science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Σάββατο 2 Ιουνίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

An astronomical illumination: First observations of process linked to northern lights
Optical tweezers help researchers uncover key mechanics in cellular communication
A new method for picking the ‘right’ egg in IVF
Quantum Computers Will Be Able to Simulate Particle Collisions
Progressive exercise training decreases peripheral neuropathic pain
New understanding of terrestrial formation has significant and far reaching future implications
Arizona State University astronomers discover faintest distant galaxy

An astronomical illumination: First observations of process linked to northern lights

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 01:09 PM PDT

A University of Iowa researcher wants you to visualize a plate of spaghetti when you think of the northern lights.

That’s because Jack Scudder, UI professor of physics and astronomy, and his colleagues have reached a milestone in describing how the northern lights work by way of a process called “magnetic reconnection.”

The details are contained in a paper published in the June 5 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters; however, the process is best imagined as untangling twisted strands of spaghetti.

Optical tweezers help researchers uncover key mechanics in cellular communication

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 11:20 AM PDT

By using a laser microbeam technology called optical tweezers, UC Irvine and UCLA researchers have uncovered fundamental properties of a key molecular signaling system involved with development, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

A new method for picking the ‘right’ egg in IVF

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 09:55 AM PDT

In a groundbreaking study, Yale School of Medicine researchers and colleagues at the University of Oxford have identified the chromosomal make-up of a human egg. This discovery may soon allow them to avoid using abnormal — or aneuploid — eggs during infertility treatments, and instead to pick eggs that are healthy enough for a successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

The results are published in the May issue of the journal Human Reproduction.

Quantum Computers Will Be Able to Simulate Particle Collisions

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 09:44 AM PDT

Quantum computers are still years away, but a trio of theorists has already figured out at least one talent they may have. According to the theorists, including one from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), physicists might one day use quantum computers to study the inner workings of the universe in ways that are far beyond the reach of even the most powerful conventional supercomputers.

Progressive exercise training decreases peripheral neuropathic pain

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 09:34 AM PDT

Exercise helps to alleviate pain related to nerve damage (neuropathic pain) by reducing levels of certain inflammation-promoting factors, suggests an experimental study in the June issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

The results support exercise as a potentially useful nondrug treatment for neuropathic pain, and suggest that it may work by reducing inflammation-promoting substances called cytokines. The lead author was Yu-Wen Chen, PhD, of China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.

New understanding of terrestrial formation has significant and far reaching future implications

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 09:05 AM PDT

The current theory of continental drift provides a good model for understanding terrestrial processes through history. However, while plate tectonics is able to successfully shed light on processes up to 3 billion years ago, the theory isn’t sufficient in explaining the dynamics of the earth and crust formation before that point and through to the earliest formation of planet, some 4.6 billion years ago. This is the conclusion of Tomas Naæraa of the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, a part of the University of Copenhagen.

Arizona State University astronomers discover faintest distant galaxy

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 07:51 AM PDT

Astronomers at Arizona State University have found an exceptionally distant galaxy, ranked among the top 10 most distant objects currently known in space. Light from the recently detected galaxy left the object about 800 million years after the beginning of the universe, when the universe was in its infancy.