ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• MS cognitive rehabilitation: Task meaningfulness influences learning, memory, research finds
• If you think you have Alzheimer's, you just might be right, study suggests
• Oldest fortified settlement ever found in North America
• Curiosity Mars rover adds reverse driving for wheel protection
• NASA Mars Orbiter views Opportunity Rover on ridge
• Shocking behavior of a runaway star: High-speed encounter creates arc
• Schizophrenics at greater risk of getting diseases
• Team sport compensates for estrogen loss
• Newly discovered marsupial the victim of fatal attraction: Due to stress hormone, males die before young are born
• Significant increase in overdoses involving heroin in Kentucky, research finds
• Optimizing custody is child's play for physicists
• The parasite that escaped out of Africa: Tracing origins of malaria parasite
• Planet-sized space weather explosions at Venus
• Legal harvest of marine turtles tops 42,000 each year
• Skin tumor vaccine shows promise in wild mice, rising hope for transplant patients
• Vibration energy the secret to self-powered electronics
• New York takes lead in state efforts to end ivory trade
• Could PTSD involve immune cell response to stress? Study in mice raises question
• Saving lemurs: Action plan devised to save Madagascar's 101 lemur species
• Extreme weather caused by climate change decides distribution of insects, study shows
• Premature infants benefit from adult talk, study shows
• Eleven new genes affecting blood pressure discovered
• Cortisol: Stress hormone linked to frailty
• Unilateral radiation therapy for advanced stage tonsil cancer results in favorable outcomes
• Oropharyngeal cancer patients report benefit in salivary function with reduction of radiation dose to bilateral IB lymph nodes
• Patients with oropharyngeal cancer report quality of voice, speech affected post-treatment
• Limiting Radiation to Major Salivary Glands in Head, Neck Cancer Patients Is Feasible, Safe
• HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx patients' recurrence differs from HPV-negative patients
• Mutant-Allele Tumor Heterogeneity (MATH) in head, neck squamous cell carcinoma patients is effective marker, along with HPV status, of improved patient outcome
• HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer patients nearly twice as likely to survive as HPV-negative patients
• Daily Humidification of Mouth, Throat Region During Radiation Therapy for Head, Neck Cancer Reduces Mucositis, Hospitalization

MS cognitive rehabilitation: Task meaningfulness influences learning, memory, research finds Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:41 AM PST In multiple sclerosis, self-generation in cognitive rehabilitation may be influenced by task meaningfulness and type during learning and memory. These results of this study have implications for the design of effective strategies for cognitive rehabilitation in MS.

If you think you have Alzheimer's, you just might be right, study suggests Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:41 AM PST A correlation between self-reported incidence of memory loss and development of cognitive memory impairment later in life has been identified through a new study. The results are meaningful because it might help identify people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease sooner. "If the memory and thinking lapses people notice themselves could be early markers of risk for Alzheimer's disease, we might eventually be able to intervene earlier in the aging process to postpone and/or reduce the effects of cognitive memory impairment," the authors note.

Oldest fortified settlement ever found in North America Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:12 AM PST In an announcement likely to rewrite the book on early colonization of the New World, two researchers say they have discovered the oldest fortified settlement ever found in North America. They say they have located the legendary Fort Caroline, a long-sought fort built by the French in 1564, an island at the mouth of the Altamaha River, two miles southeast of the city of Darien, Georgia.

Curiosity Mars rover adds reverse driving for wheel protection Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:07 AM PST Terrain that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is now crossing is as smooth as team members had anticipated based on earlier images from orbit. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the rover covered 329 feet (100.3 meters), the mission's first long trek that used reverse driving and its farthest one-day advance of any kind in more than three months.

NASA Mars Orbiter views Opportunity Rover on ridge Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:04 AM PST A new image from a telescopic camera orbiting Mars shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at work on "Murray Ridge," without any new impact craters nearby.

Shocking behavior of a runaway star: High-speed encounter creates arc Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:01 AM PST Roguish runaway stars can have a big impact on their surroundings as they plunge through the Milky Way galaxy. Their high-speed encounters shock the galaxy, creating arcs, as seen in a newly released image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Schizophrenics at greater risk of getting diseases Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:39 AM PST People suffering from schizophrenia have an increased risk of contracting autoimmune diseases, especially if they have suffered from a severe infection, new research based on data sets covering the majority of the Danish population shows. With the aid of these large data sets, the researchers have been able to show certain correlations with great statistical certainty, but the study does not provide a definitive explanation for why schizophrenics have such an increased risk of contracting these diseases, except to suggest that lifestyle, genetics and the disease itself may contribute to the complicated situation.

Team sport compensates for estrogen loss Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:39 AM PST When women enter menopause, their estrogen levels taper. This increases their risk of cardiovascular disease. New research shows that interval-based team sport can make up for this estrogen loss as it improves their conditions, reduces blood pressure and thereby protects the cardiovascular system.

Newly discovered marsupial the victim of fatal attraction: Due to stress hormone, males die before young are born Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:39 AM PST A highly sexed mouse-like marsupial in Queensland's Springbrook National Park, Australia, has been discovered by a mammalogist. The rare, Black-tailed Antechinus is a rare, mouse-like marsupial with a deadly mating habit. "A single female's brood of young will typically be sired by several fathers. But during mating, stress hormone levels rise dramatically, eventually causing the males' bodies to shut down. The males all die before their young are born," found the researchers.

Significant increase in overdoses involving heroin in Kentucky, research finds Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:37 AM PST Emergency department overdose visits involving heroin climbed 197 percent, and heroin-related deaths climbed 207 percent in Kentucky in 2012, while benzodiazepines were associated with the highest number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations, according to new analysis. The spike in drug abuse and overdoses involving heroin is not unique to Kentucky. According to American data, the number of heroin users increased by up to 80 percent from 2007 to 2012. Many experts suspect a connection between increased heroin use and decreasing non-medical prescription opiate abuse.

Optimizing custody is child's play for physicists Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:38 AM PST Ensuring that parents in recomposed families see their children regularly is a complex network problem, according to a new study. The lead researcher set out to resolve one of his real-life problems: finding a suitable weekend for both partners in his recomposed family to see all their children at the same time. He then joined forces with a mathematician and a complex systems expert. The answer they came up with is that such an agreement is not possible, in general.

The parasite that escaped out of Africa: Tracing origins of malaria parasite Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:37 AM PST An international team has traced the origin of the second-worst malaria parasite of humans to Africa. The closest genetic relatives of human Plasmodium vivax were found only in Asian macaques, leading researchers to believe that P. vivax originated in Asia. This study overturns that, finding that wild-living apes in central Africa are widely infected with parasites that, genetically, are nearly identical to human P. vivax.

Planet-sized space weather explosions at Venus Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:40 PM PST Researchers recently discovered that a common space weather phenomenon on the outskirts of Earth's magnetic bubble, the magnetosphere, has much larger repercussions for Venus. The giant explosions, called hot flow anomalies, can be so large at Venus that they're bigger than the entire planet and they can happen multiple times a day.

Legal harvest of marine turtles tops 42,000 each year Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:35 PM PST A new study has found that 42 countries or territories around the world permit the harvest of marine turtles -- and estimates that more than 42,000 turtles are caught each year by these fisheries. All seven marine turtle species are currently listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The direct take of turtles has continued legally in many regions and countries, often for traditional coastal communities to support themselves or small-scale fisheries supplying local markets with meat, and sometimes shell. The fisheries are an important source of finance, protein and cultural identity, but information can be scarce on their status -- despite often being listed as one of the major threats to turtle populations.

Skin tumor vaccine shows promise in wild mice, rising hope for transplant patients Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:35 PM PST Papillomaviruses (linked to cervical cancer when they infect the mucosal tissue in the female reproductive tract) can also infect normal skin, where they cause warts and possibly non-melanoma skin cancer, mostly in immune-suppressed organ transplant patients. A new article suggests that vaccination might prevent virus-associated benign and malignant skin tumors.

Vibration energy the secret to self-powered electronics Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:33 PM PST Engineers have developed what could be a promising solution for charging smartphone batteries on the go -- without the need for an electrical cord. Incorporated directly into a cell phone housing, the team's nanogenerator could harvest and convert vibration energy from a surface, such as the passenger seat of a moving vehicle, into power for the phone.

New York takes lead in state efforts to end ivory trade Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:33 PM PST A bill introduced into the New York State Legislature proposing a sweeping ban on the sale of ivory in New York State, Assembly bill A8824, has been welcomed by the Wildlife Conservation Society. "This legislation is a key component to global efforts to stopping the killing, stopping the trafficking, and stopping the demand of elephant ivory. But much more needs to be done, and we are hopeful that New York will be helping lead the charge to protect Africa's elephants," the WCS states.

Could PTSD involve immune cell response to stress? Study in mice raises question Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:33 PM PST Chronic stress that produces inflammation and anxiety in mice appears to prime their immune systems for a prolonged fight, causing the animals to have an excessive reaction to a single acute stressor weeks later, new research suggests. After the mice recovered from the effects of chronic stress, a single stressful event 24 days later quickly returned them to a chronically stressed state in biological and behavioral terms. Mice that had not experienced the chronic stress were unaffected by the single acute stressor.

Saving lemurs: Action plan devised to save Madagascar's 101 lemur species Posted: 20 Feb 2014 01:56 PM PST An Canadian primatologist has teamed with 18 lemur conservationists and researchers, many of whom are from Madagascar or have been working there for decades, to devise an action plan to save Madagascar's 101 lemur species. The action plan contains strategies for 30 different priority sites for lemur conservation and aims to help raise funds for individual projects. Lemurs, the most endangered mammal group on Earth, represent more than 20 per cent of the world's primates. Native only to Madagascar, more than 90 percent of the species are threatened with extinction.

Extreme weather caused by climate change decides distribution of insects, study shows Posted: 20 Feb 2014 01:13 PM PST Extreme weather caused by climate change in the coming decades is likely to have profound implications for distributions of insects and other invertebrates. This is suggested by a new study of insects in tropical and temperate regions of Australia. "Our predictions are that some species would disappear entirely in the next few decades, even when they have a fairly wide distribution that currently covers hundreds of kilometers", the researchers conclude.

Premature infants benefit from adult talk, study shows Posted: 20 Feb 2014 01:13 PM PST Premature babies benefit from being exposed to adult talk as early as possible, new research concludes. The goal of the study was to test the association of the amount of talking that a baby was exposed to at what would have been 32 and 36 weeks gestation if a baby had been born full term. It was hypothesized that preterm infants exposed to higher word counts would have higher cognitive and language scores at seven and 18 months corrected age. The results showed the hypothesis to be true.

Eleven new genes affecting blood pressure discovered Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:18 AM PST 11 new DNA sequence variants in genes influencing high blood pressure and heart disease have been discovered. Identifying the new genes contributes to our growing understanding of the biology of blood pressure and, researchers believe, will eventually influence the development of new treatments. More immediately the study highlights opportunities to investigate the use of existing drugs for cardiovascular diseases.

Cortisol: Stress hormone linked to frailty Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:13 AM PST Lower morning and higher evening cortisol levels contribute to frailty in older individuals, according to new research. Frailty confers a high risk for institutionalization and increased risk of mortality and is characterized by unintentional weight loss, feelings of exhaustion and fatigue, physical inactivity, slow gait speed and low grip strength. Neuroendocrine function, including cortisol secretion, is thought to be involved in the etiology of frailty, but until now the underlying biological mechanisms have not been well understood.

Unilateral radiation therapy for advanced stage tonsil cancer results in favorable outcomes Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:26 AM PST Limiting radiation therapy to lymph nodes on one side of the neck for advanced tonsil cancer resulted in good local regional control and no cancer recurrence on the untreated side, according to research. Additionally, the study results indicate that primary tumor location, rather than the amount of lymph node involvement on the tumor side of the neck, dictates the risk for disease in the opposite side of the neck.

Oropharyngeal cancer patients report benefit in salivary function with reduction of radiation dose to bilateral IB lymph nodes Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:26 AM PST For head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, a reduction in the amount of radiation treatment volume to the submandibular (level IB) lymph nodes resulted in better patient-reported salivary function, according to research. The study results also found significant reductions in radiation dose to the salivary organs, and good local regional control.

Patients with oropharyngeal cancer report quality of voice, speech affected post-treatment Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:26 AM PST Oropharyngeal cancer patients treated with combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy reported a decrease in their voice and speech quality (VSQ) for up to one year after the completion of treatment, according to research. The study further shows that limiting the dose of radiation to the glottic larynx (GL) to less than 20 Gy resulted in a decrease in post-treatment VSQ problems, and that patient-reported VSQ indicated more adverse effects from treatment compared to independent physician assessment.

Limiting Radiation to Major Salivary Glands in Head, Neck Cancer Patients Is Feasible, Safe Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:26 AM PST Avoiding the contralateral submandibular gland during radiation therapy is feasible and safe with advanced stage, node positive head and neck cancers and base of tongue lesions, according to research. While this seems worrisome because head and neck cancer spreads through the lymph nodes, it is well established that the risk of cancer involvement in the lymph nodes near the submandibular gland is exceedingly low, yet the benefit of sparing the gland for a patient's quality of life is high.

HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx patients' recurrence differs from HPV-negative patients Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:26 AM PST Patients with HPV-positive squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (SCCOP) had a longer time to development of distant metastasis (DM) after initial treatment, and had more metastatic sites in more atypical locations compared to HPV-negative patients.

Mutant-Allele Tumor Heterogeneity (MATH) in head, neck squamous cell carcinoma patients is effective marker, along with HPV status, of improved patient outcome Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:26 AM PST Evaluating next-generation sequencing (NGS) data and associated clinical records of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients from several institutions, made available through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), showed that combining Mutant-Allele Tumor Heterogeneity (MATH) as a biomarker with the patient's HPV status provides an effective indicator of improved patient outcome, according to research.

HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer patients nearly twice as likely to survive as HPV-negative patients Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:25 AM PST A retrospective analysis of oropharyngeal patients with recurrence of disease after primary therapy found that HPV-positive patients had a higher overall survival rate than HPV-negative patients (at two years post-treatment, 54.6 percent vs. 27.6 percent, respectively), according to research.

Daily Humidification of Mouth, Throat Region During Radiation Therapy for Head, Neck Cancer Reduces Mucositis, Hospitalization Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:25 AM PST Patients who received daily humidification of the mouth and throat region beginning from day one of radiation therapy treatment spent nearly 50 percent fewer days in the hospital to manage their side effects, according to research.

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