ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Wednesday, March 28, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Wednesday, March 28, 2012

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Astronomers detect vast amounts of gas and dust around black hole in early universe (March 27, 2012) -- Astronomers have discovered a large reservoir of gas and dust in a galaxy that surrounds the most distant supermassive black hole known. Light from the galaxy, called J1120+0641, has taken so long to reach us that the galaxy is seen as it was only 740 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only 1/18th of its current age. ... > full story

Bacteria use chat to play the 'prisoner's dilemma' game in deciding their fate (March 27, 2012) -- When faced with life-or-death situations, bacteria -- and maybe even human cells -- use an extremely sophisticated version of "game theory" to consider their options and decide upon the best course of action. Scientists said microbes "play" a version of the classic "Prisoner's Dilemma" game. ... > full story

New gene therapy approach developed for red blood cell disorders (March 27, 2012) -- Scientists have designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment. ... > full story

New evidence that comets deposited building blocks of life on primordial Earth (March 27, 2012) -- New research provides further support for the idea that comets bombarding Earth billions of years ago carried and deposited the key ingredients for life to spring up on the planet. ... > full story

Hot pepper compound could help hearts (March 27, 2012) -- The food that inspires wariness is on course for inspiring even more wonder from a medical standpoint as scientists have reported the latest evidence that chili peppers are a heart-healthy food with potential to protect against the No. 1 cause of death in the developed world. ... > full story

Blocking 'oh-glick-nack' may improve long-term memory (March 27, 2012) -- Just as the familiar sugar in food can be bad for the teeth and waistline, another sugar has been implicated as a health menace and blocking its action may have benefits that include improving long-term memory in older people and treating cancer. Progress has been made toward finding such a blocker for the sugar — with the appropriately malicious-sounding name “oh-glick-nack.” ... > full story

Capsule for removing radioactive contamination from milk, fruit juices, other beverages (March 27, 2012) -- Amid concerns about possible terrorist attacks with nuclear materials, and fresh memories of environmental contamination from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, scientists have developed a capsule that can be dropped into water, milk, fruit juices and other foods to remove more than a dozen radioactive substances. ... > full story

Competition-linked bursts of testosterone are fundamental aspect of human biology, study of Amazonian tribe suggests (March 27, 2012) -- Though Tsimane men have a third less baseline testosterone compared with U.S. men, Tsimane show the same increase in testosterone following a soccer game, suggesting that competition-linked bursts of testosterone are a fundamental aspect of human biology. ... > full story

Transparent, flexible '3-D' memory chips may be the next big thing in small memory devices (March 27, 2012) -- New memory chips that are transparent, flexible enough to be folded like a sheet of paper, shrug off 1,000-degree Fahrenheit temperatures -- twice as hot as the max in a kitchen oven -- and survive other hostile conditions could usher in the development of next-generation flash-competitive memory for tomorrow's keychain drives, cell phones and computers, scientists say. ... > full story

Nanostarfruits are pure gold for research (March 27, 2012) -- Starfruit-shaped gold nanorods could nourish applications that rely on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, such as medical imaging and chemical sensing. ... > full story

New process converts polyethylene into carbon fiber (March 27, 2012) -- Common material such as polyethylene used in plastic bags could be turned into something far more valuable through a new process. ... > full story

Nanoparticles and magnetic current used to damage cancerous cells in mice (March 27, 2012) -- Using nanoparticles and alternating magnetic fields, scientists have found that head and neck cancerous tumor cells in mice can be killed in half an hour without harming healthy cells. The findings mark the first time to the researchers' knowledge this cancer type has been treated using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia, or above-normal body temperatures, in laboratory mice. ... > full story

Elusive Bururi long-fingered frog found after 62 years (March 27, 2012) -- Herpetologists have discovered a single specimen of the Bururi long-fingered frog during a research expedition to Burundi in December 2011. The frog was last seen by scientists in 1949 and was feared to be extinct after decades of turmoil in the tiny East African nation. ... > full story

Placenta on toast? Could we derive benefits from ingesting afterbirth? (March 27, 2012) -- Almost all non-human mammals eat placenta for good reasons. Are we missing something? Neuroscientists now suggest that ingesting components of afterbirth or placenta -- placentophagia -- may offer benefits to human mothers and perhaps to non-mothers and males. ... > full story

West Antarctic ice shelves tearing apart at the seams (March 27, 2012) -- A new study examining nearly 40 years of satellite imagery has revealed that the floating ice shelves of a critical portion of West Antarctica are steadily losing their grip on adjacent bay walls, potentially amplifying an already accelerating loss of ice to the sea. ... > full story

Some flame retardants make fires more deadly (March 27, 2012) -- Some of the flame retardants added to carpets, furniture upholstery, plastics, crib mattresses, car and airline seats and other products to suppress the visible flames in fires are actually increasing the danger of invisible toxic gases that are the No. 1 cause of death in fires. ... > full story

New evidence on effects of green coffee beans in weight loss (March 27, 2012) -- Scientists have reported striking new evidence that green, or unroasted, coffee beans can produce a substantial decrease in body weight in a relatively short period of time. ... > full story

Most extensive full face transplant to date (March 27, 2012) -- The most extensive full face transplant ever performed has just been completed. It included both jaws, teeth, and tongue. The 36-hour operation occurred on March 19-20, 2012 and involved a multi-disciplinary team of faculty physicians and a team of over 150 nurses and professional staff. ... > full story

Researchers discover a new path for light through metal (March 27, 2012) -- Researchers have coaxed a thin film of titanium nitride into transporting plasmons, tiny electron excitations coupled to light that can direct and manipulate optical signals on the nanoscale. Titanium nitride's addition to the short list of surface-plasmon-supporting materials, formerly comprised only of metals, could point the way to a new class of optoelectronic devices with unprecedented speed and efficiency. ... > full story

Microfluidic chip developed to stem flu outbreaks (March 27, 2012) -- Researchers have developed a rapid, low-cost, accurate, point-of-care device that matches the accuracy of expensive and time-consuming lab-based tests to diagnose influenza. ... > full story

Living human gut-on-a-chip: Tiny device simulates structure, microenvironment, and mechanical behavior of human intestine (March 27, 2012) -- Researchers have created a gut-on-a-chip microdevice lined by living human cells that mimics the structure, physiology, and mechanics of the human intestine -- even supporting the growth of living microbes within its luminal space. As a more accurate alternative to conventional cell culture and animal models, the microdevice could help researchers gain new insights into intestinal disorders and evaluate the safety and efficacy of potential treatments. ... > full story

Ion Beam Laboratory looks at advanced materials for reactors (March 27, 2012) -- Scientists are studying how to rapidly evaluate the tougher advanced materials needed to build the next generation of nuclear reactors and extend the lives of current reactors. ... > full story

Air pollution from trucks and low-quality heating oil may explain childhood asthma hot spots (March 27, 2012) -- Where a child lives can greatly affect his or her risk for asthma. Neighborhood differences in rates of childhood asthma may be explained by varying levels of air pollution from trucks and residential heating oil. In New York City, where the study was conducted, asthma among school-age children ranges from a low of three percent to a high of 19 percent depending on the neighborhood. ... > full story

New way to abate heart attacks before patients get to the hospital (March 27, 2012) -- Paramedics can reduce someone's chances of having a cardiac arrest or dying by 50 percent by immediately administering a mixture of glucose, insulin and potassium to people having a heart attack, according to new research. ... > full story

New catalyst promises cheaper, greener drugs (March 27, 2012) -- A chemistry team has discovered environmentally-friendly iron-based nanoparticle catalysts that work as well as the expensive, toxic, metal-based catalysts that are currently in wide use by the drug, fragrance and food industry. ... > full story

Engineers set their sights on asteroid deflection (March 27, 2012) -- Engineers are developing an innovative technique based on lasers that could radically change asteroid deflection technology. ... > full story

A planetary system from the early Universe (March 27, 2012) -- Astronomers have discovered an ancient planetary system that is likely to be a survivor from one of the earliest cosmic eras, 13 billion years ago. The system consists of the star HIP 11952 and two planets, which have orbital periods of 290 and 7 days, respectively. Whereas planets usually form within clouds that include heavier chemical elements, the star HIP 11952 contains very little other than hydrogen and helium. The system promises to shed light on planet formation in the early universe – under conditions quite different from those of later planetary systems, such as our own. ... > full story

Chemical microgradients accelerate coral death at the Great Barrier Reef (March 27, 2012) -- Researchers have examined corals from the Great Barrier Reef affected by the Black Band Disease and identified the critical parameters that allow this prevalent disease to cause wide mortality of corals around the world. Corals infected with Black Band show a characteristic appearance of healthy tissue displaced by a dark front, the so called Black Band, which leaves the white limestone skeleton of the coral animal exposed. The dark front is commonly one to two centimeters broad and consists of a complex microbial community among which there are phototrophic cyanobacteria, sulfur oxidizing bacteria and sulfate reducing microorganisms. ... > full story

New dimension for solar energy: Innovative 3-D designs more than double the solar power generated per area (March 27, 2012) -- Intensive research around the world has focused on improving the performance of solar photovoltaic cells and bringing down their cost. But very little attention has been paid to the best ways of arranging those cells, which are typically placed flat on a rooftop or other surface, or sometimes attached to motorized structures that keep the cells pointed toward the sun as it crosses the sky. Now, a team of researchers has come up with a very different approach: building cubes or towers that extend the solar cells upward in three-dimensional configurations. ... > full story

Stand up: Your life could depend on it (March 27, 2012) -- Standing up more often may reduce your chances of dying within three years, even if you are already physically active, a study of more than 200,000 people shows. ... > full story

Use it or lose it: Mind games help healthy older people too (March 27, 2012) -- Cognitive training including puzzles, handicrafts and life skills are known to reduce the risk, and help slow down the progress, of dementia amongst the elderly. A new study has shown that cognitive training was able to improve reasoning, memory, language and hand eye co-ordination of healthy, older adults. ... > full story

How colds cause coughs and wheezes (March 27, 2012) -- Cold-like infections make 'cough receptors' in the airways more sensitive, making asthmatics more prone to bouts of coughing and wheezing, reveal scientists. The work could lead to drugs that reduce virus-induced coughing in those suffering chronic lung diseases. ... > full story

Vitamins doing gymnastics: Scientists capture first full image of vitamin B12 in action (March 27, 2012) -- It may not sound too exciting when it's listed on the side of your cereal box and your multivitamin bottle. But when vitamin B12 gets inside your body, new research suggests, it turns into a gymnast. Scientists report that they have created the first full 3-D images of B12 and its partner molecules twisting and contorting as part of a crucial reaction called methyltransfer. ... > full story

The Black Queen Hypothesis: Basis of a new evolutionary theory (March 27, 2012) -- Microorganisms can sometimes lose the ability to perform a function that appears to be necessary for their survival, and yet they still somehow manage to endure and multiply. How can this be? Researchers now explain their ideas about the matter. ... > full story

Cassini makes simultaneous measurements of Saturn's nightside aurora and associated electric current system (March 27, 2012) -- Since the NASA / ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrived at Saturn in 2004, astronomers and space scientists have been able to study the ringed planet and its moons in great detail. Now, for the first time, a team of planetary scientists have made simultaneous measurements of Saturn’s nightside aurora, magnetic field, and associated charged particles. ... > full story

Watching space weather through the MAGIC of CubeSat CINEMA (March 27, 2012) -- A trio of CubeSats that will study the effects of space weather on the Earth’s radiation belts and magnetic field are being prepared for launch. ... > full story

'Ordinary' black hole discovered 12 million light years away (March 27, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered an ‘ordinary’ black hole in the 12 million light year-distant galaxy Centaurus A. This is the first time that a normal-size black hole has been detected away from the immediate vicinity of our own Galaxy. ... > full story

Deepest ever high-resolution radio survey of Hubble Deep Field begun (March 27, 2012) -- Astronomers have begun the deepest ever high-resolution radio imaging of the region around the Hubble Deep Field (HDF), the images originally captured by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the mid 1990s. The HDF led to the discovery of numerous galaxies billions of light years distant and provided direct visual evidence of the evolution of the Universe. First results from the new imaging show galaxies some 7 billion light years away in unprecedented detail. ... > full story

New SCUBA-2 camera reveals wild youth of the universe (March 27, 2012) -- Astronomers have commenced a revolutionary new study of cosmic star-formation history, looking back in time to when the universe was still in its lively and somewhat unruly youth. The consortium is using a brand new camera called SCUBA-2, the most powerful camera ever developed for observing light at "sub-mm" wavelengths (light that has a wavelength 1000 times longer than we can see with our eyes). ... > full story

Jupiter helps Halley’s Comet give us more spectacular meteor displays (March 27, 2012) -- The dramatic appearance of Halley's comet in the night sky has been observed and recorded by astronomers since 240 BC. Now a study shows that the orbital influences of Jupiter on the comet and the debris it leaves in its wake are responsible for periodic outbursts of activity in the Orionid meteor showers. ... > full story

Size matters: Large marine protected areas work for dolphins (March 27, 2012) -- Ecologists in New Zealand have shown for the first time that Marine Protected Areas – long advocated as a way of protecting threatened marine mammals – actually work. Their study, based on 21 years' monitoring reveals that a marine sanctuary off the coast of Christchurch has significantly improved survival of Hector's dolphins – one of the rarest dolphins in the world. ... > full story

Evidence stacks up that monolith at Gardom's Edge is astronomically aligned (March 27, 2012) -- Researchers have gathered new evidence that a 4000-year-old monolith was aligned to be an astronomical marker.  The 2.2 meter high monument, located in the Peak District National Park, has a striking, right-angled triangular shape that slants up towards geographic south. The orientation and inclination of the slope is aligned to the altitude of the Sun at mid-summer. The researchers believe that the monolith was set in place to give symbolic meaning to the location through the changing seasonal illuminations. ... > full story

Signs of thawing permafrost revealed from space (March 27, 2012) -- Satellite are seeing changes in land surfaces in high detail at northern latitudes, indicating thawing permafrost. This releases greenhouse gases into parts of the Arctic, exacerbating the effects of climate change. Permafrost is ground that remains at or below 0°C for at least two consecutive years and usually appears in areas at high latitudes such as Alaska, Siberia and Northern Scandinavia, or at high altitudes like the Andes, Himalayas and the Alps. ... > full story

Regular chocolate eaters are thinner, evidence suggests (March 27, 2012) -- Katherine Hepburn famously said of her slim physique: "What you see before you is the result of a lifetime of chocolate." New evidence suggests she may have been right. Nutritional experts present new findings that may overturn the major objection to regular chocolate consumption: that it makes people fat. ... > full story

New plastics 'bleed' when cut or scratched -- and then heal like human skin (March 27, 2012) -- A new genre of plastics that mimic the human skin’s ability to heal scratches and cuts offers the promise of endowing cell phones, laptops, cars and other products with self-repairing surfaces, scientists have reported. The plastics change color to warn of wounds and heal themselves when exposed to light. ... > full story

New twist on 1930s technology may become a 21st century weapon against global warming (March 27, 2012) -- Far from being a pipe dream years away from reality, practical technology for capturing carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — from smokestacks is aiming for deployment at coal-fired electric power generating stations and other sources, scientists now say. Scientists have a potential advance toward dealing with the 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide released into the air each year through human activity. ... > full story

More economical way to produce cleaner, hotter natural gas (March 27, 2012) -- New technology is offering the prospect of more economical production of a concentrated form of natural gas with many of the advantages — in terms of reduced shipping and storage costs — of the familiar frozen fruit juice concentrates, liquid laundry detergents and other household products that have been drained of their water, scientists report. ... > full story

New endoscope technology paves the way for 'molecular-guided surgery' for cancer (March 27, 2012) -- With about 15 million endoscopies done on patients each year in the U.S., scientists have reported that a new version of these flexible instruments for diagnosing and treating disease shows promise for helping surgeons more completely remove cancerous tumors. The new technology combines endoscopy with the phenomenon responsible for the blue glow in the water of nuclear reactors. ... > full story