ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Quiet quasar has apparently eaten its fill
• Spread of algal toxin through marine food web broke records in 2015
• New interactive map compares carbon footprints of San Francisco Bay area neighborhoods
• Monitoring scoliosis patients on brace use prevents curve progression, surgery
• Stir no more: Scientists show that draining speeds up bioassays
• New work on knee cartilage structure to aid better replacements and injury treatments
• Conservation benefits of ecotourism: True or false?
• Racial disparity lies at intersection of HIV, Hodgkin lymphoma
• BRCA1 deficiency increases sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to auranofin
• Milestone resource in wheat research now available for download
• X-rays reveal details of plastic solar cell production
• Electronically connected graphene nanoribbons foresee high-speed electronics
• Optimum band gap for hybrid silicon/perovskite tandem solar cell
• Breakthrough in early diagnosis of preeclampsia
• New report finds no significant increase in health risks for 1960s Project SHAD veterans
• Postnatal depression linked to challenges in parenting: Could oxytocin be helpful?
• Even children with higher IQs behave better when their sleep apnea is fixed
• Beneficial effects of blocking brain inflammation in an experimental model of Alzheimer's
• Best crisis managers are not what you would expect
• Researchers face potential danger from protein particles in the lab
• Reforestation policies need to consider climate change, study finds
• Exercise DVDs could be psychologically harmful for users, new research shows
• What lessons have we learned from the 2014 ebola epidemic in West Africa?

Quiet quasar has apparently eaten its fill Posted: 09 Jan 2016 03:50 PM PST Astronomers have announced that a distant quasar ran out of gas. Their conclusions clarify why quasar SDSS J1011+5442 changed so dramatically in the handful of years between observations.

Spread of algal toxin through marine food web broke records in 2015 Posted: 08 Jan 2016 06:14 PM PST While Dungeness crab captured headlines, record levels of the neurotoxin domoic acid were found in a range of species, and the toxin showed up in new places.

New interactive map compares carbon footprints of San Francisco Bay area neighborhoods Posted: 08 Jan 2016 06:01 PM PST The Paris climate summit ended last year with landmark national commitments for greenhouse gas reductions, but much of the hard work of reducing emissions will fall on cities to change their residents' behavior.

Monitoring scoliosis patients on brace use prevents curve progression, surgery Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:57 PM PST Bracing often is recommended for adolescents diagnosed with idiopathic adolescent scoliosis, and a spinal curve between 25 and 45 degrees. When worn consistently and as directed, braces have been found to effectively halt or slow further progression of a spinal curve, often preventing surgery. However, experts say that monitoring the use of these braces is key for effective results.

Stir no more: Scientists show that draining speeds up bioassays Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:09 PM PST Three scientists have proposed a way to speed up common bioassays. Their solution, reminiscent of the magic behind washing machines, could reduce wait times to a fraction of what they once were. Biological assays that once took hours could instead take minutes, they say.

New work on knee cartilage structure to aid better replacements and injury treatments Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:48 AM PST Fibrocartilage tissue in the knee is comprised of a more varied molecular structure than researchers previously appreciated. New work informs ways to better treat such injuries as knee meniscus tears -- treatment of which are the most common orthopaedic surgery in the United States -- and age-related tissue degeneration, both of which can have significant socioeconomic and quality-of-life costs.

Conservation benefits of ecotourism: True or false? Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:48 AM PST Two American scientists highlighted the conservation benefits of ecotourism worldwide and said a recent research review citing the dangers of ecotourism to wildlife is premature and problematic.

Racial disparity lies at intersection of HIV, Hodgkin lymphoma Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:43 AM PST Among HIV-positive patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, a new study finds that blacks are significantly less likely than whites to receive treatment for the cancer, even though chemotherapy saves lives.

BRCA1 deficiency increases sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to auranofin Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:43 AM PST An anti-rheumatic drug could improve the prognosis for ovarian cancer patients exhibiting a deficiency of the DNA repair protein BRCA1, a study has found. Auranofin is currently undergoing trials for repurposing to treat recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, which makes up around 90 per cent of diagnosed ovarian cancers.

Milestone resource in wheat research now available for download Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:43 AM PST Following a previous announcement of their new bread wheat genome assembly, a landmark resource is now publically available to download for full analysis.

X-rays reveal details of plastic solar cell production Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:43 AM PST Plastic solar cells are light, easy to install, and readily produced using a printer. Nevertheless, the processes that take place on the molecular scale during the production of organic solar cells are not yet entirely clear. Researchers have now managed to observe these processes in real time. Their findings could help to improve the efficiency of organic solar cells.

Electronically connected graphene nanoribbons foresee high-speed electronics Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:43 AM PST An international research team succeeded in chemically interconnecting chiral-edge graphene nanoribbons with zigzag-edge features by molecular assembly, and demonstrated electronic connection between graphene nanoribbons.

Optimum band gap for hybrid silicon/perovskite tandem solar cell Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:42 AM PST Tandem solar cells based on silicon and perovskites have raised high hopes for future high efficiency solar modules. A team has now shown that an ultimate efficiency of 30 percent should be attainable with such tandem cells. They discovered a structurally stable perovskite composition with its band gap tuned to an optimum value of 1.75 eV.

Breakthrough in early diagnosis of preeclampsia Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:42 AM PST The ratio of certain messengers in the blood of pregnant women can be used to reliably rule out preeclampsia, and to predict the risk of complications, results from an international multicenter study have demonstrated.

New report finds no significant increase in health risks for 1960s Project SHAD veterans Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:42 AM PST Veterans who participated in a series of tests during the 1960s known as Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense) show no significant increase in adverse health outcomes, specific causes of death, or death rates compared with a similar group of veterans who were not involved in the tests, says a new report.

Postnatal depression linked to challenges in parenting: Could oxytocin be helpful? Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:42 AM PST Caring for an infant is challenging for any mother -- but especially so for women with postnatal depression, which may lead to adverse effects on child outcomes. Current evidence on postnatal depression and parenting -- including preliminary data on the role of the hormone oxytocin -- is the focus of a new article.

Even children with higher IQs behave better when their sleep apnea is fixed Posted: 08 Jan 2016 10:42 AM PST Many doctors will ask about quality of sleep when children have problems at school, but new research shows it's just as important to pay attention to how high achievers are sleeping.

Beneficial effects of blocking brain inflammation in an experimental model of Alzheimer's Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:44 AM PST Blocking a receptor in the brain responsible for regulating immune cells could protect against the memory and behavior changes seen in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. It was originally thought that Alzheimer's disease disturbs the brain's immune response, but this latest study adds to evidence that inflammation in the brain can in fact drive the development of the disease. The findings suggest that by reducing this inflammation, progression of the disease could be halted.

Best crisis managers are not what you would expect Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:44 AM PST The most effective crisis managers show strong preferences for variety at work and keep their cool when operating outside of their comfort zones. Those who demonstrate more self-discipline and stick to the rules are considered less effective at dealing with a crisis.

Researchers face potential danger from protein particles in the lab Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:44 AM PST Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites are found in the brains of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. They consist primarily of fibrils of the protein alpha-synuclein (?-Syn), which self-assembles into fibrils in vitro. If introduced into the human body, these seeds can act as prions and trigger the formation of toxic protein deposits. Because ?-Syn fibrils are often used in research, it is important that they are not accidentally transferred to humans or cell cultures. In a new article, researchers describe three cleaning procedures that effectively remove and disassemble these ?-synuclein seeds.

Reforestation policies need to consider climate change, study finds Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:44 AM PST Local pine species are not necessarily the best option for repopulating burn sites, suggests a new Spanish report. Broadly speaking, varieties from central Spain work well in Valencia, on the east coat, while those from Valencia perform well up in Lleida, say the authors.

Exercise DVDs could be psychologically harmful for users, new research shows Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:37 AM PST Using fitness DVDs to work out at home may seem like a good way to get started on new exercise goals this year, but those DVDs may also include negative imagery and demotivating language.

What lessons have we learned from the 2014 ebola epidemic in West Africa? Posted: 08 Jan 2016 05:37 AM PST An academic has analysed what could have been done differently in the efforts to prevent the Ebola epidemic in 2014. In particular, the review focuses on the limits of patient location and travel mapping as a reason why it was difficult to contain Ebola from spreading. Because nobody anticipated such an expansive epidemic, regional disease protocols were not immediately implemented, he concludes.

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