ScienceDaily: Top News

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• High sugar intake linked to low dopamine release in insulin resistant patients
• Early data from first human study suggests radiation-antibody combination is safe
• Martian clay contains chemical implicated in the origin of life, astrobiologists find
• Amount of dust blown across the Western U.S. is increasing
• African starlings: Dashing darlings of the bird world in more ways than one
• Men with prostate cancer should eat healthy vegetable fats, study suggests
• Alzheimer's and low blood sugar in diabetes may trigger a vicious cycle
• Genetic research clarifies link between hypertension and Vitamin D deficiency
• From hot springs to HIV, same protein complexes are hijacked to promote viruses
• A path to lower-risk painkillers: Newly-discovered drug target paves way for alternatives to morphine
• Bridge species drive tropical engine of biodiversity
• Study examines cancer risk from pediatric radiation exposure from CT scans
• Shape of nanoparticles points the way toward more targeted drugs
• Unfrozen mystery: H2O reveals a new secret
• China is outsourcing carbon: Key findings on regional, global impact of trade on environment
• Biotech crops vs. pests: Successes and failures from the first billion acres
• To germinate, or not to germinate, that is the question…
• Pregnant women with severe morning sickness who take antihistamines are significantly more likely to experience adverse outcomes
• How does inbreeding avoidance evolve in plants?
• Brain circuits link obsessive-compulsive behavior and obesity
• Hairpin turn: Micro-RNA plays role in wood formation
• Reduced brain volume in kids with low birth-weight tied to academic struggles
• Epigenetic factor likely plays a key role in fueling most common childhood cancer
• Potential new target to thwart antibiotic resistance: Viruses in gut confer antibiotic resistance to bacteria
• Scientists size up universe's most lightweight dwarf galaxy
• Early exposure to bisphenol A might damage the enamel of teeth
• Scientists discover new family of quasicrystals
• 2-D electronics take a step forward: Semiconducting films for atom-thick circuits
• Whitebark pine trees: Is their future at risk?
• A rather complex complex: Brain scans reveal internal conflict during Jung's word association test
• Pendulum swings back on 350-year-old mathematical mystery
• The diabetes 'breathalyzer'
• Master regulator in cancer metastasis discovered
• Flowering at the right age: Alpine rock cress uses a ribonucleic acid to measure its age and tell when it's the right time to flower
• The body electric: Researchers move closer to low-cost, implantable electronics, study suggests
• Cardiac MRI use reduces adverse events for patients with acute chest pain
• Transplant patient outcomes after trauma better than expected
• Lifespan-extending drug given late in life reverses age-related heart disease in mice: Rapamycin
• Simple theory may explain mysterious dark matter
• When will my computer understand me?
• Frequent binge drinking is associated with insomnia symptoms in older adults
• People are overly confident in their own knowledge, despite errors
• Mysterious monument found beneath the Sea of Galilee
• River dredging reduced fish numbers, diversity
• Pollinators easily enhanced by flowering agri-environment schemes
• How cells get a skeleton
• Treatment of mental illness lowers arrest rates, saves money
• Mice give new clues to origins of obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Self-fertilizing plants contribute to their own demise
• Leakage of carbon from land to rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal regions revealed
• Catching individual molecules in a million with optical antennas inside nano-boxes
• British butterfly desperate for warm weather this summer
• How Archaea might find their food: Sensor protein characterized
• Discovery may lead to new treatments for jaundice
• Potentially 'catastrophic' changes underway in Canada's northern Mackenzie River Basin
• New theory proposes solution to long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is
• Do antidepressants impair the ability to extinguish fear?
• Nanotechnology and the secret life of knots
• Suicide risk factors described
• Substances from African medicinal plants could help stop tumor growth

High sugar intake linked to low dopamine release in insulin resistant patients Posted: 10 Jun 2013 07:37 PM PDT A PET study indicates that overeating and weight gain contributing to onset of diabetes could be related to a deficit in reward circuits in the brain.

Early data from first human study suggests radiation-antibody combination is safe Posted: 10 Jun 2013 07:37 PM PDT An experimental treatment that combines a cell-killing radioactive particle with an antibody that homes in on cancer cells is safe in the treatment of cancers spreading through patients' abdomens, new research suggests.

Martian clay contains chemical implicated in the origin of life, astrobiologists find Posted: 10 Jun 2013 07:01 PM PDT Researchers have discovered high concentrations of boron in a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form (borate), boron may have played a key role in the formation of RNA, one of the building blocks for life.

Amount of dust blown across the Western U.S. is increasing Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:30 PM PDT The amount of dust being blown across the landscape has increased over the last 17 years in large swaths of the West, according to a new study.

African starlings: Dashing darlings of the bird world in more ways than one Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:30 PM PDT It's not going to happen while you're peering through your binoculars, but African glossy starlings change color more than 10 times faster than their ancestors and even their modern relatives, say researchers. The changes have led to new species of birds with color combinations previously unseen, according to a new study.

Men with prostate cancer should eat healthy vegetable fats, study suggests Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:29 PM PDT Men with prostate cancer may significantly improve their survival chances with a simple change in their diet, a new study has found.

Alzheimer's and low blood sugar in diabetes may trigger a vicious cycle Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:28 PM PDT Diabetes-associated episodes of low blood sugar may increase the risk of developing dementia, while having dementia or even milder forms of cognitive impairment may increase the risk of experiencing low blood sugar, according to a new study.

Genetic research clarifies link between hypertension and Vitamin D deficiency Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:26 PM PDT A large-scale genetic study involving over 155,000 individuals has enabled researchers to discover the causal link between hypertension and vitamin D deficiency. The results provide a strong case for food fortification with vitamin D in order to prevent some kinds of cardiovascular disease, they say.

From hot springs to HIV, same protein complexes are hijacked to promote viruses Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:26 PM PDT Biologists have discovered a striking connection between viruses such as HIV and Ebola and viruses that infect organisms called archaea that grow in volcanic hot springs. Despite the huge difference in environments and a 2 billion year evolutionary time span between archaea and humans, the viruses hijack the same set of proteins to break out of infected cells.

A path to lower-risk painkillers: Newly-discovered drug target paves way for alternatives to morphine Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:25 PM PDT New findings provide vital step towards exploring pain medications that may lower risks of prescription drug abuse and side effects of painkillers.

Bridge species drive tropical engine of biodiversity Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:25 PM PDT New research sheds light on how the tropics came to be teeming with species while the poles harbor relatively few. Furthermore, it confirms that the tropics have been and continue to be the Earth's engine of biodiversity.

Study examines cancer risk from pediatric radiation exposure from CT scans Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:25 PM PDT According to a study of seven U.S. healthcare systems, the use of computed tomography (CT) scans of the head, abdomen/pelvis, chest or spine, in children younger than age 14 more than doubled from 1996 to 2005, and this associated radiation is projected to potentially increase the risk of radiation-induced cancer in these children in the future.

Shape of nanoparticles points the way toward more targeted drugs Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:21 PM PDT The shape of nanoparticles can enhance drug targeting, according to new research. The study found that rod-shaped nanoparticles -- or nanorods -- as opposed to spherical nanoparticles, appear to adhere more effectively to the surface of endothelial cells that line the inside of blood vessels.

Unfrozen mystery: H2O reveals a new secret Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:21 PM PDT Using revolutionary new techniques, scientists have made a striking discovery about how ice behaves under pressure, changing ideas that date back almost 50 years. Their findings could alter our understanding of how the water molecule responds to conditions found deep within planets and could have implications for energy science.

China is outsourcing carbon: Key findings on regional, global impact of trade on environment Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:21 PM PDT In two different studies, researchers have published groundbreaking findings on the environmental impact of globalization, production and trade at both regional and international scales, and anticipate that their research will inform key environmental policies and consumer and corporate attitudes in the United States and around the world.

Biotech crops vs. pests: Successes and failures from the first billion acres Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:21 PM PDT A landmark study analyzes why pest resistance to genetically modified crops evolved quickly in some cases, but not others. The global assessment could help to gauge the risk of resistance for new biotech crops before they are commercialized.

To germinate, or not to germinate, that is the question… Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:20 PM PDT Scientists have uncovered new insights into the way seeds use gene networks to control when they germinate in response to environmental signals.

Pregnant women with severe morning sickness who take antihistamines are significantly more likely to experience adverse outcomes Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:20 PM PDT Women with a severe form of morning sickness who take antihistamines to help them sleep through their debilitating nausea are significantly more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birth weight babies and premature births.

How does inbreeding avoidance evolve in plants? Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:20 PM PDT Inbreeding is generally deleterious, even in flowering plants. Since inbreeding raises the risk that bad copies of a gene will be expressed, inbred progeny suffer from reduced viability. A case study of Leavenworthia suggests that loss of complex traits may be reversed.

Brain circuits link obsessive-compulsive behavior and obesity Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:20 PM PDT A new study suggests that the brain circuits that control obsessive-compulsive behavior are intertwined with circuits that control food intake and body weight.

Hairpin turn: Micro-RNA plays role in wood formation Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:19 PM PDT Scientists have found the first example of how micro-RNA regulates wood formation inside plant cells and mapped out key relationships that control the process.

Reduced brain volume in kids with low birth-weight tied to academic struggles Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:35 AM PDT An analysis of recent data from magnetic resonance imaging of 97 adolescents who were part of study begun with very low birth weight babies born in 1982-1986 in a Cleveland neonatal intensive care unit has tied smaller brain volumes to poor academic achievement.

Epigenetic factor likely plays a key role in fueling most common childhood cancer Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:35 AM PDT Changes in an epigenetic mechanism that turns expression of genes on and off may be as important as genetic alterations in causing pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to a new study.

Potential new target to thwart antibiotic resistance: Viruses in gut confer antibiotic resistance to bacteria Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:35 AM PDT Bacteria in the gut that are under attack by antibiotics have allies no one had anticipated, scientists have found. Gut viruses that usually commandeer the bacteria, it turns out, enable them to survive the antibiotic onslaught, most likely by handing them genes that help them withstand the drug.

Scientists size up universe's most lightweight dwarf galaxy Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:35 AM PDT The least massive galaxy in the known universe has now been measured, clocking in at just 1,000 or so stars with a bit of dark matter holding them together.

Early exposure to bisphenol A might damage the enamel of teeth Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:32 AM PDT Are teeth the latest victims of bisphenol A? Yes, according to the conclusions of new work. Researchers have shown that the teeth of rats treated with low daily doses of BPA could be damaged by this.

Scientists discover new family of quasicrystals Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:32 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a new family of rare-earth quasicrystals using an algorithm they developed to help pinpoint them. Their research resulted in finding the only known magnetic rare earth icosahedral binary quasicrystals, now providing a "matched set" of magnetic quasicrystals and their closely related periodic cousins.

2-D electronics take a step forward: Semiconducting films for atom-thick circuits Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT Scientists have created single-layer films of molybdenum disulfide, a semiconductor and an important component in the development of two-dimensional electronics.

Whitebark pine trees: Is their future at risk? Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT There's trouble ahead for the whitebark pine, a mountain tree that's integral to wildlife and water resources in the western United States and Canada. Over the last decade, some populations of whitebark pines have declined by more than 90 percent. But these declines may be just the beginning.

A rather complex complex: Brain scans reveal internal conflict during Jung's word association test Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT Over 100 years ago psychologist Carl Gustav Jung penned his theory of 'complexes' where he explained how unconscious psychological issues can be triggered by people, events, or Jung believed, through word association tests.

Pendulum swings back on 350-year-old mathematical mystery Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT A 350-year-old mathematical mystery could lead toward a better understanding of medical conditions like epilepsy or even the behavior of predator-prey systems in the wild, researchers report.

The diabetes 'breathalyzer' Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT Chemists have demonstrated a sensor technology that could significantly simplify the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes through breath analysis alone.

Master regulator in cancer metastasis discovered Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:31 AM PDT In the process of metastasis, the movement of cancer cells to different parts of the body, a specific master regulator gene plays a central role: a transcription factor named Sox4 activates a sequence of genes and triggers the formidable process. Inhibition of Sox4 and subsequent processes may prevent metastasis in cancer patients.

Flowering at the right age: Alpine rock cress uses a ribonucleic acid to measure its age and tell when it's the right time to flower Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:30 AM PDT Perennial plants flower only when they have reached a certain age and been subjected to the cold. These two circumstances prevent the plant from starting to flower during winter. Botanists have now discovered that the Alpine rock cress determines its age based on the quantity of a short ribonucleic acid.

The body electric: Researchers move closer to low-cost, implantable electronics, study suggests Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:29 AM PDT New technology is paving the way for low-cost electronic devices that work in direct contact with living tissue inside the body. The first planned use of the technology is a sensor that will detect the very early stages of organ transplant rejection.

Cardiac MRI use reduces adverse events for patients with acute chest pain Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:29 AM PDT Doctors have found that using stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in an Emergency Department observation unit to care for patients with acute chest pain is a win-win – for the patient and the institution.

Transplant patient outcomes after trauma better than expected Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:28 AM PDT In the largest study of its kind, researchers find that traumatic injury outcomes in patients with organ transplants are not worse than for non-transplanted patients, despite common presumptions among physicians. Additionally, transplanted organs are rarely injured in traumatic events.

Lifespan-extending drug given late in life reverses age-related heart disease in mice: Rapamycin Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:28 AM PDT Mice suffering from age-related heart disease saw a significant improvement in cardiac function after treatment with the FDA-approved drug rapamycin for just three months. New research shows how rapamycin impacts mammalian tissues, providing functional insights and possible benefits for a drug that can extend lifespan in mice as much as 14 percent. Researchers are now recruiting seniors with cardiac artery disease for a clinical trial involving the drug.

Simple theory may explain mysterious dark matter Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:28 AM PDT The reason dark matter, which makes up 85 percent of all the matter in the universe, is invisible could be because it possesses a rare, donut-shaped type of electromagnetism instead of the more exotic forces that have been proposed, according to an analysis by theoretic physicists.

When will my computer understand me? Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT For more than 50 years, linguists and computer scientists have tried to get computers to understand human language by programming semantics as software, with mixed results. Enabled by supercomputers, researchers are using new methods to more accurately represent language so computers can interpret it.

Frequent binge drinking is associated with insomnia symptoms in older adults Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT A new study suggests that frequent binge drinking is associated with insomnia symptoms in older adults.

People are overly confident in their own knowledge, despite errors Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT Overprecision -- excessive confidence in the accuracy of our beliefs -- can have profound consequences, inflating investors' valuation of their investments, leading physicians to gravitate too quickly to a diagnosis, even making people intolerant of dissenting views. Now, new research confirms that overprecision is a common and robust form of overconfidence driven, at least in part, by excessive certainty in the accuracy of our judgments.

Mysterious monument found beneath the Sea of Galilee Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a mysterious monument beneath the waves of the Sea of Galilee. The site resembles early burial sites in Europe and was likely built in the early Bronze Age.

River dredging reduced fish numbers, diversity Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT Comparing dredged and undredged sections of the Allegheny River, reduced populations of fish and less variety of aquatic life occurred in areas where gravel extraction took place, according to researchers.

Pollinators easily enhanced by flowering agri-environment schemes Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:30 AM PDT European agri-environment schemes enhance wild pollinators on farmland, new research shows. The effects increased with the number of flowers brought back by the schemes. Recent studies have shown that wild pollinators are instrumental in providing pollination services to crops. Agri-environment schemes can therefore help counteract pollination loss.

How cells get a skeleton Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:29 AM PDT Stress generated by nano-motors within animal cells can lead to the creation of a condensed layer of filaments beneath the outer cell membrane. The mechanism responsible for generating part of the skeletal support for the membrane in animal cells is not yet clearly understood.

Treatment of mental illness lowers arrest rates, saves money Posted: 10 Jun 2013 08:27 AM PDT Research shows that outpatient treatment of mental illness significantly reduces arrest rates for people with mental health problems and saves taxpayers money.

Mice give new clues to origins of obsessive-compulsive disorder Posted: 10 Jun 2013 06:51 AM PDT Researchers have identified what they think may be a mechanism underlying the development of compulsive behaviors. The finding suggests possible approaches to treating or preventing certain characteristics of OCD.

Self-fertilizing plants contribute to their own demise Posted: 10 Jun 2013 06:51 AM PDT Many plants are self-fertilizing, meaning they act as both mother and father to their own seeds. This strategy -- known as selfing -- guarantees reproduction but, over time, leads to reduced diversity and the accumulation of harmful mutations. A new study shows that these negative consequences are apparent across a selfing plant's genome, and can arise more rapidly than previously thought.

Leakage of carbon from land to rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal regions revealed Posted: 10 Jun 2013 06:51 AM PDT When carbon is emitted by human activities into the atmosphere it is generally thought that about half remains in the atmosphere and the remainder is stored in the oceans and on land. New research suggests that human activity could be increasing the movement of carbon from land to rivers, estuaries and the coastal zone indicating that large quantities of anthropogenic carbon may be hidden in regions not previously considered.

Catching individual molecules in a million with optical antennas inside nano-boxes Posted: 10 Jun 2013 06:51 AM PDT Detecting one individual biomolecule amongst millions of other neighboring molecules has been technically impossible until now. Scientists have now devised the smallest optical device capable of detecting and sensing individual biomolecules at concentrations that are similar to those found in the cellular context.

British butterfly desperate for warm weather this summer Posted: 10 Jun 2013 06:51 AM PDT Butterflies are extremely sensitive to changes in temperature, and new research has revealed that when summer weather turns bad the silver-spotted skipper battles for survival.

How Archaea might find their food: Sensor protein characterized Posted: 10 Jun 2013 06:50 AM PDT Delicious dimethyl sulphide. The microorganism Methanosarcina acetivorans lives off everything it can metabolize into methane. How it finds its sources of energy, is not yet clear. Scientists have now identified a protein that might act as a "food sensor."

Discovery may lead to new treatments for jaundice Posted: 10 Jun 2013 05:43 AM PDT Helping to protect newborns and older patients against more severe effects of jaundice is the hope of researchers who have shown how a liver enzyme protects cells from damage caused by the condition. Their discovery might ultimately lead to an alternative treatment for jaundice, such as a new drug or supplement.

Potentially 'catastrophic' changes underway in Canada's northern Mackenzie River Basin Posted: 10 Jun 2013 05:43 AM PDT Canada's Mackenzie River basin -- among the world's most important major ecosystems -- is poorly studied, inadequately monitored, and at serious risk due to climate change and resource exploitation, a panel of international scientists warn. Largest single threat to the Basin: a potential breach in the tailings ponds at one of the large oil sands sites mining surface bitumen. A breach in winter sending tailings liquid under the ice "would be virtually impossible to remediate or clean-up."

New theory proposes solution to long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is Posted: 10 Jun 2013 05:42 AM PDT Researchers have proposed an answer to the long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is. Earth, with its core-driven magnetic field, oceans of liquid water, dynamic climate and abundant life is arguably the most complex system in the known Universe. Life arose on Earth over three and a half billion years ago and it would appear that despite planetary scale calamities such as the impacts of massive meteorites, runaway climate change and increases in brightness of the Sun, it has continued to grow, reproduce and evolve ever since. Has life on Earth simply been lucky in withstanding these events or are there any self-stabilizing processes operating in the Earth system that would reduce the severity of such perturbations? If such planetary processes exist, to what extent are they the result of the actions of life?

Do antidepressants impair the ability to extinguish fear? Posted: 10 Jun 2013 05:41 AM PDT Common antidepressant medications may impair a form of learning that is important clinically. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly called SSRIs, are a class of antidepressant widely used to treat depression, as well as a range of anxiety disorders, but the effects of these drugs on learning and memory are poorly understood.

Nanotechnology and the secret life of knots Posted: 10 Jun 2013 05:41 AM PDT Nanotechnologies require a  detailed knowledge of the molecular state. For instance, it is useful to know when and how a generic polymer, a long chain of polymers (chain of beads), knots. The study of molecular entanglement  is an important field of study as the presence of knots affects its physical properties, for instance the resistence to traction. Previous studies had mainly obtained "static" data on the knotting probability of such molecules. In other words, they focused on the likelihood that a polymer may knot. The novelty of the new study lies in the fact that this time the dynamic aspect of the phenomenon has been simulated.

Suicide risk factors described Posted: 10 Jun 2013 05:41 AM PDT The rate of suicide among men is almost three times that of women, according to new research. Being young, single and having a low level of education were stronger risk factors for suicide among men, while mental illness was a stronger risk factor among women. Unemployment was the strongest social risk factor among women, whereas being single was the strongest among men.

Substances from African medicinal plants could help stop tumor growth Posted: 10 Jun 2013 05:41 AM PDT African medicinal plants contain chemicals that may be able to stop the spread of cancer cells. The plant materials will now undergo further analysis in order to evaluate their therapeutic potential.

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