ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Friday, October 21, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Friday, October 21, 2011

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First North American hunters 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, speared mastodon fossil shows (October 21, 2011) -- A new and astonishing chapter has been added to North American prehistory in regards to the first hunters and their hunt for the now extinct giant mammoth-like creatures -- the mastodons. New research has shown that the hunt for large mammals occurred at least 1,000 years before previously assumed. ... > full story

Novel therapeutic target identified to decrease triglycerides and increase 'good' cholesterol (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have shown for the first time the inhibition of both microRNA-33a and microRNA-33b with chemically modified anti-miR oligonucleotides markedly suppress triglyceride levels and cause a sustained increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol "good" cholesterol. ... > full story

'Microring' device could aid in future optical technologies (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have created a device small enough to fit on a computer chip that converts continuous laser light into numerous ultrashort pulses, a technology that might have applications in more advanced sensors, communications systems and laboratory instruments. ... > full story

Human norovirus in groundwater remains infective after two months (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have discovered that norovirus in groundwater can remain infectious for at least 61 days. ... > full story

Magnetic attraction: Microchip demonstrates concept of 'MRAM for biomolecules' (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a low-power microchip that uses a combination of microfluidics and magnetic switches to trap and transport magnetic beads. The novel transport chip may have applications in biotechnology and medical diagnostics. ... > full story

High to moderate levels of stress lead to higher mortality rate (October 21, 2011) -- A new study concludes that men who experience persistently moderate or high levels of stressful life events over a number of years have a 50 percent higher mortality rate. In general, the researchers found only a few protective factors against these higher levels of stress -- people who self-reported that they had good health tended to live longer and married men also fared better. Moderate drinkers also lived longer than non-drinkers. ... > full story

Significant ozone hole remains over Antarctica (October 21, 2011) -- The Antarctic ozone hole, which yawns wide every Southern Hemisphere spring, reached its annual peak on Sept. 12, stretching 10.05 million square miles, the ninth largest on record. Above the South Pole, the ozone hole reached its deepest point of the season on Oct. 9 when total ozone readings dropped to 102 Dobson units, tied for the 10th lowest in the 26-year record. ... > full story

New drug strategies for Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers are recommending a new strategy for developing drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases. ... > full story

Medical researchers breath new life into fight against primary killer of premature infants (October 21, 2011) -- A new discovery might explain why some premature infants fail to respond to existing treatments for a deadly respiratory distress syndrome and offers clues for new ways to treat the breathing disorder. ... > full story

New insights into insulin resistance could lead to better drugs for diabetics (October 21, 2011) -- New research moves us closer to developing drugs that could mitigate diabetes. Diabetes afflicts an estimated 26 million Americans, while 79 million have prediabetes. In other words, one in three Americans confronts this disease. Diabetes raises the risk of heart disease and stroke by as much as fourfold, and it is the leading cause of blindness among adults 20-74. It is also the leading cause of kidney failure. ... > full story

New benchtop polymer characterization method developed (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new and highly efficient way to characterize the structure of polymers at the nanoscale -- effectively designing a routine analytical tool that could be used by industries that rely on polymer science to innovate new products, from drug delivery gels to renewable bio-materials. ... > full story

Emerging public health crisis linked to mortgage default and foreclosure (October 21, 2011) -- Researchers warn of a looming health crisis in the wake of rising mortgage delinquencies and home foreclosures. The study is the first long-term survey of the impact the current housing crisis is having on older Americans. The study focused on adults over 50 and found high rates of depression among those behind in their mortgage payments and a higher likelihood of making unhealthy financial tradeoffs regarding food and needed prescription medications. ... > full story

Nearby planet-forming disk holds water for thousands of oceans (October 20, 2011) -- For the first time, astronomers have detected around a burgeoning solar system a sprawling cloud of water vapor that's cold enough to form comets, which could eventually deliver oceans to dry planets. ... > full story

Newly discovered reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (October 20, 2011) -- Waters polluted by the ordure of pigs, poultry, or cattle represent a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes, both known and potentially novel. These resistance genes can be spread among different bacterial species by bacteriophage, bacteria-infecting viruses, according to new research. ... > full story

Home washing machines: Source of potentially harmful ocean 'microplastic' pollution (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting that household washing machines seem to be a major source of so-called "microplastic" pollution -- bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin -- that they now have detected on ocean shorelines worldwide. ... > full story

Calorie count plus points based on added sugars, sodium, and saturated and trans fats recommended as new front-of-package nutrition labeling system (October 20, 2011) -- Federal agencies should develop a new nutrition rating system with symbols to display on the front of food and beverage packaging that graphically convey calorie counts by serving size and a "point" value showing whether the saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars in the products are below threshold levels. This new front-of-package system should apply to all foods and beverages and replace any other symbols currently being used on the front of packaging, added the committee that wrote the report. ... > full story

Laser makes sure food is fresh (October 20, 2011) -- Minced meat, bread, fruit juice and many other foods are packaged in a protective gas which extends their shelf life. There is currently no good method to check whether the packaging has the correct gas content. However, researchers have now developed a new laser instrument which could solve the problem. The first product is expected to be ready for market launch later in the autumn. ... > full story

I vs. we: Individuals perform better when focused on team's effort (October 20, 2011) -- Individuals perform better and are more confident when they practice motivational tactics focused not on them but on the team they belong to, according to researchers. The findings reveal that simply changing "I" to "we" in self-talk motivational statements has a significant impact on an individual's -- and thus a group's -- performance. ... > full story

Planet-sized object as cool as Earth revealed in record-breaking photo (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists are presenting the photo of a nearby star and its orbiting companion -- whose temperature is like a hot summer day in Arizona. The planet-like companion is the coldest object ever directly photographed outside our solar system, researchers say. ... > full story

Antiviral drugs may slow Alzheimer's progression (October 20, 2011) -- Antiviral drugs used to target the herpes virus could be effective at slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease, a new study shows. ... > full story

Research could lead to new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and viral infections (October 20, 2011) -- The intestinal ecosystem is even more dynamic than previously thought, according to two new studies. The research provides a new understanding of the unique intestinal environment and suggest new strategies for the prevention of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and viral infections, the researchers said. ... > full story

Age a big factor in prostate cancer deaths, study finds (October 20, 2011) -- Contrary to common belief, men age 75 and older are diagnosed with late-stage and more aggressive prostate cancer and thus die from the disease more often than younger men, according to a new analysis. ... > full story

What makes tires grip the road on a rainy day? (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists have recently developed a model to predict the friction occurring when a rough surface in wet conditions (such as a road on a rainy day) is in sliding contact with a rubber material (such as a car tire tread block). ... > full story

Men win humor test (by a hair) (October 20, 2011) -- Men are funnier than women, but only just barely and mostly to other men. So says a new psychology study. ... > full story

Bioluminescence: Explanation for glowing seas suggested (October 20, 2011) -- It has long been known that distinctive blue flashes -- a type of bioluminescence -- that are visible at night in some marine environments are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminesence. ... > full story

Low birthweight infants five times more likely to have autism, study finds (October 20, 2011) -- Autism researchers have found a link between low birthweight and children diagnosed with autism, reporting premature infants are five times more likely to have autism than children born at normal weight. ... > full story

Antibody treatment protects monkeys from Hendra virus disease (October 20, 2011) -- A human antibody given to monkeys infected with the deadly Hendra virus completely protected them from disease, according to a new study. Hendra and the closely related Nipah virus, both rare viruses that are part of the NIH biodefense research program, target the lungs and brain and have human case fatality rates of 60 percent and more than 75 percent, respectively. These diseases in monkeys mirror what happens in humans, and the study results are cause for hope that the antibody, named m102.4, ultimately may be developed into a possible treatment for people who become infected with these viruses. ... > full story

One size does not fit all for knee replacements and other medical devices, expert says (October 20, 2011) -- Undergoing a knee replacement involves sophisticated medical equipment, but innovative prosthetic design may not offer the same benefits for all knee replacement recipients, researchers report. ... > full story

Piecing together the priceless 'Cairo Genizah' (October 20, 2011) -- The Cairo Genizah is an irreplaceable repository for information about 1,000 years of human history. But the 350,000 fragments that make up the Genizah are scattered worldwide. Researchers are now putting all these pieces back together with a computer program based on facial recognition technology. ... > full story

Time on your hands: Good or bad? (October 20, 2011) -- What is more desirable: too little or too much spare time on your hands? To be happy, somewhere in the middle, according to researchers. New work shows that materialistic young people with compulsive buying issues need just the right amount of spare time to feel happier. ... > full story

Young human-specific genes correlated with brain evolution (October 20, 2011) -- Young genes that appeared since the primate branch split from other mammal species are expressed in unique structures of the developing human brain, a new analysis finds. ... > full story

Researchers examine BPA and breast cancer link (October 20, 2011) -- Chronic low-level exposure to a compound found in a variety of plastic household items could pose a threat to women who overproduce a protein linked with breast cancer, say researchers. ... > full story

Key property of potential 'spintronic' material measured (October 20, 2011) -- An advanced material that could help bring about next-generation "spintronic" computers has revealed one of its fundamental secrets to a team of scientists. ... > full story

Delayed vs. immediate coronary stenting (October 20, 2011) -- Medical researchers have published an article on the timing of coronary stenting, a thought-provoking paper that challenges one of the dogmas of acute heart attack management today. ... > full story

Lightning strikes, in the form of bits and bytes (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists are utilizing a superfast computer system for simulating lightning strikes. Their objectives are arriving at better understandings of the effects of lightning strikes on humans and machinery and better predictions of those effects. ... > full story

False starts can sneak by in women's sprinting, analysis finds (October 20, 2011) -- Olympic timing procedures don't accurately detect false starts by female sprinters, according to a new analysis. Under the current rules, a woman can purposely anticipate the gun by up to 20 milliseconds, or one-fiftieth of a second, without getting called for a false start, the researchers say. ... > full story

U.S. rivers and streams saturated with carbon (October 20, 2011) -- Rivers and streams in the United States are releasing substantially more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than previously thought, according to researchers. Their findings could change the way scientists model the movement of carbon among land, water and the atmosphere. ... > full story

X-linked mental retardation protein is found to mediate synaptic plasticity in hippocampus (October 20, 2011) -- Scientists have solved part of a puzzle concerning the relationship between changes in the strength of synapses -- the tiny gaps across which nerve cells in the brain communicate -- and dysfunctions in neural circuits that have been linked with drug addiction, mental retardation and other cognitive disorders. ... > full story

Using new technique, scientists uncover a delicate magnetic balance for superconductivity (October 20, 2011) -- A new imaging technology is giving scientists unprecedented views of the processes that affect the flow of electrons through materials. By modifying a familiar tool in nanoscience -- the scanning tunneling microscope -- researchers have been able to visualize what happens when they change the electronic structure of a "heavy fermion" compound made of uranium, ruthenium and silicon. What they found sheds light on superconductivity -- the movement of electrons without resistance -- which typically occurs at extremely low temperatures and that researchers hope one day to achieve at something close to room temperature, which would revolutionize electronics. ... > full story

Can breastfeeding reduce pain in preterm infants? (October 20, 2011) -- Poorly managed pain in the neonatal intensive care unit has serious short- and long-term consequences, causing physiological and behavioral instability in preterm infants and long-term changes in their pain sensitivity, stress arousal systems, and developing brains. Researchers report that breastfeeding during minor procedures mitigated pain in preterm neonates with mature breastfeeding behaviors. ... > full story

Glowing beacons reveal hidden order in dynamical systems: Experimental confirmation of a fundamental physical theorem (October 20, 2011) -- A dynamical system in which repeated measurements on a single particle yield the same mean result as a single measurement of the whole ensemble is said to be ergodic. The ergodic theorem expresses a fundamental physical principle, and its validity for diffusive processes has now been demonstrated. ... > full story

Physical appearance perfectionism scale developed (October 20, 2011) -- Psychologists have developed a new diagnostic measure to gauge individual differences in people's hopes and concerns about a perfect physical appearance. ... > full story

U.S. government releases environmental, health, and safety research strategy for nanotechnology (October 20, 2011) -- The U.S. government has just released a national strategy for ensuring that environmental, health, and safety research needs are fully identified and addressed in the fast-growing field of nanotechnology. ... > full story

New imaging agent improves detection of bladder cancer, experts say (October 20, 2011) -- A select number of medical centers in the U.S. are offering a newly approved optical imaging agent for the detection of papillary cancer of the bladder in patients with known or suspected bladder cancer. ... > full story

NASA's Spitzer detects comet storm in nearby solar system (October 19, 2011) -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system. The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment," which may have brought water and other life-forming ingredients to Earth. ... > full story

Common link suggested between autism and diabetes: Study implicates hyperinsulinemia in increased incidence of autism (October 19, 2011) -- A review of the genetic and biochemical abnormalities associated with autism reveals a possible link between the widely diagnosed neurological disorder and Type 2 diabetes, another medical disorder on the rise in recent decades. ... > full story

Imaging technology might help doctors determine best treatment for Crohn's disease patients (October 19, 2011) -- Ultrasound elasticity imaging, or UEI, could allow doctors to non-invasively make the distinction between intestinal inflammation and fibrosis in Crohn's disease patients, allowing patients to receive more appropriate and timely care. ... > full story

Clue to birth defects in babies of mothers with diabetes (October 19, 2011) -- Researchers have identified the enzyme AMP kinase as key to the molecular mechanism that significantly increases the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and some heart defects among babies born to women with diabetes. ... > full story