ScienceDaily: Top News

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• What's in a name? In some cases, longer life
• Sniffing out a dangerous vapor
• Simulation shows how modern interventions can affect tropical forests and indigenous people
• New insights into human tears could lead to more comfortable contact lenses
• Researchers link absence of protein to liver tissue regeneration
• Ancient bones point to shifting grassland species as climate changes
• Botulism in waterbirds: Mortality rates and new insights into how it spreads
• New class of molecular 'lightbulbs' illuminate MRI
• Biologists discover sophisticated 'alarm' signals in honey bees
• Unlocking the gates to quantum computing
• Flexible energy storage is smaller, cheaper, better
• GOES-R satellite could provide better data for hurricane prediction
• Signs of stress in the brain may signal future heart trouble
• Heart attack patients getting younger, more obese
• Mammograms: Another way to screen for heart disease?
• New catalyst is three times better at splitting water
• New findings in humans provide encouraging foundation for upcoming AIDS vaccine clinical trial
• Simulation study shows that pandemic swine flu had a minor impact in Finland
• Tolerance to daily versus seasonal temperature changes may dictate fitness
• High-throughput screen identifies potential henipavirus drug target
• Study finds vast diversity among viruses that infect bacteria
• Human ancestors explored 'out of Africa' despite impaired nasal faculties
• Nanocrystal self-assembly sheds its secrets
• Humans use 'sticky molecules' to hang on to good bacteria in the gut

What's in a name? In some cases, longer life Posted: 26 Mar 2016 07:56 AM PDT Black men with historically distinctive black names such as Elijah and Moses lived a year longer, on average, than other black men, according to new research examining 3 million death certificates from 1802 to 1970.

Sniffing out a dangerous vapor Posted: 26 Mar 2016 07:56 AM PDT Engineers have developed a new type of fiber material for a handheld scanner that can detect small traces of alkane fuel vapor, a valuable advancement that could be an early-warning signal for leaks in an oil pipeline, an airliner, or for locating a terrorist's explosive.

Simulation shows how modern interventions can affect tropical forests and indigenous people Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Carefully designing government interactions with rural indigenous people is critical for protecting the sustainability of people, wildlife and the land, a computer simulation shows.

New insights into human tears could lead to more comfortable contact lenses Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Chemical engineers have discovered mechanical properties of the tear film on the eye's surface that can be used to manufacture contact lenses that more closely mimic the eye.

Researchers link absence of protein to liver tissue regeneration Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Inactivating a certain protein-coding gene promotes liver tissue regeneration in mammals, scientists report. The liver is unique among human solid organs in its robust regenerative capability. A healthy liver can regenerate up to 70 percent of its tissue after injury, researchers explained.

Ancient bones point to shifting grassland species as climate changes Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT More rainfall during the growing season may have led to one of the most significant changes in Earth's vegetation in the distant past, and similar climate changes could affect the distribution of plants in the future as well, a new study suggests.

Botulism in waterbirds: Mortality rates and new insights into how it spreads Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Outbreaks of botulism killed large percentages of waterbirds inhabiting a wetland in Spain. The botulinum toxin's spread may have been abetted by an invasive species of water snail which frequently carries the toxin-producing bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, and which is well adapted to wetlands polluted by sewage. Global warming will likely increase outbreaks, say experts.

New class of molecular 'lightbulbs' illuminate MRI Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a new class of molecular tags that enhance MRI signals by 10,000-fold and generate detectable signals that last over an hour. The tags are biocompatible and inexpensive to produce, paving the way for widespread use of MRI to monitor the metabolic processes of conditions like cancer and heart disease in real time.

Biologists discover sophisticated 'alarm' signals in honey bees Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Bees can use sophisticated signals to warn their nestmates about the level of danger from predators attacking foragers or the nest, according to a new study. Biologists found that an Asian species of honey bee can produce different types of vibrational 'stop signals' when attacked by giant Asian hornets.

Unlocking the gates to quantum computing Posted: 25 Mar 2016 12:17 PM PDT Researchers have overcome one of the key challenges to quantum computing by simplifying a complex quantum logic operation. They demonstrated this by experimentally realizing a challenging circuit -- the quantum Fredkin gate -- for the first time.

Flexible energy storage is smaller, cheaper, better Posted: 25 Mar 2016 10:14 AM PDT Engineers have developed a way to make a magnetic material that could lead to lighter and smaller, cheaper and better-performing high-frequency transformers, needed for more flexible energy storage systems and widespread adoption of renewable energy.

GOES-R satellite could provide better data for hurricane prediction Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PDT The launch of the GOES-R geostationary satellite in Oct. 2016 could herald a new era for predicting hurricanes, according to researchers. The wealth of information from this new satellite, at time and space scales not previously possible, combined with advanced statistical hurricane prediction models, could enable more accurate predictions in the future.

Signs of stress in the brain may signal future heart trouble Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PDT New research shows that individuals with a greater degree of activity in the stress center of the brain also have more evidence of inflammation in their arteries and were at higher risk for cardiovascular events, including heart attack, stroke and death, according to a new study.

Heart attack patients getting younger, more obese Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PDT Despite increased understanding of heart disease risk factors and the need for preventive lifestyle changes, patients suffering the most severe type of heart attack have become younger, more obese and more likely to have preventable risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a new study.

Mammograms: Another way to screen for heart disease? Posted: 24 Mar 2016 04:24 PM PDT Routine mammography -- widely recommended for breast cancer screening -- may also be a useful tool to identify women at risk for heart disease, potentially allowing for earlier intervention, according to a new study.

New catalyst is three times better at splitting water Posted: 24 Mar 2016 12:40 PM PDT With a combination of theory and clever, meticulous gel-making, scientists have developed a new type of catalyst that's three times better than the previous record-holder at splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen -- the vital first step in making fuels from renewable solar and wind power.

New findings in humans provide encouraging foundation for upcoming AIDS vaccine clinical trial Posted: 24 Mar 2016 12:00 PM PDT Some people infected with HIV naturally produce antibodies that effectively neutralize many strains of the rapidly mutating virus, and scientists are working to develop a vaccine capable of inducing such "broadly neutralizing" antibodies that can prevent HIV infection.

Simulation study shows that pandemic swine flu had a minor impact in Finland Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:59 AM PDT Researchers have used modeling to estimate the true impact of infectious diseases, such as swine flu, when underreporting can mean the surveillance from time of the pandemic can miss the vast majority of infections that occur in the population.

Tolerance to daily versus seasonal temperature changes may dictate fitness Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:54 AM PDT Vertebrates that have adapted to endure greater swings in seasonal temperatures tend to have greater elevational range sizes, the theory goes, but a new study analyzing more than 16,500 terrestrial vertebrates suggests this pattern is reversed in species adapted for high daily temperature fluctuations; instead, these species have smaller elevational range sizes, the study suggests.

High-throughput screen identifies potential henipavirus drug target Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:54 AM PDT First high-throughput RNA interference screen for host genes that are essential for live henipavirus infection of human cells, and identifies a specific cell protein called fibrillarin as a potential target for drugs against henipaviruses and other paramyxoviruses.

Study finds vast diversity among viruses that infect bacteria Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:54 AM PDT Viruses that infect bacteria are among the most abundant life forms on Earth. Our oceans and soils, and potentially even our own bodies, would be overrun with bacteria were it not for bacteria-eating viruses--called bacteriophages--that keep the microbial balance in check. Now, a new study suggests that bacteriophages made of RNA -- a close chemical cousin of DNA -- likely play a much larger role in shaping the bacterial makeup of worldwide habitats than previously recognized.

Human ancestors explored 'out of Africa' despite impaired nasal faculties Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:53 AM PDT In humans inhaled air is conditioned poorly in the nasal cavity in comparison with primates, such as chimpanzees and macaques, according a recent study. Unlike our protruding external nose, which has little effect on improving air conditioning performance, other hominins (including australopithecines) were endowed with flat nasal features and faculties to improve air conditioning.

Nanocrystal self-assembly sheds its secrets Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:32 AM PDT The secret to a long-hidden magic trick behind the self-assembly of nanocrystal structures is starting to be revealed.

Humans use 'sticky molecules' to hang on to good bacteria in the gut Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:32 AM PDT Scientists have come up with an explanation for how humans keep hold of the good bacteria in the gut: by making them 'sticky.'

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