ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Laser instrument on NASA Mars rover tops 100,000 zaps
• Reducing salt is bad for glacial health, NASA finds
• History of American urban squirrel
• Frequent cell phone use linked to anxiety, lower grade, reduced happiness in students
• Growing giants: Huge grains of copper promote better graphene growth
• Study finds parental stress linked to obesity in children
• Surprising discovery: Skin communicates with liver
• Promising results for Swedish cancer drug candidate
• Squeezing transistors really hard generates energy savings
• Human stem cells predict efficacy of Alzheimer drugs
• Three-dimensional view helps laser in building new molecules
• Predictor of prostate cancer outcomes identified
• Electrical brain stimulation may evoke a person's 'will to persevere'
• Scientists accelerate aging in stem cells to study age-related diseases like Parkinson's
• More logging, deforestation may better serve climate in some areas
• Liver transplant survival rates lower in black than white pediatric patients
• Preference for oranges protects fruit flies from parasites
• Traumatic brain injury rehab outcomes studied
• Cancer mutation likely trigger of scleroderma
• Emerging bird flu strain poorly adapted for infecting humans
• Brain cancer cells hide while drugs seek
• Alcohol in pregnancy causes children to have impaired social skills
• Thermoelectric materials nearing production scale
• High-tech athletic shoe for pure running pleasure
• Heads or tails? Random fluctuations in brain cell activity may determine toss-up decisions
• Teen sleep problems: Social ties more important than biology
• Almost 600 under-16s take up smoking every day in UK
• Scientists present groundbreaking HIV prevention research

Laser instrument on NASA Mars rover tops 100,000 zaps Posted: 06 Dec 2013 11:42 AM PST NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has passed the milestone of 100,000 shots fired by its laser. It uses the laser as one way to check which chemical elements are in rocks and soils.

Reducing salt is bad for glacial health, NASA finds Posted: 06 Dec 2013 11:36 AM PST A new NASA-led study has discovered an intriguing link between sea ice conditions and the melting rate of Totten Glacier, the glacier in East Antarctica that discharges the most ice into the ocean. The discovery, involving cold, extra salty water -- brine -- that forms within openings in sea ice, adds to our understanding of how ice sheets interact with the ocean, and may improve our ability to forecast and prepare for future sea level rise.

History of American urban squirrel Posted: 06 Dec 2013 10:24 AM PST A researcher has examined how squirrels found homes in American cities, and how the presence of the now-ubiquitous bushy-tailed critters altered people's conceptions of nature and community.

Frequent cell phone use linked to anxiety, lower grade, reduced happiness in students Posted: 06 Dec 2013 09:44 AM PST Results of the analysis showed that cell phone use by college students was negatively related to GPA and positively related to anxiety. Following this, GPA was positively related to happiness while anxiety was negatively related to happiness. Thus, for the population studied, high frequency cell phone users tended to have lower GPA, higher anxiety, and lower satisfaction with life (happiness) relative to their peers who used the cell phone less often.

Growing giants: Huge grains of copper promote better graphene growth Posted: 06 Dec 2013 08:17 AM PST To technology insiders, graphene is a certified big deal. The one-atom thick carbon-based material elicits rhapsodic descriptions as the strongest, thinnest material known. It also is light, flexible, and able to conduct electricity as well as copper. Graphene-based electronics promise advances such as faster internet speeds, cheaper solar cells, novel sensors, space suits spun from graphene yarn, and more. Now a research team may help bring graphene's promise closer to reality.

Study finds parental stress linked to obesity in children Posted: 06 Dec 2013 08:17 AM PST Parental stress is linked to weight gain in children, according to a new study.

Surprising discovery: Skin communicates with liver Posted: 06 Dec 2013 07:16 AM PST Researchers have discovered that the skin is capable of communicating with the liver. The discovery has surprised the scientists, and they say that it may help our understanding of how skin diseases can affect the rest of the body.

Promising results for Swedish cancer drug candidate Posted: 06 Dec 2013 07:16 AM PST A new study presents very promising results for the treatment of the cancer form multiple myeloma. The findings are so promising that the scientists are teaming up with Harvard to bring the drug to clinical trials on patients.

Squeezing transistors really hard generates energy savings Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST If silicon is squeezed, this affects the freedom of movement of the electrons in this material. This can promote or restrict the flow of electrical current. Compare it to a garden hose. When you stand on it, less water comes out. But strangely enough, the flow of electrons in silicon actually increases when the material is compressed.

Human stem cells predict efficacy of Alzheimer drugs Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:11 AM PST Why do certain Alzheimer medications work in animal models but not in clinical trials in humans? A research team has been able to show that results of established test methods with animal models and cell lines used up until now can hardly be translated to the processes in the human brain. Drug testing should therefore be conducted with human nerve cells, conclude the scientists.

Three-dimensional view helps laser in building new molecules Posted: 06 Dec 2013 06:10 AM PST Scientists have developed a new feedback method for optimizing the laser pulse shapes used in the control of chemical reactions.

Predictor of prostate cancer outcomes identified Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:18 PM PST Researchers have identified a biomarker for a cellular switch that accurately predicts which prostate cancer patients are likely to have their cancer recur or spread.

Electrical brain stimulation may evoke a person's 'will to persevere' Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:18 AM PST What gives some people the ability to persevere through difficult situations that others may find insurmountable? The answer is no doubt a complicated one that may be beyond our full understanding, but new research provides some intriguing insights. The study pinpoints a region of the brain that, when stimulated, causes an individual to anticipate a challenge and possess a strong motivation to overcome it.

Scientists accelerate aging in stem cells to study age-related diseases like Parkinson's Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:16 AM PST A study has revealed a new method for converting induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into nerve cells that recapitulate features associated with aging as well as Parkinson's disease. The simple approach, which involves exposing iPSC-derived cells to a protein associated with premature aging called progerin, could enable scientists to use stem cells to model a range of late-onset disorders, opening new avenues for preventing and treating these devastating diseases.

More logging, deforestation may better serve climate in some areas Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:16 AM PST Replacing forests with snow-covered meadows may provide greater climatic and economic benefits than if trees are left standing in some regions, according to a study that for the first time puts a dollar value on snow's ability to reflect the sun's energy.

Liver transplant survival rates lower in black than white pediatric patients Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:15 AM PST Novel research reveals racial and socioeconomic disparities among pediatric liver transplant patients. Findings indicate that graft and patient survival was higher in white children than minorities. Studies show that over the last 30 years pediatric patient survival, at one year following liver transplant, is 90% compared to 70% prior to 1980. Experts suggest that as survival rates improve, understanding racial and socioeconomic differences in pediatric populations are important factors to consider.

Preference for oranges protects fruit flies from parasites Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:15 AM PST One single odorant receptor controls choice of citrus fruits as egg-laying substrate in Drosophila.

Traumatic brain injury rehab outcomes studied Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:14 AM PST For patients recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the rehabilitation process – compensating for changes in functioning, adaptation and even community reintegration – can be challenging. Unfortunately, not all rehab programs are created equal, and with the differences comes a difference in outcomes, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

Cancer mutation likely trigger of scleroderma Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:13 AM PST Scientists have found evidence that cancer triggers the autoimmune disease scleroderma, which causes thickening and hardening of the skin and widespread organ damage.

Emerging bird flu strain poorly adapted for infecting humans Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:13 AM PST Avian influenza virus H7N9, which killed several dozen people in China earlier this year, has not yet acquired the changes needed to infect humans easily, according to a new study by scientists.

Brain cancer cells hide while drugs seek Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:13 AM PST A team of scientists has found that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down the gene mutation targeted by drugs, then re-amplify that growth-promoting mutation after therapy has stopped.

Alcohol in pregnancy causes children to have impaired social skills Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:21 AM PST A recent study has found that drinking alcohol while pregnant means your child is more likely to develop issues with social skills as they grow older.

Thermoelectric materials nearing production scale Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:20 AM PST Half-Heusler compounds are especially suited for manufacturing thermoelectric modules. Waste heat can be converted to electricity with them. Researchers have manufactured the alloys for the first time in kilogram quantities.

High-tech athletic shoe for pure running pleasure Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:20 AM PST Jogging keeps you fit and is healthy. However, athletes that start training can overdo it and easily pull and tear ligaments. A new high-tech running shoe will evaluate running form in real time and thereby counter these injuries in future.

Heads or tails? Random fluctuations in brain cell activity may determine toss-up decisions Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:19 AM PST Scientists who study neuroeconomics, a new field that combines economic theories and brain science, report new insights into how the brain handles decisions involving two equally appealing options. An emerging field of study known as neuroeconomics combines the economists' insights with brain science to learn more about decision-making processes and how they can go awry.

Teen sleep problems: Social ties more important than biology Posted: 05 Dec 2013 06:19 AM PST Medical researchers point to developmental factors, specifically the decline of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, as an explanation for why children get less sleep as they become teenagers. But a new study suggests that social ties, including relationships with peers and parents, may be even more responsible for changing sleep patterns among adolescents.

Almost 600 under-16s take up smoking every day in UK Posted: 04 Dec 2013 05:27 PM PST Almost 600 under-16s take up smoking every day in the UK, suggests research published. In London alone, the daily tally is 67 -- more than 2 classrooms-full.

Scientists present groundbreaking HIV prevention research Posted: 04 Dec 2013 03:24 PM PST Researchers are making history by proving that it's possible to develop a drug delivery system that has the potential to protect women from sexually transmitted HIV and herpes simplex virus, while at the same time preventing unintended pregnancy. The report describes in vivo results from a novel, multipurpose pod-intravaginal ring delivering three antiretroviral drugs in combination with two hormonal contraceptives.

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