ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Dragon expected to set historic course: SpaceX spacecraft and rocket on demo flight to International Space Station
• NASA's WISE mission sees skies ablaze with blazars
• NASA to fly atomic clock to improve space navigation
• Method developed to detect stealthy, 'hypervirulent' Salmonella strains
• IBEX and TWINS observe a solar storm
• Being in power does not always magnify personality
• Strain of common toxoplasma gondii parasite linked to severe illness in US newborns
• Athletic frogs have faster-changing genomes
• Volcanic plumbing provides clues on eruptions and earthquakes
• Deep sequencing reveals potentially toxic, trade-restricted ingredients in some traditional Chinese medicines
• Engineered stem cells seek out and kill HIV in living mice
• Excessive worrying may have co-evolved with intelligence
• American Chestnut returns to New York City
• Breakthrough discovery unveils master switches in colon cancer
• New life for controversial stellar wind theory
• How cells distinguish between disease-causing and innocuous invaders
• Endangered bats find sanctuary in Israeli 'ghost bunkers'
• First-ever model simulation of the structuring of the observable universe
• Genetic adaptation of fat metabolism key to development of human brain
• Caterpillars more likely to vomit alone
• Majority-biased learning: In humans and chimpanzees knowledge is transmitted within a group by means of a majority principle
• Low-mass planets orbiting star just 25 light years away
• Determining a stem cell's fate: Biologists scour mouse genome for genes and markers that lead to T cells
• Kinase test may yield big gains for drug-resistant cancers
• Listen up, parents: For toddlers (and chimps), the majority rules
• Under climate change, winners and losers on the coral reef
• Targeting glucagon pathway may offer a new approach to treating diabetes
• Nearly 30 percent of all college athlete injuries a result of 'overuse'
• Discovery of the Musket Ball Cluster, a system of colliding galaxy clusters
• High levels of phthalates can lead to greater risk for type-2 diabetes
• Rebuffing racial insults: How culture shapes our behavior
• In environmental disasters, families respond with conflict, denial, silence
• Significant skull differences between closely linked groups
• Could stem cells be the cells' default state?
• New advances in the understanding of cancer progression
• Dusty disc of crushed comets around a nearby star caused by collisions with thousands of comets a day
• Manatee hearing good enough to sense approaching motorboats
• Do monkeys know what others need?
• New frontier: Chips transfer data at light speed
• Workings of nearby planetary system revealed
• Astronomer finds evidence for record-breaking nine planet system
• Multitasking: Not so bad for you after all?
• Android vulnerability debugged
• New test measures risk intelligence -- decision-making in risky situations
• Left hand – right hand, premature babies make the link
• Artificial photosynthesis breakthrough: Fast molecular catalyzer
• Nutrient and toxin all at once: How plants absorb the perfect quantity of minerals
• Traffic harms Asturian amphibians
• To teach kids math, researcher devises ‘brain games’
• Gulf coast residents say BP oil spill changed their environmental views
• New method for continuous production of carbon nanotubes
• Tsunami risk reduction in the age of Twitter
• Nanomaterials: Making a bluer light
• Electronics: Low-temperature method could 'grow' transparent zinc oxide films for displays and solar cells
• Nanomaterials: Surrounding effects
• Novel coding technique holds promise for next-generation computers
• Data mining opens the door to predictive neuroscience

Dragon expected to set historic course: SpaceX spacecraft and rocket on demo flight to International Space Station Posted: 12 Apr 2012 04:30 PM PDT The upcoming launch of a SpaceX spacecraft and rocket on a demonstration flight to the International Space Station is expected to cross a key milestone on the path to operational, commercial missions.

NASA's WISE mission sees skies ablaze with blazars Posted: 12 Apr 2012 04:27 PM PDT Astronomers are actively hunting a class of supermassive black holes throughout the universe called blazars thanks to data collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The mission has revealed more than 200 blazars and has the potential to find thousands more.

NASA to fly atomic clock to improve space navigation Posted: 12 Apr 2012 04:26 PM PDT When people think of space technologies, many think of high-tech solar panels, complex and powerful propulsion systems or sophisticated, electronic guidance systems. Another critical piece of spaceflight technology, however, is an ultra stable, highly accurate device for timing -- essential to NASA's success on deep-space exploration missions. NASA is preparing to fly a Deep Space Atomic Clock, or DSAC, demonstration that will revolutionize the way we conduct deep-space navigation by enabling a spacecraft to calculate its own timing and navigation data in real time.

Method developed to detect stealthy, 'hypervirulent' Salmonella strains Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT A recent discovery of "hypervirulent" Salmonella bacteria has given researchers a means to potentially prevent food poisoning outbreaks from these particularly powerful strains.

IBEX and TWINS observe a solar storm Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT On April 5, 2010, the sun spewed a two-million-mile-per-hour stream of charged particles toward the invisible magnetic fields surrounding Earth, known as the magnetosphere. As the particles interacted with the magnetic fields, the incoming stream of energy caused stormy conditions near Earth. Some scientists believe that it was this solar storm that interfered with commands to a communications satellite, Galaxy-15, which subsequently foundered and drifted, taking almost a year to return to its station.

Being in power does not always magnify personality Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT "If you want to test a man's character, give him power," said Abraham Lincoln. It's a truism that power magnifies personality -- but is it true? A new study says no.

Strain of common toxoplasma gondii parasite linked to severe illness in US newborns Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT Scientists have identified which strains of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, the cause of toxoplasmosis, are most strongly associated with premature births and severe birth defects in the United States. The researchers used a new blood test to pinpoint T. gondii strains that children acquire from their acutely infected mothers while in the womb.

Athletic frogs have faster-changing genomes Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT Physically fit frogs have faster-changing genomes, says a new study of poison frogs. Stretches of DNA accumulate changes over time, but the rate at which those changes build up varies considerably between species, researchers say.

Volcanic plumbing provides clues on eruptions and earthquakes Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT Two new studies into the "plumbing systems" that lie under volcanoes could bring scientists closer to understanding plate ruptures and predicting eruptions -- both of which are important steps for protecting the public from earthquake and volcanic hazards.

Deep sequencing reveals potentially toxic, trade-restricted ingredients in some traditional Chinese medicines Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT Researchers have used new DNA sequencing technology to reveal the animal and plant composition of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Some of the TCM samples tested contained potentially toxic plant ingredients, allergens, and traces of endangered animals.

Engineered stem cells seek out and kill HIV in living mice Posted: 12 Apr 2012 03:22 PM PDT Expanding on previous research providing proof-of-principal that human stem cells can be genetically engineered into HIV-fighting cells, a team of researchers have now demonstrated that these cells can actually attack HIV-infected cells in a living organism.

Excessive worrying may have co-evolved with intelligence Posted: 12 Apr 2012 12:30 PM PDT Worrying may have evolved along with intelligence as a beneficial trait, according to scientists who found that high intelligence and worry both correlate with brain activity measured by the depletion of the nutrient choline in the subcortical white matter of the brain. According to the researchers, this suggests that intelligence may have co-evolved with worry in humans.

American Chestnut returns to New York City Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:18 AM PDT The once-mighty American chestnut tree, which was virtually wiped out by a pathogenic fungus that arrived in New York City more than 100 years ago, will return April 18 to the area where it was first discovered in the Bronx.

Breakthrough discovery unveils master switches in colon cancer Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:18 AM PDT Researchers have identified a new mechanism by which colon cancer develops. By focusing on segments of DNA located between genes, or so-called "junk DNA," the team has discovered a set of master switches, i.e., gene enhancer elements, that turn "on and off" key genes whose altered expression is defining for colon cancers.

New life for controversial stellar wind theory Posted: 12 Apr 2012 10:33 AM PDT Astronomers have succeeded in identifying a specific kind of dust grain in the vicinity of cool giant stars. This means fresh impetus for a controversial theory about how stars die.

How cells distinguish between disease-causing and innocuous invaders Posted: 12 Apr 2012 10:31 AM PDT The specific mechanisms by which humans and other animals are able to discriminate between disease-causing microbes and innocuous ones in order to rapidly respond to infections have long been a mystery to scientists. But a study conducted on roundworms has uncovered some important clues to finally answering that question.

Endangered bats find sanctuary in Israeli 'ghost bunkers' Posted: 12 Apr 2012 10:31 AM PDT Abandoned army bunkers along a 60 mile stretch of land in the north of Israel have new tenants, according to a Tel Aviv University researcher -- 12 indigenous bat species, including three already designated as endangered, have moved into the shelters and are flourishing.

First-ever model simulation of the structuring of the observable universe Posted: 12 Apr 2012 10:30 AM PDT Astronomers have performed the first-ever computer model simulation of the structuring of the entire observable universe, from the Big Bang to the present day. The simulation has made it possible to follow the evolution of 550 billion particles. This simulation, along with the two additional runs expected by late May 2012, will provide outstanding support for future projects dedicated to the observation and mapping of the universe. These simulations will shed light on the nature of dark energy and its effects on cosmic structure formation, and hence on the distribution of dark matter and galaxies in the universe.

Genetic adaptation of fat metabolism key to development of human brain Posted: 12 Apr 2012 10:30 AM PDT About 300,000 years ago humans adapted genetically to be able to produce larger amounts of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. This adaptation may have been crucial to the development of the unique brain capacity in modern humans. In today's life situation, this genetic adaptation contributes instead to a higher risk of developing disorders like cardiovascular disease.

Caterpillars more likely to vomit alone Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:48 AM PDT A type of caterpillar which defends itself by regurgitating on its predators is less likely to do so when in groups than when alone, a new study has found.

Majority-biased learning: In humans and chimpanzees knowledge is transmitted within a group by means of a majority principle Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:14 AM PDT In humans and chimpanzees knowledge is transmitted within a group by means of a majority principle. Chimpanzees are more likely to copy an action performed by a large number of individuals than an action that was performed more frequently. Two-year old children consider both the number of individuals and the frequency of the action demonstrated. For orangutans, however, none of the factors play a role.

Low-mass planets orbiting star just 25 light years away Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:14 AM PDT Astronomers have found compelling evidence for two low-mass planets orbiting the nearby star Fomalhaut, just 25 light years from Earth.

Determining a stem cell's fate: Biologists scour mouse genome for genes and markers that lead to T cells Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:14 AM PDT What happens to a stem cell at the molecular level that causes it to become one type of cell rather than another? In studies that mark a major step forward in our understanding of stem cells' fates, scientists have traced the stepwise developmental process that ensures certain stem cells will become T cells -- cells of the immune system that help destroy invading pathogens.

Kinase test may yield big gains for drug-resistant cancers Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:13 AM PDT Scientists have developed the first broad-based test for activation of protein kinases "en masse", enabling measurement of the mechanism behind drug-resistant cancer and rational prediction of successful combination therapies.

Listen up, parents: For toddlers (and chimps), the majority rules Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:13 AM PDT A new study offers some news for parents: even toddlers have a tendency to follow the crowd. That sensitivity isn't unique to humans either; chimpanzees also appear more likely to pick up habits if "everyone else is doing it."

Under climate change, winners and losers on the coral reef Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:13 AM PDT As ocean temperatures rise, some species of corals are likely to succeed at the expense of others, according to a new report that details the first large-scale investigation of climate effects on corals.

Targeting glucagon pathway may offer a new approach to treating diabetes Posted: 12 Apr 2012 09:12 AM PDT Maintaining the right level of sugar in the blood is the responsibility not only of insulin, which removes glucose, but also of a hormone called glucagon, which adds glucose. For decades, treatments for type II diabetes have taken aim at insulin, but a new study suggests that a better approach may be to target glucagon's sweetening effect.

Nearly 30 percent of all college athlete injuries a result of 'overuse' Posted: 12 Apr 2012 08:37 AM PDT Overuse injuries -- found most often in low-contact sports that involve long training sessions or where the same movement is repeated numerous times -- make up nearly 30 percent of all injuries sustained by collegiate athletes. And a majority of overuse injuries (62 percent) occurred in females athletes, according to a new study.

Discovery of the Musket Ball Cluster, a system of colliding galaxy clusters Posted: 12 Apr 2012 08:37 AM PDT Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have observed a violent collision between two galaxy clusters in which so-called normal matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter through a violent collision between two galaxy clusters.

High levels of phthalates can lead to greater risk for type-2 diabetes Posted: 12 Apr 2012 08:35 AM PDT There is a connection between phthalates found in cosmetics and plastics and the risk of developing diabetes among seniors. Even at a modest increase in circulating phthalate levels, the risk of diabetes is doubled.

Rebuffing racial insults: How culture shapes our behavior Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:59 AM PDT The color of our skin or where we come does matter when it comes to how we react to a racist insult. A new study has found that African American women are more likely than Asian American women to directly rebuff racist comments, a difference that may reflect deeply rooted cultural differences, report researchers.

In environmental disasters, families respond with conflict, denial, silence Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:58 AM PDT Environmental disasters impact individuals and communities; They also affect how family members communicate with each other, sometimes in surprising ways, according to new research.

Significant skull differences between closely linked groups Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:58 AM PDT In order to accurately identify skulls as male or female, forensic anthropologists need to have a good understanding of how the characteristics of male and female skulls differ between populations. A new study shows that these differences can be significant, even between populations that are geographically close to one another.

Could stem cells be the cells' default state? Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:58 AM PDT In spite of considerable research efforts around the world, we still do not know the determining factors that confer stem cells their main particular features: capacity to self-renew and to divide and proliferate. Scientists now ask if perhaps we have the wrong approach.

New advances in the understanding of cancer progression Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:58 AM PDT Researchers have discovered that the protein LOXL2 has a function within the cell nucleus thus far unknown. They have also described a new chemical reaction of this protein on histone H3 that is involved in gene silencing, and implicated in the progression of breast, larynx, lung and skin tumors.

Dusty disc of crushed comets around a nearby star caused by collisions with thousands of comets a day Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:57 AM PDT Astronomers have studied a ring of dust around the nearby star Fomalhaut and have deduced that it is created by the collision of thousands of comets every day.

Manatee hearing good enough to sense approaching motorboats Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:56 AM PDT Every year, manatees are injured in boat collisions. Why don't they just move when they hear a boat approach? Scientists have found that manatee hearing is likely good enough to detect sounds of approaching craft above loud background noise, but their findings point to new questions about how this hearing operates in the wild and why manatees remain susceptible to collisions.

Do monkeys know what others need? Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:55 AM PDT If you have seen a child just eat an entire ice-cream, and she begs you to buy her one, what will your reaction be? Researchers asked if monkeys understand the physical needs of others. In order to provide help or share food, it would be useful for them to know what others want or need.

New frontier: Chips transfer data at light speed Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:55 AM PDT The computer industry is nearing a crisis: microchips  get smaller and faster but they struggle to transfer data at sufficient speeds.  Electrons flowing through standard chip connections are just too slow. Now researchers have shown how chips with built-in lasers which use multiple wavelengths of light could in the future transmit data at terabit speeds.

Workings of nearby planetary system revealed Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:55 AM PDT A new observatory still under construction has given astronomers a major breakthrough in understanding a nearby planetary system and provided valuable clues about how such systems form and evolve. Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered that planets orbiting the star Fomalhaut must be much smaller than originally thought. This is the first published science result from ALMA in its first period of open observations for astronomers worldwide.

Astronomer finds evidence for record-breaking nine planet system Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:55 AM PDT The planetary system around the star named HD 10180 may have more planets in its orbits than our own solar system. Located 130 light years away, the star is not within reach of foreseeable human space travel, but in astronomical distances, it is still considered to be in the solar neighborhood.

Multitasking: Not so bad for you after all? Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:55 AM PDT Our obsession with multiple forms of media is not necessarily all bad news, according to a new study. Those who frequently use different types of media at the same time appear to be better at integrating information from multiple senses -- vision and hearing in this instance -- when asked to perform a specific task, new research shows.

Android vulnerability debugged Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT Researchers have discovered and neutralized a serious vulnerability present in all versions of Android, the popular operating system developed by Google specifically for smartphones and tablet computers. The vulnerability could have been easily exploited by malicious software applications, with the effect of making devices based on Google's operating system currently on the market completely unusable.

New test measures risk intelligence -- decision-making in risky situations Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT Tests exist for evaluating personality, intelligence and memory. However, up to now, it was not easily possible to find out how good someone is at making decisions in risky situations.

Left hand – right hand, premature babies make the link Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT From the 31st week of pregnancy, preterm babies are capable of recognizing with one hand an object they have already explored with the other. This ability, known as "intermanual transfer", has been demonstrated in premature infants. These results show that the corpus callosum, also known as the colossal commissure, i.e. the brain structure involved in information transfer, is functional from this early age.

Artificial photosynthesis breakthrough: Fast molecular catalyzer Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT Researchers have constructed a molecular catalyzer that can oxidize water to oxygen very rapidly. In fact, these scientists have managed to reach speeds approximating those of natural photosynthesis. The speed with which natural photosynthesis occurs is about 100 to 400 turnovers per seconds. Scientists have now reached over 300 turnovers per seconds with their artificial photosynthesis. The research findings play a critical role for the future use of solar energy and other renewable energy sources.

Nutrient and toxin all at once: How plants absorb the perfect quantity of minerals Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT In order to survive, plants should take up neither too many nor too few minerals from the soil. New insights into how they operate this critical balance have now been determined. The researchers discovered novel functions of the metal-binding molecule nicotianamine.

Traffic harms Asturian amphibians Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:54 AM PDT Midwife toads and palmate newts are run over and their habitats are fragmented by roads in the Trubia valley (Asturias). According to a Spanish study, alleviating traffic is not enough to minimize the impact on midwife toad populations. The roads are the main cause of fragmenting the habitats of many species, especially amphibians. The toads get run over and the species loses genetic diversity as a result.

To teach kids math, researcher devises ‘brain games’ Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:52 AM PDT The world often breaks down into numbers and regular patterns that form predictable cycles. And the sooner children can inherently grasp these patterns, the more confident and comfortable they will be with the world of math. That's the discerning approach of experts who have spent decades teaching teachers and watching how students learn.

Gulf coast residents say BP oil spill changed their environmental views Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:52 AM PDT Researchers have found that residents of Louisiana and Florida most acutely and directly affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster -- the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history -- said they have changed their views on other environmental issues as a result of the spill.

New method for continuous production of carbon nanotubes Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:51 AM PDT A new method is capable of reducing the price of carbon nanotubes from $100 - $700 US to just $15 to $35 US for each gram, much lower than world market prices.

Tsunami risk reduction in the age of Twitter Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:51 AM PDT In theory, national governments should issue tsunami watches and warnings. For sure, they should be the only ones issuing evacuation orders. But social media are much quicker to inform.

Nanomaterials: Making a bluer light Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:51 AM PDT A new design for nanoparticles that absorb low-energy light and emit high-energy light may find use in biological imaging.

Electronics: Low-temperature method could 'grow' transparent zinc oxide films for displays and solar cells Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:51 AM PDT A low-temperature method could be used to 'grow' transparent zinc oxide films for use in displays and solar cells.

Nanomaterials: Surrounding effects Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:50 AM PDT The dissipation of energy from a vibrating gold nanoparticle is strongly influenced by the surrounding environment, new research shows.

Novel coding technique holds promise for next-generation computers Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:50 AM PDT A pioneering error correction technique holds promise for the development of next-generation computers.

Data mining opens the door to predictive neuroscience Posted: 11 Apr 2012 05:54 PM PDT The discovery, using state-of-the-art informatics tools, increases the likelihood that it will be possible to predict much of the fundamental structure and function of the brain without having to measure every aspect of it. That in turn makes the Holy Grail of modeling the brain in silico -- the goal of the proposed Human Brain Project -- a more realistic, less Herculean, prospect.

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