ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Spotting ultrafine loops in the sun's corona
• Group B streptococcal meningitis has long-term effects on children's developmental outcomes
• Radiation exposure from medical imaging has increased even at HMOs
• Alzheimer's risk gene disrupts brain function in healthy older women, but not men
• Male doctors make $12k more per year than female doctors
• When being scared twice is enough to remember
• Engineers conceive disc replacement to treat chronic low back pain
• Protein residues kiss, don't tell: Genomes reveal contacts, scientists refine methods for protein-folding prediction
• How brain performs 'motor chunking' tasks
• Woolly mammoth extinction has lessons for modern climate change
• Climate change to alter global fire risk
• Potential Iceland eruption could pump acid into European airspace
• Illnesses in children's hospital prompts discovery of contaminated alcohol pads
• Community-acquired MRSA cases on the rise in New York City, study suggests
• Naturally occurring protein has role in chronic pain
• Quantum computers could help search engines keep up with the Internet's growth
• Tiny ‘speed bump’ device could sort cancer cells
• Mosquitoes bred to be incapable of transmitting malaria
• Voicemail discovered in nature: Insects receive soil messages from the past
• Powerful new method to analyze genetic data
• Volcanic gases could deplete ozone layer
• Avatars may help children with social anxiety overcome fears
• Early gut bacteria regulate happiness
• Main causes of unprofessional behavior among hospitalists identified
• Research supports key element of football concussion lawsuit
• A century of learning about the physiological demands of Antarctica
• A 'dirt cheap' magnetic field sensor from 'plastic paint'
• Groundbreaking discovery of the cellular origin of cervical cancer
• Satellite sees smoke from Siberian fires reach the US coast
• Making music with real stars: Kepler Telescope star data creates musical melody
• Potential carbon capture role for new CO2-absorbing material
• Alcohol abuse may be cause, rather than effect of social isolation, poor grades among teens
• Mosaicism in cancer: Genetic makeup of embryo may cause appearance of tumors in adult life
• Why are some people greener than others?
• Living microprocessor tunes in to feedback
• Losing money, emotions and evolution
• Kill the messenger: Small molecule prevents cancer-causing message from entering cell nucleus
• A father's love is one of the greatest influences on personality development
• Nature or nurture? It may depend on where you live
• New studies show connection between sleepiness and pro-athlete careers
• Radiation-resistant circuits from mechanical parts
• Epigenomes of newborns and centenarians differ: New clues to increasing life span

Spotting ultrafine loops in the sun's corona Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:32 PM PDT A key to understanding the dynamics of the sun and what causes the great solar explosions there relies on deciphering how material, heat and energy swirl across the sun's surface and rise into the upper atmosphere, or corona. Scientists have for the first time observed a new facet of the system: Especially narrow loops of solar material scattered on the sun's surface, which are connected to higher lying, wider loops.

Group B streptococcal meningitis has long-term effects on children's developmental outcomes Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT Nearly one-half of infants with GBS meningitis experience developmental delays. According to the CDC, 25 percent of pregnant women carry GBS. It is routine for these women to receive antibiotics during labor to protect the baby from infection occurring in the first days of life. There is no way to prevent late-onset GBS infections in infants.

Radiation exposure from medical imaging has increased even at HMOs Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT Concern about overexposure to radiation due to excessive use of medical imaging has come to the fore in recent years. Now, a new study shows that medical imaging is increasing even in health maintenance organization systems (HMOs), which don't have a financial incentive to conduct them.

Alzheimer's risk gene disrupts brain function in healthy older women, but not men Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:29 PM PDT Scientists have found that the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease disrupts brain function in healthy older women but has little impact on brain function in healthy, older men.

Male doctors make $12k more per year than female doctors Posted: 12 Jun 2012 04:28 PM PDT Male doctors make more money than their female counterparts, even when factoring in medical specialty, title, work hours, productivity and a host of other factors, according to a comprehensive new analysis.

When being scared twice is enough to remember Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT One of the brain's jobs is to help us figure out what's important enough to be remembered. Scientists have achieved some insight into how fleeting experiences become memories in the brain.

Engineers conceive disc replacement to treat chronic low back pain Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT A new biomedical device to surgically treat chronic back pain – an artificial spinal disc that duplicates the natural motion of the spine – has been developed.

Protein residues kiss, don't tell: Genomes reveal contacts, scientists refine methods for protein-folding prediction Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:51 AM PDT Researchers have created a computational tool to help predict how proteins fold by finding amino acid pairs that are distant in sequence but change together. Protein interactions offer clues to the treatment of disease, including cancer.

How brain performs 'motor chunking' tasks Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT You pick up your cell phone and dial the new number of a friend. Ten numbers. One. Number. At. A. Time. Because you haven't actually typed the number before, your brain handles each button press separately, as a sequence of distinct movements.

Woolly mammoth extinction has lessons for modern climate change Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT Not long after the last ice age, the last woolly mammoths succumbed to a lethal combination of climate warming, encroaching humans and habitat change -- the same threats facing many species today.

Climate change to alter global fire risk Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT Climate change is widely expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world, with some regions, such as the western United States, seeing more frequent fires within the next 30 years, according to a new analysis. The study used 16 different climate change models to generate what the researchers said is one of the most comprehensive projections to date of how climate change might affect global fire patterns.

Potential Iceland eruption could pump acid into European airspace Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:48 AM PDT A modern recurrence of an extraordinary type of volcanic eruption in Iceland could inject large quantities of hazardous gases into North Atlantic and European flight corridors, potentially for months at a time, a new study suggests. Using computer simulations, researchers are investigating the likely atmospheric effects if a "flood lava" eruption took place in Iceland today.

Illnesses in children's hospital prompts discovery of contaminated alcohol pads Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:47 AM PDT A small cluster of unusual illnesses at a children's hospital prompted an investigation that swiftly identified alcohol prep pads contaminated with Bacillus cereus bacteria, according to a new report.

Community-acquired MRSA cases on the rise in New York City, study suggests Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:47 AM PDT Hospitalization rates in New York City for patients with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a potentially deadly bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotic treatment, more than tripled between 1997 and 2006, according to a new report.

Naturally occurring protein has role in chronic pain Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT Researchers have discovered how one of the body's own proteins is involved in generating chronic pain in rats. The results also suggest therapeutic interventions to alleviate long-lasting pain.

Quantum computers could help search engines keep up with the Internet's growth Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT With the web constantly expanding, researchers have proposed – and demonstrated the feasibility – of using quantum computers to run Google's page ranking algorithm faster.

Tiny ‘speed bump’ device could sort cancer cells Posted: 12 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT Engineers have found an easy way to sort microscopic particles and bits of biological matter, including circulating tumor cells.

Mosquitoes bred to be incapable of transmitting malaria Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Mosquitoes bred to be unable to infect people with the malaria parasite are an attractive approach to helping curb one of the world's most pressing public health issues, according to scientists.

Voicemail discovered in nature: Insects receive soil messages from the past Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Insects can use plants as "green phones" for communication with other bugs. A new study now shows that through those same plants insects are also able to leave "voicemail" messages in the soil. Herbivorous insects store their voicemails via their effects on soil fungi. Researchers discovered this unique messaging service in the ragwort plant.

Powerful new method to analyze genetic data Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Researchers have developed a powerful visual analytical approach to explore genetic data, enabling scientists to identify novel patterns of information that could be crucial to human health.

Volcanic gases could deplete ozone layer Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Giant volcanic eruptions in Nicaragua over the past 70,000 years could have injected enough gases into the atmosphere to temporarily thin the ozone layer, according to new research. And, if it happened today, a similar explosive eruption could do the same, releasing more than twice the amount of ozone-depleting halogen gases currently in stratosphere due to humanmade emissions.

Avatars may help children with social anxiety overcome fears Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:59 AM PDT Researchers want to find out if practice conversations with avatars help children overcome social anxiety as much as the "gold standard" -- real conversations with socially comfortable peers. If successful, the study could provide a much more feasible way for clinicians around the country to help children overcome their fears.

Early gut bacteria regulate happiness Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:58 AM PDT Scientists have shown that brain levels of serotonin -- the 'happy hormone' -- are regulated by the amount of bacteria in the gut during early life. The research shows that normal adult brain function depends on the presence of gut microbes during development. Serotonin, the major chemical involved in the regulation of mood and emotion, is altered in times of stress, anxiety and depression and most clinically effective antidepressant drugs work by targeting this neurochemical.

Main causes of unprofessional behavior among hospitalists identified Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:58 AM PDT Unprofessional behavior among hospitalists is rare, but those who do behave poorly share common features, according to new research. American researchers spoke to 77 Illinois hospitalists - doctors who provide care tailored to the needs of hospitalized patients as a general internist, rather than focusing on an organ, disease or a specific patient age-group.

Research supports key element of football concussion lawsuit Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:54 AM PDT Ongoing research into football players' brains bolsters one element of a lawsuit by former NFL players against the league: Repetitive blows increase the risk of long-term brain damage and cognitive decline.

A century of learning about the physiological demands of Antarctica Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:54 AM PDT A century after British Naval Captain Robert F. Scott led a team of explorers on their quest to be the first to reach the South Pole, a new article examines what we have learned about the physiological stresses of severe exercise, malnutrition, hypothermia, high altitude, and sleep deprivation since then.

A 'dirt cheap' magnetic field sensor from 'plastic paint' Posted: 12 Jun 2012 08:52 AM PDT Physicists have developed an inexpensive, highly accurate magnetic field sensor for scientific and possibly consumer uses based on a "spintronic" organic thin-film semiconductor that basically is "plastic paint."

Groundbreaking discovery of the cellular origin of cervical cancer Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT Scientists have identified a unique set of cells in the cervix that are the cause of human papillomavirus-related cervical cancers. Significantly, the team also showed that these cells do not regenerate when excised. These findings have immense clinical implications in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cervical cancer.

Satellite sees smoke from Siberian fires reach the US coast Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT Fires burning in Siberia recently sent smoke across the Pacific Ocean and into the US and Canada. Images of data taken by the nation's newest Earth-observing satellite tracked aerosols from the fires taking six days to reach America's shores.

Making music with real stars: Kepler Telescope star data creates musical melody Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:16 AM PDT Using star data from the Kepler Space Telescope, researchers have developed sounds that will be used in a song later this summer for a national recording artist.

Potential carbon capture role for new CO2-absorbing material Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT A novel porous material that has unique carbon dioxide retention properties has just been developed.

Alcohol abuse may be cause, rather than effect of social isolation, poor grades among teens Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT Rather than gaining "liquid courage" to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociological study.

Mosaicism in cancer: Genetic makeup of embryo may cause appearance of tumors in adult life Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT New evidence shows that the genetic makeup of the embryo may cause the appearance of tumors in adult life. These results bear out the growing theory that some tumors may have an extremely early origin, tracing to the individual's embryonic development, while offering new clues to understand the genetic causes of certain kinds of cancer, and their prevention and treatment.

Why are some people greener than others? Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT Differences in attitudes and cultural values could have far-reaching implications for the development of a sustainable global society, according to a new analysis.

Living microprocessor tunes in to feedback Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT What keeps the machinery for chopping certain precursor RNA strands into functional pieces from cutting up the wrong kinds of RNA?

Losing money, emotions and evolution Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:14 AM PDT Mildly stressful situations can affect our perceptions in the same way as life-threatening ones.

Kill the messenger: Small molecule prevents cancer-causing message from entering cell nucleus Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT A small molecule prevents a cancer-causing message from entering the cell nucleus.

A father's love is one of the greatest influences on personality development Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT A father's love contributes as much -- and sometimes more -- to a child's development as does a mother's love. That is one of many findings in a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood.

Nature or nurture? It may depend on where you live Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT The extent to which our development is affected by nature or nurture -- our genetic make-up or our environment -- may differ depending on where we live, according to new research.

New studies show connection between sleepiness and pro-athlete careers Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:13 AM PDT Two new studies have uncovered a link between a pro athlete's longevity and the degree of sleepiness that athlete experiences in the daytime. They show that less-sleepy football players remained with their drafting NFL teams after college, and that attrition rates for sleepier baseball players were higher than MLB averages. This information could be useful for managing player drafts or, if sleepiness causes are addressed, for managing player performance.

Radiation-resistant circuits from mechanical parts Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:12 AM PDT Engineers have designed microscopic mechanical devices that withstand intense radiation and heat, so they can be used in circuits for robots and computers exposed to radiation in space, damaged nuclear power plants or nuclear attack.

Epigenomes of newborns and centenarians differ: New clues to increasing life span Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT An international study sheds important new light on how epigenetic marks degrade over time. Since epigenetic lesions are reversible, it would be possible to develop drugs that increase the life span, the research suggests.

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