ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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How Memories Are Made, And Recalled (September 16, 2008) -- What makes a memory? Single cells in the brain, for one thing. For the first time, scientists have recorded individual brain cells in the act of calling up a memory, thus revealing where in the brain a specific memory is stored and how the brain is able to recreate it. ... > full story
'1-hit' Event Provides New Opportunity For Colon Cancer Prevention, Say Researchers (September 16, 2008) -- Over 30 years ago, Fox Chase Cancer Center's Alfred Knudson, Jr., revolutionized cancer genetics with the Two-Hit Hypothesis, which guided scientists around the globe in their quest for tumor suppressor genes. Now, Knudson and colleagues offer evidence that a "one-hit" event is enough to make cells abnormal. By studying the first colon cell proteome, which describes the proteins a cell makes, they believe they may have discovered patterns that could indicate cancer. ... > full story
Revising And Re-sizing History: New Work Shows Ohio Site To Be An Ancient Water Works, Not A Fort (September 16, 2008) -- More than 200 years ago, William Henry Harrison -- when he was a general and not yet the US' ninth president -- made historical pronouncements that a hilltop site west of Cincinnati was an ancient military fort. Discoveries made by University of Cincinnati researchers this summer, though, offer new evidence that turns that long-accepted historical interpretation upside down. ... > full story
Adding Taxotere To Chemotherapy Regimen Improves Survival In Early Breast Cancer, Study Suggests (September 16, 2008) -- For patients with early stage breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, adding four cycles of docetaxel (Taxotere) into a sequential regimen of epirubicin followed by cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and fluorouracil (CMF) reduces the risk of recurrence and death, updated long-term results show. ... > full story
Moving Quarks Help Solve Proton Spin Puzzle (September 16, 2008) -- New theory work at the US Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has shown that more than half of the spin of the proton is the result of the movement of its building blocks: quarks. The result, published in Physical Review Letters, agrees with recent experiments and supercomputer calculations. ... > full story
Impulsive Eater? Remembering Failures May Help Curb Eating (September 16, 2008) -- When it comes to tempting or fattening foods, some people are a lot more impulsive than others. And according to a new study, impulsive people think and act differently than non-impulsive people after they remember a time when they resisted or succumbed to temptation. ... > full story
Purifying Parasites From Host Cells With Light (September 16, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a clever method to purify parasitic organisms from their host cells, which will allow for more detailed studies and a deeper insight into the biology of organisms that cause millions of cases of disease each year. ... > full story
Investigational Drug Shows Promise In Ovarian Cancer (September 16, 2008) -- An investigational drug that combats ovarian cancer by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels has shown promise in a phase II trial, according to new research. ... > full story
New Method Identifies Meth Hot Spots (September 16, 2008) -- A new method of combining multiple sources of data to identify counties in Oregon with high numbers of methamphetamine-related problems per capita, giving officials a new tool in fighting the illegal drug. ... > full story
New Tool To Speed Cancer Therapy Approval Available (September 16, 2008) -- Although cancer remains a leading cause of death in America, it can take up to 12 years to bring a new anti-cancer agent before the FDA and the success rate for approval is only five to 10 percent. That means many research hours and dollars are wasted chasing avenues that will not bring fruit. ... > full story
New Geomorphological Index Created For Studying Active Tectonics Of Mountains (September 16, 2008) -- To build a hospital, nuclear power station or a large dam you need to know the possible earthquake risks of the terrain. Now, researchers from the Universities of Granada and Jaen, alongside scientists from the University of California (Santa Barbara, USA), have developed, based on relief data from the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada, a geomorphological index that analyses land form in relation to active tectonics, applicable to any mountain chain on the planet. ... > full story
Steady Work And Mental Health: Is There A Connection? (September 16, 2008) -- Research from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, in a new report from the World Health Organization on the social determinants of health, highlights the profound impact of employment conditions on health. ... > full story
Economic Value Of Insect Pollination Worldwide Estimated At U.S. 7 Billion (September 15, 2008) -- Scientist has determined that the worldwide economic value of the pollination service provided by insect pollinators, bees mainly, is €153 billion in 2005 for the main crops that feed the world. This figure amounted to 9.5 percent of the total value of the world agricultural food production. The study also determined that pollinator disappearance would translate into a consumer surplus loss estimated between €190 to €310 billion. ... > full story
Vaccine Against HER2-positive Breast Cancer Offers Complete Protection In Lab (September 15, 2008) -- Researchers have tested a breast cancer vaccine they say completely eliminated HER2-positive tumors in mice -- even cancers resistant to current anti-HER2 therapy --- without any toxicity. ... > full story
Key To Keeping Older People Fit For Longer (September 15, 2008) -- A carefully framed combination of moderate exercise and nutritional supplements could help older people maintain an active lifestyle for longer. ... > full story
Significant Benefits In Non-small-cell Lung Cancer From Customizing Erlotinib Treatment (September 15, 2008) -- Lung cancer patients whose tumors carry specific genetic mutations can achieve significantly longer survival when treated with targeted therapies such as erlotinib, researchers report. ... > full story
Global Shortages Of Radio Isotopes For Cancer Diagnosis May Be A Thing Of The Past (September 15, 2008) -- Thanks to a newly-developed technology, global shortages of radio isotopes for cancer diagnosis could be a thing of the past. ... > full story
Unusual Case Of Woman Who Suffered Stroke During Sex (September 15, 2008) -- Minutes after having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend, a 35-year-old woman suddenly felt her left arm go weak. Her speech became slurred and she lost feeling on the left side of her face. She was having a stroke. Doctors later concluded the stroke probably was due to several related factors, including birth control pills, a venous blood clot, sexual intercourse and a heart defect. ... > full story
Viruses Collectively Decide Bacterial Cell's Fate (September 15, 2008) -- A new study suggests that bacteria-infecting viruses -- called phages -- can make collective decisions about whether to kill host cells immediately after infection or enter a latent state to remain within the host cell. The research shows that when multiple viruses infect a cell, the overall level of viral gene expression increases, which has a dramatic nonlinear effect on gene networks that control cell fate. ... > full story
Ovarian Cancer Drug Trial Reveals Promising New Treatment (September 15, 2008) -- Women with recurrent ovarian cancer can be helped by an experimental therapy using a drug already touted for its ability to fight other cancers, a finding that provides hope for improved treatment of this deadly disease. ... > full story
Mother's Stress Linked To Her Child Becoming Overweight (September 15, 2008) -- A mother's stress may contribute to her young children being overweight in low income households with sufficient food, according to a new Iowa State University study published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the professional journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. ... > full story
Turn It Off To Turn It On: Neuroscientists Discover Critical Early Step Of Memory Formation (September 15, 2008) -- Researchers have found how nerve cells in the brain ensure that Arc, a protein critical for memory formation, is made instantly after nerve stimulation. Paradoxically, its manufacture involves two other proteins -- including one linked to mental retardation -- that typically prevent proteins from being made. ... > full story
Ice Core Studies Confirm Accuracy Of Climate Models (September 15, 2008) -- An analysis has been completed of the global carbon cycle and climate for a 70,000 year period in the most recent Ice Age, showing a remarkable correlation between carbon dioxide levels and surprisingly abrupt changes in climate. ... > full story
Cold And Lonely: Does Social Exclusion Literally Feel Cold? (September 15, 2008) -- There are numerous examples in our daily language of metaphors which make a connection between cold temperatures and emotions such as loneliness, despair and sadness. We are taught at a young age that metaphors are meant to be descriptive and are not supposed to be taken literally. However, recent studies suggest that these metaphors are more than just fancy literary devices and that there is a psychological basis for linking cold with feelings of social isolation. ... > full story
First Picture Of Likely Planet Around Sun-like Star (September 15, 2008) -- Astronomers have unveiled what is likely the first picture of a planet around a normal star similar to the Sun. Scientists used the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawai'i to take images of the young star, which lies about 500 light-years from Earth, and a candidate companion of that star. They also obtained spectra to confirm the nature of the companion, which has a mass about eight times that of Jupiter, and lies roughly 330 times the Earth-Sun distance away from its star. The parent star is similar in mass to the Sun, but is much younger. ... > full story
Newer Antipsychotics No Better Than Older Drug In Treating Child And Adolescent Schizophrenia, Study Finds (September 15, 2008) -- Nearly every child who receives an antipsychotic medicine is first prescribed a second-generation, or "atypical" drugs. However, there has never been evidence that these drugs are more effective or safer than the older, first-generation medications. Now a UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine study suggests that first-generation drugs are as effective as the newer ones and should be used as a first line of therapy in some children. ... > full story
Aerobic Exercise For The Wheelchair-bound (September 15, 2008) -- Simple exercise machine makes it fun for wheelchair users to fight high obesity, diabetes and heart disease rates. ... > full story
Laminin Builds The Neuromuscular Synapse (September 15, 2008) -- Like a plug and a socket, a nerve and a muscle fiber mesh at the neuromuscular junction. New work reveals that an extracellular matrix protein called laminin shapes both sides of the junction to ensure they fit together. ... > full story
Putting A 'Korset' On The Spread Of Computer Viruses: Invention Stays One Step Ahead Of Anti-virus Software (September 15, 2008) -- Anti-virus companies play a losing game. Casting their nets wide, they catch common, malicious viruses and worms, but it may take days before their software updates can prepare your computer for the next attack. By then it could be too late. And some insidious programs prove immune to anti-virus software, residing inside your computer for months or even years, collecting personal information and business secrets. ... > full story
Violence Against Women Impairs Children's Health (September 15, 2008) -- Violence against women in a family also has serious consequences for the children's growth, health, and survival. Researchers have studied women and their children in Bangladesh and Nicaragua and have shown, among other things, that children whose mothers are exposed to violence grow less and are sick more often than other children. ... > full story
NASA's Phoenix Lander Sees, Feels Martian Whirlwinds In Action (September 15, 2008) -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has photographed several dust devils dancing across the arctic plain this week and sensed a dip in air pressure as one passed near the lander. These dust-lofting whirlwinds had been expected in the area, but none had been detected in earlier Phoenix images. ... > full story
Scientists Watch As Listener's Brain Predicts Speaker's Words (September 15, 2008) -- Scientists have shown for the first time that our brains automatically consider many possible words and their meanings before we've even heard the final sound of the word. ... > full story
Brightest Stellar Explosion Heralds New Type Of Long-distance Astronomy (September 15, 2008) -- Some 7.5 billion years ago, a supernova heralding the birth of a black hole went off halfway across the universe, sending a pencil-beam flash of light toward Earth that was briefly visible to the naked eye on March 19. UC Berkeley's Joshua Bloom and colleagues, who analyzed data from PAIRITEL and Gemini South to characterize the gamma-ray burst, see such bursts as a way to probe the early universe. ... > full story
World-first To Predict Premature Births (September 15, 2008) -- Australian researchers and a pathology company have joined forces to develop a world-first computerized system which may reveal a way to predict premature birth with greater accuracy. ... > full story
Future Nanoelectronics May Face Obstacles (September 15, 2008) -- Combining ordinary electronics with light has been a potential way to create minimal computer circuits with super fast information transfer. Researchers are now showing that there is a limit. When the size of the components approaches the nanometer level, all information will disappear before it has time to be transferred. ... > full story
The 'Satellite Navigation' In Our Brains (September 15, 2008) -- Our brains contain their own navigation system much like satellite navigation, with in-built maps, grids and compasses, according to new research by neuroscientists. ... > full story
Superconductivity Can Induce Magnetism (September 15, 2008) -- When an electrical current passes through a wire it emanates heat -- a principle that's found in toasters and incandescent light bulbs. Some materials, at low temperatures, violate this law and carry current without any heat loss. But this seemingly trivial property, superconductivity, is now at the forefront of our understanding of physics. Scientists now show that, contrary to previous belief, superconductivity can induce magnetism, which has raised a new quantum conundrum. ... > full story
New Cancer-causing Gene In Many Colon Cancers Identified (September 15, 2008) -- Demonstrating that despite the large number of cancer-causing genes already identified, many more remain to be found, scientists have linked a previously unsuspected gene, CDK8, to colon cancer. CDK8 influences transcription factors, making it an attractive target for drug therapies, as affecting the gene may potentially disrupt the cancer process and disable tumor cells. ... > full story
Automated Bus Uses Magnets To Steer Through City Streets (September 15, 2008) -- The thought of a bus moving along city streets while its driver has both hands off the wheel is alarming. But a special bus steers not by a driver, but by a magnetic guidance system developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, with remarkable precision. ... > full story
Rheumatoid Arthritis: Women Experience More Pain Than Men Do, Study Suggests (September 15, 2008) -- Rheumatoid arthritis is often a more painful experience for women than it is for men, even though the visible symptoms are the same. Scientists are now saying that doctors should take more account of these subjective differences when assessing the need for medication. ... > full story
Nanoscale Silver: No Silver Lining? (September 15, 2008) -- Widespread use of nanoscale silver will challenge regulatory agencies to balance important potential benefits against the possibility of significant environmental risk, highlighting the need to identify research priorities concerning this emerging technology, according to a new report. ... > full story
Better Health Through Your Cell Phone (September 15, 2008) -- Researchers have advanced a novel lens-free imaging technique on the path to use in medical diagnostic applications that promise to improve global health related disease monitoring, such as malaria and HIV. The on-chip imaging platform is capable of quickly and accurately counting targeted cell types in a mixed cell solution. Eventually, the platform will be scaled down to the point that it can be integrated within a regular wireless cell phone. ... > full story
Quantum Insights Could Lead To Better Detectors (September 15, 2008) -- A bizarre but well-established aspect of quantum physics could open up a new era of electronic detectors and imaging systems that would be far more efficient than any now in existence, according to new insights by an MIT leader in the field. ... > full story
Faster, Cheaper Way Of Analyzing The Human Genome Developed (September 15, 2008) -- A faster and less expensive way for scientists to find which genes might affect human health has been developed. Using barcodes, not unlike what shoppers find in grocery stores, researchers found a way to index portions of the nearly 3-billion-base human genetic code, making it easier for scientists to zero in on the regions most likely to show variations in genetic traits. ... > full story
Scientists Point To Forests For Carbon Storage Solutions (September 15, 2008) -- Scientists who have determined how much carbon is stored annually in upper Midwest forests hope their findings will be used to accelerate global discussion about the strategy of managing forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions. In an era of competing land use demands, the researchers argue that forests help stabilize the climate and are abundant sources of other ecological goods and services -- such as cleansed air, fertile soil and filtered water. ... > full story
Newly Found Gene Variants Account For Kidney Diseases Among African-Americans, Studies Show (September 15, 2008) -- For the first time, researchers have identified variations in a single gene that are strongly associated with kidney diseases disproportionately affecting African-Americans. ... > full story
Hotline To The Cowshed (September 15, 2008) -- A wireless measuring system, consisting of sensors and transmission units, helps to keep livestock healthier with a minimum use of resources. ... > full story
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Common Among Injured Patients (September 15, 2008) -- Suffering serious injury can have long-lasting implications for a patient's mental health, according to the largest-ever US study evaluating the impact of traumatic injury. Researchers found that post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were common among patients assessed one year after suffering serious injury. Injured patients diagnosed with PTSD or depression were also six times more likely to not return to work in the year following injury. ... > full story
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