ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Multiple malaria vaccine offers protection to people most at risk
• Scientists predict faster retreat for Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier; Underwater ridge critical to future flow
• Potential new drug target could stop debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis
• Quantum computer components 'coalesce' to 'converse'
• Faraway Eris is Pluto's twin
• Source found for immune system effects on learning, memory
• High-quality white light produced by four-color laser source; Diode lasers could challenge LEDs for home and industrial lighting supremacy
• Astronomers discover complex organic matter exists throughout the universe
• Human brains are made of the same stuff, despite DNA differences
• Annual screening with chest X-ray does not reduce rate of lung cancer deaths, study finds
• Researchers complete mollusk evolutionary tree
• Lab-made skin cells will aid transplantation, cancer, drug discovery research, say scientists
• 'Magnetic tongue' ready to help produce tastier processed foods
• Study analyzes only known footage of the largest woodpecker that ever lived
• Advance toward a breath test to diagnose multiple sclerosis
• Recycling thermal cash register receipts contaminates paper products with BPA
• Testing geoengineering: Models help determine type of testing that might be effective
• Gene responsible for relapses in young leukemia patients
• Chiral metal surfaces may help to manufacture pharmaceuticals; Novel approach could be used in pharmaceutical drug synthesis
• Environmental toxin bisphenol A (BPA) can affect newborn brain, mouse study shows
• Compound found in common wart treatment shows promise as leukemia therapy
• Nanoparticles could help pain-relieving osteoarthritis drugs last longer, study indicates
• Land animals, ecosystems walloped after Permian dieoff

Multiple malaria vaccine offers protection to people most at risk Posted: 26 Oct 2011 02:53 PM PDT A new malaria vaccine could be the first to tackle different forms of the disease and help those most vulnerable to infection, a study suggests.

Scientists predict faster retreat for Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier; Underwater ridge critical to future flow Posted: 26 Oct 2011 01:27 PM PDT The retreat of Antarctica's fast-flowing Thwaites Glacier is expected to speed up within 20 years, once the glacier detaches from an underwater ridge that is currently holding it back, according to a new study. The study is the latest to confirm the importance of seafloor topography in predicting how these glaciers will behave in the near future.

Potential new drug target could stop debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis Posted: 26 Oct 2011 01:27 PM PDT Medical researchers in Canada have discovered a potential new drug target for multiple sclerosis that could prevent physical disability associated with the disease, once a new drug is developed.

Quantum computer components 'coalesce' to 'converse' Posted: 26 Oct 2011 01:27 PM PDT A team of physicists has shown for the first time how very different types of photons can be made to share "quantum state" information. Such unlike photon links are likely to be an important feature of future quantum computers, where different types of components will need to share information with one another, just like the memory and logic circuits in today's computers.

Faraway Eris is Pluto's twin Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:38 AM PDT Astronomers have measured the diameter of the dwarf planet Eris by catching it as it passed in front of a faint star. This was seen by telescopes in Chile, including the TRAPPIST telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory. The observations show that Eris is an almost perfect twin of Pluto in size and appears to be covered in a layer of ice.

Source found for immune system effects on learning, memory Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:38 AM PDT Immune system cells of the brain, which scavenge pathogens and damaged neurons, are also key players in memory and learning, according to new research by neuroscientists. Earlier studies had shown that laboratory rats experiencing an infection at an early age have an aggressive immune response to subsequent infections, which also harms their learning and memory. In a new study, researchers have identified the source of the learning difficulties and traces it back to the immune system itself.

High-quality white light produced by four-color laser source; Diode lasers could challenge LEDs for home and industrial lighting supremacy Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT The human eye is as comfortable with white light generated by diode lasers as with that produced by increasingly popular light-emitting diodes, according to new tests. Both technologies pass electrical current through material to generate light, but the simpler LED emits lights only through spontaneous emission. Diode lasers bounce light back and forth internally before releasing it.

Astronomers discover complex organic matter exists throughout the universe Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT Researchers from Hong Kong report that organic compounds of unexpected complexity exist throughout the Universe. They indicate that an organic substance commonly found throughout the Universe contains a mixture of aromatic and aliphatic components. The results suggest that complex organic compounds are not the sole domain of life but can be made naturally by stars.

Human brains are made of the same stuff, despite DNA differences Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT Despite vast differences in the genetic code across individuals and ethnicities, the human brain shows a "consistent molecular architecture," say researchers. The finding is from a pair of studies that have created databases revealing when and where genes turn on and off in multiple brain regions through development. They reveal that rapid gene expression during fetal development switches to much slower rates after birth, levels off in middle age, and surges in the final decades.

Annual screening with chest X-ray does not reduce rate of lung cancer deaths, study finds Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT In a trial that included more than 150,000 participants, those who underwent annual chest radiographic screening for up to 4 years did not have a significantly lower rate of death from lung cancer compared to participants who were not screened, according to a new study.

Researchers complete mollusk evolutionary tree Posted: 26 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT Researchers have compiled the most comprehensive evolutionary tree for mollusks to date. Their analysis surprisingly places two enigmatic groups, cephalopods and monoplacophorans, as sister clades. The team has also shown that there was a single origin for shelled mollusks.

Lab-made skin cells will aid transplantation, cancer, drug discovery research, say scientists Posted: 26 Oct 2011 09:24 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to create melanocytes from mouse tail cells using embryonic stem cell-like intermediates called inducible pluripotent (iPS) cells. They converted mouse tail-tip fibroblasts into iPS cells, producing pluripotent cells similar to embryonic stem cells, but without the concomitant ethical issues.

'Magnetic tongue' ready to help produce tastier processed foods Posted: 26 Oct 2011 09:24 AM PDT The "electronic nose," which detects odors, has a companion among emerging futuristic "e-sensing" devices intended to replace abilities that once were strictly human-and-animal-only. It is a "magnetic tongue" -- a method used to "taste" food and identify ingredients that people describe as sweet, bitter, sour, etc. Scientists report on use of the method to taste canned tomatoes.

Study analyzes only known footage of the largest woodpecker that ever lived Posted: 26 Oct 2011 09:24 AM PDT Most believe the imperial woodpecker faded unseen into history in the late 20th century in the high mountains of Mexico. But now the largest woodpecker that ever lived can be seen once more in an 85-second flight that offers us a lesson its behavior, and ours.

Advance toward a breath test to diagnose multiple sclerosis Posted: 26 Oct 2011 09:24 AM PDT Scientists are reporting the development and successful tests in humans of a sensor array that can diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) from exhaled breath, an advance that they describe as a landmark in the long search for a fast, inexpensive and non-invasive test for MS -- the most common neurological disease in young adults.

Recycling thermal cash register receipts contaminates paper products with BPA Posted: 26 Oct 2011 09:24 AM PDT Bisphenol A (BPA) -- a substance that may have harmful health effects -- occurs in 94 percent of thermal cash register receipts, scientists are reporting. The recycling of those receipts, they add, is a source of BPA contamination of paper napkins, toilet paper, food packaging and other paper products. The report could have special implications for cashiers and other people who routinely handle thermal paper receipts.

Testing geoengineering: Models help determine type of testing that might be effective Posted: 26 Oct 2011 08:38 AM PDT Solar radiation management is a class of theoretical concepts for manipulating the climate in order to reduce the risks of global warming. But its potential effectiveness and risks are uncertain, and it is unclear whether tests could help narrow these uncertainties. Researchers used modeling to determine the type of testing that might be effective in the future.

Gene responsible for relapses in young leukemia patients Posted: 26 Oct 2011 08:38 AM PDT One of the causes of resistance to cancer treatment in children is now beginning to be elucidated. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients with a particular form of the ATF5 gene are at higher risk of having a relapse when treated with E. coli asparaginase, a key chemotherapy drug for this type of leukemia.

Chiral metal surfaces may help to manufacture pharmaceuticals; Novel approach could be used in pharmaceutical drug synthesis Posted: 26 Oct 2011 07:31 AM PDT New research shows how metal surfaces that lack mirror symmetry could provide a novel approach towards manufacturing pharmaceuticals.

Environmental toxin bisphenol A (BPA) can affect newborn brain, mouse study shows Posted: 26 Oct 2011 06:42 AM PDT Newborn mice that are exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) develop changes in their spontaneous behavior and evince poorer adaptation to new environments, as well hyperactivity as young adults, according to researchers. Their study also revealed that one of the brain's most important signal systems, the cholinergic signal system, is affected by bisphenol A and that the effect persisted into adulthood.

Compound found in common wart treatment shows promise as leukemia therapy Posted: 26 Oct 2011 06:12 AM PDT A new potential leukemia therapy targets only cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells alone. Many current chemotherapy treatments affect cancer cells and healthy cells, causing significant side effects, such as fatigue, hair loss, nausea, anxiety and depression.

Nanoparticles could help pain-relieving osteoarthritis drugs last longer, study indicates Posted: 26 Oct 2011 06:12 AM PDT A novel study demonstrates that using nanoparticles to deliver osteoarthritis drugs to the knee joint could help increase the retention of the drug in the knee cavity, and therefore reduce the frequency of injections patients must receive.

Land animals, ecosystems walloped after Permian dieoff Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:09 PM PDT Researchers have concluded the mass extinction that ended the Permian Period was disastrous for land-based animals. In a specimen-by-specimen analysis, the scientists say species were reduced to a handful of forms, called disaster taxa. The low diversity of vertebrates meant that terrestrial ecosystems endured boom-and-bust cycles for up to eight million years before finally stabilizing.

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