ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, September 12, 2011 ~ gwinnetttech

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, September 12, 2011

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Sea urchins see with their whole body (September 12, 2011) -- Many animals have eyes that are incredibly complex -- others manage without. Researchers have now shown that sea urchins see with their entire body despite having no eyes at all. ... > full story

Research points to potential therapy for tumor-associated epilepsy (September 12, 2011) -- Brain tumors called gliomas are often associated with seizures, but why the seizures occur and how to effectively treat them have been elusive. A research team has found that human gliomas implanted in mice release excess levels of the brain chemical glutamate, overstimulating neurons near the tumor and triggering seizures. Sulfasalazine, a drug on the market for treating certain inflammatory disorders, reduced seizures in the mice. ... > full story

Young stars take a turn in the spotlight (September 12, 2011) -- The European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope has captured a striking image of the open cluster NGC 2100. This brilliant star cluster is around 15 million years old, and located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The cluster is surrounded by glowing gas from the nearby Tarantula Nebula. ... > full story

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome may be linked to dysregulated neuronal RNA transport, study suggests (September 12, 2011) -- A new study suggests that cellular dysregulation associated with certain neurodegenerative disorders may result from molecular competition in neuronal RNA transport pathways. ... > full story

A guiding light for new directions in energy production: Optofluidics could help solve the energy challenge (September 12, 2011) -- Optofluidics is the study of microfluidics -- the microscopic delivery of fluids through extremely small channels or tubes -- combined with optics. In a new review, researchers argue that optofluidics is poised to take on one of this century's most important challenges: energy. ... > full story

Withdrawing life support for traumatic brain injuries needs cautious approach, study finds (September 12, 2011) -- Death following severe traumatic brain injury is associated with a highly variable incidence of withdrawal of life support at the end of life, finds a new study. Rates of withdrawal of life support vary between hospitals, and caution should be used in making this decision, the study states. ... > full story

Neuroscientists find famous optical illusion surprisingly potent (September 12, 2011) -- Scientists have figured out the brain mechanism that makes an optical illusion first reported thousands of years ago by Aristotle work. The illusion, known as "motion aftereffect" in scientific circles, causes us to see movement where none exists. ... > full story

Critical similarity found between two types of do-it-all stem cells (September 12, 2011) -- Scientists report the first full measurement of the proteins made by both types of stem cells. In a study that looked at four embryonic stem cells and four IPS cells, the proteins turned out to be 99 percent similar, say researchers. ... > full story

Genetic link to cattle diseases uncovered (September 12, 2011) -- The origin of three costly cattle diseases is genetically linked, according to new findings. Scientists have discovered a location on bovine chromosome 20 that is associated with the incidence of the most prevalent bacterial diseases -- pinkeye, foot rot and bovine respiratory disease (pneumonia) -- that affect feedlot cattle. ... > full story

Inexpensive infection control measures could save thousands of lives, billions of dollars (September 12, 2011) -- At any given time, one of every 20 hospital patients has a hospital-acquired infection, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This leads to an estimated 99,000 deaths in the U.S. each year and up to billion in preventable health care costs. Now a new study finds that adopting an inexpensive set of infection control measures could potentially save many thousands of lives and billions of dollars. ... > full story

Appalachian tiger swallowtail butterfly is a hybrid of two other swallowtails, scientists find (September 12, 2011) -- Flitting among the cool slopes of the Appalachian Mountains is a tiger swallowtail butterfly species that evolved when two other species of swallowtails hybridized long ago, a rarity in the animal world, biologists have found. ... > full story

Awareness of ethnicity-based stigma found to start early (September 12, 2011) -- A new study examines more than 450 second and fourth graders in New York City with ethnic-minority and -majority backgrounds. Researchers asked children questions pertaining to their anxiety toward school and feelings of belonging in school. Compared to ethnic-majority peers, ethnic-minority children reported more awareness of stigma and higher academic anxiety. Ethnic-minority children in this study also reported high interest in school in the face of stigma. ... > full story

Sea levels much less stable than earlier believed, new coral dating method suggests (September 11, 2011) -- New evidence of sea-level oscillations during a warm period that started about 125,000 years ago raises the possibility of a similar scenario if the planet continues its more recent warming trend, says a research team. ... > full story

Common gene variant associated with aortic dissection: Study reveals risk factor that doubles chance of developing silent killer (September 11, 2011) -- Richard Holbrooke, John Ritter, Lucille Ball, Jonathan Larson and Great Britain's King George II were all taken by the same silent killer: an acute aortic dissection. Now, scientists have found an association with a common genetic variant in the population that predisposes people to acute dissections and can approximately double a person's chances of having the disease. ... > full story

Squeezed laser will bring gravitational waves to the light of day (September 11, 2011) -- Measuring at the limits of the laws of nature -- this is the challenge which researchers repeatedly take up in their search for gravitational waves. The interferometers they use here measure with such sensitivity that a particular quantum phenomenon of light -- shot noise -- limits the measuring accuracy. With the "squeezed light" method, scientists in Germany likewise use quantum physics in a countermove in order to remove the interfering effect. The new type of laser light improves the measuring accuracy of the gravitational wave detector GEO600 by around 50 percent and thus increases its effective sensitivity. This is the first time this technology has been used outside of a test laboratory anywhere in the world. ... > full story

Researchers team with glowing cats against AIDS, other diseases; New technique gives cats protection genes (September 11, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases. ... > full story

Reducing costs of electric vehicle batteries (September 11, 2011) -- Costs of manufacture of batteries and power trains of electric vehicles can be halved by 2018, if the gaps in the innovation chain can be closed. For reaching this objective, scientists develop concrete, close-to-industry solutions for energy stores and power trains and combine them on the system level. ... > full story

Improvements are needed for accuracy in gene-by-environment interaction studies, experts say (September 11, 2011) -- A new study concludes that genetic research drawing correlations between specific genes, environmental variables and the combined impact they have on the development of some psychiatric illnesses needs additional scrutiny and replication before being accepted as true. ... > full story

Peer pressure? It's hardwired into our brains, study finds (September 11, 2011) -- A new study explains why people take stupid chances when all of their friends are watching that they would never take by themselves. According to the study, the human brain places more value on winning in a social setting than it does on winning when you're alone. ... > full story

New target for treating symptoms of Parkinson's disease (September 11, 2011) -- A scientist has identified how the lack of a brain chemical known as dopamine can rewire the interaction between two groups of brain cells and lead to symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This discovery offers new hope for treating those suffering from this devastating neurodegenerative disease. ... > full story

Microbes travel through the air: But how, and where? (September 11, 2011) -- Preliminary research on Fusarium, a group of fungi that includes devastating pathogens of plants and animals, shows how these microbes travel through the air. Researchers now believe that with improvements on this preliminary research, there will be a better understanding about crop security, disease spread and climate change. ... > full story

Chemotherapy is as effective before breast cancer surgery as after, study suggests (September 11, 2011) -- Whether chemotherapy is given before or after breast-conserving therapy does not have an impact on long-term local-regional outcomes, suggesting treatment success is due more to biologic factors than chemotherapy timing, according to a new study. ... > full story

Research on US nuclear levels after Fukushima could aid in future nuclear detection (September 11, 2011) -- What do increased atmospheric radioactivity concentrations in Washington state tell us about what happened in the Fukushima nuclear disaster? For one expert, the story is in the numbers. ... > full story

A more progressive tax system makes people happier, 54-nation study finds (September 11, 2011) -- The way some people talk, you'd think that a flat tax system -- in which everyone pays at the same rate regardless of income -- would make citizens feel better than more progressive taxation, where wealthier people are taxed at higher rates. Indeed, the United States has been diminishing progressivity of its tax structure for decades. But a new study comparing 54 nations found that flattening the tax risks flattening social wellbeing as well. ... > full story

Tiny teeth indicate ancient shark nurseries (September 11, 2011) -- Fueled by Hollywood and its vision of Jaws, sharks conjure images of fearsome predators patrolling our seas in search of their next unfortunate victim. It is therefore hard to imagine sharks as relatively small, harmless fishes living in lakes and rivers, as many species were more than 200 million years ago. Some scientists have suggested that these ancient sharks bred in the shallows of freshwater lakes, forming nurseries for their hatchlings. Paleontologists now support this claim with spectacular 230 million-year-old fossil egg capsules and tiny teeth from Kyrgyzstan. ... > full story

Researchers probe genetic link to blindness (September 11, 2011) -- Researchers have used next-generation DNA sequencing techniques to discover what causes a rare form of inherited eye disorders, including cataracts and glaucoma, in young children. ... > full story

Researcher sees spring-like protein as key to muscle behavior (September 11, 2011) -- An idea with its origins in ballistic prey catching -- the way toads and chameleons snatch food with their tongues -- may change fundamental views of muscle movement while powering a new approach to prosthetics. ... > full story

Ion channels ensure the heart keeps time (September 11, 2011) -- Electrical signals regulate the rhythmic contractions of the heart muscle and thus control heartbeat. If the signals go awry, the consequences can be lethal. Researchers have now delineated how specific ion channels in the membranes of cardiomyocytes ensure that the heart beats in and on time. ... > full story

Gray blobs floating after Hurricane Irene identified as potato sponges (September 11, 2011) -- Most of Hurricane Irene's impacts -- heavy rain, high winds, downed trees, coastal erosion, and storm-tide flooding -- are all too familiar to the storm-weary residents of Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern seaboard. But based on post-storm queries to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point, Virginia, one impact remains a mystery -- what are all those "gray blobs" floating atop waterways and strewn along beaches? ... > full story

Sick body, vigilant mind (September 11, 2011) -- We know that in keeping the body physically healthy, the mind both conscious and unconscious is a principle actor. Indeed, research has shown that the biological, or physiological, immune system that fights pathogens once they've entered the body can be kick-started by the "behavioral immune system," with which we notice, feel repulsed by, and act to avoid people who might make us sick. ... > full story

Discovery of blood pressure genes could help prevent cardiovascular disease (September 11, 2011) -- Findings, published today in Nature and Nature Genetics by the International Consortium for Blood Pressure Genome-Wide Association Studies represent a major advance in our understanding of the inherited influences on blood pressure and offer new potential therapeutic targets for prevention of heart disease and stroke -- the biggest cause of death worldwide. ... > full story

International study identifies new gene targets for hypertension treatment (September 11, 2011) -- A new report from scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues in centers around the world finds that common variants in 28 regions of DNA -- 16 previously unsuspected -- are associated with blood pressure in human patients. They also identified for the first time the involvement of an important physiologic pathway in blood pressure control, potentially leading to a totally new class of hypertension drugs. ... > full story

NASA Launches Mission to Study Moon From Crust to Core (September 10, 2011) -- NASA's twin lunar Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9:08 a.m. EDT (6:08 a.m. PDT) Saturday, Sept. 10, to study the moon in unprecedented detail. GRAIL-A is scheduled to reach the moon on New Year's Eve 2011, while GRAIL-B will arrive New Year's Day 2012. The two solar-powered spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon to measure its gravity field. GRAIL will answer longstanding questions about the moon and give scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. ... > full story

Clue to cause of childhood hydrocephalus: Excess of natural molecule can bring about the devastating 'water on the brain' condition in mice (September 10, 2011) -- Scientists have found what may be a major cause of congenital hydrocephalus, one of the most common neurological disorders of childhood that produces mental debilitation and sometimes death in premature and newborn children. ... > full story

Groundbreaking DNA tests could trap deer poachers (September 10, 2011) -- Human DNA found on deer remains could help to track down poachers. Identifying deer poachers can be problematic, as the crimes are often committed in remote areas and are not discovered until some time after the event. ... > full story

Researchers use new tool to counter multiple myeloma drug resistance (September 10, 2011) -- Researchers are pioneering promising research utilizing a monitoring technology that could provide a better understanding of acquired drug resistance and assist in clinical decision-making for developing individualized patient treatments for multiple myeloma. ... > full story

Snakebites a public health problem in Africa (September 10, 2011) -- One and a half million people per year are poisoned by snake venom in Sub-Saharan Africa. An IRD researcher recently analysed around 100 surveys and medical reports published over the past 40 years. No large-scale study of the situation had hitherto been conducted and public health authorities had underestimated the size of the problem. This means that currently only 10% of victims are treated, owing to a shortage of antivenoms* and lack of awareness among health care practitioners. Yet the clinical complications can be very serious, even fatal. A bite from a cobra or mamba can bring on death by asphyxia --- due to respiratory paralysis --- within 6 hours of the incident. Venom injected by the ocellated carpet viper, common in the African savannah, can cause hemorrhages leading to the victim's death in a few days. This new study provides authorities with more detailed and reliable figures which should enable them to readjust their health-care services in better tune with needs. ... > full story

Children better witnesses than previously thought, Swedish psychologist finds (September 10, 2011) -- Children are more reliable eyewitnesses than had previously been thought, according to a witness psychologist in Sweden. She also questions a common method used for police identity line-ups with children. ... > full story

U.S. experiences second warmest summer on record: Texas has warmest summer on record of any state (September 10, 2011) -- The blistering heat experienced by the United States during August, as well as the June through August months, marks the second warmest summer on record, according to scientists. The persistent heat, combined with below-average precipitation across the southern U.S. during August and the three summer months, continued a record-breaking drought across the region. ... > full story

Novel approach scores first success against elusive cancer gene (September 10, 2011) -- Researchers successfully disrupted the function of the gene MYC by tampering with the gene's "on" switch and growth signals in multiple myeloma cells, offering promising strategy for treating myeloma and other cancers driven by the MYC gene. ... > full story

Nanoscale spin waves can replace microwaves (September 10, 2011) -- Scientists have now demonstrated that theories about nanoscale spin waves agree with observations. This opens the way to replacing microwave technology in many applications, such as mobile phones and wireless networks, by components that are much smaller, cheaper, and that require less resources. ... > full story

New link revealed between Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging (September 10, 2011) -- Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration are two of the most prevalent forms of neurodegenerative disorders. Researchers have now analyzed changes in gene expression in the aging and diseased brain, finding new clues to the biology of normal aging and neurodegenerative diseases. ... > full story

Invasive forest insects cost homeowners, taxpayers billions (September 10, 2011) -- Homeowners and taxpayers are picking up most of the tab for damages caused by invasive tree-feeding insects that are inadvertently imported along with packing materials, live plants, and other goods. That's the conclusion of a team of biologists and economists, whose research findings are reported in a new article. ... > full story

Emotional impact of 9/11 attacks seen in brain's response to negative visual images (September 10, 2011) -- In the wake of the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks, new research reveals how the attacks impacted the psychological processes of those not directly exposed to the event. The study, which focused on college students in Massachusetts, found that even those who were not directly connected to New York or Washington showed increased stress responses to run of the mill visual images. ... > full story

Hummingbirds all a-flutter during courtship: How fluttering feathers can generate courtship sounds (September 10, 2011) -- Though famous for their mid-air hovering during hunting, tiny hummingbirds have another trait that is literally telltale: males of some hummingbird species generate loud sounds with their tail feathers while courting females. Now, for the first time, the cause of these sounds has been identified. ... > full story

Body clock found to regulate platelet function (September 10, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated that the circadian system, the body's internal clock, regulates human platelet function and causes a peak in platelet activation corresponding to the known morning peak in adverse cardiovascular events. ... > full story

Fermi's latest gamma-ray census highlights cosmic mysteries (September 10, 2011) -- Every three hours, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope scans the entire sky and deepens its portrait of the high-energy universe. Every year, the satellite's scientists reanalyze all of the data it has collected, exploiting updated analysis methods to tease out new sources. These relatively steady sources are in addition to the numerous transient events Fermi detects, such as gamma-ray bursts in the distant universe and flares from the sun. Earlier this year, the Fermi team released its second catalog of sources detected by the satellite's Large Area Telescope, producing an inventory of 1,873 objects shining with the highest-energy form of light. ... > full story

MRSA may increase mortality rate by 50 percent, study finds (September 10, 2011) -- Does the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, cause more deaths in hospitals than the bacteria that are sensitive to common antibiotics? Opinions have been varied, but now a worldwide study indicates that the mortality rate can be 50 percent higher for intensive care patients infected with MRSA. ... > full story

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