Πέμπτη 28 Φεβρουαρίου 2013

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Rapid, point-of-care tests for syphilis: The future of diagnosis

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

Scientists have demonstrated that rapid and point-of-care tests (POC) for syphilis are as accurate as conventional laboratory tests. The findings call for a major change in approach to syphilis testing and recommend replacing first line laboratory tests with POC tests globally, especially in resource-limited settings.

Fermi's motion produces a study in spirograph

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope orbits our planet every 95 minutes, building up increasingly deeper views of the universe with every circuit. Its wide-eyed Large Area Telescope sweeps across the entire sky every three hours, capturing the highest-energy form of light -- gamma rays -- from sources across the universe. These range from supermassive black holes billions of light-years away to intriguing objects in our own galaxy, such as X-ray binaries, supernova remnants and pulsars.

Silver nanoparticles may adversely affect environment

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

In experiments mimicking a natural environment, researchers have demonstrated that the silver nanoparticles used in many consumer products can have an adverse effect on plants and microorganisms.

Sitting less and moving about more could be more important than vigorous exercise to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

New research reveals that individuals at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes would benefit from being told to sit less and move around more often -- rather than simply exercising regularly. The experts suggest that reducing sitting time by 90 minutes in total per day could lead to important health benefits.

NHL drafts the wrong players due to birthday bias

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

A hockey player's birthday strongly biases how professional teams assess his talent, according to a new study.

Children with autism show increased positive social behaviors when animals are present

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

The presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders, according to new research.

Nut-cracking monkeys use shapes to strategize their use of tools

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

Bearded capuchin monkeys deliberately place palm nuts in a stable position on a surface before trying to crack them open, revealing their capacity to use tactile information to improve tool use.

Wii-playing surgeons may improve performance on laparoscopic procedures

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:35 PM PST

Laparoscopic surgeons may improve certain aspects of surgical performance by regularly playing on a Nintendo Wii, according to new research.

Heading a soccer ball may affect cognitive performance

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:34 PM PST

Sports-related head injuries are a growing concern, and new research suggests that even less forceful actions like 'heading' a soccer ball may cause changes in performance on certain cognitive tasks, according to new research.

Higher indoor humidity inactivates flu virus particles

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:34 PM PST

Higher humidity levels indoors can significantly reduce the infectivity of influenza virus particles released by coughing, according to new research.

Louse genetics offer clues on human migrations

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:34 PM PST

A new genetic analysis of human lice from across the world sheds light on the global spread of these parasites, their potential for disease transmission and insecticide resistance.

Quantity of sugar in food supply linked to diabetes rates, researcher says

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:34 PM PST

Does eating too much sugar cause diabetes? For years, scientists have said "not exactly." Eating too much of any food, including sugar, can cause you to gain weight; it's the resulting obesity that predisposes people to diabetes, according to the prevailing theory.

Homeric epics were written in 762 BCE, give or take, new study suggests

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST

One of literature's oldest mysteries is a step closer to being solved. A new study dates Homer's The Iliad to 762 BCE and adds a quantitative means of testing ideas about history by analyzing the evolution of language.

Neutron scattering provides data on ion adsorption

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST

Researchers have demonstrated the use of a technique known as small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to study the effects of ions moving into nanoscale pores. The study is believed to be the first application of the SANS technique for studying ion surface adsorption in-situ.

Praising children for their personal qualities may backfire

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST

Praising children, especially those with low self-esteem, for their personal qualities rather than their efforts may make them feel more ashamed when they fail, according to new research.

Emergency room patients ask: How much will I be charged?

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST

It's a basic, reasonable question: How much will this cost me? For patients in the emergency room, the answer all too often is a mystery.

Ectopic eyes function without natural connection to brain

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 03:33 PM PST

For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain. Biologists used a frog model to shed new light – literally – on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine and sensory augmentation research.

NASA's Aquarius sees salty shifts

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:51 PM PST

Colorful new images chronicle the seasonal stirrings of our salty world: Pulses of freshwater gush from the Amazon River's mouth; an invisible seam divides the salty Arabian Sea from the fresher waters of the Bay of Bengal; a large patch of freshwater appears in the eastern tropical Pacific in the winter. These and other changes in ocean salinity patterns are revealed by the first full year of surface salinity data captured by NASA's Aquarius instrument.

Study explores distinctions in cognitive functioning for centenarians

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:51 PM PST

A group of researchers used a statistical technique to identify the prevalence of cognitive impairment in centenarians and try to understand the cognitive changes that are part of extreme aging.

Protein balance key in preventing cancer

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:20 PM PST

Two proteins that scientists once thought carried out the same functions are actually antagonists of each other, and keeping them in balance is key to preventing diseases such as cancer, according to new findings. The results suggest that new compounds could fight cancer by targeting the pathways responsible for maintaining the proper balance between the proteins.

Workstation design improvements for drone operators may reduce costs and mishaps, researchers suggest

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:20 PM PST

The US Department of Defense reports that drone accidents in which personnel or aircraft are damaged or destroyed occur 50 times more often than mishaps involving human-operated aircraft. Researchers suggest multimillion-dollar drone loses might be prevented by applying commercial workstation design standards to drone workstations.

Risk of heart attack death may increase after adult sibling's death

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:20 PM PST

The death of an adult sibling is associated with increased risk of death from heart attack among surviving siblings, especially if the sibling died of a heart attack. The increased risk is most evident years after the death. Healthcare providers should follow bereaved siblings to help recognize signs of acute or chronic psycho-social stress mechanisms that could lead to heart attack.

Possible treatment window for memory problems identified

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 01:19 PM PST

Researchers have identified a possible treatment window of several years for plaques in the brain that are thought to cause memory loss in diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Changing shape makes chemotherapy drugs better at targeting cancer cells

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:15 PM PST

Bioengineering researchers have found that changing the shape of chemotherapy drug nanoparticles from spherical to rod-shaped made them up to 10,000 times more effective at specifically targeting and delivering anti-cancer drugs to breast cancer cells.

Reading the human genome: First step-by-step look at transcription initiation

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:13 PM PST

Researchers have achieved a major advance in understanding how genetic information is transcribed from DNA to RNA by providing the first step-by-step look at the biomolecular machinery that reads the human genome.

First grade math skills set foundation for later math ability

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:13 PM PST

Children who failed to acquire a basic math skill in first grade scored far behind their peers by seventh grade on a test of the mathematical abilities needed to function in adult life, according to researchers.

Research explores factors that impact adolescent mental health

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:12 PM PST

Research indicates that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, well before adulthood. Three new studies investigate the cognitive, genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to mental health disorders in adolescence.

Canadian adult obesity at historic high

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:12 PM PST

Obesity rates across Canada are reaching alarming levels and continue to climb, according to a new study.

Lipid researcher, 98, reports on the dietary causes of heart disease

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:12 PM PST

A 98-year-old researcher argues that, contrary to decades of clinical assumptions and advice to patients, dietary cholesterol is good for your heart -- unless that cholesterol is unnaturally oxidized (by frying foods in reused oil, eating lots of polyunsaturated fats, or smoking).

Molecule does double duty in stopping asthma attacks

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:12 PM PST

Scientists are on the brink of the next treatment advancement that may spell relief for the nearly 19 million adults and seven million children in the United States suffering from asthma. The scientists discovered two new drug targets in the inflammatory response pathway responsible for asthma attacks.

Infusion of stem cells and specially generated T-cells from same donor improves leukemia survival

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:12 PM PST

In a significant advance for harnessing the immune system to treat leukemias, researchers for the first time have successfully infused large numbers of donor T-cells specific for a key anti-leukemic antigen to prolong survival in high-risk and relapsed leukemia patients after stem cell transplantation. Both the stem cells for transplant and the T-cells came from the same matched donors.

Modified protein could become first effective treatment for vitiligo skin disorder

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:09 PM PST

Researchers have developed a genetically modified protein that dramatically reverses the skin disorder vitiligo in mice, and has similar effects on immune responses in human skin tissue samples. The modified protein is potentially the first effective treatment for vitiligo.

A game plan for climate change

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 12:09 PM PST

Researchers have successfully piloted a process that enables natural resource managers to take action to conserve particular wildlife, plants and ecosystems as climate changes.

Swine cells could power artificial liver

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:44 AM PST

Scientists are examining a line of "immortal" swine cells that can differentiate into liver cells. These cells could be part of an artificial liver device, which could reduce the need for liver transplants.

White dwarf supernovae are discovered in Virgo Cluster galaxy and in sky area 'anonymous'

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:44 AM PST

Observation of two bright exploding stars has improved the astronomical "tape measure" that scientists use to calculate the acceleration of the expansion of the universe.

Unlocking fuel cell conductivity

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:44 AM PST

Work on a high-conductivity material demonstrates the role of oxygen ions in enhancing their capabilities.

Feeding limbs and nervous system of one of Earth's earliest animals discovered

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:44 AM PST

Unique fossils literally 'lift the lid' on ancient creature's head to expose one of the earliest examples of food manipulating limbs in evolutionary history, dating from around 530 million years ago.

Discovery opens door to multipronged attack against skin common cancer, study shows

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:44 AM PST

Researchers have identified a second way to block the activity of the signaling cascade, called the Hedgehog pathway, that is abnormally active in a common type of skin cancer.

Patients with diabetes at no greater risk for infection or other complications after total knee replacement

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:44 AM PST

Patients with diabetes were no more likely to suffer infection, deep vein thrombosis (a deep vein blood clot) or other complications following total knee replacement than patients without diabetes, according to new research.

Name your neighborhood, define your health?

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:43 AM PST

Does your neighborhood really define health? Most of us make a choice between suburbs, countryside, or city and settle down. But others, particularly those living in poverty, don't always get to make that choice —- the choice that could actually determine our quality and length of life. So how does this choice affect our health?

Man walks again after surgery to reverse muscle paralysis

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:43 AM PST

After four years of confinement to a wheelchair, Rick Constantine, 58, is now walking again after undergoing an unconventional surgery to restore the use of his leg.

Authors: Develop digital games to improve brain function and well-being

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:43 AM PST

Neuroscientists should help to develop compelling digital games that boost brain function and improve well-being, say two professors specializing in the field.

Songbirds’ brains coordinate singing with intricate timing

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:43 AM PST

As a bird sings, some neurons in its brain prepare to make the next sounds while others are synchronized with the current notes—a coordination of physical actions and brain activity that is needed to produce complex movements. The finding that may lead to new ways of understanding human speech production.

Viruses can have immune systems: A pirate phage commandeers the immune system of bacteria

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:43 AM PST

A new study reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. This provides the first evidence that this type of virus, the bacteriophage, can acquire an adaptive immune system. The study has implications for phage therapy, the use of phages to treat bacterial diseases.

NASA announces new CubeSat space mission candidates

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:34 AM PST

NASA has selected 24 small satellites, including three from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to fly as auxiliary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The proposed CubeSats come from universities across the country, a Florida high school, several non-profit organizations and NASA field centers.

NASA's NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spin

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 10:25 AM PST

Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.

Optical materials: Light's magnetism shows its true colors

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:46 AM PST

Researchers in Singapore have created tiny spheres of silicon that can strongly interact with the magnetic field of visible-wavelength light. These engineered 'magnetic materials' enable new ways of controlling light at the nanoscale.

Microelectronics: A tougher seal for rugged environments

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:46 AM PST

Sensors used in harsh conditions, such as deep-sea oil wells, must withstand extreme temperatures and pressures for hundreds of hours without failing. Researchers in Singapore have investigated two metal alloys that could give micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensors better protection in the toughest environments

Fluid mechanics: Bubble impacts caught on film

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:46 AM PST

When a bubble of air rising through water hits a sheet of glass, it doesn't simply stop -- it squishes, rebounds, and rises again, before slowly moving to the barrier. An international research team with high-speed cameras reveal the complex physics at work as air meets water and glass.

Help from nature in fighting cancer: Compounds based on a fungal chemical show potent anti-tumor activity

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:19 AM PST

Inspired by a chemical that fungi secrete to defend their territory, chemists have synthesized and tested several dozen compounds that may hold promise as potential cancer drugs.

Study connects early childhood with pain, depression in adulthood

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:19 AM PST

New research examines how childhood socioeconomic disadvantages and maternal depression increase the risk of major depression and chronic pain when they become adults.

Good bacteria may expunge vancomycin-resistant bacteria from your gut

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:19 AM PST

Too much antibiotic can decimate the normal intestinal microbiota, which may never recover its former diversity. That, in turn, renders the GI tract vulnerable to being colonized by pathogens. Now researchers show that reintroducing normal microbial diversity largely eliminated vancomycin-resistant enterococci from the intestinal tracts of mice. The investigators showed further that the findings may apply to humans.

New insight into how people choose insurance plans

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:19 AM PST

A new paper suggests that forecasting the likely spending reduction associated with high deductibles requires a fine-grained approach, to account for the differing ways consumers respond to incentives in the health-care market. The research indicates that consumers select insurance plans based not only on their overall wellness level -- with people in worse health opting for more robust coverage -- but also on their own anticipated response to having insurance.

Contaminated diet contributes to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Phthalates and BPA

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:19 AM PST

While water bottles may tout BPA-free labels and personal care products declare phthalates not among their ingredients, these assurances may not be enough. According to a new study, we may be exposed to these chemicals in our diet, even if our diet is organic and we prepare, cook, and store foods in non-plastic containers. Children may be most vulnerable.

For pain control during early labor, combined spinal-epidural analgesia is best: study

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 09:16 AM PST

During the first stage of labor, a combined spinal-epidural (CSE) technique offers faster and better-quality analgesia (pain relief) compared to traditional epidural analgesia, according to a new report.

New cancer 'vaccine' shows future promise in treating and preventing metastatic cancers

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:31 AM PST

Preclinical, laboratory studies suggest a novel immunotherapy could potentially work like a vaccine against metastatic cancers, according to scientists. Results from a recent study show the therapy could treat metastatic cancers and be used in combination with current cancer therapies.

Promising breakthrough for transplant patients

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:31 AM PST

Scientists have discovered a new cause of organ rejection in some kidney transplant patients. They have identified a new class of antibodies -- anti-LG3 -- which, when activated, led to severe rejection episodes associated with a high rate of organ loss. This discovery, which holds promise for organ recipients.

Trust makes you delusional and that's not all bad: Trusting partners remember transgressions in ways that benefit the relationship

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:31 AM PST

New research is the first to systematically examine the role of trust in biasing memories of transgressions in romantic partnerships. People who are highly trusting tended to remember transgressions in a way that benefits the relationship, remembering partner transgressions as less severe than they originally reported. People low on trust demonstrated the opposite pattern, remembering partner transgressions as being more severe than how they originally reported. 

Defining the new normal in aging

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:30 AM PST

Researcher says terms such as "normal," "healthy" or "successful" aging can prejudice our views of seniors.

Unlocking fuel cell conductivity

Posted: 27 Feb 2013 08:30 AM PST

Work on a high-conductivity material demonstrates the role of oxygen ions in enhancing their capabilities.
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