ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Saturday, September 10, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Saturday, September 10, 2011

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Birth control pills affect memory, researchers find (September 9, 2011) -- Women who use contraceptives like birth control pills experience memory changes, according to new research. Their ability to remember the gist of an emotional event improves, while women not using the contraceptives better retain details. ... > full story

Exercise boosts health by influencing stem cells to become bone, not fat, researchers find (September 9, 2011) -- Researchers have found one more reason to exercise: working out triggers influential stem cells to become bone instead of fat, improving overall health by boosting the body's capacity to make blood. ... > full story

Milestones for two radiation machines used to test U.S. defenses against atomic weapons (September 9, 2011) -- Two remarkable pulsed-power machines used to test the nation's defenses against atomic weapons have surpassed milestones at Sandia National Laboratories: 4,000 firings, called "shots," on the Saturn accelerator and 9,000 shots on the HERMES III accelerator. Saturn -- originally projected to last 5 to 10 years -- began operating in 1987. Its major function has been to produce X-rays to test the effectiveness of countermeasures used to protect electronics and other materials against X-ray radiation from nuclear weapons. ... > full story

New strategy for overcoming resistance to targeted cancer drug (September 9, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered a pair of backup circuits in cancer cells that enable the cells to dodge the effect of cetuximab. Until now, scientists haven't known why cancers that initially respond to cetuximab become resistant to it, or how to overcome such resistance. ... > full story

Using 61 years of tropical storm data, scientists uncover landfall threat probabilities (September 9, 2011) -- Scientists have found an intriguing relationship between hurricane tracks and climate variability using data from the Atlantic gathered between 1950-2010, unlocking some noteworthy results. ... > full story

Parents' stress leaves lasting marks on children’s genes, researchers find (September 9, 2011) -- Researchers have shown that parental stress during their children's early years can leave an imprint on their sons' or daughters' genes -- an imprint that lasts into adolescence and may affect how these genes are expressed later in life. ... > full story

Captivated by critters: Humans are wired to respond to animals (September 9, 2011) -- Some people feel compelled to pet every animal they see on the street, while others jump at the mere sight of a shark on their television. No matter what your response is to animals, it may be thanks to a specific part of your brain that is hardwired to rapidly detect creatures of the nonhuman kind. In fact, researchers report that neurons throughout the amygdala respond preferentially to images of animals. ... > full story

Process that clears cholesterol could reverse major cause of heart attack (September 9, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that an ancient pathway called autophagy also mobilizes and exports cholesterol from cells. ... > full story

Deep-sea fish in deep trouble: Scientists find nearly all deep-sea fisheries unsustainable (September 9, 2011) -- A team of leading marine scientists from around the world is recommending an end to most commercial fishing in the deep sea. Instead, they recommend fishing in more productive waters nearer to consumers. ... > full story

Newly identified gene mutation linked to Parkinson's: Single 'spelling mistake' affects mechanism for converting a cell's genetic code into proteins (September 9, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered a new gene responsible for Parkinson's disease. The mutation, a single "spelling mistake" among three billion nucleotides in DNA, regulates the mechanism for converting a cell's genetic code into proteins. ... > full story

How an 'evolutionary playground' brings plant genes together (September 9, 2011) -- Plants produce a vast array of natural products, many of which we find useful for making things such as drugs. Researchers have recently discovered that the genes producing two of these products in the model plant Arabidopsis are clustered together by an 'evolutionary playground' in the plant's genome. Knowing how these clusters assemble and are controlled will be important for improving and exploiting the production of new natural products. ... > full story

What's in a name? Names, not social networks, bind us to global cultural and ethnic communities (September 9, 2011) -- Links between hundreds of millions of names belonging to people around the world have been analyzed by geographers in the UK and New Zealand. The results reveal how our forenames and surnames are connected in distinct global networks of cultural, ethnic and linguistic communities. The researchers' methods could be of use to social scientists and health researchers investigating migration, identity and integration. ... > full story