ScienceDaily: Top News

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• how permafrost thawing affects vegetation, carbon cycle
• Intelligent transportation systems
• Flame retadants: Human hair and nails can tell toxic secrets
• Impact of climate change on food production could cause over 500000 extra deaths in 2050
• Energy drinks trigger abnormal heart rhythm, rise in blood pressure
• Happiness can break your heart too
• Children Who Are Emotionally Abused May Be More Likely to Experience Migraine as Adults
• Using graphene to fight bacteria
• Optimizing drying parameters for milk powders
• Are developments in technology improving air quality?
• Multi-faceted approach to diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome recommended
• Extreme tornado outbreaks have become more common, says study
• Next-generation immunotherapy offers new hope for beating brain cancer
• Thirdhand smoke linked to type 2 diabetes
• Compound stems damage from brain bleeding
• New weapon in the fight against children's brain tumors
• Breeding birds use alligators to protect nests from raccoons, opossums
• Small dragonfly found to be world's longest-distance flyer
• Whales dine with their own kind: Predators feed in species-specific hotspots
• Popular blood pressure app misses the mark
• Invigorating Japanese energy and environmental policy five years after Fukushima
• Seven miles deep, ocean still a noisy place
• New study pinpoints stress factor of mega-earthquake off Japan
• Scientists find clues to neutralizing coronaviruses such as MERS
• Mysterious cosmic radio bursts found to repeat
• New method reveals high similarity between gorilla and human Y chromosome
• Gene identified that helps wound healing
• High-fat diet linked to intestinal stem cell changes, increased risk for cancer
• Routine colonoscopies save lives
• Great tilt gave Mars a new face
• Inflated charges, significant variation in Medicare payment patterns found
• Reduce, reuse, recycle: Safe for water?
• Shedding light on the day-night cycle
• Nearly half of American children living near poverty line
• Platelet-rich plasma injections may lead to improvements in tissue healing
• PET scans reveal key details of Alzheimer's protein growth in aging brains
• Researchers enhance DNA editing technology
• Device to combat memory loss from brain injury, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease created
• Metamaterial separation proposed for chemical, biomolecular uses
• Sugar-power: scientists harness the reducing potential of renewable sugars
• State laws boost flu vaccination rates in health care workers
• Immunologists find new ways to beat 'bad guys'
• Mobile device addiction linked to depression, anxiety
• Experts make progress towards optimizing diabetes care on a global scale
• Carbon nanotubes improve metal's longevity under radiation
• New report finds 'surprising gaps' in knowledge of ovarian cancers
• Molecular architectures see the light
• Some bacterial CRISPRs can snip RNA, too
• Discovery of a gene associated with a set of poorly understood rare diseases
• Homeschooled kids sleep more than others, study shows
• Syrian academics face danger, limited options
• What happens to pharmaceuticals in the digestive system of a bird?
• Hair forensics could yield false positives for cocaine use
• Researchers stack the odds for novel optoelectronic 2-D materials
• Chronic kidney disease in cats: Expert guidance on a quality of life issue
• What gives parmesan cheese its unique taste?
• Toward diagnosing diseases such as cancer in their earliest stages
• Cancer cells' evasive action revealed
• Overfishing increases fluctuations in aquatic ecosystems
• Ruby red improves in the microwave oven

how permafrost thawing affects vegetation, carbon cycle Posted: 02 Mar 2016 05:46 PM PST Scientists are exploring how the thawing of permafrost affects vegetation and the carbon cycle in the Toolik Lake area of Alaska's North Slope.

Intelligent transportation systems Posted: 02 Mar 2016 05:46 PM PST Intelligent transportation systems enable people to make smart travel choices, whether it's selecting an alternate route to avoid a minor traffic backup or figuring out the safest evacuation path during a hurricane. But massive amounts of data are challenging the ability of these systems to provide accurate, real-time information to users. A research team has come up with a way to reduce that data.

Flame retadants: Human hair and nails can tell toxic secrets Posted: 02 Mar 2016 05:46 PM PST Chemicals used as flame retardants that are potentially harmful to humans are found in hair, toenails and fingernails, according to new research.

Impact of climate change on food production could cause over 500000 extra deaths in 2050 Posted: 02 Mar 2016 05:45 PM PST Climate change could kill more than 500,000 adults in 2050 worldwide due to changes in diets and bodyweight from reduced crop productivity, according to new estimates. The research is the strongest evidence yet that climate change could have damaging consequences for food production and health worldwide.

Energy drinks trigger abnormal heart rhythm, rise in blood pressure Posted: 02 Mar 2016 05:45 PM PST A new study adds to the evidence that energy drinks may be bad for your heart.

Happiness can break your heart too Posted: 02 Mar 2016 05:44 PM PST Happy events can trigger a heart condition known as takotsubo syndrome, according to new research. Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is known as 'broken heart syndrome.' Now, for the first time, researchers have systematically analyzed data from the largest group of patients diagnosed with TTS worldwide, and found that some patients have developed the condition after a happy or joyful event; they have named it 'happy heart syndrome.'

Children Who Are Emotionally Abused May Be More Likely to Experience Migraine as Adults Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:22 PM PST Children who are emotionally abused may be more likely to experience migraines as young adults, according to a preliminary study. The link between migraine and abuse was stronger for emotional abuse than for physical or sexual abuse in the study.

Using graphene to fight bacteria Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:22 PM PST Scientists are studying graphene oxide in the hopes of one day creating bacteria-killing catheters and medical devices. Coating surgical tools with this carbon-based compound could kill bacteria, reducing the need for antibiotics, decreasing the rates of post-operative infections and speeding recovery times.

Optimizing drying parameters for milk powders Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:22 PM PST Making milk powder seems simple, but it's not. Creamer must dissolve very quickly in hot coffee, but powder density is critical for infant formula. Dairy scientists and chemical engineers are using a single-droplet spray dryer and computation fluid dynamics modeling to determine the drying parameters needed to produce powders with those specific properties.

Are developments in technology improving air quality? Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:21 PM PST The London fog episode of the 1950s and the thousands of premature deaths that followed catalysed a series of attempts to improve air quality. According to author Philip K. Hopke, there have been continued efforts to determine sources of air pollution over the last 50 years. Moreover, according to a recent article, developments in pollutant-measurement technologies continue to improve today.

Multi-faceted approach to diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome recommended Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:20 PM PST New guidelines recommend the collective use of a thorough patient history and specific physical examination maneuvers, in addition to observation and specific diagnostic tests to more definitively diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome, a common source of hand numbness and pain affecting approximately 3 million Americans -- primarily women -- each year.

Extreme tornado outbreaks have become more common, says study Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:17 PM PST Most death and destruction inflicted by tornadoes in North America occurs during outbreaks -- large-scale weather events that can last one to three days and span huge regions. Now, a new study shows that the average number of tornadoes in these outbreaks has risen since 1954, and that the chance of extreme outbreaks -- tornado factories like the one in 2011 -- has also increased.

Next-generation immunotherapy offers new hope for beating brain cancer Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:17 PM PST High-grade glioma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Despite improvements in surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, this type of brain tumor is still notoriously hard to treat: less than 10 percent of patients survive beyond five years. Researchers have now shown that next-generation cell-based immunotherapy may offer new hope in the fight against brain cancer.

Thirdhand smoke linked to type 2 diabetes Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:17 PM PST Thirdhand smoke results when exhaled smoke gets on surfaces -- clothing, hair, etc. THS has been shown, in mice, to damage the liver and lungs, complicate wound-healing and cause hyperactivity. Add to this list type 2 diabetes. A team of scientists has found, in mice, that THS exposure causes insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. If confirmed in humans, the study could impact how people view exposure to environmental tobacco-toxins.

Compound stems damage from brain bleeding Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:17 PM PST A compound that blocks iron-containing enzymes in the brain improves recovery following brain hemorrhage, a new study in rodents shows, and it works in an unexpected way.

New weapon in the fight against children's brain tumors Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:17 PM PST Children with brain cancer may soon get some help from mice with the same disease, thanks to a new brain tumor model in mice that should make it easier to test treatments.

Breeding birds use alligators to protect nests from raccoons, opossums Posted: 02 Mar 2016 03:17 PM PST Breeding birds that nest above alligators for protection from mammalian predators may also provide a source of food for the alligators living in the Everglades, Florida, according to a new study.

Small dragonfly found to be world's longest-distance flyer Posted: 02 Mar 2016 12:00 PM PST A dragonfly barely an inch and a half long appears to be animal world's most prolific long distance traveler -- flying thousands of miles over oceans as it migrates from continent to continent -- according to newly published research.

Whales dine with their own kind: Predators feed in species-specific hotspots Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST Researchers have found that as multiple species of whales feast on herring, they tend to stick with their own kind, establishing species-specific feeding centers along the 150-mile length of Georges Bank.

Popular blood pressure app misses the mark Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST A popular smartphone app purported to accurately measure blood pressure simply by placing a cellphone on the chest with a finger over the built-in camera lens misses high blood pressure in eight out of 10 patients, potentially putting users' health at risk, according to new research.

Invigorating Japanese energy and environmental policy five years after Fukushima Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST Japanese researchers call for increased interdisciplinarity and internationalization in Japanese energy and environment research to provide effective scientific advice and invigorate Japanese energy and environmental policy five years after Fukushima.

Seven miles deep, ocean still a noisy place Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:56 AM PST For what may be the first time, NOAA and partner scientists eavesdropped on the deepest part of the world's ocean and instead of finding a sea of silence, discovered a cacophony of sounds both natural and caused by humans.

New study pinpoints stress factor of mega-earthquake off Japan Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:55 AM PST The role that geological rock formations offshore of Japan played in producing the massive 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake -- one of only two magnitude nine mega-earthquakes to occur in the last 50 years -- has been the focus of recent study. The work offers new information about the hazard potential of large earthquakes at subduction zones, where tectonic plates converge.

Scientists find clues to neutralizing coronaviruses such as MERS Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:52 AM PST Scientists have solved the structure of a key protein in HKU1, a coronavirus identified in Hong Kong in 2005 and highly related to SARS and MERS. They believe their findings will guide future treatments for this family of viruses.

Mysterious cosmic radio bursts found to repeat Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:52 AM PST Astronomers for the first time have detected repeating short bursts of radio waves from an enigmatic source that is likely located well beyond the edge of our Milky Way galaxy. The findings indicate that these 'fast radio bursts' come from an extremely powerful object which occasionally produces multiple bursts in under a minute. Prior to this discovery all previously detected fast radio bursts have appeared to be one-off events.

New method reveals high similarity between gorilla and human Y chromosome Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:51 AM PST A faster, less expensive method has been developed and used to learn the DNA sequence of the male-specific Y chromosome in the gorilla. The research reveals that a male gorilla's Y chromosome is more similar to a male human's Y chromosome than to a chimpanzee's. The technique works for any species, so it can be used to study male infertility disorders and male-specific mutations. It also can aid in conservation efforts.

Gene identified that helps wound healing Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:51 AM PST Researchers have pinpointed a human gene product that helps regulate wound healing and may control scarring in people recovering from severe injuries and damage to certain internal organs. The protein, MG53, travels throughout the bloodstream and helps the body fix injuries to the skin, heart, and other organs without causing scars. It's a discovery that could help heal open wounds, decrease recovery time after surgery and reduce the spread of infections.

High-fat diet linked to intestinal stem cell changes, increased risk for cancer Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:27 AM PST Over the past decade, studies have found that obesity and eating a high-fat, high-calorie diet are significant risk factors for many types of cancer. Now, a new study reveals how a high-fat diet makes the cells of the intestinal lining more likely to become cancerous.

Routine colonoscopies save lives Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:27 AM PST Cancer of the colon or rectum is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among both men and women in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 140,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with colorectal cancer, and more than 50,000 people die from it. Colorectal cancer is preventable through screenings that detect and remove small, pre-cancerous growths called polyps.

Great tilt gave Mars a new face Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:26 AM PST The surface of the planet Mars tilted by 20 to 25 degrees 3 to 3.5 billion years ago. This was caused by a massive volcanic structure, the Tharsis volcanic dome, which is the largest in the Solar System. Because of its extraordinary mass, it caused the outer layers of Mars (its crust and mantle) to rotate around its core. The discovery of this huge shift changes our vision of Mars during the first billion years of its history, at a time when life may have emerged. It also provides a solution to three puzzles: we now know why rivers formed where they are observed today; why underground reservoirs of water ice, until now considered anomalous, are located far from the poles of Mars; and why the Tharsis dome is today situated on the equator.

Inflated charges, significant variation in Medicare payment patterns found Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:25 AM PST Inflated charges and significant variation in patterns of payments have been found for surgical care. Surprisingly, the study found that it's not what's happening in the operating room that is driving the payment variations, but procedures that are being done in outpatient clinics.

Reduce, reuse, recycle: Safe for water? Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:25 AM PST As fresh water resources become scarce, one option for water-conscious farmers is to water crops with treated wastewater. This effluent is becoming a more popular option for applications that don't require drinking-quality water. However, there are still questions about how the effluent interacts with and affects the rest of the ecosystem. Researchers set out to follow the environmental paths of four different compounds found in effluent when it is used to spray irrigate wheat crops.

Shedding light on the day-night cycle Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:25 AM PST New research sheds light on how the rhythms of daily life are encoded in the brain. Scientists have discovered that different groups of neurons, those charged with keeping time, become active at different times of day despite being on the same molecular clock.

Nearly half of American children living near poverty line Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:25 AM PST Nearly half of children in the US live dangerously close to the poverty line, according to new research. Researchers found that while the total number of children in the US has remained about the same since 2008, more children today are likely to live in families barely able to afford their most basic needs.

Platelet-rich plasma injections may lead to improvements in tissue healing Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:25 AM PST After platelet-rich plasma injections, researchers have described the structural change in the healing process as well as improvement in patients' pain and function, in a new report.

PET scans reveal key details of Alzheimer's protein growth in aging brains Posted: 02 Mar 2016 10:25 AM PST Neuroscientists show for the first time that PET scans can track the progression of Alzheimer's disease. In doing so, they also shed light on tau and beta amyloid, two key proteins associated with the neurodegenerative disorder.

Researchers enhance DNA editing technology Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:15 AM PST Scientists have developed a process that improves the efficiency of CRISPR, an up-and-coming technology used to edit DNA. CRISPR is a groundbreaking technology that allows scientists to modify genes.

Device to combat memory loss from brain injury, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease created Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:15 AM PST New technologies to improve memory in people with traumatic brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease have been developed by scientists.

Metamaterial separation proposed for chemical, biomolecular uses Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:15 AM PST The unique properties of metamaterials have been used to cloak objects from light, and to hide them from vibration, pressure waves and heat. Now, a researcher wants to add another use for metamaterials: creating a new directional separation technique that cloaks one compound while concentrating the other.

Sugar-power: scientists harness the reducing potential of renewable sugars Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:14 AM PST Inspired by nature, researchers are pioneering the use of simple sugars to power chemical reactions. It means that industries such as pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals will have a renewable, inexpensive and non-toxic method of catalysis.

State laws boost flu vaccination rates in health care workers Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:13 AM PST State laws mandating influenza immunization for people who work in health care increase their vaccination rates, according to new research. From 2000 to 2005, only Maine and New Hampshire had flu vaccine requirement laws for health care workers. During that period, the average flu vaccination rate for health care workers was 22.5 percent. From 2006 to 2011--when 19 other states, including Pennsylvania, passed similar laws--the average vaccination rate for health care workers increased to 50.9 percent.

Immunologists find new ways to beat 'bad guys' Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:13 AM PST One of the key components in a vaccine is an adjuvant, which serves to enhance our body's immune response to vaccination. Adjuvants have been around for almost a century however it is only recently that scientists are beginning to fully understand how they work.

Mobile device addiction linked to depression, anxiety Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:13 AM PST Is cellphone use detrimental to mental health? A new study finds that addiction to, and not simply use of, mobile technology is linked to anxiety and depression in college-age students.

Experts make progress towards optimizing diabetes care on a global scale Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST Diabetes is a significant global health problem, afflicting 382 million people worldwide with increasing prevalence rates and adverse effects on health, wellbeing, and society in general. Experts from around the world have synthesized a core set of recommendations using information from 14 countries as a basis in order to work towards optimizing diabetes care globally -- a critically important initiative to help stem the diabetes epidemic.

Carbon nanotubes improve metal's longevity under radiation Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST Carbon nanotubes may improve longevity in nuclear reactors, report scientists. For now, the method has only proved effective for aluminum, which limits its applications to the lower-temperature environments found in research reactors. But the team says the method may also be usable in the higher-temperature alloys used in commercial reactors.

New report finds 'surprising gaps' in knowledge of ovarian cancers Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST Ovarian cancer should not be categorized as a single disease, but rather as a constellation of different cancers involving the ovary, yet questions remain on how and where various ovarian cancers arise, says a new congressionally mandated report.

Molecular architectures see the light Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST Organic photovoltaics bear great potential for large-scale, cost-effective solar power generation. One challenge to be surmounted is the poor ordering of the thin layers on top of the electrodes. Utilizing self-assembly on atomically flat, transparent substrates, a team of scientists has engineered ordered monolayers of molecular networks with photovoltaic responses. The findings open up intriguing possibilities for the bottom-up fabrication of optoelectronic devices with molecular precision.

Some bacterial CRISPRs can snip RNA, too Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST Did you know the CRISPR/Cas9 system was derived from bacteria, which use it to fight off foreign invaders such as viruses? It allows many bacteria to snip and store segments of DNA from an invading virus, which they can then use to 'remember' and destroy DNA from similar invaders if they are encountered again. Recent work demonstrates that some bacteria also use the CRISPR/Cas system to snip and recognize segments of RNA, not just DNA.

Discovery of a gene associated with a set of poorly understood rare diseases Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST GEMC1 has been identified as a master gene for the generation of multiciliated cells -- cells with fine filaments that move fluids and substances -- which are found exclusively in the brain, respiratory tract, and reproductive system. Defects in multiciliated cells lead to ciliopathies -- rare and complex diseases that are poorly understood and for which not all causative genes have been identified.

Homeschooled kids sleep more than others, study shows Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST Teens who are homeschooled benefit from healthier sleep habits than those who go to most private and public schools, a new study has concluded, the first of its kind. The findings provide additional evidence of teens' altered biological clocks and support an argument for starting traditional high school later in the morning.

Syrian academics face danger, limited options Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:12 AM PST The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, continues to result in death, destruction and displacement. The country's higher education system has suffered dramatically, too. A new article explores some of the struggles that academics in Syria face today.

What happens to pharmaceuticals in the digestive system of a bird? Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST Measuring how commonly-prescribed pharmaceuticals behave in the guts of starlings is a daunting task, but a new study has aimed to do just that. The researchers found that the drug behaved similarly in both the bird and human systems. Such results are invaluable in understanding how to use data detailing the effects of pharmaceuticals in humans, applying this across to wildlife species.

Hair forensics could yield false positives for cocaine use Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST Hair analysis has become standard practice for determining whether someone has abused illicit drugs. But some experts have questioned whether current methods to wash away external contaminants from samples might affect test results. Now one team confirms that for cocaine detection, a pretreatment step can cause the drug on the outside of a hair shaft to wash into it and potentially lead to falsely identifying someone as a drug user.

Researchers stack the odds for novel optoelectronic 2-D materials Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST Stacking layers of nanometer-thin semiconducting materials at different angles is a new approach to designing the next generation of energy-efficient transistors and solar cells. Recently a team led by researchers used the vibrations between two layers to decipher their stacking patterns. Their study provides a platform for engineering two-dimensional materials with optical and electronic properties that strongly depend on stacking configurations.

Chronic kidney disease in cats: Expert guidance on a quality of life issue Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST Chronic kidney disease is a common, complex and progressive disease that is estimated to affect more than a third of cats over 10 years of age. Affected cats often present with a variety of clinical signs and complications including inappetence, nausea, vomiting, anaemia, hypertension and urinary tract infections -- as such, the disease can severely compromise quality of life if inadequately managed.

What gives parmesan cheese its unique taste? Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST When it comes to pasta and pizza dishes, nothing beats a sprinkle of grated Parmesan on top. But the flavor quality of the popular cheese can be inconsistent. Now scientists are using 'molecular food engineering' to help ensure its good taste. In a report, they identify key components that contribute to the cheese's signature flavor.

Toward diagnosing diseases such as cancer in their earliest stages Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST Detecting diseases such as cancer in their earliest stages can make a huge difference in patient treatment, but it is often difficult to do. Now scientists report a new, simple method that could make early disease diagnosis much easier. In addition, their approach only requires a minute sample of patient blood and is 1,000 times more sensitive in detecting biomarkers for thyroid cancer than the current government-approved test.

Cancer cells' evasive action revealed Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST Researchers identify a mechanism by which lung cancer cells evade the body's immune system. The researchers have found links between subtle actions and reactions that allow cancerous cells to spread with little to stand in their way.

Overfishing increases fluctuations in aquatic ecosystems Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:10 AM PST Overfishing reduces fish populations and promotes smaller sizes in fish. The fish also reach sexual maturity earlier than normal. However, the impact of overfishing is not restricted to fish: as the predators at the top of the food web dwindle, the stability of the entire aquatic ecosystem is at risk.

Ruby red improves in the microwave oven Posted: 02 Mar 2016 09:00 AM PST A new way to improve the color, clarity and luster of rubies has been tested by scientists: put them in the microwave. Rubies are among the world's most popular precious gemstones, and are also used in high power switches and sensors. Most natural rubies are not uniform in colour, and sometimes blue patches can be seen in the red stone. This decreases the value of a stone.

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