science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τρίτη 5 Μαρτίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Colonoscopy Screening Reduces Risk of Advanced Colorectal Cancer
How the brain loses and regains consciousness
Researchers Solve Mystery of Mutations in Antibodies
Physicists Make Discovery in the Quantum Realm by Manipulating Light
How spirituality induces liberal attitudes
Innovative Technique Sheds Light on Abnormal Brain Connectivity Responsible for Common Genetic Cause of Autism
Vortex loops could untie knotty physics problems
Man-made material pushes the bounds of superconductivity

Colonoscopy Screening Reduces Risk of Advanced Colorectal Cancer

Posted: 05 Mar 2013 06:26 AM PST

A new study led by a researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania adds support to current medical recommendations stating that screening colonoscopy substantially reduces an average-risk adult’s likelihood of being diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) in either the right or left side of the colon.

How the brain loses and regains consciousness

Posted: 04 Mar 2013 02:02 PM PST

Study reveals brain patterns produced by a general anesthesia drug; work could help doctors better monitor patients. Since the mid-1800s, doctors have used drugs to induce general anesthesia in patients undergoing surgery. Despite their widespread use, little is known about how these drugs create such a profound loss of consciousness.

Researchers Solve Mystery of Mutations in Antibodies

Posted: 04 Mar 2013 11:37 AM PST

Scientists have discovered a new role for many of the changes that occur to antibodies as they mature to fight disease. The discovery could change the thinking about how the human immune system protects against foreign substances and might eventually lead to the development of better antibody-based drugs.

The researchers found that the immune system not only makes changes to antibodies that enhance their ability to bind to foreign substances like viruses, but also optimizes them to be more stable.

Physicists Make Discovery in the Quantum Realm by Manipulating Light

Posted: 04 Mar 2013 11:27 AM PST

Physicists at UC Santa Barbara are manipulating light on superconducting chips, and forging new pathways to building the quantum devices of the future –– including super-fast and powerful quantum computers.

How spirituality induces liberal attitudes

Posted: 04 Mar 2013 11:08 AM PST

People become more politically liberal immediately after practising a spiritual exercise such as meditation, researchers at the University of Toronto have found.

"There's great overlap between religious beliefs and political orientations," says one of the study authors, Jordan Peterson of U of T's Department of Psychology. "We found that religious individuals tend to be more conservative and spiritual people tend to be more liberal.

Innovative Technique Sheds Light on Abnormal Brain Connectivity Responsible for Common Genetic Cause of Autism

Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:54 AM PST

A group of researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley have mapped the three-dimensional global connections within the brains of seven adults who have genetic malformations that leave them without the corpus callosum, which connects the left and right sides of the brain.

Vortex loops could untie knotty physics problems

Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:40 AM PST

University of Chicago physicists have succeeding in creating a vortex knot—a feat akin to tying a smoke ring into a knot. Linked and knotted vortex loops have existed in theory for more than a century, but creating them in the laboratory had previously eluded scientists.

Man-made material pushes the bounds of superconductivity

Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:14 AM PST

A multi-university team of researchers has artificially engineered a unique multilayer material that could lead to breakthroughs in both superconductivity research and in real-world applications.

The researchers can tailor the material, which seamlessly alternates between metal and oxide layers, to achieve extraordinary superconducting properties — in particular, the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials.