ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Wednesday, February 1, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Wednesday, February 1, 2012

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Botany: Moonlighting enzyme works double shift 24/7 (January 31, 2012) -- A team of researchers has discovered an overachieving plant enzyme that works both the day and night shifts. The discovery shows that plants evolved a new function for this enzyme by changing merely one of its protein building blocks. ... > full story

Golf course weeds are developing resistance to the herbicide glyphosate (January 31, 2012) -- If your golf game isn’t up to par, you may be able to blame it on those tufts of weeds on the course. Annual bluegrass is a problematic winter weed on many U.S. golf courses. After years of management with the herbicide glyphosate, resistant biotypes of this weed have developed, which will make keeping a clean fairway more challenging. ... > full story

Partisans not locked in media 'echo chambers,' study finds (January 31, 2012) -- Despite the fears of some scholars and pundits, most political partisans don’t avoid news and opinion sources that contradict their own beliefs, according to a new study. ... > full story

'Your password is invalid': Improving website password practices (January 31, 2012) -- Internet users are increasingly asked to register with a user name and password before being able to access the content of many sites. Researchers have now identified impediments to efficient password creation and provided design strategies for enhancing the user experience. ... > full story

Risk-based passenger screening could make air travel safer (January 31, 2012) -- Intensive screening of all airline passengers actually makes the system less secure by overtaxing security resources, while risk-based methods increase overall security, according to new research. The researchers developed three algorithms dealing with risk uncertainty in the passenger population. Then, they ran simulations to demonstrate how their algorithms could estimate risk in the overall passenger population and how errors in this estimation procedure can be mitigated to reduce the risk to the overall system. ... > full story

Ultra-fast photodetector and terahertz generator (January 31, 2012) -- Photodetectors made from graphene can process and conduct light signals as well as electric signals extremely fast. Within picoseconds the optical stimulation of graphene generates a photocurrent. Until now, none of the available methods were fast enough to measure these processes in graphene. Scientists have now developed a method to measure the temporal dynamics of this photo current. Furthermore they discovered that graphene can emit terahertz radiation. ... > full story

IBEX spacecraft measures 'alien' particles from outside solar system (January 31, 2012) -- Using data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer spacecraft, an international team of researchers has measured neutral "alien" particles entering our solar system from interstellar space. A suite of studies provides a first look at the constituents of the interstellar medium, the matter between star systems, and how they interact with our heliosphere. ... > full story

Volunteers clear tiger snares in China (January 31, 2012) -- Volunteers working in northeast China have cleared 162 illegal wire snares in an ongoing effort to protect the nation’s remaining population of critically endangered Amur (Siberian) tigers. ... > full story

New genetic subtype of lung cancer defined (January 31, 2012) -- Investigators have defined the role of a recently identified gene abnormality – rearrangements in the ROS1 gene – in a deadly form of lung cancer. ROS1-rearranged tumors represent one to two percent of non-small-cell lung cancers, the leading cause of cancer death in the US. The researchers also show that ROS1-driven tumors can be treated with crizotinib and describe the remarkable response of one patient to crizotinib treatment. ... > full story

Five US urban counties lead 'Terror Hot Spots' list, but rural areas not exempt (January 31, 2012) -- Five urban counties lead the list of US terror "hot spots" - Manhattan, LA, Miami-Dade, San Francisco and Washington, DC - though smaller, more rural areas have emerged as hot spots in their own right in recent years with an increase in domestic terror there, says new research. The researchers identified 65 of the nation's 3,143 counties as "hot spots" of terrorism. ... > full story

Perfect nanotubes shine brightest: Researchers show how length, imperfections affect carbon nanotube fluorescence (January 31, 2012) -- A painstaking study has brought a wealth of new information about single-walled carbon nanotubes through analysis of their fluorescence. The researchers found that the brightest nanotubes of the same length show consistent fluorescence intensity, and the longer the tube, the brighter. ... > full story

Online news portals get credibility boost from trusted sources (January 31, 2012) -- People who read news on the web tend to trust the gate even if there is no gatekeeper, according to researchers. ... > full story

Exposure to common environmental bacteria may be source of some allergic inflammation (January 31, 2012) -- Could some cases of asthma actually be caused by an allergic reaction to a common environmental bacteria? New research findings suggests that this idea may not be as far-fetched as it seems. ... > full story

Short-term memory is based on synchronized brain oscillations (January 31, 2012) -- Holding information within one's memory for a short while is a seemingly simple and everyday task. We use our short-term memory when remembering a new telephone number if there is nothing to write at hand, or to find the beautiful dress inside the store that we were just admiring in the shopping window. Yet, despite the apparent simplicity of these actions, short-term memory is a complex cognitive act that entails the participation of multiple brain regions. However, whether and how different brain regions cooperate during memory has remained elusive. Researchers in Germany have now come closer to answering this question. They discovered that oscillations between different brain regions are crucial in visually remembering things over a short period of time. ... > full story

Following the shifting of tectonic plates to understand Mediterranean biodiversity (January 31, 2012) -- Around 30 millions years ago, the Western Mediterranean basin opened as a result of the tectonic collision of the African and Eurasian plates. This geologic event was the starting point for the diversification of an endemic group of Western Mediterranean spiders, as has been demonstrated by a new study. ... > full story

Norovirus is the leading cause of infection outbreaks in U.S. hospitals (January 31, 2012) -- Norovirus, a pathogen that often causes food poisoning and gastroenteritis, was responsible for 18.2 percent of all infection outbreaks and 65 percent of ward closures in U.S. hospitals during a two-year period. ... > full story

Microscopy reveals 'atomic antenna' behavior in graphene (January 31, 2012) -- Atomic-level defects in graphene could be a path forward to smaller and faster electronic devices. With unique properties and potential applications in areas from electronics to biodevices, graphene, which consists of a single sheet of carbon atoms, has been hailed as a rising star in the materials world. Now, a new study suggests that point defects, composed of silicon atoms that replace individual carbon atoms in graphene, could aid attempts to transfer data on an atomic scale by coupling light with electrons. ... > full story

Protein study gives fresh impetus in fight against superbugs (January 31, 2012) -- Scientists have shed new light on the way superbugs such as MRSA are able to become resistant to treatment with antibiotics. ... > full story

Ancient DNA holds clues to climate change adaptation (January 31, 2012) -- Thirty-thousand-year-old bison bones discovered in permafrost at a Canadian goldmine are helping scientists unravel the mystery about how animals adapt to rapid environmental change. ... > full story

Sharp rise in use of bone growth factor for spinal fusion surgery (January 31, 2012) -- The use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) for spinal fusion surgery has risen sharply over the past decade, increasing costs with no evidence of improved outcomes, reports a new study. ... > full story

'Cool' gas may form and strengthen sunspots (January 31, 2012) -- Hydrogen molecules may act as a kind of energy sink that strengthens the magnetic grip that causes sunspots, according to scientists using a new infrared instrument on an old telescope. ... > full story

Surprise finding redraws 'map' of blood cell production (January 31, 2012) -- A study of the cells that respond to crises in the blood system has yielded a few surprises, redrawing the 'map' of how blood cells are made in the body. The finding could have wide-ranging implications for understanding blood diseases such as myeloproliferative disorders as well as used to develop new ways of controlling how blood and clotting cells are produced. ... > full story

Stimulation of brain hormone action may improve pneumonia survival (January 31, 2012) -- An international research team may have found a way to block a second wave of death that can result from pneumonia treatment. ... > full story

Researchers visualize the development of Parkinson's cells (January 31, 2012) -- In the US alone, at least 500,000 people suffer from Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to control his or her movement. New technology lets researchers observe the development of the brain cells responsible for the disease. ... > full story

Are diet soft drinks bad for you? (January 31, 2012) -- A new study finds a potential link between daily consumption of diet soft drinks and the risk of vascular events. ... > full story

Researchers identify cell-permeable peptide that inhibits hepatitis C (January 31, 2012) -- Researchers have identified a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits a hepatitis C virus protein and blocks viral replication, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis. ... > full story

Evolutionary geneticist helps to find butterfly gene, clue to age-old question (January 31, 2012) -- An evolutionary geneticist helped discover the gene in passion vine butterflies that keeps predators from eating them. The gene is responsible for red patterns on the butterflies' wings. ... > full story

Severe python damage to Florida's native Everglades animals documented in new study (January 30, 2012) -- Precipitous declines in formerly common mammals in Everglades National Park in Florida have been linked to the presence of invasive Burmese pythons, according to new research. The study, the first to document the ecological impacts of this invasive species, strongly supports that animal communities in the 1.5-million-acre park have been markedly altered by the introduction of pythons within 11 years of their establishment as an invasive species. Mid-sized mammals are the most dramatically affected, but some Everglades pythons are as large as 16 feet long, and their prey have included animals as large as deer and alligators. ... > full story

Overweight mothers who smoke while pregnant can damage baby's heart, study finds (January 30, 2012) -- Mothers-to-be who are both overweight and smoke during their pregnancy risk damaging their baby's developing heart, according to new research. ... > full story

Learning-based tourism an opportunity for industry expansion (January 30, 2012) -- New research suggests that major growth in the travel, leisure and tourism industry in the coming century may be possible as more people begin to define recreation as a learning and educational opportunity -- a way to explore new ideas and cultures, art, science and history. The expansion of tourism in much of the 20th century was often focused on amusement parks and tropical resorts. ... > full story

Inherited risk factors for childhood leukemia are more common in Hispanic patients, study finds (January 30, 2012) -- Hispanic children are more likely than those from other racial and ethnic backgrounds to be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and are more likely to die of their disease. Scientists have now pinpointed genetic factors behind the grim statistics. ... > full story

New probiotic bacteria shows promise for use in shellfish aquaculture (January 30, 2012) -- The use of probiotic bacteria, isolated from naturally occurring bacterial communities, is gaining in popularity in the aquaculture industry as the preferred, environmentally friendly management alternative to the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials for disease prevention. Known to the public for their use in yogurt and other foods to improve human digestion and health, probiotic bacteria isolated from other sources can also be used to improve survival, nutrition and disease prevention in larvae grown in shellfish hatcheries. ... > full story

Terahertz polarizer nears perfection: Research leads to nanotube-based device for communication, security, sensing (January 30, 2012) -- Researchers are using carbon nanotubes as the critical component of a robust terahertz polarizer that could accelerate the development of new security and communication devices, sensors and non-invasive medical imaging systems as well as fundamental studies of low-dimensional condensed matter systems. ... > full story

Superfluorescence seen from solid-state material: Many bodies make one coherent burst of light (January 30, 2012) -- In a flash, the world changed for Tim Noe -- and for physicists who study what they call many-body problems. The graduate student was the first to see, in the summer of 2010, proof of a theory that solid-state materials are capable of producing an effect known as superfluorescence. ... > full story

Earth's energy budget remained out of balance despite unusually low solar activity, study finds (January 30, 2012) -- A new NASA study underscores the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity -- not changes in solar activity -- are the primary force driving global warming. The study offers an updated calculation of Earth's energy imbalance, the difference between the amount of solar energy absorbed by Earth's surface and the amount returned to space as heat. The researchers' calculations show that, despite unusually low solar activity between 2005 and 2010, the planet continued to absorb more energy than it returned to space. ... > full story

Scientists see 'sloshing' galaxy cluster (January 30, 2012) -- Scientists have recently discovered that vast clouds of hot gas are "sloshing" in Abell 2052, a galaxy cluster located about 480 million light years from Earth. ... > full story

Livestock, not Mongolian gazelles, drive foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks (January 30, 2012) -- Wildlife health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society have published evidence which supports the conclusion that Mongolian gazelles -- one of the most populous large land mammals on the planet -- are not a reservoir of foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious viral disease that threatens both wildlife and livestock in Asia. ... > full story

Music training has biological impact on aging process (January 30, 2012) -- Age-related delays in neural timing are not inevitable and can be avoided or offset with musical training, according to the first study to provide biological evidence that lifelong musical experience impacts the aging process. Measuring automatic brain responses of younger and older musicians and non-musicians to speech sounds, researchers found older musicians not only outperformed older non-musicians, they also encoded sound stimuli as quickly and accurately as younger non-musicians. ... > full story

Bright lights of purity: Why pure quantum dots and nanorods shine brighter (January 30, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered why a promising technique for making quantum dots and nanorods has so far been a disappointment. Better still, they've also discovered how to correct the problem. ... > full story

Mouse to elephant? Just wait 24 million generations (January 30, 2012) -- Scientists have for the first time measured how fast large-scale evolution can occur in mammals, showing it takes 24 million generations for a mouse-sized animal to evolve to the size of an elephant. ... > full story

Skin cells turned into neural precusors, bypassing stem-cell stage (January 30, 2012) -- Mouse skin cells can be converted directly into cells that become the three main parts of the nervous system, according to researchers. The finding is an extension of a previous study by the same group showing that mouse and human skin cells can be directly converted into functional neurons. ... > full story

Ferroelectric switching discovered for first time in soft biological tissue (January 30, 2012) -- The walls of the aorta, the largest blood vessel carrying blood from the heart, exhibits a response to electric fields known to exist in inorganic and synthetic materials. The discovery could have implications for treating human heart disease. ... > full story

Addicts' cravings have different roots in men and women (January 30, 2012) -- A new brain imaging study suggests stress robustly activates areas of the brain associated with craving in cocaine-dependent women, while drug cues activate similar brain regions in cocaine-dependent men. The study suggests men and women with cocaine dependence might benefit more from different treatment options. ... > full story

Was the Little Ice Age triggered by massive volcanic eruptions? (January 30, 2012) -- Scientists suggest that the Little Ice Age was triggered by an unusual, 50-year episode of four massive volcanic eruptions. This led to an expansion of sea ice and a related weakening of Atlantic currents that caused the cool period to persist for centuries. ... > full story

Smart paint could revolutionize structural safety of bridges, mines and more (January 30, 2012) -- An innovative low-cost smart paint that can detect microscopic faults in wind turbines, mines and bridges before structural damage occurs is being developed. ... > full story

Early intervention may curb dangerous college drinking (January 30, 2012) -- The first few weeks of college are a critical time in shaping students' drinking habits. Now researchers have a tailored approach that may help prevent students from becoming heavy drinkers. ... > full story

Alcohol and your heart: Friend or foe? (January 30, 2012) -- A meta-analysis of the relationship between alcohol consumption and heart disease provides new insight into the long-held belief that drinking a glass of red wine a day can help protect against heart disease. ... > full story

Divorce hurts health more at earlier ages (January 30, 2012) -- Divorce at a younger age hurts people's health more than divorce later in life, according to a new study. ... > full story