Biology may not be so complex after all, physicist finds
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT
Centuries ago, scientists began reducing the physics of the universe into key laws described by a handful of parameters. Such simple descriptions have remained elusive for complex biological systems -- until now. A biophysicist has identified parameters for several biochemical networks that distill the entire behavior of these systems into simple equivalent dynamics. The discovery may hold the potential to streamline the development of drugs and diagnostic tools, by simplifying the research models.
|
Stress during pregnancy may increase offspring's risk of asthma
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT
Stress during pregnancy may raise the risk of asthma in offspring, according to researchers. The researchers investigated differences in immune function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with lower stress and found marked differences in patterns that may be associated with asthma risk later in life.
|
In search of key blue ingredient in ancient Egyptian pottery
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT
As one of the "generic geologists" on a dig called the Dakhleh Oasis Project, associate professor Jennifer Smith was asked to sample the alum from ancient mines and to determine whether it could be the source of the blue in the "blue painted pottery" found at sites dating from the New Kingdom. It was a small question but an intriguing one.
|
Young men and elderly women at biggest risk for shoulder dislocations
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT
The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the body and consequently one of the most commonly dislocated joints.
|
Cows like leaves their tongues can wrap around easily
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT
Lots of leaves growing in easy reach of a cow's tongue means less time and less land needed to raise beef cattle.
|
Some bullies are just the shy type: New research shows a darker side to social anxiety disorder
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EDT
When you think of people suffering from social anxiety, you probably characterize them as shy, inhibited and submissive. However, new research from psychologists suggests that there is a subset of socially anxious people who act out in aggressive, risky ways -- and that their behavior patterns are often misunderstood.
|
Songbirds yield insight into speech production
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT
With the help of a little singing bird, physicists are gaining insight into how the human brain functions, which may lead to a better understanding of complex vocal behavior, human speech production and ultimately, speech disorders and related diseases.
|
Women with swine flu 13 times more likely to suffer critical illness if they are pregnant, study finds
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT
Pregnant women in Australia and New Zealand who had swine flu were 13 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with a critical illness, according to new research.
|
Stem cells used to model infant birth defect
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT
Researchers recently discovered that infantile hemangiomas originate from stem cells, and have used these stem cells to better understand this tumor in the laboratory. They show that steroids target hemangioma stem cells specifically, reveal their mechanism of their action and suggest other possible ways to halt and shrink hemangiomas.
|
Tool to measure severity of chronic graft-vs.-host disease symptoms
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT
Researchers have developed a new assessment tool to measure the severity of symptoms that can complicate stem cell transplantation. The tool assesses symptoms resulting from chronic graft-vs.-host disease (cGVHD).
|
Supermarket lighting enhances nutrient level of fresh spinach
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT
Far from being a food spoiler, the fluorescent lighting in supermarkets actually can boost the nutritional value of fresh spinach, scientists are reporting. The finding could lead to improved ways of preserving and enhancing the nutritional value of spinach and perhaps other veggies, they suggest.
|
Environment may impact apes' ability to understand declarative communication, study suggests
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EDT
Bonobos and chimpanzees that had been reared in socio-linguistically rich environments (i.e., lots of opportunities for complex communicative interactions with humans) performed significantly better in the pointing, vocalizing, and pointing-and-vocalizing conditions of an object-choice task than did chimpanzees that had been reared in standard laboratory settings. These results indicate that apes may have the potential for understanding declarative communication and this potential may be achieved in specific environments.
|
'Glow-in-the-dark' sperm sheds light on reproductive biology, sexual selection and speciation
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT
By genetically altering fruit flies so that the heads of their sperm were fluorescent green or red, biologists were able to observe in striking detail what happens to live sperm inside the female. The findings may have huge implications for the fields of reproductive biology, sexual selection and speciation.
|
'Flying vaccinator': Can genetically engineered mosquitoes provide a new strategy against malaria?
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT
Mosquitoes transmit infectious diseases to millions of people every year, including malaria for which there is no effective vaccine. New research reveals that mosquito genetic engineering may turn the transmitter into a natural "flying vaccinator," providing a new strategy for biological control over the disease.
|
Light twists rigid structures in unexpected nanotech finding
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT
In findings that took the experimenters three years to believe, engineers have demonstrated that light itself can twist ribbons of nanoparticles.
|
Extreme obesity affecting more children at younger ages
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT
Extreme obesity is affecting more children at younger ages, with 12 percent of black teenage girls, 11.2 percent of Hispanic teenage boys, 7.3 percent of boys and 5.5 percent of girls now classified as extremely obese, according to a study of 710,949 children and teens.
|
Mineral studies advance antibacterial alternatives
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT
Alternative approaches to medicine are stock-in-trade in the Arizona State University laboratory of microbiologist Shelley Haydel. So when ASU senior Jenny Koehl joined Haydel's investigative team seeking firsthand knowledge of how basic research is done, how drugs are tested and potential cures produced, she found it and much more.
|
Feeling lonely adds to rate of blood pressure increase in people 50 years old and older
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT
Chronic feelings of loneliness take a toll on blood pressure over time, causing a marked increase after four years. A new study shows, for the first time, a direct relation between loneliness and larger increases in blood pressure four years later -- a link that is independent of age and other factors that could cause blood pressure to rise, including body-mass index, smoking, alcohol use and demographic differences such as race and income.
|
Students discover new species of raptor dinosaur in Inner Mongolia
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EDT
A new species of dinosaur, a relative of the famous Velociraptor, has been discovered in Inner Mongolia by two Ph.D. students. The exceptionally well preserved dinosaur, named Linheraptor exquisitus, is the first near complete skeleton of its kind to be found in the Gobi desert since 1972, and will help scientists work out the appearance of other closely related dinosaur species.
|
Shutting out soft tissue cancers in the cold
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EDT
Cryotherapy, an interventional radiology treatment to freeze cancer tumors, may become the treatment of the future for cancer that has metastasized in soft tissues (such as ovarian cancer) and in bone tumors. Such patients are often not candidates for surgery and would benefit from minimally invasive treatment, say researchers.
|
Urban CO2 domes increase deaths, poke hole in cap-and-trade proposal
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EDT
In the first study ever done on the local health effects of the domes of carbon dioxide that develop above cities, researchers found that the domes increase the local death rate. The result provides a scientific basis for regulating CO2 emissions at the local level and points out a significant oversight in the carbon dioxide "cap-and-trade" proposal that was passed by the House of Representatives in June 2009.
|
Vitamin A: Key mechanism that guides cells to form heart tissue
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EDT
Researchers have identified a key cellular mechanism that guides embryonic heart tissue formation -- a process which, if disrupted, can lead to a number of common congenital heart defects.
|
Weak laser can ignite nanoparticles, with exciting possibilities
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EDT
Engineering researchers have found they can ignite certain nanoparticles using a low-power laser, a development they say opens the door to a wave of new technologies in health care, computing and automotive design.
|
Could a pill increase learning ability post-puberty?
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EDT
New research shows that a novel brain receptor, alpha4-beta-delta, emerges at puberty in the hippocampus, part of the brain that controls learning and memory.
|
Earlier butterfly emergence linked to climate change
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EDT
Butterflies are emerging in spring over 10 days earlier than they did 65 years ago, a shift that has been linked to regional human-induced climate change in an Australian-led study. The work reveals a causal link between increasing greenhouse gases, regional warming and the change in timing of a natural event.
|
Targeting blood vessels, immune system may offer way to stop infection-caused inflammation
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EDT
Treating virulent influenza, sepsis, and other potentially deadly infections long has focused on looking for ways to kill viruses and bacteria. But new research shows that modulating the body's own overeager inflammatory response to infection may help save more lives.
|
Layered graphene sheets could solve hydrogen storage issues
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EDT
Stacked sheets of graphene may be a promising material for capturing and storing hydrogen for future fuel-cell systems according to recent research.
|
New TB booster shows promise
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EDT
A booster shot appears to improve tuberculosis (TB) resistance in previously vaccinated adults, according to new research in South Africa.
|
New statistical method for genetic studies could cut computation time from years to hours
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EDT
Mathematicians have developed a new computational strategy for genome-wide association studies that corrects for population structure and is both faster and easier to use.
|
A magical way to move kids: Researcher uses magic tricks to treat children with locomotor disabilities
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EDT
An innovative yet remarkably simple series of therapeutic exercises has been developed for children and young adults based on sleight-of-hand tricks used by professional magicians.
|
WISE captures a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EDT
A new infrared image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, shows a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars. The stars, called the Berkeley 59 cluster, are the blue dots to the right of the image center. They are ripening out of the dust cloud from which they formed, and at just a few million years old, are young on stellar time scales.
|
Stem cells suspended in X-ray-visible microbubbles build new blood vessels to treat peripheral arterial disease
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EDT
Bone marrow stem cells suspended in X-ray-visible microbubbles dramatically improve the body's ability to build new blood vessels in the upper leg -- providing a potential future treatment for those with peripheral arterial disease or PAD, say researchers.
|
African bird discovery proves there is something new under the sun
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EDT
"Four and 20 black birds baked in a pie" -- but wait, one has blue-gray eyes. That discovery, backed by DNA analysis, means scientists now know there is one more species of black shrike in the Albertine Rift of Africa than was previously thought. And if Dr. Gary Voelker has his way, he'll soon be studying the bird's habits to determine its susceptibility to the deforestation now occurring across its native habitat.
|
New chemotherapy combination shows promise in endometrial cancer, researchers find
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EDT
Researchers report that in a small study of women with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, gemcitabine and cisplatin, when used in combination, produced a response rate in fifty percent of patients.
|
New lunar images and data available to the public
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EDT
The general public can now follow along with NASA on its journey of lunar discovery. On March 15, the publicly accessible Planetary Data System released data sets from the seven instruments on board NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
|
Novel 'medical home' program for pediatric patients, families cuts ER visits in half
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EDT
In the first quantitative study to look at the benefits of utilizing the medical home concept in a resident-education outpatient clinic at a specialized children's hospital, researchers found that participation in the program significantly reduced families' use of the emergency room.
|
Nano-based RFID tags could replace bar codes
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EDT
Researchers have come up with an inexpensive, printable transmitter that can be invisibly embedded in packaging. It would allow a customer to walk a cart full of groceries or other goods past a scanner on the way to the car.
|
Researcher maps how age, gender can affect risk to radiation exposure
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EDT
Scientists imaged cartilage, bone marrow and two types of mineral bone in 20 different skeletal sites from two newborns to learn more about how much radiation is absorbed by the body. They discovered that children have a greater percentage of total mineral bone in direct contact with sensitive bone marrow than do adults. This has implications for radiation treatments and types of chemotherapy used to treat cancer patients, especially therapies targeting pediatric bone cancers.
|
Cloves are 'best' natural antioxidant, Spanish study finds
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EDT
Using spices eaten in the Mediterranean diet as natural antioxidants is a good way forward for the food industry, given the beneficial health effects of these products. This has been shown by researchers in Spain who have put the clove in first place.
|
Preventive behaviors limited household transmission of H1N1 influenza during initial outbreak
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EDT
Simple, common sense behaviors, including having a discussion at home about how to prevent influenza, can help limit the spread of H1N1 in a household, according to a study of the initial outbreak in New York City in 2009.
|
Measuring protein movements with nanosecond resolution
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EDT
Researchers who developed a method for observing nanosecond-scale movements of proteins have used it to distinguish two structural forms where only one was known. The experiments focused on HP35 in the protein villin, which contributes to cells' stability by linking actin filaments. More generally, the results suggest that this method, based on fast electron transfer between different parts of a protein, could help unlock the mechanisms behind folding and misfolding of proteins.
|
Progress has been made in war on cancer, but still many challenges
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EDT
Although there have been achievements in the battle against cancer, including a decrease in the rate of death and new diagnoses, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the US, with a need for continued improvement in the areas of prevention, detection and treatment, according to a commentary.
|
Designer nanomaterials on demand: Scientists report universal method for creating nanoscale composites
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT
Researchers have developed a universal method by which designer nanomaterials can be created on demand. This scheme can be used to create materials for battery electrodes, photovoltaics and electronic data storage among a great many other possible applications.
|
Causes found for stiff skin conditions
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT
By studying the genetics of a rare inherited disorder called stiff skin syndrome, researchers have learned more about scleroderma, a condition affecting about one in 5,000 people that leads to hardening of the skin as well as other debilitating and often life-threatening problems. The findings, which appear this week in Science Translational Medicine, open doors to testing new treatments.
|
Brain Waves and Mediation
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT
We all know that mediation helps relax people, but what exactly happens in the brain during mediation? A new study suggests that nondirective meditation yields more marked changes in electrical brain wave activity associated with wakeful, relaxed attention than just resting without any specific mental technique.
|
Molecular brake for the bacterial flagellar nano-motor
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT
Researchers have now discovered that Escherichia coli bacteria harness a sophisticated chemosensory and signal transduction machinery that allows them to accurately control motor rotation, thereby adjusting their swimming velocity in response to changing environments. The research may foster the development of novel strategies to fight persistent infections.
|
Stem Cell Networks in Zebrafish
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT
Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) have invaluable potential for regenerative medicine. Scientists are only just beginning to understand the diverse developmental possibilities (“pluripotency”) of ES cells. The Pou5f1/Oct4 protein is one of the most important stem cell factors. However, in contrast to Pou5f1/Oct4 itself, little is known about the structure and function of the regulatory network it controls.
|
Ability to tolerate enemies influences coevolution
ScienceDaily
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EDT
Stay and fight, or flee? These are usually the alternatives facing a victim when it is attacked by an enemy. Two researchers have now collected and discussed various examples from the animal world where the victim makes use of another possibility.
|
