ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, December 5, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, December 5, 2011

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In the dragonfish's mouth: The next generation of superstars to stir up our galaxy (December 4, 2011) -- Astronomers have found the most numerous batch of young, supermassive stars yet observed in our galaxy: hundreds of thousands of stars, including several hundreds of the most massive kind -blue stars dozens of times heavier than our Sun. The light these newborn stars emit is so intense it has pushed out and heated the gas that gave them birth, carving out a glowing hollow shell about a hundred light-years across. ... > full story

Natural dye obtained from lichens may combat Alzheimer's disease (December 4, 2011) -- A red dye from lichens that has been used for centuries to color fabrics and food and a related substance appear to reduce the abundance of small toxic protein aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. Further research with animal models is needed to determine whether this new approach will be useful for therapy development. ... > full story

Simultaneous ice melt in Antarctic and Arctic (December 4, 2011) -- A new article shows that the two hemispheres attained their maximum ice sheet size at nearly the same time and started melting 19,000 years ago. This simultaneous melting was presumably caused by changes in the global sea level and deepwater circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. ... > full story

Scalable amounts of liver and pancreas precursor cells created using new stem cell production method (December 4, 2011) -- Scientists in Canada have overcome a key research hurdle to developing regenerative treatments for diabetes and liver disease with a technique to produce medically useful amounts of endoderm cells from human pluripotent stem cells. The research can be transferred to other areas of stem cell research helping scientists to navigate the route to clinical use known as the "valley of death." ... > full story

Instant nanodots grow on silicon to form sensing array (December 4, 2011) -- Scientists have shown that it is now possible to simultaneously create highly reproductive three-dimensional silicon oxide nanodots on micrometric scale silicon films in only a few seconds. Scientists were able to create a square array of such nanodots, using regularly spaced nanoindents on the deposition layer, that could ultimately find applications as biosensors for genomics or bio-diagnostics. ... > full story

Why do some people never forget a face? (December 4, 2011) -- "Face recognition is an important social skill, but not all of us are equally good at it," says a cognitive psychologist. But what accounts for the difference? A new study provides the first experimental evidence that the inequality of abilities is rooted in the unique way in which the mind perceives faces. ... > full story

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

They call it 'guppy love': Biologists solve an evolution mystery (December 2, 2011) -- Guppies in the wild have evolved over at least half-a-million years -- long enough for the males' coloration to change dramatically. Yet an orange patch on the male has remained remarkably stable. Why has it remained the same hue of orange over such a long period of time? Because that is the color female guppies prefer. ... > full story

Cell molecule identified as central player in the formation of new blood vessels (December 2, 2011) -- Scientists have identified a cellular protein that plays a central role in the formation of new blood vessels. The molecule is the protein Shc, and new blood vessel formation, or angiogenesis, is seriously impaired without it. ... > full story

Course excellent, adjustment postponed: Mars Science Laboratory mission status report (December 2, 2011) -- Excellent launch precision for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission has forestalled the need for an early trajectory correction maneuver, now not required for a month or more. ... > full story

Fecal microbiota transplants effective treatment for C. difficile, inflammatory bowel disease, research finds (December 2, 2011) -- Growing evidence for the effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplants as a treatment for patients with recurrent bouts of Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea is presented in three studies -- including a long-term follow-up of colonoscopic fecal microbiota transplant for recurrent C. difficile Infection that included 77 patients from five different states. ... > full story

More promising natural gas storage? (December 2, 2011) -- A research team has developed a computational method that can save scientists and engineers valuable time in the discovery process. The new algorithm automatically generates and tests hypothetical metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), zeroing in on the most promising structures. These MOFs then can be synthesized and tested in the lab. The researchers quickly identified more than 300 different MOFs that are predicted to be better than any known material for methane storage. ... > full story

Moral dilemma: Would you kill one person to save five? (December 2, 2011) -- Nine out of 10 people would kill one person to save five others, according to a provocative new morality study. ... > full story

Drop in carbon dioxide levels led to polar ice sheet, study finds (December 2, 2011) -- A drop in carbon dioxide appears to be the driving force that led to the Antarctic ice sheet's formation, according to a recent study of molecules from ancient algae found in deep-sea core samples. ... > full story

New evidence of an unrecognized visual process (December 2, 2011) -- We don't see only what meets the eye. The visual system constantly takes in ambiguous stimuli, weighs its options, and decides what it perceives. This normally happens effortlessly. Sometimes, however, an ambiguity is persistent, and the visual system waffles on which perception is right. Such instances interest scientists because they help us understand how the eyes and the brain make sense of what we see. ... > full story

World's first view of Type 1 diabetes as it unfolds (December 2, 2011) -- A war is being waged in the pancreases of millions of people throughout the world. The siege leads to the development of Type 1 diabetes and has been a battlefield largely hidden from view -- until now. Researchers have created the first cellular movies showing the destruction underlying Type 1 diabetes in real-time in mouse models. ... > full story

Amplification of multiple cell-growth genes found in some brain tumors (December 2, 2011) -- A small percentage of the deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas, which usually resist treatment with drugs targeting mutations in cell-growth genes, appears to contain extra copies of two or three of these genes at the same time. The surprising discovery has major implications for the understanding of tumor biology – including the evolution of tumor cell populations – and for targeted cancer therapies. ... > full story

Scientists use laser imaging to assess safety of zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreen (December 2, 2011) -- Ultra-tiny zinc oxide (ZnO) particles are among the ingredients list of some commercially available sunscreen products, raising concerns about whether the particles may be absorbed beneath the outer layer of skin. To help answer these questions, a team of scientists from Australia and Switzerland have developed a way to optically test the concentration of ZnO nanoparticles at different skin depths. ... > full story

Bitter sensitive children eat more vegetables with help of dip (December 2, 2011) -- Close to 70 percent of children have a sensitivity to bitter tasting foods, and that can cause them to avoid many of the leafy, green vegetables they should be eating for healthy development. But new research has found that adding a small amount of dip can help children with this sensitivity eat more of their vegetables. ... > full story

Astronomers look to neighboring galaxy for star formation insight (December 2, 2011) -- An international team of astronomers has mapped in detail the star-birthing regions of the nearest star-forming galaxy to our own, a step toward understanding the conditions surrounding star creation. They found a large number of relatively low-mass clouds of molecular hydrogen -- material for star forming -- and found a correlation between young massive stars and molecular clouds. ... > full story

Probiotics reduce infections for patients in intensive care, study finds (December 2, 2011) -- Traumatic brain injury is associated with a profound suppression of the patient's ability to fight infection. At the same time the patient also often suffers hyper-inflammation, due to the brain releasing glucocorticoids. New research shows that including probiotics with nutrients, supplied via the patient's feeding tube, increased interferon levels, reduced the number of infections, and even reduced the amount of time patients spent in intensive care. ... > full story

Age-old remedies using white tea, witch hazel and rose may be beneficial, study suggests (December 2, 2011) -- Age-old remedies could hold the key to treating a wide range of serious medical problems, as well as keeping skin firmer and less wrinkled, according to scientists. Experts have discovered that white tea, witch hazel and the simple rose hold potential health and beauty properties which could be simply too good to ignore. ... > full story

Novel monoclonal antibody offers potential treatment for tumors resistant to VEGF therapy (December 2, 2011) -- Despite the widespread use of current antiangiogenic cancer therapies, many tumors escape this blockade, which is designed to shut down growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors and spread cancer cells. Now, a study suggests that targeting a novel antiangiogenic receptor may help patients whose cancer does not respond to existing agents. ... > full story

'Pacman' nebula gets some teeth (December 2, 2011) -- To visible-light telescopes, this star-forming cloud appears to be chomping through the cosmos, earning it the nickname the "Pacman" nebula, like the famous Pac-Man video game that debuted in 1980. When viewed in infrared light by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, the Pacman takes on a new appearance. In place of its typical, triangle-shaped mouth is a new set of lower, sharp-looking teeth. The Pacman is located at the top of the picture, taking a bite in the direction of the upper left corner. ... > full story

A vaccination against social prejudice (December 2, 2011) -- Evolutionary psychologists suspect that prejudice is rooted in survival: Our distant ancestors had to avoid outsiders who might have carried disease. Research still shows that when people feel vulnerable to illness, they exhibit more bias toward stigmatized groups. But a new study suggests there might be a modern way to break that link. ... > full story

New switch could improve electronics (December 2, 2011) -- Researchers have invented a new type of electronic switch that performs electronic logic functions within a single molecule. The incorporation of such single-molecule elements could enable smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient electronics. ... > full story

When babies awaken: New study shows surprise regarding important hormone level (December 2, 2011) -- Cortisol may be the Swiss Army knife of hormones in the human body -- just when scientists think they understand what it does, another function pops up. While many of these functions are understood for adults, much less is known about how cortisol operates in babies and toddlers, especially when it comes to an important phenomenon called the cortisol awakening response, or CAR. ... > full story

Genetic sequencing could help match patients with biomarker-driven cancer trials, treatments (December 2, 2011) -- A pilot study shows genetic sequencing could help match patients with biomarker-driven cancer trials. ... > full story

Probiotics effective in combating antibiotic-associated diarrhea, studies find; 'Good bugs' look promising as anti-inflammatory agents (December 2, 2011) -- In four different studies, researchers explored the effectiveness of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea; as an anti-inflammatory agent for patients with ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and chronic fatigue syndrome; and for people with abdominal discomfort and bloating who have not been diagnosed with a functional bowel disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome. ... > full story

New magnetic-field-sensitive alloy could find use in novel micromechanical devices (December 2, 2011) -- A multi-institution team of researchers has combined modern materials research and an age-old metallurgy technique to produce an alloy that could be the basis for a new class of sensors and micromechanical devices controlled by magnetism. ... > full story

Some atheist scientists with children embrace religious traditions, according to new research (December 2, 2011) -- Some atheist scientists with children embrace religious traditions for social and personal reasons, according to new research. ... > full story

Some people can hallucinate colors at will (December 2, 2011) -- Scientists have found that some people have the ability to hallucinate colors at will -- even without the help of hypnosis. ... > full story

Not all cellular reprogramming is created equal (December 2, 2011) -- Tweaking the levels of factors used during the reprogramming of adult cells into induced pluriopotent stem (iPS) cells can greatly affect the quality of the resulting iPS cells, according to researchers. This finding explains at least in part the wide variation in quality and fidelity of iPS cells created through different reprogramming methods. ... > full story

Bobsled runs -- fast and yet safe (December 2, 2011) -- They should prove a challenge for the athletes, but not put them in danger: bobsled runs have to be simulated before being built. This simulation is based on the friction levels of the runners on the ice. Now it has become possible to measure these levels accurately. These results will help build the run for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. ... > full story

Combination therapy shows potent tumor growth inhibition in preclinical studies (December 2, 2011) -- Combining the investigational agents REGN910 and aflibercept yielded statistically significant improvements in antitumor effects in animal models compared with either agent alone, according to recent results. ... > full story

First analysis of tumor-suppressor interactions with whole genome in normal human cells reveals key differences with cancer cells (December 2, 2011) -- Scientists investigating the interactions, or binding patterns, of a major tumor-suppressor protein known as p53 with the entire genome in normal human cells have turned up key differences from those observed in cancer cells. The distinct binding patterns reflect differences in the chromatin (the way DNA is packed with proteins), which may be important for understanding the function of the tumor suppressor protein in cancer cells. ... > full story

People with dementia less likely to return home after stroke (December 2, 2011) -- New research shows people with dementia who have a stroke are more likely to become disabled and not return home compared to people who didn't have dementia at the time they had a stroke. ... > full story