ScienceDaily: Top News

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• 'Spooky' sightings in crystal point to extremely rare quantum spin liquid
• Doctors' burnout should be treated as organization-wide problem, new research suggests
• Yo-yo dieting might cause extra weight gain
• Detective work across dingo fence reveals new factor in woody shrub invasion
• Uncovering a 'smoking gun' in age-related disease
• Long-term, low-intensity smoking associated with increased risks of death
• Extreme downpours could increase fivefold across parts of the US
• Traditional Japanese art inspires a futuristic innovation: Brain 'organoids'
• Genetic factors control regenerative properties of blood-forming stem cells
• Wise plant analysis: Identifying plant metabolites
• Making spines from sea water
• Availability of human food shortens and disrupts bears' hibernation
• Guppies: Study sorts the maths whizzes from the dunces
• Avoiding spiritual struggles and existential questions is linked with poorer mental health
• Study shows promising clinical activity, safety results of KTE-C19 in aggressive B-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma
• New mechanism to control human viral infections discovered
• Superior crystals grow from levitating droplets
• Re-emergence of syphilis traced to pandemic strain cluster
• Why the flounder is flat
• Drug/catheter combination for labor induction could save women 2.4 million hours of labor annually, study shows
• 'Shock and kill' strategy for curing HIV may endanger patients' brains
• Leukemia drug combo is encouraging in early phase I clinical trial
• Confronting the psychological demands on endurance athletes
• Protein synthesis: Ribosome recycling as a drug target
• First detection of ammonia in the upper troposphere
• Time constraints and the competition determine a hunter's decision to shoot
• Filling need for fast, accurate assessment of blood's ability to clot
• Baby boomers on dope: Recreational marijuana use is on the rise among adults over 50
• A handful of nuts a day cuts the risk of a wide range of diseases
• UK Winter 2015/2016 floods: One of the century's most extreme and severe flood episodes
• Stereochemistry: Self-amplifying selectivity
• Researchers uncover protein-based 'cancer signature'
• ALMA measures size of seeds of planets
• Role of molecular modification in determining physical activity levels revealed
• Highly efficient genome engineering in flowering plants
• Research points to Orb2 as a physical substrate for memory strength, retention
• Biomarker may predict which formerly treated cancer patients will develop highly fatal form of leukemia
• After one dose of gene therapy, hemophilia B patients maintain near-normal levels of clotting factor
• CD19-targeting CAR T-cell immunotherapy yields high responses in treatment-resistant CLL
• New aspect of atom mimicry for nanotechnology applications
• Hearing deficits in schizophrenia tied to specific brain receptor
• Preventing Zika from blood transfusions
• Tablet-based tool helps epilepsy patients learn self-management skills
• New method improves stability, extends shelf life of protein drugs
• New tool uses UV light to control inflammation
• Treatment significantly reduces chemotherapy-induced hearing loss in children

'Spooky' sightings in crystal point to extremely rare quantum spin liquid Posted: 05 Dec 2016 09:05 AM PST Little is rarer than an observable quantum spin liquid, but now, tests reveal that a synthetic crystal with ytterbium as its base may house one at near absolute zero. It joins an extremely short list of materials believed house myriads of particles joined together in an observable vast, shared entanglement, or "spooky action at a distance."

Doctors' burnout should be treated as organization-wide problem, new research suggests Posted: 05 Dec 2016 09:05 AM PST Current approaches to dealing with burnouts in doctors on an individual case-by-case basis is not effective and the issue should instead be tackled with organization-wide initiatives, according to researchers.

Yo-yo dieting might cause extra weight gain Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:39 AM PST Repeated dieting may lead to weight gain because the brain interprets the diets as short famines and urges the person to store more fat for future shortages, new research suggests.

Detective work across dingo fence reveals new factor in woody shrub invasion Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:38 AM PST Extermination of dingoes and the consequent loss of small mammals – not just overgrazing by livestock – have led to a rapid spread of woody weed shrubs across semi-arid Australia, a new study shows.

Uncovering a 'smoking gun' in age-related disease Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:36 AM PST Aging is a key risk factor for a variety of devastating, chronic diseases, yet the biological factors that influence when and how rapidly cells deteriorate over time remain largely unknown. Now, for the first time, a research team has linked the function of a core component of cells' machinery -- which cuts and rejoins RNA molecules in a process known as "RNA splicing" -- with longevity in the roundworm. The finding sheds light on the biological role of splicing in lifespan and suggests that manipulating specific splicing factors in humans might help promote healthy aging.

Long-term, low-intensity smoking associated with increased risks of death Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:35 AM PST Low-intensity smokers who puff on 10 or less cigarettes per day over their lifetime still have higher risks of death than individuals who never smoke, providing further evidence that there is no safe level of cigarette smoking, according to a study.

Extreme downpours could increase fivefold across parts of the US Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:34 AM PST At century's end, the number of summertime storms that produce extreme downpours could increase by more than 400 percent across parts of the United States — including sections of the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast, and the Southwest — according to a new study.

Traditional Japanese art inspires a futuristic innovation: Brain 'organoids' Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:31 AM PST The ancient Japanese art of flower arranging was the inspiration for a groundbreaking technique to create tiny "artificial brains" that could be used to develop personalized cancer treatments.

Genetic factors control regenerative properties of blood-forming stem cells Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:30 AM PST Two studies define how key genetic factors affect blood-forming stem cells by either accelerating or hindering the cells' regenerative properties. The findings could one day lead to improved treatments for people undergoing common therapies for cancer such as chemotherapy and radiation, say researchers.

Wise plant analysis: Identifying plant metabolites Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:29 AM PST Here's a reason not to peel tomatoes: A new method of plant analysis has identified healthful antioxidants in tomato skins. In fact, the new method reveals that biologically active plant substances typically associated with particular plant species – including those providing health benefits – are much more prevalent across the plant kingdom than was previously thought.

Making spines from sea water Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:28 AM PST How do creatures like sea urchins take up the calcium they need to build hard structures? A new study sheds some light on this mystery.

Availability of human food shortens and disrupts bears' hibernation Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:27 AM PST With winter approaching, bears all over the world are getting ready to hibernate. New research suggests that not all bears will spend entire winter in their dens, however, especially where baiting and other kinds of bear feeding is performed for hunting purposes and diversion from human settlements.

Guppies: Study sorts the maths whizzes from the dunces Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:24 AM PST Some guppies have a better sense of maths than others. It allows some to find the biggest shoal possible in which to be protected against predators, while others are better at choosing fruitful foraging ground.

Avoiding spiritual struggles and existential questions is linked with poorer mental health Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:10 AM PST Fear of confronting the tensions and conflicts brought on by existential concerns—the "big questions" of life—is linked with poorer mental health, including higher levels of depression, anxiety and difficulty regulating emotions, according to a new study.

Study shows promising clinical activity, safety results of KTE-C19 in aggressive B-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:10 AM PST Immune cellular therapy is a promising new area of cancer treatment. Anti-cancer therapeutics, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cells, can be engineered to target tumor-associated antigens to attack and kill cancer cells. This allows for an improved precision medicine approach to treating cancer.

New mechanism to control human viral infections discovered Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:10 AM PST A long-sought-after mechanism has been found in human cells that creates immunity to influenza A virus, which causes annual seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics.

Superior crystals grow from levitating droplets Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:09 AM PST Crystals that don't experience mechanical stress during growth, will be of superior quality. Researchers are looking into the ability to levitate the liquid metal in a new study.

Re-emergence of syphilis traced to pandemic strain cluster Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:09 AM PST Over the last few decades, an age-old infectious disease has been re-emerging globally: syphilis. Using techniques to analyze low levels of DNA, an international research team has now shown that all syphilis strains from modern patient samples share a common ancestor from the 1700s. Furthermore, their research demonstrates that strains dominating infections today originate from a pandemic cluster that emerged after 1950, and these strains share a worrying trait: resistance to the second-line antibiotic azithromycin.

Why the flounder is flat Posted: 05 Dec 2016 08:09 AM PST Scientists have long been puzzled by the flounder's asymmetrical physiology. The mechanism that triggers the unusual asymmetry has now been identified by comparing the genomes of two related fish species.

Drug/catheter combination for labor induction could save women 2.4 million hours of labor annually, study shows Posted: 05 Dec 2016 07:16 AM PST Labor induction is one of the most common medical procedures in the world, with nearly one-quarter of women who deliver in the U.S. undergoing the procedure each year (totaling roughly 1 million). Despite its widespread use, labor induction is costly and still has no widely accepted "best practice." Now, new research is showing what may be the best available method for inducing labor, which may be necessary under circumstances including medical conditions such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes or other health risks to the mom or baby.

'Shock and kill' strategy for curing HIV may endanger patients' brains Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:57 AM PST Combination drug treatments have become successful at long-term control of HIV infection, but the goal of totally wiping out the virus and curing patients has so far been stymied by HIV's ability to hide out in cells and become dormant for long periods of time. One of the proposed curative strategies for HIV, known as "shock and kill," may be harmful to patients' brains, warn researchers.

Leukemia drug combo is encouraging in early phase I clinical trial Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:57 AM PST In a Phase I study, 8 out of 12 patients with relapsed and/or chemotherapy refractory blood cancers responded to a combination of the chemotherapy drugs thioguanine and decitabine; some of the responders had relapsed after treatment with decitabine alone, report researchers.

Confronting the psychological demands on endurance athletes Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:56 AM PST What are the psychological demands commonly faced by endurance athletes? New research has identified psychological stressors common to endurance athletes across different sports at different performance levels. A new article underscores where researchers can make effective recommendations to athletes of all abilities in helping them cope with pervasive psychological difficulties. The new research is therefore an important set of findings for anyone interested in improving performance in endurance sports.

Protein synthesis: Ribosome recycling as a drug target Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:56 AM PST Researchers have elucidated a mechanism that recycles bacterial ribosomes stalled on messenger RNAs that lack termination codons. The protein involved provides a potential target for future antibiotics.

First detection of ammonia in the upper troposphere Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:56 AM PST Population is growing, climate is warming -- hence, emission of ammonia (NH3) trace gas from e.g. agriculture will increase worldwide. Recently, scientists for the first time have detected NH3 in the upper troposphere. They analyzed satellite measurements by the MIPAS infrared spectrometer and found increased amounts of NH3 between 12 and 15 km height in the area of the Asian monsoon. This suggests that the gas is responsible for the formation of aerosols, smallest particles that might contribute to cloud formation.

Time constraints and the competition determine a hunter's decision to shoot Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:56 AM PST What prompts a hunter to shoot an animal after it is spotted? Researchers studied more than 180,000 choice situations where hunters had spotted an animal and had to decide whether or not to shoot. They found that competition among hunters and the season coming to an end led to an increased likelihood of pulling the trigger. The research team has published an article in which they recommend that future wildlife management should take into account the social conditions surrounding hunting.

Filling need for fast, accurate assessment of blood's ability to clot Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:12 AM PST A portable sensor has been developed that can assess the clotting ability of a person's blood 95 times faster than current methods—using only a single drop of blood.

Baby boomers on dope: Recreational marijuana use is on the rise among adults over 50 Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:12 AM PST There is a common misperception that widespread marijuana use is limited to younger generations. However, the Baby Boomer generation has reported higher rates of substance use than any preceding generation.

A handful of nuts a day cuts the risk of a wide range of diseases Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:05 AM PST A large analysis of current research shows that people who eat at least 20g of nuts a day have a lower risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

UK Winter 2015/2016 floods: One of the century's most extreme and severe flood episodes Posted: 05 Dec 2016 06:05 AM PST A new scientific review of the winter floods of 2015/2016 confirms that the event was one of the most extreme and severe hydrological events of the last century.

Stereochemistry: Self-amplifying selectivity Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST A chemist has designed and synthesized a catalyst that flexibly molds the handedness of the reaction products with which it interacts.

Researchers uncover protein-based 'cancer signature' Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST A research team has investigated the expression of ribosomal proteins in a wide range of human tissues including tumors and discovered a cancer type specific signature. This "cancer signature" could potentially be used to predict the progression of the disease.

ALMA measures size of seeds of planets Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST Researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), have for the first time, achieved a precise size measurement of small dust particles around a young star through radio-wave polarization. ALMA's high sensitivity for detecting polarized radio waves made possible this important step in tracing the formation of planets around young stars.

Role of molecular modification in determining physical activity levels revealed Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST Researchers show modification of a gene product results in greater physical activity and reduced body weight in mice, thus boosting understanding of how physical activity is regulated at the cellular level in the nervous system.

Highly efficient genome engineering in flowering plants Posted: 05 Dec 2016 05:59 AM PST Plant biologists have developed a genome editing method to knockout target genes in a model plant with high efficiency. The team reports a new CRISPR/Cas9 vector for the model plant that can strongly induce inheritable mutations. This method is expected to become a powerful molecular tool for genome engineering in various plant species.

Research points to Orb2 as a physical substrate for memory strength, retention Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:48 PM PST How do you remember what happened today in the weeks and months that follow? Researchers have answered a piece of that question in a recent study.

Biomarker may predict which formerly treated cancer patients will develop highly fatal form of leukemia Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:45 PM PST Patients successfully treated for breast, colon and other cancers can go on to develop an often-fatal form of leukemia, sometimes years after completion of treatment, due to a genetic mutation leading to secondary malignancies known as therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs).

After one dose of gene therapy, hemophilia B patients maintain near-normal levels of clotting factor Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:45 PM PST Researchers are reporting the highest and most sustained levels to date of an essential blood-clotting factor IX in patients with the inherited bleeding disorder hemophilia B. After receiving a single dose of an experimental gene therapy in a clinical trial, patients with hemophilia produced near-normal levels of clotting factor IX, allowing them to stop clotting factor infusions and to pursue normal activities of daily life without disabling bleeding episodes.

CD19-targeting CAR T-cell immunotherapy yields high responses in treatment-resistant CLL Posted: 03 Dec 2016 12:45 PM PST In a small, early phase trial, a high percentage of patients who had exhausted most traditional treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia saw their tumors shrink or even disappear after an infusion of a highly targeted, experimental CAR T-cell immunotherapy.

New aspect of atom mimicry for nanotechnology applications Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:20 PM PST In nanotechnology, control is key. Control over the arrangements and distances between nanoparticles can allow tailored interaction strengths so that properties can be harnessed in devices such as plasmonic sensors. Now researchers use dendrimers that mimic the electron valency of atoms and link them into arrays using molecules that coordinate with the dendrimer as they would form a covalent electron pair in their valence shell - "electron pair mimicry".

Hearing deficits in schizophrenia tied to specific brain receptor Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST People with schizophrenia who have difficulty hearing subtle changes in pitch may be helped with auditory training exercises and a drug that targets NMDA receptors in the brain, report researchers.

Preventing Zika from blood transfusions Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST As the Zika epidemic spreads to the United States, the potential for contracting the disease via blood transfusion has emerged as a serious concern. The problem of transfusion-related Zika virus transmission—and recommended strategies to reduce that risk—are outlined in a new article.

Tablet-based tool helps epilepsy patients learn self-management skills Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST Epilepsy patients who want to learn how to manage their own unique symptoms can now get individualized information via tablet computer through a new research project.

New method improves stability, extends shelf life of protein drugs Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:08 PM PST A novel route for non-covalent protein modification has now been tested, and results reveal a new way to improve the stability of common protein drugs and extend shelf-life.

New tool uses UV light to control inflammation Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:07 PM PST Researchers have developed a chemical tool to control inflammation that is activated by ultraviolet (UV) light.

Treatment significantly reduces chemotherapy-induced hearing loss in children Posted: 02 Dec 2016 08:51 AM PST Sodium thiosulfate prevents cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children and adolescents with cancer, investigators have determined.

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