ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Survival after cancer diagnosis strongly associated with governments spending on health care
• New medical device extremely effective at preventing HIV in women
• Human robot getting closer: iCub robot must learn from its experiences
• Superfast switching of quantum light sources
• Human influence on climate clear, IPCC report says
• Cell powerhouses shape one's risk of heart disease
• In prostate cancer prognosis, telomere length may matter
• Professor develops 'brain' for robots
• New gut bacterium discovered in termite's digestion of wood
• Mucus useful in treating IBD, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease
• Wildlife face 'Armageddon' as forests shrink
• Antibiotic resistance in agricultural environments: A call to action
• Methane Out, Carbon Dioxide In?
• First long temperature reconstruction for the eastern Mediterranean based on tree rings
• Microbes facilitate the persistence, spread of invasive plant species by changing soil chemistry
• Scientists discover important wound-healing process
• Pan-cancer studies find common patterns shared by different tumor types
• Future sea level rises should not restrict new island formation in the Maldives
• Facebook data used to predict users' age, gender and personality traits
• Beautiful brushstrokes drawn from data
• Folic acid deficiency can affect the health of great, great grandchildren
• 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein offers a new route to cancer drugs
• Made to order at the synapse: Dynamics of protein synthesis at neuron tip
• Key cellular mechanism in body's 'battery' can either spur or stop obesity
• Study of 'sister' stem cells uncovers new cancer clue
• Newly identified antibodies effectively treat Alzheimer's-like disease in mice
• Patient's own cells might be used as treatment for Parkinson's disease

Survival after cancer diagnosis strongly associated with governments spending on health care Posted: 27 Sep 2013 03:31 PM PDT The more an EU (European Union) national government spends on health, the fewer the deaths after a cancer diagnosis in that country, according to new research.

New medical device extremely effective at preventing HIV in women Posted: 27 Sep 2013 09:35 AM PDT An intravaginal ring effectively delivers HIV-preventing drugs for one month.

Human robot getting closer: iCub robot must learn from its experiences Posted: 27 Sep 2013 06:45 AM PDT A robot that feels, sees and, in particular, thinks and learns like us. It still seems like science fiction, but new research hints that it could happen. Scientists are working to implement the cognitive process of the human brain in robots. A new humanoid will blur the boundaries between robot and human.

Superfast switching of quantum light sources Posted: 27 Sep 2013 06:23 AM PDT Usually, an elementary light source – such as an excited atom or molecule – emits light of a particular color at an unpredictable instance in time. Recently, however, scientists have shown that a light source can be coaxed to emit light at a desired moment in time, within an ultrashort burst. The superfast switching of a light source has applications in fast stroboscopes without laser speckle, in the precise control of quantum systems and for ultrasecure communication using quantum cryptography.

Human influence on climate clear, IPCC report says Posted: 27 Sep 2013 06:23 AM PDT Human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident in most regions of the globe, a new assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes. It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. The evidence for this has grown, thanks to more and better observations, an improved understanding of the climate system response and improved climate models.

Cell powerhouses shape one's risk of heart disease Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:44 PM PDT Genes in mitochondria, the "powerhouses" that turn sugar into energy in human cells, shape each person's risk for heart disease and diabetes.

In prostate cancer prognosis, telomere length may matter Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:11 PM PDT Like the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces, telomeres protect — in their case — the interior-gene containing parts of chromosomes that carry a cell's instructional material. Cancer cells are known to have short telomeres, but just how short they are from cancer cell to cancer cell may be a determining factor in a prostate cancer patient's prognosis.

Professor develops 'brain' for robots Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:11 PM PDT Scientists have developed a new feedback system to remotely control mobile robots. This research will allow robots to operate with minimal supervision and could eventually lead to a robot that can learn or even become autonomous.

New gut bacterium discovered in termite's digestion of wood Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT When termites munch on wood, the small bits feed a community of microbes living in their guts. In a process called acetogenesis, some of these microbes turn the hard, fibrous material into a nutritious meal for the termite host. Researchers have now discovered a previously unidentified bacterium -- living on the surface of a larger microorganism in the gut -- that may be responsible for most gut acetogenesis.

Mucus useful in treating IBD, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT Researchers foresee a day when mucus could be manufactured and given to sick people to help them fight inflammation and increase immunity. For the first time ever, they report that mucus in the large intestine provides a valuable anti-inflammatory and self-regulating immune function.

Wildlife face 'Armageddon' as forests shrink Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT Species living in rainforest fragments could be far more likely to disappear than was previously thought, says an international team of scientists. In a study spanning two decades, the researchers witnessed the near-complete extinction of native small mammals on forest islands created by a large hydroelectric reservoir in Thailand.

Antibiotic resistance in agricultural environments: A call to action Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:29 AM PDT Antibiotic resistant (ABR) pathogens are an emerging, critical human health issue. ABR has been found in soils dating back for millennia. Current research illustrates the need for considering natural, background resistance in soils in any scientific study examining the effects of antibiotics on the environment.

Methane Out, Carbon Dioxide In? Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:28 AM PDT Researchers have found that the Marcellus Shale geological formation in Pennsylvania has the potential to store roughly 50 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions produced from stationary sources between 2018 and 2030.

First long temperature reconstruction for the eastern Mediterranean based on tree rings Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:16 AM PDT For the eastern Mediterranean, an exactly dated time series of almost 900 year length was established, exhibiting the medieval warm period, the little ice age between the 16th and 19th century as well as the transition into the modern warm phase.

Microbes facilitate the persistence, spread of invasive plant species by changing soil chemistry Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:16 AM PDT Invasive species are among the world's greatest threats to native species and biodiversity. Once established, invasive plants can alter soil chemistry and shift nutrient cycling in an ecosystem, impacting not only plant composition, diversity, and succession within a community, but also in the cycling of critical elements like carbon and nitrogen on a much larger scale. Could changes in soil biogeochemistry be due to an advantage that invasive plants get from interacting with their microbiome?

Scientists discover important wound-healing process Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:16 AM PDT Scientists have discovered an important process by which special immune cells in the skin help heal wounds. They found that these skin-resident immune cells function as "first responders" to skin injuries in part by producing the molecule known as interleukin-17A, which wards off infection and promotes wound healing.

Pan-cancer studies find common patterns shared by different tumor types Posted: 26 Sep 2013 10:16 AM PDT Molecular analysis now shows that cancers of different organs have many shared features, while cancers from the same organ or tissue are often quite distinct. The Pan-Cancer Initiative, a major effort to analyze the molecular aberrations in cancer cells across a range of tumor types, has yielded an abundance of new findings.

Future sea level rises should not restrict new island formation in the Maldives Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT The continued accumulation of sand within the iconic ring-shaped reefs inside Maldivian atolls could provide a foundation for future island development new research suggests. Islands like the Maldives are considered likely to be the first to feel the effects of climate change induced sea level rise, with future island growth essential to counter the threat of rising sea levels.

Facebook data used to predict users' age, gender and personality traits Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT In the age of social media, people's inner lives are increasingly recorded through the language they use online. With this in mind, an interdisciplinary group of researchers is interested in whether a computational analysis of this language can provide as much, or more, insight into their personalities as traditional methods used by psychologists, such as self-reported surveys and questionnaires.

Beautiful brushstrokes drawn from data Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT A good painter uses simple strokes of a brush to bring texture, contrast and depth to a blank canvas. In comparison, computer programs can have difficulty reproducing the complex and varied forms of brushstrokes, and often require painstaking effort to mimic a brief sweep of paint. A new program creates the look and texture of actual brushstrokes.

Folic acid deficiency can affect the health of great, great grandchildren Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT A study reveals that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts the immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects on the next several generations.

'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein offers a new route to cancer drugs Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT The mood changes of a 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein, which sometimes boosts tumour cell growth and at other times suppresses it, have been explained in a new study.

Made to order at the synapse: Dynamics of protein synthesis at neuron tip Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT Protein synthesis in nerve cell dendrites underlies long-term memory formation in the brain, among other functions. Knowing how proteins are made to order at the synapse can help researchers better understand how memories are made. RNA translation is dictated by translational hotspots, where translation is occurring in a ribosome at any one time in a discrete spot.

Key cellular mechanism in body's 'battery' can either spur or stop obesity Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT Becoming obese or remaining lean can depend on the dynamics of the mitochondria, the body's energy-producing "battery," according to two new studies.

Study of 'sister' stem cells uncovers new cancer clue Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT Scientists have used a brand new technique for examining individual stem cells to uncover dramatic differences in the gene expression levels -- which genes are turned 'up' or 'down'-- between apparently identical 'sister' pairs. The research provides the latest evidence that despite having identical DNA, sister stem cells can display considerable differences in their molecular characteristics.

Newly identified antibodies effectively treat Alzheimer's-like disease in mice Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation of particular toxic proteins in the brain that are believed to underlie the cognitive decline in patients. A new study conducted in mice suggests that newly identified antibody treatments can prevent the accumulation of one of these of these toxic components, called tau proteins. The findings suggest that these antibodies may provide a basis for a promising therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Patient's own cells might be used as treatment for Parkinson's disease Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT Studies in rodents have suggested that the body may mount an immune response and destroy cells derived from iPSCs. New research in monkeys refutes these findings, suggesting that in primates like us, such cells will not be rejected by the immune system. In the paper iPSCs from nonhuman primates successfully developed into the neurons depleted by Parkinson's disease while eliciting only a minimal immune response. The cells therefore could hold promise for successful transplantation in humans.

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