ScienceDaily: Top News

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• First materials woven at atomic and molecular levels: Weaving a new story for COFS and MOFs
• Video Game Research Shows Promise for Autism
• The science behind snow's serenity
• How certain drugs alter metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells
• Guidelines for human genome editing
• Molecular-like photochemistry from semiconductor nanocrystals
• Dark 'noodles' may lurk in the Milky Way
• Mixed emotions a sign of emotional depth, not indecision, say researchers
• Sexuality, not extra chromosomes, benefits animal, biologists find
• Exact pol(e) position -- precisely where the polymerase is changed
• Tiny Australian leech named for best-selling author Amy Tan
• Digital enhancement of cryoEM photographs of protein nanocrystals
• Study examines associations of HPV types, risk of head and neck cancer
• Computer modeling provides insight into cellular-level effects of schizophrenia risk genes
• Why sports wins and sunshine may lead you to gamble
• Slow down your typing to improve your writing: Study
• New biomarkers may influence drug design, alternative treatments of cancer, study shows
• Chronic stress, anxiety can damage the brain, increase risk of major psychiatric disorders
• Climate change impacts on Buzzards Bay
• Many clean-tech subsidies should be greater
• New finding may explain heat loss in fusion reactors
• Immune system maintains a memory of past infections by priming genes for future encounters
• Diagnosing depression before it starts
• New light shed on structure of gold nanoparticles in water
• Why some cuckoos have blue eggs
• New insights into the supercritical state of water
• Controlling parents create mean college kids
• Sensory function: Thalamus enhances, stores sensory information
• Microbes take their vitamins, for the good of science
• Dazzling diamonds in the sky
• Neolithic megalithic tomb in Spain comprehensively examined for the first time
• New reconstruction method improves facial recognition for forensic purposes
• Testosterone influences regulation of emotions in psychopath's brain
• Public support for harsh criminal justice policy linked to social inequality
• Jason-3 delivers first data, products four days after launch
• Gaming advances Swedish teenagers’ English writing skills
• Parental support has positive effect on children's eating behaviours
• 53 genes responsible for kidney functionality discovered
• Cells from cow knee joints used to grow new cartilage tissue in laboratory
• Timely action needed to meet climate targets
• Alzheimer's diagnosis complicated by history of reading problems
• Learning a second language may depend on the strength of brain's connections
• 200 million-year-old Jurassic dinosaur uncovered in Wales
• Genomespace 'recipes' help biologists interpret genomic data
• Blacks are at higher risk for first stroke, new data show
• Do animals exercise to keep fit?
• Researchers pinpoint place where cancer cells may begin
• Engineered neural networks show hope for axonal repair with minimal disruption to brain tissue
• Biomarker predicts which stage II colon cancer patients may benefit from chemotherapy
• Mechanism for direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide revealed
• Childhood trauma associated with worse impulse control in adulthood, study finds
• Neutral result charges up antimatter research
• Memory capacity of brain is 10 times more than previously thought
• Emotion-processing networks disrupted in sufferers of depression
• Chickenpox, shingles vaccine may cause corneal inflammation in some patients
• Like air traffic, information flows through neuron 'hubs' in the brain
• Invasive amphibian fungus could threaten U.S. salamander populations
• Researchers prove surprising chemistry inside a potential breakthrough battery
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi sensing from mobile devices may help improve bus service
• Switchable material could enable new memory chips

First materials woven at atomic and molecular levels: Weaving a new story for COFS and MOFs Posted: 21 Jan 2016 03:56 PM PST Scientists have woven the first 3-D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) from helical organic threads. The woven COFs display significant advantages in structural flexibility, resiliency and reversibility over previous COFs.

Video Game Research Shows Promise for Autism Posted: 21 Jan 2016 12:55 PM PST Xavier has big brown eyes and freckles to match. He is a take-charge kid with sandy blonde hair and boundless energy. Xavier is also on the autism spectrum, diagnosed when he was 3½. Today, Xavier is visiting UW-Madison, where Brittany Travers is studying kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to learn more about how helping kids improve their motor skills may have a positive impact on their symptoms.

The science behind snow's serenity Posted: 21 Jan 2016 12:05 PM PST A thick blanket of snow covering streets, walkways and rooftops can cause some major stress, but it can also be calming. The world seems quieter and it's not just because people are hibernating inside.

How certain drugs alter metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells Posted: 21 Jan 2016 12:01 PM PST Cancer drugs known as CDK4/6-inhibitors alter the metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells, revealing a biologic vulnerability that could be exploited for therapeutic gain, researchers have found.

Guidelines for human genome editing Posted: 21 Jan 2016 12:01 PM PST As countries around the world seek to craft policy frameworks governing the powerful new genetic editing tool, policy makers need to determine 'thresholds of acceptability' for using the technology, according to researchers. They suggest that policy makers could be guided by the model that has served to develop policies governing pre-implantation genetic diagnosis after in vitro fertilization.

Molecular-like photochemistry from semiconductor nanocrystals Posted: 21 Jan 2016 12:01 PM PST Researchers have demonstrated the transfer of triplet exciton energy from semiconductor nanocrystals to surface-bound molecular acceptors, extending the lifetime of the originally prepared excited state by six orders of magnitude.

Dark 'noodles' may lurk in the Milky Way Posted: 21 Jan 2016 11:51 AM PST Invisible structures shaped like noodles, lasagne sheets or hazelnuts could be floating around in our Galaxy radically challenging our understanding of gas conditions in the Milky Way. Astronomers say the structures appear to be 'lumps' in the thin gas that lies between the stars in our Galaxy. The observations were made possible by an innovative new technique.

Mixed emotions a sign of emotional depth, not indecision, say researchers Posted: 21 Jan 2016 10:07 AM PST Experiencing mixed emotions shows emotional complexity, not indecision, and people living in different parts of the world vary in their ability to distinguish between multiple feelings they're having at once, according to new research. The work examined how people across 16 cultures vary in their tendency to see situations as either all good or all bad, or in a more complex fashion by seeing a little of both.

Sexuality, not extra chromosomes, benefits animal, biologists find Posted: 21 Jan 2016 10:07 AM PST Why do animals engage in sexual reproduction? Biologists sought answers with mud snails that breed both sexually and asexually. They found that asexual snails grow faster and reach reproductive age quicker than sexual snails, which raises new questions about sex's role in reproduction.

Exact pol(e) position -- precisely where the polymerase is changed Posted: 21 Jan 2016 10:07 AM PST A method for the thorough analysis of protein modifications has been developed by researchers who have mapped the phosphorylation sites of the RNA polymerase II enzyme, which is responsible for expressing our genes.

Tiny Australian leech named for best-selling author Amy Tan Posted: 21 Jan 2016 10:07 AM PST Researchers have named a new leech after best-selling author Amy Tan based on an innovative method for peering inside soft-bodied animals. Chtonobdella tanae is the first new species of invertebrate without chitinous or calcified tissues (like a shell or exoskeleton) to be described with computed tomography (CT). The work opens possibilities for non-destructively studying a group of animals ranging from worms to jellyfish that represent a huge part of the tree of life.

Digital enhancement of cryoEM photographs of protein nanocrystals Posted: 21 Jan 2016 10:06 AM PST When cryoEM images are obtained from protein nanocrystals the images themselves can appear to be devoid of any contrast. A group of scientists has now demonstrated that lattice information can be revealed and enhanced by a specialized filter.

Study examines associations of HPV types, risk of head and neck cancer Posted: 21 Jan 2016 10:03 AM PST A new study suggests detection of human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 in the oral cavity was associated with 22-times increased risk of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Computer modeling provides insight into cellular-level effects of schizophrenia risk genes Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:18 AM PST Numerous genetic variants associated with risk for schizophrenia have been identified. However, little is known about how these genes have their effects in the brain.

Why sports wins and sunshine may lead you to gamble Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:18 AM PST The fact that your favorite sports team unexpectedly won yesterday won't improve your chances of winning the lottery and yet it might increase the likelihood that you'll buy a ticket, according to new research.

Slow down your typing to improve your writing: Study Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:18 AM PST The quality of your writing will likely get better if you simply type slower, according to a recent study. Researchers asked study participants to type essays using both hands or with only one. Using text-analysis software, the team discovered that some aspects of essay writing, such as sophistication of vocabulary, improved when participants used only one hand to type.

New biomarkers may influence drug design, alternative treatments of cancer, study shows Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:18 AM PST Researchers have discovered gene-targets (biomarkers) that may enable alternative treatments or the potential design of new drugs that target metastasis-promoting tumor genes.

Chronic stress, anxiety can damage the brain, increase risk of major psychiatric disorders Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:18 AM PST People need to find ways to reduce chronic stress and anxiety in their lives or they may be at increased risk for developing depression and even dementia, a new scientific review paper warns.

Climate change impacts on Buzzards Bay Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:16 AM PST An analysis of long-term, water quality monitoring data reveals that climate change is already having an impact on ecosystems in the coastal waters of Buzzards Bay, Mass. The impacts relate to how nitrogen pollution affects coastal ecosystems.

Many clean-tech subsidies should be greater Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:16 AM PST Governments often offer subsidies to consumers for clean-technology products, from home solar panels to electric vehicles. But what are the right levels of subsidy, and how should they be calculated? As a new paper shows, governments can easily make subsidies too low when they ignore a basic problem: Consumer demand for these products is usually highly uncertain.

New finding may explain heat loss in fusion reactors Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:16 AM PST Solving a longstanding mystery, experiments reveal two forms of turbulence interacting. A long-standing discrepancy between predictions and observed results in test reactors has been called "the great unsolved problem" in understanding the turbulence that leads to a loss of heat in fusion reactors. Solving this discrepancy is critical for predicting the performance of new fusion reactors such as the huge international collaborative project called ITER, under construction in France.

Immune system maintains a memory of past infections by priming genes for future encounters Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:16 AM PST Our ability to fight off recurrent infections, such as colds or flu, may lie in the 'immunological memory' found in a newly discovered class of gene regulatory elements, according to research.

Diagnosing depression before it starts Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:16 AM PST Brain scans may identify children who are vulnerable to depression, before symptoms appear, new research indicates. In a new study, the researchers found distinctive brain differences in children known to be at high risk because of family history of depression. The finding suggests that this type of scan could be used to identify children whose risk was previously unknown, allowing them to undergo treatment before developing depression.

New light shed on structure of gold nanoparticles in water Posted: 21 Jan 2016 07:09 AM PST For the first time, researchers have determined the dynamical behavior of the ligand layer of a water-soluble gold nanocluster in solution. Nanometre-scale gold particles are used for applications as catalysts, sensors, drug delivery devices and biological contrast agents and as components in photonics and molecular electronics.

Why some cuckoos have blue eggs Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:15 AM PST Cuckoos are nest parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in other birds' nests. The female cuckoo has to lay eggs that mimic the color, size and shape of the eggs of the host bird. Using a massive data set, including data from museum eggs that are over 100 years old, researchers have figured out how the ability to lay blue eggs is inherited.

New insights into the supercritical state of water Posted: 21 Jan 2016 09:15 AM PST Using molecular dynamics simulations, researchers have analyzed the properties of supercritical water. The researchers showed which structure of the hydrogen bond network is formed in different supercritical states and also simulated the relevant terahertz spectra. This approach may help in future to interpret experimental results.

Controlling parents create mean college kids Posted: 21 Jan 2016 08:09 AM PST College students whose parents lay on the guilt or try to manipulate them may translate feelings of stress into similar mean behavior with their own friends, a new study by a University of Vermont psychologist has found.The students' physical response to stress, which the researchers measured in a laboratory test, influenced the way they carry out that hostility -- either immediately and impulsively or in a cold, calculated way.

Sensory function: Thalamus enhances, stores sensory information Posted: 21 Jan 2016 08:09 AM PST Every day, we constantly absorb information through our sensory organs, which the brain then needs to process correctly. The information initially reaches the thalamus and then travels to the cerebral cortex. The neurons in the so-called higher-order thalamus form the connecting lines between both brain areas. Prior to this, their role in sensory processing was unknown. Scientists have now shown that they enhance and temporarily store sensory information.

Microbes take their vitamins, for the good of science Posted: 21 Jan 2016 08:09 AM PST Scientists have made a 'vitamin mimic' -- a molecule that looks and acts just like a natural vitamin to bacteria -- that offers a new window into the inner workings of living microbes.

Dazzling diamonds in the sky Posted: 21 Jan 2016 08:09 AM PST Single stars are often overlooked in favor of their larger cosmic cousins -- but when they join forces, they create truly breathtaking scenes to rival even the most glowing of nebulae or swirling of galaxies. A new image features the star cluster Trumpler 14. One of the largest gatherings of hot, massive and bright stars in the Milky Way, this cluster houses some of the most luminous stars in our entire galaxy.

Neolithic megalithic tomb in Spain comprehensively examined for the first time Posted: 21 Jan 2016 08:09 AM PST People of the Neolithic age around 6,000 years ago were closely connected both in life and death. This became evident in a detailed archaeological and anthropological of a collective grave containing 50 bodies near Burgos, northern Spain. In the pioneering study, researchers used a whole array of modern methods to examine the way of life in the region at that time.

New reconstruction method improves facial recognition for forensic purposes Posted: 21 Jan 2016 07:09 AM PST An improved reconstruction method for facial recognition based on camera images has been invented by researchers. This method yields a better score in ninety percent of the examined cases, and helps forensic investigators with their daily work, they say.

Testosterone influences regulation of emotions in psychopath's brain Posted: 21 Jan 2016 07:09 AM PST Psychopaths exhibit reduced control over their emotional actions, brain research has demonstrated. Researchers have now discovered that the quantity of testosterone a person produces influences the parts of the brain responsible for regulating emotions. The findings provide starting points for the treatment of psychopaths, say the authors of a new report.

Public support for harsh criminal justice policy linked to social inequality Posted: 21 Jan 2016 06:34 AM PST Social inequality is directly linked to public support for increasingly harsh criminal justice policy in the UK despite falling crime rates, a study has found. People's attitudes to criminals, say researchers, are not just shaped by the crimes they have committed but also by their perceived low social status.

Jason-3 delivers first data, products four days after launch Posted: 21 Jan 2016 06:34 AM PST Four days after its launch on 17 January, the Jason-3 high-precision ocean altimetry satellite is delivering its first sea surface height measurement data in near-real time, report engineers.

Gaming advances Swedish teenagers’ English writing skills Posted: 21 Jan 2016 06:34 AM PST A new study reveals that there are positive relations between gaming and English writing skills. The study focused on essays that students wrote in 9th grade as part of the national test in English. Researchers investigated how Swedish teenagers who play computer games performed on English essay writing in school and what grades they received.

Parental support has positive effect on children's eating behaviours Posted: 21 Jan 2016 06:32 AM PST Parental support programs in areas with the greatest needs can have a positive effect on the consumption of unhealthy food and drink and on weight increases in obese children, according to a randomized study.

53 genes responsible for kidney functionality discovered Posted: 21 Jan 2016 06:32 AM PST By analysing genetic data from 175,000 people around the world, geneticists have now discovered and distinguished 53 genes related to kidney functionality and development. These findings represent an important step in creating an 'ID card' for the organ responsible for purifying our blood, while opening up new perspectives for the treatment of kidney failure.

Cells from cow knee joints used to grow new cartilage tissue in laboratory Posted: 21 Jan 2016 06:31 AM PST In an effort to develop a method for cartilage tissue engineering, researchers have successfully used cartilage cells from cow knee joints. By creating a successful method with conditions conducive to growing healthy cartilage tissue, the findings could help lead to a new treatment cure for osteoarthritis using stem cell-based tissue engineering, a new report suggests.

Timely action needed to meet climate targets Posted: 21 Jan 2016 06:31 AM PST The Paris Agreement of the UN climate change conference is deemed a historic step for climate protection, but its success depends on rapid implementations. The consequences of delaying global carbon dioxide emission reductions for the climate and the world oceans are assessed in a new study by climate physicists.

Alzheimer's diagnosis complicated by history of reading problems Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:26 PM PST Correctly diagnosing Alzheimer's disease remains a challenge for medical professionals. Now, a new study reveals a new clue to possible misdiagnosis.

Learning a second language may depend on the strength of brain's connections Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:25 PM PST Learning a second language is easier for some adults than others, and innate differences in how the various parts of the brain "talk" to one another may help explain why.

200 million-year-old Jurassic dinosaur uncovered in Wales Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:24 PM PST A newly discovered juvenile theropod is possibly oldest known Jurassic dinosaur from UK.

Genomespace 'recipes' help biologists interpret genomic data Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:24 PM PST GenomeSpace, a cloud-based, biologist-friendly platform that connects more than 20 bioinformatics software packages and resources for genomic data analysis, how now been released for use. The development team is now crowdsourcing "recipes" — step-by-step workflows — to better enable non-programming researchers to interpret their genomic data.

Blacks are at higher risk for first stroke, new data show Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:24 PM PST Blacks are nearly three times more likely to have a stroke at age 45 than whites, new data show. By age 85, there is no difference in stroke risk for the two races. Also, race did not appear to increase second stroke risk for black participants in relation to white participants at any age.

Do animals exercise to keep fit? Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:22 PM PST From joining a gym to taking up running, getting fit is a perennially popular new year's resolution. We lead sedentary lifestyles and have easy access to energy-rich food, so we need to do voluntary exercise in order to keep fit. But what about other animals? Does a harbour porpoise, perhaps, need to put in extra training to ensure it can out-swim the dolphins that hunt it? Do animals exercise to keep fit?

Researchers pinpoint place where cancer cells may begin Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:13 PM PST In a study involving the fruit fly equivalent of an oncogene implicated in many human leukemias, a research team has gained insight into how developing cells normally switch to a restricted, or specialized, state and how that process might go wrong in cancer. The researchers were surprised to discover that levels of an important protein start fluctuating wildly in cells during this transition period. If the levels don't or can't fluctuate, the cell doesn't switch and move forward.

Engineered neural networks show hope for axonal repair with minimal disruption to brain tissue Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:13 PM PST Lab-grown neural networks have the ability to replace lost axonal tracks in the brains of patients with severe head injuries, strokes or neurodegenerative diseases and can be safely delivered with minimal disruption to brain tissue, according to new research.

Biomarker predicts which stage II colon cancer patients may benefit from chemotherapy Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:13 PM PST A biomarker has been identified that predicts which stage II colon cancer patients may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy to prevent a disease recurrence.

Mechanism for direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide revealed Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:13 PM PST The mechanism for the direct synthesis of H2O2 on palladium cluster catalysts has been revealed, paving the way to design improved catalysts to produce H2O2 to use in place of harmful chlorine, regardless of the scale of the production facility.

Childhood trauma associated with worse impulse control in adulthood, study finds Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:13 PM PST The scars of childhood abuse and neglect affect adults' brains for decades to come -- including their ability to process and act on information both quickly and accurately, new research suggests. That kind of quick "go or don't go" thinking is crucial to everyday situations and emergencies. And it appears to be less accurate and more impulsive in adults who suffered physical, emotional or sexual trauma in their early years than in those who did not.

Neutral result charges up antimatter research Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:13 PM PST Scientists are once again pushing the boundaries of antimatter research with their latest breakthrough studying the properties of antihydrogen. The result is an improved measurement of the charge of antihydrogen by a factor of 20. It is the latest contribution in the quest to find the answer to the antimatter question, 'If matter and antimatter were created in equal amounts during the Big Bang, where did all the antimatter go?'

Memory capacity of brain is 10 times more than previously thought Posted: 20 Jan 2016 05:12 PM PST The brain's memory capacity is in the petabyte range, as much as entire Web, new research indicates. The new work answers a longstanding question as to how the brain is so energy efficient and could help engineers build computers that are incredibly powerful but also conserve energy.

Emotion-processing networks disrupted in sufferers of depression Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:30 AM PST Regions of the brain that normally work together to process emotion become decoupled in people who experience multiple episodes of depression, neuroscientists report. The findings may help identify which patients will benefit from longterm antidepressant treatment to prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes.

Chickenpox, shingles vaccine may cause corneal inflammation in some patients Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:29 AM PST In use for more than 20 years, the varicella zoster virus vaccine for chickenpox and shingles is considered an essential medicine by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, researchers have found, in rare instances, a link between the vaccine and corneal inflammation. It is a finding the researchers say should be discussed by primary care physicians and patients with a history of eye inflammation before getting vaccinated.

Like air traffic, information flows through neuron 'hubs' in the brain Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:29 AM PST 70 percent of all information within cortical regions in the brain passes through only 20 percent of its regions' neurons, report researchers. The scientists report these high-traffic "hub neurons" could play a role in understanding brain health since this sort of highly efficient network -- in which a small number of neurons are more essential to brain function -- is also more vulnerable to disruption. That's because relatively small breakages can cause the whole system to "go down."

Invasive amphibian fungus could threaten U.S. salamander populations Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:27 AM PST A deadly fungus causing population crashes in wild European salamanders could emerge in the United States and threaten already declining amphibians, according to a new report.

Researchers prove surprising chemistry inside a potential breakthrough battery Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:27 AM PST Lithium-air batteries hold the promise of storing electricity at up to five times the energy density of today's familiar lithium-ion batteries, but they have inherent shortcomings. Researchers have helped prove that a new prototype is powered by a surprising chemical reaction that may solve the new battery's biggest drawback.

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi sensing from mobile devices may help improve bus service Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:27 AM PST Transportation engineers have developed an inexpensive system to sense Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals from bus passengers' mobile devices and collect data to build better transit systems.

Switchable material could enable new memory chips Posted: 20 Jan 2016 11:27 AM PST Small voltage can flip thin film between two crystal states -- one metallic, one semiconducting -- new research indicates. The research involves a thin-film material called a strontium cobaltite, or SrCoOx.

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