ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Tuesday, February 7, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Tuesday, February 7, 2012

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NASA's Juno spacecraft refines its path to Jupiter (February 6, 2012) -- NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft successfully refined its flight path Feb. 1 with the mission's first trajectory correction maneuver. The maneuver is the first of a dozen planned rocket firings that, over the next five years, will keep Juno on course for its rendezvous with Jupiter. ... > full story

Discovery predicts patient sensitivity to important drug target in deadly brain cancer (February 6, 2012) -- A recent discovery enables the prediction of patient sensitivity to proposed drug therapies for glioblastoma – the most common and most aggressive malignant brain tumor in humans. ... > full story

More environmental rules needed for shale gas, says geophysicist (February 6, 2012) -- In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama praised the potential of the country's tremendous supply of natural gas buried in shale. But the "Halliburton exclusion" passed by Congress says gas companies don't have to disclose the chemicals used in fracturing fluids. That was a real mistake because it makes the public needlessly paranoid, says a geophysicist. ... > full story

PET techniques provide more accurate diagnosis, prognosis in challenging breast cancer cases (February 6, 2012) -- Researchers are revealing how molecular imaging can be used to solve mysteries about difficult cases of breast cancer. One recent article focuses on an imaging agent that targets estrogen receptors in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer patients with formerly inconclusive assessments, and the second highlights a different imaging agent's ability to help predict the prognosis for patients undergoing chemotherapy for a very aggressive type of breast cancer. ... > full story

Satellite tracking reveals sea turtle feeding hotspots (February 6, 2012) -- Satellite tracking of threatened loggerhead sea turtles has revealed two previously unknown feeding "hotspots" in the Gulf of Mexico that are providing important habitat for at least three separate populations of the turtles. ... > full story

Researchers examine consequences of non-intervention for infectious disease in African great apes (February 6, 2012) -- Infectious disease has joined poaching and habitat loss as a major threat to the survival of African great apes as they have become restricted to ever-smaller populations. Despite the work of dedicated conservationists, efforts to save our closest living relatives from ecological extinction are largely failing, and new scientific approaches are necessary to analyze major threats and find innovative solutions. ... > full story

Why people can hold visual information in great detail in their working memory (February 6, 2012) -- A new study may explain why people can hold visual information in great detail in their working memory. ... > full story

Key finding in stem cell self-renewal (February 6, 2012) -- Scientists have proposed a mechanism for the control of whether embryonic stem cells continue to proliferate and stay stem cells, or differentiate into adult cells like brain, liver or skin. The work has implications in two areas. In cancer treatment, it is desirable to inhibit cell proliferation. ... > full story

New species of bamboo-feeding plant lice found in Costa Rica (February 6, 2012) -- Several periods of field work during 2008 have led to the discovery of a new species of bamboo-feeding plant lice in Costa Rica's high-altitude region Cerro de la Muerte. The discovery was made thanks to molecular data analysis of mitochondrial DNA. The collected records have also increased the overall knowledge of plant lice (one of the most dangerous agricultural pests worldwide) from the region with more that 20 percent. ... > full story

Playing RFID tag with sheets of paper (February 6, 2012) -- Researchers in France have developed a way to deposit a thin aluminum RFID tag onto paper that not only reduces the amount of metal needed for the tag, and so the cost, but could open up RFID tagging to many more systems, even allowing a single printed sheet or flyer to be tagged. ... > full story

Low levels of lipid antibodies increase complications following heart attack (February 6, 2012) -- Coronary patients with low levels of an immune system antibody called anti-PC, which neutralizes parts of the "bad" cholesterol, run a greater risk of suffering complications following an acute cardiac episode and thus of premature death. ... > full story

Engineers weld nanowires with light (February 6, 2012) -- At the nano level, researchers have discovered a new way to weld together meshes of tiny wires. Their work could lead to exciting new electronics and solar applications. To succeed, they called upon plasmonics. ... > full story

Strategy shift with age can lead to navigational difficulties (February 6, 2012) -- A researcher believes studying people's ability to find their way around may help explain why loss of mental capacity occurs with age. ... > full story

Children hospitalized at alarming rate due to abuse, U.S. study finds (February 6, 2012) -- In one year alone, over 4,500 children in the United States were hospitalized due to child abuse, and 300 of them died of their injuries, researchers report in a new study. ... > full story

Positive parenting during early childhood may prevent obesity (February 6, 2012) -- Programs that support parents during their child’s early years hold promise for obesity prevention, according to a new study. ... > full story

Key to immune cell's 'internal guidance' system discovered (February 5, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host. The discovery of the role played by the molecule CD74 could help immunologists investigate treatments that offer better immune responses against cancers, viruses and bacteria, and lead to more efficient vaccines. ... > full story

Genetic variant increases risk of common type stroke (February 5, 2012) -- A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with risk of stroke and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment. ... > full story

Early study suggests nanodiamonds safe for implants (February 5, 2012) -- As the number of knee and hip joint replacements grows, nanodiamond coatings could answer problems related to metal surfaces. ... > full story

Hearing metaphors activates brain regions involved in sensory experience (February 3, 2012) -- New brain imaging research reveals that a region of the brain important for sensing texture through touch, the parietal operculum, is also activated when someone listens to a sentence with a textural metaphor. The same region is not activated when a similar sentence expressing the meaning of the metaphor is heard. ... > full story

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