ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, February 6, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, February 6, 2012

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Whole exome sequencing identifies cause of metabolic disease (February 3, 2012) -- Sequencing a patient's entire genome to discover the source of his or her disease is not routine, but geneticists are getting close. A case report shows how researchers can combine a simple blood test with an "executive summary" scan of the genome to diagnose a severe glycosylation disorder. ... > full story

Why do cells age? Discovery of extremely long-lived proteins may provide insight into cell aging and neurodegenerative diseases (February 3, 2012) -- One of the big mysteries in biology is why cells age. Now scientists report that they have discovered a weakness in a component of brain cells that may explain how the aging process occurs in the brain. ... > full story

A lonely heart can make you sick: Middle aged divorced women vulnerable to contracting HIV (February 3, 2012) -- Newly divorced middle aged women are more vulnerable to contract HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to new research, because they tend to let their guard down with new sexual partners and avoid using protection since they are not afraid of getting pregnant. ... > full story

Regular use of vitamin and mineral supplements could reduce the risk of colon cancer, study suggests (February 3, 2012) -- Could the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in a regular diet help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and protect against carcinogens? A study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found that rats given regular multivitamin and mineral supplements showed a significantly lower risk of developing colon cancer when they were exposed to carcinogens. ... > full story

The complex relationship between memory and silence (February 3, 2012) -- People who suffer a traumatic experience often don't talk about it, and many forget it over time. But not talking about something doesn't always mean you'll forget it; if you try to force yourself not to think about white bears, soon you'll be imagining polar bears doing the polka. A group of psychological scientists explore the relationship between silence and memories. ... > full story

Placebos and distraction: New study shows how to boost the power of pain relief, without drugs (February 3, 2012) -- Placebos reduce pain by creating an expectation of relief. Distraction -- say, doing a puzzle -- relieves it by keeping the brain busy. But do they use the same brain processes? Neuromaging suggests they do. When applying a placebo, scientists see activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. That's the part of the brain that controls high-level cognitive functions like working memory and attention -- which is what you use to do that distracting puzzle. ... > full story

Warfarin and aspirin are similar in heart failure treatment, study suggests (February 3, 2012) -- In the largest and longest head-to-head comparison of two anti-clotting medications, warfarin and aspirin were similar in preventing deaths and strokes in heart failure patients with normal heart rhythm, according to new research. ... > full story

Rare mutations may help explain aneurysm in high-risk families (February 3, 2012) -- An innovative approach to genome screening has provided clues about rare mutations that may make people susceptible to brain aneurysms, predisposing them to brain bleeds, according to preliminary research. ... > full story

New drug doesn't improve disability among stroke patients, researchers find (February 3, 2012) -- A new drug that showed promise in animal studies and an early clinical trial didn't improve disability among stroke patients, according to new research. ... > full story

Clopidogrel with aspirin doesn't prevent more small strokes, may increase risk of bleeding and death, researchers report (February 3, 2012) -- The anti-blood clot regimen that adds the drug clopidogrel (Plavix) to aspirin treatment is unlikely to prevent recurrent strokes and may increase the risk of bleeding and death in patients with subcortical stroke, according to new research. ... > full story

New device performs better than old for removing blood clots, research shows (February 3, 2012) -- An experimental blood clot-removing device outperformed the FDA-approved MERCI; retriever device, according to new research. ... > full story

Preference for fatty foods may have genetic roots (February 3, 2012) -- A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers, who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene. ... > full story

A battle of the vampires, 20 million years ago? (February 3, 2012) -- They are tiny, ugly, disease-carrying little blood-suckers that most people have never seen or heard of, but a new discovery in a one-of-a-kind fossil shows that "bat flies" have been doing their noxious business with bats for at least 20 million years. ... > full story

New procedure repairs severed nerves in minutes, restoring limb use in days or weeks (February 3, 2012) -- Scientists believe a new procedure to repair severed nerves could result in patients recovering in days or weeks, rather than months or years. The team used a cellular mechanism similar to that used by many invertebrates to repair damage to nerve axons. ... > full story

Classic portrait of a barred spiral galaxy (February 3, 2012) -- The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1073, which is found in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is a similar barred spiral, and the study of galaxies such as NGC 1073 helps astronomers learn more about our celestial home. ... > full story

Schizophrenia: When hallucinatory voices suppress real ones, new electronic application may help (February 3, 2012) -- When a patient afflicted with schizophrenia hears inner voices something is taking place inside the brain that prevents the individual from perceiving real voices. A simple electronic application may help the patient learn to shift focus. ... > full story

Surface of Mars an unlikely place for life after 600-million-year drought, say scientists (February 3, 2012) -- Mars may have been arid for more than 600 million years, making it too hostile for any life to survive on the planet’s surface, according to researchers who have been carrying out the painstaking task of analyzing individual particles of Martian soil. ... > full story

Judder-free videos on the smartphone (February 3, 2012) -- Overloaded cellular networks can get annoying – especially when you want to watch a video on your smartphone. An optimized Radio Resource Manager will soon be able to help network operators accommodate heavy network traffic. ... > full story

Collective action: Occupied genetic switches hold clues to cells' history (February 3, 2012) -- If you wanted to draw your family tree, you could start by searching for people who share your surname. Cells, of course, don’t have surnames, but scientists have found that genetic switches called enhancers, and the molecules that activate those switches – transcription factors – can be used in a similar way, as clues to a cell’s developmental history. The study also unveils a new model for how enhancers function. ... > full story

Using immune cells from healthy people to fight cancer (February 3, 2012) -- Immune cells from healthy individuals can be the new immune cure for cancer. This treatment can kill cancer cells without destroying neighboring cells. The hope is to eradicate cancer for ever. ... > full story

Parasites or not? Transposable elements in DNA of fruit flies may be beneficial (February 3, 2012) -- Many living organisms suffer from parasites, which use the hosts’ resources for their own purposes. The problem of parasitism occurs at all levels right down to the DNA scale. Genomes may contain up to 80% “foreign” DNA but details of the mechanisms by which this enters the host genome and how hosts attempt to combat its spread are still the subject of conjecture. Nearly all organisms contain pieces of DNA that do not really belong to them. ... > full story

Breastfeeding linked to improved lung function at school-age, especially with asthmatic mothers (February 3, 2012) -- Breastfeeding is associated with improved lung function at school age, particularly in children of asthmatic mothers, according to a new study. ... > full story

New 'biopsy in a blood test' to detect cancer (February 2, 2012) -- Scientists and cancer physicians have successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of an advanced blood test for detecting and analyzing circulating tumor cells -- breakaway cells from patients' solid tumors -- from cancer patients. The findings show that the highly sensitive blood analysis provides information that may soon be comparable to that from some types of surgical biopsies. ... > full story

Malaria kills nearly twice as many people than previously thought, but deaths declining rapidly (February 2, 2012) -- Malaria is killing more people worldwide than previously thought -- 1.2 million -- but the number of deaths has fallen rapidly as efforts to combat the disease have ramped up, according to new research. Researchers say that deaths from malaria have been missed by previous studies because of the assumption that the disease mainly kills children under age five. ... > full story

How to tell apart the forgetful from those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease (February 2, 2012) -- It can be difficult to distinguish between people with normal age-associated memory loss and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). However people with aMCI are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and identification of these people would mean that they could begin treatment as early as possible. New research shows that specific questions, included as part of a questionnaire designed to help diagnose AD, are also able to discriminate between normal memory loss and aMCI. ... > full story

U.S. counties with thriving small businesses have healthier residents (February 2, 2012) -- U.S. counties and parishes with a greater concentration of small, locally-owned businesses have healthier populations — with lower rates of mortality, obesity and diabetes — than do those that rely on large companies with “absentee” owners, according to a national study. ... > full story

New RNA-based therapeutic strategies for controlling gene expression (February 2, 2012) -- Small RNA-based nucleic acid drugs represent a promising new class of therapeutic agents for silencing abnormal or overactive disease-causing genes, and researchers have discovered new mechanisms by which RNA drugs can control gene activity. ... > full story

Football findings suggest concussions caused by series of hits (February 2, 2012) -- A two-year study of high school football players suggests that concussions are likely caused by many hits over time and not from a single blow to the head, as commonly believed. ... > full story

Scientists coax shy microorganisms to stand out in a crowd (February 2, 2012) -- Scientists have advanced a method that allowed them to single out a marine microorganism and map its genome even though the organism made up less than 10 percent of a water sample teeming with many millions of individuals from dozens of identifiable groups of microbes. ... > full story

Google Earth ocean terrain receives major update: Data sharpen resolution of seafloor maps, correct 'discovery' of Atlantis (February 2, 2012) -- Internet information giant Google updated ocean data in its Google Earth application this week, reflecting new bathymetry data assembled by researchers from around the world. The newest version of Google Earth includes more accurate imagery in several key areas of ocean using data collected by research cruises over the past three years. ... > full story

Research ethics: Coercive citation in academic publishing (February 2, 2012) -- Scientists have examined the unethical practices of some journal publications, articulating results from their research to show that some editors coerce authors into adding unnecessary citations to articles in the same journal that is considering publishing the submitted work. Journal editors want to increase the number of times articles within their journals are cited by researchers -- because it raises the journal ranking and is used to make claims of prestige and importance. ... > full story

Triglyceride levels predict stroke risk in postmenopausal women (February 2, 2012) -- The traditional risk factors for stroke – such as high cholesterol – are not as accurate at predicting risk in postmenopausal women as previously thought. Instead, researchers say doctors should refocus their attention on triglyceride levels to determine which women are at highest risk of suffering a devastating and potentially fatal cardiovascular event. ... > full story

New technique successfully dissolves blood clots in brain and lowers risk of brain damage after stroke, study suggests (February 2, 2012) -- Neurologists report success with a new means of getting rid of potentially lethal blood clots in the brain safely without cutting through easily damaged brain tissue or removing large pieces of skull. ... > full story

Untangling the mysteries of Alzheimer's (February 2, 2012) -- Researchers have found new evidence that confirms the significance of a protein that neuroscientists call tau to the development of Alzheimer's disease. While earlier studies have focused on tau's aggregation into twisted structures known as "neurofibrillary tangles," the new work emphasizes intermediary steps between single protein units and the much larger tangles – small assemblages of two, three, four or more proteins, which the investigators believe are the most toxic entities in Alzheimer's. ... > full story

DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 (February 2, 2012) -- A recent study shows that a new DNA test that identifies Down syndrome in pregnancy can also detect trisomies 18 and 13. ... > full story

Elevated glucose associated with undetected heart damage (February 2, 2012) -- A new study suggests that hyperglycemia injures the heart, even in patients without a history of heart disease or diabetes. The high-sensitivity test they used detected levels of cTnT tenfold lower than those found in patients diagnosed with a heart attack. ... > full story

Rituximab possible treatment option for patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (February 2, 2012) -- An open-label study of rituximab, a monoclonal antibody for human CD20, was shown to be safe in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who had an incomplete response to the standard ursodeoxycholic acid therapy. Rituximab was successful in reducing the level of alkaline phosphatase -- a protein used to measure liver injury, according to the new study. ... > full story

Hand counts of votes may cause errors (February 2, 2012) -- Hand counting of votes in postelection audit or recount procedures can result in error rates of up to two percent, according to a new study. ... > full story

Unraveling a butterfly's aerial antics could help builders of bug-size flying robots (February 2, 2012) -- By figuring out how butterflies flutter among flowers with amazing grace and agility, researchers hope to help build small airborne robots that can mimic those maneuvers. ... > full story

New way to study ground fractures (February 2, 2012) -- Geophysics researchers have created a new way to study fractures by producing elastic waves, or vibrations, through using high-intensity light focused directly on the fracture itself. ... > full story

Millisecond pulsar paradox: Stellar astrophysics helps explain behavior of fast rotating neutron stars in binary systems (February 2, 2012) -- Pulsars are among the most exotic celestial bodies known. They have diameters of about 20 kilometers, but at the same time roughly the mass of our sun. A sugar-cube sized piece of its ultra-compact matter on Earth would weigh hundreds of millions of tons. A sub-class of them, known as millisecond pulsars, spin up to several hundred times per second around their own axes. Previous studies reached the paradoxical conclusion that some millisecond pulsars are older than the universe itself. Now this paradox may be solved by computer simulations, new research shows. ... > full story

New super-Earth detected within the habitable zone of a nearby cool star (February 2, 2012) -- Sientists have discovered a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a nearby star. The star is a member of a triple star system and has a different makeup than our Sun, being relatively lacking in metallic elements. This discovery demonstrates that habitable planets could form in a greater variety of environments than previously believed. ... > full story

Food poisoning: Understanding how bacteria come back from the 'dead' (February 2, 2012) -- Salmonella remains a serious cause of food poisoning, in part due to its ability to thrive and quickly adapt to the different environments in which it can grow. New research has taken a detailed look at what Salmonella does when it enters a new environment, which could provide clues to finding new ways of reducing transmission through the food chain and preventing human illness. ... > full story

'Yellow biotechnology': Using plants to silence insect genes in a high-throughput manner (February 2, 2012) -- 'Yellow biotechnology' refers to biotechnology with insects -- analogous to the green (plants) and red (animals) biotechnology. Active ingredients or genes in insects are characterized and used for research or application in agriculture and medicine. Scientists in Germany are now using a procedure which brings forward ecological research on insects: They study gene functions in moth larvae by manipulating genes using the RNA interference technology (RNAi). RNAi is induced by feeding larvae with plants that have been treated with viral vectors. This method -- called "plant virus based dsRNA producing system" (VDPS) -- increases sample throughput compared to the use of genetically transformed plants.  ... > full story

Gene regulator in brain's executive hub tracked across lifespan (February 2, 2012) -- Scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub. Genes implicated in schizophrenia and autism are among those in which regulatory activity peaks during an environmentally-sensitive critical period in development. The mechanism, called DNA methylation, abruptly switches from off to on within the human brain's prefrontal cortex during this pivotal transition from fetal to postnatal life. ... > full story

Probable mechanism underlying resveratrol activity uncovered: Chemical found in red wine and other foods (February 2, 2012) -- Researchers have identified how resveratrol, a naturally occurring chemical found in red wine and other plant products, may confer its health benefits. The authors present evidence that resveratrol does not directly activate sirtuin 1, a protein associated with aging. Rather, the authors found that resveratrol inhibits certain types of proteins known as phosphodiesterases (PDEs), enzymes that help regulate cell energy. ... > full story

Castaway lizards provide insight into elusive evolutionary process, founder effects (February 2, 2012) -- A biologist who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas has shed light on the interaction between evolutionary processes that are seldom observed. He found that the lizards' genetic and morphological traits were determined by both natural selection and a phenomenon called founder effects, which occur when species colonize new territory. ... > full story

Graphene electronics moves into a third dimension (February 2, 2012) -- Wonder material graphene has been touted as the next silicon, with one major problem -- it is too conductive to be used in computer chips. Now scientists have given its prospects a new lifeline. Scientists have now literally opened a third dimension in graphene research. Their research shows a transistor that may prove the missing link for graphene to become the next silicon. ... > full story