ScienceDaily: Top News

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• In older adults, frailty and depression symptoms are linked and can affect spouses
• HPV infection can be identified in self-collected vaginal swabs
• Light-powered 3-D printer creates terahertz lens
• Benefits of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries assessed
• Salt-inducible kinases may have therapeutic potential for autoimmune diseases
• Clay nanotube-biopolymer composite scaffolds for tissue engineering
• Nanoparticles present sustainable way to grow food crops
• Birds of prey constrained in the beak evolution race
• Detecting minute nano amounts in environmental samples
• A spoonful of sugar? Swapping sugary drinks for water and dairy seems the best medicine
• Glucose as a new energy source for pacemakers
• Trauma in a bee: Entomologists shed light on bizarre mating mechanisms of native twisted-winged parasites
• Spintronics: Spin currents in topological insulators controlled
• Chances are you don’t remember what you just retweeted
• Cooling graphene-based film close to pilot-scale production
• More than just eyes and skin: Vitamin A affects the heart
• A cell senses its own curves
• Genetic risk factors of disparate diseases share similar biological underpinnings
• Building on shells: Study starts unraveling mysteries of Calusa kingdom
• Gene therapy halts pulmonary hypertension progression in large animal pre-clinical study
• HPV vaccination expected to reduce cancer in all races, may not eliminate all disparities
• Mental health evaluations improved
• Researchers discover potential treatment for sepsis and other responses to infection
• Rare disease gene has a key role in chronic hepatitis C infection
• Genes that influence dizygotic twinning and fertility
• Infant attention span suffers when parents' eyes wander during playtime

In older adults, frailty and depression symptoms are linked and can affect spouses Posted: 29 Apr 2016 10:35 AM PDT Researchers examined the effects of frailty and depression on married couples. People married to a frail spouse were likely to become frail themselves, and people married to a depressed spouse were more likely to become depressed, too.

HPV infection can be identified in self-collected vaginal swabs Posted: 29 Apr 2016 10:35 AM PDT High risk, potentially cancer causing human papillomavirus infections are common among women in Papua New Guinea. But self sampling with vaginal swabs may provide materials that screen as accurately as the more labor-intensive approach using cervical samples obtained by clinicians. This finding is critical to developing same day screening and treatment, which is key to ensuring that women with precancerous lesions are treated in this largely unconnected (electronically) country, and in others like it.

Light-powered 3-D printer creates terahertz lens Posted: 29 Apr 2016 10:34 AM PDT Created from a 3-D printed metamaterial, the new lens could be used for biomedical research and security imaging.

Benefits of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries assessed Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT Stem cell therapy is a rapidly evolving and promising treatment for spinal-cord injuries. According to a new literature review, different types of stem cells vary in their ability to help restore function, and an ideal treatment protocol remains unclear pending further clinical research.

Salt-inducible kinases may have therapeutic potential for autoimmune diseases Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT A new research report suggests that specific enzymes, called 'salt-inducible kinases,' may be able to help curb runaway inflammation associated with autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease, arthritis, and psoriasis.

Clay nanotube-biopolymer composite scaffolds for tissue engineering Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT Scientists combined three biopolymers, chitosan and agarose (polysaccharides), and a protein gelatine, as the materials to produce tissue engineering scaffolds and demonstrated the enhancement of mechanical strength (doubled pick load), higher water uptake and thermal properties in chitosan-gelatine-agarose hydrogels doped with halloysite.

Nanoparticles present sustainable way to grow food crops Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT Engineers are using nanoparticle technology in an effort to meet the ever-increasing demand for food. Their innovative technique boosts the growth of a protein-rich bean by improving the way it absorbs nutrients, while reducing the need for fertilizer.

Birds of prey constrained in the beak evolution race Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:55 AM PDT How birds' beaks evolved characteristic shapes to eat different food is a classic example of evolution by natural selection. However, new research found this does not apply to all species, and that raptors in particular have not enjoyed this evolutionary flexibility.

Detecting minute nano amounts in environmental samples Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:00 AM PDT It is still unclear what the impact is on humans, animals and plants of synthetic nanomaterials released into the environment or used in products. It's very difficult to detect these nanomaterials in the environment since the concentrations are so low and the particles so small. Now scientists have developed a method that is capable of identifying even minute amounts of nanomaterials in environmental samples.

A spoonful of sugar? Swapping sugary drinks for water and dairy seems the best medicine Posted: 29 Apr 2016 07:00 AM PDT New research may have an impact on the sugar tax debate. The research team observed overall changes in dietary patterns in overweight children, including a decrease in consumption of sugary drinks, when additional water or milk is added to their diet.

Glucose as a new energy source for pacemakers Posted: 29 Apr 2016 06:58 AM PDT Researchers are working on the creation of a bio-battery that uses blood glucose to produce energy. Such a battery would cut down on the number of surgical interventions a pacemaker user must undergo.

Trauma in a bee: Entomologists shed light on bizarre mating mechanisms of native twisted-winged parasites Posted: 29 Apr 2016 06:50 AM PDT Twisted-winged parasites of the species Stylops ovinae reproduce using so-called traumatic insemination. To inseminate the eggs, the males injure the endoparasitic females with their hook-shaped penis and inject the seminal fluid directly into their body cavity.

Spintronics: Spin currents in topological insulators controlled Posted: 29 Apr 2016 06:50 AM PDT Scientists have shown how spin-polarized currents can be initiated in a controlled manner within samples of topological insulator material. In addition, they were able to manipulate the orientation of the spins of these currents.

Chances are you don’t remember what you just retweeted Posted: 29 Apr 2016 06:50 AM PDT Research finds retweeting or otherwise sharing information creates a 'cognitive overload' that interferes with learning and retaining what you've just seen. Worse yet, that overload can spill over and diminish performance in the real world.

Cooling graphene-based film close to pilot-scale production Posted: 29 Apr 2016 06:50 AM PDT Heat dissipation in electronics and optoelectronics is a severe bottleneck in the further development of systems in these fields. To come to grips with this serious issue, researchers have developed an efficient way of cooling electronics by using functionalized graphene nanoflakes.

More than just eyes and skin: Vitamin A affects the heart Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:40 PM PDT Vitamin A is important for heart development in embryos, but whether it has a role in maintaining heart health is unclear. A new study finds that the heart is able to respond to vitamin A and the amount of vitamin A present has an effect. However, whether the effects are beneficial or harmful is still a mystery.

A cell senses its own curves Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:33 PM PDT Septin proteins in human and fungal cells can sense micron-scaled curves in the cell membrane, scientists discover.

Genetic risk factors of disparate diseases share similar biological underpinnings Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:32 PM PDT The discovery of shared biological properties among independent variants of DNA sequences offers the opportunity to broaden understanding of the biological basis of disease and identify new therapeutic targets, report scientists.

Building on shells: Study starts unraveling mysteries of Calusa kingdom Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:32 PM PDT Centuries before modern countries such as Dubai and China started building islands, native peoples in southwest Florida known as the Calusa were piling shells into massive heaps to construct their own water-bound towns.

Gene therapy halts pulmonary hypertension progression in large animal pre-clinical study Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:32 PM PDT Scientists have used a novel gene therapy to halt the progression of pulmonary hypertension, a form of high blood pressure in the lung blood vessels that is linked to heart failure.

HPV vaccination expected to reduce cancer in all races, may not eliminate all disparities Posted: 28 Apr 2016 02:32 PM PDT Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers occur more frequently among Hispanics, blacks, American-Indians, and Alaska Natives than among whites. A new study finds that HPV vaccination is expected to reduce the cancer burden across all racial/ethnic groups. However, some disparities in cancer burden may persist and widen in the years to come if their causes, such as lack of access to diagnoses and treatment, aren't addressed.

Mental health evaluations improved Posted: 28 Apr 2016 12:23 PM PDT A new assessment tool has been developed to gauge the risk that someone with a mental illness will commit a crime. It could also speed up long-delayed competency evaluations for people awaiting trial.

Researchers discover potential treatment for sepsis and other responses to infection Posted: 28 Apr 2016 12:23 PM PDT Ebola and other dangerous microbes often produce these inflammatory responses. Researchers say that tiny doses of a cancer drug may stop the raging, uncontrollable immune response to infection that leads to sepsis and kills up to 500,000 people a year in the US. The new drug treatment may also benefit millions of people worldwide who are affected by infections and pandemics.

Rare disease gene has a key role in chronic hepatitis C infection Posted: 28 Apr 2016 12:18 PM PDT Hepatitis C virus hijacks the host's fat metabolism for its own survival, growth, and transport in the human body. A study identifies a host gene involved in the formation of HCV virus particles and helps explain why humans with a rare mutation in the gene have problems with their fat metabolism.

Genes that influence dizygotic twinning and fertility Posted: 28 Apr 2016 10:21 AM PDT Medical researchers have obtained a breakthrough in identifying genes that increase the chance for mothers to have dizygotic twins. Researchers believe the findings represent a significant advance in the identification of key mechanisms controlling ovarian function and provide a greater understanding of female fertility and infertility.

Infant attention span suffers when parents' eyes wander during playtime Posted: 28 Apr 2016 10:19 AM PDT Caregivers whose eyes wander during playtime -- due to distractions such as smartphones or other technology, for example -- may raise children with shorter attention spans, according to a new study.

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