ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, May 16, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, May 16, 2011

Welcome to another edition of ScienceDaily's email newsletter. You can change your subscription options or unsubscribe at any time.

'Master switch' gene for obesity and diabetes discovered (May 16, 2011) -- Scientists have found that a gene linked to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels is in fact a "master regulator" gene, which controls the behavior of other genes found within fat in the body. As fat plays a key role in susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes, this study highlights the regulatory gene as a possible target for future treatments to fight these diseases. ... > full story

Gene expression changes in nasal cells may help identify lung cancer in earliest stages (May 16, 2011) -- A simple, minimally-invasive technique using cells from the interior of the nose could help clinicians detect lung cancer in its earliest -- and most treatable -- stages, according to a new study. ... > full story

New properties of supercooled confined water discovered (May 16, 2011) -- A new study suggests that hydrophobic nanoconfinement can alter the thermodynamics of water at supercool temperatures. These findings may have important applications in fields related to conservation at cryogenic temperatures (around minus 100 degrees Celsius) -- for example, in the preservation of stem cells, blood and food products. ... > full story

Study reveals origins of a cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow (May 16, 2011) -- A new study sheds light on the origins of myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer that affects children and adults. The researchers discovered that novel mutations in an intracellular communication pathway called Notch led to the cancer, pointing to a potential new target for treating this disease. ... > full story

Foot and mouth disease may spread through shedding skin cells (May 16, 2011) -- Skin cells shed from livestock infected with foot and mouth disease could very well spread the disease. A scientist has proposed that virus-infected skin cells could be a source of infectious foot and mouth disease virus aerosols. His proposal is based on the facts that foot and mouth disease virus is found in skin and that airborne skin cells are known to transmit other diseases. ... > full story

Getting along with co-workers may prolong life: But support from the boss has no effect on mortality (May 16, 2011) -- People who have a good peer support system at work may live longer than people who don't have such a support system, according to new research. ... > full story

Evolutionary adaptations can be reversed, but rarely (May 16, 2011) -- Physicists' study of evolution in bacteria shows that adaptations can be undone, but rarely. Ever since Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution in 1859, scientists have wondered whether evolutionary adaptations can be reversed. Answering that question has proved difficult, partly due to conflicting evidence. In 2003, scientists showed that some species of insects have gained, lost and regained wings over millions of years. But a few years later, a different team found that a protein that helps control cells' stress responses could not evolve back to its original form. ... > full story

New class of compounds discovered with great potential for research and drug development (May 16, 2011) -- Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have identified a class of compounds that could be a boon to basic research and drug discovery. ... > full story

Marine ecosystems of Antarctica under threat from human activity (May 16, 2011) -- A team of scientists has warned that the native fauna and unique ecology of the Southern Ocean, the vast body of water that surrounds the Antarctic continent, is under threat from human activity. ... > full story

Synthetic mesh can improve outcome of prolapse surgery (May 16, 2011) -- A Nordic multicentre study shows that pelvic organ prolapse surgery using synthetic mesh can be more effective than traditional surgery. The advantages indicated by the study mainly concern restored genital anatomy and more efficient symptom relief, although there is an associated greater risk of complications. ... > full story

Lasers take the lead in auto manufacturing (May 16, 2011) -- Conserving energy is a top priority for auto manufacturers today. Laser technology can help. Lasers can be used to process thin light-weight components made of fiber-composite materials, as well as to manufacture more efficient engines and more powerful batteries. Scientists have now developed new production technologies. ... > full story

Palliative care patients benefit from unique music therapy project (May 16, 2011) -- A new study demonstrates the benefits of music therapy. The findings are based on a unique collaboration between university music therapy students, musicians from a professional symphony orchestra and a hospital palliative care ward. ... > full story

Toward faster transistors: Physicists discover physical phenomenon that could boost computers' clock speed (May 15, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a new physical phenomenon that could yield transistors with greatly enhanced capacitance -- a measure of the voltage required to move a charge. And that, in turn, could lead to the revival of clock speed as the measure of a computer's power. ... > full story

Potential for solution to baldness? Surprising clues about communication in hair stem cell populations (May 15, 2011) -- In one of the first studies to look at the population behavior of a large pool of stem cells in thousands of hair follicles -- as opposed to the stem cell of a single hair follicle -- scientists deciphered how hair stem cells in mice and rabbits can communicate with each other and encourage mutually coordinated regeneration. ... > full story

Sound safety: Novel device with rock 'n' roll roots may protect listeners from potential dangers of personal listening devices and hearing aids (May 15, 2011) -- Engineers investigating "listener fatigue"-- the discomfort and pain some people experience while using in-ear headphones, hearing aids, and other devices that seal the ear canal from external sound -- have found not only what they believe is the cause, but also a potential solution. ... > full story

Heart failure patients' osteoporosis often undiagnosed, untreated (May 15, 2011) -- One in 10 heart failure patients had compression fractures in the spine that could have been detected by a chest X-ray, but few are receiving treatment to help prevent such fractures, according to a Canadian study. ... > full story

Controling robotic arms is child's play (May 15, 2011) -- Move your arm and the robot imitates your movement. This type of intuitive handling is now possible thanks to a new input device that will simplify the control of industrial robots in the future. But that is not all: The sensor system can also help regulate the movements of active prostheses. ... > full story

For hearing parts of brain, deafness reorganizes sensory inputs, not behavioral function (May 15, 2011) -- The part of the brain that uses hearing to determine sound location is reorganized in deaf animals to locate visual targets, according to a new study. ... > full story

Moon's rough 'wrinkles' reveal clues to its past (May 15, 2011) -- Researchers have put together the first comprehensive set of maps revealing the slopes and roughness of the moon's surface. These maps are based on detailed data collected by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. ... > full story

Hormone precursor inhibits brain inflammation: Molecule moderates condition linked to neurodegenerative diseases (May 15, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a steroid hormone that inhibits inflammation in the brain. The findings have implications for understanding the exaggerated inflammatory responses that are characteristic features of numerous neurodegenerative diseases. ... > full story

Crowdsourcing science: Researcher uses Facebook to identify thousands of fish (May 15, 2011) -- During a survey on Guyana's Cuyuni River, researcher Devin Bloom utilized Facebook to help identify thousands of fish specimens in less than 24 hours. ... > full story

Zebrafish models identify high-risk genetic features in leukemia patients (May 15, 2011) -- Researchers working with zebrafish have identified previously undiscovered high-risk genetic features in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia. ... > full story

Vitamins may one day hitch a protected ride on corn starch (May 15, 2011) -- Vitamins and medications may one day take rides on starch compounds creating stable vitamin-enriched ingredients and cheaper controlled-release drugs, according to food scientists. ... > full story

Electronic cigarettes hold promise as aid to quitting, study finds (May 15, 2011) -- Researchers report that electronic cigarettes are a promising tool to help smokers quit, producing six-month abstinence rates nearly double those for traditional nicotine replacement products. ... > full story

Research breakthrough on male infertility: Small set of genes in cells' mitochondria are key (May 15, 2011) -- Around one in 20 men is infertile, but despite the best efforts of scientists, in many cases the underlying causes of infertility have remained a mystery. New findings by a team of Australian and Swedish researchers, however, will go a long way towards explaining this mystery. According to their research, a small set of genes located within the power-plants of our cells -- the mitochondria -- are crucial to unravelling the secrets of male infertility. ... > full story

Most at-risk patients don't adhere to statin treatment, despite real benefits (May 15, 2011) -- The vast majority of patients at high risk for heart disease or stroke do a poor job of taking statins as prescribed, a new study suggests. That's especially unfortunate, because the same study shows that taking statins can significantly increase the quality and length of those patients' lives. ... > full story

Dusting for fingerprints -- It ain't CSI (May 15, 2011) -- Fingerprints: dozens of crime dramas revolve around them. The investigators find the victim, dust for fingerprints, run them through a computer program and voilá -- the guilty party is quickly identified and sent to prison. If only it were that easy. The reality is that this common but crucial part of an investigation is done by humans, not by computers. ... > full story

Therapies using induced pluripotent stem cells could encounter immune rejection problems (May 15, 2011) -- Biologists have discovered that an important class of stem cells known as "induced pluripotent stem cells," or iPSCs, derived from an individual's own cells, could face immune rejection problems if they are used in future stem cell therapies. ... > full story

Same fungus, different strains: A comparative genomics approach for improved 'green' chemical production (May 15, 2011) -- Aspergillus niger is an integral player in the carbon cycle, it possesses an arsenal of enzymes that can be deployed in breaking down plant cell walls to free up sugars that can then be fermented and distilled into biofuel, a process being optimized by US Department of Energy researchers. This well-understood fungal fermentation process that could inform the development of a biorefinery where organic compounds replace the chemical building blocks normally derived from petroleum. ... > full story

Patient reports of relatives' cancer history often not accurate (May 15, 2011) -- Doctors often rely on a patient's knowledge of family medical history to estimate his or her risk of cancer. However, patient reports of family cancer history are not highly accurate, according to a new study. ... > full story

Sense of smell: Single giant interneuron in locusts controls activity in 50,000 neurons, enabling sparse codes for odours (May 14, 2011) -- The brain is a coding machine: it translates physical inputs from the world into visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile perceptions via the mysterious language of its nerve cells and the networks which they form. Neural codes could in principle take many forms, but in regions forming bottlenecks for information flow (e.g., the optic nerve) or in areas important for memory, sparse codes are highly desirable. Scientists have now discovered a single neuron in the brain of locusts that enables the adaptive regulation of sparseness in olfactory codes. ... > full story

Two defective proteins conspire to impair nerve cell's 'powerhouse' in Alzheimer's disease (May 14, 2011) -- Two proteins that are abnormally modified in the brains of patients with Alzheimer disease collude, resulting in ill effects on the crucial energy centers of brain cells, according to new findings. ... > full story

New algorithm offers ability to influence systems such as living cells or social networks (May 14, 2011) -- A new computational model can analyze any type of complex network -- biological, social or electronic -- and reveal the critical points that can be used to control the entire system. Potential applications of this work include reprogramming adult cells and identifying new drug targets. ... > full story

Protein responsible for the detection of extreme heat and pain discovered (May 14, 2011) -- The protein responsible for the detection of extreme heat and pain resulting from infections has been identified. The protein is a promising target for the development of new analgesic medications. ... > full story

Eucalyptus tree genome deciphered: Key to new possibilities for renewable bioproducts (May 14, 2011) -- A team of international researchers has completed the genome sequence for the forest tree species Eucalyptus grandis. The completed genome sequence, which unlocks new possibilities for biofuels and forestry, is available on the Internet. ... > full story

Teens use peers as gauge in search for autonomy, and consistently assume others have more freedoms than they do (May 14, 2011) -- Two new studies find that teens' perceptions of peer freedom predicted their own desired levels of autonomy, and that teens consistently overestimated the actual levels of their peers' autonomy, assuming that others had more freedoms than they did. The first study looked at 500 youths in 6th through 9th grades and in 12th grade; the second followed up on the 6th and 7th graders a year later, when they were in 7th and 8th grades. ... > full story

New calculations on blackbody energy set the stage for clocks with unprecedented accuracy (May 14, 2011) -- A team of physicists from the United States and Russia has developed a means for computing, with unprecedented accuracy, a tiny, temperature-dependent source of error in atomic clocks. Although small, the correction could represent a big step towards atomic timekeepers' longstanding goal of a clock with a precision equivalent to one second of error every 32 billion years, longer than the age of the universe. ... > full story

New pathway affecting lifespan identified: Discovery advances study of diet and longevity (May 14, 2011) -- A research team has identified a new role for a biological pathway that not only signals the body's metabolic response to nutritional changes, but also affects lifespan. ... > full story

Massive tornado onslaught raises questions about building practices, code enforcement (May 14, 2011) -- There is no practical, economic way to build structures that could stand up to the savagery of EF5 tornadoes like those that ripped through the South in late April, experts say, but damage from lesser storms could be reduced by better building practices and better enforcement of existing codes. ... > full story

Scientists design new anti-flu virus proteins using computational methods (May 14, 2011) -- Scientists have demonstrated the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules. Such designer proteins may have diagnostic and therapeutic potential in identifying and fighting viral infections. The researchers created a protein that disabled the part of the 1918 pandemic flu virus involved in invading respiratory tract cells. It did so by preventing segment from reconfiguring. This same protein also disabled a similar section of an avian flu virus. ... > full story

Satellite images display extreme Mississippi River flooding from space (May 14, 2011) -- Recent Landsat satellite data captured by the USGS and NASA on May 10 shows the major flooding of the Mississippi River around Memphis, Tenn., and along the state borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Arkansas as seen from 438 miles above the Earth. ... > full story

Increase in Internet access parallels growth in prescription drug abuse (May 14, 2011) -- Increasing access to rogue online pharmacies that dispense medications without a doctor's prescription may be an important factor behind the rapid increase in the abuse of prescription drugs. U.S. states with the greatest expansion in high-speed Internet access from 2000 to 2007 also had the largest increase in admissions for treatment of prescription drug abuse. ... > full story

Artificial grammar reveals inborn language sense, study shows (May 13, 2011) -- How human children acquire language remains largely a mystery. A groundbreaking study by cognitive scientists confirms that human beings are born with knowledge of certain syntactical rules that make learning human languages easier. ... > full story

Disruption of nerve cell supply chain may contribute to Parkinson's (May 13, 2011) -- New data offer hints to why Parkinson's disease so selectively harms brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, say researchers. ... > full story

How do honeybees control their flight speed to avoid obstacles? (May 13, 2011) -- Unlike humans bees have a dorsal visual field that enables them to avoid obstacles above their heads. Until now, it was not known whether this helped them to control their flight speed. Recent research confirms that it does. ... > full story

Stem cells from bone marrow may help treat acute lung injury (May 13, 2011) -- New research investigates the therapeutic use of human stem cells from bone marrow against acute lung injury and identifies TNF-alpha-induced protein 6 as a major molecular component of stem cell action. ... > full story

Discovery of DNA silencing mechanism reveals how plants protect their genome (May 13, 2011) -- Researchers in Japan have clarified a key epigenetic mechanism by which an enzyme in the model plant Arabidopsis protects cells from harmful DNA elements. The finding contributes to advancing our understanding of a broad range of biological processes in both plants and animals, opening the door to applications in cancer therapy and agriculture. ... > full story

Do you fear ... now that Friday the 13th is here? (May 13, 2011) -- If you are one of those who carries around a rabbit's foot and strokes it all day long for good luck or makes a wish after blowing away a fallen eyelash -- then you are probably in the midst of bolting your doors, turning on all the lights and hiding under the comforting warmth of your comforter. Today just so happens to be Friday the 13th and if you have friggatriskaidekaphobia -- it's simply not a day to be trifled with. ... > full story