ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• How the brain loses and regains consciousness: Brain patterns produced by general anesthesia revealed
• Artificial leaf: Solar-to-fuel roadmap developed for crystalline silicon
• 'True grit' erodes assumptions about evolution
• Extinction looms for forest elephants: 60 percent of Africa's forest elephants killed for their ivory over past decade
• Daily-use HIV prevention approaches prove ineffective among women, study suggests
• Functional electrical stimulation cycling promotes recovery in chronic spinal cord injury
• Quantum realm: Forging new pathways to quantum devices
• Discovery of 'executioner' protein opens door to new options for stroke ALS, spinal cord injury
• Brain adds cells in puberty to navigate adult world
• Mom's placenta reflects her exposure to stress and impacts offsprings' brains
• Parkinson's disease brain rhythms detected: Finding suggests better way to monitor, treat disease with deep brain stimulation
• Is baby still breathing? Is mom's obsession normal?
• Why your brain tires when exercising
• Discovery opens door to new drug options for serious diseases
• Global warming will open unexpected new shipping routes in Arctic, researchers find
• One law to rule them all: Sizes within a species appear to follow a universal distribution
• Vortex loops could untie knotty physics problems
• Working at the extreme edge of cosmic ice
• Cassini spies bright Venus from Saturn orbit
• Exercise key to good sleep
• Unhealthy drinking widespread around the world
• Toddler 'functionally cured' of HIV infection: Clues for potentially eliminating HIV infection in other children
• Bankruptcy judges influenced by apologies
• What predicts distress after episodes of sleep paralysis?
• In Greenland and Antarctic tests, Yeti helps conquer some 'abominable' polar hazards
• Contraception in women over 40
• 'Very low' risk of infections in advanced brain procedures
• AIDS journal publishes findings of two important studies in March 2013 issue
• Scores that evaluate newborn intensive care units are inconsistent
• Studies advance knowledge of HIV impact on hepatitis C infection and genes that may thwart hepatitis C infection
• Potential of large studies for building genetic risk prediction models
• 'OK' contact lenses work by flattening front of cornea, not the entire cornea
• Gene discovery reveals importance of eating your greens
• Researchers describe first 'functional HIV cure' in an infant
• Fermat's Last Theorem and more can be proved more simply
• Maternal diet important predictor of severity for infant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
• Researchers identify queens, mysterious disease syndrome as key factors in bee colony deaths
• First evidence that obesity gene is risk factor for melanoma
• Don't be fooled: Flowers mislead traditional taxonomy
• Grandmother's cigarette habit could be the cause of grandchild's asthma
• LHC experiments to present latest results at Moriond conference
• Was King Richard III a control freak?
• Beating heart cells in a lab dish: Creating new tissue instead of transplanting hearts
• Accurate water vapor measurements for improved weather and climate models
• Netradar reveals the quality of mobile Internet connections
• Speech emerges in children on the autism spectrum with severe language delay at greater rate than previously thought
• ADHD takes a toll well into adulthood
• 'Shelf life' of blood? Shorter than we think
• Losing weight sooner rather than later gives best chance of reversing heart damage from obesity, according to mouse study

How the brain loses and regains consciousness: Brain patterns produced by general anesthesia revealed Posted: 04 Mar 2013 06:15 PM PST Researchers have identified distinctive brain patterns associated with different stages of general anesthesia.

Artificial leaf: Solar-to-fuel roadmap developed for crystalline silicon Posted: 04 Mar 2013 06:15 PM PST A new analysis points the way to optimizing efficiency of an integrated system for harvesting sunlight to make storable fuel.

'True grit' erodes assumptions about evolution Posted: 04 Mar 2013 06:15 PM PST New work in Argentina where scientists had previously thought Earth's first grasslands emerged 38 million years ago, shows the area at the time covered with tropical forests rich with palms, bamboos and gingers. Grit and volcanic ash in those forests could have caused the evolution of teeth in horse-like animals that scientists mistakenly thought were adaptations in response to emerging grasslands.

Extinction looms for forest elephants: 60 percent of Africa's forest elephants killed for their ivory over past decade Posted: 04 Mar 2013 06:12 PM PST Across their range in central Africa, a staggering 62 percent of all forest elephants have been killed for their ivory over the past decade, new research shows.

Daily-use HIV prevention approaches prove ineffective among women, study suggests Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST Three antiretroviral-based strategies intended to prevent HIV infection among women did not prove effective in a major clinical trial in Africa. For reasons that are unclear, a majority of study participants -- particularly young, single women -- were unable to use their assigned approaches daily as directed, according to new findings.

Functional electrical stimulation cycling promotes recovery in chronic spinal cord injury Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST A new study finds that long-term lower extremity functional electrical stimulation cycling, as part of a rehabilitation regimen, is associated with substantial improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury. Improvements include neurological and functional gains, as well as enhanced physical health demonstrated by decreased fat, increased muscle mass and improved lipid profile.

Quantum realm: Forging new pathways to quantum devices Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST Physicists are manipulating light on superconducting chips, and forging new pathways to building the quantum devices of the future -- including super-fast and powerful quantum computers.

Discovery of 'executioner' protein opens door to new options for stroke ALS, spinal cord injury Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST Oxidative stress turns a protein that normally protects healthy cells into their executioner, according to a new study.

Brain adds cells in puberty to navigate adult world Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST The brain adds new cells during puberty to help navigate the complex social world of adulthood, neuroscientists report.

Mom's placenta reflects her exposure to stress and impacts offsprings' brains Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST The mammalian placenta is more than just a filter through which nutrition and oxygen are passed from a mother to her unborn child. According to a new study, if a mother is exposed to stress during pregnancy, her placenta translates that experience to her fetus by altering levels of a protein that affects the developing brains of male and female offspring differently.

Parkinson's disease brain rhythms detected: Finding suggests better way to monitor, treat disease with deep brain stimulation Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST Scientists have discovered how to detect abnormal brain rhythms associated with Parkinson's by implanting electrodes within the brains of people with the disease.

Is baby still breathing? Is mom's obsession normal? Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST A new mother may constantly worry and check to see if her baby is breathing. Or she may obsess about germs. A new study found postpartum moms have a much higher rate of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population. This is the first large-scale study of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in new moms. The symptoms could result from hormonal changes or be adaptive, but may indicate a psychological disorder if they interfere with a mother's functioning.

Why your brain tires when exercising Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST For the first time ever, a research team is able to explain why our brains feel tired when we exercise. By mapping the mechanism behind so-called central fatigue, the researchers are hoping, among other things, to learn more about how to identify doping use.

Discovery opens door to new drug options for serious diseases Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST Researchers have discovered how oxidative stress can turn to the dark side a cellular protein that's usually benign, and make it become a powerful, unwanted accomplice in neuronal death. This finding could ultimately lead to new therapeutic approaches to many of the world's debilitating or fatal diseases.

Global warming will open unexpected new shipping routes in Arctic, researchers find Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:18 PM PST Shipping lanes through the Arctic Ocean won't put the Suez and Panama canals out of business anytime soon, but global warming will make these frigid routes much more accessible than ever imagined by melting an unprecedented amount of sea ice during the late summer, new research shows.

One law to rule them all: Sizes within a species appear to follow a universal distribution Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:16 PM PST Biologists have discovered what might be a universal property of size distributions in living systems. If valid throughout the animal kingdom, it could have profound implications on how we understand population dynamics of large ecosystems.

Vortex loops could untie knotty physics problems Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:08 AM PST Physicists have succeeding in creating a vortex knot -- a feat akin to tying a smoke ring into a knot. Linked and knotted vortex loops have existed in theory for more than a century, but creating them in the laboratory had previously eluded scientists.

Working at the extreme edge of cosmic ice Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:58 AM PST Behind locked doors, in a lab built like a bomb shelter, Perry Gerakines makes something ordinary yet truly alien: ice. This isn't the ice of snowflakes or ice cubes. No, this ice needs such intense cold and low pressure to form that the right conditions rarely, if ever, occur naturally on Earth. And when Gerakines makes the ice, he must keep the layer so microscopically thin it is dwarfed by a grain of pollen. These ultrathin layers turn out to be perfect for recreating some of the key chemistry that takes place in space.

Cassini spies bright Venus from Saturn orbit Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:53 AM PST A distant world gleaming in sunlight, Earth's twin planet, Venus, shines like a bright beacon in images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn.

Exercise key to good sleep Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:35 AM PST Exercise can affect your sleep. The results of the National Sleep Foundation's 2013 Sleep in America® poll show a compelling association between exercise and better sleep.

Unhealthy drinking widespread around the world Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:35 AM PST A new study shows that alcohol is now the third leading cause of the global burden of disease and injury, despite the fact most adults worldwide abstain from drinking.

Toddler 'functionally cured' of HIV infection: Clues for potentially eliminating HIV infection in other children Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:35 AM PST A two-year-old child born with HIV infection and treated with antiretroviral drugs beginning in the first days of life no longer has detectable levels of virus using conventional testing despite not taking HIV medication for 10 months, according to findings presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

Bankruptcy judges influenced by apologies Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:35 AM PST Debtors who apologized were seen as more remorseful and were expected to manage their finances more carefully in the future compared to debtors who did not offer an apology, finds a new study.

What predicts distress after episodes of sleep paralysis? Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:35 AM PST Ever find yourself briefly paralyzed as you're falling asleep or just waking up? It's a phenomenon called sleep paralysis, and it's often accompanied by vivid sensory or perceptual experiences, including complex and disturbing hallucinations and intense fear. For some, sleep paralysis is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; for others, it can be a nightly phenomenon.

In Greenland and Antarctic tests, Yeti helps conquer some 'abominable' polar hazards Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:34 AM PST A century after Western explorers first crossed the dangerous landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic, researchers have successfully deployed a self-guided robot that uses ground-penetrating radar to map deadly crevasses hidden in ice-covered terrains.

Contraception in women over 40 Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:34 AM PST Despite declining fertility, women over age 40 still require effective contraception if they wish to avoid pregnancy. A review article outlines the risks and benefits of various contraceptive options for these women. The article is aimed at helping physicians find the best methods for their patients.

'Very low' risk of infections in advanced brain procedures Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:32 AM PST Patients undergoing cerebral angiography and neurointerventional procedures on the brain are at very low risk of infection -- even without preventive antibiotics, reports a study in the March issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

AIDS journal publishes findings of two important studies in March 2013 issue Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:32 AM PST The results of two important studies have been published in the March issue of AIDS, the official journal of the International AIDS Society. One study notes that screening for HIV should be performed more frequently—up to every three months for the highest-risk patients, while low-risk groups to be tested every three years. A second study demonstrates a link between heavy drinking and risky behaviors for men who have sex with men (MSM).

Scores that evaluate newborn intensive care units are inconsistent Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:32 AM PST Future tools should build on success of current scores to improve care for vulnerable infants, according to new research.

Studies advance knowledge of HIV impact on hepatitis C infection and genes that may thwart hepatitis C infection Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:32 AM PST Infectious disease experts have found that among people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), co-infection with HIV, speeds damage and scarring of liver tissue by almost a decade.

Potential of large studies for building genetic risk prediction models Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:32 AM PST Scientists have developed a new paradigm to assess hereditary risk prediction in common diseases, such as prostate cancer.

'OK' contact lenses work by flattening front of cornea, not the entire cornea Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:31 AM PST A contact lens technique called overnight orthokeratology (OK) brings rapid improvement in vision for nearsighted patients. Now a new study shows that OK treatment works mainly by flattening the front of the cornea, reports a recent study.

Gene discovery reveals importance of eating your greens Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:56 AM PST Eating your greens may be even more important that previously thought, with the discovery that an immune cell population essential for intestinal health could be controlled by leafy greens in your diet. The immune cells, named innate lymphoid cells, are found in the lining of the digestive system and protect the body from 'bad' bacteria in the intestine. They are also believed to play an important role in controlling food allergies, inflammatory diseases and obesity, and may even prevent the development of bowel cancers.

Researchers describe first 'functional HIV cure' in an infant Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:56 AM PST A team of researchers describe the first case of a so-called "functional cure" in an HIV-infected infant. The finding, the investigators say, may help pave the way to eliminating HIV infection in children.

Fermat's Last Theorem and more can be proved more simply Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:56 AM PST Mathematicians have shown Fermat's Last Theorem can be proved using only a small portion of Grothendieck's work. Specifically, the theorem can be justified using "finite order arithmetic."

Maternal diet important predictor of severity for infant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:56 AM PST An important predictor of the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants may be what their mothers ate during pregnancy, according to a new study.

Researchers identify queens, mysterious disease syndrome as key factors in bee colony deaths Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:56 AM PST A new long-term study of honey bee health has found that a little-understood disease study authors are calling "idiopathic brood disease syndrome," which kills off bee larvae, is the largest risk factor for predicting the death of a bee colony.

First evidence that obesity gene is risk factor for melanoma Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:55 AM PST The gene most strongly linked to obesity and over eating may also increase the risk of malignant melanoma -- the most deadly skin cancer, according to scientists.

Don't be fooled: Flowers mislead traditional taxonomy Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:55 AM PST For hundreds of years, plant taxonomists have worked to understand how species are related. Until relatively recently, their only reliable source of information about these relationships was the plants' morphology--traits that could be observed, measured, counted, categorized, and described visually. And paramount among these morphological traits were aspects of flower shape and arrangement. However researchers have now found that floral morphologies may be less reliable than other traits in determining the relationships of papilionoid species and genera.

Grandmother's cigarette habit could be the cause of grandchild's asthma Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:55 AM PST Studies finding that grandmother's smoking habit may cause her grandchild to have asthma suggest environmental factors experienced today can affect families' health for generations to come.

LHC experiments to present latest results at Moriond conference Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:53 AM PST Experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are set to present their latest results at the Moriond conference, which begins tomorrow in the Italian town of La Thuile, and runs until 16 March. Although all of the LHC experiments will present results, eyes will be on the ATLAS and CMS collaborations, which will give updates on the analyses of the new particle whose discovery was announced last July.

Was King Richard III a control freak? Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:52 AM PST Psychologists believe Richard III was not a psychopath -- but he may have had control freak tendencies.

Beating heart cells in a lab dish: Creating new tissue instead of transplanting hearts Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:51 AM PST Embryonic stem cells can develop into any kind of tissue. Adult stem cells can still turn into different kinds of cells, but their differentiation potential is significantly reduced. New substances have now been developed which allow the creation of fully functional heart cells.

Accurate water vapor measurements for improved weather and climate models Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:51 AM PST A new laser hygrometer for research aircraft has proven suitable as a transfer standard.

Netradar reveals the quality of mobile Internet connections Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:50 AM PST Netradar is a free service that provides neutral, accurate information about the quality of mobile Internet connections and mobile devices collected by end users themselves throughout the world. Unlike other applications that mostly focus on bandwidth, Netradar anonymously gathers, measures and shares over ten different types of data

Speech emerges in children on the autism spectrum with severe language delay at greater rate than previously thought Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:49 AM PST Study could reveals key predictors of speech gains. New findings reveal that 70 percent of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who have a history of severe language delay, achieved phrase or fluent speech by age eight.

ADHD takes a toll well into adulthood Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:47 AM PST The first large, population-based study to follow children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder into adulthood shows that ADHD often doesn't go away and that children with ADHD are more likely to have other psychiatric disorders as adults. They also appear more likely to commit suicide and to be incarcerated as adults.

'Shelf life' of blood? Shorter than we think Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:47 AM PST A small study adds to the growing body of evidence that red blood cells stored longer than three weeks begin to lose the capacity to deliver oxygen-rich cells where they may be most needed.

Losing weight sooner rather than later gives best chance of reversing heart damage from obesity, according to mouse study Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:47 AM PST In a study of the impact of weight loss on reversing heart damage from obesity, researchers found that poor heart function in young obese mice can be reversed when the animals lose weight from a low-calorie diet. However, older mice, who had been obese longer, did not regain better heart function after they were on the same low-calorie diet.

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