ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Setting up a decoy network may help deflect a hacker's hits
• Midlife physical activity is associated with better cognition in old age
• Researchers prototype system for reading closed books
• Novel heart valve replacement offers hope for thousands with rheumatic heart disease
• Researchers outline barriers to treating fear, anxiety
• Three in four don't know obesity causes cancer
• Major review to help doctors, patients and public make informed decisions about the use of statins
• New strategy may help prevent kidney failure in patients with diabetes
• Education reform urged: Age-based grade assignments hinder millions of students
• Linking RNA structure and function
• The influence of fat when gut bacteria is reduced by antibioticsm
• New vaccination strategies coach immune system to make HIV-neutralizing antibodies
• Newly discovered infectious prion structure shines light on mad cow disease
• Study looks at how parents use newborn screening results
• Unprecedented atmospheric behavior disrupts one of Earth's most regular climate cycles
• Earthquakes can trigger near-instantaneous aftershocks on different faults
• Containing our 'electromagnetic pollution'
• Measuring forces in the DNA molecule
• Risk factors for congenital heart defects may lie both inside and outside the heart
• Scientists film bacteria's maneuvers as they become impervious to drugs
• Critical information needed in fight to save wildlife
• Brain connections are more sophisticated than thought
• With MRI technique, brain scientists induce feelings about faces
• New 'Trojan horse' antibody strategy shows promise against all ebola viruses
• New insights into tumor-infiltrating T cells
• Paying do-gooders makes them less persuasive
• Reactive oxygen species switch immune cells from migratory to murderous
• Life after Fitbit: Appealing to those who feel guilty vs. free
• Neuroscience: Linking perception to action
• Sharing stories synchronizes group memories
• How the brain builds panoramic memory
• Bacteria supply their allies with munitions
• Scientists find culprit responsible for calcified blood vessels in kidney disease
• A tenth of the world's wilderness lost since the 1990s
• Chemists devise revolutionary 3-D bone-scanning technique
• Common molecular mechanism of Parkinson's pathology discovered in study
• Genetic analysis uncovers four species of giraffe, not just one
• The history of beer yeast
• Kill them with cuteness: The adorable thing bats do to catch prey
• Study sheds light on factors affecting employees' commitment
• Entrepreneurs fare better if they resist the temptation to follow the crowd
• Open floor plans may lead to more eating
• Deriving inspiration from the dragon tree
• New material to revolutionize water proofing
• Cover crop mixtures increase agroecosystem services, first-of-kind study suggests
• New reptile species from 212 million years ago
• COPD exacerbations lead to lung function decline, particularly among those with mild COPD
• Rare and common genetic variants combine to cause skull-fusion disorder
• Telecom networks could back up GPS time signals, say experts
• More underrepresented students obtain science degrees and pursue STEM, due to research mentoring
• The impact of extreme exercise on breathing in GB Olympic boxers and swimmers
• Hip fractures: Most elderly unlikely to fully recover
• Research could help local governments plan together
• Chronic sinusitis associated with certain rare head and neck cancers among elderly
• Numbers of people with Down syndrome in the US since 1950 estimated

Setting up a decoy network may help deflect a hacker's hits Posted: 09 Sep 2016 08:24 AM PDT Computer networks may never float like a butterfly, but information scientists suggest that creating nimble networks that can sense jabs from hackers could help deflect the stinging blows of those attacks.

Midlife physical activity is associated with better cognition in old age Posted: 09 Sep 2016 06:50 AM PDT Moderately vigorous physical activity -- for example, more strenuous than walking -- has been found to be associated with better cognition in a 25-year follow-up, a new study of 3050 twins finds.

Researchers prototype system for reading closed books Posted: 09 Sep 2016 06:48 AM PDT An imaging system that can read closed books is currently being developed. In a new article, researchers describe a prototype of the system, which they tested on a stack of papers, each with one letter printed on it. The system was able to correctly identify the letters on the top nine sheets.

Novel heart valve replacement offers hope for thousands with rheumatic heart disease Posted: 09 Sep 2016 06:48 AM PDT A novel heart valve replacement method offers hope for the thousands of patients with rheumatic heart disease who need the procedure each year, say experts.

Researchers outline barriers to treating fear, anxiety Posted: 09 Sep 2016 06:48 AM PDT A misunderstanding of how the certain parts of the brain function has hampered the creation of pharmaceuticals to effectively address fear and anxiety disorders, a pair of researchers has concluded.

Three in four don't know obesity causes cancer Posted: 08 Sep 2016 05:39 PM PDT Three out of four people in the United Kingdom are unaware of the link between obesity and cancer, according to a new report. The nationwide survey found that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to know about the link. And men are less likely than women to be aware of the increased risk of cancer caused by obesity.

Major review to help doctors, patients and public make informed decisions about the use of statins Posted: 08 Sep 2016 05:39 PM PDT A major review of the available evidence on the safety and efficacy of statin therapy intends to help doctors, patients and the public make informed decisions about the use of the drugs. The authors warn that the benefits of statin therapy have been underestimated, and the harms exaggerated, because of a failure to acknowledge properly both the wealth of evidence from randomized trials and the limitations of other types of studies.

New strategy may help prevent kidney failure in patients with diabetes Posted: 08 Sep 2016 05:38 PM PDT A new strategy may help halt the progression of kidney disease in patients with diabetes. The approach addresses a common and serious complication of diabetes.

Education reform urged: Age-based grade assignments hinder millions of students Posted: 08 Sep 2016 01:50 PM PDT Traditional age-based grade levels may be hampering the progress of millions of K-12 students in the United States and should be a target for reform, according to a new study.

Linking RNA structure and function Posted: 08 Sep 2016 01:49 PM PDT Several years ago, biologists discovered a new type of genetic material known as long noncoding RNA. This RNA does not code for proteins and is copied from sections of the genome once believed to be "junk DNA." Now, in a related study, biologists have discovered how an enigmatic type of RNA helps to control cell fate.

The influence of fat when gut bacteria is reduced by antibioticsm Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:12 PM PDT Additional insight has been shed on how bacteria in the gut, or lack thereof, influences intestinal mast cells (MMC) activation and perhaps fat absorption. Mast cells are intimately involved with the immune system in the body.

New vaccination strategies coach immune system to make HIV-neutralizing antibodies Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:12 PM PDT New approaches that could spur the human body to produce HIV-blocking antibodies have been successful in mice mimicking the human immune system, according to five new studies.

Newly discovered infectious prion structure shines light on mad cow disease Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:12 PM PDT Groundbreaking research has identified the structure of the infectious prion protein, the cause of 'mad cow disease' or BSE, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which has long remained a mystery.

Study looks at how parents use newborn screening results Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:11 PM PDT Parents say they want to know everything that turns up in newborn screening tests, but then don't use the information or use it inappropriately, new research indicates.

Unprecedented atmospheric behavior disrupts one of Earth's most regular climate cycles Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:11 PM PDT A team of scientists has discovered an unexpected disruption in one of the most repeatable atmospheric patterns.

Earthquakes can trigger near-instantaneous aftershocks on different faults Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:11 PM PDT A large earthquake on one fault can trigger large aftershocks on separate faults within just a few minutes. These findings have important implications for earthquake hazard prone regions like California where ruptures on complex fault systems may cascade and lead to mega-earthquakes.

Containing our 'electromagnetic pollution' Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:11 PM PDT Electromagnetic radiation is everywhere -- that's been the case since the beginning of the universe. But the proliferation of electronics in recent decades has contributed both to the volume of radiation generated on our planet and its noticeability. A group of researchers is working on cleaning up this electromagnetic pollution by containing the emissions with a thin coating of a nanomaterial called MXene.

Measuring forces in the DNA molecule Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:09 PM PDT DNA, our genetic material, normally has the structure of a twisted rope ladder. Experts call this structure a double helix. Among other things, it is stabilized by stacking forces between base pairs. Scientists have now succeeded at measuring these forces for the very first time on the level of single base pairs. This new knowledge could help to construct precise molecular machines out of DNA.

Risk factors for congenital heart defects may lie both inside and outside the heart Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:09 PM PDT Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are a leading cause of birth defect-related deaths, but many of the critical genes involved are unknown, and those that are known often contribute only small increases in CHD risk. Researchers report that overall risk is determined by a combination of gene effects both inside and outside of the heart itself.

Scientists film bacteria's maneuvers as they become impervious to drugs Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:09 PM PDT In a creative stroke inspired by Hollywood wizardry, scientists have designed a simple way to observe how bacteria move as they become impervious to drugs.

Critical information needed in fight to save wildlife Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:09 PM PDT An international group of 22 scientists is calling for a coordinated global effort to gather important species information that is urgently needed to improve predictions for the impact of climate change on future biodiversity.

Brain connections are more sophisticated than thought Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:09 PM PDT Inhibitory connections between neurons act as the brain's brakes, preventing it from becoming overexcited. Researchers thought inhibitory connections were less sophisticated than their excitatory counterparts because relatively few proteins were known to exist at these structures. But a new study overturns that assumption, uncovering 140 proteins that have never been mapped to inhibitory synapses. Some of the proteins have already been implicated in autism, intellectual disability and epilepsy, suggesting new treatment avenues.

With MRI technique, brain scientists induce feelings about faces Posted: 08 Sep 2016 12:08 PM PDT Researchers report that they were able to train unknowing volunteers to develop a mild but significant preference or dislike for faces that they had previously regarded neutrally.

New 'Trojan horse' antibody strategy shows promise against all ebola viruses Posted: 08 Sep 2016 11:21 AM PDT A new therapeutic strategy to target a hidden Achilles' heel shared by all known types of Ebola virus has been outlined by researchers. Two antibodies developed with this strategy blocked the invasion of human cells by all five ebolaviruses.

New insights into tumor-infiltrating T cells Posted: 08 Sep 2016 11:18 AM PDT A distinct gene module for T cell dysfunction distinct from activation in tumor-infiltrating T cells has now been discovered, thus paving the way for the development of new precision therapeutics.

Paying do-gooders makes them less persuasive Posted: 08 Sep 2016 11:18 AM PDT People who receive a financial incentive to raise money for a charity they care about are actually less effective in soliciting donations, even when potential donors have no idea that incentives were involved, according to new findings. The research suggests that incentives may have this effect because they result in the fundraisers coming off as less sincere to the people they're trying to persuade.

Reactive oxygen species switch immune cells from migratory to murderous Posted: 08 Sep 2016 11:17 AM PDT Neutrophils are the superheroes of the body's immune system. Normally mild-mannered, they travel through the bloodstream until they reach an emergency situation, such as a cut or infection, where they switch into battle-mode to engulf and destroy foreign invaders. Neutrophils use ROS concentration to determine when to stop migrating and start killing, report scientists.

Life after Fitbit: Appealing to those who feel guilty vs. free Posted: 08 Sep 2016 11:17 AM PDT Is life better or worse after sticking your Fitbit in a drawer? Researchers surveyed hundreds of people who had abandoned self-tracking tools and found emotions ranged from guilt to indifference to relief that the tracking experience was over.

Neuroscience: Linking perception to action Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:10 AM PDT A researcher studying how the brain uses perception of the environment to guide action has a new understanding of the neural circuits responsible for transforming sensation into movement.

Sharing stories synchronizes group memories Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:08 AM PDT People synchronize what they remember and what they forget after sharing memories with one another, according to new research. The findings, have an applied scope: policymakers could use them to bust myths about certain topics, like how Zika virus is spread.

How the brain builds panoramic memory Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:08 AM PDT Two brain regions that are involved in creating panoramic memories have now been identified by neuroscientists. These brain regions, known as the OPA and RSC, help us to merge fleeting views of our surroundings into a seamless, 360-degree panorama.

Bacteria supply their allies with munitions Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:08 AM PDT Bacteria fight their competitors with molecular spear guns, the so-called Type VI secretion system. When firing this weapon they also unintentionally hit their own kind. However the related bacteria strains benefit from coming under fire. They recycle the protein components of the spear guns and use these to build their own weapons.

Scientists find culprit responsible for calcified blood vessels in kidney disease Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:08 AM PDT Scientists have implicated a type of stem cell in the calcification of blood vessels that is common in patients with chronic kidney disease. The research will guide future studies into ways to block minerals from building up inside blood vessels and exacerbating atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries.

A tenth of the world's wilderness lost since the 1990s Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:08 AM PDT Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology show catastrophic declines in wilderness areas around the world over the last 20 years.

Chemists devise revolutionary 3-D bone-scanning technique Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:08 AM PDT A scanning technique for bones has been created that does not expose patients to X-ray radiation but provides exceptional 3-D images from which diagnoses and prognoses can be made. Their technique now provides information on bone quality as well as quantity.

Common molecular mechanism of Parkinson's pathology discovered in study Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:05 AM PDT Intracellular defects that lead to cells' failure to decommission faulty 'power packs' known as mitochondria cause nerve cells to die, triggering the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Genetic analysis uncovers four species of giraffe, not just one Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:05 AM PDT Up until now, scientists had only recognized a single species of giraffe made up of several subspecies. But, according to the most inclusive genetic analysis of giraffe relationships to date, giraffes actually aren't one species, but four. The unexpected findings highlight the urgent need for further study of the four genetically isolated species and for greater conservation efforts for the world's tallest mammal, the researchers say.

The history of beer yeast Posted: 08 Sep 2016 10:05 AM PDT Today's industrial yeast strains are used to make beer, wine, bread, biofuels, and more, but their evolutionary history is not well studied. Researchers have now described a family tree of these microbes with an emphasis on beer yeast. The resulting genetic relationships reveal clues as to when yeast was first domesticated, who the earliest beer brewers were, and how humans have shaped this organism's development.

Kill them with cuteness: The adorable thing bats do to catch prey Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:30 AM PDT A bat's head waggles and ear wiggles synch with its sonar vocalizations to help it hunt, demonstrating how movement can enhance senses like sight and hearing -- not just in bats, but in dogs and cats, and even in humans.

Study sheds light on factors affecting employees' commitment Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:10 AM PDT As it becomes increasingly common for older workers to report to younger supervisors, a new study has examined how disparities in experience and education influence subordinates' commitment to their organizations.

Entrepreneurs fare better if they resist the temptation to follow the crowd Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:09 AM PDT Few entrepreneurs and investors can resist the temptation to follow the herd into a new, "hot" market, even when they understand that it is rarely the path to riches. New research finds that entrepreneurs who resist pressure to follow the consensus are most likely to stay in a market, receive funding and ultimately go public.

Open floor plans may lead to more eating Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:07 AM PDT Dining environments can have serious consequences for eating behaviors, say investigators. The study findings may have important implications not only for college and university students, but also for people who need to eat in health care, group home and military settings.

Deriving inspiration from the dragon tree Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:06 AM PDT Could dragon trees serve as a source of inspiration for innovations in lightweight construction? A team of researchers has laid the groundwork for designing technical fiber-reinforced lightweight ramifications modeled on branch-stem attachments.

New material to revolutionize water proofing Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:04 AM PDT A new spray-on material with a remarkable ability to repel water has been developed by researchers. The new protective coating could eventually be used to waterproof mobile phones, prevent ice from forming on airplanes or protect boat hulls from corroding.

Cover crop mixtures increase agroecosystem services, first-of-kind study suggests Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:04 AM PDT Planting a multi-species mixture of cover crops -- rather than a cover crop monoculture -- between cash crops, provides increased agroecosystem services, or multifunctionality, according to researchers.

New reptile species from 212 million years ago Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:04 AM PDT An extinct reptile related to crocodiles that lived 212 million years ago in present day New Mexico has been named as a new species, Vivaron haydeni, report scientists.

COPD exacerbations lead to lung function decline, particularly among those with mild COPD Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:03 AM PDT Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, are associated with significant long-term lung function loss, according to new research.

Rare and common genetic variants combine to cause skull-fusion disorder Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:03 AM PDT Researchers have identified mutations responsible for a disorder that causes the premature fusion of the suture along the top of a baby's skull. Their discovery will immediately help diagnose and counsel patients, and has broader for understanding the genetics of complex traits.

Telecom networks could back up GPS time signals, say experts Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:03 AM PDT Experts involved in the operation of US civilian and military time standards have worked with two companies to identify a practical GPS backup possibility: commercial fiber-optic telecommunications networks.

More underrepresented students obtain science degrees and pursue STEM, due to research mentoring Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:03 AM PDT A new study indicates that undergraduates who participate in mentored research not only graduate more often with science degrees, but also attend graduate school and pursue STEM careers at higher rates.

The impact of extreme exercise on breathing in GB Olympic boxers and swimmers Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:02 AM PDT Researchers investigated elite British athletes from both swimming and boxing and their research suggests asthma related breathing problems should not be a barrier to sporting success, as long as they are well managed and controlled.

Hip fractures: Most elderly unlikely to fully recover Posted: 08 Sep 2016 09:02 AM PDT One in every two older persons who have suffered a hip fracture will never be as physically active and independent as they were before. The odds are even lower for the very old and those with dementia or other ailments, says an expert.

Research could help local governments plan together Posted: 08 Sep 2016 08:58 AM PDT A new approach to modelling land use change could help cities and towns better coordinate their land-use planning efforts. The approach can enhance existing computer planning models, better enabling planners to consider how the land-use patterns of their neighbors could impact planning in their own communities.

Chronic sinusitis associated with certain rare head and neck cancers among elderly Posted: 08 Sep 2016 08:57 AM PDT The associations of chronic sinusitis with subsequent head and neck cancer in an elderly population have been evaluated in a new study. Acute sinusitis is a common inflammatory condition of the sinuses often caused by viral or bacterial infections. The condition is considered chronic when the episode persists longer than 12 weeks.

Numbers of people with Down syndrome in the US since 1950 estimated Posted: 08 Sep 2016 08:57 AM PDT A new study has estimated, for the first time, the numbers of people with Down syndrome in the US, from 1950 until 2010. The total number arrived at by the investigation, which also is the first to break down its findings by ethnic group, is considerably less than previously estimated by several organizations.

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