ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Sunday, December 4, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Sunday, December 4, 2011

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Like humans, the paper wasp has a special talent for learning faces (December 3, 2011) -- Though paper wasps have brains less than a millionth the size of humans', they have evolved specialized face-learning abilities analogous to the system used by humans, according to researchers. ... > full story

Tumor-targeting compound points the way to new personalized cancer treatments (December 3, 2011) -- One major obstacle in the fight against cancer is that anticancer drugs often affect normal cells in addition to tumor cells, resulting in significant side effects. Yet research into development of less harmful treatments geared toward the targeting of specific cancer-causing mechanisms is hampered by lack of knowledge of the molecular pathways that drive cancers in individual patients. ... > full story

What's that sparkle in Cassini's eye? (December 3, 2011) -- The moon Enceladus, one of the jewels of the Saturn system, sparkles peculiarly bright in new images obtained by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The images of the moon, the first ever taken of Enceladus with Cassini's synthetic aperture radar, reveal new details of some of the grooves in the moon's south polar region and unexpected textures in the ice. These images, obtained on Nov. 6, 2011, are the highest-resolution images of this region obtained so far. ... > full story

Innovative approaches help sleep apnea sufferers benefit from CPAP (December 3, 2011) -- People with obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to stick to prescribed treatment when a partner or parent is involved with their treatment, according to a team of sleep researchers. ... > full story

Thinner thermal insulation (December 3, 2011) -- Insulation panels that are both thin and effective are expensive. At present these high-end products are built into energy-saving refrigerators. Innovative components and production techniques are now set to sink the costs – so that private home-builders can also benefit from the new technology. Researchers in Germany are now developing films for a material that will insulate homes without much additional structural alteration: vacuum isolation panels, VIPs for short. The panels are only two centimeters thick and yet perform just as well as a classic 15-centimeter-thick insulation layer made from polyurethane foam. The inner workings of the VIPs are made mostly from pyrogenic silica. A high-tech film holds the material together and makes it air-tight. ... > full story

Even unconsciously, sound helps us see (December 3, 2011) -- Imagine you are playing ping-pong with a friend. Your friend makes a serve. Information about where and when the ball hit the table is provided by both vision and hearing. And this is how the senses interact in how we perceive the world. ... > full story

Astronomers find 18 new planets: Discovery is the largest collection of confirmed planets around stars more massive than the sun (December 2, 2011) -- Discoveries of new planets just keep coming and coming. A team of astronomers has found 18 Jupiter-like planets in orbit around massive stars. The discoveries further constrain theories of planet formation. ... > full story

Vegetables, fruits, grains reduce stroke risk in women (December 2, 2011) -- Swedish women who ate an antioxidant-rich diet had fewer strokes especially if they had no history of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. The findings persisted even after statistics were adjusted for other risk factors such as smoking and physical activity. Women with the highest level of antioxidants in their diet consumed about half their antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. ... > full story

Sharp decline in pollution from U.S. coal power plants, NASA satellite confirms (December 2, 2011) -- A team of scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite to confirm major reductions in the levels of a key air pollutant generated by coal power plants in the eastern United States. The pollutant, sulfur dioxide, contributes to the formation of acid rain and can cause serious health problems. ... > full story

Research improves diagnosis and potential treatment of neuromyelitis optica (December 2, 2011) -- Researchers have identified critical steps leading to myelin destruction in neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a debilitating neurological disease that is commonly misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis. The findings could lead to better care for the thousands of patients around the world with NMO. ... > full story

Swiss scientist prove durability of quantum network (December 2, 2011) -- Scientists and engineers have proven the worth of quantum cryptography in telecommunication networks by demonstrating its long-term effectiveness in a real-time network. Their international network, created in collaboration with ID Quantique and installed in the Geneva metropolitan area and crossing over to the site of CERN in France, ran for more than one-and-a-half years from the end of March 2009 to the beginning of January 2011. ... > full story

Impatient people have lower credit scores, study finds (December 2, 2011) -- Is there a psychological reason why people default on their mortgages? A new study finds that people with bad credit scores are more impatient -- more likely to choose immediate rewards rather than wait for a larger reward later. ... > full story