ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Northern Alaska: North Slope permafrost thawing sooner than expected
• Not ordinary growing pains
• 'Flipped' classrooms improve physics education
• Clouds, computers, and the coming storms
• Preoperative use of blood-thinning drugs is safe for cancer patients
• Fracking plays active role in generating toxic metal wastewater, study finds
• CTE is confirmed as a unique disease that can be definitively diagnosed
• Distractibility trait predisposes some to attentional lapses
• Motivations behind adult learners' engineering degree pursuit
• Tie between estrogen, memory explored by researchers
• Preventing food fraud
• Scientist unravels the mysteries of a beetle that lived nearly 100 million years ago
• Gamma rays detected from galaxy halfway across the visible universe
• Pill that targets gut receptor treats fatty liver disease, obesity in mice
• Warmer air and sea, declining ice continue to trigger Arctic change
• In pursuit of HIV vaccine, scientists shed light on antibody origins
• Why the flu vaccine is less effective in the elderly
• Graphene nanoribbons get metallic
• Can your pet boost your sex appeal?
• Novel imaging technique captures beauty of metal-labeled neurons in 3-D
• In aging, one size does not fit all
• Sepsis: Cell therapy to repair muscle long-term impairment
• Stem cell transplantation does not provide significant improvement for Crohn's disease
• Carbs, not fats, boost half-marathon race performance
• Turning point of a lifetime: Seeing life in its first three days
• XXL hunt for galaxy clusters: Observations from ESO telescopes provide crucial third dimension in probe of Universe’s dark side
• Treatment of lupus
• Plants show stress in thermal spectrum
• Forensic psychiatric patients, staff view the effects of mental illness differently
• Another 'whey' to improve your health in the New Year?
• Possible mechanism for specific symptoms in bipolar disorder discovered
• Scientists warn light pollution can stop coral from spawning
• Survival rates for patients with prostate cancer better with surgery vrs radiotherapy
• Mosquitoes are tuned to seek out temperatures that match warm-blooded hosts
• Hunger hormone is boosted by restricted meal times
• Military families benefit from resilience program
• We infer a speaker's social identity from subtle linguistic cues
• Researchers take first step in precision medicine for penile cancer
• New model of collaborative cancer research may help advance precision medicine
• MRI shows 'brain scars' in military personnel with blast-related concussion
• How music, language shape the brain
• Gut damage identified as cause of vaccine failure, malnutrition
• Chitchat, small talk could serve an evolutionary need to bond with others
• New NASA satellite maps show human fingerprint on global air quality
• Expensive, exploratory research biopsies overused in early studies of new cancer drugs
• Stroke, TIA patient outcomes best at experienced centers, study shows
• Bioengineered sunscreen blocks skin penetration, toxicity
• Body clock study unlocks prospect of treatment for osteoarthritis
• Cultural revolution in the study of the gut microbiome
• New method of diagnosing deadly fungal lung infection in leukemia patients discovered
• Scientists say face mites evolved alongside humans since the dawn of human origins
• Kindness, charitable behavior influenced by amygdala, research reveals
• Childhood family breakups harder on girls' health, study reports
• Heart structural gene causes sudden cardiac death in animal model

Northern Alaska: North Slope permafrost thawing sooner than expected Posted: 15 Dec 2015 03:59 PM PST New projections of permafrost change in northern Alaska suggest far-reaching effects will come sooner than expected, scientists report.

Not ordinary growing pains Posted: 15 Dec 2015 01:06 PM PST A recent study shows that acupuncture may be a safe and effective adjunctive integrative medicine treatment for chronic pain in pediatric patients.

'Flipped' classrooms improve physics education Posted: 15 Dec 2015 01:06 PM PST If physics problem makes you break out in a cold sweat, you are not alone. And yet thousands of students enroll yearly in university classes to undertake the daunting task of solving questions far more complex than that. Many of them have difficulty overcoming their physics-induced anxiety. One researcher has a solution: flip the traditional classroom on its head.

Clouds, computers, and the coming storms Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:50 AM PST Scientists uncover secrets behind hurricanes, monsoons, and polar vortexes.

Preoperative use of blood-thinning drugs is safe for cancer patients Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:47 AM PST Among patients undergoing major cancer operations, the preoperative use of blood-thinning drugs such as heparin does not increase rates of major bleeding or transfusions, and is associated with a decreased risk of blood clots, according to new study results.

Fracking plays active role in generating toxic metal wastewater, study finds Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:46 AM PST The production of hazardous wastewater in hydraulic fracturing is assumed to be partly due to chemicals introduced into injected freshwater when it mixes with highly saline brine naturally present in the rock. But a new study investigating the toxic metal barium in fracking wastewater finds that chemical reactions between injected freshwater and the fractured shale itself could play a major role.

CTE is confirmed as a unique disease that can be definitively diagnosed Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:46 AM PST For the first time, CTE has been confirmed as a unique disease that can be definitively diagnosed by neuropathological examination of brain tissue. A consensus panel of expert neuropathologists concluded that CTE has a pathognomonic signature in the brain, an advance that represents a milestone for CTE research and lays the foundation for future studies defining the clinical symptoms, genetic risk factors and therapeutic strategies for CTE.

Distractibility trait predisposes some to attentional lapses Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:46 AM PST People vary according to different personality traits, such as extraversion or conscientiousness, and new research suggests that they also vary according to a particular cognitive trait: distractibility.

Motivations behind adult learners' engineering degree pursuit Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:46 AM PST Recent study has focused on the motivations of adult learners who decide to transfer from a community college to a four-year university to pursue a bachelor's degree in engineering.

Tie between estrogen, memory explored by researchers Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:46 AM PST A new study narrows down where and how estrogens affect the brain may help in understanding how the hormones affect cognition and memory in women. The team found that adding the hormone to female mouse brains helps boost short-term learning.

Preventing food fraud Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:46 AM PST An American research team has not only defined the term 'food fraud,' but they have also helped the United States and other countries establish the strategies to fight it. A new article introduces the topic of food fraud, and provides a definition with translations in Russian, Korean and Chinese. The paper also tackles a system-wide focus that could lead to prevention.

Scientist unravels the mysteries of a beetle that lived nearly 100 million years ago Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:46 AM PST By studying a remarkable fossil, a scientist and his German counterparts are unraveling the secrets of an ancient beetle that wandered Earth almost 100 million years ago.

Gamma rays detected from galaxy halfway across the visible universe Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:45 AM PST In April 2015, after traveling for about half the age of the universe, a flood of powerful gamma rays from a distant galaxy slammed into Earth's atmosphere. That torrent generated a cascade of light -- a shower that fell onto the waiting mirrors of the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) in Arizona. The resulting data have given astronomers a unique look into that faraway galaxy and the black hole engine at its heart.

Pill that targets gut receptor treats fatty liver disease, obesity in mice Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:45 AM PST A bile acid that can turn off a receptor in the gut has prevented and reversed fatty liver disease in mice, according to an international team of researchers. The compound may help treat certain metabolic disorders, such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well.

Warmer air and sea, declining ice continue to trigger Arctic change Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:45 AM PST A new report shows that air temperature in 2015 across the Arctic was well above average with temperature anomalies over land more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit above average, the highest since records began in 1900. Increasing air and sea surface temperatures, decreasing sea ice extent and Greenland ice sheet mass, and changing behavior of fish and walrus are among key observations.

In pursuit of HIV vaccine, scientists shed light on antibody origins Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:45 AM PST Scientists have tracked how a family of HIV-fighting antibodies develops over time. The research shows how a future vaccine might trigger the immune system to produce these antibodies more effectively.

Why the flu vaccine is less effective in the elderly Posted: 15 Dec 2015 10:45 AM PST Around this time every year, the flu virus infects up to one-fifth of the US population and kills thousands of people, many of them elderly. A new study now explains why the flu vaccine is less effective at protecting older individuals. More broadly, the findings reveal novel molecular signatures that could be used to predict which individuals are most likely to respond positively to vaccination.

Graphene nanoribbons get metallic Posted: 15 Dec 2015 09:25 AM PST Researchers have succeeded in experimentally realizing metallic graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) that are only 5 carbon atoms wide. In their article, the research team demonstrated fabrication of the GNRs and measured their electronic structure. The results suggest that these extremely narrow and single-atom-thick ribbons could be used as metallic interconnects in future microprocessors.

Can your pet boost your sex appeal? Posted: 15 Dec 2015 09:25 AM PST Dogs and cats are increasingly seen as being a crucial member of a traditional family, but aside from the companionship and love you receive from your pet... can they also make you appear sexier?

Novel imaging technique captures beauty of metal-labeled neurons in 3-D Posted: 15 Dec 2015 09:25 AM PST A dazzling new method of visualizing neurons has been discovered that promises to benefit neuroscientists and cell biologists alike: by using spectral confocal microscopy to image tissues impregnated with silver or gold.

In aging, one size does not fit all Posted: 15 Dec 2015 09:24 AM PST New research provides a suite of measurements that could replace conventional measures of age, supporting smarter policies for retirement and health care.

Sepsis: Cell therapy to repair muscle long-term impairment Posted: 15 Dec 2015 09:24 AM PST Researchers reveal mayor players in the severe muscle damage caused by sepsis, or septicemia, which explains why many patients suffer debilitating muscle impairment long-term after recovery. They propose a therapeutic approach based on mesenchymal stem cell transplantation, which has produced encouraging results and has proved successful in restoring muscle capacity in animals.

Stem cell transplantation does not provide significant improvement for Crohn's disease Posted: 15 Dec 2015 08:42 AM PST Among adults with difficult to treat Crohn's disease not amenable to surgery, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, compared with conventional therapy, did not result in significant improvement in sustained disease remission at l year and was associated with significant toxicity, according to a study.

Carbs, not fats, boost half-marathon race performance Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:45 AM PST Recent studies have proposed that burning fat instead of carbohydrates will improve exercise performance because the body's fat reserve is much larger than its carbohydrates reserve. A new study reports the opposite, finding that muscles rely on carbohydrates as their fuel source during prolonged exercise.

Turning point of a lifetime: Seeing life in its first three days Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:43 AM PST For the first time, scientists can observe the first two to three days of a mouse embryo's life, as it develops from a fertilized egg up to the stage when it would implant in its mother's uterus, thanks to a new light sheet microscope.

XXL hunt for galaxy clusters: Observations from ESO telescopes provide crucial third dimension in probe of Universe’s dark side Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:39 AM PST ESO telescopes have provided an international team of astronomers with the gift of the third dimension in a plus-sized hunt for the largest gravitationally bound structures in the Universe — galaxy clusters. Observations by the VLT and the NTT complement those from other observatories across the globe and in space as part of the XXL survey — one of the largest ever such quests for clusters.

Treatment of lupus Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:39 AM PST LupuzorTM may become the first specific and non-immunosuppressant therapy for lupus, a disabling autoimmune disease that is currently incurable. This peptide is the subject of a patent (granted in 2009) and has already successfully completed phases I and II of its regulatory clinical trials.

Plants show stress in thermal spectrum Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:39 AM PST Plants experience stress as a result of growing under non-optimal conditions. For example, too little water or low temperatures lead to clear responses such as wilting or defoliation. But exposure to milder forms of stress can also affect a plant. Researchers have found a way to detect these milder forms of stress.

Forensic psychiatric patients, staff view the effects of mental illness differently Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:39 AM PST Offenders sentenced to forensic psychiatric care do not consider their mental illness to be the main reason for their crime. Instead, they point to abuse, poverty or anger toward a particular person.

Another 'whey' to improve your health in the New Year? Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:39 AM PST Adding calcium, Vitamin D and prebiotic dietary fibre to a beverage made of whey can have huge health benefits for those who drink it, team of scientists has discovered.

Possible mechanism for specific symptoms in bipolar disorder discovered Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:39 AM PST A gene variant linked to psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment in people with bipolar disorder has been discovered by researchers. The study describes a possible mechanism for how the gene variant produces clinical symptoms by affecting levels of specific proteins in the brain.

Scientists warn light pollution can stop coral from spawning Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:14 AM PST Sexual reproduction is one of the most important processes for the persistence of coral reefs and disrupting it could threaten their long-term health and the marine life they support, warn scientists.

Survival rates for patients with prostate cancer better with surgery vrs radiotherapy Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:14 AM PST A rigorous evaluation of survival rates has shown that cancer patients with localised prostate cancer -- the most common form of prostate cancer -- have a better chance of survival if treated by surgery than by radiotherapy. This is the most robust analysis (meta-analysis) to date of published literature comparing surgery and radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

Mosquitoes are tuned to seek out temperatures that match warm-blooded hosts Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:14 AM PST By blocking a specific gene and causing the mosquitoes to lose their ability to distinguish between temperatures, researchers have uncovered part of the molecular mechanism the insects use to fine-tune their heat-seeking behavior. Ultimately, studies like this one may help generate new better repellents, traps, and other ways to control mosquitoes.

Hunger hormone is boosted by restricted meal times Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:14 AM PST New and rare insights into the way ghrelin communicates with the central nervous system could help scientists find an effective pharmacological approach to tackle obesity.

Military families benefit from resilience program Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:13 AM PST Across the US, families of troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots are emailing photos of their holiday feasts to their loved ones overseas -- and asking them to respond with pictures of their own holiday celebrations. The strategy is part of a program aimed at easing the wear and tear on military families who are grappling with challenges of multiple deployments and combat-related injuries, all of which can stir destructive and difficult-to-control emotions.

We infer a speaker's social identity from subtle linguistic cues Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:13 AM PST When we speak, we 'leak' information about our social identity through the nuanced language that we use to describe others, according to new research. This research shows that people can infer a speaker's social identity (e.g., political party affiliation) from how the speaker uses abstract or concrete terms to describe someone else's behavior.

Researchers take first step in precision medicine for penile cancer Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:13 AM PST Researchers have identified potential genetic alterations in penile cancer that could pave the way for targeted treatments.

New model of collaborative cancer research may help advance precision medicine Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:13 AM PST A new system that facilitates data and biospecimen sharing among cancer centers may speed cancer research findings from the laboratory to patient care, according to a new study.

MRI shows 'brain scars' in military personnel with blast-related concussion Posted: 15 Dec 2015 06:13 AM PST MRI shows brain damage in a surprisingly high percentage of active duty military personnel who suffered blast-related mild traumatic brain injury, according to a new study.

How music, language shape the brain Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:58 PM PST A researcher has pioneered a way to measure how the brain makes sense of sound, suggesting that the brain's ability to process sound is influenced by everything from playing music and learning a new language to aging, language disorders and hearing loss.

Gut damage identified as cause of vaccine failure, malnutrition Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:55 PM PST Damage to the gut from infections is causing vaccine failure and contributing to malnutrition in low-income countries, researchers have determined. Research in Bangladesh sheds light on why: damage to the gut from infection, say researchers, explains why food alone is not a solution to malnutrition. To be effective, nutritional therapy will need to include measures to prevent or treat the damage to the gut of infants.

Chitchat, small talk could serve an evolutionary need to bond with others Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:55 PM PST Idle conversation could be a social-bonding tool passed down from primates, suggests new research. The investigators found that lemurs use vocalizations far more selectively than previously thought, primarily exchanging calls with individuals with which they have close relationships. The findings could have implications for how scientists understand the evolution of primate vocalizations and human speech.

New NASA satellite maps show human fingerprint on global air quality Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:55 PM PST Using new, high-resolution global satellite maps of air quality indicators, scientists tracked air pollution trends over the last decade in various regions and 195 cities around the globe.

Expensive, exploratory research biopsies overused in early studies of new cancer drugs Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:55 PM PST Early trials of new cancer drugs often require extra biopsies to determine the drugs' biochemical and physiological effects. A new study shows that this costly, risky and often painful process has had no impact on subsequent drug development.

Stroke, TIA patient outcomes best at experienced centers, study shows Posted: 14 Dec 2015 03:55 PM PST Medical centers with more experience and expertise in aggressive medical management had a significantly positive impact on patient outcomes, data from a major stroke clinical study shows.

Bioengineered sunscreen blocks skin penetration, toxicity Posted: 14 Dec 2015 02:08 PM PST A new sunscreen has been developed that encapsulates the UV-blocking compounds inside bio-adhesive nanoparticles, which adhere to the skin well, but do not penetrate beyond the skin's surface. These properties resulted in highly effective UV protection in a mouse model, without the adverse effects observed with commercial sunscreens, including penetration into the bloodstream and generation of reactive oxygen species, which can damage DNA and lead to cancer.

Body clock study unlocks prospect of treatment for osteoarthritis Posted: 14 Dec 2015 02:00 PM PST A biologist has, for the first time, established that the painful and debilitating symptoms endured by osteoarthritis sufferers are intrinsically linked to the human body clock.

Cultural revolution in the study of the gut microbiome Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:59 PM PST A human-organs-on-chips technology has been used to microengineer a model of human intestinal inflammation and bacterial overgrowth in a human-gut-on-a-chip. The advance, say researchers, allows them for the first time to analyze how normal gut microbes and pathogenic bacteria contribute to immune responses, and to investigate IBD mechanisms in a controlled model that recapitulates human intestinal physiology.

New method of diagnosing deadly fungal lung infection in leukemia patients discovered Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:59 PM PST A new way detect early a potentially deadly fungal infection in patients with suppressed immune systems, such as those being treated for leukemia or have had an organ transplant, has been revealed by a team of scientists.

Scientists say face mites evolved alongside humans since the dawn of human origins Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:57 PM PST A landmark new study explores the fascinating, little-known natural history of the face mite species Demodex folliculorum, using genetic testing to link the microscopic animal's evolution to our own ever-evolving human story. By zooming in on mite mitochondrial DNA from around the world, scientists discovered that different human populations have different mites, that those mites follow families through generations, and that they are not casually transferred between humans.

Kindness, charitable behavior influenced by amygdala, research reveals Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:57 PM PST The amygdala, a small structure in the brain, is associated with charitable giving and positive social behavior, not just fear, new research demonstrates.

Childhood family breakups harder on girls' health, study reports Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:01 PM PST A childhood family breakup can have long-term negative consequences for the children. Recent research looks at overall health, depression, and smoking as a health-related behavior and finds that, for girls, all three are worse.

Heart structural gene causes sudden cardiac death in animal model Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:01 PM PST The presence or absence of the CAP2 gene causes sudden cardiac death in mice. In particular, the absence of the gene interrupts the animal's ability to send electrical signals to the heart to tell it to contract, a condition called cardiac conduction disease. Since humans have the same CAP2 gene, what we learn from the mice could advance our understanding of heart disease.

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