الجمعة، 7 أكتوبر 2016

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News

Computer experts identify fourteen themes of creativity

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 07:34 AM PDT

The elusive and complex components of creativity have been identified by computer experts.

Mental illness genetically linked to drug use and misuse

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 07:32 AM PDT

There are many reports of drug use leading to mental health problems, and we all know of someone having a few too many drinks to cope with a bad day. Many people who are diagnosed with a mental health disorder indulge in drugs, and vice versa. As severity of both increase, problems arise and they become more difficult to treat. But why substance involvement and psychiatric disorders often co-occur is not well understood.

Unique genetic basis found in autism genes that may lead to earlier diagnosis

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 07:29 AM PDT

Researchers are a step closer to understanding the genetic basis of autism, which they hope will lead to earlier diagnosis of what is rapidly becoming the most prevalent developmental disorder worldwide.

Exhaling Earth: Scientists closer to forecasting volcanic eruptions

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 07:10 AM PDT

On average, 40 volcanoes on land erupt into the atmosphere each month, while scores of others on the seafloor erupt into the ocean. A new time-lapse animation uniting volcanoes, earthquakes, and gaseous emissions reveals unforgettably the large, rigid plates that make the outermost shell of Earth and suggests the immense heat and energy beneath them seeking to escape.

Satellites see Hurricane Matthew heading for the Bahamas

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 06:49 AM PDT

Satellites from NASA and NOAA have been tracking and analyzing powerful Hurricane Matthew since its birth just east of the Leeward Islands on Sept. 28. On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall on southwestern Haiti as a category-4 storm -- the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean nation in more than 50 years.

Decoding of tarsier genome reveals ties to humans

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 06:20 AM PDT

Tarsiers -- tiny, carnivorous primates -- are our distant cousins, according to scientists who sequenced and analyzed the tarsier genome. Their findings place tarsiers on the evolutionary branch that leads to monkeys, great apes and humans.

Today's most successful fish weren't always evolutionary standouts

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 01:33 PM PDT

Take a glance around the oceans, rivers and lakes of today and you'll confront an astonishing diversity of fish, from narrow-bodied eels to the 25-foot-long giant oarfish to delicate, fluttering seahorses. The vast majority of fish alive today -- approximately 96 percent -- are known as teleosts, a group of ray-finned fish that emerged 260 million years ago.

Parkinson's disease protection may begin in the gut

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 01:17 PM PDT

Your gut may play a pivotal role in preventing the onset of Parkinson's disease. And the reason may be its knack for sleuthing.

Placodonts illuminate a crushing evolutionary question

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 01:15 PM PDT

Studying the physical features of long-extinct creatures continues to yield surprising new knowledge of how evolution fosters traits desirable for survival in diverse environments. Placodonts are a case in point -- specifically, the placodont teeth.

The truth about lying? Children's perceptions get more nuanced with age

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 01:09 PM PDT

Parents don't like it when children lie. But what do the kids themselves think about it? New research suggests truth telling isn't black and white.

Virtual reality games make infusions easier on young patients

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 01:07 PM PDT

A virtual reality gaming system specially developed for young patients is making procedures involving needles less painful for children and less stressful for parents.

Early marijuana use associated with abnormal brain function, lower IQ

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 01:07 PM PDT

In a new study, scientists have discovered that early marijuana use may result in abnormal brain function and lower IQ.

How do birds dive safely at high speeds? New research explains

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 01:01 PM PDT

To surprise their prey, some species of seabirds dive into the water at speeds greater than 50 miles per hour. A human diver entering the water that fast would likely sustain serious injuries, but birds, such as gannets and boobies, pull off these dives safely in spite of their slender necks.

Carbon dioxide levels race past troubling milestone

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 12:50 PM PDT

Carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere passed a troubling milestone for good this summer and locked in levels of the heat-trapping gas not seen for millions of years.

Cancer treatment as a double-edged sword

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 12:10 PM PDT

Findings by cancer researchers shed light on why treated cancers recur. The discovery could provide the key for reducing recurrence, and allow anti-cancer drugs to do their intended work.

Neurons devoted to social memory identified

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 11:22 AM PDT

Mice have brain cells that are dedicated to storing memories of other mice, according to a new study. These cells, found in a region of the hippocampus known as the ventral CA1, store "social memories" that help shape the mice's behavior toward each other. The researchers also showed that they can suppress or stimulate these memories by using a technique known as optogenetics to manipulate the cells that carry these memory traces, or engrams.

Beaver-inspired wetsuits in the works

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 11:19 AM PDT

Beavers and sea otters lack the thick layer of blubber that insulates walruses and whales. And yet these small, semiaquatic mammals can keep warm and even dry while diving, by trapping warm pockets of air in dense layers of fur. Inspired by these fuzzy swimmers, engineers have now fabricated fur-like, rubbery pelts and used them to identify a mechanism by which air is trapped between individual hairs when the pelts are plunged into liquid.

This soliton is about you: A model for angiogenesis

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 11:15 AM PDT

Here's what we humans have in common with oceans, lakes and rivers: We have solitons coursing through us. A soliton is a wave that can propagate for a long time, without changing much, researchers explain.

Students of all races prefer teachers of color, finds study

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 11:11 AM PDT

Middle and high school students, regardless of their race and ethnicity, have more favorable perceptions of their Black and Latino teachers than of their White teachers, finds a new study.

'Virtual physiotherapist' helps paralyzed patients exercise using computer games

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 11:08 AM PDT

A simple device can improve the ability of patients with arm disability to play physiotherapy-like computer games, according to new research. 

As oceans warm, coral reef fish might prefer to move rather than adapt

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:52 AM PDT

Scientists have new evidence that coral-reef fish -- who are capable of adapting to warmer temperatures brought about by global climate change -- will probably opt instead to relocate to cooler parts of the ocean. In experiments using a fish found in coral reefs around the world, the blue-green damselfish, researchers found that the fish were capable of adapting to living in water 2-4 degrees Celsius above their normal summer temperatures; however, when given the slightest chance, the fish moved to cooler water.

Rapid spread of dog disease can be stopped with diligent infection control

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:28 AM PDT

Protocol for keeping dogs from transmitting disease has, until now, lagged decades behind efforts to contain human infectious disease. New guidance for halting the spread of a multitude of dog diseases is now available, thanks to an effort led by veterinary experts.

Maximum human lifespan has already been reached

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:28 AM PDT

A new study suggests that it may not be possible to extend the human life span beyond the ages already attained by the oldest people on record.

'Blind dates' in the amber world

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:27 AM PDT

"Old" doesn't always have to mean "primitive." Paleontologists have discovered a tiny biting midge no larger than one millimeter in 54 million-year-old amber. The insect possesses a vesicular structure at the front edge of the wings. The researchers assume that these "pockets" were used by the female midge to collect store and spray disseminate pheromones in an unusually efficient way in order to attract sexual partners. Today's biting midges use significantly simpler attractant evaporators structures for pheromone release on their abdomen.

Conservation decisions rely on balancing incentives with unpredictable variables

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:26 AM PDT

If you own land, as long as it's not bound up in a legal restriction, you've got options. You might decide to convert it into farm land. You might develop it. You could decide to wait and see if the land increases in value. Or you could accept a temporary contract that sets it aside for conservation, or a more permanent one that binds you to never develop it. Environmental economists examined some of the aspects of this conundrum.

How evolution has equipped our hands with five fingers

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:26 AM PDT

Have you ever wondered why our hands have exactly five fingers? Scientists have uncovered a part of this mystery, and their remarkable discovery is outlined in a new report.

Saturn’s moon Dione harbors a subsurface ocean

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:10 AM PDT

A subsurface ocean lies deep within Saturn's moon Dione, according to new data from the Cassini mission to Saturn. Two other moons of Saturn, Titan and Enceladus, are already known to hide global oceans beneath their icy crusts, but a new study suggests an ocean exists on Dione as well.

3-D-printed robots with shock-absorbing skins

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 10:07 AM PDT

Anyone who's watched drone videos or an episode of "BattleBots" knows that robots can break -- and often it's because they don't have the proper padding to protect themselves.

'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' worse than expected

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 09:59 AM PDT

The Ocean Cleanup, a foundation developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic, has just presented the initial findings of its Aerial Expedition -- a series of low-speed, low-altitude flights across the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the plastic accumulation zone between Hawaii and California. Using a modified C-130 Hercules aircraft, expert spotters, and an experimental array of plastic scanning equipment, the expedition aims to accurately measure the biggest and most harmful debris in the ocean.

The amazing recovery of Yosemite’s yellow-legged frog

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 09:51 AM PDT

With 7,000 amphibian surveys conducted over 20 years, biologists detail the remarkable recovery of an endangered frog species in Yosemite.

Got eczema? It may just be bad evolutionary luck, study finds

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 09:43 AM PDT

A new study probes the evolutionary history of eczema, examining a genetic variant strongly associated with the most common form of eczema, atopic dermatitis.

When is maternal immunization ethically justified?

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 09:42 AM PDT

Vaccination during pregnancy can protect women, fetuses and newborn children against infectious diseases – especially in developing countries. Maternal immunization however also raises ethical questions. One expert has made a first systematic analysis of the ethics of maternal immunization, concluding that vaccination during pregnancy is ethically appropriate if it can protect mother or child against a concrete risk of a dangerous infection.

Your next nurse could be a robot

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:50 AM PDT

The nursing assistant for your next trip to the hospital might be a robot.

Stress and obesity biologically linked

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:48 AM PDT

Metabolic and anxiety-related disorders both pose a significant healthcare burden, and are in the spotlight of contemporary research and therapeutic efforts. Although intuitively we assume that these two phenomena overlap, the link has not been scientifically demonstrated.

Thalidomide: Understanding the purity and chirality of drugs and their metabolites

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:43 AM PDT

It was the Softenon disaster that made the pharmaceutical industry fully aware of the importance of knowing the enantiomeric purity and chirality of drugs and their metabolites. This disaster involved the chiral drug Thalidomide that was sold in the 1950s as a racemate under various brand names such as Contergan and Softenon. It was shown in the early 1960s that only the R-enantiomer has the intended pharmaceutical effect and that the S-enantiomer, when the drug is used by pregnant females, may lead to serious issues including miscarriages.

Enormous Biodiversity in Amazonia: Unexpected biogeographical boundaries

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:37 AM PDT

New information necessitates revising the scenarios on how the enormous species richness in Amazonia has evolved and which factors define species distributions.

Here's looking at you: Finding allies through facial cues

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:27 AM PDT

After being on the losing side of a fight, men seek out other allies with a look of rugged dominance about them to ensure a backup in case of future fights. Women in similar situations however, prefer to seek solace from allies whose faces suggest they can provide emotional support. There is an evolutionary root to the differences in how men and women seek out allies and it is driven by the need for social survival in the long run.

Watching stem cells change provides clues to fighting osteoporosis in older women

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:21 AM PDT

For years, scientists have studied how stem cells might be used to treat many diseases, including osteoporosis. One consistent challenge has been observing and monitoring the process through which stem cells transform. Now, using an established scientific method, researchers are able to watch how human fat cells transform into bone tissue cells; in the process the research team has uncovered information about osteoporosis in older women.

Pleasant family leisure at home may satisfy families more than fun together elsewhere, study finds

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:21 AM PDT

While family fun often is associated with new and exciting activities, family leisure spent at home in familiar pastimes may be a more effective route to happiness, according to a study.

How the performing arts can set the stage for more developed brain pathways

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:21 AM PDT

Dance and music training have even stronger effects on the brain than previously understood -- but in markedly different ways, say researchers.

Most gay men not aware of treatment to protect them from HIV

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:21 AM PDT

Only four in 10 gay and bisexual men in Baltimore without HIV are aware that pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP) may significantly reduce their risk of contracting the virus, even those who had recently visited a doctor or been tested for a sexually transmitted disease, new research suggests.

Eating your greens could enhance sport performance

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 08:00 AM PDT

Nitrate supplementation in conjunction with Sprint Interval Training in low oxygen conditions could enhance sport performance a study has found.

Infants pay more attention to native speakers

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 07:58 AM PDT

Almost from the moment of birth, human beings are able to distinguish between speakers of their native language and speakers of all other languages. We have a hard-wired preference for our own language patterns, so much so that the cries of very young infants reflect the melodies of their native language.

Scavenger cells repair muscle fibers

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 07:55 AM PDT

Everybody knows the burning sensation in the legs when climbing down a steep slope for a long time. It is caused by microruptures in the cell membrane of our muscle fibers. These holes in the cell envelopes must be closed as soon as possible as otherwise muscle cells will die off. Researchers were now able to observe this repair process using high-resolution real-time microscopy. It only takes a few seconds until proteins from the inside of the injured cell form a repair patch that finally closes the hole in the membrane. The researchers have now demonstrated that scavenger cells moving around within the muscle virtually perform nano-surgery to remove this repair patch later and restore the normal cell membrane structure.

Non-toxic solvent removes barrier to commercialization of perovskite solar cells

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 07:36 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a solvent system with reduced toxicity that can be used in the manufacture of perovskite solar cells, clearing one of the barriers to the commercialization of a technology that promises to revolutionize the solar industry.

Planet formation: The death of a planet nursery?

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 07:19 AM PDT

The dusty disk surrounding the star TW Hydrae exhibits circular features that may signal the formation of protoplanets. An astrophysicist argues, however, that the innermost actually points to the impending dispersal of the disk.

Scientists speed up muscle repair

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 07:17 AM PDT

Athletes, the elderly and those with degenerative muscle disease would all benefit from accelerated muscle repair. When skeletal muscles, those connected to the bone, are injured, muscle stem cells wake up from a dormant state and repair the damage. When muscles age, however, stem cell number and function declines, as do both tissue function and regenerative ability. A new study investigated muscle stem cell pool size. In particular, they asked if stem cell number could be increased, and if there would be any associated functional benefits.

A lead to overcome resistance to antibiotics

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:57 AM PDT

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common bacterium in the environment. It can however become a formidable pathogen causing fatal infections, especially in intubated patients, people suffering from cystic fibrosis or severe burns. The presence of certain metals in the natural or human environment of the bacterium makes it more dangerous and, in particular, resistant to antibiotics of last resort. A team of researchers has shown that a specific protein of P. aeruginosa, called Host factor q (Hfq), is essential for reacting to these metals and acquire these new properties. The results single out the Hfq protein as the Achilles heel of P. aeruginosa. Indeed, blocking its action could make this pathogen unable to adapt to a new environment and to resist to certain antibiotics.

Bragging as a strategy: What boasting buys, and costs, a candidate

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:56 AM PDT

Whether it's better to brag or to be humble can depend on what perception one seeks to change, whether hard evidence will come to light and what that evidence says, according to a new study.

Believing that others understand helps us feel that we do, even when we don't

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:55 AM PDT

Experiments described in a new study reveal that our sense of what we know about something is increased when we learn that others around us understand it. The findings are consistent with the idea of a "community of knowledge" in which people implicitly rely on others to harbor needed expertise. Otherwise everyone would have to be omniscient to get by.

Environmental change drove diversity in Lake Malawi cichlids

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:54 AM PDT

Periods of deep, clear water in Lake Malawi over the past 800,000 years coincide with bursts of species diversification, researchers show in a new report.

Infants use prefrontal cortex in learning

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:53 AM PDT

Researchers have long thought that the region of the brain involved in some of the highest forms of cognition and reasoning -- the prefrontal cortex (PFC) -- was too underdeveloped in young children, especially infants, to participate in complex cognitive tasks. A new study suggests otherwise. Given the task of learning simple hierarchical rules, babies appeared to employ much the same circuits as adults doing a similar task.

Novel mechanism to steer cell identities gives clue on how organisms develop

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:31 AM PDT

Scientists discovered a new way in which microRNAs can determine the fate of cells in the course of their development. This could be a key to understanding how complex organisms are built, say researchers.

Hard-to-control asthma has distinct features, study shows

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:31 AM PDT

Bronchodilator responsiveness, nasal inflammation and allergy were among the most significant baseline features that distinguished hard-to-control asthma in inner-city children and adolescents. These characteristics identified patients whose asthma did not improve throughout the year, despite adherence to the most intensive treatment based on national guidelines. Patients with hard-to-control asthma also had exacerbations peaking in the spring and fall, and more nighttime symptoms in the fall and winter.

Roundworms even more useful than researchers previously thought

Posted: 05 Oct 2016 06:26 AM PDT

The one millimetre long roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has been used as a model organism in scientific research, and has therefore been extensively examined. A research group has now demonstrated that the worm is an even more complete model system than previously thought, which could enable more detailed research into areas such as early embryonic development.
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