الجمعة، 22 مايو 2015

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Mental 'map' and 'compass' are two separate systems, researchers say

Posted: 21 May 2015 06:06 PM PDT

In a new study in mice, researchers have shown that mental 'map' and 'compass' systems work independently. A cue that unambiguously provided both types of information allowed the mice to determine their location but not the direction they were facing.

Mood instability common to mental health disorders, associated with poor outcomes

Posted: 21 May 2015 06:06 PM PDT

Mood instability occurs in a wide range of mental disorders, and is not exclusive to affective conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder, new research confirms. The research also found that mood instability was associated with poorer clinical outcomes.

Smoking, drug abuse could more than triple annual ER visits

Posted: 21 May 2015 01:05 PM PDT

Smokers are four times more likely than non-smokers to become frequent visitors of emergency rooms, according to findings uncovered by a preliminary study by an emergency room utilization researcher. Also, substance abuse and psychiatric illness could triple annual ER visits.

Protein seen 'quaking' after chemical bond breaks

Posted: 21 May 2015 01:04 PM PDT

Scientists for the first time have precisely measured a protein's natural "knee-jerk" reaction to the breaking of a chemical bond -- a quaking motion that propagated through the protein at the speed of sound.

Significant cost savings found in pediatric telemedicine consults

Posted: 21 May 2015 12:18 PM PDT

A comprehensive study has been completed to determine whether pediatric telemedicine consultations with rural emergency departments save money compared to telephone consults.

Lowly 'new girl' chimps form stronger female bonds

Posted: 21 May 2015 12:18 PM PDT

Low-ranking 'new girl' chimpanzees seek out other gal pals with similar status, finds a new study. The results are based on 38 years' worth of daily records for 53 adult females in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, where Jane Goodall first started studying chimpanzees in the 1960s. The researchers are still working out whether the low-ranking pairs are true buddies, friends of convenience, or merely acquaintances.

Savannahs slow climate change, experts say

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:41 AM PDT

Tropical rainforests have long been considered the Earth's lungs, sequestering large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thereby slowing down the increasing greenhouse effect and associated human-made climate change. Scientists in a global research project now show that the vast extensions of semi-arid landscapes occupying the transition zone between rainforest and desert dominate the ongoing increase in carbon sequestration by ecosystems globally, as well as large fluctuations between wet and dry years. This is a major rearrangement of planetary functions.

Obese teens' brains unusually susceptible to food commercials, study finds

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:41 AM PDT

TV food commercials disproportionately stimulate the brains of overweight teenagers, including the regions that control pleasure, taste and -- most surprisingly -- the mouth, suggesting they mentally simulate unhealthy eating habits that make it difficult to lose weight later in life.

New model predicts fish population response to dams, other ecological factors

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:40 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a model to assess how dams affect the viability of sea-run fish species that need to pass dams as they use both fresh and marine waters during their lifetimes. The aim is to test how varying passage efficiency at dams related to survival rates for these species, using a model of endangered Atlantic salmon as a case study.

Flames fan lasting fallout from Chernobyl

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:40 AM PDT

In the years following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, forest fires billowed plumes of contaminated smoke, carrying radioactive particles throughout Europe on the wind. Now, researchers fear that a shift to a hotter, drier climate in Eastern Europe could increase the frequency of these fires.

Seismic signals used to track above-ground explosions

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:40 AM PDT

Researchers have determined that a tunnel bomb explosion by Syrian rebels was less than 60 tons as claimed by sources. Using seismic stations in Turkey, the scientists created a method to determine source characteristics of near earth surface explosions. They found the above-ground tunnel bomb blast under the Wadi al-Deif Army Base near Aleppo last spring was likely not as large as originally estimated and was closer to 40 tons.

For pollock surveys in Alaska, things are looking up

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:40 AM PDT

Scientists have turned their view of the nation's largest fishery upside down with upward-facing sonar systems that are mounted to the seafloor and monitor the passage of fish above. They just completed their first experimental deployment of the new system, and the data, though upside down, looked great. In the future, these systems might augment traditional, ship-based acoustic surveys.

New chemical technology boosts potency of targeted cancer therapy

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:40 AM PDT

A new chemical technology uses cancer cells' own protein-degrading machinery to destroy, rather than merely inhibit, cancer proteins. Researchers developed the strategy as a way to develop inhibitors of "undruggable" proteins and overcome drug resistance, a common shortcoming of targeted therapies. Resistance arises when tumors that originally responded to a particular therapy manage to circumvent the drug's effects and resume their growth.

Epstein-Barr virus co-infection may boost malaria mortality in childhood

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:40 AM PDT

Malaria researchers are calling attention to a trouble-maker whose effects may be underappreciated: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Their experiments with mice show that co-infection with a virus closely related to EBV can make a survivable malaria parasite infection lethal.

Intuitive control of robotic arm using thoughts alone

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:40 AM PDT

Through a clinical collaboration between Caltech, Keck Medicine of USC and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, a 34-year-old paralyzed man is the first person in the world to have a neural prosthetic device implanted in a region of the brain where intentions are made, giving him the ability to perform a fluid hand-shaking gesture, drink a beverage, and even play 'rock, paper, scissors,' using a robotic arm.

Tara Oceans expedition yields treasure trove of plankton data

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:39 AM PDT

A multinational team of researchers who spent three and a half years sampling the ocean's sunlit upper layers aboard the schooner Tara unveil the first officially reported global analyses of the Tara Oceans consortium.

New insights into global ocean microbe-virus interactions, drivers of Earth's ecosystems

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:39 AM PDT

Ocean microbes are vital to the Earth's ecosystems, and their interactions with ocean viruses can have dramatic effects on processes ranging from oxygen production to food supply. Marine biologists have now uncovered new information about the way marine viruses and microbes interact on a global scale, which may allow researchers to predictively model their complex interactions.

Sudden onset of ice loss in Antarctica so large it affects Earth's gravity field

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:39 AM PDT

Scientists have observed a sudden increase of ice loss in a previously stable region of Antarctica. The ice loss in the region is so large that it causes small changes in the gravity field of the Earth.

Partly human yeast show a common ancestor's lasting legacy

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:39 AM PDT

Despite a billion years of evolution separating humans from the baker's yeast in their refrigerators, hundreds of genes from an ancestor that the two species have in common live on nearly unchanged in them both, say biologists. The team created thriving strains of genetically engineered yeast using human genes and found that certain groups of genes are surprisingly stable over evolutionary time.

Can a viral co-infection impair immunity against Plasmodium and turn malaria lethal?

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:39 AM PDT

It is known that infections with certain viruses can weaken the immune response to another pathogen. A new study reports provocative findings in mice that infection with the mouse equivalent of Epstein-Barr virus can turn infections with certain parasites that cause malaria in mice (which are normally quickly suppressed by the immune system) into a lethal disease.

Proteins may slow memory loss in people with Alzheimer's

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:38 AM PDT

Certain proteins may slow the devastating memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease, according to a groundbreaking new study. The researchers found evidence that an elevated presence of a protein called neuronal pentraxin-2 may slow cognitive decline and reduce brain atrophy in people with Alzheimer's disease.

Mosquito sex-determining gene could help fight dengue fever

Posted: 21 May 2015 11:38 AM PDT

A gene responsible for sex determination in mosquitoes that can transmit yellow fever, dengue, and chikungunya viruses has been identified by researchers. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need blood for developing eggs, and researchers believe that a higher ratio of males could reduce disease transmission.

Cutting e-waste: Device will self-destruct when heated

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:37 AM PDT

Where do electronics go when they die? Most devices are laid to eternal rest in landfills. But what if they just dissolved away, or broke down to their molecular components so that the material could be recycled? Researchers have developed heat-triggered self-destructing electronic devices, a step toward greatly reducing electronic waste and boosting sustainability in device manufacturing. They also developed a radio-controlled trigger that could remotely activate self-destruction on demand.

Genetic maps help conservation managers maintain healthy bears

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:37 AM PDT

A comprehensive genetic study of American black bears throughout North America has been completed by scientists. They discovered that black bears in Alaska are more closely related to bears in the eastern regions of the US and Canada than those located in western regions. The study revealed ancient movement patterns of black bears and provide detailed 'genetic maps' that could help conservation management officials maintain healthy bear populations throughout North America.

Bacteria cooperate to repair damaged siblings

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:37 AM PDT

A certain type of soil bacteria can use their social behavior of outer membrane exchange to repair damaged cells and improve the fitness of the bacteria population as a whole, new research demonstrates. This is the first evidence that a bacterium can use cell-content sharing to repair damaged siblings, the authors say.

International study of advanced prostate cancer genome finds potential targets for drug therapy

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:37 AM PDT

First study of the genomic composition of prostate cancer shows many patients have gene mutations that can be targeted with existing or potential drugs. The finding is based on an analysis of tumor samples from 150 men with metastatic prostate cancer that no longer responded to standard hormone-blocking therapy.

Scientists unveil prostate cancer's 'Rosetta Stone'

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:37 AM PDT

Almost 90 percent of men with advanced prostate cancer carry genetic mutations in their tumors that could be targeted by either existing or new cancer drugs, a landmark new study reveals. Scientists now have created a comprehensive map of the genetic mutations within lethal prostate cancers that have spread around the body, in a paper being hailed as the disease's 'Rosetta Stone.'

New biotechnology for high efficiency purification of live human cells

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT

Cell therapies require a purification step that isolates the desired cell types from contaminating cells. Normally cell surface receptors are used as markers to distinguish cell types, but undesired cell types also show these receptors, compromising purification. Evidence suggests microRNA may be a better marker.

Fossil of 425-million-year-old parasite with host discovered in England

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered a new species of fossil in England -- and identified it as an ancient parasitic intruder. The fossil species -- a 'tongue worm', which has a worm-like body and a head and two pairs of limbs -- is actually a parasite whose representatives today live internally in the respiratory system of a host, which it enters when it is eaten.

Memories influence choice of food

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT

The stronger our memory is of a certain food, the more likely we are to choose it -- even if it is the more unattractive option. Psychologists conducted a study on how memory influences our choices by offering various foods and using scans to track brain activity. The researchers were able to show that the influence of memory is mediated by increasing communication between the relevant brain areas.

Researchers discover molecular approach to promote cancer cell death

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT

Lung cancer researchers have discovered a novel strategy to exploit apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, for the treatment of lung cancer. The protein Bcl-2 is a known target for cancer treatment since it allows cancer cells to evade cell death via apoptosis.

Thunder god vine used in traditional Chinese medicine is a potential obesity treatment

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT

An extract from the thunder god vine, which has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine, reduces food intake and causes up to a 45 percent decrease in body weight in obese mice. The weight-loss compound, called Celastrol, produces its potent effects by enhancing the action of an appetite-suppressing hormone called leptin. The findings are an early indicator that Celastrol could be developed into a drug for the treatment of obesity.

Why you need one vaccine for measles and many for the flu

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT

While the influenza virus mutates constantly and requires a yearly shot that offers a certain percentage of protection, old reliable measles needs only a two-dose vaccine during childhood for lifelong immunity. A new study has an explanation: The surface proteins that the measles virus uses to enter cells are ineffective if they suffer any mutation, meaning that any changes to the virus come at a major cost.

Our bond with dogs may go back more than 27,000 years

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:36 AM PDT

Dogs' special relationship to humans may go back 27,000 to 40,000 years, according to genomic analysis of an ancient Taimyr wolf bone. Earlier genome-based estimates have suggested that the ancestors of modern-day dogs diverged from wolves no more than 16,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age.

Most luminous galaxy in universe discovered

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:35 AM PDT

A remote galaxy shining brightly with infrared light equal to more than 300 trillion suns has been discovered using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The galaxy, which belongs to a new class of objects recently discovered by WISE -- nicknamed extremely luminous infrared galaxies, or ELIRGs -- is the most luminous galaxy found to date.

One-of-a-kind star discovered, nicknamed 'Nasty'

Posted: 21 May 2015 10:35 AM PDT

Astronomers have spent decades trying to determine the oddball behavior of an aging star nicknamed "Nasty 1" residing in our Milky Way galaxy. Looking at the star using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers had expected to see a bipolar outflow of twin lobes of gas from the star. The astronomers were surprised, however, to find a pancake-shaped disk of gas encircling the star. The vast disk is nearly 1,000 times the diameter of our solar system.

Compound has potential for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT

A new study outlines a chemical compound with potential for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disorder that affects an estimated 1.3 million people in the world. Characterized by stiff, swollen joints, it's a progressive disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own cells. Inflammation in the lining of the joints leads to loss of bone and cartilage. People who have rheumatoid arthritis lose mobility and joint function without adequate treatment.

Premature aging: Scientists identify, correct defects in diseased cells

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT

Scientists have succeeded in restoring normal activity in cells isolated from patients with the premature aging disease Cockayne syndrome. They have uncovered the role played in these cells by an enzyme, the HTRA3 protease.

Dental researchers find some immune cells change to prolong inflammation

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:10 AM PDT

One of the mysteries of how a small group of immune cells work has been unraveled by researchers: some inflammation-fighting immune cells may actually convert into cells that trigger disease.

Emoticons may signal better customer service ;)

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:10 AM PDT

Online customer service agents who use emoticons and who are fast typists may have a better chance of putting smiles on their customers' faces during business-related text chats, according to researchers.

Fine particulate air pollution linked to risk of childhood autism

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:10 AM PDT

Exposure to fine particulate air pollution during pregnancy through the first two years of the child's life may be associated with an increased risk of a child developing autism spectrum disorder, a condition that affects one in 68 children, according to an investigation of children in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Workplace intervention improves sleep of employees' children

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:10 AM PDT

A workplace intervention designed to reduce employees' work-family conflict and increase schedule flexibility also has a positive influence on the sleep patterns of the employees' children, researchers report.

Snacking on protein can improve appetite control, diet quality in teens

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:10 AM PDT

Although eating high-protein, afternoon snacks can aid appetite control in adults, little information exists to guide parents on what types of snacks might benefit their adolescent children. Now, researchers have found that afternoon snacking, particularly on high-protein-soy foods, reduces afternoon appetite, delays subsequent eating and reduces unhealthy evening snacking in teenagers.

Personalized care during eye visits didn't lower HbA1c levels for diabetics

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:10 AM PDT

Providing personalized education and risk assessment for patients with diabetes when they visit the ophthalmologist did not improve glycemic control as measured by hemoglobin A1c levels compared with patients who received usual care, according to a study.

Pliability, elasticity of skin increase following wrinkle treatment with Botox

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:10 AM PDT

Human skin has three biomechanical features: strength, pliability (the ability to stretch) and elasticity (the ability to recoil). As people age, these properties change and the loss of skin elasticity appears to be the most prominent. Now researchers report that skin pliability and elasticity improved after treatment with onabotulinum toxin (Botox) for mild facial wrinkles, and the effect lasted for up to four months.

Precision nanobatteries by the billions

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:09 AM PDT

Extremely small batteries built inside nanopores show that properly scaled structures can use the full theoretical capacity of the charge storage material. The batteries are part of assessing the basics of ion and electron transport in nanostructures for energy storage.

Advertising: Most people feel alienated when viewing ultra-thin models

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:09 AM PDT

Marketers and advertisers who default to the "thin ideal" -- the belief that thinner is better -- could be alienating up to 70 percent of their audience

Experts map surgical approaches for auditory brainstem implantation

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:09 AM PDT

A technique called auditory brainstem implantation can restore hearing for patients who can't benefit from cochlear implants. A team of experts has mapped out the surgical anatomy and approaches for auditory brainstem implantation.

Imaging technique identifies early metastasis in lymph nodes

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:09 AM PDT

A highly sensitive imaging technique for non-invasive screening of lymph nodes for metastatic cancer has been developed by researchers. The new imaging technique -- so far tested in mice -- offers a rapid tool to noninvasively identify cancer's spread at its earliest stages.

Injury rates from wearing high-heeled shoes have doubled

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:09 AM PDT

New research shows that high-heeled-shoe-related injuries doubled between 2002 and 2012. The frequency and severity of those injuries were sufficient to make the investigators suggest that wearing the appropriate shoes for the appropriate occasion and being aware of one's surroundings are good ideas.

Blood to feeling: Scientists turn adult human blood cells into neurons

Posted: 21 May 2015 09:09 AM PDT

Stem cell scientists can now directly convert adult human blood cells to both central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) neurons as well as neurons in the peripheral nervous system (rest of the body) that are responsible for pain, temperature and itch perception. This means that how a person's nervous system cells react and respond to stimuli, can be determined from his blood.

Symbiosis turns messy in 13-year cicadas

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:49 AM PDT

Bacteria that live in the guts of cicadas have split into many separate but interdependent species in a strange evolutionary phenomenon that leaves them reliant on a bloated genome, a new paper has found.

Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes' quest for fire

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:49 AM PDT

The eastern diamondback rattlesnake has lost 97 percent of its habitat since becoming an American icon on the Revolutionary-era 'Don't Tread on Me' flag. New research demonstrates the critical nature of one element of the diamondback's home range, pine savanna. For conservationists seeking surrogate habitats for the now-rare species' dwindling population, the results underscore the need for prescribed fire management to maintain the open-canopy forest and its ecosystem.

Hiding your true colors may make you feel morally tainted

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:49 AM PDT

The advice, whether from Shakespeare or a modern self-help guru, is common: Be true to yourself. New research suggests that this drive for authenticity -- living in accordance with our sense of self, emotions, and values -- may be so fundamental that we actually feel immoral and impure when we violate our true sense of self. This sense of impurity, in turn, may lead us to engage in cleansing or charitable behaviors as a way of clearing our conscience.

Brain tumors: Millimeter by millimeter towards a better prognosis

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:49 AM PDT

A method known as navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) has been gaining importance in neurosurgery for some time now. Among other applications, it is used to map brain tumors before an operation and to test whether important regions of the brain, for example motor and language areas, are affected. Doctors have now shown that preoperative nTMS analysis of motor areas improves the prognosis of patients with malignant brain tumors.

Field study shows how a GM crop can have diminishing success at fighting off insect pest

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:49 AM PDT

A new study finds the toxin in a widely used genetically modified (GM) crop is having little impact on the crop pest corn earworm -- which is consistent with predictions made almost 20 years ago that were largely ignored. The study may be a signal to pay closer attention to warning signs about the development of resistance in agricultural pests to GM crops.

Odds are that chronic gamblers are often also depressed

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:48 AM PDT

If a young man is a chronic gambler, the chances are extremely high that he also suffers from depression, finds a study that is is the first to investigate the extent to which gambling and depression develop hand-in-hand from the teenage years to early adulthood.

Shape-shifting plastic developed

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:47 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a process to make a thermoset that can be reshaped and reused. The new plastic is a shape-memory polymer, so named because the material can "remember" its original shape and return to it after being deformed with heat or other forces.

Twin boundaries in lithium-ion batteries: Turn that defect upside down

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:47 AM PDT

Most people see defects as flaws. A few researchers, however, see them as opportunities. Twin boundary defects may present an opportunity to improve lithium-ion batteries.

Safe long-term storage of large amounts of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers?

Posted: 21 May 2015 07:46 AM PDT

Emplacement of carbon dioxide at the Bravo Dome gas field in New Mexico began more than 900,000 years earlier than previously estimated, according to scientists. The study documents the first field evidence for the safe long-term storage of large amounts of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers.

ليست هناك تعليقات:

إرسال تعليق