ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Broader background checks and denial criteria could help prevent mass shooting catastrophes, experts say
• Strange behavior: New study exposes living cells to synthetic protein
• Monkey see, monkey do: Visual feedback is necessary for imitating facial expressions
• A model-free way to characterize polymodal ion channel gating
• New class of malaria drugs using essential calcium enzyme developed
• First genome sequence of Chinese plum provides important resource for fruit improvement
• Cellular fuel gauge may hold the key to restricting cancer growth
• Genetic sequencing breakthrough to aid treatment for congenital hyperinsulinism
• New insight into cell development and cancer
• Mimicking a natural defense against malaria to develop new treatments
• The mirror, not the scale, is the enemy of many this New Year's resolution time
• Study hints that stem cells prepare for maturity much earlier than anticipated
• Liquid crystal research may lead to creation of new materials that can be actively controlled
• Benefits of higher oxygen, breathing device persist after infancy
• New method for collagen scaffolds: Slice, stack, roll
• Birdsong study pecks theory that music is uniquely human
• US cancer screening rates decline over the last 10 years, finds new study
• Novel role of BRCA1 in regulating the survival of skin stem cells identified
• Two new species of orchid found in Cuba
• Even in same vineyard, different microbes may create variations in wine grapes
• Kindness key to happiness and acceptance for children
• People with mental disorders more likely to have experienced domestic violence
• Doctors call for evidence-based appropriateness criteria for elective procedures
• Evidence contradicts idea that starvation caused saber-tooth cat extinction
• Measurements hint why the universe is dominated by matter, not anti-matter

Broader background checks and denial criteria could help prevent mass shooting catastrophes, experts say Posted: 27 Dec 2012 12:47 PM PST A gun violence prevention expert and emergency medicine physician, believes broader criteria for background checks and denials on gun purchases can help prevent future firearm violence, including mass shooting catastrophes such as those that occurred at Sandy Hook, Aurora, Virginia Tech and Columbine.

Strange behavior: New study exposes living cells to synthetic protein Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:30 AM PST Scientists have fabricated an artificial protein in the laboratory and examined the surprising ways living cells respond to it.

Monkey see, monkey do: Visual feedback is necessary for imitating facial expressions Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST Research using new computer-based technology shows that our ability to imitate facial expressions depends on learning that occurs through visual feedback.

A model-free way to characterize polymodal ion channel gating Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST Two studies help pave the way for a "shortcut" model-free approach to studying activation of "polymodal" ion channels -- channels that open in response to multiple stimuli.

New class of malaria drugs using essential calcium enzyme developed Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST Calpain, a calcium-regulated enzyme, is essential to a host of cellular processes, but can cause severe problems in its overactivated state, and has been implicated in several diseases. Researchers have developed a unique approach to calpain inhibition by mimicking a natural reaction with a synthesized molecule.

First genome sequence of Chinese plum provides important resource for fruit improvement Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST Biologists have completed the first genomic sequence of Prunus mume, known as mei. This work is extremely important for the deeper understanding of Rosaceae evolution and provides an invaluable resource for the improvement of fruit trees.

Cellular fuel gauge may hold the key to restricting cancer growth Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:03 AM PST Researchers have discovered that a key regulator of energy metabolism in cancer cells known as the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) may play a crucial role in restricting cancer cell growth. AMPK acts as a "fuel gauge" in cells.

Genetic sequencing breakthrough to aid treatment for congenital hyperinsulinism Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:03 AM PST Congenital hyperinsulinism is a genetic condition where a baby's pancreas secretes too much insulin. It affects approximately one in 50,000 live births and in severe cases requires the surgical removal of all or part of the pancreas. Researchers are now utilizing new genetic sequencing technology to sequence the entirety of a gene in order to identify mutations that cause hyperinsulinism.

New insight into cell development and cancer Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:03 AM PST New research has shed new light on how epigenetic signals may function together to determine the ultimate fate of a stem cell. The study implicates a unique class of proteins called polycomb-like proteins as bridging molecules between the "on" and "off" state of a gene.

Mimicking a natural defense against malaria to develop new treatments Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:02 AM PST One of the world's most devastating diseases is malaria, responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it. Researchers have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease.

The mirror, not the scale, is the enemy of many this New Year's resolution time Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:02 AM PST More than 66 million Americans are obese, says a December study, and top New Year's Resolutions include losing weight.

Study hints that stem cells prepare for maturity much earlier than anticipated Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:02 AM PST Unlike less versatile muscle or nerve cells, embryonic stem cells are by definition equipped to assume any cellular role. Scientists call this flexibility "pluripotency," meaning that as an organism develops, stem cells must be ready at a moment's notice to activate highly diverse gene expression programs used to turn them into blood, brain, or kidney cells.

Liquid crystal research may lead to creation of new materials that can be actively controlled Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:08 AM PST Contributing geometric and topological analyses of micro-materials, mathematicians aided experimental physicists by successfully explaining the observed "beautiful and complex patterns revealed" in three-dimensional liquid crystal experiments. The work is expected to lead to creation of new materials that can be actively controlled.

Benefits of higher oxygen, breathing device persist after infancy Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:07 AM PST By the time they reached toddlerhood, very preterm infants originally treated with higher oxygen levels continued to show benefits when compared to a group treated with lower oxygen levels, according to a follow-up study.

New method for collagen scaffolds: Slice, stack, roll Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:07 AM PST Engineers have developed a new technique, called bioskiving. The fabrication process creates collagen structures from thin sheets of decellularized tendon stacked with alternating fiber directions that maintain much of collagen's natural strength.

Birdsong study pecks theory that music is uniquely human Posted: 27 Dec 2012 05:01 AM PST A bird listening to birdsong may experience some of the same emotions as a human listening to music, suggests a new study on white-throated sparrows. The new study found that the same neural reward system is activated in female birds in the breeding state that are listening to male birdsong, and in people listening to music that they like.

US cancer screening rates decline over the last 10 years, finds new study Posted: 27 Dec 2012 05:01 AM PST The rate of people who seek preventive cancer screenings has fallen over the last 10 years in the United States with wide variations between white-collar and blue-collar workers, according to a new study.

Novel role of BRCA1 in regulating the survival of skin stem cells identified Posted: 27 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST Researchers have uncovered a novel role of BRCA1 in regulating the survival of skin stem cells. Our DNA, which stores our genetic information, is constantly submitted to damage. If not properly repaired, DNA damage can lead to cell death, which may in turn lead to tissue exhaustion and aging, or induce mutations resulting in uncontrolled cell proliferation and cancer. In this study scientists showed the critical role of Brca1 for the maintenance of hair follicle stem cells.

Two new species of orchid found in Cuba Posted: 27 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST Researchers have discovered two new species of Caribbean orchid. The Caribbean islands have been natural laboratories and a source of inspiration for biologists for over two centuries now. Suffice to say that the studies by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the tropical archipelagos contributed to the emergence of the theory of evolution. In this case, biologists have discovered two new species belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) in Cuba. They have been called Tetramicra riparia and Encyclia navarroi.

Even in same vineyard, different microbes may create variations in wine grapes Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST Choosing the perfect wine may soon involve more than just knowing the perfect vintage and chateau. Differences in the microbes present on grapes even in different parts of the same vineyard may contribute to flavor fluctuations in samples of grapes from different tanks, according to new research.

Kindness key to happiness and acceptance for children Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST Children who make an effort to perform acts of kindness are happier and experience greater acceptance from their peers, suggests new research.

People with mental disorders more likely to have experienced domestic violence Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST Men and women with mental health disorders, across all diagnoses, are more likely to have experienced domestic violence than the general population, according to new research.

Doctors call for evidence-based appropriateness criteria for elective procedures Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:28 PM PST Many of the most common inpatient surgeries in the United States are performed electively. These surgeries are expected to significantly increase with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. Medical researchers are now recommending the nation's health care leaders and medical community join forces to establish evidence-based appropriateness criteria to determine which patients are most in need of elective procedures, such as joint replacement surgery, to slow the projected surge in demand and rising costs. Currently, there are no appropriateness criteria for most of the common elective procedures.

Evidence contradicts idea that starvation caused saber-tooth cat extinction Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:28 PM PST The latest study of the microscopic wear patterns on the teeth of the American lions and saber-toothed cats that roamed North America in the late Pleistocene found that they were living well off the fat of the land in the period just before they went extinct.

Measurements hint why the universe is dominated by matter, not anti-matter Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST Physicists have made a precise measurement of elusive, nearly massless particles, and obtained a crucial hint as to why the universe is dominated by matter, not by its close relative, anti-matter.

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