ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Monday, September 29, 2008
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NASA’s Dirty Secret: Moon Dust (September 29, 2008) -- The Apollo Moon missions of 1969-1972 all share a dirty secret. "The major issue the Apollo astronauts pointed out was dust, dust, dust," says one researcher. Fine as flour and rough as sandpaper, Moon dust caused 'lunar hay fever,' problems with space suits, and dust storms in the crew cabin upon returning to space. ... > full story
Novel Attempt Of Gene Therapy For Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (September 29, 2008) -- There are considerable endocrine cells in gastrointestinal tracts. These cells may be the potential and ideal target cells in gene therapy of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Chitosan nanoparticle is a kind of non-viral vector. A research group in China investigated the gene therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus in rats by gastrointestinal administration of chitosan nanoparticles containing human insulin gene. ... > full story
Tourism on Antarctica Threatening South Pole Environment; Solution Offered (September 29, 2008) -- Tourism on Antarctica is increasing and that can form a threat for the vulnerable South Pole area. New research provides a possible solution: market the visitor rights to the highest bidder. ... > full story
New Tool To Assess Speech Development In Infants, Toddlers With Hearing Impairments (September 29, 2008) -- The number of hearing impaired infants and toddlers who are successfully aided by technological devices, such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, continues to grow, but there are still unknowns about these children's speaking abilities. ... > full story
Foam Reactor Is 10 Times More Energy Efficient (September 29, 2008) -- There is considerable worldwide demand for new types of reactors for the rapid and well- controlled production of high value chemicals. Now a new porous foam reactor has been developed, which has an energy efficiency ten times higher than traditional reactors at comparable production rates. ... > full story
Side Effects Severely Under-reported In ENT Medical Journals (September 29, 2008) -- Harms and adverse events (untoward side effects of surgery or medicine) have been under-reported or poorly described at an alarming low rate by the publishing authors in the four leading otolaryngology medical journals, according to new research. ... > full story
Acoustic Communication In Deep-sea Fish (September 29, 2008) -- Scientists studying sound production in deep-sea fishes has found that cusk-eels use several sets of muscles to produce sound that plays a prominent role in male mating calls. ... > full story
Promising Approach In Prevention And Treatment Of Pancreatic Cancer (September 29, 2008) -- Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal human cancers and continues to be a major unsolved health problem. The overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor and its ligands correlates with rapidly progressive disease and resistance to chemotherapy. ... > full story
When Leaves Fall, More Is Occurring Than A Change Of Weather (September 29, 2008) -- Researchers have uncovered the genetic pathway that controls abscission in the plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. The ability to control abscission in plants is of special interest to those in the commercial fruit tree and cut flower industries, which rely heavily on abscission-promoting or inhibiting agents to regulate fruit quality and pre-harvest fruit drop. ... > full story
Neuropeptide Y System Linked To More Severe Form Of Alcohol Dependence (September 29, 2008) -- Prior animal research showed an association between the neuropeptide Y (NPY) pathway and its three receptor genes and alcohol dependence, alcohol withdrawal and cocaine use. New human findings link two NPY receptor genes, NPY2R and NPY5R, with a more severe form of AD, and cocaine dependence. ... > full story
Don't Blame Cities For Climate Change, See Them As Solutions, New Study Says (September 29, 2008) -- Cities are being unfairly blamed for most of humanity's greenhouse gas emissions and this threatens efforts to tackle climate change, warns a new study. ... > full story
Impact Of Stress On Police Officers' Physical And Mental Health (September 29, 2008) -- Policing is dangerous work, and the danger lurks not on the streets alone. The pressures of law enforcement put officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, researchers have found through a decade of studies of police officers. ... > full story
Compound Could Help Detect Chemical, Biological Weapons At Long Distances (September 28, 2008) -- A light-transmitting compound that could one day be used in high-efficiency fiber optics and in sensors to detect biological and chemical weapons at long distance almost went undiscovered by scientists because its structure was too difficult to examine. ... > full story
Novel Mechanism To Reduce Nervous System Inflammation Identified (September 28, 2008) -- Researchers have discovered a new way to limit inflammation caused by the activation of microglia -- key immune cells in the brain. Although the role of such cells is to "clean up damage" after injury, they often worsen the damage by releasing toxic inflammatory factors. ... > full story
Brain Imaging Study Provides New Insight Into Why People Pay Too Much In Auctions (September 28, 2008) -- Auctions are an old and widely used method for allocating goods that have become increasingly common with the advent of internet auctions sites such as Ebay. Previous economic research has shown that in an auction people tend to bid "too high," or overbid, given the value of the item for sale. By combining brain imaging techniques with behavioral economic research, neuroscientists and economists were able to provide new insight into this tendency to overbid. ... > full story
Inhibiting Cholesterol-associated Protein Reduces High-risk Blockages In Arteries (September 28, 2008) -- Using the drug darapladib, researchers have inhibited a cholesterol-and immune system-associated protein, thereby reducing the development of heart-disease plaques that may cause death, heart attacks, and strokes in a pig model of atherosclerosis and diabetes. ... > full story
Seabird Ammonia Emissions Contribute To Atmospheric Acidity (September 28, 2008) -- Ammonia emissions from seabirds have been shown to be a significant source of nitrogen in remote coastal ecosystems, contributing to nutrient enrichment (eutrophication) and acidification in ecosystems. ... > full story
Workers More Prone To Lie In E-mail, And Feel Justified In Lying (September 28, 2008) -- A pair of recent studies suggest that E-mail is the most deceptive form of communications in the workplace -- even more so than more traditional kinds of written communications, like pen-and-paper. More surprising is that people actually feel justified when lying using E-mail, the studies show. ... > full story
NASA Orbiter Reveals Rock Fracture Plumbing On Mars (September 28, 2008) -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed hundreds of small fractures exposed on the Martian surface that billions of years ago directed flows of water through underground Martian sandstone. ... > full story
CDC Urges More Children To Get Flu Shots (September 28, 2008) -- For the first time, health officials are urging all kids going back to school to get a flu shot. It's one of the changes being made after last year's bad influenza season. The Food and Drug Administration has also reformulated the vaccine to better combat the virus. The vaccine was largely ineffective last year, blocking only 40 percent of the strains of influenza virus, compared to the usual 70 to 90 percent protection rate. ... > full story
Global Carbon Emissions Speed Up, Beyond IPCC Projections (September 28, 2008) -- The Global Carbon Project posted the most recent figures for the worlds' carbon budget, a key to understanding the balance of carbon added to the atmosphere, the underpinning of human induced climate change. Despite the increasing international sense of urgency, the growth rate of emissions continued to speed up, bringing the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration to 383 parts per million in 2007. Emissions growth for 2000-2007 was above even the most fossil fuel intensive scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. ... > full story
Majority Of Children Vaccinated Against Hepatitis B Not At Increased Risk Of Multiple Sclerosis, Study Shows (September 28, 2008) -- The majority of children vaccinated against hepatitis B are not at an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study in Neurology. ... > full story
Most Elementary Schools In California Will Fail To Meet Proficiency Requirements By 2014, Study Shows (September 28, 2008) -- A new study shows that nearly all elementary schools in California will fail to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements for proficiency by 2014, the year when all students in the nation need to be proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics, per the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. For most schools, the greatest risk of failing AYP lies with ELA proficiency, the study finds. ... > full story
Brand Attitudes Improve When Product Is Paired With Favorable Actor (September 28, 2008) -- Love a rap artist’s music, and you may develop fond feelings for the products placed in that artist’s rap video. But, researchers recently found that the evaluation of brand decreases when paired with a negatively viewed actor. ... > full story
Arctic Saw Fastest August Sea Ice Retreat On Record, NASA Data Show (September 28, 2008) -- Following a record-breaking season of arctic sea ice decline in 2007, NASA scientists have kept a close watch on the 2008 melt season. Although the melt season did not break the record for ice loss, NASA data are showing that for a four-week period in August 2008, sea ice melted faster during that period than ever before. ... > full story
Working Environment Is One Cause Of Rheumatoid Arthritis (September 28, 2008) -- It has long been known that environmental factors play a part in the development of rheumatoid arthritis; smoking and drinking alcohol, along with heredity, are particularly instrumental in increasing the risk of the disease. Scientists have now produced results that suggest that working environment factors can also increase the chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis. ... > full story
Effect Of Climate Change On Animal Diversity (September 28, 2008) -- Two species of giraffe, several rhinos and five elephant relatives, along with multitudes of rodents, bush pigs, horses, antelope and apes, once inhabited what is now northern Pakistan. ... > full story
Deactivating A Cancer Growth Promoter (September 28, 2008) -- Three enzymes called phosphatases that shut down a molecule called SRC-3 (steroid receptor coactivator 3) could provide a new pathway for fighting cancer, particularly tumors of the breast and prostate, said researchers in the journal Molecular Cell. ... > full story
Meta-Screens: Squeezing Light Into Sub-Wavelength Spots (September 28, 2008) -- In a new study, physicists have invented a simple structure called a meta-screen, designed to focus light into tiny spots smaller than the wavelength of the photons in use. ... > full story
Hospital Patients Are Discharged Earlier On Busier Days (September 28, 2008) -- A new study suggests that patients are discharged earlier than expected on days when hospitals face highest demand. ... > full story
Learning From Mistakes Only Works After Age 12, Study Suggests (September 27, 2008) -- Eight-year-old children have a radically different learning strategy from twelve-year-olds. Eight-year-olds learn primarily from positive feedback, whereas negative feedback scarcely causes any alarm bells to ring. Twelve-year-olds are better able to process negative feedback, and use it to learn from their mistakes. The switch in learning strategy can be seen in the brain areas responsible for cognitive control. ... > full story
Lung Cancer: Radiation, Immunotherapy Gives Greater Effectiveness, Study Suggests (September 27, 2008) -- Scientists have found the right formula of radiation and immunotherapy for fighting lung cancer tumors in mice, which they hope will translate to better treatment in human lung cancers. ... > full story
Bees Can Mediate Escape Of Genetically Engineered Material Over Several Kilometers (September 27, 2008) -- Bees have the potential to mediate the escape of transgenes (genetically engineered material) from crops to their wild relatives over several kilometers. The findings bear significant implications for the introduction of genetically modified crops in Africa. ... > full story
New Tool Helps Physicians Tailor Hormone Therapy For High-risk Prostate Cancer Patients (September 27, 2008) -- Using one of the largest databases of prostate cancer outcomes in the United States, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have developed a prediction tool that uses a patient's clinical information to estimate the benefit of adding androgen deprivation therapy of various durations to radiation therapy. ... > full story
Size And Fitness Levels Of NHL Players Have Improved, Study Shows (September 27, 2008) -- Researchers looked at a National Hockey League team over a 26-year cycle and discovered players have become bigger and fitter. ... > full story
Tobacco-movie Industry Ties Traced To Hollywood's Early Years (September 27, 2008) -- Today's movie industry still draws on those images to justify smoking in movies -- even as public health experts call for smoking to be eliminated from youth-rated films. Last month the National Cancer Institute concluded that on-screen smoking causes youth to start smoking. ... > full story
Mother Of A Goose! Giant Ocean-going Geese With Bony-teeth Once Roamed Across SE England (September 27, 2008) -- A 50 million year old skull reveals that huge birds with a 5 meter wingspan once skimmed across the waters that covered what is now London, Essex and Kent. These giant ocean-going relatives of ducks and geese also had a rather bizarre attribute for a bird: their beaks were lined with bony-teeth. ... > full story
Gene Variant Boosts Risk Of Fatty Liver Disease (September 27, 2008) -- Researchers have found that individuals who carry a specific form of the gene PNPLA3 have more fat in their livers and a greater risk of developing liver inflammation. ... > full story
Vaccine For Pneumococcus Disease Possible, With New Immune System Finding (September 27, 2008) -- New research has shown how the immune system detects and destroys the bug, pneumococcus, which could help in the development of a new vaccine against the disease. ... > full story
Breast Cancer Treatment Resistance Linked To Signaling Pathway (September 27, 2008) -- Activation of the Src signaling pathway may cause resistance to standard medical treatment in some patients with breast cancer, and inhibition of this pathway holds the potential to overcome that resistance, according to new data. ... > full story
From One Laying To Another, The Female Collembolan Adapts Its Eggs To Environmental Constraints (September 27, 2008) -- Reproductive plasticity -- the ability of individuals to modify their reproduction and the characteristics of their progeny according to environmental or social conditions -- is a crucial factor in the demographics of animal populations, including man. Scientists have now demonstrated the adaptive nature of the reproductive behavior of certain arthropods from one laying to another, in the same female. ... > full story
Weak Bladders Deter Many Young Women From Sports Participation (September 27, 2008) -- A weak bladder is putting many young women off participating in sport, or prompting them to give it up altogether, suggests new research. ... > full story
Wild, Hidden Cousin Of SN 1987A: Powerful Supernova Caught By Web Of Telescopes (September 27, 2008) -- Astronomers may have discovered the relative of a freakishly behaving exploding star once thought to be the only one of its kind. For more than two decades, astronomers have intensively studied supernova 1987A, an exploding star that had behaved like no other. Instead of growing dimmer with time, 1987A has grown brighter at X-ray and radio wavelengths. Over a decade after it exploded, one of the nearest supernovae in the last 25 years has been identified. ... > full story
Open Cancer Surgery Set To Become A Thing Of The Past, According To Experts (September 27, 2008) -- The surgeon’s knife is playing an ever smaller role in the treatment of cancer, as it is replaced by increasingly efficient and safe radiation therapy techniques. Progress in radiation technology will also lead to better detection rates for cancer, according to experts. ... > full story
Toward A Fast, Life-saving Test For Identifying The Purity Of Heroin (September 27, 2008) -- Scientists are reporting an advance toward a new method for determining the purity of heroin that could save lives by allowing investigators to quickly identify impure and more toxic forms of the drug being sold on the street. Unlike conventional tests, it does not destroy the original drug sample, according to their report. ... > full story
Calorie Restriction Does Not Appear To Induce Bone Loss In Overweight Adults (September 27, 2008) -- Young adults who follow a diet that is low in calories but nutritionally sound for six months appear to lose weight and fat without significant bone loss, according to a new article. ... > full story
Captive Breeding Introduced Infectious Disease To Mallorcan Amphibians (September 27, 2008) -- A potentially deadly fungus that can kill frogs and toads was inadvertently introduced into Mallorca by a captive breeding program that was reintroducing a rare species of toad into the wild, according to a new study in the journal Current Biology. ... > full story
Personality Can Hamper Physician's Assessment Of Depression (September 27, 2008) -- A physician's personality can affect practice behavior in inquiries about patient mood symptoms and the diagnosis of depression, according to a new study. ... > full story
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