ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Friday, August 29, 2008
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Explosives Go 'Green' ... And Get More Precise (August 29, 2008) -- Certain explosives may soon get a little greener and a little more precise. Researchers have added unique green solvents (ionic liquids) to an explosive called TATB (1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene) and improved the crystal quality and chemical purity of the material. ... > full story
Class Of Diabetes Drugs Carries Significant Cardiovascular Risks (August 29, 2008) -- A class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may make heart failure worse, according to an editorial published online in the journal Heart. ... > full story
Even Without Dementia, Mental Skills Decline Years Before Death (August 29, 2008) -- A new study shows that older people's mental skills start declining years before death, even if they don't have dementia. ... > full story
Recent Advances Make Cervical Cancer Control In Developing World Feasible For First Time (August 29, 2008) -- Recent advances in cervical cancer prevention mean that controlling the disease in developing countries is becoming feasible for the first time, experts say. Developments such as highly effective vaccines against the human papilloma virus (HPV) and promising new screening tests provide an unprecedented opportunity to tackle the disease in poor countries, where pap smear screening has largely failed because it is too expensive and too complicated to implement. ... > full story
Ultra-energy Efficient Dryer Under Development (August 29, 2008) -- A total drying solution for the manufacturing industry which will make significant energy savings is currently under development. ... > full story
Researchers To Survey Students On Managing Psychiatric Medications In The Transition From Home To College (August 29, 2008) -- An increasing number of students are packing more than their computers and iPods when leaving for college. They are bringing along prescribed psychiatric medications. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University will survey students on managing psychiatric medications in the transition from home to college. ... > full story
Researchers Provide Solution To World’s Worst Mass Poisoning Case (August 29, 2008) -- A solution to the world's worst case of ongoing mass poisoning, linked to rising cancer rates in Southern Asia, has been developed by researchers from Queen's University Belfast. They have created new low-cost technology to provide arsenic-free water to millions of people in South Asia currently exposed to high levels of the poison in groundwater. ... > full story
Potential New Targets For Antidepressant Medications (August 29, 2008) -- The news about antidepressant medications over the past several years has been mixed. The bad news from large multicenter studies such as STAR*D is that current antidepressant medications are effective, but not as effective as one might hope. ... > full story
Fishing For Profits On World Caviar Market (August 29, 2008) -- As sturgeon populations decline in the Caspian Sea, scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have a found way for Israel to cash in on the world's growing demand for caviar. ... > full story
NIAID Describes Challenges, Prospects For An HIV Vaccine (August 29, 2008) -- Events of the past year in HIV vaccine research have led some to question whether an effective HIV vaccine will ever be developed. In the Aug. 28 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, officials from NIAID examine the extraordinarily challenging properties of the virus that have made a vaccine elusive and outline the scientific questions that, if answered, could lead to an effective HIV vaccine. ... > full story
Novel Trial Design Aims To Speed Drug Development (August 29, 2008) -- Researchers propose a novel multi-arm trial design that can test several therapies simultaneously and could speed drug development in cancer, according to an article in the Aug. 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ... > full story
Economic And Social Disadvantage Can Affect Young Citizens' Voter Turnout (August 29, 2008) -- A study recently published in the Journal of Social Issues illustrates how certain disadvantages experienced in adolescence, such as early pregnancy, dropping out of high school, being arrested, or going to an underprivileged school, contribute to lower voter turnout in young adulthood. In addition, the types of disadvantage vary across racial groups. ... > full story
Arctic Ice On Verge Of Another All-time Low (August 28, 2008) -- Following last summer's record minimum ice cover in the Arctic, current observations from ESA's Envisat satellite suggest that the extent of polar sea-ice may again shrink to a level very close to that of last year. ... > full story
New Beta-blocker To Offer Hope To Heart And Lung Sufferers (August 28, 2008) -- Researchers in the UK are developing new drug that could ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of heart disease patients who are unable to take beta-blockers. ... > full story
Model Helps Computers Sort Data More Like Humans (August 28, 2008) -- Humans have a natural tendency to find order in sets of information, a skill that has proven difficult to replicate in computers. Faced with a large set of data, computers don't know where to begin -- unless they're programmed to look for a specific structure, such as a hierarchy, linear order, or a set of clusters. Now, in an advance that may impact the field of artificial intelligence, a new model developed at MIT can help computers recognize patterns the same way that humans do. ... > full story
HIV Patients At Greater Risk For Bone Fractures (August 28, 2008) -- HIV-infected patients have a higher prevalence of fractures than non HIV-infected patients, across both genders and critical fracture sites according to a new study accepted for publication in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. ... > full story
Ceramic Material Revs Up Microwaving (August 28, 2008) -- Quicker microwave meals that use less energy may soon be possible with new ceramic microwave dishes and, according to the material scientists responsible, this same material could help with organic waste remediation. ... > full story
Sticks And Stones: A New Study On Social And Physical Pain (August 28, 2008) -- According to a new study, words may pack a harder punch that we realize. Psychologists have found that while the pain of physical events may fade with time, the pain of social occurrences can be reinstantiated through memory retrievals. ... > full story
Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere (August 28, 2008) -- Oxygen is constantly leaking out of Earth's atmosphere and into space. Now, ESA's formation-flying quartet of satellites, Cluster, has discovered the physical mechanism that is driving the escape. It turns out that the Earth's own magnetic field is accelerating the oxygen away. ... > full story
Why Transplanted Insulin Cells Die (August 28, 2008) -- New research can enhance survival of islets transplants and improve treatment of type 1 diabetes. ... > full story
Student-designed Device To Help Poor East Africans Coax Oil From Coconuts (August 28, 2008) -- Student engineers designed an innovative and cost-effective apparatus that enables poor East African women to turn abundant coconuts into valuable coconut oil. ... > full story
Variations Of Rare Lung Disease Examined (August 28, 2008) -- Scientists are conducting a new research study that examines why symptoms of LAM are different in certain subgroups of people with the goal of finding more successful therapies. ... > full story
New Report Card Shows Campuses Going Greener (August 28, 2008) -- Is your alma mater among those stepping up to green their campuses? Are our colleges preparing students for a greener future? You can find out in National Wildlife Federation's just-released Campus Environment 2008 Report Card, a comprehensive look at nationwide trends in sustainability among America's institutions of higher learning. The report compares findings with the previous study conducted in 2001. ... > full story
Study Shows Link Between Spanking And Physical Abuse (August 28, 2008) -- Spanking has been, and still is, a common method of child discipline used by American parents. But mothers who report that they or their partner spanked their child in the past year are nearly three times more likely to state that they also used harsher forms of punishment than those who say their child was not spanked, according to a new study led by the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ... > full story
Jamaican Lizards' Shows Of Strength Mark Territory At Dawn, Dusk (August 28, 2008) -- What does Jack LaLanne have in common with a Jamaican lizard? Like the ageless fitness guru, the lizards greet each new day with vigorous push-ups. That's according to a new study showing that male Anolis lizards engage in impressive displays of reptilian strength -- push-ups, head bobs, and threatening extension of a colorful neck flap called a dewlap -- to defend their territory at dawn and dusk. ... > full story
Low Levels Of Brain Chemical May Lead To Obesity (August 28, 2008) -- A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition. ... > full story
Protection Zones In The Wrong Place To Prevent Coral Reef Collapse (August 28, 2008) -- Conservation zones are in the wrong place to protect vulnerable coral reefs from the effects of global warming, an international team of scientists warned today. Now the team say that urgent action is needed to prevent the collapse of this important marine ecosystem. ... > full story
Findings Challenge Common Practice Regarding Glucose Control For Critically Ill Patients (August 28, 2008) -- An analysis of randomized trials indicates that for critically ill adults, tight glucose control is not associated with a significantly reduced risk of death in the hospital, but is associated with an increased risk of hypoglycemia, calling into question the recommendation by many professional societies for tight glucose control for these patients. ... > full story
Proteins Have Controlled Motions, Researcher Shows (August 28, 2008) -- Iowa State University researcher Robert Jernigan believes that his research shows proteins have controlled motions. Most biochemists traditionally believe proteins have many random, uncontrolled movements. ... > full story
Study Reveals Gap In HIV Testing Knowledge Among College Students (August 28, 2008) -- Most college students understand how they can prevent the transmission of HIV but are less knowledgeable about HIV testing, according to a new University of Georgia study. ... > full story
Subliminal Learning Demonstrated In Human Brain (August 28, 2008) -- Although the idea that instrumental learning can occur subconsciously has been around for nearly a century, it had not been unequivocally demonstrated. Now, new research uses sophisticated perceptual masking, computational modeling, and neuroimaging to show that instrumental learning can occur in the human brain without conscious processing of contextual cues. ... > full story
High Cholesterol Levels Drop Naturally In Children On High-fat Anti-seizure Diet, Study Show (August 28, 2008) -- Elevated cholesterol levels return to normal or near normal levels over time in four out of 10 children with uncontrollable epilepsy treated with the high-fat ketogenic diet, according to results reported in the Journal of Child Neurology. ... > full story
Olive Leaf Extract Can Help Tackle High Blood Pressure And Cholesterol (August 28, 2008) -- Taking 1000 mg of a specific olive leaf extract (EFLA 943) can lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension (high blood pressure). These findings came from a "Twins" trial, in which different treatments were given to identical twins. By doing this, researchers could increase the power of their data by eliminating some of the uncertainties caused by genetic variations between individual people. ... > full story
Army Personnel Show Increased Risk For Migraine; Condition Underdiagnosed, Mistreated (August 28, 2008) -- Two new studies show that migraine headaches are very common among US military personnel, yet the condition is frequently underdiagnosed. The studies, appearing in Headache, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Headache Society, examine the incidence among soldiers within 10 days of returning from a 1-year combat tour in Iraq , as well as US Army officer trainees. ... > full story
Facades: A Source Of Water Pollution (August 28, 2008) -- For many years, fingers have been pointed at agriculture whenever pesticides are detected in rivers and streams. Studies now show that built-up areas also account for a considerable proportion of such inputs. For example, substances can be leached out of facade renders and paints by rainwater and enter the environment, where they may have toxic effects on organisms. ... > full story
Teens Making Poor Choices When It Comes To Riding In Vehicles (August 28, 2008) -- Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of US teens. While states are passing laws to help teen drivers, little thought is being given to their habits as passengers. A new study uncovers a public health crisis and offers a solution to the problem. ... > full story
One Form Of Adult Mouse Cell Transformed Directly Into Another; Insulin-producing Cells Created (August 28, 2008) -- In a feat of biological prestidigitation likely to turn the field of regenerative medicine on its head, researchers report having achieved what has long been a dream and ultimate goal of developmental biologists: directly turning one type of fully formed adult cell into another type of adult cell. ... > full story
First Gene Associated With Dry Macular Degeneration Found (August 28, 2008) -- In a study that underscores the important role that individual genetic profiles will play in the development of new therapies for disease,scientists have made two important discoveries related to age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in adults over the age of 60. ... > full story
Wind-powered 'Ventomobile' Places First in Race (August 28, 2008) -- The solely wind-driven Ventomobile constructed by a team of students in aerospace engineering came in first at the Aeolus Race in the Dutch town of Den Helder last Friday. Racing the extremely stylish and lightweight three-wheeler, the vehicles of five European universities and research centres had difficulties to catch up. ... > full story
New Concepts In Contraception (August 28, 2008) -- Latest research into dual-purpose contraceptives and non-hormonal contraception will be presented at a major scientific conference in Melbourne. ... > full story
New LIDAR System Sees The Sky In 3D (August 28, 2008) -- A new LIDAR measurement system -- unique in the world -- will provide continuous data on atmospheric humidity for Western Switzerland's weather forecasting headquarters. ... > full story
Unusual Ultrasonic Vocalization Patterns In Mice May Be Useful For Modeling Autism (August 28, 2008) -- Scientists have found novel patterns of ultrasonic vocalizations in a genetic mouse model of autism, adding a unique element to the available mouse behaviors that capture components of the human disease, and representing a new step towards identifying causes and better treatments. ... > full story
Minimum Mass For Galaxies Discovered: Breakthrough Sheds Light On Mysterious Dark Matter (August 28, 2008) -- By analyzing light from small, faint galaxies that orbit the Milky Way, UC Irvine scientists believe they have discovered the minimum mass for galaxies in the universe -- 10 million times the mass of the sun. ... > full story
Heart Attack Prevention: Potential New Use For Viagra? (August 28, 2008) -- A breakthrough into regulating a single enzyme may lead to new drug therapies that will help prevent heart attacks and strokes. The research focuses on the effects of Viagra -- the popular erectile dysfunction drug, which is also used to treat pulmonary hypertension. ... > full story
Genetic Underpinnings Of Sheep Traits May Yield Clues To Greater Productivity (August 28, 2008) -- Keeping America's sheep healthy and productive while expanding the market for wool and lamb is the goal of scientists who are matching the animals' physical traits to the genes that underpin their expression. ... > full story
More Aortic Chest Aneurysms Being Treated With Less-invasive Stents (August 28, 2008) -- An increasing number of patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms are being treated with a device called a stent graft, rather than open-chest surgery. The device is delivered with a cathether. Patients go home in a day or two. It's much less invasive than open-chest surgery. ... > full story
Fingerprint Breakthrough Hope In US Double Murder Probe (August 28, 2008) -- A double murder investigation that has remained unsolved for almost a decade could be provided new impetus following a forensic breakthrough. ... > full story
Over 10 Million Americans Are Taking Opioids Each Week, Study Finds (August 28, 2008) -- Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that in a given week, over 10 million Americans are taking opioids, and more than 4 million are taking them regularly (at least five days per week, for at least four weeks). These findings appear in the Aug. 31 issue of the journal Pain. ... > full story
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