ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Monday, September 8, 2008
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Lightweight And Long-legged Males Go The Distance For Sex (September 8, 2008) -- A study of giant cricket-like insects suggests that sexual selection for smaller, more mobile males could be responsible for some of the impressive sexual difference in body size in this species and may explain other species where males are smaller than females. ... > full story
You Can Be Replaced: Immune Cells Compensate For Defective DNA Repair Factor (September 8, 2008) -- A new mouse model has provided some surprising insight into XLF, a molecule that helps to repair lethal DNA damage. The research suggests that although XLF shares many properties with well known DNA repair factors, certain cells of the immune system possess an unexpected compensatory mechanism that that can take over for nonfunctional XLF. ... > full story
Trichoplax Genome Sequenced: 'Rosetta Stone' For Understanding Evolution (September 8, 2008) -- Molecular and evolutionary biologists have produced the full genome sequence of Trichoplax, one of nature's most primitive multicellular organisms, providing a new insight into the evolution of all higher animals. ... > full story
Change In HER2 Status Found After Treating Breast Cancer Patients With Herceptin (September 8, 2008) -- Researchers have discovered that when treated with Herceptin prior to surgery, 50 percent of HER2 positive, breast cancer patients showed no signs of disease at the time of surgery. However, of those women who had residual disease, about one-third had tumors that converted from HER2 positive to HER 2 negative status -- possibly indicating a resistance to the targeted therapy. ... > full story
New Evidence On The Robustness Of Metabolic Networks (September 8, 2008) -- Biological systems evolve in ways that increase their fitness for survival amidst environmental fluctuations and internal errors. Now researchers have found new evidence that evolution has produced cell metabolisms that are especially well suited to handle potentially harmful changes like gene deletions and mutations. The team developed a mathematical model, which could be useful in bioengineering, medicine and the design of synthetic networks, describing the cascading failure phenomenon as a percolation-like process. ... > full story
Age, Income And Marital Status: Socio-demographic Factors Influence Costs Of Back Pain (September 8, 2008) -- It is well-known that back pain belongs to the most frequent health problems in the industrial nations and, it is also well-known that it is the cause of considerable costs for health insurance schemes and the economy. Researchers have now scrutinized socio-demographic variables of patients as potential cost-influencing parameters. ... > full story
Atomic Structure Of The Mammalian 'Fatty Acid Factory' Determined (September 8, 2008) -- Mammalian fatty acid synthase is one of the most complex molecular synthetic machines in human cells. It is also a promising target for the development of anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs and the treatment of metabolic disorders. Now researchers have determined the atomic structure of a mammalian fatty acid synthase. ... > full story
How STDs Increase The Risk Of Becoming Infected With HIV (September 8, 2008) -- Individuals who have a sexually transmitted disease and women with yeast and bacterial vaginal infections have an increased risk of becoming infected with HIV if exposed to the virus through sexual contact. New research has provided a new explanation as to how and why STDs have this effect. ... > full story
Last-ever Look At ESA's Gravity Satellite GOCE (September 8, 2008) -- As preparations for the launch of GOCE Sept. 10 continue on schedule, an important milestone has just been achieved as engineers say farewell to the satellite as it is encapsulated in the two half-shells of the launcher's fairing. ... > full story
AMD and Vision Loss: Low-Luminance Study Yields a New Predictive Tool (September 8, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered a simple and inexpensive way to predict the rapid loss of visual acuity, the ability to see detail, in “dry” AMD patients. ... > full story
Driving The Future Of In-vehicle ICT (September 8, 2008) -- Information and communications systems in road vehicles are progressing steadily, but the research community behind these developments remains fragmented. Now a European initiative has linked key knowledge centers and is paving the way for the next generation of ‘joined up’ intelligent vehicle research. ... > full story
Free Drug Samples May End Up Costing Uninsured More (September 8, 2008) -- Free drug samples provided to physicians by pharmaceutical companies could actually be costing uninsured patients more in the long run, according to a new study. ... > full story
Bad Sign For Global Warming: Thawing Permafrost Holds Vast Carbon Pool (September 7, 2008) -- Permafrost blanketing the northern hemisphere contains more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, making it a potentially mammoth contributor to global climate change depending on how quickly it thaws ... > full story
Scientists Identify Genetic Link That May Neutralize HIV (September 7, 2008) -- A genetic target may provide a significant new opportunity for vaccine or therapeutic development. Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. The finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus. ... > full story
Artificial Meadows And Robot Spiders Reveal Secret Life Of Bees (September 7, 2008) -- Many animals learn to avoid being eaten by predators. Now ecologists have discovered that bumblebees can even learn to outwit color-changing crab spiders. Bumblebees learn to avoid camouflaged predators by sacrificing foraging speed for predator detection, according to new research. ... > full story
Defibrillators Save Lives, Don't Diminish Quality Of Life, Researchers Find (September 7, 2008) -- Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators reduce the risk of death from sudden cardiac arrest among patients with heart failure, and they do so without significantly altering a person's quality of life, say researchers from Duke University Medical Center. ... > full story
A Light Bulb And A Few Chemicals: Scientists Find A Way To Help Make New Reactions (September 7, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered a way of stimulating organic molecules that they expect will prompt researchers to create materials from new kinds of chemical reactions. The method of catalysis, when used, could lead to groundbreaking kinds of drugs and agricultural chemicals and will provide a shortcut to standard multi-step methods of chemical production. ... > full story
Sexologists Can Infer A Woman's History of Orgasms By The Way She Walks (September 7, 2008) -- A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks. ... > full story
Fatal Protein Interactions May Explain Neurological Diseases (September 7, 2008) -- Researchers have investigated how proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease interact to form unique complexes. Their findings explain why Alzheimer's patients might develop Parkinson's, and vice versa. The new and unique molecular structures they discovered can now be used to model and develop new drugs for these devastating neurological diseases. ... > full story
Cardiac Cell Transplant Studies Show Promise In Cardiac Tissue Repair (September 7, 2008) -- Two studies involving cardiac cell transplantation have shown an evolving role for bone marrow cells in cardiac cell therapy. The implantation of heart muscle cells and subsequent restoration of cardiac function was enhanced when bone marrow cells were implanted along with the cardiomyocytes. Researchers also found that mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow provided an advantage over fetal amniotic fluid derived cells when differentiating into appropriate cells for cardiac cell transplantation and repair. ... > full story
Major Flooding Risk Could Span Decades After Chinese Earthquake (September 7, 2008) -- Up to 20 million people, thousands of whom are already displaced from their homes following the devastating Chinese earthquake, are at increased risk from flooding and major power shortages in the massive Sichuan Basin over the next few decades and possibly centuries. A geographer from Durham University makes the observations on returning from carrying out investigative fieldwork in the China earthquake zone. ... > full story
What A Sleep Study Can Reveal About Fibromyalgia (September 7, 2008) -- Research engineers and sleep medicine specialists from two Michigan universities have joined technical and clinical hands to put innovative technologies to work in the sleep lab. ... > full story
Plant-parasitic Nematode Genome Sequenced (September 7, 2008) -- The annotated genome of one of the most destructive nematodes -- Meloidogyne incognita -- the southern root-knot nematode, has just been published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. ... > full story
Chemobrain Treatment? Potential Remedy For The 'Mental Fog' In Cancer Patients (September 7, 2008) -- Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal studies, researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine, an antioxidant, can prevent the memory loss that breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce. . ... > full story
Long-held Assumptions Of Flightless Bird Evolution Challenged By New Research (September 7, 2008) -- Large flightless birds of the southern continents -- African ostriches, Australian emus and cassowaries, South American rheas and the New Zealand kiwi -- do not share a common flightless ancestor as once believed. ... > full story
Exercise Reduces Damage After Therapeutic Irradiation To The Brain (September 7, 2008) -- Researchers has shown for the first time that exercise helps restore stem cell growth and improves behavior in young mice that suffered damage to the brain induced by a clinically relevant dose of radiation. The researchers believe that these results are also applicable to children that have suffered damage due to radiotherapy of brain tumors. ... > full story
A Virtuous Cycle: Safety In Numbers For Bicycle Riders (September 7, 2008) -- It seems paradoxical but the more people ride bicycles on our city streets, the less likely they are to be injured in traffic accidents. International research reveals that as cycling participation increases, a cyclist is far less likely to collide with a motor vehicle or suffer injury and death - and what's true for cyclists is true for pedestrians. ... > full story
Add-On Therapy Improves Depressive Symptoms In Bipolar Disorder (September 7, 2008) -- Lingering depression is a serious and common problem in bipolar disorder, and does not resolve well with existing treatments. Because individuals with both depression and bipolar disorder experience a glutathione deficiency, an antioxidant that protects cells from toxins, researchers sought to evaluate whether N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an over-the-counter supplement that increases brain glutathione, might help alleviate depressive symptoms. ... > full story
Oxidative Stress: Mechanism Of Cell Death Clarified (September 7, 2008) -- Scientists have decrypted the molecular mechanism through which the death of cells is caused by oxidative stress. This knowledge opens novel perspectives to systematically explore the benefit of targeted therapeutic interventions in the cure of aging and stress-related degenerative diseases. ... > full story
Social Psychology Can Be Used To Understand Nuclear Restraint (September 7, 2008) -- Social psychology is the study of how people and groups interact. A new study shows how social psychology can help us better understand the puzzle of nuclear restraint and uses the case of Japan to illustrate social psychology on nuclear decision-making. ... > full story
Encounter Of A Different Kind: Rosetta Observes Asteroid At Close Quarters (September 6, 2008) -- The European Space Agency's comet chaser, Rosetta, has flown by a small body in the main asteroid belt, asteroid Steins, collecting a wealth of information about this rare type of minor Solar System body. ... > full story
Chandelier Cells Unveil Human Cognition (September 6, 2008) -- What is it that distinguishes humans from other mammals? The answer to this question lies in the neocortex -- the part of the brain responsible for sensory perceptions, conscious thought and language. Humans have a considerably larger neocortex than other mammals, making it an ideal subject for the research of higher cognition. Scientists now reveal new insights into the mysteries of neocortex organization and function. ... > full story
How New Helium Ion Microscope Measures Up (September 6, 2008) -- Researchers are probing the newest microscope technology to further improve measurement accuracy at the nanoscale -- a critical capability for setting standards and improving production in the semiconductor and nanomanufacturing industries. ... > full story
Arteries From Distinct Regions Of The Body Have Unique Immune Functions (September 6, 2008) -- Arteries play an active role in the immune system by sensing infection and injury. They collect information about invaders through dendritic cells embedded in their walls. Arteries supplying blood to distinct parts of the body specialize in recognizing different bacterial signals. ... > full story
Technology Users Are Failing To Take Adequate Steps To Protect Their Digital Privacy (September 6, 2008) -- Technology users are failing to take adequate steps to protect their privacy in digital society. In the face of technology that will soon be able not only to track an individual’s movements but predict them too, people are far too relaxed about protecting their privacy, according to one social psychologist. ... > full story
Action As A Goal May Be Too Broad, New Research Suggests (September 6, 2008) -- A series of experiments suggest that society's emphasis on action over inaction may lead to unforeseen consequences. The findings could help understand how common words used in everyday life may influence conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder. ... > full story
Old Before Their Time? Aging Rate In Flies Twice As Fast In Wild Than In Laboratory (September 6, 2008) -- Conventional wisdom suggests that stress accelerates aging -- but is it really true? Evolutionary studies of aging use short-lived animals under laboratory conditions -- constant temperature and humidity, no parasites, superabundant food. Researchers identified individual stilt-legged flies in their harsh natural environments while simultaneously monitoring their cousins in the lab. In males, the rate of aging was as least two times greater in the wild. For both sexes, life in the wild was dramatically shorter. More study of how environment affects gene expression is needed. ... > full story
Unsuccessful Drug Against Anxiety Opens A Novel Gateway For The Treatment Of Cancer (September 6, 2008) -- An unsatisfying drug for anxiety reveals to scientists a promising novel anti-cancer drug target. Cancer cells have multiple ways to avoid apoptosis, programmed cell death the means by which organisms deal with defective cells. One defense is to produce quantities of phosphatic acid, a phospholipid constituent of cellular membranes. ... > full story
Giant Furnace Opens To Reveal 'Perfect' LSST Mirror Blank (September 6, 2008) -- The single-piece primary and tertiary mirror blank cast for the LSST is "perfect", say project astronomers and engineers. The LSST, or Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a large survey telescope being built in northern Chile, requires three large mirrors to give crisp images over a record large field of view. The two largest of these mirrors are concentric and fit neatly onto a single mirror blank. ... > full story
Virology: How Does Herpes Simplex Virus Cause Inflammation Of The Brain? (September 6, 2008) -- Worldwide, about 80% of young adults are infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The most common symptom of infection is a cold sore, but in some individuals the virus can also cause life-threatening inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); 70% of individuals who do not get treatment for this condition die. ... > full story
Disruption-free Videos (September 6, 2008) -- Standardized video coding techniques still have their snags – digitally transmitted images are not always disruption-free. An extension of the H.264/AVC coding format allows to protect the most important data packets to ensure they arrive safely at the receiver. ... > full story
Should Nurses Replace GPs As Frontline Providers Of Primary Care? (September 6, 2008) -- Should nurses be the frontline providers of primary care, taking the place of general practitioners as the first point of patient contact? Two experts debate the issue. Nurses can deliver as high quality care as general practitioners in most areas of general practice including preventive health care, the management of long term conditions, and first contact care for people with minor illness, according to one expert. ... > full story
Glaciers In The Pyrenees Will Disappear In Less Than 50 Years, Study Finds (September 6, 2008) -- Much has been said about the situation of the glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, but little is known about those in the high mountain areas of the Iberian Peninsular. A Spanish research study has revealed, for the first time, that now only the Pyrenees has active glaciers. Furthermore, the steady increase in temperature, a total of 0.9°C since 1890, indicates that Pyrenean glaciers will disappear before 2050, according to experts. ... > full story
Living Donor Liver Transplants May Drastically Decrease Mortality From Liver Failure (September 6, 2008) -- Patients with acute liver failure could be saved by a transplant from a living donor, according to a new study. The recent experience of US patients shows that recipient mortality rates and donor morbidity rates are acceptable. ... > full story
Honest Lovers? Fallow Buck Groans Reveal Their Status And Size During The Rut (September 6, 2008) -- Researchers have show for the first time that sexually selected vocalizations can signal social dominance in mammals other than primates, and reveal that the independent acoustic components -- fundamental frequency (pitch) and formant frequencies -- encode information on dominance status and body size, respectively. ... > full story
Nutritional Research Vindicates Diet Programs (September 6, 2008) -- Popular slimming programs do result in reduced energy intake while providing enough nutrients. A new scientific analysis provides comprehensive dietary data about Slim Fast, Atkins, Weight Watchers and Rosemary Conley's "Eat Yourself Slim" Diet & Fitness Plan. ... > full story
Digitizing Archives From The 17th Century (September 6, 2008) -- A researcher on a short trip to a foreign country, with little money, but a digital camera in hand has devised a novel approach to digitizing foreign archives that could speed up research. ... > full story
Infant Abductions Increase In Private And Public Places (September 6, 2008) -- A new study, based on 23 years of data collection, showed that while the number of abductions in hospital settings dramatically declined, those from private homes and public places have increased in incidence. Among private home and public place abductions, there has also been an increase in violence and lower infant recovery rates. ... > full story
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