ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, May 9, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, May 9, 2011

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Toward optical computing in handheld electronics: Graphene optical modulators could lead to ultrafast communications (May 9, 2011) -- Researchers have shown that graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of crystallized carbon, can be tuned electrically to modify the amount of photons absorbed. This ability to switch light on and off is the fundamental characteristic of a network modulator, opening the door to optical computing in handheld electronics. ... > full story

Researchers see a 'picture' of threat in the brain: Work may lead to new model of neuroinflammation (May 9, 2011) -- Researchers are beginning to see exactly what the response to threats looks like in the brain at the cellular and molecular levels. This new information, including the discovery that a model of social stress can increase inflammation among brain cells, should provide new insight into how the stress response affects inflammatory and behavioral responses. ... > full story

A renewable twist on fossil fuels (May 9, 2011) -- Pulling valuable fuels out of thin air? It sounds like magic, but a chemist is now working to transform carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, into gas for your car and clean-energy future fuels. ... > full story

When the lungs come under pressure: New way to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (May 9, 2011) -- Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension struggle with severe symptoms, which include shortness of breath, exhaustion and a lack of vitality. Moreover, the disease, which is more common in women, often claims the patient's life within a few years of its development. The currently available methods of treatment can slow down the progression of the disease and improve the symptoms; a cure, however, has thus far been unavailable. Scientists have now succeeded - for the first time in an animal model -- in not only halting the progression of the disease, but also in reversing it with the help of an inhalation therapy. ... > full story

New algorithm significantly improves imaging for full-body MRIs (May 9, 2011) -- A new study reveals an improved algorithm that can dramatically improve how radiologists capture and interpret full-body MRIs, particularly in the abdominal region. ... > full story

Adolescents less likely to start smoking if they feel connected to their parents, face consequences for lighting up (May 9, 2011) -- A study finds parents shouldn't let up when it comes to discouraging their kids from smoking. ... > full story

Brain performs near optimal visual search (May 9, 2011) -- Visual search is an important task for the brain. Surprisingly, even in a complex task like detecting an object in a scene with distractions, we find that people's performance is near optimal. That means that the brain manages to do the best possible job given the available information, according to researchers. ... > full story

HIV drug could prevent cervical cancer, researchers discover (May 9, 2011) -- A widely used HIV drug could be used to prevent cervical cancer caused by infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV), say scientists. ... > full story

Does the central Andean backarc have the potential for a great earthquake? (May 9, 2011) -- The region east of the central Andes Mountains has the potential for larger scale earthquakes than previously expected. Previous research had set the maximum expected earthquake size to be magnitude 7.5, based on the relatively quiet history of seismicity in that area. This new study contradicts that limit and instead suggests that the region could see quakes with magnitudes 8.7 to 8.9. ... > full story

Epigenetic study reveals new insights into breast cancer (May 9, 2011) -- The most comprehensive analysis yet of the epigenetic modifications present in breast cancer has revealed potentially important new ways to detect and treat the disease, Belgian researchers have reported. ... > full story

Heavy agricultural machinery can damage the soil, Nordic researchers find (May 9, 2011) -- Heavy agricultural machinery results in more permanent damage to the soil than previously believed by researchers. This may lead to poorer crop yields and increased pollution from agricultural land, is the message of a group of Nordic researchers. The result is called soil compaction and it concerns the negative effect of driving heavy machinery on soil that is used for growing plants. Soil compaction is characterized by increased density of the soil, reduced air volume and a reduced ability to drain off surplus water. ... > full story

Making the move to exercise for overweight and obese people (May 9, 2011) -- How much exercise are overweight and obese people getting? More than many might think, according to new research findings. ... > full story

Tree rings tell a 1,100-year history of El Niño (May 8, 2011) -- Tree-ring records from North America give a continuous history of variations in El Niño intensity over the past 1,100 years and can be used to help climate models predict more reliably how El Niño will change in the face of global warming, according to a new study. ... > full story

Children conceived in winter have a greater risk of autism, study finds (May 8, 2011) -- An examination of the birth records of the more than seven million children born in the state of California during the 1990s and early 2000s has found a clear link between the month in which a child is conceived and the risk of that child later receiving a diagnosis of autism. ... > full story

'Swiss cheese' design enables thin film silicon solar cells with potential for higher efficiencies (May 8, 2011) -- A bold new design for thin film solar cells that requires significantly less silicon -- and may boost their efficiency -- is the result of a new Sw1ss-Czech collaboration. ... > full story

Common medicine used to combat osteoporosis can cause fractures, study finds (May 8, 2011) -- Bisphosphonates are a common medication used to combat osteoporosis. But they can also cause fractures, according to new research. ... > full story

New online mechanism for electric vehicle charging (May 8, 2011) -- Researchers have designed a new pricing mechanism that could change the way in which electric vehicles are charged. It is based on an online auction protocol that makes it possible to charge electric vehicles without overloading the local electricity network. ... > full story

Is there a 'tiger mother' effect? Asian students study twice as many hours, analysis finds (May 8, 2011) -- Valerie Ramey analyzed data in the American Time Use Survey and discovered that Asian high school and college students out-study all other groups. But their mothers spend only about a half hour a week more in educational activities with their children. ... > full story

Insects' exuberant helmet is actually an extra set of wings, researchers show (May 8, 2011) -- In 250 million years of insect evolution, the appearance of new wings is unprecedented. Transformations and losses of wings, yes, but additions, never. A research team in France has shattered this belief by providing proof that the exuberant helmet of Membracidae, a group of insects related to cicadas, is in fact a third pair of profoundly modified wings. ... > full story

'Bad' cholesterol not as bad as people think, study shows (May 8, 2011) -- The so-called "bad cholesterol" -- low-density lipoprotein commonly called LDL -- may not be so bad after all, according to a new study that casts new light on the cholesterol debate, particularly among adults who exercise. ... > full story

US farmers dodge the impacts of global warming -- at least for now (May 8, 2011) -- The United States seems to have been lucky so far in largely escaping the impact of global warming on crop production. But for most major agricultural producing countries, the rising temperatures have already reduced their yields of corn and wheat compared to what they would have produced if there had been no warming, according to a new study. ... > full story

New biomarker allows early detection of adverse prognosis after acute kidney injury (May 8, 2011) -- A new biomarker-based diagnostic test is more effective than current best practice for early detection of adverse outcomes after acute kidney injury, which can be fatal for 50 percent of the critically ill patients who get the condition. A multi-center study reports the kidney injury biomarker NGAL in urine or blood detects early subclinical AKI and its adverse outcomes in critically ill patients. ... > full story

Pentagonal tiles pave the way towards organic electronics (May 8, 2011) -- New research paves way for the nanoscale self-assembly of organic building blocks, a promising new route towards the next generation of ultra-small electronic devices. ... > full story

Study gives clues to how obesity spreads socially (May 8, 2011) -- Obesity is socially contagious, according to research published in the past few years. How it is "caught" from others remains a murky area. But new findings shed light on the transmission of obesity among friends and family. ... > full story

Single-cell marine organisms offer clues to how cells interact with the environment (May 8, 2011) -- From a bucket of seawater, scientists have unlocked information that may lead to deeper understanding of organisms as different as coral reefs and human disease. By analyzing genomes of a tiny, single-celled marine animal, they have demonstrated a possible way to address diverse questions such as how diseased cells differ from neighboring healthy cells and what it is about some Antarctic algae that allows them to live in warming waters while other algae die out. ... > full story

Protein keeps sleep-deprived flies ready to learn (May 8, 2011) -- A protein that helps the brain develop early in life can fight the mental fuzziness induced by sleep deprivation, according to researchers. ... > full story

World's blueberries protected in unique, living collection (May 8, 2011) -- Familiar blueberries and their lesser-known wild relatives are safeguarded by US Department of Agriculture scientists and curators at America's official blueberry gene bank. The plants, collected from throughout the United States and more than two dozen foreign countries, are growing at the USDA Agricultural Research Service National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Ore. ... > full story

Neurosurgeon pushes brain bypass to new heights (May 8, 2011) -- A new high-flow procedure means improved outcomes for patients. The technique is less invasive and keeps more blood flowing in the brain than previous surgeries. ... > full story

When livestock can transmit foot-and-mouth disease: Findings suggest fewer cattle could be culled in the future (May 8, 2011) -- A new study of foot-and-mouth disease shows that cattle afflicted with the virus are only infectious for a brief window of time -- about half as long as previously thought. This finding suggests that the controversial control measures used to halt the disease's spread, such as killing large numbers of livestock, could be reduced. The discovery is also changing the way that scientists think about infectious diseases in general. ... > full story

Parental alcoholism carries risk for offspring to develop the same, population-based study confirms (May 8, 2011) -- Researchers know that there is a strong link between parental alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and the risk for developing an AUD among their offspring. This study looked at the risk of AUDs in the offspring of a large population-based sample of Danish parents. Findings confirmed that parental AUDs were associated with an increased risk of AUDs among the offspring. ... > full story

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

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