ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• NASA Mars Orbiter examines dramatic new crater
• NASA satellite eyes Sochi Olympic sites
• Credit card-sized device could analyze biopsy, help diagnose pancreatic cancer in minutes
• Theorists predict new forms of exotic insulating materials: Six new types?
• Autism: Birth hormone may control expression of the syndrome in animals
• Nutritional supplement improves cognitive performance in older adults, study finds
• A key facilitator of mRNA editing uncovered by researchers
• What's love got to do with it? Study on love and sex among America's gay, bisexual men
• Molecular traffic jam makes water move faster through nanochannels
• Quick test finds signs of diarrheal disease
• New combined therapy to treat cancer proposed
• Pacific salmon inherit magnetic sense of direction
• Scientists reprogram skin cells into insulin-producing pancreas cells
• Digital music gets a cubist makeover
• Birds of a different color: Three major genes set feather hue in pigeons
• New microchip demonstrates how metastasis takes place
• Millions of Canadians still struggle to afford food: Report
• New, surprising link between chloracne and molecule that protects cells against stress
• RNA sequencing of 750-year-old barley virus sheds new light on the Crusades
• Proteins snap those wrinkly fingers back into shape: Physicists model skin from wet to dry
• Sneezing sponges suggest existence of sensory organ: Discovery challenges assumptions about 'primitive' organism
• Bacterial fibers critical to human, avian infection
• Converting land to agriculture reduces carbon uptake, study shows
• Falcon feathers pop up during dive
• Valentine's Day advice: Don't let rocky past relations with parents spoil your romance
• Heart disease risk linked with spouses' social support
• A look back and ahead at Greenland's changing climate
• Why do young people fail to find stable jobs and thrive?
• 'Entrance exam' that is key to successful pregnancy
• 'Friendly' robots could allow for more realistic human-android relationships
• Red skies discovered on extreme brown dwarf
• Record rise in insulin use, British study reveals
• Will your child be a slim adult? Crowdsourcing novel childhood predictors of adult obesity
• Some patients receive unnecessary prioritization for liver transplantation
• New analysis of endometriosis could help diagnoses, treatments
• Rural primary care physicians offer insight into rural women's health care

NASA Mars Orbiter examines dramatic new crater Posted: 06 Feb 2014 01:44 PM PST Space rocks hitting Mars excavate fresh craters at a pace of more than 200 per year, but few new Mars scars pack as much visual punch as one seen in a NASA image released Feb. 5, 2014.

NASA satellite eyes Sochi Olympic sites Posted: 06 Feb 2014 01:43 PM PST It's not often that the Winter Olympic Games come with an ocean view, but that's what we are getting this year at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. Sochi is the warmest city ever to host the winter games, which officially run from Feb. 7 through Feb. 23.

Credit card-sized device could analyze biopsy, help diagnose pancreatic cancer in minutes Posted: 06 Feb 2014 12:53 PM PST Scientists and engineers are developing a low-cost device that could help pathologists diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier and faster. The prototype can perform the basic steps for processing a biopsy, relying on fluid transport instead of human hands to process the tissue.

Theorists predict new forms of exotic insulating materials: Six new types? Posted: 06 Feb 2014 11:21 AM PST Topological insulators could exist in six new types not seen before. Topological insulators -- materials whose surfaces can freely conduct electrons even though their interiors are electrical insulators -- have been of great interest to physicists in recent years because of unusual properties that may provide insights into quantum physics. But most analysis of such materials has had to rely on highly simplified models.

Autism: Birth hormone may control expression of the syndrome in animals Posted: 06 Feb 2014 11:21 AM PST A new article demonstrates that chloride levels are abnormally elevated from birth in the neurons of mice used in an animal model of autism. Researchers show for the first time that oxytocin, the birth hormone, brings about a decrease in chloride level during birth, which controls the expression of the autistic syndrome.

Nutritional supplement improves cognitive performance in older adults, study finds Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:39 AM PST A neuroscientist and gerontologist team up to investigate the effects of a antioxidant-rich nutritional supplement on the mental performance of older adults without impaired memory. An initial clinical trial indicates that the supplement, including blueberries and green tea extracts, improves cognitive processing speeds.

A key facilitator of mRNA editing uncovered by researchers Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:39 AM PST Molecular biologists have identified a protein that regulates the information present in a large number of messenger ribonucleic acid molecules that are important for carrying genetic information from DNA to protein synthesis.

What's love got to do with it? Study on love and sex among America's gay, bisexual men Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:39 AM PST A first-of-its-kind study by researchers draws some conclusions to an age-old question: What does love have to do with sex, in particular, among gay and bisexual men in the United States?

Molecular traffic jam makes water move faster through nanochannels Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:38 AM PST Water molecules traveling through tiny carbon nanotube pipes do not flow continuously but rather intermittently, like stop-and-go traffic, with unexpected results, researchers say.

Quick test finds signs of diarrheal disease Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:38 AM PST Bioengineers have developed a simple, highly sensitive and efficient test for the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis that could have great impact in developing countries.

New combined therapy to treat cancer proposed Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:38 AM PST Researchers have discovered how etoposide -- a drug widely used in the treatment of lung and testicular cancers, leukemias and brain tumors -- could increase its efficiency and specificity in combination with other compounds that interfere with cell division.

Pacific salmon inherit magnetic sense of direction Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:36 AM PST A team of scientists last year presented evidence of a correlation between the migration patterns of ocean salmon and Earth's magnetic field, suggesting it may help explain how the fish can navigate across thousands of miles of water to find their river of origin. This week, scientists confirmed the connection between salmon and the magnetic field.

Scientists reprogram skin cells into insulin-producing pancreas cells Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:36 AM PST A cure for type 1 diabetes has long eluded even the top experts. Not because they do not know what must be done -- but because the tools did not exist to do it. But now scientists, harnessing the power of regenerative medicine, have developed a technique in animal models that could replenish the very cells destroyed by the disease.

Digital music gets a cubist makeover Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:34 AM PST An 8-inch wooden cube may be an unlikely spark for a musical revolution -- but that's the hope of a collaboration of electronic engineers and musicians working towards hackable electronic instruments that performers can easily modify to produce sounds in surprising new ways.

Birds of a different color: Three major genes set feather hue in pigeons Posted: 06 Feb 2014 10:33 AM PST Scientists have identified mutations in three key genes that determine feather color in domestic rock pigeons. The same genes control pigmentation of human skin and can be responsible for melanoma and albinism.

New microchip demonstrates how metastasis takes place Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:14 AM PST Nearly 70 percent of patients with advanced breast cancer experience skeletal metastasis, in which cancer cells migrate from a primary tumor into bone -- a painful development that can cause fractures and spinal compression. While scientists are attempting to better understand metastasis in general, not much is known about how and why certain cancers spread to specific organs, such as bone, liver, and lungs. Now researchers have developed a three-dimensional microfluidic platform that mimics the spread of breast cancer cells into a bonelike environment.

Millions of Canadians still struggle to afford food: Report Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:14 AM PST Four million Canadians, including 1.15 million children, are living in households where it is sometimes a struggle to put food on the table, according to researchers.

New, surprising link between chloracne and molecule that protects cells against stress Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:14 AM PST Researchers have discovered a new, surprising link between chloracne and a molecule that protects cells against stress: if Nrf2 gets out of control, disfiguring cysts form on the skin. Nrf2 is thus an interesting candidate for use in skincare creams and for cancer prevention.

RNA sequencing of 750-year-old barley virus sheds new light on the Crusades Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:13 AM PST Scientists have for the first time sequenced an ancient RNA genome -- of a barley virus once believed to be only 150 years old -- pushing its origin back at least 2,000 years and revealing how intense farming at the time of the Crusades contributed to its spread.

Proteins snap those wrinkly fingers back into shape: Physicists model skin from wet to dry Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:13 AM PST You know how your fingers wrinkle up in the bath? The outer layer of your skin absorbs water and swells up, forming ridges -- but quickly returns to its old state when dry. Physicists have shown just why skin has this remarkable ability.

Sneezing sponges suggest existence of sensory organ: Discovery challenges assumptions about 'primitive' organism Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:01 AM PST Biologists have used a variety of drugs to elicit sneezes in freshwater sponges and observed the process using fluorescent dye. Their efforts focused on the sponge's osculum, which controls water exiting the organism, including water expelled during a sneeze.

Bacterial fibers critical to human, avian infection Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:11 AM PST Researchers targeted a specific group of threadlike fibers known as E. coli common pilus, which adorn bacterial cell surfaces. In the first study of its kind, they analyzed the way these structures contribute to avian pathogenic E. coli's ability to cause infection and form dense cell aggregates known as biofilms.

Converting land to agriculture reduces carbon uptake, study shows Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:11 AM PST Researchers examined the impact that converting natural land to cropland has on global vegetation growth, as measured by satellite-derived net primary production, or NPP. They found that measures of terrestrial vegetation growth actually decrease with agricultural conversion, which has important implications for terrestrial carbon storage.

Falcon feathers pop up during dive Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:11 AM PST Similar to wings and fins with self-adaptive flaps, the feathers on a diving peregrine falcon's feathers may pop up during high speed dives.

Valentine's Day advice: Don't let rocky past relations with parents spoil your romance Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:11 AM PST The love between parents and teens -- however stormy or peaceful -- may influence whether those children are successful in romance, even up to 15 years later, according to a new study.

Heart disease risk linked with spouses' social support Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:10 AM PST Matters of the heart can influence actual heart health. A new study published shows that the ways in which your spouse is supportive -- and how you support your spouse -- can actually have significant bearing on your overall cardiovascular health.

A look back and ahead at Greenland's changing climate Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:10 AM PST Over the past two decades, ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet increased four-fold, contributing to one-quarter of global sea level rise. However, the chain of events and physical processes that contributed to it has remained elusive. One likely trigger for the speed up and retreat of glaciers that contributed to this ice loss is ocean warming.

Why do young people fail to find stable jobs and thrive? Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:10 AM PST Around the world, more and more young people are failing to find stable jobs and live independently. A new study explains why.

'Entrance exam' that is key to successful pregnancy Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:07 AM PST Researchers have discovered how an 'entrance exam' set by the womb determines if the implantation of an embryo is successful; potentially a milestone for advances in pregnancy treatments.

'Friendly' robots could allow for more realistic human-android relationships Posted: 06 Feb 2014 05:24 AM PST Two 'friendly' robots, including a 3D-printed humanistic android, are helping scientists to understand how more realistic long-term relationships might be developed between humans and androids.

Red skies discovered on extreme brown dwarf Posted: 06 Feb 2014 05:23 AM PST A peculiar example of a celestial body, known as a brown dwarf, with unusually red skies has been discovered by a team of astronomers.

Record rise in insulin use, British study reveals Posted: 05 Feb 2014 06:04 PM PST The use of insulin to treat type 2 diabetes has tripled in the UK over the last 20 years, a new study has revealed.

Will your child be a slim adult? Crowdsourcing novel childhood predictors of adult obesity Posted: 05 Feb 2014 03:47 PM PST This novel study asked 532 international English speaking adults to submit or crowd-source predictors of whether a child is going to be an overweight or a slim adult. The results indicate that crowd-sourced information could be used to identify new predictors that may, after further study, be useful in understanding and reducing obesity. Furthermore, the trends in BMI obtained through this study provide insights into behaviors that should be encouraged to help children maintain a healthy BMI into adulthood.

Some patients receive unnecessary prioritization for liver transplantation Posted: 05 Feb 2014 01:55 PM PST Patients waiting for liver transplants who develop hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), a lung disorder associated with end-stage liver disease, are eligible to move up on the wait list. In a new paper, however, researchers argue the so-called "exception points" given to these patients award some HPS patients unnecessary priority over others on the list, which includes about 17,000 patients.

New analysis of endometriosis could help diagnoses, treatments Posted: 05 Feb 2014 11:37 AM PST Researchers find that new analysis of endometriosis patients could help scientists develop better treatments and more revealing diagnoses.

Rural primary care physicians offer insight into rural women's health care Posted: 05 Feb 2014 09:55 AM PST Women living in rural communities are less likely than urban-dwelling women to receive sufficient mental health care, in large part due to limited access to services and societal stigma, according to medicine and public health researchers.

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