ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Friday, June 3, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Friday, June 3, 2011

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Phase change memory-based 'Moneta' system points to the future of computer storage (June 3, 2011) -- Researchers are about to demonstrate a first-of-its kind, phase-change memory solid state storage device provides performance thousands of times faster than a conventional hard drive and up to seven times faster than current state-of-the-art solid-state drives. ... > full story

Scientists identify mutations that cause congenital cataracts (June 3, 2011) -- New research identifies genetic mutations that cause an inherited form of cataracts in humans. The study provides new insight into the understanding of lens transparency and the development of cataracts in humans. ... > full story

High-fat diet during pregnancy programs child for future diabetes, study suggests (June 3, 2011) -- A high-fat diet during pregnancy may program a woman's baby for future diabetes, even if she herself is not obese or diabetic, according to a new study. ... > full story

Mathematical models provide insights into cholera vaccination strategies for Zimbabwe (June 3, 2011) -- Mathematical models analyzing how a cholera outbreak spread in Zimbabwe are providing new insights into the most effective vaccination strategies for preventing future cholera epidemics, according to researchers. ... > full story

Examining the brain as a neural information super-highway (June 3, 2011) -- A new article demonstrates how tools for modeling traffic on the Internet and telephone systems can be used to study information flow in brain networks. ... > full story

Children of divorce fall behind peers in math, social skills, study finds (June 3, 2011) -- Divorce is a drag on the academic and emotional development of young children, but only once the breakup is under way, according to a study of elementary school students and their families. ... > full story

Inside the infant mind: Babies can perform sophisticated analyses of how the physical world should behave (June 3, 2011) -- Scientists have found that infants can form surprisingly sophisticated expectations of how novel situations will unfold. And if something does not fit with their expectations, an infants' level of surprise can be measured by how long they look at something: The more unexpected the event, the longer they watch. ... > full story

New therapy for blood cancers using drug combo (June 3, 2011) -- Clinical researchers have successfully completed a Phase I clinical trial evaluating a combination of the drugs bortezomib and alvocidib in patients with relapsed or refractory blood cancers, paving the way for a Phase II clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of the new therapy. ... > full story

Scientists discover new hitch to link nerve cell motors to their cargo (June 3, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered a protein that is involved in the motor-cargo mechanism that carries neurotransmitter chemicals to the nerve cell's synapse. ... > full story

Use of clot busters for stroke increased from 2005 to 2009, but still low (June 3, 2011) -- The use of a clot-busting drug for stroke increased over a recent five-year period, but it's still low, according to a new study. About 3.4 percent to 3.7 percent of Americans who suffered an ischemic stroke in 2009 received a clot-busting drug compared to 1.1 percent to 1.4 percent in 2005. Researchers believe that the increased use of clot-busting drugs may reduce overall rates of stroke disability and death. ... > full story

Solar inverters: Losses are cut in half (June 3, 2011) -- A switching trick makes it possible to cut the losses of a series-production inverter in half and increase the efficiency from 96 to 98 percent. The new technology makes it possible to achieve a world-record efficiency of more than 99 percent. ... > full story

Cognitive impairment seen in preschool children with epilepsy, study finds (June 3, 2011) -- A recent study has shown that cognitive impairment is evident early on in preschool children with epilepsy, consistent with results of similar studies in older children. Age of onset of first seizure is a significant predictor of cognitive impairment according to this study -- the first to evaluate cognitive impairment in children age three to six. ... > full story

Evolutionary biologist's work may one day help with chronic diseases: New understanding of environmental 'fitness' (June 2, 2011) -- Working to better predict general patterns of evolution, a biologist and his team have discovered some surprising things about gene mutations that might one day make it possible to predict the progression of chronic disease. ... > full story

Adult brain needs Rett protein needed for proper neuron function (June 2, 2011) -- Girls born with dysfunctional MeCP2 (methyl-CpG-binding protein 2) develop Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder. Too much MeCP2 can cause spasticity or developmental delay with autism-like symptoms in boys. Now, researchers have found that the neuron needs a steady supply of this protein for its entire existence. ... > full story

Parental conflict in plants: Maternal factors silence paternal genes (June 2, 2011) -- In flowering plants, the beginning of embryogenesis is almost exclusively governed by maternal gene activity. Maternal factors regulate the development of the embryo and silence paternal genes during early stages of development. This finding was obtained using next generation sequencing technology. This newly uncovered mechanism may be involved in the maintenance of species boundaries and could play an important role in the development of novel crop varieties. ... > full story

Role of gene regulator in skeletal muscles demonstrated (June 2, 2011) -- Fast muscles, such as the thigh muscle in a sprinter, deliver energy quickly but fatigue quickly. Slow muscles, such as the soleus muscle in the lower calf, are less forceful but important for posture and endurance. Researchers have discovered one gene regulator that maintains the fast muscle type and inhibits the development of a slow muscle type. ... > full story

Small change makes a big difference for ion channels (June 2, 2011) -- Using a high-resolution single-molecule study technique, researchers have seen the very subtle differences between two branches of an important family of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. In cation-selective channels, basic amino acid residues lining the channel seem to be tucked into the protein structure and remain neutral rather than positively charged. ... > full story

Depression: Not just for adults (June 2, 2011) -- Depressed preschoolers do not just show similar symptoms to adult depression, they also show similar patterns of brain activity when scanned using a functional magnetic resonance imaging. ... > full story

Color red increases the speed and strength of reactions (June 2, 2011) -- When humans see red, their reactions become both faster and more forceful. And people are unaware of the color's intensifying effect, according to a new study. ... > full story

EHEC outbreak: Rare strain of E. coli unknown in previous outbreaks (June 2, 2011) -- The strain of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) 0104:H4 isolated from cases in the EHEC infection outbreak in Germany is a rare one, seen in humans before, but never in an EHEC outbreak. The finding has been confirmed by the World Health Organization. ... > full story

Climate projections don't accurately reflect soil carbon release (June 2, 2011) -- A new study concludes that models may be predicting releases of atmospheric carbon dioxide that are either too high or too low, depending on the region, because they don't adequately reflect variable temperatures that can affect the amount of carbon released from soil. Some global climate models may be flawed as a result. ... > full story

Pleural mesothelioma: Combination therapy shows promise for rare, deadly cancer caused by asbestos (June 2, 2011) -- Pleural mesothelioma patients who undergo lung-sparing surgery in combination with photodynamic therapy (PDT) show superior overall survival than patient treated using the conventional therapy of extrapleural pneumonectomy (or en bloc removal of the lung and surrounding tissue) with PDT, indicates new research. ... > full story

Single-crystal arrays of graphene: Advance in efforts to develop a replacement for silicon in high-performance electronics (June 2, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a method for creating single-crystal arrays of the material graphene, an advance that opens the possibility of a replacement for silicon in high-performance computers and electronics. Graphene is a one-atom-thick layer of carbon that was first fabricated in 2004. Single-crystal arrays of the material could be used to create a new class of high-speed transistors and integrated circuits that use less energy than silicon electronics because graphene conducts electricity with little resistance or heat generation. ... > full story

Will neuroscience challenge the legal concept of criminal responsibility? (June 2, 2011) -- How do the US courts determine who is fit to stand trial? Neuroethics experts discuss how advances in neuroscience may help relieve some of the burden on defense attorneys who represent mentally ill clients. ... > full story

Retina holds the key to better vision in deaf people (June 2, 2011) -- People who are deaf benefit from better vision due to the fact their retinas develop differently, researchers in the UK have shown. ... > full story

Scientists find way to block stress-related cell death: New drug target for heart attack, stroke and Parkinson's disease? (June 2, 2011) -- Scientists have uncovered a potentially important new therapeutic target that could prevent stress-related cell death, a characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, as well as heart attack and stroke. ... > full story

Food pyramid replaced by 'MyPlate' icon emphasizing fruit, vegetable, grains, protein and dairy (June 2, 2011) -- Move over, food pyramid. There's a new icon to remind Americans how to eat better. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has unveiled the federal government's new food icon, MyPlate, to serve as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices. The MyPlate icon emphasizes the fruit, vegetable, grains, protein and dairy food groups. ... > full story

Antifungal drug delays need for chemo in advanced prostate cancer, study suggests (June 2, 2011) -- The oral antifungal drug itraconazole, most commonly used to treat nail fungus, may keep prostate cancer from worsening and delay the need for chemotherapy in men with advanced disease, new research suggests. ... > full story

Leakage of private information from popular web sites is common, new study finds (June 2, 2011) -- A study of more than 100 popular web sites has found that three-quarters leak either private information or users' unique identifiers to third-party tracking sites. The study showed how such leakage could permit tracking sites to link bits of information to create detailed profiles of individuals. Efforts to date to curb such leakage and linkage of personal information, including proposals made in a 2010 Federal Trade Commission report, would be largely ineffective, the study concluded. ... > full story

People who have had head injuries report more violent behavior (June 2, 2011) -- Young people who have sustained a head injury during their lifetime are more likely to engage in violent behavior, according to an eight-year study. ... > full story

Microscopic worms could help open up travel into deep space (June 2, 2011) -- A space flight by millions of microscopic worms could help us overcome the numerous threats posed to human health by space travel. The Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) have also given experts an insight into how to block muscle degradation in the sick and elderly. ... > full story

Therapeutic melanoma vaccine improves response rate, progression-free survival, study finds (June 2, 2011) -- A vaccine for one of the most lethal cancers, advanced melanoma, has improved response rate and progression-free survival for patients when combined with the immunotherapy drug Interleukin-2, according to new research. ... > full story

Heartbeat of nanoparticles made visible (June 2, 2011) -- Even tiny gold nanoparticles, with a diameter of only 40 millionths of a millimeter, have something like a heartbeat. When focusing a short laser pulse on the particles they heat up very briefly and start to vibrate. But even the best microscopes can not resolve these nanoparticles, which are therefore very difficult to study. ... > full story

New type of MRSA in hospitalized patients in Ireland probably of animal origin, new research finds (June 2, 2011) -- A distinctly new type of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that is not detected by traditional genetic screening methods has been discovered in patients in Irish hospitals according to new research. These findings provide significant insights into how new MRSA strains emerge and highlight the potential for the transmission of infectious agents from animals to humans. ... > full story

'Hot body' could help ships reduce drag (June 2, 2011) -- New research into drag reduction has the potential to help industries such shipping to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. ... > full story

Pulling a fast one: Speed of advertisement disclaimer may have effect on consumers' intent to purchase product (June 2, 2011) -- Do those lightening fast disclaimers at the end of radio and television advertisements scare you away or simply seem like white noise required by regulatory agencies? According to new research, fast disclaimers can give consumers the impression that an advertiser is trying to conceal information. However, trusted brands (versus trust-unknown or not-trusted brands) are immune to the adverse effects of fast disclaimers. ... > full story

Deadly bacteria may mimic human proteins to evolve antibiotic resistance (June 2, 2011) -- Deadly bacteria may be evolving antibiotic resistance by mimicking human proteins, according to a new study. ... > full story

Mother's body size and placental size predict heart disease in men (June 2, 2011) -- Researchers investigating the fetal origins of chronic disease have discovered that combinations of a mother's body size and the shape and size of her baby's placenta can predict heart disease in men in later life. ... > full story

3-D model mimics volcanic explosions (June 2, 2011) -- A 3-D model of a volcanic explosion, based on the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state, may enhance our understanding of how some volcanic explosions occur and help identification of blast zones for potentially dangerous locations, according volcanologists. ... > full story

Low-carb, higher-fat diets add no arterial health risks to obese people seeking to lose weight, studies suggest (June 2, 2011) -- Overweight and obese people looking to drop some pounds and considering one of the popular low-carbohydrate diets, along with moderate exercise, need not worry that the higher proportion of fat in such a program compared to a low-fat, high-carb diet may harm their arteries, suggests a pair of new studies. ... > full story

New technology could inspire brain implant for detecting and treating seizures (June 2, 2011) -- Tiny electrodes have been coated with a drug-loaded polymer in an attempt to design an implant capable of detecting a number of neurological symptoms, such as those associated with an epileptic seizure, and treating them simultaneously. ... > full story

World Wars camouflage technique could have benefits in modern warfare (June 2, 2011) -- Painting army vehicles with high contrast geometric patterns -- "dazzle camouflage" -- affects the perception of their speed and thus could make them less susceptible to rocket propelled grenade attacks, according to new research from the UK. ... > full story

Source of key brain function located: How to comprehend a scene in less than a second (June 2, 2011) -- Scientists have pinned down the region of the brain responsible for a key survival trait: our ability to comprehend a scene -- even one never previously encountered -- in a fraction of a second. ... > full story

Fear of dying during a heart attack is linked to increased inflammation (June 2, 2011) -- Intense distress and fear of dying, which many people experience when suffering the symptoms of a heart attack, are not only fairly common emotional responses but are also linked to biological changes that occur during the event, according to new research. These changes, in turn, are associated with other biological processes during the following weeks that can predict a worse outcome for patients. ... > full story

Keeping warm: Coordinated movements in a penguin huddle (June 2, 2011) -- To survive temperatures below -50 ° C and gale-force winds above 180 km/h during the Antarctic winter, Emperor penguins form tightly packed huddles and -- as has recently been discovered -- the penguins actually coordinate their movements to give all members of the huddle a chance to warm up. ... > full story

Surgery deaths drop nationwide in U.S. for high-risk surgeries, according to study (June 2, 2011) -- In the past decade, surgery death rates have dropped dramatically for even the most complicated surgeries. But a new study reveals the decline is linked with more surgeries shifting to safer, high volume hospitals, particularly surgeries to treat pancreatic and esophageal cancers. Low-volume hospitals have simply stopped doing some high-risk surgeries, which could impact patient preference for local care. ... > full story

Overuse of antimicrobials in livestock risks human health, warn experts (June 2, 2011) -- Excessive use of antimicrobials in livestock promotes resistance and risks the future health of both animals and humans, warn experts in a new editorial. ... > full story

Shame and honor increase cooperation (June 2, 2011) -- Honor and shame work equally well in encouraging social cooperation, according to a new study. New research has shown that the threat of shame and promise of honor each increased cooperation by as much as 50 per cent, providing insights into potential future strategies for tackling global issues such as overfishing and climate change. ... > full story