ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter.
Archaeological Dig Uncovers Roman Mystery (October 14, 2008) -- Archaeologists have dug up a mystery worthy of Indiana Jones, one that includes a tomb, skeletons and burial rites with both Christian and pagan elements. ... > full story
Embryonic Heart Exhibits Impressive Regenerative Capacity (October 14, 2008) -- A new study demonstrates that the embryonic mouse heart has an astounding capacity to regenerate, a phenomenon previously observed only in non-mammalian species. The research describes the previously unrecognized potential of the embryonic heart to replace diseased tissue through compensatory proliferation of healthy cells. ... > full story
New Knowledge About Thermoelectric Materials Could Give Better Energy Efficiency (October 14, 2008) -- New research could be used to develop motors that are more fuel-efficient and provide for more environmentally friendly cooling methods. The new data describes properties of thermoelectric materials. ... > full story
Unraveling The Complexity Of Human Disease (October 14, 2008) -- The mysteries of the human genome are slowly being revealed -- but the more we uncover the more complicated the picture becomes. This was one key message to emerge from the European Science Foundation's 3rd Functional Genomics Conference. Functional genomics describes the way in which genes and their products, proteins, interact together in complex networks in living cells. If these interactions are abnormal, diseases can result. ... > full story
Significant Process In Creating 3D Stacked Integrated Chips (October 14, 2008) -- A nanoelectronics research institute has announced that it has made significant progress with its 3D-SIC (3D stacked IC) technology. Scientists recently demonstrated the first functional 3D integrated circuits obtained by die-to-die stacking using 5µm Cu through-silicon vias (TSV). The next step is to further develop 3D SIC chips on 200mm and 300mm wafers. ... > full story
Five Basic Things To Know About Stem Cell Research (October 14, 2008) -- In just a few weeks, voters will have an important decision to make when casting their ballots. Not just who they want to be president, or to represent them in Congress, but what they want the state to do about stem cells. And the way they vote on a ballot measure called Proposal 2 will determine the fate of a Michigan law that currently restricts research using embryonic stem cells. ... > full story
New Guidelines Double Amount Of Recommended Vitamin D For Young (October 14, 2008) -- The American Academy of Pediatrics is doubling the amount of vitamin D it recommends for infants, children and adolescents. The new clinical report, "Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children, and Adolescents," recommends all children receive 400 IU a day of vitamin D, beginning in the first few days of life. ... > full story
Why Starving Cells Prolong Life (October 14, 2008) -- Cellular damage due to stress is an important factor in aging processes. It is, thus, amazing that starving, which is a stress factor per se, decelerates ageing processes and extends the lifespan of organisms. It has long been known that proteins from the sirtuin family contribute to this mechanism. ... > full story
Minimal Composting Of Beef Cattle Manure Greatly Reduces Antibiotic Levels (October 14, 2008) -- Composting beef cattle manure, even with minimal management, can significantly reduce the concentrations of antibiotics in the manure. Scientists found that composting manure from beef cattle could reduce concentrations of antibiotics by more than 99 percent. ... > full story
Circumcision Not Associated With Reduced Risk Of HIV For Men Who Have Sex With Men (October 14, 2008) -- An analysis of previous research indicates there is a lack of sufficient evidence that circumcision reduces the risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection or other sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men, according to a new article. ... > full story
Brightening The Future For Optical Circuits (October 14, 2008) -- By working together to share costs and know-how, European researchers are shaking up the way research and development is carried out on optical chips. ... > full story
Pregnancy Does Not Affect Cognitive Functions, Despite Mothers' Fears: Australian Study (October 14, 2008) -- Pregnancy and motherhood may make us all go a little gooey, but it's not turning mums' brains into mush, according to mental health researchers in Australia. ... > full story
Huge Gap Between World Demand For Fish And What Can Be Sustainably Harvested (October 13, 2008) -- There is a huge gap between world demand for fish and what we can harvest from the world's natural stocks. The figures are clear: If we don't do something about the over fishing, the stocks of wild fish will be dealt a death blow. At the same time, the world's population continues to grow -- and with it the global demand for food. ... > full story
First Evidence That Common Pollutant May Reduce Iodine Levels In Breast Milk (October 13, 2008) -- Researchers in Texas are reporting the first evidence from human studies that perchlorate, a common pollutant increasingly found in food and water, may interfere with an infant's availability of iodine in breast milk. Iodine deficiency in infants can cause mental retardation and other health problems, the scientists note. The study also provides further evidence that iodine intake in U.S. mothers is low and that perchlorate may play a key role. ... > full story
Atlantic Tuna Return Thousands Of Miles To Birthplace To Spawn (October 13, 2008) -- Scientists have found new migratory patterns for Mediterranean and western Atlantic bluefin tuna. The Atlantic bluefin tuna is the largest and most sought-after of all tunas, weighing as much as 1,400 pounds and capable of fetching as much as ,000 or more in Asian markets where its meat is a prized commodity, one big reason why its numbers have declined precipitously since the 1970s. New research findings reported in Science have critical implications for how bluefin tuna are managed. ... > full story
Wheezing And Asthma In Young Children (October 13, 2008) -- The diagnosis of asthma in a young child may well be more challenging to pediatricians than previously appreciated, according to a review of research and clinical experience literature. ... > full story
Sound Is An Integral Part Of Products, Industrial Designer Says (October 13, 2008) -- Does coffee taste better when your coffee machine produces a particular sound? According to one industrial designer, the sound a product makes is an integral part of that product. ... > full story
Just A Numbers Game? Making Sense Of Health Statistics (October 13, 2008) -- Health statistics fill today's information environment, but even most doctors, who must make daily decisions and recommendations based on numerical data, lack the basic statistical literacy they require to make such decisions effectively. A major new report in Psychological Science in the Public Interest shows that statistical illiteracy is a significant problem having widespread negative impact on healthcare and society. ... > full story
Machines Edge Closer To Imitating Human Communication (October 13, 2008) -- At a major artificial intelligence competition, machines have come close to imitating human communication. ... > full story
Response To Immune Protein Determines Pathology Of Multiple Sclerosis (October 13, 2008) -- New research may help reveal why different parts of the brain can come under attack in patients with multiple sclerosis. According to a new study in mice with an MS-like disease, the brain's response to a protein produced by invading T cells dictates whether it's the spinal cord or cerebellum that comes under fire. ... > full story
New Properties Of Skin Stem Cells (October 13, 2008) -- New research reveals completely new properties of the skin’s stem cells – discoveries that contradict previous findings. The studies, which are published in Nature Genetics, show amongst other things, that hair follicle stem cells can divide actively and transport themselves through the skin tissue. ... > full story
Reason For Body’s Response To Borrelia Discovered (October 13, 2008) -- Inside a cell it is so crowded that a certain protein from borrelia winds up being crunched. From having been like an oblong rugby football, it gets bent and then collapses into a lump. At this point a previously hidden part appears, known to trigger the formation of antibodies. This explains how Borrelia can be diagnosed, a process that was previously unknown. ... > full story
Paleozoic 'Sediment Curve' Provides New Tool For Tracking Sea-floor Sediment Movements (October 13, 2008) -- As the world looks for more energy, the oil industry will need more refined tools for discoveries in places where searches have never before taken place, geologists say. A new tool follows sea-level rise and fall between 542 and 251 million years ago. ... > full story
One Hour Of Moderate Daily Exercise Insufficient To Curb Childhood Obesity, Experts Argue (October 13, 2008) -- One hour of moderate exercise a day recommended to children from health experts may not be enough to tackle the rising problem of childhood obesity. ... > full story
Climate Change: Pushing Species To The Brink (October 13, 2008) -- Thirty-five percent of the world's birds, 52 percent of amphibians and 71 percent of warm-water reef-building corals are likely to be particularly susceptible to climate change, the first results of an IUCN study have revealed. ... > full story
Potential Non-invasive Optical Detection Of Pancreatic Cancer (October 13, 2008) -- Researchers are investigating whether tissue optical spectroscopy can be employed for early cancer detection in the pancreas during minimally-invasive endoscopic diagnostic procedures. ... > full story
Hidden Boundaries Of Sunspots Pump Out Plasma Into Interplanetary Space (October 13, 2008) -- Complicated networks of magnetic fields power the sun's atmosphere and create both the beautiful structures and violent explosions that scientists study. Active regions, anchored in sunspots, are areas of the sun where the concentrated magnetic fields that give rise to these phenomena are extremely strong. Measured in ultraviolet or X-ray wavelengths these regions appear bright against the cooler surface. ... > full story
Vitamin D A Key Player In Overall Health Of Several Body Organs, Says Biochemist (October 13, 2008) -- Vitamin D, once linked to only bone diseases, is now recognized as a major player in contributing to overall human health, emphasizes UC Riverside's Anthony Norman, an international expert on vitamin D. He lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to vitamin D. The list includes bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus. According to Norman, vitamin D deficiency can impact all 36 organs. ... > full story
Claim That Simulated Temperature Trends For Tropics Inconsistent With Observations Is Flawed, Experts Argue (October 13, 2008) -- Scientists have helped reconcile the differences between simulated and observed temperature trends in the tropics. They have refuted a recent claim that simulated temperature trends in the tropics are fundamentally inconsistent with observations. This claim was based on the application of a flawed statistical test and the use of older observational datasets. ... > full story
Why Your Boss Is White, Middle-class And A Show-off (October 13, 2008) -- The way male managers power dress, posture and exercise power is due to humans' evolutionary biology, according to new research. ... > full story
Giant Cyclones At Saturn's Poles Create A Swirl Of Mystery (October 13, 2008) -- New images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveal a giant cyclone at Saturn's north pole, and show that a similarly monstrous cyclone churning at Saturn's south pole is powered by Earth-like storm patterns. ... > full story
Age-related Macular Degeneration: New Genetic Association Identified (October 13, 2008) -- Clinicians and scientists have identified a major new genetic association with age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in developed countries. ... > full story
'Caffeine Receptor' Solved: Structure Of Important Neurological Receptor Defined (October 13, 2008) -- Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of an adenosine receptor that plays a critical role in a number of important physiological processes including pain, breathing, and heart function. The findings could lead to the development of a new class of therapeutics for treating numerous neurological disorders, including Parkinson's and Huntington disease. ... > full story
Potential New Tool For Brain Surgeons (October 13, 2008) -- One of the primary ways of treating brain cancer is surgically removing the tumors. The risk of this sort of procedure is obvious -- it involves cutting away tissue from the brain, potentially severing nerve fibers and causing neurological damage. MRI and CT scans can reveal the extent of tumors, but only prior to surgery. ... > full story
Using Electrons To Treat Organic Seeds (October 13, 2008) -- Sales of organic products are booming: Consumers want their food to be untainted. To avoid the use of fungicides yet nevertheless protect plants from disease, researchers have developed a method that involves bombarding seeds with electrons to kill fungal spores and viruses. ... > full story
Girls Are Happier Than Boys At Primary School, Study Shows (October 13, 2008) -- Just over one quarter (26 per cent) of primary seven boys are completely happy coming to school, compared with 44 per cent of girls, according to a new survey. ... > full story
Climate Change To Devastate Or Destroy Many Penguin Colonies (October 13, 2008) -- Half to three-quarters of major Antarctic penguin colonies face decline or disappearance if global temperatures are allowed to climb by more than 2°C. ... > full story
Nerve Stimulation Therapy Alleviates Pain For Chronic Headache (October 13, 2008) -- A novel therapy using a miniature nerve stimulator instead of medication for the treatment of profoundly disabling headache disorders improved the experience of pain by 80-95 percent, according to a new study. ... > full story
New Robotic Repair System Will Fix Ailing Satellites (October 13, 2008) -- Researchers are developing a new robotic system to service more than 8,000 satellites now orbiting the Earth, beyond the flight range of ground-based repair operations. Currently, when the high-flying celestial objects malfunction -- or simply run out of fuel -- they become "space junk" cluttering the cosmos. ... > full story
Tumor Formation In Stem Cells Linked to Mitochondria (October 13, 2008) -- Researchers report on a previously unknown relationship between stem cell potency and the metabolic rate of their mitochondria -- a cell's energy makers. Stem cells with more active mitochondria also have a greater capacity to differentiate and are more likely to form tumors. ... > full story
Millisecond Brain Signals Predict Response To Fast-acting Antidepressant (October 13, 2008) -- Images of the brain's fastest signals reveal an electromagnetic marker that predicts a patient's response to a fast-acting antidepressant. Such use of a brain scanner could someday minimize trial-and-error prescribing and speed delivery of care, say researchers. Depressed patients showed increased activity in a mood-regulating hub near the front of the brain while viewing flashing frightful faces -- the more the increase, the better their response to an experimental fast-acting medication called ketamine. ... > full story
American Culture Derails Girl Math Whizzes, Study Finds (October 13, 2008) -- A culture of neglect and, at some age levels, outright social ostracism, is derailing a generation of students, especially girls, deemed the very best in mathematics, according to a new study. ... > full story
Space Fly-by Reveals New Insights Into Titan's Life (October 13, 2008) -- Cracking the secrets of the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's mysterious moon, and how planetary atmospheres evolve, have come a step closer after evaluation of data from a successful fly-by of its surface by the Cassini spacecraft. ... > full story
H. Pylori Bacteria May Help Prevent Some Esophageal Cancers (October 13, 2008) -- Some bacteria may help protect against the development of a type of esophageal cancer, known as adenocarcinoma, according to a new review of the medical literature. These bacteria, which are called Helicobacter pylori, live in the stomachs of humans. ... > full story
What Is Wild? Odor Attraction Is Different Among Different Wildtype Flies (October 13, 2008) -- Vinegar flies (Drosophila melanogaster) show a highly selective behavior towards odor stimuli. A series of behavioral studies showed that a single olfactory stimulus is often not sufficient for immediate attraction to potential food sources or oviposition sites. Interestingly, the behavior differed between investigated D. melanogaster varieties, so-called "wildtypes". ... > full story
Endoscopic Therapy May Offer An Alternative To Surgery In Patients With Esophageal Cancer (October 13, 2008) -- New research has evaluated the long-term efficacy of endoscopic mucosal resection, or EMR, in the treatment of patients with early stage esophageal cancer or Barrett's esophagus. Two separate studies suggest EMR is an effective treatment alternative to surgery and generally yields positive long-term results. ... > full story
Under Pressure At The Nanoscale, Polymers Play By Different Rules (October 13, 2008) -- Scientists putting the squeeze on thin films of polystyrene have discovered that at very short length scales the polymer doesn't play by the rules. ... > full story
Connections Between Vision And Movement, As They Relate To Perceived Threats, Autism (October 13, 2008) -- In research designed to assist US Department of Homeland Security and provide insight into how autistic individuals perceive others, scientists are examining how our visual system helps interpret the intent conveyed in subtle body movements. While most autism research has focused on difficulties in face perception, this new research examines autism as it relates to connections between visual analysis, body movement and our ability to interact. ... > full story
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