ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Keeping older drivers on the road
• Forensic science used to determine who's who in pre-Columbian Peru
• Changes in brain's blood flow could cause 'brain freeze'
• Soy protein alleviates symptoms of fatty liver disease, study suggests
• What did the scientist say to the sommelier? 'Show me the proof'
• Why one bacterial infection is so deadly in cystic fibrosis patients: Pathogen interferes with cells whose job is to fight infection
• Potential vaccine carrier may give stockpiling efforts a shot in the arm
• Avocado oil: The ‘olive oil of the Americas’?
• Seeking HIV treatment clues in the neem tree
• Estrogen hormone reveals protective ability after traumatic brain injury
• Hyperbaric oxygen could provide relief of chronic pain
• Chemists explain the molecular workings of promising fuel cell electrolyte
• Self-assembling highly conductive plastic nanofibers
• Second-generation drug used for hypertension aids heart function independent of blood pressure effect, study suggests
• 'Housekeeping' mechanism for brain stem cells discovered
• New ecological model for deep-water oil spills
• Tax on salt could reduce cardiovascular disease deaths by 3 percent, experts say
• Extent of Illinois' Asian carp problem detailed
• New genetic mechanism of immune deficiency discovered
• Women with heart disease more likely to have baby girls

Keeping older drivers on the road Posted: 22 Apr 2012 08:24 PM PDT Scientists are designing new systems to help older people drive safely for longer in an effort to help them retain their independence.

Forensic science used to determine who's who in pre-Columbian Peru Posted: 22 Apr 2012 08:18 PM PDT Analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been used to establish migration and population patterns for American indigenous cultures during the time before Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas. New research has used more detailed DNA analysis of individuals from Arequipa region to identify the family relationships and burial traditions of ancient Peru.

Changes in brain's blood flow could cause 'brain freeze' Posted: 22 Apr 2012 08:17 PM PDT 'Brain freeze' is a nearly universal experience -- almost everyone has felt the near-instantaneous headache brought on by a bite of ice cream or slurp of ice-cold soda on the upper palate. However, scientists are still at a loss to explain this phenomenon. Since migraine sufferers are more likely to experience brain freeze than people who don't have this often-debilitating condition, brain freeze may share a common mechanism with other types of headaches, including those brought on by the trauma of blast-related combat injuries in soldiers. One possible link between brain freeze and other headache types is local changes in brain blood flow.

Soy protein alleviates symptoms of fatty liver disease, study suggests Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:24 PM PDT Soy protein could significantly reduce fat accumulation and triglycerides in the livers of obese patients by partially restoring the function of a key signaling pathway in the organ, according to new research.

What did the scientist say to the sommelier? 'Show me the proof' Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:24 PM PDT What does lemon pan sauce chicken have to do with biochemistry and molecular biology? Some will say that successful execution of the dish requires the Maillard reaction, a chemical process that's responsible for the flavors and colors in a variety of food.

Why one bacterial infection is so deadly in cystic fibrosis patients: Pathogen interferes with cells whose job is to fight infection Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:24 PM PDT The bacterium Burkholderia cenocepacia is harmless in healthy people but causes a severe and persistent lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients and is resistant to nearly all known antibiotics. The bacterium interferes with an important survival process in cells whose job is to fight infection. This phenomenon is even stronger in CF patients, new research shows.

Potential vaccine carrier may give stockpiling efforts a shot in the arm Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:22 PM PDT A new potential vaccine carrier may extend the shelf life of and aid in the stockpiling of critical vaccines. A new microemulsion has been found to be both stable and a good candidate for delivering a variety of antigens.

Avocado oil: The ‘olive oil of the Americas’? Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:22 PM PDT Researchers have found that consuming fruit bolsters cells' power centers against harmful free radicals.

Seeking HIV treatment clues in the neem tree Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:22 PM PDT Preliminary data hint at how extracts from the tree, abundant in tropical and subtropical areas, may stop the virus from multiplying.

Estrogen hormone reveals protective ability after traumatic brain injury Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:22 PM PDT With more than 1.7 million people sustaining a traumatic brain injury each year, the need to identify processes to limit inflammation and subsequent damage is critical. New research demonstrates that estrone provides anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capabilities that are important after traumatic brain injury.

Hyperbaric oxygen could provide relief of chronic pain Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:22 PM PDT Chronic pain affects about 76 million people in the U.S. and carries an economic burden of nearly $100 billion annually. The most frequently used medications, narcotic and non-narcotic analgesic drugs (e.g., morphine, ibuprofen, etc.), do not provide complete or sustained relief of chronic pain. Scientists are currently seeking alternative solutions for chronic pain management. One possible solution is hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy.

Chemists explain the molecular workings of promising fuel cell electrolyte Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:49 AM PDT Researchers have revealed how protons move in phosphoric acid in a study that sheds new light on the workings of a promising fuel cell electrolyte.

Self-assembling highly conductive plastic nanofibers Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:48 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded in making highly conductive plastic fibers that are only several nanometers thick. These nanowires "self-assemble" when triggered by a flash of light. Inexpensive and easy to handle, unlike carbon nanotubes, they combine the advantages of the two materials currently used to conduct electric current: metals and plastic organic polymers. In fact, their remarkable electrical properties are similar to those of metals. In addition, they are light and flexible like plastics, which opens up the possibility of meeting one of the most important challenges of 21st century electronics: miniaturizing components down to the nanometric scale.

Second-generation drug used for hypertension aids heart function independent of blood pressure effect, study suggests Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:48 AM PDT The anti-hypertensive drug moxonidine can improve heart function and survival independent of its effect on blood pressure, new research shows.

'Housekeeping' mechanism for brain stem cells discovered Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:48 AM PDT Researchers have identified a molecular pathway that controls the retention and release of the brain's stem cells. The discovery offers new insights into normal and abnormal neurologic development and could eventually lead to regenerative therapies for neurologic disease and injury.

New ecological model for deep-water oil spills Posted: 21 Apr 2012 05:39 PM PDT On the second anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform blowout, a national panel of researchers is providing new insight into what happened in the disaster, as well as a guide for how to deal with such events in the future, and why existing tools were inadequate to predict what lay before them.

Tax on salt could reduce cardiovascular disease deaths by 3 percent, experts say Posted: 21 Apr 2012 05:39 PM PDT Voluntary industry reductions in salt content and taxation on products containing salt in 19 developing countries could reduce the number of deaths each year from cardiovascular disease by 2-3 percent in these countries.

Extent of Illinois' Asian carp problem detailed Posted: 21 Apr 2012 05:37 PM PDT Asian carp now make up more than 60 percent of the total fish biomass in one of Illinois' major river systems.

New genetic mechanism of immune deficiency discovered Posted: 20 Apr 2012 11:38 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a mutation in the gene Unc119, which causes an immune deficiency known as CD4 lymphopenia.

Women with heart disease more likely to have baby girls Posted: 20 Apr 2012 07:57 AM PDT Women with heart disease are more likely to give birth to female rather than male babies according to a new study.

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