ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Wednesday, November 12, 2008
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Evolution's New Wrinkle: Proteins With 'Cruise Control' Act Like Adaptive Machines (November 12, 2008) -- Scientists has discovered that chains of proteins found in most living organisms act like adaptive machines, possessing the ability to control their own evolution. The research, which appears to offer evidence of a hidden mechanism guiding the way biological organisms respond to the forces of natural selection, provides a new perspective on evolution, the scientists said. ... > full story
Obese Kids' Artery Plaque Similar To Middle-aged Adults (November 12, 2008) -- The plaque buildup in the neck arteries of obese children or those with high cholesterol is similar to levels in middle-aged adults. Using ultrasound images, researchers equated the "vascular age" to be 45 years old in these children. Obese children who have high triglycerides are the most likely to have prematurely aging arteries; these children should be treated as high risk for cardiovascular disease, researchers concluded. ... > full story
Rocket Launching To Investigate The Northern Lights (November 12, 2008) -- Airplanes that fly over the northern polar region can risk losing radio contact for several hours when the northern lights are at their most active in the skies. In the near future a professor from the University of Oslo will launch a Norwegian rocket to find the explanation for this. The aim is to set up reliable warning routines. ... > full story
Muscular Dystrophy: Sarcospan, A Little Protein For A Big Problem (November 12, 2008) -- The overlooked and undervalued protein, sarcospan, just got its moment in the spotlight. Researchers now show that adding it to muscle cells might ameliorate the most severe form of muscular dystrophy. ... > full story
Intelligent Airlines Meet Passenger Needs (November 12, 2008) -- As airports become stretched to capacity and calls mount for new runways and terminals, a computer scientist in Greece has designed a system that could ensure as many seats as possible are filled on each flight and no one is left stranded at check-in. ... > full story
What Happens In Vegas? Place As A Risk Factor For Suicide (November 12, 2008) -- The vast majority of recent studies on suicide have focused on identifying psychiatric risk factors. However, a new study in Social Science and Medicine, explores time and place as factors in suicide by closely analyzing the patterns of suicide in a single geographic area, Las Vegas, over a 30 year period. ... > full story
Joyful Music May Promote Heart Health (November 12, 2008) -- Listening to your favorite music may be good for your cardiovascular system. Researchers have shown for the first time that the emotions aroused by joyful music have a healthy effect on blood vessel function. The research team concluded that the cardiovascular benefits of music were similar to those found in their previous study of laughter. ... > full story
Genetic Basis For Some Birth Defects Uncovered (November 12, 2008) -- Scientists have uncovered a common genetic pathway for a number of birth defects that affect the development of the heart and head. Abnormal development of the jaw, palate, brain and heart are relatively common congenital defects and frequently arise due to genetic errors that affect a key developmental pathway. ... > full story
Loggerhead Turtle Release To Provide Vital Information To Scientific Community (November 12, 2008) -- Biologists will release two juvenile loggerhead sea turtles raised in captivity into the Indian River Lagoon near Sebastian Inlet. Dubbed Milton and FeeBee, the turtles were part of a sex ratio study. ... > full story
Flu Shot Protects Kids, Even During Years With A Bad Vaccine Match (November 12, 2008) -- Children who receive all recommended flu vaccine appear to be less likely to catch the respiratory virus that the CDC estimates hospitalizes 20,000 children every year. This study found that, even though the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 flu seasons had poor matches between the vaccine and the circulating flu strains, the shots were clearly protective during the 2004-05 year and possibly even during the 2003-04 year. ... > full story
Femtosecond, Chirped Laser Pulse Trains Could Reduce Decoherence (November 12, 2008) -- A physics professor is proposing to use femtosecond, chirped laser pulse trains to reduce decoherence. Controlling coherence can overcome current barriers in a variety of fields, from quantum computing to molecular selective bio-imaging. ... > full story
Minority Children Waiting For Heart Transplants Have Higher Death Rates (November 12, 2008) -- Minority children on the waitlist for a heart transplant have a greater risk of dying than white children do. Socioeconomic factors explain only a small fraction of this increased risk. When all factors including race, area income and insurance were simultaneously considered, children with Medicaid insurance were 20 percent more likely to die while awaiting transplant. ... > full story
Annual Plants Converted Into Perennials (November 11, 2008) -- Scientists have succeeded in converting annual plants into perennials. They discovered that the deactivation of two genes in annuals led to the formation of structures that converted the plant into a perennial. This was most likely an important mechanism in plant evolution, initiating the formation of trees. ... > full story
Alzheimer’s-associated Plaques Found In Symptom-free Older Adults (November 11, 2008) -- Pittsburgh Compound B, an imaging agent that could facilitate the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, has been used to identify amyloid deposition in the brains of clinically older adults. The findings could not only shed more light on how the illness progresses, but also open the door to the possibility of prevention strategies. ... > full story
Southern Wall Of Jerusalem That Dates To Time Of Hasmonean Dynasty Discovered On Mount Zion (November 11, 2008) -- An exciting discovery in Jerusalem constituting extraordinary remains of the wall of the city from the time of the Second Temple (second century BCE-70 CE) that was built by the Hasmonean kings and was destroyed during the Great Revolt, and also the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine period (324-640 CE) which was built on top of it, were uncovered in an extensive excavation that is currently underway on Mount Zion. ... > full story
Refractive Surgical Practices In HIV-Positive Persons (November 11, 2008) -- People who are HIV-positive are now living longer, healthier lives, thanks to antiretroviral therapy and other treatment advances, and the number of HIV-positive people seeking LASIK, intraocular lenses following cataract removal, and similar procedures is likely to grow in coming years. ... > full story
Scientific Community Called Upon To Resolve Debate On ‘Net Energy’ Once And For All (November 11, 2008) -- “Net energy is a (mostly) irrelevant, misleading and dangerous metric,” says the editor-in-chief of Biofuels, Bioresources and Biorefining. ... > full story
Top Scientific Meeting Urges Coordinated Response To Economic And Environmental Crises (November 11, 2008) -- A fix for the economy must address ecological threats, a top international scientific meeting here has urged. Human society is moving dangerously beyond the planet's natural limits in a striking parallel to the financial debt crisis. "We're running the planet like a subprime loan," Dr. Johan Rockstrom of the Stockholm Resilience Center said. A coordinated response would reduce the risks of both kinds of crises in the future. ... > full story
Telescope Views Glowing Stellar Nurseries (November 11, 2008) -- An APEX telescope image reveals how an expanding bubble of ionized gas about ten light-years across is causing the surrounding material to collapse into dense clumps that are the birthplaces of new stars. Sub-millimeter light is the key to revealing some of the coldest material in the universe, such as these cold, dense clouds. ... > full story
First Trial Of Gene Therapy For Advanced Heart Failure Shows Promising Results (November 11, 2008) -- Phase I results of the first clinical trial of gene therapy for patients with advanced heart failure show the approach to be promising, with improvements in several measures of the condition's severity. ... > full story
Gold Earring 2,000 Years Old Discovered In Excavations In Jerusalem (November 11, 2008) -- A 2,000 year old gold earring inlaid with pearls and precious stones was discovered in excavations that the Israel Antiquities Authority is conducting in the Giv'ati car park at the City of David, in the "Walls around Jerusalem National Park". The earring, which is made of a coiled gold hoop, has a large inlaid pearl in its center. ... > full story
Cancer Risk From Cardiac CT Overstated, Researchers Say (November 11, 2008) -- Radiology and cardiovascular researchers have presented new data that shows the risk of cancer from exposure to radiation during computed tomography for cardiovascular disease has been overstated and that new estimates are several times lower than previously published conclusions. ... > full story
Without Enzyme, Biological Reaction Essential To Life Takes 2.3 Billion Years (November 11, 2008) -- All biological reactions within human cells depend on enzymes. Their power as catalysts enables biological reactions to occur usually in milliseconds. But how slowly would these reactions proceed spontaneously, in the absence of enzymes -- minutes, hours, days? And why even pose the question? ... > full story
Obese Women More Impulsive Than Other Females, Study Suggests (November 11, 2008) -- A new study finds that obese women display significantly weaker impulse control than normal weight women. ... > full story
Forced Evolution: Can We Mutate Viruses To Death? (November 11, 2008) -- Can scientists create a designer drug that forces viruses to mutate themselves out of existence? A new study by bioengineers could help make it happen. The study offers the most comprehensive mathematical analysis to date of the mechanisms that drive evolution in viruses and bacteria, and it could help scientists who are looking to add "lethal mutagenesis" to medicine's disease-fighting arsenal. ... > full story
New Insights Into Thalidomide-birth Defect Episode (November 11, 2008) -- Scientists in Germany have discovered why the medication thalidomide appeared safe in animal tests before going on the market 50 years ago, only to cause perhaps the most extensive outbreak of drug-induced birth defects in medical history. ... > full story
Obese People At Increased Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease, Even If They Don't Have High Cholesterol Or Diabetes (November 11, 2008) -- Obese people who don't have high cholesterol or diabetes might think they're healthy -- despite the extra pounds. But new research suggests that obesity raises levels of the hormone leptin, which can be as big a threat to the cardiovascular system as cholesterol. ... > full story
Interaction Between Gene Variants May Alter Brain Function In Schizophrenia (November 11, 2008) -- Scientists are giving what may be the first look at how interactions between genes underlie a key symptom of schizophrenia, impaired working memory. Functional imaging studies reveal how a combination of common variants in two genes is associated with reduced activity of important brain structures in schizophrenia patients but not in normal controls. ... > full story
New Approach In Tsunami-early Warning System (November 11, 2008) -- The newly implemented Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean, German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, goes into operation November 10 and with this, the system enters its final phase of optimization. ... > full story
Blood Pressure Control Inequality Linked To Deaths Among African Americans (November 11, 2008) -- Racial disparity in the control of hypertension contributes to the deaths of almost 8,000 African American men and women in the United States annually, according to a first-of-its-kind study. ... > full story
Umbilical Cord Blood May Help Build New Heart Valves (November 11, 2008) -- In the future, babies with heart defects may receive new heart valves created from cells in the blood from their umbilical cords, saved at birth. These valves could grow and change shape as a child develops, avoiding the need for repeat surgeries to replace outgrown valves from animal or human donor tissue or artificial valves. ... > full story
New Hope For HIV Treatment: Cells Exhausted From Fighting HIV Infection Can Be Revitalized (November 11, 2008) -- Researchers have revealed new hope for HIV treatment with the discovery of a way to 'rescue' immune cells that are exhausted from fighting off HIV infection. ... > full story
Key Mechanism That Regulates Development Of Stem Cells Into Neurons Identified (November 11, 2008) -- Researchers have identified a novel mechanism in the regulation and differentiation of neural stem cells. The study found that the protein receptor Ryk has a key role in the differentiation of neural stem cells, and demonstrated a signaling mechanism that regulates neuronal differentiation as stem cells begin to grow into neurons. ... > full story
'Superbugs' On The Rise In Canadian Hospitals, New Study Shows (November 11, 2008) -- Although infection control has been substantially ramped up in Canadian hospitals since the SARS crisis of 2003, the number of resistant bacterial infections post-SARS have multiplied even faster, a new study shows. ... > full story
Mass Production Method For Nanomaterial Graphene Devised (November 11, 2008) -- Graphene sheets have an array of attractive benefits in electronics but research on them has been restricted due to the difficulty of creating single layer samples. An article in the journal Nature Nanotechnology proposes a solution to this problem. The solution involves placing graphite-oxide paper in a solution of pure hydrazine which reduces the graphite-oxide paper into single-layer graphene. ... > full story
Doctors Should Disclose Off-label Prescribing To Their Patients, Experts Argue (November 11, 2008) -- Doctors should be required to disclose when they are prescribing drugs off-label, argues a new article in PLoS Medicine. ... > full story
Limb Loss In Lizards: Evidence For Rapid Evolution (November 11, 2008) -- Small skink lizards, Lerista, demonstrate extensive changes in body shape over geologically brief periods. New research shows that several species of these skinks have rapidly evolved an elongate, limbless body form. ... > full story
Babies Placed In Incubators Decrease Risk Of Depression As Adults (November 11, 2008) -- Babies who receive incubator care after birth are two to three times less likely to suffer depression as adults according to a surprising new study published in the journal Psychiatry Research. ... > full story
Web-spinning Spiders And 'Wannabe Butterflies' Head To Space Shuttle (November 11, 2008) -- A NASA space shuttle mission carrying a payload of web-spinning spiders and wannabe butterflies will be closely monitored by hundreds of K-12 students from Colorado's Front Range after Endeavour launches from Florida for the International Space Station Nov. 14. ... > full story
Heart's Surplus Energy May Help Power Pacemakers, Defibrillators (November 11, 2008) -- Researchers have shown that a beating heart may produce enough energy to power a pacemaker or defibrillator. An experimental microgenerator captured enough surplus heart energy to provide 17 percent of the power needed to run an implantable pacemaker. Generator refinements could yield smaller, longer-lasting, and more sophisticated implantable devices. ... > full story
Protein 'Tubules' Free Avian Flu Virus From Immune Recognition (November 11, 2008) -- A protein found in the virulent avian influenza virus strain called H5N1 forms tiny tubules in which it "hides" the pieces of double-stranded RNA formed during viral infection, which otherwise would prompt an antiviral immune response from infected cells, researchers report. ... > full story
Getting Little Sleep May Be Associated With Risk Of Heart Disease (November 11, 2008) -- Sleeping less than seven and a half hours per day may be associated with future risk of heart disease, according to a new article. In addition, a combination of little sleep and overnight elevated blood pressure appears to be associated with an increased risk of the disease. ... > full story
Strong Education Blunts Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Suggests (November 11, 2008) -- A test that reveals brain changes believed to be at the heart of Alzheimer's disease has bolstered the theory that education can delay the onset of the dementia and cognitive decline that are characteristic of the disorder. ... > full story
New Laser Technique Seals And Heals Wounds (November 11, 2008) -- Not much has changed in the last 2,000 years when it comes to suturing together cuts and wounds. Even with microsurgery techniques, infection and permanent scarring remain major concerns. Now a new laser technique has been developed that seals and heals wounds. ... > full story
Almost Frictionless Gears With Liquid Crystal Lubricants (November 11, 2008) -- Lubricants in bearings and gear units ensure that not too much energy is lost through friction. Yet it still takes a certain percentage of the energy to compensate for friction losses. Lubricants made of liquid crystals could reduce friction to almost zero. ... > full story
Daily Rhythms In Blood Vessels May Explain Morning Peak In Heart Attacks (November 11, 2008) -- Daily rhythms in the activity of cells that line blood vessels may help explain why heart attacks and strokes occur most often in early morning hours, researchers have found. ... > full story
Revegetation Of Native Flora More Successful If Genetically Diverse Seed Added (November 11, 2008) -- The answer to successful revegetation of native flora is in sourcing genetically diverse seed not necessarily relying on remnant local native vegetation to provide seed. ... > full story
In The Absence Of Sexual Prospects, Parasitic Male Worms Go Spermless (November 11, 2008) -- When females aren't around, one species of parasitic nematode worm doesn't even bother to make any sperm, reveals a new report. ... > full story
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