ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Saturday, December 31, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Saturday, December 31, 2011

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Are superluminal neutrinos possible? Pions don't want to decay into faster-than-light neutrinos, study finds (December 30, 2011) -- Physicists have put their finger on a problem with the now-famous OPERA experiment that reported faster-than-light, or superluminal, neutrinos. They raise theoretical considerations that would make the creation of superluminal neutrinos impossible. ... > full story

Alzheimer's: Diet patterns may keep brain from shrinking (December 30, 2011) -- People with diets high in several vitamins or in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer's disease than people whose diets are not high in those nutrients, according to a new study. ... > full story

New synthetic molecules treat autoimmune disease in mice (December 30, 2011) -- A team of scientists has turned the tables on an autoimmune disease. In such diseases, including Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's tissues. But the scientists managed to trick the immune systems of mice into targeting one of the body's players in autoimmune processes, an enzyme known as MMP9. ... > full story

Targeted therapy extends progression-free survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer (December 30, 2011) -- Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new Phase 3 clinical trial has shown that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment. ... > full story

Weather deserves medal for clean air during 2008 Olympics (December 30, 2011) -- New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature. Rain just at the beginning and wind during the Olympics likely contributed about half of the effort needed to clean up the skies, scientists found. The results also suggest emission controls need to be more widely implemented than in 2008 if pollution levels are to be reduced permanently. ... > full story

Children don't give words special power to categorize their world (December 30, 2011) -- New research challenges the conventional thinking that young children use language just as adults do to help classify and understand objects in the world around them. In a new study involving 4- to 5-year-old children, researchers found that the labels adults use to classify items -- words like "dog" or "pencil" -- don't have the same ability to influence the thinking of children. ... > full story

New theory emerges for where some fish became four-limbed creatures (December 29, 2011) -- A small fish crawling on stumpy limbs from a shrinking desert pond is an icon of can-do spirit, emblematic of a leading theory for the evolutionary transition between fish and amphibians. This theorized image of such a drastic adaptation to changing environmental conditions, however, may, itself, be evolving into a new picture. ... > full story

Brain cell malfunction in schizophrenia identified (December 29, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects. The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly. ... > full story

2012: Shadow of the Dark Rift (December 29, 2011) -- One of the most bizarre theories about 2012 has built up with very little attention to facts. This idea holds that a cosmic alignment of the sun, Earth, the center of our galaxy -- or perhaps the galaxy's thick dust clouds -- on the winter solstice could for some unknown reason lead to destruction. Such alignments can occur but these are a regular occurrence and can cause no harm (and, indeed, will not even be at its closest alignment during the 2012 solstice.) ... > full story

Scientists map susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (December 29, 2011) -- New research has provided the first proof of molecular risk factors leading to type 2 diabetes, providing an “early warning” sign that could lead to new approaches to treating this and other human disease conditions. ... > full story

Subtle electronic effect in magnetite discovered: Long-standing puzzle in study of magnetism finally solved (December 29, 2011) -- A fundamental problem that has long puzzled scientists has been solved after more than 70 years. An international team of researchers has discovered a subtle electronic effect in magnetite, the most magnetic of all naturally occurring minerals. The effect causes a dramatic change to how this material conducts electricity at very low temperatures. ... > full story

Using MP3 players at high volume puts teens at risk for early hearing loss, say researchers (December 29, 2011) -- Today's ubiquitous MP3 players permit users to listen to crystal-clear tunes at high volume for hours on end -- a marked improvement on the days of the Walkman. But according to new research, these advances have also turned personal listening devices into a serious health hazard, with teenagers as the most at-risk group. ... > full story