science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Παρασκευή 28 Ιουνίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Telomere Elongation Promotes Cancer Cell Differentiation
Imagination can change what we hear and see
Well-connected Monkeys Learn Faster - Social Network in Monkeys
Power for seaports may be the next job for hydrogen fuel cells

Telomere Elongation Promotes Cancer Cell Differentiation

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:34 PM PDT

Researchers have discovered that forced elongation of telomeres (extensions on the end of chromosomes) promotes the differentiation of cancer cells, probably reducing malignancy, which is strongly associated with a loss of cell differentiation.

The findings from the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research in Tokyo is reported in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology.

"Cancer cells may maintain short telomeres to maintain their undifferentiated state," says Hiroyuki Seimiya, a researcher on the study.

Imagination can change what we hear and see

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:29 AM PDT

A study from Karolinska Institutet shows, that our imagination may affect how we experience the world more than we perhaps think. What we imagine hearing or seeing 'in our head' can change our actual perception. The study, which is published in the scientific journal Current Biology, sheds new light on a classic question in psychology and neuroscience - about how our brains combine information from the different senses.

Well-connected Monkeys Learn Faster - Social Network in Monkeys

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:00 AM PDT

A new study finds that monkeys with the strongest social networks catch on fastest to the latest in foraging crazes. The researchers made the discovery by combining social network analysis with more traditional social learning experiments. By bringing the two together, they offer what they say is the first demonstration of how social networks may shape the spread of new cultural techniques. It’s an approach they hope to see adopted in studies of other social animals.

Power for seaports may be the next job for hydrogen fuel cells

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 07:26 AM PDT

Providing auxiliary hydrogen power to docked or anchored ships may soon be added to the list of ways in which hydrogen fuel cells can provide efficient, emissions-free energy.

Hydrogen fuel cells are already powering mobile lighting systems, forklifts, emergency backup systems and light-duty trucks, among other applications. Now, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have found that hydrogen fuel cells may be both technically feasible and commercially attractive as a clean, quiet and efficient power source for ships at berth, replacing on-board diesel generators.