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• Health policy researchers lack confidence in social media for communicating scientific evidence
• Evolution of a bimetallic nanocatalyst
• El Hierro Volcano helps improve algorithms used by satellites
• U.S. Fed interventions during financial crisis actually worked, study finds
• Biologists pave the way for improved epilepsy treatments
• Opening a wide window on the nano-world of surface catalysis
• Shatterproof screens that save smartphones
• Method of synthesizing new type of nickel-carbon heterofullerenes
• New species of ancient chirping giant pill-millipedes from Madagascar already threatened
• Magnetic moment of the proton measured with unprecedented precision
• HIV transmission networks mapped to reduce infection rate
• Fecal source tracking in Norwegian water catchments: New methods
• Drastic cut in electricity bill for supermarket in Norway
• Infection in malaria-transmitting mosquito discovered
• For forests, an earlier spring than ever: climate change leads to increased growing season and allows forests to store more CO2
• Climate change: Termites, fungi play more important role in decomposition than temperature
• New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia
• Brain circuit problem likely sets stage for the 'voices' that are symptom of schizophrenia
• On-off switch to burning stored fat found by scientists

Health policy researchers lack confidence in social media for communicating scientific evidence Posted: 06 Jun 2014 10:54 AM PDT Though Twitter boats 645 million users across the world, only 14 percent of health policy researchers reported using Twitter – and approximately 20 percent used blogs and Facebook – to communicate their research findings over the past year, according to a new study. In contrast, sixty-five percent used traditional media channels, such as press releases or media interviews. While participants believed that social media can be an effective way to communicate research findings, many lacked the confidence to use it and felt their academic peers and institutions did not value it or respect it as much as traditional media and direct contact with policy makers.

Evolution of a bimetallic nanocatalyst Posted: 06 Jun 2014 10:14 AM PDT Atomic-scale snapshots of a bimetallic nanoparticle catalyst in action have provided insights that could help improve the industrial process by which fuels and chemicals are synthesized from natural gas, coal or plant biomass.

El Hierro Volcano helps improve algorithms used by satellites Posted: 06 Jun 2014 09:04 AM PDT Information provided by satellites on the amount of chlorophyll-A and the roughness of the sea following the eruption of the underwater volcano off the island of El Hierro (Spain) did not coincide with the actual data collected in situ by vessels carrying out oceanographic studies. The models have been corrected by researchers who have for the first time processed very high resolution images of this kind of natural phenomenon captured from space.

U.S. Fed interventions during financial crisis actually worked, study finds Posted: 06 Jun 2014 09:04 AM PDT Contrary to popular belief, the Federal Reserve's effort to encourage banks' lending during the recent financial crisis by providing them short-term loans worked -- and, in fact, worked quite well, a new study finds.

Biologists pave the way for improved epilepsy treatments Posted: 06 Jun 2014 09:04 AM PDT Biologists leading an investigation into the cells that regulate proper brain function, have identified and located the key players whose actions contribute to afflictions such as epilepsy and schizophrenia. The discovery is a major step toward developing improved treatments for these and other neurological disorders.

Opening a wide window on the nano-world of surface catalysis Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:20 AM PDT A surface catalyst with a built-in sensor: that's what chemists built by bridging a size gap on the nano-scale. Their silver nanoparticles combine plasmon resonance with catalytic activity, making SERS and other analytical data available in real time on a surface catalyst.

Shatterproof screens that save smartphones Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:20 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated how a transparent layer of electrodes on a polymer surface could be extraordinarily tough and flexible, withstanding repeated Scotch tape peeling and bending tests.

Method of synthesizing new type of nickel-carbon heterofullerenes Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:20 AM PDT Scientists have come up with a method of synthesizing a new type of nickel-carbon compound. Heterofullerenes are hollow molecules with a nearly-spherical shape, which, unlike the typical fullerenes, contain atoms of elements other than carbon. Such compounds were synthesized quite a while ago, in 1991, but till now no heterofullerenes containing nickel, or any other transition metal, have been obtained.

New species of ancient chirping giant pill-millipedes from Madagascar already threatened Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:20 AM PDT An integrative inventory of chirping giant pill-millipede species in Madagascar revealed seven new species, many of them microendemics. These microendemics that can only be found in small forest fragments, less than a few hundred meters long and wide, are possibly threatened by rainforest destruction.

Magnetic moment of the proton measured with unprecedented precision Posted: 06 Jun 2014 07:19 AM PDT Physicists succeeded in the first direct high-precision measurement of a fundamental property of the proton. Results will contribute to a better understanding of the matter/antimatter asymmetry.

HIV transmission networks mapped to reduce infection rate Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:18 AM PDT The transmission network of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been mapped in San Diego. The mapping of HIV infections, which used genetic sequencing, allowed researchers to predictively model the likelihood of new HIV transmissions and identify persons at greatest risk for transmitting the virus.

Fecal source tracking in Norwegian water catchments: New methods Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:15 AM PDT A set of methods for the detection of fecal pollution in Norwegian watercourses has been tested and implemented. The methods, which combine microbial and molecular biological techniques, can give answers as to whether the contamination is a result of human or animal excreta. In addition, the methods provide grounds for assessing whether the water pollution poses a health risk or not.

Drastic cut in electricity bill for supermarket in Norway Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:15 AM PDT A newly built mini-supermarket was opened last autumn in Norway by a government minister to the sound of a brass band. Throughout the winter, it used 30 per cent less electricity than four comparable stores in the capital of mid-Norway, where of course the outdoor temperature was the same for all of them.

Infection in malaria-transmitting mosquito discovered Posted: 06 Jun 2014 06:11 AM PDT The first evidence of an intercellular bacterial infection in natural populations of two species of Anopheles mosquitoes, the major vectors of malaria in Africa, has been found by scientists. The infection, called Wolbachia, has been shown in labs to reduce the incidence of pathogen infections in mosquitoes and has the potential to be used in controlling malaria-transmitting mosquito populations.

For forests, an earlier spring than ever: climate change leads to increased growing season and allows forests to store more CO2 Posted: 05 Jun 2014 03:36 PM PDT Over the last two decades, spurred by higher temperatures caused by climate change, scientists say, forests throughout the Eastern US have experienced earlier springs and later autumns than ever before. Over the last two decades, spurred by higher temperatures caused by climate change, scientists say forests throughout the Eastern U.S. have experienced earlier springs and later autumns than ever before.

Climate change: Termites, fungi play more important role in decomposition than temperature Posted: 05 Jun 2014 03:36 PM PDT Climate change models could have a thing or two to learn from termites and fungi, according to a new study. For a long time scientists have believed that temperature is the dominant factor in determining the rate of wood decomposition worldwide. Decomposition matters because the speed at which woody material are broken down strongly influences the retention of carbon in forest ecosystems and can help to offset the loss of carbon to the atmosphere from other sources. That makes the decomposition rate a key factor in detecting potential changes to the climate.

New evidence links air pollution to autism, schizophrenia Posted: 05 Jun 2014 12:57 PM PDT A new study describes how exposure to air pollution early in life produces harmful changes in the brains of mice, including an enlargement of part of the brain that is seen in humans who have autism and schizophrenia. The mice performed poorly in tests of short-term memory, learning ability, and impulsivity. Study authors say the findings are very suggestive that air pollution may play a role in autism, as well as in other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Brain circuit problem likely sets stage for the 'voices' that are symptom of schizophrenia Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:19 AM PDT Scientists have identified problems in a connection between brain structures that may predispose individuals to hearing the 'voices' that are a common symptom of schizophrenia. Researchers linked the problem to a gene deletion. This leads to changes in brain chemistry that reduce the flow of information between two brain structures involved in processing auditory information.

On-off switch to burning stored fat found by scientists Posted: 05 Jun 2014 11:19 AM PDT Scientists' discovery of how white fat cells are converted to beige, and the on-off switch for the process, could lead to novel diabetes and obesity drugs. "Understanding how beigeing is controlled is so very important because if we can improve energy expenditure, we can reduce obesity," the lead author said.

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