ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Scientists reprogram cancer cells with low doses of epigenetic drugs
• Antioxidant supplements seem to increase mortality, review shows
• Can our genes be making us fat?
• New light shed on wandering continents
• Scientists wrest partial control of a memory
• Cylinder hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields
• Blood-pressure drug may slow diabetes progression
• Seismic survey at the Mariana trench will follow water dragged down into the Earth's mantle
• Liquid-like materials may pave way for new thermoelectric devices
• Cooking better biochar: Study improves recipe for soil additive
• Do animals have reflective minds able to self-regulate perception, reasoning, memory?
• Somatic stem cells obtained from skin cells; pluripotency 'detour' skipped
• Geologists discover new class of landform -- on Mars
• Cell protein interactions favor fats
• A one-way street for light
• Runaway planets zoom at a fraction of light speed
• Trace element plays major role in tropical forest nitrogen cycle
• New technique lets scientists peer within nanoparticles, see atomic structure in 3-D
• What is the monetary value of a healthy ocean?
• Anxiety boosts sense of smell
• People with autism possess greater ability to process information, study suggests
• Runner's high motivated the evolution of exercise, research suggests
• Majority of fourth graders are exposed to smoke, study finds
• False killer whales use acoustic squint to target prey
• Antibiotic resistance genes accumulating in Lake Geneva
• Antidepressant proves effective in alleviating osteoarthritis pain
• Beginnings of COPD identified
• To promote lasting impact, cancer drugs should force dying cells to alert immune response
• Scientists open new window into how cancers override cellular growth controls
• Hard electronics: Hall effect magnetic field sensors for high temperatures and harmful radiation environments

Scientists reprogram cancer cells with low doses of epigenetic drugs Posted: 22 Mar 2012 09:14 PM PDT Experimenting with cells in culture, researchers have breathed possible new life into two drugs once considered too toxic for human cancer treatment. The drugs, azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine (DAC), are epigenetic-targeted drugs and work to correct cancer-causing alterations that modify DNA.

Antioxidant supplements seem to increase mortality, review shows Posted: 22 Mar 2012 02:46 PM PDT Previous research on animal and physiological models suggests that antioxidant supplements have beneficial effects that may prolong life. Some observational studies also suggest that antioxidant supplements may prolong life, whereas other observational studies demonstrate neutral or harmful effects. A new review shows that antioxidant supplements seem to increase mortality. The current evidence does not support the use of antioxidant supplements in the general population or in patients with various diseases.

Can our genes be making us fat? Posted: 22 Mar 2012 01:20 PM PDT While high-fat foods are thought to be of universal appeal, there is actually a lot of variation in the extent to which people like and consume fat. A new study reported that two specific genes (TAS2R38–a bitter taste receptor and CD36–a possible fat receptor), may play a role in some people's ability to taste and enjoy dietary fat. By understanding the role of these two genes, food scientists may be able to help people who have trouble controlling how much fat they eat.

New light shed on wandering continents Posted: 22 Mar 2012 01:19 PM PDT A layer of partially molten rock about 22 to 75 miles underground can't be the only mechanism that allows continents to gradually shift their position over millions of years, according to a new research. The result gives insight into what allows plate tectonics -- the movement of the Earth's crustal plates -- to occur.

Scientists wrest partial control of a memory Posted: 22 Mar 2012 01:12 PM PDT Scientists have successfully harnessed neurons in mouse brains, allowing them to at least partially control a specific memory. Researchers have known for decades that stimulating various regions of the brain can trigger behaviors and even memories. But understanding the way these brain functions develop and occur normally -- effectively how we become who we are -- has been a much more complex goal.

Cylinder hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields Posted: 22 Mar 2012 12:15 PM PDT Researchers have created a cylinder which hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields. The device was built using superconductor and ferromagnetic materials available on the market.

Blood-pressure drug may slow diabetes progression Posted: 22 Mar 2012 12:14 PM PDT Researchers surprised by second effect of established drug. A common high-blood-pressure medication appears to reverse the diabetes-related death of pancreatic beta cells.

Seismic survey at the Mariana trench will follow water dragged down into the Earth's mantle Posted: 22 Mar 2012 11:22 AM PDT Seismologists have just returned from a cruise in the Western Pacific to lay the instruments for a seismic survey that will follow the water chemically bound to or trapped in the down-diving Pacific Plate at the Mariana trench, the deep trench to which Avatar director James Cameron is poised to plunge.

Liquid-like materials may pave way for new thermoelectric devices Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PDT In the continual quest for better thermoelectric materials -- which convert heat into electricity and vice versa -- researchers have identified a liquid-like compound whose properties give it the potential to be even more efficient than traditional thermoelectrics.

Cooking better biochar: Study improves recipe for soil additive Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PDT A simple way to remove carbon from the atmosphere is by adding charcoal, or biochar, to topsoil -- a centuries-old practice that also boosts crop production. A new study finds that when it comes to helping get water to plants, not all biochar is equal.

Do animals have reflective minds able to self-regulate perception, reasoning, memory? Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PDT There is an emerging consensus among scientists that animals share functional parallels with humans' conscious metacognition -- that is, our ability to reflect on our own mental processes and guide and optimize them, one expert says.

Somatic stem cells obtained from skin cells; pluripotency 'detour' skipped Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PDT Breaking new ground, scientists have succeeded in obtaining somatic stem cells from fully differentiated somatic cells. Researchers in Germany took skin cells from mice and, using a unique combination of growth factors while ensuring appropriate culturing conditions, have managed to induce the cells' differentiation into neuronal somatic stem cells.

Geologists discover new class of landform -- on Mars Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:13 AM PDT An odd, previously unseen landform could provide a window into the geological history of Mars, according to new research by geologists. They call the structures periodic bedrock ridges.

Cell protein interactions favor fats Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:13 AM PDT Scientists are learning how the fat molecules within cell membranes help the cells' signaling proteins to assemble and function. Their initial findings suggest the lipids play an important role in regulating cellular protein interactions.

A one-way street for light Posted: 22 Mar 2012 10:13 AM PDT An optical diode made with silicon technology can be used for quantum information. Researchers propose using ring resonators to construct a micro-optical diode. The technology is silicon-on-insulator, making it compatible with the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) fabrication processes underlying today's computer circuits.

Runaway planets zoom at a fraction of light speed Posted: 22 Mar 2012 08:36 AM PDT Seven years ago, astronomers boggled when they found the first runaway star flying out of our galaxy at a speed of 1.5 million miles per hour. The discovery intrigued theorists, who wondered: if a star can get tossed outward at such an extreme velocity, could the same thing happen to planets? New research shows that the answer is yes.

Trace element plays major role in tropical forest nitrogen cycle Posted: 22 Mar 2012 08:36 AM PDT New research sheds light on the critical part played by a little-studied element, molybdenum, in the nutrient cycles of tropical forests. Understanding the role of molybdenum may help scientists more accurately predict how tropical forests will respond to climate change.

New technique lets scientists peer within nanoparticles, see atomic structure in 3-D Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:04 AM PDT Researchers are now able to peer deep within material science's tiniest structures to create three-dimensional images of individual atoms and their positions. The research presents a new method for directly measuring the atomic structure of nanomaterials.

What is the monetary value of a healthy ocean? Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:04 AM PDT Scientists have attempted to measure the ocean's monetary value and to tally the costs and savings associated with human decisions affecting ocean health. The study estimates that if human impacts on the ocean continue unabated, declines in ocean health and services will cost the global economy $428 billion per year by 2050, and $1.979 trillion per year by 2100.

Anxiety boosts sense of smell Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:03 AM PDT Anxious people have a heightened sense of smell when it comes to sniffing out a threat, according to a new study.

People with autism possess greater ability to process information, study suggests Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:03 AM PDT People with autism have a greater than normal capacity for processing information even from rapid presentations and are better able to detect information defined as "critical," according to a new study. The research may help explain the apparently higher than average prevalence in the IT industry of people with autism spectrum disorders.

Runner's high motivated the evolution of exercise, research suggests Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:03 AM PDT Runners often extol the virtues of the runner's high, but now a team of researchers suggest that the runner's high could have evolved to motivate us to exercise as part of our early long-distance nomadic lifestyle.

Majority of fourth graders are exposed to smoke, study finds Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:02 AM PDT More than 75 percent of fourth-graders in urban and rural settings have measurable levels of a nicotine breakdown product in their saliva that documents their second-hand smoke exposure, researchers report.

False killer whales use acoustic squint to target prey Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:02 AM PDT Toothed whales and dolphins are remarkable accurate hunters, considering that they locate prey using echolocation alone, so how do they pull this off? Biologists tested the echolocation skills of a false killer whale called Kina and discovered that she focuses her echolocation beam on targets, effectively "squinting" to locate far off objects or objects that are hard to differentiate.

Antibiotic resistance genes accumulating in Lake Geneva Posted: 22 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT Large quantities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria enter the environment via municipal – and especially hospital – wastewater streams. Although wastewater treatment plants reduce the total number of bacteria, the most hazardous – multiresistant – strains appear to withstand or even to be promoted by treatment processes.

Antidepressant proves effective in alleviating osteoarthritis pain Posted: 22 Mar 2012 06:58 AM PDT Antidepressants can play a key role in alleviating painful conditions like osteoarthritis and may result in fewer side effects than traditionally prescribed drug regimes, such as anti-inflammatories and opioids, according to new research.

Beginnings of COPD identified Posted: 21 Mar 2012 02:23 PM PDT The third most deadly disease in the US, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs. Scientists have discovered that this key process begins in the blood vessels around the large airways in the center of the lung. The discovery helps clarify how smoking can bring about this severe respiratory condition.

To promote lasting impact, cancer drugs should force dying cells to alert immune response Posted: 21 Mar 2012 02:23 PM PDT A new finding in basic science should trigger a "change in thinking" about how cancer drugs might be developed and tested for maximum effectiveness, say experts.

Scientists open new window into how cancers override cellular growth controls Posted: 21 Mar 2012 12:26 PM PDT Rapidly dividing cancer cells are skilled at patching up damage that would stop normal cells in their tracks, including wear and tear of telomeres, the protective caps at the end of each chromosome.

Hard electronics: Hall effect magnetic field sensors for high temperatures and harmful radiation environments Posted: 21 Mar 2012 12:25 PM PDT Researchers have invented Hall effect magnetic field sensors that are operable at high temperatures and harmful radiation conditions. The sensors will find applications in space craft and nuclear power stations.

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