ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Saturday, November 19, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Saturday, November 19, 2011

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Birth of famous black hole: Longstanding mysteries about object called Cygnus X-1 unraveled (November 18, 2011) -- A precise distance measurement by the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) allowed astronomers to accurately calculate the mass and spin of a famous black hole, thus providing a complete description of the object. ... > full story

Unraveling how a mutation can lead to psychiatric illness (November 18, 2011) -- A new study demonstrates how DISC1 variants impair signaling pathways and disrupt brain development. ... > full story

World's most difficult chemical experiment: The struggle to discover the secret of super-heavy elements (November 18, 2011) -- In order to find the chemical properties of super-heavy elements, chemists must conduct one of the world's most demanding chemical experiments in a matter of seconds. ... > full story

'Silent' stroke risk factors for children with sickle cell anemia (November 18, 2011) -- Factors such as low hemoglobin levels, increased systolic blood pressure, and male gender are linked to a higher risk of silent cerebral infarcts, or silent strokes, in children with sickle cell anemia, according to results from a large, first-of-its-kind study. ... > full story

Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver (November 18, 2011) -- Recent studies have demonstrated that nanoparticles of cerium oxide -- common diesel fuel additives used to increase the fuel efficiency of automobile engines -- can travel from the lungs to the liver and that this process is associated with liver damage. ... > full story

Job market for college grads braced for slow but steady growth (November 18, 2011) -- After last year's rollercoaster ride, the job market for college graduates has settled down and appears braced for slow but steady growth, according to a new study. ... > full story

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light (November 18, 2011) -- Scientists are reporting development and successful initial testing of the first practical "smart" material that may supply the missing link in efforts to use in medicine a form of light that can penetrate four inches into the human body. The new polymer or plastic-like material has potential for use in diagnosing diseases and engineer new human tissues in the lab. ... > full story

How Legionnaires' bacteria proliferate, cause disease (November 18, 2011) -- Scientist have determined for the first time how the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease manipulates our cells to generate the amino acids it needs to grow and cause infection and inflammation in the lungs. ... > full story

Squid mystery in Mexican waters unraveled by biologist and a class of students (November 18, 2011) -- Marine biologists are studying Humboldt squid in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, where the creatures have been spawning at a much younger age and a far smaller size than normal. El Niño is apparently to blame. ... > full story

Panel of melanoma mutations opens door to new treatment possibilities (November 18, 2011) -- Researchers have developed a new genetic screening tool that will aid in the investigation of possible treatments for patients with melanoma and the unique genetic mutations that may accompany the disease, according to new research. ... > full story

Rehabilitating vacant lots improves urban health and safety (November 18, 2011) -- Greening of vacant urban land may affect the health and safety of nearby residents. In a decade-long comparison of vacant lots and improved vacant lots, greening was linked to significant reductions in gun assaults across most of Philadelphia and significant reductions in vandalism in one section of the city. Vacant lot greening was also associated with residents in certain sections of the city reporting significantly less stress and more exercise. ... > full story

Treatment for juvenile offenders shows shows positive results 22 years later (November 18, 2011) -- A researcher, developed a treatment for juvenile offenders that has become one of the most widely used evidence-based treatments in the world. Now, he has found that the treatment continues to have positive effects on former participants more than 20 years after treatment. ... > full story