ScienceDaily: Top Science News |
- Sensing self and non-self: New research into immune tolerance
- First-of-its-kind stem cell study re-grows healthy heart muscle in heart attack patients
- Radiation treatment generates cancer stem cells from less aggressive breast cancer cells, study suggests
- Neuron memory key to taming chronic pain, new research suggests
- Six to nine-month-olds understand the meaning of many spoken words
- Explosive evolution need not follow mass extinctions, study of ancient zooplankton finds
- Fish of Antarctica threatened by climate change
- Planck all-sky images show cold gas and strange haze in Milky Way galaxy
- Engineers create tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion
| Sensing self and non-self: New research into immune tolerance Posted: 13 Feb 2012 03:56 PM PST Cancer cells can undergo unchecked proliferation, producing self-antigens that are tolerated by the immune system, rather than being targeted for destruction. At the opposite extreme, autoimmune disorders can result when healthy cells in the body are misidentified as hazards. Researchers now examine how CD8 T cells -- critical weapons in the body's defensive arsenal -- are regulated when they transition from this tolerant state to an activated state and back.  |
| First-of-its-kind stem cell study re-grows healthy heart muscle in heart attack patients Posted: 13 Feb 2012 03:54 PM PST Results from a new clinical trial show that treating heart attack patients with an infusion of their own heart-derived cells helps damaged hearts re-grow healthy muscle. Patients who underwent the stem cell procedure demonstrated a significant reduction in the size of the scar left on the heart muscle by a heart attack. Patients also experienced a sizable increase in healthy heart muscle following the experimental stem cell treatments.  |
| Posted: 13 Feb 2012 03:51 PM PST Breast cancer stem cells are thought to be the sole source of tumor recurrence and are known to be resistant to radiation therapy and don't respond well to chemotherapy. Researchers report for the first time that radiation treatment -- despite killing half of all tumor cells during every treatment -- transforms other cancer cells into treatment-resistant breast cancer stem cells. Researchers stressed that breast cancer patients should not be alarmed by the study findings and should continue to undergo radiation if recommended by their oncologists.  |
| Neuron memory key to taming chronic pain, new research suggests Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:41 PM PST Researchers have found the key to understanding how memories of pain are stored in the brain. More importantly, the researchers are also able to suggest how these memories can be erased, making it possible to ease chronic pain.  |
| Six to nine-month-olds understand the meaning of many spoken words Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:40 PM PST At an age when "ba-ba" and "da-da" may be their only utterances, infants nevertheless comprehend words for many common objects, according to a new study.  |
| Explosive evolution need not follow mass extinctions, study of ancient zooplankton finds Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:40 PM PST Fossil record of graptoloids challenges the theory that immediately after a mass extinction, species develop new physical traits at a rapid pace.  |
| Fish of Antarctica threatened by climate change Posted: 13 Feb 2012 12:40 PM PST A study of the evolutionary history of Antarctic fish and their "anti-freeze" proteins illustrates how tens of millions of years ago a lineage of fish adapted to newly formed polar conditions -- and how today they are endangered by a rapid rise in ocean temperatures.  |
| Planck all-sky images show cold gas and strange haze in Milky Way galaxy Posted: 13 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST New images from the Planck mission show previously undiscovered islands of star formation and a mysterious haze of microwave emissions in our Milky Way galaxy. The views give scientists new treasures to mine and take them closer to understanding the secrets of our galaxy.  |
| Engineers create tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion Posted: 13 Feb 2012 10:37 AM PST Researchers in California report that they have significantly enhanced polymer solar cells' performance by building a device with a new "tandem" structure that combines multiple cells with different absorption bands. The device had a certified power-conversion efficiency of 8.62 percent and set a world record in July 2011. After the researchers incorporated a new infrared-absorbing polymer material into the device, the device's architecture proved to be widely applicable and the power-conversion efficiency jumped to 10.6 percent -- a new record -- as certified by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  |
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