ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Thursday, November 10, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Thursday, November 10, 2011

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Physicists chip away at mystery of antimatter imbalance (November 10, 2011) -- Why there is stuff in the universe is one of the long-standing mysteries of cosmology. A team of researchers has just concluded a 10-year-long study of the fate of neutrons in an attempt to resolve the question, the most sensitive such measurement ever made. The universe, they concede, has managed to keep its secret for the time being, but they've succeeded in significantly narrowing the number of possible answers. ... > full story

Lose the fat and improve the gums, dental researchers find (November 10, 2011) -- Researchers found the human body is better at fighting gum disease when fat cells, which trigger inflammation, disappear. ... > full story

New test for consciousness in 'comatose' patients (November 10, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a portable test which will permit a simpler and less expensive diagnosis of 'vegetative' patients who still have consciousness, despite the fact that they do not have the means to express it. ... > full story

Metabolic protein plays unexpected role in tumor cell formation and growth (November 10, 2011) -- The embryonic enzyme pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) has a well-established role in metabolism and is highly expressed in human cancers. Now, researchers report that PKM2 has important non-metabolic functions in cancer formation. ... > full story

Clear vision despite a heavy head: Model explains the choice of simple movements (November 10, 2011) -- The brain likes stereotypes -- at least for movements. Simple actions are most often performed in the same manner. A mathematical model explains why this is the case and could be used to generate more natural robot movements and to adapt prosthetic movements. ... > full story

We all experience fantasy differently, which determines how much we enjoy it (November 10, 2011) -- Whether you love the "Harry Potter" series or despise it, there may be a psychological explanation behind your opinion. Researchers recently discovered that people experience fantasy differently, which explains why some people enjoy it more than others. ... > full story

Greenhouse gas index continues to climb (November 10, 2011) -- NOAA's updated Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI), which measures the direct climate influence of many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, shows a continued steady upward trend that began with the Industrial Revolution of the 1880s. ... > full story

Potential treatment for sickle cell disease (November 10, 2011) -- Few options are available to prevent the painful episodes and organ damage that are common with sickle cell disease. But a new lab study has revealed a key trigger for producing healthy red blood cells that could lead to new treatments for sickle cell patients. ... > full story

International team to drill beneath massive Antarctic ice shelf (November 10, 2011) -- An international team of researchers funded by NASA and the U.S. National Science Foundation will travel next month to one of Antarctica's most active, remote and harsh spots to determine how changes in the waters circulating under an active ice sheet are causing a glacier to accelerate and drain into the sea. ... > full story

Study reveals details of alternative splicing circuitry that promotes cancer's Warburg effect (November 10, 2011) -- Cancer cells maintain their life-style of extremely rapid growth and proliferation thanks to an enzyme called PK-M2 (pyruvate kinase M2) that alters the cells' ability to metabolize glucose -- a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. Scientists, who seek to reverse this effect and force cancer cells to regain the metabolism of normal cells, have discovered details of molecular events that cause cancer cells to produce PK-M2 instead of its harmless counterpart PK-M1. ... > full story

Researchers develop eButton, an easier way to monitor food intake, exercise, and lifestyle (November 10, 2011) -- People attempting to lose weight won't need to track their daily food intake anymore, thanks to a wearable, picture-taking device. eButton -- a device worn on the chest (like a pin) that contains a miniature camera, accelerometer, GPS, and other sensors -- captures data and information of health activities, eliminating the need for daily self-reporting. ... > full story

People with Parkinson's disease more likely to have leg restlessness than restless leg syndrome (November 10, 2011) -- People with Parkinson's disease may be more likely to have a movement disorder called leg motor restlessness, but not true restless legs syndrome as previous studies have suggested, according to a new study. ... > full story

Methane may be answer to 56-million-year question: Ocean could have contained enough methane to cause drastic climate change (November 9, 2011) -- The release of massive amounts of carbon from methane hydrate frozen under the seafloor 56 million years ago has been linked to the greatest change in global climate since a dinosaur-killing asteroid presumably hit Earth nine million years earlier. New calculations by researchers show that this long-controversial scenario is quite possible. ... > full story

Neurological disorder impacts brain cells differently (November 9, 2011) -- In a new paper, researchers describe in deeper detail the pathology of a devastating neurological disorder, but also reveal new cellular targets for possibly slowing its development. ... > full story

Chromosome centromeres are inherited epigenetically (November 9, 2011) -- The histone protein CenH3 is both necessary and sufficient to trigger the formation of centromeres and pass them on from one generation to the next. ... > full story

New research calls for lower limit to be set for South Asian obesity level (November 9, 2011) -- A major study calling for levels of obesity among South Asians to be recalculated has been just been published by researchers in the UK. South Asians around the world are at increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. They also get these chronic diseases at an earlier age. The study concludes that significantly lower BMI and waist circumference cut points for defining obesity are needed for migrant South Asians. ... > full story

For new microscope images, less is more (November 9, 2011) -- When people email photos, they sometimes compress the images, removing redundant information and thus reducing the file size. Compression is generally thought of as something to do to data after it has been collected, but mathematicians have recently figured out a way to use similar principles to drastically reduce the amount of data that needs to be gathered in the first place. Now scientists have utilized this new theory, called compression sensing, to build a microscope that can make images of molecular vibrations with higher resolution and in less time than conventional methods. The microscope provides chemists with a powerful new experimental tool. ... > full story

Extreme antisocial personality predicts gang membership, finds study based on survey of male prisoners (November 9, 2011) -- Research into the 2011 London riots found they were mostly committed by antisocial persons, less than 20 percent of whom were explicitly gang members. This is because gang membership is primarily for the most antisocial of such persons. New research has identified extreme antisocial personality as a key reason why some criminals join gangs. ... > full story

Do plants perform best with family or strangers? Researchers consider social interactions (November 9, 2011) -- In the fight for survival, plants are capable of complex social behaviors and may exhibit altruism towards family members, but aggressively compete with strangers. A growing body of work suggests plants recognize and respond to the presence and identity of their neighbors. But can plants cooperate with their relatives? ... > full story

Computer trained to evaluate breast cancer (November 9, 2011) -- Computer scientists and pathologists are training computers to analyze breast cancer microscopic images. The computer analysis were more accurate than those conducted by humans. ... > full story

Neuroscientists pinpoint specific social difficulties in people with autism (November 9, 2011) -- Researchers say they have isolated a very specific difference in how high-functioning people with autism think about other people, finding that -- in actuality -- they don't tend to think about what others think of them at all. ... > full story

Process important to brain development studied in detail (November 9, 2011) -- Knowledge about the development of the nervous system is of the greatest importance for us to understand the function of the brain and brain disorders. Researchers in Sweden have examined the key step when genes are read and found that genes that are active in the brain are transcribed with a special mechanism. The findings can be of importance in our understanding of the genetic causes of certain brain diseases. ... > full story

Can metals remember their shape at nanoscale, too? (November 9, 2011) -- Physicists have now visualized changes in shape memory materials down to the nanometric scale. ... > full story

Young woman with amnesia unable to hold a single face in short-term memory ... unless it's Paris Hilton! (November 9, 2011) -- A 22-year-old woman known as "HC" with amnesia since birth as a result of developing only half the normal volume of the hippocampus in her brain, has demonstrated to scientists that the ability to hold a single face or word in short-term memory is impaired. But there's a catch -- only if the information is unfamiliar. When presented with a face such as Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton and asked to recognize the face a few seconds later, the woman could remember A-list party girl Hilton, but she was unable to remember novel, unfamiliar faces as well as healthy age, education and IQ matched control participants. Moreover, HC's short-term memory was even impaired for faces that were famous, but whom HC did not know, such as former U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton. ... > full story

Ancient lunar dynamo may explain magnetized moon rocks (November 9, 2011) -- The presence of magnetized rocks on the surface of the moon, which has no global magnetic field, has been a mystery since the days of the Apollo program. Now a team of scientists has proposed a novel mechanism that could have generated a magnetic field on the moon early in its history. ... > full story

Lipid blocks influenza infection (November 9, 2011) -- A natural lipid in the fluid lining the lungs inhibits influenza infections in both cell cultures and mouse models, according to researchers. These findings, combined with previous studies demonstrating effectiveness against respiratory syncytial virus, suggest that the molecule, known as POPG, may have broad antiviral activity. Supplemental POPG could be an important, inexpensive and novel approach for the prevention and treatment of influenza and other respiratory virus infections. ... > full story

Is that a robot in your suitcase? (November 9, 2011) -- A flying robot as small as a dinner plate that can zoom to hard-to-reach places and a fleet of eco-friendly robotic farm-hands are just two of the exciting projects a robotics team in Australia is working on. ... > full story

Biochemical factor important in tumor metastasis unraveled (November 9, 2011) -- A protein called "fascin" appears to play a critical transformation role in TGF beta mediated tumor metastasis, say researchers. ... > full story

'Noise' tunes logic circuit made from virus genes (November 9, 2011) -- In the world of engineering, “noise” – random fluctuations from environmental sources such as heat – is generally a bad thing. In electronic circuits, it is unavoidable, and as circuits get smaller and smaller, noise has a greater and more detrimental effect on a circuit’s performance. Now some scientists are saying: if you can’t beat it, use it. ... > full story

Former football players prone to late-life health problems, study finds (November 9, 2011) -- Football players experience repeated head trauma throughout their careers, which results in short and long-term effects to their cognitive function, physical and mental health. Researchers are investigating how other lifestyle factors, including diet and exercise, impact the late-life health of former collision-sport athletes. ... > full story

Half-billion-year-old predator tracked: Multi-legged creature ruled the seas (November 9, 2011) -- Researchers in Canada have followed fossilized footprints to a multi-legged predator that ruled the seas of the Cambrian period about half a billion years ago. ... > full story

Breakthrough in understanding the genetics of high blood pressure (November 9, 2011) -- A ground-breaking study into the causes of high blood pressure analyzed genetic material in human kidneys in a search for genes that might contribute to high blood pressure. The findings open up new avenues for future investigation into the causes of high blood pressure in humans. ... > full story

Climate change causing massive movement of tree species across the West (November 9, 2011) -- A huge "migration" of trees has begun across much of the West due to global warming, insect attack, diseases and fire, and many tree species are projected to decline or die out in regions where they have been present for centuries, while others move in and replace them. In an enormous display of survival of the fittest, the forests of the future are taking a new shape. ... > full story

Dairy foods may improve bone health during diet and exercise in overweight premenopausal women (November 9, 2011) -- A recent study found that consumption of dairy foods and higher protein resulted in improvements in markers of bone formation and reductions in markers of bone degradation in overweight and obese young women over 16 weeks of diet- and exercise-induced weight loss. ... > full story

New hybrid detector monitors alpha, beta, and gamma radiation simultaneously (November 9, 2011) -- By combining three layers of detection into one new device, a team of researchers from Japan has proposed a new way to monitor radiation levels at power plant accident sites. The device would be more economical that using different devices to measure different types of radiation, and could limit the exposure times of clean-up workers by taking three measurements simultaneously. ... > full story

Diabetes linked to cognitive impairment in older adults, study suggests (November 9, 2011) -- For the past five years, a team led by researchers has been studying the effects of diabetes on cognitive health in older individuals and has determined that memory loss, depression and other types of cognitive impairment are a serious consequence of this widespread disease. Now, this team has identified a key mechanism behind this course of events. ... > full story

NASA develops super-black material that absorbs light across multiple wavelength bands (November 9, 2011) -- NASA engineers have produced a material that absorbs on average more than 99 percent of the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and far-infrared light that hits it -- a development that promises to open new frontiers in space technology. ... > full story

Reprogramming stem cells to a more basic form results in more effective transplant, study shows (November 9, 2011) -- Chinese stem cell scientists have published new research that improves the survival and effectiveness of transplanted stem cells. ... > full story

Video game playing tied to creativity, research shows (November 9, 2011) -- Both boys and girls who play video games tend to be more creative, regardless of whether the games are violent or nonviolent, according to new research. ... > full story

Drinking water from plastic pipes: Is it harmful? (November 9, 2011) -- Pipe-in-pipe systems are now commonly used to distribute water in many homes. The inner pipe for drinking water is made of a plastic called cross-linked polyethylene. Are these pipes harmful to health and do they affect the taste and odor of drinking water? ... > full story

Farmed fish fed vegetable matter may have residual pesticides (November 9, 2011) -- Today, half of all the fish we eat comes from fish farms. The problem is that these fish are increasingly being fed vegetable matter, which could lead to a build-up of residual pesticides in them. A new test shows how high the risk of contamination really is. ... > full story

What the brain sees after the eye stops looking (November 9, 2011) -- When we gaze at a shape and then the shape disappears, a strange thing happens: We see an afterimage in the complementary color. Now a Japanese study has observed for the first time an equally strange illusion: The afterimage appears in a "complementary" shape -- circles as hexagons, and vice-versa. ... > full story

Easily 're-programmable cells' could be key in creation of new life forms (November 9, 2011) -- Scientists are working on an ambitious research project to develop an in vivo biological cell-equivalent of a computer operating system. ... > full story

Abnormal number of neurons in brains of children with autism, preliminary study finds (November 9, 2011) -- In a small, preliminary study that included 13 male children, those with autism had an average 67 percent more prefrontal brain neurons and larger than average brain weight, than children without autism. ... > full story

Researchers create extra-long electrical arcs using less energy (November 9, 2011) -- Photos taken by the researchers show plasma arcs up to 60 meters long casting an eerie blue glow over buildings and trees at the High Voltage Laboratory at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. ... > full story

Surgical procedure does not appear to reduce risk of subsequent stroke for patients who have had 'mini-stroke' (November 9, 2011) -- Patients with thickening and blockage of the internal carotid artery (supplies blood to the brain) and hemodynamic cerebral ischemia (insufficient blood flow to the brain, sub-type of stroke) who had a surgical procedure performed to improve blood flow in the artery did not have a reduced rate of stroke after two years compared to similar patients who received medical therapy alone, according to a new study. ... > full story

Conservation scientists 'unanimous' in expectations of serious loss of biological diversity, study shows (November 9, 2011) -- The number of species recognized as endangered is ever increasing and a new study reveals the unanimity among conservation scientists of expectations of a major loss of biological diversity. The survey also shows a growing acceptance of controversial strategies such as ‘triage’ -- a decision to prioritize resources and not to intervene to save some highly threatened species. ... > full story

That's gross! Study uncovers physiological nature of disgust in politics (November 9, 2011) -- Most likely, you would be disgusted if confronted with a picture of a man eating a mouthful of writhing worms. Or a particularly bloody wound. Or a horribly emaciated but still living body. But just how much disgust you feel may lend important insight into your personal political proclivities. In a new study, political scientists closely measured people's physiological reactions as they looked at a series of pleasant and unpleasant images. Participants who identified themselves as conservative -- and, in particular, those who said they were against gay marriage -- had strong physiological reactions when shown the gross pictures. ... > full story