ScienceDaily: Top News

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• What lies beneath modern New England? Mountain-building and the end of an ancient ocean
• Critical end-stage liver disease discovery made
• Revolutionary 'metamaterial' has potential to reshape neurosurgery
• Primary HPV screening offers important new option for cervical cancer detection, prevention
• Protein crucial for development of biological rhythms in mice identified by researchers

What lies beneath modern New England? Mountain-building and the end of an ancient ocean Posted: 26 Apr 2014 12:53 PM PDT When and where did the ancient Iapetus Ocean suture (the most fundamental Appalachian structure) form? Is part of New England made up of ancient African-derived rocks? What is the Moretown terrane? A new study finds new evidence for an earlier closing of the Iapetus that is farther west than previous studies have reported.

Critical end-stage liver disease discovery made Posted: 25 Apr 2014 01:23 PM PDT The discovery of an unknown cellular pathway has helped scientists and physicians better understand end-stage liver disease and offers a potential target for new therapeutics that could slow or even reverse the disease's progression. Although cirrhosis of the liver is most commonly associated with alcohol or drug abuse, the condition -- marked by scar tissue replacing healthy liver tissue -- also can result from viral hepatitis, obesity and diabetes, as well as certain inherited diseases.

Revolutionary 'metamaterial' has potential to reshape neurosurgery Posted: 25 Apr 2014 01:23 PM PDT The development of graphene -— a highly advanced metamaterial with many unique and varied properties -— may lead to exciting new applications in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases, according to a report. The authors write, "As a surgical specialty that heavily relies on technological innovations, it is expected that neurosurgery will significantly benefit from several graphene-based technological developments in the next decades."

Primary HPV screening offers important new option for cervical cancer detection, prevention Posted: 24 Apr 2014 01:15 PM PDT New options for detecting and preventing cervical cancer have been welcomed recently into the scientific community, including the primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing recently approved by the FDA. Primary HPV testing does not replace the Pap test, and it is extremely unlikely that doctors will stop using the Pap any time soon. However, FDA approval of primary HPV testing means the HPV test can be used first when screening a woman for cervical cancer.

Protein crucial for development of biological rhythms in mice identified by researchers Posted: 24 Apr 2014 09:46 AM PDT A protein essential to the formation of the tiny brain region in mice that coordinates sleep-wake cycles and other so-called circadian rhythms has been identified by researchers. By disabling the gene for that key protein in test animals, the scientists were able to home in on the mechanism by which that brain region, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN, becomes the body's master clock while the embryo is developing.

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