ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Sunday, February 26, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Sunday, February 26, 2012

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Memory formation triggered by stem cell development (February 24, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered an answer to the long-standing mystery of how brain cells can both remember new memories while also maintaining older ones. ... > full story

Bird brains follow the beat (February 24, 2012) -- By training birds to ‘get rhythm’, scientists uncover evidence that our capacity to move in time with music may be connected with our ability to learn speech. ... > full story

Diagnostic tool: Polymer film loaded with antibodies can capture tumor cells (February 24, 2012) -- The development of polymer film loaded with antibodies that can capture tumor cells shows promise as a diagnostic tool. Cancer cells that break free from a tumor and circulate through the bloodstream spread cancer to other parts of the body. But this process, called metastasis, is extremely difficult to monitor because the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can account for as few as one in every billion blood cells. ... > full story

NASA pinning down where 'here' is better than ever (February 24, 2012) -- Before our Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation devices can tell us where we are, the satellites that make up the GPS need to know exactly where they are. For that, they rely on a network of sites that serve as "you are here" signs planted throughout the world. The catch is, the sites don't sit still because they're on a planet that isn't at rest, yet modern measurements require more and more accuracy in pinpointing where "here" is. To meet this need, NASA is helping to lead an international effort to upgrade the four systems that supply this crucial location information. ... > full story

The Many Moods of Titan (February 24, 2012) -- A set of recent papers, many of which draw on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, reveal new details in the emerging picture of how Saturn's moon Titan shifts with the seasons and even throughout the day. The papers show how this largest moon of Saturn is a cousin -- though a very peculiar cousin -- of Earth. ... > full story

Erosional origin of linear dunes on Earth and Saturn's moon Titan (February 24, 2012) -- Linear dunes, widespread on Earth and Saturn's moon, Titan, are generally considered to have been formed by deposits of windblown sand. It has been speculated for some time that some linear dunes may have formed by "wind-rift" erosion, but this model has commonly been rejected due to lack of sufficient evidence. Now, new research indicates that erosional origin models should not be ruled out. ... > full story

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, certain cancers: Correct protein folding illuminated (February 24, 2012) -- Using the exceptionally bright and powerful X-ray beams of the Advanced Light Source, researchers have discovered a critical control element within chaperonin, the protein complex responsible for the correct folding of other proteins. The "misfolding" of proteins has been linked to many diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and some forms of cancer. ... > full story

Trusting feelings when predicting future events: The emotional oracle effect (February 24, 2012) -- People with higher trust in their feelings were more likely to correctly predict a variety of future events. The researchers call this phenomenon the emotional oracle effect. ... > full story

Light-emitting nanocrystal diodes go ultraviolet (February 24, 2012) -- Scientists have developed a process for creating glass-based, inorganic light-emitting diodes that produce light in the ultraviolet range. The work is a step toward biomedical devices with active components made from nanostructured systems. ... > full story

In the genes, but which ones? Studies that linked specific genes to intelligence were largely wrong, experts say (February 24, 2012) -- For decades, scientists have understood that there is a genetic component to intelligence, but a new study has found both that most of the genes thought to be linked to the trait are probably not in fact related to it, and identifying intelligence's specific genetic roots may still be a long way off. ... > full story

Neither birth nor death stops a flock, new theory shows (February 24, 2012) -- Neither births nor deaths stop the flocking of organisms. They just keep moving, says a theoretical physicist. The notion, he says, has implications in biology and eventually could point to new cancer therapies. ... > full story

The genetic basis for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (February 24, 2012) -- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, especially in developed countries, and there is currently no known treatment or cure or for the vast majority of AMD patients. New research has identified genes whose expression levels can identify people with AMD, as well as tell apart AMD subtypes. It is estimated that 6.5% of people over age 40 in the US currently have AMD. There is an inheritable genetic risk factor but risk is also increased for smokers and with exposure to UV light. ... > full story