ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Does daylight saving time increase risk of stroke?
• Less than half of pediatricians inquire about maternal mental health
• Shaving time to test antidotes for nerve agents
• Unlocking the secrets of squid sucker ring teeth
• Study points to cannabis' effect on emotion processing
• Ozone depletion chemicals: Tracking down lingering source of carbon tetrachloride emissions
• Scientists are closer to solving the mystery of how Mars' moon Phobos formed: Phobos in the mid- and far-ultraviolet
• Female fertility is dependent on functional expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch
• New theory of deep-ocean sound waves may aid tsunami detection
• Cell biology: Nuclear export of opioid growth factor receptor is CRM1 dependent
• Diabetic management: Subcutaneous insulin therapy fails to protect against oxidative stress and inflammation
• A human liver microphysiology platform for studying physiology, drug safety, and disease
• A new way to discover DNA modifications
• Cancer patients with limited finances are more likely to have increased symptoms and poorer quality of life
• Online courses: MOOC instructors may need more support for successful courses
• Massive 2014 Colorado avalanche examined
• 520-million-year-old fossilized nervous system is most detailed example yet found
• Two-way clustering method for QSAR modeling of diverse set of chemicals
• 'Informed consent' states often give women considering abortions inaccurate information
• Black widow spiders are color-coded to deter predators without tipping off prey
• In grasslands, longer spring growing season offsets higher summer temperatures
• Scientists find way to predict activity of stem cells
• Study finds 5x increase in hand sanitizer use when located in hospital
• New method may find elusive flaws in medical implants and spacecraft
• Metabolic phenotyping of blood plasma allows for the detection of lung cancer
• Childhood poverty, parental abuse cost adults their health for years to come
• Mutated gene associated with colon cancer discovered in 18th-century Hungarian mummy
• Is anti-TNF therapy safe for inflammatory bowel disease patients with prior cancer?
• NASA demonstrates airborne water quality sensor
• Americans would pay more to support biodiversity
• Plankton feces could move plastic pollution to the ocean depths
• Activity monitoring devices provide reliable records of activity
• NASA, partner space agencies measure forests in Gabon
• NASA data used to track groundwater in Pakistan
• Chronic conditions rise in older people
• Three 'twisted' photons in three dimensions
• Air data can be used to reconstruct radiological releases
• Blood vessels sprout under pressure
• Researchers make key improvement in solar cell technology
• Breast cancer genetic variants found to alter how cells respond to estrogen
• Are parents of 'difficult' children more likely to use iPads to calm kids down?
• Study defines social motivations of urban farms
• Immune therapy breaks down wall around pancreatic tumors for chemo to attack
• I'll cry if i want to: Emotional exhaustion harms society's outcasts
• Interference at a double slit made of two atoms
• Study celebrates the success of EU air quality policy amidst Brexit uncertainty
• Is rare wildlife traded on the darknet?
• On the hook: Sustainable fishing in Papua New Guinea
• Device 'fingerprints' could help protect power grid, other industrial systems
• Nanotechnology delivery system offers new approach to skin disease therapies
• Injustice often spreads: How unfairness can be stopped
• Moth genitalia is the key to snout grass borers from the Western Hemisphere
• Undergraduate student takes to Twitter to expose illegal release of alien fish in Japan
• Genetic switch regulating satiety and body weight identified
• Fishing meets science with waders and smartphones
• In emergencies, should you trust a robot?
• Ballooning 10 billion world population drives moderate-to-high worries, study finds
• Snoring in children can affect their health
• Biofuels from algae: A budding technology yet to become viable
• Two-pronged attack increases potency of new anti-cancer drugs

Does daylight saving time increase risk of stroke? Posted: 29 Feb 2016 07:06 PM PST Turning the clock ahead or back one hour during daylight saving time transitions may be tied to an increased risk of ischemic stroke, but only temporarily, according to a preliminary study.

Less than half of pediatricians inquire about maternal mental health Posted: 29 Feb 2016 07:06 PM PST Although asking about maternal depression increased among pediatricians by about 30 percent between 2004 and 2013, less than half of pediatricians usually screen for the condition.

Shaving time to test antidotes for nerve agents Posted: 29 Feb 2016 07:06 PM PST Imagine you wanted to know how much energy it took to bike up a mountain, but couldn't finish the ride to the peak yourself. So, to get the total energy required, you and a team of friends strap energy meters to your bikes and ride the route in a relay, then add up your individual energy inputs. Researchers are currently using a similar approach, powered by world-class supercomputers, to simulate the energy requirements for candidate drug molecules to permeate cell membranes – shaving weeks of compound testing by determining in advance how readily they'll enter cells to perform their activity.

Unlocking the secrets of squid sucker ring teeth Posted: 29 Feb 2016 07:06 PM PST A squid has more in common with a spider than you may think. The razor-sharp 'teeth' that ring the suckers found on some squid tentacles are made up entirely of proteins remarkably similar -- and in some ways superior -- to the ones found in silks. Those proteins, called suckerins, give the teeth their strength and stretchiness, and could one day be used as the basis for biomaterials with many potential biomedical applications.

Study points to cannabis' effect on emotion processing Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:27 PM PST According to researchers, cannabis significantly affects users' ability to recognize, process and empathize with human emotions like happiness, sadness and anger.

Ozone depletion chemicals: Tracking down lingering source of carbon tetrachloride emissions Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:27 PM PST Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), once commonly used as a cleaning agent, is an ozone-depleting chemical. Despite a worldwide ban, a new study reports that CCl4 emission rates are still 30 to 100 times higher than amounts reported to emission inventories.

Scientists are closer to solving the mystery of how Mars' moon Phobos formed: Phobos in the mid- and far-ultraviolet Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:27 PM PST In late November and early December 2015, NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission made a series of close approaches to the Martian moon Phobos, collecting data from within 300 miles (500 kilometers) of the moon.

Female fertility is dependent on functional expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:26 PM PST Protein ubiquitination is known to result in its proteasomal degradation or to serve as a signal for tissue-specific cellular functions. Here it is reported that mice with a mutant form of the E3 ubiquitin ligase ITCH display reduced litter sizes due to a maternal effect. Mutant females had decreased numbers of implantations, corpa lutea, and extended estrous cycles. The results indicate for the first time that loss of functional ITCH disrupts female reproduction.

New theory of deep-ocean sound waves may aid tsunami detection Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:26 PM PST Researchers have now identified a less dramatic though far more pervasive source of acoustic-gravity waves: surface ocean waves, such as those that can be seen from a beach or the deck of a boat. These waves, known as surface-gravity waves, do not travel nearly as fast, far, or deep as acoustic-gravity waves, yet under the right conditions, they can generate the powerful, fast-moving, and low-frequency sound waves.

Cell biology: Nuclear export of opioid growth factor receptor is CRM1 dependent Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:26 PM PST The opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr) interacts with a specific opioid growth factor ligand (OGF), chemically termed [Met5]-enkephalin, to maintain homeostasis in a wide variety of normal and abnormal cells and tissues. The mechanism underlying the function of OGFr requires that the receptor translocates to the nucleus. However, the mechanism of nuclear export of OGFr is unknown. Studies utilizing both endogenous OGFr, and exogenously expressed OGFr-eGFP, demonstrated that OGFr is exported from the nucleus in a CRM1 dependent manner.

Diabetic management: Subcutaneous insulin therapy fails to protect against oxidative stress and inflammation Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:25 PM PST Today, the gold standard for insulin therapy is the subcutaneous injection of insulin (CSII), despite a non-physiological route of administration with suboptimal glycemic control showed in some patients. Inability of CSII therapy to prevent inflammation and oxidative stress was firstly demonstrated in vivo on treated-diabetic rats, presenting a high variability of glycogen storage associated with glycemic fluctuations. This study suggests that targeting oxidative stress and/or inflammation could help the therapeutic management of diabetic patients.

A human liver microphysiology platform for studying physiology, drug safety, and disease Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:25 PM PST Currently available animal and human liver models provide limited predictions of human drug efficacy and toxicity, primarily due to metabolic differences and the limited ability of simple 2-D models to recapitulate the complex cellular interactions that lead to toxicity. To fill this gap we have developed a novel 4 cell type, 3-D, microfluidic, human liver model with the ability to monitor multiple cellular toxicity and human disease related functions over at least 28 days.

A new way to discover DNA modifications Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:25 PM PST DNA is made from four nucleosides, each known by its own letter -- A, G, C, and T. However, since the structure of DNA was deciphered in 1953, scientists have discovered several other variants that are often added to the DNA sequences to replace one of the usual four letters.

Cancer patients with limited finances are more likely to have increased symptoms and poorer quality of life Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:25 PM PST If you're a lung or colorectal cancer patient, what's in your wallet could determine your level of suffering and quality of life during treatment, according to a new study.

Online courses: MOOC instructors may need more support for successful courses Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:25 PM PST Supporting instructors of massive open online courses -- MOOCs -- may be just as important to the creation of long-term, successful courses as attracting and supporting students, according to a group of researchers.

Massive 2014 Colorado avalanche examined Posted: 29 Feb 2016 12:35 PM PST On 25 May 2014, a rain-on-snow–induced rock avalanche occurred in the West Salt Creek valley on the northern flank of Grand Mesa in western Colorado (United States). The avalanche mobilized from a preexisting rock slide in the Green River Formation and traveled 4.6 km down the confined valley, killing three people.

520-million-year-old fossilized nervous system is most detailed example yet found Posted: 29 Feb 2016 12:35 PM PST Researchers have found one of the oldest and most detailed fossils of the central nervous system yet identified, from a crustacean-like animal that lived more than 500 million years ago. The fossil, from southern China, has been so well preserved that individual nerves are visible, the first time this level of detail has been observed in a fossil of this age.

Two-way clustering method for QSAR modeling of diverse set of chemicals Posted: 29 Feb 2016 12:32 PM PST New articles developed in silico models for the estimation of potential mutagenicity of chemicals from their structure without the input of any other experimental data.

'Informed consent' states often give women considering abortions inaccurate information Posted: 29 Feb 2016 12:31 PM PST Women considering abortions are getting medically inaccurate information nearly a third of the time in states that require doctors to provide informed consent materials to their patients, according to a new study.

Black widow spiders are color-coded to deter predators without tipping off prey Posted: 29 Feb 2016 12:31 PM PST Secret codes and hidden messages aren't just for computer security experts or kids passing notes in class -- animals use them too. The telltale red hourglass of the black widow spider appears brighter and more contrasting to birds than to insects, finds a new study. The red-and-black color combination sends a 'beware!' signal to predators without scaring off their prey.

In grasslands, longer spring growing season offsets higher summer temperatures Posted: 29 Feb 2016 12:29 PM PST Grasslands across North America will face higher summer temperatures and widespread drought by the end of the century, according to a new study. But those negative effects in vegetation growth will be largely offset, the research predicts, by an earlier start to the spring growing season and warmer winter temperatures.

Scientists find way to predict activity of stem cells Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST Scientists have for the first time developed a way to predict how a specific type of stem cell will act against different diseases.

Study finds 5x increase in hand sanitizer use when located in hospital Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST Placing alcohol-based hand sanitizers (AHS) in the middle of a hospital lobby floor in front of the visitor entrance increased visitor usage by 528 percent, according to a new study.

New method may find elusive flaws in medical implants and spacecraft Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST Medical implants and spacecraft can suddenly go dead, often for the same reason: cracks in ceramic capacitors, devices that store electric charge in electronic circuits. These cracks, at first harmless and often hidden, can start conducting electricity, depleting batteries or shorting out the electronics. Now, researchers have demonstrated a nondestructive approach for detecting cracks in ceramic capacitors before they go bad.

Metabolic phenotyping of blood plasma allows for the detection of lung cancer Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST Metabolic phenotyping of blood plasma by proton nuclear magnetic resonance identified unique metabolic biomarkers specific to lung cancer patients and allowed for the accurate identification of a cohort of patients with early and late-stage lung cancer.

Childhood poverty, parental abuse cost adults their health for years to come Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST Growing up in poverty or being abused by parents can lead to accumulated health problems later in life, according to new research.

Mutated gene associated with colon cancer discovered in 18th-century Hungarian mummy Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST A new discovery suggests that a genetic predisposition to cancer preceded the advent of modernization -- and, in a bizarre twist, they discovered this evidence in an 18th-century Hungarian mummy.

Is anti-TNF therapy safe for inflammatory bowel disease patients with prior cancer? Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:59 AM PST A previous history of cancer doesn't necessarily preclude treatment with antibodies against tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, suggests a new study.

NASA demonstrates airborne water quality sensor Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:59 AM PST Monitoring the quality of freshwater supplies is a global concern, especially in thirsty California, where the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary and its watershed serve as a major freshwater source. Now scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park and Sacramento, California, have successfully demonstrated how a NASA-developed airborne environmental monitoring instrument can be applied to help water managers monitor water quality not only in San Francisco Bay, but potentially in other inland and coastal water bodies around the world.

Americans would pay more to support biodiversity Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:59 AM PST Most Americans are willing to pay more taxes each year -- in some cases, as much as $35 to $100 more -- to support biodiversity conservation in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a national survey. Respondents' willingness to help support the proposed expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary near the Texas-Louisiana border reflects growing national awareness of the Gulf's ecological importance and the threats it increasingly faces.

Plankton feces could move plastic pollution to the ocean depths Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:59 AM PST Plastic waste could find its way deep into the ocean through the feces of plankton, new research shows.

Activity monitoring devices provide reliable records of activity Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:59 AM PST Fitbit, the popular physical activity monitoring device, is a valid and reliable way of monitoring physical activity, finds a new study.

NASA, partner space agencies measure forests in Gabon Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:56 AM PST A contingent of NASA airborne instruments and scientists on the ground, including some from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, has joined colleagues from space agencies in Gabon and Europe this month to study the dense African tropical forests in Gabon.

NASA data used to track groundwater in Pakistan Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:53 AM PST Pakistan's water managers are looking to NASA satellites to help them more effectively monitor and manage that precious resource, thanks to a partnership with engineers and hydrologists at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Chronic conditions rise in older people Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:53 AM PST The number of older people in England living with more than one chronic condition could have risen by 10 percent in the last decade putting increasing pressure on the NHS, new research has suggested.

Three 'twisted' photons in three dimensions Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:53 AM PST Researchers have achieved a new milestone in quantum physics: they were able to entangle three particles of light in a high-dimensional quantum property related to the 'twist' of their wavefront structure.

Air data can be used to reconstruct radiological releases Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:53 AM PST New research demonstrates that experts can use data from air sampling technology to not only detect radiological releases, but to accurately quantify the magnitude and source of the release. This has applications for nuclear plant safety, as well as national security and nuclear nonproliferation monitoring.

Blood vessels sprout under pressure Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:53 AM PST It is blood pressure that drives the opening of small capillaries during angiogenesis. A team of researchers has observed the process for the first time.

Researchers make key improvement in solar cell technology Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:53 AM PST Researchers have reached a critical milestone in solar cell fabrication, helping pave the way for solar energy to directly compete with electricity generated by conventional energy sources.

Breast cancer genetic variants found to alter how cells respond to estrogen Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:51 AM PST An international study of almost 120,000 women has newly identified five genetic variants affecting risk of breast cancer, all of which are believed to influence how breast cells respond to the female sex hormone estrogen.

Are parents of 'difficult' children more likely to use iPads to calm kids down? Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:51 AM PST It may be tempting to hand an iPad or Smartphone to a tantrum-throwing child -- and maybe more so for some parents. A study shows that devices were more likely to be used as a coping strategy to pacify children with difficult behavior. However, there were no differences between children with social-emotional difficulties and other children when it came to mobile technology use during other scenarios, such as eating, being in public, doing chores or at bedtime.

Study defines social motivations of urban farms Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:20 AM PST Two thirds of urban farmers have a social mission that goes beyond food production and profits, finds new American research. The researchers found that food production is an essential part of the mission for all urban farms, but approximately two thirds of farmers surveyed also expressed a social mission. These social missions are primarily related to food security, education, and community building.

Immune therapy breaks down wall around pancreatic tumors for chemo to attack Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:20 AM PST In a new preclinical study, researchers have uncovered the poorly understood mechanics of how macrophages can be "re-educated" by an experimental immune therapy to help tear down the scaffolding that surrounds and protects pancreas cancer from chemotherapy.

I'll cry if i want to: Emotional exhaustion harms society's outcasts Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:20 AM PST Most theories suggest some people are willing to view stigmatized individuals, such as drug addicts, as less than human because believing people in these situations don't have the capacity to think and feel like others makes it easier to marginalize them. Research has now found another reason why people may dehumanize society's outcasts: emotional exhaustion.

Interference at a double slit made of two atoms Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:19 AM PST Scientists observe unusual interference phenomena by scattering laser light from two atoms trapped inside an optical resonator.

Study celebrates the success of EU air quality policy amidst Brexit uncertainty Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:19 AM PST A study has found that about 80,000 deaths are prevented each year due to the introduction of European Union (EU) policies and new technologies to reduce air pollution.

Is rare wildlife traded on the darknet? Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:19 AM PST Unlike illicit trade in drugs, guns or pornography, illicit trade in rare wildlife doesn't have to hide on the 'darknet' because people can find whatever rare species they want in the open marketplace. The so-called darknet is not required for trade in species such as rhino or elephant, because laws protecting wildlife trade online are so poorly enforced, research suggests

On the hook: Sustainable fishing in Papua New Guinea Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:18 AM PST A multi-disciplinary team has been busy unlocking the secrets of the Papuan black bass, one of the world's toughest sportfish.

Device 'fingerprints' could help protect power grid, other industrial systems Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:18 AM PST Researchers are using the unique electronic 'voices' produced by devices on the electrical grid to determine which signals are legitimate and which signals might be from attackers. These fingerprints could also be used to protect networked industrial control systems in oil and gas refineries, manufacturing facilities, wastewater treatment plants and other critical industrial systems.

Nanotechnology delivery system offers new approach to skin disease therapies Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:18 AM PST Researchers have developed a nanotechnology-based delivery system containing a protective cellular pathway inducer that activates the body's natural defense against free radicals efficiently, a development that could control a variety of skin pathologies and disorders.

Injustice often spreads: How unfairness can be stopped Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:17 AM PST People who feel treated unfairly usually do not direct their anger only towards the perpetrator. They frequently unload their aggressions onto uninvolved outsiders who then in turn behave similarly. How can this chain of unfair behavior be disrupted? A team of researchers discovered that writing a message to the perpetrator is one way to regulate emotions and thereby reassess the situation.

Moth genitalia is the key to snout grass borers from the Western Hemisphere Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:17 AM PST Two scientists have produced an illustrated key to define the subtle differences between the 41 species of snout moth grass borers that currently dwell in the Western Hemisphere. The researchers conclude that the adults are too tough to tell apart by external characters, and therefore, the only way to identify the species is with the male and female genitalia.

Undergraduate student takes to Twitter to expose illegal release of alien fish in Japan Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:17 AM PST Posing a significant threat to the native biodiversity in Japan, specifically that of threatened aquatic insects, some alien fishes, such as the bluegill, have become the reason for strict prohibitions. However, recently, 10 years after the law against their release into the wild has been adopted, its first infringement is reported by Japanese researchers. Curiously, the case was initially exposed on Twitter by an undergraduate student.

Genetic switch regulating satiety and body weight identified Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:12 AM PST A team of researchers has identified a new mechanism that regulates the effect of the satiety hormone leptin. The study identified the enzyme HDAC5 as key factor in our control of body weight and food intake and potential target against the Yoyo dieting effect.

Fishing meets science with waders and smartphones Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:11 AM PST Dutch and American researchers have developed waders equipped with temperature sensors that enable fly-fishers to find the best fishing locations while collecting data to help scientists study streams.

In emergencies, should you trust a robot? Posted: 29 Feb 2016 06:59 AM PST In emergencies, people may trust robots too much for their own safety, a new study suggests. In a mock building fire, test subjects followed instructions from an "Emergency Guide Robot" even after the machine had proven itself unreliable – and after some participants were told that robot had broken down.

Ballooning 10 billion world population drives moderate-to-high worries, study finds Posted: 29 Feb 2016 06:59 AM PST Risk analysts have gathered new evidence that the public sees a medium-to-high risk that worldwide population growth could lead to food and water shortages, species extinctions, and other disasters, pointing to the likelihood that concerned individuals might support policies to slow the growth.

Snoring in children can affect their health Posted: 29 Feb 2016 06:56 AM PST Children commonly snore from time to time and that is often harmless. But children with frequent snoring and breathing problems during sleep have an increased risk of having trouble concentrating and learning difficulties. A newly published study shows that many parents of children that snore are not aware of the possible risks associated with frequent snoring in children.

Biofuels from algae: A budding technology yet to become viable Posted: 29 Feb 2016 06:56 AM PST Despite high expectations and extensive research and investment in the last decade, technological options are still in developing stages and key resources for algal growth are still too onerous for economically viable production of algal biofuels, according to a literature review. No large-scale, commercial algae-to-biofuels facilities have been implemented up until the end of 2015.

Two-pronged attack increases potency of new anti-cancer drugs Posted: 29 Feb 2016 06:54 AM PST Researchers have discovered that the treatment of the most deadly form of blood cancer may be improved by combining two recently developed drugs.

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