ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Mother of pearl tells a tale of ocean temperature, depth
• 'Honeycombs' and hexacopters help tell story of Mars
• 'Mini-cellulose' molecule unlocks biofuel chemistry
• Strange new nano-region can form in quasicrystals
• Gecko feet inspire amazing glue that can hold 700 pounds on smooth wall
• Faculty retention proves a major challenge for universities
• Successful human tests for first wirelessly controlled drug-delivery chip
• New molecular map to guide development of new treatments for multiple sclerosis and other diseases
• Light shed on how body fends off bacteria
• To understand chromosome reshuffling, look to the genome's 3-D structure
• Common flame retardant linked to social, behavioral and learning deficits
• New ability to regrow blood vessels holds promise for treatment of heart disease
• Nanoparticles may enhance cancer therapy
• Researchers make living model of brain tumor
• Robot reconnoiters uncharted terrain
• 'Tornados' created inside electron microscopes
• Preventing the Tasmanian devil's downfall: Genome of contagious cancer sheds light on disease origin and spread
• The splice of life: Proteins cooperate to regulate gene splicing
• Quest for sugars involved in origin of life
• Can cold-water corals adapt to climate change?
• Augmented play helps children with autism
• Why do dinosaur skeletons look so weird?
• Microbial oasis discovered beneath the Atacama Desert
• BIg step toward vaccine for Hepatitis C
• Cellular aging increases risk of heart attack and early death
• Protein that functions in normal breast may also contribute to breast cancer metastasis
• Low-carbon technologies 'no quick-fix': May not lessen global warming until late this century
• New drug target found for lung cancer
• Climate change threatens tropical birds: Global warming, extreme weather aggravate habitat loss, review finds
• Video games lead to new paths to treat cancer, other diseases
• Could deep brain stimulation improve lung function?

Mother of pearl tells a tale of ocean temperature, depth Posted: 16 Feb 2012 03:54 PM PST Produced by a multitude of mollusk species, nacre is widely used in jewelry and art. It is inlaid into musical instruments, furniture and decorative boxes. Fashioned into buttons, beads and a host of functional objects from pens to flatware, mother of pearl lends a lustrous iridescence to everyday objects.

'Honeycombs' and hexacopters help tell story of Mars Posted: 16 Feb 2012 01:57 PM PST In a rough-and-tumble wonderland of plunging canyons and towering buttes, some of the still-raw bluffs are lined with soaring, six-sided stone columns so orderly and trim, they could almost pass as relics of a colossal temple. The secret of how these columns, packed in edge to edge, formed en masse from a sea of molten rock is encrypted in details as tiny as the cracks running across their faces. To add to this mystery's allure, decoding it might do more than reveal the life story of some local lava: it might help explain the history of Mars.

'Mini-cellulose' molecule unlocks biofuel chemistry Posted: 16 Feb 2012 01:57 PM PST Chemical engineers have discovered a small molecule that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this "mini-cellulose" molecule reveals for the first time the chemical reactions that take place in wood and prairie grasses during high-temperature conversion to biofuel.

Strange new nano-region can form in quasicrystals Posted: 16 Feb 2012 01:57 PM PST Researchers have discovered a new type of structural anomaly, or defect, that can appear in quasicrystals, a unique material with some crystal-like properties but a more complex structure. The new defect type occurs under certain circumstances to help balance competing energetic issues. The defect's formation at those times enables higher-energy transition-metal-rich surfaces to be exposed rather than the expected lower-energy aluminum-rich surfaces.

Gecko feet inspire amazing glue that can hold 700 pounds on smooth wall Posted: 16 Feb 2012 01:55 PM PST Biologists have long been amazed by gecko feet, which allow 5-ounce lizards to produce an adhesive force equivalent to carrying 9 lbs. up a wall without slipping. Now, a team of polymer scientists and a biologist have invented "Geckskin," an adhesive device that can hold 700 pounds on a smooth wall.

Faculty retention proves a major challenge for universities Posted: 16 Feb 2012 11:42 AM PST Attracting and retaining the world's brightest students is on the mind of every university official. But a new, unprecedented study in the journal Science suggests leaders in higher education face an understated, even more pressing challenge: The retention of professors.

Successful human tests for first wirelessly controlled drug-delivery chip Posted: 16 Feb 2012 11:42 AM PST About 15 years ago, two professors had the idea to develop a programmable, wirelessly controlled microchip that would deliver drugs after implantation in a patient's body. This week, they reported that they have successfully used such a chip to administer daily doses of an osteoporosis drug normally given by injection. The results represent the first successful test of such a device.

New molecular map to guide development of new treatments for multiple sclerosis and other diseases Posted: 16 Feb 2012 11:39 AM PST Scientists have created the first high-resolution virtual image of cellular structures called S1P1 receptors, which are critical in controlling the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis and other diseases. This new molecular map is already pointing researchers toward promising new paths for drug discovery and aiding them in better understanding how certain existing drugs work.

Light shed on how body fends off bacteria Posted: 16 Feb 2012 11:39 AM PST Scientists have developed the first 3D look at the interaction between an immune sensor and a protein that helps bacteria move.

To understand chromosome reshuffling, look to the genome's 3-D structure Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:43 AM PST That our chromosomes can break and reshuffle pieces of themselves is nothing new; scientists have recognized this for decades, especially in cancer cells. The rules for where chromosomes are likely to break and how the broken pieces come together are only just now starting to come into view. Researchers have brought those rules into clearer focus by discovering that where each of the genome's thousands of genes lie within the cell's nucleus -- essentially, the genome's three-dimensional organization -- holds great influence over where broken chromosome ends rejoin. This knowledge could shed light on fundamental processes related to cancer and normal cellular functions -- for example, in immunity.

Common flame retardant linked to social, behavioral and learning deficits Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:43 AM PST Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller, less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal unexposed mice, a new study has found.

New ability to regrow blood vessels holds promise for treatment of heart disease Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:43 AM PST Researchers have demonstrated a new and more effective method for regrowing blood vessels in the heart and limbs -- a research advancement that could have major implications for how we treat heart disease, the leading cause of death in the Western world.

Nanoparticles may enhance cancer therapy Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:43 AM PST A mixture of current drugs and carbon nanoparticles shows potential to enhance treatment for head-and-neck cancers, especially when combined with radiation therapy, according to new research.

Researchers make living model of brain tumor Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:43 AM PST Researchers have created a living 3-D model of a brain tumor and its surrounding blood vessels. In experiments, the scientists report that iron-oxide nanoparticles carrying the agent tumstatin were taken by blood vessels, meaning they should block blood vessel growth. The living-tissue model could be used to test the effectiveness of nanoparticles in fighting other diseases.

Robot reconnoiters uncharted terrain Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:41 AM PST Mobile robots have many uses. They serve as cleaners, carry out inspections and search for survivors of disasters. But often, there is no map to guide them through unknown territory. Researchers have now developed a mobile robot that can roam uncharted terrain and simultaneously map it – all thanks to an algorithm toolbox.

'Tornados' created inside electron microscopes Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:41 AM PST Researchers are pioneering the development of electron microscopes which will allow scientists to examine a greater variety of materials in new revolutionary ways.

Preventing the Tasmanian devil's downfall: Genome of contagious cancer sheds light on disease origin and spread Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:34 AM PST Researchers have sequenced the genome of a contagious cancer that is threatening the Tasmanian devil, the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, with extinction. Cataloguing the mutations present in the cancer has led to clues about where the cancer came from and how it became contagious.

The splice of life: Proteins cooperate to regulate gene splicing Posted: 16 Feb 2012 10:32 AM PST In a step toward deciphering the "splicing code" of the human genome, researchers have comprehensively analyzed six of the more highly expressed RNA binding proteins collectively known as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoparticle (hnRNP) proteins.

Quest for sugars involved in origin of life Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:15 AM PST Researchers have managed to isolate a sugar – a ribose –  in gas phase and to characterize a number of its structures. Sugars give rise to enormous biochemical interest given the importance and diversity of the functions they carry out: they act as an energy storage system and serve as fuel for a number of biological systems; they form part of DNA and of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and, moreover, play a key role in cell processes. Recently interest in sugars has also been increasingly attracting the attention of cosmochemistry, more concretely, in the search for the fundamental matter of the origin of life in interstellar space.

Can cold-water corals adapt to climate change? Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:15 AM PST By absorbing about a third of human-made carbon dioxide, the ocean decelerates global warming. However, when dissolved in seawater, carbon dioxide reacts to produce carbonic acid, causing seawater pH to decrease. It also diminishes the concentration of carbonate ions, thereby putting organisms forming their shells and skeletons from calcium carbonate at risk. Apart from plankton, algae, mussels and snails, stony corals are among those particularly endangered: Their skeletons consist of aragonite, the most soluble form of calcium carbonate.

Augmented play helps children with autism Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:12 AM PST Making play sets more interactive and giving children with autism greater opportunities to control and add content of their own to the game could improve cooperative play with other children as well as giving them greater confidence in understanding how objects interact.

Why do dinosaur skeletons look so weird? Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:12 AM PST Many fossilized dinosaurs have been found in a twisted posture. Scientists have long interpreted this as a sign of death spasms. Researchers have now come to the conclusion that these bizarre deformations occurred only during decomposition of dead dinosaurs.

Microbial oasis discovered beneath the Atacama Desert Posted: 16 Feb 2012 08:04 AM PST Two meters below the surface of the Atacama Desert there is an 'oasis' of microorganisms. Researchers have found it in hypersaline substrates thanks to SOLID, a detector for signs of life which could be used in environments similar to subsoil on Mars.

BIg step toward vaccine for Hepatitis C Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:50 AM PST Researchers have made the discovery of a vaccine that will potentially help combat hepatitis C.

Cellular aging increases risk of heart attack and early death Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:49 AM PST Every cell in the body has chromosomes with so-called telomeres, which are shortened over time and also through lifestyle choices such as smoking and obesity. Researchers have long speculated that the shortening of telomeres increases the risk of heart attack and early death. Now a large-scale population study in Denmark involving nearly 20,000 people shows that there is in fact a direct link, and has also given physicians a future way to test the actual cellular health of a person.

Protein that functions in normal breast may also contribute to breast cancer metastasis Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:49 AM PST The trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) protein protects and maintains the integrity of the epithelial surface in the normal breast. New research has found that while TFF3 protein expression is higher in well-differentiated low grade tumors and therefore associated with features of a good prognosis, it has a more sinister role in breast cancer invasion and metastasis.

Low-carbon technologies 'no quick-fix': May not lessen global warming until late this century Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:48 AM PST A drastic switch to low carbon-emitting technologies, such as wind and hydroelectric power, may not yield a reduction in global warming until the latter part of this century, new research suggests. Furthermore, it states that technologies that offer only modest reductions in greenhouse gases, such as the use of natural gas and perhaps carbon capture and storage, cannot substantially reduce climate risk in the next 100 years.

New drug target found for lung cancer Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:47 AM PST Drugs targeting an enzyme involved in inflammation might offer a new avenue for treating certain lung cancers, according to a new study.

Climate change threatens tropical birds: Global warming, extreme weather aggravate habitat loss, review finds Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:47 AM PST Climate change spells trouble for many tropical birds -- especially those living in mountains, coastal forests and relatively small areas -- and the damage will be compounded by other threats like habitat loss, disease and competition among species, according to a new review.

Video games lead to new paths to treat cancer, other diseases Posted: 16 Feb 2012 06:46 AM PST The cure for cancer comes down to this: video games. Scientists have made highly realistic video game images that simulate the inner workings of human cells. Playing these 'games' helps medical researchers see exactly how cells live, divide and die. The research opens new paths for tumor-killing drugs to treat cancer and other diseases.

Could deep brain stimulation improve lung function? Posted: 15 Feb 2012 09:35 AM PST Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a common treatment for patients with chronic pain or movement disorders. Now a unique set of experiments shows that electrical stimulation in some of the same brain areas can also affect respiratory function, according to a new study.

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