ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Saturday, May 7, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Saturday, May 7, 2011

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Malaria mosquitoes accurately find their way to smelly feet (May 6, 2011) -- Malaria mosquitoes utilize carbon dioxide from exhaled air to localize humans from afar. In the vicinity of their preferred host, they alter their course towards the human feet. Researchers discovered how female malaria mosquitoes use foot odors in the last meters to guide them to their favored biting place. The research suggests possibilities to disrupt the host seeking behavior of the malaria mosquito. ... > full story

Parental exposure to BPA during pregnancy associated with decreased birth weight in offspring (May 6, 2011) -- Parental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight of offspring, compared with offspring from families without parental BPA exposure in the workplace, according to researchers. ... > full story

Advanced instrument analyzes immune cells in far more detail: Technology promises more effective prescription drug therapies (May 6, 2011) -- Researchers have taken a machine already in use for the measurement of impurities in semiconductors and used it to analyze immune cells in far more detail than has been possible before. The new technology lets scientists take simultaneous measurements of dozens of features located on and in cells, whereas the existing technology typically begins to encounter technical limitations at about a half-dozen. ... > full story

Protein snapshots reveal clues to breast cancer outcomes (May 6, 2011) -- Measuring the transfer of tiny amounts of energy from one protein to another on breast cancer cells has given scientists a detailed view of molecular interactions that could help predict how breast cancer patients will respond to particular therapies. ... > full story

Comet Elenin: Preview of a coming attraction (May 6, 2011) -- You may have heard the news: Comet Elenin is coming to the inner-solar system this fall. Comet Elenin (also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1), was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the discovery "remotely" using the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico. At the time of the discovery, the comet was about 647 million kilometers (401 million miles) from Earth. Over the past four-and-a-half months, the comet has -- as comets do -- closed the distance to Earth's vicinity as it makes its way closer to perihelion (its closest point to the sun). As of May 4, Elenin's distance is about 274 million kilometers (170 million miles). ... > full story

Combination of ADHD and poor emotional control runs in families, study suggests (May 6, 2011) -- A subgroup of adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also exhibit excessive emotional reactions to everyday occurrences, and this combination of ADHD and emotional reactivity appears to run in families. ... > full story

Mars Express sees deep fractures on Mars (May 6, 2011) -- Newly released images from the European Space Agency's Mars Express show Nili Fossae, a system of deep fractures around the giant Isidis impact basin. Some of these incisions into the martian crust are up to 500 m deep and probably formed at the same time as the basin. ... > full story

Insight into HIV immunity may lead to vaccine (May 6, 2011) -- The latest insights into immunity to HIV could help to develop a vaccine to build antibodies' defenses against the disease, a new study has found. ... > full story

Sticking their necks out for evolution: Why sloths and manatees have unusually long (or short) necks (May 6, 2011) -- As a rule all mammals have the same number of vertebrae in their necks regardless of whether they are a giraffe, a mouse, or a human. But both sloths and manatees are exceptions to this rule having abnormal numbers of cervical vertebrae. New research shows how such different species have evolved their unusual necks. ... > full story

Cigarette smoking and arsenic exposure: A deadly combination (May 6, 2011) -- Arsenic exposure and smoking each elevate the risk of disease. But when combined together, the danger of dying from cardiovascular disease is magnified, a new study finds. ... > full story

Quantum simulation with light: Frustrations between photon pairs (May 6, 2011) -- Researchers have used a quantum mechanical system in the laboratory to simulate complex many-body systems. This experiment promises future quantum simulators with enormous potential insights into unknown quantum phenomena. ... > full story

Children of bipolar parents are overly sensitive to stress hormone cortisol, study finds (May 6, 2011) -- Children whose mother or father is affected by bipolar disorder may need to keep their stress levels in check. A new international study suggests the stress hormone cortisol is a key player in the mood disorder. The findings are the first to show that cortisol is elevated more readily in these children in response to the stressors of normal everyday life. ... > full story