ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Monday, October 6, 2008
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Gene Expression In Alligators Suggests Birds Have 'Thumbs' (October 6, 2008) -- The latest breakthrough in a 120 year-old debate on the evolution of the bird wing was just published. Bird wings only have three fingers, having evolved from remote ancestors that, like humans and most reptiles, had five fingers. Biologists have typically used embryology to identify the evolutionary origin (homology) of structures; the three fingers of the bird wing develop from cartilage condensations that are found in the same positions in the embryo as fingers two, three and four of humans (the index, middle and ring fingers). However, the morphology of the fingers of early birds such as Archaeopteryx corresponds to that of fingers one, two and three in other reptiles (thumb, index and middle finger). ... > full story
Asian-white Couples Face Distinct Pregnancy Risks, Study Finds (October 6, 2008) -- Pregnant women who are part of an Asian-white couple face an increased risk of gestational diabetes as compared with couples in which both partners are white, according to a new study. ... > full story
Toddlers' Focus On Mouths Rather Than On Eyes Is Predictor Of Autism Severity (October 6, 2008) -- Scientists have found that 2-year-olds with autism looked significantly more at the mouths of others, and less at their eyes, than typically developing toddlers. This abnormality predicts the level of disability, according to a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. ... > full story
Depression Linked To Higher Death Rates From All Causes Among Elderly With Diabetes (October 6, 2008) -- In a large group of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, depression was linked with a higher death rate from all causes in a two-year study period. ... > full story
100 Years Of Ammonia Synthesis: How A Single Patent Changed The World (October 6, 2008) -- Now it is time to invent sustainable solutions to avoid environmental damage. As a result of the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen, billions of people have been fed, millions have died in armed conflict and a cascade of environmental changes has been set in motion, suggests a new article. ... > full story
Physician's 'Dashboard' Takes A Measure Of Communication Skills (October 6, 2008) -- Much like a dashboard gives a good read on how your car is doing, researchers hope they'll soon give physicians a better idea of how they are doing with patients. ... > full story
Singing To Females Makes Male Birds' Brains Happy (October 6, 2008) -- The melodious singing of birds has been long appreciated by humans, and has often been thought to reflect a particularly positive emotional state of the singer. Researchers in Japan have now demonstrated that this can be true. When male birds sang to attract females, specific "reward" areas of their brain were strongly activated. ... > full story
Longer-duration Psychotherapy Appears More Beneficial For Treatment Of Complex Mental Disorders (October 6, 2008) -- Psychodynamic psychotherapy lasting for at least a year is effective and superior to shorter-term therapy for patients with complex mental disorders such as personality and chronic mental disorders, according to a meta-analysis published in the Oct. 1 issue of JAMA. ... > full story
New Device Aims To Give Sleep Apnea Sufferers Relief And Rest (October 6, 2008) -- Having a good night's sleep is proving elusive for six percent of the population. They have sleep apnea, which causes them to stop breathing in bouts throughout the night. Now, a researcher at Temple University School of Medicine is studying an experimental device to treat people with positional sleep apnea. ... > full story
Walking Forum Report Shows Need To Expand Physical Activity In Schools (October 6, 2008) -- With childhood obesity expanding to epidemic proportions in the United States, educators, researchers and health practitioners are actively seeking to identify effective means of addressing this public-health crisis. ... > full story
Bring On The Pak Choi: Consumers Interested In Trying More Asian Vegetables (October 6, 2008) -- Asian vegetables, a diverse group of specialty vegetables grown and consumed throughout Asia, are becoming an integral part of the American diet. To gauge their familiarity with a range of Asian vegetables, consumers were asked to complete a written survey as they entered two fruit and vegetable markets in Belleville, Ill., on busy Saturday mornings. ... > full story
Mental Health Intervention Urged For Heart Patients (October 6, 2008) -- Heart patients are particularly vulnerable to depression and should be screened, and if necessary treated, to improve their recovery and overall health, according to a scientific advisory. ... > full story
Pterodactyl-inspired Robot To Master Air, Ground And Sea (October 5, 2008) -- Scientists have reached back in time 115 million years to one of the most successful flying creatures in Earth's history -- the pterodactyl -- to conjure a robotic spy plane with next-generation capabilities. ... > full story
Breast Cancer Cells Recycle To Escape Death By Hormonal Therapy (October 5, 2008) -- Many breast cancer cells facing potentially lethal antiestrogen therapy recycle to survive, researchers say. ... > full story
Ultra-Endurance Competitors: Lessons From Sled Dogs In The Iditarod (October 5, 2008) -- Racing sled dogs are best known for their "mushing" each March during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the world's longest sled race. They are the premier ultra-endurance competitors, covering 1,100 miles from Anchorage to Nome, AK, sometimes in just nine days. It is unclear how they can keep running despite heavy blizzards, temperatures as low as 40°F, and winds up to 60 mph. An expert explains what he has discovered thus far. ... > full story
Learning To Shape Your Brain Activity (October 5, 2008) -- A new study shows that the successful manipulation of sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) amplitude by instrumental SMR conditioning (ISC) improved sleep quality as well as declarative learning. ISC might thus be considered a promising nonpharmacological treatment for primary insomnia. ... > full story
Immune System For Electronics? Electronics That Can Diagnose And Heal Themselves Under Development (October 5, 2008) -- Researchers are working to create electronic systems that can diagnose and heal their own faults in ways similar to the human immune system. The project is called SABRE (Self-healing cellular Architectures for Biologically-inspired highly Reliable Electronic systems). ... > full story
Reason For Sickness Absence Can Predict Employee Deaths (October 5, 2008) -- Employees who take long spells of sick leave more than once in three years are at a higher risk of death than their colleagues who take no such absence, particularly if their absence is due to circulatory or psychiatric problems or for surgery, concludes a new study. ... > full story
Saturn’s Radio Broadcasters Mapped In 3D For First Time (October 5, 2008) -- Observations from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have been used to build, for the first time, a 3-D picture of the sources of intense radio emissions in Saturn's magnetic field, known as the Saturn Kilometric Radiation. ... > full story
DNA-based Vaccine Shows Promise Against Avian Flu (October 5, 2008) -- Though it has fallen from the headlines, a global pandemic caused by bird flu still has the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on high alert. Yet, to date, the only vaccines that have proven even semi-effective are produced in chicken eggs, take five to six months to prepare and act against a single variant of the H5N1 virus, which mutates incredibly quickly. ... > full story
Advance Offers Revolution In Food Safety Testing (October 5, 2008) -- Microbiologists have developed a new technology to detect illness-causing bacteria -- an advance that could revolutionize the food industry, improving the actual protection to consumers while avoiding the costly waste and massive recalls of products that are suspected of bacterial contamination but are perfectly safe. ... > full story
Proper Use and Care More Important than New Lens Types for Contact Lens Infection Prevention (October 5, 2008) -- Contact lenses are a good alternative to eyeglasses, but are not entirely risk free. Even with today's improved designs, a small but significant number of contact lens wearers develop painful microbial infections of the cornea (microbial keratitis, or MK) that can cause vision loss. ... > full story
The Earth After Us: What Legacy Will Humans Leave In The Rocks? (October 5, 2008) -- What will be the lasting impression made by mankind - 100 million years hence? "From the perspective of 100 million years in the future --- a geologist's view --- the reign of humans on Earth would seem very short: we would almost certainly have died out long before then. What footprint will we leave in the rocks? What would have become of our great cities, our roads and tunnels, our cars, our plastic cups in the far distant future? What fossils would we leave behind? ... > full story
Adolescent Insomnia Linked To Depression And Substance Abuse During Adolescence And Young Adulthood (October 5, 2008) -- A new study shows that adolescent insomnia symptoms are associated with depression, suicide ideation and attempts, and the use of alcohol, cannabis and other drugs such as cocaine. ... > full story
Antisocial Behavior May Be Caused By Low Stress Hormone Levels (October 5, 2008) -- A link between reduced levels of the "stress hormone" cortisol and antisocial behavior in male adolescents has been discovered. Levels of cortisol in the body usually increase when people undergo a stressful experience, such as public speaking, sitting an exam, or having surgery. ... > full story
Variations In Key Genes Increase Caucasians’ Risk Of Heroin Addiction (October 5, 2008) -- Sometimes, small changes do add up. In the case of addictive diseases, tiny variations in a few genes can increase or decrease the likelihood of some people developing a dependency on heroin. Now, by examining a select group of genetic variants in more than 400 former severe heroin addicts, Rockefeller University researchers have identified several genetic variations in American and Israeli Caucasians that influence the risk for becoming addicted to one of the world's most powerful substances. ... > full story
Bio-imaging Mass Spectrometry Techniques Reveal Molecular Details About Complex Systems (October 5, 2008) -- Georgia Tech's new Center for Bio-Imaging Mass Spectrometry allows researchers to visualize the spatial arrangement and relative abundance of specific molecules -- from simple metabolites to peptides and proteins -- in biological samples. The center includes biologists, chemists and engineers whose goal is to unravel the molecular complexities of biological systems. ... > full story
Hay Fever May Be Best Treated With Self-adjusted Dosing (October 5, 2008) -- Hay fever, the often seasonal allergy that affects between 10 and 20 percent of the American population, is best controlled through a course of patient-adjusted dosing, according to new research published in the September 2008 edition of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. ... > full story
Topsoil's Limited Turnover: A Crisis In Time (October 5, 2008) -- Topsoil does not last forever. Records show that topsoil erosion, accelerated by human civilization and conventional agricultural practices, has outpaced long-term soil production. Earth's continents are losing prime agricultural soils even as population growth and increased demand for biofuels claim more from this basic resource. ... > full story
Palliative Care Access Varies Widely In U.S., Study Says (October 5, 2008) -- There has been rapid growth of new, innovative palliative care consultation services in the nation's hospitals. More than half of larger hospitals in the US offer palliative care services to ease pain and suffering for seriously ill patients and their families. However, the availability of these services varies widely across geographic regions, according to a new study. ... > full story
Meteorites From Inner Solar System Match Up To Earth's Platinum Standard (October 4, 2008) -- Some of the world's rarest and most precious metals, including platinum and iridium, could owe their presence in the Earth's crust to iron and stony-iron meteorites, fragments of a large number of asteroids that underwent significant geological processing in the early Solar System. ... > full story
Making Metabolism More Inefficient Can Reduce Obesity (October 4, 2008) -- In a discovery that counters prevailing thought, a study in mice has found that inactivating a pair of key genes involved in "fat-burning" can actually increase energy expenditure and help lower diet-induced obesity. ... > full story
Scientists Design A Chip To Measure The Wind On Mars (October 4, 2008) -- A new chip will be used to measure the wind on Mars. This chip is the key piece of the anemometer on a weather monitoring station run by Spanish scientists for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, whose launch is planned for fall 2009. ... > full story
Parents Still Fear Autism Could Be Linked To Vaccines, Poll Shows (October 4, 2008) -- Scientists say there is no evidence linking vaccines and autism, but the lingering fear is leading to fewer parents having their children vaccinated and a growing number of measles infections. The first national survey of attitudes toward autism reveals that a small but significant percentage of people still believe the disease is caused by childhood vaccines. The poll results help explain growing number of measles infections. ... > full story
Study On Properties Of Carbon Nanotubes, Water Could Have Wide-ranging Implications (October 4, 2008) -- A fresh discovery about the way water behaves inside carbon nanotubes could have implications in fields ranging from the function of ultra-tiny high-tech devices to scientists' understanding of biological processes, according to new research. ... > full story
Where You Live Matters When You're Seriously Ill: Three U.S. States Earn 'A' Grade, Three An 'F' (October 4, 2008) -- America does a mediocre job caring for its sickest people. The nation, says a new report, gets a C. Only Vermont, Montana and New Hampshire earned an A, according to America's Care of Serious Illness: A State-by-State Report Card on Access to Palliative Care in Our Nation's Hospitals, a report based on a study in the October issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine. ... > full story
Gas From The Past Gives Scientists New Insights Into Climate And The Oceans (October 4, 2008) -- In recent years, public discussion of climate change has included concerns that increased levels of carbon dioxide will contribute to global warming, which in turn may change the circulation in the Earth's oceans, with potentially disastrous consequences. Ice core and ocean deposit comparisons show complex links between carbon dioxide levels, ocean currents and climate, which may help explain past, present and future climate trends. ... > full story
Discovery Of Natural Compounds That Could Slow Blood Vessel Growth (October 4, 2008) -- Using computer models and live cell experiments, biomedical engineers have discovered more than 100 human protein fragments that can slow or stop the growth of cells that make up new blood vessels. ... > full story
Navy Confirms Sunken Submarine Is Grunion (October 4, 2008) -- A sunken vessel discovered off the coast of the Aleutian Islands is in fact the World War II submarine USS Grunion (SS 216). The submarine Grunion arrived at Pearl Harbor on June 20, 1942. ... > full story
Researchers Propose Minocycline As A Promising Drug For Patients With Fragile X Syndrome (October 4, 2008) -- Biomedical scientists have found that a readily available drug called minocycline, used widely to treat acne and skin infections, can be used to treat Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of mental impairment and the most common cause of autism. The study's findings have already impacted future therapies, with the approval of a new clinical trial in Toronto, Canada, that will test minocycline in patients with Fragile X. ... > full story
World's Biggest Computing Grid Launched (October 4, 2008) -- The world's largest computing grid is ready to tackle mankind's biggest data challenge from the earth's most powerful accelerator. The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid combines the power of more than 140 computer centers from 33 countries to analyze and manage more than 15 million gigabytes of LHC data every year. ... > full story
Should Companies With Unhealthy Products Be Regulated To Protect Health? (October 4, 2008) -- Should businesses that sell products which are responsible for a huge numbers of deaths, illness and injury, such as tobacco and junk food, be held accountable and made to improve public health? Two experts debate the issue. ... > full story
Obesity Clue: Newly Identified Cells Make Fat (October 4, 2008) -- The discovery of an important fat precursor cell may explain how changes in the numbers of fat cells might increase and lead to obesity. ... > full story
DNA Of Good Bacteria Drives Intestinal Response To Infection (October 4, 2008) -- A new study shows that the DNA of so-called "good bacteria" that normally live in the intestines may help defend the body against infection. ... > full story
Arctic Sea Ice Annual Freeze-up Underway (October 4, 2008) -- After reaching the second-lowest extent ever recorded last month, sea ice in the Arctic has begun to refreeze in the face of autumn temperatures, closing both the Northern Sea Route and the direct route through the Northwest Passage. ... > full story
Traits Produced By Melanin May Signal The Bearer's Capacity To Combat Free Radicals (October 4, 2008) -- Some animal species have developed conspicuous traits produced by melanin pigments (for instance, dark manes in lions, black stripes in some birds and fishes). These traits are used as signals during contests for resources and/or contribute to increase the mating opportunities. However, the efficiency of these traits as signals depends on the fact that they transmit honest information about the quality of the bearer. Scientists have now proposed a novel hypothesis suggesting that melanin-produced traits could indicate the ability of the bearer in fighting free radicals and oxidative damage. ... > full story
Tiny Dust Particles From Sahara Could Help Scientists Study Climate Change (October 4, 2008) -- Scientists in Spain have discovered and characterized a new type of atmospheric aerosols named "iberulites," which could be useful for the study of relevant atmospheric reactions from Earth. The researchers have been carrying out weekly samples collecting atmospheric dust since 1999, and they have determined through satellite images the route followed by these particles in their atmospheric journey. ... > full story
Female Medical Students Underestimate Their Abilities And Males Tend To Overestimate Theirs (October 4, 2008) -- Despite performing equally to their male peers in the classroom and the clinic, female medical students consistently report decreased self-confidence and increased anxiety, particularly over issues related to their competency. ... > full story
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