ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• No benefit of evening primrose oil for treating eczema, review suggests
• Targeting prescribers can reduce excessive use of antibiotics in hospitals
• Smoking prevention in schools: Does it work?
• Identification of gene variants affecting fertility offers new treatment possibility
• Sushi for peccaries?
• Microglia can be derived from patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells and may help modulate the course of central nervous system diseases
• Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds to rise from the ashes
• Scientists discover how a protein finds its way
• Silicone liquid crystal stiffens with repeated compression: Discovery may point toward self-healing materials
• How we decode 'noisy' language in daily life: How people rationally interpret linguistic input
• Frequently used biologic agents might cause acute liver injury
• Common component strategy could improve profits
• Retirement expert: Medicare already means-tested
• Rare, lethal childhood disease tracked to protein
• Reading wordless storybooks to toddlers may expose them to richer language
• Cancer studies often lack necessary rigor to answer key questions
• Researcher reveals new way to safeguard forensic dna samples against contamination
• Microchip proves tightness provokes precocious sperm release
• Antidepressants linked with increased risks after surgery
• More evidence suggests eating omega 3s and avoiding meat, dairy linked to preserving memory
• U. S. children born outside the United States have lower risk of allergic disease
• Do you obsess over your appearance? Your brain might be wired abnormally
• 'Super-resolution' microscope possible for nanostructures
• World's longest-running plant monitoring program now digitized
• Sea turtles benefiting from protected areas
• Key shift in brain that creates drive to overeat identified
• Cat and mouse: One gene is necessary for mice to avoid predators
• Big data analysis identifies prognostic RNA markers in a common form of breast cancer
• First snapshot of organisms eating each other: Feast clue to smell of ancient Earth
• Neuroscientists use statistical model to draft fantasy teams of neurons
• Adults lack stem cells for making new eggs
• Cicadas get a jump on cleaning
• Dinosaur predecessors gain ground in wake of world's biggest biodiversity crisis
• No Redoubt: Volcanic eruption forecasting improved
• Singing humpback whales tracked on Northwest Atlantic feeding ground
• Patterned hearts: Bioengineers create rubber-like material bearing micropatterns for stronger, more elastic hearts
• U. S. has surprisingly large reservoir of crop plant diversity
• Many stressors associated with fracking due to perceived lack of trust
• Sniffing out schizophrenia
• Comparing proteins at a glance: Technique for easy comparisons of proteins in solution
• Extreme political attitudes may stem from an illusion of understanding
• Engaging online crowds in the classroom could be important tool for teaching innovation
• Foul-smelling gas shows health benefits in reducing joint swelling
• Analysis: U.S. emergency care cost estimates are too low
• Thymus teaches immune cells to ignore vital gut bacteria
• How Would You Like Your Assistant -- Human or Robotic?
• Molecular role of gene linked to blood vessel formation uncovered
• Older is wiser: Study shows software developers' skills improve over time
• Elucidating environmental history with 100 million laser beams
• Will green tea help you lose weight?
• Leadership emerges spontaneously during games
• Pathological gambling caused by excessive optimism
• Grocery delivery service is greener than driving to the store
• Do you fear you are missing out?
• Visitors and residents: Students' attitudes to academic use of social media
• Scientists control chirality in carbon nanotubes
• Rear seat design: A priority for children's safety in cars
• Researchers design nanometer-scale material that can speed up, squeeze light
• Fertilizers provide mixed benefits to soil in 50-year study

No benefit of evening primrose oil for treating eczema, review suggests Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:09 PM PDT Research into the complementary therapies evening primrose oil and borage oil shows little, if any, benefit for people with eczema compared with placebo, according to a new systematic review. The authors conclude that further studies on the therapies would be difficult to justify.

Targeting prescribers can reduce excessive use of antibiotics in hospitals Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:09 PM PDT Giving prescribers access to education and advice or imposing restrictions on use can curb overuse or inappropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals, according to a new Cochrane systematic review. This is important because unnecessary use of these life-saving drugs is a key source of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

Smoking prevention in schools: Does it work? Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:09 PM PDT Smoking prevention in schools reduces the number of young people who will later become smokers, according to a new systematic review. For young people who have never smoked, these programs appear to be effective at least one year after implementation.

Identification of gene variants affecting fertility offers new treatment possibility Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:08 PM PDT Identification of genetic variations in the genes coding for the hormone FSH may provide new treatments for male and female infertility, according to new work. Scientists have characterized gene variations which may improve treatment for almost half of infertile men, as well as allowing tailored treatment for women undergoing assisted reproduction.

Sushi for peccaries? Posted: 29 Apr 2013 02:59 PM PDT It turns out the white-lipped peccary —- a piglike animal from Central and South America —- will settle for fish when fruits (its main food) are no longer on the menu, according to researchers revealing the first-ever photos of fish-eating peccaries.

Microglia can be derived from patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells and may help modulate the course of central nervous system diseases Posted: 29 Apr 2013 02:59 PM PDT Overall importance of microglia in various brain and spinal cord diseases surprises researchers, who find patient-specific stem cells can be turned into microglia, which could be very useful in future treatment options.

Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds to rise from the ashes Posted: 29 Apr 2013 02:59 PM PDT In the spring following a forest fire, trees that survived the blaze explode in new growth and plants sprout in abundance from the scorched earth. For centuries, it was a mystery how seeds, some long dormant in the soil, knew to push through the ashes to regenerate the burned forest.

Scientists discover how a protein finds its way Posted: 29 Apr 2013 02:59 PM PDT Scientists have uncovered how an enzyme co-factor can bestow specificity on a class of proteins with otherwise nonspecific biochemical activity. Proteins can have more than one function, but they often need to be very specific in their action or they create cellular havoc, possibly leading to disease.

Silicone liquid crystal stiffens with repeated compression: Discovery may point toward self-healing materials Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:49 PM PDT Scientists have found that liquid crystalline silicone stiffens significantly when compressed repeatedly for hours on end. The discovery may lead to new strategies for self-healing materials or biocompatible materials that mimic human tissues.

How we decode 'noisy' language in daily life: How people rationally interpret linguistic input Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:49 PM PDT Suppose you hear someone say, "The man gave the ice cream the child." Does that sentence seem plausible? Or do you assume it is missing a word? Such as: "The man gave the ice cream to the child." People use an array of strategies to make sense of confusing statements.

Frequently used biologic agents might cause acute liver injury Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:49 PM PDT A commonly used class of biologic response modifying drugs can cause acute liver injury with elevated liver enzymes, according to a new study.

Common component strategy could improve profits Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:49 PM PDT Manufacturing using common components can actually reduce product line cannibalization, a finding that could allow firms to improve profits, says new research.

Retirement expert: Medicare already means-tested Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:49 PM PDT The Obama administration's controversial proposal to means-test Medicare recipients has one small problem -- the Medicare program is already means-tested, says an expert on retirement benefits.

Rare, lethal childhood disease tracked to protein Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:49 PM PDT Scientists have identified how a defective protein plays a central role in a rare, lethal childhood disease known as giant axonal neuropathy, or GAN. GAN is an extremely rare and untreatable genetic disorder that strikes the central and peripheral nervous systems of young children.

Reading wordless storybooks to toddlers may expose them to richer language Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:48 PM PDT Researchers have found that children hear more complex language from parents when they read a storybook with only pictures compared to a picture-vocabulary book.

Cancer studies often lack necessary rigor to answer key questions Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:48 PM PDT Fueled in part by an inclination to speed new treatments to patients, research studies for cancer therapies tend to be smaller and less robust than for other diseases.

Researcher reveals new way to safeguard forensic dna samples against contamination Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:47 PM PDT DNA evidence is invisible and remarkably easy to transfer, making it possible for a sample to be spilled or even planted on a piece of evidence. Scientists have now developed a solution that permanently marks DNA samples to prevent contamination. Hampikian has used nullomers, the smallest DNA sequences that are absent from nature, to create the DNA bar code.

Microchip proves tightness provokes precocious sperm release Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:47 PM PDT Sperm cell release can be triggered by tightening the grip around the delivery organ, according to a team of nano and microsystems engineers and plant biologists.

Antidepressants linked with increased risks after surgery Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:46 PM PDT Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) – among the most widely prescribed antidepressant medications – are associated with increased risk of bleeding, transfusion, hospital readmission and death when taken around the time of surgery, according to a new analysis.

More evidence suggests eating omega 3s and avoiding meat, dairy linked to preserving memory Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:46 PM PDT A UAB study suggests that the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes consuming foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, chicken and salad dressing, and avoiding saturated fats, meat and dairy foods, may be linked to preserving memory and thinking abilities.

U. S. children born outside the United States have lower risk of allergic disease Posted: 29 Apr 2013 01:46 PM PDT A new study suggests children living the in the United States but born outside the U.S. have a lower prevalence of allergic disease that increases after residing in the United States for one decade.

Do you obsess over your appearance? Your brain might be wired abnormally Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:42 PM PDT New research has discovered that people with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) have abnormal connections throughout their brain. BDD is a disabling but often-misunderstood psychiatric condition in which individuals perceive that they're disfigured and ugly, even though they look normal to others.

'Super-resolution' microscope possible for nanostructures Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:42 PM PDT Researchers have found a way to see synthetic nanostructures and molecules using a new type of super-resolution optical microscopy that does not require fluorescent dyes, representing a practical tool for biomedical and nanotechnology research.

World's longest-running plant monitoring program now digitized Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:42 PM PDT Researchers have digitized 106 years of growth data on the birth, growth and death of individual plants on Tumamoc Hill in Tucson, Ariz., making the information available for study by people all over the world. The permanent research plots on the University of Arizona's Tumamoc Hill represent the world's longest-running study that monitors individual plants. Knowing how plants respond to changing conditions over many decades provides new insights into how ecosystems behave.

Sea turtles benefiting from protected areas Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:42 PM PDT Nesting green sea turtles are benefiting from marine protected areas by using habitats found within their boundaries, according to a new study that is the first to track the federally protected turtles in Dry Tortugas National Park.

Key shift in brain that creates drive to overeat identified Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:42 PM PDT Neuroscientists have identified a cellular change in the brain that accompanies obesity. The findings could explain the body's tendency to maintain undesirable weight levels, rather than an ideal weight, and identify possible targets for pharmacological efforts to address obesity. The study identifies a mechanism for the body's ongoing tendency to return to the heavier weight.

Cat and mouse: One gene is necessary for mice to avoid predators Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:41 PM PDT A new study involving olfactory receptors provides evidence that a single gene is necessary for a mouse to avoid a cat. A research team has shown that removing one olfactory receptor from mice can have a profound effect on their behavior. The gene, called TAAR4, encodes a receptor that responds to a chemical that is enriched in the urine of carnivores. While normal mice innately avoid the scent marks of predators, mice lacking the TAAR4 receptor do not.

Big data analysis identifies prognostic RNA markers in a common form of breast cancer Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:41 PM PDT An analysis that integrates three large sets of genomic data available through The Cancer Genome Atlas has identified 37 RNA molecules that might predict survival in patients with the most common form of breast cancer. The study analyzed large masses of data from 466 cases of the most common type of breast cancer and provides the first prognostic signature in cancer composed of both mRNA and microRNA.

First snapshot of organisms eating each other: Feast clue to smell of ancient Earth Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:41 PM PDT Tiny 1,900-million-year-old fossils from rocks around Lake Superior, Canada, give the first ever snapshot of organisms eating each other and suggest what the ancient Earth would have smelled like.

Neuroscientists use statistical model to draft fantasy teams of neurons Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:41 PM PDT This past weekend teams from the National Football League used statistics like height, weight and speed to draft the best college players, and in a few weeks, armchair enthusiasts will use similar measures to select players for their own fantasy football teams. Neuroscientists are taking a similar approach to compile "dream teams" of neurons using a statistics-based method that can evaluate the fitness of individual neurons.

Adults lack stem cells for making new eggs Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:41 PM PDT Mammalian females ovulate periodically over their reproductive lifetimes, placing significant demands on their ovaries for egg production. Whether mammals generate new eggs in adulthood using stem cells has been a source of scientific controversy. If true, these "germ-line stem cells" might allow novel treatments for infertility and other diseases.

Cicadas get a jump on cleaning Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:41 PM PDT As cicadas on the East Coast begin emerging from their 17-year slumber, a spritz of dew drops is all they need to keep their wings fresh and clean.

Dinosaur predecessors gain ground in wake of world's biggest biodiversity crisis Posted: 29 Apr 2013 12:40 PM PDT Newly discovered fossils from 10 million years after Earth's greatest mass extinction reveal a lineage of animals thought to have led to dinosaurs taking hold in Tanzania and Zambia in the mid-Triassic period, many millions of years before dinosaur relatives were seen in the fossil record elsewhere on Earth.

No Redoubt: Volcanic eruption forecasting improved Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:37 AM PDT Forecasting volcanic eruptions with success is heavily dependent on recognizing well-established patterns of pre-eruption unrest in the monitoring data. But in order to develop better monitoring procedures, it is also crucial to understand volcanic eruptions that deviate from these patterns. New research retrospectively documented and analyzed the period immediately preceding the 2009 eruption of the Redoubt volcano in Alaska, which was characterized by an abnormally long period of pre-eruption seismic activity that's normally associated with short-term warnings of eruption.

Singing humpback whales tracked on Northwest Atlantic feeding ground Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:36 AM PDT Male humpback whales sing complex songs in tropical waters during the winter breeding season, but they also sing at higher latitudes at other times of the year. NOAA researchers have provided the first detailed description linking humpback whale movements to acoustic behavior on a feeding ground in the Northwest Atlantic.

Patterned hearts: Bioengineers create rubber-like material bearing micropatterns for stronger, more elastic hearts Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:36 AM PDT Bioengineers report creating artificial heart tissue that closely mimics the functions of natural heart tissue through the use of human-based materials. Their work will advance how clinicians treat the damaging effects caused by heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

U. S. has surprisingly large reservoir of crop plant diversity Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:35 AM PDT North America isn't known as a hotspot for crop plant diversity, yet a new inventory has uncovered nearly 4,600 wild relatives of crop plants in the United States, including close relatives of globally important food crops such as sunflower, bean, sweet potato, and strawberry.

Many stressors associated with fracking due to perceived lack of trust Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT Pennsylvania residents living near unconventional natural gas developments using hydraulic fracturing, known by the slang term "fracking," attribute several dozen health concerns and stressors to the Marcellus Shale developments in their area, according to a long-term analysis.

Sniffing out schizophrenia Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT Scientists have developed an innovative method for diagnosing schizophrenia by collecting neural tissues from the nose. The finding could lead to early detection of the disease, giving rise to vastly improved treatment overall.

Comparing proteins at a glance: Technique for easy comparisons of proteins in solution Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT A revolutionary X-ray analytical technique enables researchers at a glance to identify structural similarities and differences between multiple proteins under a variety of conditions and has already been used to gain valuable new insight into a prime protein target for cancer chemotherapy.

Extreme political attitudes may stem from an illusion of understanding Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT Having to explain how a political policy works leads people to express less extreme attitudes toward the policy, according to new research.

Engaging online crowds in the classroom could be important tool for teaching innovation Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT Online crowds can be an important tool for teaching the ins and outs of innovation, educators say, even when the quality of the feedback provided by online sources doesn't always match the quantity.

Foul-smelling gas shows health benefits in reducing joint swelling Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that a novel drug molecule, which slowly generates the gas hydrogen sulfide, effectively reduces swelling and inflammation in arthritic joints.

Analysis: U.S. emergency care cost estimates are too low Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT US emergency care costs may be more than twice previously published estimates, according to a new analysis that critiques those estimates, argues for improved accounting, and suggests considering the value of emergency care as well as total spending.

Thymus teaches immune cells to ignore vital gut bacteria Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:05 AM PDT The tiny thymus teaches the immune system to ignore the teeming, foreign bacteria in the gut that helps you digest and absorb food, researchers say.

How Would You Like Your Assistant -- Human or Robotic? Posted: 29 Apr 2013 09:55 AM PDT More than half of healthcare providers interviewed for a new study said that if they were offered an assistant, they preferred it to be a robotic helper rather than a human. However, they don't want robots to help with everything.

Molecular role of gene linked to blood vessel formation uncovered Posted: 29 Apr 2013 09:55 AM PDT Researchers have discovered that disrupting a gene that acts as a regulatory switch to turn on other genes can keep blood vessels from forming and developing properly.

Older is wiser: Study shows software developers' skills improve over time Posted: 29 Apr 2013 08:48 AM PDT There is a perception in some tech circles that older programmers aren't able to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, and that they are discriminated against in the software field. But a new study indicates that the knowledge and skills of programmers actually improve over time -- and that older programmers know as much (or more) than their younger peers when it comes to recent software platforms.

Elucidating environmental history with 100 million laser beams Posted: 29 Apr 2013 08:47 AM PDT By combining high-resolution surface data obtained from laser scanning with subsurface geodata, scientists have succeeded for the first time in providing a full picture of so-called karst depressions on the island of Crete, including a three-dimensional view into the subsurface structure of these funnel-shaped hollows.

Will green tea help you lose weight? Posted: 29 Apr 2013 08:47 AM PDT Green tea extract in tandem with an additional compound could be effective for body weight control and type 2 diabetes, a new study in mice indicates. Evidence has shown that green tea extract may be an effective herbal remedy useful for weight control and helping to regulate glucose in type 2 diabetes.

Leadership emerges spontaneously during games Posted: 29 Apr 2013 07:24 AM PDT Video game and augmented-reality game players can spontaneously build virtual teams and leadership structures without special tools or guidance, according to researchers.

Pathological gambling caused by excessive optimism Posted: 29 Apr 2013 07:24 AM PDT Compulsive gamblers suffer from an optimism bias that modifies their subjective representation of probability and affects their decisions in situations involving high-risk monetary wagers.

Grocery delivery service is greener than driving to the store Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:51 AM PDT Engineers have found that using a grocery delivery service can cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least half when compared with individual household trips to the store. Trucks filled to capacity that deliver to customers clustered in neighborhoods produced the most savings in carbon dioxide emissions.

Do you fear you are missing out? Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:49 AM PDT Does checking Twitter and Facebook to see what your friends are up to make you feel like you are missing out on all the fun? Researchers have come up with a way of measuring the modern day concept of the "fear of missing out" (FoMO).

Visitors and residents: Students' attitudes to academic use of social media Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:49 AM PDT Research has shown that university students behave very differently when using social media as part of their academic learning.

Scientists control chirality in carbon nanotubes Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:49 AM PDT  An ultimate goal in the field of carbon nanotube research is to synthesise single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with controlled chiralities. Twenty years after the discovery of SWNTs, scientists have managed to control chirality in carbon nanotubes during their chemical vapor deposition synthesis.

Rear seat design: A priority for children's safety in cars Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:46 AM PDT New report recommends technology, policy changes to better protect older children and adolescents in crashes.

Researchers design nanometer-scale material that can speed up, squeeze light Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:46 AM PDT In a process one researcher compares to squeezing an elephant through a pinhole, researchers have designed a way to engineer atoms capable of funneling light through ultra-small channels.

Fertilizers provide mixed benefits to soil in 50-year study Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:46 AM PDT In a Kansas study, 50 years of inorganic fertilization increased soil organic carbon stocks but failed to enhance soil aggregate stability —- a key indicator of soil structural quality that helps dictate how water moves through soil and the soil's resistance to erosion.

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