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Thursday, December 27, 2012

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


New MRI method may help diagnose dementia

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 01:41 PM PST

A new way to use MRI scans may help determine whether dementia is Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia, according to new research.

Tigers roar back: Great news for big cats in key areas

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST

Biologists have reported significant progress for tigers in three key landscapes across the big cat's range due to better law enforcement, protection of habitat, and strong government partnerships.

Ability to metabolize tamoxifen affects breast cancer outcomes

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST

For nearly a decade, breast cancer researchers studying the hormone therapy tamoxifen have been divided as to whether genetic differences in a liver enzyme affect the drug's effectiveness and the likelihood breast cancer will recur. A new study provides evidence that genetic differences in the enzyme CYP2D6 play a key role in how well tamoxifen works.

Immune system changes may drive aggressiveness of recurrent tumors

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST

The traditional view of recurrent tumors is that they are resistant to therapy because they've acquired additional genetic mutations that make them more aggressive and impervious to drugs. Now, however, researchers show in an animal model that the enhanced aggressiveness of recurrent tumors may be due to changes in the body's immune response.

Eating asparagus may prevent a hangover, study suggests

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:12 AM PST

With New Year's Eve just around the corner, there is always plenty of good food and cheer. If you are drinking alcohol you may want to reach for some asparagus, according to a study that found asparagus may aid the body in accelerating the metabolism of alcohol.

Blades and clades: Why some grasses got better photosynthesis

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:10 AM PST

Two groups, or clades, of grasses that once had a common ancestry diverged, ultimately leaving the PACMAD clade more predisposed to evolve a more efficient, "C4" means of photosynthesis when CO2 is restricted than grasses in the BEP clade. In a new study, a research team pinpoints the anatomical differences between the clades that led to the PACMAD's tendency toward C4.

Elevated levels of C-reactive protein appear associated with psychological distress, depression

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:10 AM PST

Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammatory disease, appear to be associated with increased risk of psychological distress and depression in the general population of adults in Denmark, according to a new study.

Amazon deforestation brings loss of microbial communities

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:09 AM PST

An international team of microbiologists has found that a troubling net loss in diversity among the microbial organisms responsible for a functioning ecosystem is accompanying deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. This is important because the combination of lost forest species and the homogenization of pasture communities together signal that this ecosystem is now a lot less capable of dealing with additional outside stress.

Fluctuating environment may have driven human evolution

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:09 AM PST

A series of rapid environmental changes in East Africa roughly 2 million years ago may be responsible for driving human evolution, according to researchers at Penn State and Rutgers University.

Transfusions add risk in some heart attacks, finds study of patients with anemia

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:09 AM PST

A new study finds that while blood transfusions for heart attack patients with anemia are commonly performed in emergency rooms, the practice can increase the risk of death when the transfusions are too extensive. The authors, led by Saurav Chatterjee, a cardiology fellow at Brown University, compared evidence from 10 prior studies of more than 203,000 patients.

Bumblebees do best where there is less pavement and more floral diversity

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:09 AM PST

Landscapes with large amounts of paved roads and impervious construction have lower numbers of ground-nesting bumblebees, which are important native pollinators, a new study shows.

Scientists sequence genome of pathogen responsible for pneumocystis pneumonia

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:09 AM PST

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii, an advancement that could help identify new targets for drugs to treat and prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia, a common and often deadly infection in immunocompromised patients.

Powerful new tool is quantum analog of phase space flow

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:04 AM PST

Physicists have found that a new powerful tool they call 'Wigner flow' is the quantum analog of phase space flow. Wigner flow provides information for quantum dynamics similar to that gleaned from phase space trajectories in classical physics. Wigner flow can be used for the visualization of quantum dynamics. Additionally, Wigner flow helps with the abstract analysis of quantum dynamics using topological methods.

Enzyme accelerates malignant stem cell cloning in chronic myeloid leukemia

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:03 AM PST

An international team has identified a key enzyme in the reprogramming process that promotes malignant stem cell cloning and the growth of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of the blood and marrow that experts say is increasing in prevalence.

Biologists identify proteins vital to chromosome segregation

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:03 AM PST

Biologists have identified how a vital protein is loaded by others into the centromere, the part of the chromosome that plays a significant role in cell division. Their findings shed new light on genome replication and may offer insights into the factors behind the production of abnormal numbers of chromosomes.

Eyes may provide a look into multiple sclerosis progression

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:03 AM PST

New research suggests that thinning of a layer of the retina in the eyes may show how fast multiple sclerosis (MS) is progressing in people with the disease.

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