ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Breakthrough for solar cell efficiency
• Nanoscale engineering boosts performance of quantum dot light emitting diodes
• Epigenetics: A key to controlling acute and chronic pain
• Reading ancient climate from plankton shells
• Understanding DNA damage from common radiation threat, low-energy electrons
• Can a potentially invasive plant bring a positive influence to a region?
• Nano-dwarves turn tumor assassins
• Fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats proves hardy survivor
• New low-cost, nondestructive technology cuts risk from mercury hot spots
• Children with brain injuries nearly twice as likely to suffer from depression
• Physicists observe the formation of a many-body system in experiment
• Physicists aim to make transition to quantum world visible
• Scientists develop new method to help global coasts adapt to sea-level rise
• Scientists' new approach improves efficiency of solar cells
• Important step towards stem cell-based treatment for stroke
• Lou Gehrig’s disease: From patient stem cells to potential treatment strategy
• 'High-risk' organs from deceased donors safe when screened with current methods
• Monkey that purrs like a cat is among new species discovered in Amazon rainforest
• Kids' asthma medication frequently administered inaccurately, leading to poor health outcomes
• Insights into genetic architecture of OCD, tourette syndrome
• Study finds that paying people to become kidney donors could be cost-effective
• King of beasts losing ground in Uganda's paradise
• Minuscule bumps improve an anti-reflective coating

Breakthrough for solar cell efficiency Posted: 25 Oct 2013 11:31 AM PDT Scientists have just revealed the fundamental aspect of a new approach to growing InGaN crystals for diodes, which promises to move photovoltaic solar cell technology toward record-breaking efficiencies.

Nanoscale engineering boosts performance of quantum dot light emitting diodes Posted: 25 Oct 2013 10:53 AM PDT Dramatic advances in the field of quantum dot light emitting diodes could come from recent work. Quantum dots are nano-sized semiconductor particles whose emission color can be tuned by simply changing their dimensions.

Epigenetics: A key to controlling acute and chronic pain Posted: 25 Oct 2013 10:52 AM PDT Epigenetics, the study of changes in gene expression through mechanisms outside of the DNA structure, has been found to control a key pain receptor related to surgical incision pain, according to a new study. This study reveals new information about pain regulation in the spinal cord.

Reading ancient climate from plankton shells Posted: 25 Oct 2013 09:31 AM PDT Climate changes from millions of years ago are recorded at daily rate in ancient sea shells, new research shows.

Understanding DNA damage from common radiation threat, low-energy electrons Posted: 25 Oct 2013 09:30 AM PDT Every day, all day, our DNA gets beaten up by chemicals and radiation -- but remarkably, most of us stay healthy. Now, an investigation has produced insights into a little-studied but common radiation threat to DNA: low-energy electrons (LEEs), with energies of 0-15 electron volts.

Can a potentially invasive plant bring a positive influence to a region? Posted: 25 Oct 2013 08:39 AM PDT Could invasive species be beneficial for a region? Scientists have attempted to answer this question in Fiji by studying the influence of the invasive creeping daisy Sphagneticola trilobata on the feeding activity of a solitary bee. The study shows how contrary to expectations the invasive plant could potentially turn out to be important to crop pollination and biodiversity of the region.

Nano-dwarves turn tumor assassins Posted: 25 Oct 2013 07:22 AM PDT Chemotherapy is often preferred for fighting cancer, but its side effects can be considerable. A new technique may reduce these in future: nanoparticle-encapsulated substances could kill off tumor cells selectively. This will be easier on patients.

Fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats proves hardy survivor Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:19 AM PDT After taking an in-depth look at the basic biology of a fungus that is decimating bat colonies as it spreads across the US, researchers report that they can find little that might stop the organism from spreading further and persisting indefinitely in bat caves.

New low-cost, nondestructive technology cuts risk from mercury hot spots Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:19 AM PDT Hot spots of mercury pollution in aquatic sediments and soils can contaminate local food webs and threaten ecosystems, but cleaning them up can be expensive and destructive. Researchers have found a new low-cost, nonhazardous way to reduce the risk of exposure: using charcoal to trap it in the soil.

Children with brain injuries nearly twice as likely to suffer from depression Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:19 AM PDT Researchers have found that compared to other children, 15 percent of those with brain injuries or concussions were diagnosed as depressed -- a 4.9 fold increase in the odds of diagnosed depression.

Physicists observe the formation of a many-body system in experiment Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:18 AM PDT How large does a group of particles have to be to render moot its exact number of particles? In experiments using ultracold atoms, physicists succeeded in observing the transition to a many-body system well described by an infinite number of particles. In philosophy, this problem is known as the sorites paradox. The essential question is when a collection of elements forms a "heap."

Physicists aim to make transition to quantum world visible Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:18 AM PDT Theoretical physicists have developed a mathematical model for a type of microscopic test lab that could provide new and deeper insight into the world of quantum particles. The new test system will enable the simultaneous study of one hundred light quanta (photons) and their complex quantum mechanical relationships ("quantum entanglement") – a far greater number than was previously possible. The researchers hope to gain new insights that will be of relevance to the development of quantum computers.

Scientists develop new method to help global coasts adapt to sea-level rise Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:18 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new method to help the world's coasts adapt to global sea-level rises over the next 100 years. Future sea-level rise seems inevitable, although the rates and geographical patterns of change remain uncertain. Given the large and growing populations and economic activity in coastal zones, as well as the importance of coastal ecosystems, the potential impacts of sea-level change are far-reaching. Current methods to assess the potential impact of sea-level rise have varied significantly and hindered the development of useful scenarios and in turn, suitable adaption policies and planning. A new study has combined the available data on a number of different climate and non-climate (such as uplift, subsidence and natural phenomena - earthquakes for example) mechanisms, which contribute to sea-level change, to create appropriate scenarios of sea-level rise at any location when policy-makers consider impacts and adaption.

Scientists' new approach improves efficiency of solar cells Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new method to increase the efficiency of solar cells.

Important step towards stem cell-based treatment for stroke Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT Brain infarction, or stroke, is caused by a blood clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain, which leads to interruption of blood flow and shortage of oxygen. Now a reserach group has taken an important step towards a treatment for stroke using stem cells.

Lou Gehrig’s disease: From patient stem cells to potential treatment strategy Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:14 AM PDT A study is believed to be one of the first in which a specific form of Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was replicated in a dish, analyzed and "treated," suggesting a potential future therapy all in a single study.

'High-risk' organs from deceased donors safe when screened with current methods Posted: 25 Oct 2013 06:14 AM PDT A study has shown that after a median of 2.4 years of follow up, 86.5% of transplants of donor kidneys considered "high-risk" for infection and disease were functioning with no evidence of infections. Such "high-risk" organs are relatively safe when screened with current methods.

Monkey that purrs like a cat is among new species discovered in Amazon rainforest Posted: 25 Oct 2013 05:59 AM PDT At least 441 new species of animals and plants have been discovered over a four year period in the vast, underexplored rainforest of the Amazon, including a monkey that purrs like a cat.

Kids' asthma medication frequently administered inaccurately, leading to poor health outcomes Posted: 24 Oct 2013 03:24 PM PDT Caregivers' often administer their child's asthma medication inaccurately, which leads to poor health outcomes for those children.

Insights into genetic architecture of OCD, tourette syndrome Posted: 24 Oct 2013 03:24 PM PDT An international research consortium has answered several questions about the genetic background of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS), providing the first direct confirmation that both are highly heritable and also revealing major differences between the underlying genetic makeup of the disorders.

Study finds that paying people to become kidney donors could be cost-effective Posted: 24 Oct 2013 03:24 PM PDT Paying living donors $10,000 could be cost-saving even if it only resulted in a 5% increase in the number of donors.

King of beasts losing ground in Uganda's paradise Posted: 24 Oct 2013 11:14 AM PDT Conservationists warn that Uganda's African lions -- a mainstay of the country's tourism industry and a symbol of Africa -- are on the verge of disappearing from the country's national parks.

Minuscule bumps improve an anti-reflective coating Posted: 24 Oct 2013 08:41 AM PDT An anti-reflective film that mimics a moth's eye is durable and highly effective, overcoming some of the main barriers to commercialization.

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