Science News SciGuru.com

Palm Oil Massive Source of Carbon Dioxide
Living near Livestock May Increase Risk of Acquiring MRSA
Transplanted Neural Stem Cells Produced Myelin
Researchers Develop Neuroimaging Technique Capturing Cocaine's Devastating Effect on Brain Blood Flow
Scientists Pinpoint Gene Variations Linked to Higher Risk of Bipolar Disorder
Parenting More Important Than Schools to Academic Achievement
Are liberal arts colleges disappearing?
Study proposes "swimways" to help save migratory fish
Cold cases heat up through Lawrence Livemore approach to identifying remains
Biologists Describe Details of New Mechanism for Molecular Interactions
Flexibility of Cancer Cells, a Biomarker for Invasive Potential
New tools to aid in recycling flat-screen monitors, TVs
Angry? Sad? Ashamed? Depressed people can't tell difference
A problem shared is a problem halved
Does Immune Dysfunction Contribute To Schizophrenia?
Energy from Wisconsin cow manure could replace a coal plant

Palm Oil Massive Source of Carbon Dioxide

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 02:46 PM PDT

Expanding production of palm oil, a common ingredient in processed foods, soaps and personal care products, is driving rainforest destruction and massive carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study by Yale and Stanford researchers.

The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that deforestation for the development of oil palm plantations in Indonesian Borneo is becoming a globally significant source of carbon dioxide emissions.

Living near Livestock May Increase Risk of Acquiring MRSA

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 12:44 PM PDT

People who live near livestock or in livestock farming communities may be at greater risk of acquiring, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), according to a new study led by an international team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

Transplanted Neural Stem Cells Produced Myelin

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 12:35 PM PDT

A Phase I clinical trial led by investigators from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and sponsored by Stem Cells Inc., showed that neural stem cells successfully engrafted into the brains of patients and appear to have produced myelin.

The study, published in Wednesday's issue of Science Translational Medicine, also demonstrated that the neural stem cells were safe in the patients’ brains one year post transplant.

Researchers Develop Neuroimaging Technique Capturing Cocaine's Devastating Effect on Brain Blood Flow

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 12:21 PM PDT

Researchers from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University have developed a high-resolution, 3D optical Doppler imaging tomography technique that captures the effects of cocaine restricting the blood supply in vessels – including small capillaries – of the brain. The study, reported in Molecular Psychiatry, and with images on the journal’s October 2012 cover, illustrates the first use of the novel neuroimaging technique and provides evidence of cocaine-induced cerebral microischemia, which can cause stroke.

Scientists Pinpoint Gene Variations Linked to Higher Risk of Bipolar Disorder

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 12:10 PM PDT

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified small variations in a number of genes that are closely linked to an increased risk of bipolar disorder, a mental illness that affects nearly six million Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Parenting More Important Than Schools to Academic Achievement

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 12:06 PM PDT

New research from North Carolina State University, Brigham Young University and the University of California, Irvine finds that parental involvement is a more significant factor in a child’s academic performance than the qualities of the school itself.

Are liberal arts colleges disappearing?

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT

Liberal arts colleges continue redefining their historical missions or flat-out disappearing – a trend that threatens to diminish America’s renowned higher education system, argues a study co-authored by a Michigan State University scholar.

Of the 212 liberal arts colleges identified in a landmark 1990 study, only 130 remain in their traditional form – a 39 percent reduction, according to the new research.

Study proposes "swimways" to help save migratory fish

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 10:55 AM PDT

A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher says states should be looking to the skies in order to save fish.

Brenda Pracheil, a postdoctoral fellow at the UW-Madison Center for Limnology, thinks it's time for fish to garner the same protection afforded migratory birds. Migratory birds are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, and state collaboration and federal oversight span borders and encompass large conservation efforts in migratory flyways, especially for waterfowl.

Cold cases heat up through Lawrence Livemore approach to identifying remains

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 10:14 AM PDT

In an effort to identify the thousands of John/Jane Doe cold cases in the United States, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher and a team of international collaborators have found a multidisciplinary approach to identifying the remains of missing persons.

Using “bomb pulse” radiocarbon analysis developed at Lawrence Livermore, combined with recently developed anthropological analysis and forensic DNA techniques, the researchers were able to identify the remains of a missing child 41 years after the discovery of the body.

Biologists Describe Details of New Mechanism for Molecular Interactions

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 09:18 AM PDT

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, with collaborators from Harvard University, the University of Madrid, Princeton University, and the University of Zurich, have discovered a new mechanism that may alter principle understandings of molecular interactions within a cell’s nucleus. The discovery illustrates how two proteins of the human adenovirus use DNA as an efficient form of transportation inside a newly synthesized virus particle.

Flexibility of Cancer Cells, a Biomarker for Invasive Potential

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 09:00 AM PDT

A new finding suggests that cell stiffness can be used as a biomarker to assess metastatic potential of cancer cells. The study demonstrated decreased cell stiffness in malignant ovarian cancer cells.

New tools to aid in recycling flat-screen monitors, TVs

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 08:56 AM PDT

Millions of flat-screen monitors and television sets will soon become obsolete, posing environmental hazards, and Purdue University researchers are developing tools to help industry efficiently recycle the products.

Liquid crystal displays manufactured before 2009 use cold cathode fluorescent lamps, or CCFLs, to backlight the display. The CCFL displays contain mercury, making them hazardous to dispose of or incinerate.

Angry? Sad? Ashamed? Depressed people can't tell difference

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 08:52 AM PDT

Clinically depressed people have a hard time telling the difference between negative emotions such as anger and guilt, a new University of Michigan study found.

The ability to distinguish between various emotional experiences affects how individuals deal with life stressors, said Emre Demiralp, a researcher in the U-M Department of Psychology and the lead author of the study recently published in Psychological Science.

A problem shared is a problem halved

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 07:24 AM PDT

The experience of being bullied is particularly detrimental to the psychological health of school girls who don’t have social support from either adults or peers, according to a new study by Dr. Martin Guhn and colleagues from the University of British Columbia in Canada. In contrast, social support from adults or peers (or both) appears to lessen the negative consequences of bullying in this group, namely anxiety and depression. The work is published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies.

Does Immune Dysfunction Contribute To Schizophrenia?

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 07:19 AM PDT

A new study reinforces the finding that a region of the genome involved in immune system function, called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), is involved in the genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is among the most disabling psychiatric disorders. Approximately 80% of the risk for developing schizophrenia is heritable, but there has been slow progress in identifying genetic variation that contributes to the risk for schizophrenia.

Energy from Wisconsin cow manure could replace a coal plant

Posted: 10 Oct 2012 07:12 AM PDT

According to a recent Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative (WBI) study, Wisconsin can be a national leader in bioenergy production using waste from the state's prosperous agriculture and food processing sectors.

In dairy cow manure alone, the report found 4.77 million dry tons available per year, which is the potential energy equivalent of replacing a large-scale coal plant.