ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• How cells in the nose detect odors: Braking mechanism in olfactory neurons helps generate amazing diversity of sensors
• New ancient shark species gives insight into origin of great white
• Health insurance: Higher proportion of California children uninsured than in U.S., analysis shows
• Paper-and-scissors technique rocks the nano world: Future nanofluidic devices for batteries, water purification systems
• Even moderate drinking in pregnancy can affect a child's IQ
• Oldest fossil of giant panda family discovered
• Bored mink snack between meals, lie awake in bed; Enriching surroundings reduces signs of boredom in caged mink
• Why yawning is contagious in bonobos: As with humans, yawning Is more contagious when individuals are closely related
• People identify symptoms of depression more readily in women than men
• Remixed brain waves reveal soundtrack of the human brain
• Captive animals show signs of boredom, study finds
• Gene nearly triples risk of Alzheimer's, international research team finds
• Discovery could lead to faster diagnosis for some chronic fatigue syndrome cases
• Heart failure in older breast cancer patients linked to medication
• Evolving roles of hospice and palliative care
• Research breakthrough could halt melanoma metastasis, study suggests
• Exploring the financial costs of sadness
• Meningitis A vaccine breaks barrier; first to gain approval to travel outside cold chain
• Five things everyone should know about lung cancer
• Want better employees? Get somebody else to rate their personalities
• ACL knee injuries much more likely in female athletes
• Job autonomy, trust in leadership keys to improvement initiatives
• Bug repellent for supercomputers proves effective
• Traumatic brain injury patients, supercomputer simulations studied to improve helmets
• Scientists 'clone' carbon nanotubes to unlock their potential for use in electronics
• In financial ecosystems, big banks trample economic habitats and spread fiscal disease
• What lies beneath? New survey technique offers detailed picture of our changing landscape
• Could poor sleep contribute to symptoms of schizophrenia?
• Pig genomes provide massive amount of genomic data for human health
• Pig genome offers insights into the feistiest of farm animals
• Tropical Indo-Pacific climate shifts to a more El Niño-like state
• New dating of sea-level records reveals rapid response between ice volume and polar temperature
• Tolerance to malaria by means of iron control
• Rare parasitic fungi could have anti-flammatory benefits
• Sisyphean task for polar molecules
• 20-year-old stroke patient part of growing trend of strokes in young people
• Exposure to light at night may cause depression, learning issues, mouse study suggests
• Pacific fishing zones: Lifeline for overfished tuna?
• 'Dirty money' affects spending habits, new study finds
• Life and death in a star-forming cloud
• Nanometer-scale diamond tips improve nano-manufacturing
• Changing climate, not tourism, seems to be driving decline in chinstrap-penguin populations
• Cancer therapy: Nanokey opens tumors to attack
• Driving drones can be a drag: Distractions may alleviate boredom and improve drone operators' performance
• Headshaking in horses: New treatment has 50% success rate
• New brain gene gives us edge over apes, study suggests
• Pancreas stem cell discovery may lead to new diabetes treatments
• Leggiest animal on Earth lives in outskirts of Silicon Valley
• Television: Chronicle of a Death Foretold?
• Brain waves make waves
• Why some people are afraid to relax
• Engineering a photo-switch for nerve cells in the eye and brain
• PCBs, other pollutants may play role in pregnancy delay
• Not what you consciously thought: How we can do math problems and read phrases nonconsciously
• A risk gene for cannabis psychosis
• Smoking affects allergy-relevant stem cells
• Melting glaciers raise sea level
• Triclosan in cosmetics and personal care products can increase allergy risk
• Lost in space: Rogue planet spotted? Orphaned world may help to explain how planets and stars form
• BPA shown to disrupt thyroid function in pregnant animals and offspring

How cells in the nose detect odors: Braking mechanism in olfactory neurons helps generate amazing diversity of sensors Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:29 PM PST A team of scientists has studied the olfactory receptor for detecting carbon dioxide in Drosophila, and identified a large multi-protein complex in olfactory neurons, called MMB/dREAM, that plays a major role in selecting the carbon dioxide receptors to be expressed in appropriate neurons.

New ancient shark species gives insight into origin of great white Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:29 PM PST The great white shark is one of the largest living predatory animals and a magnet for media sensationalism, yet its evolutionary history is as misunderstood as its role as a menace.

Health insurance: Higher proportion of California children uninsured than in U.S., analysis shows Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:29 PM PST Compared to the nation, a higher proportion of children in California are uninsured, one in every 10 children or more than 1.1 million in 2011. More of California's children have public health insurance and fewer through their parents' employer. And, over the past three years, a decade of advances in California children's public insurance enrollment has stalled.

Paper-and-scissors technique rocks the nano world: Future nanofluidic devices for batteries, water purification systems Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:29 PM PST Sometimes simplicity is best. Researchers have discovered an easy way to make nanofluidic devices: using paper and scissors. And they can cut a device into any shape and size, adding to the method's versatility. Nanofluidic devices are attractive because their thin channels can transport ions -- and with them a higher than normal electric current -- making them promising for use in batteries and new systems for water purification, harvesting energy and DNA sorting.

Even moderate drinking in pregnancy can affect a child's IQ Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST Relatively small levels of exposure to alcohol while in the womb can influence a child's IQ, according to a new study using data from over 4,000 mothers and their children.

Oldest fossil of giant panda family discovered Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST New fossils found in Spain are thought to be of the oldest recorded ancestor of the giant panda. The fossils reveal the origins of this unique bear.

Bored mink snack between meals, lie awake in bed; Enriching surroundings reduces signs of boredom in caged mink Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST How can you tell when an animal is bored? Researchers have found that mink housed in boring conditions consume more food treats between meals, and lie awake for a large portion of the day compared to mink that live in interesting environments. The study quantifies, for the first time, signs of boredom in an animal.

Why yawning is contagious in bonobos: As with humans, yawning Is more contagious when individuals are closely related Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST Being socially close to another bonobo is more likely to make bonobo apes yawn in response to the other's yawns, according to new research. The researchers found that yawning in bonobos is more contagious when individuals are strongly bonded to one another as kin or close friends.

People identify symptoms of depression more readily in women than men Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST The ability to correctly identify signs of depression depends on the gender of both the identifier and the person with depression, as well as individual psychological differences, according to new research.

Remixed brain waves reveal soundtrack of the human brain Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST Scientists have combined and translated two kinds of brain wave recordings into music, transforming one recording (EEG) to create the pitch and duration of a note, and the other (fMRI) to control the intensity of the music. The research reveals an improved method to reflect the physiological processes of the scale-free brain in music.

Captive animals show signs of boredom, study finds Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:28 PM PST Wondering if your caged hamster gets bored? It's highly likely if the critter has nothing to do all day. Those are the findings of researchers in the first study to empirically demonstrate boredom in confined animals.

Gene nearly triples risk of Alzheimer's, international research team finds Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:17 PM PST A gene so powerful it nearly triples the risk of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by an international team of researchers. It is the most potent genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's identified in the past 20 years.

Discovery could lead to faster diagnosis for some chronic fatigue syndrome cases Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:17 PM PST For the first time, researchers have landed on a potential diagnostic method to identify at least a subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome - testing for antibodies linked to latent Epstein-Barr virus reactivation.

Heart failure in older breast cancer patients linked to medication Posted: 14 Nov 2012 01:26 PM PST Heart failure is a relatively common complication in older women with breast cancer, but the risk is even higher in those patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab, researchers report.

Evolving roles of hospice and palliative care Posted: 14 Nov 2012 01:16 PM PST Many people think hospice and palliative care come at the end of life, and while both often play a key role then, palliative care also can provide pain relief, symptom control, emotional comfort and spiritual support as patients recover from serious illnesses.

Research breakthrough could halt melanoma metastasis, study suggests Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:32 PM PST In laboratory experiments, scientists have eliminated metastasis, the spread of cancer from the original tumor to other parts of the body, in melanoma by inhibiting a protein known as melanoma differentiation associated gene-9 (mda-9)/syntenin.

Exploring the financial costs of sadness Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:32 PM PST Your emotions can certainly impact your decisions, but you might be surprised by the extent to which your emotions affect your pocketbook. New research explores how impatience brought on by sadness can in turn produce substantial financial loss.

Meningitis A vaccine breaks barrier; first to gain approval to travel outside cold chain Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:32 PM PST Signaling a potential breakthrough for immunization programs in resource-poor countries, researchers will for the first time allow a vaccine in Africa to be transported and stored for as long as four days without refrigeration or even an icepack.

Five things everyone should know about lung cancer Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:31 PM PST More than an estimated 160,000 people in the United States will die from lung cancer this year, making it the country's leading cause of cancer death. According to the National Cancer Institute, it surpassed breast cancer as the number one killer in women back in 1987. It causes more deaths than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined, according to the American Lung Association.

Want better employees? Get somebody else to rate their personalities Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:31 PM PST Businesses will get more accurate assessments of potential and current employees if they do away with self-rated personality tests and ask those being assessed to find someone else to rate them, suggest results from a new study.

ACL knee injuries much more likely in female athletes Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:31 PM PST Female athletes are far more likely than males to suffer serious ACL knee injuries. But many of these injuries could be prevented by doing preseason conditioning and using proper landing techniques after jumping.

Job autonomy, trust in leadership keys to improvement initiatives Posted: 14 Nov 2012 11:33 AM PST Frontline employees will commit to improving their organization if they perceive a high degree of autonomy in their jobs and trust their leaders.

Bug repellent for supercomputers proves effective Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:47 AM PST Researchers have used the Stack Trace Analysis Tool, a highly scalable, lightweight tool to debug a program running more than one million MPI processes on the IBM Blue Gene/Q-based Sequoia supercomputer.

Traumatic brain injury patients, supercomputer simulations studied to improve helmets Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:47 AM PST Researchers are comparing supercomputer simulations of blast waves on the brain with clinical studies of veterans suffering from mild traumatic brain injuries to help improve helmet designs.

Scientists 'clone' carbon nanotubes to unlock their potential for use in electronics Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:47 AM PST Scientists have developed a method of "cloning" carbon nanotubes for use as semiconductors in electronics.

In financial ecosystems, big banks trample economic habitats and spread fiscal disease Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:46 AM PST Researchers have applied methods inspired by ecosystem stability and contagion models to banking meltdowns and found that large national and international banks wield an influence and potentially destructive power that far exceeds their actual size. As a result, the capital that current regulations require large banks to maintain should be based on the institution's systemic importance.

What lies beneath? New survey technique offers detailed picture of our changing landscape Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:46 AM PST A new surveying technique is giving geologists their first detailed picture of how ground movement associated with historical mining is changing the face of our landscape.

Could poor sleep contribute to symptoms of schizophrenia? Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:45 AM PST Neuroscientists studying the link between poor sleep and schizophrenia have found that irregular sleep patterns and desynchronized brain activity during sleep could trigger some of the disease's symptoms. The findings suggest that these prolonged disturbances might be a cause and not just a consequence of the disorder's debilitating effects.

Pig genomes provide massive amount of genomic data for human health Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:45 AM PST Researchers provide a whole-genome sequence and analysis of number of pig breeds, including a miniature pig that serves a model for human medical studies and therapeutic drug testing.

Pig genome offers insights into the feistiest of farm animals Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:45 AM PST The pig and its cousin the wild boar have much in common with humans. They are world travelers. They often damage their own habitat. They are easy to seduce (with food) and susceptible to domestication, but when conditions allow, they revert to a feral lifestyle. A new genomic analysis reveals some new, unexpected and potentially beneficial similarities between pigs and humans, and a few distinct differences.

Tropical Indo-Pacific climate shifts to a more El Niño-like state Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:45 AM PST Climate models predict a slowdown of the Walker circulation with global warming. Atmospheric models, however, have failed to reproduce the slowdown already observed over the last 60 years, casting doubt on their ability to simulate slow climate change. Now a study has succeeded in simulating the slowdown and shows that changes in the sea surface temperature pattern across the Indo-Pacific are the cause.

New dating of sea-level records reveals rapid response between ice volume and polar temperature Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PST A new study has revealed a rapid response between global temperature and ice volume/sea-level, which could lead to sea-levels rising by over one meter. During the last few million years, global ice-volume variability has been one of the main feedback mechanisms in climate change, because of the strong reflective properties of large ice sheets. Ice volume changes in ancient times can be reconstructed from sea-level records. However, detailed assessment of the role of ice volume in climate change is hindered by inadequacies in sea-level records and/or their timescales. Now, for the first time, scientists are able to accurately date continuous sea-level records, to allow detailed comparisons of the ice-volume variability with independently dated ice-core records from Antarctica and Greenland.

Tolerance to malaria by means of iron control Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PST Malaria is a life-threatening condition that exposes approximately half of the world's population to the risk of developing a severe and often lethal form of disease. Researchers have discovered that the development of severe forms of malaria can be prevented by a simple mechanism that controls the accumulation of iron in tissues of the infected host.

Rare parasitic fungi could have anti-flammatory benefits Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PST Caterpillar fungi are rare parasites found on hibernating caterpillars in the mountains of Tibet. For centuries they have been highly prized as a traditional Chinese medicine - just a small amount can fetch hundreds of dollars.

Sisyphean task for polar molecules Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PST A new cooling method for polyatomic molecules paves the way for the investigation of molecular gases near absolute zero temperature.

20-year-old stroke patient part of growing trend of strokes in young people Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:39 AM PST Michelle Nimmerrichter was only 20 when she suffered a stroke that left her in a coma and on a ventilator. She appears to be part of a trend -- a recent study found that strokes are affecting people at younger ages.

Exposure to light at night may cause depression, learning issues, mouse study suggests Posted: 14 Nov 2012 10:39 AM PST For most of history, humans rose with the sun and slept when it set. Enter Thomas Edison and colleagues, and with a flick of a switch, night became day, enabling us to work, play and post cat and kid photos on Facebook into the wee hours. According to a new study of mice, however, this typical 21st-century scenario may come at a serious cost: When people routinely burn the midnight oil, they risk suffering depression and learning issues, and not only because of lack of sleep. The culprit could also be exposure to bright light at night from lamps, computers and even iPads.

Pacific fishing zones: Lifeline for overfished tuna? Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST Marine zoning in the Pacific Ocean, in combination with other measures, could significantly improve numbers of heavily overfished bigeye tuna and improve local economies, a fish modelling study has found.

'Dirty money' affects spending habits, new study finds Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST Looks matter -- even when it comes to money. A new study has found that currency's physical appearance dramatically affects consumer behavior.

Life and death in a star-forming cloud Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST The aftershock of a stellar explosion rippling through space is captured in this new view of supernova remnant W44, which combines far-infrared and X-ray data from ESA's Herschel and XMM-Newton space observatories.

Nanometer-scale diamond tips improve nano-manufacturing Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST One of the most promising innovations of nanotechnology has been the ability to perform rapid nanofabrication using nanometer-scale tips. The fabrication speed can be dramatically increased by using heat. High speed and high temperature have been known to degrade the tip… until now. Researchers have created a new type of nano-tip for thermal processing, which is made entirely out of diamond.

Changing climate, not tourism, seems to be driving decline in chinstrap-penguin populations Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST The breeding population of chinstrap penguins has declined significantly as temperatures have rapidly warmed on the Antarctic Peninsula, according to new research.

Cancer therapy: Nanokey opens tumors to attack Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:38 AM PST There are plenty of effective anticancer agents around. The problem is that, very often, they cannot gain access to all the cells in solid tumors. A new gene delivery vehicle may provide a way of making tracks to the heart of the target.

Driving drones can be a drag: Distractions may alleviate boredom and improve drone operators' performance Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:37 AM PST A new study shows that distractions may alleviate boredom and improve drone operators' performance.

Headshaking in horses: New treatment has 50% success rate Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:37 AM PST A study has found a pioneering new surgical procedure, called caudal compression of the infraorbital nerve, could be a viable option for headshaking in horses with a long-term success rate of nearly 50 percent.

New brain gene gives us edge over apes, study suggests Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:34 AM PST Scientists have taken a step forward in helping to solve one of life's greatest mysteries -- what makes us human?

Pancreas stem cell discovery may lead to new diabetes treatments Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:34 AM PST Stem cells in the adult pancreas have been identified that can be turned into insulin producing cells, a finding that means people with type 1 diabetes might one day be able to regenerate their own insulin-producing cells.

Leggiest animal on Earth lives in outskirts of Silicon Valley Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:34 AM PST With 750 legs, the millipede Illacme plenipes is the leggiest animal on Earth. Once believed extinct, scientists rediscovered the species in 2005 -- more than 80 years after it was first described. This exceedingly rare millipede is known from a single 4.5 km2 area in California, and the millipede has a beautifully intricate anatomy including the ability to spin silk from long hairs covering its back.

Television: Chronicle of a Death Foretold? Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:33 AM PST Not only is TV not endangered, but it also has a unifying social impact on the nuclear family across the country. This is the main conclusion of a cross-Canada study on the television viewing habits of families with at least one child aged between 9 and 12 years.

Brain waves make waves Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:33 AM PST Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this oscillation synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers have found that this influences the way we listen. Hearing abilities also oscillate and depend on the exact timing of one's brain rhythms. This discovery that sound, brain, and behavior are so intimately coupled will help us to learn more about listening abilities in hearing loss.

Why some people are afraid to relax Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:29 AM PST Are you one of those people who can't sit still? A researcher has developed a questionnaire to explore the physical, cognitive and social issues surrounding the anxiety related to kicking back a little.

Engineering a photo-switch for nerve cells in the eye and brain Posted: 14 Nov 2012 08:29 AM PST Chemists and vision scientists have designed a light-sensitive molecule that can stimulate a neural response in cells of the retina and brain -- a possible first step to overcoming degenerative eye diseases like age-related macular degeneration, or to quieting epileptic seizures.

PCBs, other pollutants may play role in pregnancy delay Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:40 AM PST Couples with high levels of PCBs and similar environmental pollutants take longer to achieve pregnancy in comparison to other couples with lower levels of the pollutants, according to a preliminary study.

Not what you consciously thought: How we can do math problems and read phrases nonconsciously Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:39 AM PST Can we actually read words and phrases and solve multi-step mathematical problems without our having consciously been aware of them? A team of psychologists has conducted a series of experiments that give a positive answer: people can read and do math nonconsciously.

A risk gene for cannabis psychosis Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:39 AM PST The ability of cannabis to produce psychosis has long been an important public health concern. This concern is growing in importance as there is emerging data that cannabis exposure during adolescence may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, a serious psychotic disorder. Further, with the advent of medical marijuana, a new group of people with uncertain psychosis risk may be exposed to cannabis.

Smoking affects allergy-relevant stem cells Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:39 AM PST Environmental contaminants, such as smoking, are harmful to the human organism in relation to the occurrence of allergies. Until now, researchers had never investigated whether and to what extent environmental contaminants also affect allergy-relevant stem cells. For the first time, researchers have found evidence that smoking affects the development of peripheral allergy-relevant stem cells in the blood.

Melting glaciers raise sea level Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:38 AM PST Anthropogenic climate change leads to melting glaciers and rising sea level. Between 1902 and 2009, melting glaciers contributed 11 cm to sea level rise. They were therefore the most important cause of sea level rise. Scientists have numerically modeled the changes of each of the world's 300,000 glaciers. Until 2100, glaciers could lead to an additional 22 cm of sea level rise.

Triclosan in cosmetics and personal care products can increase allergy risk Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:38 AM PST Triclosan - an antibacterial chemical found in toothpaste and other products - can contribute to an increased risk of allergy development in children.

Lost in space: Rogue planet spotted? Orphaned world may help to explain how planets and stars form Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:34 AM PST Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope have identified a body that is very probably a planet wandering through space without a parent star. This is the most exciting free-floating planet candidate so far and the closest such object to the Solar System at a distance of about 100 light-years. Its comparative proximity, and the absence of a bright star very close to it, has allowed the team to study its atmosphere in great detail. This object also gives astronomers a preview of the exoplanets that future instruments aim to image around stars other than the Sun.

BPA shown to disrupt thyroid function in pregnant animals and offspring Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:32 AM PST In utero exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) can be associated with decreased thyroid function in newborn sheep, according to a recent study.

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