ScienceDaily: Top News

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• You’ll never 'be-leaf' what makes up this battery!
• Easier way to make ‘bijels,’ a complex new form of liquid matter
• Monstrous cloud boomerangs back to our galaxy
• Promising results from clinical study using plasmid DNA gene therapy
• First recombinant influenza vaccine comes to Mexico
• Food additive that may prevent skin cancer revealed by scientists
• Researchers' preclinical trial upends conventional wisdom about responses to fear
• Teens take fewer risks around slightly older adults
• Putting silicon 'sawdust' in a graphene cage boosts battery performance
• New drug could be safer, non-addictive alternative to morphine
• Treating Parkinson's disease by solving the mysteries of movement
• Completely new kind of polymer could lead to artificial muscles, self-repairing materials
• Heavy fermions get nuclear boost on way to superconductivity
• How severe maternal inflammation can lead to autism-like behavior
• How 'more food per field' could help save our wild spaces
• Chemists uncover how key agent allows diseases to reproduce
• Why children are more likely to develop food allergies
• It's complicated: Benefits and toxicity of anti-prion antibodies in the brain
• Epigenetic switch for obesity
• Fleeting fruit in a tropical forest
• How bats recognize their own 'bat signals'
• Satellites show Florida beaches becoming darker, and that's good for sea turtles
• The brain communicates on several channels
• Enormous blades could lead to more offshore energy in US
• Identifying another piece in the Parkinson's disease pathology puzzle
• Marijuana survey finds medical users more likely to consume edibles and vaporize
• New way to identify brain tumor aggressiveness
• Want to learn a new skill? Faster? Change up your practice sessions
• Research hints at a nutritional strategy for reducing autism risk
• Why you won't lose weight with exercise alone
• Octopuses shed their asocial reputation
• Cell division: Microtubules, assemble!
• Want to rewire a neuron? You’ve got to take it slow
• Necroptosis: How crystals precipitate cell death
• How queen bees control the princesses
• Bringing time and space together for universal symmetry
• Scholars look to early 20th century radio technology to help improve Internet security
• New research into the origins of the Austronesian languages
• Anticholinergics may not be best choice for rehab patients with dementia
• Small is different
• In lung cancer, not all HER2 alterations are created equal
• Too-few proteins prompt nanoparticles to clump
• Landscape pattern analysis reveals global loss of interior forest
• Sensing the future of molecule detection, bioproduction
• Vaccine study shapes plan to wipe out rabies in free-roaming dogs
• Harnessing the oxidizing power of air
• Victimized adolescents more at risk of thinking about suicide or attempting suicide at 15
• Breakthrough enables ultra-fast transport of electrical charges in polymers
• Antarctic fungi survive Martian conditions on the International Space Station
• Mating behavior in the natural world contradicts Darwin’s idea that females make the decisions, researchers find
• Calculating whiskers send precise information to the brain
• Smartphone app linked to increase in contraceptive use in India
• Finding the right antithrombotic (anti-clotting) drug for you
• Minorities had lower risk of coronary heart disease than whites, study shows
• Bedbugs develop resistance to widely used chemical treatments, rendering them ineffective
• Andean bean: Small bean for sweet dreams
• Growth factor in brain tied to slower mental decline
• Maya healers' conception of cancer may help bridge gap in multicultural settings care
• New programs help prepare low-income children for school success
• CRISPR used to repair blindness-causing genetic defect in patient-derived stem cells

You’ll never 'be-leaf' what makes up this battery! Posted: 28 Jan 2016 01:00 PM PST Scientists have a new recipe for batteries: Bake a leaf, and add sodium. They used a carbonized oak leaf, pumped full of sodium, as a demonstration battery's negative terminal, or anode, according to a paper published yesterday in the journal ACS Applied Materials Interfaces.

Easier way to make ‘bijels,’ a complex new form of liquid matter Posted: 28 Jan 2016 01:00 PM PST Getting the interfaces between the two liquids into different shapes unlocks new kinds of behaviors and applications. And thanks to new research, one special kind of emulsion is becoming easier to make.

Monstrous cloud boomerangs back to our galaxy Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:57 PM PST New Hubble telescope observations suggest that a high-velocity gas cloud was launched from the outer regions of our own galaxy around 70 million years ago. Now, the cloud is on a return collision course and is expected to plow into the Milky Way's disk in about 30 million years. Astronomers believe it will ignite a spectacular burst of star formation then.

Promising results from clinical study using plasmid DNA gene therapy Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:57 PM PST A new clinical study reports the promising results of an innovative DNA-based gene therapy that may offer a potential therapeutic option for a disease with unmet medical needs.

First recombinant influenza vaccine comes to Mexico Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:56 PM PST In October 2015, the Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS) gave Mexico the registry of the first recombinant vaccine against seasonal influenza in the world and designed to begin marketing in the first quarter of 2016.

Food additive that may prevent skin cancer revealed by scientists Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:51 PM PST A compound found in the natural food additive annatto prevents the formation of cancer cells and skin damage from UV radiation in mice, new research shows. In the future the compound, bixin, may be valuable in the prevention and treatment of human skin cancers.

Researchers' preclinical trial upends conventional wisdom about responses to fear Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:51 PM PST For more than a century scientists have recognized 'freezing' as the natural fear response. But in a new study found that female rats often respond to fear by 'darting.' The findings not only raise questions about the veracity of previous studies that rely on freezing to indicate fear, but could also lead to better treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Teens take fewer risks around slightly older adults Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:50 PM PST Adolescents are known risk takers, especially when they're surrounded by same-aged peers. But new research suggests that being in a group that includes just one slightly older adult might decrease teens' propensity to engage in risky behavior.

Putting silicon 'sawdust' in a graphene cage boosts battery performance Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:50 PM PST Scientists have been trying for years to make a practical lithium-ion battery anode out of silicon, which could store 10 times more energy per charge than today's commercial anodes and make high-performance batteries a lot smaller and lighter. But two major problems have stood in the way: Silicon particles swell, crack and shatter during battery charging, and they react with the battery electrolyte to form a coating that saps their performance.

New drug could be safer, non-addictive alternative to morphine Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:50 PM PST A painkiller has been developed that is as strong as morphine but isn't likely to be addictive and with fewer side effects, according to a new study. Opium-based drugs are the leading treatments for severe and chronic pain, but they can be highly addictive. Their abuse results in thousands of overdose deaths in the United States annually.

Treating Parkinson's disease by solving the mysteries of movement Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:50 PM PST Two secrets of one of the brain's most enigmatic regions have finally been revealed. In a pair of studies, scientists have discovered a specific neural circuit that controls walking, and they found that input to this circuit is disrupted in Parkinson's disease. The research reveals two potential new targets to treat movement disorders.

Completely new kind of polymer could lead to artificial muscles, self-repairing materials Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:48 PM PST Imagine a polymer with removable parts that can deliver something to the environment and then be chemically regenerated to function again. Or a polymer that can contract and expand the way muscles do. These functions require polymers with both rigid and soft nano-sized compartments with extremely different properties. Researchers have developed a hybrid polymer of this type that might one day be used in artificial muscles; for delivery of drugs or biomolecules; in self-repairing materials; and for replaceable energy sources.

Heavy fermions get nuclear boost on way to superconductivity Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:48 PM PST Physicists have made a surprising discovery that the arrangement of atomic nuclei spins helps bring about superconductivity in ytterbium dirhodium disilicide, one of the most-studied materials in a class of quantum critical compounds known as 'heavy fermions.'

How severe maternal inflammation can lead to autism-like behavior Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:21 PM PST A group of researchers found that immune cells activated in the mother during severe inflammation produce an immune effector molecule called IL-17 that appears to interfere with brain development.

How 'more food per field' could help save our wild spaces Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:19 PM PST Increased farm yields could help to spare land from agriculture for natural habitats that benefit wildlife and store greenhouse gases, but only if the right policies are in place. Conservation scientists call on policymakers to learn from working examples across the globe and find better ways to protect habitats while producing food on less land.

Chemists uncover how key agent allows diseases to reproduce Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:19 PM PST Chemists have revealed the chemistry behind how certain diseases, from anthrax to tuberculosis, replicate. The key lies in the function of a gene absent in humans, called thyX, and its ability to catalyze the DNA building block thymine. The finding could help drug companies target the chemical reaction, rather than testing millions of compounds, to stop these diseases.

Why children are more likely to develop food allergies Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:19 PM PST An estimated 15 million Americans suffer from food allergies, many of them children. These are non-trivial concerns, as food allergy or intolerance can cause symptoms ranging from a harmless skin rash to a potentially lethal anaphylactic shock. The good news is that many affected children outgrow their allergy, presumably as the immune system learns to tolerate food initially mistaken as 'foreign'.

It's complicated: Benefits and toxicity of anti-prion antibodies in the brain Posted: 28 Jan 2016 12:19 PM PST Immunotherapy to ameliorate neurodegeneration by targeting brain protein aggregates with antibodies is an area of intense investigation. A new study examines seemingly contradictory earlier results of targeting the prion protein and proposes a cautionary way forward to further test related therapeutic approaches.

Epigenetic switch for obesity Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:33 AM PST Having overweight parents significantly increases your risk of obesity, but the inheritance of specific mutations can't always explain why this is the case. In a study, researchers show that differences in gene expression (epigenetics) play a key role in determining one's predisposition to obesity. In genetically identical mice and human twin pairs, epigenetic marks altered the activity of weight-control genes to produce distinct subpopulations of lean and obese individuals.

Fleeting fruit in a tropical forest Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:33 AM PST To find energy-rich food, like tropical ripe fruit, is a challenge for chimpanzees, say scientists. A new study reports which cognitive strategies chimpanzees can use to gain privileged access to the most energy-rich but ephemeral food.

How bats recognize their own 'bat signals' Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:33 AM PST The mechanism that allows individual bats to avoid noise overlap by increasing the volume, duration and repetition rate of their signals has been uncovered by a new study. Unlocking the mystery of bat echo recognition may offer a valuable insight into military and civilian radar systems, which are vulnerable to electronic interference.

Satellites show Florida beaches becoming darker, and that's good for sea turtles Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:32 AM PST Satellite data on artificial nighttime light in Florida from 1992-2012 was compared to robust data on sea turtle nesting for the same period, showing regulations have cut light levels to the benefit of turtles. Still, adult females are impacted by skyglow as distant as 100 km, researchers found. The research shows the value of satellite data as a conservation tool.

The brain communicates on several channels Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:32 AM PST The human brain uses several frequency bands for the flow of information between lower and higher areas, report scientists, who have demonstrated that the visual cortex of human subjects uses different frequency channels depending on the direction in which information is being transported. These findings were only possible thanks to previous research with macaque monkeys. They might help to understand the cause of psychiatric illnesses in which the two channels appear to be mixed up.

Enormous blades could lead to more offshore energy in US Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:32 AM PST A new design for gigantic blades longer than two football fields could help bring offshore 50-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to the United States and the world.

Identifying another piece in the Parkinson's disease pathology puzzle Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:30 AM PST An international consortium identifies and validates cellular role of priority Parkinson's disease drug target, LRRK2 kinase, in a new study, illuminating a novel route for therapeutic development and intervention testing for Parkinson's, the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's.

Marijuana survey finds medical users more likely to consume edibles and vaporize Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:30 AM PST A new study provides some of the first evidence about patterns of marijuana use in states that have legalized medical marijuana. It finds that medical marijuana users are more likely to vaporize or consume edible forms of the drug than recreational users. Researchers also found that 41 percent of people reported having used marijuana recreationally at least once, while only about 7 percent reported using marijuana for medical purposes.

New way to identify brain tumor aggressiveness Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:20 AM PST A comprehensive analysis of the molecular characteristics of gliomas -- the most common malignant brain tumor -- explains why some patients diagnosed with slow-growing (low-grade) tumors quickly succumb to the disease while others with more aggressive (high-grade) tumors survive for many years.

Want to learn a new skill? Faster? Change up your practice sessions Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:09 AM PST When practicing and learning a new skill, making slight changes during repeat practice sessions may help people master the skill faster than practicing the task in precisely the same way, researchers report.

Research hints at a nutritional strategy for reducing autism risk Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:09 AM PST Folic acid has long been touted as an important supplement for women of childbearing age for its ability to prevent defects in the baby's developing brain and spinal cord. In fact, folic acid is considered so important that it is added as a supplement to breads, pastas, rice and cereals to help ensure that women are exposed to sufficient amounts of this nutrient even before they know they're pregnant. Soon, another prenatal supplement could protect against a certain type of autism, according to research, called carnitine.

Why you won't lose weight with exercise alone Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:09 AM PST Exercise by itself isn't always enough to take off the weight. Now, evidence helps to explain why that is: our bodies adapt to higher activity levels, so that people don't necessarily burn extra calories even if they exercise more.

Octopuses shed their asocial reputation Posted: 28 Jan 2016 10:09 AM PST Octopuses have generally been viewed as solitary creatures -- and their color-changing abilities primarily as a means to hide from hungry predators. But, after binge watching more than 52 hours of octopus TV, researchers report that they have found that octopuses actually do have a social life. And it's not without drama.

Cell division: Microtubules, assemble! Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:23 AM PST What bones are to bodies, the cytoskeleton is to cells. The cytoskeleton maintains cellular structure, builds appendages like flagella and, together with motor proteins, powers cellular movement, transport, and division. Microtubules are a critical component of the cytoskeleton, vital for cell division and, because of that, an excellent target for chemotherapy drugs.

Want to rewire a neuron? You’ve got to take it slow Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:23 AM PST A new technique offers potential to reconnect neurons of people with central nervous system damage.

Necroptosis: How crystals precipitate cell death Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:23 AM PST Crystal formation plays a defining role in the pathogenesis of a range of common diseases, such as gout and atherosclerosis. Researchers have now elucidated how the insoluble deposits induce cell death.

How queen bees control the princesses Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:20 AM PST Queen bees and ants emit a chemical that alters the DNA of their daughters and keeps them as sterile and industrious workers, scientists have found. The team found evidence that workers exposed to pheromones tag their DNA with methylation differently, which might suppress queenly characteristics in the workers.

Bringing time and space together for universal symmetry Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:20 AM PST New research is broadening perspectives on time and space. Scientists challenge the long-held presumption that time evolution -- the incessant unfolding of the universe over time -- is an elemental part of Nature.

Scholars look to early 20th century radio technology to help improve Internet security Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:20 AM PST Standard lasers are actually not useful for secure communication because they emit what is called 'classical' light. Data eavesdroppers could extract any data being carried via classical light without detection. In contrast, a quantum Internet would be based on 'quantum' light, in which a single unit of light -- a single photon -- cannot be measured without being destroyed. Therefore, an efficient source of quantum light would enable perfectly secure communication.

New research into the origins of the Austronesian languages Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:20 AM PST Complex genetic data now confirms that mitochondrial DNA found in Pacific islanders was present in Island Southeast Asia at a much earlier period.

Anticholinergics may not be best choice for rehab patients with dementia Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:20 AM PST During rehabilitation following an acute hospital stay, medications that block neurotransmitters may be overprescribed to older patients suffering from delirium superimposed on dementia, according to health researchers.

Small is different Posted: 28 Jan 2016 09:20 AM PST In the production of margarine, millions of tons of unsaturated fatty acids are converted from vegetable oils using hydrogen. While searching for improved catalysts for these so-called hydrogenation reactions, a research team made a discovery that puts a 50-year old rule in question: In catalytic particles comprising only a few atoms, shape and size influence reactivity much more strongly then previously thought.

In lung cancer, not all HER2 alterations are created equal Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST Study shows two distinct causes of HER2 activation in lung cancer: mutation of the gene and amplification of the gene. In patient samples of lung adenocarcinoma, 3 percent were found to have HER2 amplification and another 3 percent were found to have HER2 mutation. No samples were found to have both. These distinct causes of HER2 positivity imply the use of different targeted therapies to combat these related but possibly distinct diseases.

Too-few proteins prompt nanoparticles to clump Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST Low concentrations of serum albumin proteins have the ability to bind one-to-one to gold nanoparticles and, upon unfolding, prompt them to aggregate, according to scientists. The finding may be important to those who study diseases caused by protein aggregation or nanoparticle toxicity.

Landscape pattern analysis reveals global loss of interior forest Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST Between 2000 and 2012, the world lost more forest area than it gained, according to researchers who estimated a global net loss of 1.71 million square kilometers of forest -- an area about two and a half times the size of Texas. Furthermore, when researchers analyzed patterns of remaining forest, they found a global loss of interior forest -- core areas that, when intact, maintain critical habitat and ecological functions.

Sensing the future of molecule detection, bioproduction Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST A new method has been developed for engineering a broad range of biosensors to detect and signal virtually any desired molecule using living eukaryotic cells. Plant, yeast, even mammalian cells could be engineered into living detectors of virtually any molecule of interest to improve environmental monitoring, metabolic production of pharmaceuticals, and more, say researchers.

Vaccine study shapes plan to wipe out rabies in free-roaming dogs Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST Rabies could be eradicated from street dogs in India with the help of a new smartphone app, a study has shown. Researchers are using the app to track free-roaming dogs that have been vaccinated against rabies.

Harnessing the oxidizing power of air Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST Researchers report the catalysis of a highly specific chemical reaction where oxygen from the air is one ingredient and the other, an organic molecule, is selectively 'oxidized'. A simple manganese compound catalyses this reaction. This type of methodology is an important step for the discovery of new catalysts, for example, for the conversion of methane into methanol or greener chemical processes for pharmaceutical production.

Victimized adolescents more at risk of thinking about suicide or attempting suicide at 15 Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST A new study reports that adolescents chronically victimized during at least two school years, are about five times more at risk of thinking about suicide and six times more at risk of attempting suicide at 15 years compared to those who were never victimized. Peer victimization includes actions such as being called names, spreading rumours, excluding someone from a group on purpose, attacking someone physically or cyberbullying.

Breakthrough enables ultra-fast transport of electrical charges in polymers Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST For the first time, researchers have shown that a very efficient vertical charge transport in semiconducting polymers is possible by controlled chain and crystallite orientation. These pioneering results enhance charge transport in polymers by more than 1,000 times, have implications for organic opto-electronic devices.

Antarctic fungi survive Martian conditions on the International Space Station Posted: 28 Jan 2016 08:38 AM PST Scientists have gathered tiny fungi that take shelter in Antarctic rocks and sent them to the International Space Station. After 18 months on board in conditions similar to those on Mars, more than 60 percent of their cells remained intact, with stable DNA. The results provide new information for the search for life on the red planet. Lichens from the Sierra de Gredos (Spain) and the Alps (Austria) also traveled into space for the same experiment.

Mating behavior in the natural world contradicts Darwin’s idea that females make the decisions, researchers find Posted: 28 Jan 2016 06:47 AM PST A provocative study by evolutionary biologists takes on one of Charles Darwin's central ideas: that males adapt and compete for the attention of females because it is the females who ultimately choose their mates and the time of mating.

Calculating whiskers send precise information to the brain Posted: 28 Jan 2016 06:46 AM PST For rats, which use their whiskers to feel out their surroundings at night, clumps of nerve endings called mechanoreceptors located at the base of each whisker act as tiny calculators, new research demonstrates.

Smartphone app linked to increase in contraceptive use in India Posted: 28 Jan 2016 06:46 AM PST A smartphone app containing motivational videos developed to help married rural women in India better understand contraceptive choices led to a dramatic increase in the number of women using modern family planning methods in just a few months, new research suggests.

Finding the right antithrombotic (anti-clotting) drug for you Posted: 28 Jan 2016 06:46 AM PST The effects of one or more antithrombotic (anti-clotting) drugs could more easily be determined through the use of a new analysis system, report researchers. Myocardial infarction, arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation), cerebral infarction and economy-class syndrome all have one thing in common: they are all diseases that are caused by a blood clot blocking a blood vessel.

Minorities had lower risk of coronary heart disease than whites, study shows Posted: 28 Jan 2016 06:46 AM PST In a study of more than 1.3 million members in Northern California that stretched over 10 years, researchers found that blacks, Latinos and Asians generally had lower risk of coronary heart disease compared to whites.

Bedbugs develop resistance to widely used chemical treatments, rendering them ineffective Posted: 28 Jan 2016 06:46 AM PST One of the most of the most widely used commercial chemicals to kill bedbugs are not effective because the pesky insects have built up a tolerance to them, according to a team of researchers.

Andean bean: Small bean for sweet dreams Posted: 28 Jan 2016 05:27 AM PST Andean beans (for example, red kidney beans) were overlooked by researchers because other beans were easier to breed. However, researchers took notice of the Andean bean. They recognized its potential to play a role in feeding the world.

Growth factor in brain tied to slower mental decline Posted: 28 Jan 2016 05:25 AM PST Older people with higher amounts of a key protein in their brains also had slower decline in their memory and thinking abilities than people with lower amounts of protein from the gene called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, according to a study.

Maya healers' conception of cancer may help bridge gap in multicultural settings care Posted: 28 Jan 2016 05:25 AM PST Understanding and integrating patients' cultural beliefs into cancer treatment plans may help improve their acceptance of and adherence to treatment in multicultural settings. Researchers examined traditional Maya healers' understanding of cancer in a new study.

New programs help prepare low-income children for school success Posted: 28 Jan 2016 05:23 AM PST New pediatric programs report an increase school readiness in children of low-income families.

CRISPR used to repair blindness-causing genetic defect in patient-derived stem cells Posted: 28 Jan 2016 05:23 AM PST Scientists have used a new gene-editing technology called CRISPR, to repair a genetic mutation responsible for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), an inherited condition that causes the retina to degrade and leads to blindness in at least 1.5 million cases worldwide.

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