ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Removing doubt over croc snout clout
• Promising new target for Parkinson's disease therapies
• They hunt, they kill, they cheat: Single-celled algae shed light on social lives of microbes
• Physicists help show math behind growth of 'coffee rings'
• Climate change's effects on temperate rain forests surprisingly complex
• Complex spinal surgeries with two attending physicians, instead of one, benefit patients
• New insights on drought predictions in East Africa
• Poll: Youth attitudes on 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade
• Standard written checklists can improve patient safety during surgical crises
• Ancient Earth's geochemistry: Some tectonic processes driving volcanic activity occurred 3.8 billion years ago
• Powerful people better at shaking off rebuffs, bonding with others
• Air pollution and unhappiness correlated, study of Europeans shows
• Wind in the willows boosts biofuel production: Trees grown diagonally produce five times more biofuel
• Improved stink bug trapping methods
• Handheld mobile device performs laboratory-quality HIV testing
• Which nutritional factors help preserve muscle mass, strength and performance in seniors?
• Melt ponds cause Artic sea ice to melt more rapidly
• Severe climate jeopardizing Amazon forest, study finds
• Protein folding via charge zippers
• Light switch inside brain: Laser controls individual nerve cells in mouse
• Abortions are safe when performed by nurses practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives, study suggests
• Heat waves, storms, flooding: Climate change to profoundly affect U.S. Midwest in coming decades
• Savanna study highlights African fuelwood crisis
• New material for warm-white LED lights
• Simple blood test can help identify trauma patients at greatest risk of death
• Molecular assembly line brings muscles into shape
• Nanowires fuel breakthrough for solar energy
• Thin film solar cells: New world record for solar cell efficiency
• Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes, study suggests
• Small change for big improvement: Halogen bonds and drug discovery
• How repeated aggression triggers social aversion in mice
• The cell that isn't: New technique captures division of membrane-less cells
• Black silicon can take efficiency of solar cells to new levels
• Severity of emphysema predicts mortality
• Stroke survivors with PTSD more likely to avoid treatment
• How the brain copes with multi tasking alters with age
• It’s a dog's life: Doggy database aims to define pet health
• Inadequate food facilities in NC migrant camps could cause illness
• Botox beats steroids for painful foot condition, plantar fasciitis, study suggests

Removing doubt over croc snout clout Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:50 PM PST Researchers have shown how the shape of a crocodile's snout could determine its ability to feast on certain types of prey, from large mammals to small fish.

Promising new target for Parkinson's disease therapies Posted: 18 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST With a new insight into a model of Parkinson's disease, researchers have identified a novel target for mitigating some of the disease's toll on the brain.

They hunt, they kill, they cheat: Single-celled algae shed light on social lives of microbes Posted: 18 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST Cheating is rampant among microscopically small algae, biologists have discovered. Their study adds to the emerging view that microbes often have active social lives. Future research could potentially open up new approaches to control or counteract toxic algal blooms.

Physicists help show math behind growth of 'coffee rings' Posted: 18 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST Last year, physicists showed how to undo the "coffee-ring effect," a commonplace occurrence when drops of liquid with suspended particles dry, leaving a ring-shaped stain at the drop's edges. Now the team is exploring how those particles stack up as they reach the drop's edge, and they discovered that different particles make smoother or rougher deposition profiles at the drop edge depending on their shape.

Climate change's effects on temperate rain forests surprisingly complex Posted: 18 Jan 2013 02:23 PM PST Longer, warmer growing seasons associated with a changing climate are altering growing conditions in temperate rain forests, but not all plant species will be negatively affected, according to new research.

Complex spinal surgeries with two attending physicians, instead of one, benefit patients Posted: 18 Jan 2013 11:53 AM PST Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes -- and a new study demonstrates how having two attending surgeons in the operating room during spinal surgeries can benefit patients in multiple ways.

New insights on drought predictions in East Africa Posted: 18 Jan 2013 11:53 AM PST New research helps explain the mechanisms at work behind historical patterns of aridity in Eastern Africa over many decades -- findings that may help improve future predictions of drought and food security in the region.

Poll: Youth attitudes on 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade Posted: 18 Jan 2013 11:52 AM PST On the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade, more young people identify as "pro-choice" rather than "pro-life," according to a national poll of more than 4,000 high school and college students. Little fear of overturn of decision according to poll of high school and college students.

Standard written checklists can improve patient safety during surgical crises Posted: 18 Jan 2013 11:52 AM PST When hospital operating room staff follow a written safety checklist to respond to a medical crisis during surgery, they are nearly 75 percent less likely to miss a critical clinical step.

Ancient Earth's geochemistry: Some tectonic processes driving volcanic activity occurred 3.8 billion years ago Posted: 18 Jan 2013 10:01 AM PST Researchers still have much to learn about the volcanism that shaped our planet's early history. New evidence demonstrates that some of the tectonic processes driving volcanic activity, such as those taking place today, were occurring as early as 3.8 billion years ago.

Powerful people better at shaking off rebuffs, bonding with others Posted: 18 Jan 2013 10:01 AM PST Employees often tiptoe around their bosses for fear of offending them. But new research shows people in power have thicker skin than one might think.

Air pollution and unhappiness correlated, study of Europeans shows Posted: 18 Jan 2013 09:59 AM PST Researchers in Canada have found a correlation between air pollution and people's happiness. Their deep analysis suggests that air pollution may lead to unhappiness while the converse is also true, the unhappier the citizens of a country the more air pollution.

Wind in the willows boosts biofuel production: Trees grown diagonally produce five times more biofuel Posted: 18 Jan 2013 09:59 AM PST Willow trees cultivated for 'green energy' can yield up to five times more biofuel if they grow diagonally, compared with those that are allowed to grow naturally up towards the sky. This effect had been observed in the wild and in plantations, but scientists were previously unable to explain why some willows produced more biofuel than others.

Improved stink bug trapping methods Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:26 AM PST Baited black traps in a pyramid shape attract significantly more brown marmorated stink bugs than other traps, according to scientists. Evaluating stink bug responses to different visual stimuli may help manufacturers design better traps for monitoring the bugs.

Handheld mobile device performs laboratory-quality HIV testing Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:26 AM PST A new handheld mobile device can check patients' HIV status with just a finger prick, and synchronize the results in real time with electronic health records. This technology takes a step toward providing remote areas of the world with diagnostic services traditionally available only in centralized healthcare settings.

Which nutritional factors help preserve muscle mass, strength and performance in seniors? Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:17 AM PST A new review identifies nutritional factors that contribute to sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass), or conversely, are beneficial to the maintenance of muscle mass. The Group reviewed evidence from worldwide studies on the role of nutrition in sarcopenia, specifically looking at protein, acid–base balance, vitamin D/calcium, and other minor nutrients like B vitamins.

Melt ponds cause Artic sea ice to melt more rapidly Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:17 AM PST The Arctic sea ice has not only declined over the past decade but has also become distinctly thinner and younger. Researchers are now observing mainly thin, first-year ice floes which are extensively covered with melt ponds in the summer months where once meter-thick, multi-year ice used to float.

Severe climate jeopardizing Amazon forest, study finds Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:17 AM PST An area of the Amazon rainforest twice the size of California continues to suffer from the effects of a megadrought that began in 2005, finds a new NASA-led study. These results, together with observed recurrences of droughts every few years and associated damage to the forests in southern and western Amazonia in the past decade, suggest these rainforests may be showing the first signs of potential large-scale degradation due to climate change.

Protein folding via charge zippers Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:15 AM PST Membrane proteins are the "molecular machines" in biological cell envelopes. They control diverse processes, such as the transport of molecules across the lipid membrane, signal transduction, and photosynthesis. Their shape, i.e. folding of the molecules, plays a decisive role in the formation of, e.g., pores in the cell membrane. Scientists are now reporting a novel charge zipper principle used by proteins to form functional units.

Light switch inside brain: Laser controls individual nerve cells in mouse Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:15 AM PST Activating and deactivating individual nerve cells in the brain is something many neuroscientists wish they could do, as it would help them to better understand how the brain works. Scientists have now developed an implant that is able to genetically modify specific nerve cells, control them with light stimuli, and measure their electrical activity all at the same time.

Abortions are safe when performed by nurses practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives, study suggests Posted: 18 Jan 2013 07:41 AM PST First trimester abortions are just as safe when performed by trained nurse practitioners, physician assistants and certified nurse midwives as when conducted by physicians, according to a new six-year study.

Heat waves, storms, flooding: Climate change to profoundly affect U.S. Midwest in coming decades Posted: 18 Jan 2013 07:41 AM PST In the coming decades, climate change will lead to more frequent and more intense Midwest heat waves while degrading air and water quality and threatening public health. Intense rainstorms and floods will become more common, and existing risks to the Great Lakes will be exacerbated, according to a new report.

Savanna study highlights African fuelwood crisis Posted: 18 Jan 2013 04:22 AM PST The dwindling reserves of fuelwood in Africa have been illuminated in a new study, which shows a bleak outlook for supplies across savannas in South Africa.

New material for warm-white LED lights Posted: 18 Jan 2013 04:22 AM PST Light emitting diodes, more commonly called LEDs, are known for their energy efficiency and durability, but the bluish, cold light of current white LEDs has precluded their widespread use for indoor lighting. Now, scientists have fabricated what is thought to be the world's first LED that emits a warm white light using a single light emitting material, or phosphor, with a single emitting center for illumination.

Simple blood test can help identify trauma patients at greatest risk of death Posted: 18 Jan 2013 04:22 AM PST A simple, inexpensive blood test performed on trauma patients upon admission can help doctors easily identify patients at greatest risk of death, according to a new study.

Molecular assembly line brings muscles into shape Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:48 AM PST Scientists have discovered the molecular basis underlying the patterned folding and assembly of muscle proteins.

Nanowires fuel breakthrough for solar energy Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST Nanowires could pave the way for more efficient and cheaper solar cells. Research on solar cell nanowires is on the rise globally. Until now the unattained dream figure was ten per cent efficiency -- but now researchers are able to report an efficiency of 13.8 per cent.

Thin film solar cells: New world record for solar cell efficiency Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST In a remarkable feat, scientists have developed thin film solar cells on flexible polymer foils with a new record efficiency of 20.4% for converting sunlight into electricity. The cells are based on CIGS semiconducting material (copper indium gallium (di)selenide) known for its potential to provide cost-effective solar electricity. The technology is currently awaiting scale-up for industrial applications.

Good bacteria in the intestine prevent diabetes, study suggests Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST All humans have enormous numbers of bacteria and other micro-organisms in the lower intestine. New research suggests that the influence of the intestinal bacteria extends deep inside the body to influence the likelihood of getting diabetes. Scientists have been able to show that intestinal bacteria, especially in male mice, can produce biochemicals and hormones that stop diabetes developing.

Small change for big improvement: Halogen bonds and drug discovery Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST Halogen bonding has been applied in crystal engineering, materials research, and nanotechnology for some time. Scientists have now developed a new tool to use halogen bonds for drug discovery applications.

How repeated aggression triggers social aversion in mice Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST One of the mechanisms involved in the onset of stress-induced depression has been highlighted in mice. Scientists have determined the role of the corticosterone (stress hormone) receptor, in the long-term behavioral change triggered by chronic stress. In mice subject to repeated aggressions, this receptor participates in the development of social aversion by controlling the release of dopamine, a key chemical messenger. If this receptor is blocked, the animals become "resilient": although anxious, they overcome the trauma and no longer avoid contact with their fellow creatures.

The cell that isn't: New technique captures division of membrane-less cells Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST A new technique allows scientists to study cell division without a cell membrane. There are several advantages: it can be physically constrained and manipulated; one can access nuclei which is normally buried deep in an opaque embryo; the method ican be combined with a wide-range of fruit fly genetics techniques. The method has revealed that, surprisingly, confined space not enough to restrict spindle size.

Black silicon can take efficiency of solar cells to new levels Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:47 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated results that show a huge improvement in the light absorption and the surface passivation on silicon nanostructures. This has been achieved by applying atomic layer coating. The results advance the development of devices that require high sensitivity light response such as high efficiency solar cells.

Severity of emphysema predicts mortality Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:46 AM PST Severity of emphysema, as measured by computed tomography (CT), is a strong independent predictor of all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in ever-smokers with or without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study.

Stroke survivors with PTSD more likely to avoid treatment Posted: 18 Jan 2013 03:45 AM PST 65% of stroke survivors with PTSD, vs. 33% of those without PTSD, failed to adhere to treatment. Nonadherence in PTSD patients was partially explained by increased ambivalence toward medication. About one-third of stroke survivors with PTSD viewed medications as disruptions to their lives, worried about long-term effects of medications or potential dependence on them.

How the brain copes with multi tasking alters with age Posted: 17 Jan 2013 08:00 PM PST The pattern of blood flow in the prefrontal cortex in the brains alters with age during multi-tasking, finds a new study. Increased blood volume, measured using oxygenated haemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) increased at the start of multitasking in all age groups. But to perform the same tasks, healthy older people had a higher and more sustained increase in Oxy-Hb than younger people.

It’s a dog's life: Doggy database aims to define pet health Posted: 17 Jan 2013 08:00 PM PST Using data collected about Labrador Retrievers, new research is beginning to quantify the health, illnesses, and veterinary care of dogs. To date the long term (longitudinal) study of canine diseases has been patchy, relying on information from referral centers and details about pet illnesses which are not reported to a vet have never been studied before.

Inadequate food facilities in NC migrant camps could cause illness Posted: 17 Jan 2013 01:28 PM PST Farmworkers are at potential risk from food and waterborne illnesses because of the condition of cooking and eating facilities available to them, according to a new study.

Botox beats steroids for painful foot condition, plantar fasciitis, study suggests Posted: 17 Jan 2013 12:20 PM PST Plantar fasciitis is the most frequent cause of chronic heel pain, leaving many sufferers unable to put their best foot forward for months at a time. Now a Mexican study suggests that physicians should turn to Botox rather than steroids to offer patients the fastest road to recovery.

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