ScienceDaily: Top News

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• New threat to birds posed by invasive pythons in Florida
• Big advance against cystic fibrosis: Stem cell researchers create lung surface tissue in a dish
• Use of common pesticide, imidacloprid, linked to bee colony collapse
• Scientists redraw the blueprint of the body's biological clock
• Copper chains: Earth's deep-seated hold on copper revealed
• New index identifies periods when global stock markets might decline
• Controlling quantum tunneling with light: Novel particle opens door to taming mysteries of tunneling
• Initial stages by which giant gypsum crystals form
• Newly discovered close relative of T. rex is largest known feathered dinosaur
• Detecting breast cancer's fingerprint in a droplet of blood
• Potential for a 'moderate' New England 'red tide' in 2012
• Breakthrough in IOP regulation in fight against glaucoma
• Baseball: Beanballs and the psychology of revenge
• Banned antibiotics found in poultry products
• Manipulating the immune system to develop 'next-gen' vaccines
• New stem cell line provides safe, prolific source for disease modeling and transplant studies
• Heightened sensitivity to cheap, high-calorie food is linked with obesity
• Tackling dyslexia before kids learn to read
• To prevent leukemia's dreaded return, go for the stem cells
• Nature and nurture: World‐first discovery sheds new light on congenital birth defects
• Disarming disease-causing bacteria
• Fasting for Lent forces hyenas to change diet
• Satellite observes rapid ice shelf disintegration in Antarctic
• Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of notorious pathogens
• Rising CO₂ levels linked to global warming during last deglaciation
• Asthma: A vaccination that works using intramuscular injection

New threat to birds posed by invasive pythons in Florida Posted: 05 Apr 2012 07:48 PM PDT Scientists have uncovered a new threat posed by invasive Burmese pythons in Florida and the Everglades: The snakes are not only eating the area's birds, but also the birds' eggs straight from the nest. The results of this research add a new challenge to the area's already heavily taxed native wildlife.

Big advance against cystic fibrosis: Stem cell researchers create lung surface tissue in a dish Posted: 05 Apr 2012 07:48 PM PDT Stem cell researchers have taken a critical step in making possible the discovery in the relatively near future of a drug to control cystic fibrosis, a fatal lung disease that claims about 500 lives each year, with 1,000 new cases diagnosed annually.

Use of common pesticide, imidacloprid, linked to bee colony collapse Posted: 05 Apr 2012 07:46 PM PDT The likely culprit in sharp worldwide declines in honeybee colonies since 2006 is imidacloprid, one of the most widely used pesticides, according to a new study.

Scientists redraw the blueprint of the body's biological clock Posted: 05 Apr 2012 07:44 PM PDT The discovery of a major gear in the biological clock that tells the body when to sleep and metabolize food may lead to new drugs to treat sleep problems and metabolic disorders, including diabetes.

Copper chains: Earth's deep-seated hold on copper revealed Posted: 05 Apr 2012 12:29 PM PDT Earth is clingy when it comes to copper. Nature conspires at scales both large and small -- from the realms of tectonic plates down to molecular bonds -- to keep most of Earth's copper buried dozens of miles below ground. A new study gives new insight into the way continents form and could help locate new sources of copper.

New index identifies periods when global stock markets might decline Posted: 05 Apr 2012 11:22 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to measure the likelihood of global stock market losses by identifying periods in which shocks may be more likely to spread across many national markets. This "fragility index" identifies periods in which international equity markets are more susceptible to widespread pull-backs by identifying common risk exposures. The index identifies when systemic risk exposure is high in markets across multiple countries, and shows an increasing probability of a global stock market draw-down.

Controlling quantum tunneling with light: Novel particle opens door to taming mysteries of tunneling Posted: 05 Apr 2012 11:21 AM PDT Scientists have used light to help push electrons through a classically impenetrable barrier. While quantum tunneling is at the heart of the peculiar wave nature of particles, this is the first time that it has been controlled by light.

Initial stages by which giant gypsum crystals form Posted: 05 Apr 2012 11:21 AM PDT Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral which is often used in industrial processes and which in nature, if left alone for thousands of years, can grow into huge translucent, towering and eerie, crystals more than 10 meters tall. These are famed for their beauty in places such as the Cave of Crystals in Mexico. Nevertheless, the formation of gypsum has until now been largely unexplored.

Newly discovered close relative of T. rex is largest known feathered dinosaur Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:34 AM PDT Palaeontologists have known for more than a decade that some small dinosaurs had bird-like feathers, mainly thanks to beautifully preserved fossils from northeastern China. Now three specimens of a new tyrannosauroid from the same region show that at least one much larger dinosaur had a feathery coat as well.

Detecting breast cancer's fingerprint in a droplet of blood Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:16 AM PDT The earlier breast cancer is detected, the better the chance of successful treatment and long-term survival. However, early cancer diagnosis is still challenging as testing by mammography remains cumbersome, costly, and in many cases, cancer can only be detected at an advanced stage. Scientists have now developed a new microfluidics-based microarray that could one day radically change how and when cancer is diagnosed.

Potential for a 'moderate' New England 'red tide' in 2012 Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:16 AM PDT New England is expected to experience a "moderate" regional "red tide" this spring and summer, report scientists working in the Gulf of Maine to study the toxic algae that causes the bloom. The algae in the water pose no direct threat to human beings, however the toxins they produce can accumulate in filter-feeding organisms such as mussels and clams -- which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans who consume them.

Breakthrough in IOP regulation in fight against glaucoma Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:15 AM PDT Medical researchers have gained new insight regarding the regulation of intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma -- an irreversible blinding disease that causes progressive visual impairment due to optic nerve damage and is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.

Baseball: Beanballs and the psychology of revenge Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:15 AM PDT Baseball fans exhibit a high moral tolerance for a form of revenge not otherwise practiced in most of contemporary society: avenging a teammate who has been hit by a pitch by aiming a pitch at an opposing batter who was not previously involved. New research suggests that such systems of vicarious retribution, found throughout history, may not depend on an underlying assignment of moral responsibility.

Banned antibiotics found in poultry products Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:14 AM PDT Researchers have found evidence suggesting that a class of antibiotics previously banned by the US government for poultry production is still in use.

Manipulating the immune system to develop 'next-gen' vaccines Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:14 AM PDT The discovery of how a vital immune cell recognizes dead and damaged body cells could modernize vaccine technology by "tricking" cells into launching an immune response, leading to next-generation vaccines that are more specific, more effective and have fewer side-effects.

New stem cell line provides safe, prolific source for disease modeling and transplant studies Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:14 AM PDT Researchers have generated a new type of human stem cell that can develop into numerous types of specialized cells, including functioning pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Called endodermal progenitor cells, the new cells show two important advantages over embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells: they do not form tumors when transplanted into animals, and they can form functional pancreatic beta cells in the laboratory.

Heightened sensitivity to cheap, high-calorie food is linked with obesity Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:14 AM PDT A major reason for the dramatic increase in obesity may be a heightened sensitivity to heavily advertised and easily accessible high-calorie foods.

Tackling dyslexia before kids learn to read Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:14 AM PDT For children with dyslexia, the trouble begins even before they start reading and for reasons that don't necessarily reflect other language skills. This study for the first time reveals a causal connection between early problems with visual attention and a later diagnosis of dyslexia.

To prevent leukemia's dreaded return, go for the stem cells Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:14 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to stop leukemia stem cells in their tracks. The advance in mice suggests that a combination approach to therapy might stamp out chronic myeloid leukemia for good.

Nature and nurture: World‐first discovery sheds new light on congenital birth defects Posted: 05 Apr 2012 10:12 AM PDT Scientists have made a landmark discovery that could help women minimize or even avoid the risk of having a baby born with congenital birth defects.

Disarming disease-causing bacteria Posted: 05 Apr 2012 06:29 AM PDT Scientists could produce new antibacterial treatments by disarming the molecular pumps bacteria use to bring disease-causing molecules in contact with animals and humans.

Fasting for Lent forces hyenas to change diet Posted: 05 Apr 2012 04:52 AM PDT Many Christians give up certain foods for Lent, however ecologists have discovered these changes in human diet have a dramatic impact on the diet of wild animals. In Ethiopia, members of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church stop eating meat and dairy products during a 55-day fast before Easter. As a result, spotted hyenas too change their eating habits.

Satellite observes rapid ice shelf disintegration in Antarctic Posted: 05 Apr 2012 04:51 AM PDT As ESA's Envisat satellite continues to observe the rapid retreat of one of Antarctica's ice shelves due to climate warming. One of the satellite's first observations following its launch on 1 March 2002 was of break-up of a main section of the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica – when 3200 sq km of ice disintegrated within a few days due to mechanical instabilities of the ice masses triggered by climate warming.

Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of notorious pathogens Posted: 04 Apr 2012 06:00 PM PDT Scientists have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant.

Rising CO<sub>2</sub> levels linked to global warming during last deglaciation Posted: 04 Apr 2012 10:37 AM PDT Many scientists have long suspected that rising levels of carbon dioxide and the global warming that ended the last Ice Age were somehow linked, but establishing a clear cause-and-effect relationship between CO2 and global warming from the geologic record has remained difficult. A new study identifies this relationship and provides compelling evidence that rising CO2 caused much of the global warming.

Asthma: A vaccination that works using intramuscular injection Posted: 04 Apr 2012 07:29 AM PDT Asthma is a chronic inflammatory and respiratory disease caused by an abnormal reactivity to allergens in the environment. Of the several avenues of exploration that are currently being developed, vaccination appears to be the most promising approach. Scientists have now revealed an innovative vaccine against one of the allergens most frequently encountered in asthma patients.

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