ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Wednesday, January 11, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Wednesday, January 11, 2012

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Dramatic links found between climate change, elk, plants, and birds (January 11, 2012) -- Climate change in the form of reduced snowfall in mountains is causing powerful and cascading shifts in mountainous plant and bird communities through the increased ability of elk to stay at high elevations over winter and consume plants, according to a groundbreaking study. ... > full story

New research may lead to a whole new class of vaccines (January 11, 2012) -- New research may lead to a whole new class of vaccines. Scientists have discovered new properties of a potential vaccine adjuvant that suggest it could be useful for enhancing protection against a number of different infections. ... > full story

Female fish choose sexier friends to avoid harassment (January 11, 2012) -- Scientists have observed a strategy for females to avoid unwanted male attention: Choosing more attractive friends. The study is the first to show females spending time with those more sexually attractive than themselves to reduce harassment from males. The study focuses on the Trinidadian guppy, a species of small freshwater fish. The research shows that the tactic is successful and by ensuring they are less attractive than other group members, the fish experience less harassment and fewer mating attempts from males. ... > full story

Breaking oncogene's hold on cancer cell provides new treatment direction (January 11, 2012) -- Just as people's bodies and minds can become addicted to substances their cancers can become addicted to certain genes that insure their continued growth and dominance. Researchers have now developed ways to exploit the addictions of cancers to kill them without harming normal tissues. ... > full story

World Trade Center responders: PTSD and respiratory illness linked (January 11, 2012) -- More than 10 years after 9/11, when thousands of rescue and recovery workers descended on the area surrounding the World Trade Center in the wake of the terrorist attacks, a research team has published results of a study examining the relationship between the two signature health problems among WTC first responders—respiratory illness and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ... > full story

Kindergarten friendships matter, especially for boys (January 11, 2012) -- High-quality friendships in kindergarten may mean that boys will have fewer behavior problems and better social skills in first and third grades, according to an expert in human development. ... > full story

El Gordo: A 'fat' distant galaxy cluster (January 11, 2012) -- An extremely hot, massive young galaxy cluster is the largest ever seen in the distant universe. The newly discovered galaxy cluster has been nicknamed El Gordo -- the "big" or "fat one" in Spanish. It consists of two separate galaxy subclusters colliding at several million kilometres per hour, and is so far away that its light has travelled for seven billion years to reach Earth. ... > full story

New research suggests superior drug combo for difficult-to-control epilepsy (January 11, 2012) -- About one-third of Americans with epilepsy do not have good seizure control. Researchers now have dispelled the myth that all drug treatments are equally ineffective for such patients. By examining 30 years of patient records at two Washington state institutions for the developmentally disabled, researchers found a combination of two common drugs, lamotrigine and valproate, reduced seizure frequency by half, on average, compared to 32 other drug combinations. Adding a third drug provided no additional benefit. ... > full story

Nipping metastases in the bud (January 11, 2012) -- The proliferation of metastases is often the main cause of complications and death from cancer. Scientists have now been able to isolate a protein that plays a major role in metastasis development, and showed that the formation of secondary cancers could be prevented by blocking this protein. ... > full story

Endurance exercise linked to damage in right ventricle of heart (January 11, 2012) -- Researchers have found the first evidence that some athletes who take part in extreme endurance exercise such as marathons, endurance triathlons, alpine cycling or ultra triathlons may incur damage to the right ventricles of their hearts – one of the four chambers in the heart involved in pumping blood around the body. ... > full story

Stem cell research in the UK reaches significant milestone (January 11, 2012) -- Stem cell scientists have submitted to the UK Stem Cell Bank their first clinical grade human embryonic stem cell lines that are free from animal-derived products, known as 'xeno-free' stem cells. ... > full story

'Google Flu Trends' is a powerful early warning system for emergency departments (January 11, 2012) -- Monitoring Internet search traffic about influenza may prove to be a better way for hospital emergency rooms to prepare for a surge in sick patients compared to waiting for outdated government flu case reports. ... > full story

Quick-cooking nanomaterials in microwave to make tomorrow's air conditioners (January 10, 2012) -- Engineering researchers have developed a new method for creating advanced nanomaterials that could lead to highly efficient refrigerators and cooling systems requiring no refrigerants and no moving parts. The key ingredients for this innovation are a dash of nanoscale sulfur and a normal, everyday microwave oven. ... > full story

Steroids increase viability of preemies as young as 22 weeks, study suggests (January 10, 2012) -- Giving antenatal corticosteroids in extremely preterm infants -- those born between 22 and 25 weeks gestation and weighing less than two pounds -- is associated with significant reductions in death and long-term complications such as neurodevelopmental impairments, including cerebral palsy, poor motor skills and lower intelligence. ... > full story

Novel anti-viral immune pathway discovered in mosquito (January 10, 2012) -- Virginia Tech researchers have identified a novel anti-viral pathway in the immune system of culicine mosquitoes, the insect family to which mosquitoes that spread yellow fever, West Nile fever, dengue fever, and chikungunya fever belong. ... > full story

Parkinson's disease risk greater in those exposed to common chemical, trichloroethylene, study shows (January 10, 2012) -- A new study demonstrates a connection between a common solvent chemical and Parkinson's disease. The study looked at a cohort of human twins wherein one twin had been occupationally exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chemicals believed to be linked to development of Parkinson's. ... > full story

Fusion plasma research helps neurologists to hear above the noise (January 10, 2012) -- Fusion plasma researchers and neuroscientists are significantly improving our understanding of the data obtained from noninvasive study of the fast dynamics of networks in the human brain. ... > full story

Acupuncture reduces protein linked to stress in first of its kind animal study (January 10, 2012) -- Acupuncture significantly reduces levels of a protein in rats linked to chronic stress, researchers have found. They say their animal study may help explain the sense of well-being that many people receive from this ancient Chinese therapy. ... > full story

Before they were stars: New image shows space nursery (January 10, 2012) -- The stars we see today weren't always as serene as they appear, floating alone in the dark of night. Most stars, likely including our sun, grew up in cosmic turmoil -- as illustrated in a new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The image shows one of the most active and turbulent regions of star birth in our galaxy, a region called Cygnus X. ... > full story

Stem cell therapy reverses diabetes: Stem cells from cord blood used to re-educate diabetic's own T cells (January 10, 2012) -- Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's own immune system attacking its pancreatic islet beta cells and requires daily injections of insulin to regulate the patient's blood glucose levels. A new method uses stem cells from cord blood to re-educate a diabetic's own T cells and consequently restart pancreatic function reducing the need for insulin. ... > full story

Unexpected discovery opens up new opportunities for targeting cancer (January 10, 2012) -- Scientists have opened up a whole new approach to the therapeutic intervention for a family of anti-cancer drug targets, thanks to a completely new and unexpected finding. ... > full story

Diabetes study shines spotlight on lifestyle interventions (January 10, 2012) -- A new study assesses real-world lifestyle interventions to help delay or prevent the costly chronic disease that affects nearly 26 million Americans. ... > full story

Satellite imagery detects thermal 'uplift' signal of underground nuclear tests (January 10, 2012) -- A new analysis of satellite data from the late 1990s documents for the first time the "uplift" of ground above a site of underground nuclear testing, providing researchers a potential new tool for analyzing the strength of detonation. The findings provide another forensic tool for evaluation, especially for the potential explosive yield estimates. ... > full story

Who's wealthy? Beyond net worth, asset and debt levels change our perceptions (January 10, 2012) -- Will borrowing money to buy a new car make you feel richer? It depends on your net worth, says a new study. "People's perceptions of wealth vary not only as a function of their net worth, but also of the amount of assets and debt they have," says a psychology graduate student. ... > full story

Comprehensive picture of the fate of oil from Deepwater Horizon spill (January 10, 2012) -- A new study provides the composite picture of the environmental distribution of oil and gas from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It amasses a vast collection of available atmospheric, surface and subsurface chemical data to assemble a "mass balance" of how much oil and gas was released, where it went and the chemical makeup of the compounds that remained in the air, on the surface, and in the deep water. ... > full story

Cancer cells feed on sugar-free diet (January 10, 2012) -- Cancer cells have been long known to have a “sweet tooth,” using vast amounts of glucose for energy and for building blocks for cell replication. Now, a study shows that lymph gland cancer cells called B cells can use glutamine in the absence of glucose for cell replication and survival, particularly under low-oxygen conditions, which are common in tumors. ... > full story

Cosmetic chemical hinders brain development in tadpoles (January 10, 2012) -- A new study finds that low concentrations of the chemical methylisothiazolinone has subtle but measurable negative effects on the neural development of tadpoles. The chemical is found in some cosmetics, although the study does not provide any evidence that cosmetics are unsafe for humans. ... > full story

An apple a day isn't enough: Many people not eating enough fruits and vegetables (January 10, 2012) -- Adults from 30 to 60 years old, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, aren't consuming the daily recommended levels of fruits and vegetables. ... > full story

Reuse of municipal wastewater has potential to augment future drinking water supplies (January 10, 2012) -- With recent advances in technology and design, treating municipal wastewater and reusing it for drinking water, irrigation, industry, and other applications could significantly increase the nation's total available water resources, particularly in coastal areas facing water shortages. ... > full story

Microbial communities on skin affect humans' attractiveness to mosquitoes (January 10, 2012) -- The microbes on your skin determine how attractive you are to mosquitoes, which may have important implications for malaria transmission and prevention, according to a new study. ... > full story

Farthest developing galaxy cluster ever found (January 10, 2012) -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a cluster of galaxies in the initial stages of construction — the most distant such grouping ever observed in the early universe. In a random sky survey made in near-infrared light, Hubble spied five tiny galaxies clustered together 13.1 billion light-years away. They are among the brightest galaxies at that epoch and very young, existing just 600 million years after the universe's birth in the big bang. ... > full story

Protein changes identified in early-onset Alzheimer's (January 10, 2012) -- Researchers have identified chemical changes taking place in the brains of persons destined to develop Alzheimer's disease at least 10 years before symptoms or diagnosis occur. This knowledge will provide potential new targets for drug interventions, and possibly tailor treatments to individuals, depending on the "type" of Alzheimer's they have. ... > full story

Gulf of Mexico topography played key role in bacterial consumption of Deepwater Horizon spill (January 10, 2012) -- When scientists reported that bacterial blooms had consumed almost all the deepwater methane plumes after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, some were skeptical. ... > full story

Predicting which lung cancer drugs are most likely to work (January 10, 2012) -- Researchers have shown that DNA changes in a gene that drives the growth of a form of lung cancer can make the cancer’s cells resistant to cancer drugs. The findings show that some classes of drugs won’t work, and certain types of so-called kinase inhibitors like erlotinib—may be the most effective at treating non-small cell lung cancers with those DNA changes. Some kinase inhibitors block a protein known as EGFR from directing cells to multiply. ... > full story

Light makes write for DNA information-storage device (January 10, 2012) -- Researchers have demonstrated a write-once-read-many-times information-storage device, made of DNA embedded with silver nanoparticles, that uses ultraviolet light to encode data. ... > full story

9-1-1 dispatchers can save more lives by coaching bystanders in CPR (January 10, 2012) -- Dispatchers should help 9-1-1 callers identify cardiac arrest victims and coach callers to provide immediate CPR. If more dispatchers followed these processes, thousands of lives could be saved every year. Communities should regularly evaluate 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers' performance and the overall emergency response system, according to a new American Heart Association statement. ... > full story

Could Siberian volcanism have caused the Earth's largest extinction event? (January 10, 2012) -- Around 250 million years ago there was a mass extinction so severe that it remains the most traumatic known species die-off in Earth's history. Although the cause of this event is a mystery, it has been speculated that the eruption of a large swath of volcanic rock in Russia was a trigger for the extinction. New research offers insight into how this volcanism could have contributed to drastic deterioration in the global environment of the period. ... > full story

'Couch potato pill' might stop heat stroke too (January 10, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered what they believe is one of the first drugs to combat heat stroke. An experimental therapy once dubbed the "couch potato pill" for its ability to mimic the effects of exercise in sedentary mice protected animals genetically predisposed to the disorder and may hold promise for the treatment of people with enhanced susceptibility to heat-induced sudden death. ... > full story

Getting cancer cells to swallow poison (January 10, 2012) -- Researchers created a drug delivery system that is able to effectively deliver a tremendous amount of chemotherapeutic drugs to prostate cancer cells. ... > full story

Nervous system activity may predict successful weight loss (January 10, 2012) -- A recent study of obese volunteers participating in a 12-week dietary weight-loss program found that successful weight losers had significantly higher resting nerve activity compared to weight-loss resistant individuals. ... > full story

Mercury releases into the atmosphere from ancient to modern times (January 10, 2012) -- In pursuit of riches and energy over the last 5,000 years, humans have released into the environment 385,000 tons of mercury, the source of numerous health concerns, according to a new study that challenges the idea that releases of the metal are on the decline. ... > full story

Grief over losing loved one linked to higher heart attack risks (January 10, 2012) -- Heart attack risks are extremely high for the bereaved in the days and weeks after losing a loved one. The first day after a loved one died, heart attack risk was 21 times higher than normal, which declined progressively over the first month. Friends and family of a bereaved person should watch for heart attack signs and help him or her maintain their medication regimen. ... > full story

Members of small monkey groups more likely to fight for their group (January 10, 2012) -- Small monkey groups may win territorial disputes against larger groups because some members of larger, invading groups avoid aggressive encounters. Scientists show that individual monkeys that don't participate in conflicts prevent large groups from achieving their competitive potential. ... > full story

Blood stem cells engineered to fight melanoma (January 10, 2012) -- Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that blood stem cells can be engineered to create cancer-killing T-cells that seek out and attack a human melanoma. ... > full story

Neurons grown from skin cells may hold clues to autism (January 10, 2012) -- Potential clues to how autism miswires the brain are emerging from a study of a rare, purely genetic form of the disorders that affects fewer than 20 people worldwide. Using cutting-edge "disease-in a-dish" technology, researchers have grown patients' skin cells into neurons to discover what goes wrong in the brain in Timothy syndrome. Abnormalities included changes in the cortex, the largest brain structure in humans, and in neurons that secrete two key chemical messengers. ... > full story

Regeneration of specialized cells offers hope for treating chronic kidney disease (January 10, 2012) -- Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers have uncovered an unexpected pathway that reveals for the first time how these cells may regenerate and renew themselves during normal kidney function. ... > full story

Senses of sophistication: Mosquitoes detect subtle cues finding food, spreading diseases (January 10, 2012) -- Researchers have unraveled the mystery as to how the malaria mosquito uses its sensory powers to find food and spread disease. ... > full story

Robotic therapy may provide lasting gains for immobilized stroke survivors (January 10, 2012) -- Adding robotic assistance to standard rehab was more effective than traditional methods in helping severely impaired stroke survivors regain the ability to walk. The additional therapy was not beneficial for those with less impairment. ... > full story