ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Wednesday, June 1, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Wednesday, June 1, 2011

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New NASA map reveals tropical forest carbon storage (June 1, 2011) -- A NASA-led research team has used a variety of NASA satellite data to create the most precise map ever produced depicting the amount and location of carbon stored in Earth's tropical forests. The data are expected to provide a baseline for ongoing carbon monitoring and research and serve as a useful resource for managing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. ... > full story

Dangerous bacteria found on cell phones of hospital patients (June 1, 2011) -- Cell phones used by patients and their visitors were twice as likely to contain potentially dangerous bacteria as those of health-care workers, according to a new study. ... > full story

Decades-old molecular mystery linked to blood clotting solved (June 1, 2011) -- Blood clotting is a complicated business, particularly for scientists trying to understand how the body responds to injury. In a new study, researchers report that they are the first to describe in atomic detail a chemical interaction that is vital to blood clotting. This interaction -- between a clotting factor and a cell membrane -- has baffled scientists for decades. ... > full story

Antibodies successful in treatment of the hemolytic-uremic syndrome from enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (June 1, 2011) -- A team of physicians from Germany, Canada, and France reports on the successful treatment of three young children who were suffering from a severe hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) after an infection with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). The infections occurred in 2010. EHEC are the bacteria that cause the current wave of infections that have already claimed ten lives in Germany. The number of suspected and confirmed cases of EHEC has now reached 700. ... > full story

Working toward sending humans to Mars (June 1, 2011) -- What would it take to send astronauts to Mars? A team of aeronautical and textile engineering students believe part of the solution may lie in advanced textile materials. The students joined forces to tackle life-support challenges that the aerospace industry has been grappling with for decades. ... > full story

Cholera in Haiti: Universal vaccination campaign is essential to ending crisis, experts say (June 1, 2011) -- Debate about the public health response to Haiti's cholera epidemic continues as the crisis enters its ninth month, with some experts arguing that a vaccination campaign in Haiti would be neither feasible nor cost-effective, and advocating putting forth other measures. A coalition of medical and public health researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, argue that a universal vaccination campaign is essential to ending the crisis. ... > full story

Stamping out low cost nanodevices (June 1, 2011) -- A team of engineers has developed a rapid and low-cost imprinting process that can stamp out a variety of devices that have unique optical, electrical, chemical and mechanical properties. ... > full story

Link between influenza vaccination in pregnancy and reduced risk of premature birth (June 1, 2011) -- A new study suggests that there might be an association between maternal immunization with inactivated influenza vaccine during pregnancy and reduced likelihood of prematurity and the baby being small for gestational age. ... > full story

New endemic beetles discovered in Iberian Peninsula (June 1, 2011) -- A European research team has described two new beetle species measuring two millimeters in length. The beetles were found in streams in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees mountains (from Gipuzkoa to Girona) and in the Sierra de la Demanda mountains (Burgos). Experts had previously thought that they belonged to another European species. ... > full story

HbA1C test for glucose monitoring poorly predictive in dialysis patients (June 1, 2011) -- The gold standard long-term glucose monitoring test for patients with diabetes proved to be of limited value in dialysis patients, according to a new study. ... > full story

Climate change allows invasive weed to outcompete local species (June 1, 2011) -- Yellow starthistle already causes millions of dollars in damage to pastures in western states each year, and as climate changes, land managers can expect the problem with that weed and others to escalate. When exposed to increased carbon dioxide, precipitation, nitrogen and temperature -- all expected results of climate change -- yellow starthistle in some cases grew to six times its normal size while the other grassland species remained relatively unchanged, according to a new study. ... > full story

Why childhood obesity? It's so much more than what kids eat (June 1, 2011) -- Scientists from a variety of disciplines have teamed up to examine the factors that contribute to childhood obesity. Why? Because individual researchers have found that the problem is too complicated for any of them to tackle alone. Strong Kids team members are looking at such diverse factors as genetic predisposition, the effect of breastfeeding, how much TV a child watches, and the neighborhood he lives in, among many others. ... > full story

Researchers create nanoscale waveguide for future photonics (May 31, 2011) -- The creation of a new quasiparticle called the "hybrid plasmon polariton" may throw open the doors to integrated photonic circuits and optical computing for the 21st century. Researchers have demonstrated the first true nanoscale waveguides for next generation on-chip optical communication systems. ... > full story

Zeroing in on Alzheimer's disease (May 31, 2011) -- Recently the number of genes known to be associated with Alzheimer's disease has increased from four to eight, including the MS4A gene cluster on chromosome 11. New research has expanded on this using a genome-wide association study to find a novel location within the MS4A gene cluster which is associated with Alzheimer's disease. ... > full story

Diagnosing stomach disease in pet reptiles (May 31, 2011) -- A popular “get well” card shows a raccoon saying to a snake, “You wouldn’t get these stomach aches if you chewed your food properly.” Vets know, however, that indigestion in snakes and other reptiles often results not from swallowing food whole but from a parasitic infection. The gastrointestinal disease cryptosporidiosis represents a particularly severe problem. Unfortunately, though, diagnosis is extremely difficult. Scientists have now developed a test for the identification of the cryptosporidia that cause the condition, enabling them to assess its prevalence in pet lizards and snakes. ... > full story

Targeted testing offers treatment hope for ovarian cancer patients (May 31, 2011) -- Women with ovarian cancer could be helped by a new test that identifies the specific type of tumor they have. ... > full story

Mobile virtual world with a flexible virtual reality system (May 31, 2011) -- Product developers, vehicle design engineers and trainee pilots increasingly utilize 3-D worlds, operating in a virtual space created by realistic images in real time. Researchers have now created precisely a new virtual reality system. The Flexible Reconfigurable Cave (FRAVE) offers a wealth of advantages over the previously established CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment): it is much cheaper, more flexible, features a modular structure and a smaller footprint. ... > full story

Happiness: The neglected role of job design (May 31, 2011) -- People who are given greater variety and independence in their jobs feel both less stressed and more satisfied, according to findings which suggest that several management practices designed to make employees more efficient also make them happier. Employees are also more likely to be happy when management readily shares information and consults with them, the study shows. ... > full story

Scientists crack the spiders' web code (May 31, 2011) -- Decorative white silk crosses are an ingenious tactic used by orb-weaving spiders to protect their webs from damage, a new study has revealed. ... > full story

Key mechanism in transition to alcohol dependence discovered (May 31, 2011) -- A team of scientists has found a key biological mechanism underpinning the transition to alcohol dependence. This finding opens the door to the development of drugs to manage excessive alcohol consumption. ... > full story

Clean energy technology: Direct methanol fuel cell system moves forward (May 31, 2011) -- A team of scientists has developed a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell technology for future U.S. Department of Defense and commercial applications. ... > full story

Gene change identifies brain cancer patients that respond better to treatment (May 31, 2011) -- New research proves that a change in a particular gene can identify which patients with a specific kind of brain cancer will respond better to treatment. Testing for the gene can distinguish patients with a more- or less-aggressive form of glioblastoma, the most common and an often-fatal type of primary brain cancer, and this can help guide therapy. The prospective study looked for a change in the MGMT gene in tumors from 833 glioblastoma patients. ... > full story

Code green: Energy-efficient programming to curb computers' power use (May 31, 2011) -- A new system called EnerJ helps computer programmers go green, letting them cut a program's energy consumption by up to 50 percent. ... > full story

Bilingualism no big deal for brain, researcher finds (May 31, 2011) -- There are many complicated theories on how the brain processes more than one language, but one researcher has found that how words sound provides enough information to distinguish which language a word belongs to. ... > full story

Researchers solve mammoth evolutionary puzzle: The woollies weren't picky, happy to interbreed (May 31, 2011) -- A DNA-based study sheds new light on the complex evolutionary history of the woolly mammoth, suggesting it mated with a completely different and much larger species. The research found the woolly mammoth, which lived in the cold climate of the Arctic tundra, interbred with the Columbian mammoth, which preferred the more temperate regions of North America and was some 25 percent larger. ... > full story

Potential new drug candidate found for Alzheimer's disease (May 31, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated that oral administration of a cysteine protease inhibitor, E64d, not only reduces the build-up of beta-amyloid in the brains of animal models for Alzheimer's disease, but also results in a substantial improvement in memory deficit. ... > full story

Most biologically rich island in Southern Ocean (May 31, 2011) -- The first comprehensive study of sea creatures around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia reveals a region that is richer in biodiversity than even many tropical sites, such as the Galapagos Islands. The study provides an important benchmark to monitor how these species will respond to future environmental change. ... > full story

Mouse virus erroneously linked to chronic fatigue syndrome, study finds (May 31, 2011) -- Two years ago, a widely publicized scientific report plucked an old mouse virus out of obscurity and held it up as a possible cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. According to a new study, that report was wrong. ... > full story

'E-waste pollution' a threat to human health, new research suggests (May 31, 2011) -- In addition to its damaging effect on the environment and its illegal smuggling into developing countries, researchers have now linked e-waste to adverse effects on human health, such as inflammation and oxidative stress -- precursors to cardiovascular disease, DNA damage and possibly cancer. ... > full story

Link between childhood ADHD and substance abuse risk supported by long-term study data (May 31, 2011) -- Analysis of data from two long-term studies of the impact of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder on the development of psychiatric disorders in young adults confirms that ADHD alone significantly increases the risk of cigarette smoking and substance abuse in both boys and girls. ... > full story

Cell phones and cancer: Assessment classifies radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (May 31, 2011) -- A new World Health Organization report classifies radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans, based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless phone use. ... > full story

Novel pathway regulating angiogenesis: May fight retinal disease, cancers (May 31, 2011) -- Scientists have identified a new molecular pathway used to suppress blood vessel branching in the developing retina -- a finding with potential therapeutic value for fighting diseases of the retina and a variety of cancers. Researchers also were able to reverse this pathway to accelerate the growth of branching vessels, which could be important to developing new methods for repairing damaged tissues. ... > full story

Insights into the motion of dogs (May 31, 2011) -- How does a dog run? Until recently, even experts found it nearly impossible to answer this simple sounding question. Zoologists have now presented the results of the most extensive study worldwide concerning the motion of dogs and offered new insights into their course of movement. ... > full story

Improved prognosis for esophageal cancer (May 31, 2011) -- In recent years, the number of cases of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus (or gullet) has been on the rise. At the same time, however, new ways of treatment are improving the outlook for patients. In a new study, researchers report on innovations in diagnosis and treatment. ... > full story

How plants control the formation of wood cells (May 31, 2011) -- An international group led by researchers in Finland has discovered the genetic process that controls the development of wood cells in the roots of plants. Xylem (wood cells) is the vascular tissue that transports water and nutrients upward from the root, also contributing to the formation of the woody element in the stem. The work presents a potential method for engineering plants to produce more wood. ... > full story

How do creative ads shake up the way we think? (May 31, 2011) -- Innovative ads can help creative consumers break away from their existing thought patterns, according to a new study. These creative stimuli can affect the way consumers process information about different products. ... > full story

Climate played big role in Vikings' disappearance from Greenland (May 31, 2011) -- Greenland's early Viking settlers were subjected to rapidly changing climate. Temperatures plunged several degrees in a span of decades, according to researchers. A reconstruction of 5,600 years of climate history from lakes near the Norse settlement in western Greenland also shows how climate affected the Dorset and Saqqaq cultures. ... > full story

Newly discovered protein may be a cause of heart failure (May 31, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a protein switch which can trigger a cascade of events leading to heart failure, pointing to a new direction for drug development. ... > full story

Honing household helpers: Computer scientists work toward improving robots’ ability to plan and perform complex actions, domestically and elsewhere (May 31, 2011) -- Imagine a robot able to retrieve a pile of laundry from the back of a cluttered closet, deliver it to a washing machine, start the cycle and then zip off to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. This may have been a domestic dream a half-century ago, when the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence first captured public imagination. However, it quickly became clear that even "simple" human actions are extremely difficult to replicate in robots. Now, computer scientists are tackling the problem with a hierarchical, progressive algorithm that has the potential to greatly reduce the computational cost associated with performing complex actions. ... > full story

Sweet defence against lethal bacteria: Synthesizing a potential vaccine candidate for an antibiotic-resistant pathogen (May 31, 2011) -- There is now a promising vaccine candidate for combating the pathogen which causes one of the most common and dangerous hospital infections. An international team of scientists has developed a vaccine based on a carbohydrate against the Clostridium difficile bacterium, which is known to cause serious gastrointestinal diseases mainly in hospitals. The sugar-based vaccine elicited a specific and effective immune response in mice. Moreover, the scientists have also discovered strong indications that the substance can stimulate the human immune system to form antibodies against the bacterium. ... > full story

Hide files within files for better data security: Using executable program files to hide data with steganography (May 31, 2011) -- A new approach to hiding data within executable computer program files could make it almost impossible to detect hidden documents. ... > full story

FDA could analyze public health consequences of its decisions better, experts say (May 31, 2011) -- A new report lays out a framework for the US Food and Drug Administration to systematically evaluate and compare the public health consequences of its decisions concerning a wide variety of products. Moreover, the risk-assessment framework provides a common internal language to discuss potential options and draws extensively on well-vetted risk literature to define the relevant health dimensions for FDA decision making. ... > full story

Japan earthquake appears to increase quake risk elsewhere in the country (May 31, 2011) -- Japan's recent magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which triggered a devastating tsunami, relieved stress along part of the quake fault but also has contributed to the build up of stress in other areas, putting some of the country at risk for up to years of sizeable aftershocks and perhaps new main shocks, scientists say. ... > full story

Can stress increase the risk of multiple sclerosis? (May 31, 2011) -- Contrary to earlier reports, a new study finds that stress does not appear to increase a person's risk of developing multiple sclerosis. ... > full story

'Nanowire' measurements could improve computer memory (May 31, 2011) -- Recent measurements may have revealed the optimal characteristics for a new type of highly efficient computer memory now under development -- nanowire-based charge-trapping memory devices. ... > full story

New mouse model may lead to new therapies for degenerative diseases (May 31, 2011) -- Researchers have engineered a new mouse that that can be used for research on degenerative disease. ... > full story

Listening with one atom: New record for measuring magnetic vibrations using the spin of a single atom (May 31, 2011) -- Scientists have set a new record for measuring magnetic vibrations using the spin of a single atom: 100 times more accurate than the previous record. ... > full story

Direct-to-consumer genetic tests neither accurate in their predictions nor beneficial to individuals, study suggests (May 31, 2011) -- Direct to consumer genetic tests are inaccurate in their predictions, mislead patients, and many of them should be banned, say clinical geneticists. ... > full story