ScienceDaily: Top News

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• White deaths exceeded births in one-third of states
• Embryonic cluster galaxy immersed in giant cloud of cold gas
• A watershed moment in understanding how water conducts electricity
• Climate cycles may explain how running water carved Mars' surface features
• Increasing tornado outbreaks: Is climate change responsible?
• Gut microbes promote motor deficits in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease
• How Zika infects the growing brain
• Diabetes advance: Cells produce insulin upon artemisinin treatment
• New role for Hippo pathway in suppressing cancer immunity
• Autism spectrum disorders: New genetic cause of identified
• Detailed images of NMDA receptors help explain how zinc and a drug affect their function
• First structural map of cystic fibrosis protein sheds light on how mutations cause disease
• Restaurants not good at explaining risks of undercooked meat to customers
• Novel compound to alleviate pain and itch discovered
• Gut microbe movements regulate host circadian rhythms
• Multi-institutional collaboration uncovers how molecular machines assemble
• Computer learns to recognize sounds by watching video
• Significant progress against HIV epidemic in Africa
• With promising results from emerging therapies, research yields hope for amyloidosis
• 'Bickering' flies make evolutionary point
• Tangled threads weave through cosmic oddity
• Changes in cooperation around natural resources more disruptive than declines in resource availability
• 'Ghost imaging' with atoms demonstrated
• Astronomers watch star clusters spewing out dust
• The coldest decade of the millennium?
• Sniffing like a dog can improve trace detection of explosives
• Alcohol intake associated with increased risk of melanoma
• Study of thousands of operations suggests that overlapping surgeries are safe
• New process produces hydrogen at much lower temperature
• Attempted suicide rates, risk groups essentially unchanged, new study shows
• Predation on pollinating insects shaped the evolution of the orchid mantis
• Making graphene using laser-induced phase separation
• New computational model provides a tool for improving the production of valuable drugs
• Protective barrier inside chromosomes helps to keep cells healthy
• Can creativity beat death? New study suggests creatives worry less about dying
• Multiple sclerosis: Newly discovered signal mechanism causes T cells to turn pathogenic
• Use your words: Written prisoner interactions predict whether they’ll clean up their acts
• Pathogen's motility triggers immune response
• Star of Bethlehem may not be a star after all
• Vitamin D status in newborns and risk of MS in later life
• Black phosphorus doesn't mind water (if it is de-aerated)
• Can research methods from different disciplines work together?
• Fires set by Ice Age hunters destroyed forests throughout Europe
• New study describes 200 million years of geological evolution
• World first MRI study sheds light on heart damage during kidney dialysis
• Metabolite that promotes cancer cell transformation and colorectal cancer spread identified
• Improving the mechanical properties of polymer gels through molecular design
• Foodborne salmonella infections in Denmark reach historic low
• Economists examined US legal cannabis sector to gauge value of banking services
• Imaging technique can see you think
• New imaging method can detect, monitor and guide treatment for, prostate cancer
• Surgeons remove thyroid gland through hidden incision underneath the lip
• Online insomnia program can improve sleep for many, study finds
• Cloud in a box: Mixing aerosols and turbulence

White deaths exceeded births in one-third of states Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:50 PM PST More whites died than were born in a record high 17 states in 2014 compared to just four in 2004, according to new research. Some 121 million people representing 38 percent of the U.S. population reside in these states: California, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Arkansas, Delaware, Nevada, Maine, Alabama, Connecticut, New Mexico, West Virginia and Rhode Island.

Embryonic cluster galaxy immersed in giant cloud of cold gas Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:46 PM PST Astronomers studying a cluster of still-forming protogalaxies seen as they were more than 10 billion years ago have found that a giant galaxy in the center of the cluster is forming from a surprisingly-dense soup of molecular gas.

A watershed moment in understanding how water conducts electricity Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:45 PM PST Scientists have taken spectroscopic snapshots of nature's most mysterious relay race: the passage of extra protons from one water molecule to another during conductivity. The finding represents a major benchmark in our knowledge of how water conducts a positive electrical charge.

Climate cycles may explain how running water carved Mars' surface features Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:42 PM PST Dramatic climate cycles on early Mars, triggered by buildup of greenhouse gases, may be the key to understanding how liquid water left its mark on the planet's surface, according to a team of planetary scientists.

Increasing tornado outbreaks: Is climate change responsible? Posted: 01 Dec 2016 01:17 PM PST In a new study, researchers looked at increasing trends in the severity of tornado outbreaks where they measured severity by the number of tornadoes per outbreak. They found that these trends are increasing fastest for the most extreme outbreaks. While they saw changes in meteorological quantities that are consistent with these upward trends, the meteorological trends were not the ones expected under climate change.

Gut microbes promote motor deficits in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:21 AM PST Gut microbes may play a critical role in the development of Parkinson's-like movement disorders in genetically predisposed mice, researchers report. Antibiotic treatment reduced motor deficits and molecular hallmarks of Parkinson's disease in a mouse model, whereas transplantation of gut microbes from patients with Parkinson's disease exacerbated symptoms in these mice. The findings could lead to new treatment strategies for the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States.

How Zika infects the growing brain Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:19 AM PST The fast-spreading Zika virus can take multiple routes into developing human nerve cells, research demonstrates. Around the world, hundreds of women infected with the Zika virus have given birth to children suffering from microcephaly or other brain defects, as the virus attacks key cells responsible for generating neurons and building the brain as the embryo develops.

Diabetes advance: Cells produce insulin upon artemisinin treatment Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:17 AM PST FDA-approved artemisinins, which have been used for decades to treat malaria, transform glucagon-producing alpha cells in the pancreas into insulin producing cells, researchers report.

New role for Hippo pathway in suppressing cancer immunity Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:16 AM PST Previous studies identified the Hippo pathway kinases LATS1/2 as a tumor suppressor, but new research reveals a surprising role for these enzymes in subduing cancer immunity. The findings could have a clinical role in improving efficiency of immunotherapy drugs.

Autism spectrum disorders: New genetic cause of identified Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:15 AM PST Autism spectrum disorders affect around one percent of the world's population and are characterized by a range of difficulties in social interaction and communication. In a new study, a research team has identified a new genetic cause of ASD.

Detailed images of NMDA receptors help explain how zinc and a drug affect their function Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:14 AM PST The difference between mental health and mental illness can turn on changes in brain cells and their connections that are almost incomprehensibly tiny, at least in physical terms. This irony is brought to light by X-ray crystallography, a method that enables neuroscientists to map the structure of brain proteins atom by atom, using high-energy X-rays.

First structural map of cystic fibrosis protein sheds light on how mutations cause disease Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:14 AM PST Scientists have created the first three-dimensional map of the protein responsible for cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease for which there is no cure. This achievement offers the kinds of insights essential to better understanding and treating this often-fatal disease, which clogs the lungs with sticky mucus, leading to breathing problems or respiratory infections.

Restaurants not good at explaining risks of undercooked meat to customers Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:12 AM PST Front-line staff, such as servers in restaurants, are often trusted with providing customers with food safety information regarding their meals. A challenge to the food-service industry is that these positions have high turnover, relatively low wages and servers are focused primarily on providing patrons with a positive experience. And new research shows that this poses a problem.

Novel compound to alleviate pain and itch discovered Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:12 AM PST A possible drug candidate that suppresses pain and itch in animal models has been discovered by researchers. Their new approach also reduces the potential for drug abuse and avoids the most common side effects--sedation and anxiety--of drugs designed to target the nervous system's kappa opioid receptors (KORs).

Gut microbe movements regulate host circadian rhythms Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:11 AM PST Even gut microbes have a routine. Like clockwork, they start their day in one part of the intestinal lining, move a few micrometers to the left, maybe the right, and then return to their original position. New research in mice now reveals that the regular timing of these small movements can influence a host animal's circadian rhythms by exposing gut tissue to different microbes and their metabolites as the day goes by. Disruption of this dance can affect the host.

Multi-institutional collaboration uncovers how molecular machines assemble Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:11 AM PST Ribosomes -- macromolecular machines consisting of RNA and proteins that twist, fold and turn -- are responsible for making all of the protein within a cell and could hold the key to deciphering a range of diseases. Despite the intricacies of ribosomes, cells are able to churn out 100,000 of them every hour. But because they assemble so speedily, researchers haven't been able to figure out how they come together.

Computer learns to recognize sounds by watching video Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:10 AM PST In recent years, computers have gotten remarkably good at recognizing speech and images: Think of the dictation software on most cellphones, or the algorithms that automatically identify people in photos posted to Facebook. But recognition of natural sounds has lagged behind. That's because most automated recognition systems, whether they process audio or visual information, are the result of machine learning, in which computers search for patterns in huge compendia of training data, say investigators.

Significant progress against HIV epidemic in Africa Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:05 AM PST HIV 90-90-90 goals are in reach in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia, say researchers, adding that new infections are falling. The percent of the population infected with HIV is stabilizing, and over half of all people living with HIV are virally suppressed, the investigators have found.

With promising results from emerging therapies, research yields hope for amyloidosis Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:03 AM PST Two new treatments are showing promise and overall survival is on the rise for AL amyloidosis, according to a series of studies. Immunoglobulin light-chain amyloidosis (AL) is a rare, life-threatening disease that occurs when toxic proteins build up in organs, which alters their normal function.

'Bickering' flies make evolutionary point Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:03 AM PST When a male fruit fly gets aggressive, he rears up on his back four legs and batters his foe with his front pair. Neither fly seems particularly damaged by the encounter, but their subsequent actions are telling about the ways of social evolution, according to an evolutionary biologist.

Tangled threads weave through cosmic oddity Posted: 01 Dec 2016 09:02 AM PST New observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have revealed the intricate structure of the galaxy NGC 4696 in greater detail than ever before. The elliptical galaxy is a beautiful cosmic oddity with a bright core wrapped in system of dark, swirling, thread-like filaments.

Changes in cooperation around natural resources more disruptive than declines in resource availability Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:56 AM PST A new study combines social and physical science in new ways, seeking to understand how changes in Arctic resource-sharing behaviors could affect highly cooperative communities and the households within.

'Ghost imaging' with atoms demonstrated Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:55 AM PST A team of physicists in Australia has used a technique known as 'ghost imaging' to create an image of an object from atoms that never interact with it. This is the first time that ghost imaging has been achieved using atoms, although it has previously been demonstrated with light, leading to applications being developed for imaging and remote sensing through turbulent environments.

Astronomers watch star clusters spewing out dust Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:55 AM PST Galaxies are often thought of as sparkling with stars, but they also contain gas and dust. Now, a team of astronomers has used new data to show that stars are responsible for producing dust on galactic scales, a finding consistent with long-standing theory. Dust is important because it is a key component of rocky planets such as Earth.

The coldest decade of the millennium? Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:53 AM PST While searching through historical archives to find out more about the 15th-century climate of what is now Belgium, northern France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, a researcher noticed something odd. Compared with other decades of the last millennium, many of the 1430s' winters and some springs were extremely cold in the Low Countries, as well as in other parts of Europe.

Sniffing like a dog can improve trace detection of explosives Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:53 AM PST Scientists have developed an artificial dog nose that mimics the 'active sniffing' of dogs and can increase vapor detection up to 16-fold.

Alcohol intake associated with increased risk of melanoma Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:52 AM PST Alcohol intake was associated with higher rates of invasive melanoma among white men and women, according to a study. White wine carried the most significant association, and the increased risk was greater for parts of the body that receive less sun exposure, the study showed.

Study of thousands of operations suggests that overlapping surgeries are safe Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:51 AM PST A common way of scheduling surgeries to expand patient access to care and improve hospital efficiency, known as "overlapping surgeries," is as safe and provides the same outcomes for patients as non-overlapping surgeries, a study has found.

New process produces hydrogen at much lower temperature Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:51 AM PST Researchers have developed a new method for producing hydrogen, which is fast, irreversible, and takes place at much lower temperature using less energy. This innovation is expected to contribute to the spread of fuel cell systems for automobiles and homes.

Attempted suicide rates, risk groups essentially unchanged, new study shows Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:49 AM PST Researchers have analyzed over 3 million suicide attempt-related emergency department visits between 2006 and 2013, and have concluded that attempted suicides and risk groups basically did not change over that time.

Predation on pollinating insects shaped the evolution of the orchid mantis Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:48 AM PST Female orchid mantis adults mimic the appearance of flowers due to their ancestors' association with flowers to capitalize on an easy source of food, pollinating insects, researchers have discovered.

Making graphene using laser-induced phase separation Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:46 AM PST All our smart phones have shiny flat AMOLED displays. Behind each single pixel of these displays hide at least two silicon transistors which were mass-manufactured using laser annealing technologies. While the traditional methods to make them uses temperatures above 1,000°C, the laser technique reaches the same results at low temperatures even on plastic substrates (melting temperature below 300°C). Interestingly, a similar procedure can be used to generate crystals of graphene.

New computational model provides a tool for improving the production of valuable drugs Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:45 AM PST An extensive study involving partners from five continents has resulted in a model describing the metabolism of Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO). This model can be used to improve and accelerate the production of biotherapeutics, cancer drugs, and vaccines.

Protective barrier inside chromosomes helps to keep cells healthy Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:44 AM PST Fresh insights into the structures that contain our genetic material could explain how the body's cells stay healthy. A protective barrier formed inside each of our chromosomes helps to prevent errors occurring when cells divide, researchers say. The study sheds light on the precise interplay between key factors inside chromosomes that leads to the formation of the barrier.

Can creativity beat death? New study suggests creatives worry less about dying Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:44 AM PST Creative people, such as newly-announced Nobel Prize for Literature winner Bob Dylan, are often thought to be motivated by the desire to leave an enduring cultural legacy. Through their creative work, creatives such as Leonard Cohen and David Bowie continue to live on in our culture even after passing away.

Multiple sclerosis: Newly discovered signal mechanism causes T cells to turn pathogenic Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:43 AM PST Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the patient's own cells. In this case, modified T cells destroy the myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells. Myelin protects the neural pathways and is thus essential to the ability of nerve cells to transmit information. A recent study has demonstrated that a substance known as interleukin 6 (IL-6) plays an important role in instructing T cells to cause damage to myelin sheaths in the central nervous system.

Use your words: Written prisoner interactions predict whether they’ll clean up their acts Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:27 AM PST The evolution of how prisoners in substance-abuse programs communicate is a good indicator of whether they'll return to crime, new research has found.

Pathogen's motility triggers immune response Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:25 AM PST Until now, a pathogen's ability to move through the body has been overlooked as a possible trigger of immune response, but new research has found that motility will indeed alarm the host and activate an immune response.

Star of Bethlehem may not be a star after all Posted: 01 Dec 2016 08:25 AM PST Studying historical, astronomical and biblical records, Grant Mathews, University of Notre Dame professor, believes the event that led the Magi was an extremely rare planetary alignment occurring in 6 B.C., and the likes of which may never be seen again.

Vitamin D status in newborns and risk of MS in later life Posted: 01 Dec 2016 07:17 AM PST Babies born with low levels of vitamin D may be more likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life than babies with higher levels of vitamin D, according to a study.

Black phosphorus doesn't mind water (if it is de-aerated) Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:30 AM PST Researchers have disproved the idea that water degrades black phosphorus and find the material is actually hydrophobic, outlines a new report.

Can research methods from different disciplines work together? Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:28 AM PST A new article exploring how to make research methods from different disciplines work together has been published by experts. The article's recommendations are based on the experience of organizing an enormous multidisciplinary project. With an emphasis on multidisciplinary research growing in the academy and social policy alike, this new article offers valuable insight to researchers and teams involved in collaborations between different specialisms.

Fires set by Ice Age hunters destroyed forests throughout Europe Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:28 AM PST Large-scale forest fires started by prehistoric hunter-gatherers are probably the reason why Europe is not more densely forested, researchers report.

New study describes 200 million years of geological evolution Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:28 AM PST 200 million years of geological evolution of a fault in Earth's crust has recently been dated. These new findings may be used to shed light on poorly understood pathways for methane release from the heart of our planet.

World first MRI study sheds light on heart damage during kidney dialysis Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:27 AM PST Experts in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and kidney disease have carried out the first ever scans to study the heart function of kidney patients while they are having dialysis treatment.

Metabolite that promotes cancer cell transformation and colorectal cancer spread identified Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:26 AM PST The metabolite D-2-hydroxyglurate (D-2HG) promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition of colorectal cancer cells, leading them to develop features of lower adherence to neighboring cells, increased invasiveness, and greater likelihood of metastatic spread. This finding highlights the value of targeting D-2HG to establish new therapeutic approaches against colorectal cancer.

Improving the mechanical properties of polymer gels through molecular design Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:26 AM PST A new approach to strengthen polymer gels has been developed by changing the length of polymer "thread" per molecular "bead".

Foodborne salmonella infections in Denmark reach historic low Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:26 AM PST A record low number of foodborne salmonella cases were registered in Denmark in 2015. While travel remains the leading cause of salmonella infections, no cases have been attributed to Danish eggs for the first time in the almost 30-year history of the salmonella source account. .

Economists examined US legal cannabis sector to gauge value of banking services Posted: 01 Dec 2016 06:26 AM PST Despite the many innovative services in the digital age, conventional banking remains important to newly-established businesses; banking cannot yet be replaced by online financial services such as crowdfunding or PayPal, according to a recent study. The economic researchers investigated what role the traditional banks play for newly-founded companies within a highly-developed economy based on the unique example of the US cannabis industry. They found that both the credit and transaction services traditionally provided by banks are key.

Imaging technique can see you think Posted: 30 Nov 2016 11:40 AM PST Fast fMRI has been used to image rapidly fluctuating brain activity during human thought. fMRI measures changes in blood oxygenation, which were previously thought to be too slow to detect the subtle neuronal activity associated with higher order brain functions. The new discovery is a significant step towards realizing a central goal of neuroscience research: mapping the brain networks responsible for human cognitive functions such as perception, attention, and awareness.

New imaging method can detect, monitor and guide treatment for, prostate cancer Posted: 30 Nov 2016 11:40 AM PST An international group of researchers report success in mice of a method of using positron emission tomography (PET) scans to track, in real time, an antibody targeting a hormone receptor pathway specifically involved in prostate cancer.

Surgeons remove thyroid gland through hidden incision underneath the lip Posted: 30 Nov 2016 11:40 AM PST A team of surgeons has performed the first endoscopic transoral thyroidectomy in New York, and one of the first of its kind in the nation.

Online insomnia program can improve sleep for many, study finds Posted: 30 Nov 2016 11:13 AM PST An online program designed to help people overcome insomnia significantly improves both the amount and quality of sleep, a new study has found. The study is the first to look closely at the effects of the Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi) program on people with health conditions that could be affecting their sleep.

Cloud in a box: Mixing aerosols and turbulence Posted: 30 Nov 2016 11:12 AM PST Cleaner clouds also have a much wider variability in droplet size, new research indicates. And the way those droplets form could have serious implications for weather and climate change.

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