprehensive lipid control using lifestyle as a first step and tailoring treatment to patients with dyslipidaemias, experts urge. Lifestyle interventions, including stopping smoking, improving diet, exercising sufficiently and moderate alcohol consumption, should be the crucial first step for managing lipids in all patients. High risk patients should receive specialist advice to encourage adherence. If lipid targets are not met with lifestyle alone, statins are the treatment of choice for lowering LDL cholesterol, experts report.  |
| Atherosclerosis is not limited to the heart Posted: 26 Aug 2011 08:15 AM PDT New guidelines on peripheral artery diseases have been written. The guidelines address all aspects – with the exception of the aorta – of peripheral atherosclerotic disease, including disease of extracranial carotid and vertebral, mesenteric, renal, upper and lower extremity arteries.  |
| Astronomers discover 'once in a generation' supernova Posted: 26 Aug 2011 08:13 AM PDT A supernova discovered Wednesday is closer to Earth -- approximately 21 million light years away -- than any other of its kind in a generation. Astronomers believe they caught the supernova within hours of its explosion -- a rare feat for events of this type.  |
| Results of medication studies in top medical journals may be misleading to readers, researchers suggest Posted: 26 Aug 2011 08:12 AM PDT Studies about medications published in the most influential medical journals are frequently designed in a way that yields misleading or confusing results, suggest researchers in a new analysis.  |
| Degrading proteins to divide cells Posted: 26 Aug 2011 08:12 AM PDT Scientists have identified the main instrument that Drosophila cells use to define the identity and function of the centromere in the Drosophila. A finely tuned process of degradation tightly regulates CenH3 protein levels to ensure the correct function of the cell division machinery in the fruit fly.  |
| Genetics more important to coronary heart disease risk than family lifestyle is, study shows Posted: 26 Aug 2011 06:14 AM PDT It has long been known that hereditary factors play a role in coronary heart disease. However, it has been unclear whether the increased risk is transferred through the genes or through an unhealthy lifestyle in the family. A new study shows that genes appear to be most important.  |
| Child-care facilities can do more to promote healthy eating and physical activity among preschoolers Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:55 AM PDT As use of preschool child care increases and prevalence of childhood obesity is at an all-time high, the opportunity to positively impact eating and exercise habits within this setting presents itself. A new review describes and evaluates research addressing opportunities and strategies for the prevention of obesity in child-care settings. It examines the current status of state regulations, practices and policies, and interventions for promoting healthy eating and physical activity.  |
| Children with congenital heart disease at risk from harmful toxins Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:52 AM PDT Babies and toddlers with congenital heart disease are at an increased risk of having harmful toxins in their blood, particularly following surgery, according to new research.  |
| Same number of fishermen, but less salmon in Spanish rivers Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:52 AM PDT For many years, fewer Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have been caught by sport fishers in northern Spanish rivers. The reason is that fishing effort and global warming effects are increasingly reducing the number of salmon, scientists believe.  |
| 'Hanging' computers can be life threatening Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:51 AM PDT When your email program or word processor "hangs" it is annoying, you lose messages or have to reboot your computer and start that writing project again if you hadn't saved the text. But, we depending increasingly on computers in almost all walks of life, not least critical systems such as air-traffic control, in which the computer "hanging" can be life threatening.  |
| Earth from space: Summer in bloom Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:51 AM PDT The phytoplankton bloom pictured in a new Envisat image stretches across the Barents Sea off the coast of mainland Europe's most northern point, Cape Nordkinn.  |
| Astrophysicists solve 40-year-old Mariner 5 solar wind problem: Turbulence doesn’t go with the flow Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:51 AM PDT Astrophysicists have resolved a 40-year-old problem with observations of turbulence in the solar wind first made by the probe Mariner 5. The research resolves an issue with what is by far the largest and most interesting natural turbulence lab accessible to researchers today.  |
| Improved chances for breast preservation in cases of lobular breast cancer Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:51 AM PDT Researchers in Austria have found that the breast of one in two women with lobular breast cancer can be preserved through chemotherapy prior to a breast operation.  |
