ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, July 4, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, July 4, 2011

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The smell of danger: Rats instinctively avoid compound in carnivore urine (July 3, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a single compound found in high concentrations in the urine of carnivores that triggers an instinctual avoidance response in mice and rats. This is the first time that scientists have identified a chemical tag that would let rodents sense carnivores in general from a safe distance. ... > full story

Possible new target for sarcoma treatment and prevention (July 3, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a protein signaling pathway that becomes hyperactivated in human sarcoma cells, suggesting that medications to inhibit this pathway may be effective in the treatment of human sarcomas. ... > full story

Red wine: Exercise in a bottle? (July 3, 2011) -- As strange as it sounds, a new research study suggests that the "healthy" ingredient in red wine, resveratrol, prevents the negative effects that spaceflight and sedentary lifestyles have on people. The report describes experiments in rats that simulated the weightlessness of spaceflight, during which the group fed resveratrol did not develop insulin resistance or a loss of bone mineral density, as did those who were not fed resveratrol. ... > full story

Droplets for detecting tumoral DNA (July 3, 2011) -- New research suggests it may be possible, in the near future, to detect cancer by a simple blood or urine test. Biologists from France have developed a technique capable of detecting minute traces of tumoral DNA present in the biological fluids of patients suffering from cancer. ... > full story

New light shed on the private lives of electrons: Lasers allow scientists to observe how electrons become entangled (July 3, 2011) -- Scientists have used lasers to peek into the complex relationship between a single electron and its environment, a breakthrough that could aid the development of quantum computers. ... > full story

Women get up sooner than men after a fall in soccer, study finds (July 3, 2011) -- When women play football (soccer), the individual interruptions, for instance for substitutions or to cheer a goal, are a lot shorter than when men play. In particular after injuries men remain on the ground significantly longer. This is what sports scientists discovered after analyzing 56 soccer games and evaluating the place, time and duration of every single interruption of the game. In soccer, men stage themselves much more than women, the scientists conclude. ... > full story

Tongue makes the difference in how fish and mammals chew (July 3, 2011) -- New research shows that fish and mammals chew differently. Fish use tongue muscles to thrust food backward, while mammals use tongue muscles to position food for grinding. The evolutionary divergence is believed to have occurred with amphibians, though further research is needed to identify which species and when. ... > full story

New biomarker predicts breast cancer relapse (July 3, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a new biomarker related to the body's immune system that can predict a breast cancer patients' risk of cancer recurrence. ... > full story

Changes in specific dietary factors may have big impact on long-term weight gain (July 3, 2011) -- Researchers have found that modest changes in specific foods and beverages, physical activity, TV-watching, and sleep duration were strongly linked with long-term weight gain. ... > full story

Cell rigidity linked to activity in proteins associated with cancer (July 3, 2011) -- Scientists have demonstrated that exerting mechanical force on cells activates Rho GEF proteins through distinct signaling pathways. The Rho GEFs activate Rho proteins that are part of the RAS superfamily -- a class of proteins associated with cancer activity. ... > full story

Toward a more efficient use of solar energy (July 3, 2011) -- The exploitation and utilization of new energy sources are considered to be among today's major challenges. Solar energy plays a central role, and its direct conversion into chemical energy, for example hydrogen generation by water splitting, is one of its interesting variants. Titanium oxide-based photocatalysis is the presently most efficient, yet little understood conversion process. ... > full story

Nuclear waste requires cradle-to-grave strategy, study finds (July 3, 2011) -- After Fukushima, it is now imperative to redefine what makes a successful nuclear power program -- from cradle to grave. If nuclear waste management is not thought out from the beginning, the public in many countries will reject nuclear power as an energy choice, according to new research. ... > full story

'Odd couple' binary star system makes dual gamma-ray flares (July 2, 2011) -- In December 2010, a pair of mismatched stars in the southern constellation Crux whisked past each other at a distance closer than Venus orbits the sun. The system possesses a so-far unique blend of a hot and massive star with a compact fast-spinning pulsar. The pair's closest encounters occur every 3.4 years and each is marked by a sharp increase in gamma rays, the most extreme form of light. ... > full story

Key immune substance linked to asthma, study finds (July 2, 2011) -- Medical researchers have linked a master molecule of the immune system, gamma-interferon, to the pathology of asthma, in a study of mice. ... > full story

Web weaving skills provide clues to aging, spider study reveals (July 2, 2011) -- Young house spiders weave webs with perfect angles and regular patterns, but as they reach old age their webs deteriorate, showing gaping holes and erratic weaving. By using spiders as a simple model, new research may provide insight into how age affects behavior in other organisms, including humans. ... > full story

In pilot study, screening detects potentially serious heart conditions in healthy children (July 2, 2011) -- A pilot study in healthy children and adolescents shows that it is feasible to screen for undiagnosed heart conditions that increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Adding a 10-minute, relatively low-cost electrocardiogram to a history and physical examination identified unsuspected cases of potentially serious heart conditions. ... > full story

Hawaii is not an evolutionary dead end for marine life, snail study finds (July 2, 2011) -- The question of why there are so many species in the sea and how new species form remains a central question in marine biology. Below the waterline, about 30% of Hawaii's marine species are endemic – being found only in Hawaii and nowhere else on Earth – one of the highest rates of endemism found worldwide. But where did this diversity of species come from? In a new study of limpets, cone-shaped marine snails, researchers have demonstrated that Hawaii is not an evolutionary dead end for marine species. ... > full story

Good communication in early years key to success at school, UK study shows (July 2, 2011) -- Researchers in the UK have shown that although social background has a noticeable effect on a child’s readiness for school, what parents do with their children, even before they begin to talk, is actually much more important. The results of the study showed that children who were taken to the library more often and owned more books at two-years-old achieved higher scores on the school assessment tests when they began primary school. ... > full story

New theory on origin of birds: Enlarged skeletal muscles (July 2, 2011) -- A new theory of the origin of birds, traditionally believed to be driven by the evolution of flight, is now being credited to the emergence of enlarged skeletal muscles in birds. Their upright two-leggedness, he says, led to the opportunity for other adaptive changes like flying or swimming. ... > full story

Potential of simple injection on patients with head injury (July 2, 2011) -- New research has suggested that tranexamic acid has the potential to prevent people dying from head injuries. It is a cheap, off-patent drug with the potential to help people suffering from brain trauma. ... > full story

Flapping micro air vehicles inspired by swifts (July 2, 2011) -- A new design of micro air vehicle (MAV) will be able to flap, glide and hover. Researchers have been inspired by birds to design a MAV that combines flapping wings, which will allow it to fly at slow speeds and hover, with the ability to glide, ensuring good quality images from any on-board camera. ... > full story

More sensitive test for cardiac biomarker may better identify patients who experienced heart attack (July 2, 2011) -- In patients with a suspected acute coronary syndrome (or ACS, such as heart attack or unstable angina), use of a more sensitive test to detect the protein troponin in blood was associated with increased diagnosis of a heart attack and improved identification of patients at high risk of another heart attack and death in the following year, according to new study. ... > full story

Breaking Kasha's rule: Scientists find unique luminescence in tetrapod nanocrystals (July 2, 2011) -- Researchers created tetrapod molecules of semiconductor nanocrystals and watched them break a fundamental principle of photoluminescence known as "Kasha's rule." The discovery holds promise for multi-color light emission technologies, including LEDs. ... > full story

'Goat plague' threat to global food security and economy must be tackled, experts warn (July 2, 2011) -- "Goat plague," or peste des petits ruminants, is threatening global food security and poverty alleviation in the developing world, say leading veterinarians and animal health experts. ... > full story

Clocking Neptune's spin by tracking atmospheric features (July 1, 2011) -- By tracking atmospheric features on Neptune, a planetary scientist has accurately determined the planet's rotation, a feat that had not been previously achieved for any of the gas planets in our solar system except Jupiter. ... > full story

Foods with baked milk may help build tolerance in children with dairy allergies, study suggests (July 1, 2011) -- Introducing increasing amounts of foods that contain baked milk into the diets of children who have milk allergies helped a majority of them outgrow their allergies, according to a new study. ... > full story

Auto-pilots need a birds-eye view: Pigeons can inform navigation technology design (July 1, 2011) -- New research on how birds can fly so quickly and accurately through dense forests may lead to new developments in robotics and auto-pilots. Scientists trained pigeons to fly through an artificial forest with a tiny camera attached to their heads, literally giving a birds-eye view. ... > full story

Intravenous nutrition for critically ill patients must not be administered too early, Belgian study finds (July 1, 2011) -- Intravenous nutrition does not have a positive effect on the recovery of critically ill patients if it is administered early, according to new research from Belgium. Recovery from critical illness is in fact faster when patients receive supplementary intravenous nutrition one week after their admission to intensive care. ... > full story

NASA's Aura Satellite measures pollution from New Mexico, Arizona fires (July 1, 2011) -- NASA's Aura Satellite has provided a view of nitrogen dioxide levels coming from the fires in New Mexico and Arizona. Detecting nitrogen dioxide is important because it reacts with sunlight to create low-level ozone or smog and poor air quality. ... > full story

Money and mimicry: Examining the psychological effect of money and how it affects our behavior and emotions (July 1, 2011) -- We rely on money in our day-to-day life and it is constantly in our minds. After all, money makes the world go round, doesn't it? Now, a new study tries to better understand the psychological effect of money and how it affects our behavior, feelings and emotions. ... > full story

Loudest animal is recorded for the first time (July 1, 2011) -- The loudest animal on Earth, relative to its body size, is a tiny water boatman, scientists have shown. The sound is within human hearing range and at 99.2 decibels it represents the equivalent of listening to an orchestra play loudly while sitting in the front row. ... > full story

New class of antiangiogenesis drugs: Natural plant compound blocks blood vessel growth by interfering with cellular adhesion (July 1, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered the first of an entirely new class of anti-angiogenesis drugs -- agents that interfere with the development of blood vessels. The investigators describe how a compound derived from a South American tree was able, through a novel mechanism, to interfere with blood vessel formation in animal models of normal development, wound healing and tumor growth. ... > full story

Making a spectacle of star formation in Orion (July 1, 2011) -- Looking like a pair of eyeglasses only a rock star would wear, a new nebula view brings into focus a murky region of star formation. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope exposes the depths of this dusty nebula with its infrared vision, showing stellar infants that are lost behind dark clouds when viewed in visible light. ... > full story

Variation in susceptibility to a virus is the key to understanding infection biology (July 1, 2011) -- A new study shows that differences in the vulnerability of animals to a virus are crucial to understanding patterns of infection, and that variation in susceptibility to two marginally different viruses increases the number of infections when the two virus variants are present in the same animal. ... > full story

Why 'event cloaks' could be the key to the ultimate bank heist (July 1, 2011) -- In this month's special issue of Physics World, which examines the science and applications of invisibility, Martin McCall and Paul Kinsler of Imperial College London describe a new type of invisibility cloak that does not just hide objects -- but events. ... > full story

Foot positioning during walking and running may influence ankle sprains (July 1, 2011) -- The position of the foot just before ground contact during running and walking may put people at risk for ankle sprains, according to a new study. ... > full story

Quantum 'graininess' of space at smaller scales? Gamma-ray observatory challenges physics beyond Einstein (July 1, 2011) -- The European Space Agency's Integral gamma-ray observatory has provided results that will dramatically affect the search for physics beyond Einstein. It has shown that any underlying quantum 'graininess' of space must be at much smaller scales than previously predicted. ... > full story

HIV-inhibiting mechanism identified (July 1, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a long-sought cellular factor that works to inhibit HIV infection of myeloid cells, a subset of white blood cells that display antigens and hence are important for the body's immune response against viruses and other pathogens. The factor, a protein called SAMHD1, is part of the nucleic acid sensing machinery within the body's own immune system. ... > full story

At the feet of the pharaohs: Capturing the majesty of Luxor in 3-D (July 1, 2011) -- For a while, it seemed the revolution in Egypt would end his mission before it had even begun. Thomas A. DeFanti, an expert in data visualization, had been planning for months to capture spectacular 3-D surround images of Egypt's temples at Luxor on his way to Saudi Arabia early in April. It would be a proof-of-concept expedition to see if the 3-D CAVEcam -- two Lumix GF1 cameras carefully calibrated to take simultaneous right and left images -- would be functional in the super bright, hot and dusty conditions of the Nile River Valley. But for DeFanti, an avid traveler and lover of photography, it would also be a way to bring the splendors of one of the primary world heritage sites back to his state-of-the-art visualization facility in California. ... > full story

Preventing diabetes damage: Zinc's effects on a kinky, two-faced cohort (July 1, 2011) -- In type 2 diabetes, a protein called amylin forms dense clumps that shut down insulin-producing cells, wreaking havoc on the control of blood sugar. But zinc has a knack for preventing amylin from misbehaving. ... > full story

WiFi 'napping' doubles phone battery life (July 1, 2011) -- A graduate student has found a way to double the battery life of mobile devices -- such as smartphones or laptop computers -- by making changes to WiFi technology. ... > full story

Sound localization at cocktail parties is easier for men (July 1, 2011) -- Differences in male and female behavior are often subject to study. Women are known to be more verbally fluent, have better manual dexterity. Men tend to excel in what are known as visuo-spatial abilities. A new study has demonstrated that men have a similar advantage in their hearing. ... > full story

Scientists use 'optogenetics' to control reward-seeking behavior (July 1, 2011) -- The findings suggest that therapeutics targeting the path between two critical brain regions, the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens, represent potential treatments for addiction and other neuropsychiatric diseases. ... > full story

Electromagnetic fields can disturb learning, study suggests, but only at very high levels (July 1, 2011) -- The effects of high-frequency electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones on humans have been hotly debated for years. In a new study, neuroscientists from Germany have shed light on this question. For the first time, they provide evidence that extremely high-powered electromagnetic fields can influence learning processes on the synaptic level within the brain, independent from other factors such as stress. However, such high levels are not encountered during typical use of mobile phones, the researchers note. ... > full story

Babies are specially attuned to our voices and emotions (July 1, 2011) -- Young babies' brains are already specially attuned to the sounds of human voices and emotions, according to a new report. ... > full story

Adult stem cells carry their own baggage: Epigenetics guides stem cell fate (July 1, 2011) -- Adult stem and progenitor cells may not contain a clean genetic slate after all. A new report shows that these cells have unique "epigenetic signatures," which change once a cell differentiates. Epigenetic changes do not affect the make up in a cell's DNA, but how that DNA functions. Epigenetic changes have demonstrated a role in a range of diseases, as well as to be heritable from mother to child. ... > full story

La Niña's exit leaves climate forecasts in limbo (July 1, 2011) -- It's what Bill Patzert, a climatologist and oceanographer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, likes to call a "La Nada" -- that puzzling period between cycles of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean when sea surface heights in the equatorial Pacific are near average. ... > full story

Social networking -- 400 years ago (July 1, 2011) -- Renaissance specialists in the UK have discovered that the art of social networking pre-dates the Twitter and Facebook generations by more than 400 years. ... > full story