ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Supercritical CO2-cooled micro modular reactor
• Researchers rediscover Aquilaria rostrata thought to have become extinct
• Bending light with silicon nanoparticles
• Stable environmentally friendly polymer coatings inhibit surface buildup of bacterial and marine organisms
• On-the-spot diagnosis of certain cancers and other diseases is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a sensitive biosensor
• Surface chemistry offers new approach to directing crystal formation in pharmaceutical industry
• Children born prematurely are disadvantaged at school and into adulthood but delaying school entry may not be the answer
• Low cost, 25 min TB-test could help reduce tuberculosis death rate among patients with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa
• Depression, high blood pressure, other chronic conditions may be common at MS diagnosis
• Five ways X-ray laser can change the way we live
• Seeing the light: Army ants evolve to regain sight and more in return to surface
• Modern corn hybrids more resilient to nitrogen stress, crowded planting conditions
• Don't let youth trip you; more than 50 percent of young adults fall, trip
• 'Dose-dense' chemo for premenopausal breast cancer patients improves survival
• New treatment regimen cuts severity of drug-resistant malaria in pregnancy
• Red wonder: Chemists pave way for phosphorus revolution
• How to get a handle on potential risks posed by fracking fluids
• Nicotine vaccine delays the drug's effects in mice
• High coronary calcium score may signal increased risk of cancer, kidney and lung disease
• Child care providers need more education, training on benefits of breastfeeding, human milk
• Small peptides attack ovarian cancer on two fronts, research shows
• Australia's limestone columns: Introducing the five new 'Drowned Apostles'
• We've got your number: Tracing the source of invasive Japanese beetles
• Virtual time machine of Earth's geology now in the cloud
• Compounds restore antibiotics' efficacy against MRSA
• Combining two imaging technologies may better identify dangerous coronary plaques
• Physical activity encouraged more in boys than in girls
• More choice for consumers can hurt the bottom line
• Delivery strategies of chemotherapy to the central nervous system
• Dark matter satellites trigger massive birth of stars
• New intervention program reduces bullying in early childhood
• Periorbital transplantation may be promising alternative to protect vision in facial transplant candidates
• Can yoga help those experiencing depression, anxiety or PTSD?
• Sticky, stony and sizzling science launching to space station
• Excess heat significantly affects health of migratory workers
• Reconfigurable magnetic nanopatterns
• Serotonin deficiency implicated in rheumatoid arthritis
• Work climate contributes significantly to working moms' decision to breastfeed
• Risks less likely to be reported by public-health researchers paid by industry or military
• Key step in process of Shigella infection identified
• Banning words on Instagram doesn't help, it makes it worse
• Light helps the transistor laser switch faster
• Atomic vibrations in nanomaterials
• Being bullied does not lead to higher substance abuse
• First microwhip scorpion from Mesozoic period found in Burmese amber
• Renewable plastic made from carbon dioxide and plants
• Vision restored in rabbits following stem cell transplantation
• Greenhouse gas 'bookkeeping' turned on its head
• Protected Majorana states for quantum information
• The benefits of food processing: Processing food before eating likely played key role in human evolution
• Stem cells regenerate human lens after cataract surgery, restoring vision
• Overfishing devastates spawning aggregations
• More dental patients could be spared the drill with new diagnostic liquid
• HIV patients in Africa with a specific genetic variant have much lower rate of TB
• Battling the blight
• Maternal bacterial infections trigger abnormal proliferation of neurons in fetal brain
• Study lays groundwork for potential bipolar disorder therapies
• Want a younger brain? Stay in school -- and take the stairs
• One-size-fits-all support services don't suit needs of younger grandmothers raising grandchildren
• Study seeks to reduce pediatric HIV infection rates in Africa

Supercritical CO2-cooled micro modular reactor Posted: 09 Mar 2016 06:00 PM PST A research team has suggested an innovative concept of a reactor cooled by supercritical state carbon dioxide (S-CO2). The core has long life (20 years) without refueling as well as inherent safety features.

Researchers rediscover Aquilaria rostrata thought to have become extinct Posted: 09 Mar 2016 06:00 PM PST Aquilaria rostrata forest tree species said to have become extinct after the last time it was found about 100 years ago, has been rediscovered by researchers.

Bending light with silicon nanoparticles Posted: 09 Mar 2016 05:57 PM PST Researchers in Singapore are using "nanoantennae" to manipulate light beams. This may open the door to the development of new light-based technologies.

Stable environmentally friendly polymer coatings inhibit surface buildup of bacterial and marine organisms Posted: 09 Mar 2016 05:57 PM PST An eco-friendly strategy to stop the collection of bacteria and marine organisms on objects immersed in seawater has been developed. Scientists have created a safe, polymer-based, coating.

On-the-spot diagnosis of certain cancers and other diseases is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a sensitive biosensor Posted: 09 Mar 2016 05:57 PM PST A compact optical device that can rapidly and sensitively detect biomarkers in urine has been developed. It has promise for developing simple point-of-care diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.

Surface chemistry offers new approach to directing crystal formation in pharmaceutical industry Posted: 09 Mar 2016 05:57 PM PST A study suggests the surface properties of the glass vessels in which pharmaceutical ingredients are prepared has an effect on how they crystallize.

Children born prematurely are disadvantaged at school and into adulthood but delaying school entry may not be the answer Posted: 09 Mar 2016 05:22 PM PST Children born before 34 weeks gestation have poorer reading and maths skills than those born at full term, and the difficulties they experience at school continue to have effects into adulthood: by the age of 42, adults who were born prematurely have lower incomes and are less likely to own their own home than those born at full term.

Low cost, 25 min TB-test could help reduce tuberculosis death rate among patients with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa Posted: 09 Mar 2016 05:21 PM PST A low cost, easy to use, urine test to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) among patients with HIV could help reduce the TB death rate of HIV-positive patients in hospital, according to a new study.

Depression, high blood pressure, other chronic conditions may be common at MS diagnosis Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:29 PM PST People newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) may often have other chronic health conditions as well, according to a study. For the study, researchers examined how common several chronic conditions were in 23,382 people with MS at the time of their diagnosis and 116,638 people of the same age and sex without the disease.

Five ways X-ray laser can change the way we live Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:29 PM PST If you've ever stood in a dark room wishing you had a flashlight, then you understand how scientists feel when faced with the mysteries of physical processes that happen at scales that are mind-bogglingly small and fast.

Seeing the light: Army ants evolve to regain sight and more in return to surface Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PST A study of army ants revealed that some species increased their brain size, including visual brain regions, after evolving above-ground behavior. Their ancestors had lived mainly underground for nearly 60 million years. Such increases in brain capacity are a rarely-studied evolutionary phenomenon.

Modern corn hybrids more resilient to nitrogen stress, crowded planting conditions Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PST Modern corn hybrids produce more plant material and take up, on average, the same amount of nitrogen as earlier varieties, in spite of being more crowded and having less nitrogen available per plant, a review finds.

Don't let youth trip you; more than 50 percent of young adults fall, trip Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PST Young adults fall more frequently than expected, and most falls occur during everyday activities such walking and talking, according to new research. 'The most commonly cited statistic is that one in three older adults falls each year due to age-related changes in balance, and in this four-month study, more than half of the college students fell during daily activities,' said a professor of health and kinesiology.

'Dose-dense' chemo for premenopausal breast cancer patients improves survival Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PST Premenopausal women with breast cancer have a better chance of survival if they are given cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy closer together, every two weeks rather than every three weeks. Furthermore, this regime does not increase the risk of early menopause, according to results of a meta-analysis of trials involving over 3,000 patients.

New treatment regimen cuts severity of drug-resistant malaria in pregnancy Posted: 09 Mar 2016 03:28 PM PST A two-drug preventive treatment greatly reduces the severity of malaria during pregnancy, according to a new study. The treatment provides an alternative for many parts of Africa where the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum has grown resistant to standard treatment.

Red wonder: Chemists pave way for phosphorus revolution Posted: 09 Mar 2016 01:08 PM PST Researchers have discovered a way to safely activate red phosphorus, an element that will be critical in the creation of new electronics and the materials of the future.

How to get a handle on potential risks posed by fracking fluids Posted: 09 Mar 2016 01:07 PM PST The latest skirmishes over hydraulic fracturing in Florida and California are, at their core, about water. Many fracking-related spills have been recorded, and opponents say that such incidents pose unacceptable threats to water supplies. But the issue is fraught with uncertainties. Scientists review what's known about the fluids and conclude that a comprehensive assessment of potential risks requires full disclosure of fracking fluid contents.

Nicotine vaccine delays the drug's effects in mice Posted: 09 Mar 2016 01:07 PM PST Many people who smoke want to quit, but the urge to light up is often irresistible. An effective vaccine to help people kick the habit once and for all has been elusive. But now, scientists report on a new vaccine design that could help achieve this goal.

High coronary calcium score may signal increased risk of cancer, kidney and lung disease Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:34 PM PST A high coronary artery calcium score puts people at greater risk not only for heart and vascular disease but also for cancer, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a 10-year follow-up study of more than 6,000 people who underwent heart CT scans suggests.

Child care providers need more education, training on benefits of breastfeeding, human milk Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST A research team investigated individual child care centers' attitudes and policies related to breastfeeding in two distinct areas in Philadelphia. Their research concluded that there is much room for improvement in educating and training child care providers and staff on the benefits of breastfeeding and human milk.

Small peptides attack ovarian cancer on two fronts, research shows Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST Two forms of a peptide derived from a naturally-occurring human protein can force tumors to shrink significantly in an animal model of metastatic ovarian cancer, according to a team of researchers.

Australia's limestone columns: Introducing the five new 'Drowned Apostles' Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST Australia's iconic tourist attraction, the Twelve Apostles, has received an unlikely boost in numbers with the discovery of five extra limestone columns hidden way below the water.

We've got your number: Tracing the source of invasive Japanese beetles Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST A new technique can help invasive pest managers make more informed decisions about how to control Japanese beetles and the extensive damage they cause.

Virtual time machine of Earth's geology now in the cloud Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST Cloud-based virtual globes developed by a team led by University of Sydney geologists mean anyone with a smartphone, laptop or computer can now visualize, with unprecedented speed and ease of use, how the Earth evolved geologically.

Compounds restore antibiotics' efficacy against MRSA Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST Antibiotics rendered useless by the notorious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, (MRSA) may get a second life, thanks to compounds that can restore the bug's susceptibility to antibiotics, according to a new study in mice.

Combining two imaging technologies may better identify dangerous coronary plaques Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST Combing optical coherence tomography with near-infrared autofluorescence imaging may more accurately identify coronary artery plaques that are most likely to rupture and cause a heart attack, say investigators.

Physical activity encouraged more in boys than in girls Posted: 09 Mar 2016 12:18 PM PST School and family influences on physical activity may be stronger in boys than in girls in Australia, according to a new study.

More choice for consumers can hurt the bottom line Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:07 AM PST Big retailers typically pack their shelves with competing versions of the same products intent on attracting a wider variety of customers and gaining market share. But new research suggests that there is a fine line between offering consumers choice and creating costly confusion.

Delivery strategies of chemotherapy to the central nervous system Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST The blood-brain barrier and the blood-tumor barrier remain great obstacles to the drug delivery to brain tumors. A new paper reviews the importance of BBB and BTB and the current status and future perspectives of these delivery procedures.

Dark matter satellites trigger massive birth of stars Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST Astronomers are presenting a novel analysis of computer simulations, based on theoretical models, that study the interaction of a dwarf galaxy with a dark satellite.

New intervention program reduces bullying in early childhood Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST Physical and relational bullying can happen among children as young as 3- to 5-years-old, but the results of a new study suggest that a relatively short intervention program recently developed by researchers can lead to significant reductions in some of these behaviors.

Periorbital transplantation may be promising alternative to protect vision in facial transplant candidates Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST Transplantation of the periorbital tissues -- the area surrounding the eyes -- is a 'technically feasible' alternative to protect a functioning eye in some patients being considered for facial transplant, according to a new study.

Can yoga help those experiencing depression, anxiety or PTSD? Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST Across the country, health and human service providers have shown a growing interest in using yoga as an option for treating people who experience mental health problems. But a recent study has found that while there are some promising benefits to using yoga, there isn't yet enough evidence to support the practice as a standalone solution for improving mental health and well-being.

Sticky, stony and sizzling science launching to space station Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST NASA's commercial partner Orbital ATK plans to launch its Cygnus spacecraft into orbit on March 22, 2016 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for its fifth contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station. The flight, known as Orbital ATK CRS-6, will deliver investigations to the space station to study fire, meteors, regolith, adhesion, and 3-D printing in microgravity.

Excess heat significantly affects health of migratory workers Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST Hot weather is significantly associated with clinical visits among migratory farmworkers compared to other patients, according to a study. Migratory farmworkers are those who travel for agricultural work while seasonal workers do not change homes or travel away from their established homes for work.

Reconfigurable magnetic nanopatterns Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated a novel approach for designing fully reconfigurable magnetic nanopatterns whose properties and functionality can be programmed and reprogrammed on-demand.

Serotonin deficiency implicated in rheumatoid arthritis Posted: 09 Mar 2016 11:00 AM PST For the first time, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) has been directly implicated in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A new report shows that experimentally-induced RA in serotonin-deficient mice is worse than disease reported in controls and that some effects of RA can be reduced by serotonin or its agonists (compounds that activate serotonin receptors).

Work climate contributes significantly to working moms' decision to breastfeed Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:58 AM PST Breastfeeding is healthy for baby and for Mom. Research finds there are obstacles to both receiving the full benefits. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months and continuation of breastfeeding for 12 months or longer. The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide time and a space for mothers to express milk.

Risks less likely to be reported by public-health researchers paid by industry or military Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:58 AM PST Scientists looking for environmental and occupational health risks are less likely to find them if they have a financial tie to firms that make, use, or dispose of industrial and commercial products, a researcher has found.

Key step in process of Shigella infection identified Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:58 AM PST Researchers have discovered a key mechanism used by Shigella to delivery proteins into target host cells. Their findings may apply to additional bacterial species, including those responsible for typhoid fever, bubonic plague and many hospital-acquired pneumonias.

Banning words on Instagram doesn't help, it makes it worse Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:58 AM PST Instagram's decision to ban certain words commonly used by pro-eating disorder (pro-ED) communities has produced an unintended effect, a study finds. The use of those terms decreased when they were censored in 2012. But users adapted by simply making up new, almost identical words, driving up participation and support within pro-ED groups by as much as 30 percent.

Light helps the transistor laser switch faster Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:58 AM PST Light and electrons interact in a complex dance within fiber optic devices. A new study found that in the transistor laser, a device for next-generation high-speed computing, the light and electrons spur one another on to faster switching speeds than any devices available.

Atomic vibrations in nanomaterials Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:58 AM PST Researchers have shown for the first time what happens to atomic vibrations when materials are nanosized and how this knowledge can be used to systematically engineer nanomaterials for different applications.

Being bullied does not lead to higher substance abuse Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:57 AM PST Students who were bullied in third grade did not have a greater risk of using drugs or alcohol by ninth grade, a new study concludes. But the researchers found that children who had experienced the highest level of victimization smoked cigarettes or used alcohol at higher rates than high school peers.

First microwhip scorpion from Mesozoic period found in Burmese amber Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:57 AM PST It's smaller than a grain of rice, yellowish, trapped in amber and lived 100 million years ago alongside dinosaurs. Meet Electrokoenenia yaksha, a newly described type of microwhip scorpion, or palpigrade, from Myanmar, whose minute fossilized remains have been found, trapped in Burmese amber.

Renewable plastic made from carbon dioxide and plants Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:57 AM PST Scientists have discovered a novel way to make plastic from carbon dioxide and inedible plant material, such as agricultural waste and grasses. Researchers say the new technology could provide a low-carbon alternative to plastic bottles and other items currently made from petroleum.

Vision restored in rabbits following stem cell transplantation Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:57 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated a method for generating several key types of eye tissue from human stem cells in a way that mirrors whole eye development.

Greenhouse gas 'bookkeeping' turned on its head Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:57 AM PST For the first time scientists have looked at the net balance of the three major greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide -- for every region of Earth's landmasses. They found surprisingly, that human-induced emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from ecosystems overwhelmingly surpass the ability of the land to soak up carbon dioxide emissions, which makes the terrestrial biosphere a contributor to climate change.

Protected Majorana states for quantum information Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST Quantum technology has the potential to revolutionize computation, cryptography, and simulation of quantum systems. However, quantum states are fragile, and so must be controlled without being measured. Researchers have now demonstrated a key property of Majorana zero modes that protects them from decoherence. The result lends positive support to the existence of Majorana modes, and goes further by showing that they are protected, as predicted theoretically.

The benefits of food processing: Processing food before eating likely played key role in human evolution Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST According to a new study, our ancestors between 2 and 3 million years ago started to spend far less time and effort chewing by adding meat to their diet and by using stone tools to process their food. The researchers estimate that such a diet would have saved early humans as many as 2.5 million chews per year, and made possible further changes that helped make us human.

Stem cells regenerate human lens after cataract surgery, restoring vision Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST Researchers have developed a new, regenerative medicine approach to remove congenital cataracts in infants, permitting remaining stem cells to regrow functional lenses.

Overfishing devastates spawning aggregations Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST Because they are easier to catch and potentially more threatened by nonlethal effects, fish that form spawning aggregations are at particular risk when those aggregations are heavily fished. To address the threat, precautionary management principles that limit or prohibit fishing on spawning aggregations must be implemented, a new report warns.

More dental patients could be spared the drill with new diagnostic liquid Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:02 AM PST A dentist has created a simple diagnostic liquid solution that can be applied to the surface of a patient's teeth prior to a dental X-ray and which will help show dentists whether a tooth has cavitated decay or is pre-cavity.

HIV patients in Africa with a specific genetic variant have much lower rate of TB Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:01 AM PST In the first known discovery of its kind, a team has found that HIV patients in Africa with a certain genetic variant have a 63-percent lower chance of developing tuberculosis than HIV patients without the genetic variant.

Battling the blight Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:01 AM PST Common blight is a devastating bacterial disease. It greatly reduces the yield and quality of bean crops across the world. Conventional breeding techniques can be used to generate cultivars of common bean that are resistant to the common blight. But it remains challenging to breed cultivars of common bean that combine the desired high yield and quality with resistance to diseases.

Maternal bacterial infections trigger abnormal proliferation of neurons in fetal brain Posted: 09 Mar 2016 10:01 AM PST Scientists have identified a mechanism that might explain the link between maternal infections during pregnancy and cognitive problems in children. These findings may impact clinical care, they say.

Study lays groundwork for potential bipolar disorder therapies Posted: 09 Mar 2016 09:57 AM PST Bipolar disorder, which affects nearly eight million Americans, takes a toll not only on patients, but also on their families and communities. In the new study, the researchers focused on a gene known as PDE10A, one of the many genes that has been linked to bipolar disorder, and the proteins this gene produces.

Want a younger brain? Stay in school -- and take the stairs Posted: 09 Mar 2016 09:55 AM PST A new study shows that the more flights of stairs a person climbs, and the more years of school a person completes, the 'younger' their brain physically appears.

One-size-fits-all support services don't suit needs of younger grandmothers raising grandchildren Posted: 09 Mar 2016 09:54 AM PST Younger African-American grandmothers who are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren may have different needs than older grandmothers, possibly requiring different types of support to reduce depression and improve the quality of their mental health, according to researchers.

Study seeks to reduce pediatric HIV infection rates in Africa Posted: 09 Mar 2016 09:54 AM PST Mother-to-child transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, is still a major problem in resource-limited, rural areas of the world where health care providers are scarce. A new study is trying to reduce those rates in Africa.

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