السبت، 11 يوليو 2015

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Factors affecting prescription pain reliever misuse identified

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 09:37 AM PDT

People who misuse prescription pain relievers all have one thing in common, researchers have discovered: a history of recent illicit drug use. Researchers also determined that adults aged 50 and above were more likely to acquire pain relievers through more than one doctor, whereas younger individuals were more likely to acquire them from friends, relatives or drug dealers.

Study finds variation in rates of secondary cleft lip, palate surgery

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 09:37 AM PDT

For children with cleft lip and palate, the chances of undergoing secondary surgery vary depending on the center where they're treated, reports a new study.

Regular exposure to death, trauma causes death anxiety in emergency nurses

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 09:36 AM PDT

Emergency nurses are highly susceptible to death anxiety and employers must recognize this and put support in place to improve the health of their staff and patient care, states a new article.

Can you actually hear 'inaudible' sound?

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 09:35 AM PDT

Are wind farms harmful to humans? This controversial topic makes emotions run high. To give the debate more objectivity, an international team of experts dealt with the fundamentals of hearing in the lower limit range of the audible frequency range (i.e., infrasound), but also in the upper limit range (i.e., ultrasound).

To avoid dangerous shark encounters, information trumps culling

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 08:04 AM PDT

The risk of white shark attack for individual ocean users in California has fallen strikingly, by over 91 percent, since 1950, California scientists have found. Information that empowers ocean users to avoid the large predators is far more effective for public safety than culling sharks.

Findings identify receptors modulating macrophage responses to spinal cord injury

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 08:04 AM PDT

A new studysheds light on opportunities to modulate macrophage responses after spinal cord injury, potentially reducing -- or even reversing -- damage and the resulting side effects.

Cutting cost, power consumption for big data

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 08:04 AM PDT

A new system for several common big-data applications should make servers using flash memory as efficient as those using conventional RAM, while preserving their power and cost savings.

Using garlic to combat antimicrobial resistant urinary tract infections

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 07:13 AM PDT

Garlic extract may be an effective weapon against multi-drug resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria associated with urinary tract infections (UTI), according to a recent study.

Obesity drug has no effect on baby birthweights, study finds

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:52 AM PDT

Treating obese pregnant women with a diabetes drug does not stop their babies from being born overweight, a study has found. Doctors had hoped that the treatment would help to reduce obesity rates and lower the number of difficult births.

Cell structure discovery advances understanding of cancer development

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:52 AM PDT

A cell structure has been discovered that could help scientists understand why some cancers develop. For the first time, a structure called 'the mesh' has been identified which helps to hold together cells. This discovery changes our understanding of the cell's internal scaffolding.

New research allows doctors to image dangerous 'hardening' of the arteries

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:52 AM PDT

A radioactive agent developed in the 1960s to detect bone cancer can be re-purposed to highlight the build-up of unstable calcium deposits in arteries, a process that can cause heart attack and stroke. The technique could help in the diagnosis of these conditions in at-risk patients and in the development of new medicines.

Role of microbiota in preventing allergies

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:52 AM PDT

The microbiota is involved in many mechanisms, including digestion, vitamin synthesis and host defense. It is well established that a loss of bacterial symbionts promotes the development of allergies. Scientists have succeeded in explaining this phenomenon, and demonstrate how the microbiota acts on the balance of the immune system: the presence of microbes specifically blocks the immune cells responsible for triggering allergies.

Improved sperm diagnostic test may pinpoint best fertility treatment for couples

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:32 AM PDT

The first diagnostic test for sperm RNA based on next-generation sequencing has been developed by scientists. For couples with unexplained infertility, the test may help determine the best infertility treatment for couples having difficulty conceiving.

Smart stuff: IQ of Northwest power grid raised, energy saved

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:32 AM PDT

Smart grid technologies and approaches can improve energy efficiency and possibly reduce power costs, according to the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project's final report.

Men may feel more threatened by female bosses, research finds

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:32 AM PDT

Men are more threatened by female supervisors and become more assertive in advocating for themselves in negotiation exercises, new social psychology research has found. Self-assertive behavior by men toward female bosses can disrupt the workplace dynamics, stifle team cohesiveness and negatively affect team performance, researchers say.

Ancestral diets determine vulnerability to type 2 diabetes

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 06:03 AM PDT

The middle classes from developing countries are more susceptible than western Caucasians to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in today's changing environment. New research reveals this may be a result of the nutrition endured by their ancestors.

New guideline puts emphasis on patient care in treating hypoparathyroidism

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:15 AM PDT

Patients with low levels of calcium and parathyroid hormone in their blood should be investigated for chronic hypoparathyroidism to optimize their treatment, according to a new guideline.

Blood stem cells in a rush: Velocity determines quality

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:15 AM PDT

Acceleration of the G1 phase transit during cell division makes human blood stem cells more powerful

Flies that pollinized Cretaceous plants 105 million years ago

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:15 AM PDT

When we think about pollination, the image that comes first to our mind is a bee or a butterfly covered by pollen. However, in the Cretaceous —about 105 million years ago— bees and butterflies did not exist, and most terrestrial ecosystems were dominated by non-flowering plants (gymnosperms).

Mobile connectivity indoors has just got better

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:15 AM PDT

Researchers have invented the simplest solution available today to swiftly build a mobile wireless positioning system in a new indoor environment. Unlike other systems, it requires neither manual and costly offline pre-calibration nor any special hardware.

So what exactly is in the air that we breathe?

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:12 AM PDT

We can't see them, but the air that we breathe contains a wealth of biological particles which could damage our health. Scientists have embarked on a three-year project to find new ways of analyzing air samples more quickly and accurately than ever before. The methods developed from the research will offer guidance for addressing public health or major infection outbreaks.

New understanding of genetic susceptibility to infections by Candida, Mycobacterium

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:12 AM PDT

The discovery of bi-allelic mutations in RORC in patients with candidiasis and mycobacteriosis revealed the pivotal role of RORC in mucocutaneous immunity to Candida and in systemic immunity to Mycobacterium in humans.

Norway could be Europe's 'green battery'

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:12 AM PDT

Norwegian hydropower could make Norway the "green battery" of Europe -- not by building new power plants, but by further developing the hydropower installations that were built out beginning at the turn of the last century.

Rhythm of cells: Daily changes in human cells

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:12 AM PDT

Life is subject to natural rhythms, such as the light and dark cycle or seasonal variation in temperature. A recent study shows that the composition of human cell membranes varies depending on the time of day. These cyclical changes in cell membranes could have a significant impact on health and disease, scientists say.

Cell machinery wears complex coat

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:12 AM PDT

Detailed images have been produced of the intricate protein-coats that surround trafficking vesicles -  the "transport pods" that move material around within biological cells. The study provides a new understanding of the complex machines that make up the cells' logistics network.

License for cutting: How intracellular signaling regulates growth factor production

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:12 AM PDT

Cancer cells need life-essential molecules to proliferate. These so-called growth factors are activated by ectodomain shedding of precursor proteins on the outside of the plasma membrane, mainly carried out by three human cleavage enzymes. A pharmaceutical blocking of these enzymes could hinder cancer from growing but would also inhibit other life-essential processes. Now, researchers have shown that the factor-precursor-producing cells themselves determine if and when cleavage may occur. This is decided by intracellular signaling. Interfering with defined signaling in cells producing cancer growth factors could be developed into a new way of cancer treatment.

Diet and exercise does not prevent gestational diabetes in obese women

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

A diet and exercise regime for high-risk obese pregnant women, whilst effective in promoting a healthy lifestyle, does not prevent gestational diabetes, finds a new study. The research suggests that programs promoting healthy behaviors are unlikely to be effective in preventing diabetes in obese women; instead, resources should be directed towards better screening and treatment, including the use of a more stringent threshold for diagnosis.

Strong family bonds reduce anxiety in young people with lived experience of domestic violence

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

Strong relationships with other family members can help raise self-esteem and reduce anxiety for some young people who grow up in homes affected by parental domestic violence.

'Jumping genes' may drive esophageal cancer

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

'Jumping genes' may add to the genetic chaos behind more than three-quarters of esophageal cancer cases, scientists have discovered. 'Jumping genes', called L1 elements, can uproot themselves and move to new areas in the DNA, sometimes accidentally moving into genes that control the cell's growth.

Risk of COPD may already occur in adolescence

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of most common causes of death in the world today -- active smoking accounting for approximately 85 percent of all cases. Yet ground-breaking research indicates that accelerated decline of lung function is not a prerequisite for COPD.

Graphene-based film can be used for efficient cooling of electronics

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a method for efficiently cooling electronics using graphene-based film. The film has a thermal conductivity capacity that is four times that of copper. Moreover, the graphene film is attachable to electronic components made of silicon, which favors the film's performance compared to typical graphene characteristics shown in previous, similar experiments.

No need to treat stable meniscus tears during ACL surgery, new research shows

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

While athletes undergoing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery often have an additional meniscus injury, treating these tears at the same time may not be necessary. Research shows positive results for meniscal tears that were deemed stable and left alone at the time of ACL reconstruction.

Treatment of shoulder instability helps return collegiate athletes to playing field

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

Athletes who suffer a shoulder instability injury may return to play more successfully after being treated arthroscopically compared to nonoperative treatment, say researchers.

Surgery may be best treatment option for multidirectional shoulder dislocations

Posted: 10 Jul 2015 05:03 AM PDT

While multidirectional instability of the shoulder has been traditionally treated without surgery, research shows that surgery is also effective for this type of dislocation.

Electrocardiogram screening may help predict kidney disease patients' risk of dying from heart disease

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 03:03 PM PDT

Certain electrocardiogram measures helped investigators identify a subgroup of individuals with chronic kidney disease who had substantially elevated risks of dying from heart disease, a new article reports.

A new wrinkle: Geometry of brain's outer surface correlates with genetic heritage

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 03:02 PM PDT

The three-dimensional shape of the cerebral cortex -- the wrinkled outer layer of the brain controlling many functions of thinking and sensation -- strongly correlates with ancestral background, researchers have found. The study opens the door to more precise studies of brain anatomy going forward and could eventually lead to more personalized medicine approaches for diagnosing and treating brain diseases.

Black hole bull's-eye revealed

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 03:02 PM PDT

What looks like a shooting target is actually an image of nested rings of X-ray light centered on an erupting black hole. On June 15, NASA's Swift satellite detected the start of a new outburst from V404 Cygni, where a black hole and a sun-like star orbit each other. Since then, astronomers around the world have been monitoring the ongoing light show.

Nutrition researchers develop healthy beverage index

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 03:02 PM PDT

Researchers have developed a new scoring method for assessing beverage intake, the Healthy Beverage Index (HBI). In a report, they describe how this tool can be used to more accurately evaluate dietary consumption of all types of fluids. They found that higher HBI scores were associated with more favorable lipid profiles, decreased risk of hypertension; and, among men, better C-reactive protein levels.

Critical genes responsible for brain tumor growth identified

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 01:24 PM PDT

After generating new brain tumor models, scientists have identified the role of a family of genes underlying tumor growth in a wide spectrum of high grade brain tumors.

Modeling a nervous pathway involved in touch-induced behavior

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:52 AM PDT

Many animals actively touch objects in their environment and respond to them by appropriate movement sequences. Biologists have captured the key properties of a wide variety of descending neurons that are part of an 'active touch system.'

Towards an HIV vaccine

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:48 AM PDT

Neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) are immune proteins that recognize, bind to, and trigger the elimination of virus before it can establish a chronic infection. How to elicit a potent Nab response capable of protecting against different HIV subtypes and against different modes of infection is critical to the development of an AIDS vaccine. Two new studies provide results on Nabs that could help guide vaccine design.

Early HIV treatment improves survival in some patients with newly diagnosed TB

Posted: 09 Jul 2015 11:12 AM PDT

Starting anti-HIV treatment within two weeks of the diagnosis of tuberculosis, or TB, improved survival among patients with both infections who had very low immune-cell counts, according to an analysis. Those with strong immune systems, however, might benefit from waiting until after the end of the six-month TB treatment before initiating anti-HIV therapy, they found.

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