ScienceDaily: Top News

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• As mushrooms evolve to live with trees, they give up DNA associated with decomposing cellulose
• Unique Neandertal arm morphology due to scraping, not spearing
• Primate behavior: Chimps select smart tools, monkeys intentionally beg
• New metric for obesity strongly correlated to premature death
• Oral immunotherapy shows promise as treatment for egg allergy
• Lungs respond to hospital ventilator as if it were an infection
• Discovery may lead to new treatment for ALS
• Single-cell parasites co-opt 'ready-made' genes from host
• Social identification, not obedience, might motivate unspeakable acts
• First Polypill trial in people selected on age alone (50 and over) shows substantial health benefit
• Alzheimer’s disease linked to diabetes, study suggests
• New targeting technology improves outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation
• New biomarker in the blood may help predict Alzheimer’s disease
• Enhanced royal jelly produces jumbo queen bee larvae
• All-they-can-eat diet for lab mice and rats may foster inaccurate test results
• Green plants reduce city street pollution up to eight times more than previously believed
• Mouse with human immune system may revolutionize HIV vaccine research
• Environmental concerns increasing infectious disease in amphibians, other animals
• Five-second rule has plenty of bugs, says expert
• Sleep deprivation may reduce risk of PTSD
• Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope report the earliest spiral galaxy ever seen
• Sinking carbon: Researchers publish results of an iron fertilization experiment
• Discovery of new heart failure trigger could change the way cardiovascular drugs are made
• Colon and rectal tumors constitute a single type of cancer, study shows
• X-rays illuminate the origin of volcanic hotspots
• Dopamine: A substance with many messages
• Neanderthals in northern Spain had knowledge of plants' healing qualities, study reveals
• Protein build-up leads to neurons misfiring
• Inflatable spacecraft heat shield set to launch
• El Zotz masks yield insights into Maya beliefs
• The future of biomaterial manufacturing: Spider silk production from bacteria
• Fighting obesity with thermal imaging
• Harmful effects of CFL bulbs to skin; Energy-efficient bulbs safest when placed behind additional glass cover
• Potential key to new treatment for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL)
• World's toughest bacterium holds promise for rapid vaccine development against deadly diseases
• Riding the plasma wave: Evidence for a type of plasma wave moving faster than theory predicted
• Heat is source of 'Pioneer Anomaly', NASA spacecraft study finds
• Magma world: NASA'S Spitzer finds evidence for an exoplanet smaller than Earth
• Nanomedicine: Bringing brighter light into living bodies
• X-ray imaging used to observe running batteries in action
• Promiscuous squid fatigued after mating
• 'Loops of light' promising for optical detection of individual molecules
• Are cardiac risk factors linked to less blood flow to the brain?
• Vitamin E may lower liver cancer risk
• Long-term ADHD drug use appears safe
• Discovery of 'hopping' of bacterial enzyme gives insight into gene expression
• Evolutionary information improves discovery of mutations associated with diseases
• Do dolphins think nonlinearly?
• Cancer and injuries more likely in people with serious mental illness
• Punishment motivated by fairness, not revenge
• What it takes to be the perfect invading parasite
• Vitamin B12 supplements may help treat hepatitis C
• Workplace exposure to organic solvents linked to heart defects at birth
• Certain jobs dads do linked to higher risk of birth defects
• Hepatitis C may increase deaths from both liver-related and other diseases
• Heart of a distant quasar observed with unprecedented sharpness: Sharpness two million times finer than human vision
• Sugar-sweetened drinks are not replacing milk in kid's diets
• Mechanisms that allow embryonic stem cells to become any cell in the human body identified
• Lower ozone standard would reduce mortality and morbidity

As mushrooms evolve to live with trees, they give up DNA associated with decomposing cellulose Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:20 PM PDT New research finds that Amanita mushrooms' evolution has largely been away from species that help decompose organic material and toward those that live symbiotically on trees and their roots. More interestingly, scientists found that the transition came at a steep price -- the loss of the genes associated with breaking down cellulose.

Unique Neandertal arm morphology due to scraping, not spearing Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:20 PM PDT Unique arm morphology in Neandertals was likely caused by scraping activities such as hide preparation, not spear thrusting as previously theorized, according to new research.

Primate behavior: Chimps select smart tools, monkeys intentionally beg Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:20 PM PDT Chimpanzees use weight to pick the best tool, and monkeys beg more when they're paid attention to.

New metric for obesity strongly correlated to premature death Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:19 PM PDT Researchers have developed a new metric to measure obesity, called A Body Shape Index, or ABSI, that combines the existing metrics of Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference and shows a better correlation with death rate than do either of these individual measures.

Oral immunotherapy shows promise as treatment for egg allergy Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:19 PM PDT Giving children and adolescents with egg allergy small but increasing daily doses of egg white powder holds the possibility of developing into a way to enable some of them to eat egg-containing foods without having allergic reactions, according to a new study.

Lungs respond to hospital ventilator as if it were an infection Posted: 18 Jul 2012 02:28 PM PDT When hospital patients are placed on a mechanical ventilator for days at a time, their lungs react to the pressure with an out-of-control immune response. Researchers have discovered potential drug targets that might reduce the resulting inflammation.

Discovery may lead to new treatment for ALS Posted: 18 Jul 2012 02:24 PM PDT Researchers have discovered that TDP-43, a protein strongly linked to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and other neurodegnerative diseases, appears to activate a variety of different molecular pathways when genetically manipulated.

Single-cell parasites co-opt 'ready-made' genes from host Posted: 18 Jul 2012 01:49 PM PDT Two species of single-cell parasites have co-opted "ready-made" genes from their hosts that in turn help them exploit their hosts, according to a new study.

Social identification, not obedience, might motivate unspeakable acts Posted: 18 Jul 2012 01:49 PM PDT What makes soldiers abuse prisoners? How could Nazi officials condemn thousands of Jews to gas chamber deaths? What's going on when underlings help cover up a financial swindle? For years, researchers have tried to identify the factors that drive people to commit cruel and brutal acts and perhaps no one has contributed more to this knowledge than psychological scientist Stanley Milgram.

First Polypill trial in people selected on age alone (50 and over) shows substantial health benefit Posted: 18 Jul 2012 01:49 PM PDT Results of a randomized trial show that a four-component Polypill given to people aged 50 and over to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke, the most common causes of death worldwide, achieved large reductions in blood cholesterol and blood pressure, the main causes of these two diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease linked to diabetes, study suggests Posted: 18 Jul 2012 01:46 PM PDT Researchers have provided direct experimental evidence linking diabetes to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The study also identified an experimental model that could become an important new tool for AD research.

New targeting technology improves outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation Posted: 18 Jul 2012 01:46 PM PDT In a landmark study of atrial fibrillation, researchers report having found for the first time that these irregular heart rhythms are caused by small electrical sources within the heart, in the form of electrical spinning tops ("rotors") or focal beats. Importantly, they found a way of detecting these key electrical sources and of shutting them down in minutes using a precisely targeted therapy with long-lasting results.

New biomarker in the blood may help predict Alzheimer’s disease Posted: 18 Jul 2012 01:45 PM PDT Higher levels of a certain fat in the blood called ceramides may increase a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.

Enhanced royal jelly produces jumbo queen bee larvae Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:39 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a way to make worker bees produce an enhanced version of royal jelly (RJ) -- the super-nutritious substance that dictates whether larvae become workers or queens, and that is also renowned as a health supplement for people. Their study found that the super RJ that makes queen bee larvae grow 2-3 times larger than normal.

All-they-can-eat diet for lab mice and rats may foster inaccurate test results Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:39 AM PDT The widespread practice of allowing laboratory rats and mice to eat as much as they want may be affecting the outcome of experiments in which scientists use these "test-tubes-on-four-feet" to test new drugs and other substances for toxicity and other effects.

Green plants reduce city street pollution up to eight times more than previously believed Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:39 AM PDT Trees, bushes and other greenery growing in the concrete-and-glass canyons of cities can reduce levels of two of the most worrisome air pollutants by eight times more than previously believed, a new study has found.

Mouse with human immune system may revolutionize HIV vaccine research Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:39 AM PDT One of the challenges to HIV vaccine development has been the lack of an animal model that reflects the human immune response to the virus. Researchers report that a mouse model manipulated to have a human immune system addresses these key issues and has the potential to reduce significantly the time and costs required to test candidate vaccines.

Environmental concerns increasing infectious disease in amphibians, other animals Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:36 AM PDT Climate change, habitat destruction, pollution and invasive species are all involved in the global crisis of amphibian declines and extinctions, researchers suggest in a new analysis, but increasingly these forces are causing actual mortality in the form of infectious disease.

Five-second rule has plenty of bugs, says expert Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:36 AM PDT Dropped grill items, ice cream cones that topple, pacifiers that fit the floor -- most of us have employed the five-second rule at some point to salvage a lost item. An infection disease expert takes five on the five-second rule.

Sleep deprivation may reduce risk of PTSD Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT It revealed in a series of experiments that sleep deprivation of approximately six hours immediately after exposure to a traumatic event reduces the development of post trauma-like behavioral responses. As a result, sleep deprivation the first hours after stress exposure might represent a simple, yet effective, intervention for PTSD.

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope report the earliest spiral galaxy ever seen Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered the first spiral galaxy in the early universe, billions of years before many other spiral galaxies formed.

Sinking carbon: Researchers publish results of an iron fertilization experiment Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT Scientists have shown that a substantial proportion of carbon from an induced algal bloom sank to the deep sea floor with iron fertilization, contrary to earlier findings. These results, which were thoroughly analyzed before being published, provide a valuable contribution to our better understanding of the global carbon cycle.

Discovery of new heart failure trigger could change the way cardiovascular drugs are made Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT In their quest to treat cardiovascular disease, researchers have been interested in developing new medicines that activate a protein called APJ. Medical researchers have now uncovered another function for APJ -- it senses mechanical changes that set the body on a course toward heart failure. This means activating APJ could be harmful in some cases -- potentially eye-opening information for some drug makers.

Colon and rectal tumors constitute a single type of cancer, study shows Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT The pattern of genomic alterations in colon and rectal tissues is the same regardless of anatomic location or origin within the colon or the rectum, leading researchers to conclude that these two cancer types can be grouped as one, according to the Cancer Genome Atlas project's large-scale study of colon and rectal cancer tissue specimens.

X-rays illuminate the origin of volcanic hotspots Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:17 AM PDT Scientists have recreated the conditions at Earth's core-mantle boundary 2,900 km beneath the surface. Using X-rays at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, they probed tiny rock samples at extreme temperature and pressure showing for the first time that partially molten rock under these conditions is buoyant and should segregate towards the surface. This observation is strong evidence for the theory that volcanic hotspots like the Hawaiian Islands originate from mantle plumes generated at the core-mantle boundary.

Dopamine: A substance with many messages Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:13 AM PDT Children quickly learn to avoid negative situations and seek positive ones. But humans are not the only species capable of remembering positive and negative events; even the small brain of a fruit fly has this capacity. Dopamine-containing nerve cells connected with the mushroom body of the fly brain play a role here. Scientists have identified four different types of such nerve cells. Three of the nerve cell types assume various functions in mediating negative stimuli, while the fourth enables the fly to form positive memories.

Neanderthals in northern Spain had knowledge of plants' healing qualities, study reveals Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:13 AM PDT An international team of researchers has provided the first molecular evidence that Neanderthals not only ate a range of cooked plant foods, but also understood its nutritional and medicinal qualities.

Protein build-up leads to neurons misfiring Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:13 AM PDT Using a two-photon microscope capable of peering deep within living tissue, researchers have found new evidence that alpha-synuclein protein build-up inside neurons causes them to not only become "leaky," but also to misfire due to calcium fluxes.

Inflatable spacecraft heat shield set to launch Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:33 AM PDT NASA technicians and engineers are putting the finishing touches on a unique experiment designed to demonstrate that an inflatable aeroshell/heat shield could be used to protect spacecraft when entering a planet's atmosphere or returning here to Earth.

El Zotz masks yield insights into Maya beliefs Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:28 AM PDT A team of archaeologists has made a new discovery at the Maya archaeological site in El Zotz, Guatemala, uncovering a pyramid believed to celebrate the Maya sun god. The structure's outer walls depict the god in an unprecedented set of images done in painted stucco. In 2010, the team uncovered a royal tomb filled with artifacts and human remains at the same site. Researchers believe the pyramid was built to link the deceased lord to the eternal sun.

The future of biomaterial manufacturing: Spider silk production from bacteria Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:28 AM PDT New research demonstrates procedures to harvest and process synthetic spider silk from bacteria. The procedure revolutionizes the spider silk purification process by standardizing a key step known as "post-spin."

Fighting obesity with thermal imaging Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:27 AM PDT Scientists in the United Kingdom believe they've found a way of fighting obesity -- with a pioneering technique which uses thermal imaging. This heat-seeking technology is being used to trace our reserves of brown fat -- the body's 'good fat' -- which plays a key role in how quickly our body can burn calories as energy.

Harmful effects of CFL bulbs to skin; Energy-efficient bulbs safest when placed behind additional glass cover Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:27 AM PDT In a new study, researchers looked into the potential impact of healthy human skin tissue (in vitro) being exposed to ultraviolet rays emitted from compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Results revealed significant levels of UVC and UVA, which appeared to originate from cracks in the phosphor coatings, present in all CFL bulbs studied.

Potential key to new treatment for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:27 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that the inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in mouse models of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive and incurable subtype of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that becomes resistant to treatment, can harness the immune system to eradicate residual malignant cells responsible for disease relapse.

World's toughest bacterium holds promise for rapid vaccine development against deadly diseases Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:27 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new preparation method that renders a virus or bacterium non-infectious while preserving its immune-boosting ability after exposure to gamma radiation. A lethally irradiated vaccine was successfully tested in mice against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria and holds promise for other such deadly diseases.

Riding the plasma wave: Evidence for a type of plasma wave moving faster than theory predicted Posted: 18 Jul 2012 09:23 AM PDT Using data from the WAVES instrument on NASA's Wind mission, researchers have discovered evidence for a type of plasma wave moving faster than theory predicted it could move. The research suggests that a different process than expected, electrical instabilities in the plasma, may be driving the waves. This offers scientists another tool to understand how heat and energy can be transported through plasma.

Heat is source of 'Pioneer Anomaly', NASA spacecraft study finds Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:53 AM PDT The unexpected slowing of NASA's Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft -- the so-called "Pioneer Anomaly" -- turns out to be due to the slight, but detectable effect of heat pushing back on the spacecraft, according to a recent paper. The heat emanates from electrical current flowing through instruments and the thermoelectric power supply.

Magma world: NASA'S Spitzer finds evidence for an exoplanet smaller than Earth Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:49 AM PDT Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have detected what they believe is a planet two-thirds the size of Earth. The exoplanet candidate, called UCF-1.01, is located a mere 33 light-years away, making it possibly the nearest world to our solar system that is smaller than our home planet.

Nanomedicine: Bringing brighter light into living bodies Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:15 AM PDT Fluorescent dyes with aggregation-induced emission provide new probes for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

X-ray imaging used to observe running batteries in action Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:39 AM PDT Scientists are using X-ray technology to observe lithium-sulfur batteries in action. Their findings could lead to improvements in this promising power source for electric vehicles.

Promiscuous squid fatigued after mating Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:39 AM PDT In order to pass on their genes, southern dumpling squid engage in up to three hours of mating with each partner, but researchers have found that this results in a reduced ability to swim for up to 30 minutes afterwards.

'Loops of light' promising for optical detection of individual molecules Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:38 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new method for manipulating light at the nanoscale in order to optically detect single molecules. By shining circularly polarized light on a gold, square-ring shaped nanostructure, the researchers were able to 'activate' the entire surface of the nanostructure, thereby significantly increasing the opportunity for interaction with molecules. The method has a broad range of potential applications in nanoscale photochemistry and could assist in the advancement of technologies for visualising single molecules and multiple-molecule interactions.

Are cardiac risk factors linked to less blood flow to the brain? Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:31 AM PDT Metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe a combination of risk factors that often lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, seems to be linked to lower blood flow to the brain, according to new research.

Vitamin E may lower liver cancer risk Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:31 AM PDT High consumption of vitamin E either from diet or vitamin supplements may lower the risk of liver cancer, according to a new study.

Long-term ADHD drug use appears safe Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:31 AM PDT Drugs used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) do not appear to have long-term effects on the brain, according to new animal research.

Discovery of 'hopping' of bacterial enzyme gives insight into gene expression Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:07 AM PDT Researchers' discovery of a variation of an enzyme's ability to "hop" as it moves along DNA, modifying the genetic material of a bacteria -- and its physical capability and behavior -- holds much promise for biomedical and other scientific applications.

Evolutionary information improves discovery of mutations associated with diseases Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:07 AM PDT Scientists have developed a statistical method using evolutionary information to significantly enhance the likelihood of identifying disease-associated alleles in the genome that show better consistency across populations.

Do dolphins think nonlinearly? Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:06 AM PDT Research, which examines how dolphins might process their sonar signals, could provide a new system for human-made sonar to detect targets, such as sea mines, in bubbly water. When hunting prey, dolphins have been observed to blow 'bubble nets' around schools of fish, which force the fish to cluster together, making them easier for the dolphins to pick off. However, such bubble nets would confound the best human-made sonar because the strong scattering by the bubbles generates 'clutter' in the sonar image, which cannot be distinguished from the true target.

Cancer and injuries more likely in people with serious mental illness Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:05 AM PDT People with serious mental illness -- schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and disabling depression -- are 2.6 times more likely to develop cancer than the general population, new research suggests.

Punishment motivated by fairness, not revenge Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:40 AM PDT Researchers have found that we punish cheats only when they end up better off than us, in a study that challenges the notion that punishment is motivated by revenge.

What it takes to be the perfect invading parasite Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:40 AM PDT Scientists have just documented the characteristics of invading parasites, using malaria in New Zealand bird species.

Vitamin B12 supplements may help treat hepatitis C Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:40 AM PDT Adding vitamin B12 to standard hepatitis C virus treatment significantly boosts the body's ability to keep the virus at bay, indicates a new study.

Workplace exposure to organic solvents linked to heart defects at birth Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:40 AM PDT Workplace exposure to organic solvents is linked to several types of heart defects at birth, indicates new research.

Certain jobs dads do linked to higher risk of birth defects Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:40 AM PDT Several types of job carried out by future fathers may be linked to an increased risk of birth defects in their babies, suggests new research. These included: mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists; artists; photographers and photo processors; food service workers; landscapers and groundsmen; hairdressers and make-up artists; office and admin support workers; office and admin support workers; sawmill operatives; those working with petrol and gas; those working in chemical industries; printers; those operating cranes and diggers; and drivers.

Hepatitis C may increase deaths from both liver-related and other diseases Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:39 AM PDT In a long-term study of people infected with the hepatitis C virus, researchers found increased deaths from both liver-related and non-liver related diseases in patients with active infections who had not cleared their infection.

Heart of a distant quasar observed with unprecedented sharpness: Sharpness two million times finer than human vision Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:39 AM PDT Astronomers have observed the heart of a distant quasar with unprecedented sharpness, two million times finer than human vision. The observations form a crucial step towards the dramatic scientific goal of the "Event Horizon Telescope" project: imaging the supermassive black holes at the center of our own galaxy and others.

Sugar-sweetened drinks are not replacing milk in kid's diets Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:38 AM PDT National data indicate that milk consumption has declined among children while consumption of sweetened beverages of low nutritional quality has more than doubled. Although this suggests that sugar-sweetened beverages may have replaced more nutritious drinks in children's diets, a new study suggests that in fact changes in children's milk consumption are not significantly related to changes in their consumption of sodas and flavored fruit drinks over time.

Mechanisms that allow embryonic stem cells to become any cell in the human body identified Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:37 AM PDT New research sheds light on pluripotency -- the ability of embryonic stem cells to renew themselves indefinitely and to differentiate into all types of mature cells. If scientists can replicate the mechanisms that make pluripotency possible, they could create cells in the laboratory which could be implanted in humans to cure diseases characterized by cell death, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and other degenerative diseases.

Lower ozone standard would reduce mortality and morbidity Posted: 18 Jul 2012 04:36 AM PDT Establishing a more stringent ozone standard in the U.S. would significantly reduce ozone-related premature mortality and morbidity, according to a new study published online July 18 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

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