ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Age-related macular degeneration before and after the era of anti-VEGF drugs
• Health sensing tool measures lung function over a phone call, from anywhere in the world
• A climate warming warning: Warmer temperatures are affecting lakes in the oilsands region
• Diagnosing mononucleosis: Researchers work to expedite proper treatment
• Hurricanes key to carbon uptake by forests: Increases in carbon uptake by southeast US forests in response to tropical cyclone activity alone exceed carbon emissions by American vehicles each year
• Sea urchin's teeth inspire new design for space exploration device
• New drug-delivery approach holds potential for treating obesity
• Cardiovascular risk tool overestimates actual chance of cardiovascular events
• Californian sudden oak death epidemic 'unstoppable'
• Methane production reduced in ruminants
• World's tiniest engine small enough to enter living cells
• Earth may be home to one trillion species
• Hydropeaking of river water levels is disrupting insect survival, river ecosystems
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy may help reduce memory problems in cancer survivors who have received chemotherapy
• Method stabilizes, enhances phosphorene
• Psychiatric symptoms impact mental health court engagement
• Maryland climate and health report identifies state's vulnerabilities to climate change
• Ocean acidification may be impacting coral reefs in the Florida keys
• Study underscores need for health interventions for single parent households in urban subsidized housing programs
• Although boiling, water does shape Martian terrain
• Making invisible physics visible
• First structural views of the NMDA receptor in action will aid drug development
• Endangered venomous mammal predates dinosaurs' extinction, study confirms
• Quieting cells' low-oxygen alarm stops flare-ups in rare bone disorder
• Climate-exodus expected in the Middle East and North Africa
• Veterans more likely to delay seeking health care
• Two known chemotherapy agents effectively target breast cancer stem cells
• US climate-adaptation plans long on ideas, short on details, priorities
• Children with ADHD may benefit from following healthy behaviors, new study suggests
• The social lives of the elderly mirror how they grow older
• Demographic changes increase the risk of natural fires
• How much does groundwater contribute to sea level rise?
• Control of fertility: New player identified
• Current cancer drug discovery method flawed, study suggests
• Influence of sea-ice loss on Arctic warming is shaped by temperatures in the Pacific Ocean
• The genetic history of Ice Age Europe
• A cleansing rain falls; a soil-filled mist arises
• Does supplemental donor milk instead of formula reduce infections in preterm infants?
• Study links some positive effects to calorie restriction in nonobese adults
• Concussion outcomes differ among football players from youth to college
• National study shows new ways to stop weight gain cut young adults' obesity risk by half
• 'Adaptive protein crystal' could form new kind of protective material
• How DNA can take on the properties of sand or toothpaste
• Neuroscientists find evidence for 'visual stereotyping'
• Quantum sensors for high-precision magnetometry of superconductors
• Adult brain prunes branched connections of new neurons
• UK Health Check has only modest impact on risk factors for cardiovascular disease
• Tracking climate change? Use the daily highs
• Molecular mechanism for generating specific antibody responses to pathogens
• Breast cancer study: Towards personalized treatment
• Nuclear pores captured on film
• Three potentially habitable worlds found around nearby ultracool dwarf star
• New interpretation of the Rök runestone inscription changes view of Viking Age
• Less body fat for toddlers taking vitamin D
• Skeletal marker of physiological stress might indicate good, rather than poor, health
• Expand prescribing of buprenorphine for opioid abuse? Experts weigh pros and cons
• No males needed: All-female salamanders regrow tails 36 percent faster
• Englerin analogues with anti-cancer activity
• Anomalous sinking of spheres in apparently fixed powder beds discovered
• Ibrutinib: Indication of added benefit in one of three therapeutic indications

Age-related macular degeneration before and after the era of anti-VEGF drugs Posted: 02 May 2016 06:54 PM PDT In a study of nearly 650 people with the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD), half still had vision 20/40 or better, typically good enough to drive or to read standard print, after five years of treatment with anti-VEGF drugs that are injected into the eye. The authors of the study say those outcomes would have been unimaginable about 10 years ago, prior to the drugs' availability.

Health sensing tool measures lung function over a phone call, from anywhere in the world Posted: 02 May 2016 01:18 PM PDT Researchers have developed SpiroCall, a new health sensing tool that can accurately measure lung function from anywhere in the world over a simple phone call. It is designed to work with older mobile phones and landlines, not just smartphones.

A climate warming warning: Warmer temperatures are affecting lakes in the oilsands region Posted: 02 May 2016 01:18 PM PDT Scientists have identified climate warming as the dominant driver of an increase in algal growth in the Athabasca oilsands region of northern Alberta.

Diagnosing mononucleosis: Researchers work to expedite proper treatment Posted: 02 May 2016 01:18 PM PDT One researcher wasn't impressed with research on infectious mononucleosis when he wrote his first published review on it back in the 1990s, and he still isn't. Early diagnosis of mono is key in expediting proper treatment, says one expert.

Hurricanes key to carbon uptake by forests: Increases in carbon uptake by southeast US forests in response to tropical cyclone activity alone exceed carbon emissions by American vehicles each year Posted: 02 May 2016 01:18 PM PDT New research reveals that the increase in forest photosynthesis and growth made possible by tropical cyclones in the southeastern United States captures hundreds of times more carbon than is released by all vehicles in the US in a given year.

Sea urchin's teeth inspire new design for space exploration device Posted: 02 May 2016 01:11 PM PDT The sea urchin's intricate mouth and teeth are the model for a claw-like device developed by a team of engineers and marine biologists to sample sediments on other planets, such as Mars.

New drug-delivery approach holds potential for treating obesity Posted: 02 May 2016 01:11 PM PDT Nanoparticles that can deliver anti-obesity drugs have been developed by researchers. Obese mice that received the treatment lost 10 percent of their body weight, report scientists.

Cardiovascular risk tool overestimates actual chance of cardiovascular events Posted: 02 May 2016 01:11 PM PDT A widely recommended risk calculator for predicting a person's chance of experiencing a cardiovascular disease event -- such as heart attack, ischemic stroke or dying from coronary artery disease -- has been found to substantially overestimate the actual five-year risk in adults overall and across all sociodemographic subgroups.

Californian sudden oak death epidemic 'unstoppable' Posted: 02 May 2016 01:11 PM PDT New research shows the sudden oak death epidemic in California cannot now be stopped, but that its tremendous ecological and economic impacts could have been greatly reduced if control had been started earlier. The research also identifies new strategies to enhance control of future epidemics, including identifying where and how to fell trees, as 'there will be a next time.'

Methane production reduced in ruminants Posted: 02 May 2016 01:11 PM PDT Livestock farming is responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gases, and ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats generate 35 percent of one of these gases -- methane, and according to experts they make a significant contribution to climate change.

World's tiniest engine small enough to enter living cells Posted: 02 May 2016 01:11 PM PDT Researchers have built a nano-engine that could form the basis for future applications in nano-robotics, including robots small enough to enter living cells.

Earth may be home to one trillion species Posted: 02 May 2016 01:10 PM PDT Earth could contain nearly 1 trillion species, with only one-thousandth of 1 percent now identified, according to a study from biologists. The estimate is based on the intersection of large datasets and universal scaling laws.

Hydropeaking of river water levels is disrupting insect survival, river ecosystems Posted: 02 May 2016 12:07 PM PDT A group of researchers concluded that 'hydropeaking' of water flows on many rivers in the West has a devastating impact on aquatic insect abundance.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy may help reduce memory problems in cancer survivors who have received chemotherapy Posted: 02 May 2016 12:06 PM PDT A new analysis indicates that a type of psychotherapy delivered by videoconference may help prevent some of the long-term memory issues caused by chemotherapy.

Method stabilizes, enhances phosphorene Posted: 02 May 2016 12:06 PM PDT A research team used organic chemistry to covalently react a single-molecule-thick layer onto phosphorene to stabilize its reactivity to open air.

Psychiatric symptoms impact mental health court engagement Posted: 02 May 2016 12:06 PM PDT People living with mental illness are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Interventions to help this population, such as mental health courts, are becoming popular across the country. New research finds that for mental health courts to be successful, every professional engaged in the process should be aware of the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and participant engagement within the system and connect participants with comprehensive treatment and services as early as possible.

Maryland climate and health report identifies state's vulnerabilities to climate change Posted: 02 May 2016 12:04 PM PDT A new report details the impacts of climate change on the health of Marylanders now and in the future. Health impacts include increased risk of food and waterborne illnesses (caused by Salmonella and Campylobacter), hospitalization for heart attacks and asthma, and motor vehicle accidents.

Ocean acidification may be impacting coral reefs in the Florida keys Posted: 02 May 2016 12:04 PM PDT Researchers found that the limestone that forms the foundation of coral reefs along the Florida Reef Tract is dissolving during the fall and winter months on many reefs in the Florida Keys. The research showed that the upper Florida Keys were the most impacted by the annual loss of reef.

Study underscores need for health interventions for single parent households in urban subsidized housing programs Posted: 02 May 2016 10:17 AM PDT Single parents who participate in a housing support program in an urban setting with high levels of community violence had significant symptoms of stress and depression, a new study indicates.

Although boiling, water does shape Martian terrain Posted: 02 May 2016 10:15 AM PDT At present, liquid water on Mars only exists in small quantities as a boiling liquid, and only during the warmest time of day in summer. Its role has therefore been considered insignificant until now. However scientists have now shown that even though water that emerges onto the surface of Mars immediately begins to boil, it creates an unstable, turbulent flow that can eject sediment and cause dry avalanches. The flow of small amounts of a boiling liquid therefore significantly alters the surface.

Making invisible physics visible Posted: 02 May 2016 10:15 AM PDT Physicists create a radically new sensor technology that captures nanoscale images with precise spatial resolution and sensitivity.

First structural views of the NMDA receptor in action will aid drug development Posted: 02 May 2016 10:15 AM PDT Researchers have obtained images of the NMDA receptor in active, non-active, and inhibited states. Understanding how NMDA receptors activate is critical in designing novel therapeutic compounds for schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer's and other illnesses.

Endangered venomous mammal predates dinosaurs' extinction, study confirms Posted: 02 May 2016 10:15 AM PDT Biologists have completely sequenced the mitochondrial genome for the Hispaniolan solenodon, filling in the last major branch of placental mammals on the tree of life. The study confirmed that the venomous mammal diverged from all other living mammals 78 million years ago, long before an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.

Quieting cells' low-oxygen alarm stops flare-ups in rare bone disorder Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT The cellular response to the lack of oxygen fans the flames of flare-ups in a rare bone disorder. In fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a mutation triggers bone growth in muscles, which limits motion, breathing, and swallowing, among a host of progressive symptoms. The study identifies a therapeutic target for stopping the extra bone growth in FOP and other disorders.

Climate-exodus expected in the Middle East and North Africa Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT Part of the Middle East and North Africa may become uninhabitable due to climate change.

Veterans more likely to delay seeking health care Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT Military veterans are more likely to report delays in seeking necessary healthcare, compared to the US general population, reports a new study. Delays in seeking care are an important issue in the US healthcare system, working against efforts to improve high-quality, effective healthcare. Previous studies have reported that type of health insurance coverage affects delays in receiving care.

Two known chemotherapy agents effectively target breast cancer stem cells Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT Two existing chemotherapy drugs appear to be a powerful pair in targeting errant stem cells that are making breast cancer and enabling its spread and recurrence, scientists report.

US climate-adaptation plans long on ideas, short on details, priorities Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT An analysis of more than 40 climate-adaptation plans from across the US shows that local communities are good at developing strategies to combat the harmful effects of climate change but often fail to prioritize their goals or to provide implementation details.

Children with ADHD may benefit from following healthy behaviors, new study suggests Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT Children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder follow fewer healthy lifestyle behaviors than non-ADHD youth. ADHD youth may benefit from improving lifestyle choices such as increasing water consumption, decreasing screen time and getting at least one hour of physical activity per day.

The social lives of the elderly mirror how they grow older Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT Small changes in the social lives of older people are early red flags showing that their thought processes and brain functioning could be on the decline.

Demographic changes increase the risk of natural fires Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT In many parts of the world, grass and forest fires pose a threat to animals and humans. According to a new study from Sweden, while climate change is likely to cause more and larger fires, in the future, more and more people will become directly affected as a result of demographic changes.

How much does groundwater contribute to sea level rise? Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT Land water, including groundwater extraction, contributes far less to sea level rise than previously thought, according to a new study.

Control of fertility: New player identified Posted: 02 May 2016 10:14 AM PDT Individual small RNAs are responsible for controlling the expression of gonadoliberin or GnRH (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone), a neurohormone that controls sexual maturation, the appearance of puberty, and fertility in adults, new research shows. The involvement of microRNAs, transcribed from DNA, occurs around birth, and marks a key step in postnatal development.

Current cancer drug discovery method flawed, study suggests Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT The primary method used to test compounds for anti-cancer activity in cells is flawed, researchers report. The findings cast doubt on methods used by the entire scientific enterprise and pharmaceutical industry to discover new cancer drugs.The researchers have developed a new metric to evaluate a compound's effect on cell proliferation -- called the DIP (drug-induced proliferation) rate -- that overcomes the flawed bias in the traditional method.

Influence of sea-ice loss on Arctic warming is shaped by temperatures in the Pacific Ocean Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT The Arctic amplification phenomenon refers to the faster rate of warming in the Arctic compared to places farther south. Arctic amplification has been linked to a spike in the number of persistent cold spells experienced in recent years over Europe and North America.

The genetic history of Ice Age Europe Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT Analyses of ancient DNA from prehistoric humans paint a picture of dramatic population change in Europe from 45,000 to 7,000 years ago, according to a new study. The new genetic data reveal two big changes in prehistoric human populations that are closely linked to the end of the last Ice Age around 19,000 years ago.

A cleansing rain falls; a soil-filled mist arises Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT Scientists have found that rain triggers the release of a mist of particles from wet soils into the air, a finding with consequences for how scientists model our planet's climate and future. The evidence comes in the form of tiny glassy spheres, less than one-hundredth the width of a human hair, discovered in the Great Plains.

Does supplemental donor milk instead of formula reduce infections in preterm infants? Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT The combined incidence of serious infection, the intestinal disease necrotizing enterocolitis and death was similar in very low-birth-weight infants who received either pasteurized donor milk or preterm formula supplementation during their first 10 days of life when their own mother's milk was not sufficiently available, according to an article.

Study links some positive effects to calorie restriction in nonobese adults Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT A 25 percent calorie restriction over two years by adults who were not obese was linked to better health-related quality of life, according to the results of a randomized clinical trial.

Concussion outcomes differ among football players from youth to college Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT Concussions in high school football had the highest average number of reported symptoms and high school football players had the highest proportion of concussions with a return-to-play time of at least 30 days compared with youth and college players, according to a new article.

National study shows new ways to stop weight gain cut young adults' obesity risk by half Posted: 02 May 2016 10:12 AM PDT A new study has identified two self-regulation strategies effective in preventing weight gain among young adults. At the end of the three-year study, researchers showed that young adults taught self-regulation strategies were more successful at preventing weight gain than those in the control group and 50 percent fewer had become obese.

'Adaptive protein crystal' could form new kind of protective material Posted: 02 May 2016 10:10 AM PDT Chemists have created an 'adaptive protein crystal' with a counterintuitive and potentially useful property: When stretched in one direction, the material thickens in the perpendicular direction, rather than thinning as familiar materials do. And when squeezed in one dimension, it shrinks in the other rather than expanding, and gets denser in the process.

How DNA can take on the properties of sand or toothpaste Posted: 02 May 2016 10:10 AM PDT When does DNA behave like sand or toothpaste? When the genetic material is so densely packed within a virus, it can behave like grains of sand or toothpaste in a tube.That's essentially what biophysicists discovered when they began closely examining the physical properties of DNA jammed inside viruses.

Neuroscientists find evidence for 'visual stereotyping' Posted: 02 May 2016 10:10 AM PDT The stereotypes we hold can influence our brain's visual system, prompting us to see others' faces in ways that conform to these stereotypes, neuroscientists have found.

Quantum sensors for high-precision magnetometry of superconductors Posted: 02 May 2016 10:10 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new method that has enabled them to image magnetic fields on the nanometer scale at temperatures close to absolute zero for the first time. They used spins in special diamonds as quantum sensors in a new kind of microscope to generate images of magnetic fields in superconductors with unrivaled precision.

Adult brain prunes branched connections of new neurons Posted: 02 May 2016 10:09 AM PDT A new study is first to closely follow development of new neurons in the adult brain, giving potential new insight into neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.

UK Health Check has only modest impact on risk factors for cardiovascular disease Posted: 02 May 2016 10:09 AM PDT The largest risk assessment and management program for cardiovascular disease in the world, England's National Health Service Health Check, had only a modest impact on risk factors for heart disease and did not meet national and international targets, found new research.

Tracking climate change? Use the daily highs Posted: 02 May 2016 08:16 AM PDT Scientists using long-term surface temperature data to track climate change caused by greenhouse gases would be best served using only daily high temperature readings without the nighttime lows, according to new research.

Molecular mechanism for generating specific antibody responses to pathogens Posted: 02 May 2016 08:16 AM PDT Follicular helper T cells (Tfh cells), a rare type of T cells, are indispensible for the maturation of antibody-producing B cells. They promote the proliferation of B cells that produce highly selective antibodies against invading pathogens while weeding out those that generate potentially harmful ones. Researchers have now identified a key signal that drives the commitment of immature Tfh cells into fully functional Tfh cells and thus driving the step-by-step process that results in a precisely tailored and effective immune response.

Breast cancer study: Towards personalized treatment Posted: 02 May 2016 08:14 AM PDT The largest-ever study to sequence the whole genomes of breast cancers has uncovered five new genes associated with the disease and 13 new mutational signatures that influence tumor development. Two new studies pinpoint where genetic variations in breast cancers occur. The findings provide insights into the causes of breast tumors and demonstrate that breast-cancer genomes are highly individual.

Nuclear pores captured on film Posted: 02 May 2016 08:14 AM PDT Using an ultra fast-scanning atomic force microscope, a team of researchers has filmed "living" nuclear pore complexes at work for the first time. Nuclear pores are molecular machines that control the traffic entering or exiting the cell nucleus. In a new article, the researchers explain how the passage of unwanted molecules is prevented by rapidly moving molecular "tentacles" inside the pore.

Three potentially habitable worlds found around nearby ultracool dwarf star Posted: 02 May 2016 08:14 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered three planets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star just 40 light-years from Earth. These worlds have sizes and temperatures similar to those of Venus and Earth and are the best targets found so far for the search for life outside the Solar System. They are the first planets ever discovered around such a tiny and dim star.

New interpretation of the Rök runestone inscription changes view of Viking Age Posted: 02 May 2016 08:13 AM PDT The Rok Runestone, erected in the late 800s in Sweden is the world's most well-known runestone. Its long inscription has seemed impossible to understand, despite the fact that it is relatively easy to read. A new interpretation of the inscription that breaks completely with a century-old interpretative tradition has now been presented.

Less body fat for toddlers taking vitamin D Posted: 02 May 2016 08:13 AM PDT A healthy intake of vitamin D in the first year of life appears to set children up to have more muscle mass and less body fat as toddlers, according to a new study. The findings emerged from research initially aimed at confirming the importance of vitamin D for bone density. The additional benefit in terms of body composition came as a surprise for the research team.

Skeletal marker of physiological stress might indicate good, rather than poor, health Posted: 02 May 2016 08:13 AM PDT One of the skeletal markers that anthropologists use to decipher the past, linear enamel hypoplasia, might need to be looked at in a new light. Scientists show that LEH, a result of stress during an individual's life, might be an indicator of good, rather than poor, health.

Expand prescribing of buprenorphine for opioid abuse? Experts weigh pros and cons Posted: 02 May 2016 08:12 AM PDT Buprenorphine is a critical part of treatment for the growing epidemic of opioid abuse -- but also carries the potential for misuse and diversion. The debate over whether 'to expand or not to expand' prescribing of buprenorphine for opioid abuse is discussed in a new expert review.

No males needed: All-female salamanders regrow tails 36 percent faster Posted: 02 May 2016 08:12 AM PDT The lady salamander that shuns male companionship may reap important benefits. For instance, when a predator snaps off her tail .New research compared an all-female population of mole salamanders to a related heterosexual species and found they grew their tails back 36 percent faster. The unisexual salamanders (part of the Ambystoma genus) contain DNA of up to five species and reproduce primarily by cloning themselves.

Englerin analogues with anti-cancer activity Posted: 02 May 2016 08:12 AM PDT A research team has designed and synthetized a series of analogues of (-)-Englerin A that are highly selective and effective in the growth-inhibition of renal cancer cells.

Anomalous sinking of spheres in apparently fixed powder beds discovered Posted: 02 May 2016 08:12 AM PDT Scientists have examined the state of the surface of apparently fixed powder beds in which air weak enough not to move the powder is injected, and observed anomalous sinking phenomena, a world first.

Ibrutinib: Indication of added benefit in one of three therapeutic indications Posted: 02 May 2016 08:12 AM PDT No added benefit has been proven for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and Waldenström macroglobulinaemia. Certain patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma benefit from the drug.

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