ScienceDaily: Top News

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• You can wash away your troubles, with soap
• Long-lost Lake Agassiz offers clues to climate change
• 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
• 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
• Baby formula: Inflammatory food toxins found in high levels in infants
• Think you’re in poor health? It could increase your odds of dementia
• 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
• 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
• Monkeys 'move and feel' virtual objects using only their brains
• Antisense therapy delivers long-term correction of severe spinal muscular atrophy in mice
• 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
• Blood tests may hold clues to pace of Alzheimer's disease progression
• Practical play: Interactive video games appear valuable for ICU patients
• Global photosynthesis: New insight will help predict future climate change
• New tool helps identify prostate cancer patients with highest risk of death
• 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
• Key pathway in the nitrogen cycle uncovered: Bacteria forge nitrogen from nitric oxide
• A new species of fossil silky lacewing insects that lived more than 120 million years ago
• New technique offers enhanced security for sensitive data in cloud computing
• Hundreds of undiscovered artifacts found at Gallipoli battlefield
• Biological fingerprints improve diagnosis of dementia
• Aquatic fish jump into picture of evolutionary land invasion
• Most ancient supernovas discovered
• 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: 'Quasicrystals' once thought impossible have changed understanding of solid matter
• Across the Atlantic on flotsam: New fossil findings shed light on the origins of the mysterious bird Hoatzin

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Key pathway in the nitrogen cycle uncovered: Bacteria forge nitrogen from nitric oxide Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:09 AM PDT The molecular mechanism of anaerobic ammonium oxidation has been unraveled. The anaerobic oxidation of ammonia (anammox) is an important pathway in the nitrogen cycle that was only discovered in the 1980s. Currently, scientists estimate that about 50 percent of the nitrogen in the atmosphere is forged by this process. A group of specialized bacteria perform the anammox reaction, but so far scientists have been in the dark about how these bacteria could convert ammonia to nitrogen in the complete absence of oxygen. Now, 25 years after its discovery, they finally solved the molecular mechanism of anammox.

A new species of fossil silky lacewing insects that lived more than 120 million years ago Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:09 AM PDT A team of researchers has discovered a remarkable silky lacewing insect from the Mesozoic of China.

New technique offers enhanced security for sensitive data in cloud computing Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:09 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new, experimental technique to better protect sensitive information in cloud computing -- without significantly affecting the system's overall performance.

Hundreds of undiscovered artifacts found at Gallipoli battlefield Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:07 AM PDT More than 100 artifacts from the First World War have been uncovered in an archaeological fieldwork survey on the Gallipoli battlefield, leading to some interesting theories about life on the frontline.

Biological fingerprints improve diagnosis of dementia Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:04 AM PDT Differentiating between the various forms of dementia is crucial for initiating appropriate treatment. Researchers have discovered that the underlying diseases leave different "fingerprints" in the cerebrospinal fluid, paving the way for more reliable diagnoses.

Aquatic fish jump into picture of evolutionary land invasion Posted: 05 Oct 2011 08:02 AM PDT Research sometimes means looking for one thing and finding another. Such was the case when biology professor Alice Gibb and her research team at Northern Arizona University witnessed a small amphibious fish, the mangrove rivulus, jump with apparent skill and purpose out of a small net and back into the water. This was no random flop, like you might see from a trout that's just been landed. The rivulus seemed to know what it was doing.

Most ancient supernovas discovered Posted: 05 Oct 2011 06:04 AM PDT Astronomers have just discovered 12 of the most distant and ancient supernovas ever seen, 10 of them in a part of the sky called the Subaru Deep Field.

2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: 'Quasicrystals' once thought impossible have changed understanding of solid matter Posted: 05 Oct 2011 05:02 AM PDT The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is awarding the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2011 to Daniel Shechtman for the discovery of quasicrystals: non-repeating regular patterns of atoms that were once thought to be impossible. The breakthrough has fundamentally altered how chemists conceive of solid matter.

Across the Atlantic on flotsam: New fossil findings shed light on the origins of the mysterious bird Hoatzin Posted: 04 Oct 2011 02:59 PM PDT Scientists have examined fossil relatives of the South American Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin), which point to African origins for the enigmatic bird.

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