ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Low childhood conscientiousness predicts adult obesity
• How parents see themselves may affect their child's brain and stress level
• Cells eat themselves into shape
• Autism affects different parts of the brain in women and men
• How to achieve a well-balanced gut: 'Peacekeeper' in the gut identified
• Gene variations may help predict cancer treatment response
• Bubbles are the new lenses for nanoscale light beams
• Deep Earth heat surprise: New findings on how heat is conducted in the deep lower mantle
• Helper cells aptly named in battle with invading pathogens

Low childhood conscientiousness predicts adult obesity Posted: 09 Aug 2013 08:52 AM PDT Results from a longitudinal study show that children who exhibit lower conscientiousness (e.g., irresponsible, careless, not persevering) could experience worse overall health, including greater obesity, as adults. The study examines the relationship between childhood personality and adult health and shows a strong association between childhood conscientiousness (organized, dependable, self-disciplined) and health status in adulthood.

How parents see themselves may affect their child's brain and stress level Posted: 09 Aug 2013 08:51 AM PDT A mother's perceived social status predicts her child's brain development and stress indicators, finds a new study -- the first to link brain function to maternal self-perception. Children in the study, whose mothers saw themselves as having a low social status were more likely to have increased cortisol levels, (stress indicator), and less activation of their hippocampus, (structure in the brain responsible for long-term memory formation, required for learning) and reducing stress responses.

Cells eat themselves into shape Posted: 09 Aug 2013 08:48 AM PDT To quickly smooth out their surface, cells in the fruit fly embryo 'suck in' long tubes of membrane in a specialized type of endocytosis, scientists have found. The study could help explain how the cells on your skin become different from those that line your stomach or intestine.

Autism affects different parts of the brain in women and men Posted: 09 Aug 2013 05:41 AM PDT Autism affects different parts of the brain in females with autism than males with autism, a new study reveals.

How to achieve a well-balanced gut: 'Peacekeeper' in the gut identified Posted: 09 Aug 2013 05:41 AM PDT Creating an environment that nurtures the trillions of beneficial microbes in our gut and, at the same time, protects us against invasion by food-borne pathogens is a challenge. A new study reveals the role of a key player in this balancing act.

Gene variations may help predict cancer treatment response Posted: 09 Aug 2013 05:41 AM PDT Researchers have identified four inherited genetic variants in non-small cell lung cancer patients that can help predict survival and treatment response. Their findings could help lead to more personalized treatment options and improved outcomes for patients.

Bubbles are the new lenses for nanoscale light beams Posted: 09 Aug 2013 05:41 AM PDT Bending light beams to your whim sounds like a job for a wizard or an a complex array of bulky mirrors, lenses and prisms, but a few tiny liquid bubbles may be all that is necessary to open the doors for next-generation, high-speed circuits and displays, according to researchers.

Deep Earth heat surprise: New findings on how heat is conducted in the deep lower mantle Posted: 09 Aug 2013 05:41 AM PDT Researchers have for the first time experimentally mimicked the pressure conditions of Earths' deep mantle to measure thermal conductivity using a new measurement technique on the mantle material magnesium oxide. They found that heat transfer is lower than other predictions, with total heat flow across the Earth of about 10.4 terawatts, about 60 percent of the power used today by civilization. They also found that conductivity has less dependence on pressure conditions than predicted.

Helper cells aptly named in battle with invading pathogens Posted: 09 Aug 2013 05:38 AM PDT By tracking the previously unknown movements of a set of specialized cells, scientists are shedding new light on how the immune system mounts a successful defense against hostile, ever-changing invaders.

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