ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Sunshine alone not enough for vitamin D during pregnancy
• Smoking marijuana may cause early puberty and stunts growth in boys
• Obesity may exacerbate inactivity, due to poor motor skills
• Collaborative research team solves cancer-cell mutation mystery
• Maternal obesity compromises babies' immune system at time of birth
• Microclinics help keep Kenyan HIV patients in care
• New school-based program helps reduce absentee rate for urban minority children with asthma
• Readmissions in severe sepsis are as common as those in heart failure and pneumonia
• Evidence found of non-adaptive evolution within cicadas
• Association between teen sleep patterns, alcohol or marijuana use
• Agriculture, declining mobility drove humans' shift to lighter bones
• 44 percent of parents struggle to limit cell phone use at playgrounds
• Obesity research finds leptin hormone isn't the overeating culprit
• Atrial fibrillation after surgery increases risk of heart attacks, strokes
• Blood thinner safe for cancer patients with brain metastases
• Study finds wide variation in carotid artery stenting outcomes
• Sleep apnea common among patients undergoing heart procedure
• Sleep apnea linked to depression in men
• Researchers find brain area that integrates speech's rhythms
• Pactamycin analogs offer new, gentler approach to cancer treatment
• Implications of flawed prostate specific antigen data in SEER
• Exposure of US population to extreme heat could quadruple by mid-century
• Study discovers how pancreatic cancer spreads to the liver
• How the immune system controls the human biological clock in times of infection
• Climate change's future impact uncertain on U.S. Midwest water cycle
• New chemical catalysts are less expensive, more sustainable
• Jumping spiders are masters of miniature color vision
• Neurobiologists restore youthful vigor to adult mouse brains
• When citizens disobey: New study suggests people use 'constructive noncompliance' to enact change
• Designing better medical implants
• Study highlights ways to boost weather, climate predictions
• Beyond the poppy: A new method of opium production
• How early childhood vaccination reduces leukemia risk
• Suicide trends in school-aged children reveal racial disparity
• US West's power grid must be prepared for impacts of climate change
• Common mechanism for shallow and deep earthquakes proposed
• Reshaping mountains in the human mind to save species facing climate change
• New Alzheimer's drug to enter clinical trials
• How people defend eating meat
• Efficiency record for black silicon solar cells jumps to 22.1%
• Cooling children after cardiac arrest provides no significant benefit
• Concussion in former NFL players related to brain changes later in life
• Climate change altering frequency, intensity of hurricanes
• Extreme sports to hairstyles: Brain study explains risk-taking, fads
• Many people in emergency department for chest pain don't need admitted
• Computing at the speed of light with ultracompact beamsplitter
• Certain risk factors can predict the risk for COPD exacerbations in patients using inhaled medications
• Air pollution and impaired lung function prove independent risk factors for cognitive decline
• Adding genetic information changes risk profile of smokers and results in greater adherence to CT lung screening
• Pulmonary rehabilitation helps patients newly diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea
• First hidden, real-time, screen-camera communication
• Imagination beats practice in boosting visual search performance
• Diagnostic errors linked to high incidence of incorrect antibiotic use
• How microbes acquire electricity in making methane
• Urine-based test improves on prostate serum antigen for detecting prostate cancer
• Americans know someone who has abused prescription painkillers, poll shows
• Wearables may get boost from boron-infused graphene
• Chronic illness causes less harm when carnivores cooperate
• New species of marine roly poly pillbug discovered near Port of Los Angeles
• Population benefits of sexual selection explain the existence of males

Sunshine alone not enough for vitamin D during pregnancy Posted: 18 May 2015 04:16 PM PDT Despite high levels of sunshine, low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy are common in Mediterranean women according to a new study. This finding should help lower the prevalence of early childhood diseases associated with Vitamin D deficiency such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, disorders in bone formation, higher risk of emergency caesarean delivery and premature birth.

Smoking marijuana may cause early puberty and stunts growth in boys Posted: 18 May 2015 04:16 PM PDT Boys who smoke marijuana go through puberty earlier but grow more slowly than those who have never smoked the drug according to a new study.

Obesity may exacerbate inactivity, due to poor motor skills Posted: 18 May 2015 04:16 PM PDT Obese adults have very poor motor skills which makes fine movements difficult for them, according to a new study. The findings suggest inactivity may not be a cause of obesity, but instead a result of poor motor skills associated with the condition. The work changes perceptions about inactivity in obese people as well as improving their quality of life.

Collaborative research team solves cancer-cell mutation mystery Posted: 18 May 2015 02:35 PM PDT Approximately 85 percent of cancer cells obtain their limitless replicative potential through the reactivation of a specific protein called telomerase. A collaborative team of researchers has shown that highly recurrent mutations in the promoter of the TERT gene are the most common genetic mutations in many cancers, including adult glioblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Maternal obesity compromises babies' immune system at time of birth Posted: 18 May 2015 02:35 PM PDT Maternal obesity is linked to several adverse health outcomes for the infant that can persist into adulthood. But when does the immune system of babies born to obese mothers get compromised? Very early in the baby's life, according to a study. The research team analyzed umbilical cord blood samples of infants born to lean, overweight and obese mothers, and found that pre-pregnancy maternal weight has a significant impact on the neonate's immune system.

Microclinics help keep Kenyan HIV patients in care Posted: 18 May 2015 02:34 PM PDT The results of a new study have shown that microclinics cut in half the normal rate of disengagement from care, which was defined as missing a clinic appointment by 90 days or more, when compared to the control group, and reduced the perceived stigma of HIV by 25 percent within the larger community.

New school-based program helps reduce absentee rate for urban minority children with asthma Posted: 18 May 2015 02:11 PM PDT Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and it can only be managed, not cured. It affects a disproportionally higher percentage of low-income, urban minority children, and is also the most common disease-related reason for children missing school. This can have a negative effect on their academic achievement, as well as later success in life.

Readmissions in severe sepsis are as common as those in heart failure and pneumonia Posted: 18 May 2015 02:11 PM PDT Severe sepsis is a significant cause of rehospitalization along the lines of nationally recognized outcome measures and more commonly discussed conditions such as heart failure (HF) and pneumonia according to new research.

Evidence found of non-adaptive evolution within cicadas Posted: 18 May 2015 01:38 PM PDT Something new has been discovered about the complex and intriguing inner workings of the cicada insect. Recently published his findings outline that the nutritional symbionts living inside long-living cicadas have become a lot more complicated. And it's not necessarily a good thing for the insect.

Association between teen sleep patterns, alcohol or marijuana use Posted: 18 May 2015 01:38 PM PDT Studying adolescents in Southern California, researchers found that the link between sleep and alcohol/marijuana use was consistent even after controlling for other known risk factors, such as depression. For every 10 minutes later that teens went to bed, there was a 6 percent increased risk of alcohol or marijuana use in the previous month. In addition, teens who reported significant trouble sleeping were 55 percent more likely to have used alcohol in the past month.

Agriculture, declining mobility drove humans' shift to lighter bones Posted: 18 May 2015 01:38 PM PDT Modern lifestyles have famously made humans heavier, but, in one particular way, noticeably lighter weight than our hunter-gatherer ancestors: in the bones. Now a new study of the bones of hundreds of humans who lived during the past 33,000 years in Europe finds the rise of agriculture and a corresponding fall in mobility drove the change, rather than urbanization, nutrition or other factors.

44 percent of parents struggle to limit cell phone use at playgrounds Posted: 18 May 2015 01:09 PM PDT Cell phone use at playgrounds is a significant source of parental guilt, research shows. The study also noted that caregivers absorbed in their phones ignored children's requests for attention more than half the time.

Obesity research finds leptin hormone isn't the overeating culprit Posted: 18 May 2015 11:54 AM PDT For years, scientists have pointed to leptin resistance as a possible cause of obesity. Research, however, has found that leptin action isn't the culprit. Leptin is a hormone that plays a role in appetite and weight control. It is produced when we are well fed, and it signals to the brain that there is ample energy and therefore reduces eating.

Atrial fibrillation after surgery increases risk of heart attacks, strokes Posted: 18 May 2015 11:54 AM PDT An irregular heartbeat following surgery known as post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) often is dismissed as a transient phenomenon. But a study has found that POAF can significantly increase the risk of heart attack or stroke during the first 12 months after surgery.

Blood thinner safe for cancer patients with brain metastases Posted: 18 May 2015 11:54 AM PDT Cancer patients with brain metastases who develop blood clots may safely receive blood thinners without increased risk of dangerous bleeding, according to a study. Cancer increases a patient's risk of developing blood clots. When a patient with cancer develops a clot, treatment with a blood thinning medication called an anticoagulant is often added to their treatment regimen in order to prevent the potentially fatal complication of blood clots traveling to the lungs.

Study finds wide variation in carotid artery stenting outcomes Posted: 18 May 2015 11:54 AM PDT Hospitals performing carotid artery stenting vary considerably in rates of in-hospital stroke or death -- from 0 to 18 percent overall and from 1.2 to 4.7 percent when accounting for variation in health of patients at admission, according to a study.

Sleep apnea common among patients undergoing heart procedure Posted: 18 May 2015 11:17 AM PDT Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a coronary artery widening procedureused to treat heart disease, are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea linked to depression in men Posted: 18 May 2015 11:17 AM PDT Severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and excessive daytime sleepiness are associated with an increased risk of depression in men, according to a new community-based study of Australian men.

Researchers find brain area that integrates speech's rhythms Posted: 18 May 2015 10:52 AM PDT An area of the brain that is sensitive to the timing of speech has been discovered by researchers. The new study advances our understanding of how humans make sense of spoken language.

Pactamycin analogs offer new, gentler approach to cancer treatment Posted: 18 May 2015 10:52 AM PDT Researchers are pursuing a new concept in treatment of cancer, by using two promising 'analogs' of an old compound that was once studied as a potent anti-tumor agent, but long ago abandoned because it was too toxic. The idea is not to kill cancer cells, but rather to put them to sleep - lessening problems with resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs, and also the side effects of chemotherapy.

Implications of flawed prostate specific antigen data in SEER Posted: 18 May 2015 10:52 AM PDT NCI recently announced that it had removed all PSA data from the SEER and SEER-Medicare programs. The data were removed after quality control checks revealed that a substantial number of PSA values were incorrect. Urologists explore the ramifications of the removal of these data for researchers, clinicians, and administrators within the health care community, as well as the use and accuracy of large administrative datasets in general.

Exposure of US population to extreme heat could quadruple by mid-century Posted: 18 May 2015 10:51 AM PDT US residents' exposure to extreme heat could increase four- to six-fold by mid-century, due to both a warming climate and a population that's growing especially fast in the hottest regions of the country, according to new research.

Study discovers how pancreatic cancer spreads to the liver Posted: 18 May 2015 10:51 AM PDT An international team of investigators has illuminated the precise molecular steps that enable pancreatic cancer to spread to the liver -- the event that makes the most common form of the disease lethal. By understanding this process, investigators say their discovery can lead to targeted treatments that delay metastasis, and could offer clinicians a new biomarker to test for the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer.

How the immune system controls the human biological clock in times of infection Posted: 18 May 2015 10:51 AM PDT An important link between the human body clock and the immune system has relevance for better understanding inflammatory and infectious diseases. Researchers report how a critical white blood cell called the macrophage, when exposed to bacteria, makes the biological clock inside the macrophage stop, allowing it to become inflamed.

Climate change's future impact uncertain on U.S. Midwest water cycle Posted: 18 May 2015 10:51 AM PDT Will climate change make the US Midwest drier or wetter during the summer growing season? A new study finds that the answer remains uncertain.

New chemical catalysts are less expensive, more sustainable Posted: 18 May 2015 10:51 AM PDT Chemists have helped develop a family of new chemical catalysts that are expected to lower the cost and boost the sustainability of the production of chemical compounds used by a number of industries.

Jumping spiders are masters of miniature color vision Posted: 18 May 2015 10:51 AM PDT Jumping spiders were already known to see in remarkably high resolution, especially considering that their bodies are less than a centimeter long. Now, researchers have figured out how spiders in the colorful genus Habronattus see in three color 'channels,' as most humans do.

Neurobiologists restore youthful vigor to adult mouse brains Posted: 18 May 2015 09:18 AM PDT They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. The same can be said of the adult brain. Its connections are hard to change, while in children, novel experiences rapidly mold new connections during critical periods of brain development.

When citizens disobey: New study suggests people use 'constructive noncompliance' to enact change Posted: 18 May 2015 09:18 AM PDT When citizens stop complying with laws, the legitimacy of government comes into question, especially in nondemocratic states -- or so goes a prominent strand of political thinking. But what if citizens are doing something subtler, such as disobeying in order to enact smaller, more incremental changes? People use 'constructive noncompliance' to enact change, a new study concludes.

Designing better medical implants Posted: 18 May 2015 09:18 AM PDT Biomedical devices that can be implanted in the body for drug delivery, tissue engineering, or sensing can help improve treatment for many diseases. However, such devices are often susceptible to attack by the immune system, which can render them useless. The geometry of implantable devices has a significant impact on how well the body will tolerate them, a new study shows.

Study highlights ways to boost weather, climate predictions Posted: 18 May 2015 09:18 AM PDT Long range weather forecasts and climate change projections could be significantly boosted by advances in our understanding of the relationship between layers of the Earth's atmosphere -- the stratosphere and troposphere.

Beyond the poppy: A new method of opium production Posted: 18 May 2015 09:18 AM PDT Moonshiners and home-brewers have long used yeast to convert sugar into alcohol. New research shows that those methods could also be adapted for something with more significant ramifications: the production of drugs including opiates, antibiotics, and anti-cancer therapeutics.

How early childhood vaccination reduces leukemia risk Posted: 18 May 2015 09:17 AM PDT A team of researchers has discovered how a commonly administered vaccine protects against acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common type of childhood cancer. The Haemophilus influenzae Type b (Hib) vaccine not only prevents ear infections and meningitis caused by the Hib bacterium, but also protects against ALL, which accounts for approximately 25 percent of cancer diagnoses among children younger than 15 years.

Suicide trends in school-aged children reveal racial disparity Posted: 18 May 2015 09:16 AM PDT While overall suicide rates in children younger than 12 years have remained steady, a new study shows increasing rates in black children and decreasing rates in white children.

US West's power grid must be prepared for impacts of climate change Posted: 18 May 2015 09:16 AM PDT Arizona State University researchers say in coming decades a changing climate will pose challenges to operations of power generation facilities, especially in the Western United States. They recommend what should be done to ensure reliable electricity supplies as the region gets hotter and drier. One suggestion: More use of renewable energy sources.

Common mechanism for shallow and deep earthquakes proposed Posted: 18 May 2015 09:16 AM PDT Geologists report that a universal sliding mechanism operates for earthquakes of all depths -- from the deep ones all the way up to the crustal ones. The physics of the sliding is the self-lubrication of the earthquake fault by flow of a new material consisting of tiny new crystals, the study reports.

Reshaping mountains in the human mind to save species facing climate change Posted: 18 May 2015 09:16 AM PDT People commonly perceive mountains as pyramid-shaped masses that steadily narrow as they slope upward. But researchers mapped the shape of 182 mountain ranges and found they have four principal shapes. Not only are pyramid-shaped mountains in the minority, but most ranges increase in area at higher elevations. Besides reshaping the mountains in our mind's eye, the findings could lead scientists to reconsider conservation strategies for mountain species threatened by climate change.

New Alzheimer's drug to enter clinical trials Posted: 18 May 2015 09:14 AM PDT A new drug that may help to prevent the early stages of Alzheimer's disease is to enter clinical trials. The number of people with dementia is steadily increasing. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. It begins when a protein called beta-amyloid forms senile plaques that start to clump together in the brain, damaging nerve cells and leading to memory loss and confusion.

How people defend eating meat Posted: 18 May 2015 09:14 AM PDT Meat eaters who justify their eating habits feel less guilty and are more tolerant of social inequality say researchers. They found that the vast majority of omnivores defend consuming animals by rationalizing their behavior using one of four rationalizations, which they call the 4Ns.

Efficiency record for black silicon solar cells jumps to 22.1% Posted: 18 May 2015 09:14 AM PDT Researchers have obtained the record-breaking efficiency of 22.1 percent efficiency on nanostructured silicon solar cells. An almost 4 percent absolute increase to their previous record was achieved by applying a thin passivating film on the nanostructures and by integrating all metal contacts on the back side of the cell.

Cooling children after cardiac arrest provides no significant benefit Posted: 18 May 2015 09:14 AM PDT A recent clinical trial shows that "therapeutic hypothermia" is no more effective than maintaining normal body temperature in children who've suffered cardiac arrest before being hospitalized. The body-cooling technique has long been a standard of care in treating adults after heart attacks.

Concussion in former NFL players related to brain changes later in life Posted: 18 May 2015 09:14 AM PDT In the first study of its kind, former National Football League (NFL) players who lost consciousness due to concussion during their playing days showed key differences in brain structure later in life.

Climate change altering frequency, intensity of hurricanes Posted: 18 May 2015 09:13 AM PDT Climate change may be the driving force behind fewer, yet more powerful hurricanes and tropical storms, says a geography professor.

Extreme sports to hairstyles: Brain study explains risk-taking, fads Posted: 18 May 2015 09:13 AM PDT The hottest hairstyle, the latest extreme sport, the newest viral stunt -- trends happen for a reason and now scientists have a better understanding of why. In a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging, scientists found that our inherent risk-taking preferences affect how we view and act on information from other people.

Many people in emergency department for chest pain don't need admitted Posted: 18 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT Chest pain sends 7 million Americans to the ED each year. About half are admitted for further observation, testing or treatment. A new study finds a very low short-term risk for life-threatening cardiac events among patients with chest pain who have normal test results.

Computing at the speed of light with ultracompact beamsplitter Posted: 18 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT Engineers have developed an ultracompact beamsplitter -- the smallest on record -- for dividing light waves into two separate channels of information. The device brings researchers closer to producing silicon photonic chips that compute and shuttle data with light instead of electrons.

Certain risk factors can predict the risk for COPD exacerbations in patients using inhaled medications Posted: 18 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), being female, and certain scores on the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were associated with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in subjects using long-acting controller medication, according to a new study.

Air pollution and impaired lung function prove independent risk factors for cognitive decline Posted: 18 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT Studies have shown that both air pollution and impaired lung function can cause cognitive deficits, but it was unclear whether air pollution diminishes cognition by reducing breathing ability first or whether air pollution represents an independent risk factor for cognitive deficit. Now a new study has answered that question: air pollution directly affects cognition and is not mediated by lung function.

Adding genetic information changes risk profile of smokers and results in greater adherence to CT lung screening Posted: 18 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT Researchers have found that adding genetic information to a former or current smoker's clinical risk profile results in a reclassification of their risk for lung cancer in about one in four patients. Preliminary findings from their lung cancer screening feasibility study also suggests that those whose genetic and clinical risk placed them in the highest risk category were more likely to adhere to follow-up computed tomography (CT) scans during screening.

Pulmonary rehabilitation helps patients newly diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea Posted: 18 May 2015 09:11 AM PDT Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) treatment could be a valuable addition to comprehensive therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome, according to a new study.

First hidden, real-time, screen-camera communication Posted: 18 May 2015 08:20 AM PDT Opening the way for new applications of smart devices, researchers have created the first form of real-time communication that allows screens and cameras to talk to each other without the user knowing it.

Imagination beats practice in boosting visual search performance Posted: 18 May 2015 08:20 AM PDT Practice may not make perfect, but visualization might. New research shows that people who imagined a visual target before having to pick it out of a group of distracting items were faster at finding the target than those who did an actual practice run beforehand.

Diagnostic errors linked to high incidence of incorrect antibiotic use Posted: 18 May 2015 08:20 AM PDT Misdiagnoses lead to increased risk of incorrect antibiotic use, threatening patient outcomes and antimicrobial efficacy, while increasing healthcare costs, a new study concludes. The researchers found that 95 percent of patients with an incorrect or indeterminate diagnosis, or with a symptom identified but no diagnosis made, were given inappropriate antibiotics.

How microbes acquire electricity in making methane Posted: 18 May 2015 08:20 AM PDT Scientists have solved a long-standing mystery about methanogens, unique microorganisms that transform electricity and carbon dioxide into methane. The results could pave the way for microbial 'factories' that produce renewable biofuels and chemicals.

Urine-based test improves on prostate serum antigen for detecting prostate cancer Posted: 18 May 2015 08:20 AM PDT A new urine-based test improved prostate cancer detection -- including detecting more aggressive forms of prostate cancer -- compared to traditional models based on prostate serum antigen, or PSA, levels, a new study finds.

Americans know someone who has abused prescription painkillers, poll shows Posted: 18 May 2015 08:20 AM PDT Results of a new poll show that in an era when concern about drug abuse has been very high, more US adults are concerned about prescription painkiller abuse than about heroin.

Wearables may get boost from boron-infused graphene Posted: 18 May 2015 08:19 AM PDT Flexible, wearable electronics may benefit from graphene microsupercapacitors infused with boron and made with a common laser.

Chronic illness causes less harm when carnivores cooperate Posted: 18 May 2015 08:18 AM PDT Gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park have given researchers the first scientific evidence from wild mammals that living in a group can lessen the impacts of a chronic disease. The research also is one of the first studies to measure the costs of infected non-human individuals of any species on members of their group.

New species of marine roly poly pillbug discovered near Port of Los Angeles Posted: 18 May 2015 08:18 AM PDT A new research article reports on a discovery made during a Los Angeles class fieldtrip -- a new species of marine pillbug. While documenting the new species, a second new species of pillbug originally collected 142 years ago by biologists on a wooden sailing ship in Alaska was discovered in a collection room at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) by researchers.

Population benefits of sexual selection explain the existence of males Posted: 18 May 2015 08:15 AM PDT New research shows that an evolutionary force known as 'sexual selection' can explain the persistence of sex as a dominant mechanism for reproducing offspring.

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