ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• You can wash away your troubles, with soap
• Long-lost Lake Agassiz offers clues to climate change
• Online housing discrimination primarily done by roommate-seekers, familial status, study finds
• Athletes' winning streaks may not be all in our -- or their -- heads
• Biologists find 'surprising' number of unknown viruses in sewage
• Women exposed to synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) in the womb face increased cancer risk, study finds
• Survival increases in early stage breast cancer after treatment with herceptin and chemo, study finds
• Progression of lung fibrosis blocked in mouse model
• 'Escaped' genetically engineered canola growing outside of established cultivation regions across North Dakota
• Colossal aggregations of giant alien freshwater fish as a potential biogeochemical hotspot
• New regimen frees kidney-transplant patients from dependency on immunosuppresant drugs
• Scientists determine alternative insecticide dramatically reduces malaria transmission
• US not taking basic step to prevent toxoplasmosis in newborns, researcher contends
• How soil carbon responds to climate change: Scientists work to improve predictions
• Illusory memories can have salutary effects
• Invasive melanoma may be more likely in children than adults
• Can peer mentors help teens lose weight? New strategies for combatting teen obesity
• Baby formula: Inflammatory food toxins found in high levels in infants
• We are what we experience
• Longer trips to the ER, especially for minorities and poor
• Health care disparities facing people in US with disabilities
• Nursing home flu shots fall short, especially for blacks
• Think you’re in poor health? It could increase your odds of dementia
• Space observatory provides clues to creation of Earth's oceans
• NASA's Mars Science Laboratory meets its match in Florida
• Ancient road found at Maya village buried by volcanic ash 1,400 years ago
• Research sheds light on origins of greatness
• Novel math formula can predict success of certain cancer therapies
• New mouse model recreates common form of autism
• New research shows PET imaging effective in predicting lung cancer outcomes
• More aggressive treatment not necessary for men with a family history of prostate cancer, study suggests
• The metabolism of maize obeys parasitic proteins
• Collectivism and bribery: The more collective feeling in a society, the more its members are likely to offer bribes
• Social and economic cost of hunger and food insecurity in US in 2010 was $167.5 billion
• Engineers: Non-compete agreements have high cost for employees
• Rethinking connection between soil as a carbon reservoir and global warming
• Laser light used to cool object to quantum ground state
• First comet found with ocean-like water
• Immune mechanism blocks inflammation generated by oxidative stress
• Lack of compensation for human egg donors could stall recent breakthroughs in stem cell research
• Monkeys 'move and feel' virtual objects using only their brains
• Antisense therapy delivers long-term correction of severe spinal muscular atrophy in mice
• One room -- 63 different dust particles? Researchers aim to build dust library
• How chronic stress short-circuits parenting
• Researchers improve accuracy of IMRT delivery in post-prostatectomy patients
• Here, there, everywhere: Reward and penalty processing is widespread in the human brain
• Seeds of destruction in Parkinson's disease: Spread of diseased proteins kills neurons
• Last universal common ancestor more complex than previously thought
• Women with PCOS have family heart disease link, study suggests
• Blood tests may hold clues to pace of Alzheimer's disease progression
• Survey reveals reasons doctors avoid online error-reporting tools
• Practical play: Interactive video games appear valuable for ICU patients
• Global photosynthesis: New insight will help predict future climate change
• Looking for job on Internet reduces unemployment time, study finds; Better job boards, technology benefit job seekers
• New tool helps identify prostate cancer patients with highest risk of death
• Fox Chase Gleason scores better predict prostate cancer's recurrence after radiation, study finds
• Treatment with oxygenating system associated with lower risk of death for H1N1 patients with respiratory failure
• Dietary supplements for patients after lung injury do not appear to improve outcomes; may be harmful, study suggests
• Earlier tracheostomies result in better patient outcomes
• Triple rainbows exist, photo evidence shows

You can wash away your troubles, with soap Posted: 05 Oct 2011 03:05 PM PDT "Wash away my troubles, wash away my pain," goes the song. Is there such a thing as soap and water for the psyche? Yes: Metaphor is that powerful, say authors of a new review.

Long-lost Lake Agassiz offers clues to climate change Posted: 05 Oct 2011 03:05 PM PDT What caused water levels to drop in immense yet long-vanished Lake Agassiz? New research suggests that conditions 12,000 years ago encouraged evaporation. Not long ago, geologically speaking, a now-vanished lake covered a huge expanse of today's Canadian prairie. Although Lake Agassiz is gone, questions about its origin and disappearance remain. Answers to those questions may provide clues to our future climate.

Online housing discrimination primarily done by roommate-seekers, familial status, study finds Posted: 05 Oct 2011 03:05 PM PDT New research has found that discriminatory online housing ads are almost always posted by people seeking roommates, and are primarily based on familial status.

Athletes' winning streaks may not be all in our -- or their -- heads Posted: 05 Oct 2011 03:05 PM PDT When an athlete consistently does well, sports commentators may describe them as being "hot" or "on fire." Scientists have debunked these streaks as being in the eye of the beholder, but a new study supports the "hot hand" phenomenon: that a streak of positive outcomes is likely to continue.

Biologists find 'surprising' number of unknown viruses in sewage Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT Though viruses are the most abundant life form on Earth, our knowledge of the viral universe is limited to a tiny fraction of the viruses that likely exist. In a new paper, researchers found that raw sewage is home to thousands of novel, undiscovered viruses, some of which could relate to human health.

Women exposed to synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) in the womb face increased cancer risk, study finds Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT A study of daughters of women given diethylstilbestrol, synthetic estrogen, during pregnancy has found that exposure to the drug while in the womb is associated with many reproductive problems and an increased risk of certain cancers. Beginning in 1940, DES was used to prevent certain pregnancy complications, but was later found to be ineffective in the 1950s. In the 1960s, a rare cancer of the vagina in young women was linked to DES exposure.

Survival increases in early stage breast cancer after treatment with herceptin and chemo, study finds Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT Treating women with early stage breast cancer with a combination of chemotherapy and the molecularly targeted drug Herceptin significantly increases survival in patients with a specific genetic mutation that results in very aggressive disease, a new study finds.

Progression of lung fibrosis blocked in mouse model Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT A new study may lead to a way to prevent the progression, or induce the regression, of lung injury that results from use of the anti-cancer chemotherapy drug bleomycin. Pulmonary fibrosis caused by this drug, as well as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis from unknown causes, affect nearly five million people worldwide. No therapy is known to improve the health or survival of patients.

'Escaped' genetically engineered canola growing outside of established cultivation regions across North Dakota Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT A new study reports that genetically engineered canola endowed with herbicide resistance have been found growing outside of established cultivation regions along roadsides across North Dakota.

Colossal aggregations of giant alien freshwater fish as a potential biogeochemical hotspot Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT Many different types of animals come together to form vast groups -- insect swarms, mammal herds, or bird flocks, for example. Researchers in France added another example to the list: the huge Wels catfish, the world's third largest and Europe's largest freshwater fish.

New regimen frees kidney-transplant patients from dependency on immunosuppresant drugs Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel protocol that allows kidney-transplant recipients to jettison their indispensable immune-suppressing drugs. The protocol could also spell substantial savings to the health-care system.

Scientists determine alternative insecticide dramatically reduces malaria transmission Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT Indoor spraying with the insecticide bendiocarb has dramatically decreased malaria transmission in many parts of Benin, new evidence that insecticides remain a potent weapon for fighting malaria in Africa despite the rapid rise of resistance to an entire class of mosquito-killing compounds, according to a new study.

US not taking basic step to prevent toxoplasmosis in newborns, researcher contends Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT North American babies who acquire toxoplasmosis infections in the womb show much higher rates of brain and eye damage than European infants with the same infection, according to new research.

How soil carbon responds to climate change: Scientists work to improve predictions Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:21 PM PDT Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and living plants. But scientists don't know why some organic compounds persist for centuries or even thousands of years in soils, while others quickly decompose. This longstanding mystery is addressed in a review by an international team of scientists.

Illusory memories can have salutary effects Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT "False memories tend to get a bad rap," says developmental psychologist Mark L. Howe in a new article. Indeed, remembering events incorrectly or remembering events that didn't happen can have grave consequences, such as the criminal conviction of an innocent person. "But false memories are a natural outcropping of memory in general. They must have some positive effect, too."

Invasive melanoma may be more likely in children than adults Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT A new study of young people with melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, has found that some children have a higher risk of invasive disease than adults.

Can peer mentors help teens lose weight? New strategies for combatting teen obesity Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT Obesity among adolescents has more than tripled over the past 40 years, and recent estimates find that over 18 percent of teens in the US are obese. Education and mentoring targeting obesity and delivered in high schools by peers has been shown to have a significant impact on teen diet and physical activity, according to a new study.

Baby formula: Inflammatory food toxins found in high levels in infants Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT Researchers have found high levels of food toxins called Advanced Glycation End products in infants. Excessive food AGEs, through both maternal blood transmission and baby formula, could together significantly increase childrens' risk for diseases such as diabetes from a very young age.

We are what we experience Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT Our life experiences -- the ups and downs, and everything in between -- shape us, stay with us and influence our emotional set point as adults, according to a new study.

Longer trips to the ER, especially for minorities and poor Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT Closures of hospital trauma centers are disproportionately affecting poor, uninsured and African-American populations, and nearly a fourth of Americans are now forced to travel farther than they once did.

Health care disparities facing people in US with disabilities Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT Two decades after the Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect, people with disabilities continue to face difficulties meeting major social needs, including obtaining appropriate access to health care facilities and services. Researchers have now analyzed available information on disparities affecting people with disabilities and highlights barriers that continue to restrict their access to health services.

Nursing home flu shots fall short, especially for blacks Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT Black nursing home residents are less likely than their white counterparts to receive flu shots, even within the same nursing home, a new analysis finds. Overall, vaccinations have yet to reach the 90 percent level sought by Medicare and Medicaid. In most cases patients go unvaccinated because they refuse the shots, suggesting that for some patients, homes may have to improve how they communicate the benefits of the flu vaccine.

Think you’re in poor health? It could increase your odds of dementia Posted: 05 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT People who rate their health as poor or fair appear to be significantly more likely to develop dementia later in life, according to a new study.

Space observatory provides clues to creation of Earth's oceans Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:55 AM PDT Astronomers have found a new cosmic source for the same kind of water that appeared on Earth billions of years ago and created the oceans. The findings may help explain how Earth's surface ended up covered in water.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory meets its match in Florida Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:54 AM PDT In preparation for launch later this year, the "back shell powered descent vehicle" configuration containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has been placed on the spacecraft's heat shield.

Ancient road found at Maya village buried by volcanic ash 1,400 years ago Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT A research team excavating a Maya village in El Salvador buried by a volcanic eruption 1,400 years ago has unexpectedly hit an ancient white road that appears to lead to and from the town, which was frozen in time by a blanket of ash.

Research sheds light on origins of greatness Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT In a provocative new paper, an expert suggests working memory capacity -- which is closely related to general intelligence -- may sometimes be the deciding factor between being good and being great.

Novel math formula can predict success of certain cancer therapies Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT Carefully tracking the rate of response of human lung tumors during the first weeks of treatment can predict which cancers will undergo sustained regression, suggests a new study.

New mouse model recreates common form of autism Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT Scientists have created a genetically engineered mouse with increased dosages of the Ube3 gene. And, like the patients who also harbor increased dosages of this single gene, the genetically engineered mice exhibit robust examples of all three traits considered hallmarks of autism: reduced social interaction, impaired communication and excessive repetitive behaviors.

New research shows PET imaging effective in predicting lung cancer outcomes Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:25 AM PDT Advanced imaging with Positron Emission Tomography scans shows great promise in predicting which patients with inoperable lung cancer have more aggressive tumors and need additional treatment following standard chemotherapy/radiation therapy, according to new research.

More aggressive treatment not necessary for men with a family history of prostate cancer, study suggests Posted: 05 Oct 2011 11:24 AM PDT There are three major factors that are used to evaluate the extent and aggressiveness of prostate cancer, help make treatment decisions, and estimate prognosis: the prostate specific antigen level, Gleason score from the biopsy, and the digital rectal exam findings. However, men with a family history of prostate cancer have often been feared to have a more aggressive form of the disease not otherwise represented by these three factors and therefore are sometimes urged to undergo more aggressive treatment. Now, a radiation oncologist reports that men with a family history of prostate cancer should expect equally good outcomes following radiotherapy for prostate cancer as patients without a family history.

The metabolism of maize obeys parasitic proteins Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:42 AM PDT When plants are infested with parasites a sort of arms race is triggered. The plant tries to produce defense molecules as fast as possible to kill the intruder or at least keep it in check. At the same time the parasitic organisms are trying to overcome the plants defense responses or to turn them off altogether. An important parasitic fungus is Ustilago maydis. About 150 proteins are secreted by the fungus and are responsible for its nutrition. One of those proteins is able to redirect the plant's metabolism in a way that it produces less salicylic acid, which is required for the production of defense molecules.

Collectivism and bribery: The more collective feeling in a society, the more its members are likely to offer bribes Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:17 AM PDT Why are some places more prone to bribery and corruption than others? Part of the answer seems to be the level of collective feeling in a society, according to new research.

Social and economic cost of hunger and food insecurity in US in 2010 was $167.5 billion Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:17 AM PDT A new study finds the social and economic cost of hunger and food insecurity in the United States in 2010 hit $167.5 billion in addition to federal expenditures to address hunger.

Engineers: Non-compete agreements have high cost for employees Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:17 AM PDT A new study of more than 1,000 engineers shows that non-compete agreements come with a high cost for employees: When those workers do shift jobs, roughly one-third of them end up leaving their chosen industry altogether, often at significant financial cost to themselves.

Rethinking connection between soil as a carbon reservoir and global warming Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT The soil plays a key role in the ecosystem, economy and global carbon cycle. After the oceans, the humus is the largest carbon reservoir. If humus decreases, additional CO2 gets into the atmosphere. Researchers have now discovered that the soil environment determines humus depletion, which means the question as to how soils respond to global climate change needs to be readdressed.

Laser light used to cool object to quantum ground state Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT For the first time, researchers have managed to cool a miniature mechanical object to its lowest possible energy state using laser light. The achievement paves the way for the development of exquisitely sensitive detectors as well as for quantum experiments that scientists have long dreamed of conducting.

First comet found with ocean-like water Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT New evidence supports the theory that comets delivered a significant portion of Earth's oceans, which scientists believe formed about eight million years after the planet itself.

Immune mechanism blocks inflammation generated by oxidative stress Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT Researchers have identified a key protein that binds to a molecule generated by oxidative stress, blocking any subsequent inflammatory immune response. The scientists say their findings reveal important insights into how the innate immune system responds to oxidative stress and might be exploited to prevent and treat AMD and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

Lack of compensation for human egg donors could stall recent breakthroughs in stem cell research Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT In the October 7th issue of Cell Stem Cell, researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Department of Bioethics at Case Western Reserve University argue that this lack of compensation could prove to be yet another hurdle for human stem cell research in the United States.

Monkeys 'move and feel' virtual objects using only their brains Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT In a first ever demonstration of a two-way interaction between a primate brain and a virtual body, two trained monkeys learned to employ brain activity alone to move an avatar hand and identify the texture of virtual objects.

Antisense therapy delivers long-term correction of severe spinal muscular atrophy in mice Posted: 05 Oct 2011 10:16 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that the devastating neuromuscular disease, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), might not exclusively affect the motor neurons in the spinal cord as has long been thought. Their study suggests that defects in peripheral tissues such as liver, heart, etc., might also contribute to SMA pathology in severely affected patients. The new findings also pave the way for a potential SMA drug to enter human trials by the end of the year.

One room -- 63 different dust particles? Researchers aim to build dust library Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:22 AM PDT Researchers recently isolated 63 unique dust particles from their laboratory -- and that's just the beginning. The chemists were testing a new kind of sensor when dust got stuck inside it, and they discovered that they could measure the composition of single dust particles.

How chronic stress short-circuits parenting Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:22 AM PDT Parents under long-term stress often find it challenging to tap into the patience, responsiveness, and energy required for effective child rearing. Now research helps to explain why chronic stress and parenting are such a toxic mix. The study finds that ongoing strains, like poverty or depression, disrupt the body's natural stress response, making mothers more likely to engage in a host of problematic parenting behaviors.

Researchers improve accuracy of IMRT delivery in post-prostatectomy patients Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:22 AM PDT Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States, as well as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in this population. Many of these patients undergo surgical removal of their prostate, followed by radiation therapy applied to their prostate bed -- the space where the prostate was once situated.

Here, there, everywhere: Reward and penalty processing is widespread in the human brain Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:22 AM PDT Our behavior is often guided by the desire to obtain positive outcomes and avoid negative consequences, and neuroscientists have put a great deal of effort into looking for reward and punishment "centers" in the brain. Now, new research reveals that neural signals related to reinforcement and punishment are far more broadly distributed throughout the entire human brain than was previously thought.

Seeds of destruction in Parkinson's disease: Spread of diseased proteins kills neurons Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:22 AM PDT New research suggests that small "seed" amounts of diseased brain proteins can be taken up by healthy neurons and propagated within them to cause neurodegeneration. The research sheds light on the mechanisms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and provides a model for discovering early intervention therapeutics that can prevent or slow the devastating loss of neurons that underlies PD.

Last universal common ancestor more complex than previously thought Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:21 AM PDT Scientists call it LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, but they don't know much about this great-grandparent of all living things. Many believe LUCA was little more than a crude assemblage of molecular parts, a chemical soup out of which evolution gradually constructed more complex forms. Some scientists still debate whether it was even a cell. New evidence suggests that LUCA was a sophisticated organism after all, with a complex structure recognizable as a cell, researchers report.

Women with PCOS have family heart disease link, study suggests Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:18 AM PDT A new study shows the parents of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have some form of cardiovascular disease.

Blood tests may hold clues to pace of Alzheimer's disease progression Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:18 AM PDT Researchers say they may have found a way to predict how quickly patients with Alzheimer's disease will lose cognitive function by looking at ratios of two fatty compounds in their blood. The finding, they say, could provide useful information to families and caregivers, and might also suggest treatment targets for this heartbreaking and incurable neurodegenerative disorder.

Survey reveals reasons doctors avoid online error-reporting tools Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:18 AM PDT "Too busy," and "too complicated." These are the typical excuses one might expect when medical professionals are asked why they fail to use online error-reporting systems designed to improve patient safety and the quality of care. But, researchers found instead that the most common reason among radiation oncologists was fear of getting into trouble and embarrassment.

Practical play: Interactive video games appear valuable for ICU patients Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:18 AM PDT Interactive video games, already known to improve motor function in recovering stroke patients, appear to safely enhance physical therapy for patients in intensive care units, new research suggests.

Global photosynthesis: New insight will help predict future climate change Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:18 AM PDT A new insight into global photosynthesis, the chemical process governing how ocean and land plants absorb and release carbon dioxide, has been revealed in research that will assist scientists to more accurately assess future climate change.

Looking for job on Internet reduces unemployment time, study finds; Better job boards, technology benefit job seekers Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:14 AM PDT A new study shows that using the Internet to look for a job reduces the time spent unemployed by an average of 25 percent.

New tool helps identify prostate cancer patients with highest risk of death Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:14 AM PDT After a prostate cancer patient receives radiation treatment, his doctor carefully monitors the amount of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, in his blood. An increase in PSA, called biochemical failure, is the first detectable sign of the cancer's return to the prostate. A researcher have found that the time between the last radiation treatment and biochemical failure can accurately predict a patient's risk of death of prostate cancer.

Fox Chase Gleason scores better predict prostate cancer's recurrence after radiation, study finds Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:14 AM PDT In a new study, researchers have found that Gleason scores determined by pathologists at Fox Chase Cancer Center more accurately predict the risk of recurrence than Gleason scores from referring institutions.

Treatment with oxygenating system associated with lower risk of death for H1N1 patients with respiratory failure Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:14 AM PDT Patients with severe 2009 H1N1 influenza who developed respiratory failure and were treated with a system that adds oxygen to the patient's blood had a lower rate of in-hospital death than similar patients who did not receive this treatment, according to a new study.

Dietary supplements for patients after lung injury do not appear to improve outcomes; may be harmful, study suggests Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:13 AM PDT In contrast to findings of previous studies, patients who experienced an acute lung injury, such as from pneumonia or sepsis, and received dietary supplements including omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants had more days on a ventilator, more days in the intensive care unit, and a non-statistically significant increase in the rate of death, according to a new study.

Earlier tracheostomies result in better patient outcomes Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:13 AM PDT A tracheostomy performed within the first seven days after a severe head injury results in better overall patient outcome, according to new research. This is especially true for patients who have a greater chance of surviving when admitted to the hospital.

Triple rainbows exist, photo evidence shows Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:10 AM PDT Single rainbows are inspiring, double rainbows are rare, but tertiary rainbows have been elusive until a meteorologist provided guidelines that showed how to find them. Few people have ever claimed to see three rainbows arcing through the sky at once. In fact, scientific reports of these tertiary rainbows were so rare that until now many scientists believed sightings were as fanciful as Leprechaun's gold at a rainbow's end. These legendary optical rarities have finally been confirmed, thanks to photographic perseverance and a new meteorological model.

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