ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Easily 'Re-programmable cells' could be key in creation of new life forms
• An incredible shrinking material
• Polio still a threat to public health, expert says
• Researchers ink nanostructures with tiny 'soldering iron'
• Castles in the desert: Satellites reveal lost cities of Libya
• Scientists find evidence of ancient megadrought in southwestern U.S.
• Biodiversity can promote survival on a warming planet, mathematical model shows
• Coasts' best protection from bioinvaders falling short: Not enough ships able to flush out invasive species before they reach port
• New technology to monitor brain aneurysms
• Most women with lupus can have successful pregnancy outcomes, study finds
• Colorectal cancer: Jumping gene named Sleeping Beauty plays vital role in investigating cancer pathway
• Model of enzyme's structure could spur new therapies
• Critical step to opening elusive class of compounds to drug discovery
• 2-D electron liquid solidifies in a magnetic field
• Vintage leather football helmets often as protective as modern helmets in common, game-like hits
• How we create false memories: Assessing memory performance in older adults
• European biofuels are as carbon intensive as petrol, new study suggests
• Brain parasite directly alters brain chemistry
• Biologists use flies and mice to get to the heart of Down syndrome
• EU biofuels are as carbon intensive as petrol, new study suggests
• Tropical forests fertilized by nitrogen air pollution, scientists find
• Gene discovered as cause of fatal condition
• Caucasians who avoid sun exposure more likely to be vitamin D deficient, study suggests

Easily 'Re-programmable cells' could be key in creation of new life forms Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:22 PM PST Scientists are working on an ambitious research project to develop an in vivo biological cell-equivalent of a computer operating system.

An incredible shrinking material Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:19 PM PST They shrink when you heat 'em. Most materials expand when heated, but a few contract. Now engineers have figured out how one of these curious materials, scandium trifluoride, does the trick -- a finding, they say, that will lead to a deeper understanding of all kinds of materials.

Polio still a threat to public health, expert says Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:18 PM PST After years of tracking isolated cases of live poliovirus, a medical researcher reports that the wild poliovirus can still be found in countries that were widely believed polio-free.

Researchers ink nanostructures with tiny 'soldering iron' Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:02 PM PST Researchers have shed light on the role of temperature in controlling a fabrication technique for drawing surface chemical patterns as small as 20 nanometers. This technique could provide an inexpensive, fast route to growing and patterning a wide variety of materials on surfaces for the fabrication of electrical circuits and chemical sensors, or for the study of how pharmaceuticals bind to proteins and viruses.

Castles in the desert: Satellites reveal lost cities of Libya Posted: 07 Nov 2011 09:14 AM PST Satellite imagery has uncovered new evidence of a lost civilization of the Sahara in Libya's south-western desert wastes that will help re-write the history of the country. The fall of Gaddafi has opened the way for archaeologists to explore the country's pre-Islamic heritage, so long ignored under his regime.

Scientists find evidence of ancient megadrought in southwestern U.S. Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:15 PM PST A new study has revealed a previously unknown multi-decade drought period in the second century A.D. The findings give evidence that extended periods of aridity have occurred at intervals throughout our past. Almost 900 years ago, in the mid-12th century, the southwestern U.S. was in the middle of a multi-decade megadrought. It was the most recent extended period of severe drought known for this region. But it was not the first. The second century A.D. saw an extended dry period of more than 100 years characterized by a multi-decade drought lasting nearly 50 years, according to the study.

Biodiversity can promote survival on a warming planet, mathematical model shows Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:14 PM PST Whether a species can evolve to survive climate change may depend on the biodiversity of its ecological community, according to a new mathematical model that simulates the effect of climate change on plants and pollinators.

Coasts' best protection from bioinvaders falling short: Not enough ships able to flush out invasive species before they reach port Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:13 PM PST Invasive species have hitchhiked to the United States on cargo ships for centuries, but the method US regulators most rely on to keep them out is not equally effective across coasts. Ecologists have found that ports on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico are significantly less protected than ports on the West Coast.

New technology to monitor brain aneurysms Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:13 PM PST Researchers have developed new technology for monitoring brain aneurysms – an approach that is potentially less invasive and more accurate than current methods, and one that is simple enough for patients to use at home for frequent monitoring.

Most women with lupus can have successful pregnancy outcomes, study finds Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:11 PM PST Promising research may offer hope for women with lupus who once thought that pregnancy was too risky.

Colorectal cancer: Jumping gene named Sleeping Beauty plays vital role in investigating cancer pathway Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:10 PM PST A jumping gene has helped to unlock vital clues for researchers investigating the genetics of colorectal cancer. In a new study, researchers used DNA transposon system to profile the repertoire of genes that can drive colorectal cancer in a mouse model, identifying many more than previously thought. Around one third of these genes are mutated in human cancer, which provides strong evidence that they are driver mutations in human tumours.

Model of enzyme's structure could spur new therapies Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:10 PM PST Scientists have determined the structure of an enzyme complex that regulates vital cell functions. Disregulation of such complexes is associated with diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's. The new work provides drug developers with a specific and unique new target to consider in their efforts to find new treatments.

Critical step to opening elusive class of compounds to drug discovery Posted: 06 Nov 2011 12:10 PM PST Taxanes are a family of compounds that includes one of the most important cancer drugs ever discovered, Taxol, among other cancer treatments. But the difficulty producing these complex molecules in the lab has hampered or blocked exploration of the family for further drug leads. Scientists have now successfully achieved a major step toward the goal of synthetically producing Taxol and other complex taxanes on a quest to harness chemical reactions that could enable research on previously unavailable potential drugs.

2-D electron liquid solidifies in a magnetic field Posted: 05 Nov 2011 12:33 PM PDT Physicists have developed a theory that describes, in a unified manner, the coexistence of liquid and pinned solid phases of electrons in two dimensions under the influence of a magnetic field.

Vintage leather football helmets often as protective as modern helmets in common, game-like hits Posted: 05 Nov 2011 12:33 PM PDT Old-fashioned "leatherhead" football helmets from the early 1900s are often as effective as -- and sometimes better than -- modern football helmets at protecting against injuries during routine, game-like collisions, according to researchers.

How we create false memories: Assessing memory performance in older adults Posted: 04 Nov 2011 07:21 AM PDT A new study addresses the influence of age-related stereotypes on memory performance and memory errors in older adults.

European biofuels are as carbon intensive as petrol, new study suggests Posted: 04 Nov 2011 07:21 AM PDT Research into greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm plantations provides robust measures now being used to inform international policies on greenhouse gas emissions.

Brain parasite directly alters brain chemistry Posted: 04 Nov 2011 07:21 AM PDT A research group from the University of Leeds has shown that infection by the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii, found in 10-20 percent of the UK's population, directly affects the production of dopamine, a key chemical messenger in the brain.

Biologists use flies and mice to get to the heart of Down syndrome Posted: 04 Nov 2011 06:16 AM PDT A novel study involving fruit flies and mice has allowed biologists to identify two critical genes responsible for congenital heart defects in individuals with Down syndrome, a major cause of infant mortality and death in people born with this genetic disorder.

EU biofuels are as carbon intensive as petrol, new study suggests Posted: 03 Nov 2011 06:21 PM PDT New research into greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm plantations provides robust measures now being used to inform international policies on greenhouse gas emissions.

Tropical forests fertilized by nitrogen air pollution, scientists find Posted: 03 Nov 2011 11:32 AM PDT Scientists braved ticks and a tiger to discover how human activities have perturbed the nitrogen cycle in tropical forests. Studies at two remote Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory sites in Panama and Thailand show the first evidence of long-term effects of nitrogen pollution in tropical trees.

Gene discovered as cause of fatal condition Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:22 AM PDT Medical scientists have for the first time identified a gene responsible for a fatal abdominal condition that afflicts tens of thousands of people across the world.

Caucasians who avoid sun exposure more likely to be vitamin D deficient, study suggests Posted: 03 Nov 2011 09:24 AM PDT Light-skinned people who avoid the sun are twice as likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency as those who do not, according to a study of nearly 6,000 people. Surprisingly, the use of sunscreen did not significantly affect blood levels of vitamin D, perhaps because users were applying too little or too infrequently, researchers speculate.

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