ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Sunday, May 8, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Sunday, May 8, 2011

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Engineers patch a heart: Tissue-engineering platform enables heart tissue to repair itself (May 7, 2011) -- Engineering researchers have established a new method to patch a damaged heart using a tissue-engineering platform that enables heart tissue to repair itself. The breakthrough is an important step forward in combating cardiovascular disease, one of the most serious health problems of our day. ... > full story

Telomerase: Research reveals how cancer-driving enzyme works (May 7, 2011) -- Cancer researchers are helping unlock the cellular-level function of the telomerase enzyme, which is linked to the disease's growth. ... > full story

It takes a community of soil microbes to protect plants from disease (May 7, 2011) -- Plants rely on a tight-knit army of soil microbes to defend themselves against pathogens, much the way mammals harbor a raft of microbes to avoid infections. The discovery could help scientists develop ways to better protect the world's food crops from devastating diseases. The scientists deciphered, for the first time, the group of microbes that enables a patch of soil to suppress a plant-killing pathogen ... > full story

Direct proof of how T cells stay in 'standby' mode: Study offers means of activating T cells to fight disease without antigenic triggers (May 7, 2011) -- Researchers offer definitive proof that T cells need to actively maintain "quiescence," a sort of standby mode the cells enter while waiting activation by other parts of the immune system. The researchers also found that they can activate quiescent cells by targeting a single protein, opening the possibility that quiescent T cells within tumors can be used to kill cancer cells. ... > full story

Green roof proves a cost-effective way to keep water out of sewers (May 7, 2011) -- Green roofs like the one atop a Con Edison building in Long Island City, Queens can be a cost-effective way to keep water from running into sewer systems and causing overflows, researchers have found. ... > full story

Computers sing to a better tune (May 7, 2011) -- Would you dance to a synthetic song? Scientists are reporting on a new approach to making computer-generated vocals more human sounding. ... > full story

New mineral discovered: One of earliest minerals formed in solar system (May 7, 2011) -- A team of scientists has discovered a new mineral -- krotite, one of the earliest minerals formed in our solar system. It is the main component of an unusual inclusion embedded in a meteorite (NWA 1934), found in northwest Africa. These objects, known as refractory inclusions, are thought to be the first planetary materials formed in our solar system, dating back to before the formation of Earth and the other planets. ... > full story

How shifts in temperature prime immune response (May 7, 2011) -- Researchers have found a temperature-sensing protein within immune cells that, when tripped, allows calcium to pour in and activate an immune response. This process can occur as temperature rises, such as during a fever, or when it falls -- such as when immune cells are "called" from the body's warm interior to a site of injury on cooler skin. ... > full story

Vatican science panel calls attention to the threat of glacial melt (May 7, 2011) -- A panel of some of the world's leading climate and glacier scientists has issued a report commissioned by the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences citing the moral imperative before society to properly address climate change. ... > full story

Potential multiple sclerosis therapy could kill brain cells, study suggests (May 7, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that some "protective" T-cells can kill neurons. This finding is significant because a specific type of T-cell therapy is being touted in the medical community as a potential treatment for MS and other autoimmune conditions. ... > full story

Chemistry curbs spreading of carbon dioxide: Research could have implications for carbon sequestration (May 7, 2011) -- The presence of even a simple chemical reaction can delay or prevent the spreading of stored carbon dioxide in underground aquifers, new research has revealed. ... > full story

Families are 'lovin' it': Parents' work influences how often family meals are eaten outside of home (May 7, 2011) -- Americans are spending about half their food budget in restaurants. As it is widely known, food prepared away from home, as compared to food prepared at home, is often higher in calories, saturated fat, and sodium. With children's dietary quality at risk, a study explores the influence of parental styles and work schedules on children's use of and time spent in fast-food and full-service restaurants. ... > full story