ScienceDaily: Top News

---

• Bacteria responsible for gum disease facilitates rheumatoid arthritis
• Americans living longer, more healthy lives
• Current pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions put over 600 million people at risk of higher water scarcity
• Genes linked to being right- or left-handed identified
• Get touchy feely with plants: Gently rubbing them with your fingers can make them less susceptible to disease
• Teen driving and marijuana use: More one in four high school seniors drive after using alcohol or drugs, or ride with a driver who has
• Underlying ocean melts ice shelf, speeds up glacier movement
• Viruses associated with coral epidemic of 'white plague'
• Movement of marine life follows speed and direction of climate change
• Functioning 'mechanical gears' seen in nature for first time
• Sewage treatment removes widely used home and garden insecticides from wastewater
• Contribution of local animal populations to human Salmonella infections overstated
• Scientists pinpoint proteins vital to long-term memory
• Decades on, bacterium's discovery feted as paragon of basic science
• Radical new view of health: Stem cells are wired for cooperation, down to the DNA
• Molecule that triggers septic shock identified
• Molecular structure reveals how HIV infects cells
• NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft embarks on historic journey into interstellar space
• Unprecedented rate and scale of ocean acidification found in the Arctic
• Helper cells trigger potent responses to HIV
• New info on an elusive green cicada
• Autism gene stunts neurons, but growth can be restored
• Alzheimer's patients show striking individual differences in molecular basis of disease
• Dali gets a health check: Using medical devices to diagnose art
• Treat the fungus among us with nontoxic medicinal compound
• Genetics of how and why fish swim in schools: Research sheds light on complex social behavior
• Darwin's dilemma resolved: Evolution's 'big bang' explained by five times faster rates of evolution
• Uros people of Peru and Bolivia found to have distinctive genetic ancestries
• Study explores complex physical oceanography in East China Sea
• Hate the sound of your voice? Not really
• Insights into evolution of life on Earth from one of Saturn's moons
• Hubble uncovers largest known population of star clusters
• Delaying climate policy would triple short-term mitigation costs
• Researchers hit virtual heads to make safer games
• Dogs' behavior could help design social robots
• Cilantro, that favorite salsa ingredient, purifies drinking water
• Guinness record: World’s thinnest glass is just two atoms thick
• Brain atrophy linked with cognitive decline in diabetes
• A century of human impact on Arctic climate indicated by new models, historic aerosol data
• Novel vaccine reduces shedding of genital herpes virus
• Everyday sadists take pleasure in others' pain
• Pea-shooter for molecules: Molecules pass through nanotubes at size-dependent speeds
• Probing methane's secrets: From diamonds to Neptune
• Ancient ancestor of tulip tree line identified
• Could life have survived a fall to Earth?
• Take a virtual tour of Vesta with new high resolution atlases
• The inside of the Milky Way Galaxy in 3-D
• Pulsating dust cloud dynamics modeled
• Forcing cancer to digest itself
• New heart catheter on a U. S. patient for first time
• Codeine could increase users' sensitivity to pain
• Guppy fish proven to be cheap, effective tool in fight against Dengue fever

Bacteria responsible for gum disease facilitates rheumatoid arthritis Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:33 PM PDT A research team has uncovered how the bacterium responsible for periodontal disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis, worsens rheumatoid arthritis by leading to earlier onset, faster progression and greater severity of the disease, including increased bone and cartilage destruction.

Americans living longer, more healthy lives Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:33 PM PDT In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have found that the average 25-year-old American today can look forward to 2.4 more years of a healthy life than 20 years ago while a 65-year-old today has gained 1.7 years.

Current pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions put over 600 million people at risk of higher water scarcity Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:32 PM PDT Our current pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are projected to set the global mean temperature increase at around 3.5°C above pre-industrial levels, will expose 668 million people worldwide to new or aggravated water scarcity.

Genes linked to being right- or left-handed identified Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:32 PM PDT A genetic study has identified a biological process that influences whether we are right-handed or left-handed. Scientists found correlations between handedness and a network of genes involved in establishing left-right asymmetry in developing embryos.

Get touchy feely with plants: Gently rubbing them with your fingers can make them less susceptible to disease Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:30 PM PDT Forget talking to plants to help them grow, gently rubbing them with your fingers can make them less susceptible to disease, a new article reveals. Gently rubbing the leaves of thale cress plants (Arabidsopsis thaliana) between thumb and forefinger activates an innate defense mechanism, scientists report. Within minutes, biochemical changes occur, causing the plant to become more resistant to Botrytis cinerea, the fungus that causes grey mould.

Teen driving and marijuana use: More one in four high school seniors drive after using alcohol or drugs, or ride with a driver who has Posted: 12 Sep 2013 05:28 PM PDT A new study finds that 28 percent of U.S. high school seniors have driven after using drugs or drinking alcohol in the past two weeks, or ridden in a vehicle with a driver who did. In particular, driving after smoking marijuana has increased over the past three years.

Underlying ocean melts ice shelf, speeds up glacier movement Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:39 AM PDT Warm ocean water, not warm air, is melting the Pine Island Glacier's floating ice shelf in Antarctica and may be the culprit for increased melting of other ice shelves, according to an international team of researchers.

Viruses associated with coral epidemic of 'white plague' Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:39 AM PDT They call it the "white plague," and like its black counterpart from the Middle Ages, it conjures up visions of catastrophic death, with a cause that was at first uncertain even as it led to widespread destruction -- on marine corals in the Caribbean Sea. Now, at least, one of the causes of this plague has been found.

Movement of marine life follows speed and direction of climate change Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:36 AM PDT New research shows that the trick to predicting when and where sea animals will relocate due to climate change is to follow the pace and direction of temperature changes, known as climate velocity.

Functioning 'mechanical gears' seen in nature for first time Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:36 AM PDT Previously believed to be only human-made, a natural example of a functioning gear mechanism has been discovered in a common insect -- showing that evolution developed interlocking cogs long before we did. In Issus, the skeleton is used to solve a complex problem that the brain and nervous system can't, one of the researchers said.

Sewage treatment removes widely used home and garden insecticides from wastewater Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:36 AM PDT Even though sewage treatment plants are not designed to remove tiny amounts of pesticides, they do an excellent job of dealing with the most widely used family of home and garden insecticides, scientists report. The study focused on pyrethroid insecticides.

Contribution of local animal populations to human Salmonella infections overstated Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:34 AM PDT A new study has shown that, contrary to popular belief, local domestic animals are unlikely to be the major source of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in humans.

Scientists pinpoint proteins vital to long-term memory Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:33 AM PDT Scientists have found a group of proteins essential to the formation of long-term memories.

Decades on, bacterium's discovery feted as paragon of basic science Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:33 AM PDT Over time, the esoteric and sometimes downright strange quests of science have proven easy targets for politicians and others looking for perceived examples of waste in government — and a cheap headline.

Radical new view of health: Stem cells are wired for cooperation, down to the DNA Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT We often think of human cells as tiny computers that perform assigned tasks, where disease is a result of a malfunction. But researchers now offer a radical view of health — seeing it more as a cooperative state among cells, while they see disease as result of cells at war that fight with each other for domination.

Molecule that triggers septic shock identified Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT Researchers have identified a sensor pathway inside cells. These internal sensors are like motion detectors inside a house; they trigger an alarm that signals for help — a response from the immune system.

Molecular structure reveals how HIV infects cells Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT A team scientists has determined the high-resolution atomic structure of a cell-surface receptor that most strains of HIV use to get into human immune cells. The researchers also showed where maraviroc, an HIV drug, attaches to cells and blocks HIV's entry.

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft embarks on historic journey into interstellar space Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:55 AM PDT NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft officially is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. The 36-year-old probe is about 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometers) from our sun. New and unexpected data indicate Voyager 1 has been traveling for about one year through plasma, or ionized gas, present in the space between stars. Voyager is in a transitional region immediately outside the solar bubble, where some effects from our sun are still evident.

Unprecedented rate and scale of ocean acidification found in the Arctic Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:21 AM PDT Acidification of the Arctic Ocean is occurring faster than projected, according to new findings. The increase in rate is being blamed on rapidly melting sea ice, a process that may have important consequences for health of the Arctic ecosystem.

Helper cells trigger potent responses to HIV Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:20 AM PDT A major new finding that will significantly advance efforts to create the world's first antibody-based AIDS vaccine shows that certain helper T cells are important for triggering a strong antibody response against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

New info on an elusive green cicada Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:20 AM PDT For nearly 80 years, the North American cicada Okanagana viridis has received little attention in scientific literature, but a new article provides the first notes on the song and ecology of this elusive species, and updates its known range.

Autism gene stunts neurons, but growth can be restored Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:19 AM PDT A new study reports that mutation of a gene associated with some autism forms in humans can hinder the proper growth and connectivity of brain cells in mice. It also shows how that understanding allowed these cells to restore proper growth in the lab.

Alzheimer's patients show striking individual differences in molecular basis of disease Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:19 AM PDT Alzheimer's disease is thought to be caused by the buildup of abnormal protein deposits in the brain, but little is known about the molecular structures of these beta-amyloid fibrils. A new study has revealed that distinct molecular structures may predominate in the brains of Alzheimer's patients with different clinical histories and degrees of brain damage. The findings pave the way for new patient-specific strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Dali gets a health check: Using medical devices to diagnose art Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:18 AM PDT Scientists and conservators have developed a new method to diagnose painting canvases from the back, without disturbing a single fibre, to see if they can withstand the stress of handling and travel.

Treat the fungus among us with nontoxic medicinal compound Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:18 AM PDT A research team has found a breakthrough herbal medicine treatment for a common human fungal pathogen that lives in almost 80 percent of people. The team discovered a medicinal herb called Gymnema slyvestre is both nontoxic and blocks the virulence properties of a common fungus called Candida albicans.

Genetics of how and why fish swim in schools: Research sheds light on complex social behavior Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:17 AM PDT How and why fish swim in schools has long fascinated biologists looking for clues to understand the complexities of social behavior. A new study may help provide some insight.

Darwin's dilemma resolved: Evolution's 'big bang' explained by five times faster rates of evolution Posted: 12 Sep 2013 10:17 AM PDT Biologists have estimated, for the first time, the rates of evolution during the "Cambrian explosion" when most modern animal groups appeared between 540 and 520 million years ago.

Uros people of Peru and Bolivia found to have distinctive genetic ancestries Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:28 AM PDT New genetic research led by the Genographic Project consortium shows a distinctive ancestry for the Uros populations of Peru and Bolivia that predates the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and may date back to the earliest settlement of the Altiplano, or high plain, of the central Andes some 3,700 years ago. Despite the fact that the Uros today share many lineages with the surrounding Andean populations, they have maintained their own divergent genetic ancestry.

Study explores complex physical oceanography in East China Sea Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:28 AM PDT Just days before a team of researchers set out to conduct fieldwork in the East China Sea, Typhoon Morakot -- one of the most destructive storms ever to hit Taiwan -- made landfall on the island, causing widespread damage and drastically altering the flow of water along the nearby continental shelf. Their research may offer a new understanding of how chaotic and powerful currents form in the East China Sea, and could also reveal how large storms affect those currents.

Hate the sound of your voice? Not really Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:27 AM PDT A new study finds people unknowingly find their own pre-recorded voice more attractive than others do.

Insights into evolution of life on Earth from one of Saturn's moons Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:27 AM PDT Glimpses of the nursery of life on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago are coming from an unlikely venue almost 1 billion miles away, according to the leader of an effort to understand Titan, one of the most unusual moons in the solar system.

Hubble uncovers largest known population of star clusters Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:27 AM PDT NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered the largest known population of globular star clusters, an estimated 160,000, swarming like bees inside the crowded core of the giant grouping of galaxies Abell 1689. By comparison, our Milky Way galaxy hosts about 150 such clusters.

Delaying climate policy would triple short-term mitigation costs Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:18 AM PDT Further delay in the implementation of comprehensive international climate policies could substantially increase the short-term costs of climate change mitigation. Global economic growth would be cut back by up to 7 percent within the first decade after climate policy implementation if the current international stalemate is continued until 2030 -- compared to 2 percent if a climate agreement is reached by 2015 already, a new study shows.

Researchers hit virtual heads to make safer games Posted: 12 Sep 2013 08:18 AM PDT Two nearly identical softballs, both approved for league play, can have dramatically different effects when smacked into a player's head.

Dogs' behavior could help design social robots Posted: 12 Sep 2013 07:48 AM PDT Designers of social robots, take note. Bring your dog to the lab next time you test a prototype, and watch how your pet interacts with it. You might just learn a thing or two that could help you fine-tune future designs. So says researchers who found that 'man's best friend' reacts sociably to robots that behave socially towards them, even if the devices look nothing like a human.

Cilantro, that favorite salsa ingredient, purifies drinking water Posted: 12 Sep 2013 07:48 AM PDT New research hints that a favorite ingredient in Mexican, Southeast Asian and other spicy cuisine may be an inexpensive new way of purifying drinking water.

Guinness record: World’s thinnest glass is just two atoms thick Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:52 AM PDT At just a molecule thick, it's a new record: The world's thinnest sheet of glass, a serendipitous discovery by scientists in the U.S. and Germany, is recorded for posterity in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Brain atrophy linked with cognitive decline in diabetes Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:38 AM PDT New research has shown that cognitive decline in people with type 2 diabetes is likely due to brain atrophy, or shrinkage, that resembles patterns seen in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

A century of human impact on Arctic climate indicated by new models, historic aerosol data Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:37 AM PDT A new study suggests that both anthropogenic and natural factors -- specifically sulphate aerosols from industrial activity and volcanic emissions, in addition to greenhouse gas releases from fossil fuel burning -- account for Arctic surface temperature variations from 1900 to the present.

Novel vaccine reduces shedding of genital herpes virus Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:37 AM PDT Sexually transmitted infection researchers have potentially reached a milestone in vaccine treatment for genital herpes, according to a report.

Everyday sadists take pleasure in others' pain Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:37 AM PDT Most of the time, we try to avoid inflicting pain on others -- when we do hurt someone, we typically experience guilt, remorse, or other feelings of distress. But for some, cruelty can be pleasurable, even exciting. According to new research, this kind of everyday sadism is real and more common than we might think.

Pea-shooter for molecules: Molecules pass through nanotubes at size-dependent speeds Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:37 AM PDT Researchers find that tiny molecules passing through nanotubes can be propelled or slowed depending on their size.

Probing methane's secrets: From diamonds to Neptune Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:37 AM PDT Hydrocarbons from the Earth make up the oil and gas that heat our homes and fuel our cars. The study of the various phases of molecules formed from carbon and hydrogen under high pressures and temperatures, like those found in the Earth's interior, helps scientists understand the chemical processes occurring deep within planets, including Earth. New research hones in on the hydrocarbon methane (CH4), because its behavior under the conditions found in planetary interiors is poorly understood.

Ancient ancestor of tulip tree line identified Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:37 AM PDT The modern-day tulip tree, state tree of Indiana as well as Kentucky and Tennessee, can trace its lineage back to the time of the dinosaurs, according to newly published research.

Could life have survived a fall to Earth? Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:27 AM PDT It sounds like science fiction, but the theory of panspermia, in which life can naturally transfer between planets, is considered a serious hypothesis by planetary scientists. The suggestion that life did not originate on Earth but came from elsewhere in the universe (for instance, Mars), is one possible variant of panspermia. Planets and moons were heavily bombarded by meteorites when the Solar System was young, throwing lots of material back into space. Meteorites made of Mars rock are occasionally found on Earth to this day, so it is quite plausible that simple life forms like yeasts or bacteria could have been carried on them.

Take a virtual tour of Vesta with new high resolution atlases Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:27 AM PDT An atlas of the asteroid, Vesta, created from images taken during the Dawn Mission's Low Altitude Mapping Orbit, is now accessible for the public to explore online. The set of maps has been created from mosaics of 10,000 images from Dawn's framing camera instrument, taken at an average altitude of about 210 kilometers.

The inside of the Milky Way Galaxy in 3-D Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:27 AM PDT Scientists have produced the first detailed three-dimensional map of the stars that form the inner regions of our Milky Way, using publicly available VVV survey data. They find a box/peanut shaped bulge with an elongated bar and a prominent X-structure, which had been hinted at in previous studies. This indicates that the Milky Way was originally a pure disk of stars, which then formed a thin bar, before buckling into the box/peanut shape seen today. The new map can be used for more detailed studies of the dynamics and evolution of our Milky Way.

Pulsating dust cloud dynamics modeled Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:25 AM PDT New research outlines a new design of spatio-temporal models of astrophysical plasmas. The birth of stars is an event that eludes intuitive understanding. It is the collapse of dense molecular clouds under their own weight that offers the best sites of star formation. Now, astronomers have proposed a new model for investigating molecular cloud fluctuations at sites of star formation and thus are able to study their pulsational dynamics.

Forcing cancer to digest itself Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:25 AM PDT When tumour cells no longer degrade themselves, cancer may develop. Using black skin cancer as an example, researchers have now shown that a protein plays an important role in the process of degradation of tumour cells. By reactivating this degradation therapeutically, tumours can be virtually forced to digest themselves.

New heart catheter on a U. S. patient for first time Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:22 AM PDT Cardiovascular physicians have used the new IntellaTip MiFi™ XP catheter in a U.S. patient for the first time.

Codeine could increase users' sensitivity to pain Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:22 AM PDT Using large and frequent doses of the pain-killer codeine may actually produce heightened sensitivity to pain, without the same level of relief offered by morphine, according to new research.

Guppy fish proven to be cheap, effective tool in fight against Dengue fever Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:16 AM PDT Larvae-eating guppy fish can help combat the spread of dengue, a mosquito-borne illness giving rise to hundreds of thousands of severe cases including 20,000 deaths worldwide every year.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610