ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Fierce 2012 magnetic storm barely missed Earth: Earth dodged huge magnetic bullet from the sun
• First interactive mosaic of lunar north pole
• Bees capable of learning feats with tasty prize in sight
• 'Breaking bad': Insect pests in the making
• Strongest evidence yet of two distinct human cognitive systems
• Canadian drinking-age laws have significant effect on deaths among young males
• New window into quantum physics opened with superconductivity in LEDs
• Amazon inhales more carbon than it emits, NASA finds
• New heart failure symptom: Shortness of breath while bending over
• Reintroduction experiments give new hope for plant on brink of extinction
• Bright future for protein nanoprobes
• Climatologists offer explanation for widening of Earth's tropical belt
• Child ADHD stimulant medication use leads to BMI rebound in late adolescence
• Sea anemone is genetically half animal, half plant
• New lens design drastically improves kidney stone treatment
• Children exposed to methamphetamine before birth have increased cognitive problems
• Nineteen new speedy praying mantis species discovered that hide and play dead to avoid capture
• Study of complete RNA collection of fruit fly uncovers unprecedented complexity
• New view of supernova death throes in 3-D
• Geographers create 'easy button' to calculate river flows from space
• Archaeologists discover earliest complete example of a human with cancer, from 3,000 years ago
• Coercivity of material changed by patterning surface
• Follow the ant trail for drug design: Ant behavior inspires software design
• Scent of the familiar: You may linger like perfume in your dog's brain
• In IBS, non-GI issues more powerful than symptoms in patients' health perceptions
• Mental health on the go: Reducing anxiety with smartphone app
• Scanning electron microscopes: Getting rid of bad vibrations
• Hubble revisits the Monkey Head Nebula
• Electronic media associated with poorer well-being in children
• Suppressing unwanted memories reduces their unconscious influence on behavior
• Real-looking snow in Disney's 'Frozen' based in simulations that predict blast scenarios
• Researchers take on fighting disastrous consequences of extreme changes in climate before they occur
• Stretchable antenna for wearable health monitoring
• The frozen truth about glaciers, climate change and our future
• Antimony nanocrystals for batteries
• Astronomers complete cosmic dust census
• New device saves loose teeth, jaws damaged by cancer
• Avoiding environmental hazards: Lessons from a tiny worm
• Why chromosome errors are high in women's eggs
• Biodiesel from alligator fat reduces waste
• Novel mechanism for fast regulation of gene expression
• Rats' brains may 'remember' odor experienced while under general anesthesia, study suggests
• Young women most at risk least likely to be offered HPV vaccine
• China halves tuberculosis prevalence in just 20 years
• Closer to detecting preeclampsia: Biomarkers found in urine, blood
• Hepatitis C remains major problem for HIV patients despite antiretroviral therapy
• New airborne GPS technology for weather conditions takes flight
• Health gap between adult survivors of childhood cancer, siblings widens with age
• U.S. headache sufferers get $1 billion worth of brain scans each year
• Knowing whether food has spoiled without even opening the container
• Scientists track evolution of a superbug
• Bacterial reporters that get the scoop: Engineered gut bacteria 'remembers' what it saw
• Rocky mountain wildflower season lengthens by more than a month
• New therapeutic target discovered for Alzheimer's disease
• Chronic sleep disturbance could trigger onset of Alzheimer's
• Protein common in cancers jumps anti-tumor mechanisms
• Development of Alzheimer's trademark cell-killing plaques slowed by researchers

Fierce 2012 magnetic storm barely missed Earth: Earth dodged huge magnetic bullet from the sun Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:49 PM PDT On July 23, 2012, a huge magnetic storm propelled by two nearly simultaneous coronal mass ejections on the sun plowed through Earth's orbit. Luckily, Earth was on the other side of the sun at the time. Had the outburst hit Earth, however, it would have rivaled the largest magnetic storm to strike Earth in recorded history, possibly wreaking havoc with the electrical grid, satellites and GPS.

First interactive mosaic of lunar north pole Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:49 PM PDT Scientists have created the largest high resolution mosaic of our moon's north polar region. The six-and-a-half feet (two-meters)-per-pixel images cover an area equal to more than one-quarter of the United States. The entire image measures 931,070 pixels square -- nearly 867 billion pixels total. A complete printout at 300 dots per inch -- considered crisp resolution for printed publications -- would require a square sheet of paper wider than a professional U.S. football field and almost as long.

Bees capable of learning feats with tasty prize in sight Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:25 AM PDT Bumblebees are capable of some remarkable learning feats, especially when they might get a tasty reward, according to two studies. In the first study, the researchers found bees capable of learning to solve increasingly complex problems, an example of scaffold learning. In a second study, the researchers found bees learned by watching and communicating with other bees, a process called social learning.

'Breaking bad': Insect pests in the making Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:08 AM PDT Of thousands of known species of Drosophila fruit flies, just one is a known crop pest, depositing eggs inside ripening fruit so its maggots can feed and grow. New research shows the similarities and crucial differences between this pest and its close relatives -- and that one related fly has potential to also become a pest.

Strongest evidence yet of two distinct human cognitive systems Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:07 AM PDT Cognitive scientists may have produced the strongest evidence yet that humans have separate and distinct cognitive systems with which they can categorize, classify, and conceptualize their worlds. The systems also may have different courses of decline in cognitive aging, which would have ramifications for remediation and compensation in dementia.

Canadian drinking-age laws have significant effect on deaths among young males Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:07 AM PDT Canada's drinking-age laws have a significant effect on youth mortality, a study demonstrates. The study's author writes that when compared to Canadian males slightly younger than the minimum legal drinking age, young men who are just older than the drinking age have significant and abrupt increases in mortality, especially from injuries and motor vehicle accidents.

New window into quantum physics opened with superconductivity in LEDs Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:05 AM PDT Physicists hae proposed a novel and efficient way to leverage the strange quantum physics phenomenon known as entanglement. The approach would involve combining light-emitting diodes with a superconductor to generate entangled photons and could open up a rich spectrum of new physics as well as devices for quantum technologies, including quantum computers and quantum communication.

Amazon inhales more carbon than it emits, NASA finds Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:08 AM PDT A new NASA-led study seven years in the making has confirmed that natural forests in the Amazon remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit, therefore reducing global warming. This finding resolves a long-standing debate about a key component of the overall carbon balance of the Amazon basin.

New heart failure symptom: Shortness of breath while bending over Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:46 AM PDT A novel heart failure symptom in advanced heart failure patients has been identified by cardiologists: shortness of breath while bending over, such as when putting on shoes. The condition, which cardiologists named "bendopnea" (pronounced "bend-op-nee-ah"), is an easily detectable symptom that can help doctors diagnose excessive fluid retention in patients with heart failure, according to the findings.

Reintroduction experiments give new hope for plant on brink of extinction Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:39 AM PDT A critically endangered plant known as marsh sandwort is inching back from the brink of extinction thanks to the efforts of a plant ecologist. Although it used to occur all along the west coast, from San Diego to Washington state, this wetland plant with delicate white flowers had dwindled to one population in a boggy wetland in San Luis Obispo County.

Bright future for protein nanoprobes Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:39 AM PDT Surprising new rules for creating ultra-bright light-emitting crystals that are less than 10 nanometers in diameter have been discovered by a team of researchers. These ultra-tiny but ultra-bright nanoprobes should be a big asset for biological imaging, especially deep-tissue optical imaging of neurons in the brain.

Climatologists offer explanation for widening of Earth's tropical belt Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:38 AM PDT Climatologists posit that the recent widening of the tropical belt is primarily caused by multi-decadal sea surface temperature variability in the Pacific Ocean. This variability includes the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (a long-lived El Niño-like pattern of Pacific climate variability) and anthropogenic pollutants, which act to modify the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Until now there was no clear explanation for what is driving the widening.

Child ADHD stimulant medication use leads to BMI rebound in late adolescence Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:38 AM PDT New research indicates that thee earlier ADHD medication began in children, and the longer the medication was taken, the slower the BMI growth in earlier childhood but the more rapid the BMI rebound in late adolescence, typically after discontinuation of medication. The study, thought to be the most comprehensive analysis of ADHD and stimulant use in children to date, analyzed the electronic health records of 163,820 children, ages 3 to 18.

Sea anemone is genetically half animal, half plant Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:38 AM PDT Evolutionary and developmental biologists have discovered that sea anemones display a genomic landscape with a complexity of regulatory elements similar to that of fruit flies or other animal model systems. This suggests that this principle of gene regulation is already 600 million years old and dates back to the common ancestor of human, fly and sea anemone.

New lens design drastically improves kidney stone treatment Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:37 AM PDT Engineers have reversed a decades-long trend of decreasing efficiency in lithotripsy machines by designing simple modifications to shock wave lenses. The incidence of kidney stones in the United States has more than doubled during the past two decades, due at least in part to the expanding waistlines of its citizens. The condition has also been linked to hot, humid climates and high levels of stress -- a combination of living environments that seems to have led to a rise in kidney stone rates of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Children exposed to methamphetamine before birth have increased cognitive problems Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:37 AM PDT Youngsters exposed to methamphetamine before birth had increased cognitive problems at age 7.5 years, highlighting the need for early intervention to improve academic outcomes and reduce the potential for negative behaviors. The researchers studied 151 children exposed to methamphetamine before birth and 147 who were not exposed to the drug. They found the children with prenatal methamphetamine exposure were 2.8 times more likely to have cognitive problem scores than children who were not exposed to the drug.

Nineteen new speedy praying mantis species discovered that hide and play dead to avoid capture Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:37 AM PDT A scientist has discovered 19 new species of praying mantis from Central and South America. The new species of bark mantises were discovered in tropical forests and also found among existing museum collections. As highly visual predators, the bark mantis species appear to be active hunters that pursue prey as opposed to ambush hunters that wait for prey to come close.

Study of complete RNA collection of fruit fly uncovers unprecedented complexity Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:36 AM PDT New research has revealed the transcriptome of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster in unprecedented detail, identifying thousands of new genes, transcripts and proteins. The study shows that the Drosophila genome is far more complex than previously suspected and suggests that the same will be true of the genomes of other higher organisms.

New view of supernova death throes in 3-D Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:36 AM PDT A powerful, new three-dimensional model provides fresh insight into the turbulent death throes of supernovas, whose final explosions outshine entire galaxies and populate the universe with elements that make life on Earth possible. It shows how the turbulent mixing of elements inside stars causes them to expand, contract, and spit out matter before they finally detonate.

Geographers create 'easy button' to calculate river flows from space Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:22 AM PDT The frustrated attempts of a graduate student to quantify the amount of water draining from Greenland's melting ice sheet led him to discover a new way to measure river flows from outer space. The new approach relies exclusively on measurements of a river's width over time, which can be obtained from freely available satellite imagery.

Archaeologists discover earliest complete example of a human with cancer, from 3,000 years ago Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:22 AM PDT Archaeologists have found the oldest complete example in the world of a human with metastatic cancer in a 3,000 year-old skeleton. The skeleton of the young adult male was found in a tomb in modern Sudan in 2013 and dates back to 1200BC. Analysis has revealed evidence of metastatic carcinoma, cancer which has spread to other parts of the body from where it started, from a malignant soft-tissue tumour spread across large areas of the body, making it the oldest convincing complete example of metastatic cancer in the archaeological record.

Coercivity of material changed by patterning surface Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:20 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to reduce the coercivity of nickel ferrite (NFO) thin films by as much as 80 percent by patterning the surface of the material, opening the door to more energy efficient high-frequency electronics, such as sensors, microwave devices and antennas.

Follow the ant trail for drug design: Ant behavior inspires software design Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:20 AM PDT New drugs often fail because they cause undesirable side effects. Researchers have now developed simulation software that predicts the properties of active agents and virtually builds new ones. The software's search process is modeled after the behavior of ants. In order to allow the software to search for new composite agents, the research team uses an ant algorithm. Like an ant colony on the search for food, the algorithm screens through the molecular building blocks for components with the desired properties. Depending on the strength of the desirable and undesirable effects of the virtual products, the building blocks receive a 'grade'. In the ant world, this would equate to marking the trail to food with pheromones.

Scent of the familiar: You may linger like perfume in your dog's brain Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:20 AM PDT An area of the canine brain associated with reward responds more strongly to the scents of familiar humans than it does to the scents of other humans, or even to those of familiar dogs. This is among the first brain-imaging studies of dogs responding to biological odors. When humans smell the perfume or cologne of someone they love, they may have an immediate, emotional reaction that's not necessarily cognitive.

In IBS, non-GI issues more powerful than symptoms in patients' health perceptions Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:19 AM PDT Social relationships, fatigue and other coexisting medical problems have a stronger effect on how patients with irritable bowel syndrome rate their overall health than the severity of their gastrointestinal symptoms, a study has found. "Self-reported health has been found to be a strong and robust predictor for mortality and morbidity even when controlled for the presence of disease symptoms," a researcher explains. "However, very few studies have looked at self-reported health in relation to gastrointestinal disease."

Mental health on the go: Reducing anxiety with smartphone app Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:19 AM PDT Playing a science-based mobile gaming app for 25 minutes can reduce anxiety in stressed individuals, according to research. The study suggests that 'gamifying' a scientifically-supported intervention could offer measurable mental health and behavioral benefits for people with relatively high levels of anxiety. The game is based on an emerging cognitive treatment for anxiety called attention-bias modification training. The treatment involves training patients to ignore a threatening stimulus (such as an angry face) and to focus instead on a non-threatening stimulus (such as a neutral or happy face). This type of training has been shown to reduce anxiety and stress among people suffering from high anxiety.

Scanning electron microscopes: Getting rid of bad vibrations Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:17 AM PDT Scanning electron microscopes are extremely sensitive and even subtle movements going on around them can affect their accuracy. Vibration control tables already exist to dampen these sometimes barely perceptible disturbances. But now a new kind of isolation platform for the first time integrates sensors and actuators into the mount – resulting in a platform that is more cost-effective and compact than its predecessors.

Hubble revisits the Monkey Head Nebula Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:40 AM PDT To celebrate its 24th year in orbit, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has released a beautiful new image of part of NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula. This colorful region is filled with young stars embedded within bright wisps of cosmic gas and dust.

Electronic media associated with poorer well-being in children Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:39 AM PDT The use of electronic media, such as watching television, using computers and playing electronic games, was associated with poorer well-being in children. Researchers noted that using electronic media can be a sedentary behavior and sedentary behavior is associated with adverse health outcomes, and may be detrimental at a very young age. Similarly, less monitoring by mothers of the time their children spent watching TV or playing video games appears to be associated with higher BMI for children at age 7 and increasing deviance from child BMI norms between the ages of 5 to 9 years.

Suppressing unwanted memories reduces their unconscious influence on behavior Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:39 AM PDT Researchers have shown that, contrary to what was previously assumed, suppressing unwanted memories reduces their unconscious influences on subsequent behavior, and have shed light on how this process happens in the brain.

Real-looking snow in Disney's 'Frozen' based in simulations that predict blast scenarios Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:39 AM PDT Simulation-based engineering science allows researchers to predict the effects of building explosions and analyze the response of building materials to those threats. Researchers developed the Material Point Method, a computer-generated tool that not only creates blast scenarios that informs blast and impact resistant materials and design, but also is crossing over into Hollywood animation -- most recently, Disney's Oscar-winning animated film, Frozen.

Researchers take on fighting disastrous consequences of extreme changes in climate before they occur Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT How can communities dodge future disasters from Mother Nature before she has dealt the blow? Researchers are taking a unique approach to the issue and gaining input and support from community stakeholders.

Stretchable antenna for wearable health monitoring Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Engineering researchers have developed a new, stretchable antenna that can be incorporated into wearable technologies, such as health monitoring devices. The researchers wanted to develop an antenna that could be stretched, rolled or twisted and always return to its original shape, because wearable systems can be subject to a variety of stresses as patients move around.

The frozen truth about glaciers, climate change and our future Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Researchers use years of Tibet and Himalayas analysis to better predict glacial response to global climate change.

Antimony nanocrystals for batteries Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded for the first time to produce uniform antimony nanocrystals. Tested as components of laboratory batteries, these are able to store a large number of both lithium and sodium ions. These nanomaterials operate with high rate and may eventually be used as alternative anode materials in future high-energy-density batteries.

Astronomers complete cosmic dust census Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT Astronomers have completed a benchmark study of more than 300 galaxies, producing the largest census of dust in the local Universe, the Herschel Reference Survey. Astronomers observed galaxies at far-infrared and sub-millimeter wavelengths and captured the light directly emitted by dust grains.

New device saves loose teeth, jaws damaged by cancer Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT Periodontitis can cause teeth to come loose. Mandibular cancer can disfigure a face. With the aid of artificial, foam-rubber-shaped scaffolding, the body can be helped to repair the damage by itself. Using this new method, dentists can insert artificial scaffolding that will determine where the new bone tissue will grow.

Avoiding environmental hazards: Lessons from a tiny worm Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT In order to survive, animals must be able to sense what is happening in the environment. Some animals have excellent sight, others a great sense of smell or taste. The senses are used to find food, mates, to avoid toxins and predators. The small worm C. elegans has a set of sensory neurons that detect various conditions in its environment, almost like a sense of smell. It is an ideal organism for studying how animals interact with their environment because its sensing systems and reactions are simple and can be understood at a genetic level.

Why chromosome errors are high in women's eggs Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT It is estimated that up to 60 per cent of eggs are affected by errors in how their chromosomes divide, making it the leading cause of infertility. Chromosome errors also lead to conditions such as Down Syndrome and early pregnancy loss. By using state-of-the-art imaging techniques, the researchers examined the most important process present in all cells to prevent chromosome errors – the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC) – and looked at how it behaves in oocytes (developing female sex cells).

Biodiesel from alligator fat reduces waste Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:30 AM PDT Animal fat from chicken, pork, beef and even alligators could give an economical, ecofriendly boost to the biofuel industry, according to researchers who reported a new method for biofuel production. The report follows up on their earlier study on the potential use of gator fat as a source of biodiesel fuel.

Novel mechanism for fast regulation of gene expression Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:30 AM PDT Some mRNAs have a side job unrelated to making the protein they encode, researchers have discovered. They act as regulatory molecules as well, preventing other genes from making protein by marking their mRNA molecules for destruction. "Our findings show that mRNAS, which are typically thought to act solely as the template for protein translation, can also serve as regulatory RNAs, independent of their protein-coding capacity," the lead researcher said. "They're not just messengers but also actors in their own right."

Rats' brains may 'remember' odor experienced while under general anesthesia, study suggests Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:30 AM PDT Rats' brains may remember odors they were exposed to while deeply anesthetized, suggests research. In the study, rats were exposed to a specific odor while under general anesthesia. Examination of the brain tissue after they had recovered from anesthesia revealed evidence of cellular imprinting, even though the rats behaved as if they had never encountered the odor before.

Young women most at risk least likely to be offered HPV vaccine Posted: 17 Mar 2014 05:37 PM PDT Young women who are most at risk of developing cervical cancer are the least likely to be offered the protective HPV jab and to complete the full course when they are, reveals research. These women need to be better targeted to boost the overall uptake of the vaccination program, which was well below the 80% required to make a significant difference to cervical cancer rates during its first three years of operation, say the authors.

China halves tuberculosis prevalence in just 20 years Posted: 17 Mar 2014 05:36 PM PDT Over the last 20 years, China has more than halved its tuberculosis (TB) prevalence, with rates falling from 170 to 59 per 100,000 population. This unrivalled success has been driven by a massive scale-up of the directly observed, short-course (DOTS) strategy, from half the population in the 1990s to the entire country after 2000, according to findings from a 20-year-long analysis of national survey data.

Closer to detecting preeclampsia: Biomarkers found in urine, blood Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:45 PM PDT Researchers have found a set of biomarkers in urine and serum samples that were different between women with preeclampsia, women with normal pregnancies and women who were not pregnant. These biomarkers tell the story of what is happening to the metabolism of women who have developed preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a disease of pregnancy that has its origins in insufficient development of the placenta during the first trimester, but usually only presents itself close to term, causing high blood pressure (hypertension) and proteins in the urine (proteinuria) of the affected women. The syndrome can be dangerous for both mother and unborn child, causing preterm birth and restrictions in fetal growth, along with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life for both.

Hepatitis C remains major problem for HIV patients despite antiretroviral therapy Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:43 PM PDT The risk of hepatitis C-associated serious liver disease persists in HIV patients otherwise benefiting from antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat HIV, a study has found. It has been suggested that ART slows hepatitis C-associated liver fibrosis; however, whether rates of severe liver complications in patients co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C receiving ART were similar to those with just hepatitis C remained unclear.

New airborne GPS technology for weather conditions takes flight Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:06 PM PDT GPS technology has broadly advanced science and society's ability to pinpoint precise information, from driving directions to tracking ground motions during earthquakes. A new technique stands to improve weather models and hurricane forecasting by detecting precise conditions in the atmosphere through a new GPS system aboard airplanes.

Health gap between adult survivors of childhood cancer, siblings widens with age Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:06 PM PDT Adult survivors of childhood cancer face significant health problems as they age and are five times more likely than their siblings to develop new cancers, heart and other serious health conditions beyond the age of 35, according to the latest findings from the world's largest study of childhood cancer survivors.

U.S. headache sufferers get $1 billion worth of brain scans each year Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:06 PM PDT One in eight visits to a a doctor for a headache or migraine end up with the patient going for a brain scan, at a total cost of about $1 billion a year, a new study finds. And many of those MRI and CT scans -- and costs -- are probably unnecessary, given the very low odds that serious issues lurk in the patients' brains.

Knowing whether food has spoiled without even opening the container Posted: 17 Mar 2014 02:06 PM PDT A color-coded smart tag could tell consumers whether milk has turned sour or green beans have spoiled without opening the containers, say researchers. The tag, appearing on the packaging, also could be used to determine if medications and other perishable products were still active or fresh.

Scientists track evolution of a superbug Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:56 PM PDT Using genome sequencing, scientists have tracked the evolution of the antibiotic-resistant bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 258 (ST258), an important agent of hospital-acquired infections. While researchers had previously thought that ST258 K. pneumoniae strains spread from a single ancestor, the team showed that the strains arose from at least two different lineages.

Bacterial reporters that get the scoop: Engineered gut bacteria 'remembers' what it saw Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:56 PM PDT A new engineered strain of E. coli bacteria non-destructively detected and recorded an environmental signal in the mouse gut, and remembered what it 'saw.' The advance could lead to a radically new screening tool for human gut health. "Our increasing appreciation of the role of the microbiome in health and disease is transforming the entire medical field," stated one scientist.

Rocky mountain wildflower season lengthens by more than a month Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:56 PM PDT A 39-year study of wildflower blooms in a Rocky Mountain meadow shows more than two-thirds of alpine flowers changed their blooming pattern in response to climate change. Half are beginning to bloom weeks earlier, more than a third are reaching peak bloom earlier, and others' last blooms are later. Records of more than two million blooms show flowering plants' response to climate change is more complex than previously believed. Species that depend on wildflowers are likely to be affected.

New therapeutic target discovered for Alzheimer's disease Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:52 PM PDT A team of scientists report that cathepsin B gene knockout or its reduction by an enzyme inhibitor blocks creation of key neurotoxic pGlu-Abeta peptides linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, the candidate inhibitor drug has been shown to be safe in humans.

Chronic sleep disturbance could trigger onset of Alzheimer's Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:52 PM PDT People who experience chronic sleep disturbance could face an earlier onset of dementia and Alzheimer's, results from a new pre-clinical study indicate. "We can conclude from this study that chronic sleep disturbance is an environmental risk factor for Alzheimer's disease," a co-author said. "But the good news is that sleep disturbances can be easily treated, which would hopefully reduce the Alzheimer's risk."

Protein common in cancers jumps anti-tumor mechanisms Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:52 PM PDT A cellular protein, STAT3, which is overactive in a majority of cancers, interferes with an antitumor mechanism in cells and therefore promotes the growth of cancer, an international research team has discovered. The researchers made their discovery by using the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as a tool to probe fundamental cancer development-related questions. EBV, which causes infectious mononucleosis, is carried by approximately 95 percent of the world's population, is implicated in several types of lymphoma and other cancers, and was the first virus identified to cause cancer in humans.

Development of Alzheimer's trademark cell-killing plaques slowed by researchers Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:51 PM PDT Researchers have learned how to fix a cellular structure called the Golgi that mysteriously becomes fragmented in all Alzheimer's patients and appears to be a major cause of the disease. They say that understanding this mechanism helps decode amyloid plaque formation in the brains of Alzheimer's patients -- plaques that kills cells and contributes to memory loss and other Alzheimer's symptoms.

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