ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Longer duration of breastfeeding linked with higher adult IQ and earning ability
• Greater-than-additive management effects key in reducing corn yield gaps
• Forest managers hindered in efforts to use prescribed burns to control costly wildfires
• Tropical cyclone size controlled by relative sea-surface temperatures
• Arm is safer access point than groin for catheter-based heart procedures
• Acute coronary syndromes: Patients 80 years and older would benefit from aggressive treatment
• New metabolic mechanisms discovered that regulate the macrophage's role in immune response
• HIV not as infectious soon after transmission as thought
• New lake surface temperature database will help to study climate change
• Call to change recycling standards as 3-D printing expands
• A Single-Cell Breakthrough: newly developed technology dissects properties of single stem cells
• Conifers' helicoptering seeds are result of long evolutionary experiment
• Breadth vs. depth: Why some researchers are inclined to span boundaries, others to remain within them
• 'Distracted driving' at an all-time high; new approaches needed, experts say
• Language of gene switches unchanged across evolution
• The secret to an effortless, split-second slime attack
• Meat and poultry recalls: What food firms, investors should know
• Women retain insulin sensitivity better than men
• Assimilation may put Mexican-American children at higher risk of type 2 diabetes
• Gulf of Mexico marine food web changes over the decades
• New cystic fibrosis research takes aim at deadly pathogen
• Macrophages may play critical role in melanoma resistance to BRAF inhibitors
• Teens' approach to social media risk is different from adults'
• Chronic bowel inflammation is diagnosed too late in children, adolescents
• Recommendation for vitamin D intake was miscalculated, is far too low, experts say
• Doctors don't always agree on breast biopsies, and say women with aytpia or DCIS should seek second opinions
• Graphene 'gateway' discovery opens possibilities for improved energy technologies
• Whale fossil, 17 million years old, provides first exact date for East Africa's puzzling uplift
• Flawed IQ scoring system: Important difference in American, Canadian scoring systems
• Better breakfast, better grades
• Cultivated papaya owes a lot to the ancient Maya, research suggests
• Link between aspirin, NSAIDs and colon cancer prevention may hinge on genetic variations
• How rocket science may improve kidney dialysis
• Winter hack: Textured rubber that grips slick, icy surfaces
• Revolutionary 3-D printing technology uses light and oxygen to synthesize materials from a pool of liquid
• Erectile dysfunction drug relieves nerve damage in diabetic mice
• Nanospheres cooled with light to explore the limits of quantum physics
• Materials research could unlock potential of lithium-sulfur batteries
• Emerging diseases likely to be more harmful in similar species
• Clean energy future: New cheap and efficient electrode for splitting water
• Chimpanzees will travel for preferred foods, innovate solutions
• Diet soda linked to increases in belly fat in older adults
• From heat and cold comes image and mirror image
• Language of gene switches unchanged across the evolution
• New compound prevents type 1 diabetes in animal models, before it begins
• Medications used to treat diabetes may trigger heart failure, study finds

Longer duration of breastfeeding linked with higher adult IQ and earning ability Posted: 17 Mar 2015 04:59 PM PDT Longer duration of breastfeeding is linked with increased intelligence in adulthood, longer schooling, and higher adult earnings, a study following a group of almost 3,500 newborns for 30 years.

Greater-than-additive management effects key in reducing corn yield gaps Posted: 17 Mar 2015 01:22 PM PDT While many recent studies have documented that agricultural producers must significantly increase yields in order to meet the food, feed, and fuel demands of a growing population, few have given practical solutions on how to do this. Crop science researchers interested in determining and reducing corn yield gaps are addressing this important issue by taking a systematic approach to the problem.

Forest managers hindered in efforts to use prescribed burns to control costly wildfires Posted: 17 Mar 2015 01:21 PM PDT Land managers use prescribed burns to help prevent wildfires and protect the ecosystem. They prefer to burn every few years, but costs, liability and proximity to development prevent them from performing the prescriptive burns.

Tropical cyclone size controlled by relative sea-surface temperatures Posted: 17 Mar 2015 01:21 PM PDT The size of tropical cyclones is controlled by their underlying sea-surface temperatures (SST) relative to the conditions of the mean SST within the surrounding tropical zone of the storms, researchers have found. These findings imply that under a warmer climate, the size of tropical cyclones (including hurricanes), are not based on the absolute value of SST alone.

Arm is safer access point than groin for catheter-based heart procedures Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:26 PM PDT Patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing coronary angiogram, a procedure used to assess blockages in the heart's arteries, had a significantly lower risk of major bleeding and death if their interventional cardiologist accessed the heart through an artery in the arm rather than the groin, according to research.

Acute coronary syndromes: Patients 80 years and older would benefit from aggressive treatment Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:26 PM PDT Patients over age 80 with acute coronary syndromes would likely benefit from more invasive tests and therapies that may otherwise be denied them due to their age, according to research.

New metabolic mechanisms discovered that regulate the macrophage's role in immune response Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:24 PM PDT New metabolic mechanisms have been discovered that regulate macrophage polarization - the unique ability of these immune cells to change their specialization depending on the required task. The research opens new possibilities for the development of a new class of drugs based on controlling the metabolism of immune cells.

HIV not as infectious soon after transmission as thought Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:24 PM PDT People who recently have been infected with HIV may not be as highly infectious as previously believed, a finding that could improve global efforts to prevent HIV transmission and save lives. In particular, the finding bolsters the strategy of treating patients with antiretroviral drugs before the onset of AIDS to prevent transmission.

New lake surface temperature database will help to study climate change Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:24 PM PDT Eighty two researchers from more than 20 countries collected data from major lakes in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Oceanic region. The database provides information such as air temperature, solar radiation and cloud cover that define climate, and geomorphometric characteristics including latitude, longitude, elevation, depth and volume, which may influence lake temperature.

Call to change recycling standards as 3-D printing expands Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:23 PM PDT Buying plastic filament for 3-D printing can be expensive. But a researcher and his students have whittled the cost of printing to ten cents per kilogram -- down from $30 per kilogram.

A Single-Cell Breakthrough: newly developed technology dissects properties of single stem cells Posted: 17 Mar 2015 12:23 PM PDT Researchers figure out a way to isolate and grow thousands elusive intestinal stem cells at one time, a high throughput technological advance that could give scientists the ability to study stem cell biology gastrointestinal disorders like never before.

Conifers' helicoptering seeds are result of long evolutionary experiment Posted: 17 Mar 2015 11:25 AM PDT Whirling seeds are produced by many plants today, such as maples, but the first to try them were the conifers 270 million years ago. Fossils reveal that those early conifers had winged seeds of various designs to aid seed dispersal, while today's conifers use only one design. A paleobotanist experimented with models of winged seeds to explain why conifers jettisoned less efficient whirlers and settled on the best: those with one wing.

Breadth vs. depth: Why some researchers are inclined to span boundaries, others to remain within them Posted: 17 Mar 2015 11:24 AM PDT Whether it's crossing disciplines, breaking down silos, or thinking outside the box, everyone's talking about boundary spanning as the key to solving the world's toughest problems. So why isn't everyone doing it? A new study offers some intriguing clues.

'Distracted driving' at an all-time high; new approaches needed, experts say Posted: 17 Mar 2015 10:51 AM PDT The advent of cell phones, text messaging and heavy urban traffic has taken the issue of 'distracted driving' to a historic level, a new report says, although it also identifies some training approaches that may be of value in educating young drivers about these special risks.

Language of gene switches unchanged across evolution Posted: 17 Mar 2015 10:51 AM PDT The language used in the switches that turn genes on and off has remained the same across millions of years of evolution, according to a new study. The findings indicate that the differences between animals reside in the content and length of the instructions that are written using this conserved language.

The secret to an effortless, split-second slime attack Posted: 17 Mar 2015 10:46 AM PDT Researchers explain why a tropical worm's twin jets of paralyzing slime are anything but sluggish. The velvet worm is a slow-moving, unassuming creature. With its soft body, probing antennae, and stubby legs, it looks like a slug on stilts as it creeps along damp logs in tropical climates. But it has a secret weapon. In the dark of night, when an unsuspecting cricket or termite crosses its path, the worm unleashes an instantaneous torrent of slime. Two fine jets of the gluey substance spray out of openings on its head, oscillating in all directions to cast a sticky net that entraps prey and stops it in its tracks.

Meat and poultry recalls: What food firms, investors should know Posted: 17 Mar 2015 10:45 AM PDT When publicly traded food firms face a meat or poultry recall, five factors influence stock price reactions most: severity to human health, recall size, firm size, firm's experience and media influence. These factors could financially affect publicly traded companies and their investors, authors of a new study say.

Women retain insulin sensitivity better than men Posted: 17 Mar 2015 10:45 AM PDT As people become overweight, their skeletal muscle develops insulin resistance that can lead to type two diabetes. Researchers found the activity of this protein, called PTEN (for Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10), is different between men and women.

Assimilation may put Mexican-American children at higher risk of type 2 diabetes Posted: 17 Mar 2015 10:45 AM PDT Mexican-American children who assimilate into American culture are more likely to be at high risk for Type 2 diabetes than children who do not, a study has concluded. A national study projects a 49 percent increase in adolescents with Type 2 diabetes by 2050, and 50 percent of those cases are expected to be Hispanic.

Gulf of Mexico marine food web changes over the decades Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:28 AM PDT Scientists in the Gulf of Mexico now have a better understanding of how naturally-occurring climate cycles -- as well as human activities -- can cause widespread ecosystem changes. These major shifts happen once every few decades in the Gulf, and can impact ecosystem components, including fisheries. Understanding how and why these shifts occur can help communities and industries alter management strategies in light of them.

New cystic fibrosis research takes aim at deadly pathogen Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:28 AM PDT A new method of testing the most common cause of life-threatening infection in people with cystic fibrosis could improve efforts to study and combat the illness, researchers say. In cystic fibrosis, a serious genetic disease that causes recurring lung infections, bacteria colonize a patient's lungs, usually beginning in childhood, leading to difficulty breathing. One of the most dangerous of these bacteria is P. aeruginosa, which, within the unique mucus that forms in the lungs of a person with cystic fibrosis, develops into large, antibiotic-resistant colonies.

Macrophages may play critical role in melanoma resistance to BRAF inhibitors Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:28 AM PDT Researchers have discovered one way in which melanoma becomes resistant to a particular form of targeted therapy, and understanding this phenomenon may lead to a new melanoma target or prompt new designs of these treatments, they say.

Teens' approach to social media risk is different from adults' Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:26 AM PDT For every parent who ever wondered what the heck their teens were thinking when they posted risky information or pictures on social media, a team of researchers suggests that they were not really thinking at all, or at least were not thinking like most adults do.

Chronic bowel inflammation is diagnosed too late in children, adolescents Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:25 AM PDT Cramping abdominal pains, diarrhea, bloody stools—these are common symptoms of chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Every year, thousands of children and adolescents develop the disease. But chronic inflammatory bowel disease is mostly diagnosed too late in these patients, experts suggests. The average delay between initial symptoms and diagnosis is four to six months. In most cases, the inflammation will by then have spread further.

Recommendation for vitamin D intake was miscalculated, is far too low, experts say Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:24 AM PDT Researchers are challenging the intake of vitamin D recommended by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine saying their Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin D underestimates the need by a factor of ten.

Doctors don't always agree on breast biopsies, and say women with aytpia or DCIS should seek second opinions Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:24 AM PDT While doctors almost always agree on a pathological diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, there is room for improvement when diagnosing atypia (or atypical ductal hyperplasia-ADH) and DCIS (ductal carcinoma in-situ), experts say.

Graphene 'gateway' discovery opens possibilities for improved energy technologies Posted: 17 Mar 2015 09:24 AM PDT Graphene, a strong, lightweight carbon honeycombed structure, only one atom thick, holds great promise for energy research and development. Recently scientists revealed graphene can serve as a proton-selective permeable membrane, providing a new basis for streamlined and more efficient energy technologies such as improved fuel cells.

Whale fossil, 17 million years old, provides first exact date for East Africa's puzzling uplift Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:20 AM PDT A 17 million-year-old whale fossil provides the first exact date for East Africa's puzzling tectonic uplift, says paleontologists who rediscovered the fossil. The uplift and aridification associated with the Great Rift Valley of East Africa caused changes in vegetation and have been considered a driver of human evolution. Understanding how, when, and under what conditions the fossil whale was stranded far inland in Kenya now sheds light on the uplift's timing and starting elevation.

Flawed IQ scoring system: Important difference in American, Canadian scoring systems Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:20 AM PDT Scientists have uncovered anomalies and issues with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition, one of the most widely used intelligence tests in the world. IQ scores are used to predict educational success, to help identify intellectual disabilities or intellectual giftedness and to establish whether a person has a specific learning disability.

Better breakfast, better grades Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:20 AM PDT The connection between good nutrition and good grades has been reinforced by new research that finds that free school breakfasts help students from low-income families perform better academically.

Cultivated papaya owes a lot to the ancient Maya, research suggests Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:20 AM PDT A genetic study of papaya sex chromosomes reveals that the hermaphrodite version of the plant, which is of most use to growers, arose as a result of human selection, most likely by the ancient Maya some 4,000 years ago. The study homes in on a region of papaya's male sex chromosome that, the study indicates, gave rise to the hermaphrodite plants.

Link between aspirin, NSAIDs and colon cancer prevention may hinge on genetic variations Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:19 AM PDT The link between taking aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, and colorectal cancer prevention is well established, but the mechanisms behind the protective effect have not been understood. A new study suggests this protection differs according to variations in DNA.

How rocket science may improve kidney dialysis Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:19 AM PDT Software from the aerospace industry has allowed an interdisciplinary team of U.K. researchers to design Arterio-Venous Fistulae with better, less unnatural flow patterns, which may reduce failure rates and improve clinical outcomes for patients with kidney failure who require dialysis.

Winter hack: Textured rubber that grips slick, icy surfaces Posted: 17 Mar 2015 08:19 AM PDT Researchers from Canada are developing new methods to mass-produce a material that may help pedestrians get a better grip on slippery surfaces after such storms.

Revolutionary 3-D printing technology uses light and oxygen to synthesize materials from a pool of liquid Posted: 17 Mar 2015 07:41 AM PDT A 3-D printing technology enables objects to rise from a liquid media continuously rather than being built layer by layer as they have been for the past 25 years, representing a fundamentally new approach to 3-D printing. The technology allows ready-to-use products to be made 25 to 100 times faster than other methods and creates previously unachievable geometries that open opportunities for innovation not only in health care and medicine, but also in other major industries such as automotive and aviation.

Erectile dysfunction drug relieves nerve damage in diabetic mice Posted: 17 Mar 2015 07:41 AM PDT New animal studies found that sildenafil, a drug commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, may be effective in relieving painful and potentially life-threatening nerve damage in men with long-term diabetes.

Nanospheres cooled with light to explore the limits of quantum physics Posted: 17 Mar 2015 07:41 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new technology which could one day create quantum phenomena in objects far larger than any achieved so far. The team successfully suspended glass particles 400 nanometers across in a vacuum using an electric field, then used lasers to cool them to within a few degrees of absolute zero. These are the key prerequisites for making an object behave according to quantum principles.

Materials research could unlock potential of lithium-sulfur batteries Posted: 17 Mar 2015 07:39 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a high performance cathode material with great promise for use in next generation lithium-sulfur batteries that could one day be used to power mobile devices and electric cars.

Emerging diseases likely to be more harmful in similar species Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:32 AM PDT When viruses such as influenza and Ebola jump from one species to another, their ability to cause harm can change dramatically, but research shows that it may be possible to predict the virus's virulence by looking at how deadly it is in closely-related species.

Clean energy future: New cheap and efficient electrode for splitting water Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:31 AM PDT Scientists have developed a highly efficient oxygen-producing electrode for splitting water that has the potential to be scaled up for industrial production of the clean energy fuel, hydrogen. The new technology is based on an inexpensive, specially coated foam material that lets the bubbles of oxygen escape quickly. Unlike other water electrolyzers that use precious metals as catalysts, the electrode is made entirely from two non-precious and abundant metals -- nickel and iron.

Chimpanzees will travel for preferred foods, innovate solutions Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:31 AM PDT Just as humans will travel to their favorite restaurant, chimpanzees will travel a farther distance for preferred food sources in non-wild habitats, according to a new study.

Diet soda linked to increases in belly fat in older adults Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:31 AM PDT Increasing diet soda intake is directly linked to greater abdominal obesity in adults 65 years of age and older. Findings raise concerns about the safety of chronic diet soda consumption, which may increase belly fat and contribute to greater risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases.

From heat and cold comes image and mirror image Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:30 AM PDT Chemists have developed a temperature-controlled catalyst that synthesizes both molecular mirror images of a product.

Language of gene switches unchanged across the evolution Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:30 AM PDT The language used in the switches that turn genes on and off has remained the same across millions of years of evolution, according to a new study. The findings indicate that the differences between animals reside in the content and length of the instructions that are written using this conserved language.

New compound prevents type 1 diabetes in animal models, before it begins Posted: 17 Mar 2015 06:26 AM PDT Scientists have successfully tested a potent synthetic compound that prevents type 1 diabetes in animal models of the disease. In a new study, researchers tested an experimental compound known as SR1001 in non-obese diabetic animal models. The compound targets a pair of nuclear receptors that play critical roles in the development of a specific population (Th17) of immune cells associated with the disease.

Medications used to treat diabetes may trigger heart failure, study finds Posted: 16 Mar 2015 06:48 PM PDT A comprehensive study examining clinical trials of more than 95,000 patients has found that glucose or sugar-lowering medications prescribed to patients with diabetes may pose an increased risk for the development of heart failure in these patients.

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